Kyushu In Japan Research Articles

The complete mitochondrial genome of freshwater gammarid Gammarus nipponensis (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Gammaridae)

This study presents the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Gammarus nipponensis, a freshwater crustacean found in the western regions of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu in Japan. The entire genome is 16,429 bp in length, encoding a standard set of 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes and 22 transfer RNA genes, as well as the putative control regions. The mitochondrial genome of G. nipponensis is characterized by a high concentration of A and T nucleotides (67.1%). Notably, the mitogenome contains long TATTTTA repeats in the control region 2 at 686 bp long. This newly available genome information will be useful for studying the evolutionary relationships within the genus Gammarus and for understanding diversification among G. nipponensis populations.

Influence of time on the small strain shear modulus of an allophanic volcanic ash

The small strain shear modulus is an important parameter in the assessment of soil dynamics problems. Studies on the small strain shear stiffness of volcanic ash remain rare probably because globally they cover just under 1% of the land surface. However, on a regional scale, this figure may be consequential as in the case of Japan, where about one third of its total land surface is covered by andosols. In this research, we aimed at understanding the influence of confinement time, a non-negligible parameter, contingent on the soil type, which needs to be accounted for when assessing the shear modulus. Bender element tests were conducted on allophanic volcanic ash, kuroboku soil sampled from the southern island of Kyushu in Japan. The allophanic ashes present all the characteristics of a non-textbook soil, notably high natural water content, high liquid and plastic limits and high void ratios. From the micrographic images, it was observed that the soil structure consisted of different types of porous particles (allophane, imogolite, volcanic glass and so on) at different internal spatial scales. Strong electrostatic bonding between the allophane particles means that in normal conditions the soil material exist as aggregates. The consequence is that the end of the consolidation stage is reached within a few minutes. Thus, the threshold demarcating the onset of the creep stage is different compared to sedimentary materials or other clayey soils. Based on the test results, empirical equations for predicting the time-dependent behaviour of the shear modulus were proposed.

고고자료를 통해 본 加耶의 港市國家論

This passage examines the operation and trade patterns of port cities by analyzing the area in the Gaya where foreign elements are concentrated, through the 'Port City States Theory'. To approach the ‘Port City States Theory’ archaeologically, we first defined the concept and attempted to schematize the structure of port cities. Based on this, we were able to establish the developmental stages of ports as 'port of call, trading post, port city, port citystate.‘ As can be confirmed from historical documents and archaeological evidence, the ancient Gimhae Bay area is a region where foreign elements are concentrated. Multiple port cities, not only in the central area but also in the hinterlands, are considered to be organically combined and operated as a port city-state. In the Changnyeong and Geoje regions, a distinct way of life is observed, which can be traced back to related trading posts found in the southern Honam region and the northern part of Kyushu in Japan. It can be observed that Changwon region formed a port city based on iron production, and it appears to have continued its operation even through changes in the dominant groups. In the eastern part of Honam, there is a pattern where foreign elements are concentrated within the indigenous community, indicating that this region was likely used as a trading post due to its location along the coastal routes. After examining the changing patterns of port cities in each region over different periods, it is evident that in the 1st period (from the mid-3rd century to the early 4th century), the port cities in the Gaya region, particularly in the ancient Gimhae Bay area, were developed. In the 2nd period (from the mid-4th century to later), there was an organic combination and operation of the permanent networks in the ancient Gimhae Bay area, and port cities expanded to areas like Changnyeong, Geoje, and Changwon. In the 3rd period (from before the 5th century to the middle of the 5th century), the permanent networks in the ancient Gimhae Bay area began to shrink but continued to operate, and each region also saw a reduction in its size. In the 4th period (after the 5th century), it appears that the port city-like characteristics gradually disappeared in various regions.

日本書紀 繼體紀의 伴跛관련 사건에 나오는 지역의 위치비정에 관한 연구

This study intends to revise and present the positioning of each place name that appear in the process of territorial disputes centered on Banpa that occurred between the 7th and 9th years of the Emperor Keitai of the Nihon Shoki. In the mainstream historical community, Banpa is postioned in Goryeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Kimoon is set in Namwon and Imsil, Jeollabuk-do, and Daesa is set in Hadong, Gyeongsangnam-do. The 12 places other than Banpa recoreded in the Nihon Shoki were positioned in the southern part of Korea by Japanese scholars initially under Japanese colonial rule, and the contents were accepted by the Korean historical community. In this study, I would like to report that the place names recorded in the Nihon shoki were found in Kurume-City Kyushu Japan, and existed the Anra and Shara in the area of Kyushu.

