Water saving rice cultivation using sheet-pipe subsurface irrigation.

Water saving in rice cultivation has assumed paramount importance, especially in the context of climate change. The introduction of sheet-pipe technology in Indonesia heralded as an innovative subsurface irrigation and drainage system, is poised to revolutionize how to manage this vital resource. Our study was designed with two primary objectives: first, to investigate how rice plants respond when water levels are deliberately reduced using the sheet-pipe technology; and second, to comprehensively analyze water productivity and water use efficiency in comparison to conventional flooded rice cultivation systems. We conducted two distinct experiments: one employing sheet-pipe subsurface irrigation (SSI) and the other utilizing conventional flooded irrigation (CFI). In the SSI setup, the water level was maintained at a depth of 5-10 cm below the soil surface 20 days after transplanting to harvesting. With this setting, the soil moisture was maintained at around 85-95 degrees of saturation. On the other hand, the CFI approach involved water flowing directly over the soil surface, with the water level consistently maintained at a mere 2-3 cm above it. Interestingly, while the SSI method did lead to a reduction in yield, it has significant benefits. Our results showed that a reduction in yield was observed for the SSI 15.5-18.6 % lower compared to the conventional method (CFI). However, the SSI is environmentally benefit compared to the conventional method by reducing 37.5-50.5 % in water irrigation, increasing water use efficiency (WUE) up to 70.8 %, and improving 3.2-10.4 % in water productivity. Our findings reveal that optimizing water conservation may have a disadvantageous effect on rice yield, indicating the importance of optimal water level. Future research to find the optimal water level that balances yield production and environment is required, especially to adapt to dry and warming climate change in the future.

Mobile-based traceability system for sustainable food supply networks.

Traceability is key to ensure food quality and safety from farm to fork, yet high implementation costs and the complexity of the food supply chain pose challenges to its operation. Here we propose a mobile-based bidirectional tracing system for food products that integrates graph data and peer-to-peer architecture. Our system allows data synchronization to happen seamlessly between all connected nodes, as data are gathered through market transactions and all related product information is concatenated by scanning 2D product barcodes. The system's decentralized and flexible structure favours stakeholder involvement and is applicable to various and dynamic food networks. By promoting resource efficiency and transparency of origin, production and distribution, the system ensures mesh surveillance and sheds light on complex food networks, ultimately contributing to the advancement of food research.

[Study of Child-resistant Packaging Technologies to Prevent Children from Accidental Ingestion of Drugs in Japan].

When handling high risk medications, such as anticancer agents, at home, it is necessary to take measures to prevent children from accidentally ingesting these drugs. In this study, we investigated pediatric characteristics such as literacy ability and finger function in Japanese subjects and examined the usefulness of child-resistant (CR) packaging technologies used in the U.S. when given to children in Japan. The survey covered 104 Japanese children aged 37-84 months. The results of the survey revealed that of the five types of CR packaging technologies, that which leveraged the differences in hand size and muscle mass between children and adults was effective against children aged 3-6 years. However, the CR packaging styles that rely on literacy, the ability to use tools, and the ability to perform complex operations are only applicable to children of a certain age. This suggests that the differences in the language, culture, and preschool education between Japan and the U.S. have a significant influence on pediatric characteristics. Based on the results of this study, it is possible to adopt CR packaging for Japanese children, which is expected to decrease the number of cases of accidental drug ingestion by children in Japan.

Usefulness of Oral Care-related Information Provision at Drugstores to Prevent Pneumonia.

Although the removal of bacteria in the oral cavity is regarded as an important preventive measure against pneumonia, the majority of elderly individuals are rarely provided with oral care-related information. This study examined the usefulness of oral care-related information provision for the elderly by pharmacists working at drugstores. A questionnaire survey was conducted, involving 387 pharmacists working at drugstores and 51 elderly individuals who visited such stores. Oral care-related information had been actively provided by 14.5% of the pharmacists, and 62.5% of all oral care products were being sold as care products. When focusing on the elderly, 70.6% showed interest in oral care, but the proportion of those who had performed self-care to promote such health was limited to 5.9%. After being provided with oral care-information, 97.6% answered "I wish to regularly perform oral self-care", and 86.3% regarded oral care-related information provision by pharmacists as "very useful". The results of this study demonstrate the usefulness of information provision by pharmacists at drugstores to promote oral self-care among the elderly.

