Central venous blood gas and acid-base status in conscious dogs and cats

To determine the reference level of central venous oxygen saturation (ScvO₂) and clinical efficacy of central venous blood gas analysis, partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide, pH, oxygen saturation, base excess (B.E.) and HCO₃ concentration were compared between simultaneously obtained central venous and arterial blood samples from conscious healthy 6 dogs and 5 cats. Comparisons between arteriovenous samples were performed by a paired t-test and Bland-Altman analysis. Between arteriovenous samples, B.E. showed good agreement, but there were significant differences in other parameters in the dogs, and no good agreement was detected in cats. The ScvO₂ in dogs and cats were 82.3 ± 3.5 and 62.4 ± 13.5%, respectively. Central venous blood gas analysis is indispensable, especially in cats.     

Na?ve-like conversion enhances the difference in innate in vitro differentiation capacity between rabbit ES cells and iPS cells

Quality evaluation of pluripotent stem cells using appropriate animal models needs to be improved for human regenerative medicine. Previously, we demonstrated that although the in vitro neural differentiating capacity of rabbit induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be mitigated by improving their baseline level of pluripotency, i.e., by converting them into the so-called “naïve-like” state, the effect after such conversion of rabbit embryonic stem cells (ESCs) remains to be elucidated. Here we found that naïve-like conversion enhanced the differences in innate in vitro differentiation capacity between ESCs and iPSCs. Naïve-like rabbit ESCs exhibited several features indicating pluripotency, including the capacity for teratoma formation. They differentiated into mature oligodendrocytes much more effectively (3.3–7.2 times) than naïve-like iPSCs. This suggests an inherent variation in differentiation potential in vitro among PSC lines. When naïve-like ESCs were injected into preimplantation rabbit embryos, although they contributed efficiently to forming the inner cell mass of blastocysts, no chimeric pups were obtained. Thus, in vitro neural differentiation following naïve-like conversion is a promising option for determining the quality of PSCs without the need to demonstrate chimeric contribution. These results provide an opportunity to evaluate which pluripotent stem cells or treatments are best suited for therapeutic use.     

Mitigation of nitrous oxide (N2O) emission from swine wastewater treatment in an aerobic bioreactor packed with carbon fibers

Mitigation of nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission from swine wastewater treatment was demonstrated in an aerobic bioreactor packed with carbon fibers (CF reactor). The CF reactor had a demonstrated advantage in mitigating N₂O emission and avoiding NOx (NO₃ + NO₂) accumulation. The N₂O emission factor was 0.0003 g N₂O‐N/gTN‐load in the CF bioreactor compared to 0.03 gN₂O‐N/gTN‐load in an activated sludge reactor (AS reactor). N₂O and CH₄ emissions from the CF reactor were 42 g‐CO₂ eq/m³/day, while those from the AS reactor were 725 g‐CO₂ eq/m³/day. The dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) in the CF reactor removed an average of 156 mg/L of the NH₄‐N, and accumulated an average of 14 mg/L of the NO₃‐N. In contrast, the DIN in the AS reactor removed an average 144 mg/L of the NH₄‐N and accumulated an average 183 mg/L of the NO₃‐N. NO₂‐N was almost undetectable in both reactors.     

Antioxidant constituents in distillation residue of Awamori spirits

Constituents in a distillation residue of Awamori (millet spirits) and their antioxidant activity are investigated in this study. The supernatant of the distillation residue obtained by centrifugation was partitioned with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, and n-butanol against water to afford the corresponding solubles. Among them, n-hexane and chloroform solubles showed higher antioxidant potency than l-ascorbic acid by the bleomycin-Fe method. In chloroform solubles, seven cyclic dipeptides were identified along with ethyl 2-pyrrolidione-5-carboxylate, tyrosol, and ethyl p-hydoroxyphenyllactate. Antioxidant activity of ethyl p-hydoroxyphenyllactate was 4.2 times that of l-ascorbic acid, whereas cyclic dipeptides showed activity 0.89-1.29 times as strong as that of l-ascorbic acid. On the other hand, scavenging effect of cyclic dipeptides against O(2)(-.) and OH(.) by using electron spin resonance was also investigated. In the results, cyclo(l-Ile-l-Pro) showed significantly strong inhibitory effect against OH(.) (95.4% at 2.5 x 10-3 M) and cyclo(l-Phe-l-Pro), cyclo(l-Pro-l-Val), and cyclo(l-Leu-l-Pro) inhibited OH(.) 64.9, 54.1, and 51.0%, respectively, whereas alpha-tocopherol showed 37.7% inhibition, though only a few cyclic dipeptides weakly inhibited O(2)(-.).     

Detailed examination of the degradation of phenol derivatives under oxygen delignification conditions

Several phenolic compounds were subjected to oxygen-alkali oxidations under oxygen delignification conditions, and their degradations were examined in detail by applying a novel formula. The formula was established on the basis of the two following considerations. The degradation of the phenolic compounds should be expressed by the sum of two types, each of which is caused by molecular oxygen and by highly reactive active oxygen species (HAOS). The degradation should be described by a mathematical equation to which a rate function, k(t), dependent on reaction time t, is applied instead of a rate constant. By rearrangements, the following formula was obtained: k(t) = A/(t + B) (A, B are constants). This is hyperbola, and the illustration of k(t) visualized the contribution of HAOS to the degradation of the phenolic compounds. HAOS did not contribute so much to the degradation, especially at 70 degrees C, which suggests the low energy supply for the HAOS generation at 70 degrees C. The extrapolation of k(t) to the beginning of the reaction gives its initial value, k(initial), which is the rate constant of the reaction between the phenolic compounds and molecular oxygen. As expected, k(initial) was dependent on the electronic property of their substituents. Quantification of the phenolic compounds degraded by HAOS showed that the contribution of HAOS to the degradation is not great. The maximum contribution was observed in the oxidation of 2,6-dimethylphenol at 85 degrees C. In this case, 5 and 95% of the compound were degraded by HAOS and molecular oxygen, respectively.     

