Dehydroeffusol Rescues Amyloid β25–35-Induced Spatial Working Memory Deficit

Plant Foods for Human Nutrition - Amyloid β (Aβ) peptides produced from the amyloid precursor protein, a transmembrane protein, are neurotoxic and blocking the neurotoxicity may lead to...     

Occurrence of tetrodotoxin in three Nassarius gastropod species in Khanh Hoa Province,Vietnam

Fisheries Science - Neurotoxic poisonings with fatal symptoms caused by consumption of Nassarius gastropods have been reported in Vietnam but the causative toxins have not been confirmed. In the...     

Complementary DNA cloning and functional analysis of lycopene β-cyclase in the brown alga Undaria pinnatifida

Fisheries Science - To date, there is no functional evidence of the enzymes catalyzing carotenogenesis in brown algae. In this study, we have investigated the activity of brown algal lycopene...     

Quantification of lipophilic toxins associated with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning in Japanese bivalves by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and comparison with mouse bioassay

ABSTRACT:   Quantification of lipophilic toxins in bivalves associated with diarrhetic shellfish poisoning was investigated by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). Using a C8-silica reversed phase column and a mobile phase of aqueous acetonitrile containing 2 mM ammonium formate and 50 mM formic acid, okadaic acid, dinophysistoxin-1, 7- O -palmitoyldinophysistoxin-1, pectenotoxin-1, pectenotoxin-2, pectenotoxin-6, pectenotoxin-2 seco-acid, yessotoxin, and 45-hydroxyyessotoxin in bivalves were quantified by LC–MS in the negative mode. When the crude 90% methanol extracts were analyzed by LC–MS, there were no significant effects from bivalve matrices on the quantification of toxins. More than 200 bivalve samples collected from various production areas in Japan were analyzed by LC–MS. Pectenotoxin-6 and dinophysistoxin-1 were the dominant toxins in scallops and mussels, respectively. Yessotoxin and 45-hydroxyyessotoxin were also detected in both species. Comparison of the quantitative results obtained for these bivalve samples between LC–MS and mouse bioassay indicates that LC–MS is suitable for routine monitoring of lipophilic toxins in Japanese bivalves.     

Mineral composition of leaves and bark in aluminum accumulators in a tropical rain forest in Indonesia

Mineral composition including AI, Ca, Mg, P, S, and Si and relationships between Al and other elements such as Ca, Mg, P, S, and Si in leaves and bark of trees in a tropical rain forest in West Sumatra were studied. Sixty five tree species and 12 unidentified trees were referred to as AI accumulators based on Chenery\s's definition (more than 1 g kg^-1 Al in leaves). For most of the Al accumulators, Al concentration in leaves was higher than in bark. However, some members of Euphorbiaceae, Melastomataceae, and Ulmaceae families showed a reverse trend. Most of the non-accumulators also showed a higher Al concentration in bark than in leaves. These results indicated that there was a difference in the mechanism of Al accumulation in tree bodies. Some of the Al accumulators showed an extremely high Al concentration (more than 10 g kg^-1) not only in the mature leaves, but also in the new leaves. Analysis of the relationships between the concentration of Al and the other 5 elements in leaves, revealed that Al accumulators could be separated into two groups at the Al concentration of 3 g kg^-1. This finding suggested that new criteria based on Al concentration (23 g kg^-1) or Al/Ca ratio in leaves could be proposed in order to define Al accumulators, apart from Chenery's criterion. Aluminium accumulators with an Al concentration in leaves lower than 3 g kg^-1 (AI accumulators <3 g kg^-1) showed the same trend as the non-accumulators in terms of these elemental relationships, while Al accumulators with an Al concentration in leaves higher than 3 g kg^-1 (AI accumulators 23 g kg^-1) showed a different trend from the non-accumulators. The Al accumulators 23 g kg^-1 and the other trees (AI accumulators < 3 g kg^-1 and non-accumulators) showed separately positive correlations between the concentrations of AI and Ca (or Mg) in the leaves. This observation seems to be opposite to general findings in plant nutrition, i.e. inhibition of Ca or Mg uptake by AI. A positive correlation between Al and S was also observed for all the trees. The Al accumulators ≥3 g kg^-1 showed positive correlations between the concentrations of Al and P (or Si) in the leaves, unlike the other trees. These findings suggested that Al stimulated P, S, or Si accumulation in leaves or Al was transported with P, S, or Si for the Al accumulators ≥3 g kg^-1. No negative relationships between Al and the other 5 elements in the leaves were observed for the Al accumulators ≥3 g kg^-1.     

