Stage‐specific effects of osmolarity of a culture medium on development of pig oocytes and miniature pig somatic cell nuclear transfer embryos activated by ultrasound treatment

Whether high osmolarity of a culture medium at the early culture stage affects the development of pig oocytes and miniature pig somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos activated by ultrasound was examined. When oocytes were cultured in modified porcine zygote medium‐3 (mPZM‐3) with increased NaCl to 138 mmol/L (mPZM‐3+NaCl; 326 mOsm) or 50 mmol/L sucrose (mPZM‐3+sucrose; 318 mOsm) for the first 2 days and then cultured in normal mPZM‐3 (273 mOsm) for 5 days, the cleavage and blastocyst formation rates were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those of oocytes cultured in mPZM‐3 for 7 days. The cleavage and blastocyst formation rates of SCNT embryos cultured in mPZM‐3+NaCl for the first 2 days and then cultured in mPZM‐3 for 5 days were also significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those of embryos cultured in mPZM‐3 for 7 days. These results showed that the high osmolarity of a culture medium induced by increasing NaCl concentration during the first 2 days improves the development of pig oocytes and miniature pig SCNT embryos activated by ultrasound.     

Nod2 mutation in Crohn's disease potentiates NF-kappaB activity and IL-1beta processing

Variants of NOD2, an intracellular sensor of bacteria-derived muramyl dipeptide (MDP), increase susceptibility to Crohn's disease (CD). These variants are thought to be defective in activation of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) and antibacterial defenses, but CD clinical specimens display elevated NF-kappaB activity. To illuminate the pathophysiological function of NOD2, we introduced such a variant to the mouse Nod2 locus. Mutant mice exhibited elevated NF-kappaB activation in response to MDP and more efficient processing and secretion of the cytokine interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta). These effects are linked to increased susceptibility to bacterial-induced intestinal inflammation and identify NOD2 as a positive regulator of NF-kappaB activation and IL-1beta secretion.     

Ethylenediurea (EDU) effects on hybrid larch saplings exposed to ambient or elevated ozone over three growing seasons

Ground-level ozone (O3) pollution is a persis-tent environmental issue that can lead to adverse effects on trees and wood production,thus indicating a need for forestry interventions to mediate O3 effects.We treated hybrid larch (Larix gmelinii var.japonica × L.kaempferi)saplings grown in nutrient-poor soils with 0 or 400 mg L-1 water solutions of the antiozonant ethylenediurea(EDU0,EDU400) and exposed them to ambient O3 (AOZ;08:00-18:00 ≈ 30 nmol mol-1) or elevated O3 (EOZ;08:00-18:00≈ 60 nmol mo1-1) over three growing sea-sons.We found that EDU400 protected saplings against most effects of EOZ,which included extensive visible foliar injury,premature senescence,decreased photosyn-thetic pigment contents and altered balance between pig-ments,suppressed gas exchange and biomass production,and impaired leaf litter decay.While EOZ had limited effects on plant growth (suppressed stem diameter),it decreased the total number of buds per plant,an effect that was not observed in the first growing season.These results indicate that responses to EOZ might have implications to plant competitiveness,in the long term,as a result of decreased potential for vegetative growth.However,when buds were standardized per unit of branches biomass,EOZ significantly increased the number of buds per unit of biomass,suggest-ing a potentially increased investment to bud development,in an effort to enhance growth potential and competitiveness in the next growing season.EDU400 minimized most of these effects of EOZ,significantly enhancing plant health under O3-induced stress.The effect of EDU was attributed mainly to a biochemical mode of action.Therefore,hybrid larch,which is superior to its parents,can be significantly improved by EDU under long-term elevated O3 exposure,providing a perspective for enhancing afforestation practices.     

Antiallergic Effect of Picholine Olive Oil-in-Water Emulsions through β-Hexosaminidase Release Inhibition and Characterization of Their Physicochemical Properties

The inhibitory effect of Picholine olive oil from Montpellier in Southern France on the chemical mediator release in type I allergy, using rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells, was investigated. Oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions prepared using Picholine olive oil showed an inhibitory effect on the chemical mediator release and decreased expressions of genes related to type I allergy in RBL-2H3 cells. We then measured the phenolic compounds present in Picholine olive oil using high-performance liquid chromatography and investigated some physical properties, such as droplet size, size distribution, viscosity, and surface tension of the resulting olive O/W emulsions. Our findings indicate that Picholine olive oil has high flavonoids content, especially apigenin, and the prepared emulsion of Picholine olive oil resulted in a considerable small size distribution, with an average droplet size of 170 nm.     

