Feasibility of near-infrared spectroscopy for online multiple trait assessment of sawn lumber

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy coupled with multivariate analysis was applied to estimate multiple traits of sawn lumber. The effects of the lumber conveying speed (LCS) and measurement resolution of spectra (MRS) on the calibrations were examined. NIR spectra ranging from 1300 to 2300 nm were acquired at LCSs of 10, 20, and 30 m/min and at MRSs of 2, 4, and 16 nm. Prediction models of bending strength (F _b), modulus of elasticity in bending tests (E _b), dynamic modulus of elasticity (E _fr), and wood density (DEN) were developed using partial least-squares (PLS) analysis. LCS and MRS did not significantly influence the calibration performance for any wood property. The regression coefficients also showed no clear differences for any of the conditions. This indicates that the important explanatory variables included in the models are not greatly influenced by these measurement conditions. PLS2 analysis results, when presented graphically, allowed easy interpretation of the relationships between wood mechanical properties and chemical components, e.g., bending strength and stiffness were mainly related to polysaccharides cellulose and hemicellulose. NIR spectroscopy has considerable potential for online grading of sawn lumber, despite the harsh measurement conditions.     

Olfactory plasticity is regulated by pheromonal signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans

Population density-dependent dispersal is a well-characterized strategy of animal behavior in which dispersal rate increases when population density is higher. Caenorhabditis elegans shows positive chemotaxis to a set of odorants, but the chemotaxis switches from attraction to dispersal after prolonged exposure to the odorants. We show here that this plasticity of olfactory behavior is dependent on population density and that this regulation is mediated by pheromonal signaling. We show that a peptide, suppressor of NEP-2 (SNET-1), negatively regulates olfactory plasticity and that its expression is down-regulated by the pheromone. NEP-2, a homolog of the extracellular peptidase neprilysin, antagonizes SNET-1, and this function is essential for olfactory plasticity. These results suggest that population density information is transmitted through the external pheromone and endogenous peptide signaling to modulate chemotactic behavior.     

Cryopreservation of in vitro-grown meristems of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) by encapsulation-vitrification

Alginate-coated meristems from in vitro-grown strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) were successfully cryopreserved following dehydration by a vitrification solution. Excised meristems from cold-hardened plantlets at 4 °C for two weeks in the dark were encapsulated into alginate-gel beads containing a mixture of 2 M glycerol plus 0.4 M sucrose. These encapsulated and cryoprotected meristems were dehydrated with a highly concentrated vitrification solution (designated PVS2) for 2 hr at 0 °C prior to a plunge into liquid nitrogen. Successfully encapsulated vitrified meristems remained green and then developed shoots within one week after plating without intermediary callus formation. The average rate of shoot formation of encapsulated vitrified meristems amounted to nearly 90%. The cryogenic protocol was successfully applied to four cultivars of strawberry. It was also confirmed that encapsulated vitrified meristems cooled to - 196 °C produced higher shoot formation than encapsulated dried meristems. Besides, the recovery growth was much earlier than the latter. The encapsulation-vitrification method is easy to handle and produces high levels of shoot formation. Thus, the protocol promises for cryopreservation of strawberry germplasm. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Isolation,characterization, and utilization of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-producing lactic acid bacteria from Myanmar fishery products fermented with boiled rice

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were isolated from four types of Myanmar traditional fermented fishery products with boiled rice. All of them belonged to the genus Lactobacillus, and comparison of the effects of these representatives on GABA accumulation in fermented fishery products with boiled rice revealed that Lactobacillus farciminis D323 is the most effective strain as a starter culture. These results may contribute to the development of traditional fermented fishery products with functional properties. In addition, this study is the first to show in detail the distribution of GABA-producing LAB in Southeast Asian fermented fishery products.     

Effects of cyclophosphamide in newly hatched chickens after inoculation with avian nephritis virus

Effects of immunosuppression were compared in newly hatched chickens given cyclophosphamide (CY) after inoculation with avian nephritis virus (ANV). All CY-treated infected chickens died within 13 days after inoculation of the virus and had heavy urate deposits throughout the body. However, non-CY-treated infected, CY-treated noninfected, and non-CY-treated noninfected control chickens survived through the observation period. In a chronologic study, the value of serum uric acid in CY-treated infected chickens was more than 3 times higher than that in non-CY-treated infected chickens, and more than 9 times higher than in noninfected chickens. Serum uric acid values were coincident with the positive degree of ANV antigen in the tubular epithelial cells in the kidneys and with the severity of renal degeneration. Serologic and immunohistologic examinations did not reveal detectable antibody and IgG- and IgM-containing cells in the spleen and kidneys of CY-treated infected chickens. However, non-CY-treated infected chickens had an increased number of IgM- and IgG-containing cells and antibody against ANV on postinoculation day 6. These findings demonstrated that CY treatment enhanced the susceptibility of chickens to ANV infection.     

