International Harmonization of Nomenclature and Diagnostic Criteria (INHAND) progress to date and future plans

The INHAND Proposal (International Harmonization of Nomenclature and Diagnostic Criteria for Lesions in Rats and Mice) has been operational since 2005. A Global Editorial Steering Committee (GESC) manages the overall objectives of the project and the development of harmonized terminology for each organ system is the responsibility of the Organ Working Groups (OWG), drawing upon experts from North America, Europe and Japan.Great progress has been made with 9 systems published to date – Respiratory, Hepatobiliary, Urinary, Central/Peripheral Nervous Systems, Male Reproductive and Mammary, Zymbals, Clitoral and Preputial Glands in Toxicologic Pathology and the Integument and Soft Tissue and Female Reproductive System in the Journal of Toxicologic Pathology as supplements and on a web site – www.goreni.org. INHAND nomenclature guides offer diagnostic criteria and guidelines for recording lesions observed in rodent toxicity and carcinogenicity studies. The guides provide representative photo-micrographs of morphologic changes, information regarding pathogenesis, and key references. During 2012, INHAND GESC representatives attended meetings with representatives of the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC), and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Enterprise Vocabulary Services (EVS) to begin incorporation of INHAND terminology as preferred terminology for SEND (Standard for Exchange of Nonclinical Data) submissions to the FDA. The interest in utilizing the INHAND nomenclature, based on input from industry and government toxicologists as well as information technology specialists, suggests that there will be wide acceptance of this nomenclature. The purpose of this publication is to provide an update on the progress of INHAND.     

Differentiation of canine bone marrow stromal cells into voltage- and glutamate-responsive neuron-like cells by basic fibroblast growth factor

We investigated the in vitro differentiation of canine bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) into voltage- and glutamate-responsive neuron-like cells. BMSCs were obtained from the bone marrow of healthy beagle dogs. Canine BMSCs were incubated with the basal medium for neurons containing recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF; 100 ng/ml). The viability of the bFGF-treated cells was assessed by a trypan blue exclusion assay, and the morphology was monitored. Real-time RT-PCR was performed to evaluate mRNA expression of neuronal, neural stem cell and glial markers. Western blotting and immunocytochemical analysis for the neuronal markers were performed to evaluate the protein expression and localization. The Ca²⁺ mobilization of the cells was evaluated using the Ca²⁺ indicator Fluo3 to monitor Ca²⁺ influx. To investigate the mechanism of bFGF-induced neuronal differentiation, the fibroblast growth factor receptor inhibitor, the phosphoinositide 3-kinase inhibitor or the Akt inhibitor was tested. The bFGF treatment resulted in the maintenance of the viability of canine BMSCs for 10 days, in the expression of neuronal marker mRNAs and proteins and in the manifestation of neuron-like morphology. Furthermore, in the bFGF-treated BMSCs, a high concentration of KCl and L-glutamate induced an increase in intracellular Ca²⁺ levels. Each inhibitor significantly attenuated the bFGF-induced increase in neuronal marker mRNA expression. These results suggest that bFGF contributes to the differentiation of canine BMSCs into voltage- and glutamate-responsive neuron-like cells and may lead to the development of new cell-based treatments for neuronal diseases.     

Effect of loading frequency on fatigue life and dissipated energy of structural plywood under panel shear load

Wood-based panels are subjected to cyclic panel shear load caused by wind and seismic forces in such an application as the sheathing of bearing walls. The fatigue behavior of structural plywood under panel shear load with two different loading frequencies was examined. Pulsating panel shear load with a triangular waveform and loading frequency of 0.5 or 5 Hz was applied to the plywood specimens. Stress−strain hysteresis loops were measured throughout the fatigue tests. Fatigue life was highly dependent on loading frequency at more than 0.5 stress level. The deterioration of mechanical property and damage accumulation in plywood specimen was observed to be slower at higher loading frequency at more than 0.5 stress level. Analyses based on energy loss suggest that panel shear load with higher loading frequency causes less damage to the plywood specimen during one loading cycle at higher stress level, and that the fatigue damage accumulation causing failure might be dependent on stress level although it seems to be unaffected by loading frequency. Based on these results, a new fatigue failure model for plywood specimen was qualitatively developed by combining Weibull’s weakest link model and Daniels’ fiber bundle model.     

Genetic variation ofAlnus trabeculosa populations in Japan

Alnus trabeculosa Hand.-Mazz. is classed as “near threatened,” and efforts should be made to conserve the species, but effective action would require understanding of its genetic variation and structure. Therefore, the genetic variation at 12 isozyme loci was examined in seven populations of the species in Japan. The expected heterozygosity within species (H _es=0.222) and the expected heterozygosity within populations (H _ep=0.199) were found to be slightly higher than in most other woody species. The coefficient of genetic differentiation (G _ST=0.146) was also high. The northernmost population had the lowest values for almost all measures of genetic variation, and populations in southern Japan tended to show greater within-population variation than those in northern Japan. The level and distribution of genetic variation in this species might be related to its life history and ecological traits, and distribution history.     

