Acoustic evaluation of the vertical distribution of dwarf ayu Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis in Lake Biwa

SUMMARY: The vertical distribution of dwarf ayu Plecoglossus altivelis altivelis in the pelagic waters of Lake Biwa was evaluated from June to September in 1995–97 from eight acoustic surveys using a quantitative echosounder. In each survey, echoes from a depth range of 3 m to the sea bottom were collected at a station every 2.7 s for 24 h together with measurements of vertical profiles of water temperature and chlorophyll-a. The ayu's echoes were identified using an underwater video camera. The ayu were observed near the maximum chlorophyll-a depth and above the thermocline. Their density was highest at depths of 4–11 m with 2–4 individuals/m ³ and was almost zero below 20 m. Echo signs were recorded as having a frequent duration of more than 1 h at night, whereas were of a shorter duration in the day. The fish stay in the epilimnion during the day without any clear vertical migration, but are distributed more uniformly at night. The advantages of remaining in the epilimnion are discussed in terms of food availability and predator avoidance.     

Seasonal variation in pigmentation and anthocyanidin phenetics in commercial Eustoma flowers

The seasonal change in petal color and pigmentation of 29 commercial Eustoma cultivars was studied. The flowers are basically divided into four groups according to the major anthocyanidin phenotype in association with petal coloration, i.e., delphinidin (Dp)-based (purple flower), cyanidin (Cy)-based (reddish purple flower), pelargonidin (Pg)-based (pink flower), and none (white flower) groups. The constitution of petal anthocyanidins was not changed by forcing treatment in most of the flowers. Lightness (L^*) and chroma (C^*, color saturation) showed a change along with the increase/decrease of hue angle difference (ΔH^*), thus simultaneously the chromatic tonalities tended to move to redder and bluer, respectively. Floral pigment clustering described two flower groups in a dendrogram, based on anthocyanidin constitutions as phenetic markers, which are apparently the Dp- and Pg-based phenotypes of anthocyanidin syntheses. The Cy-based flowers made a subcluster with the Pg-based flowers, indicating a close relationship in the biosynthesis of the two anthocyanidins, and suggesting the Dp- and Pg-syntheses complement one another.     

Evaluation of truncated LipL32 expressed by Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris for serodiagnosis of Leptospira infection in rodents

The applicability of the recombinant LipL32 for serodiagnosis of leptospiral infection in field rodents was assessed in this study. An immunodominant region of LipL32 was determined by monoclonal antibodies, and then, truncated LipL32 (tLipL32) was designed to contain the region (87–188th amino acid). The tLipL32 was compared between two recombinant expression hosts Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris in ELISA. With field rat sera, tLipL32 expressed by P. pastoris (tLipL32p) had high antigenicity without background reactions, while tLipL32 expressed by E. coli (tLipL32e) showed high background reactions, which were reduced by pre-adsorption of sera with E. coli. To evaluate tLipL32-ELISA, field rat sera were tentatively divided into a Leptospira infection positive (12 sera) and a negative group (12 sera) based on the results from flaB gene PCR of kidney samples and WB with whole Leptospira cell. Consequently, the sensitivity of tLipL32p-ELISA for field rat sera was 83% . A similar result was obtained from tLipL32e-ELISA with adsorbed sera, (92%). However, sensitivity of tLipL32e-ELISA using sera without an adsorption treatment was 50%. Regardless of the expression host, tLipL32-ELISA had 100% specificity and sensitivity in experimentally infected laboratory rats. These results suggest that recombinant LipL32 expressed by P. pastoris is more applicable for serodiagnosis in field rats due to a lack of background reaction.     

Extensive Screening for Edible Herbal Extracts with Potent Scavenging Activity against Superoxide Anions

To search for edible herbal extracts with potent antioxidant activity, we conducted a large scale screening based on the superoxide scavenging activity. That is, scavenging activity against superoxide anions were extensively screened from ethanol extracts of approximately 1,000 kinds of herbs by applying an electron spin resonance (ESR)-spin trapping method. Among them we chose four edible herbal extracts with prominently potent ability to reduce the signal intensity of 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO)-OOH, a spin adduct formed by DMPO and superoxide anion. They are the extracts from Punica granatum (Peel), Syzygium aromaticum (Bud), Mangifera indica (Kernel), and Phyllanthus emblica (Fruit), and are allowed to be used as foodstuffs according to the Japanese legal regulation. The ESR-spin trapping method coupled with steady state kinetic analysis showed that all of the four extracts directly scavenge superoxide anions, and that the superoxide scavenging potential of any of the extracts was comparable to that of L-ascorbic acid. Furthermore, polyphenol determination indicates that the activity is at least in part attributable to polyphenols. These results with such large scale screening might give useful information when choosing a potent antioxidant as a foodstuff.     

