Noninvasive estimation of cardiac systolic function using continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography in dogs with experimental mitral regurgitation

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of noninvasive estimation of cardiac systolic function using transthoracic continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography in dogs with mitral regurgitation.
Procedure Seven mongrel dogs with experimental mitral regurgitation were used. Left ventriculography and measurement of pulmonary capillary wedge pressure were performed under inhalational anaesthesia. A micromanometer-tipped catheter was placed into the left ventricle and transthoracic echocardiography was carried out. The peak rate of left ventricular pressure rise (peak dP/dt) was derived simultaneously by continuous-wave Doppler and manometer measurements. The Doppler-derived dP/dt was compared with the catheter-measured peak dP/dt in the dogs.
Results Classification of the severity of mitral regurgitation in the dogs was as follows: 1+, 2 dogs; 2+, 1 dog; 3+, 2 dogs; 4+, 1 dog; and not examined, 1 dog. We were able to derive dP/dt from the transthoracic continuous-wave Doppler echocar-diography in all dogs. Doppler-derived dP/dt had a significant correlation with the catheter-measured peak dP/dt (r = 0.90, P < 0.0001).
Conclusion It was demonstrated that transthoracic continuous-wave Doppler echocardiography is a feasible method of noninvasive estimation of cardiac systolic function in dogs with experimental mitral regurgitation and may have clinical usefulness in canine patients with spontaneous mitral regurgitation.     

Effect of protein hydrolysate from Antarctic krill meat on the state of water and denaturation by dehydration of lizard fish myofibrils

ABSTRACT: To utilize Antarctic krill as functional food, protein hydrolysates were prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis. Their effects on the state of water in myofibrils of lizard fish and dehydration-induced denaturation were compared with those from two species of shrimp, glucose, and sodium glutamate. Peptides are major components in hydrolysates, occupying approximately 85–93% of the total materials. The Antarctic krill protein hydrolysates stabilized the bonding of water molecules, leading to suppressed denaturation of myofibrils during the dehydration process. Similar effects were observed for shrimp protein hydrolysates. The effect of the hydrolysate was less than that by glucose and sodium glutamate.     

Chub mackerel larvae fed fish larvae can swim faster than those fed rotifers and Artemia nauplii

ABSTRACT: Developmental changes of swimming speed were analysed in the chub mackerel Scomber japonicus raised on two distinct dietary regimens. One group was fed only zooplankton such as rotifers and Artemia nauplii (R group) and the other group was fed rotifers plus red sea bream Pagrus major larvae (Pm group). Fish from the Pm group grew faster than those from the R group, and both the cruise and burst swimming speeds were faster for the Pm group even when match-sized comparisons were made. Fish in the Pm group attained a standard length (SL) of 17.5 mm by day 14 and their cruise and burst swimming speeds were 5.39 SL/s and 18.45 SL/s, whereas the R group attained 17.35 mm SL by day 17 and their cruise and burst swimming speeds were 4.28 SL/s and 13.98 SL/s. The results suggest that the swimming speed of chub mackerel in the wild would develop differently depending on the food resources they happen to encounter.     

Effect of time of the addition of glucose to a medium on the development of 1-cell stage mouse embryos

In the present study, 1‐cell stage mouse embryos were cultured with or without glucose, and their development to the blastocyst stage was compared. Embryos cultured in a glucose‐free medium had a higher percentage of development to the 8‐cell stage, and they had higher developmental speeds compared with those cultured in a glucose‐containing medium. The percentages of embryos that developed to the early blastocyst stage, blastocyst stage and expanded blastocyst stage were much lower than those developed in a glucose‐containing medium. This suggests that the culture of 1‐cell stage embryos in a glucose‐containing medium inhibits development at the 8‐cell stage, and that glucose is necessary for blastocyst formation. Previous reports indicate that, from the 1‐cell stage to the 4‐cell stage, glucose inhibits embryo development. In the present study, exposure of early embryos to a glucose‐free medium improved subsequent embryo development, and there was no difference in the percentage of development to the stages ranging from the 8‐cell stage to the expanded blastocyst stage between embryos cultured in a glucose‐free medium from the 1‐cell stage to the 2‐cell, 4‐cell and 8‐cell stage. This indicates that embryo development is improved when a 1‐cell stage embryo is exposed to a glucose‐free medium before and during the 2‐cell stage, and glucose only has an inhibitory effect on embryo development during conversion from the 1‐cell stage to the 2‐cell stage.     

