Granulomatous nephritis and meningoencephalomyelitis caused by Halicephalobus gingivalis in a pony gelding

A ten-year-old Shetland pony gelding showed low appetite, ataxia, peculiar swaying, clouding of consciousness, and ultimately died. At necropsy, multiple coalescing granulomatous foci were detected in the kidneys, and small necrotic lesions were found in the cerebellum. Histologic examination of the renal tissue sections revealed extensive granuloma, and Halicephalobus gingivalis-like nematodes were seen. Similar nematodes were found in the granulomatous or necrotic lesions of the renal lymph nodes and cerebellum, and were also frequently detected in cerebrospinal meningovascular lesions. Morphologic features together with partial ribosomal RNA gene sequences of the nematodes in the lesions revealed that they were H. gingivalis. The present results indicated that H. gingivalis caused granulomatous nephritis and meningoencephalomyelitis in this pony gelding.     

Severe hypoplasia of the omasal laminae in a Japanese Black steer with chronic bloat--a case report

An 11-month-old Japanese Black steer with chronic bloat underwent clinical and histological analyses. During the observation period, it showed normal appetite and fecal volume but persistent chronic bloat symptoms. Compared to controls, the steer's feces contained undigested large straws. Necropsy revealed normal rumen, reticulum, and abomasum but a small omasum. The rumen, reticulum, and abomasum mucosa was normal, with well-developed ruminal papillae. However, severe hypoplasia of the omasal laminae was observed along with hypoplasia reticular groove and ruminoreticular fold. The contents of the reticulum, omasum, and abomasums comprised undigested large sized hay particles. The omasum papillae showed no pathological abnormalities. This is a rare case of a steer with chronic bloat probably caused by severe hypoplasia of the omasal laminae.     

Effect of danazol on NK cells and cytokines in the mouse uterus

Danazol, which has been used as a medicine for endometriosis, has a valid effect in pretreatment of patients receiving in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, although its reproductive mechanism remains unclear. BALB/c mice were subcutaneously injected with danazol for 2 weeks. Blood and uteri were collected and cytokines were assayed. Following danazol treatment, an increase in pregnancy ratio was evident that was accompanied by up-regulation in serum macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF). RT-PCR analysis revealed that expression of M-CSF and Ly49, a phenotypic marker of natural killer (NK) cells, was up-regulated in the uteri of the danazol-treated mice. In immunohistochemical analysis, M-CSF and Ly49, together with alpha5 integrin, were clearly detected in the endometrium of the danazol-treated mice with very similar pattern of localization. These results suggest that danazol has an effect to promote pregnancy that induces recruitment of NK cells and a concomitant increase in the expression of M-CSF and alpha5 integrin in the uterus.     

Dietary curcumin supplementation attenuates 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) neurotoxicity in C57BL mice

Studies in vivo and in vitro suggest that curcumin is a neuroprotective agent. Experiments were conducted to determine whether dietary supplementation with curcumin has neuroprotective effects in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Treatment with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) significantly induced the loss of dopaminergic cells in the substantia nigra and deletion of dopamine in the striatum, which was attenuated by long-term (7 weeks) dietary supplementation with curcumin at a concentration of 0.5% or 2.0% (w/w). Although curcumin did not prevent the MPTP-induced apoptosis of neuroblasts in the subventricular zone (SVZ), it promoted the regeneration of neuroblasts in the anterior part of the SVZ (SVZa) at 3 days after MPTP treatment. Furthermore, curcumin enhanced the MPTP-induced activation of microglia and astrocytes in the striatum and increased the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGFβ1) in the striatum and SVZ. GDNF and TGFβ1 are thought to play an important role in protecting neurons from injury in the central and peripheral nervous systems. These results suggest that long-term administration of curcumin blocks the neurotoxicity of MPTP in the nigrostriatal dopaminergic system of the mouse and that the neuroprotective effect might be correlated with the increased expression of GDNF and TGFβ1. Curcumin may be effective in preventing or slowing the progression of PD.     

