Eye fatigue-reduction effect of wood rim cover on liquid crystal display

The purpose of this study is to confirm objectively by an instrumental measurement if there is less eye fatigue in VDT work when using a wood rim covered display than when using a plastic housing display. The subjects were 26 graduate and undergraduate university students. Each subject did the same 60-min VDT activity with both a plastic housing and wood-covered display. Before and after VDT activity, each subject’s near-point accommodation distance was measured by a near-point ruler. As a result, it was confirmed that variation rate of the near-point accommodation distance by the VDT work with the wood-covered display was smaller than with the plastic housing display. From sensory tests, progression of subjective symptoms such as eye pain and headache was less with the wood-covered display than with the plastic housing display.     

Intestinal Tritrichomonas suis (=T. foetus) infection in Japanese cats

Tritrichomonas suis (=T. foetus) has recently been reported to be a causative agent of chronic large-bowel diarrhea in cats. While the disease was previously attributed to Pentatrichomonas hominis, the etiologic agent for feline trichomonal diarrhea was identified as T. suis. Although feline trichomonosis due to T. suis has been reported at prevalences ranging from 14 to 31% in Europe and the U.S., no reports of the pathogen have been published to date in Japan. In 2008, however, we encountered a case of feline trichomonosis at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Hokkaido University. The parasite was identified as T. suis by nested PCR amplification of partial internal transcribed spacer region 1 and 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene sequences with T. suis-specific primers and DNA sequencing of the amplified products. We then conducted surveys for feline trichomonosis in three different animal hospitals using either cultivation and/or PCR-based assays. The results revealed that 13 of 147 samples (8.8%) were positive for T. suis, and that 5 of the 13 infected cats, which ranged between 1 month and 7.5 years-old, showed chronic diarrhea. Seven of the infected cats were purebred and 6 were mixed breed. These findings suggested that feline trichomonosis is prevalent in Japan, and that T. suis may play a role as a causative agent of feline chronic diarrhea.     

Optimization of a protocol for cryopreservation of mouse spermatozoa using cryotubes

The rapid increase in the number of genetically modified mouse strains has produced a high demand for their frozen spermatozoa from laboratories and mouse banking facilities. Historically, plastic straws have been used preferentially as containers for frozen mammalian spermatozoa because spermatozoa frozen in plastic straws have a high survival rate after thawing. However, plastic straws are more fragile and are used less often than the cryotubes used for conventional cell freezing. In this study, we sought to develop a new protocol for sperm freezing using cryotubes as the container to increase the accessibility of mouse sperm cryopreservation. Epididymal spermatozoa were collected from mature ICR or C57BL/6J (B6) males and were suspended in 18% raffinose and 3% skim milk solution. We then optimized the following conditions using the sperm survival rate as an index: 1) distance of cryotubes from the surface of the liquid nitrogen at freezing, 2) volume of the sperm suspension in the cryotube and 3) temperature of warming sperm during thawing. The best result was obtained when cryotubes containing 10 μl of sperm suspension were immersed 1 cm below the surface of the liquid nitrogen and then thawed at 50 C. The fertilization rates using spermatozoa frozen and thawed using this method were 63.1% in ICR mice and 28.2% in B6 mice. The latter rate was increased to 62.3% by adding reduced glutathione to the fertilization medium. After embryo transfer, 68% and 62% of the fertilized oocytes developed into normal offspring in the ICR and B6 strains, respectively. These results show that cryotubes can be used for cryopreservation of mouse spermatozoa under optimized conditions. This protocol is easy and reproducible, and it may be used in laboratories that do not specialize in sperm cryopreservation.     

Effects of prescription diet on dealing with stressful situations and performance of anxiety-related behaviors in privately owned anxious dogs

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effects of a diet (CALM CANINE) supplemented with alpha-casozepine and L-tryptophan on the stress response of anxious dogs with a focus on anxiety-related behavioral parameters and physiological parameters. Forty-four privately owned dogs were first fed with the control diet, followed by the study diet, each for an 8-week period, with a transitional period of 1 week between the diets. After 7 weeks on a particular diet, owners reported their dogs' behavior by filling out a questionnaire. Using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire, the effect of the study diet was found to be significant for 4 anxiety-related behavioral parameters, possibly mirroring a placebo effect. After 7 weeks on each diet, the urine cortisol-to-creatinine ratio (UCCR) was measured to assess the stress response to a visit to a veterinary practice for toenail clipping. UCCR was measured to complement the interpretation of behavioral data with regard to the stress susceptibility of the dogs. A positive correlation was found between baseline UCCR, as measured in the home situations, and poststressor UCCR. The stressor-induced increase was significantly lower in the dogs when they were fed the study diet than earlier when they were fed the control diet. The supplementation of casozepine or the proportion of protein in a given diet could have been a determining factor. The study diet seems to improve the ability of an individual to cope with stress and may reduce anxiety-related behavior in anxious dogs.     

