In situ growth and mortality of juvenile Acropora over 2 years following mass spawning in Sekisei Lagoon,Okinawa (24°N)

The growth of Acropora in Sekisei Lagoon was investigated in situ using ceramic coral settlement devices (CSDs) and marine blocks (MBs) with small holes on their surfaces that were deployed prior to a mass spawning event. Acropora that had settled in 10-mm holes on the upper surface of the MBs were found to have grown inwards after 348 days post-mass spawning. After 733 days, the colonies had grown outwards, encrusting the blocks and attaining a maximum diameter of 21.5 mm (3.7 mm). CSDs that had been stacked above each other on frames were separated and observed in situ on 405 and 764 days after mass spawning. After 405 days, the maximum diameter of the encrusting Acropora was 7.6 mm (±2.4 mm), which increased to 19.4 mm (±5.5 mm) after 764 days, with 30% of colonies extending short branches. The length of the branches of Acropora grown on the CSDs fixed to the MBs 3 months after the mass spawning event exceeded the size of the encrusting portion of the colony 629 days after spawning. The mortality of colonies between 1 and 2 years was slight, with the temperatures conducive to coral bleaching that occurred during the study also having only a slight effect.     

Purification and characterization of two novel cysteine protease inhibitors, Eel-CPI-2 and Eel-CPI-3, in the skin mucus of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica

We have discovered multiple acidic cysteine protease inhibitors, in addition to the known Eel-CPI-1, in the skin mucus extract of the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica by using the two-dimensional gel system of gelatin reverse zymography. Two of the acidic inhibitors, which we have named Eel-CPI-2 and Eel-CPI-3, were purified to homogeneity by anion exchange chromatography on a column of DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B, followed by fast protein liquid chromatography on Superdex 75 10/300 GL and HiTrap Q HP columns. The amino acid compositions of Eel-CPI-2 and Eel-CPI-3 were found to be almost identical and closely similar to that of the eel galectin AJL1. The molecular masses of Eel-CPI-2 and Eel-CPI-3 were elucidated to be 16,089.080 and 16,089.137 Da, respectively, by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The apparent dissociation constant of Eel-CPI-2 and Eel-CPI-3 for cysteine protease papain was determined to be 1.79 × 10⁻⁷ and 1.05 × 10⁻⁷ M, respectively, by a quartz crystal microbalance technique.     

Nitrogen transport in plants,with an emphasis on the regulation of fluxes to match plant demand

Physiological methods, especially the use of isotopes of N, have allowed for the detailed characterizations of the several putative transport systems for nitrate and ammonium in roots of higher plants. In the last decade, the cloning of genes that appear to encode both high- and low-affinity transporters represent major advances, as well as substantiating the inferences based on earlier physiological methods. Nevertheless, the unexpected plethora of genes that have been identified now presents even greater challenges, to resolve their individual functions and to attempt to place these functions in a whole plant/environmental context.     

Removal of cadmium from scallop processing waste by washing with weak acid solution and utilization of useful constituents for organic fertilizer manufacturing

ABSTRACT:   Hepatopancreases were washed four times with 2% acetic acid solution. In both the washed hepatopancreases and the supernatant of the washing solution, the residual cadmium (Cd) concentration was in accordance with the required standard for organic fertilizers. Hepatopancreases do not naturally contain high levels of nitrogen, but they do contain several amino acids which are useful for cultivation, and these were retained during the washing process. Although the condensed precipitate of the washing solution contained a considerable amount of Cd, Cd elution levels at the time of final disposal met judgment standard for special management industrial waste as a result of kneading and immobilizing with chelating adsorbent for treatment of contaminated soil. The volume of the precipitate of the washing solution was one-fifth of the original hepatopancreas, and the solid waste was suitable for burial at a final disposal site without further treatment.     

Occurrence of toxic <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dinophysis acuminata</Emphasis> (Dinophyceae) in Uranouchi Inlet,Japan

In the Uranouchi Inlet, which has a commercial fishery of littleneck clam Ruditapes philippinarum, potentially toxigenic species of Dinophysis acuminata showed an annual occurrence except for the summer of 2000–2002. Relatively high abundances of D. acuminata were observed in April 2000 and November 2002. Some samples of D. acuminata cells, which were collected from the inlet in autumn 2002, contained pectenotoxin-2 (0.9–2.8 pg/cell) and okadaic acid (1.9–2.8 pg/cell). Cell length and hypotheca width of D. acuminata found in the Uranouchi Inlet were 33.7–45.0 and 21.0–31.6 μm, respectively. The length-width ratios ranged 1.21–1.71. Sequences of the 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene and flanking internal transcribed spacers, 1 and 2 of cells of D. acuminata from the inlet fell into a D. acuminata complex clade that included, D. acuminata-D. sacculus-D. acuta reported by others. In the inlet, occurrences of D. acuminata were detected within a broad water temperature range between 13.0 and 26.9°C, and those showing more than 25 cells/L were within 16.4–17.3°C for temperature and 27.6 and 34.1 for salinity. This is the first report that cells of Dinophysis acuminata from southern Japanese coastal waters contained okadaic acid and pectenotoxin-2.     