Starch Damage and Pasting Properties of Rice Flours Produced by Dry Jet Grinding

Milling method and particle size affect some properties of rice flour. To prepare ultra‐fine rice flour of <30 μm, hammer and dry jet grinding methods were examined and the effect of particle size on starch damage and pasting properties of the flour were elucidated. A jet mill could make finer flour (<10 μm mean size) with a narrower particle size distribution than a hammer mill could. Starch damage increased dramatically at a mean size of <10 μm. Particles of a similar size (<60 μm) had different levels of starch damage between mills. Not only the particle size, but also the milling method affected the level of damaged starch. Flour samples of ≥45 μm mean size had similar viscosity curves, but samples of <20 μm had different curves. Peak viscosity and final viscosity decreased sharply at <10 μm. Setback viscosity for particles of 3 μm from both brown rice and white rice were higher than the peak viscosity. Stability to heat and shearing stress were decreased for <20 μm flours as the breakdown viscosities decreased. Starch damage and pasting properties of flour ground from the nonwaxy japonica cultivar Koshihikari changed dramatically at a mean size of <10 μm.     

Effect of postactivation treatment with latrunculin a on in vitro and in vivo development of cloned embryos derived from kidney fibroblasts of an aged clawn miniature boar

The objective of this study was to examine the effect of postactivation treatment with latrunculin A (LatA), an actin polymerization inhibitor, on in vitro and in vivo development of somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) embryos derived from kidney fibroblasts of an aged Clawn miniature boar (12 years old). After electric activation, SCNT embryos were treated with 0, 0.5 or 1 μM LatA and cultured in vitro. The rate of blastocyst formation was significantly higher (P<0.05) in SCNT embryos treated with 0.5 μM LatA (38%) than those in control (14%). When cloned embryos treated with 0.5 μM LatA were transferred into the oviducts of two recipient miniature gilts to assess their development in vivo, both recipients became pregnant; one maintained pregnancy to term, and a live piglet (weighing 220 g) was delivered by Caesarean section. The results of this study indicated that the postactivation treatment with LatA was effective in improving in vitro developmental capacity of SCNT miniature pig embryos derived from kidney fibroblasts of an aged animal and that miniature pig cloned embryos treated with LatA had the ability to develop to term.     

Temperature-induced hormesis in plants

Environmental change attracts particular attention by biologists concerned with the performance of biological systems under stress. To investigate these, dose–response relationships should be clarified. It was previously assumed that the fundamental nature of biological dose–responses follows a linear model, either with no threshold or with a threshold below which no effects are expected to occur in biological endpoints. However, substantial literature, including widespread documentation in plants, has revealed that hormesis commonly occurs. Hormesis is highly generalized and can be utilized as a quantitative measure of biological plasticity. Conditioning induced by adaptive responses also occurs in the framework of hormesis and is of particular importance to environmental change biology with regards to evolutionary adaptations.This paper presents additional evidence for hormetic dose responses induced by temperature in plants. The current understanding on hormesis provides a perspective for next generation environmental change research. Hormesis should have a central role in environmental change biology of vegetation.     

Quantification of relative flying fish paste content in the processed seafood ago-noyaki using real-time PCR

Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the 3′-portion of the mitochondrial 16S RNA gene (rDNA) coding sequence was used to determine flying fish paste in ago-noyaki. We quantified the amount of flying fish paste in ago-noyaki samples using flying fish-specific primers (Tobi16SF3/Tobi16SR) and universal primers (Univ16SF2/Univ16SR2). Using real-time PCR of standard ago-noyaki, a standard equation was obtained (y = 1.08x − 3.20; R ² = 0.977). This equation was then used to estimate the relative flying fish paste contents of eight commercially available ago-noyaki and two similar products. These results verified that the ago-noyaki products that had already been labeled with the E-mark deserved this status.     

Preparation and characterization of beta-carotene nanodispersions prepared by solvent displacement technique

This work demonstrated the preparation of protein-stabilized beta-carotene nanodispersions using the solvent displacement technique. The emulsifying performance of sodium caseinate (SC), whey protein concentrate (WPC), whey protein isolate (WPI), and a whey protein hydrolysate (WPH, 18% degree of hydrolysis) was compared in terms of particle size and zeta-potential of the nanodispersions. SC-stabilized nanodispersions exhibited a bimodal particle size distribution: large particles (stabilized by casein micelles) with a mean particle size of 171 nm and small particles (stabilized by casein submicelles) of 13 nm. This was confirmed with transmission electron microscopy analysis. Most of the beta-carotene precipitated (87.6%) was stabilized in the small particles. On the other hand, the nanodispersions stabilized by the whey proteins were polydispersed with larger mean particle sizes. The mean particle size of WPC and WPI was 1730 and 201 nm, respectively. The SC-stabilized nanodispersion was expected to be more stable as indicated by its higher absolute zeta-potential value (-31 mV) compared to that of WPC (-15 mV) and WPI (-16 mV). Partially hydrolyzed whey protein possessed improved emulsifying properties as shown by WPH-stabilized samples. It was interesting to note that increasing the SC concentration from 0.05 to 0.5 wt % increased the particle size of beta-carotene stabilized by casein micelles, while the reverse was true for those stabilized by SC submicelles. Microfluidization at 100 MPa of SC solution dissociated the casein micelles, resulting in a decrease in mean particle size of the casein micelle-stabilized particles when the SC solution was used to prepare nanodispersions. The results from this work showed that protein-stabilized beta-carotene nanodispersions could be prepared using the solvent displacement technique.