Feasibility assessment of Japan's fertilizer reduction target: A meta-analysis and its implications for nitrogen waste.

Reducing synthetic nitrogen fertilizer (SNF) use is critical for mitigating environmental nitrogen (N) pollution caused by excessive reactive nitrogen and lowering the cost of chemical N fertilizer inputs in agricultural management. In response, Japan has set a national target to reduce chemical fertilizer inputs, with a goal of 30% reduction in SNF use. To assess the feasibility of this target, we collected ca.

Disruption of aldehyde dehydrogenase decreases cell wall-bound p-hydroxycinnamates and improves cell wall digestibility in rice.

In grass cell walls, ferulic acid (FA) serves as an important cross-linker between cell wall polymers, such as arabinoxylan (AX) and lignin, affecting the physicochemical properties of the cell walls as well as the utilization properties of grass lignocellulose for biorefinering. Here, we demonstrate that hydroxycinnamaldehyde dehydrogenase (HCALDH) plays a crucial role in the biosynthesis of the FA used for cell wall feruloylation in rice (Oryza sativa). Bioinformatic and gene expression analyses of aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) identified two rice ALDH subfamily 2C members, OsHCALDH2 (OsALDH2C2) and OsHCALDH3 (OsALDH2C3), potentially involved in cell wall feruloylation in major vegetative tissues of rice.

Strontium isotope and trajectory method elucidating overseas migration of to Japan.

The oriental armyworm, , generally migrates from eastern to northeastern China in early summer, and some individuals are believed to migrate overseas to Japan depending on meteorological conditions. This potential migration was investigated with the immigrants' strontium radiogenic isotope ratio Sr/Sr and backward flight trajectories from Japanese trapping sites. The results showed that the Sr/Sr ratios of Chinese reared were significantly higher than those of reared insects of Japanese immigration areas.

A single-nucleotide insertion in Rxp confers durable resistance to bacterial pustule in soybean.

The soybean Rxp gene, encoding a bHLH transcription factor and an ACT-like domain, has an rxp allele producing a truncated protein that confers resistance to pustule-causing Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. glycines. In soybean, bacterial pustules caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv.

Supplementation with NS8 alleviated behavioral, neural, endocrine, and microbiota abnormalities in an endogenous rat model of depression.

Introduction: Major depressive disorder is a condition involving microbiota-gut-brain axis dysfunction. Increasing research aims to improve depression through gut microbiota regulation, including interventions such as probiotics, prebiotics, and fecal microbiota transplants. However, most research focuses on exogenous depression induced by chronic stress or drugs, with less attention given to endogenous depression.

Phloem-specific overexpression of AtOPT6 alters glutathione, phytochelatin, and cadmium distribution in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The Arabidopsis oligopeptide transporter AtOPT6 is reportedly involved in the long-distance transport of thiol compounds into sink organs. In the present study, transgenic Arabidopsis lines overexpressing AtOPT6 under the control of a phloem-specific promoter, sucrose-proton symporter 2 (pSUC2), were analyzed for thiol and cadmium (Cd) distribution during the reproductive stage, both with and without Cd exposure. Phloem specific AtOPT6-overexpressing lines did not exhibit an evident impact on bolting time.

Trajectories of egg sensitization in childhood: Two birth cohorts in Asia and Europe.

Background: Hen's egg exposure through impaired skin barrier is considered a major mechanism of sensitization to eggs. However, the impact of filaggrin (FLG) gene loss-of-function mutations on the natural history of egg sensitization lacks consensus among studies.

Objective: To evaluate the association between the natural course of egg sensitization and FLG mutations.

In silico and in vivo experiment of soymilk peptide (tetrapeptide - FFYY) for the treatment of hypertension.

Enzyme-Treated Soymilk (ETS) was produced from Commercial Soymilk (CSM) with the treatment of proteinase PROTIN SD-NY10 (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens). Previously, we have isolated novel peptides from ETS but data related to isolated-peptides are scant. In this study, bio-informatics and in vivo analysis of isolated-peptides showed strong binding affinity to the active site of the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE).

An interlaboratory study on the detection method for Escherichia albertii in food using real time PCR assay and selective agars.

Escherichia albertii is an emerging enteropathogen. Although E. albertii-specific detection and isolation methods have been developed, their efficiency on food samples have not yet been systematically studied.