A comparative study of permeable layer materials and aeration regime on efficiency of multi-soil-layering system for domestic wastewater treatment in Thailand

Abstract

Multi-soil-layering (MSL) system was designed for purifying domestic wastewater and for treating polluted river water. MSL system is typically comprised of layers of soil mixture blocks alternating with permeable layers. The permeable layer has roles of preventing clogging and to increasing the efficiency of infiltration of wastewater through the soil mixture blocks. In this study, the comparative efficiency of five MSL systems as a function of five permeable layer materials (zeolite, zeolitized perlite, perlite, gravel, and charcoal) was investigated. The MSL systems were constructed in 15 × 50 × 100 cm boxes where the soil mixture blocks contained sandy clay soil, kenaf + corncob, and iron scraps at a ratio of 6 : 1 : 1 by weight, respectively, and filled up in alternation with the permeable layer. The results indicated that all the MSL systems at loading rates of 96–346 L m^?2 d^?1 under nonaerated conditions were able to reduce the levels of COD (342–1,231 mg L^?1), BOD₅ (201–802 mg L^?1), and soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) (3.5–10.1 mg P L^?1) at percentages of 79.0–98.1, 80.0–99.6, and 97.1–100%, respectively. The zeolite and the charcoal-based MSL systems under a 96–346 L m^?2 d^?1 loading rate effectively reduced the level of TN (41.4–65.5 mg N L^?1) at percentages of 79.0–92.1 and 30.7–88.9%, respectively. In terms of prevention of clogging, the charcoal-based MSL system was the most effective, followed by the gravel and zeolite-based MSL. The apparent efficiency of pollutant removal, for zeolitized perlite, perlite, and gravel-based MSL systems was low. With an on-off aeration operation, the efficiency of the MSL systems in the reduction of the levels of COD, BOD₅ , and SRP (hereafter reference to as “removal”) was significantly enhanced. Overall, the zeolite-based MSL system seemed to be more effective than the other MSL systems. However, if optimum aeration could be obtained, the removal efficiency of charcoal-based MSL system might be improved. Aeration at a rate of 64,000 L m^?3 d^?1 for 1 week alternating with 2 weeks of nonaeration enhanced the removal of COD, BOD₅ , and SRP but not that of TN.     

Asphericity in supernova explosions from late-time spectroscopy

Core-collapse supernovae (CC-SNe) are the explosions that announce the death of massive stars. Some CC-SNe are linked to long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and are highly aspherical. One important question is to what extent asphericity is common to all CC-SNe. Here we present late-time spectra for a number of CC-SNe from stripped-envelope stars and use them to explore any asphericity generated in the inner part of the exploding star, near the site of collapse. A range of oxygen emission-line profiles is observed, including a high incidence of double-peaked profiles, a distinct signature of an aspherical explosion. Our results suggest that all CC-SNe from stripped-envelope stars are aspherical explosions and that SNe accompanied by GRBs exhibit the highest degree of asphericity.     

Reversal of interlaminar signal between sensory and memory processing in monkey temporal cortex

The primate temporal cortex implements visual long-term memory. However, how its interlaminar circuitry executes cognitive computations is poorly understood. Using linear-array multicontact electrodes, we simultaneously recorded unit activities across cortical layers in the perirhinal cortex of macaques performing a pair-association memory task. Cortical layers were estimated on the basis of current source density profiles with histological verifications, and the interlaminar signal flow was determined with cross-correlation analysis between spike trains. During the cue period, canonical "feed-forward" signals flowed from granular to supragranular layers and from supragranular to infragranular layers. During the delay period, however, the signal flow reversed to the "feed-back" direction: from infragranular to supragranular layers. This reversal of signal flow highlights how the temporal cortex differentially recruits its laminar circuits for sensory and mnemonic processing.     

Determination of 1-deoxynojirimycin in mulberry leaves using hydrophilic interaction chromatography with evaporative light scattering detection

A simple and rapid method for determining 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), a potent glucosidase inihibitor present in mulberry leaves (Morus alba and Morus bombysis), by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to an evaporative light scattering detector (ELSD) has been developed. DNJ was separated from an extract of mulberry leaves on a TSKgel Amide-80 column, which is a representative column for hydrophilic interaction chromatography. During postcolumn detection, DNJ was detected by ELSD and concurrently identified by mass spectrometry. The detection limit was 100 ng. This method is sufficiently sensitive for determining DNJ in mulberry leaves and other related products.