<i>Saxifraga cortusifolia</i> (Saxifragaceae): A new record for the Korean flora from Jejudo Island

<i>Saxifraga cortusifolia</i> Siebold & Zucc. (Saxifragaceae, sect. <i>Irregulares</i>, ser. <i>Rufescentes</i>), a species considered endemic along mountain streams throughout Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu in Japan, was discovered as a wild population in the Cheona Valley in Haean-dong, Jeju-si on Jeju-do Island of Korea. The population consisted of three subpopulations occupying narrow areas 10 × 10 m<sup>2</sup>, 5 × 5 m<sup>2</sup>, and 10 × 5 m<sup>2</sup> in size. The number of individuals in the three subpopulations was confirmed to exceed 100. Most of the individuals were on or below rocks at the edge of the valley. A morphological description, detailed photos, and a key to related taxa in Korea are presented.

Effects of CO2 Enrichment on Yield, Photosynthetic Rate, Translocation and Distribution of Photoassimilates in Strawberry ‘Sagahonoka’

The method of automatically controlling the CO2 concentration in a greenhouse depending on ventilation was examined in order to efficiently improve the productivity of strawberries under the weather conditions in the northern part of Kyushu in Japan. The effects of CO2 enrichment on the yields, fruit Brix, and economic value of the strawberry ‘Sagahonoka’ were investigated. In addition, in order to clarify the physiological response of ‘Sagahonoka’ to the CO2 concentration, the photosynthetic rate, translocation, and photoassimilate distribution rate were measured. It was found that maintaining the CO2 concentrations above 800 μmol mol−1 and 400 μmol mol−1 during no ventilation and ventilation, respectively, resulted in 25% increases in marketable fruit yields and a 0.2–1.2% higher fruit Brix compared to control, which was kept in 400 μmol mol−1 CO2 or above all day regardless of ventilation. Additionally, the economic value of ‘Sagahonoka’ was increased. The photosynthetic rate of ‘Sagahonoka’ increased linearly up to 800 μmol mol−1 CO2, and high CO2 concentrations affected the distribution for the primary fruit, the most significant sink. It was clarified that CO2 enrichment at 800 μmol mol−1 for ‘Sagahonoka’ was effective in increasing the photosynthetic rate and distribution of photoassimilates to fruits, and the yields of strawberries could be increased efficiently by automatically controlling the CO2 concentration depending on ventilation in a southern region of Japan.

Taxonomic entity of Saussurea taquetii (Asteraceae) compared with S. japonica and S. pulchella

Saussurea taquetii reported from Jejudo Island is either treated as a synonym of S. japonica or is recognized as a distinct taxon. Saussurea japonica and S. pulchella belong to the sect. Theodorea by having peculiar outer phyllaries with pale purplish scarious apical appendages; they are closely related to each other morphologically and are known to occur widely throughout the Korean Peninsula. To assess the taxonomic status of S. taquetii, we investigated representative populations of S. taquetii from jejudo Island, Korea, and S. japonica from Kyushu in Japan. We conducted a comparative study morphologically using specimens of three species from KH, CNU, and TI. Saussurea taquetii is very similar morphologically and ecologically to S. japonica in Kyushu. Unlike previous floristic treatments, we concluded that the two taxa, S. pulchella and S. taquetii, occur on the Korean Peninsula and on jejudo Island, respectively.

Impacts of high-speed rail construction on land prices in urban agglomerations: Evidence from Kyushu in Japan

High-speed rail integrates regions and cities, and thus can possibly have significant impacts on the distribution of economic activities. Using the opening and extensions of a high-speed rail, Shinkansen, in Kyushu, Japan, we examine its effects on land prices in urban agglomerations, which would reflect changes in the distribution of economic activities across urban agglomerations. We estimate hedonic price equations to conduct a difference-in-differences analysis. We find that the large metropolitan areas gained from the high-speed rail by experiencing increases in land prices, whereas small metropolitan areas located between them lost by experiencing decreased land prices. However, such positive effects are shown to be limited to areas close to Shinkansen stations.

