Damping-off of cabbage plug seedlings caused by Pythium ultimum var. ultimum in Japan

In October 2004, Pythium ultimum var. ultimum was isolated from rotten stems of cabbage plug seedlings in a commercial nursery in Mie Prefecture (Japan). The isolated fungus was then used to inoculate seedlings and subsequently reisolated from the seedlings with the damping-off disease, showing that P. ultimum var. ultimum is a new pathogen causing cabbage seedling disease.     

Immunohistochemical Study of Endocrine Cells in the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Philippine Carabao (Bubalus bubalis)

The distribution and frequency of occurrence of endocrine cells in the gastrointestinal tract of the Philippine carabao (Bubalus bubalis) were studied by immunohistochemistry. Fourteen types of immunoreactive (IR) endocrine cells were revealed. Among the cell types, only chromogranin, serotonin, and bovine pancreatic polypeptide (BPP) were present in the entire gut, while the others showed restricted distribution: somatostatin, gastrin, and cholecystokinin in the abomasum and small intestine; methionine-enkephalin-Arg⁶-Gly⁷-Leu⁸, motilin, neurotensin, secretin, gastric inhibitory peptide, and substance P in the small intestine; peptide tyrosine tyrosine (PYY) in the large intestine: and glucagon in the whole intestinal tract. Most of the cell types showed peak density in the pyloric, duodenal, or rectal region. The highest cell type heterogeneity was observed in the duodenum. The distribution profile of the gut endocrine cells in the carabao is closely related to that in the Holstein cattle. Important findings include the occurrence of BPP-IR cells in the entire gut and the high frequency of PYY-IR cells in the large intestine.     

Morphological study on pigmented cells in the horse testis

One of the most attractive characteristics of a horse testis is the change of the weight during development. As the testicular weight changes and the number of Leydig cells decreases, pigments appear in interstitial tissues. In the present study, the characteristics of the pigments found in the interstitial tissues were examined histochemically and ultrastructurally. Specific stainings indicated that the pigmented granules showed almost all of the histological and histochemical characteristics of ceroid or ceroid-like pigment. The cells showed positive reaction for acid phosphatase while the pigmented cells contained a lot of lysosomes ultrastructurally. These results suggest that macrophages might phagocytize Leydig cells, and store their digested materials as ceroid-like pigment.     

Effect of dietary DL‐ethionine on growth and liver metabolism

1. The effects of DL‐ethionine, given in the diet or by injection, on growth, hepatic glycogen and lipids, and the activities of some cytoplasmic NAD‐linked dehydrogenases and NADPH‐producing enzymes were investigated.

2. Growth virtually ceased after feeding ethionine for 2 d.

3. Ethionine induced an accumulation of lipid, decreased the activities of malic enzyme and isocitrate dehydrogenase and increased the activity of lactate dehydrogenase.

4. The concentration of glycogen in the liver of ethionine‐fed chickens increased for 3 d in spite of a decrease in food intake, but then decreased.     

日本农业推广服务的计算机网络系统及其在福井地区的应用

日本农业推广主要由政府分配的1万名推广顾问到日本各地服务。这项服务由农、林、渔业部以及47个地方政府负责。为满足农业推广服务信息管理的需要,日本大约20年前建立了推广信息中心。并从1988年开始进行全国范围试验性推广计算机网络系统,现在推广信息中心的主要任务是管理一个叫作推广信息网络的计算机网络系统。     

Determination of the Chemical Structures of Tandyukisins B–D,Isolated from a Marine Sponge-Derived Fungus

Tandyukisins B–D (1–3), novel decalin derivatives, have been isolated from a strain of Trichoderma harzianum OUPS-111D-4 originally derived from the marine sponge Halichondria okadai, and their structures have been elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses using 1D and 2D NMR techniques. In addition, their chemical structures were established by chemical transformation. They exhibited weak cytotoxicity, but selective growth inhibition on panel screening using 39 human cancer cell lines.