Ultrastructural Localization of Hydrogen Peroxide in Host Leaves Treated with AK-toxin I Produced by Alternaria alternata Japanese Pear Pathotype

The rapid generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), called the oxidative burst, is one of the earliest host responses to pathogen infection or elicitor treatments. Therefore, we looked for the induction of ROS generation in Japanese pear leaves by the host-specific toxin, AK-toxin I using a cytochemical method for detecting H₂O₂. A small amount of non-specific generation of H₂O₂ was found in the cell walls in toxin- and water-treated susceptible and resistant leaves. Thus, the generation of H₂O₂ at cell walls appears to be caused by wounding stress during sampling. Specific generation of ROS, however, was found only in the membrane fragments and extended desmotubules characteristic of modified sites of the plasma membrane in the toxin-treated susceptible leaves. In addition, generation of H₂O₂ at plasma membranes was observed with higher frequency in toxin-treated susceptible leaves. This result indicates that the H₂O₂ generation was associated with damaged sites in the plasmalemma after toxin treatment and perhaps with the formation of membrane fragments from altered portions of the invaginated plasma membrane. Received 21 September 2001/ Accepted in revised form 25 October 2001     

Evaluation of two commercial PRRSV antibody ELISA kits with samples of known status and singleton reactors

Two commercial PRRSV ELISA kits (IDEXX and Bionote) were evaluated for their sensitivity and specificity using 476 PRRS-positive serum samples collected from 7 animal challenge experiments and 1,000 PRRS-negative sera. Both ELISA kits exhibited 100% sensitivity with sera collected 14 to 42 days post-infection, and the results from the kits were highly correlated (R²=0.9207). The specificity of IDEXX or Bionote kit was 99.9% or 99.7%, respectively. In addition, the Bionote ELISA kit was used to examine 100 sera that were determined to be falsely positive either by IDEXX 2XR or 3XR ELISA, and only 7 of these samples were found to be positive. These results indicate that both ELISA kits exhibited similar levels of sensitivity and specificity and would complement one another for the verification of false-positive samples.     

Identification of regulated proteins by resveratrol in glutamate-induced cortical injury of newborn rats

Glutamate induces neuronal damage by generating oxidative stress and neurotoxicities. The neurological damage caused by glutamate is more severe during brain development in newborns than in adults. Resveratrol is naturally present in a variety of fruits and medicinal plants and exerts a neuroprotective effect against brain damage. The goal of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effects of resveratrol and to identify changed proteins in response to resveratrol treatment during glutamate-induced neonatal cortical damage. Sprague-Dawley rat pups (7 days old) were randomly divided into vehicle, resveratrol, glutamate, and glutamate and resveratrol groups. The animals were intraperitoneally injected with glutamate (10 mg/kg) and/or resveratrol (20 mg/kg) and their brain tissue was collected 4 hr after drug administration. Glutamate exposure caused severe histopathological changes, while resveratrol attenuated this damage. We identified regulated proteins by resveratrol in glutamate-induced cortical damaged tissue using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Among identified proteins, we focused on eukaryotic initiation factor 4A2, γ-enolase, protein phosphatase 2A subunit B, and isocitrate dehydrogenase. These proteins decreased in the glutamate-treated group, whereas the combination treatment of glutamate and resveratrol attenuated these protein reductions. These proteins are anti-oxidant proteins and anti-apoptotic proteins. These results suggest that glutamate induces brain cortical damage in newborns; resveratrol exerts a neuroprotective effect by controlling expression of various proteins with anti-oxidant and anti-apoptotic functions.     

Isolation and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli from national horse racetracks and private horse-riding courses in Korea

Limited information is available regarding horse-associated antimicrobial resistant (AR) Escherichia (E.) coli. This study was designed to evaluate the frequency and characterize the pattern of AR E. coli from healthy horse-associated samples. A total of 143 E. coli (4.6%) were isolated from 3,078 samples collected from three national racetracks and 14 private horse-riding courses in Korea. Thirty of the E. coli isolates (21%) showed antimicrobial resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent, and four of the AR E. coli (13.3%) were defined as multi-drug resistance. Most of the AR E. coli harbored AR genes corresponding to their antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Four of the AR E. coli carried class 1 integrase gene (intI1), a gene associated with multi-drug resistance. Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic analysis showed no genetic relatedness among AR E. coli isolated from different facilities; however, cross-transmissions between horses or horses and environments were detected in two facilities. Although cross-transmission of AR E. coli in horses and their environments was generally low, our study suggests a risk of transmission of AR bacteria between horses and humans. Further studies are needed to evaluate the risk of possible transmission of horse-associated AR bacteria to human communities through horse riders and horse-care workers.     

Soil texture affects the conversion factor of electrical conductivity from 1:5 soil-water to saturated paste extracts

Electrical conductivity(EC) of soil-water extracts is commonly used to assess soil salinity. However, its conversion to the EC of saturated soil paste extracts(ECe), the standard measure of soil salinity, is currently required for practical applications. Although many regression models can be used to obtain ECe from the EC of soil-water extracts, the application of a site-specific model to different sites is not straightforward due to confounding soil factors such as soil texture. This study was...     

