Absorption of fission products by plants (Part 5) absorption of gross fission products

Introduction

One of the authors reported in the preceding paper the absorption by plants of unseparated fission products derived from the H-bomb detonated in Spring of 1954 at Bikini-atoll. Since the authors had, thereafter, some amounts of gross fission products which were waste of atomic pile by courtesy of United States Atomic Energy Commission, they began some experiments on the absorption of the gross fission products by plants.     

Effects of Chinese herbal medicine on plasma glucose,protein and energy metabolism in sheep

Background

The use of antibiotics in animal diets is facing negative feedback due to the hidden danger of drug residues to human health. Traditional Chinese herbal medicine has been used to replace antibiotics in the past two decades and played an increasingly important role in livestock production. The present study was carried out to assess the feeding effects of a traditional nourishing Chinese herbal medicine mixture on kinetics of plasma glucose, protein and energy metabolism in sheep. Ruminal fermentation characteristics were also determined.

Methods

Four sheep were fed on either mixed hay (MH-diet) or MH-diet supplemented with 2% of Chinese herbal medicine (mixture of Astragalus root, Angelica root and Atractylodes rhizome; CHM-diet) over two 35-day periods using a crossover design. The turnover rate of plasma glucose was measured with an isotope dilution method using [U-¹³C]glucose. The rates of plasma leucine turnover and leucine oxidation, whole body protein synthesis (WBPS) and metabolic heat production were measured using the [1-¹³C]leucine dilution and open circuit calorimetry.

Results

Body weight gain of sheep was higher (P = 0.03) for CHM-diet than for MH-diet. Rumen pH was lower (P = 0.02), concentration of rumen total volatile fatty acid tended to be higher (P = 0.05) and acetate was higher (P = 0.04) for CHM-diet than for MH-diet. Turnover rates of plasma glucose and leucine did not differ between diets. Oxidation rate of leucine tended to be higher (P = 0.06) for CHM-diet than for MH-diet, but the WBPS did not differ between diets. Metabolic heat production tended to be greater (P = 0.05) for CHM-diet than for MH-diet.

Conclusions

The sheep fed on CHM-diet had a higher body weight gain and showed positive impacts on rumen fermentation and energy metabolism without resulting in any adverse response. Therefore, these results suggested that the Chinese herbal medicine mixture should be considered as a potential feed additive for sheep.     

Population genetic structure and gene flow in the Japanese sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus across Toyama Bay, Japan

The Japanese sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus has a pelagic-lecithotrophic larva. Here, we clarify larval dispersal among Japanese sea cucumber populations by describing the levels of distinctiveness and gene flow among red and green variant populations of A. japonicus across Toyama Bay using 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Samples of Japanese sea cucumber populations were collected from three localities (Noto, Shinminato, and Uozu) around Toyama Bay. Geographically separated populations of red and green variants were determined to be genetically distinct, supported by phylogenetic analysis and the distinctiveness range values of pairwise multilocus estimates of F _ST. Contemporary migration analyses indicated that the majority of estimated migration events occurred within A. japonicus populations comprised of only either red or green variants. In a historical gene flow analysis, two best-fit models (n-island and stepping stone models) showed circulation for the gene migration in Toyama Bay among red variant populations. Our results provide useful information on the genetic structure of Japanese sea cucumber populations and will be helpful for genetic conservation and fisheries management of sea cucumber populations in Toyama Bay.     

Frugivory of carnivores and seed dispersal of fleshy fruits in cool-temperate deciduous forests

Five members of the order Carnivora in the cool-temperate deciduous forests of Japan consume the fruits of trees, and they are potential dispersers of the seeds of fleshy-fruited plants. We studied the frugivory of the Asiatic black bear, Japanese marten, badger, red fox, and raccoon dog in cool-temperate deciduous forest of central Japan. From May 2003 to April 2005, a total of 377 fecal samples of the five carnivores (bears, 91; martens, 158; badgers, 45; foxes, 36; and raccoon dogs, 47) were sampled to determine the presence and frequency of occurrence of seeds. Seeds from 17 plant species, representing about 50% of the fleshy-fruited plants occurring in the study forest, were recovered from the carnivore fecal samples. Large numbers (9–10,256) of seeds were present in those feces. Almost all the seeds of fleshy fruits retrieved from the fecal samples were undamaged whereas no intact acorns or nuts were recovered. These findings suggest that all five carnivores can act as seed dispersers for some fleshy-fruited plants in cool-temperate deciduous forest. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Impaired reproduction in Japanese Black cattle under cold environmental conditions

Environmental factors such as the temperature–humidity index (THI) are known to affect reproductive parameters in cattle. Therefore, here, we examined whether there was any correlation between the THI and the reproductive performance of Japanese Black cattle by analysing the first‐service conception rates of 178,492 artificially inseminated cows across 9,833 herds in south‐western Japan over a 3‐year period. The daily mean (±SD) THI over the study period was 63.6 ± 11.3 (range: 41.4–81.5). The calving to first artificial insemination (AI) interval was significantly negatively correlated with THI in the month of AI (r = ?.75, p < .001), whereas conception rate to first AI (CRFA) showed a cyclical change that did not correspond with that of THI, resulting in a time lag between CRFA and THI in the month of AI. Furthermore, there was a stronger correlation between CRFA and THI between 3 and 2 months before AI (r = .76 vs. .83, p < .001) than in the month of AI (r = .34, p = .04). Therefore, this extensive field study showed that a decrease in THI was associated with declined reproductive performance in Japanese Black cattle and that the impact of the cold environment on the conception rate is attributable to a carryover effect from the cold season before AI rather than conditions at the time of AI.     

