Guar foaming albumin: a low molecular mass protein with high foaming activity and foam stability isolated from guar meal

The water extract of guar meal ( Cyamopsis tetragonolobus) was examined for its foamability. Compared with egg white, the extract showed an extraordinary foam stability: no drainage after 3 h of standing in contrast to 65% drainage for egg white at the same protein concentration. The acid-precipitated protein from the extract was responsible for the high foamability and designated guar foaming albumin (GFA). The foaming activity of GFA was 20 times higher than that of egg white. GFA consisted of two subunits with molecular masses of 6 and 11 kDa linked to each other through disulfide bonds. The cleavage of disulfide bonds in GFA affected the foamability only slightly. GFA remarkably decreased the surface tension of water at low protein concentrations. Immunoblotting analysis demonstrated that GFA did not react to the antisera from allergic patients against plant food. These results suggest that GFA serves as an effective food additive in developing protein-stabilized foam.     

酰胺酶在小菜蛾对抑太保抗性中的作用

研究结果表明,小菜蛾（ｄｉａｍｏｎｄｂａｃｋｍｏｔｈ,Ｐｌｕｔｅｌａｘｙｌｏｓｔｅｌａ）体内酰胺酶广泛存在于其中肠、脂肪体、表皮及头部,酶活力为０．１１８～０．３０７μｍｏｌｇ－１ｍｉｎ－１．该酶在体细胞中主要以与胞内膜结合的方式存在,也有少部分酶以溶解的方式存在于细胞液中．当反应系统ｐＨ值为７．５时,酶活力为最高酶活力的８３％;当ｐＨ值为８．５时,酶活力达最大值,然后随着ｐＨ值的升高,酶活力开始缓慢下降．酶反应在１ｈ内,酶活力与时间变化呈直线关系．对抑太保（Ｃｈｌｏｒｆｌｕａｚｕｒｏｎ）抗性的小菜蛾品系（ＢＫＳ、ＴＬＳ、ＡＴＡＢＲＯＮ、ＮＯＭＯＴ、ＨＩＯＫＯ、ＣＡＫＯＳＨＩＭＡ）体内酰胺酶活力明显高于敏感品系（为敏感品系ＯＳＳ的２．４５～２．８１倍）．抗性品系ＴＬＳ酰胺酶活力是敏感品系ＴＬＮ的２．２８倍,抗性品系ＢＫＳ酰胺酶活力是敏感品系ＢＫＮ的２．１８倍．     

Spinal projections of cat primary afferent fibers innervating caudal facet joints

The spinal projections of afferent fibers innervating the facet joints between caudal vertebrae were examined by the use of anterograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin-horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP). Experiments were performed on 5 adult cats in which spinal dorsal roots below the 2nd sacral segment (S2) on the right side were cut. Injections of WGA-HRP into the caudal facet joints gave rise to extensive cranio-caudal distribution of WGA-HRP positive products along the spinal cord, indicating that many afferent fibers innervating unilateral facet joints terminate bilaterally in laminae I-II, V-VI and X of the thoracic, lumbar, sacral and caudal spinal cord. These afferent fibers may convey a series of sensory information from the caudal facet joints to the spinal cord.     

Characteristic upregulation of glucose-regulated protein 78 in an early lesion negative for hitherto established cytochemical markers in rat hepatocarcinogenesis

Previously, we reported α(2)-macroglobulin (α(2)M) to be a novel marker characteristic of rat hepatocellular preneoplastic and neoplastic lesions negative for hitherto well-established markers. In the present study, we further examined other candidate markers with specificity for the same type of lesions. Glutathione S-transferase-placental form (GST-P)-negative hepatocellular altered foci (HAF) were generated using a two-stage (initiation and promotion) carcinogenesis protocol with N,N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and either Wy-14,643 or clofibrate, two peroxisome proliferators. Microarray analysis using total RNAs isolated from laser-microdissected GST-P-negative HAF (amphophilic cell foci) and adjacent normal tissues was conducted along with immunohistochemistry and real-time RT-PCR. Staining for glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) was detected in GST-P-negative HAF and hepatocellular adenomas, and slightly increased GRP78 mRNA expression was observed in the lesions by real-time RT-PCR analysis. Thus, an early increase of GRP78 expression in hepatocarcinogenesis is likely a feature of the amphophilic subset of HAF.     

