Allergic conjunctivitis caused by sugi pollen is considered to be strictly a "spring disease". However, a recent report indicated that sugi pollen is scattered not only in spring but in all seasons, especially in the autumn. We retrospectively determined the number of patients with allergic conjunctivitis caused by sugi pollen during each month for 3 consecutive years, and also investigated the...

Welcome, dear readers, to the third issue of the current 22nd volume of our journal. As I write, the heat and humidity of summer are slowly giving way the cooler nights which presage the first welcome days of autumn. The Japanese semi (cicadas) are singing away during their short but frenetic 72 hours of life above the ground, but the droning “meeee-meeee” semi of high summer is giving way to t...

Planting healthy seedlings with optimal growth potential is essential for proper and survival in forest regeneration. Assessing the seedling quality prior to planting therefore important. In this Icelandic study, effects of root damage induced artificial freezing young Russian larch were examined using capacity method (RGC). Frost tolerance roots varied during winter, undamaged fluctuated, indi...

Frost formation on an evaporator causes significant problems by decreasing inlet air flow. It is important for a precise prediction to understand the dominant factor of the frost formation. In this paper, the frost layer on the cold plate is experimentally obtained with different velocities while maintaining a surface temperature at -20 degrees Celsius. The mass and height of the frost layer is...

Host plant phenology (as influenced by seasonality) and light-mediated changes in the phenotypic and phytochemical properties of leaves have been hypothesised to equivocally influence insect herbivore performance. Here, we examined the effects of seasonality, through host plant phenology (late growth-season = autumn vs flowering-season = winter) and light environment (shade vs full-sun habitat)...

Radiant spring frosts occurring during reproductive developmental stages can result in catastrophic yield loss for wheat producers. To better understand the spatial and temporal variability of frost, the occurrence and impact of frost events on rain-fed wheat production was estimated across the Australian wheatbelt for 1957-2013 using a 0.05 ° gridded weather data set. Simulated yield outcomes ...

Defoliation has frequently been proposed as a means of controlling Cirsium arvense (L.) Scop. (Californian thistle, Canada thistle, creeping thistle, perennial thistle), an economically damaging pastoral weed in temperate regions of the world, but its optimization has remained obscure. We developed a matrix model for the population dynamics of C. arvense in sheep-grazed pasture in New Zealand t...

Freezing stress is one of the most important limiting factors determining the ecological distribution and production of tree species. Assessment of frost risk is, therefore, critical for forestry, fruit production, and horticulture. Frost risk is substantial when hazard (i.e., exposure to damaging freezing temperatures) intersects with vulnerability (i.e., frost sensitivity). Based on a large n...

The variation in the frost structure on a number of microgrooved brass surfaces is examined through an experimental study. The microgrooved samples are 45 mm x 45 mm in dimension with a broad range of groove dimensions. Frost is grown on these microgrooved surfaces under natural convection for a range of plate temperature (-8 to -18 C) and relative humidity (30-70%) conditions. The frost struct...