Infection of a chimeric simian and human immunodeficiency virus with CCR5-specific HIV-1 envelope to Rhesus macaques

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infects lymphocytes and macrophages via CD4 and chemokine receptors. In this study, the infectivity of a chimeric simian and human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) having a CCR5-specific HIV-1 envelope gene was examined. A SHIV strain termed SHIV-JRFL could enter cells via CD4 with a chemokine receptor CCR5, not CXCR4, and the viral replication was suppressed by recombinant human RANTES, one of beta-chemokines. The intravenous inoculation of SHIV-JRFL into two rhesus macaques resulted in a systemic infection, though it was rather weak. During the early infection, the production of RANTES from Con A-stimulated PBMCs of the infected monkeys increased. These results suggested that beta-chemokine has the potential to limit the infectivity of an R5-type SHIV.     

Synthesis and insecticidal activity of benzoheterocyclic analogues of N'-benzoyl-N-(tert-butyl)benzohydrazide: Part 3. Modification of N-tert-butylhydrazine moiety

Nineteen analogues were synthesized by modifying the tert-butylhydrazine moieties of N'-tert-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)-5-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxine-6-carbohydrazide and N'-tert-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)-5-methylchromane-6-carbohydrazide (chromafenozide), and the synthesized analogues were evaluated for their insecticidal activity against Spodoptera litura F. While all of the synthesized analogues had insecticidal activity inferior to those of the lead compounds, several of the analogues nonetheless showed high insecticidal activity. Chromafenozide has shown very high selectivity toward lepidopteran species.     

Management approach using simple indices of deer density and status of understory vegetation for conserving deciduous hardwood forests on a regional scale

We investigated the validity and efficiency of a survey using sight per unit effort (SPUE) of sika deer and shrub-layer decline rank (SDR), which is an index of decline in the physical structure of a whole stand caused by sika deer, based on data collected on a broad scale. This survey was to be used to manage a deer population in order to conserve a forest ecosystem. First, we evaluated the spatial and temporal scales of deer density that are most appropriate for predicting decline in the status of understory vegetation. The model with SPUE calculated in a buffer with a radius of 4.5 km using data for the past 4 years was found to be the best. We showed that our knowledge of the relationship between deer density and status of shrub-layer vegetation is improved by identifying the most suitable spatial and temporal scales of SPUE for predicting SDR. Next, we quantified the effects of SPUE and environmental components on SDR in stands. We found that SPUE had the greatest effect on SDR among all explanatory variables. Moreover, the area under the curve (AUC) was large in a model that only used SPUE (AUC = 0.718). This result suggests that the variation in SDR among stands was explained well by SPUE regardless of differences in the forest environment. Furthermore, we identified the effective values of SPUE for preventing shrub-layer vegetation from declining through deer density control. We conclude that a management system based on SPUE and SDR is a simple and valid method for managing deer populations in order to conserve forest ecosystems.     

Difference in cutting age for highest profit by methods for calculating CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> emission trading and the price of CO<Subscript>2</Subscript>

 The amounts of CO₂ that are absorbed and emitted by forest in a model stand area were determined using two calculation methods, namely the flow approach and the stock approach for emission trading, to understand the relationships between the cutting age for the highest profit rate (CAHPR; optimum tree ages to be cut so as to maximize the profit) and (1) the prices of CO₂ and (2) the balance between CO₂ emission and absorption. The resultant CAHPR differed between these two CO₂ accounting methods, which give different tree ages for maximum log volume yield. A rise in CO₂ price caused the CAHPR to approach the tree age of maximum log volume in the flow approach method, and to deviate from the tree age of maximum log volume in the stock approach method. Even at the same CO₂ price, the CAHPR differed between the CO₂ accounting methods. At low CO₂ prices, the CAHPR did not affect situations where the difference of average profit is large by cutting age. On the other hand, the CAHPR was greatly affected at low CO₂ prices when the mean log volume growth changed with tree age. These trends were found to be universal. Received: September 18, 2001 / Accepted: October 25, 2002 Acknowledgments This study is one of the fifth science study subsidy projects of the Japan Forest Technology Association. Correspondence to:K. Sakata     

Polymer distribution in the cell wall of a wood-polyethylenimine composite

Summary A light microscopic (LM) visual technique to determine the polyethylenimine (PEI) distribution in a wood-PEI composite was studied by the adsorption of acid red or the circulation of Cu(II) ion with PEI in the composite. The amount of the adsorbed dye or Cu(II) on the composite increased linearly with an increase in the PEI content of the wood-PEI. The dyed composites were observed with LM under monochromatic light, corresponding to their absorption maxima at 560 nm for acid red and at 640 nm for copper chelate. The microscopic image was photographically recorded and the negative was subjected to densitometric analysis. At a polymer content lower than 4% in the composite, about 70% of total polymer was located in the middle lamella region, leaving only 30% in the secondary wall. With increasing PEI content of the composite, the concentration in the secondary wall increased, and about 80% of the polymer was located in the secondary wall at a PEI content of 27%. There were no noticeable differences between the amount of polymer detected by dyeing with acid red and by chelating with Cu(II). From the results of the line analysis of the intensity of the characteristic X-ray of uranium, the distribution of the PEI in the cell wall agreed closely with that determined by the LM method. It was concluded that the LM visual technique to determine the PEI location in the wood-PEI composite by dyeing with acid red or by chelating with Cu(II) is a simple and reliable method.