Dose-response effects of an aqueous formulation of calcitriol and evaluation of renal function in nonpregnant cows

Dose responses of plasma calcitriol, calcium (Ca), bone metabolic markers and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were evaluated in four nonpregnant Holstein cows treated subcutaneously with an aqueous formulation of calcitriol at four doses in a 4 × 4 Latin-square design. Calcitriol, Ca, and markers of bone metabolism were analyzed in plasma samples. GFR was measured in predose and day 5 samples. Plasma calcitriol and Ca concentrations increased dose-dependently. The calcitriol dose was positively correlated with the area under the concentration-time curve of plasma calcitriol. Bone formation markers tended to increase from day 3 onward for all doses. No significant changes in GFR were noted. Thus, exogenous calcitriol administered between 0.0625 and 0.5 μg/kg body weight elicited dose-dependent increases in both plasma calcitriol and Ca and elevated bone formation markers without affecting renal function in nonpregnant cows.     

Predicting oven-dry density of Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica) using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy and its effect on performance of wood moisture meter

We propose a non-destructive method to predict the oven-dry density of Sugi (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) using near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy so as to calibrate a commercial moisture meter. A prediction model for oven-dry density was developed using NIR spectra obtained from Sugi samples with a known density. The density of air-dried Sugi boards was predicted with the developed model. Then, the moisture content (MC) of the boards was measured by a hand-held capacitance-type and an in-line microwave moisture meters. For each board, the moisture meters were calibrated by the predicted density. The predicted density was correlated with the measured one with an R ² of 0.81 and a standard error of prediction (SEP) of 15.3 kg/m³ within the measured density of 279.2–436.4 kg/m³, indicating that the developed model was applicable for predicting oven-dry density of Sugi. The MC readings of both moisture meters showed a good correlation with the oven-dry MC that ranged from 12.1 to 28.9 %. For both moisture meters, the density calibration with the NIR-predicted density gave a higher R ² and a lower SEP than with the conventional calibration with the mean density. These results demonstrate that the present density calibration using NIR spectroscopy could improve the performance of the moisture meters for the air-dried Sugi boards with varying densities.     

Acute lipoprivation suppresses pulsatile luteinizing hormone secretion without affecting food intake in female rats

The present study examined the effect of acute lipoprivation on pulsatile luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion in both normal-fat diet, ad libitum-fed and fasted female rats. To produce an acute lipoprivic condition, mercaptoacetate (MA), an inhibitor of fatty acid oxidation, was administered intraperitoneally to ad libitum-fed or 24-h fasted ovariectomized (OVX) rats with or without an estradiol (E2) implant, that produces a negative feedback effect on LH pulses. The steroid treatment was performed to determine the effect of estrogen on lipoprivic changes in LH release, because estrogen enhances fasting- or glucoprivation-induced suppression of LH pulses. Pulsatile LH secretion was suppressed by MA administration in a dose-dependent manner in the ad libitum-fed OVX and OVX+E2 rats. LH pulses were more severely suppressed in the 24-h-fasted OVX and OVX+E2 rats compared to the ad libitum-fed rats. Estrogen slightly enhanced lipoprivic suppression but the effect was not significant. In the present study, increased plasma glucose and free-fatty acid concentrations may indicate a blockade of fatty acid metabolism by the MA treatment, but food intake was not affected by any of the MA doses. Acute vagotomy did not block lipoprivic suppression of LH pulses. Thus, the present study indicates that lipid metabolism is important for maintenance of normal reproductive function even in rats fed a normal-fat diet and lipoprivation may be more critical in fasted animals that probably rely more heavily on fatty acid oxidation to maintain appropriate metabolic fuel levels. In addition, failure of blockade of lipoprivic LH inhibition by vagotomy suggests that lipoprivic information resulting in LH suppression is not transmitted to the brain via the vagus nerve.     

