Practical usefulness of a therapeutic soft contact lens for a corneal ulcer in a racehorse

Therapeutic soft contact lenses (TSCL) were applied to a thoroughbred racehorse with corneal ulcer refractory to topical medication. The insertion of the TSCL was conducted on day 36 using a nose twitch under sedation, auriculopalpebral nerve block, and topical anesthesia. The lens was retained, with the duration of wear lasting 114 days. Ocular pain improved immediately and fluorescein tests were negative 17 days after insertion. The horse was able to undergo training and ran in two races while wearing the TSCL. Thus a TSCL was found to be clinically useful for treating corneal ulcers in racehorses.     

Essential role of Fkbp6 in male fertility and homologous chromosome pairing in meiosis

Meiosis is a critical stage of gametogenesis in which alignment and synapsis of chromosomal pairs occur, allowing for the recombination of maternal and paternal genomes. Here we show that FK506 binding protein (Fkbp6) localizes to meiotic chromosome cores and regions of homologous chromosome synapsis. Targeted inactivation of Fkbp6 in mice results in aspermic males and the absence of normal pachytene spermatocytes. Moreover, we identified the deletion of Fkbp6 exon 8 as the causative mutation in spontaneously male sterile as/as mutant rats. Loss of Fkbp6 results in abnormal pairing and misalignments between homologous chromosomes, nonhomologous partner switches, and autosynapsis of X chromosome cores in meiotic spermatocytes. Fertility and meiosis are normal in Fkbp6 mutant females. Thus, Fkbp6 is a component of the synaptonemal complex essential for sex-specific fertility and for the fidelity of homologous chromosome pairing in meiosis.     

The duality of teleost gonadotropins

The duality of salmon gonadotropins has been proved by biochemical, biological, and immunological characterization of two chemically distinc gonadotropins. GTH I and GTH II were equipotent in stimulating estradiol production, whereas GTH II appears to be more potent in stimulating maturational steroid synthesis. The ratio of plasma levels and pituitary contents of GTHs and the secretory control by a GnRH suggest that GTH I is the predominant GTH during vitellogenesis and early stages of spermatogenesis in salmonids, whereas GTH II is predominant at the time of spermiation and ovulation. GTH I and GTH II are found in distinctly separate cells. In trout, GTH I is expressed first in ontogeny, whereas GTH II cells appear coincident with the onset of spermatogenesis and vitellogenesis, and increase dramatically at the time of final reproductive maturation. Comparison of the amino acid sequences of polypeptides and the base sequences of cDNA revealed that salmon GTH I β is more similar to bovine FSHβ than bovine LHβ and salmon GTH II β shows higher homology to bovine LHβ than to bovine FSHβ. The existence of two pituitary gonadotropins in teleosts as well as tetrapods suggests that the divergence of the GTH gene took place earlier than the time of divergence of teleosts from the main line of evolution leading to tetrapods.     

Evaluation of Intestinal Absorption of Dietary Halocynthiaxanthin,a Carotenoid from the Sea Squirt Halocynthia roretzi

Halocynthiaxanthin is an acetylenic carotenoid mainly found in Halocynthia roretzi. To date, several bioactivities of halocynthiaxanthin have been reported, but its mechanism of digestion and absorption in mammals has not been studied yet. In this study, we evaluated the intestinal absorption of halocynthiaxanthin in mice. The halocynthiaxanthin-rich fraction was prepared from the tunicate Halocynthia roretzi. Mice were orally administered the fraction at a dose of 5 mg/kg body weight. The halocynthiaxanthin levels in the plasma, liver, and small intestine, were quantified using HPLC-PDA, 1, 3, 6, and 9 h after ingestion. The halocynthiaxanthin-rich fraction mainly consisted of the all-trans form and a small amount of cis forms. These three isomers were detected in the plasma of mice 3 h after ingestion. Time-course changes after the ingestion of this fraction were found, with cis isomers being more abundant than the all-trans isomer in the mouse plasma and liver. In the small intestine, however, the all-trans isomer was primarily detected. The possibility that cis isomers might be absorbed rapidly from the small intestine cannot be denied, but our results suggest that dietary all-trans-halocynthiaxanthin might be isomerized to the cis isomer after intestinal absorption.     

Identification of whale species by thin-layer isoelectric focusing of sarcoplasmic proteins.

Thin-layer isoelectric focusing was applied to the identification of whale (Cetacea) species by using water-soluble sarcoplasmic proteins of skeletal muscles. Twenty-eight samples consisting of 4 species (10 samples) of baleen whales (Mysticeti) and 8 species (18 samples) of toothed whales (Odontoceti) were analyzed. Each sample (approximately 1 g) was electrophoresed with Ampholine PAGplate, pH 3.5-9.5. The electrophoretic profiles were species-specific on the 4 toothed whale species that did not have a marked intra-species difference, and all 4 baleen whale species. However, the profiles were not specific on the 4 other dolphin species, even though they were discriminable from the other 4 toothed whale species. Numerical values of pIs and relative peak heights were obtained by densitometric analysis of the isoelectro-focused protein bands. The bands were also species-specific for the 8 toothed whale species mentioned. The values may be applicable to species identification without the need for a standard sample, which may not be readily obtainable. Experiments on test samples of minke and sel whales showed that bloodletting with ice water made the densities of isoelectro-focused bands thinner, although species identification was still possible by using the inside part of muscles. Heat treatment at below 60 degrees C for 10 min caused little denaturation; at higher temperatures the protein bands were diminished in a temperature-dependent fashion. Therefore, the present isoelectric focusing analysis should be applicable to small samples of whale meat, excluding several species of dolphins.     

