On the components of soil humic acids (part 8) the oxidative decomposition by alkaline potassium permanganate and nitric acid

As for the reactions by oxidizing agents of humic acids and for the products obtained by the said reactions, a number of investigations (1) have been made with regard to the study of the chemical structure of humic acids and with the use of the products of decomposition. The authors (2) have observed that A-or B-types of soil humic acids could be separated into three or four fundamental composing fractions by using Al²O³ column.     

On the components of soil humic acids VII

The writers already made it clear that by active alumina the humic acids of A- and B-types contained in various soils could be separated into 3 or 4 components (1). And moreover, absorption spectra (2), nitrogen constituents (3) and colloidal nature (4) of them were studied for the purpose of examining their qualities.     

On the components of soil humic acids (Part iv) on the absorption spectra of the components of B-type humic acid

Introduction

Concerning the A-type humic acid found in different kinds of soil the writers fractionated each of its components and measured its lightabsorbing power and compared the characteristics of those components.     

A seasonal behavior of surface soil moisture condition in a reclaimed tropical peatland

Soil moisture condition is essential to regulate the release of soil carbon from a drained peatland since aerobic microbial activities can be encouraged through oxygen supply associated with dewatering the soil layer while they may be discouraged under too dry conditions. Aiming to characterize the soil moisture condition in a reclaimed tropical peatland, we monitored the volumetric water content at 5?cm depth (θ _5?cm), groundwater level (GWL) and rainfall for 20 months from March 2010 to November 2011 in an oil palm field in Nakhon-Si-Thammarat, Thailand. We also measured the soil water retention curve and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity (k) for a series of matric potential (h) to simulate the moisture condition monitored in the field by using the Buckingham-Darcy's flux law. During the dry season in 2010, the θ _5?cm consistently stayed lower than 0.35?m³?m^–3 with the GWL lower than a depth of 30?cm. In the transition from the dry season to the rainy season in 2010, the GWL rose to the land surface with peaks and dips across the time for about one month with the θ _5?cm increasing toward saturation. During the rainy season where the GWL stayed near or above the land surface, the θ _5?cm remained the field-saturated value of 0.58?m³?m^–3 on average, less than the laboratory-saturated value of 0.63?m³?m^–3, suggesting the development of a significant amount of entrapped air-phase. Hysteretic behavior in the measured θ _5?cm–GWL relation also supported that the top soil layer refuses to absorb water in wetting processes. The simulated θ _5?cm based on the measured k(h) and soil water retention curves demonstrated that the ease with which the top soil dries during a dry season was due mainly to the low k(h) value in the dried condition, while the slope of the θ(h) curve was so moderate that the soil layer could retain moisture for maintaining liquid water supply to the surface from the dropped GWL. Sensitivity analyses while varying the magnitude of both k(h) and evaporation rate (E) suggested that the k(h) function was more deterministic than the value of E in making the land surface easily dried. As the GWL stayed lower than 30?cm in depth for a total of 187 days out of the year monitored, while surface-ponding conditions took place for 120 days of the year, it was concluded that either the extremely dried condition or the saturated-moisture condition had dominantly occurred in the study site through a year and, thus, there may only be a limited time when soil organic matter near the land surface is in favorable moisture conditions for aerobic decomposition.     

Characterization of β-N-Acetylhexosaminidase from rhizostomous jellyfish, Rhopilema asamushi, Mesogloea

