Identification of a Germicidal Compound against Picornavirus in Bamboo Pyroligneous Acid

The germicidal activity of pyroligneous acid (PA) against a picornavirus, encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV), was analyzed, and the component responsible for its disinfectant activity was identified. Bamboo PA (BPA) inactivated EMCV, but neutralization of BPA abolished this activity. Using liquid-liquid phase extraction and silica gel column chromatography, the hydrophobic active fraction of BPA was separated and its 12 major components were identified. The active fraction was reconstructed by mixing synthetic chemicals at the determined concentrations, and a subtraction series of one chemical from the complete mixture was prepared. An in vitro virus assay demonstrated that phenol was the sole germicidal component, and acetic acid augmented the phenol's inactivating activity resulting in >5-log decrease in EMCV infectivity. Considering the low environmental risk of PA, these findings suggest that BPA is a potentially useful agent for preventing viral epidemics in agricultural and human environments.     

Molecular identification of `Candidatus Mycoplasma haemovis' in sheep with hemolytic anemia

We examined the presence of hemoplasmas, hemotropic mycoplasmas, among 11 sheep (Ovis aries) with regenerative and hemolytic anemia and found six of them were positive by real-time PCR. The positive samples were then subjected to conventional PCR for direct sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Nucleotide sequences of all the positive samples were identified as the 16S rRNA gene of `Candidatus Mycoplasma haemovis' by phylogenetic analysis, demonstrating the infections with this particular hemoplasma species in Japan.     

Ecological implications of mammal feces buried in snow through dung beetle activities

In early spring, snow-buried mammal feces simultaneously emerge on the ground with the melting of the snow across regions with heavy snowfall. Here, we evaluated the ecological implications of this phenomenon for the cool-temperate forest ecosystem in terms of the resource use of dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), which play key roles in secondary seed dispersal and nutrient cycling. During May 2012 and 2013, we conducted cafeteria experiments in heavy snowfall regions with different types of forest cover in northern Japan by using pitfall traps baited with the snow-buried feces of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata), Japanese serows (Capricornis crispus), and Japanese hares (Lepus brachyurus angustidens). From the experiments, we identified 12 dung beetle species, indicating that the snow-buried feces could act as a valuable resource for vernal beetles. Most of the beetles had obvious fecal preferences. The snow-buried feces of serows were widely available resources for most vernal species, including dwellers and tunnelers, contributing to the biomass of those species. Although dung beetles using snow-buried feces in young broadleaf forests with rich feces supplies did not always exhibit the highest species richness, tunnelers frequently emerged in those forests, and Phelotrupes preferred macaque feces. This finding could have important implications for plant regeneration, as it relates to time-lagged mammal–beetle interactions. Endozoochorous seeds dispersed by macaques in the autumn have insufficient opportunities for secondary seed dispersal by beetles as the beetles are inactive in autumn, but those seeds are protected against predation by snow during winter and are safely preserved under soil by vernal tunnelers.     

Effect of supplementing Rhodes grass hay (Chloris gayana) with Berchemia discolor or Zizyphus mucronata on the performance of growing goats in Kenya

Twenty growing Small East African goats were used to determine the effects of feeding sun-dried leaves of the browse forages Berchemia discolor and Zizyphus mucronata as supplements to low-quality basal diet, Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) hay, on voluntary feed intake (VFI), digestibility and growth performance. The grass hay and maize bran were used as a control. The dried leaves were then included at the rates of 15% and 30% of the dry matter intake (DMI). Berchemia discolor had the highest crude protein (CP) content of 195.5 g/kg DM, while Z. mucronata had CP content of 169.5 g/kg DM. The grass hay had the lowest CP content of 50.9 g/kg DM. The browse forages had low fibre content [Neutral detergent fibre (NDF); 257.9-369.5 g/kg DM], while the grass hay had high fibre content (NDF; 713.1 g/kg DM). Goats in the groups supplemented with either of the browse forages had higher total DMI, nitrogen (N) intake and retention and live-weight gains than those in the control diet group. The digestibility of DM and organic matter (OM) was not affected by supplementation, but the CP digestibility increased with supplementation. The use of the browse forages as supplements for goats fed on poor-quality basal diets would enhance the performance of the animals.     

