Summer temperature variations in southern Kamchatka as reconstructed from a 247-year tree-ring chronology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula ermanii</Emphasis>

We have developed a 247-year ring-width chronology of Betura ermanii Cham. growing in an open canopy forest close to the tree line at a coastal site in southern Kamchatka. Climatic response analyses revealed that the ring width was primarily controlled by July–August temperature. The regression models that we used for statistical reconstruction passed the stringent calibration–verification tests used in dendroclimatology, resulting in the first quality-controlled tree-ring reconstruction for southern Kamchatka. The reconstructed temperature shows a cool period from the 1830s to the 1880s, followed by gradual warming until ca. 1940, then a cooling trend extending to the 1970s, and finally a warming trend continuing to the present. Spatial correlation analyses with sea surface temperature in the North Pacific indicated that the seas surrounding the Kamchatka peninsula play a role in modulating temperature variations in the study area whereas the effects of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation are relatively weak.     

Specific hydroxy fatty acids in royal jelly activate TRPA1

This is the first report of TRPA1 activation by fatty acids. Activation of TRPA1 and TRPV1 induces thermogenesis and energy expenditure enhancement. In this study, we searched for novel agonists of TRPA1 and TRPV1 from a nonpungent food, royal jelly (RJ). We measured the activation of human TRPA1 and TRPV1 by RJ extracts and found that the hexane extract contains TRPA1 agonists. The main functional compounds in the hexane extract were trans-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (HDEA) and 10-hydroxydecanoic acid (HDAA). These are characteristic fatty acids of RJ. Their EC50 values were about 1,000 times larger than that of AITC, and their maximal responses were equal. They activated TRPA1 more strongly than TRPV1. Their EC50 values for TRPV1 were 2 times larger, and the maximal response was less than half of that for TRPA1. Next, we studied the potencies of other lipid components for both receptors. Most of them have higher affinity to TRPA1 than TRPV1. Among them, dicarboxylic acids showed equal efficacy for both receptors, but those are present in only small amounts in RJ. We concluded that the main function of RJ is TRPA1 activation by HDEA and HDAA, the major components of the RJ lipid fraction.     

Outbreak of poliomyelitis in Hispaniola associated with circulating type 1 vaccine-derived poliovirus

An outbreak of paralytic poliomyelitis occurred in the Dominican Republic (13 confirmed cases) and Haiti (8 confirmed cases, including 2 fatal cases) during 2000-2001. All but one of the patients were either unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated children, and cases occurred in communities with very low (7 to 40%) rates of coverage with oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). The outbreak was associated with the circulation of a derivative of the type 1 OPV strain, probably originating from a single OPV dose given in 1998-1999. The vaccine-derived poliovirus associated with the outbreak had biological properties indistinguishable from those of wild poliovirus.     

Association of a single nucleotide polymorphism in ribosomal protein L27a gene with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle

Marbling, defined by the amount and distribution of intramuscular fat, is an economically important trait of beef cattle in Japan. The c2‐11#2 expressed sequence tag (EST) has been previously shown to possess expression difference in musculus longissimus muscle between low‐marbled and high‐marbled steer groups, and to be located within genomic region of a quantitative trait locus for marbling. Thus, the ribosomal protein L27a (RPL27A) gene containing the c2‐11#2 EST sequence was considered as a positional candidate for the gene responsible for marbling. In the present study, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the promoter region of the RPL27A, referred to as g.3109537C>T, was detected between the 2 steer groups. The SNP was associated with the predicted breeding value for beef marbling standard number by the analyses using Japanese Black beef cattle population. The effect of genotypes of the SNP on the predicted breeding value for subcutaneous fat thickness was not statistically significant. These findings suggest that the RPL27A SNP may be useful for effective marker‐assisted selection to increase the levels of marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle.     

Growth response of cabbage plants to beryllium and strontium under water culture conditions

Cabbage plants (B. oleracea L. var. capitata L.) were grown for 37 days in culture solutions containing 4 levels (0, 0.5, 5, 25 ppm) of beryllium or strontium with a low or high supply (20 or 200 ppm) of calcium, and the effects of the cations supplied on the growth of the plants were studied.

