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The natural vegetation of Japan can be classed into 3 or 4 forest vegetation zones: Camellietea japonicae (evergreen broad-leaved forests) region, Fagetea crenatae (deciduous broad-leaved forests) region, Vaccinio Piceetea japonicae (subalpine and subboreal conifer forests) region, and Alpine meadows and the Pinus pumila dwarf forest community region (arctic alpine zone). Shutoken and the southern part of Japan were originally covered by evergreen broad-leaved forests: Ardisio-Castanopsietum sieboldii, Quercetum myrsinaefoliae etc. But today the Camellietea japonicae (evergreen broad-leaved forests) region is widely covered with secondary deciduous Quercus serrata forests of the Quercetum acutissimo-serratae, Daphno pseudo-mezereum-Quercetum serratae etc. (the Quercetalia serrato-grosseserratae). The deciduous Quercus-forests of the Camellietea japonicae region have been created and maintained by human activities like logging of forests in 15 to 25 year cutting cycles over the past many years. The distribution of the natural vegetation of the deciduous Quercus serrata forests are extremely restricted to the inland special habitat between 500 to 700 m elevation. In the Camellietea japonicae region many varying intensities of human impact have produced substitutional deciduous broad-leaved forests: the Quercus serrata forests of the Quercetum acutissimo-serratae and the Daphno pseudo-mezereum-Quercetum serratae. In consequence, the distribution of the actual vegetation of the Quercus serrata forests has extended from 0 m to 1200 m elevation.

Catalysts of the composition La1-xSrxFeO3-d, 0?x ?1, have been tested for the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane in the temperature range 300–800°C. The catalyst is active above 400°C, giving a maximum yield of 37% ethylene at 650°C. Above 650°C, synthesis gas was formed together with methane, suggesting that the reforming reaction and thermal cracking of ethane took place. The catalytic data are compared to conductivity measurements on the same material, and a good correlation between the activity and p-type conductivity has been found. In the phase diagram for the system LaFeO3-SrFeO3-d, a phase separation to two types of (La, Sr)FeO3-d perovskites was observed in the La/Sr binary composition in the temperature range below 800°C. The phase separation can elucidate the dependency of the catalytic activity on its p-type conductivity.

Oxidative methane coupling and the related chemical reactions have been studied in an electrochemical membrane cell of the type: CH4, (O2), SrFeO3-d, Au¦8%Y2O3:ZrO2¦Ag, air. The results are compared to a fixed bed study of SrFeO3-d. The C2+ selectivity and the alkene/alkane ratio may be higher in the cell reactor than in the fixed bed reactor, but the C2+ yield never exceeded fixed bed data. The maximum C2+ yield observed in the cell reactor was 3.1%. The electric fields in the cell when electrodes were connected influenced the selectivity to CO2 in a manner which may be related to the NEMCA effect.

Zeolite ZSM-5 was easily synthesized by using sodium n-dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) in place of organic ammonium and/or phosphonium ions. A well-crystallized ZSM-5 was obtained by the mild hydrothermal treatment of a reaction mixture composed of SDBS and alumina-silica gel at about 180 °C and PH2O≈10 kg/cm2for 4 h.

It has been found that the Mannich bases, of which methylene is linked to amine nitrogen and alkyl- or phenylmercapto-sulfur affect smoothly, in the presence of acid catalyst, alkyl- or phenylthiomethylation of a number of aromatic compounds, i.e. 2-naphthol, aniline, indole and their derivatives.

It has been found that the carbon–carbon double bonds conjugated with nitro, cyano, or sulfonyl group were selectively reduced by heating with the azeotrope, composed of formic acid and triethylamine, in N,N-dimethylformamide.

It has been found that highly electron-deficient carbon-carbon double bond conjugated, in the main, with two cyano groups undergoes 1,1-dichlorocyclopropane formation by reacting with trichloroacetic acid. This reaction is presumed not to involve dichlorocarbene, but trichloromethylated intermediate.

Dealumination of a framework of H-ZSM-5 zeolites with water was investigated by 27Al MASNMR. It was found that the rate of dealumination is apparently second-order dependent on the concentration of framework aluminium.

Effect of alkali metal cations on dealumination of a framework of ZSM-5 zeolite with water was investigated by using 27Al MASNMR and FT-IR. It was found that under the steaming conditions of 600 °C for 13.5 h, dealumination of the zeolite is quantitatively controlled by alkali metal cations introduced by an ion-exchange method, leaving framework aluminium in the concentrations nearly equal to those of the metal cations.

High resolution 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance spectra have been measured using magic angle sample spinning technique for several gallosilicates and aluminosilicates with zeolitic structures. The number of gallium atoms coordinating to the SiO4tetrahedron was determined by the technique in the same manner as established for aluminium in aluminosilicates. The resonance lines were observed to shift to lower field by the substitution of silicon atoms with gallium as well as aluminium. The magnitudes of lower-field shifts were larger for the substitution by gallium than aluminium. The chemical shift ranges of 29Si nuclei are discussed for gallosilicates with the values for aluminosilicates compared.

The fecal microflora of nine rural healthy Japanese and eight urban healthy Canadians was examined. The two populations ate typical Japanese and western diets, respectively. The numbers of eubacteria (P<0.01), bifidobacteria (P<0.05), bacilli (P<0.01), lactobacilli and veillonellae and the frequency of occurrence of bifidobacteria were higher in the Japanese than in the Canadians. Higher numbers of bacteroides and lecithinase‐negative Clostridia were found in the Canadians. Twenty‐three genera and over 75 species or biovars were isolated from the feces of Japanese and 18 genera and over 66 species or biovars from the Canadians. The numbers of Bacteroides vulgatus(P<0.05), Clostridium coccides(P<0.001), and C. tertium(P<0.05) and the incidence of B. uniformis(P<0.01), C. innocuum(P<0.05), and Bacillusspp. (P<0.01) were significantly lower in the Japanese than in the Canadians. In contrast, the numbers of Eubacterium aerofaciens(P<0.001), and the incidence of Bifidobacterium adolescentisbiovar b (P<0.01) and Bacillus subtilis(P<0.01) were significantly higher in the Japanese than in the Canadians. These findings suggest that significant reductions in anaerobic grampositive bacilli and increased numbers of bacteroides and Clostridia in the feces were induced by the intake of a western diet.