Genetic uniformity of Echinococcus multilocularis collected from different intermediate host species in Hokkaido, Japan

DNA from several isolates of Taenia taeniaeformis and Echinococcus multilocularis were digested with restriction enzymes and hybridized with digoxigenated oligonucleotide probe (CAC)5. Within the six wild isolates of Taenia taeniaeformis from Norway rats in Hokkaido, although several bands were common among isolates, fingerprinting patterns were specific to each isolate. In the case of E. multilocularis, regardless of hosts from which each isolate has been isolated, the five isolates collected from Hokkaido, showed the same fingerprinting pattern. These results indicate that there was very little genetic difference among these isolates. Although the fingerprinting pattern of E. multilocularis from St. Lawrence Is. was similar to that of the Hokkaido isolates, some bands were different from those in the Hokkaido isolates. Echinococcus multilocularis in Hokkaido seems to be closely-related genetically to that from St. Lawrence Is.     

Mixed Type of Malignant Mesothelioma in an Aged Male ICR Mouse

Multiple whitish nodules in the thoracic cavity at the site of the thymus were observed in a 101-week-old male ICR mouse. In a histopathological examination, the neoplastic cells were predominantly fusiform in shape and proliferated in sarcomatoid growth patterns. Some neoplastic cells showed epithelial growth patterns, such as the ductal structures. Mitotic figures were frequently seen, and small necrotic foci and invasion to adjacent thoracic organs were noted. In Alcian blue staining, bluish materials were observed between fusiform-shaped cells and in some of the lumens of the ductal structures. In immunohistochemistry, both fusiform-shaped and ductal structure-forming cells were positive for vimentin and weakly positive to positive for cytokeratin. Based on the aforementioned findings, the thoracic nodules were diagnosed as a mixed type of malignant mesothelioma. This case was thought to be rare because of the very low occurrence of spontaneous mesothelioma in mice.     

New piezoelectric moduli of wood: <Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis><Subscript>31</Subscript> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis><Subscript>32</Subscript>

This article reports the piezoelectric moduli of wood d ₃₁, d ₃₂, and d ₃₆. The piezoelectric moduli of wood d ₃₁ and d ₃₂ have not been previously reported, although there has been much research on the d ₁₄ and d ₂₅ moduli of wood. The moduli d ₃₁, d ₃₂, and d ₃₆ were measured carefully because their absolute values were considerably smaller than those of d ₁₄ and d ₂₅. For Softwoods, d ₃₆ values were mostly negative, whereas the values for hardwoods had either positive or negative values. The other moduli, d ₃₁ and d ₃₂, were a mixture of positive and negative values in softwoods and hardwoods. The existence of d ₃₁ and d ₃₂ suggests the presence of an electrical polarity of the cellulose crystal in the fiber direction of the wood. The polarities of d ₃₁ and d ₃₂ became clear from wood in the outer part of the trunk, where the crystallinity of cellulose is large and the alignment of the crystals becomes parallel to the fiber direction.     

Erratum

The oxidation of nitric oxide (NO) to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), the initial step in formation of nitric acid, was analyzed based on atmospheric observations in urban central Osaka, Japan, focusing the relation with the behavior of photoreactive hydrocarbon (HC) species. Simultaneous observation at two vehicle exhaust monitoring stations, one has higher oxidation ratio of NO (NO₂/NOx) and the other has lower NO₂/NOx, in November 1998 and May 1999, had been held and investigated in current report. By using concentration ratios of reactive HCs to acetylene, obvious relation between NO₂/NOx and HCs reaction was implied. In November observations, decline of aromatics to acetylene ratios with increasing NO₂/NOx were observed at one station, while not appeared at the other station. Opposite tendencies were observed at the two sampling stations from November to May, implying complicated regional characteristics of photochemistries.     

Semen collection by urethral catheterization and electro-ejaculation with different voltages,and the effect of holding temperature and cooling rate before cryopreservation on semen quality in the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata)

In the Japanese macaque, semen has been collected by electro-ejaculation (EE), using the higher voltage stimuli compared to other species including genus Macaca. Semen coagulates immediately after ejaculation, which makes difficult to produce high-quality semen for artificial insemination. Recently, semen collection using urethral catheterization (UC) has been reported in carnivore and this technique may allow semen collection without coagulation in a less invasive manner. Further, the temporal preservation temperature and cooling rate of semen during cryopreservation affect post thawing sperm quality. In this study, to improve semen quality and quantity, as well as the animal welfare, semen collection was performed by EE with high (5–15 V) or low (3–6 V) voltage, UC and a combination of the two (EE-UC). It has been suggested that a high voltage is necessary for semen collection, but 10 V stimulation was effective enough and 15 V is for additional sperm collection. Also, liquid semen was collected by EE-UC and this could increase the total number of sperm. Further, to improve the post thawing sperm motility, semen was kept at four temperatures (4, 15, 25 and 37°C) for 60 min, and processed with two cooling procedures (slow cooling before second dilution and fast cooling after second dilution). Holding semen at 25°C and fast cooling after the second dilution maintained progressive motile sperm rate. The present results will contribute to the improvement of semen collection and animal welfare of Japanese macaques.     

亏缺灌溉对草莓生长和果实品质的影响

 采用负压控水系统将土壤水分控制在不同的水平上, 研究了亏缺灌溉对草莓果实特性、植株生长和产量形成的影响。随着土壤水分的降低, 植株的株高、叶片数、结果数、产量和单果质量逐步减少。不同土壤水分处理条件下果实的理化特性明显不同, 亏缺灌溉降低了果实含水量, 提高了果实硬度、可溶性固形物含量(Brix) 、滴定酸度、糖酸比、维生素C 含量。相关分析表明, 果实的鲜样质量、直径与土壤水分含量呈显著的正相关, 而可溶性固形物含量(Brix) 、糖酸比与土壤水分含量呈显著的负相关。     

Increase in calf production by the transfer of bisected bovine embryos

A total of 132 embryos were recovered from 17 superovulated donor cows 7 d after estrus. Seventy-four embryos were selected and assigned to 2 treatment groups. The number of whole embryos that were directly transferred (Group A) and bisected (Group B) were 44 and 30 embryos, respectively. Sixty demi-embryos were produced from 30 morulae to blastocyst-stage embryos that were bisected. One hundred-three embryos, including whole and demi-embryos without zonae pellucidae, were nonsurgically transferred. Only one whole or demi-embryo was transferred to each recipients. The pregnancy rate for whole embryos (A) was 63.6% (28/44), while for demi-embryos (B) it was 74.6% (44/59). There was no significant difference between the pregnancy rates of whole embryos (A) and bisected embryos (B) transferred 7 d after estrus. Forty-three calves including the 14 sets of identical twins were obtained from 30 original embryos (143.3%) using the embryo bisection technique.     

New impedance measurement system estimating cross-sectional moisture distribution in cylindrical bodies and electric network modeling

This work aimed to measure the cross-sectional moisture distribution in a cylindrical body using a double-glass-tube model filled with water and to construct an electric network model that explains the effects of moisture distribution. A new impedance measurement system introducing an intermediate electrode was exploited. The electrode was used to segregate the target local current from the whole current in a cross section of a specimen. Three model cylinders with different moisture distributions were used, and absolute values of impedance and phase were measured over the frequency range 1 kHz to 1 MHz. By introducing an intermediate electrode, frequency responses of the impedance and the phase showed characteristic changes in the high-frequency range associated with the moisture distributions. The trends were simulated numerically by using electric network analysis. The proposed method enabled measurement of a selective current path in the cross section of a cylindrical body.