Supplementary report on experimental autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale L.) poisoning in cattle: morphological evidence of apoptosis.

Previously we reported that tissue destruction characterized by the presence of karyopyknotic, karyorrhectic and mitotically arrested cells was seen in alimentary epithelial cells and lymphocytes in the lymphoid and hemopoietic systems of cattle experimentally administered with autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale L.). This report deals with the mechanism of acute cellular injury following experimental autumn crocus poisoning in cattle as demonstrated by the in situ DNA strand break analysis and electron microscopy. The analyses revealed that cellular injury caused by autumn crocus was closely associated with apoptosis.     

Characterization of spheres derived from canine mammary gland adenocarcinoma cell lines

There is increasing evidence for the presence of cancer stem cells in several solid tumors, and these cancer stem cells have a potential role in tumor initiation, aggression, and recurrence. The stem cell-like properties of spheres derived from canine mammary tumors remain largely elusive. We attempted to induce sphere formation using four cell lines of canine mammary adenocarcinoma, and characterized the spheres derived from a CHMp line in vitro and in vivo. The CHMp-derived spheres showed predominantly CD44⁺CD24⁻ population, higher expression of stem cell-related genes, such as CD133, Notch3 and MDR, and higher resistance to doxorubicin compared with the CHMp-derived adherent cells. Xenograft transplantations in nude mice demonstrated that only 1 × 10⁴ sphere cells were sufficient for tumor formation. Use of the sphere assay on these sphere-derived tumors showed that sphere-forming cells were present in the tumors, and were maintained in serial transplantation. We propose that spheres derived from canine mammary adenocarcinoma cell lines possess a potential characteristic of cancer stem cells. Spheres derived from canine mammary tumors could be a powerful tool with which to investigate novel therapeutic drugs and to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie tumorigenesis.     

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a mixed breed cat family

A spayed female mixed cat (case 1) and its female offspring, the result of a pairing between case 1 and its male sibling, were diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). A pedigree survey revealed that the prevalence of HCM was at least 12.5% in the family, which was considered to be significantly higher than that in a hospital-based population (approximately 1.6%). Thus, this finding seems to support the suspected occurrence of familial HCM in this group of related cats.     

Extensive study on forest runoff water chemistry over east Asia

The chemistry of runoff waters from 13 forested watersheds in six regions (four regions from Japan, one from southern China and one from northern Thailand) was evaluated. The Cl⁻ concentrations in runoff waters were higher in those watersheds which had closed canopies and were nearer to the ocean. The NO₃ ⁻ concentrations were higher in those watersheds having the developed soils and high moisture conditions, but were lower in tropical and subtropical regions for those watersheds which had high rates of nitrogen uptake and for watersheds with large areas of saturated soils. The SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations were affected by SO₄ ²⁻ adsorption properties of the soils: at Shibecha, Jiulianshan, and Chiang Mai with high adsorption capacities SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations in streams were low. High SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations were found at Mt. Hiei and Kagawa due to the weathering of sulfur minerals and high levels of atmospheric sulfur deposition. Within regions SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations were inversely related to NO₃ ⁻ concentrations. A comparison among the watersheds suggested H⁺ consumption in deeper soil that increased pH and HCO₃ ⁻ concentrations of the runoff waters of some watersheds. Anion concentrations increased with low H.I. (Humidity Index) values suggesting that dry conditions increased concentrations due to high rates of evapotranspiration.     

Epidemiology, pathology, and immunohistochemistry of layer hens naturally affected with H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in Japan

Epidemiology, pathology, and immunohistochemistry were investigated in layer hens affected with H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza, which occurred for the first time in 79 years in Japan. The farm, which had a total of 34,640 chickens, experienced up to 43.3% mortality before the chickens were depopulated. Clinically, the affected chickens exhibited mortality without apparent clinical signs. Histologically, hepatocytic necrosis; necrosis of ellipsoids and follicles with fibrin in the spleen; necrosis with glial nodules in the brain stem, cerebrum, and cerebellum; necrosis of acinar cells in the pancreas; and necrosis of lymphoid tissues in intestinal lamina propria were seen. Occasionally, mild bronchiolitis, degeneration of smooth muscle fibers in the cecum, and mild tubulonephrosis were noted. Immunohistochemically, influenza virus antigens were detected often in the liver and spleen, heart, intestine, gizzard, proventriculus, and oviduct. In addition, antigens were seen also in the brain, kidney, pancreas, and ovary, but seldom in the lung and trachea. Virus antigen was mainly detected in the capillary endothelium and parenchymal cells. This suggests that virus excretion from the respiratory tract was not as prevalent as that from the digestive tract in the present cases.     

