Evaluation of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) infection risk of cattle via sewage sludge from wastewater treatment facilities in slaughterhouses in Japan

Scattered SRM residues from BSE-infected cattle are possible to contaminate sewage during the slaughtering process in slaughterhouses. A proportion of the sludge discharged from wastewater treatment facilities at slaughterhouses has historically been processed into fertilizer. We therefore investigated the associated risk of BSE infection to cattle via sludge-derived fertilizer. Each stage of the process associated with BSE exposure was qualitatively evaluated and quantitative evaluations were subsequently performed using infectious dose as a unit of concern. Results of these qualitative evaluations indicated that installation of filter(s) at the drains to the wastewater treatment facilities has been undertaken by many slaughterhouses and has decreased the likelihood of SRM contamination of sewage. The level of sludge-derived fertilizer ingested by cattle was considered to be very low since the fertilizer is mixed with the ground soil, and the amount of soil ingested by cattle is likely to be small. Results from the quantitative analysis indicated the total infectious dose ingested by cattle in Japan from an infected cow has been estimated to be 5.5 x 10(-3) ID(50). Preventing scattering of SRM during the slaughtering process, installing filters to the drains with the removal of residues from the drain water and preventing the application of sludge-derived fertilizer to pasturelands would be effective to reduce the risk. Although the limited extent of available information, this study should provide useful indication for the development of an inclusive risk assessment for slaughterhouse sludge in the future.     

The time course of lymph drainage from the peritoneal cavity in beagle dogs

Lymph drainage routes from the abdominal and pelvic cavities in beagle dogs were observed serially by following the time course of India ink administered intraperitoneally. Four systems of lymph drainage routes from the peritoneal cavity were observed in this study. The earliest drainage returned to the cranial mediastinal lymph nodes via the sternal lymph vessels; subsequently, the sternal lymph nodes located along the internal thoracic artery became involved. Then, a drainage route via the lymph vessel along the left vagus nerve was observed. The final drainage route flowed into the lateral lymph vessel through the thoracic duct located on the vertebra. These results show that India ink is absorbed from the peritoneal cavity, and that the lymph drainage first flows mainly towards the cranial mediastinal lymph nodes through the ventral lymphatic channels. Our serial observations suggest that, over time, the lymph drainage routes changed from the ventral abdominal to the dorsal thoracic lymphatic channels in the thorax.     

Isolation and culture of rabbit primordial germ cells

Primordial germ cells (PGCs) are embryonic precursors of the gametes of adult animals and are considered stem cells of the germline. Since their proliferation in vitro correlates well with the schedule of developmental changes in vivo, they might be interesting research tools for genomic imprinting, germ-cell tumors and fertility. Furthermore, once primordial germ cells are separated and placed on a feeder layer with cytokines, they become cultured pluripotent cell lines called embryonic germ (EG) cells. EG cells share several important characteristics with embryonic stem (ES) cells as they can also contribute to the germ line of chimeras. To investigate the characteristics of PGCs and establish rabbit EG (rEG) cells, we cultured rabbit PGCs (rPGCs) in vitro with various combinations of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and forskolin on inactivated mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) feeder layers. The present study found PGC proliferation in early cultures and induction of rEG-like colonies. These cells expressed pluripotent markers, such as alkaline phosphatase activity, OCT-4, Sox-2 and SSEA-1, in the undifferentiated state; however, the cells did not develop into a teratoma when injected into the kidney capsules of SCID mice, although the restricted differentiation potentials to neural cells were determined via embryoid body formation. From these characteristics and further characterization of the germ stem cell markers Vasa, SCP-1 and SCP-3, we suggested that these were hybrid cells with characteristics somewhere between PGC and EG cells.     

Photosensitivity in mice caused by pyropheophorbide in the midgut gland of the scallop <Emphasis Type="Italic">Patinopecten yessoensis</Emphasis> observed in diarrhetic shellfish poisoning mouse bioassays

Photosensitivity was observed in the mice used in bioassays of diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. The mice were intraperitoneally injected with the extracts from the midgut glands of cultured scallops Patinopecten yessoensis gathered in early spring in Funka Bay, Hokkaido, Japan. The injections induced atypical symptoms in the mice within 24 h. The symptoms included piloerection, substantial eye discharge, swelling of the ears and head, and ear scratching. They were similar to those reported in studies of photosensitivity caused by pyropheophorbide in the midgut glands of abalones, which are herbivorous gastropods. The problematic scallops also accumulated a large amount of pyropheophorbide-a. The amount determined with high-performance liquid chromatography was 300–530 μg per 1 g of the homogenate of the midgut glands. The dose of pyropheophorbide sufficient to cause photosensitivity in a mouse is estimated to be 0.99–2.3 mg per mouse with 20-g body weight. Moreover, comparative tests in mice showed that the onset of the symptoms required light and a substantial amount of pyropheophorbide. Therefore, we determined that the observed symptoms were photosensitivity caused by pyropheophorbide. Scallops, which are suspension-feeding bivalves, can accumulate a large amount of pyropheophorbide in the midgut glands depending on the habitat environment.     

