Transsphenoidal hypophysectomy for four dogs with pituitary ACTH-producing adenoma

Four dogs diagnosed as pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism were treated with transsphenoidal hypophysectomy and postoperative hormone supplementation therapy. On histological examination of the resected tissues, the tumors were ACTH-producing adenoma of the anterior lobe. Clinical signs such as alopecia and calcinosis cutis, as well as endocrinological abnormalities, were markedly alleviated after surgery. The clinical courses of these 4 dogs suggest that transsphenoidal hypophysectomy may be a useful treatment for pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism.     

Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from bovine mastitis in Japan

Fifty-three strains of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from cows affected with mastitis from 21 prefectures in Japan were characterized by phenotypic and genotypic methods. Thirty-three (62.3%) strains showed biotype K-beta+CV:A, coagulase type VI, and sensitivity to bovine phages of group III or IV. These 33 strains could be subdivided into two groups on the basis of the production of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) and on toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1). By pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, the 16 SEC- and TSST-1-producing strains showed similar patterns that differed by only a few fragments, suggesting that they were genetically closely related. Fifteen of 17 non SEC-producing strains which did not produce any other SEs and TSST-1 were genetically different from the SEC-producing strains and showed genetic diversity.     

Changes in concentrations of plasma metabolites and insulin-like growth factor-1 after feeding in Japanese Black and Japanese Shorthorn cattle

The aim was to characterize the changes of plasma component concentrations after feeding in Japanese Black (B) and Japanese Shorthorn (S) cattle. Eight females, five B and three S, with a mean bodyweight (standard deviation) of 282.0 (20.3) kg were selected and supplied with only water for 28 h after feeding. Blood was taken from the jugular vein at 4‐h intervals for 32 h after feeding. Metabolite (cholesterol, CL; glucose, GLU; nonesterified fatty acid, NEFA; triacylglycerol, TG; total protein, TP) and insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) concentrations in plasma were measured. In both breeds GLU tended to decrease linearly with a similar slope. Differences between the initial mean NEFA at 4 h after feeding (Start) and that at 24 h after the start (End) were significant in both breeds, but S increased significantly more than B at and after 8 h from the Start. The TG in S tended to change more than in B, and CL and IGF‐1 in both breeds changed continuously at similar levels. The TP in B tended to decrease more slowly and be lower than S. The change in NEFA, especially, suggests that nutritional status sensitively reflects genetic background.     

In vitro shoot development ofEucalyptus citriodora on Rockwool in the film culture vessel under CO2 enrichment

An efficient system for growingin vitro plantlets ofEucalyptus citriodora Hook was developed. In the conventional closed system of culture with 2% sugar-containing gellan gum Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.02 mg/l indole-3-isobutyric acid, a serious defoliation of shoots was observed after three weeks. In contrast, plantlets grown on the sugar-free MS medium in the aerated bottle under 3,000 ppm CO₂ enriched condition did not show any defoliation. A marked enhanced growth of plantlets and no defoliation were observed on rockwool with the sugar-free liquid MS medium in the “Culture Pack”, made of fluorocarbon polymer film, under CO₂ enriched condition. CO₂ enrichment for this sugar-free “Culture Pack”-Rockwool system was also found to contribute to an improved growth of the plants in acclimatization. A part of this paper was presented at the 106th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Forestry Society (1995).     

A proposed method to determine adequate amount of fertilizers to be applied to crops

To determine the adequate amounts of fertilizers to be applied to crops is one of the most important problems in the field of soil science.     

Nutrio-physiological studies on the tomato plant II. Translocation of photosynthates

The percentage translocation from the leaf is low in the tomato; it is as low as 16 per cent in some cases and the maximum value observed is 62 per cent.

The ability of a leaf to act as the sink for the photosynthates of other leaves becomes very low with age, but it serves as a sink for its own photosynthates for a long period.

The photosynthates of a leaf may be translocated to any alnk, but the major translocation stream under ordinary conditions is determined by the growth stage of the plant and the position of the source leaf. In this sense thero are source-sink partnerships between certain leaves and organs: The major sinks of L₅, L₉, L₁₁, L₁₄, and L₁₆ are the roots, T-1, T-Il, T-III, and T-III, respectively, although the partnerships are weak and flexible.     

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.     

Effect of increased harvests on saccharification ratio of waste mushroom medium from the cultivation of shiitake mushroom (Lentinula edodes)

Waste mushroom medium (WM) was saccharized with cellulase to obtain glucose after shiitake fruiting bodies were harvested 3 and 5 times (WM-3 and WM-5, respectively). Glucose can be used as a feedstock for the production of bioethanol or other bioproducts. WM-3 and WM-5 were analyzed for the amounts of shiitake fruiting bodies harvested and chemical components. The fresh weight ratio of shiitake fruiting bodies from the 4th and 5th harvests relative to the total fresh weight of shiitake fruiting bodies until the 5th harvest was 4.1 %. The additional 2 harvests decreased WM dry weight to 78.0 % and slightly decreased acid-insoluble lignin and xylan contents from 11.9 and 12.0 % to 10.0 and 9.6 %, respectively. The additional 2 harvests did not decrease glucan content. WM-5 included 31.6 % of glucan relative to dry weight, and 54.5 % of the glucan was saccharized to glucose with Meicelase (5 FPU/g substrate) at 40 °C for 48 h without pretreatment. The saccharification ratio of WM-3 was 45.0 % under the same saccharification condition. The amounts of saccharized glucose in WM-3 and WM-5 were 155.1 ± 9.8 mg/g substrate and 191.3 ± 9.2 mg/g substrate, respectively.