Which insect species numerically respond to allochthonous inputs?

Herons (Ardeidae) frequently breed in inland forests and provide organic material in the form of carcasses of prey (that they drop) and chicks (that die) to the forest floor. Such allochthonous inputs of organic materials are known to increase arthropod populations in forests. However, the exact species that show numerical responses to allochthonous inputs in heron breeding colonies remains unclear. Very few studies have clarified which factors determine numerical responses in individual species. We used pitfall and baited traps to compare the densities of arthropods between forest patches in heron breeding colonies (five sites) and areas outside of colonies (five sites) in central Japan. The density of all arthropods was not significantly different between colonies and non-colony areas. However, significant differences between colonies and non-colony areas were found in four arthropod groups. Earwigs (Dermaptera: Anisolabididae), hister beetles (Coleoptera: Histeridae), and carrion beetles (Coleoptera: Silphidae) were more abundant in colonies, while ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) were less abundant in colonies. We detected numerical responses to heron breeding in two earwig, one histerid, five silphid, and one ant species. Chick and prey carcasses from herons may have directly led to increases in consumer populations such as earwigs, histerids, and silphids in colonies, while microenvironmental changes caused by heron breeding may have reduced ant abundance. In the Silphidae, five species showed numerical responses to allochthonous inputs, and the other two species did not. Numerical responses in individual species may have been determined by life history traits such as reproductive behaviour.     

Medaka (Oryzias latipes) for use in evaluating developmental effects of endocrine active chemicals with special reference to gonadal intersex (testis-ova).

Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) has been widely used for the evaluation of the toxicity of endocrine active chemicals (EACs) and other chemicals as well as for monitoring the adverse effects of effluent discharges in relation to sexual development and function. It is useful for these evaluations for many reasons including the following: 1) it has a short life cycle facilitating studies extending over long phases of development and over multigenerations, 2) it is easy to rear, 3) male and female phenotypes can easily be distinguished on the basis of secondary sex characteristics, and 4) a genetic marker (DMY) is available for identifying the true genotypic sex. Several biomarkers have been found to be useful for identifying the effects of exposure to estrogenic and androgenic chemicals in medaka and they include increased levels of hepatic vitellogenin (VTG) and testis-ova induction in males for exposure to estrogenic chemicals, and decreased levels of hepatic VTG in females and an altered morphology of dorsal and anal fins and formation of papillae for androgenic chemicals. In this paper, we present a critical analysis of the use of medaka as a test species for studies of endocrine disruption and report on the use of sex-related genetic markers and alterations in gonadal development, including the induction of testis-ova formation, for assessing the disruptive effects of EACs. In this paper, we focus on some of the more recent studies and findings.     

d-Pinitol as a key oviposition stimulant for sulfur butterfly, Colias erate: chemical basis for female acceptance of host- and non-host plants

The sulfur butterfly, Colias erate, utilizes various legumes as host plants. We examined the chemical constituents of its primary host plant, Trifolium repens (white clover), to identify phytochemicals inducing oviposition by C. erate females. Since one of the four aqueous subfractions prepared from a methanolic extract of the plant has previously been shown to be the most responsible for the oviposition-stimulatory activity exerted by the plant, chemical analyses were conducted of the fraction concerned. Activity-directed fractionation of the subfraction by ion-exchange chromatography revealed that the key substance(s) resided in the neutral fraction. Preparative TLC of the neutral fraction and subsequent spectral analyses identified d-(+)-pinitol, glycerin, methyl β-d-glucoside, and myo-inositol as characteristic components together with ubiquitous sugars (e.g., sucrose and glucose). Of these, only pinitol singly evoked significant oviposition responses at concentrations over 0.05%. In dual-choice bioassays, however, females laid significantly more eggs on pinitol solutions admixed with glycerin or methyl β-d-glucoside than on pinitol alone. Two cyanoglucosides, linamarin, and lotaustralin, occurring in the other aqueous subfractions, also synergistically increased the oviposition response in combination with pinitol. The results clearly indicated that pinitol is a crucial oviposition stimulant involved in host recognition, while glycerin, methyl β-d-glucoside, linamarin, and lotaustralin function as synergists. We further examined the oviposition responses of C. erate females to aqueous fractions, along with their chemical compositions, that had been prepared from five other host plants and a non-host plant, Aristolochia debilis (Aristolochiaceae), on which oviposition occasionally took place in an outdoor cage during the experiments. The plant species accepted by ovipositing females were all found to contain pinitol in amounts enough to induce egg laying by the butterfly, thus leading to the conclusion that pinitol serves as the essential mediator in recognizing and accepting potential host plants.     

Severe leaching of calcium ions from fir needles caused by acid fog

We have measured the components of the throughfall under fir trees (Abies firma) in the field around Mt. Oyama, where the forest appears to be declining, for the period 1994-1998. Exposure experiments of a simulated acid fog to fir twigs were performed under field conditions. There was a similarity between the acid response in the field and that in the laboratory. In both studies, the severe leaching of calcium ions from the needle surface was caused by exposure to acid fog. We also applied acid fog to fir seedlings over 1 year and observed a decrease in the growth of the seedlings due to this application in the dormant season. These results suggest that the severe leaching of calcium ions due to acid fog may cause the deficiency of calcium and be responsible for the decline of the fir trees.     

