Suppressive effect of saturated acyl L-ascorbate on the oxidation of linoleic acid encapsulated with maltodextrin or gum arabic by spray-drying

6-O-Palmitoyl L-ascorbate was added to linoleic acid at various molar ratios of the ascorbate to the acid, the mixtures were emulsified with a maltodextrin or gum arabic solution, and the emulsions were spray-dried to produce microcapsules. At higher molar ratios, the oil droplets in the emulsions were smaller, and the oxidative stabilities of the encapsulated linoleic acid were higher for both the maltodextrin- and gum arabic-based microcapsules. 6-O-Capryloyl, caproyl, and lauroyl L-ascorbates, which were synthesized through lipase-catalyzed condensation in acetone, were also used for the microencapsulation of linoleic acid. Except for capryloyl L-ascorbate, the addition of a saturated acyl ascorbate, especially caproyl ascorbate, to linoleic acid was effective for preparing oil droplets of small particle diameter and for suppressing the oxidation of the encapsulated linoleic acid.     

Kinetic Parameters of Gross N Mineralization of Peat Soils as Related to the Composition of Soil Organic Matter

Peat land has been considered as an alternative type of land for agricultural development especially in the tropics. In the present study, the N-supplying capacity, one of the most important soil properties in terms of crop production, of peat soils was examined. Ten peat soil samples were collected from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Japan. Gross N mineralization in the soil samples was estimated using a zero-order model, and kinetic parameters of mineralization were determined using a simple type model. Soil organic matter composition was investigated using ¹³C CPMAS NMR. Mineralization potential ( N ₀), apparent activation energy ( E _a), and mineralization rate constant ( k ) ranged between 571–2,445 mg kg⁻¹, 281–8,181 J mol⁻¹, and 0.009–0.020 d⁻¹, respectively. Although none of the parameters showed a significant correlation with the soil C/N ratio, a negative correlation was observed between the k value and the ratio of the proportion of alkyl C in total C to that of O -alkyl C estimated by ¹³C CPMAS NMR. The latter suggested that the k values were higher in the peat soils relatively rich in readily decomposable organic matter including carbohydrates.     

Chemical characteristics and potential source of fulvic acids leached from the plow layer of paddy soil

To understand better the chemical characteristics and source of dissolved organic matter (DOM) leached from the plow layer of rice paddies, a lysimeter study was conducted, which simulated submerged paddy topsoil during rice growth. The fulvic acid (FA) fraction in the percolation water from the lysimeter was collected by adsorption onto insoluble polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and the temporal variations in its elemental composition, molecular size distribution, IR spectra, ¹³C CPMAS NMR spectra, and δ¹³C values were investigated. The proportion of the FA fraction to bulk DOM varied greatly, but the chemical characteristics of the FA fraction did not change appreciably during the experimental period. Thus, it is considered that the changes in the DOM composition in percolation water were mainly due to the differing contributions of the FA fraction. Further, to investigate the source of the FA fraction in the leachate, the chemical characteristics of the FA fraction in the leachate were compared with those extracted from the plow layer soil. A sequential extraction of the FA fraction was conducted using a sequence of water, 0.25 M Na₂SO₄, 0.1 M Na₄P₂O₇ (pH 7.0), 0.1 M Na₄P₂O₇ (pH 10.5), and NaBH₄+0.1 M Na₄P₂O₇ (pH 10.5). It was found that the water- and 0.25 M Na₂SO₄-extractable fractions, which were most mobile, were not the only source of the FA fraction in the leachate. The small molecular size sub-fraction of the NaBH₄+0.1 M Na₄P₂O₇ (pH 10.5)-extractable FAs, most of which are probably bound mainly to iron oxides, are considered to be another source of the FA fraction leached from the plow layer of paddy fields.     

Chronic otitis externa with heat shock protein 70-positive intranuclear inclusion bodies in the ceruminous gland epithelium of a Chihuahua dog

A Chihuahua dog showed persistent itching in the right ear canal. Anti-inflammatory medicines and prednisolone were ineffective and total ear canal ablation was performed. Histological diagnosis was chronic otitis externa. Eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies (Cowdry type A and full-type) were occasionally observed in the ceruminous gland epithelium. The inclusion bodies were negative for nucleic acid and ultrastructurally composed of fibrous structures (approximately 10 nm in width). Viral infection was initially suspected, but polymelase chain reaction tests did not detect the expected viral genes. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the inclusion bodies were positive for heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), suggesting that these bodies could be protein aggregates including HSP70. The etiology of this lesion has not been elucidated, but chronic inflammation may influence the cytoplasm-to-nuclear transportation of HSP70. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of canine chronic otitis externa with HSP70-positive intranuclear inclusion bodies.     