Elite sd1 alleles in japonica rice and their breeding applications in northeast China

The Green Revolution gene sd1 has been used extensively in modern rice breeding, especially in indica cultivars. However, elite sd1 alleles and related germplasm resources used for japonica rice breeding have not been identified, and extensive efforts are needed for japonica rice breeding to obtain new dwarfing sources. Data from MBKbase-Rice revealed seven sd1 haplotypes in indica and four in japonica rice. Two new sd1 alleles were identified in indica rice. In 295 japonica accessions from northeast Asia, except for the weak functional allele SD1-EQ, sd1-r was the major allele, reducing plant height in comparison with SD1-EQ. Japonica germplasm resources carrying reported sd1 alleles were identified by genotype searching and further verified by literature search, genealogical analysis, and dCaps markers. Pedigrees and geographic distribution showed that sd1-r is an excellent allele widely used in northern China and Tohoku in Japan, and sd1-j is commonly used in east China and Kyushu in Japan. Dongnong- and Xiushui-series cultivars carrying sd1-r and sd1-j, respectively, are essential branches of the backbone parents of Chinese japonica rice, Akihikari and Ce21, with the largest number of descendants and derived generations. In semi-dwarf japonica rice breeding, sd1-d was introgressed into Daohuaxiang 2 (DHX2). Dwarf and semi-dwarf lines carrying sd1-d were selected and designated as 1279 and 1280, respectively, after withstanding typhoon-induced strong winds and heavy rains in 2020, and are anticipated to become useful intermediate materials for future genetic research and breeding. This work will facilitate the introduction, parental selection, and marker-assisted breeding, and provide a material basis for the next step in identifying favorable genes that selected together with the sd1 alleles in japonica backbone parents.

Mitigation of the Typhoon Risk on the Forage Crop Production in the Southern Kyushu Japan by Introducing Multiple Cropping System

Mitigation of the Typhoon Risk on the Forage Crop Production in the Southern Kyushu Japan by Introducing Multiple Cropping System

Les caractéristiques des dolmens en Corée et les résultats des recherches récentes

The dolmens are one of the most distinct prehistoric remains in Korea. In total, 51,000 dolmens are distributed in the Korean Peninsula. They have various forms, and they tend to be more densely clustered than those in northeastern China or Kyushu in Japan. Recent excavations and researches bring new results, which are quite different from those previously known. The dolmen with burial precinct were built with multiple burial chambers by piling or laying stones in a given area, and its’ highly likely that the buried people would be relatives. The dolmens in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula have a unique structure: one burial chamber was divided into three to four compartments. This structure is believed to have nothing to do with the types of dolmens. Each compartment could be interpreted as an independent burial because its floor structure was different and human bones came out of each compartment. The traces of cremation have been also confirmed with newly excavated dolmens. In some cases, the cremation was done outside the burial chamber, but sometimes, the cremation was done directly inside the tomb, after having constructed the burial chamber. In this case, burnt earth, charcoal, and burned stones were found in the burial chamber. In general, the Korean dolmens had very poor in grave goods, regardless of region. But recently some luth-type bronze daggers and luth-type bronze spearhead has been excavated from dolmen sites in southern Korea. As same types of bronze artifacts have been found in dolmens in northeastern China, it would suggest the cultural resemblance between two regions. Besides these dolmens, some dolmens were trimmed into tortoise shape, and it drew always a special attention. The process of dolmen transport was restored in experimental ways. The recent excavations and research results of dolmens in Korea would be an important source to better understanding of the dolmen culture in Northeast Asia.

Impacts of High-Speed Rail Construction on Urban Agglomerations: Evidence from Kyushu in Japan

High-speed rail integrates regions and cities, and thus can possibly have significant impacts on the distribution of economic activities. Using the opening and extensions of a high-speed rail, Shinkansen, in Kyushu, Japan, we examine its effects on the distribution of economic activities across urban agglomerations. We focus on changes in land prices and estimate hedonic price equations to conduct a difference-in-differences analysis. We find that the large metropolitan areas gained from the high-speed rail by experiencing increases in land prices, whereas small metropolitan areas located between them lost by experiencing decreased land prices.

