Establishment and characterization of two new cell lines derived from flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus (Temminck & Schlegel)

Two new cell cultures from flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus (Temminck & Schlegel), flounder fin (FFN) cells from fin tissue and flounder spleen (FSP) cells from spleen tissue, were established and characterized. The cells multiplied well in Eagle's minimum essential medium, supplemented with 10% foetal bovine serum, and have been subcultured more than 100 times, becoming continuous cell lines. Modal diploid chromosome number of FFN and FSP cells was 64 and 62, respectively. Polymerase chain reaction products were obtained from FFN and FSP cells with primer sets ofmicrosatellite markers of flounder. Optimal growth temperature was 20 degrees C and consisted of epithelioid cells. FFN and FSP cells showed cytopathic effects after inoculation of infectious pancreatic necrosis virus, marine birnavirus, chum salmon virus, infectious haematopoietic necrosis virus, spring viraemia of carp virus and hirame rhabdovirus. Thus these new cell lines may be useful for studying a wide range of fish viruses.     

Modeling of a cylindrical laminated veneer lumber I: mechanical properties of hinoki (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chamaecyparis obtusa</Emphasis>) and the reliability of a nonlinear finite elements model of a four-point bending test

The use of low-grade logs to build spirally wound laminated veneer lumber (LVL) has been studied and improved from the point of view of the gluing process, fiber orientation angle, and end joint of the LVL. The butt joint appears to be the fracture point when the column is submitted to a compressive or bending load. Owing to the complexity of cylindrical LVL, we used a finite element method to simulate the mechanical behavior of part of its wall. This part was small enough to be considered flat but was representative of the structure, especially in the area of the butt joint. This allowed us to test the validity of different settings of the parameters involved in the manufacturing process. To feed data for this model, we used the results established for the linear and nonlinear behavior of raw hinoki in Part I of this series of articles. We then used this numerical model to improve the quality of the butt joint by testing different settings of the joint. We show that reducing the butt joint gap under 0.5 mm, which requires only a few changes in the production line, provides an important increase in the modulus of upture and nonnegligible improvement of the modulus of elasticity compared to that for a ≥ 1 mm butt joint gap.     

Modeling of a cylindrical laminated veneer lumber II: a nonlinear finite element model to improve the quality of the butt joint

The use of low-grade logs to build spirally wound laminated veneer lumber (LVL) has been studied and improved from the point of view of the gluing process, fiber orientation angle, and end joint of the LVL. The butt joint appears to be the fracture point when the column is submitted to a compressive or bending load. Owing to the complexity of cylindrical LVL, we used a finite element method to simulate the mechanical behavior of part of its wall. This part was small enough to be considered flat but was representative of the structure, especially in the area of the butt joint. This allowed us to test the validity of different settings of the parameters involved in the manufacturing process. To feed data for this model, we used the results established for the linear and nonlinear behavior of raw hinoki in Part I of this series of articles. We then used this numerical model to improve the quality of the butt joint by testing different settings of the joint. We show that reducing the butt joint gap under 0.5 mm, which requires only a few changes in the production line, provides an important increase in the modulus of upture and nonnegligible improvement of the modulus of elasticity compared to that for a ≥ 1 mm butt joint gap.     

Altered leukocyte responsiveness in dairy cows with naturally occurring chronic Staphylococcus aureus mastitis

Changes in inflammatory parameters, leukocyte surface markers, functional responses and cytokine mRNA expression of leukocytes of dairy cows with naturally occurring chronic Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) mastitis and healthy cows were determined to elucidate the leukocyte responses to S. aureus infection of the mammary gland. Increased values in inflammatory parameters and matrix metalloproteinase activities in milk revealed the characteristics of cows with chronic mastitis. Expression of L-selectin and CD18 molecules on neutrophils and proportion of CD8 cells in milk from cows with S. aureus mastitis were significantly (P<0.05) increased compared with those found in healthy cows. The FcR-stimulated CL response of blood neutrophils was significantly (P<0.05) decreased in cows with S. aureus mastitis. Significantly (P<0.05) decreased mitogenic responses of lymphocytes were found in cows with S. aureus mastitis; however, the values were not restored to those of healthy cows when stimulated with both mitogens and the cytokine IL-1β. The mRNA expression of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-8 on milk leukocytes from cows with S. aureus was found to be increased compared with that of healthy cows. The changes of immune responses found in cows with S. aureus mastitis appear to be influenced by the severity and duration of inflammation in infected quarters. The down-regulation of the leukocyte functions found in cows with S. aureus mastitis appears to be associated with the progress of the chronic stage of S. aureus mastitis.     

