Optimal conditions for visualizing water-conducting pathways in a living tree by the dye injection method

To elucidate the water-conducting pathways in living trees by the dye injection method, suitable sample preparation procedures are needed. We evaluated quantitatively the properties and concentrations of three dyes (acid fuchsin, basic fuchsin and safranin) widely used for this purpose, and determined the optimal conditions required to avoid artifacts after dye injection into the sap stream of Pieris japonica D. Don. Among the dyes tested, an aqueous solution of acid fuchsin at a concentration of 0.1% or more was the most useful for delineating water movement. In non-transpiring stem segments, the vertical movement of acid fuchsin by capillarity and diffusion from the dye injection site was limited. However, acid fuchsin moved rapidly in the horizontal direction by capillarity and diffusion, and most xylem cells were stained within 2 h. A delay of more than 2 h between dye injection and examination of the tissues greatly reduces the precision of the method. Use of the dye injection method without appropriate, well-defined experimental procedures may give rise to misleading information about the functional water-conducting pathway in living trees.     

Management of 1,3-dichloropropene in pineapple for efficacy and reduced volatile losses

Two application methods, single- and double-chisel injection of the fumigant nematicide 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D) were evaluated for efficacy and environmental fate in pineapple field experiments. The objectives were to compare the 1,3-D soil distribution between injection methods, evaluate volatile losses to the atmosphere, and to determine efficacy with each method. In a small-plot field experiment, 1,3-D (224, 337, and 393 1 ha⁻¹) was manually injected 30 cm deep with fumiguns to simulate the commercial practice of a single- or double-chisel injection per planting bed. 1,3-D concentrations in the soil atmosphere and in soil samples were determined and compared to nematode control. In two large-scale field experiments, 1,3-D (224 1 ha⁻¹) was applied with commercial injection equipment with and without polyethylene mulch. Air monitoring for 1,3-D showed a reduction in 1,3-D air emissions with single-chisel injection compared with double-chisel injection. In all experiments, the two injection methods resulted in equivalent 1,3-D concentrations in the plant line. Single-chisel injection resulted in improved retention of 1,3-D within the planting bed as shown by low 1,3-D soil concentrations in the interbed. Nematode counts and bioassay studies found equivalent nematode control in the planting bed with either injection method. The single-chisel method, however, resulted in reduced nematode control in the interbed region.     

Fisheries resource management of the daggertooth pike conger,Muraenesox cinereus,using existing limited datasets in the western Seto Inland Sea,Japan

The daggertooth pike conger, Muraenesox cinereus (Forsskål), has become an important fish resource in the western Seto Inland Sea, Japan, since the 1990s. However, introducing sustainable fisheries resource management for this species is difficult in this region because stock assessments have not been performed, and official fisheries statistics for this stock were discontinued after 2007. This study used existing limited data sets to compile the first report for fisheries resource management for this M. cinereus stock. Yield‐per‐recruit analyses showed that increasing fishing pressure above current levels would provide only a minimal increase in expected catch levels. Hence, the current harvest level is considered to represent the upper limit of fishing pressure. Age composition in a given year could potentially be used to forecast landing abundance for the following 2 years. This study provides a basis for establishing effective fisheries resource management strategies for M. cinereus.     

Evaluation of serum and urine 1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol and myo-inositol concentrations in healthy dogs

1,5-anhydro-D-glucitol (1,5AG) is a pyranoid polyol compound found in human circulating blood. Myo-inositol (MI) is a stereoisomer of inositol and serves as a precursor of inositol phospholipids. 1,5AG and MI are filtered by the glomerulus and almost completely reabsorbed through the renal tubules. However, under hyperglycemic conditions, reabsorption through the renal tubules is competitively inhibited because the structures of 1,5AG and MI resemble that of glucose. In this study, we investigated the kinetics of serum and urine 1,5AG and MI levels in healthy dogs. We demonstrated that 1,5AG and MI exist in canine serum and urine by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Under continuous hyperglycemic conditions, the serum 1,5AG concentration in healthy dogs decreased while the serum MI concentration remained unchanged. Urinary excretion of 1,5AG and MI increased significantly after blood glucose concentrations reached 200 to 220 mg/dl. A significant negative correlation was observed between serum 1,5AG and glucose concentrations during hyperglycemia. However, no significant correlation was observed between serum MI and glucose concentrations. In this study, we demonstrated that serum and urine 1,5AG and MI levels were changed by blood glucose concentrations. The serum 1,5AG concentration was decreased by continuous hyperglycemia. However, the serum MI concentration does not reflect hyperglycemia.     