Effect of moisture content of a wood matrix on a small-scale biodegradation system for organic solid waste

The optimum working moisture content of a wood matrix for the garbage automatic decomposer-extinguisher (GADE) machine was investigated using a small-scale degradation reactor. A formula feed for rabbits was used as the model waste. The degradation experiment was conducted under controlled conditions such as moisture content, environmental temperature, and airflow rate. The degradation rate was estimated precisely from weight loss and the CO₂ evolution rate. The degradation rate were nearly constant at a moisture content of 30%–80% on a-wet-weight basis. Microorganisms from the environment propagated in the reactor with no inoculums added. The number of microorganisms showed a trend similar to that of the degradation rate. The microorganism community changed according to the moisture content of the matrix and were considered to attain a constant degradation rate at a wide range of moisture content of a matrix.Part of this report was presented at the 49th annual meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Tokyo, April 1999     

Development of new natural polymer-based wood adhesives III: effects of glucose addition on properties of chitosan

The effects of a Maillard reaction between glucose and chitosan on the resultant chitosan films and the bonding properties of chitosans with different molecular weights were investigated. In film preparation, chitosan and glucose were dissolved in 1% acetic acid and dried in a Petri dish at 50°C. The bonding properties of the Maillard-reacted chitosan in three-ply plywood were evaluated by a tensile shear test. The weight, color, free amino groups, insoluble fraction, and thermal properties of the film changed significantly as the amount of added glucose increased. However, few differences in these properties due to the use of chitosan of different molecular weights were observed. The effect of glucose addition on the tensile strength of the film differed for chitosans of different molecular weights. Improvement of the strength by 10 wt% glucose addition was observed in low-molecular-weight chitosans. The dry- and wet-bond strengths were significantly enhanced with increasing glucose addition for low-molecular-weight chitosans. In addition, good bond strength was maintained even in 1% acetic acid solution. It was thus clarified that the bonding properties of low-molecular-weight chitosan were improved markedly by the environmentally safe method of glucose addition.     

Qualitative and quantitative PCR methods using species-specific primer for detection and identification of wood rot fungi

Species-specific oligonucleotide primers for detecting wood rot fungi, Gloeophyllum trabeum, Trametes versicolor, Coniophora puteana, and Serpula lacrymans, and the primer detecting a group of related fungi to G. sepiarium were developed. These primer sequences were picked up from the internal transcribed spacer region between small-subunit rDNA and large-subunit rDNA. The species selectivities of the developed primers were checked. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out using these highly specific primers to quantitatively detect at least of 0.01 ng genome DNA of the target species. This quantitative PCR was also used to differentiate the target species DNA from mixed species DNA. A PCR-based technique using the species-specific primers would be applicable to multiple-sample assay in diagnosis of wood decay and to investigation of environmental fungal populations. Part of this article was presented at the International Symposium on Wood Science and Technology (IAWPC 2005), Yokohama, November 2005     

Establishment of a chicken monoclonal antibody panel against mammalian prion protein

A panel of chicken monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) was developed against prion protein (PrP), the sequence of which is a highly conserved molecule among mammals. A portion of the splenocytes from chickens immunized with recombinant mouse PrP was fused with the chicken B cell line, MuH1. The remaining splenocytes were used to generate the recombinant mAbs by phage display. A total of 36 anti-PrP mAbs, 2 from cell fusion and 34 from phage display were established. The specificity of these mAbs was determined by Western blot and ELISA using various PrP antigens including recombinant PrPs, synthetic PrP peptides and PrPs from brains or scrapie-infected neuroblastoma cell line. These mAbs were classified into three main groups, protease K (PK)-sensitive (Group I), PK cleavage site proximal (Group II) and PK-resistant (Group III), based on their abilities to recognize PrP following PK-treatment. Some mAbs were found to selectively recognize different glycoforms of PrP as well as the metabolic fragments of PrP. Furthermore, we found that PrP recognition by chickens differed from that by PrP-knockout mouse. These results indicate that these newly generated PrP antibodies from chickens will help to research the PrP and to establish the diagnosis of prion disease.