Chemical Composition Change in TSP Due to Dust Storm at Gosan, Korea: Do the Concentrations of Anthropogenic Species Increase Due to Dust Storm?

Aerosol composition change between dust storm and non-dust storm periods in spring is studied using the total suspended particle data measured at Gosan, a background area in Korea. The concentrations of eight inorganic ions and 12 elements were analyzed for the TSP samples collected from March 1992 to May 2006. Two-step statistical analyses were carried out for the data: F test and t test. The concentrations of anthropogenic ionic species showed increasing trend since 2003. The absolute concentrations of most anthropogenic species such as sulfate or nitrate increased (from 7.33 to 9.25 µg m^?3 and from 2.04 to 4.84 µg m^?3, respectively) during the dust storm period. However, the enrichment factors or normalized concentrations based on Al of most anthropogenic species decreased during dust storm period (factor of 0.1–0.5). It suggests that, in general, relative importance of anthropogenic species during dust storm would be not high.     

长期用生活污水处理厂排放的废水浇灌影响了糙米和土壤中重金属的含量

A pot experiment was conducted in a plastic film house to evaluate the translocation and uptake of heavy metals(Pb,Cd,Cu,and Zn) into brown rice(Oryza sativa L.) and the heavy metals residues in soils which had previously been irrigated with domestic wastewater for a long time(3 years).The range of Pb,Cd,Cu,and Zn was 5.10 ± 0.01,0.105 ± 0.017,5.76 ± 0.42,and 23.56 ± 1.40 mg kg-1,respectively in the domestic wastewater-irrigated soil,and 0.370 ± 0.006,0.011 ± 0.001,0.340 ± 0.04,and 2.05 ± 0.18 mg kg-1,respectively,in the domestic wastewater-irrigated brown rice.The results indicated that application of domestic wastewater to arable land slightly increased the levels of Pb,Cd,Cu,and Zn in soil and brown rice(P < 0.01).The concentrations of heavy metals in brown rice were lower than the recommended tolerable levels proposed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives.However,the continuous monitoring and pollution control of hazardous materials from domestic wastewater are needed in order to prevent excessive build-up of heavy metals in the food chain.     

Effect of casein substitution with fishmeal, soybean meal and crustacean meal in the diet of the abalone Haliotis discus hannai Ino

The effect of dietary substitution of casein with fishmeal, soybean meal and crustacean meal on the growth of the abalone Haliotis discus hannai Ino was determined. A 350 g casein per kilogram diet was included into the CS diet. The whole casein was then substituted by: (1) 300 g fishmeal and 200 g soybean meal per kilogram diet (FS), (2) 200 g fishmeal, 200 g soybean meal and 130 g krill meal per kilogram diet (FSK), (3) 200 g fishmeal, 200 g soybean meal and 280 g red crab meal per kilogram diet (FSC) or (4) 200 g fishmeal, 200 g soybean meal and 130 g shrimp head meal per kilogram diet (FSS). In addition, a 50‐g by‐product of green tea per kilogram diet was included in the FS diet to form the FSG diet. Sea tangle (ST)diet was supplied to abalone as a control feed. Weight gain, final shell length and final shell width of abalone fed with the various substitution feeds (FS, FSK, FSC, FSS and FSG) were not different from those obtained with the CS diet. All the formulated feeds, however, produced higher weight gain and final shell width values than the ST diet. The results of this study show that casein can be replaced with a combination of fishmeal, soybean meal, krill meal, crab meal and/or shrimp head meal in the diet without a retardation of growth of abalone.     

The effect of temperature on the energy budget of the Manila clam, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ruditapes philippinarum</Emphasis>

In this study, the energy budget of the Manila clam, Ruditapes philippinarum, was evaluated after one-week acclimation periods at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25°C. Small clams (151 ± 12 mg DW) and large clams (353 ± 16 mg DW) were fed with the microalgae, Isochrysis galbana. Filtration rate, ingestion rate, assimilation efficiency, oxygen-consumption rate, and ammonia excretion rate were measured. Both filtration rate and ingestion rate of small and large clams were found to be related to temperature. The highest Q ₁₀ values were measured in the range 15–20°C for both small and large clams. Assimilation efficiency of both small and large clams was not significantly influenced by temperature, although the maximum mean values were detected at 20°C. Oxygen consumption rate and ammonia excretion rate of small and large clams were found to be related directly to temperature over the entire range, with a maximum being detected at 25°C. The highest Q ₁₀ value was estimated in the range 10–15°C with regard to oxygen consumption rate, and in the range of 15–20°C with regard to ammonia excretion rate. Scope for growth (SFG) was positive at all temperatures, achieving a maximum value at 20°C in both small and large clams, primarily as a consequence of the enhanced ingestion rate which offset the concomitant elevation in the metabolic rate. In this study we have estimated the thermal optimum for this species at 20°C.