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For direct and efficient ethanol production from cellulosic materials, we constructed a novel cellulosedegrading yeast strain by genetically codisplaying two cellulolytic enzymes on the cell surface of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. By using a cell surface engineering system based on ␣-agglutinin, endoglucanase II (EGII) from the filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei QM9414 was displayed on the cell surface as a fusion protein containing an RGSHis6 (Arg-Gly-Ser-His 6 ) peptide tag in the N-terminal region. EGII activity was detected in the cell pellet fraction but not in the culture supernatant. Localization of the RGSHis6-EGII-␣-agglutinin fusion protein on the cell surface was confirmed by immunofluorescence microscopy. The yeast strain displaying EGII showed significantly elevated hydrolytic activity toward barley ␤-glucan, a linear polysaccharide composed of an average of 1,200 glucose residues. In a further step, EGII and ␤-glucosidase 1 from Aspergillus aculeatus No.

This letter reports on the formation of a layered film structure and the highly improved photovoltaic output of the lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) employed. The photovoltaic current of the PLZT film per unit width was more than 102 times larger than that of bulk PLZT, while the photovoltaic voltage per unit thickness in the layered film structure was almost the same as that in bulk ceramics. These differences are due to the characteristics of the film structure and configuration of the electrode. A simple model is used for the phenomenological explanation of the improved photovoltaic effect of the PLZT film.

Daily transpiration before and after thinning was measured on six individual trees in a 31-year-old Chamaecyparis obtusa Endl. stand by the heat pulse method. After thinning, daily transpiration of a tree at a given level of solar radiation increased, and the difference between before and after thinning increased with solar radiation. The increase after thinning was related to a high rate of crown transpiration caused by greater canopy exposure and, subsequently, to the increase in foliage biomass per tree. Stand transpiration was calculated on the basis of two parameters, daily solar radiation and daily maximum vapor saturation deficit of the air. During the growing season (April to September), transpiration of a tree increased following thinning whereas transpiration of the stand decreased 21% after thinning. This decrease was associated with a 24% decrease in leaf mass of the stand following thinning.