Rice tungro disease (RTD) is a serious threat to rice production in South and Southeast Asia. RTD is caused by Rice tungro bacilliform virus (RTBV) and Rice tungro spherical virus (RTSV). Coinfection of RTSV and RTBV results in more severe symptoms in African rice Oryza glaberrima than in Asian rice O. sativa. In this study, we examined whether RTBV alone causes more severe symptoms in O. glaberrima than in O. sativa. The examination of 18 accessions of O. glaberrima for RTBV infection indicated that all the O. glaberrima accessions examined were susceptible to RTBV. The reactions to RTBV of three O. glaberrima accessions and two RTBV-susceptible varieties of O. sativa, Taichung Native 1 (TN1) and IR 64, were compared. RTBV accumulation varied depending on the plants and differences in RTBV accumulation were not evident between the two species. However, the O. glaberrima accessions were significantly more stunted by RTBV than IR 64 was. Discoloration of leaves by RTBV was evident in the O. glaberrima plants, but not in the O. sativa plants. Collectively, these results presumably indicated that O. glaberrima is generally more vulnerable to RTBV than O. sativa is.

Bacillus subtilis (natto) phage ONPA suspended in an SM buffer without a cryoprotectant is sensitive to freezing at −20°C to −40°C. Freezing with a cryoprotectant and/or at low temperatures (−80°C and −165°C) can dramatically improve the viability of ONPA. B. subtilis (natto) phage JNDMP, the other principal type of B. subtilis (natto) phage used in this study, was stable even without a cryoprotectant at −20°C. The observation of ONPA using electron microscopy, after freezing at −20°C and subsequent thawing, suggested that the phage tails contracted and the phage genome DNA remained in the heads. The contraction of the phage tails may have caused the inactivation of ONPA phage particles.

The suppressive effect of vermicomposted-bamboo powder (VB) derived from waste bamboo shoots on cucumber damping-off when VB is used as a nursery medium was characterized. A greenhouse inoculation experiment showed that the damping-off caused by each strain of Pythium aphanidermatum, P. ultimum var. ultimum, and Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IB was significantly reduced by VB compared to an autoclaved vermicomposted-bamboo powder (aVB) and a commercial-nursery medium (CNM). Due to the fact that the disease suppressiveness of VB was nulled by autoclaving, the soil biological factors were characterized with respect to those of the CNM by fluorescein diacetate (FDA) hydrolysis reactions, plate count techniques, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis using prokaryotic universal primers. The FDA hydrolysis reaction and the plate count techniques showed that VB has a higher microbial activity and population density of fungi and bacteria than aVB and CNM. The NGS analysis revealed that the bacterial diversity was higher in VB than in aVB and CNM. In addition, the higher concentrations of NH₄⁺ in VB may be related to the Pythium damping-off suppression. This is the first report on the suppressive effect of VB on the damping-off disease, which is at least partially due to its rich microbial activity and diversity.

We present the spatial variations and isotopic fractionations of the stable isotopic compositions of waters across central Sri Lanka and discuss their applicability as tracers in hydrological studies of the island. The stable isotopic compositions of lake waters in the dry zone of the island were affected by evaporative isotopic enrichment and therefore can be used to estimate the evaporative loss from these lakes. The stable isotopic compositions of stream waters in the wet zone indicate a clear equilibrium isotopic fractionation with altitude (the altitude effect), which is useful in tracing water sources. The isotopic compositions of stream waters in the dry and intermediate zones are higher than expected from their altitude, likely stemming from the outflow of water from upstream tanks or reservoirs that are affected by evaporative isotopic enrichment and are unsuitable for estimating the altitude effect in those areas. The stable isotopic compositions of groundwater and tap and bottled waters plot along the local meteoric water line, suggesting that these waters preserve information on the isotopic compositions of rainwater in their recharge areas. Results indicate that the stable isotopic compositions of surface waters can be an effective tool in the hydrological and hydrogeological studies of the island.

A small autonomous vehicle is required for automatic spraying, carrying, harvesting etc in greenhouse production areas and small open vegetable fields. This study uses simple structural guidance using horticultural cultivating materials to develop an automatic guided vehicle. The developed vehicle has four wheels: two front steering wheels and two rear driven wheels. The vehicle has a detection unit, a steering unit and a control unit. The detection unit has two extension rollers and a potentiometer, whose function is to detect the distance from the vehicle to the guided material. The control method is used for adjusting the ON/OFF control of the front wheel steer by detecting the distance between the object material and the vehicle. The driving tests were conducted on a plastic film covered soil surface of a greenhouse isle, the concrete surface of a greenhouse central road, and in the open field. The results of the straight driving control displayed absolute maximum errors of 35 mm, 23 mm, and 29 mm on the covered soil path, concrete path, and in the open field, respectively. The test results proved that the straight driving control of the developed system was sufficiently accurate to be used for spraying and carrying operations.

Chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), which subjects a male mouse to repeated social subordination by an aggressor male mouse, results in the onset of depression-like behaviors. CSDS in rodents is a useful model for studying the mechanisms that underlie anxiety and depression. We investigated the effect of CSDS on expression of tight junction (TJ) components in colon in C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice to address the correlation of CSDS and the development of inflammatory intestinal disease associated with epithelial barrier dysfunction. After 10 consecutive days of CSDS, BALB/c mice displayed highly social aversive behavior compared to C57BL/6J mice, which was accompanied by the suppression of intestinal Claudin-1 expression. These observations suggest that increased susceptibility to CSDS in BALB/c mice was caused by the downregulation of Claudin-1. The CSDS model with BALB/c mice is a potentially useful system for evaluating food components for psychological stress control.

The effects of reducing dietary crude protein (CP) in a high temperature environment (32ºC) on growth performance and back fat deposition were investigated in finishing pigs. Twelve barrows (80.9 ± 7.6 kg) were allotted randomly to two dietary regimens (13.9% CP vs 11.8% CP) and were fed the diets for 4 weeks. The low-CP diet (11.8% CP) was supplemented with amino acids to meet the nutritional requirements. At the end of the experiment, back fat thickness, plasma urea nitrogen, and amino acid concentration were measured for all the barrows. The dietary CP level did not have any effect on growth performance, back fat thickness, or the plasma urea nitrogen concentration of the finishing pigs. Plasma free lysine, threonine, and methionine concentrations were higher in pigs that were fed the lowCP diet. These results indicate that reducing dietary CP by two percentage points does not alleviate the negative effect of heat stress and may not affect fat deposition.

A case of neutrophilic granulocytic sarcoma and a case of acute basophilic leukemia are described. The former was diagnosed in an 8-year-old Holstein cow with a large intrathoracic tumor mass (case 1), and the latter in a 14-month-old Holstein heifer with a rapid increase in white blood cell count (case 2). In case 1, the tumor mass was composed of agranular cells and more mature cells with eosinophilic granules staining positive for naphthol AS-D chloroacetate esterase (CAE) and macrophage, myeloid/histiocyte antigen (clone MAC387). In case 2, the tumor tissues consisted chiefly of myeloblastoid cells. However, differentiation to myelocytoid or metamyelocytoid cells was observed, and their intracytoplasmic eosinophilic granules were positive for tryptase (a marker for basophils and mast cells), but not for CAE (a marker for neutrophils and mast cells). Although reports of myeloid neoplasms are rare in cattle, as documented here, it is not difficult to diagnose them on the basis of histology, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry.

Postweaning diarrhea and wasting are a major concern in pig farms’ management. Although hemolytic enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, porcine circovirus type 2, and Salmonella spp. are the most frequent etiological agents of these diseases, Entamoeba suis and E. polecki were recently reported to be associated with diarrhea in pigs. Since the infection rate of Entamoeba in pigs and its relationship with other pathogens are unknown, we examined 206 pigs exhibiting diarrhea and/or wasting in Aichi Prefecture, Japan to determine the prevalence of porcine Entamoeba spp. E. suis- and E. polecki-like trophozoites were detected by histopathology in 53 pigs, mainly in the lumen of the large intestine. Ulcerative colitis with infiltrating trophozoites was observed in 16 pigs, and most of these trophozoites were identified as E. polecki subtype 3 by PCR and sequence analysis. Tissue-invasive Entamoeba spp. were prevalent in pigs exhibiting diarrhea and wasting, and most samples were also positive for either Salmonella spp. or Lawsonia intracellularis by immunohistochemistry. These results suggested that Entamoeba was widespread in farms in Aichi Prefecture, and in most cases, enteritis was caused by coinfection by Entamoeba with Salmonella spp. or L. intracellularis, which causes wasting by exacerbating the original mucosal lesions.

Forest management certification has been widely promulgated throughout the world, and the growth rate of forest management under the Forest Stewardship Council is especially high in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, where the growth rate is the highest in all of Southeast Asia, timber processing and chip industries are developing dramatically. Here we clarify factors surrounding the expansion of forest management certification and the merits of attaining certification for corporations and farmers. We targeted two certified corporations and a group of farmers in Quang Tri Province in Central Vietnam where the movement for attaining certification occurred earlier than in other areas. The reasons of the two interviewed corporations to apply for certification were the helm of the government, a higher selling price for timber, and access to international markets. The farmers’ group was also motivated by the higher timber-selling price. Thus, higher timber selling points and access to international markets were the main motivations for applying for certification. Even though prices are increasing, income will decrease because of the long timber harvesting cycle; therefore, for expanding forest management certification can be said to correspond with the demand for certified timber from international markets and domestic timber demand from corporate channels.