Synthesis and insecticidal activity of benzoheterocyclic analogues of N'-benzoyl-N-(tert-butyl)benzohydrazide: Part 3. Modification of N-tert-butylhydrazine moiety

Nineteen analogues were synthesized by modifying the tert-butylhydrazine moieties of N'-tert-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)-5-methyl-2,3-dihydro-1,4-benzodioxine-6-carbohydrazide and N'-tert-butyl-N'-(3,5-dimethylbenzoyl)-5-methylchromane-6-carbohydrazide (chromafenozide), and the synthesized analogues were evaluated for their insecticidal activity against Spodoptera litura F. While all of the synthesized analogues had insecticidal activity inferior to those of the lead compounds, several of the analogues nonetheless showed high insecticidal activity. Chromafenozide has shown very high selectivity toward lepidopteran species.     

Prediction of the binding mode of imidacloprid and related compounds to house-fly head acetylcholine receptors using three-dimensional QSAR analysis

The binding activity of imidacloprid and related compounds to nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) of house flies was measured by use of radioactive α-bungarotoxin as a ligand. Variations in the activity were examined three-dimensionally using comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA). The CoMFA results suggest that one conformer among the four stable ones is active and provide support for one of the proposed binding models for this class of compound, in which the nitrogen atom of the pyridine ring and the nitrogen atom at the 1-position of the imidazolidine ring interact with the hydrogen-donating and electron-rich sites of nAChR, respectively. The CoMFA field map showed that the nitroimino moiety and a portion of the imidazolidine ring were mainly surrounded by a sterically and electrostatically sensitive region of nAChR. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry     

Reduced sensitivity to fenarimol in Japanese field strains of Venturia nashicola

Monoconidial strains of Venturia nashicola Tanaka et Yamamoto were isolated from Japanese or Chinese white pear trees which had never been treated with sterol demethylation inhibitors (DMIs) and their baseline sensitivities to fenarimol were determined by mycelial growth tests on fungicide-amended culture media. Strains were also obtained from Japanese pear orchards, which had been intensively treated with DMIs for several years and monitored for the shifts of fenarimol sensitivity in comparison with the baseline sensitivity. Results suggested slight shifts to lower fenarimol sensitivity in strains isolated from DMI-treated Japanese pear orchards. However, in inoculation tests on pear seedlings, fenarimol still provided adequate control of V. nashicola strains with reduced sensitivity to fenarimol in vitro, suggesting that the performance of this fungicide will still be maintained in the field. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry     

Spray application factors and plant growth regulator performance: I. Bioassays and biological response

Bioassays were adapted to investigate effects of droplet size and carrier volume on performance of daminozide, gibberellic acid (GA₃) and 2,4-D using Phaseolus vulgaris L. as a model system. Response to plant growth regulators was indexed by inhibition (daminozide), promotion of internode elongation (GA₃) or ethylene production (2,4-D). Elongation of first plus second internodes above primary leaves was evaluated 14 days after treatment of primary leaves, while ethylene production was determined from head-space samples of incubated leaves 24 h after treatment. Daminozide inhibition of internode elongation was related to decreased cell size and number in pith and epidermis (range 49–70% of the untreated control). GA₃ increased cell size and number in both tissues 2·3- to 4·8-fold. Responsiveness to daminozide and 2,4-D markedly decreased as seedling age increased from 8 to 12 days, but responsiveness to GA₃ increased. Decreasing droplet size (10–0·5 μl) and increasing carrier volume (10–200 μl per leaf) at constant dose of daminozide (100 μg per leaf) and 2,4-D (100 μg per leaf) significantly increased performance, but had little effect on performance of GA₃ (2 μg per leaf). Effects of application factors on performance were related to their effects on the interface area between droplets and leaf surface. Significant positive linear relationships were obtained between plant response and the logarithm of the droplet/leaf interface area for all growth regulators. © 1998 Society of Chemical Industry