Evapotranspiration Characteristics of a Lowland Dry Evergreen Forest in Central Cambodia Examined Using a Multilayer Model

Development pressure has led to serious deforestation on the Indochina Peninsula. Particularly rapid defor-estation has occurred in easily accessible lowland areas, and it is thus important to accumulate knowledge about these forests immediately. We measured evapotranspiration rates for a lowland dry evergreen forest in Kampong Thom Province, central Cambodia, using the energy balance Bowen ratio (EBBR) method based on meteorological data collected from a 60-m-high observation tower. Daily evapotranspiration was higher during the dry season than during the rainy season of the Asian monsoon climate. The seasonal variation in evapotranspiration generally corresponded to the seasonal difference in the vapor pressure deficit. A multi-layer model was used to simulate the seasonal variation in evapotranspiration. The multilayer model also reproduced the larger evapotranspiration rate in the dry season than in the rainy season. However, observed values substantially exceeded model-calculated results during certain periods at the beginning of the dry season and in the late dry season. Moreover, during the rainy season, the model tended to overestimate evapotranspiration. The differences between these observed and simulated values may have been caused by seasonal characteristics of photosynthesis and transpiration in the lowland dry evergreen forest that were not considered in the model simulation.

Off-Pump Multilayered Sutureless Repair for a Left Ventricular Blowout Rupture after Aortic Dissection Repair

A left ventricular (LV) free wall rupture is a highly lethal condition. A 75-year-old female who experienced chest pain was diagnosed as having an acute aortic dissection Stanford type A and underwent emergent surgery. Under cardiopulmonary bypass with LV venting through the right superior pulmonary vein, a proximal aortic stamp was formed. The patient was cooled, selective antegrade brain perfusion was performed, and a hemiarch repair was performed. After the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit, her blood pressure suddenly fell to 50 mmHg. She had a blowout rupture in the left ventricular anterolateral free wall. Since the bleeding hall was not large and the damage to the surrounding left ventricular tissue was not very wide, an off-pump multilayered sutureless repair was performed by using three layers of collagen fleece squares with fibrinogen-based impregnation (TachoComb;CSL Behring, Tokyo, Japan) and three layers of gelatin-resorcin-formalin glue reinforced by an equine pericardial patch (Xenomedica;Edwards Lifesciences, LLC, Irvine, CA). The blow-out rupture seemed to be caused by perioperative myocardial infarction generated by the compression of the left ventricular vent to the LV lateral wall. The patient was free from re-rupture or aneurysm enlargement. The thickness of the hemostatic material seemed to help control the bulging of the aneurysm and to prevent further LV aneurysm enlargement and re-rupture.

Morbidity of Open Saphenous Vein Harvesting after Preoperative Ultrasonic Mapping

Preoperative echography of a saphenous vein graft (SVG) was studied. In 58 cases of consecutive coronary artery bypass grafting, 31 patients underwent SVG echography. Preoperative assessment revealed vein caliber, branching, or varicose saphenous veins. The location of the saphenous vein was marked. Saphenous veins were harvested by the open harvest technique, and the caliber of the veins and the availability of the anastomosis device were recorded. Postoperative morbidity was recorded. Preoperative findings revealed that four (6.5%) of 62 femoral saphenous veins were estimated as “not graftable” because of being a varicose vein or having a small caliber. Seven of 32 lower saphenous veins were estimated as “not graftable”. The mean discrepancy of the caliber was 0.6 mm undersized with preoperative estimation. During harvesting, one of 31 patients had a wrong marking. We were able to use all harvested veins. The morbidity of saphenous harvesting was observed in two (6.5%) of 31 patients. One patient whose marking was wrong had minor skin necrosis. Another patient experienced a hematoma because of the excess effect of warfarin. Preoperative ultrasonic mapping of the saphenous vein reduced useless harvesting, provided information concerning anastomosis device availability, and seemed to reduce morbidity because dissection can be minimal.

Fibrin Sealant Patch to Treat Dialysis-Associated Hemorrhagic Pericarditis

A 73-year-old male patient with a 3-year history of hemodialysis was admitted for the treatment of pericardial effusion. Echocardiography suggested a diagnosis of effusive pericarditis. Pericardiocentesis was performed several times. Six weeks after the admission, the patient developed cardiac tamponade. Surgical pericardiotomy showed the epicardium had a diffuse shaggy and hemorrhagic surface. To control diffuse oozing, fibrin sealant patches (Tachosil;CSL Behring, Tokyo, Japan) were attached to the epicardium. Oozing was then controlled.

Classification of archaic rice grains excavated at the Mojiaoshan site within the Liangzhu site complex reveals an Indica and Japonica chloroplast complex

To understand rice types that were utilized during postdomestication and in the modern age and the potential of genetic research in aged rice materials,archaeogenetic analysis was conducted for two populations of archaic rice grains from the Mojiaoshan site during the Liangzhu Period in China(2940 to 2840 BC).Sequencing after the PCR amplification of three regions of the chloroplast genome and one region of the nuclear genome showed recovery rates that were comparable to those in previous studies except for one chloroplast genome region,suggesting that the materials used in this work were appropriate for recovering genetic information related to domestication traits by using advanced technology.Classification after sequencing in these regions proved the existence of Japonica and Indica chloroplasts in archaic grains from the west trench,which were subsequently classified into eight plastid groups(type I–VIII),and indicated that these rice grains derived from different maternal lineages were stored together in storage houses at the Mojiaohsan site.Among these plastid groups,type V exhibited the same sequences as two modern Indica accessions that are utilized in basic studies and rice breeding.It was inferred that part of the chloroplast genome of archaic rice has been preserved in modern genetic resources in these two modern Indica accessions,and the results indicated that rice related to their maternal ancestor was present at the Mojiaoshan site during the Liangzhu Period in China.The usefulness of archaeogenetic analysis can be demonstrated by our research data as well as previous studies,providing encouragement for the possibility that archaeogenetic analysis can be applied to older rice materials that were utilized in the rice-domesticated period.