Mangrove Habitat Formation and Response to Holocene Sea-level Changes on Kosrae Island,Micronesia

Mangrove habitats on Kosrae are divided into three types, i.e., an estuary or delta type, a backmarsh or lagoon type and a coral reef or tidal-flat type. Most of the mangrove forests of Kosrae have been developed during the last 2000 years by accumulating mangrove peat with the gradual sea-level rise of 1 to 2 mm/yr except the landward part of the estuary or delta type. On the other hand, during the period of rapid sea-level rise of about 10 mm/yr between 4100 and 3700 yr B.P., the mangrove forests ceased peat accumulation and retreated landward. Until 3500 yr B.P., mangrove forests were distributed only in narrow bands in the inlets. Therefore, the critical rate of mangrove peat accretion with sea-level rise is estimated at more than 2 mm/yr and less than 10 mm/yr. If the anticipated sea-level rise exceeds this critical rate, all of the mangrove forests of Kosrae will retreat landward and reduce rapidly.     

Why invest in minor projects in sub-Saharan Africa? An exploration of the scale economy and diseconomy of irrigation projects

It is well-known that major irrigation projects have a strong scale economy, handicapping irrigation development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) because of the difficulty in formulating large-scale projects. Using project-level investment cost and performance data of major and minor irrigation projects, this paper examines the causes of the economy of scale phenomenon. We find that strong scale economy exists not only for major but also for minor projects, i.e., small- and micro-scale, projects. This is largely because of the existence of indivisible overhead costs such as high-opportunity-cost human resources for planning, designing and engineering management and supervision. We also find that large differences between major and minor projects in the absolute level of overhead as well as construction costs creates a strong scale diseconomy and results in better performance of minor projects. The advantage of minor projects holds even when their higher risk associated with the water source is taken into consideration. We argue that there is an urgent need to promote irrigation development in SSA through developing minor projects, and to reduce the heavy burden of overhead costs by developing the capacity of human resources at the national, local and farmer levels in the fields of irrigation engineering, irrigation agronomy, institutional development, and micro water management technologies.     

Ecology of Armillaria species on conifers in Japan

Distribution, host preference and pathogenicity of Japanese Armillaria species on conifers were investigated on the basis of field collections of 65 isolates. We identified seven Armillaria species from 19 conifer species including six major Japanese plantation conifers using mating tests and sequences of the translation elongation‐1 α gene. Armillaria mellea, Armillaria ostoyae, Armillaria cepistipes and Armillaria sinapina were frequently collected, whereas Armillaria nabsnona, Armillaria tabescens and a biological species Nagasawa’s E were rare. On the basis of host condition when the isolates were collected, A. mellea, A. ostoyae, A. cepistipes and A. tabescens are considered as moderate to aggressive pathogens of conifers in Japan.     

Quantitative determination of amines in wine by liquid chromatography

A liquid chromatographic (LC) procedure is described for the determination by dansylation of the following 16 kinds of biogenic amines found in wine: monomethylamine (MM), ethylamine (EM), iso- and n-propylamine (Pr), iso- and n-butylamine (Bu), iso- and n-amylamine (Am), pyrrolidine (PY), 2-phenethylamine (PH), tryptamine (TR), putrescine (PU), cadaverine (CA), histamine (HI), tyramine (TY), and spermidine (SP). The amines in white and red wine were applied to a column of Amberlite CG-50 type I resin (Na-form) after the column had been washed with water and eluted with 1N hydrochloric acid. This eluate was evaporated to dryness under reduced pressure and derivatized with dansyl chloride (DNS). LC separations were performed on Finepak SIL C18S and LiChrosorb RP-8 columns with an acetonitrile-water elution gradient. In the survey of commercial wines by this method, most of the samples were found to contain 12 amines, including iso-Am, CA, PU, TY, and others. The highest levels of these amines were 4.84 micrograms PU/mL in red wine, and 5.11 micrograms iso-Am/mL in white wine. The total levels of amines in red wine were comparatively higher than in white wine.     

