茶树内源IAA和ABA与茶树生育的相互关系(英文)

通过用HPLC检测茶树根系及芽梢的内源激素IAA和ABA含量,研究了茶树生长与内源激素的关系.根系中IAA和ABA的含量,在地上部生长休止期间达到最高,随着芽梢的生长逐渐下降,IAA与ABA的比值越小,根系生长越快,Al能显著促进茶树根系生长,根系生长 AlpH4.5> Al pH3.5>-Al pH4.5>-Al pH3.5,根系IAA与ABA的比值按上述顺序依次增大,新梢中IAA和ABA的含量在萌动芽中最高,随着芽的生长逐渐下降.新梢的生长不仅受IAA和ABA含量的影响,更受二者比值的影响,在芽梢中,IAA与ABA的比值越高,新梢生长越快.     

Snowcover Components in Northern Japan

Snowcover surveys were carried out in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Snowpack samples were collected using a steel pipe at 80 sites in 1988, 69 sites in 1992, and 66 sites in 1996 and 2000 during the time when the water equivalents of the snowcover are the greatest. Spatial distribution maps of water equivalents and of the concentrations and the accumulated amounts of hydrogen, non-sea-salt sulfate and non-sea-salt calcium ion of the snowcover drawn by Kriging method are discussed. The distribution maps show that water equivalents and the accumulated amounts of hydrogen and non-sea-salt sulfate in all the sample years were largest in the Japan Sea region, as were the ion concentrations of hydrogen and non-sea-salt sulfate. It was estimated this was caused by air pollutants transported from a great distance. The ratio of areas below pH 5.0 increased temporally from 1988 (20%) to 1992, 1996 and 2000 (66–80%). This trend was estimated to be affected by a decline of non-sea-salt calcium concentrations derived from alkaline road dust. In addition, the effect of snowcover components was assessed by comparison between the acid loads of the snowcover and the acid neutralizing capacity of lake water. We found that lakes in the middle of the Japan Sea coast have the potential to be acidified by snowmelt.     

Gas chromatographic determination with electron capture detection of residual ethylene oxide in intraocular lenses

A sensitive method is described to determine trace quantities of ethylene oxide (EO) in EO-sterilized intraocular lenses (IOLs). An IOL is dipped in ethanol containing 0.25 ppm propylene oxide (PO) in a 4 mL vial, 2 drops of freshly distilled hydrobromic acid is added through a septum, and the mixture is warmed at 50 degrees C for 24 h. It is then neutralized by vigorous shaking with sodium bicarbonate, dehydrated with anhydrous sodium sulfate, and filtered. The filtrate is injected into a gas chromatograph with electron-capture detection, and the peak height ratio of ethylene bromohydrin/propylene bromohydrin is measured. EO residue is calculated from the calibration curve obtained through a similar procedure with the standard EO/PO solutions. The limit of determination is 0.04 microgram/lens (ca 2.0 ppm). When EO residue levels were determined for IOLs sampled at 3 different aeration periods after sterilization, we found that 9 days of aeration was necessary to meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed limit for EO residue in IOLs.     

Studies on Nutrient Distribution in Some Zambian Soils with Special Reference to Sulphur Using GIS (Geographic Information Systems) I. Total Sulphur Distribution in Major Zambian Soils

Total sulphur content of some benchmark soils was evaluated by correlating with the contents of soil organic C and amorphous oxides (Al and Fe), and the particle size distribution. An equation model to calculate the content of total soil sulphur was first obtained by regression analysis. Introducing these chemical and physical data of all the map units except for the wetlands into the equation model, the sulphur level on a national scale was estimated for each soil mapping unit in the exploratory soil map of Zambia. Second, the total sulphur content was rated into 3 classes based on the frequency distribution of the total sulphur content in the benchmark soils. Finally, the rated total sulphur content was incorporated into the national soil map database of GIS to produce a map with the total sulphur content of Zambian soils. The extent of each class was calculated and the distribution of the areas was examined in relation to rainfall and soil formation.     