Liquid-chromatographic hybrid triple–quadrupole linear-ion-trap MS/MS analysis of fatty-acid esters of dinophysistoxin-1 in bivalves and toxic dinoflagellates in Japan

Fatty-acid esters of dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1) in scallops Patinopecten yessoensis, mussels Mytilus coruscus, and toxic dinoflagellate Dinophysis species, collected from Japanese seawater, were analyzed by liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry (LC–MS). Precursor ion monitoring, multiple reaction monitoring for 18 fatty-acid esters of DTX1, and full-scan MS/MS spectra obtained with a hybrid triple–quadrupole linear-ion-trap mass spectrometer showed that 14:0, 16:0, and 16:1 esters were the most abundant 7-O-acyl-DTX1 analogues in bivalves. Fatty-acids esters formed by conjugations at hydroxyl positions other than the 7-position of DTX1 were not detected in the bivalves. DTX1 and okadaic acid-16:0 fatty-acid esters have been reported as the most abundant ester in bivalves in several previous studies; however, we found that 7-O-16:1-DTX1 was the most abundant ester in some mussels in which 16:1 was more dominant than 16:0 in the free fatty-acid profile. Comparison between 7-O-acyl-DTX1 and free fatty-acid profiles in the same bivalve samples suggests that polyunsaturated fatty acids are selectively excluded in enzymatic acylation of DTX1. No 7-O-acyl-DTX1 was detected in any single-cell isolates of D. fortii, D. acuminata, D. mitra, D. norvegica, D. tripos, D. infundibulus, and D. rotundata.     

Assessing Silicon Availability in Soils of Rice-Growing Lowlands and Neighboring Uplands in Benin and Nigeria

Silicon(Si) is known as a beneficial nutrient in the cultivation of rice, playing a key role in photosynthesis enhancement, lodging resistance and tolerance to various environmental stress. The present study aimed to examine available Si content in both lowland soils(n = 29) and neighboring upland soils(n = 21) collected from Benin and Nigeria and to evaluate the validity of the assessment results through a pot experiment. Our results revealed that the acetate-buffer method predicted Si concentration in rice straw at the harvest stage(R~2 = 0.68, P < 0.01) better than the anaerobic-incubation method(R2 = 0.31, P > 0.05), and 76% of the uplands and 38% of the lowlands were deficient(< 50 mg/kg) in acetate-buffer soluble Si. These findings suggest that the Si-deficiency soils prevail across the study area, making rice plants starved for Si and prone to environmental stress.     

Persistent Contamination of Octopuses and Mussels with Lipophilic Shellfish Toxins during Spring Dinophysis Blooms in a Subtropical Estuary

This study investigates the occurrence of diarrhetic shellfish toxins (DSTs) and their producing phytoplankton species in southern Brazil, as well as the potential for toxin accumulation in co-occurring mussels (Perna perna) and octopuses (Octopus vulgaris). During the spring in 2012 and 2013, cells of Dinophysis acuminata complex were always present, sometimes at relatively high abundances (max. 1143 cells L⁻¹), likely the main source of okadaic acid (OA) in the plankton (max. 34 ng L⁻¹). Dinophysis caudata occurred at lower cell densities in 2013 when the lipophilic toxins pectenotoxin-2 (PTX-2) and PTX-2 seco acid were detected in plankton and mussel samples. Here, we report for the first time the accumulation of DSTs in octopuses, probably linked to the consumption of contaminated bivalves. Perna perna mussels were consistently contaminated with different DSTs (max. 42 µg kg⁻¹), and all octopuses analyzed (n = 5) accumulated OA in different organs/tissues: digestive glands (DGs) > arms > gills > kidneys > stomach + intestine. Additionally, similar concentrations of 7-O-palmytoyl OA and 7-O-palmytoly dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX-1) were frequently detected in the hepatopancreas of P. perna and DGs of O. vulgaris. Therefore, octopuses can be considered a potential vector of DSTs to both humans and top predators such as marine mammals.