En block resection of a large hepatocellular carcinoma involving the caudal vena cava in a dog

A 13-year-old neutered female Shih Tzu was referred for investigation of a cranial abdominal mass. Investigations including conventional radiography, abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography confirmed the mass in the caudate lobe of the liver. As a collateral vein originating from the caudal vena cava (CVC) communicated with the azygos vein, the CVC was ligated and transected cranial to the right renal vein and cranial to the mass under temporary occlusion of the thoracic descending aorta and posthepatic CVC. The mass combined with the CVC was excised. The mass was confirmed as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This report describes the first case with successful en bloc resection of a large HCC involving the CVC in a dog.     

Practicable group testing method to evaluate weight/weight GMO content in maize grains

Because of the increasing use of maize hybrids with genetically modified (GM) stacked events, the established and commonly used bulk sample methods for PCR quantification of GM maize in non-GM maize are prone to overestimate the GM organism (GMO) content, compared to the actual weight/weight percentage of GM maize in the grain sample. As an alternative method, we designed and assessed a group testing strategy in which the GMO content is statistically evaluated based on qualitative analyses of multiple small pools, consisting of 20 maize kernels each. This approach enables the GMO content evaluation on a weight/weight basis, irrespective of the presence of stacked-event kernels. To enhance the method's user-friendliness in routine application, we devised an easy-to-use PCR-based qualitative analytical method comprising a sample preparation step in which 20 maize kernels are ground in a lysis buffer and a subsequent PCR assay in which the lysate is directly used as a DNA template. This method was validated in a multilaboratory collaborative trial.     

Reactivated triton-extracted models o paramecium: modification of ciliary movement by calcium ions

Triton-extracted models of Paramecium were reactivated to swim in solutions of adenosine triphosphate and magnesium ions. The cilia beat in the normal direction (toward the rear) when the calcium ion concentration was less than 10-(6)M, and they beat in the "reversed" direction (toward the front) when calcium ion concentration was raised above 10-(6)M. These results support the proposal that ciliary reversal, hence backward swimming, of live paramecia is mediated by an increased cytoplasmic calcium concentration around the ciliary system by calcium-dependent membrane responses to external stimuli.     

Inactivation by nitrogen mustard of single- and double-stranded DNA and RNA bacteriophages

Nitrogen mustard inactivates bacteriophage containing single-stranded DNA and RNA as well as double-stranded DNA. Inactivation may occur by intrastrand cross-linkage in DNA or RNA as well as by interstrand crosslinkage between complementary strands of DNA.     

In-crisis delivery rate: a novel measure of success in communal water management

Of the plethora of studies that discuss requirements for successful irrigation management, few pay close attention to what actually happens when the supply of water becomes extremely low. Such an oversight in the literature is unfortunate, because this is precisely when management matters. To understand what separates success from failure in irrigation management at times of critical water shortages, the authors conducted emergency fieldwork in February 2010 along four major irrigation channels in a drought-stricken rice-growing area within the Chinese province of Yunnan. Separately, satellite images of the four villages dated February 2009 and February 2010 were jointly analysed to produce a novel indicator for a village’s success in water management. Called the in-crisis delivery rate, this indicator compares water delivery between normal and drought years and directly evaluates performance in water management during crisis periods. The results led to an unexpected discovery that, contrary to common expectations, the only village of the present study that deployed a traditional earthen water channel secured substantially more water throughout the drought period than those with concrete-lined channels. It is hypothesised that the labour intensive, rather than capital intensive, nature of repair work of the earthen channel enabled flexible operations, and hence had the comparative advantage under a skilled management team. This result confirms the importance of daily maintenance work, which tends to occur less often after modernisation of water paths.     

De novo assembly of the complete organelle genome sequences of azuki bean (Vigna angularis) using next-generation sequencers

Since chloroplasts and mitochondria are maternally inherited and have unique features in evolution, DNA sequences of those organelle genomes have been broadly used in phylogenetic studies. Thanks to recent progress in next-generation sequencer (NGS) technology, whole-genome sequencing can be easily performed. Here, using NGS data generated by Roche GS Titanium and Illumina Hiseq 2000, we performed a hybrid assembly of organelle genome sequences of Vigna angularis (azuki bean). Both the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) and the chloroplast genome (cpDNA) of V. angularis have very similar size and gene content to those of V. radiata (mungbean). However, in structure, mtDNA sequences have undergone many recombination events after divergence from the common ancestor of V. angularis and V. radiata, whereas cpDNAs are almost identical between the two. The stability of cpDNAs and the variability of mtDNAs was further confirmed by comparative analysis of Vigna organelles with model plants Lotus japonicus and Arabidopsis thaliana.     

Soil seed banks in a mature Hinoki (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Chamaecyparis obtusa</Emphasis> Endl.) plantation and initial process of secondary succession after clearcutting in southwestern Japan

To profile secondary succession after clearcutting a conifer plantation, we examined the composition of the soil seed bank and the process of vegetation recovery after clearcutting a mature Hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) plantation in southwest Japan. We set up two study plots and collected 25 and 26 soil samples (each 20 cm × 30 cm × 5 cm depth), respectively, in April 1999, before clearcutting. Using the seedling emergence method, we detected 500–839 buried viable seeds m⁻² in 42–44 species. Soil seed banks in both plots contained typical pioneer species but few late-successional species. After clearfelling the plantation in June 1999, we censused seedling establishment for 4 years and the composition of the vegetation for 6 years. More than half of the seedlings emerged in the second year, suggesting that the timing of clearcutting is possibly critical to seedling establishment. Nineteen plant species disappeared after clearcutting, 40 species were retained and 43 species newly emerged after clearcutting. Most of the newly emerged species were pioneer species which originated in the soil seed bank. Seven of the pioneer species, as typified by Rubus crataegifolius, showed clonal growth from the third year after clearcutting. Japanese serow browsed the seedlings of major pioneer species, possibly affecting the process of secondary succession. Late-successional species such as Abies firma declined in coverage or disappeared after clearcutting. Our results suggest that the soil seed bank makes a major contribution to vegetation recovery after clearcutting, but possibly not to restoration of the late-successional species.     

Identification and pathogenicity of Pythium species causing damping-off of kidney bean

Five Pythium species (Pythium irregulare, P. mamillatum, P. myriotylum, P. spinosum and P. ultimum var. ultimum) were isolated from the hypocotyls and roots of kidney bean plants with damping-off from a commercial field and from experimental plots that have undergone either continuous cropping with kidney bean or rotational cropping with arable crops. In inoculation tests, all five Pythium species were pathogenic to kidney bean. This is the first report of damping-off of kidney bean caused by Pythium species; we named this disease damping-off of kidney bean. The nucleotide sequence data reported are available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession numbers AB291811, AB291944 and AB291945.     

N605ab,a specific molecular marker for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytophthora infestans</Emphasis>, distinguishes three genotypes in Japan

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis using the OPG-06 primer generated specific patterns for Japanese genotypes US-1, JP-1, and a new A1 (JP-2, JP-3, and JP-4) of Phytophthora infestans. N605, a specific RAPD fragment, was cloned and sequenced. PCR primers BD1/BD2 were constructed based on the N605 sequence and were used to clarify the genotypes. PCR products using the BD1/BD2 primers (N605ab marker) easily distinguished the new A1 from US-1 and JP-1. This technique provides a simple and effective method for rapid genotype discrimination that can be used in ecological experiments and forecasts for the occurrence of late blight.