Contribution of Historical Global Warming to Local‐Scale Heavy Precipitation in Western Japan Estimated by Large Ensemble High‐Resolution Simulations

AbstractLarge ensemble pairs of high‐resolution global and regional climate simulations, which are composed of 100 members of 60 years each, make it possible to attribute changes in local‐scale heavy precipitation to historical global warming. Mountain ranges separate local climates and can modulate the impact of global warming on heavy precipitation. In the summer, Japan's Kyushu region, with mountain ranges approximately 200‐km long from south to north, receives large amounts of precipitation. Over western Kyushu, the monthly maximum daily precipitation (maxPrdaily) in July increases due to historical global warming, while the maxPrdaily is unchanged over eastern Kyushu. Moisture advection and convergence due to stationary weather fronts are primary factors causing heavy precipitation in western Kyushu and moistening due to warming increases the maxPrdaily. On the other hand, typhoons heading to Kyushu are related to heavy precipitation over eastern Kyushu. The changes in typhoons heading to Kyushu result in unchanged maxPrdaily in eastern Kyushu. Our results suggest that local‐scale mountain ranges can change synoptic‐scale disturbances causing heavy precipitation and modulate the impact of historical global warming on heavy precipitation across mountain ranges.

The Spread of Songguk-ri Culture and Cultural Change in Kyushu of Japan

The Spread of Songguk-ri Culture and Cultural Change in Kyushu of Japan

Sound pleasantness of electrically adjustable exterior mirrors in vehicles

Consumers increasingly demand high quality products, forcing manufacturers to a greater effort when designing. During the last years, the noise has become a key factor in valuing a product, so the use of psychoacoustic techniques has been extended considerably.The automotive sector has always taken into consideration the noise when designing vehicles. A large number of tools and analysis methods have been developed in order to determine the sound quality of their products. Although the first efforts focussed on establishing the sound quality of the propulsion system, they rapidly spread to other parts of the vehicle like doors, powered windows, etc.The present work focuses on studying the behaviour of electrically adjustable exterior mirrors in vehicles. In order to analyse the noise produced by this kind of devices, four different samples were measured in a semi-anechoic chamber. To establish the pleasantness descriptor of the samples, sixty-two subjects were exposed to an auditory test using two different methods: paired comparison and ranking procedure. The experiments were carried out in three different laboratories: University of Kyushu in Japan (JP), University of Coimbra in Portugal (PT) and University of Alicante in Spain (SP); leading to a cross-cultural study. The results showed a great similarity between the preferences obtained by the two methods.

Effects of infection by Turnip mosaic virus on the population growth of generalist and specialist aphid vectors on turnip plants.

Recent studies have revealed that relationships between plant pathogens and their vectors differ depending on species, strains and associated host plants. Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) is one of the most important plant viruses worldwide and is transmitted by at least 89 aphid species in a non-persistent manner. TuMV is fundamentally divided into six phylogenetic groups; among which Asian-BR, basal-BR and world-B groups are known to occur in Japan. In Kyushu Japan, basal-BR has invaded approximately 2000 and immediately replaced the predominant world-B virus group. To clarify the relationships between TuMV and vector aphids, we examined the effects of the TuMV phylogenetic group on the population growth of aphid vectors in turnip plants. The population growth of a generalist aphid, Myzus persicae, was not significantly different between non-infected and TuMV-infected treatments. The population growth of a specialist aphid, Lipaphis erysimi, was higher in TuMV-infected plants than non-infected ones. Similar results were obtained in experiments using world-B and basal-BR groups of TuMV. Therefore, we conclude that L. erysimi is more mutualistic with TuMV than M. persicae, and differences in TuMV phylogenetic groups do not affect the growth of aphid vectors on turnip plants.

Early Acceptance of Western Music in Indonesia and Japan

Indonesia and Japan shared a rather similar historical background in their contact with Western music. Sixteenth-century Indonesia and Japan, upon which this investigation would be based, marked the beginning of the early Western music acceptance, mainly through the Portuguese merchants and missionary activities in both countries. It was especially the spice trade on the Straits of Mallaca that brought the Portuguese ships to land and noticed about what they called the 'spice island' (formerly Mollucas, now Maluku) of Indonesia in 1511. It was also in Mallaca that the Jesuits met the Japanese named Yajiro, who told about his country, became the first Japanese Christian and brought the Jesuits to Japan in 1549. Amongst so many kinds of the Christianity impacts, the introduction of Western music would become the main concerns in this paper. Sixteenth-century Gregorian songs can still be found in Maluku and Flores of Indonesia and in Kyushu of Japan, even though, for the time being, its texts have become very corrupted. Current musical life situation in Japan is said to be comparable with that of Western countries, as there are fine orchestras almost in every large city in Japan. In Indonesia, on the contrary, there is no single professional orchestra yet even in Jakarta today. Keywords: Acceptance of Western music; Current musical life; Indonesia and Japan.

