Orangutan cultures and the evolution of material culture

Geographic variation in some aspects of chimpanzee behavior has been interpreted as evidence for culture. Here we document similar geographic variation in orangutan behaviors. Moreover, as expected under a cultural interpretation, we find a correlation between geographic distance and cultural difference, a correlation between the abundance of opportunities for social learning and the size of the local cultural repertoire, and no effect of habitat on the content of culture. Hence, great-ape cultures exist, and may have done so for at least 14 million years.     

Oxygen isotopic compositions of asteroidal materials returned from Itokawa by the Hayabusa mission

Meteorite studies suggest that each solar system object has a unique oxygen isotopic composition. Chondrites, the most primitive of meteorites, have been believed to be derived from asteroids, but oxygen isotopic compositions of asteroids themselves have not been established. We measured, using secondary ion mass spectrometry, oxygen isotopic compositions of rock particles from asteroid 25143 Itokawa returned by the Hayabusa spacecraft. Compositions of the particles are depleted in (16)O relative to terrestrial materials and indicate that Itokawa, an S-type asteroid, is one of the sources of the LL or L group of equilibrated ordinary chondrites. This is a direct oxygen-isotope link between chondrites and their parent asteroid.     

HPLC fluorometric determination of natural phytoplankton phycocyanin and its usefulness as cyanobacterial biomass in highly eutrophic shallow lake

A method for HPLC determination of phycocyanin in phytoplankton samples using gelchromatography with a fluorescence detector was developed to examine the use of phycocyanin as an index of the appearance and progress of cyanobacterial blooms in highly eutrophic lake. At least two types of phycocyanin with different molecular weights, each spectroscopically different from phycoerythrin and allophycocyanin, were found in natural phytoplankton samples. Changes in phycocyanin concentrations were clearly coupled to changes in chlorophyll-a concentrations during June to October while cyanobacterial blooms were occurring. The chlorophyll-a to phycocyanin relationship was linear at chlorophyll-a concentrations of less than 250 μg L^?1. The relationship between cyanobacterial carbon and phycocyanin concentration was also linear, suggesting that phycocyanin content may be a useful index of cyanobacterial biomass in highly eutrophic lakes where large cyanobacterial blooms occur.     

Isolation and structural elucidation of some procyanidins from apple by low-temperature nuclear magnetic resonance

Procyanidin fractions from apple were separated according to the degree of polymerization using normal phase chromatography. Evaluation of physiological functionalities of procyanidins requires individual structural determination. However, it is difficult to elucidate the structure of procyanidins, in particular those with (+)-epicatechin (1) or (-)-catechin (2) units, and determine whether the interflavanoid bonds are 4beta-->8 or 4beta-->6 without cleavage and acetylation. Structural determination used LC-MS and low-temperature NMR. Nine procyanidins were separated by preparative HPLC consisting of three well-known procyanidins [procyanidin B1 (3), procyanidin B2 (4), and procyanidin C1 (5)] and six new procyanidins [epicatechin-(4beta-->8)-epicatechin-(4beta-->8)-catechin (6); epicatechin-(4beta-->6)-epicatechin-(4beta-->8)-catechin (7); epicatechin-(4beta-->6)-epicatechin-(4beta-->8)-epicatechin (8); epicatechin-(4beta-->8)-epicatechin-(4beta-->6)-catechin (9); epicatechin-(4beta-->8)-epicatechin-(4beta-->6)-epicatechin (10); and epicatechin-(4beta-->8)-epicatechin-(4beta-->8)-epicatechin-(4beta-->8)-epicatechin (11)]. Compounds 6-11 were detected for the first time as apple constituents.     

Spore-breaking capabilities of collembolans and their feeding habitat within sporocarps

To examine the relationship between the spore-breaking capability of collembolans and their localization within fungal sporocarps we investigated the proportion of broken spores in the feces of four collembolan species of the genus Hypogastrura using the spores of Hypsizygus marmoreus and analyzed the spatial distribution of the collembolan species within sporocarps as an index of their feeding habits. The collembolan species with a higher capability to break spores were observed more frequently from the spore-bearing surfaces of sporocarps. The collembolan species with a lower capability to break spores were found more frequently from the non-spore-bearing interiors of the sporocarps. These results suggest that the relative value of spores in the diet varied with the capability of collembolans to break spores.     