The total dry weights of the plants decreased successively with increasing levels of Be and Sr in the culture solution, concurrfnt with an increase in the contents of each cation in the plants. The decrease in the yield (dry weight of inner leaves) was most pronounced in the Be treatment with the low Ca supply. The critical contents of Be and Sr which resulted in a 50% decrease in the yield due to the excess injury were estimated to be about 0.0006 and 0.4% on a dry basis in the outer leaves and 0.3 and 0.4% in the roots, respectively, regardless of the Ca supply.     

Relation between the Behaviour of Nitrogen and the Nicotine Synthesis in Tobacco Plant

Nicotine of tobacco plant is synthesized in the root and accumulated mainly in the leaves. At the repening stage when the nicotine accumalation is predominant, the amount of nitrogen absorbed from root seemed to be little. It is believed, therefore, that the nitrogen used on nicotine synthesis would originate from the nitrogen which has been absorbed already bely fore repening. This has been reported previously by the authors (1). However if nitrogen absorption is increased during the ripening stage, this causes more nicotine synthesis (1,2).     

Effect of phosphorus deficiency on the photosynthetic carbon dioxide fixation-products in tobacco plants

STEINBERG (1,2) demonstrated from a comparison of numerous data on quantity and relationship of protein to soluble nitrogen that symptom in mineral deficiency was caused by the disturbance of nitrogen or protein metabolism and that marked accumulation of free amino acids in deficient plants might result in the appearance of the deficient symptom. However, it is not known whether or not the disturbance or the accumulation would be affected by direct connection or primary physiological effect of mineral deficiency.     

Comparison of behavioral characteristics of hatchery-reared and wild red tilefish Branchiostegus japonicus released in Maizuru Bay by using acoustic biotelemetry

ABSTRACT:   In order to establish techniques for the stock enhancement of red tilefish Branchiostegus japonicus , it is important to understand the behavioral characteristic of both hatchery-reared and wild fish. Four hatchery-reared and six wild fish were released and tracked using acoustic biotelemetry in Maizuru Bay, Kyoto, Japan, from August 2003 to February 2004. Data for the four wild fish released and tracked from January 2003 to May 2003 were also referred to for analysis. The released fish moved around in relatively large areas within about 10 days after the release, and then three hatchery-reared and two wild fish settled and stayed within limited areas. Fish of both origins showed strong site fidelity and diel activity patterns, i.e. they were detectable in the day but not at night, probably due to hiding behavior in their burrows at night. However, some discrepancies between fish of both origins were detected by comparing their track terms and activity patterns in detail. These discrepancies are probably attributable to the differences in environmental conditions that the fish had experienced before release.     

Directed movements and diel burrow fidelity patterns of red tilefish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Branchiostegus japonicus</Emphasis> determined using ultrasonic telemetry

ABSTRACT:   Wild red tilefish Branchiostegus japonicus were tracked and/or monitored for up to nearly 3 months in Western Wakasa Bay and Maizuru Bay, Japan, using ultrasonic telemetry to examine their movements and burrow fidelity patterns. In Western Wakasa Bay, it is guessed that fish released in relatively shallow waters, about 30 m deep, actively moved into more suitable deeper habitats after their release. In Maizuru Bay, the fish did not undertake large-scale movements and showed burrow fidelity about 1 month after their release. That is, the fish primarily remained in the burrow, which was constructed in the sea-bottom, during the night and moved outside the burrow during the day. The marked circadian rhythm from Fourier analysis indicated a clear diel movement pattern of the red tilefish.     

Evaluation of water resources by snow storage using water balance and tank model method in the Tedori River basin of Japan

We evaluate water resources as the difference between the observed and virtual discharges, defined as discharge without snow storage during the snowfall and snowmelt season, in the Tedori River basin of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The virtual discharge was estimated using the Tank model, in which parameters of calculated discharge were determined when the predictions were consistent with the observed discharges except for those during snowfall and snowmelt periods. Precipitation increase factors, i.e., the ratio of precipitation in the basin to that of a Kanazawa site, ranged from 1.46 to 2.00 with an average of 1.68. Water resources by snow storage (WRSS) during 31 years from July 1976 to June 2006 were estimated to be 400–1,500 mm in depth, which could be considered a significant amount. WRSS gradually decreased over time from 1976 to 2006. We propose the water balance method to estimate WRSS and water resources by snowmelt (WRSM), which easily estimates these parameters without the need for any detailed analysis of hydrograph as that of the Tank model. If snowfall decreases due to global warming, we suggest this area would suffer an irrigation water shortage under the water right, especially in the early spring.