All-around 3D plant modeling system using multiple images and its composition

In this study, we developed an all-around 3D plant modeling system that operates using images and is capable of measuring plants non-destructively without any contact. During the fabrication of this device, we selected a method capable of performing 3D model reconstruction from multiple images. We then developed an improved SfM-MVS (Structure from Motion / Multi-View-Stereo) method that enables 3D reconstruction by simply capturing images with a camera. The resulting image-based method offers a high degree of freedom because the hardware and software can comprise commercially available products, and it permits the use of one or more cameras according to the shape and size of the plant. The advantages of the image-based method are that 3D reconstruction can be conducted at any time as long as the images are already taken, and that the desired locations can be observed, measured, and analyzed from 2D images and a 3D point cloud. The device we developed is capable of 3D measurements and modeling of plants from a few millimeters to 2.4 m of height using this method. This article explains this device, the principles of its composition, and the accuracy of the models obtained from it.     

Preparation of Photocrosslinked Fish Elastin Polypeptide/Microfibrillated Cellulose Composite Gels with Elastic Properties for Biomaterial Applications

Photocrosslinked hydrogels reinforced by microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) were prepared from a methacrylate-functionalized fish elastin polypeptide and MFC dispersed in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). First, a water-soluble elastin peptide with a molecular weight of ca. 500 g/mol from the fish bulbus arteriosus was polymerized by N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC), a condensation reagent, and then modified with 2-isocyanatoethyl methacrylate (MOI) to yield a photocrosslinkable fish elastin polypeptide. The product was dissolved in DMSO and irradiated with UV light in the presence of a radical photoinitiator. We obtained hydrogels successfully by substitution of DMSO with water. The composite gel with MFC was prepared by UV irradiation of the photocrosslinkable elastin polypeptide mixed with dispersed MFC in DMSO, followed by substitution of DMSO with water. The tensile test of the composite gels revealed that the addition of MFC improved the tensile properties, and the shape of the stress–strain curve of the composite gel became more similar to the typical shape of an elastic material with an increase of MFC content. The rheology measurement showed that the elastic modulus of the composite gel increased with an increase of MFC content. The cell proliferation test on the composite gel showed no toxicity.     

Cytokinin signaling and its inhibitor AHP6 regulate cell fate during vascular development

The cell lineages that form the transporting tissues (xylem and phloem) and the intervening pluripotent procambial tissue originate from stem cells near the root tip. We demonstrate that in Arabidopsis, cytokinin phytohormones negatively regulate protoxylem specification. AHP6, an inhibitory pseudophosphotransfer protein, counteracts cytokinin signaling, allowing protoxylem formation. Conversely, cytokinin signaling negatively regulates the spatial domain of AHP6 expression. Thus, by controlling the identity of cell lineages, the reciprocal interaction of cytokinin signaling and its spatially specific modulator regulates proliferation and differentiation of cell lineages during vascular development, demonstrating a previously unrecognized regulatory circuit underlying meristem organization.     

Spontaneous histiocytic sarcoma of the popliteal lymph node in a young sprague-dawley rat

The present report describes a rare case of spontaneous primary histiocytic sarcoma of the popliteal lymph node in a 19-week-old female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat. At necropsy, a 10 mm-diameter whitish nodule was found at the site of the femoral muscle in the right hindlimb. Histopathologically, the nodule comprised large pleomorphic histiocyte-like cells with abundant eosinophilic or foamy cytoplasm. Multinucleated giant cells, necrotic foci surrounded by palisading arrays of epithelioid histiocyte-like cells and phagocytosis of cell debris or erythrocytes by the neoplastic cells were occasionally observed. Invasion of the tumor cells into the surrounding adipose tissue was found focally, but there were no distal metastases. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells were positive for vimentin, CD68 (ED1) and lysozyme. We concluded that this tumor occurred in the popliteal lymph node, considering the anatomical location of the lesion and the presence of the remnants of lymphoid tissue involved in the tumor.     

Biological Mode of Action of the Fungicide, Flusulfamide, Against Plasmodiophora brassicae (clubroot)

Flusulfamide (2, 4-dichloro-,,-trifluoro-4-nitro-m-toluenesulfonanilide) was investigated for its mode of action against Plasmodiophora brassicae Woronin. Seedlings of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. subsp. pekinensis) were grown for 14 and 21 days in soil infested with P. brassicae and then transplanted into soil containing flusulfamide (0.9µg a.i.g^–1 dry soil). Clubroot was not suppressed by this treatment, indicating that the fungicide is ineffective against P. brassicae established within cortical cells of the host root. Where seedlings were grown in soil infested with resting spores which had previously been treated with flusulfamide, root-hair infection and club formation were suppressed. This indicates that flusulfamide directly acts against resting spores. When placed in root exudates of Chinese cabbage, untreated resting spores germinated at a high frequency while flusulfamide-treated resting spores hardly germinated at all. Use of the Evan's blue staining assay indicated that flusulfamide-treated resting spores remained viable. Flusulfamide was detected by high performance liquid chromatography on resting spores treated with flusulfamide for 30min. This indicates that the chemical is adsorbed onto resting spores. These results suggest that flusulfamide suppresses clubroot disease by inhibiting germination of P. brassicae resting spores through adsorption onto their cell walls.     

Novel 3,3a,5,9b-tetrahydro-2H-furo[3,2-c][2] benzopyran derivatives: synthesis of chiral glycol benzyl ether herbicides

Novel tricyclic 3,3a,5,9b-tetrahydro-2H-furo[3,2-c][2]benzopyran (TFB) derivatives were synthesized, and their herbicidal activities were elucidated. They were synthesized from D-glucose as a natural chiral source. The formation of the TFB skeleton was achieved by a Friedel-Crafts type intramolecular cyclization of methyl 5-deoxy-2,3-O-dibenzyl-5-C-methyl-D-xylofranosides. The intramolecular cyclization was dependent upon the electronic effects of the substituents at the C-2 benzyloxy group of methyl xylofranosides. Some TFBs exhibited a remarkable herbicidal activity to annual paddy weeds, such as Echinochloa sp, without injury to the rice.     

A plant peptide encoded by CLV3 identified by in situ MALDI-TOF MS analysis

The Arabidopsis CLAVATA3 (CLV3) gene encodes a stem cell-specific protein presumed to be a precursor of a secreted peptide hormone. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) applied to in situ Arabidopsis tissues determined the structure of a modified 12-amino acid peptide (MCLV3), which was derived from a conserved motif in the CLV3 sequence. Synthetic MCLV3 induced shoot and root meristem consumption as cells differentiated into other organs, displaying the typical phenotype of transgenic plants overexpressing CLV3. These results suggest that the functional peptide of CLV3 is MCLV3.     

Physiological changes induced by salt intake in female Spontaneously Diabetic Torii‐Leprfa (SDT fatty) rat,a novel obese type 2 diabetic model

Salt plays an important role in the control of blood pressure in obesity and diabetes mellitus. In this study, we investigated physiological changes such as blood pressure and renal function in salt‐loaded female Spontaneously Diabetic Torii‐Lepr^fa (SDT fatty) rats. SDT fatty rats were given 1% NaCl in drinking water for 14 weeks, from 4 to 18 weeks of age. Significant salt‐sensitive hypertension was observed in the salt‐loaded SDT fatty rats. Moreover, the salt‐loaded rats showed a decrease of creatinine clearance and deterioration on pathological renal findings, including glomerulosclerosis and tubular and interstitial lesions. Female SDT fatty rat is a useful model for investigating the mechanisms of high salt sensitivity in obesity and diabetes mellitus.