A modified fluorometric method to quantify the concentration effect (pI50) of photosystem II-inhibiting herbicides

Chlorophyll fluorescence induction curves of isolated thylakoids were measured in the absence and in the presence of various concentrations of photosystem II-inhibiting herbicides. A mathematical program was applied to simulate the curves. Based on these simulated curves a new method is developed to determine the concentration effect (pI₅₀) of the herbicides. The results of the new method correspond well with reported values in the literature. The method is very convenient and time-saving.     

Strong antiviral activity of heated and hydrated dolomite--preliminary investigation

Heated and hydrated naturally occurring dolomite showed very strong antiviral activity. Infectivity of avian and human influenza, avian infectious bronchitis (coronavirus), Newcastle disease (paramyxovirus) and avian laryngotracheitis (herpesvirus) viruses dropped at least 1,000 fold following contact with the dolomite for five minutes at 4 degrees C. Dolomite is expected to be useful to inhibit the incidence of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.     

Identification of ommastrephid squid paralarvae collected in northern Hawaiian waters and phylogenetic implications for the family Ommastrephidae using mtDNA analysis

ABSTRACT:   A total of 110 adult individuals from four ommastrephid (family Ommastrephidae) squid species ( Ommastrephes bartramii, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, Eucleoteuthis luminosa, and Hyaloteuthis pelagica ) were used to obtain diagnostic DNA markers for species identification. Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of a partial segment (855 bp) of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) revealed that the restriction profiles of two endonucleases ( Alu  I and Tsp 509 I) were diagnostic for species identification. The restriction assay partially supplemented with nucleotide sequence analysis successfully assigned 69 damaged and morphologically equivocal ommastrephid paralarvae collected in northern Hawaiian waters, identifying 60 O. bartramii , eight S. oualaniensis , and one E. luminosa . The family Ommastrephidae appears to be monophyletic. Although the phylogenetic relationships among genera were not resolved well due to apparent homoplasy and large genetic divergence between species, COI sequence data without transitions provided support for subfamily level relationships.     

Stereoselectivity of the generation of 3-mercaptohexanal and 3-mercaptohexanol by lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of 3-acetylthioesters

The enantioselectivity of the generation of 3-mercaptohexanal and 3-mercaptohexanol, two potent sulfur-containing aroma compounds, by lipase-catalyzed hydrolysis of the corresponding 3-acetylthioesters was investigated. The stereochemical course of the kinetic resolutions was followed by capillary gas chromatography using modified cyclodextrins as chiral stationary phases. The enzyme preparations tested varied significantly in terms of activity and enantioselectivity (E). The highest E value (E = 36) was observed for the hydrolysis of 3-acetylthiohexanal catalyzed by lipase B from Candida antarctica resulting in (S)-configured thiol products. Immobilization of the enzyme (E = 85) and the use of tert-butyl alcohol as cosolvent (E = 49) improved the enantioselectivity. Modification of the acyl moiety of the substrate (3-benzoylthiohexanal) had no significant impact. The sulfur-containing compounds investigated possess attractive odor properties, and only one of the enantiomers exhibits the pleasant citrus type note.     

Regional differences of pheromone production in the sebaceous glands of castrated goats treated with testosterone

The primer pheromone is responsible for the "male effects" in goats and produced in the sebaceous glands testosterone-dependently. In the present study, the responses of sebaceous glands obtained from the head and rump regions of castrated goats were examined by our bioassay system after testosterone treatment to demonstrate the presence of regional differences in the pheromone production in male goats. The testosterone treatment resulted in the marked development of sebaceous glands and the induction of pheromone bioactivity in the head region of the goats. On the contrary, this treatment brought neither development of the sebaceous glands nor induction of pheromone bioactivity in the rump region. The treatment increased immunoreactivities to androgen receptors (AR) and 5alpha-reductase in the sebaceous glands of both regions, although the activities were more apparent in the head region than the rump region. These findings suggest that the primer pheromone of male goats is produced specifically in the sebaceous glands of the head region due partly to regional differences in the expression of AR and 5alpha-reductase mediating testosterone bioactivities.     