β-N-Acetylhexosaminidase (EC 3.2.1.52) was purified from rhizostomous jellyfish mesogloea and characterized. Using two purification steps, this enzyme was purified up to 27.4-fold with a recovery rate of 46% compared with crude extract. The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to be about 136 kDa, composed of subunit molecular weights of 68 kDa. The enzyme activity was inhibited by SH-reagents, indicating that it contains a SH-group in its active site. The enzyme has a high affinity for pNPGlcNAc with Km value of 0.021 mM. The rate of hydrolysis of N-acetylchito-oligosaccharides tended to decrease with increasing degree of polymerization of the substrate. The parameters of k _cat were 92.0 s⁻¹ for pNPGlcNAc, 38.2 s⁻¹ for GlcNAc₂, 14.0 s⁻¹ for GlcNAc₃, 4.1 s⁻¹ for GlcNAc₄, 1.6 s⁻¹ for GlcNAc₅, 0.9 s⁻¹ for GlcNAc₆, respectively. These results suggest that this β-N-acetylhexosaminidase is an exo-fashion hydrolytic enzyme involved in chitin degradation. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Evaluation of the bioactivities of water-soluble extracts from twelve deep-sea jellyfish species

Many polypeptides isolated from shallow water cnidarian species have been utilized as valuable biochemical tools in both basic and applied biological sciences. Deepwater cnidarian species might be another potential resource for novel biochemical tools. However, because of limited access to cnidarian samples from deep-sea environments, bioactive polypeptides have never before been reported from this group. In this study, we collected twelve deep-sea jellyfish species (nine hydrozoans and three scyphozoans) using a plankton net that was specially designed for collecting deep-sea organisms, and prepared water-soluble extracts, presumably containing polypeptides, of these jellyfishes. The extracts were subjected to cytotoxicity, hemolytic activity, and crustacean lethal toxicity tests. In the cytotoxicity test, six out of the nine tested hydrozoan species showed activity. In the hemolytic activity test, only three hydrozoans showed activity and none of the scyphozoan jellyfishes showed activity. In the crustacean lethality test, two hydrozoan jellyfishes and all three of the tested scyphozoan jellyfishes showed lethal activity. These results revealed a high incidence of water-soluble bioactive substances occurring in these deep-sea jellyfishes. Furthermore, all the heat-treated and the methanol-treated crude jellyfish extracts lost their bioactivities. Thus, it is likely that the bioactive compounds in the water-soluble extracts were unstable polypeptides (proteins). This is the first published report on bioactivities in extracts from deep-sea jellyfishes.     

Heat- and light-treatment change the visible fluorescence of Akoya cultured pearls

We exposed Akoya cultured pearls separately to heat (60–120 °C) and artificial light to investigate changes to fluorescence in the visible range and yellowing. We found that for both heat-treated and light-treated pearls, the fluorescence peak shifted from 480 to 430 nm with an increase in fluorescence intensity. This change in intensity was more prominent in heat-treated pearls, with the initial speed of increase rising with treatment temperature; treatment at 100 °C caused the greatest increase in fluorescence intensity. However, aminoguanidine suppressed the heat-induced change in the fluorescence of an ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid–soluble nacreous layer matrix. These results suggest that the heated-induced changes in the fluorescence of Akoya cultured pearls were caused largely by a buildup of fluorescent advanced glycation end products through the Maillard reaction. Although heat treatment led to a large increase in fluorescence intensity of the peak at approximately 430 nm in a deoxygenized environment, hardly any change in fluorescence intensity was observed after light treatment in this environment. Moreover, a new shoulder peak appeared at about 460 nm after light treatment. These results suggest that the Maillard reaction was not a major factor in the light-induced changes in the fluorescence of Akoya cultured pearls.     

Monitoring by real-time PCR of three water-borne zoosporic Pythium species in potted flower and tomato greenhouses under hydroponic culture systems

The high-temperature-tolerant Pythium species P. aphanidermatum, P. helicoides, and P. myriotylum cause serious diseases in many crops under hydroponic culture systems in Japan. Control of the diseases is difficult because these zoosporic pathogens spread quickly. In this study, a real-time PCR method was developed for monitoring the spread of zoospores of the three pathogens. Specific primers and TaqMan probes were established using the internal transcribed spacer regions of the rDNA. Specificity was confirmed using known isolates of each species and closely related non-target species. The sensitivity of DNA detection was 10 f. for each pathogen. 10 f. DNA corresponded to 4 P. aphanidermatum, 3 P. myriotylum, and 4 P. helicoides zoospores, respectively. Therefore, this real-time PCR method was used to evaluate and monitor zoospores in the nutrient solutions of ebb-and-flow irrigation systems for potted flower production and closed hydroponic culture systems for tomato production. The results indicated that the pathogens were present in the hydroponic culture systems throughout the year, and spread before disease occurrence.     

