Characterization of Aerococcus viridans isolated from milk samples from cows with mastitis and manure samples

Thirty-eight Aerococcus viridans isolates were obtained from milk from 478 cows with clinical mastitis in a farm during the periods between November 2011 and February 2012, and between December 2012 and March 2013. Additional isolates were obtained from processed manure (a mixture of composted manure, straw and hydrated lime) and bedding materials. The processed manure was later used to cover the floor of the stalls in barns as bedding materials. The temperatures recorded in the composted and processed manure were not as high as those generally observed during satisfactory composting. To reveal the association of A. viridans in manure-related products with intramammary infection in cows, isolates were characterized by their DNA fragment patterns as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Isolates obtained from milk, processed manure and bedding materials had identical DNA fragment patterns. Antimicrobial susceptibilities were determined for 29 isolates from milk, processed manure and bedding materials. Of these, 26 (89.7%) were resistant to clindamycin, whereas virtually all the isolates were susceptible to 12 other antimicrobials including cefalosporins that have been used to treat bovine mastitis in Japan. In vitro, three A. viridans isolates from milk and an isolate from processed manure survived for 3 hr in Good’s buffer (pH 9) at high temperature (50°C). The results suggest that the processed manure and bedding materials in this farm were possible sources of A. viridans that caused infection in the cows with mastitis.     

Predictive modes of action of pesticides in uterine adenocarcinoma development in rats

Endometrial adenocarcinoma in the uterine corpus is a malignant cancer that occurs in menopausal women and aged rodents. Because of the similarities in pathogenesis and morphology of endometrial adenocarcinoma in rodents and humans, prediction of the modes of action (MOA) in uterine carcinogenesis is important for extrapolation of rodent data to humans. Three MOAs have been accepted as major pathways for uterine carcinogenesis in rodents: 1) estrogenic activity, 2) increased serum 17beta-estradiiol (E2) to progesterone (P4) ratio and 3) modulation of estrogen metabolism to produce 4-hydroxyestradiol via P450 induction. Inhibition of estrogen excretion and increased aromatase in situ in the tumor are also a potential pathway. Here, chemicals showing uterine carcinogenicity were chosen from approximately 300 pesticides evaluated in Japan within the past decade, and their mechanisms were predicted using parameters from mechanistic and toxicity studies. Seven pesticides increased uterine tumor formation in rats, and the pathways of 4 pesticides could be predicted based on various mechanistic studies. The MOAs of cyenopyrafen and benthiavalicarb-isopropyl were predicted to be modulation of estrogen metabolism, while those of pyriminobac-methyl and spirodiclofen were predicted to be increased E2 to P4 ratio. The driven pathways of metazosulfuron and isopyrazam could not be predicted using several mechanistic studies. No mechanistic studies have been reported for sedaxane, which has a chemical structure and toxicological profile similar to isopyrazam. Our results indicated that appropriate mechanistic studies are useful for mechanism prediction in risk assessment. From this analysis, a flowchart showing a decision tree for predictive MOAs in uterine carcinogenesis was proposed.     

Acorn dispersal and predation patterns of four tree species by wood mice in abandoned cut-over land

We compared patterns of acorn dispersal and predation by wood mice among four tree species (Quercus serrata, Quercus crispula, Castanea crenata, and Juglans mandshurica var. sieboldiana) that are abundant in cool temperate woodlands. We devised an acorn dispersal experiment using 400 magnet-inserted acorns and a magnetic locator in a 1.8-ha study plot, which spanned a cut-over area and an adjacent deciduous forest. Ten wire mesh baskets, each containing 40 acorns (10 acorns per species), were placed on the border between these two habitat types. About 13.0% (n = 52) of the total acorns remained in the baskets, while 77.3% (n = 309) were dispersed throughout the study plot and subsequently retrieved using the magnetic locator. Microhabitat, distance, and burial depth of transported acorns were significantly different among species. In the cut-over area, J. mandshurica var. sieboldiana acorns were dispersed under fallen trees or branches and near stumps, and were buried deeply in the soil. Dispersal distances of J. mandshurica var. sieboldiana acorns were significantly greater than those of Q. serrata acorns. The number and microhabitat of transported acorns significantly differed between habitat types. J. mandshurica var. sieboldiana acorns were dispersed in the cut-over area rather than in the forest. For all four species, the numbers of acorns delivered to fallen trees or branches, stumps, and crumbled soil with overhang under any vegetation type were greater in the cut-over area than in the forest.     

