Serotonin derivatives, major safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) seed antioxidants, inhibit low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation and atherosclerosis in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice

The effects of defatted safflower seed extract and its phenolic constituents, serotonin derivatives, on atherosclerosis were studied. Ethanol-ethyl acetate extract of safflower seeds (SSE) inhibited low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidation induced in vitro by an azo-containing free-radical initiator V70 or copper ions. Two serotonin derivatives [N-(p-coumaroyl)serotonin, CS; N-feruloylserotonin, FS] and their glucosides were identified as the major phenolic constituents of the extract. The study with chemically synthesized materials revealed that a majority of the antioxidative activity of SSE was attributable to the aglycones of these two serotonin derivatives. Orally administered CS and FS suppressed CuSO(4)-induced plasma oxidation ex vivo. Long-term (15 week) dietary supplementation of SSE (1.0 wt %/wt) and synthetic serotonin derivatives (0.2-0.4%) significantly reduced the atherosclerotic lesion area in the aortic sinus of apolipoprotein E-deficient mice (29.2-79.7% reduction). The plasma level of both lipid peroxides and anti-oxidized LDL autoantibody titers decreased concomitantly with the reduction of lesion formation. Serotonin derivatives were detected as both intact and conjugated metabolites in the plasma of C57BL/6J mice fed on 1.0% SSE diet. These findings demonstrate that serotonin derivatives of SSE are absorbed into circulation and attenuate atherosclerotic lesion development possibly because of the inhibition of oxidized LDL formation through their strong antioxidative activity.     

Molecular cloning of tropomyosins identified as allergens in six species of crustaceans

Although tropomyosin is known to be a major allergen of crustaceans, its structural information is limited to only five species. In this study, tropomyosin was confirmed to be a major allergen in six species of crustaceans (black tiger prawn, kuruma prawn, pink shrimp, king crab, snow crab, and horsehair crab) by immunoblotting. Then, the amino acid sequences of tropomyosins from these crustaceans were elucidated by a cDNA cloning technique. Sequence data for crustacean tropomyosins including the obtained results reveal that fast tropomyosins are contained in shrimps (or prawns) and lobsters, slow tropomyosins in crabs, and both tropomyosins in crayfishes and hermit crabs. Although fast and slow tropomyosins share a high sequence identity (about 90%) with each other, significant differences are observed in specific regions between both tropomyosins.     

IHHN Virus as an Etiological Factor in Runt-Deformity Syndrome (RDS) of Juvenile Penaeus vannamei Cultured in Hawaii

Runtdeformity syndrome (RDS) is an economically significant, frequent disease problem of cultured Penaeus vannamei . RDS is characterized by variable, often greatly reduced, growth rate of up to 30% of a cultured population and many shrimp with cuticle deformities of the rostrum, anterior appendages or other parts. The cause of RDS is undetermined.
Nursery trials comparing histologically IHHN-positive and histologically IHHN-negative Penaeus vannamei cultured under identical conditions were conducted at The Oceanic Institute. The IHHN-positive populations developed RDS symptoms including increased individual size variation, reduced population growth, and high prevalance of rostrum, antennae or cuticle deformity, while the IHHN-negative groups displayed none of these symptoms. No other diseases or parasites were identified in the IHHN-positive populations that would account for the RDS symptoms.
A single commercialele nursery was stocked with histologidly IHHN-positive P. vannamei and a high prevalence of RDS was observed. Shrimp growth was bimodal with a subpopulation growing normally and a subpopulation growing slowly. Significant relationships between shrimp harvest size and IHHN prevalance, selected individual organ IHHN severity grades and IHHN severity index (six organs evaluated) were found. Large, apparently normal shrimp were less severely infected with virus and did not display any cuticle deformities.
In sum, these data provide epidemiological and histopathological evidence for the hypothesis that infection by IHHN virus is the cause of RDS in cultured P. vannamei .     

Overexpression of a fungal laccase gene induces nondehiscent anthers and morphological changes in flowers of transgenic tobacco

Laccases play important roles in the development of fruiting bodies and in lignin degradation by basidiomycetes. In this study, we present novel phenotypes of transgenic tobacco plants with a chimeric gene for fungal laccase under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. At the flowering stage, the transgenic plants that produced recombinant laccase had brownish anthers instead of the greenish anthers of wild-type plants. The brownish anthers exhibited male sterility with a nondehiscent phenotype at varying frequencies. The frequency of nondehiscence depended on the temperature at which plants were cultivated and it was higher at 24°C than at 29°C. The cell wall structures of transgenic anther tissues were almost the same as in the wild type, but the stomium was severely deformed, and abnormal components were apparent in cells of the endothecium and epidermis. Furthermore, the pattern of deposition of flavonoids in the transgenic anther epidermis differed from the wild-type pattern. The expression of laccase also induced other phenotypic changes in the flowers of transgenic plants, namely, increased petal number, fused and petaloid stamens, and doubling of floral organs. These results indicate that the ectopic expression of laccase influences various aspects of flower development.     