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry analysis of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-(4-hydroxyphenyl)imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine in cooked meats

Several cooked meats such as beef (fried, coated-fried), pork (fried, coated-fried), and chicken (fried, griddled, coated-fried, roasted) were analyzed for the heterocyclic amine 2-amino-1-methyl-6-(4-hydroxyphenyl)imidazo[4,5- b]pyridine (4'-OH-PhIP) not commonly determined in food and 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5- b]pyridine (PhIP). The highest content of 4'-OH-PhIP was found in fried and griddled chicken breast, the concentration being 43.7 and 13.4 ng/g, respectively, whereas the corresponding PhIP concentrations were 19.2 and 5.8 ng/g. The estimated concentration of both pyridines in fried pork loin, in fried pork sausages, and in coated-fried chicken was below 2.5 ng/g. In the rest of the samples, 4'-OH-PhIP was not detected. The analyses were performed by solid-phase extraction and LC-MS/MS. The fragmentation of 4'-OH-PhIP in an ion trap mass analyzer was studied in order to provide information for the identification of 4'-OH-PhIP. Additionally, the effect of red wine marinades on the formation of 4'-OH-PhIP in fried chicken was examined, finding a notable reduction (69%) in the amine's occurrence.     

Pathological changes induced by three myxosporeans in the intestine of cultured tiger puffer, Takifugu rubripes (Temminck and Schlegel)

Pathological changes in cultured tiger puffer, Takifugu rubripes , with emaciation disease in Kyushu, Japan were studied histologically. In most cases, diseased fish were heavily infected with at least one of three myxosporeans ( Myxidium fugu , Myxidium sp. and Leptotheca fugu ) and two unidentified hyperparasitic microsporeans, attached to, or in, the intestinal epithelium. Myxidium fugu attached to the surface of the epithelium, caused no noticeable effects on the host tissue, irrespective of its infection with the hyperparasite. Myxidium sp., which proliferated in the epithelium, induced severe pathological changes including accumulation of cell debris between the epithelium and lamina propria and resultant detachment of the epithelium. Leptotheca fugu, another histozoic myxosporean, induced degeneration of the epithelium, associated with massive infiltration of macrophages into the epithelium to encapsulate parasites. When L. fugu was infected with its hyperparasitic microsporean, shortened villi were also observed. This is probably because passage of macrophage-parasite aggregates through the basement membrane of the epithelium severely damaged the epithelial structure. It is evident histologically that, unlike epicellular M. fugu , histozoic Myxidium sp. and L. fugu with or without hyperparasitic microsporeans, were highly pathogenic to host fish. This strongly suggests that they are causative agents of the emaciation disease.     

Insect juvenile hormone: activity of selected terpenoid compounds

A nuimber of compounds with terpenoid skeletons attached to various functional groups were prepared and tested for their effects as a juvenile hormone in the yellow mealworm Tenebrio molitor. Several of these compounds showed high activity.     

Work-related increases in titer of Campylobacter jejuni antibody among workers at a chicken processing plant in Miyazaki prefecture,Japan, independent of individual ingestion of edible raw chicken meat

Workers in poultry abattoirs may be frequently exposed to Campylobacter jejuni, which is a leading cause of bacterial food poisoning in Japan. The present study was conducted to measure the titers of IgG and IgA antibodies against C. jejuni among 104 female workers in a chicken processing plant in Miyazaki prefecture, Japan. Information regarding habitual ingestion of raw chicken meat and potential occupational risk factors was collected using a questionnaire. Acid extracts of four C. jejuni strains representing the genotypes most dominant in Miyazaki were used as antigens. The levels of both immunoglobulins measured by ELISA were not correlated with ingestion of edible raw chicken meat, the amount consumed in one sitting, or its frequency. Although age was correlated with antibody levels, the length of employment was not. Furthermore, the IgG and IgA levels in workers at the evisceration step were significantly higher than those at other locations in the plant. To identify the bacterial proteins recognized by the workers’ IgG and IgA antibodies, Western blotting followed by LC/MS was conducted. Flagellin was identified as the common protein recognized in the sera of workers for whom ELISA demonstrated both the highest and lowest antibody levels. We concluded that the titers of IgG and IgA against C. jejuni in workers at the processing plant had been increased by occupational exposure to Campylobacter, regardless of raw chicken meat ingestion.