Predicting individual stem volumes of sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantations in mountainous areas using small-footprint airborne LiDAR

This study investigated which predictor variables with respect to crown properties, derived from small-footprint airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, together with LiDAR-derived tree height, could be useful in regression models to predict individual stem volumes. Comparisons were also made of the sum of predicted stem volumes for LiDAR-detected trees using the best regression model with field-measured total stem volumes for all trees within stands. The study area was a 48-year-old sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantation in mountainous forest. The topographies of the three stands with different stand characteristics analyzed in this study were steep slope (mean slope ± SD; 37.6° ± 5.8°), gentle slope (15.6° ± 3.7°), and gentle yet rough terrain (16.8° ± 7.8°). In the regression analysis, field-measured stem volumes were regressed against each of the six LiDAR-derived predictor variables with respect to crown properties, such as crown area, volume, and form, together with LiDAR-derived tree height. The model with sunny crown mantle volume (SCV) had the smallest standard error of the estimate obtained from the regression model in each stand. The standard errors (m³) were 0.144, 0.171, and 0.181, corresponding to 23.9%, 21.0%, and 20.6% of the average field-measured stem volume for detected trees in each of these stands, respectively. Furthermore, the sum of the individual stem volumes, predicted by regression models with SCV for the detected trees, occupied 83%–91% of field-measured total stem volumes within each stand, although 69%–86% of the total number of trees were correctly detected by a segmentation procedure using LiDAR data.     

Generation and alteration of norlignans in a transition zone during the drying of a Cryptomeria japonica log

Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) produces secondary metabolite norlignans in xylem. Several norlignans are involved in the coloration of heartwood and defense of sapwood against microbial invasion. Their biosynthetic process should be well understood so that their properties can be exploited to improve the quality and utility of C. japonica wood. Unfortunately, information on the norlignan biosynthesis is limited because norlignans are mainly synthesized in a particular season in the transition zone (TZ) along with the heartwood formation, and is difficult to study. Although the generation of two norlignans of C. japonica, agatharesinol and (E)-hinokiresinol, has been reported, systems for producing other norlignans are not yet known. To establish a novel norlignan generating system, we examined the changes occurring in norlignans in a TZ during the process of drying a C. japonica log. On the day of felling, the TZ contained agatharesinol and (E)-hinokiresinol, which increased until they reached a maximum on day 40 after felling. Sequirin-C appeared on day 40 and increased to day 70. The generation of sequirin-C in the TZ can be used to investigate the biosynthetic process of heartwood norlignans. This study describes for the first time the changes that occur in the composition of norlignan during the drying of the TZ.     

Extractives relating to heartwood color changes in sugi (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cryptomeria japonica</Emphasis>) by a combination of smoke-heating and UV radiation exposure

 Sugi green logs with red or black heartwood were smoke-heated, and the changes in the color of the heartwood after ultraviolet (UV) (λ = 365 nm) radiation exposure were then observed. After UV radiation exposure, the redness and yellowness increased in both the red and black heartwoods, whereas the brightness decreased. In the black heartwood, the resulting color turned from yellowish white to reddish brown. Reddening in black heartwood after exposure to a combination of smoke heating and UV radiation is thought to be due to a decrease in brightness and an increase in both redness and yellowness. However, the degree of change in heartwood color by UV radiation exposure was not greatly affected by smoke-heating treatments of various lengths. When methanol extracts were fractionated and exposed to UV radiation, the yellowness increased in the n-hexane-soluble portion and the redness increased in the acetone-soluble fractions from the n-hexane-insoluble portion. These results suggest that the n-hexane-soluble fraction contains the substances that allow heartwood color to change to yellow after UV radiation exposure, and the acetone-soluble-fraction from the n-hexane-insoluble portion contains the substances that allow it to change to red. Received: November 14, 2001 / Accepted: June 3, 2002 Acknowledgment This research was supported in part by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. This study was presented in part at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 2001 Correspondence to:N. Yoshizawa     

Synthesis of dihydroxyphenacyl glycosides for biological and medicinal study: β-oxoacteoside from Paulownia tomentosa