Variations in chemical characteristics and pulpability within jute plant (Chorcorus capsularis)

The differences in morphological and chemical characteristics and pulpability of core and bark fiber of jute at different position, top, middle and bottom were studied. The fiber length at the middle part of both bark and core was longer than the top and bottom part. With increasing height from bottom to top lignin content is decreased and α-cellulose content increased. The bark had higher α-cellulose and lower lignin than core. The bark produced nitrobenzene oxidation products with larger syringaldehyde/vanillin (S/V) ratios than the core. The yields of nitrobenzene oxidation products in bark were higher than core. The analysis of neutral sugars suggested that xylose is the predominant sugar of hemicellulose in both bark and core. The bark had higher glucose and lower xylose as compared to core. Under identical conditions of pulping, bark gave higher pulp yield and lower kappa number than core. The bark pulp showed better bleachability than core pulp. The higher tensile index in core pulp and higher tear index in bark pulp were observed.     

Induction of superovulation using inhibin antiserum and competence of embryo development in wild large Japanese field mice (Apodemus speciosus)

Seasonally, bred wild mice provide a unique bioresource, with high genetic diversity that differs from wild‐derived mice and laboratory mice. This study aimed to establish an alternative superovulation method using wild large Japanese field mice (Apodemus speciosus) as the model species. Specifically, we investigated how the application of inhibin antiserum and equine chorionic gonadotropin (IASe) during both the reproductive and non‐reproductive seasons impact the ovulation rate and competence of embryo development after in vitro fertilization (IVF) with fresh and cryopreserved sperm. When the wild mice were superovulated by injecting eCG followed by human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), few oocytes were collected during the reproductive and non‐reproductive seasons. In comparison, the number of ovulated oocytes was dramatically enhanced by the administration of IASe, followed by isolation of ovulated oocytes 24 hr after 30 IU hCG administration. The IVF oocytes that were in vitro cultured (IVC) with medium containing serum further developed to the 2‐ and/or 4‐cell stage using both fresh and frozen‐thawed sperm. In conclusion, we successfully established an alternative protocol for collecting ovulated oocytes from wild large Japanese field mice by administering IASe and hCG during both the reproductive and non‐reproductive seasons. This study is the first to develop IVF–IVC wild large Japanese field mice beyond the 2‐ and/or 4‐cell stage in vitro using fresh and cryopreserved sperm. This approach could be used in other species of wild or endangered mice to reduce the number of animals used for experiments, or in maintaining stocks of germ cells or embryos.     

Shrimp Yields and Economic Potential of Intensive Round Pond Systems

Three intensive growout trials using Penaeus vunnumei were conducted in round ponds in Hawaii in 1987. A 337 m² experimental pond was stocked at 100 shrimp/m² for two trials; a 2,000 m² commercial prototype pond was stocked at 75/m² for one trial. In the experimental pond trials, shrimp survival averaged 88 ± 10% (SE) and feed conversion averaged 2.2 ± 0.2. Growth averaged 1.5 ± 0.3 g/week, yielding 18.2 ± 1.7 gram shrimp in 80 ± 5.5 days. Combined production in the experimental trials was 32,272 kg/ha in 174 days (from stocking of trial 1 to harvest of trial 2). Comparing these results to 1986 results (Wyban and Sweeney 1988), it was concluded that shrimp growth is not affected and production is doubled by increasing stocking density from 45/m² to 100/m². Pooling data from 1986 and 1987, a significant linear regression was obtained when weekly growth of shrimp above four grams individual size was regressed on mean weekly pond temperature: growth = 0.37 * temperature - 8.44, (r²= 0.41; P < 0.01). Multiple regression to examine effects of shrimp size, pond biomass, and shrimp age on the temperature-growth relationship was not significant. In the commercial prototype pond trial, survival was 67% and feed conversion was 2.0. Growth averaged 1.4 g/week, yielding 18.1 gram shrimp in 88 days. Production was 9,120 kg/ha. Individual shrimp size distribution at harvest in the commercial pond was similar to experimental pond results, indicating that shrimp growth in the two systems was comparable. Financial characteristics of a hypothetical 24 pond shrimp farm using these results were determined using an electronic spreadsheet model (hung and Rowland 1987). Feed costs were 40% of total operating costs while postlarvae and labor were 14% and 16% of total operating costs, respectively. Breakeven price (BEP) was far more sensitive to changes in revenuedetermining inputs such as survival and growth than to comparable changes in costdetermining inputs such as feed and postlarvae costs. Together these results suggest that commercial scale round pond production mimics experimental scale production and that round pond technology has commercial potential.     

Robotics in remote and hostile environments

In our continuing quest for knowledge, robots are powerful tools for accessing environments too dangerous or too remote for human exploration. Early systems functioned under close human supervision, effectively limited to executing preprogrammed tasks. However, as exploration moves to regions where communication is ineffective or unviable, robots will need to carry out complex tasks without human supervision. To enable such capabilities, robots are being enhanced by advances ranging from new sensor development to automated mission planning software, distributed robotic control, and more efficient power systems. As robotics technology becomes simultaneously more capable and economically viable, individual robots operated at large expense by teams of experts are increasingly supplemented by teams of robots used cooperatively under minimal human supervision.