Isolation and Characterization of Derivative Lines of the Onion Yellows Phytoplasma that Do Not Cause Stunting or Phloem Hyperplasia

ABSTRACT Two lines of onion yellows phytoplasma producing milder symptoms were isolated from the original line (OY-W). One has an additional characteristic, non-insect-transmissibility (OY-NIM), compared with the other (OY-M). OY-M was established after maintaining OY-W for 11 years on a plant host (Chrysanthemum coronarium) with an insect vector (Macrosteles striifrons), and OY-NIM was isolated after subsequent maintenance of OY-M in plants by periodic grafting. Polymerase chain analysis suggested that OY-NIM cannot traverse the gut or survive in the hemolymph of the leafhopper. OY-W results in witches'-broom formation and stunted growth in the host plant. In contrast, OY-M and OY-NIM do not cause stunting in the host plant, although they result in witches'-broom. Histopathological analysis of these lines revealed that the hyperplastic phloem tissue and severe phloem necrosis seen in OY-W did not exist in OY-M and OY-NIM. This was attributed to a reduction in the population of phytoplasma in tissues in both OY-M- and OY-NIM-infected plants. The results suggest that the cause of stunting and phloem hyperplasia may be genetically different from the cause of witches'-broom. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis analysis showed that OY-M had a smaller genome size ( approximately 870 kbp) than OY-W ( approximately 1,000 kbp). Thus, some of the OY-W genes responsible for pathogenicity may not be present in OY-M.     

Reputational damage and the Fukushima disaster: an analysis of seafood in Japan

As the levels of radioactivity in seafood have fallen back into the safe range, Fukushima fisheries are considering reopening. However, even if seafood from the Fukushima area were sufficiently safe to distribute to seafood markets, its value may be undermined because of the damage done to its reputation by the Fukushima disaster. We quantified consumers’ preferences for seafood from Fukushima and adjacent prefectures to examine the extent of the reputational damage to Fukushima seafood. We conducted a choice experiment to measure consumers’ willingness to pay for seafood from the Fukushima area. We also measured the impact of displaying ecolabels [Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and Marine Eco-label Japan (MEL)] on Fukushima products. The results indicated that Fukushima products are considerably discounted compared with products displayed as domestic; even products from adjacent prefectures are substantially discounted. By contrast, consumers positively evaluated locally labeled products. We also found that demersal fish are discounted more than pelagic fish that inhabit the ocean surface off the shore of Fukushima.     

Evaluation of bone toxicity in various bones of aged rats

The aim of the present study was to provide a method for evaluating bone toxicity induced by drugs in various bones in aged rats. Male Crl:CD (SD) rats at 46 weeks of age were administered 15 mg/m(2) body surface area of doxorubicin, which effects the growth plate in weanling rats, weekly for 9 weeks by intravenous injection, and the femur, sternum, humerus and tibia were examined histopathologically. In the doxorubicin-treated group, thinning of the growth plate was remarkably observed in the proximal tibia and humerus; however, these changes were not observed in other regions. In addition, the osteoclast number per bone perimeter in the proximal tibia was significantly higher than others in control aged rat. Thus, recognizing the various histological reactions related to the time of epiphyseal closure is important for evaluating bone toxicity in aged rats.     

Immunohistochemical study on the delayed progression of epithelial apoptosis in follicle-associated epithelium of rat Peyer's patch

It is well known that some caspases in apoptosis is involved in determinant of terminal differentiation and maturation of various cells. Our previous study ultrastructurally clarified the differentiation into M cells from immature microvillous epithelial cells and the redifferentiation from M cells to microvillous epithelial cells in the follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) of rat Peyer's patch. In this study, the difference of epithelial apoptosis between the FAE of Peyer's patch and intestinal villi was immunohistochemically investigated in rat jejunoileum. As a result, cleaved caspase-3 was limited to several epithelial cells at the tip of FAE, whereas almost all of the epithelial cells were cleaved caspase-3 positive in intestinal villi. Cleaved caspase-9 was detected only in a few exfoliating or exfoliated epithelial cells of both FAE and intestinal villi. Nuclear DNA-fragmentation was detected only in several epithelial cells of the tip of FAE, while it was expressed from the middle regions in the intestinal villi. The DNase I expression of the epithelial cytoplasm was much weaker in FAE than in intestinal villi. Bcl-x expression was restricted in the apical cytoplasms of epithelial cells in the FAE, whereas it was restricted in whole cytoplasms in villous epithelial cells. These findings suggest that the progression of the apoptotic process in the epithelial cells of FAE is later than in the intestinal villi, so that the possibility of epithelial differentiation might be remained in the FAE, unlike in the intestinal villi.