Development and testing of a surface roughness measurement device based on aerial ultrasonic reflections

Paddy and Water Environment - Repairs of concrete irrigation channels in Japan are guided to a large extent by the degree to which their walls have degraded over decades of use. Current methods of...     

The flammability of shrubs and trees in anAcacia mangium plantation based on silica-free ash content

Preliminary research to understand the flammability of 14 species of shrubs and 8 species of trees based on silica-free ash content was done in order to recognize which shrubs or trees are more flammable. The results show that the silica-free ash content of shrubs and trees leaves was greater than the stems ranging between 1.7% and 11.4% for leaf and 0.4% and 7.8% for the stems. The shrubsDicranopteris linearis, Imperata cylindrica, Eupatorium pubescens, Lantana camara, Eugenia sp.,Cliforia laurifolia, Pterospermum sp.,Hibiscus similis, Clidemia hirta andTrema orientalis must be considered when fire invades the plantation as well as the treeParaserianthes falcataria, Eucalyptus urophylla, Calliandra callothyrsus, andPeronema canescens.     

Effect of artemia nauplii enriched with vitamin A palmitate on hypermelanosis on the blind side in juvenile Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

ABSTRACT:   The effect of Artemia nauplii enriched with different level of vitamin A (VA) palmitate (1 µg = 1 IU) on the occurrence of hypermelanosis on the blind side of Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus was determined. Artemia were enriched with 0, 1, 2, 5 or 10 mg VA palmitate/L (control group, and 1-, 2-, 5-, and 10-mg groups). The enriched Artemia were fed to the larvae from 27 to 31 days post hatching (dph) corresponding to the F–G stage. VA palmitate, retinol and retinoic acid (RA) contents of Artemia were correlatively elevated with increasing VA palmitate in the culture medium. RA was detected in Artemia enriched with 5 mg and 10 mg, and a significantly high frequency of hypermelanosis on the blind side was observed in these groups at 65 dph ( P  < 0.05). These results suggest that RA synthesized from VA palmitate in Artemia could induce hypermelanosis on blind side of flounder when Artemia are enriched with more than 5 mg VA palmitate/L.     

Guanine-cytosine contents of the host and symbiont cDNA in a symbiotic coral

ABSTRACT:   Hermatypic (reef-building) corals harbor dinoflagellate endo-symbionts Symbiodinium spp. In studying gene expression in such symbiotic corals, problems arise regarding how to distinguish the coral and symbiont mRNA, and how to estimate their fractions in the mRNA population of the holobiont (symbiotic complex of the coral and Symbiodinium cells). In this study, these issues were addressed using juveniles of hermatypic coral Acropora tenuis in symbiosis with Symbiodinium cells of strain PL-TS-1. First, the guanine-cytosine (GC) contents were determined in expressed sequence tags (EST) from PL-TS-1 cells cultured in vitro and symbiont-free larvae of A. tenuis , and their average GC contents were found to be significantly different. The average GC content of the EST from the holobiont was much closer to that of A. tenuis larvae, suggesting that the majority (>90%) of mRNA isolated from the holobiont originated in the host. In protein-coding sequences, little overlap was observed between the GC-content distributions of PL-TS-1 cells and A. tenuis larvae. All of the coding sequences ( n  = 59) found in the A. tenuis EST had GC contents below 0.5, whereas the GC content exceeded 0.5 in the majority (43/44) of coding sequences from the nuclear genome of PL-TS-1 cells.     

Involvement of microaerophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria in the iron-oxidizing process at the surface layer of flooded paddy field soil

Journal of Soils and Sediments - To reveal whether microaerophilic Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria (FeOB) participate in the Fe(II) oxidation at the oxic-anoxic interface in flooded paddy field soil,...     

Pentachlorophenol-decomposing and PCP-tolerant bacteria in field soil treated with PCP

Soil samples from field plots that had received annual applications of pentachlorophenol (PCP) for 3 consecutive years were analyzed each year for changes in microbial populations, particularly in PCP-decomposing microorganisms and PCP-tolerant bacteria. Within 6 weeks after an initial application of PCP, PCP-decomposing microorganisms increased by about 3 orders of magnitude; this increased population was still observed the following spring. The number of PCP-decomposing microorganisms in the soils that received PCP for 3 yr reached 10⁵· g^?1 soil or more, while that in soils without PCP was 10²· g^?1. The soils that received PCP were not enriched with tetrachlorophenoldecomposing microorganisms. The microbes enriched by PCP may have been bacterial in nature. In 1972 and 1974, the number of PCP-tolerant bacteria increased immediately after PCP application and continued to increase for 2 weeks, then declined. The 1973 data, however, showed no such decline. The number of PCP-tolerant and of crystal violet-tolerant (Gram-negative) bacteria correlated fairly well except at 2 weeks after PCP application (when PCP-tolerant bacteria were more numerous).