Annual net production of the five Sargassaceae species in Yoro,western Wakasa Bay,Sea of Japan

ABSTRACT:   Annual net production of the five Sargassaceae species was investigated in Yoro, western Wakasa Bay, Sea of Japan. The Sargassaceae species were collected at a depth of 2.0–2.5 m and subjected to stratified clipping for 13 months. Annual net production was estimated at 2407 g dry wt/m² for Sargassum patens , 2132 g dry wt/m² for Sargassum macrocarpum , 1458 g dry wt/m² for Sargassum siliquastrum , 1197 g dry wt/m² for Myagropsis myagroides , and 1471 g dry wt/m² for Sargassum piluliferum . The ratio of annual net production to maximum biomass (P/B_max) for these species ranged between 1.3 and 1.7, being higher than in previous studies which used the same method. Winter storms with strong wave exposure and relatively calm condition in Yoro were considered to augment P/B_max. The total losses estimated from the different units of stratified clipping were compared. If larger and less segregated units were applied, the total loss would decrease. It was suggested that a 50 cm stratum would be applicable to the larger species (3 m or longer) and a stratum of 20 cm or less would be applicable to mid-sized or smaller species (less than 3 m).     

Functional properties, lipoxygenase activity, and health aspects of Lupinus albus protein isolates

To utilize lupin seeds for food and pharmaceutical applications, lupin seeds were pretreated to remove oil using hexane or carbon dioxide. Two types of lupin protein isolate were prepared. Both types of protein isolate showed good foaming activity, comparable to egg white. Protein isolate extracted under acid conditions showed higher foaming activity than protein isolate extracted at neutral pH. The lipoxygenase activity was much reduced in both of the protein isolates. The protein isolate extracted at neutral pH showed a stronger angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition than the protein isolate extracted under acidic pH. In contrast, the protein isolate extracted under acid conditions had a greater sodium cholate binding capacity, comparable to that of cholestyramine. Lupin samples showed less DPPH radical scavenging activity than deoiled soybean. The deoiling method did not affect the functional properties, lipoxygenase activity, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibition, sodium cholate binding, and radical scavenging activity.     

Mortierella wolfii keratomycosis in a horse

Purpose To describe a case of superficial keratomycosis caused by Mortierella wolfii (M. wolfii) in a horse. Methods A thoroughbred filly was presented with painful right eye of 2 days’ duration. A superficial corneal ulcer was observed ventrally together with multifocal punctuate opacities axially. Samples were collected by swabbing and scraping the ulcerated lesion and submitted for microbiologic and cytologic examination. Results Microscopic evaluation of debrided corneal tissue revealed the presence of nonseptate fungal hyphae, and culture of a corneal swab yielded fungal growth. Medical treatment with topical antifungal, antibiotic and autogenous serum and systemic anti‐inflammatory resolved the problem within 2 weeks. Conclusions Cytologic evaluation of a corneal scraping was useful to make a clinical diagnosis of keratomycosis. Based on the mycological characteristics, the fungus isolated from the corneal lesion was identified as M. wolfii. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first case report of equine keratomycosis associated with this fungus, although the organism is known to infect various organs of cattle.     

beta-Lactoglobulin A with N-ethylmaleimide-modified sulfhydryl residue, polymerized through intermolecular disulfide bridge on heating in the presence of dithiothreitol

Roles of sulfhydryl groups on thermal aggregation of beta-lactoglobulin A (betaLG A) at pH 7.5 were investigated. It is known that betaLG A modified at Cys(121) with N-ethylmaleimide (NEM-betaLG A) does not form an aggregate by heating and that dithiothreitol (DTT) reduces cystine residues and induces the intermolecular sulfhydryl/disulfide interchange reaction and/or oxidation. NEM-betaLG A was heated in the presence of DTT. The molecules were linked together with an intermolecular disulfide bridge, and the polymer formed increased with increase in DTT concentration. The largest portion of polymer was formed when DTT was added at around the same molar concentration as that of NEM-betaLG A. Then, polymer formation decreased with further increase in DTT concentration. The results suggest that sulfhydryl/disulfide residues other than Cys(121), generated from cysteine residues, can induce intermolecular sulfhydryl/disulfide interchange reactions to polymer and that thiol compounds, for example, added DTT, are capable of starting such reactions.     

Use of Jeffries acid oxalate treatment in particle-size analyses of Ando soils

Use of Jeffries acid-oxalate treatment in particle-size analyses of Ando soils for breaking up the sand- and silt-size aggregates bound by allophane, allophane-like constituents and hydrous iron oxides was studied. The analyses by this method and those by a method using sonic-wave oscillation were compared for nine Ando soil samples having different clay-mineral compositions and organic-matter contents. There were minor differences in the sand contents between the two analyses, but the clay contents were higher and the silt contents were lower after Jeffries acid oxalate treatment.

Characterization of the silt-size separates by an X-ray powder method, water vapor adsorption and electron microscopy indicated that the lower silt contents after Jeffries acid oxalate treatment were mainly due to dissolution of allophane and allophane-like constituents, whereas the silt-size separates after sonic-wave treatment still contained these mineral constituents. The proposed procedure for particle-size analysis was also useful for two ferruginous soils representing the Hydrandept and Torrox.