Ethanol production with <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-xylosidase,xylose isomerase,and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharomyces cerevisiae</Emphasis> from the hydrolysate of Japanese beech after hot-compressed water treatment

Ethanol was produced from the hydrolysate collected as the water-soluble (WS) portion after hot-compressed water (HCW) treatment of Japanese beech. The process involved saccharification with β-xylosidase followed by isomerization with xylose isomerase and fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Several process schemes were compared to investigate the effect of process integration of saccharification, isomerization, and fermentation. Higher ethanol yields were obtained for the processes that integrated isomerization and fermentation or saccharification and isomerization. Integration of isomerization and fermentation was effective in converting xylose into ethanol. Similarly, integration of saccharification and isomerization was effective in converting xylooligosaccharides into xylulose. It is presumed that the saccharification reaction toward xylose and the isomerization reaction toward xylulose were linked and therefore each reaction was enhanced.     

Impacts of rising atmospheric carbon dioxide on model terrestrial ecosystems

In model terrestrial ecosystems maintained for three plant generations at elevated concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, increases in photosynthetically fixed carbon were allocated below ground, raising concentrations of dissolved organic carbon in soil. These effects were then transmitted up the decomposer food chain. Soil microbial biomass was unaffected, but the composition of soil fungal species changed, with increases in rates of cellulose decomposition. There were also changes in the abundance and species composition of Collembola, fungal-feeding arthropods. These results have implications for long-term feedback processes in soil ecosystems that are subject to rising global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.     

Friction anisotropy and asymmetry of a compliant monolayer induced by a small molecular tilt

Lateral force microscopy in the wearless regime was used to study the friction behavior of a lipid monolayer on mica. In the monolayer, condensed domains with long-range orientational order of the lipid molecules were present. The domains revealed unexpectedly strong friction anisotropies and non-negligible friction asymmetries. The angular dependency of these effects correlated well with the tilt direction of the alkyl chains of the monolayer, as determined by electron diffraction and Brewster angle microscopy. The molecular tilt causing these frictional effects was less than 15 degrees, demonstrating that even small molecular tilts can make a major contribution to friction.     

Myricanol and myricanone biosynthesis in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Myrica rubra</Emphasis>: incorporation of two molecules of 4-coumaric acid

After feeding experiments of Myrica rubra young shoots with 4-[8,9-¹³C₂]coumaric acid, mass spectrometric analyses revealed that the cyclic diarylheptanoids, myricanol and myricanone, were derived from two molecules of 4-coumaric acid. ¹³C Nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of myricanol isolated after administration of 4-[8,9-¹³C₂]coumaric acid demonstrated that the C-8 and C-9 atoms of 4-coumaric acid are incorporated into C-8, C-9, C-11, and C-12 of the corresponding myricanol. Part of this report was presented at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Akita, August 2006     

Distribution and abundance of copepod nauplii in southern part of the East China Sea: implications for prey availability to jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus larvae

In the southern part of the East China Sea (ECS), a large spawning ground of jack mackerel Trachurus japonicus has recently been found: Larval survival during the period of transport from the spawning ground along the shelf break is potentially a critical stage prior to recruitment. As such, the distribution of copepod nauplii in this region was investigated during the main spawning period in 2003–2006. The average naupliar density in 2003 was significantly higher than the other years along the shelf break, which is a major transport pathway for jack mackerel larvae (sea-surface temperature 20–23°C). Estimated egg production rates for Paracalanus spp., one of the most dominant genera of copepods in the southern ECS, based on temperature and chlorophyll-a concentration could not fully explain the spatial and annual variation in naupliar distribution and abundance. Although naupliar densities showed significant positive correlations with chlorophyll-a concentration for all years, an analysis of covariance revealed that naupliar density in 2003 was high even if the effect of chlorophyll-a concentration was excluded. This suggests that apart from copepod production, adult female distribution plays an important role in variability of the naupliar distribution and abundance in the southern ECS.     

Effect of wind stress on the catch of Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicus off northwestern Kyushu, Japan

Effect of wind stress on the annual catch of Japanese anchovy Engraulis japonicus off northwestern Kyushu for the period between 1963 and 2009 was investigated. Regime shift analysis detected several step changes in catch and environmental variables. Since the mid-1980s, the anchovy catch in the coastal fishery zones has declined, while the catch in the offshore zone has increased. The decline of catch in the coastal zones showed a significant correlation with the long-term variations in prevailing north-northeastward wind stress over the Goto-Nada Sea during spring spawning season. The results indicated that weakened north-northeastward winds caused the recent low recruitment of anchovy through low levels of wind-induced eggs and larval transport from the offshore spawning ground to the coastal nursery areas, resulting in the potential shift of nursery area to the northwestern offshore region. Thus, as well as the growth-favorable ambient temperature, transport process would play a key role on long-term fluctuations in anchovy abundance in these coastal seas.     

Diabetes mellitus after resection of hepatocellular carcinoma with hypoglycemia in a dog

A 10-year-old male beagle was referred to us with seizure related to hypoglycemia and a large intraabdominal mass. Based on various types of imaging and a laparoscopic biopsy, the intraabdominal mass was diagnosed as a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) of the quadrate lobe. The hypoglycemia was suspected to be associated with the HCC. After lobectomy of the quadrate lobe was performed, blood glucose levels continued to increase to higher than normal values and sugar was detected in the urine. The dog was diagnosed as diabetes mellitus (DM) and was treated with insulin for over two years after the surgery.     

Successful Production of Offspring Using Cryopreserved Sperm via Nonsurgical Artificial Insemination in Rats

In rats, artificial insemination (AI) is surgically performed as a general tool to obtain offspring using cryopreserved spermatozoa. Nonsurgical AI is a more desirable technology because it does not require any surgical procedures. However, there has never been a successful nonsurgical AI since frozen-thawed rat spermatozoa show low motility. We show here for the first time successful nonsurgical AI in rats using oxytocin treatment. Intraperitoneal injection of oxytocin (1/800 IU) immediately before nonsurgical AI significantly increased the number of sperm collected from the oviducts compared with that without oxytocin treatment. Therefore, to obtain pups, oxytocin was intraperitoneally injected into females mated with vasectomized males, and the rats were then used for nonsurgical AI. Seven of the 12 oxytocin-treated rats became pregnant after nonsurgical AI, and 37 pups were obtained. Only one rat (1/13) without oxytocin treatment was pregnant after nonsurgical AI, and only 1 pup was delivered. These results show success for the first time in obtaining offspring using frozen-thawed rat spermatozoa via nonsurgical AI. Our results also suggest the possibility that oxytocin treatment is effective for improvement of nonsurgical AI even in other species.     

Isolation and identification of C-19 fatty acids with anti-tumor activity from the spores of Ganoderma lucidum (reishi mushroom)

We previously showed that ethanolic extracts of spores of Ganoderma lucidum inhibit tumor cell proliferation and induce apoptosis of HL-60 cells. The active constituents appeared to be long-chain fatty acids, particularly carbon-19 (C-19) fatty acids which have not been reported in spores of Ganoderma lucidum. In the present study, two of these C-19 fatty acids which are key compounds in the activities, were identified as their 2-naphthyl ester derivatives after esterification of a mixture of fatty acids obtained from the spores. The active compounds were determines as nonadecanoic acid and cis-9-nonadecenoic acid. The location of the double bond of cis-9-nonadecenoic acid was demonstrated by GC-MS analysis, based on the fragmentation pattern of the adduct prepared from the fatty acid and dimethyl disulfide.