A new method for counting of quail leukocytes by flow cytometry

An automatic counting method was developed for fish blood cells using a fluorescent dye, 3, 3-dihexyloxacarbocyanine (DiOC (6)(3)), that selectively stain lipid bilayers in living cells. In the present study, the DiOC(6)(3) method was applied to quail (Cotumix cotumix japonica) blood cells. After quail blood cells were stained with DiOC(6)(3), absolute counts and relative proportions of erythrocytes, granulocytes, monocytes, and lymphocytes plus thrombocytes in whole blood were obtained by means of flow cytometry (FC). The number of each cell types by the FC was in good agreement with those counted microscopically. This method will offer new possibilities for routine blood cell counting for avian medicine.     

Asynchronous climate changes in the North Atlantic and Japan during the last termination

Pollen records from the annually laminated sediment sequence in Lake Suigetsu, Japan, suggest a sequence of climate changes during the Last Termination that resembles that of the North Atlantic region but with noticeable differences in timing. An interstadial interval commenced a few centuries earlier [approximately 15,000 years before the present (yr B.P.)] than the North Atlantic GI-1 (B?lling) event. Conversely, the onset of a Younger Dryas (YD)-like cold reversal (12,300 to 11,250 yr B.P.) postdated the North Atlantic GS-1 (YD) event by a few centuries. Climate in the Far East during the Last Termination reflected solar insolation changes as much as Atlantic influences.     

Correction to: A new and simple method for measuring in situ field-saturated hydraulic conductivity using a falling-head single cylinder

Paddy and Water Environment - Hydraulic properties of soil play important roles in water and temperature regimes. Measuring hydraulic properties has been studied for decades in the laboratory and...     

Mastitis caused by Mycobacterium kansasii infection in a dog

A 2‐year, 7‐month‐old female Chihuahua was admitted for a mammary mass measuring one cm in diameter. The dog had a history of demodicosis for 4 months and showed signs of pseudopregnancy at the time of the visit. Cytologic examination of an aspirate of the mass revealed a large number of macrophages containing nonstaining bacterial rods, which were acid‐fast in a Ziehl–Neelsen stain, suggesting mycobacterial infection. Histologic examination of the mass revealed a pyogranulomatous mastitis characterized by an infiltration with macrophages containing acid‐fast bacteria. Mycobacterium kansasii was subsequently cultured and identified by PCR. Surgical excision of the mass resulted in the growth of other dermal masses, but antimycobacterial treatment with rifampin and clarithromycin resolved these masses within 1 month. Three months after discontinuation of the treatment, similar organisms were found in aspirates of the enlarged bilateral inguinal lymph nodes by cytologic examination. Despite antimycobacterial treatment for another 4 months, there was no improvement and demodicosis also recurred. The dog eventually died of lymphoma 5 months after the relapse of mycobacterial infection. Although M kansasii is considered an important pathogen for pulmonary and cutaneous disease in people, there is only one report in a dog with an infection in a pleural effusion. As both adult‐onset demodicosis in dogs as well as mycobacterial infection in people have been associated with T‐lymphocyte deficiency, the M kansasii infection in this dog may have been associated with a condition of immune compromise.     

Precise, simple screening for resistance in potato varieties to common scab using paper pots

Resistance to common scab pathogen Streptomyces turgidiscabies of seven potato varieties was compared in the field with a newly developed paper pot method. Seedlings raised in soil in paper pots containing inocula at 1 × 10³ to 10⁷cfu/g soil were transplanted into a scab-free field and grown for 3 months. The disease severity of the seven varieties in the field trials differed in iteration and from year to year, even though their resistance levels were approximately similar at the expected levels. With the paper pot method, the seven varieties had different resistance levels, which were almost completely consistent with the results of the field trials, at more than 1 × 10⁵cfu/g soil. Significant differences in disease severity between resistant and susceptible varieties were observed (P = 0.05) for 2 years, and the resistance level of the varieties was elucidated.