Isolation of a human erythrocyte-adapted substrain of Babesia rodhaini and analysis of the merozoite surface protein gene sequences

Babesia rodhaini is a rodent hemoparasite closely related to B. microti, the major causative agent of human babesiosis. We tested the infectivity of B. rodhaini for human erythrocytes by using the SCID mouse model in which the circulating erythrocytes were replaced with those of humans. Initially, parasites grew very poorly in the mouse model, but a variant capable of propagating in human erythrocytes emerged after an adaptation period of three weeks. In an attempt to identify parasite proteins involved in the alteration of host cell preference, an expression cDNA library of B. rodhaini was constructed and screened with immune mouse sera. Although we were able to obtain three merozoite surface protein (MSP) genes, sequences of these genes from both the parental strain and human erythrocyte-adapted substrain were identical. Our results suggest that B. rodhaini has potential ability to infect human erythrocytes, but development of this ability may not be brought about by an amino acid change in MSPs.     

Detection of the esp gene in high-level gentamicin resistant Enterococcus faecalis strains from pet animals in Japan

We investigated the prevalence of the esp gene and the susceptibility to gentamicin in Enterococcus faecalis and E. faecium strains obtained from pet animals. Nine of 30 E. faecalis and 2 of 38 E. faecium strains from the pet animals had the esp gene. Three esp-positive E. faecalis strains, which were isolated from two dogs and a cat, showed gentamicin MICs of > or =256 microg/ml and harbored the high-level gentamicin resistance (HLGR) gene, aac(6')-Ie-aph(2')-Ia. Of the nine esp-positive E. faecalis strains, five, including the three strains with the HLGR gene, were closely related by numerical analysis of PFGE patterns. Longitudinal investigation needs to elucidate whether the HLGR gene was incorporated into a subpopulation of the esp-positive E. faecalis.     

Epizootiologic survey for Babesia microti among small wild mammals in northeastern Eurasia and a geographic diversity in the beta-tubulin gene sequences

We previously reported that small wild rodents in Japan harbor two types of novel Babesia microti-like parasites (designated as Hobetsu and Kobe types), but not the type commonly found in the northeastern United States (U.S. type) where human babesiosis is endemic. To determine whether these new types of parasites are distributed in places surrounding Japan, an epizootiologic survey was undertaken in three geographically distant areas in northeastern Eurasia; South Korea, Vladivostok in Russia, and Xinjiang in China. Blood samples were collected from a total of 387 animals comprising 24 species. DNAs extracted from the samples were tested by nested PCR targeting babesial nuclear small-subunit rRNA gene (rDNA), which revealed that small rodents harboring B. microti exist in all three survey areas. Sequence analysis showed that all PCR-positive samples had rDNA sequences virtually identical to that of U.S.-type B. microti. However, when beta-tubulin gene sequences were compared, evident geographic variations were seen. By use of primers specific for each of the beta-tubulin genes of Kobe-, Hobetsu-, and U.S.-type parasites, a type-specific PCR was developed. Parasite with Hobetsu- or Kobe-type sequence was not detected from any of the three survey areas. These findings suggest that U.S.-type B. microti is widely distributed among small wild mammals in temperate zones of not only North America, but also Eurasia, whereas that Hobetsu- and Kobe-type parasites may be uniquely distributed in Japan.     

Hardening by annealing and softening by deformation in nanostructured metals

We observe that a nanostructured metal can be hardened by annealing and softened when subsequently deformed, which is in contrast to the typical behavior of a metal. Microstructural investigation points to an effect of the structural scale on fundamental mechanisms of dislocation-dislocation and dislocation-interface reactions, such that heat treatment reduces the generation and interaction of dislocations, leading to an increase in strength and a reduction in ductility. A subsequent deformation step may restore the dislocation structure and facilitate the yielding process when the metal is stressed. As a consequence, the strength decreases and the ductility increases. These observations suggest that for materials such as the nanostructured aluminum studied here, deformation should be used as an optimizing procedure instead of annealing.     

Identification of bovine dendritic cell phenotype from bovine peripheral blood

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells, which initiate primary immune responses and also play an important role in the generation of peripheral tolerance. There is no reliable method established for the isolation of bovine peripheral blood DCs, and furthermore, the phenotypes and the functions of bovine DCs are still not fully clear. In the present study, we have attempted to identify bovine peripheral blood DCs by negative-selection. In bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), we have newly characterized the phenotype of DCs, which is CD11c+/CD172a+. These cells display features of myeloid type DCs. In the thymic medulla, CD11c+/CD172a+ cells were also present and CD1+/CD172a+ cells were additionally detected as a population of DCs. The data suggest that one of the bovine DCs phenotypes from PBMC is derived from myeloid lineages lacking a CD1 molecule, which then drift to several tissues, and that they then may express a CD1 molecule upon their functional differentiation.