A large amount of nitrous oxide (N ₂O), one of the most important greenhouse gases, was emitted after the application of manure compost pellets (MCPs) compared to treatments with ordinary manure ...composts or chemical fertilizers. Emission of N ₂O was found to be due to denitrification in the pellets. To study the relationship between N ₂O emission and denitrifiers, the denitrifying bacterial communities in the MCPs were investigated by comparing clone libraries of nitrite reductase genes (nirK and nirS) fragments. Pellet samples were obtained three days (P3) and 26 days (P26) after pellet application to the field. The P3 samples were emitting high levels of N ₂O, and the P26 samples had ceased N ₂O emission. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplicons of both nirK and nirS were obtained from pellet samples. The diversity index (Shannon–Weiner index) of clone libraries was higher for the nirS genes than for the nirK genes for the same pellet samples and higher in P3 than in P26 for both nir genes. The clone libraries showed that the compositions of nirK denitrifiers in the pellets were relatively stable, but those of the nirS denitrifiers were variable within a month after pellet application; nirS clones that showed a lower similarity with nirS of known denitrifiers were dominant in P3 and those related to nirS of Cupriavidus spp. and Herbaspirillum spp. were dominant in P26. Most of the nirK clones in this study were related to the nirK genes of Rhizobiales denitrifying bacterial isolates. The nirS clones were divided into three groups; (1) those related to nirS of Bradyrhizobium spp., and Rhodanobacter sp. D206a, (2) those related to nirS of Cupriavidus spp., Herbaspirillum spp., and (3) those that had a lower similarity with nirS of known denitrifiers. This study showed a different response of nirK and nirS denitrifiers in the applied MCPs. In order to understand the relation between the denitrifying diversity and the N ₂O emissions, transcriptional and metabolic analysis will be also needed.
To elucidate the effects of slow-release fertilizers on nitrous oxide (N
2
O) emission from fields with winter wheat cultivation in cool-temperate regions, we conducted a two-year field experiment in ...Hokkaido. Four types of fertilizer treatment, i.e., urea (U), coated urea (CU), coated calcium nitrate (CC), and no nitrogen fertilizer (NN) were investigated. In the U treatment, urea was applied at 40 and 90 + 60 kg N ha
−1
in autumn and in spring, respectively. In the CU and CC treatments, all the nitrogen (190 kg N ha
−1
) was applied using coated fertilizers in autumn for the first cultivation, whereas nitrogen was applied at 130 kg N ha
−1
using the coated fertilizers in autumn and the remaining 60 kg N ha
−1
was applied using urea in spring for the second cultivation. The magnitudes and seasonal courses of N
2
O flux did not largely differ among the treatments (i.e., types of fertilizer), including the NN treatment in most of the experimental periods except that the N
2
O fluxes were higher in the U and CU treatments than in the CC and NN treatments at the beginning of the second wheat cultivation. In all the treatments, the N
2
O flux showed the highest peak immediately after basal fertilization, followed by other small peaks in autumn. After the next spring, the N
2
O flux consistently remained low until the wheat harvest including immediately after the end of snowmelt and after supplemental fertilizations. Cumulative N
2
O emissions tended to be lower in the CC treatment than in the U and CU treatments, although these differences in the emissions were not statistically significant. Although the wheat grain yields were lower in the CU and CC treatments than in the U treatments, the differences were small for the second wheat cultivation. These results indicate that reduction in N
2
O emission with no decrease in the wheat yield can be achieved by the basal application of slow-release nitrate fertilizer combined with the supplemental application of conventional fertilizer in winter wheat cultivation in Hokkaido, although further studies are still necessary to determine the optimum allocation levels of the basal and supplemental nitrogen applications.
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•Soil C stocks in agricultural land after deforestation were assessed in Japan.•In Andosols, soil bulk densities in forest land were lower than those in cropland.•It is therefore ...important to use an equivalent soil mass approach for Andosols.•Most of cropland and grassland lost soil C after deforestation in Japan.•Mean annual air temperatures at the sites impacted changes in soil C stocks.
In the context of their role in global climate change, changes in soil carbon stocks resulting from land use conversions from forest to agricultural lands (cropland and grassland) and subsequent agricultural activities were investigated with data from a total of 46 soil sampling sites across Japan (28 cropland and 18 grassland sites). Collection of soil sample pairs from forest land and adjacent agricultural land converted from forest land allowed derivation of the soil carbon change factor (SCCF; ratio of soil carbon stock in the agricultural land to that in the forest land at the time of soil sampling). Depth-based SCCFs for a fixed depth of 0–30 cm were 23% greater than mass-based SCCFs determined by the equivalent soil mass approach, in which soil carbon stocks in all replicated samples from forest land and agricultural land were calculated for different depths but equal masses of the soil mineral fraction. The overestimation of SCCFs by the depth-based approach was more pronounced in Andosols, particularly in croplands on Andosols, because soil bulk densities in forest lands were much lower than those in croplands on Andosols. The mass-based SCCFs for croplands (upland fields and orchards) and grasslands (pasture land and grazing land) after deforestation were 0.741 ± 0.259 (a 25.9 ± 25.9% decrease in soil carbon stocks after an elapsed time of 2–85 years) and 0.858 ± 0.212 (a 14.2 ± 21.2% decrease after an elapsed time of 26–81 years), respectively. Therefore, conversions from forest land to cropland or grassland resulted in a significant carbon loss from most soils in Japan. Soil carbon stocks in cropland converted from forest land declined as the elapsed time after deforestation increased although the uncertainty was large. Of the environmental variables, soil type (Andosols versus non-Andosols) and tillage frequency during cultivation had little impact on mass-based SCCFs; however, the SCCFs decreased with higher mean annual air temperature at the sites.