Influence of Water Temperature on Morphological Deformities in Cultured Larvae of Japanese Eel,Anguilla japonica,at Completion of Yolk Resorption

The occurrence of morphological deformities under different rearing water temperatures (18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, and 30 C) was examined in Japanese eel larvae. The rates of hatching and survival until yolk resorption at 22–26 C were higher than those at other water temperatures. Fertilized eggs never hatched at 18 and 30 C. The rates of occurrence of abnormal larvae reared at the water temperatures 24–28 C were lower than those at 20 or 22 C. Pericardial edema and lower jaw deformities occurred most frequently at lower temperatures (20 and 22 C). In contrast, the incubation temperature did not significantly affect the relative frequency of some neurocranial deformities and of spinal curvature. These results imply that the optimal temperatures for rearing Japanese eel eggs and embryos are 24–26 C from the viewpoints of survival and deformity.     

Plasma glucose,mannose, and non-esterified fatty acid concentrations in layer-type chickens

1. The oral administration of glucose or dietary glucose reduces fasting plasma mannose concentrations in mammals. On the other hand, there have been no reports on plasma mannose levels in birds. We have analysed chicken plasma mannose and glucose by an original high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, together with plasma non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations in chickens.

2. Plasma glucose concentrations of chickens did not differ among three different age groups (0, 18 and 150 d). However, the plasma mannose concentrations of chicks at the age of 0 d were higher than those of chickens at the ages of 18 and 150 d.

3. At the age of 18 and 150 d, plasma glucose concentrations were elevated and plasma mannose and NEFA concentrations were decreased after regular feeding, compared to fasting levels.     

Anesthetic management with sevoflurane and oxygen for orthopedic surgeries in racehorses

Eighty-five thoroughbred racehorses with various types of fracture were subjected to arthroscopic surgery (44 horses) or internal fixation (41 horses) under sevoflurane anesthesia. The mean end-tidal sevoflurane concentration during anesthesia ranged from 2.5 to 2.8%. PaCO2 was maintained between 50 and 65 mmHg by controlled ventilation. The mean arterial blood pressure was maintained above 65 mmHg by infusion of dobutamine and fluids, however, heart rate significantly increased with time. Recovery from anesthesia was calm and smooth in almost all cases. No apparent complication was observed during and after anesthesia in all cases. Therefore, sevoflurane anesthesia is considered to be safe and useful for orthopedic surgery in racehorses.     

Vibrational properties of heat-treated green wood

To investigate the influence of water on heat treatment, green wood was heat-treated. Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis Carr.) with about 60% moisture content (MC) was used. Young's modulus and loss tangent were measured by the free-free flexural vibration test. The specimens were heated in nitrogen at 160°C for 0.5h. The results were as follows. (1) Recognizing that the effects of heat treatment are mild and that the same specimens cannot be used for both heat treatment and as controls, it was necessary to investigate the effects of the heat treatment based on the variations of properties in the whole of the test lumber. (2) Young's modulus increased and the loss tangent decreased due to heat treatment. When the vibrational properties were measured at various MCs, the MCs at the maximum value of Young's modulus and the minimum value of the loss tangent were lower in heat-treated specimens than in controls. The effects of heat treatment in green wood were similar to those in air-dried wood. (3) The loss tangents of heat-treated specimens were smaller than those of controls at about 0% MC but were larger than those of controls at about 10% MC. We thought that this resulted from the decreased MC at the minimum loss tangent after the heat treatment mentioned above. (4) The properties measured at several MCs were more useful than those at only one moisture content for investigating the effects of heat treatment.This study was presented in part at the 46th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Kumamoto, April 3–5, 1996; and at the 47th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Kochi, April 3–5, 1997     

Measurement of mode II fracture toughness of wood by the end-notched flexure test

We examined the applicability of end-notched flexure (ENF) tests for measuring the mode II fracture toughness of wood. Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla Sarg.) was used for the specimens. The fracture toughness at the beginning of crack propagationG _IIc and that during crack propagationG _IIR were calculated from the loadloading point compliance and load-crack shear displacement (CSD) relations. The obtained results were compared with each other, and the validity of measurement methods were examined. The results are summarized as follows: (1) The value ofG _IIc increased with the increase in initial crack length. When measuringG _IIc by ENF tests, we should be aware of the dependence ofG _IIc on the initial crack length. (2) The value ofG _IIR initially increased with the crack length, and it reached a constant value. (3) Measurement of the CSD is recommended when obtainingG _IIR because the crack length, which has a great influence on theG _IIR calculation, is implicitly included in the CSD. (4) We found that the crack length during its propagation should be evaluated by the final crack length.     

MicroRNA expression profiling of cat and dog kidneys

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a role in the pathogenesis of certain diseases and may serve as biomarkers. Here, we present the first analysis of miRNA expression in the kidneys of healthy cats and dogs. Kidneys were divided into renal cortex (CO) and medulla (MD), and RNA sequence analysis was performed using the mouse genome as a reference. A total of 277, 276, 295, and 297 miRNAs were detected in cat CO, cat MD, dog CO, and dog MD, respectively. By comparing the expression ratio of CO to MD, we identified highly expressed miRNAs in each tissue as follows: 41 miRNAs including miR-192-5p in cat CO; 45 miRNAs including miR-323-3p in dog CO; 78 miRNAs including miR-20a-5p in cat MD; and 11 miRNAs including miR-132-5p in dog MD. Further, the target mRNAs of these miRNAs were identified. These data provide veterinary medicine critical information regarding renal miRNA expression.