Membranous Glomerulonephropathy in a Hatano Low-avoidance Rat

Membranous glomerulonephropathy can be experimentally induced in rats, but spontaneous cases have been rarely reported. In this report, we present a typical case of spontaneous membranous glomerulonephropathy in a rat. A male Hatano low-avoidance (LAA) strain rat had a tumor mass on the right auricle, and was sacrificed at 41 weeks of age. Urinary screening by reagent strips revealed intense proteinuria. Histological tests revealed frequent presence of irregularly sized eosinophilic hyaline materials on the capillary wall and in the mesangium of renal glomeruli. Immunofluorescence revealed granular deposits of IgG, IgM, and C3 in the glomeruli. Subepithelial dense deposits were observed by electron microscopy accompanied by podocyte foot process effacement and occasional irregular thickening of the glomerular basement membrane. The rat also developed chronic lymphocytic pancreatitis, and the tumor mass on the right auricle was diagnosed as a fibrosarcoma. Screening tests for antibodies against major infectious agents and antinuclear antibody were negative. Western blot and indirect immunofluorescence analyses suggested the presence of an autoantibody against the pancreatic component. The glomerulopathy was considered an early stage of membranous glomerulonephropathy.     

S-allele genotypes of apple pollenizers,cultivars and lineages including those resistant to scab

Summary

We examined S-allele genotypes of ten apple cultivars and species to determine their possible usefulness as pollenizers for all apple cultivars. ‘Dolgo’ did not contain any known S-RNases encoded at the S-locus, suggesting its possible usefulness as a pollenizer for almost all apple cultivars. We also identified and confirmed the S-allele genotypes of 18 apple cultivars by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-digestion analysis. The S-genotype of ‘Kiou’ (S₁S₇), ‘Korei’ (S₃S₂₈), ‘Korin’ (S₁S₉), ‘Kotoku’ (S₁S₂₈), ‘Kyokkou (S₇S₂₅), ‘Lobo’ (S₁S₇), ’Mahe 7’ (S₂S₇), ‘Mellow’ (S₂S₃), ‘Takahara’ (S₃S₉) and ‘Warabi’ (S₉S₂₈) were confirmed by pollination results. These cultivars seemed not to have originated from the expected seed or pollen parents or, in the case of ‘Lobo’, might have been mislabelled. Finally, we identified the S-allele genotypes of ‘Prima’ (S₂S₁₀), ‘Querina’ (S₃S₉) and ‘Yoko’ × ‘Prima’ (S₃S₁₀), which are resistant to scab.     

Sulfur deficiency of rice plants in the Lower Volta area,Ghana

Abstract

It is well known that stem nodules are formed on the aerial parts of Aeschynomene spp. and Sesbania rostrata grown in the field (Yatazawa and Yoshida 1979; Dreyfus and Dommergues 1981; Yoshida et al. 1985). We have reported that stem nodules were successfully formed by inoculation of Rhizobium isolates derived from both stem and root nodules of A. indica (Yoshida et al. 1985; Sasakawa et al. 1986). The specific activity of nitrogen fixation in stem nodules is comparable to that of root nodules (Sasakawa et al. 1986; Sasakawa 1990). A red pigment, which suggests the presence of leghemoglobin, was detected in stem nodules as well as in root nodules (Yatazawa and Yoshida 1979; Yatazawa and Susilo 1980; Sasakawa et al. 1986).     

Varietal traits limiting the grain yield of tropical maize III. Significance of tillers for productivity

Four highland tillering varieties were grown on a high plateau in Mexico with three plant densities to examine the contribution of tillers to the grain yield and the following results were obtained:

1) At low densities tillers were as efficient as the main culm in grain production, and grain yield attributed to the tillers was nearly 50 per cent of the total grain yield. However, at high densities tillers were less effective. The contribution of tillers to the total yield was only a few per cent.

2) The proposition was discussed that tillering ability was an important character for obtaining a reasonably high yield at low densities, but was not an important character in seeking a maximum grain yield with a high plant density.     

Molecular cloning of canine Mcl-1 gene and its expression in tumor cell lines

The canine Mcl-1 gene was cloned and sequenced. Canine Mcl-1 clone was 2694 base pairs in length and encoded 350 amino acids. The predicted amino acid sequence was 87.7%, 77.1% and 75.7% homologous to predicted human, mouse and rat Mcl-1, respectively. RT-PCR analysis revealed that canine Mcl-1 mRNA was expressed in PBMCs (peripheral blood mononuclear cells), bone marrow cells, MDCK (Madin-Darby canine kidney) and GL-1 (canine B cell leukemia) whereas undetectable in CL-1 (canine T cell lymphoma) cell line.     

Stem tangential strain on the tension wood side of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fagus crenata</Emphasis> saplings

The tangential strain on the inner bark surface of Fagus crenata sapling stems was continuously measured using strain gauges. The total strain increased daily, increasing at night and decreasing during the day. When tension wood was induced by artificial inclination, the strain increased more on the upper side than on the lower side; and the increment in the strain at night was larger on the upper side than on the lower. The change in tangential strain on the inner bark surface arose from changes in the water content and the volume of differentiating cells. Differentiating tension wood fibers appear to contain more water and to expand more at night than differentiating normal wood fibers. We can determine whether tension wood is formed from the tangential strain during growth.     

Ultraviolet microspectrophotometric investigation of the distribution of lignin in Prunus jamasakura differentiated on a three-dimensional clinostat

To examine the effect of gravity on lignin content and deposition in plant cells, we used ultraviolet (UV) microspectrophotometry and chemical methods to investigate the secondary xylem of Prunus jamasakura grown on a three-dimensional (3D) clinostat, which simulates microgravity. The stem of the 3D-clinostat specimens elongated with bending and the width of their secondary phloem increased. The UV absorbance of the 3D-clinostat specimens at 278 nm was higher than that of the control specimens, which were grown on the ground, in the wood fiber cell corner middle lamella, compound middle lamella, and fiber secondary wall; the UV absorbance in the vessel secondary wall did not differ between the specimens. The lignin content in the stem, including the bark, of the 3D-clinostat specimens, as determined using an acetyl bromide method, was less than that of the control specimens. In the specimens that differentiated on a 3D clinostat, the amount of lignin in the wood fibers increased, while the proportion of the lignified xylem in the stem decreased relative to control values.     

影响省藤弹性的参数和弹性方程式的确定

本文评估了省藤结构(基本薄壁组织和微管束分布)、物理特征(微纤维角度、结晶度和非晶区)和细胞壁化学成分(纤维素、半纤维素和木质素)对压缩应力的影响,以确定一个能测定省藤弹性的数学模式。进行了图象分析,碘染色,x光衍射技术和标准化学分析。最后,用热机械分析仪测定了压缩应力。回归方程表明,在不同参数中,基本薄壁组织比例、微纤维角度、非晶区大小和半纤维含量与压缩应力呈正相关。多元回归的数学方程为Y=0.012x₂-0.0001x₁+0.016x₃+0.017x₄-1.861,其中Y=压缩应力,x₂=微纤维角度,x₁=基本薄壁组织,x₃=非晶区,x₄=半纤维含量。在这些参数中,当P=0.050,半纤维含量的影响最大。