A study of the measurement of fracture toughness in cohesive soil – relationship between the size of initial crack and diameter of specimen

The phenomenon of hydraulic fracturing is considered to be one of the causes of leakage in fill-type dams. In recent years, it has been found that an estimate of the fracture toughness of a given type of soil could be used as an indicator of the soils resistance to hydraulic fracturing. One of the problems encountered in its estimation is the assumption that fracture toughness has been theoretically defined for samples of infinite sizes. In this study, laboratory tests were conducted to determine the fracture toughness of samples (of the same size) prepared with initial cracks of various lengths. The main objective was to investigate the relationship of the initial crack length to fracture toughness. The stress distribution around the crack tip for each laboratory test sample was estimated by FEM analysis and by a theoretical equation. These analytical results corresponded reasonably well to results from laboratory tests to determine the appropriate length of the initial crack for the test specimens.     

Effects of Whole Grain Wheat Bread on Visceral Fat Obesity in Japanese Subjects: A Randomized Double-Blind Study

Metabolic syndrome is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and has become increasingly common in Japan. Epidemiological studies show inverse associations between intake of whole wheat grains and metabolic syndrome, but few dietary intervention trials have investigated the effect of whole wheat grain consumption. It was investigated whether a diet in which refined wheat bread (RW diet) was substituted by whole grain wheat bread (WW diet) would reduce visceral fat obesity in Japanese subjects. A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled intervention study was conducted in 50 Japanese subjects with body mass index (BMI)?≥?23 kg/m². Subjects were randomly assigned WW (WW group) or RW diets (RW group) for 12 weeks. Blood samples and computed tomography scans were obtained every 6th week. The WW group showed decrease (?4 cm²) in visceral fat area (VFA) (p <?0.05), whereas the RW group showed no significant changes. These time-dependent changes were significantly different between the groups. WW diet led to significant and safe reductions in VFA in subjects with BMI?≥?23 kg/m². WW diet may contribute to preventing visceral fat obesity.     

Clindamycin in the treatment of Babesia gibsoni infections in dogs

This report examines the effectiveness of clindamycin for the treatment of babesiosis in dogs (n=10) experimentally infected with Babesia gibsoni (B. gibsoni). Clindamycin (25 mg/kg body weight, per os, q 12 hours for 14 days) gradually reduced parasitemia levels and induced morphological changes that indicated degeneration of parasites (e.g., segmentation; size reduction; localization in the cell limbic and/or torn state of the nucleus; and swelling, decrease, or disappearance of the cytoplasm) in the majority of dogs. Clindamycin treatment reduced the clinical symptoms characteristic of Babesia infection, including anemia, anorexia, and listlessness. Clindamycin might be useful as a medicine for treatment of B. gibsoni infection.     

Sequence diversity in the coat protein and 3″-untranslated region of Chinese yam necrotic mosaic virus RNA

Sixteen isolates of Chinese yam necrotic mosaic virus (ChYNMV) were collected from nine sites in Japan and one site in Korea, and 1098 nucleotides of the 3-terminal of the genome were sequenced. Identity of the coat protein gene was 95.5%–99.7% among the isolates. Substitution in the deduced amino acids of the coat protein ranged from 0 to 7, mainly in the N-terminal region. The 3-untranslated region consisted of 231 nucleotides, which had 96.5%–100% nucleotide identity among the isolates. Sequence diversity was considerably less in ChYNMV than in Yam mosaic virus or Japanese yam mosaic virus.     

Preventive effect of silymarin on UV irradiation-induced A375-S2 cell apoptosis

AIM: To search for the active compound from Chinese herbal medicine which could inhibit ultraviolet (UV) irradiation-induced apoptosis in human malignant cells (A375-S2 cell). METHODS: MTT, photomicroscopical observation, DNA agarose gel electrophoresis, LDH release and Western blot analysis were used. Caspase activation was detected by using caspase apoptosis detection kit. RESULTS: Treatment with silymarin (500 μmol/L) for 12 h significantly inhibited UV irradiation (2.4 J/cm2, 5 min)-induced apoptosis in A375-S2 cells. Activities of caspase-9 and caspase-3 in UV-irradiated A375-S2 cells were effectively reduced by silymarin in a dose-dependent manner, while protein expressions of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL (Bcl-2 family member) were increased simultaneously. CONCLUSION: Silymarin prevents UV irradiation-induced A375-S2 cell apoptosis through blockage of caspase pathway after protein expression of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL.     