稻田中肥料 Cd的吸收和淋溶

20世纪 60年代发生在日本的"骨痛病"( itai itai)是由当地居民食用因矿山开采而导致 Cd污染的大米引起的,因此,稻米中 Cd的含量一直是人们关心的问题.稻米中 0.2 mg· kg-1 Cd 含量标准已被 Codex建议,这一标准在我国也已沿用许久.目前,减少 Cd在水稻中累积的技术开发方兴未艾.本文采用田间 Lysimeter研究了两种土壤中水稻对肥料 Cd的吸收和肥料 Cd的淋溶.     

Isolation and purification of a low molecular weight protein from bovine urine

A low molecular weight protein was separated from urine samples obtained from a heifer with spontaneous renal disease and from cows with CaNa2EDTA-induced renal dysfunction. The molecular weight and electrophoretic mobility of the separated protein were examined. The low molecular weight protein collected by gel filtration chromatography was further separated into two fractions by ion exchange chromatography using DEAE-cellulose. One of the two fractions, the lowest molecular weight protein showed a single band in SDS-PAGE, and its molecular weight was approximately 12,000. An antiserum against this protein formed a single precipitin line with the urine from cows with experimentally induced renal dysfunction and a heifer with spontaneous renal disease by the double immunodiffusion technique. However, the antiserum did not form any precipitin line with the concentrated urine of healthy cow and human beta 2-microglobulin. In cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis, this protein migrated in the same position as that of serum gamma-globulin from healthy cow.     

Oxygen radicals in influenza-induced pathogenesis and treatment with pyran polymer-conjugated SOD

The pathogenicity of influenza virus infection in the mice involves, at least in part, overreaction of the immune responses of the host rather than a direct effect of virus multiplication. Xanthine oxidase, which is responsible for the generation of oxygen free radicals, was elevated in serum and lung tissue of mice infected with influenza virus. To test the theory that oxygen-free radicals are involved in pathogenesis, free radicals were removed by injecting superoxide dismutase (SOD), a specific superoxide radical scavenger, which was conjugated with a pyran copolymer. The conjugate protected mice against a potentially lethal influenza virus infection if administered 5 to 8 days after infection. These findings indicate that oxygen radicals are important in the pathogenesis of influenza virus infection, and that a polymer-conjugated SOD has therapeutic potential for this virus infection and other diseases associated with free radicals.     

A sesquiterpene quinone, 5-Epi-smenospongine, promotes TNF-α production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 Cells

Eight sesquiterpene quinones: ilimaquinone (1), smenospongidine (3), smenospongiarine (5), smenospongine (7), and their corresponding 5-epimers 2, 4, 6, and 8, isolated from the Palauan marine sponge Hippospongia sp., were examined regarding their effects on TNF-α production in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. 5-Epi-smenospongine (8) promoted the production of TNF-α to a level three times greater than the control at 10 μM, but compounds 1–7 did not show apparent activity. The results suggest that the cis-decaline ring and a primary amine in the benzoquinone ring are necessary for activity. This is the first study to report the modulation of TNF-α production by a sesquiterpene quinone.     

Immunohistochemical and histopathological findings of ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (Jaagsiekte) in Egyptian sheep

Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA) is a naturally occurring retrovirus-induced transmissible lung cancer in sheep. Lungs and associated (bronchial and mediastinal) lymph nodes of seven sheep with OPA were examined. Lungs had few multifocal consolidated slightly elevated gray to white masses ranging from 0.5 to 3 cm in diameter. Histopathologically, these masses appeared as well-differentiated acinar adenocarcinoma with little evidence of anaplasia. The acini composed of well-differentiated cuboidal to low columnar epithelium with clear or vacuolated cytoplasm and low mitotic index. No metastases were observed in the bronchial and mediastinal lymph nodes of any animal. The presence of Jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV) was demonstrated in the lungs by immunohistochemistry. JSRV protein was detected in all tumor epithelial cells, histologically normal alveolar type II cells, and few bronchiolar epithelial cells, alveolar macrophages, lymphocytes, and plasma cells. This study is the first to confirm the presence of natural OPA in Egypt.