Fatigue of structural plywood under cyclic shear through thickness I: fatigue process and failure criterion based on strain energy

The fatigue behavior of plywood specimens under shear through thickness was examined on the basis of strain energy to obtain common empirical equations for the fatigue process and failure criterion under various loading conditions. Specimens were cut from commercial plywood panels of 9-mm thickness. Loading conditions were set as follows: a square waveform at a loading frequency of 0.5 Hz, a triangular waveform at 0.5 Hz, and a triangular waveform at 5.0 Hz. Peak stress applied was determined to be 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9 of static strength, that is, stress levels of 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9. The stress-strain relationships were measured throughout the fatigue test, and the strain energy was obtained at each loading cycle. Loading conditions apparently affected the relationship between stress level and fatigue life. On the other hand, the relationship between mean strain energy per cycle and fatigue life was found to be independent of loading conditions. Mean strain energy per cycle obtained as the fatigue limit was 5.85 kJ/m³ per cycle. Assuming that the accumulation of strain energy is a fatigue indicator, the fatigue process and failure criterion for the plywood specimens under the three loading conditions were commonly expressed by the relationship between cumulative strain energy and loading cycles.     

A broad spectrum,one-step RT-PCR to detect <Emphasis Type="Italic">Satsuma dwarf virus</Emphasis> variants using universal primers targeting both segmented RNAs 1 and 2

Universal primers to detect Satsuma dwarf virus (SDV), including distantly related strains Citrus mosaic virus (CiMV), Navel orange infectious mottling virus (NIMV), and Hyuganatsu virus (HV), were tested in a convenient one-step RT-PCR assay. SDV was the most broadly detected using uSDVup/uSDVdo primers that specifically targeted a nucleotide sequence in the 3′-noncoding region that is conserved in both segmented RNAs 1 and 2 of SDV among the tested primers. Nucleotide sequence analysis confirmed that the amplified RT-PCR products could be derived from RNAs 1 or 2 of SDV variants, some of which had interesting genetic diversity.     

Effect of particle shape on linear expansion of particleboard

Hinoki (Japanese cypress) strand with 0.6mm thickness was hammer-milled to prepare three types of particles that had the same thickness but different lengths and widths. Screen analysis and image analysis were conducted to evaluate the shape and distribution of the particle dimensions. Laboratory-scale particleboards were fabricated at three density levels using these particles. To determine the true effect of particle shape on the linear expansion (LE) of the board, these boards exhibited almost the same temperature behavior during pressing, the same density profile, and the same bending properties at each board density level. LE at 40°C and 90% relative humidity of the board was found to be affected by the particle shape. The board composed of small particles showed a larger LE at the same density level. It was considered that the out-of-plane orientation angle of the particles affected the LE of the boards. Thickness swelling and internal bond strength were also affected by the particle shape.Part of this report was presented at the 50th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Kyoto, April 2000     

Seedling mortality of several crops induced by root,stem or leaf exposure to salts

Summary Seedling mortality caused by excessive salinity is common in establishing furrow-irrigated crops. This study was conducted to evaluate the processes involved and salinity levels leading to seedling mortality in guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray cv. 593), carrot (Daucus carota L. cv. Imperator-58), chile pepper (Capsicum annuum L. cv. New Mex. 6–4), and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mills cv. Rutgers). Salt accumulation patterns were also evaluated in soil columns subirrigated with waters of 0.8 and 3.9 dS m^–1. Seedlings were first grown for 10 to 16 days in greenhouse pots with water of 0.8 dS m^–1. Upon emergence of the first true leaf, seedling roots, leaves and stems were independently exposed to different levels of salinity (0.8 to 59 dS m^–1) under two diurnal temperature regimes (22–32°C and 24–40°C). When seedling roots were exposed to the saline solutions, mortality was sub stantially greater under the high temperature, and increased greatly at salinity levels of soil solutions exceeding about 5 dS m^–1 in guayule and carrot, and 15 dS m^–1 in tomato and pepper. Mortality caused by leaf exposures to saline spray was greater under the low temperature with higher relative air humidities, and increased greatly when salinity levels of spray solutions exceeded ap 5, 10, 15 and 20 dS m^–1 in guayule, carrot, tomato and pepper, respectively. Physical abrasion of seedling leaves prior to saline water spraying significantly increased mortality. Stem exposure to a thin layer of salted sand having the saturation extract salinity of up to 58 dS m^–1 caused no significant increase in mortality. Soluble salts were accumulated mostly in a soil depth of 0 to 0.5 cm at a rate of 35 dS m^–1 in 3 weeks when subirrigated with water of 3.9 dS m^–1. Under furrow-irrigated conditions, seedling mortality may be induced mainly through leaf and/or root, but not stem, exposure to the salts accumulated at soil surfaces. Leaf-induced mortality can be the most significant process when wind-damaged seedlings are exposed to saline splatters during light showers common to the semi-arid region.Contribution from Texas Agr. Expt. Station, Texas A & M University System. Supported in part by a grant from the Binational Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) fund and the Expanded Research Fund