Microwave and steam injection drying of CO2 laser incised Sugi lumber

To investigate the effect of CO₂ laser incising under five drying methods on drying characteristics of Sugi lumber, the squares (120 mm × 120 mm) of Sugi lumber with length of 650 mm were used. A half of samples were incised by CO₂ laser with incising density of 2,500 holes/m². Five types of drying methods were used: microwave drying, steam injection drying, and three combinations of microwave heating and steam injection drying. Steam injection drying was conducted by injecting superheated steam of 120 °C through a perforated plate heated to 140 °C of an injection press. Microwave was irradiated with the power of 3 kW at frequency of 2.45 GHz. The results indicated that incising helps heat through a specimen and thus the whole temperature raised rapidly, which was up to threefolds compared to that of no-incised one. Incised specimens dried by a combination of microwave heating for 1 h and steam injection showed the highest drying rate, which was up to 5.3 %/h. Incising and microwave heating contributed positively to dry lumber under more uniform distribution of moisture content and to reduce surface and internal checks. Incised specimen dried by microwave showed the most uniform distribution of moisture content without surface and internal checks.     

Comparative study between full cell and passive impregnation method of wood preservation for laser incised Douglas fir lumber

In this study, the ability of passive impregnation of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii Franco) lumber was compared with a conventional full cell method. With an incising density of 10,000 holes/m² carried out by CO₂ laser, square Douglas fir lumber was treated by both passive impregnation and full cell method for 6 h and 50 min. Different incising densities were also used in passive impregnation to examine the optimum incising density. It was observed that there was no significant difference between these two methods regarding absorption of liquid, moisture content after dipping and penetrated area both at cross and longitudinal sections. However, the value was higher in case of full cell method. Regarding different incising densities, absorption and penetration of liquid was similar for 10,000 and 7,500 holes/m² but it was low for 5,000 holes/m². Therefore, it can be concluded that an incising density of 7,500 holes/m² is the optimum for passive impregnation. The absorption of liquid and its distribution in wood indicates that this non-pressure passive impregnation method can be a good preservation method for impermeable lumber and can be an alternative to full cell method.     

Dumontinia root rot of liver leaf caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dumontinia tuberosa</Emphasis>

Foliar wilt as well as crown and root rot with sclerotia formation has affected potted liver leaf (Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna) in Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, since 2006. Apothecia developed from the sclerotia on soil surface of pots with the diseased plants in March. A fungus forming the apothecia was identified as Dumontinia tuberosa (Sclerotiniaceae) based on its morphology and demonstrated to cause the disease. We coined the name “Dumontinia root rot (Dumontinia-negusare-byo in Japanese) of liver leaf” for the new disease.     

The distribution and early growth of juvenile Pacific bluefin tuna Thunnus orientalis around Sado Island in the eastern Sea of Japan

Fisheries Science - The distribution and early growth of juvenile Pacific bluefin tuna (PBF) Thunnus orientalis were studied based on trawl surveys conducted around Sado Island, eastern Sea of...     

Importance of basic cultivation techniques to increase irrigated rice yields in Tanzania

The productivity of irrigated rice is low in Tanzania. We hypothesized that this is caused by the absence of a packaged application of basic cultivation techniques. A baseline survey of 31 rice irrigation schemes across the country revealed that a large proportion of fields were cultivated without a technical package. Thus, a package was introduced to each of the 31 schemes through a farmer-to-farmer (FTF) extension approach. First, selected key farmers (KFs) were trained with the basic cultivation techniques at agricultural training institutes. Second, the KFs transferred their knowledge to intermediate farmers (IFs) by working together at a demo-field established in each scheme. Third, the KFs and IFs exhibited the rice performance to other farmers (OFs). The paddy yield across the 31 schemes greatly increased from the pre-training level of 2.4 t ha^?1 to 3.6 t ha^?1after the FTF extension. However, the farmer interviews in the four selected schemes suggested that the technical package was not adopted by all farmers owing to the time-consuming nature of the FTF extension. It was inferred from our study that the low productivity of irrigated rice is caused by the absence of basic cultivation techniques in Tanzania. However, the post-training yield remained relatively low compared with high-yields (4.3–8.4 t ha^?1) recorded in cultivar selection trials and high-performing schemes in the county. This “yield gap” could be partly ascribed to the insufficient technical diffusion and the technique-dependent adoption among OFs.