Identification of growth hormone receptor in the ovary of tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus

Growth hormone receptor (GH-R) cDNA was isolated and characterized in the tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus. GH-R mRNA was expressed in the nucleus and cytoplasm of the young oocytes and in the follicles surrounding vitellogenic oocytes showing a correlation with ovarian IGF-I mRNA levels. However, no change was seen in liver GH-R/IGF-I mRNA levels or plasma GH/IGF-I levels during ovarian development, suggesting that GH/IGF-I axis may be involved in the ovarian development in paracrine or autocrine manner, independent of liver derived IGF-I.     

Decadal change in abundance of surface migratory myctophid fishes in the Kuroshio region from 1957 to 1994

Decadal change in abundance of surface migratory myctophid fishes was examined in the Kuroshio region of the western North Pacific for the 35 yr from 1957 to 1994 in relation to the Kuroshio regime shift, indicated by changes in its transport volume and sea surface temperature in the early 1970s. Each year, samples were collected from the 0‐ to 1‐m depth layer at night, from January to March, at 83 stations on average. Ten species belonging to five genera occurred. Juveniles [standard length (SL) ≤ 40 mm] and adults (SL > 40 mm) of each species were analysed. In juveniles, Myctophum asperum, M. nitidulum, Symbolophorus evermanni and Centrobranchus brevirostris accounted for 91.1% of the total catch (7419 individuals), while M. nitidulum contributed 82.4% of the total adult catch (494 individuals). The abundance of juvenile S. evermanni, C. brevirostris and M. nitidulum showed prominent peaks in 1971, together with adult M. nitidulum. These peaks corresponded to extraordinarily high zooplankton abundance in the Kuroshio region in 1971, suggesting high recruitment success and low adult mortality in surface migratory myctophids. Smaller changes in abundance in other years were species‐specific, and the fluctuation patterns were mainly explained by year‐to‐year fluctuations in the strength of the Kuroshio and the geographical distribution of each species, i.e. an increased Kuroshio flow volume resulted in an increase in tropical species and a decrease in temperate species, but no change in the pan‐Kuroshio species.     

Aquatic Chemistry of a Reservoir during the Thaw Season

The aquatic chemistry of a reservoir in a snowy area on the Japan Sea side of Hokkaido Prefecture in northern Japan was investigated during the 1999 thaw season. We observed slight and brief acidification, during which period the dissolved aluminum increased. The variation in its concentration was similar to that in dissolved organic carbon.     

The four-line model of the Triangular Running Skyline system: Scale model test

The four-line model of the Triangular Running Skyline (TRS) system is the theory generalized from the previous TRS theory to treat the main and slack-pulling lines separately. The previous theory,i.e., the three-line model, treated the main and slack-pulling lines as a single line to simplify the solution. The first part of this study developed numerical procedures for the four-line model. In this paper, to empirically ascertain the accuracy of the four-line model theory, a series of static equilibrium tests was carried out using a reduced scale model of the TRS system. The result proved that the theory of the four-line model has the same accuracy as that of the three-line model. However, the result also proved that the carriage may have to be located lower than the designated height. Thus, it has been proved that the development of a certain adjusting method is necessary to move the carriage of the TRS system closer to the designated point. A part of this paper was orally presented at the Second Annual Meeting of the Japanese Forest Engineering Association, November 18, 1995, Tokyo. This English title is a tentative translation from the original Japanese by the authors of this paper.     

Neuronal pathway from the liver modulates energy expenditure and systemic insulin sensitivity

Coordinated control of energy metabolism and glucose homeostasis requires communication between organs and tissues. We identified a neuronal pathway that participates in the cross talk between the liver and adipose tissue. By studying a mouse model, we showed that adenovirus-mediated expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-g2 in the liver induces acute hepatic steatosis while markedly decreasing peripheral adiposity. These changes were accompanied by increased energy expenditure and improved systemic insulin sensitivity. Hepatic vagotomy and selective afferent blockage of the hepatic vagus revealed that the effects on peripheral tissues involve the afferent vagal nerve. Furthermore, an antidiabetic thiazolidinedione, a PPARg agonist, enhanced this pathway. This neuronal pathway from the liver may function to protect against metabolic perturbation induced by excessive energy storage.     