Non-puddling rice cultivation would increase subsequent soybean yield. Soybean (cv. ‘Yukihomare’) was grown in farmers’ fields previously cultivated with puddled transplanted rice (Puddled Rice), ...non-puddled transplanted rice (Non-puddled Rice), and dry direct-seeded rice (Direct-seeded Rice) in central Hokkaido, Japan. Average soybean yield was significantly (p < 0.05) higher in Non-puddled Rice fields (411 g m−2) and in Direct-seeded Rice fields (404 g m−2) than in Puddled Rice fields (352 g m−2). The respective yield increases (16.8% and 14.7%) indicate that non-puddling rice cultivation increased subsequent soybean yield. The significantly higher values for shoot dry weight and number of seeds per m2 seen in fields after non-puddling rice cultivation suggest that non-optimal plant development during vegetative and early reproductive growth stages may be ameliorated. The increases in soybean yield seen in this study may encourage the adoption of non-puddling rice production under the rice–soybean rotation system in Japan.
A hemodialytic male in his 60s presented with intermittent chest pain and coffee-ground emesis. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed a well-circumscribed area with indistinct vascular pattern in the ...middle esophagus, followed by blackish ulcerative mucosa at the distal esophagus, ending abruptly at the squamocolumnar junction, which findings were compatible with AEML. With fasting and proton-pump inhibitors, his symptoms rapidly resolved. He did not appear at the follow-up appointment one month after hospital discharge. Five months after hospital discharge, he suffered cardiac arrest and died. AEML is an acute erosive esophagitis whose endoscopic appearance resembles that of severe reflux esophagitis (sRE). Our case-control study showed higher mortality from AEML than from sRE. The endoscopic finding of "well-circumscribed esophageal mucosa with indistinct vascular pattern" could be an endoscopic feature of AEML, and may be useful for distinguishing AEML from sRE.
Potassium-competitive acid blockers are expected to be the next generation of drugs for the treatment of diseases caused by gastric acid. In 2015, vonoprazan fumarate, a novel potassium-competitive ...acid blocker, was approved by the Japanese health insurance system. Since its approval, patients refractory to vonoprazan can be encountered in clinical settings. We designed this study to clarify the pathophysiology of gastroesophageal reflux disease refractory to vonoprazan.
In this retrospective study, we involved patients who had refractory symptoms after administration of standard-dose proton pump inhibitors or vonoprazan and underwent diagnostic testing with esophageal high-resolution manometry and 24-hour multichannel intraluminal impedance and pH monitoring while using proton pump inhibitors or vonoprazan. Patients were diagnosed based on the Rome IV criteria for functional gastrointestinal disorders and diagnostic test results.
Twenty-seven patients were analyzed during this study. Gastric pH ≥ 4 was sustained for a longer period of time, and the esophageal acid exposure time and number of acid reflux events were shorter in the vonoprazan group than in the proton pump inhibitor group. The percentage of patients diagnosed with acidic gastroesophageal reflux disease in the vonoprazan group was lower than that in the proton pump inhibitor group.
Intra-gastric pH and acid reflux were strongly suppressed by 20-mg vonoprazan. When patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease present symptoms after administration of 20-mg vonoprazan, the possibility of pathophysiologies other than acid reflux should be considered.
Background
Impaired sleep quality is common, and can reduce work productivity in patients with functional dyspepsia (FD).
Objective
The objective of this article is to evaluate whether there is a ...direct association between the presence of FD and the severity of impaired sleep quality, and to calculate the economic loss due to the decreased work productivity associated with sleep quality.
Methods
In Study 1, using a web-based survey completed by workers with and without FD, we evaluated impaired sleep quality, work and daily productivity, and the severity of reflux and bowel symptoms. In Study 2, the association between the presence of FD and the severity of impaired sleep quality was validated in a hospital-based cohort.
Results
In both Study 1 and 2, although impaired sleep quality was more frequent in participants with FD than in those without FD, the independent association between the presence of FD and the severity of impaired sleep quality was not observed after adjustment for the severity of reflux and bowel symptoms. FD participants with impaired sleep quality reported additional economic loss of 53,500 Japanese yen/month.
Conclusion
Although the association between impaired sleep quality and FD was indirect, concomitant impaired sleep quality could worsen economic loss.
In general, manual sorting carries out for the quality inspection of corbicula shells prior to shipment. The inspection worker drops each corbicula shells on the concrete floor, and a shell is ...assessed as good or bad by the sound of collision with floor. The corbicula shell containing mud or nothing is specified as a bad corbicula. This manual sorting process is time consuming and laborious. In addition, this process is often prone to mistakes. In order to overcome the problem of manual sorting, an inspection probe has been developed. The inspection probe assesses a corbicula shell as good or bad by detecting the transmitted light spectra, and it has been tested that the probe can detect good and bad corbicula shells with an accuracy of 100%. Thereafter, a quality sorting device with the inspection probe has been developed for the commercial use. A laboratory based experiments have been conducted first to evaluate the performance of developed quality sorting device. The test results showed that the sorting device can sort shells with an accuracy of about 99%. Subsequently, a comprehensive evaluation experiment have also been carried out, and the experimental results showed that our developed sorting device is able to sort corbicula shells with an accuracy of 98.6%. This results implies that the present quality sorting device is ready to use for commercial sorting of corbicula shells
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