Deleterious effects of fungi isolated from paddy soils on seminal root of rice

Soil samples were collected from rice paddies at 22 locations in northeastern Honshu, Japan. In 20 of the samples, seedling growth of rice was improved by soil pasteurization (aerated steaming at 60°C for 30 min), although no typical disease symptoms were observed in the seedlings grown in the untreated soil samples. In most locations, rice seedlings grew better in a potting medium containing root material from plants grown in the pasteurized portion of a soil sample than in a medium with root material from plants grown in the unpasteurized portion of the same sample. The results suggest that microorganisms that restrained rice seedling growth may be common in the soils of rice paddies. Approximately 800 isolates were obtained from seedling roots grown in unpasteurized soils and grouped by cultural and microscopic morphologies. The deleterious effects of 79 isolates from 21 major groups, most of which were soil-dwelling taxa, were examined after direct inoculation of the seminal roots. Isolates of Curvularia sp., Cirrenalia sp., Eppicoccum nigrum, Fusarium graminearum, F. oxysporum, Gliocladium virens, Humicola sp., Penicillium sp., Rhizoctonia oryzae-sativae, Sclerotium hydrophilum, Trichoderma aureoviride, and T. harzianum inhibited root growth, suggesting that deleterious root-infecting fungi were more common in paddy soil than previously thought. These fungi may be involved in the restraint of rice seedling growth.     

Isolation and characterization of a novel potyvirus tentatively named Ornithogalum virus 2

A novel potyvirus, tentatively named Ornithogalum virus 2 (OV-2) because only its nucleotide sequence of the coat protein gene has been revealed, was isolated for the first time from Ornithogalum thyrsoides. OV-2 had a flexuous particle (700–740 nm in length) and was sap and aphid transmissible. The virus had a narrow host range; of 36 test plants in 12 families, only O. thyrsoides and O. dubium were infected. Because the virus caused characteristic stripe mosaic on O. thyrsoides, we propose Ornithogalum stripe mosaic virus (OrSMV), instead of OV-2 for the proper name of the virus. The nucleotide sequence data reported is available in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number AB271783.     

Incidence of viruses in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Alstroemeria</Emphasis> plants cultivated in Japan and characterization of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Broad bean wilt virus-2, Cucumber mosaic virus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Youcai mosaic virus</Emphasis>

Alstroemeria plants were surveyed for viruses in Japan from 2002 to 2004. Seventy-two Alstroemeria plants were collected from Aichi, Nagano, and Hokkaido prefectures and 54.2% were infected with some species of virus. The predominant virus was Alstroemeria mosaic virus, followed by Tomato spotted wilt virus, Youcai mosaic virus (YoMV), Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Alstroemeria virus X and Broad bean wilt virus-2 (BBWV-2). On the basis of nucleotide sequence of the coat protein genes, all four CMV isolates belong to subgroup IA. CMV isolates induced mosaic and/or necrosis on Alstroemeria. YoMV and BBWV-2 were newly identified by traits such as host range, particle morphology, and nucleotide sequence as viruses infecting Alstroemeria. A BBWV-2 isolate also induced mosaic symptoms on Alstroemeria seedlings.     

Changes in molecular species composition of triacylglycerol in subcutaneous fat from beef cattle during fattening

The composition of the molecular species of triacylglycerols (TG) in subcutaneous fat biopsied from Japanese Black steers was studied during the fattening period. An analysis of the fatty acid (FA) composition of the TG showed that palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic and oleic acids were the major FA, together accounting for over 80% of the total FA. The concentrations of C14:0, C16:0 and C18:0 decreased between 10 and 30 months of age, while those of C16:1 c9 and C18:1 c9 increased during the fattening period. The major molecular species among more than 40 compounds were palmitoyl‐dioleoyl‐glycerol (POO) and dipalmitoyl‐oleoyl‐glycerol (PPO). POO showed the highest concentration during the fattening period. The levels of palmitoyl‐oleoyl‐linoleoyl glycerol and some tentatively identified molecular species increased during the fattening period, while the levels of tripalmitoyl, dipalmitoyl‐stearoyl‐glycerol, palmitoyl‐distearoyl and palmitoyl‐stearoyl‐oleoyl‐glycerol decreased with growth. A comparison of the experimental values of TG molecular species with theoretical values derived from the experimental FA contents showed that the FA distribution in TG was non‐random. TG synthesis favors the formation of TG molecular species containing at least one C16 FA, rather than three C18 FA.     

Distribution of the FoToml gene encoding tomatinase in formae speciales of Fusarium oxysporum and identification of a novel tomatinase from F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici, the causal agent of Fusarium crown and root rot of tomato

The antifungal glycoalkaloid -tomatine accumulates in tomato plants and may protect plants from fungal infection. Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici, the causal agent of vascular wilt of tomato, produces a tomatinase (FoToml) that degrades -tomatine to the nontoxic compounds tetrasaccharide lycotetraose and tomatidine. Induction of tomatinases and the distribution of FoToml homologs were examined among 30 strains belonging to 16 formae speciales of F. oxysporum. Tomatinase activity was found in 27 strains belonging to 15 formae speciales, but FoToml homologs (>98% sequence identity) were detected in only six strains belonging to four formae speciales. To identify tomatinases other than FoToml, -tomatine-inducible proteins of another tomato pathogen F. oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici were analyzed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. A protein with a molecular mass of 64kDa accumulated in the -tomatine-induced culture filtrates, and the protein had tomatinase activity, degrading -tomatine to lycotetraose and tomatidine.