Inhibitory effects of apple polyphenols and related compounds on cariogenic factors of mutans streptococci

The inhibitory effects of apple polyphenols (APP) on the synthesis of water-insoluble glucans by glucosyltransferases (GTF) of streptococci of the mutans group and on the sucrose-dependent adherence of the bacterial cells were examined in vitro. APP markedly inhibited the activity of GTF purified from the cariogenic bacterial cells. However, APP showed no significant effect on the growth of the cariogenic bacteria. The strongest GTF inhibitors in APP were apple condensed tannins (ACT), a mixture of procyanidins. The 50% inhibitory doses of ACT against the GTF of S. sobrinus and that of S. mutans were 1.5 microgram/mL and 5 microgram/mL, respectively. The ACT efficacy largely depended upon the degree of polymerization. Interestingly, while the other polyphenols known to inhibit GTF such as tannic acid markedly inhibited salivary alpha-amylase activity, APP and ACT only scarcely inhibited that enzyme activity. This means that APP and ACT might selectively inhibit the bacterial GTF activity under oral conditions.     

Acidity neutralization mechanism in a forested watershed in Central Japan

The contributions of cation exchange and mineral weathering to the neutralization of acidity in the Jingahata watershed in central Japan were estimated through a laboratory weathering experiment and runoff chemistry measurements. The laboratory experiment was conducted in a stirred-flow reactor for a whole soil sample collected from the C horizon in the watershed. The concentration ratios of base cations (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, K⁺ and Na⁺) to Si (BC/Si) released during the steady-state stage of the laboratory experiment were in good agreement with the ratios of the net flux of base cations to the flux of Si in the streamwater (BC _{N ET}/Si _L).This result suggests that the acidity in the watershed is neutralized primarily by mineral weathering without causing a net loss of base cations from exchange sites. The alkalinity/acidity balance estimated for the watershed shows that the total weathering rate of base cations is approximately 3.26 keq ha^?1 yr^?1. Weathering of plagioclase (An₄₁) contributes 83% of the total weathering rate. The dominant acidity source is CO₂ released within the soil horizons, accounting for roughly 85% of the total acidity flux (3.20 keq ha^?1 yr^?1). This high internal production of acidity suppresses the relative importance of atmospheric acidity inputs (0.3 keq ha^?1 yr^?1).     

Analysis of hop-derived terpenoids in beer and evaluation of their behavior using the stir bar-sorptive extraction method with GC-MS

Hop aroma components, which mainly comprise terpenoids, contribute to the character of beers. However, pretreatments are necessary before analyzing these components because of their trace levels and complicated matrixes. Here, the stir bar-sorptive extraction (SBSE) method was used to detect and quantify many terpenoids simultaneously from small samples. This simple technique showed low coefficients of variation, high accuracy, and low detection limits. An investigation of the behavior of terpenoids identified two distinct patterns of decreasing concentration during wort boiling. The first, which was seen in myrcene and linalool, involved a rapid decrease that was best fitted by a quadratic curve. The second, which was observed in beta-eudesmol, humulene, humulene epoxide I, beta-farnesene, caryophyllene, and geraniol, involved a gentle linear decrease. Conversely, the concentration of beta-damascenone increased after boiling. As the aroma composition depended on the hop variety, we also examined the relationship between terpenoid content and sensory analysis in beer.     

Determination of organic acids by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection during wine brewing

Voltammetric determination of acids by means of the electrochemical reduction of quinone was applied to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection (ED) for determining organic acids in fruit wines. A two-channel HPLC-ED system was fabricated by use of an ion-exclusion column and an electrochemical detector with a glassy carbon working electrode. Aqueous solution of 0.1 mM HClO(4) and ethanol containing 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone served as a mobile phase and reagent solution, respectively. Determination of acetic, citric, lactic, malic, succinic, and tartaric acids was made by measuring the peak areas of the flow signals due to the reduction current of quinone caused by the eluted acids. The peak area was found to be linearly related to the acid amount ranging from 0.1 to 40 nmol per 20 microL injection. The present method was characterized by reproducibility with the simple and rapid procedure without derivatization of analytes. The method was shown as an effective means for following acid contents in fruit juices during fermentation with wine yeast.