Kushiro City Museum

ABSTRACT Unravelling Earth's life history at the molecular level is a long‐standing goal of molecular palaeontology, but the discovery of fossils with preserved ancient biomolecules remains limited. Reports of organic molecules surviving for tens of millions of years are particularly rare. This study investigates the exceptional preservation of a fossilised brackish‐water bivalve, Batissa sitakaraensis (Venerida: Corbiculidae), from the middle Eocene Yubetsu Formation (Urahoro Group, East Hokkaido, Japan), dated to approximately 38 million years ago. Detailed analyses using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x‐ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed that the original aragonitic shell microstructure was preserved without significant alteration. Furthermore, the infrared absorption spectra revealed that β ‐chitin, a major component of the periostracum, was retained. Notably, proteinaceous material was detected in a crude extract, and comparisons with the host rock matrix and the closely related extant species B. violacea support the presence of endogenous molecular remnants in the fossil. These findings collectively suggest a unique taphonomic pathway that allowed for the remarkable preservation of both inorganic and organic components in this Eocene brackish‐water bivalve fossil. This fossil represents a promising material for molecular palaeontology, especially in the study of ancient proteins, and offers significant insights into the processes of fossilisation and the mechanisms of molecular preservation.

Ecological succession within lakes generally proceeds as eutrophication and shallowing occur and the aquatic biota of the lakes is altered. The eutrophication rate depends on the lake size and the area and fertility of the watershed. If the watershed fertility of several different lakes is equivalent and the lakes’ formation time and initial environment are similar, the trophic status of each lake is expected to increase over time depending on the ratio of the watershed area to lake size. To test this supposition, we surveyed the topography and water quality of 10 lakes of varying sizes in Akan Caldera, Japan, which were formed thousands of years ago by fragmentation due to volcanic eruptions within the caldera. The ratio of the accumulated watershed area to lake size was positively correlated with total phosphorus concentration, an indicator of trophic status, and lake types were classified as oligotrophic, mesotrophic, eutrophic, and dystrophic. In addition, 21 species of macrophytes were found in the lakes, and the species composition of each lake was divided into five types corresponding to combinations of the lake types. The discovery of such diversity in a group of lakes with a similar origin paves the way for new comparative studies.

Frequent monitoring of the state of wetlands is important in order to sustain these valuable ecosystems. Reliable reference maps make this monitoring more effective. A very high resolution and reliable vegetation map with a nominal spatial resolution of 2 cm by 2 cm was created for a study area in the high moor in the Kushiro wetland, Japan. The reference map was created using aerial photography recorded in the summer of 1998 with a 35 mm, non-metric camera mounted on a balloon. The study site contains 40 wetland plant community types covering about 10 ha of the high moor. The resulting map shows that belt-like spatial patterns of typical wetland plant community groups can be clearly distinguished and confirmed through visual interpretation and spatial pattern analysis. The optimal spatial resolution for monitoring vegetation in this area using remote sensing is 0.3 m or smaller.

A helminthological survey was performed on 75 individuals of Tancho, Grus japonensis, from Hokkaido, Japan. A total of seven helminth species, including five nematode (Baruscapillaira sp., Contracaecum sp., Paracuaria adunca, Syncuaria sp., Viktorocara sp.) and two trematode (Echinostoma gotoi, Apatemon gracilis) species were obtained from 57.3% of the cranes, and E. gotoi was the most common encountered. Among the above helminths, all helminths except for E. gotoi were the first host records for G. japonensis worldwide, and Syncuaria sp. was the first geographical record from Japan. Since the acuariid nematodes including the genera Paracuaria, Syncuaria and Viktorocara are known to cause ulcerative ventriculitis and/or enteritis in bird alimentary tracts, monitoring of helminths is recommended in this endangered crane species.

ABSTRACTHere, we used a sheep bioassay to determine the effect of freezing colostrum to preventthe transmission of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) among neonatal calves. Leukocytes wereisolated from the colostrum of a BLV-infected Holstein cow and were then either leftuntreated (control) or freeze-thawed. A sheep inoculated intraperitoneally with theuntreated leukocytes was infected with BLV at 3 weeks after inoculation, whereas the sheepinoculated with treated leukocytes did not become infected. The uninfected sheep wasinoculated again with leukocytes isolated from the colostrum of another BLV-infectedHolstein cow after freezing treatment, and again it did not become infected with BLV.Finally, this sheep was inoculated with the leukocytes isolated from the colostrum ofanother virus-infected cow without freezing treatment, and it became infected with BLV at4 weeks after inoculation. The results indicate that colostrum should be frozen as auseful means of inactivating the infectivity of BLV-infected lymphocytes.

A 33-year-old red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) had a diffuse intestinal thickening from the duodenum to colon. Microscopically, neoplastic cells were arranged in sheets and occasionally nests or cords without gland or squamous differentiation. Metastatic tumor cells were found in the lungs, heart, kidneys and adrenal glands. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells were strongly positive for pan-cytokeratin and cytokeratin 8 and 18 and only partly positive for E-cadherin antibodies. Immunostaining for CD3 was positive in normal lymphocytes, and NSE was also positive in normal nerve fibers. But, the neoplastic cells were not immunoreactive to CD3 and NSE. Based on the histological features and the epithelial characteristics in the immunohistochemical stain, the present case was diagnosed as undifferentiated carcinoma originating from the intestine. Interestingly, the neoplastic cells showed a unique growth pattern; they never invaded the submucosa or muscularis throughout the intestine, whereas they spread lymphogenously or hematogenously to other organs.

Red-crowned (or Japanese) cranes Grus japonensis are native to eastern Hokkaido, Japan--the island population, and mainland Asia--the continental population that migrates from breeding grounds along the Amur River Basin to winter in east China and the Korean Peninsula. The island population was reduced to about 50-60 birds in early part of the 20th century. Since 1950s, the population has increased to more than 1,300 as a consequence of human-provided food in winter, resulted in change of their habitats and food resource. From the carcasses of 284 wild cranes from the island population, collected in Hokkaido since 1976 until 2010, we measured six physical parameters (body weight and lengths of body, wing, tarsus, tail and exposed culmen) and divided into groups by sex and three developmental stages (juvenile, yearling and adult). All parameters of males were larger than those of females at the same stage. Total body length of females tends to grow up earlier than males, in contrast to body weight. Obvious time trends were not observed in these all parameters during 34 years for these six categories measured, except total length of male juveniles, which showed a significant increasing trend. These results provide the first extensive data on body size and mass in the wild red-crowned cranes.

The purpose of the study was to develop and evaluate an iPad (Apple) application, Aid for Decision-making in Occupation Choice (ADOC), so as to promote shared decision-making in an occupation-based goal setting. This application involves the client choosing from 94 illustrations describing daily activities related to the category of "activities and participation". One hundred occupational therapy clients evaluated the ADOC for goal setting; the clients and 37 occupational therapists underwent a survey to determine their perceptions of decision-making in the goal setting. More than 90% of the clients felt that they could give their opinions using the ADOC regarding goal setting. The majority of the occupational therapists (>90%) felt that ADOC would be useful in their clinical practice for setting client goals. The results indicated that ADOC is a useful and acceptable tool for both clients and occupational therapists in shared decision-making in occupation-based goal setting.