The white grub beetle, Dasylepida ishigakiensis (Niijima et Kinoshita), is a serious pest of sugarcane in the Miyako Islands of Okinawa, Japan. Two evident electroantennographic (EAG) responses were observed by solid-phase microextraction sampling from female secretion and subsequent gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) analyses. These were identified as 2-propanol and 2-butanol by GC-MS analyses. GC-EAD on a chiral column showed two evident EAG signals corresponding to 2-butanol enantiomers, but the ratio and amounts could not be determined because of the small amounts. (R)-2-Butanol elicited the strongest EAG response, followed by (S)-2-butanol and 2-propanol, which showed 1/10 and 1/100 of the response of the first compound, respectively. In the field, only (R)-2-butanol attracted feral males when it was baited as 1 ml water solution of 1-100 mg of this compound, (S)-2-butanol, racemic mixture or 2-propanol on cotton ball lures (ca. 1.5 cm diameter) in vane-traps. When 2-propanol was blended with 10 mg/ml of (R)-2-butanol solution on cotton ball lures, male catches decreased as the amount of 2-propanol increased. From these results it was concluded that (R)-2-butanol was a component of the sex attractant pheromone of D. ishigakiensis while (S)-enantiomer and 2-propanol showed inhibitory effects when they were blended with the first compound.

To clarify its biological nature, 10 samples of goblet cell-type adenocarcinoma of the lung were collected and compared with 10 other pulmonary mucin-producing adenocarcinomas with respect to immunohistochemical features and the presence of Ki-ras gene mutation in codons 12 and 13. Goblet cell-type adenocarcinomas lacked immunoreactivity for surfactant apoprotein and S-100 protein-positive Langerhans cells, which was in marked contrast to other mucin-producing adenocarcinomas. In addition, the mucin gene products, MUC-1 and MUC-2 glycoproteins were immunohistochemically stained. The results showed that MUC-1 glycoprotein is frequently expressed by mucin-producing adenocarcinomas except the goblet cell-type. Ki-ras gene mutation was detected in 12 of 20 (60%) mucin-producing adenocarcinomas. These mutations were exclusively found in codon 12 and G to A transitions were the most frequent type of alteration in the Ki-ras gene. In goblet cell-type adenocarcinomas, the frequency of Ki-ras gene mutation was 80% consisting of G to A transitions and G to T transversions in six and two tumors, respectively. Therefore, goblet cell-type adenocarcinomas differed from other mucin-producing adenocarcinomas in terms of immunohistochemical and molecular biological features, suggesting that goblet cell-type adenocarcinomas are distinctly different from other subtypes of adenocarcinomas.

On the main islands of Japan and in Taiwan, the spider mites Tetranychus kanzawai and T. urticae (green and red forms) are major pests on vegetable crops. The present study revealed that the dominant spider mite species injurious to vegetables in Okinawa, located between the main islands of Japan and Taiwan, differed from those in the two regions, providing important and fundamental information for controlling spider mites in Okinawa. T. okinawanus was the most dominant species throughout Okinawa with the broadest host range, even though the species has been regarded as a non-pest to date. T. piercei, which has similarly not been treated as a vegetable pest, was the second most dominant species with respect to frequency of occurrence and host range. T. kanzawai and T. urticae (green form) were comparable in the frequency of occurrence to T. piercei in the northern part of Okinawa (Okinawa Islands), whereas they were scarce in the southern part (Sakishima Islands). As other less-dominant species, T. ludeni, T. neocaledonicus and T. pueraricola were found infesting several vegetable crops. T. urticae (red form) was not found in this study.

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The species composition of spider mites on crops in Okinawa is peculiar in that Tetranychus okinawanus and T. piercei are dominant on most islands, whereas T. urticae (green form) and T. kanzawai are not. To determine the source plants of Tetranychus species infesting crops, as well as to contribute to our understanding of the cause of this peculiar mite fauna, we collected Tetranychus mites on non-crop plants throughout Okinawa (more than 450 sites on 15 islands) and identified them. Except in the case of T. parakanzawai, the species frequently found on crops tended to occur frequently on non-crop plants, suggesting that the peculiar species composition on crops reflects that also on non-crop plants. T. parakanzawai has been rarely found on crops but frequently found on particular non-crop plants, possibly due to the narrower host range of this species. The type of host plants varied among mite species; for example, T. okinawanus was frequently found on indigenous plants inhabiting the seashore and invasive weeds, T. piercei and T. parakanzawai on inland indigenous plants, T. urticae (green form) on invasive weeds, and T. neocaledonicus on introduced trees. These results are of great significance when considering vegetation control as a tactic for the integrated management of spider mites.