Effect of long-term administration of a prostacyclin analogue (beraprost sodium) on myocardial fibrosis in Dahl rats

Beraprost sodium (BPS) is an orally active prostacyclin analogue. The effects of BPS on the heart, including coronary circulation improvement, myocardial and vascular protection and anti-fibrosis effect on myocardium interstitium, have previously been demonstrated. However, the effects of BPS on hemodynamics, cardiac function and myocardial contractility in patients in the hypertrophic phase have not been clarified. Therefore, in the present study, the effects of BPS under long-term administration were investigated using the hypertension model of salt-sensitive Dahl rats. Six-week-old Dahl rats were divided into three groups, an 8% high salt diet group treated with BPS (BPS group), an untreated 8% high salt diet group (HHF group) and an untreated 0.3% low salt diet group (Control group), and observations were conducted until 17 weeks of age. In the BPS and HHF groups, the survival rates after 11 weeks of high salt diet intake were 87.5% and 47.1%, respectively (p<0.05). At 17 weeks of age, the atrial systolic peak velocity/early diastolic peak velocity and heart weight index of the BPS group decreased significantly compared with the HHF group (p<0.05). The HHF group exhibited significantly more severe myocardial fibrosis mainly in the endocardial layer of the left and right ventricles compared with the BPS and Control groups (p<0.05). In the present study, long-term BPS administration preserved diastolic function and prevented myocardial interstitial fibrosis in the non-compensatory phase. The results of the present study suggest that BPS is effective for treatment of hypertensive cardiac hypertrophy.     

Variation in Amylase Activities in Radish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Raphanus sativus</Emphasis>) Cultivars

The radish (Raphanus sativus) is a root vegetable of the Brassicaceae family which shows amylolytic activity in the taproot. However, there is little information about differences in these amylolytic activities among radish cultivars. We analyzed the amylase activities and starch contents of 7 kinds of radish cultivars. The Koshin cultivar showed the highest amylase activity, with a level approximately 6 times higher than that of the Sobutori cultivar, which had the lowest. Cultivars with higher amylase activities showed higher starch contents. These results suggest that there are intraspecies variations in amylolytic activities in radishes, and positive correlations between amylase activity and starch content.     

Seasonal distribution pattern of adult sea cucumber <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apostichopus japonicus</Emphasis> (Stichopodidae) in Yoshimi Bay,western Yamaguchi Prefecture,Japan

To examine the distribution pattern of adult Apostichopus japonicus, approximately monthly surveys were conducted during a 2-year period in the subtidal zone of a harbor area in Yoshimi Bay, western Yamaguchi Prefecture. Results showed a clear seasonal change in distribution pattern: many animals were distributed on the seabed and the lower part of a jetty during winter to spring, whereas most animals occurred on the upper part of a jetty during summer to autumn, namely, the aestivation season. Such change is considered to be due to the migration of animals within the present study site. Y. Yamana is a Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.     

Estimation for the timing of the internal developmental processes of acorns from fruit size in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Quercus serrata</Emphasis> Thunb. ex Murray

To evaluate the relative importance of the factors affecting the premature abortion of acorns in Quercus serrata Thunb. ex Murray during the course of their development, inner developmental processes of acorns were observed by microscope, and applicability of the diameter of fruits (acorns with cupules) as an indicator of the inner developmental processes was discussed. Based on the observations using microscope, the developmental processes of acorns were classified into five stages; one prezygotic and four postzygotic stages (stages I to V). The diameter of sound fruits increased exponentially until 14 weeks after pollination, and the variance of diameter in each tree was fairly small (CV = 6%) during the process. Diameter of fruits can be used as a good indicator of developmental stages of acorns at individual level, and effective for the evaluation of the ecological factors affecting the premature abortion of acorns.     

