Serotypes and antimicrobial susceptibility of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from diseased dogs

Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from diseased dogs in Tokyo area during 1983 through 1986 were serotyped and assayed for antimicrobial susceptibility to obtain an epizootiological aspect of canine P. aeruginosa infection. Major sources of specimens were ear and nasal discharges and urine. The results of O-antigen typing using a monoclonal antibody kit showed that the most predominant serotype was type M. Types G and B were also major serotypes. In a yearly distribution of serotypes, type I was almost limited in 1986, and was isolated mainly from surgical wounds, which showed an episode of nosocomial infection, whereas that of type M or B was dispersed during 4 years from 1983 to 1986. As a result of antimicrobial susceptibility test, most canine strains were considered to be susceptible to 4 drugs, which were commonly used in both human and veterinary clinics, in contrast to human isolates.     

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     

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.     

Spectrophotometrical characteristics in the near infrared region in beech (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Fagus crenata</Emphasis>) and pine (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus densiflora</Emphasis>) litters at the various decomposing stages

We examined the relationships between the absorptional characteristics in the near infrared region and the chemical changes of decomposing beech (Fagus crenata) and pine (Pinus densiflora) litters. Spectra as well as the concentrations of chemical substances approached each other and converged with decomposition, although both initial characteristics differed markedly between beech and pine. This indicated that the fundamental chemical structures were almost the same, although their organochemical composition differed. Specific absorption bands for lignin, polysaccharide, and protein were identified at 2,140 and 1,670 nm, 2,270, 1,720, 1,590, and 1,216 nm, and 2,350 nm, respectively. Absorbance at 1,670 nm, peculiar band of aromatics, showed a positive correlation with lignin concentration, which suggested the relative increment of aromatics due to condensed lignin in decomposing litters. Absorbance at 2,140 nm, characterized as the C–H bond in HRC = CHR, showed a negative correlation with lignin concentration, which suggested the decrements of some structures such as side-chains in lignin polymers unrelated to aromatics. Absorbance at 2,270, 1,720, and 1,216 nm, specified to O–H/C–O/C–H bonds in saccharide, might reflect the change of polysaccharide during decomposition because they showed a positive correlation to polysaccharide concentration. In the same way, absorbance at 2,350 nm, identified to the C–H/CH₂ bonds in protein, showed a negative correlation to nitrogen concentration in decomposing litters, which might indicate that the C–H/CH₂ bonds in protein decreased with decomposition due to microbial consumption of carbon in protein. Our findings suggested the possibility that the spectral changes indicate the litter digestibility during decomposition and that also explain the compositional change in decomposing litters.     

Antifeedant activity of flavonoids and related compounds against the subterranean termiteCoptotermes formosanus Shiraki

Antifeedant activity of some flavonoids and their related compounds against the subterranean termiteCoptotermes formosanus Shiraki was examined with nochoice tests and two-choice tests. The activities of these compounds were evaluated in relation to their chemical structures. All flavonoids tested showed antifeedant activity, whereas catechinic acid, possessing no A-ring or pyran ring in the molecule, showed feeding-preference activity. For the structure-activity relations, it was found that compounds containing two hydroxyl groups at C-5 and C-7 in A-rings showed high antifeedant activity. Furthermore, the presence of a carbonyl group at C-4 in the pyran rings of the compounds was necessary for the occurrence of high activity. 3-Hydroxyflavones and 3-hydroxyflavanones with 3,4-dihydroxylated B-rings exhibited higher activity than those with 4-hydroxylated B-rings.Part of this paper was presented at the 49th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 1999     

Assessing raindrop impact energy at the forest floor in a mature Japanese cypress plantation using continuous raindrop-sizing instruments

The raindrop size distribution of throughfall and open rainfall was monitored continuously during a rainfall event using laser raindrop-sizing instruments (LD gauges), in order to calculate the raindrop impact energy in a plantation of mature Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), where surface erosion at the forest floor had been a problem. Data from two rainfall events were analyzed. The LD gauges recorded qualitative raindrop size distribution, and the capture rate during each rainfall event was used to manipulate raindrop data quantitatively. Throughfall and open rainfall comparisons revealed several important differences. First, throughfall raindrops were fewer in number and larger in size than open rainfall drops. In one rainfall event, for example, throughfall raindrops were less than one-fifth as frequent as open rainfall raindrops; in addition, the maximum throughfall raindrop diameter was 6.35mm compared to 3.31mm for open rainfall raindrops. Second, throughfall raindrops that were larger than the largest open rainfall raindrops comprised 63.8% of the throughfall precipitation by volume. Third, total raindrop impact energy from throughfall was over twice that of open rainfall. Moreover, comparison of throughfall events implied that throughfall raindrops did not always have a uniform distribution between different events or among different periods of time in one rainfall event, in contrast to findings in previous studies which showed that throughfall raindrops had a uniform size distribution independent of rainfall intensity. It is possible that an abrupt transition of throughfall intensity from low to high changes the distribution of throughfall raindrops.     

Sorption of Cr(VI) on the wood of Japanese larch treated with concentrated sulfuric acid

A carbonaceous sorbent was prepared from the wood of Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis) by dehydration with concentrated sulfuric acid in a 69% yield. The abilities of the sorbent to remove Cr(VI) from aqueous solutions were investigated. Research parameters included the initial solution pH, temperature, and initial concentration of Cr(VI) in solution. The removal of Cr(VI) was highly solution pH dependent and was mainly governed by physicochemical sorption under weak acidic conditions. The equilibrium data fit well in the Langmuir isotherm model. The Langmuir constants were calculated at different temperatures, and the sorption capacity increased with rising temperature, indicating the endothermic nature of the Cr(VI) sorption onto the sorbent. The desorption experiments suggest that the Cr(VI) sorption is generally irreversible, owing to strong interaction of HCrO ₄ ⁻ with the active sites of the sorbent.     

Removal of trichloroethylene from aqueous solution by pyrolyzed Japanese cedar bark

The bark of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) was heated in an N₂ atmosphere at 300–900C for 3h to investigate the surface properties of the pyrolyzed residuces and their ability to remove trichloroethylene (TCE) from aqueous solutions. The specific surface areas (S _N) and total pore volumes (V _N) of the pyrolyzed barks steadily increased with rising pyrolysis temperature; no significant differences in the average pore diameters (D _N) were observed at higher temperatures (600–900C). The adsorption capacities of the pyrolyzed residues for TCE were determined under batch mode conditions using an aqueous solution containing 500g TCE dm^–3. The adsorption data were well fitted to the Freundlich equation. The adsorption capacity of the bark pyrolyzed at 900C was about five times larger than that of commercial activated carbon.This study was presented at the 10th International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry, Yokohama, June 1999