Assessment of tumor enhancement by contrast‐enhanced CT in solid tumor‐bearing dogs treated with toceranib phosphate

In humans, contrast‐enhanced CT (CECT) has been used to indirectly assess the antiangiogenic effects demonstrated by a number of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. This retrospective, cross‐sectional study aimed to quantitatively evaluate changes in tumor contrast‐enhancement (CE) using CECT in solid tumor‐bearing dogs treated with toceranib phosphate (TOC). The changes in tumor size and CE were measured using the Hounsfield unit (HU) scale in CECT images before TOC treatment and between 30 and 90 days after initiating the treatment. Among the 36 dogs treated with TOC, eight (22.2%) showed a partial response, 22 (61.1%) showed stable disease, and six (16.7%) showed progressive disease. Thirty (83.3%) of 36 dogs showed a decrease in tumor CE (median: ?20%, range: ?1% to ?48%) after initiating the treatment. The results indicated that tumor CE and size changes were observed in tumor‐bearing dogs that were treated with TOC; however, tumor CE was not significantly correlated with tumor regression. We suggest that these results could serve as pilot data to evaluate the antiangiogenic effects associated with TOC.     

Greenhouse gas reduction and improved sustainability of animal husbandry using amino acids in swine,poultry feeds

In Annex 1 countries, nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from swine and poultry excreta have been calculated and the N₂O reduction potential of each country by using amino acids in feed could also be calculated, then a comparison made among the countries. The N₂O reduction rates were approximately 25% for these Annex 1 countries and amino acids were able to make a large contribution to that reduction. Greenhouse gases (GHG) which are N₂O combined with methane (CH₄) were estimated to reduce by 24.8% in Japan when amino acids were introduced into the feed, but only a 7.2% reduction was estimated in France. Purification, which is mainly used for manure treatment in Japan, emits much more N₂O and less CH₄, whereas the liquid system which is mainly used in France emits more CH₄ and less N₂O based on the emission factors from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change data base. Changing the French manure treatment system to the Japanese style with amino acids in feed would reduce GHG emissions by 23.4%. Reduction of the arable land use in Japan by changing crop formulations supported by adding amino acids to feed was also quantified as about 10% and led to an increase in the production of meat using the same arable land area.     

Canine parentage testing based on microsatellite polymorphisms.

To establish an accurate method for parentage testing in dogs, microsatellite DNA repeat length polymorphisms were examined. We selected twenty microsatellite markers reported previously and examined their application for parentage testing in Beagles and Labrador Retrievers. Heterozygosity (He), Polymorphism Information Content (PIC), the probabilities of Paternity Exclusion (PE) and the combined PE were calculated from allelic frequencies of the markers. All markers amplified by polymerase chain reactions were polymorphic and many markers showed high He and PIC in the both breeds. The final combined PEs in Beagles and Labrador Retrievers were 0.999994 and 0.999920, respectively. The results suggest that the twenty markers can be applied for routine parentage testing in dogs.     

Luteal lifespan and fertility after estrus synchronization in goats

The present experiment aims to examine the efficiency of estrus synchronization using progesterone and equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG) and to look at luteal function. During the non-breeding and breeding season, 5 adult female Korean native goats were injected intramuscularly with 2.5 ml of physiological saline as the control. A progesterone impregnated intravaginal sponge was then kept in the same goats for 10 days followed, after a week, by an intramuscular injection of 500 IU eCG. Five adult female Nubian goats were mated with a fertile buck during the non-breeding season. During the non-breeding season 2 of the 5 goats showed a normal estrous cycle (ranging from 18 to 21 days) and 3 a short estrous cycle (ranging from 3 to 6 days). During the breeding season the equivalent figures were 1 and 2. The major axes of the corpus luteum (CL) were measured by means of calipers built into the ultrasonography system, and the concentrations of plasma progesterone (P₄) were determined by double antibody radioimmunoassay. The mean major axes of the CL in goats showing the short cycle (6.1 ± 0.5 mm) was significantly smaller than in those showing the normal cycle (8.9 ± 0.5 mm; p < 0.01) and also the value of P₄ in goats showing the short cycle (4.2 ± 2.1 ng/ml) was significantly lower than for those showing the normal cycle (10.3 ± 4.3 ng/ml; p < 0.05) at day 3 following ovulation. Three out of 5 Nubian goats became pregnant but only one goat carried to full term. The present experiment indicated that a combination of progesterone and eCG was effective in inducing estrus, although it resulted in a high incidence of short luteal lifespan. The low kidding rate and high incidence of embryonic loss may be due to the instability of the luteal lifespan.     

Isolation and characterization of a novel simazine-degrading beta-proteobacterium and detection of genes encoding s-triazine-degrading enzymes

A moderately persistent herbicide, simazine, has been used globally and detected as a contaminant in soil and water. The authors have isolated a simazine-degrading bacterium from a simazine-degrading bacterial consortium that was enriched using charcoal as a microhabitat. The isolate, strain CDB21, was gram-negative, rod-shaped (0.5-0.6 microm x 1.0-1.2 microm) and motile by means of a single polar flagellum. Based on 16S rRNA sequence analysis, strain CDB21 was identified as a novel beta-proteobacterium exhibiting 100% sequence identity with the uncultured bacterium HOClCi25 (GenBank accession number AY328574). PCR using primers that were specific for the genes of the atrazine-degrading enzymes (atzABCDEF) of Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP showed that strain CDB21 also possessed the entire set of genes of these enzymes. Nucleotide sequences of the atzCDEF genes of strain CDB21 were 100% identical to those of Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP. Sequence identity of the atzA genes between these bacteria was 99.7%. The 398-nucleotide upstream fragment of the atzB gene of strain CDB21 was 100% identical to ORF30 of Pseudomonas sp. strain ADP, and the 1526-nucleotide downstream fragment showed 99.8% sequence similarity to the atzB gene of the pseudomonad.     

