Analysis of antibody response by temperature-sensitive measles vaccine strain in the cotton rat model

Measles virus (MeV) vaccine strain, AIK-C, is temperature sensitive (ts), which is thought to be associated with attenuation of virus pathogenicity. In this study, replication and antibody response were examined in cotton rats using viruses carrying different forms of the P gene, which is responsible for the ts phenotype of strain AIK-C and its parental Edmonston strain. When cotton rats were inoculated intranasally, ts viruses neither replicated in lungs, nor reproducibly generated an antibody response. When inoculated intramusculary (i.m.), however, ts strains raised an antibody titer in all animals. This response was not observed when ultraviolet-inactivated virus was used. ts virus, inoculated i.m., was recovered from cotton rat drainage lymph nodes. These results suggest that ts virus, inoculated i.m., could replicate in the cotton rat, presumably at the superficial lymph node, and induce an antibody response. Therefore, cotton rats can serve as a small-animal model for investigating immune responses to safer ts vaccine, as well as recombinant vaccine using AIK-C as a vector for protection against other infectious agents.     

Improvement in gluten-free rice bread quality by protease treatment

The wide prevalence of gluten-related disorders has led to increase in the demand for gluten-free foods. Rice is a gluten-free and less allergenic cereal. However, bread made from rice flour, i.e., gluten-free rice bread, is generally of poor quality because rice flour cannot develop a network with gluten-like properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of protease treatment on gluten-free rice to improve the quality of its bread. Bread treated with a commercial protease from Bacillus stearothermophilus (thermoase) was of higher quality, i.e., good crumb appearance, high volume, and soft texture, depending on the amount of enzyme added. Rice proteins in the protease-treated bread were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which showed that glutelins and prolamins were hardly digested by thermoase in comparison with other proteins. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that many cellular structures were formed in the thermoase-treated bread; however, these structures were rare in the untreated control. Bread crumb color was not affected by the treatment. The staling rate was much lower for the thermoase-treated bread than for the control. These results indicate that thermoase treatment can be successfully used to improve the quality of gluten-free rice bread by partial digestion of rice proteins.     

Effects of high temperature and shading on grain abscisic acid content and grain filling pattern in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

ABSTRACT

Abscisic acid (ABA) is a key factor regulating starch biosynthesis genes and is involved in assimilate partitioning to individual spikelets. The objective of this study was to clarify the effects of high temperature and shading during grain filling on grain ABA content and the grain filling pattern of spikelets located at different positions in a panicle. We grew the rice cultivar ‘Koshihikari’ in pots in 2009 under two temperature regimes and two light conditions during grain filling. We periodically measured grain dry weight and grain ABA content (pmol per grain) and concentration (pmol per grain dry weight). Shading increased a grain weight difference between superior and inferior spikelets while high temperature decreased the difference regardless of light condition. High temperature decreased ABA content and concentration in grains. There was a close correlation between mean grain ABA content and mean grain-filling rate averaged over the first half of grain filling.     

Demographic Analysis of Breeding Structure in Japanese Thoroughbred Population

To investigate the breeding structure in the Japanese Thoroughbred population, we applied a demographic analysis to the populations of foals produced from 1978 to 2005. The migration rate estimated from the proportion of foals produced by imported breeding horses was around 40% over the investigated period. After early 1990s, the migration rate through stallions imported from USA sharply increased. The average generation interval was within range of 10.5–11.5 years. The longer generation interval of Thoroughbred was considered to be a reflection of the fact that Thoroughbred horses begin breeding only after completing their performance in races. After the peak of 729 in 1993, the number of sires of foals progressively declined to 358 in 2005. Although the coefficient of variation of the progeny number of sires was within range of 1.0–1.2 until early 1990s, it gradually increased and reached the value of 1.6–1.7 in recent years. The effective number of sires consistently decreased after the peak of 302.6 in 1992, and reached 120–130 in recent years, which is 25–30% of the actual number of sires. In parallel, the demographic estimate of the effective population size declined after early 1990s. The main cause of the observed change in the breeding structure was inferred to be the intensive use of a limited number of stallions for breeding.     