Levels of active oxygen species are controlled by ascorbic acid and anthocyanin in Arabidopsis

Stabilization of the levels of active oxygen species (AOS) is important to the survival of organisms. To clarify the system controlling levels of AOS in plants, this study used an electron spin resonance (ESR) method to directly measure superoxide radical (O(2)(.-)) scavenging activities in the wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana (Col and Ler ecotypes), two anthocyanin mutants (tt3 and ttg1), and an ascorbic acid mutant (vtc1). Under ordinary growth conditions, Arabidopsis contained superoxide-scavenging activity (SOSA) of approximately 300-500 SOD units/g of fresh weight. The ESR pattern indicated that most (40-50%) of this activity was due to ascorbic acid. For the analysis of SOSA under conditions of oxidative stress, synthesis of AOS was induced by gamma-irradiation. The radical scavenging activity in irradiated plants increased approximately 10-fold following an associated increase in the accumulation of ascorbic acid and anthocyanin. The accumulation of ascorbic acid and anthocyanin was suppressed by treatment with an antioxidant before irradiation and was induced by treatment with a radical-generating reagent. The contributions of ascorbic acid and anthocyanin to the total superoxide radical scavenging activity differed among ecotypes. In the Ler ecotype, ascorbic acid accumulated at twice the level of that in the Col ecotype, and induction of anthocyanin was half that in Col. To confirm the activity of ascorbic acid and anthocyanin against AOS stress, the viability of the wild type and mutants (tt2, tt3,tt5, ttg1, and vtc1) was examined after gamma-irradiation. Only the plants in which ascorbic acid and anthocyanin were induced had the ability to grow and flower.     

Gas chromatographic determination with electron capture detection of residual ethylene oxide in intraocular lenses

A sensitive method is described to determine trace quantities of ethylene oxide (EO) in EO-sterilized intraocular lenses (IOLs). An IOL is dipped in ethanol containing 0.25 ppm propylene oxide (PO) in a 4 mL vial, 2 drops of freshly distilled hydrobromic acid is added through a septum, and the mixture is warmed at 50 degrees C for 24 h. It is then neutralized by vigorous shaking with sodium bicarbonate, dehydrated with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and filtered. The filtrate is injected into a gas chromatograph with electron-capture detection, and the peak height ratio of ethylene bromohydrin/propylene bromohydrin is measured. EO residue is calculated from the calibration curve obtained through a similar procedure with the standard EO/PO solutions. The limit of determination is 0.04 microgram/lens (ca 2.0 ppm). When EO residue levels were determined for IOLs sampled at 3 different aeration periods after sterilization, we found that 9 days of aeration was necessary to meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed limit for EO residue in IOLs.     

A basic study of chemotaxis of leptospiras

Chemotaxis of leptospiras was studied using a U-tube made of a commercially available straw-shaped polypropylene tube with an uneven flexible part. The U-tube was made by folding the polypropylene tube double and binding the vertical parts by a piece of tape, thus making the uneven flexible part the bottom. Semi-solid Korthof's medium was poured into the U-tube. Preliminary experiments showed that the medium containing 0.5% agar and measuring 2 cm in in length was appropriate. Leptospiras inoculated on the top of the medium of one side of the U-tube moved toward the top of the medium of the other side. The leptospiral move toward the uninoculated top was significantly faster when 6 micrograms of hemoglobin were added to the uninoculated top. Chemotaxis of leptospiras to hemoglobin was thus shown, which is the first evidence of chemotaxis of leptospiras.     

Aureusidin synthase: a polyphenol oxidase homolog responsible for flower coloration

Aurones are plant flavonoids that provide yellow color to the flowers of some popular ornamental plants, such as snapdragon and cosmos. In this study, we have identified an enzyme responsible for the synthesis of aurone from chalcones in the yellow snapdragon flower. The enzyme (aureusidin synthase) is a 39-kilodalton, copper-containing glycoprotein catalyzing the hydroxylation and/or oxidative cyclization of the precursor chalcones, 2',4',6',4-tetrahydroxychalcone and 2',4',6',3,4-pentahydroxychalcone. The complementary DNA encoding aureusidin synthase is expressed in the petals of aurone-containing varieties. DNA sequence analysis revealed that aureusidin synthase belongs to the plant polyphenol oxidase family, providing an unequivocal example of the function of the polyphenol oxidase homolog in plants, i.e., flower coloration.     

Properties of scallop mantle collagen: its content,tissue distribution and thermal behavior

ABSTRACT:   To obtain fundamental information for the effective use of scallop Patinopecten yessoensis mantle, which is one of the underutilized marine resources. Some properties of collagen contained in the mantle were examined by chemical and histochemical techniques. Collagen content in the mantle varied annually, ranging from 0.98 to 1.72% of wet tissue, 7.7 to 12.6% of dry tissue and 13.5 to 26.5% of total protein, being relatively in high level of collagen content of invertebrate muscles. Collagen fiber was densely distributed in the inner connective tissue matrix of the mantle pallial, in contrast to the inner fold part which was rich in muscle fibers. The collagen contained in the crude collagen fraction (residue after alkali extraction), prepared from the mantle, was revealed to have considerably low solubility on hot-water extraction, constantly less than 20% of the total collagen at the temperatures in the range of 20–90°C.