Pole and global shape of 25143 Itokawa

The locations of the pole and rotation axis of asteroid 25143 Itokawa were derived from Asteroid Multiband Imaging Camera data on the Hayabusa spacecraft. The retrograde pole orientation had a right ascension of 90.53 degrees and a declination of -66.30 degrees (52000 equinox) or equivalently 128.5 degrees and -89.66 degrees in ecliptic coordinates with a 3.9 degrees margin of error. The surface area is 0.393 square kilometers, the volume is 0.018378 cubic kilometers with a 5% margin of error, and the three axis lengths are 535 meters by 294 meters by 209 meters. The global Itokawa revealed a boomerang-shaped appearance composed of two distinct parts with partly faceted regions and a constricted ring structure.     

Effects of mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine (MPS) lung lesion‐selected Landrace pigs on MPS resistance and immune competence in three‐way crossbred pigs

To clarify the genetic influence of mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine (MPS) lesion‐selected Landrace (La) on MPS resistance and immune characteristics in three‐way crossbred pigs (LaWaDa), the LaWaDa pigs were compared with the non‐selected crossbred (LbWbDb) and purebred (La) pigs. The MPS lesion score in the three lines was as follows: La line < LaWaDa line < LbWbDb line, with significant differences among the lines. The proportions of myeloid cells and T cells were lower and higher, respectively, in the LaWaDa pigs compared with those in the other two lines. Messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of interleukin (IL)‐6, IL‐10, transforming growth factor‐β, and interferon‐γ in peripheral blood was significantly increased after vaccination in the La and LaWaDa lines. IL‐4 mRNA expression in the LaWaDa line was intermediate to the La and LbWbDb lines. Furthermore, principal component analysis for immune traits and MPS lesions was executed to clarify the characteristics of each pig line. These findings suggest that the immune responses in the three pig lines are genetically distinct and that MPS resistance and some immunity characteristics from the La line were transmitted to the three‐way crossbred pigs.     

Molecular epidemiology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas syringae</Emphasis> pv. <Emphasis Type="Italic">syringae</Emphasis> strains isolated from barley and wheat infected with bacterial black node

A repetitive sequence-based (rep)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR)-PCR were used to molecular type Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae (PSS) strains isolated from barley and wheat plants with bacterial black node symptoms grown in 22 different locations and six different seed-production districts in Japan. Eighteen genomic fingerprinting (GF) genotypes were obtained from the combined results of BOX-, REP-, and GTG₅-PCR, indicating that the PSS population in Japan has high genetic diversity. The result based on logistic regression indicated that the population of GF genotype A was significantly related to a seed-producing district and that the epidemic of PSS strains in fields originated mainly from seed infection. This study will be applicable to future studies of the molecular epidemiology of bacterial plant diseases that have multiple infection routes.     

The effectiveness of evaluating wild species: searching for sources of resistance to bruchid beetles in the genus Vigna subgenus Ceratotropis

A species level germplasm collection representing 76% of known taxa in the genus Vigna subgenus Ceratotropis was evaluated for resistance to two species of bruchid beetles, Callosobruchus chinensis and C. maculatus. Seven taxa consisting of 29 accessions were found to be resistant to C. chinensis and 4 taxa consisting of 24 accessions were found to be resistant to C. maculatus. This compared with no resistant accessions being found in several hundred landrace accessions of mungbean, V. radiata var. radiata, in the same subgenus. Sometimes resistance was found in all accessions of a particular taxon, such as complete resistance to both C. chinensis and C. macualtus in V. umbellata. Other taxa showed intra taxon variation for resistance such as V. reflexo-pilosa andV. minima. The levels and patterns of resistance among taxa were diverse. The results suggest that various factors cause resistance to bruchid in the subgenus Ceratotropis. While the number of eggs laid on seeds generally reflected seed size, one small seeded cultivar of V. mungo var. mungo, black gram, had an unusually high number of eggs laid per seed. No correlation was found between seed size and levels of resistance. The species level germplasm collection, which reflects the core collection concept in trying to maximize genetic diversity in a limited number of accessions, has enabled a large number of potentially useful sources of resistance to bruchid beetles to be found efficiently. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.