Seven-year changes in growth and crown shape of Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai saplings after release from suppression

We investigated changes in sapling growth and morphology of Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai (hiba) for 7 years after release from suppressed lighting by selection cutting. We examined changes in aboveground biomass, elongation of stems and lateral branches, and annual diameter increment at the stem base. Vertical distributions of leaves per branch and per individual were also measured for morphological analysis. Under the suppressed condition before cutting, the crown consisted of orthotropic lateral branches, elongating up to the top of the stem or farther, and no branch was aborted. This crown type with large crown depth and concavity of the upper part had a bowl-like appearance. After the selection cutting, relative light intensity on the saplings increased from 4% to 26%. The increment enhanced aboveground biomass and stem elongation 7 years after the cutting. Diameter growth at the stem base was particularly accelerated 2 years after the cutting. While crown shape transformation of the saplings was not conspicuous at 7 years after the cutting, some released saplings showed a superior stem elongation ratio to that of the lateral branches. Thus, the upper part of the crown of these saplings changed from a bowl-like shape to a convex shape like that of a dome. Our study suggested that suppressed hiba saplings with the unique bowl-shaped crown enhanced their growth rates rapidly in response to improved light conditions, but required much more than 7 years for the full process of crown transformation for us to identify future trees in this stand. An erratum to this article is available at.     

Tearing test for paper using a tensile tester

As a simulation of the Elmendorf tearing test, a tearing test method using a tensile tester was proposed with the same mode of fracture, mode III. Tear indices by both tests were highly correlated for various machine-made papers and laboratory handsheets. The relation between tensile strength and tear strength using the tensile tester was similar to that between tensile and Elmendorf tear strengths in single-ply mode for both softwood and hardwood pulp sheets. The proposed tearing test is convenient especially for imaging techniques such as thermography, and can help give new insights into the tearing process of paper.This work was partially presented at the 45th Annual Conference of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 1995     

Summer temperature variations in southern Kamchatka as reconstructed from a 247-year tree-ring chronology of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Betula ermanii</Emphasis>

We have developed a 247-year ring-width chronology of Betura ermanii Cham. growing in an open canopy forest close to the tree line at a coastal site in southern Kamchatka. Climatic response analyses revealed that the ring width was primarily controlled by July–August temperature. The regression models that we used for statistical reconstruction passed the stringent calibration–verification tests used in dendroclimatology, resulting in the first quality-controlled tree-ring reconstruction for southern Kamchatka. The reconstructed temperature shows a cool period from the 1830s to the 1880s, followed by gradual warming until ca. 1940, then a cooling trend extending to the 1970s, and finally a warming trend continuing to the present. Spatial correlation analyses with sea surface temperature in the North Pacific indicated that the seas surrounding the Kamchatka peninsula play a role in modulating temperature variations in the study area whereas the effects of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation are relatively weak.     

Specific hydroxy fatty acids in royal jelly activate TRPA1

This is the first report of TRPA1 activation by fatty acids. Activation of TRPA1 and TRPV1 induces thermogenesis and energy expenditure enhancement. In this study, we searched for novel agonists of TRPA1 and TRPV1 from a nonpungent food, royal jelly (RJ). We measured the activation of human TRPA1 and TRPV1 by RJ extracts and found that the hexane extract contains TRPA1 agonists. The main functional compounds in the hexane extract were trans-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (HDEA) and 10-hydroxydecanoic acid (HDAA). These are characteristic fatty acids of RJ. Their EC50 values were about 1,000 times larger than that of AITC, and their maximal responses were equal. They activated TRPA1 more strongly than TRPV1. Their EC50 values for TRPV1 were 2 times larger, and the maximal response was less than half of that for TRPA1. Next, we studied the potencies of other lipid components for both receptors. Most of them have higher affinity to TRPA1 than TRPV1. Among them, dicarboxylic acids showed equal efficacy for both receptors, but those are present in only small amounts in RJ. We concluded that the main function of RJ is TRPA1 activation by HDEA and HDAA, the major components of the RJ lipid fraction.     

Outbreak of poliomyelitis in Hispaniola associated with circulating type 1 vaccine-derived poliovirus

An outbreak of paralytic poliomyelitis occurred in the Dominican Republic (13 confirmed cases) and Haiti (8 confirmed cases, including 2 fatal cases) during 2000-2001. All but one of the patients were either unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated children, and cases occurred in communities with very low (7 to 40%) rates of coverage with oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV). The outbreak was associated with the circulation of a derivative of the type 1 OPV strain, probably originating from a single OPV dose given in 1998-1999. The vaccine-derived poliovirus associated with the outbreak had biological properties indistinguishable from those of wild poliovirus.