Growth and grazing rates of the tintinnid ciliate<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Favella taraikaensis</Emphasis> on the toxic dinoflagellate<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Alexandrium tamarense</Emphasis>

Growth and feeding activities of the tintinnid ciliate Favella taraikaensis fed the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense were examined in laboratory experiments. Both growth and ingestion rates of F. taraikaensis as a function of the A. tamarense concentration were fitted to a rectangular hyperbolic equation. The maximum growth and ingestion rates of F. taraikaensis were 1.0 day^–1 and 2.8 cells ind. h^–1 (carbon specific ingestion rates: 3.5 day^–1), respectively, which are both included in the range of previous data reported for Favella spp. feeding on other algae. The gross growth efficiency (GGE) of F. taraikaensis ranged from 0.26 to 0.49 (mean value 0.40) at the concentration of 10–800 cells ml^–1, which is within the range of previous data on Favella spp. Also, the growth and ingestion rates and GGE of F. taraikaensis on A. tamarense were not significantly different from the values on another non-toxic dinoflagellate (Heterocapsa triquetra) at two different prey concentrations. This indicates that the toxicity of A. tamarense probably did not influence the feeding and growth activities of F. taraikaensis at concentrations of less than ca. 800 cells ml^–1. To evaluate the grazing by F. taraikaensis on A. tamarense blooms in the field, the population dynamics of A. tamarense were simulated based on the growth and ingestion parameters of F. taraikaensis. As a result, the grazing impact by F. taraikaensis was considered to potentially regulate the development of A. tamarense blooms. If the toxicity of A. tamarense does not influence the growth and feeding activities of F. taraikaensis, the occurrence of such grazer plankton are considered to be important for predicting the course of A. tamarense bloom dynamics under natural conditions.Communicated by T. Ikeda, Hakodate     

Effects of UV-A LED light irradiation on growth of cultured RAW 264.7 cells

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of ultraviolet A (UV-A) irradiation-induced damage on cultured macrophage RAW 264.7 cells and determine which components produced these manifestations. RAW 264.7 cells were irradiated with 365 nm UV-A using a light-emitting diode (LED). Cell viability and damage were determined using a calcein-AM and propidium iodide dual-staining assay and lactate dehydrogenase leakage, respectively. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) were measured by H₂DCF-DA. The components of ROS in each medium were measured using an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer in the presence of 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) and 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-3-pyrroline-3-carboxamide (TPC). While UV-A irradiation for 2 min significantly suppressed cell growth, LDH leakage did not occur. Addition of N-acetyl cysteine restored inhibition of cell proliferation, and reduced intracellular ROS levels. The EPR signal in the presence of TPC increased with time but was decreased by sodium azide. In addition, a typical EPR spectrum was obtained in the presence of DMPO, indicating the presence of a hydroxyradical. The spectrum was diminished by L-histidine. Data suggest that ROS generated in cells or culture medium by UV-A irradiation is predominantly singlet oxygen, and this singlet oxygen suppressed cell proliferation.     

VERIFICATION AND APPLICATION OF REGIONAL EQUATIONS FOR THE STORAGE FUNCTION RUNOFF MODEL1

The storage function model is a nonlinear rainfall-runoff model that has been developed for and applied to flood runoff analysis in Japan. This paper extends the model applicability by developing practical equations for estimating model parameters which are appropriate on a regional basis, i.e., so-called regional equations. Previously, the parameters were computed from historical data for a specific basin or from relationships that do not account for land use and topography. To develop the regionalized equations, model parameters were identified for 91 flood events from 22 watersheds in Japan by applying a mathematical optimization technique. Results from 39 of these events were statistically compared and regional relationships were determined as a function of land use, basin area and rainfall intensity. The utility of the estimated equations were tested by computing runoff hydrographs for lumped basins. The estimated parameters were also applied in a distributed watershed model formulation. Both applications showed acceptable results that validate the use of the regionalized relationships.