Development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to detect an immunomodulatory alpha-D-glucan-protein complex, MPG-1, in basidiomycete Tricholoma matsutake and related processed foods

We previously isolated a novel immunomodulatory alpha-(1,4)(1,6)(1,2)- d-glucan-protein complex (MPG-1) from mycelia of Tricholoma matsutake in basidiomycetes. In the present study, we raised a polyclonal antibody by immunizing rabbits with MPG-1 and constructed a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system to examine the distribution of MPG-1 among edible mushrooms and related processed foods. The system detected MPG-1 quantitatively at concentrations of more than 10 ng/mL, with a coefficient of variation of less than 10% by intra-assay and interassay precision. Analysis with the system of chemically modified MPG-1 suggested that the sugar moiety was mainly involved in the detection. The system detected MPG-1 in the extracts of the fruiting bodies of T. matsutake but not in those of 34 other basidiomycete species. Moreover, a significant amount of MPG-1 was detected in the extracts of their cultured mycelia. The antigenic structure of MPG-1 was relatively stable in terms of pH and temperature. MPG-1 was detected in processed foods supplemented with T. matsutake. These results suggest that MPG-1 is distributed predominantly in T. matsutake species and that the ELISA system can detect it in processed foods supplemented with T. matsutake.     

Prognostic Value of Left Atrial Function in Dogs with Chronic Mitral Valvular Heart Disease

Background

A strong correlation between left atrial (LA) dysfunction and the severity of cardiac disease has been described in human patients with various cardiac diseases. The role of LA dysfunction in dogs with chronic mitral valvular heart disease (CMVHD) has not been addressed.

Objectives

To investigate the correlation between LA function and the prognosis of dogs with CMVHD.

Animals

Thirty‐eight client‐owned dogs with CMVHD.

Methods

Prospective clinical cohort study. Dogs were divided into 2 groups (survivors and nonsurvivors) based on the onset of cardiac‐related death within 1 year. Physical examination and echocardiographic variables were compared between the groups. For the assessment of the comparative accuracy in identifying patients with cardiac‐related death, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and multivariate logistic analysis were used.

Results

The highest accuracy was obtained for the LA active fractional area change (LA‐FAC _act), with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.95, followed by the left atrial to aortic root ratio (LA/Ao), with an AUC of 0.94; peak early diastolic mitral inflow velocity (E), with an AUC of 0.85; and LA total fractional area change (LA‐FAC _total), with an AUC of 0.85. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, LA‐FAC _act emerged as the only independent correlate of cardiac‐related death within 1 year (odds ratio = 1.401, P = .002).

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Regarding both the size and function, the LA has a strong correlation with the prognosis of dogs with CMVHD. The most significant independent predictor of mortality in this study was LA‐FAC _act.     

Henneguya pagri n. sp. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) causing cardiac henneguyosis in red sea bream, Pagrus major (Temminck & Schlegel)

Henneguya pagri n. sp. (Myxozoa: Myxosporea) is described from netpen-cultured red sea bream, Pagrus major, in Japan. Affected fish displayed anaemic gills, an enlarged bulbus arteriosus and internal haemorrhaging in the pericardial cavity. Disease outbreaks occurred during the summer and the prevalence of infection reached 75% in August. Plasmodia of H. pagri developed in the bulbus arteriosus of red sea bream, in which degenerative cardiomyopathy was observed. Following maturation of the parasite, the influx of spores into the gills caused congestion of the gill capillaries, resulting in proliferative branchitis. Spores (10.5 x 7.5 microm) were ovoid with two caudal appendages (29.6 microm in average length), with a whip-like extension from the end. Partial small subunit ribosomal RNA gene sequences of H. pagri are closely related to those of H. lateolabracis infecting the bulbus arteriosus of Chinese sea bass, Lateolabrax sp.     

Properties of scallop mantle collagen: its content,tissue distribution and thermal behavior

ABSTRACT:   To obtain fundamental information for the effective use of scallop Patinopecten yessoensis mantle, which is one of the underutilized marine resources. Some properties of collagen contained in the mantle were examined by chemical and histochemical techniques. Collagen content in the mantle varied annually, ranging from 0.98 to 1.72% of wet tissue, 7.7 to 12.6% of dry tissue and 13.5 to 26.5% of total protein, being relatively in high level of collagen content of invertebrate muscles. Collagen fiber was densely distributed in the inner connective tissue matrix of the mantle pallial, in contrast to the inner fold part which was rich in muscle fibers. The collagen contained in the crude collagen fraction (residue after alkali extraction), prepared from the mantle, was revealed to have considerably low solubility on hot-water extraction, constantly less than 20% of the total collagen at the temperatures in the range of 20–90°C.