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.     

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.     

Estimation for the timing of the internal developmental processes of acorns from fruit size in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Quercus serrata</Emphasis> Thunb. ex Murray

To evaluate the relative importance of the factors affecting the premature abortion of acorns in Quercus serrata Thunb. ex Murray during the course of their development, inner developmental processes of acorns were observed by microscope, and applicability of the diameter of fruits (acorns with cupules) as an indicator of the inner developmental processes was discussed. Based on the observations using microscope, the developmental processes of acorns were classified into five stages; one prezygotic and four postzygotic stages (stages I to V). The diameter of sound fruits increased exponentially until 14 weeks after pollination, and the variance of diameter in each tree was fairly small (CV = 6%) during the process. Diameter of fruits can be used as a good indicator of developmental stages of acorns at individual level, and effective for the evaluation of the ecological factors affecting the premature abortion of acorns.     

Seven-year changes in growth and crown shape of Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai saplings after release from suppression

We investigated changes in sapling growth and morphology of Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai (hiba) for 7 years after release from suppressed lighting by selection cutting. We examined changes in aboveground biomass, elongation of stems and lateral branches, and annual diameter increment at the stem base. Vertical distributions of leaves per branch and per individual were also measured for morphological analysis. Under the suppressed condition before cutting, the crown consisted of orthotropic lateral branches, elongating up to the top of the stem or farther, and no branch was aborted. This crown type with large crown depth and concavity of the upper part had a bowl-like appearance. After the selection cutting, relative light intensity on the saplings increased from 4% to 26%. The increment enhanced aboveground biomass and stem elongation 7 years after the cutting. Diameter growth at the stem base was particularly accelerated 2 years after the cutting. While crown shape transformation of the saplings was not conspicuous at 7 years after the cutting, some released saplings showed a superior stem elongation ratio to that of the lateral branches. Thus, the upper part of the crown of these saplings changed from a bowl-like shape to a convex shape like that of a dome. Our study suggested that suppressed hiba saplings with the unique bowl-shaped crown enhanced their growth rates rapidly in response to improved light conditions, but required much more than 7 years for the full process of crown transformation for us to identify future trees in this stand. An erratum to this article is available at.     

Tearing test for paper using a tensile tester

As a simulation of the Elmendorf tearing test, a tearing test method using a tensile tester was proposed with the same mode of fracture, mode III. Tear indices by both tests were highly correlated for various machine-made papers and laboratory handsheets. The relation between tensile strength and tear strength using the tensile tester was similar to that between tensile and Elmendorf tear strengths in single-ply mode for both softwood and hardwood pulp sheets. The proposed tearing test is convenient especially for imaging techniques such as thermography, and can help give new insights into the tearing process of paper.This work was partially presented at the 45th Annual Conference of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 1995     

Zinc effects on soil microflora and glucose metabolites in soil amended with 14C-glucose

Summary The effects of zinc added to a diluvial sandy clay loam soil on its microflora and the metabolic products of amended glucose in the soil were investigated, and its influences on both biological and chemical turnover are discussed.Changes in the soil microflora were followed by counting the microbes and measuring their contributions to soil respiration. The transformations of ¹⁴C-glucose products were traced in five divided fractions.Amended glucose was readily assimilated into microbial tissues and transformed to metabolites in the control soil. Within the initial 24 h of the incubation, most of the glucose was decomposed and about 40% of the substrate evolved as carbon dioxide. This primary metabolism was attributed to the bacterial population, and the subsequent secondary metabolism was associated with fungal growth rather thanbacteria. On the other hand, zinc (1000 g/g) added as chloride prolonged the primary metabolism of glucose and a large part of the incubation period for 96 h was occupied by this metabolism, which was mostly dependent on the fungal population. Viable bacterial number noticeably within the first 24 h of the incubation. During the course of the subsequent incubation, however, this number increased and the selection for zinc tolerance was suggested.     

Zinc effects on a soil bacterial flora characterized by fatty acid composition of the isolates

Summary Effects of zinc (zinc chloride) added to a sandy clay loam soil on its bacterial flora were investigated by the study of cellular fatty acid composition of the isolates. The soil amended with glucose (carbon source) and ammonium sulfate (nitrogen source) was incubated in the presence (1.0 mg/g) or absence of zinc for 96 h. Bacterial strains were isolated on albumin agar from the incubated soils every 24 h. Their cellular fatty acid composition was analyzed and the strains were classified according to the percentage distribution pattern of the fatty acid composition.Two and four dominant patterns of the fatty acid composition were obtained in the isolates from the control soil and the soil with zinc added, respectively. They were different from one another. Most of the dominant strains isolated from the soil with added zinc were zinc-tolerant, and it was suggested that the selection for zinc tolerance readily proceeded.     

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.