Biodegradation of methylthio-s-triazines by Rhodococcus sp. strain FJ1117YT, and production of the corresponding methylsulfinyl, methylsulfonyl and hydroxy analogues

A novel bacterial strain FJ1117YT was isolated from an enrichment culture with the herbicide simetryn. The isolate was capable of degrading the herbicide supplied as the sole sulfur source in an aquatic batch culture. The strain FJ1117YT was identified as that belonging to Rhodococcus sp. on the basis of comparative morphology, physiological characteristics and comparison of the 16S rRNA gene sequence. The biodegradation pathway of simetryn was established by isolating the methylsulfinyl analogue as the first metabolite and by identification of the methylsulfonyl intermediate and the hydroxy analogue by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and/or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. The results indicate that the methylthio group was progressively oxidised and hydrolysed by the strain FJ1117YT. The same strain is also able to metabolise other methylthio-s-triazines such as ametryn, desmetryn, dimethametryn and prometryn through similar pathways.     

Naturally occurring iron-chelating compounds in oat- and rice-root washings

The root washings of water-cultured oat and rice (non-sterile) contained some sort of amphoteric, iron-solubilizing chelating (or complexing) compound(s), which could be separated into a “cationic fraction” by elution in a cation exchanger column with in NH₄OH. In oats, the release of the chelator into the washings greatly increased under iron-stress conditions. Under the same condition “iron-inefficient” rice plants also increased the release of the chelator, though to a much less extent than did the oats.

Further examination of the “cationic fraction” revealed that this chelator may be a heat-stable, acid-hydrolyzable non-marromolecule of extraordinarily high polarity. In the absence of interfering ions, the chelator was able to solubilize hydra ted Fe (III) oxide effectively within a range of pH 4 to 9. Its Fe-solubilizing action was inhibited by the presence of divalent metals, the extent being in the order, Cu>Cos≥Zn>Mn> Ca (no inhibition).     

O2 supports 3-phosphoglycerate-dependent O2 evolution in chloroplasts from spinach leaves

We tested the hypothesis that the Mehler-ascorbate peroxidase (MAP) pathway supports 3-phosphoglycerate (PGA)-dependent oxygen (O₂) evolution using intact chloroplasts. Lowering O₂ concentration (<1?µM) suppressed PGA-dependent O₂ evolution rate. High O₂ concentration (about 250?µM) enhanced the electron fluxes in Photosystem II (PSII). Also, high O₂ concentration oxidized both Q_A in PSII and Cyt f in thylakoid membranes. These results indicated that the MAP pathway stimulated photosynthetic electron transport. Furthermore, electrochromic shift signal was also increased at high O₂ concentration, compared to low O₂ concentration. Non-photochemical quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence was also enhanced at high O₂ concentration. These data support our hypothesis that the MAP pathway functioned in intact chloroplasts and accelerated PGA-dependent O₂ evolution by inducing ΔpH formation to produce and supply adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to the conversion reaction of PGA to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate through 1,3-diphosphoglycerate in chloroplasts.     

Site-level model–data synthesis of terrestrial carbon fluxes in the CarboEastAsia eddy-covariance observation network: toward future modeling efforts

Based on the model–data comparison at the eddy-covariance observation sites from CarboEastAsia datasets, we report the current status of the terrestrial carbon cycle modeling in monsoon Asia. In order to assess the modeling performance and discuss future requirements for both modeling and observation efforts in Asia, we ran eight terrestrial biosphere models at 24 sites from 1901 to 2010. By analyzing the modeled carbon fluxes against the CarboEastAsia datasets, the strengths and weaknesses of terrestrial biosphere modeling over Asia were evaluated. In terms of pattern and magnitude, the carbon fluxes (i.e., gross primary productivity, ecosystem respiration, and net ecosystem exchange) at the temperate and boreal forest sites were simulated best, whereas the simulation results from the tropical forest, cropland, and disturbed sites were poor. The multi-model ensemble mean values showed lower root mean square errors and higher correlations, suggesting that composition of multiple terrestrial biosphere models would be preferable for terrestrial carbon budget assessments in Asia. These results indicate that the current model-based estimation of terrestrial carbon budget has large uncertainties, and future research should further refine the models to permit re-evaluation of the terrestrial carbon budget.     

Recent advances in soybean transformation and their application to molecular breeding and genomic analysis

Herbicide-resistant transgenic soybean plants hold a leading market share in the USA and other countries, but soybean has been regarded as recalcitrant to transformation for many years. The cumulative and, at times, exponential advances in genetic manipulation have made possible further choices for soybean transformation. The most widely and routinely used transformation systems are cotyledonary node–Agrobacterium-mediated transformation and somatic embryo–particle-bombardment-mediated transformation. These ready systems enable us to improve seed qualities and agronomic characteristics by transgenic approaches. In addition, with the accumulation of soybean genomic resources, convenient or promising approaches will be requisite for the determination and use of gene function in soybean. In this article, we describe recent advances in and problems of soybean transformation, and survey the current transgenic approaches for applied and basic research in Japan.