Removal of polychlorinated biphenyls from capacitors and pressure-sensitive paper by vacuum thermal recycling

This paper describes a new vacuum thermal recycling (VTR) method for treating discarded polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)-contaminated capacitors and pressure-sensitive paper. Based on results demonstrating an exceptionally high PCB separation efficiency and recovery ratio from capacitors containing high-concentration PCBs, i.e. > 99.9%, respectively, the presented VTR method is verified to effectively remove PCBs. In addition, associated safety aspects of the employed procedure were confirmed.     

ALTERNATIVE MODELS FOR ESTIMATING THE TIME SERIES COMPONENTS OF WATER CONSUMPTION DATA1

ABSTRACT: Understanding the behavior of different time-series components of water consumption data is essential for a more effective analysis of economic incentive effects of alternative policy measures and also closer integration of water supply and demand management. Additive and multiplicative models are used to analyze the trend (T), cyclical (C), seasonal (S) and irregular (I) components. The stepwise regression method was applied to 187 data points (January 1960 to July 1975), each representing average daily water consumption within the service area of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. Although statistically similar results (R² 0.95 and 0.96 and respective corresponding F-ratios 277 and 307) might suggest little difference in model performances, closer analysis of the results point to important multiplicative effects which should be taken into account in both short-run and long-run analyses.     

Waste plastics recycling process using coke ovens

The Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), as its voluntary energy-saving action plan, proposed a 10% energy reduction by 2010 with 1990 as the basis. Further, it has suggested an additional 1.5% energy saving by the use of waste plastics as a metallurgical raw material. The amount of processing of waste plastics which corresponds to this amount of energy conversion is about 1 million t scale during 1 year. Conventional known methods for recycle-processing of waste plastics include, for example, the method of injection into a blast furnace to use waste plastics as an iron-ore reducing agent instead of coal. On the other hand, the coking process is considered to be suitable as a waste plastic recycling facility because the process involves coal carbonization in a high-temperature and reducing atmosphere. Carbonization tests with mixed waste plastics were conducted with laboratory equipment and in actual coke ovens. As a result, it was confirmed that the waste plastics recycling process using coke ovens is feasible. Therefore, a waste plastics recycling process using coke ovens was started as a chemical recycling technology at Nippon Steel.     

Unique bioconcentration characteristics of new aryl fluoroalkyl ethers in common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

The bioconcentration factors (BCFs) of seven new aryl fluoroalkyl ethers--four bis-4-tetrafluoroethoxyphenyl-type (bis-type) compounds and three mono-4-tetrafluoroethoxyphenyl-type (mono-type) compounds--were obtained by bioconcentration tests using common carp. The BCFs of 4 of the 7 ethers were higher than 5000, indicating their high bioconcentration potential. The bioconcentration characteristics of the bis-type compounds were different from those of the mono-type compounds and non-fluoro diphenylmethanes with a similar skeleton structure to the bis-type compounds, in taking longer to reach a plateau and having a slower elimination rate and in their distribution patterns in the fish body. The BCF of 1 bis-type compound was much higher than the value predicted by an accepted correlation equation between BCF and P(ow). In addition, the logP(ow) of the bis-type compounds calculated by commercially available computer software was remarkably different from that measured.     

Impact of fermented brown rice with Aspergillus oryzae (FEBRA) intake and concentrations of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) in blood of humans from Japan

The isotope dilution technique was applied for the analysis of new polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) calibration standard (both labeled and non-labeled) using high-resolution gas chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRGC-HRMS). The relative response factor (RRF) and relative standard deviation (RSD) for new calibration standard in Finnigan Thermo Electron (MAT-95XL) and Micromass (Autospec Ultima) were more or less identical with mean RRF (0.9882), RSD (0.0865) and CV% of (8.75). The results also revealed for DeBDE-209 quantification; labeled DeBDE-209 is essential. Furthermore, we recommend on column injection technique with a thin film instead of splitless injection in order to reduce the thermal degradation of DeBDE-209 and formation of octabromodibenzofurans (OBDF). Besides, analysis of human blood (n = 156) of FEBRA-intake and non-FEBRA-intake individuals elucidated frequent detection of eighteen PBDE congeners. The average PBDE concentrations in non-FEBRA intake and FEBRA-intake humans were 6000-11,000 (mean: 8400) and 5400-15,000 (mean: 9900) respectively on pg/g fat basis. Although FEBRA-intake individuals showed slightly greater PBDEs, computer-normalized concentrations of TeBDE-47 corroborate FEBRA-intake individual from four family showed reduced concentrations. The contamination profiles of PBDEs varied in between family, gender as well as geography. International comparison with predominant PBDE congener (TeBDE-47) prevailed lower levels in Japan when compared to Korea, Germany and USA nevertheless, congener specific profiles were different which is in accordance with different technical PBDE usage in between countries.     

Performance tests of newly developed adsorption/plasma combined system for decomposition of volatile organic compounds under continuous flow condition

The adsorption/plasma decomposition with the combination of adsorption honeycomb-sheets and a plasma element is a new technology for small-sized apparatuses to decompose volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at concentrations lower than about 100 ppm. The feasibility of the prototype adsorption/plasma decomposition apparatus was evaluated with the simulated exhausts containing one VOC component and with real exhausts from a painting booth and an adhesion factory. The apparatus decomposed VOCs e ectively at the painting booth exhaust but not always satisfactorily at the adhesion factory exhaust. The performance test results with real exhausts were discussed with respect to the concentration and discharge pattern of the exhausts and the basic properties of the system such as cooperation of adsorption and plasma reaction and the concentration dependence of the performance.