Preparation of board-like moldings from composites of isolated lignins and waste paper II: effect of inorganic salt addition on board performance and evaluation of practical use of MDF

Board-shaped composites with medium density (MDF) were prepared from isolated lignins and waste newspaper, in addition to preparation of the composites with high density (HB). The board properties of both composites concerning bending strength and water resistance were improved by the addition of hardwood acetic acid lignin (HAL). The internal bond strength and water resistance of MDF, in particular the degree of thickness swelling (TS), were also improved by prolonged molding time. Adding inorganic salts contributed to the improvement of TS. The effect depended on the charge of the cation. Considering practical utilization of lignin-based MDF as a structural material, its performance was evaluated by combination of the single-shear test of nailed joints and the modulus of rigidity. As a result, this MDF had sufficient strength to be utilized as an internal shear wall material. Therefore, lignin can be considered as an alternative to conventional adhesives for the production of boards such as HB and MDF.     

Preparation of activated carbon moldings from the mixture of waste newspaper and isolated lignins: mechanical strength of thin sheet and adsorption property

To expand the utilization of waste newspapers and lignin, activated carbon (AC) sheets, as an example of AC moldings, were prepared from those mixtures. The isolated lignins used were softwood and hardwood acetic acid lignins (SAL and HAL), softwood kraft lignin (KL), and wheat-straw lignin (WSL). The mixtures were molded into precursory sheets by thermal compression and then converted to AC sheets by carbonization and steam activation. The flexural strength of the precursory sheets was dramatically improved by additing the lignins compared to that of sheets without lignin. The strength of several sheets was more than 25 MPa. This suggested that lignins act as adhesives. SAL and HAL sheets with 40% newspaper were strengthened by the carbonization, whereas the strength of other lignin sheets was depressed. Finally, the AL-based AC sheets showed higher flexural strength (>6MPa) than others. Most of the AC sheets had adsorption ability comparable to that of commercially available AC powder and granules. The capacities were almost independent of paper content. Among the AC moldings tested, the AL-based AC sheets showed the fastest adsorption top-chlorophenol. Thus, viable AC moldings can be prepared from lignin-wastepaper mixtures, particularly SAL and HAL.     

Detection of novel kobu-like viruses in Japanese black cattle in Japan

During surveillance for bovine diarrhea of unknown causes in Japanese black cattle in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, we found two types of novel kobu-like viruses in fecal samples of calves. Sequence analyses revealed that they had L protein and 2A protein with H-box/NC sequence motif, which are present in kobuviruses. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that they were related to kobuviruses; however, they clustered apart from other kobuviruses. In the prevalence study of two types of novel kobu-like viruses, 16.9% and 10.4% prevalence of these viruses were observed in the feces of diarrheal calves in this area.     

Ontogenic and morphological study of gonadal formation in genetically-modified sex reversal XYPOS mice

Mammalian sexual fate is determined by the presence or absence of sex determining region of the Y chromosome (Sry) in the “bipotential” gonads. Recent studies have demonstrated that both male and female sexual development are induced by distinct and active genetic pathways. Breeding the Y chromosome from Mus m. domesticus poschiavinus (POS) strains into C57BL/6J (B6J) mice (B6J-XY^POS) has been shown to induce sex reversal (75%: bilateral ovary, 25%: true hermaphrodites). However, our B6N-XY^POS mice, which were generated by backcrossing of B6J-XY^POS on an inbred B6N-XX, develop as males (36%: bilateral testis with fertility as well as bilateral ovary (34%), and the remainder develop as true hermaphrodites. Here, we investigated in detail the expressions of essential sex-related genes and histological features in B6N-XY^POS mice from the fetal period to adulthood. The onsets of both Sry and SRY-box 9 (Sox9) expressions as determined spatiotemporally by whole-mount immunohistochemistry in the B6N-XY^POS gonads occurred 2–3 tail somites later than those in B6N-XY^B6 gonads, but earlier than those in B6J-XY^POS, respectively. It is possible that such a small difference in timing of the Sry expression underlies testicular development in our B6N-XY^POS. Our study is the first to histologically show the expression and ectopic localization of a female-related gene in the XY^POS testes and a male-related gene in the XY^POS ovaries. The results from these and previous experiments indicate that the interplay between genome variants, epigenetics and developmental gene regulation is crucial for testis development.