Evolution and physiological consequences of de-alation in crickets

Wing shedding or de-alation is a common phenomenon among crickets. Its significance and effects on other traits were examined based on the results from experiments using artifical or natural de-alation. Artificial de-alation at adult emergence induces rapid egg production and flight muscle histolysis in several species examined. However, natural de-alation does not always shorten the pre-ovipositional period because it does not occur immediately after adult emergence and because oviposition starts before de-alation. In some cases, naturally de-alated females produce more eggs than to intact females during early adult life, but peak ovipositing activity occurs before de-alation. Therefore, retention of the hindwings does not suppress high ovipositing activity in such cases. It appears that de-alation is a result rather than a causal factor in ending migration. Ovarian development and flight muscle histolysis, which can be stimulated by de-alation, are controlled by the jevenile hormone, but the mechanism inducing de-alation remains unknown. The possible factors leading to the evolution of de-alation are discussed.     

How is life history variation generated from the genetic resource allocation?

A simple quantitative genetic model is proposed to explain the observed genetic correlation structure of a bruchid beetleCallosobruchus chinensis in terms of two underlying variables: the resource acquisition and the resource allocation. Heritabilities and genetic correlations among age-specific, fecundities are regarded as consequences of genetic variations of the two variables. Genetic correlations are predominantly positive in both predictions and observations. Nonetheless, comparison between observed and predicted values in heritabilities, genetic correlations, and genetic principal components suggested significant genetic variances both of the resource allocation and the resource acquisition. The prediction of the model is discussed in relation, to experimental tests of trade-off in life history evolution.     

Systems Development and Difficulties in Implementing Procedures for Elder Abuse Prevention Among Private Community General Support Centers in Japan

The present study examines differences in systems development and difficulties in implementing procedures for elder abuse prevention in 1,119 private and 606 public community general support centers under the public long-term care insurance program in Japan. The private community general support centers showed more difficulty implementing procedures than the public community general support centers. Controlling for the type of municipality, progress in systems development did not differ between the private and public community general support centers. Further research should examine how the characteristics of municipal governments are related to systems development in community general support centers.     

Sufficient conditions for the admissibility under the LINEX loss function in non-regular case

Consider an estimation problem under the LINEX loss function in one-parameter non-regular distributions where the endpoint of the support depends on an unknown parameter. The purpose of this paper is to give sufficient conditions for a generalized Bayes estimator of a parametric function to be admissible. Also, it is shown that the main result in this paper is an extension of the quadratic loss case. Some examples are given.     

A field study of the effect of prebaiting on censusing by the capture-recapture method in a vole population

Summary Populations of the vole,Clethrionomys rufocanus, in a lowland woodlot of Hokkaido were studied for the presence of effects of prebaiting on censusing by the capture-recapture method. A grid of 121 live-traps, spaced 5 m apart, was laid out on each of two plots, one of which alone was prebaited three days long. Owing to very high densities and great trap-efficiency, sufficient and favourable samples could be available for statistical analysis, except the trend of delayed catch for young in sampling. The population on either plot, however, proved to be markedly variable in catchability of unmarked animals in the course of trapping; while the probability of recapture was counted as invariable on the average from day to day, the recapture frequency was different between juveniles, subadults and adults. Needless to say, the catchability was distinctly greater for marked voles than for unmarked ones, whether prebaited or not, through the trapping period, except that the first-day catchability for unmarked ones on the prebaited plot seems not to be significantly lower than that for marked ones. Consequently, it turns out that the prebaiting has almost never helped to eliminate the important bias induced by differential trap-response of marked and unmarked animals; its contribution is only that the catchability for unmarked ones is slightly higher on the part of the prebaited plot on earlier days of the period. In accordance with the heterogeneous catchability, the Γ-form distribution analogous to the geometric could be applied with thorough fitness to the capture frequency in order to estimate the whole populations. The fact that the estimates are reliable, being not at any rate underestimates, was further confirmed by the result of a follow-up work conducted by means of the removal method with wider trap-spacing which brought forth distinct underestimation chiefly referable to unexposure to traps of the partial populations. The subject of unexposure was discussed by laying stress on the relation between minimum range length and trap-spacing. Contribution from JIBP-PT No. 88, carried out by the grant from the expenditure of Education Department to the specific study on “Dynamics of Biosphere”.     

The Immediate Impact of the Fukushima Daiichi Accident on Local Property Values

The Fukushima Daiichi accident released huge amounts of radioactive material over a wide area. We can appreciate the geographical extent of radioactive contamination from the information published online by the Japanese government. Historically, this is an unprecedented situation, which allows “natural experimentation” to estimate the causal effects of radioactive contamination on our society. This study focused on property value losses caused by the accident and analyzed changes in land appraisals around the Fukushima Daiichi plant from July 2010 to July 2011 within the framework of hedonic approach. Thus, we estimated the short‐run impact of the contamination or the change in marginal value of proximity to the plant. The results suggest that the appraisals significantly and monotonically depreciated with increasing contamination levels. However, there was no evidence to suggest changes in the marginal value of proximity to the plant. A comparison between the appraisals and transaction prices indicates that this result could be interpreted as an underestimate of actual property value losses.     

Aging in Rural Japan—Limitations in the Current Social Care Policy

Owing to equal and increased opportunities for education and employment, today's trend in Japanese marriages is characterized by late and less frequent marriage. This paper discusses unavoidable diversity in rural families to point out the anticipated consequences of aging in rural areas and to discuss limitations in current public social care policies. Specifically, the averaged proportion of never-married and single persons at ages 45 to 49 and 50 to 54 in legally recognized depopulated cities, towns, and villages in Japan is calculated to illustrate the expected diversity in families in rural depopulated areas. It also illustrates the need for future studies to develop better social care policies for increasing numbers of single caregivers and single elders.     

Redefining the Moral Responsibilities for Food Safety: The Case of Red Meat in New Zealand*

Abstract Food safety governance is shaped by social relationships among the state, the industry, and the public in the food system in a given country. This paper examines the contestation among actors in New Zealand's red meat chain over the implementation of the Animal Product Act of 1999 (APA), which became a cornerstone in the reform of food safety governance. The discussion focuses on the APA's impact on three types of social relations in the red meat chain, those between: (a) the state and the industry; (b) consumers and citizens; and (c) New Zealand and “offshore.” This paper argues that food safety governance is an important element of the moral economy in a given country and poses both policy and ethical challenges in balancing conflicting needs between the global and local agrofood systems.     

The Other‐Race Effect in Infancy: Evidence Using a Morphing Technique

Human adults are more accurate at discriminating faces from their own race than faces from another race. This other‐race effect (ORE) has been characterized as a reflection of face processing specialization arising from differential experience with own‐race faces. We examined whether 3.5‐month‐old infants exhibit ORE using morphed faces on which adults had displayed a crossover ORE (i.e., Caucasians performed better on Caucasian faces and Asians performed better on Asian faces). In this experiment, Caucasian infants who had grown up in a predominantly Caucasian environment discriminated 100% Caucasian faces from 70% Caucasian/30% Asian morphed faces but failed to discriminate between the corresponding 100% Asian and 70% Asian/30% Caucasian faces. Thus, 3.5‐month‐olds exhibited evidence of ORE. These results indicate that at least by 3.5 months of age, infants have attained enough face processing expertise to process familiar‐race faces in a different manner than unfamiliar‐race faces.