包膜尿素氮素的溶出特性研究

 【目的】研究包膜尿素（LP 30）氮素的溶出特性。【方法】采用土壤、纯水两种培养方式,在4种温度（10、15、20、25 ℃）条件下对不同培养时期氮素溶出率进行测定,利用具体的方法——The number of days transformed to standard temperature（DTS）,对自然温度条件下氮素的溶出率进行预测。【结果】培养试验表明,土壤和纯水两种培养方式对包膜尿素氮素溶出率的影响很小,不同温度对氮素溶出率的影响显著。分析表明,一级反应动力学模型可很好地描述包膜尿素氮素的溶出过程。氮素溶出速率随温度升高而加快,在10～25℃内,每升高5℃,速率常数约提高1倍左右。包膜尿素埋藏土壤后实测的氮素溶出率值与采用DTS法预测的氮素溶出率值之间无明显差异。【结论】包膜尿素（LP 30）氮素溶出率大小主要取决于温度的变化,DTS法能较准确地预测包膜尿素施入土壤后,自然温度条件下,任意天数的氮素溶出率。     

A ground-based hyperspectral imaging system for characterizing vegetation spectral features

A cropping system is usually characterized by continuous spatio-temporal vegetation variability. Vegetation variability can be detected by changes in several vegetation parameters defined according to purpose. Estimation of these vegetation parameters has been made possible by calculating various vegetation indices (VIs), usually by ratioing, differencing, ratioing differences and sums, or by forming linear combinations of spectral band data. Spectrometers or sensors have been used to acquire visible and infrared spectral properties of vegetation. This paper presents a ground-based hyperspectral imaging system for characterizing vegetation spectral features. The hyperspectral sensor used was a ground-based line sensor, ImSpector (V10-12-102), with a nominal spectral resolution of 1.5–2 nm and a wavelength range of 360–1010 nm. A graphical user interface (GUI) was developed in a MATLAB environment to aid in processing and analysis of acquired multidimensional spectral image data. Issues that arise when applying the imaging system to a particular field include acquiring hyperspectral images, selecting appropriate vegetation features or VIs, and quantifying the selected vegetation features or indices with the GUI developed. Vegetation features extracted by the proposed imaging system contribute not only to monitoring vegetation variability in crop systems, but also provide a potential source of relevant variables that can be used to estimate various vegetation parameters. A study that was set up to investigate the alternate bearing phenomenon of citrus trees illustrates the basic elements of the proposed approach.     

Differences in free amino acid composition between testis and ovary of sea urchin <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anthocidaris crassispina</Emphasis> during gonadal development

ABSTRACT:   For the purpose of clarifying the differences of taste components between the testis and ovary of the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina , variations in free amino acid composition in gonadal extract during gonadal development were investigated using chemical and histopathological methods. Sea urchins were collected at Iki Island, Nagasaki, Japan between 30 April and 5 June 2003, and maturation stages and the free amino acid compositions were determined. The sweet amino acids threonine (Thr), glycine (Gly), and alanine (Ala), the umami amino acid glutamic acid (Glu), and the bitter amino acids lysine (Lys) and arginine (Arg) were the main constituents accounting for more than 80% of total free amino acids. In the testis and ovary, Gly levels were the highest among them and increased with gonadal development. The other free amino acids consisted mainly of bitter amino acids and either showed no variation or decreased with gonadal development. These variations in free amino acid composition were observed more clearly in the ovary than the testis. These findings indicate the possibility of differences in the flavor of sea urchin gonad by sex and gonadal development stages.     

Food habits of small fishes in seagrass habitats in Trang,southern Thailand

To clarify the feeding habits of seagrass fishes, we examined the gut contents from 42 fish species collected in seagrass habitats in Trang. Thirteen species showed ontogenetic and/or seasonal changes in food-use patterns. Smaller individuals generally preyed on small planktonic items (e.g., copepod larvae) or small benthic/epiphytic crustaceans (e.g., harpacticoid copepods), with subsequent changes to other prey items (e.g., shrimps, crabs, detritus and filamentous algae) with growth. The most important dietary items for the seagrass fish assemblages comprised benthic/epiphytic crustaceans, detritus, and planktonic copepods. Cluster analysis based on dietary overlaps showed that the seagrass fishes comprised eight feeding guilds (large benthic/epiphytic crustacean, detritus, planktonic animal, small benthic/epiphytic crustacean, mollusc, invertebrate egg, polychaete, and fish feeders). Of these, the first three guilds were the most abundantly represented, whereas the last three were each represented by only a single species.