Morphological changes of Japanese beech treated with the ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride

The morphological changes in wood tissues of Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) upon treatment with the ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([C2mim][Cl]), which can dissolve cellulose, were investigated. Treatment with [C2mim][Cl] induced significant swelling of all wood tissues. However, the swelling behavior of wood fibers was different from that of vessels. Intervascular pits were occluded, and pit membranes in ray-vessel pits were broken after treatment with [C2mim][Cl]. No significant differences in swelling behavior were found between latewood and earlywood, although different morphological changes for latewood and earlywood during [C2mim][Cl] treatment were seen in our previous studies on sugi (Cryptomeria japonica). We have found that the effects of [C2mim][Cl] on Japanese beech tissues are inhomogeneous and different from those found for other wood species.     

Spontaneous Renal Tumors Suspected of Being Familial in Sprague-Dawley Rats

Spontaneous renal tubule tumors (RTTs), with a distinctive morphological phenotype, were present in three Sprague-Dawley rats, 1 male and 2 females, out a total of 120 animals of each sex from untreated and placebo control groups in a 2-year carcinogenicity study. One female had one carcinoma, adenoma and hyperplasia, and the other female had five adenomas and many hyperplastic lesions; the male case had one carcinoma. From these cases, a biological continuum of hyperplasia, adenoma and carcinoma could be recognized. The tumors were present in the renal cortex and appeared as solid lobulated growths with occasional central necrosis. The lobules were divided by a small amount of fibrovascular tissue. Occasionally the larger tumors contained a cystic area. Tumor cells appeared distinctive and exhibited variable amounts of eosinophilic/amphophilic and vacuolated cytoplasm. Nuclei were round to oval with a prominent nucleolus. Mitotic figures were uncommon, and no distant metastasis was noted. The tumors were seen as multiple and bilateral lesions in two animals and had no apparent relationship to chronic progressive nephropathy (CPN). Foci of tubule hyperplasia were also noted to contain the same type of cellular morphology. The morphological and biological features of these 3 cases resembled the amphophilic-vacuolar (AV) variant of RTT that has been posited to be of familial origin. This is a report of spontaneous familial renal tumors in Sprague-Dawley rats from Japan.     

Contagious equine metritis eradicated from Japan

Contagious equine metritis (CEM), a contagious venereal disease of horses, invaded Japan in 1980 and spread in the Thoroughbred population of the Hidaka-Iburi district of Hokkaido. To eradicate CEM, we ran a program aimed at detecting Taylorella equigenitalis, the causal agent, in carrier horses by using the PCR test, followed by culling or treatment. In 2001, the first year of the program, 12,356 Thoroughbred racing stallions and mares were tested and 11 carriers were found. Four, two, one, and one carrier mares were detected in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005, respectively, by application of the program at the same scale as in 2001. No PCR-positive horses were found from 2006 to 2010. These results strongly suggest that CEM was eradicated from Japan by 2010.     

Evaluation of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with recombinant antigens for the serodiagnosis of equine Babesia infections

Two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) with recombinant protein as antigens were evaluated by comparison with the indirect fluorescent antibody tests (IFAT) for the detection of specific antibodies to Babesia caballi and Babesia equi, respectively in 380 sera from experimentally infected, uninfected, and field horses. The high concordances of 92.4% (351/380) and 98.2% (373/380) between ELISA and IFAT for B. caballi and B. equi, respectively suggest that ELISA, especially for B. equi infection, could be alternative to the corresponding IFAT for serodiagnoses of equine piroplasmosis, although some improvements are required in ELISA for B. caballi.     

Change of K value and water state of yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares meat stored in a wide temperature range (20°C to −84°C)

SUMMARY: The study on K value change at low temperature storage had been carried out down to a temperature of −40°C, however, there was no evidence about this reaction rate if the temperature were lowered below the storage temperature normally used especially for tuna meat (−60^oC). The rate of K value change ( k_f ) of yellowfin tuna ( Thunnus albacares ) meat was determined during storage at a wide temperature range (20°C to −84°C). The logarithm of K '(= 100 − K value) was used in this study and its plot against storage time yielded a straight line, which indicated an apparent first-order reaction for all temperature storage. Furthermore, physicochemical characterization of water in tuna muscle was carried out using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) at very low temperature. The temperature dependence of this reaction was analyzed by an Arrhenius's plot that resulted in two break points. The first break point occurring at freezing point might be due to the freeze effect. The second break point was at −10°C. The reaction rate change steeply declined at the temperature range of −70°C to −84°C, and was thought to be related to glass transition which may occur in the fish sample.     