The protected structure of -oxoacteoside (tomentoside A), 2-oxo-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethyl 3-O-(2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl--l-rhamnopyranosyl)-4-O-caffeoyl--d-glucopyranoside 14 was synthesized in 14% overall yield in 11 steps, starting from d-glucose for biological and medicinal studies of phenylpropanoid glycosides. The first step was the preparation of a 3-O-rhamnopyranosyl disaccharide sugar core 2 from a suitably protected rhamnosyl trichloroacetimidate 10 and glucose derivative (diacetone-d-glucose 1) in 71% yield. To the glucose moiety of this sugar core, several protection/deprotection procedures were performed sequentially to obtain a fully acetylated sugar core 7 with a 4-OH group on the glucose moiety, in 57% yield in five steps. Thereafter, to the 4-OH group of the glucose moiety, selective 4-O-caffeoylation was achieved by proton-transfer esterification with 3,4-di-O-allylcaffeic acid 16 to give the caffeoyl disaccharide 11 in 97% yield. Then, it was converted to trichloroacetimidate 13 for a glycosylation donor in 90% in two steps. Finally, anomeric glycosylation was conducted with 2-oxo-2-(3,4-di-allyloxyphenyl)ethyl alcohol 19 with catalytic amounts of BF₃·Et₂O to give 2-oxo-2-(3,4-di-allyloxyphenyl)ethyl 2,6-di-O-acetyl-3-O-(2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl--l-rhamnopyranosyl)-4-O-(3,4-di-allyloxycaffeoyl)--d-glucopyranoside 14 in 60% yield. Deprotected intermediates of compounds 2, 11, 14, and 19 which were obtained in high yield would be useful for biological and medicinal studies of phenylpropanoid glycosides.Part of this study was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Gifu, April, 2002     

Some developmental differences inEpinotia granitalis (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) between two host tree species

To detect developmental differences inEpinotia granitalis in two host tree speciesCryptomeria japonica andChamaecyparis obtusa, the fourth or fifth instar larvae were collected daily from the two species located on the grounds of the National Forest Tree Breeding Center, from April 19 to May 9 in 1994 and April 18 to May 10 in 1995. Larvae ofE. granitalis collected fromC. obtusa had heavier body weight, developed to larger adults than those collected fromC. japonica, and mortality from the fourth or fifth instar larval stage to adults onC. obtusa was lower than that onC. japonica. All these facts suggest that larval performance onC. obtusa was higher than that onC. japonica.     

Nickel-catalyzed carbonization of wood for coproduction of functional carbon and fluid fuels I: production of crystallized mesoporous carbon

Japanese larch wood loaded with nickel (1%–4%) alone or with nickel and calcium (0.25%–1.5%) was carbonized at 800°–900°C for 0–120min with a heating rate of 5°–20°C min⁻¹ in a helium flow of 5.8−46.4 ml STP cm⁻² min⁻¹ to examine the influence of these variables on the crystallization of carbon (the formation of T component) and the development of mesoporosity. From the obtained results, reaction conditions suitable for effective production of carbon with the dual functions of adequate electroconductivity and adsorption capacity in liquid phase were established, thereby explaining the factors that govern the process. It was also confirmed that mesopore having a diameter of about 4 nm was selectively produced at the cost of specific (BET) surface area in parallel with the formation of T component. This result provided good insight into how the simultaneous dual function could be realized.     

Estimating the production and mortality of fine roots in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantation using a minirhizotron technique

Fine roots are a key component of forested ecosystems, but available information is still limited. This study examined the production and mortality of fine roots less than 1 mm in diameter in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) plantation located on the Kanto Plain in central Japan. We used a minirhizotron technique in combination with soil coring, and collected data for 1 year (May 2002–May 2003). Fine root production and mortality were determined from changes in the lengths of individual fine roots on minirhizotron tubes. Both fine root production and mortality rates were greater in the upper soil than in lower soil levels. Both rates were seasonal, with higher values in summer than in winter; this trend was more pronounced in upper soil levels. These results suggest that environmental conditions, such as temperature or soil properties, affect the production and mortality rates of fine roots. Fine root production and mortality occurred simultaneously, and their rates were similar, which may have led to unclear seasonal changes in fine root standing crop estimates. Soil coring indicated that the fine root biomass of this stand was about 120 g m⁻², of which 40% was from Japanese cedar. The estimated rates of dry matter production and mortality of total fine roots, including understory plants, were both approximately 300 g m⁻² year⁻¹.