Gene expression and metabolite levels converge in the thermogenic spadix of skunk cabbage.

The inflorescence (spadix) of skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus renifolius) is strongly thermogenic and can regulate its temperature at around 23 °C even when the ambient temperature drops below freezing. To elucidate the mechanisms underlying developmentally controlled thermogenesis and thermoregulation in skunk cabbage, we conducted a comprehensive transcriptome and metabolome analysis across 3 developmental stages of spadix development. Our RNA-seq analysis revealed distinct groups of expressed genes, with selenium-binding protein 1/methanethiol oxidase (SBP1/MTO) exhibiting the highest levels in thermogenic florets.

Insulin granule morphology and crinosome formation in mice lacking the pancreatic β cell-specific phogrin (PTPRN2) gene.

We recently reported that phogrin, also known as IA-2β or PTPRN2, forms a complex with the insulin receptor in pancreatic β cells upon glucose stimulation and stabilizes insulin receptor substrate 2. In β cells of systemic phogrin gene knockout (IA-2β) mice, impaired glucose-induced insulin secretion, decreased insulin granule density, and an increase in the number and size of lysosomes have been reported. Since phogrin is expressed not only in β cells but also in various neuroendocrine cells, the precise impact of phogrin expressed in β cells on these cells remains unclear.

Application of linear and machine learning models to genomic prediction of fatty acid composition in Japanese Black cattle.

We collected 3180 records of oleic acid (C18:1) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) measured using gas chromatography (GC) and 6960 records of C18:1 and MUFA measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in intermuscular fat samples of Japanese Black cattle. We compared genomic prediction performance for four linear models (genomic best linear unbiased prediction [GBLUP], kinship-adjusted multiple loci [KAML], BayesC, and BayesLASSO) and five machine learning models (Gaussian kernel [GK], deep kernel [DK], random forest [RF], extreme gradient boost [XGB], and convolutional neural network [CNN]). For GC-based C18:1 and MUFA, KAML showed the highest accuracies, followed by BayesC, XGB, DK, GK, and BayesLASSO, with more than 6% gain of accuracy by KAML over GBLUP.

Association between an Antioxidant-Rich Japanese Diet and Chronic Kidney Disease: The Ohasama Study.

Aims: Although physiological effects of hydrophilic- (H-) and lipophilic- (L-) antioxidant capacities (AOCs) are suggested to differ, the association of an antioxidant-rich diet and chronic kidney disease (CKD) incidence has not been examined. We therefore explored the association between the H- or L-AOC of a whole Japanese diet and CKD risk in a general population.

Methods: A total of 922 individuals without CKD (69.

Seasonal pigment fluctuation in diploid and polyploid Arabidopsis revealed by machine learning-based phenotyping method PlantServation.

Long-term field monitoring of leaf pigment content is informative for understanding plant responses to environments distinct from regulated chambers but is impractical by conventional destructive measurements. We developed PlantServation, a method incorporating robust image-acquisition hardware and deep learning-based software that extracts leaf color by detecting plant individuals automatically. As a case study, we applied PlantServation to examine environmental and genotypic effects on the pigment anthocyanin content estimated from leaf color.

Diversity and composition of flower-visiting insects and related factors in three fruit tree species.

Animal-mediated pollination is an essential ecosystem service for the production of many fruit trees. To reveal the community composition of flower-visiting wild insects which potentially contribute to fruit production and to examine the effects of geographic location, local meteorological conditions and locally introduced domesticated pollinators on them, we investigated the community composition of insects visiting the flowers (hereafter, "visitors") of apple, Japanese pear and Oriental persimmon for 1‒3 years at 20 sites around Japan. While most of the variation (82%) of the community composition was explained by tree species with a slight contribution by geographic distance (2%), maximum temperature and tree species contributed 62% and 41% of the variation in total abundance of the visitors, respectively.

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Trial Assessing If Medium-Chain Triglycerides in Combination with Moderate-Intensity Exercise Increase Muscle Strength in Healthy Middle-Aged and Older Adults.

An adequate nutritional intake is recommended for the prevention of physical frailty and sarcopenia. In particular, medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) are reportedly important for muscle strength in nursing home residents. However, the effects of MCFAs on healthy adults at risk for frailty remain unknown.