Effect of low temperature rearing, using deep-sea water, on gonadal maturation of the short-spined sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus intermedius, in Rausu, Hokkaido

It has long been hoped that sea urchins could be served to visitors to seafood restaurants, hotels, and summer festivals in Rausu, located in the world natural heritage site ??Shiretoko,?? during the summer tourist season. However, to date this has not been feasible because of the sea urchin spawning season (July?CSeptember), during which the quality of the gonads, the edible part of the sea urchin, decreases due to maturation. In this study, we examined the possibility of suppressing gonadal maturation and maintaining high-quality sea urchin gonads by low-temperature rearing using deep-sea water. Unripe sea urchins captured before the spawning season were reared under two temperature conditions from June to September. In those groups reared at ambient temperatures (2.8?C19.6?°C), gametogenesis in both sexes progressed rapidly with increased temperature, and almost all sea urchins reached full maturity by late July. In contrast, in groups reared at low temperatures (2.1?C5.1?°C), gametogenesis progressed slowly and >60?% of the sea urchins did not reach maturity even by early September. The feeding experiment also revealed that feeding with live Saccharina diabolica could increase the gonadal volume efficiently under low-temperature rearing conditions. These results demonstrate that low-temperature rearing, supplemented with feeding, is effective in suppressing gametogenesis to allow for the harvesting of high-quality sea urchins during the summer tourist season.     

Effect of chronic ethanol exposure on the liver of Clock-mutant mice

In humans, chronic ethanol consumption leads to a characteristic set of changes to the metabolism of lipids in the liver that is referred to as an "alcoholic fatty liver (AFL)". In severe cases, these metabolic changes result in the enlargement and fibrillization of the liver and are considered risk factors for cirrhosis and liver cancer. Clock-mutant mice have been shown to display abnormal lipid metabolism and alcohol preferences. To further understand the potential interactions between ethanol consumption, lipid metabolism, and the circadian clock, we investigated the effect of chronic ethanol intake on the lipid metabolism of Clock-mutant mice. We found that ethanol treatment produced a number of changes in the liver of Clock-mutant mice without impacting the wild-type controls. First, we found that 8 weeks of exposure to ethanol in the drinking water increased the weight of the liver in Clock-mutant mice. Ethanol treatment also increased triglyceride content of liver in Clock-mutant and wild-type mice. This increase was larger in the mutant mice. Finally, ethanol treatment altered the expression of a number of genes related to lipid metabolism in the Clock-mutant mice. Interestingly, this treatment did not impact circadian clock gene expression in the liver of either genotype. Thus, ethanol produces a number of changes in the liver of Clock-mutant mice that are not seen in the wild-type mice. These changes are consistent with the possibility that disturbance of circadian rhythmicity associated with the Clock mutation could be a risk factor for the development of an alcoholic fatty liver.     

Design and preparation of a nanoprobe for imaging inflammation sites

To image inflammation sites, we developed a novel nanoparticle, hydroxylamine-containing nanoparticle (HANP), which emits an intense electron spin resonance (ESR)-signal triggered by enzymatic oxidation reaction and pH-sensitive self-disintegration. The nanoparticle was prepared from an amphiphilic block copolymer, poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly[4-(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-hydroxyl)aminomethylstyrene] (PEG-b-PMNT-H), which spontaneously forms a core-shell type polymeric micelle (particle diameter = ca. 50 nm) in aqueous media. Because the PMNT-H segment in the block copolymer possesses amino groups in each repeating unit, the particle can be disintegrated by protonation of the amino groups in an acidic pH environment such as inflammation sites, which is confined to the hydrophobic core of HANP. Mixing HANP with horseradish peroxidase (HRP)/H(2)O(2) mixture resulted in enzymatic oxidization of the hydroxylamines in the PEG-b-PMNT-H and converted the hydroxylamine to the stable nitroxide radical form in PEG-b-poly[4-(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl)aminomethylstyrene] (PEG-b-PMNT), which shows an intense ESR signal. It is interesting to note that the ESR signal increased at a greater rate under acidic conditions (pH 5.6) than that under neutral conditions (pH 7.4), although the enzymatic activity of HRP under neutral conditions is known to be much higher than that under acidic conditions. This indicates that enzymatic oxidation reaction was accelerated by synchronizing the disintegration of HANP under acidic conditions. On the basis of these results, HANP can be used as a high-performance ESR probe for imaging of inflammation sites.     

Structural changes and imperfect competition in the supply chain of Japanese fisheries product markets

This study analyzed the existence of imperfect competition, and the time period for which it existed in the supply chain of fisheries products in Japan from 1976 to 2009. An empirical analysis of the imperfect competition using a structural model robust to nonstationary time series revealed that sellers of horse mackerel, Japanese flying squid, and sardines in wholesale markets located in consumption areas had market power before 1993 in upstream markets. In downstream markets, retailers of horse mackerel and sardines had market power not only before 1993 but also after 1992, and retailers of Pacific saury and red seabream had market power before 1993. However, there were a number of periods when the detected imperfect competition was mostly less than that in upstream markets. The findings of this study are consistent with those of a previous study, which pointed out that sellers in wholesale markets lost negotiation power due to the emergence of large retailers, such as supermarkets, who buy directly from producers, trading companies, wholesalers at production sites, etc., especially after 1992. A comparison with another previous study indicates that market power and asymmetric price transmission are closely related.