Wind damage risk estimation for strip cutting under current and future wind conditions based on moment observations in a coastal forest in Japan

In Japan, coastal forests have been constructed along the seashore to prevent houses and fields from disasters caused by strong winds. A management method needs to be established to regulate the stand density. There is also the possibility that wind speed will increase in the future because of the increasing strength of tropical cyclones caused by climate change. We evaluated the current and future risk of wind damage associated with strip cutting of Japanese black pine forest based on moment work on sample trees. We established a research site consisting of three groups of trees: group A faced a 1.2-m cutting strip, group B faced a 5-m cutting strip, and group C was the control. Group B was vulnerable to strong winds because the normalized critical wind speed (CWS_nml) was significantly smaller than that in the other groups. The damage risk was evaluated by comparing CWS_nml with the criterion, a 50-year return period of wind speed. In the current conditions, 5-m cutting had a certain degree of risk, and 1.2-m cutting showed a low risk. Under the future wind conditions, 5-m cutting was found to show high risk so that most of the trees did not meet the criterion. The 1.2-m cutting showed a low risk even in the future conditions. Our results clearly reveal the significant changes in the stability of remaining trees against strong winds after strip cutting. This study suggests a method to quantify the risk involved in forest management.     

Function of the methanogenic community in mangrove soils as influenced by the chemical properties of the hydrosphere

Coastal ecosystems represent a potential additional source of the greenhouse gas methane (CH₄) that has been insufficiently quantified. Thus, to understand the mechanisms controlling greenhouse gas emissions in these ecosystems, this study investigated CH₄ emissions from and the related microbial properties of mangrove soils. Soil and gas samples were collected from several plots at different distances from the seashore in Soc Trang and Ca Mau in Vietnam, and the Sundarbans in India. Soil samples were incubated under different conditions, i.e., anaerobic or aerobic, and the microbial properties of each soil sample with the addition of different amounts of seawater were analyzed. Relatively high CH₄ fluxes and production were detected during the aerobic incubation of samples from the seashore plots in Soc Trang and Ca Mau. However, CH₄ production was reduced under anaerobic conditions [soil electrical conductivity (EC): 179–289 mS m^?1, pH (H₂O): 7.45–8.10] compared with aerobic conditions [water content: 38.9–109.2%, EC: 187–299 mS m^?1, pH (H₂O): 6.86–7.72], but it increased with increasing sulfate concentration, soil EC and cellulase activity and lowering soil pH under anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, mangrove soil with a relatively high level of total organic carbon (C) exhibited relatively high CH₄ production when diluted 4-fold with seawater under anaerobic conditions [water content: 38.9–109.2%, EC: 533 mS m^?1, pH (H₂O): 6.67]. Nearly all of the DNA bands excised from polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis contained identical sequences related to archaea from the class Halobacteria. The high potential of the seashore plot for CH₄ emissions could be due to the enhancement of cellulase activity under the intermittent oxygen supply, which promotes polysaccharide depolymerization and subsequently increases anaerobic methanogenic activities during tidal flooding. This study also indicates that the major archaea responsible for CH₄ production require a particular hydrospheric salt concentration and soil pH.     

Effects of chlorpromazine,pentoxifylline and dexamethasone on mRNA expression of lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammatory cytokines in bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells

The effects of chlorpromazine (CPZ), pentoxifylline (PTX) and dexamethasone (DEX) on mRNA expression of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced proinflammatory cytokines were examined in bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in vitro. The expression of inflammatory cytokine mRNAs was analyzed by RT-PCR and Southern blot hybridization in bovine PBMCs. CPZ and DEX decreased the expression of cytokine mRNA (such as interleukin-1 beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) after stimulation with LPS in a dose-dependent manner. However, pretreatment with PTX had no inhibitory effect on the mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines. These results indicated that pretreatment with CPZ and DEX might be effective to reduce the production of LPS-induced inflammatory cytokines in bovine PBMCs in vitro.     

Activation and parthenogenetic development of pig oocytes exposed to ultrasound in media containing different concentrations of Ca2+

The present study was carried out to examine the activation and parthenogenetic development of pig oocytes after exposure to ultrasound in sorbitol media supplemented with different concentrations of Ca2+. The activation rates (68.8-75.6%) of oocytes exposed to ultrasound in media containing 0.1-1.0 mM Ca2+ were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those (54.3-58.3%) of oocytes exposed to ultrasound in media containing 0-0.05 mM Ca2+. When oocytes were exposed to ultrasound in media containing 0.1-0.5 mM Ca2+, the blastocyst formation rates (20.5-21.3%) were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those (3.3-6.0%) of oocytes exposed to ultrasound in media containing 0, 0.05 or 1.0 mM Ca2+. The results of the present study showed that the concentration of Ca2+ in the medium used for exposure to ultrasound affects the activation and parthenogenetic development of pig oocytes and showed that the optimal Ca2+ concentration is 0.1-0.5 mM.     

Occurrence and characterization of tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus isolated from cucumber

European Journal of Plant Pathology - Diseases associated with tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) are a serious threat to vegetable production worldwide. In 2019, leaf necrosis disease was...