French consumers’ marginal willingness to pay for the pairing of Japan’s fall chum salmon and rice wine (sake)

The pairing of foods and beverages (especially alcoholic beverages) is an effective marketing approach to promote the value of Japanese gastronomy to overseas consumers because it requires little additional cost. In this study, the research target was French consumers, and the evaluation targets were grilled fall-season wild chum salmon from Japan (mainly from Hokkaido) and Japanese rice wine (sake). The difference in the consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) was evaluated using the contingent valuation method. In addition, we analyzed the determinants by applying Tobit regression. Our results revealed that there was a higher WTP when Japan’s (Hokkaido’s) grilled fall salmon and sake were presented as a set than when they were presented individually. The geographical identity of the origin of food and beverages can engender a positive premium to consumers through the synergistic effect of the origin of the brand.

     

Lime-nitrogen application affects nitrification, denitrification, and N2O emission in an acidic tea soil

Lime-N (calcium cyanamide, CaCN₂) acts as both fertilizer and pesticide. Lime-N may reduce nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission from soil, although its effectiveness and the relative mechanisms are not well understood. The aim of the study was to quantify the effect of lime-N on N₂O emission from the acidic soil of tea fields. The study design consisted of two treatments: conventional fertilizer (CF) (application of conventional organo-chemical fertilizer) and lime-N (LN) (application of approximately 53 % of the applied N as lime-N and the remaining as conventional organo-chemical fertilizer). Both treatments had the same amount of N, P₂O₅, and K₂O applied to soil between plant canopies; fertilizer was incorporated into soil. We measured N₂O emissions and environmental and microbial parameters of soil between plant canopies and under the canopy of tea plants, including the concentrations of dicyandiamide and cyanamide derived from lime-N. Nitrous oxide emission from soil between plant canopies was lower in the LN treatment than in the CF treatment, and soil ammonium oxidation activity and soil denitrification rate decreased after lime-N application. We applied the acetylene inhibition technique and analyzed isotopomer ratios of N₂O; the results of both techniques suggested that denitrification was the major process of N₂O production in the soil between plant canopies, despite relatively low water-filled pore space. Cumulative N₂O emission over the 366 days of the experiment was 36.0 % lower in the LN treatment than in the CF treatment (P?<?0.05). Our results suggest that lime-N application decreases N₂O emission by inhibiting both nitrification and denitrification processes in the acidic soil.     

Transformation in Garnet from Orthorhombic Perovskite to LiNbO3 Phase on Release of Pressure

High-pressure in situ x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy on quenched samples show that natural garnet transforms to orthorhombic perovskite (and minor coexisting phases) containing increasing amounts of aluminum with increasing pressure. This suggests that the perovskite is the dominant host mineral for aluminum in Earth's lower mantle. Orthorhombic perovskite is quenched from approximately 35 gigapascals but, because of the increased aluminum content, transforms to the LiNbO3 structure upon quenching from approximately 60 gigapascals.     

Amorphization of Serpentine at High Pressure and High Temperature

Pressure-induced amorphization of serpentine was observed at temperatures of 200° to 300°C and pressures of 14 to 27 gigapascals with a combination of a multianvil apparatus and synchrotron radiation. High-pressure phases then crystallized rapidly when the temperature was increased to 400°C. These results suggest that amorphization of serpentine is an unlikely mechanism for generating deep-focus earthquakes, as the temperatures of subducting slabs are significantly higher than those of the rapid crystallization regime.     

Chemical control of Haematobia irritans with 0.5% topical ivermectin solution in cattle.

A field trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a topical formulation of ivermectin administered at the dose of 500 micrograms/kg against horn flies (Haematobia irritans) in cattle. Eighty-eight cattle in four herds naturally exposed to horn flies were used in the trial. Replicates were formed of two herds. Within replicates, one herd was randomly allocated to the untreated control and the other to the ivermectin treatment group. Horn fly counts were taken on the treatment day (Day 0) and on Days 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35 post-treatment. There were no horn flies on any cattle in the treatment group, whereas all the control cattle were continuously infested by horn flies on each examination day.     

土壤质地、温度和Eh对稻田甲烷排放的影响

本文报道在田间条件下,土南地,温度和Ｅｈ影响稻田ＣＨ４排放通量的研究结果。中国科学院封丘生态试验站的小区试验表明,在当地常规水分管理即间歇灌溉条件下,供试小区和妥田的ＣＨ４平均排放通量仅为０．１６－１．８６ｍ ｇＣＨ４／ｍ＾２ｈ。