Permeation of carboxylates as ionic compounds into fish meats by soaking and its osmotic dehydrating effect

Permeability of Na-gluconate, Na-malate and Na-acetate into fish-meat strips by soaking, and their osmotic dehydrating effects were investigated in comparison with those of sodium chloride (NaCl) and sorbitol. Carboxylic acids, anion species of carboxylates, were less permeable into soaked meats than chlorine of NaCl, and their permeability was similar to that of sorbitol. However, the permeation of sodium, cation species of the carboxylates and NaCl, was promoted with the concentration of free sodium ion dissociated in soaking solutions. The ratio of sodium to the anion species in soaked meats was varied, depending on the numbers of the sodium atom in the molecules as well as the dissociation degree of the ionic compounds in the soaking solution. Furthermore, the osmotic dehydrating effects of Na-gluconate and Na-malate were analogous with that of sorbitol, and higher than those of NaCl and Na-acetate. These results indicated that the permeation characteristics and the osmotic dehydrating effects of the carboxylates were associated with their ionization in soaking solution as well as their molecular weights.     

石英晶体微天平传感器检测香蕉成熟度的试验

为了对采后香蕉的成熟度进行无损检测,提高货架品质和减少过熟造成的损失,以巴西香蕉为研究对象,以1,2-二油锡甘油-3-磷-L-丝氨酸、半乳糖神经酰胺、纤维素乙酯、乙基纤维素做为敏感材料,采用滴涂法修饰了4个石英晶体微天平(quartz crystal microbalance,QCM),测试了1~7级成熟度的香蕉的挥发性有机化合物的响应特性,并用主成分分析法和线性判别分析法对响应结果做了分析。试验表明,在4种敏感膜中纤维素乙酯对香蕉的7个成熟阶段的挥发性气体的响应最明显,响应值先随香蕉成熟度增加而增加,在4级成熟阶段时最大,随后降低。用主成分分析法对7个成熟阶段香蕉的挥发物的响应值聚类分析,97%能够正确聚类;用线性判别分析法可获得100%的识别率。据此,4种材料修饰的石英晶体微天平传感器可以用于香蕉成熟度的识别。该研究结论对香蕉成熟度自动化分级研究有一定实用价值。     

Establishment of an Invasive Prostate Cancer Model in Transgenic Rats by Intermittent Testosterone Administration

We have established a transgenic rat for adenocarcinoma of the prostate (TRAP) model that features uniform adenocarcinoma development in prostatic lobes at high incidence within a short experimental period. However, no invasive carcinomas with reactive stroma characteristics similar to those in man were observed. We therefore have focused on a new model for invasive carcinoma of the prostate using TRAP rats. In experiment 1, male TRAP rats in groups 1 and 2 were treated with orchiectomy at day 0 of the experiment. Rats in groups 1–3 underwent testosterone propionate (TP) implantation from weeks 1 to 4 and from weeks 6 to 16. Rats in groups 1 and 3 were given 3,2’-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl (DMAB) after TP implantation. The rats of group 4 served as controls. In experiment 2, the rats were divided into three groups, none of which received DMAB or orchiectomy, treated with TP continuously or with the treatment withdrawn once or twice. In experiment 1, invasive adenocarcinomas with abundant collagenous stroma were found in the dorsolateral and anterior prostate, some of which showed perineural space invasion at week 16. The number of invasive carcinoma foci was most frequent in group 3. In experiment 2, invasive adenocarcinoma development in the lateral prostates was correlated with the number of TP administration/withdrawal cycles. In conclusion, our newly established rat model for invasive adenocarcinoma of the prostate could serve as a useful preclinical model for evaluating the in vivo efficacy of preventive and therapeutic agents targeting of the tumor microenvironment.     

Differences in the induction of urate deposition of specific-pathogen-free chicks inoculated with avian nephritis virus passaged by five different methods.

The G-4260 strain of avian nephritis virus (ANV) was passaged using five different methods as follows: method 1, passage three times in chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) of 11-day-old embryonated eggs (CAM3); method 2, passage twice in CAM and further passage once in yolk sac (YS) of 6-day-old embryonated eggs (CAM2-YS1); method 3, passage 11 times in CAM (CAM11); method 4, passage 10 times in CAM and further passage twice in YS (CAM10-YS2); method 5, passage as in Method 4 and then passage three times in chicken kidney cell culture (CAM10-YS2-CK3). CAM11 and CAM10-YS2 were each inoculated orally into 25 one-day-old specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chicks. Seven chicks in the CAM11-inoculated group and six chicks in the CAM10-YS2-inoculated group died or were killed because they were moribund; all had either nephrosis or urate deposition. CAM3, CAM2-YS1, CAM10-YS2, and CAM10-YS2-CK3 were each inoculated intraperitoneally into 15 one-day-old SPF chicks. No chicks inoculated with CAM3 or CAM2-YS1 died, but wo chicks inoculated with CAM10-YS2 and three inoculated with CAM10-YS2-CK3 died with urate deposition. At 14 postinoculation, plasma urate values of the CAM10-YS2- and CAM10-YS2-CK3-inoculated chicks were significantly higher than those of CAM3- and CAM2-YS1-inoculated chicks and control chicks (P less than 0.01). However, interstitial nephritis was observed in most of the ANV-inoculated birds.