THE NON-CARDIAC DISTRIBUTION OF 99mTC-METHOXY-ISOBUTYL-ISONITRILE (SESTAMIBI) IN NORMAL BEAGLES

Technetium-99m methoxy-isobutyl-isonitrile (sestamibi) is a radiophartnaceutical used for the evaluation of myocardial perfusion. Increased uptake of sestamibi has also been documented in tumors. The objective of this study was to document the extracardiac biodistribution of ^99mTc sestamibi in the normal dog. Nine normal beagles were given 0.35 mCi/kg ^99mTc sestamibi intravenously, and 60 second images were made of the entire body at 1 hour post injection. A defined distribution pattern was recognized, with good visualization of the heart, liver, gallbladder, small intestine, kidneys, urinary bladder, popliteal lymph nodes, parotid salivary glands and zygomatic salivary glands. Splenic uptake was not seen.
Target to background ratios were calculated for all the regions listed, using background regions-of-interest with the smallest coefficient of variance for the denominator. The mean, range and standard deviation of these ratios are given.     

The growth and nitrogen economy of rice under sprinkler and flood irrigation in South East Australia

Summary ¹⁵N balances were compared in rice (Oryza sativa L., cv. Calrose) grown under continuous flood (CF) or sprinkler irrigation. Two sprinkler treatments with irrigation frequencies of once (S1W) and thrice (S3W) per week were studied. Five atom %¹⁵N-labelled urea (60 kg N ha^–1) was applied to microplots either 36 or 84 days after emergence (DAE). An equivalent amount of unlabelled urea was applied at the other application time, so that each microplot received a total of 120 kg N ha^–1 in an equal split. There was no significant effect of irrigation treatment on recovery of urea N by straw. Straw recovery from urea applied 36 DAE was almost half that from an application 84 DAE, and time of urea application produced a similar effect on recovery in grain. Grain recovery in S1W was less than half that in CF and S3W for both application times. Total plant recovery of urea N applied 36 DAE was similar for all irrigation treatments (average 29%), but for urea applied 84 DAE total plant recovery in CF (67%) was significantly higher than in S1W (49%). Total N uptake in the plant tops was considerably lower in both the sprinkler-irrigated treatments when compared with CF, and this was mostly due to reduced soil N uptake in S3W (one-half) and S1W (one-third). The proportion of N derived from fertilizer in the plant tops increased from 40% in CF to 60% in S1W. Immobilization of applied N in the soil of the sprinkler-irrigated treatments was greater than in CF by factors of 1.5 (S3W) and 2 (S1W). Immobilization of urea N applied 36 DAE was almost 50% greater than immobilization of urea N applied 84 DAE. There was a trend for lower losses of fertilizer N with sprinkler irrigation (mean loss 18% of the applied N) compared with CF (27%). Within all irrigation treatments, the loss from urea applied 36 DAE was more than double the loss from urea applied 84 DAE. An additional study in CF compared the ¹⁵N balance for split application versus a single dose applied 36 DAE (before permanent flood). Split application resulted in significantly increased plant recovery of applied ¹⁵N, and this was largely associated with increased recovery in the grain. Slightly more fertilizer N was immobilized in the soil with a single application. The effect of application method on N loss was not significant.     

Antioxidant effectiveness of phenolic apple juice extracts and their gut fermentation products in the human colon carcinoma cell line caco-2

Apples represent a major dietary source of antioxidative polyphenols. Their metabolic conversion by the gut microflora might generate products that protect the intestine against oxidative damage. We studied the antioxidant effectiveness of supernatants of fermented apple juice extracts (F-AEs, 6 and 24 h fermentation) and of selected phenolic degradation products, identified by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS. Cell free antioxidant capacity of unfermented apple juice extracts (AEs) was decreased after fermentation by 30-50%. In the human colon carcinoma cell line Caco-2, F-AEs (containing <0.5% of original AE-phenolics) decreased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level more efficiently than the F-blank (fermented without AE) but were less effective than the respective AEs. Similarly, antioxidant effectiveness of individual degradation products was lower compared to respective AE constituents. Glutathione level was slightly increased and oxidative DNA damage slightly decreased by fermented AE03, rich in quercetin glycosides. In conclusion, F-AEs/degradation products exhibit antioxidant activity in colon cells but to a lesser extent than the respective unfermented AEs/constituents.     

Identifying and exploring significant genomic regions associated with soybean yield,seed fatty acids,protein and oil

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] yield and seed fatty acids, protein, and oil content are important traits for which an improved understanding of significant genomic regions would be useful. To accomplish this, a soybean population consisting of 203 F5 derived recombinant inbred lines (RILs) was developed and genotyped with 11,633 polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Each RIL was grown in a single plot at Knoxville, TN in 2010; followed by replicated, multi-location field trials in 2013 and 2014. The data from 2010, 2013, and 2014 were analyzed together in order to detect quantitative trait loci (QTL) for these traits, and 30 total QTLs were detected. Five QTLs are candidates for confirmed status and one QTL is a candidate for positional confirmation. Many of the genes with mutations in close proximity to the fatty acid QTLs are involved in biological processes for fatty acids and/or lipids and could be considered possible candidate genes. Similarly, genes with mutations in genomic regions near yield, protein, and oil QTLs were plentiful and may contribute to the variation observed in these traits. Except for yield and stearic acid, each trait displayed pleiotropic effects with other traits in this study. Notable are the pleiotropic effects for oleic and linolenic acid on chromosomes 9, 13, and 19. Overall, the findings from this research contribute new information to the genetic understanding of soybean yield and seed fatty acids, protein and oil content. This understanding will be useful in making trait improvements.