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Volume 54 (2010)
- Issue 4 Pages 271-
- Issue 3 Pages 193-
- Issue 2 Pages 85-
- Issue 1 Pages 3-
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Volume 54, Issue 3
Displaying 1-5 of 5 articles from this issue
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Kenshi KATAHIRA2010 Volume 54 Issue 3 Pages 193-203
Published: July 30, 2010
Released on J-STAGE: August 10, 2010
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSPollutants are emitted into the atmosphere by human activity and are later deposited partly in the hydrosphere such as in ponds and lakes. Sediments in the hydrosphere retain the environmental pollutants over a long time. Using this property of sediments, many studies have revealed the historical changes in environmental pollution by sampling columnar sediment cores from the hydrosphere and estimating the deposition age of the core materials.
The sources of lead can be determined using lead isotope ratios, which vary depending on the source mine. The measurement of lead isotope ratios in sediment cores is therefore very useful for identification of the historical source of environmental lead pollution.
Lead in sediments is however derived from both anthropogenic sources and natural input and the lead isotope ratios of the sediment therefore consist of values averaged from the two sources. The present review describes a useful method of extracting anthropogenic lead from sediment and estimating its isotope ratios. This method can be used to estimate the isotope ratios of anthropogenic lead at the time of deposition in the environment of the sampling site. It also enables comparison of the isotope ratios of anthropogenic lead in one sediment with those in other sediments.View full abstractDownload PDF (961K) -
Hiroshi TANAKA2010 Volume 54 Issue 3 Pages 204-212
Published: July 30, 2010
Released on J-STAGE: August 10, 2010
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSAlthough it is commonly used on various agricultural crops, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is seldom applied to ornamental trees in gardens. Many species of tree are planted in gardens and all the trees tend to be sprayed with insecticide regardless of the insect damage. To establish an IPM strategy in a garden, I propose adopting the key phrase ‘maintenance of beauty’ and changing the control target from ‘non-specific garden pest insects’ to ‘pest insects specific to the relevant tree species’. In the present article, I describe examples of IPM in three gardens in line with this strategy. I also illustrate the use of sex pheromone products for garden pest insects.View full abstractDownload PDF (1361K)
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Kaoru UMEDA, Maki KOBAYASHI, Nao HATAYAMA2010 Volume 54 Issue 3 Pages 213-218
Published: July 30, 2010
Released on J-STAGE: August 10, 2010
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSA total of 71 Staphylococcus aureus isolates associated with food-borne disease, healthy human nasal swabs, food samples, and healthy human feces were examined by PCR for the presence of classical staphylococcal enterotoxin (SE) genes (sea, seb, sec, sed and see), newly identified SE genes (seg, seh and sei), and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA)-related genes. Classical and newly identified SE genes were detected in isolates associated with food-borne disease, and some isolates associated with healthy human nasal swabs, food samples, and healthy human feces were shown to have the possibility of causing food-borne disease. Four isolates (three from healthy human nasal swab and one from healthy human feces) harbored the MRSA gene while three had the possibility of transmitting community-acquired MRSA. These results suggest that appropriate sanitary supervision is necessary to prevent contamination and infection with S. aureus. The PCR methods used in the study were useful for understanding the epidemiology and pathogenicity of S. aureus.View full abstractDownload PDF (616K)
Reports
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Hideyuki KUBO2010 Volume 54 Issue 3 Pages 219-228
Published: July 30, 2010
Released on J-STAGE: August 10, 2010
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSThe occurrence of human-human infection with the new influenza A(H1N1) virus (AH1pdm) was reported for the first time in the United States in late April 2009. Sequentially, pandemic AH1pdm was reported worldwide. Laboratory examinations to detect AH1pdm genes in the specimens of patients with influenza-like illness (ILI) were performed with real-time RT-PCR and conventional RT-PCR at my institute in Osaka City. The first case of AH1pdm genes detection in an ILI patient specimen occurred on April 30, 2009. The number of ILI patient specimens examined increased in May 2009, and 37-120 specimens per month were examined from May to December 2009. In Osaka City, the pandemic of AH1pdm began in July 2009 and the pandemic peak was observed in November 2009. Thereafter, the number of ILI patients with AH1pdm infection decreased gradually and the pandemic of AH1pdm was close to exhausted in March 2010. As it is not possible to estimate the pandemic pattern of AH1pdm in the future, strict surveillance for AH1pdm must be performed with other seasonal influenza viruses.View full abstractDownload PDF (3575K) -
Kentaro ARIKAWA, Yoshikazu NISHIKAWA2010 Volume 54 Issue 3 Pages 229-234
Published: July 30, 2010
Released on J-STAGE: August 10, 2010
JOURNAL FREE ACCESSIn the present study, we checked the subsurface layers of Osaka city for microorganisms using PCR and investigated whether genetic diagnosis could be used to estimate the microbial contamination of the ground strata. The 145 soil specimens from 2.05 to 29.35 meters underground were obtained by boring surveys at Minami Izuo park in the west of Osaka city. Microbial DNA was detected by PCR using the primer sets P3MOD/PC5B for eubacteria, NS1/NS2 for fungi, protists, and green algae, and ZL-1675/ZL2548 for E. coli., which were able to recognize microbial DNA in the soil dose-dependently. Increase in the number of inoculated organisms led to increase in the number of amplicons in the preliminary experiment. The PCR amplicons of protists and bacteria were detected well in the top-level sand stratum, but few signals were produced by these bands, especially protists, in the clay-stratum specimens from increasing depths. However, the NS1/NS2 band reappeared in the deeper sand stratum located at around 22.5 meters underground. Protists seem to be found more abundantly in sand than clay strata because they can move easily in and with groundwater. Only one of the 145 samples showed the positive reaction to the ZL-1675/ZL2548 primer set that suggests the presence of E. coli in the ground stratum. The results indicate that microbial DNA is present in the ground strata of Osaka city; helpful would be an investigation to assess how microbes reach the ground strata and contaminate groundwater.View full abstractDownload PDF (1542K)
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