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Peach (Prunus persica) shoots were artificially inoculated with stone fruit bacterial spot bacteria (Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni) to evaluate varietal differences in peach genetic resources for their susceptibility to this disease. Current shoots of cultivars/selections were wounded, a bacterial suspension was injected by a syringe attached to multiple needles, and lesion length was measured a few months later. Inoculation was carried out in May, June and July with two concentrations of bacterial suspension: 10 6 cfu·mL −1 or 10 8 cfu·mL −1 . Although the effect of inoculation time was not significant and the effect of inoculum concentration was significant, inoculation in June at a concentration of 10 8 cfu·mL −1 was the most suitable treatment. Among 69 cultivars/selections tested, there was no immune cultivar, however; there were varietal differences in susceptibility to bacterial spot. 'Nishiki' and 'Mochizuki', two cultivars for canning use, 'Chimarrita', a Brazilian cultivar, and 'Tsukikagami', a table peach cultivar, were relatively resistant and may be useful sources for breeding aimed at disease resistance.

Human intestinal absorption and drug metabolism vary to a large extent among individuals. For example, CYP3A4 activity has large individual variation that cannot be attributed to only genetic differences. Various flavonoids in vegetables, such as kaempferol and quercetin, possess inhibitory effects, and some vegetable and fruit juices have also been found to inhibit CYP3A4 activity. Therefore, differences in daily intake of flavonoid-containing vegetables may induce individual variation in intestinal bioavailability. To identify a vegetable that strongly inhibits CYP3A4, we investigated the effects of juices, prepared from individual vegetables, on CYP3A4 activity using recombinant CYP3A4 and LS180 cells in this study. Nine vegetable juices (cabbage, Japanese radish, onion, tomato, eggplant, carrot, Chinese cabbage, green pepper, and lettuce), were prepared and recombinant CYP3A4 and LS180 cells were used for evaluation of CYP3A4 activity. Metabolism to 6β-hydroxytestosterone by recombinant CYP3A4 was strongly inhibited by cabbage, onion, and green pepper juices, and cabbage and green pepper juices significantly inhibited CYP3A4 activity in a preincubation time-dependent manner. In addition, CYP3A4 activity in LS180 cells was significantly inhibited by cabbage and onion juices. In conclusion, this study showed that juices prepared from some individual vegetables could significantly inhibit CYP3A4 activity. Therefore, variation in the daily intake of vegetables such as cabbage and onion may be one of the factors responsible for individual differences in intestinal bioavailability.

We measured thermophysical properties of molten gallium oxide (Ga2O3) in a contamination-free and microgravity environment by using the electrostatic levitation furnace in the International Space Station. The density of molten Ga2O3 was obtained over a wide temperature range of 2001-2174 K including the undercooled state and found to be expressed as 5004.8 – 0.4478(T − Tm) (kg/m3), where Tm, the melting point, is 2066 K. Measurements of its viscosity and surface tension were also performed by using the oscillating drop method and these values were found to be 337.0 (10-3 N/m) and 13.6 (10-3 Pa∙s) at 2228 K, respectively