Dynamics of lingual antimicrobial peptide,lactoferrin concentrations and lactoperoxidase activity in the milk of cows treated for clinical mastitis

The aim of the present study was to examine changes in innate immune factors in the milk of mastitic dairy cows treated with antibiotics. Cows in the antibiotics group (n = 13) were infused into the mammary gland with cefazolin on the sixth day after mastitis was diagnosed (the day of the mastitis diagnosis = day ?6). The control group (n = 12) was not treated. Milk samples were collected once every 2 days from days ?6 to 12 and somatic cell count (SCC), lingual antimicrobial peptide (LAP), and lactoferrin (LF) concentrations and lactoperoxidase (LPO) activity were measured. SCC and LF concentrations in the antibiotics group markedly decreased after the antibiotic treatment. When cows in the antibiotics group were divided according to SCC on day 0, LAP concentrations and LPO activity in cows with a lower SCC on day 0 (<5 × 10⁶ cell/mL) were significantly higher and lower than those in cows with a higher SCC, respectively. These results suggest that LF concentration decreased with decrease in SCC after treatment and that LAP concentration and LPO activity differed depending on the severity of mastitis. This is the first report to reveal the dynamics of innate immune factor in milk of cows treated for clinical mastitis.     

A method of preparing thin sections of soils with the polyester resin “Polylite”

Morphological studies of soils using microscope, set up by Kubiëna, have been followed and modified especially in recent years in several countries^{2,3,4,6,7,13,16,18,19}. We find that microscopic observation of thin sections of soils is one of the most useful tool for classification of soil characteristics. Although there have been many methods to make thin sections of soils, unfortunately we can find no satisfactory procedures for us.     

Large-scale survey of frequency of forest walking and related factors in a Japanese population inhabiting a large city, and comparison of an urban area and a rural area

The frequency of forest walking among the general population is a major topic of study in forest science. The objectives of this study were threefold: to assess the frequency of forest walking among Japanese residents of Nagoya, a large city; to evaluate differences among frequency of forest walking by participants from a large city, an urban area (Shizuoka; 4,666 participants), and a rural area (Yakumo Town, Hokkaido; 397 participants) in previous studies; and to examine factors related to frequency of forest walking. The survey, by self-administered questionnaire, in the major city of Nagoya was conducted between June 2008 and May 2010. In all, 5,158 participants (M/F, 1,466/3,692; mean age ± SD [range], 52.5 ± 10.3 [35–69] years) were included in the analysis. The proportions of frequency of forest walking ≥ once/month and ≥ once/year were 10.9 % (M/F, 15.1/9.3 %) and 46.1 % (51.0/44.1 %), respectively. In multiple logistic regression analysis, significant differences were noted among study sites for the adjusted odds ratio for frequency of forest walking. Overall, the order of highest to lowest frequency of forest walking was Shizuoka > Nagoya > Yakumo. Factors related to frequency of forest walking were common among the three study sites. Higher frequency of forest walking was associated with male sex and older age; the most relevant factor related to frequency of forest walking was its enjoyment level. Further studies will be required to clarify why these factors are related to frequency of forest walking.     

A new method for nondestructive evaluation of solid wood moisture content based on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

This paper presents a new method to determine the moisture content of solid wood based on the principle of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The study investigates the theoretical relationship between X-ray wavelength and mass attenuation coefficients of wood, water, and reference substance. In accordance with this relationship, a theoretically obtained equation is proposed to calculate the moisture content in wood. The proposed equation is compared to experimental results using small blocks of sugi wood, which showed that the change in mass attenuation coefficient of wood with X-ray tube voltage increased with increasing moisture content as expected from the theoretical equation. A regression equation for moisture content estimation was determined based on the experimental results, and the standard error of estimate in the 0–120 % dry-basis moisture content range using the regression equation was determined to be 21.9 % with the most appropriate pair of tube voltages, 15 and 40 kVp. The accuracy of the method will be improved by reducing the duration of X-ray radiography and by increasing the disparity between paired tube voltages. This method has the potential to determine moisture content of solid wood using X-ray without oven-drying or assuming oven-dry density.     

Effect of co‐culture with intact embryos on development of bovine separated blastomeres

To improve embryo development in bovine separated blastomeres, we evaluated applicability of co‐culture with intact embryos. The morphological quality of blastocysts derived from separated blastomeres and rate of blastocyst formation were only slightly increased when the cells were co‐cultured with intact embryos, which did not provide significant differences when statistically analyzed. However, the cell count of inner cell mass (ICM), trophectoderm (TE) and total number of cells in Day 8 blastocysts were significantly higher when the cells were co‐cultured with the intact embryos than those with the cells cultured individually (P < 0.05). Transfer of four monozygotic pairs of blastocysts derived from the cells co‐cultured with intact embryos led to three pregnancies even when the blastomeres were produced by in vitro maturation and in vitro fertilization of oocytes collected by ovum pick‐up from elite cows. These results suggest that co‐culturing with intact embryos may enhance development of bovine separated blastomere.