Expression of prostaglandin F(2α) (PGF(2α)) receptor and its isoforms in the bovine corpus luteum during the estrous cycle and PGF(2α)-induced luteolysis

Prostaglandin F(2α) (PGF(2α)) induces luteolysis via a specific receptor, PTGFR. Although PTGFR mRNA expression in the bovine corpus luteum (CL) has been studied previously, changes in PTGFR protein and its localization are not fully understood during the life span of the CL. In addition to full-length PTGFR, several types of PTGFR isoforms, such as PTGFRα (type I) and PTGFRζ (type II), were reported in the bovine CL, suggesting isoform-specific luteal action. Full-length PTGFR mRNA in the bovine CL increased from the early to the mid-luteal phase and decreased during luteolysis, whereas PTGFR protein remained stable. PTGFR protein was localized to both luteal and endothelial cells and was expressed similarly during the life span of the CL. Like full-length PTGFR mRNA, PTGFRα and PTGFRζ mRNA also increased from the early to mid-luteal phases, and mRNA of PTGFRζ, but not PTGFRα, decreased in the regressing CL. During PGF(2α)-induced luteolysis, the mRNAs of full-length PTGFR, PTGFR,α and PTGFRζ decreased rapidly (from 5 or 15 min after PGF(2α) injection), but PTGFR protein decreased only 12 h later. Silencing full-length PTGFR using small interfering RNA prevented PGF(2α)-stimulated cyclooxygenase-2 (PTGS2) mRNA induction. By contrast, PGF(2α) could stimulate vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) mRNA even when full-length PTGFR was knocked down, thus suggesting that PGF(2α) may stimulate PTGS2 via full-length PTGFR, whereas VEGFA is stimulated via other PTGFR isoforms. Collectively, PTGFR protein was expressed continually in the bovine CL during the estrous cycle, implying that PGF(2α) could function throughout this period. Additionally, the bovine CL expresses different PTGFR isoforms, and thus PGF(2α) may have different effects when acting via full-length PTGFR or via PTGFR isoforms.     

Allometric Study on the Relationship between the Growth of Ovarian Follicles and Oocytes in Domestic Cats

The relationship between the growth of preantral and antral follicles and that of their oocytes in ovaries of domestic cats (Felis catus) was analyzed. Eight hundred and five pairs of follicles and oocytes from the ovaries of 51 female cats were collected, and only healthy and fresh follicles and oocytes with or without zona pellucida were used in this study. Immediately after collection, the diameters of follicles and their oocytes were measured. The relationship of the follicle diameter to the oocyte diameter was applied to four regression models and statistically analyzed. The best fitting model was found to be a hyperbolic regression (the coefficient of determination was 0.976 between the follicles and their oocytes with a zona pellucida, y=184x/(x+0.0738); the coefficient of determination was 0.983 between the follicles and their oocytes without a zona pellucida, y=122x/(x+0.0301)). The differentiated equations for the hyperbolic curves in the oocytes with or without a zona pellucida and the follicles were found to be y'=13.6/(x+0.0738)(2) and y'=3.67/(x+0.0301)(2), where y and x were the diameters of the oocytes (μm) and follicles (mm), respectively. When follicles grew to a size larger than 0.4 mm in diameter, the growth rates of their oocytes calculated by the differentiation equations showed an asymptotic depression around zero. Thus, it was suggested that when the follicles grew to a size larger than 0.4 mm in diameter, their oocytes reached full size and ceased to grow and that the zona pellucida stopped growing when the diameter of the follicles reached 0.3 mm in domestic cats.