Three-dimensional Seismic Velocity Structure beneath Unzen Volcano, Kyushu, Japan Inferred by Tomography from Experimental Explosion Data

Seismic travel time inversion is widely used to estimate the velocity structure within a target area. For a given velocity structure a suitable ray tracer is needed to calculate the ray path and travel time between points. The velocity structure of volcanic areas varies considerably. Any seismic ray tracer used in volcanic areas should therefore be robust to velocity variation. A seismic ray tracer developed by the author to be effective with strongly varying velocity fields is used to calculate the travel time in an inversion scheme, and is shown to work well in volcanic regions (Nishi, 2001). The present paper gives the results of this travel time inversion method applied to data obtained from experimental explosions in Unzen volcano, Kyushu Japan. Seismic velocity in the center of the volcanic edifice is in general higher than peripheral area, as was already known from an analysis of the travel time by the refraction method (Explosion Seismic Research Group of Unzen Volcano and Shimizu, 1997). In detail, however seismic velocity structure in this region is laterally heterogeneous. Among the high velocity zone, some low velocity zones and also still higher velocity zone are found. Low velocity zone beneath the Fugendake peak (near to the lava dome generated in the 1991-1995 activity) is seemed to be related to the pressure source beneath the Fugendake peak estimated from leveling survey.

Singing Sustenance: An Ethnographic Account of Village Songs and Community Development in Postwar Rural Japan

<p>This paper offers an ethnographic account of seven village songs associated with community development in postwar rural Japan. These songs belong to Oyama Town in the southern island of Kyushu in Japan, and were created by the local community members mostly between 1961 and 1965. In Japan the village songs in prewar period were rooted in daily village life, and sang the glory of nostalgia in the form of work songs, party songs, calendrical or communal festival songs. In the postwar period, however, village songs embraced modernity as their focal theme. These seven village songs, created during high growth days, are songs with a difference as they portray efforts to bring about community development, under the New Plum and Chestnut (NPC) movement, with plum and chestnut as main crops, against the backdrop of a strongly centralized policy oriented rural Japan. The research found that the village songs had encouraged and motivated a rural community like the Oyama Town to create a “sense of community” through shared values and common goal. By exploring these songs, the research also identified that the local government such as the town office, which acted as a legitimate vehicle either by nurturing the potential local human resources or by entrusting the responsibility of community development with the local employees, had played an important role in devising and materializing the common goal—the development of Oyama.</p>

Microbial community profiling of the Chinoike Jigoku (“Blood Pond Hell”) hot spring in Beppu, Japan: isolation and characterization of Fe(III)-reducing Sulfolobus sp. strain GA1

Chinoike Jigoku (“Blood Pond Hell”) is located in the hot spring town of Beppu on the southern island of Kyushu in Japan, and is the site of a red-colored acidic geothermal pond. This study aimed to investigate the microbial population composition in this extremely acidic environment and to isolate/characterize acidophilic microorganism with metal-reducing ability. Initially, PCR (using bacteria- and archaea-specific primers) of environmental DNA samples detected the presence of bacteria, but not archaea. This was followed by random sequencing analysis, confirming the presence of wide bacterial diversity at the site (123 clones derived from 18 bacterial and 1 archaeal genera), including those closely related to known autotrophic and heterotrophic acidophiles (Acidithiobacillus sp., Sulfobacillus sp., Alicyclobacillus sp.). Nevertheless, successive culture enrichment with Fe(III) under micro-aerobic conditions led to isolation of an unknown archaeal organism, Sulfolobus sp. GA1 (with 99.7% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with Sulfolobus shibatae). Unlike many other known Sulfolobus spp., strain GA1 was shown to lack sulfur oxidation ability. Strain GA1 possessed only minor Fe(II) oxidation ability, but readily reduced Fe(III) during heterotrophic growth under micro-aerobic conditions. Strain GA1 was capable of reducing highly toxic Cr(VI) to less toxic/soluble Cr(III), demonstrating its potential utility in bioremediation of toxic metal species.