Concentrations of trace elements in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Meretrix</Emphasis> spp. (Mollusca: Bivalva) along the coasts of Vietnam

The dominant coastal bivalve in Vietnam, hard clams Meretrix spp., collected from the South Key Economic Zone (SKEZ), the Mekong River Delta, and the Central Coastal Zone (CCZ) were analyzed for 21 trace elements. Comparison of the results from the three regions indicated that levels of most of the trace elements, especially As, Mo, Sn, and Pb, were highest in the samples collected from the CCZ, whereas most of the trace elements were found to be present at relatively low levels in samples from the SKEZ. The high concentrations of these trace elements in the CCZ, a sparsely populated region with less human activity than the other two regions, were believed to have originated from industrial waste produced in a shipyard. Although the trace element concentrations in the bivalves were within safe levels for human-consumption criteria reported by the United State Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission, estimation of cancer risk based on As concentration indicates that the hard clams from the CCZ pose a high risk to consumers. Thus, the industrial waste produced in the less densely populated region might increase the health risk to consumers via the contamination of bivalves commonly used as food.     

Quantitative estimation of the predation of marine ranched striped jack <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudocaranx dentex</Emphasis> by herons

The Goto station of the Japan Sea-Farming Association conducted marine ranching experiments with striped jack Pseudocaranx dentex from 1988 to 1999 in the Goto Islands, Nagasaki, Japan. Marine ranching is a stocking method where released fish are fed for some period after release in order to decrease initial mortality from starvation. Ranched fish were fed for 0, 90, and 15 days after stocking in 1997, 1998, and 1999, respectively. During the experiment, herons (grey heron Ardea cinerea, black-crowned night heron Nycticorax nycticorax, and great egret Egretta alba) were often observed preying on released fish in the ranching area. The present study estimated the number of fish preyed upon by herons during observation periods in 1997, 1998, and 1999 from the number of herons that flew into the ranching area and the predation rate on ranched fish by herons. The former was counted during sightings. The latter was estimated from the sighting observations and heron regurgitations. The number of herons that flew into the ranching area increased with the feeding period. The numbers of fish lost to predation by herons in 1997, 1998, and 1999 were estimated to be 0, 5,741, and 829, respectively.     

Morphological, histochemical and morphometric study of the myotomal muscle tissue of the pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus Holmberg 1887: Serrasalminae, Characidae, Teleostei)

Histochemical, ultrastructural and morphometric methods were used to study growth patterns of red, pink and white muscle fibres and their relation to body weight and total length in the fast-growing freshwater fish Piaractus mesopotamicus Holmberg. The correlations amongst body weight, body length and diameter of red, pink and white fibres were low. From 10-15 to 40-50 cm, body weight increased 102.7 times, while the diameter of each type of fibre increased by factors of 0.94, 0.74 and 0.70, respectively. Muscle fibres revealed different morphological and histochemical stages of maturation. The frequencies of < 20 microns fibres of red, pink and white muscle tissue in the youngest and oldest classes were 64.5 and 11.0, 38.2 and 7.7 and 24.0 and 1.4%, respectively. In 30-40 cm fish, the frequency of < 20 microns fibres in the red and pink tissue was 24.5 and 25.5%, while in the white tissue it was 11.5%. During sexual maturity (40-50 cm), the recruitment of < 20 microns fibres in white muscle was 1.4%. Muscle fibres of this species showed continuous growth by both hyperplastic and hypertrophic mechanisms, and hyperplasia was particularly active in the juvenile phase.     

Regolith migration and sorting on asteroid Itokawa

High-resolution images of the surface of asteroid Itokawa from the Hayabusa mission reveal it to be covered with unconsolidated millimeter-sized and larger gravels. Locations and morphologic characteristics of this gravel indicate that Itokawa has experienced considerable vibrations, which have triggered global-scale granular processes in its dry, vacuum, microgravity environment. These processes likely include granular convection, landslide-like granular migrations, and particle sorting, resulting in the segregation of the fine gravels into areas of potential lows. Granular processes become major resurfacing processes because of Itokawa's small size, implying that they can occur on other small asteroids should those have regolith.     

Enhancement of thermoelectric efficiency in PbTe by distortion of the electronic density of states

The efficiency of thermoelectric energy converters is limited by the material thermoelectric figure of merit (zT). The recent advances in zT based on nanostructures limiting the phonon heat conduction is nearing a fundamental limit: The thermal conductivity cannot be reduced below the amorphous limit. We explored enhancing the Seebeck coefficient through a distortion of the electronic density of states and report a successful implementation through the use of the thallium impurity levels in lead telluride (PbTe). Such band structure engineering results in a doubling of zT in p-type PbTe to above 1.5 at 773 kelvin. Use of this new physical principle in conjunction with nanostructuring to lower the thermal conductivity could further enhance zT and enable more widespread use of thermoelectric systems.