Thermogravimetric evaluation of chitin degradation in soil: implication for the enhancement of ammonification of native organic nitrogen by chitin addition

Degradation of chitin, which is an aminopolysaccharide used as a soil amendment, has been often monitored in soil via its degradation products such as carbon dioxide and ammonium. We report here the applicability of thermogravimetry to measure the amount of chitin added to soil. The maximum pyrolysis rate of the upland surface soil of Brown Forest soil supplemented with chitin was strongly correlated with added chitin content (r = 0.999) when the content exceeded 6.0 g kg^?1. The maximum pyrolysis rates of chitin-added soil (around 385°C) was distinctive from those of soil supplemented with cellulose, chitosan, N-acetylglucosamine, and N,N’-diacetylchitobiose (around 340°C, 300°C, 200°C, and 240°C, respectively), indicating the specific detection of chitin. Soil incubation study demonstrated that 60 g kg^?1 chitin added to the soil declined exponentially (r = 0.993) within days and could not be detected at 90 days after the addition of chitin. Total carbon (C) content also decreased within days whereas total nitrogen (N) remained almost constant over the 90 days. The amount of ammonium-N increased in the initial 30 days after the addition of chitin and reached about 3.6 g kg^?1, which corresponded to the amount of N in the added chitin (4.1 g kg^?1) while the amount of nitrite-N and nitrate-N were below 2.0 and 15 mg kg^?1, respectively. Comparison of the measured ammonium-N and total-C contents with those calculated from the measured chitin-content implied that addition of chitin enhanced degradation of native organic compounds in soil.     

Influence of riders’ skill on plasma cortisol levels of horses walking on forest and field trekking courses

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of rider's skill on the plasma cortisol levels of trekking horses on two courses, walking on field and forest courses (about 4.5 to 5.1 km each). Three riders of different skills did horse trekking (HT) in a tandem line under a fixed order: advanced‐leading, beginner‐second and intermediate‐last. A total of six horses were used and they experienced all positions in both courses; a total of 12 experiments were done. Blood samples were obtained before HT, immediately after and 2 h after HT. As a control, additional blood samples were obtained from the same horses on non‐riding days. Irrespective of the course and the rider's skill, the cortisol level before HT was higher than that of control (P < 0.05). In both courses, the cortisol levels immediately after HT ridden by the advanced rider were higher than that of control (P < 0.05). However, in every case, the cortisol level 2 h after HT was closely similar to the level of the control. Thus, we concluded the stress of trekking horse was not sufficient to disturb the circadian rhythm of the cortisol level, irrespective of the course and the rider's skill.     

Presence of contagious yawning in sheep

Contagious yawning is triggered by others yawning, and it has previously been reported in humans, primates and several experimental and companion mammals. Whereas it might be a response to an innate releasing mechanism, contagious yawning is also considered to involve emotional contagion. Here, we demonstrate that sheep, the animal model of livestock animals, also experience contagious yawning. Twelve adult castrated Corriedale sheep were used in this study. Pairs of sheep were adjacently restrained with or without a wooden divider panel to shield them from viewing the other. Their behaviors were video‐recorded for 3 days in each condition. Sheep yawned 2.0 ± 1.1 and 1.2 ± 1.1 times/day/head in the unshielded and shielded conditions, respectively. Unshielded restrained sheep yawned within 1 min after the other one 11.1% of the time, while shielded pairs did not exhibit contagious yawning. Rumination was also highly synchronized under the unshielded condition. These data reveal that contagious yawning and behavioral synchronicity occur in ruminants like sheep, making them a suitable animal model to investigate contagious yawning and the underlying mechanism.     

Lipomatosis of axillary lymph nodes in a cynomolgus monkey (Macaca fascicularis)

Lipomatosis of lymph nodes is defined as the replacement of the lymphatic parenchyma by adipose tissue which grows in the node from the hilus toward the cortical zone. In humans, it is considered as part of the normal aging process and is common in obese patients, but there are no reports in non-human primates. In this report, we describe the first case of lymph node lipomatosis in the bilateral axillary lymph nodes of a young adult cynomolgus monkey. Macroscopically, there were no apparent abnormalities in the axillary lymph nodes on either side, and their volumes were unchanged. At the cut surface, pale yellow fat-like tissue was observed in the medullary area. Histopathologically, well differentiated adipocytes replaced a large part of the lymphatic parenchyma in the area from the hilus to the medulla without any malignant findings. Based on these findings, the patient was diagnosed with lipomatosis of the lymph nodes.