Estimating Soil Moisture Distributions across Small Farm Fields with ALOS/PALSAR.

The ALOS (advanced land observing satellite) has an active microwave sensor, PALSAR (phased array L-band synthetic aperture radar), which has a fine resolution of 6.5 m. Because of the fine resolution, PALSAR provides the possibility of estimating soil moisture distributions in small farmlands. Making such small-scale estimates has not been available with traditional satellite remote sensing techniques. In this study, the relationship between microwave backscattering coefficient (σ) measured with PALSAR and ground-based soil moisture was determined to investigate the performance of PALSAR for estimating soil moisture distribution in a small-scale farmland. On the ground at a cabbage field in Japan in 2008, the soil moisture distribution of multiple soil layers was measured using time domain reflectometry when the ALOS flew over the field. Soil moisture in the 0-20 cm soil layer showed the largest correlation coefficient with σ (r = 0.403). The σ values also showed a strong correlation with the ground surface coverage ratio by cabbage plants. Our results suggested that PALSAR could estimate soil moisture distribution of the 0-20 cm soil layer across a bare field and a crop coverage ratio when crops were planted.

Low-Cost Soil Moisture Profile Probe Using Thin-Film Capacitors and a Capacitive Touch Sensor.

Soil moisture is an important property for agriculture, but currently commercialized soil moisture sensors are too expensive for many farmers. The objective of this study is to develop a low-cost soil moisture sensor using capacitors on a film substrate and a capacitive touch integrated circuit. The performance of the sensor was evaluated in two field experiments: a grape field and a mizuna greenhouse field. The developed sensor captured dynamic changes in soil moisture at 10, 20, and 30 cm depth, with a period of 10-14 days required after sensor installation for the contact between capacitors and soil to settle down. The measured soil moisture showed the influence of individual sensor differences, and the influence masked minor differences of less than 0.05 m³·m(-3) in the soil moisture at different locations. However, the developed sensor could detect large differences of more than 0.05 m³·m(-3), as well as the different magnitude of changes, in soil moisture. The price of the developed sensor was reduced to 300 U.S. dollars and can be reduced even more by further improvements suggested in this study and by mass production. Therefore, the developed sensor will be made more affordable to farmers as it requires low financial investment, and it can be utilized for decision-making in irrigation.

Pixel color clustering of multi-temporally acquired digital photographs of a rice canopy by luminosity-normalization and pseudo-red-green-blue color imaging.

Red-green-blue (RGB) channels of RGB digital photographs were loaded with luminosity-adjusted R, G, and completely white grayscale images, respectively (RGwhtB method), or R, G, and R + G (RGB yellow) grayscale images, respectively (RGrgbyB method), to adjust the brightness of the entire area of multi-temporally acquired color digital photographs of a rice canopy. From the RGwhtB or RGrgbyB pseudocolor image, cyan, magenta, CMYK yellow, black, L*, a*, and b* grayscale images were prepared. Using these grayscale images and R, G, and RGB yellow grayscale images, the luminosity-adjusted pixels of the canopy photographs were statistically clustered. With the RGrgbyB and the RGwhtB methods, seven and five major color clusters were given, respectively. The RGrgbyB method showed clear differences among three rice growth stages, and the vegetative stage was further divided into two substages. The RGwhtB method could not clearly discriminate between the second vegetative and midseason stages. The relative advantages of the RGrgbyB method were attributed to the R, G, B, magenta, yellow, L*, and a* grayscale images that contained richer information to show the colorimetrical differences among objects than those of the RGwhtB method. The comparison of rice canopy colors at different time points was enabled by the pseudocolor imaging method.