Comparison of extracapillary and endocapillary blood flow oxygenators for open heart surgery in dogs: efficiency of gas exchange and platelet conservation

The goal of the current study was to compare the efficiency of gas exchange and platelet conservation of a new extracapillary blood flow oxygenator versus an endocapillary blood flow oxygenator during open heart surgery with extracorporeal circulation in dogs. Dilation and remodeling of the right ventricular outflow tract of dogs was performed using a patch graft technique to simulate pulmonary stenosis. Sequential pre- and post-operative blood analysis revealed that gas exchange efficiency and platelet conservation was significantly greater with the extracapillary blood flow oxygenator than with the endocapillary blood flow oxygenator. However, the priming volume of the extracapillary blood flow oxygenator was significantly greater, leading to hemodilution. We conclude that while the extracapillary blood flow oxygenator provided benefits in terms of gas exchange and platelet conservation, development of a smaller extracapillary blood flow type oxygenator to reduce hemodilution effects would be beneficial.     

Megaesophagus was complicated with Billroth I gastroduodenostomy in a cat

A seven-year-old, female, domestic short hair cat was presented with a history of chronic anorexia. Radiographic examination revealed a large space-occupying calcified mass in the abdominal cavity. The mass was located in pylorus and did not extend into the duodenum and surrounding tissues. Billroth I gastroduodenostomy was conducted to remove the mass. Histopathological examination of the mass showed a lymphoma. Although Recovery following the operation was excellent, the patient showed intermittent vomiting unrelated to feeding. Radiographical examination revealed a megaesophagus, which was assumed to be a complication of the Billroth I procedure, since the condition was not observed before the procedure.     

The effect of intermittent administration of sustained release isosorbide dinitrate (sr-ISDN) in rats with volume overload heart

Recently, it has been reported that intermittent administration of nitrate, with a nitrate-free interval of 10 to 12 hr eliminated expression of tolerance, and maintained its hypotensive effect. In the present study, we evaluated whether nitrate tolerance developed or not with an intermittent administration of sr-ISDN (5 mg/kg/ once a day) in Wistar rats. The effect of this administration protocol for sr-ISDN on the volume overload heart model, aortovenous fistula, was also examined. Furthermore, blood pressure was monitored by radio telemetry during sr-ISDN (5 mg/kg/once a day) administration. Nitrate tolerance did not develop, and eccentric hypertrophy due to volume overload was moderated by sr-ISDN administration. Sr-ISDN administration maintained blood pressure lower level than the placebo group. In conclusion, prolonged intermittent administration of sr-ISDN maintained its hypotensive effect during the entire experiment period, without developing tolerance, and moderated efferent hypertrophy with attenuated volume overload.     

Expressed sequence tag analysis of phyllosomas and hemocytes of Japanese spiny lobster Panulirus japonicus

Two complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries were constructed from phyllosomas and hemocytes of adult Japanese spiny lobster Panulirus japonicus and a total of 2,673 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) were obtained. After assembly and clustering, 450 and 458 unique sequences were found from the phyllosoma and hemocyte cDNA libraries, respectively. Of these, 114 and 220 ESTs showed significant homologies with known genes in the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. The remaining sequences were of unknown function. Immune-related genes found in this study include lectin, proteinase inhibitor, prophenoloxidase, heat-shock protein, antimicrobial peptide, and a few putative defense-related proteins.     

Impact of land use on nitrogen concentration in groundwater and river water

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of land use on nitrate nitrogen (NO₃-N) in shallow groundwater (G-N) and total nitrogen (N) in river water (R-N). The study area consisted of 26 watersheds (1342 km²) covering 72% of Kagawa Prefecture in Japan. We estimated G-N specific concentrations, which showed the magnitude of the upland fields, paddy fields, forests and urban land-use contributions to watershed-mean G-N. G-N specific concentrations were gained as partial regression coefficients using a multiple regression analysis of the watershed-mean G-N concentrations and the land-use ratios in each of the 26 watersheds. The results showed that the G-N specific concentration, which was gained as the partial regression coefficient for the multiple regression analysis, was 15.2 mg L^?1, 10.3 mg L^?1, 2.3 mg L^?1 and 2.5 mg L^?1 for the upland fields, paddy fields, forests and urban land-use types, respectively. R-N pollution load runoff to the river mouth was calculated by multiplying R-N specific concentration (previously reported) by river flow at the river mouth. Similarly, G-N pollution load arrival to groundwater was calculated by multiplying G-N specific concentration by the groundwater flow. The R-N pollution load runoff was 19.3 kg ha^?1 y^?1, 7.7 kg ha^?1 y^?1, 1.7 kg ha^?1 y^?1 and 7.6 kg ha^?1 y^?1, while the G-N pollution load arrival was 7.3 kg ha^?1 y^?1, 5.0 kg ha^?1 y^?1, 1.1 kg ha^?1 y^?1 and 1.2 kg ha^?1 y^?1, for upland fields, paddy fields, forests and urban areas, respectively. These results showed that the N in river water and groundwater was derived mainly from runoff and leaching from croplands. Therefore, the relationships between watershed-mean non-absorbed, applied nitrogen (NAA-N: nitrogen applied to cropland via fertilizer and manure without being absorbed by crops), R-N concentration and watershed-mean G-N concentration were investigated. A curvilinear correlation was observed between NAA-N and R-N concentrations (r² = 0.68) except for one small, high-density, urban watershed, and a weak linear correlation was observed between NAA-N and G-N concentrations (r² = 0.42).     

Sulfonylurea-resistant biotypes of Monochoria vaginalis generate higher ultraweak photon emissions than the susceptible ones

All living organisms spontaneously generate ultraweak photon emissions, which originate from biochemical reactions in cells. Current research uses the ultraweak photon emission from organisms as a novel indicator in nondestructive analyses of an organisms living state. This study indicates that ultraweak photon emissions from Monochoria vaginalis are different between resistant biotypes (R) to sulfonylurea (SU) and susceptible biotypes (S). In SU-R biotypes, distinct increases in photon emissions were observed, but there was little increase in SU-S biotypes. In addition, photon emissions from the resistant biotypes of M. vaginalis were suppressed by treatment with P450 inhibitors. This suggests that cytochrome P450 monooxygenase, which plays a crucial role in the metabolic detoxification of SUs, could be associated with the generation of ultraweak photon emissions. Ultraweak photon emissions have a potential use in a novel diagnosis system as an indicator in a nondestructive testing of weeds resistant to SUs.     

Phylogenetic relationship of Pasteurella pneumotropica isolates from laboratory rodents based on 16S rDNA sequence

A 1344 bp fragment of the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) sequence was used to determine the genetic relationship of Pasteurella pneumotropica isolates from laboratory rodents. A total of 30 nucleotide sequences of P. pneumotropica, including 24 wild strains, 3 reference strains, and 3 nucleotide sequences deposited in GenBank, were examined for heterogeneity of their 16S rDNA sequences. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequence discriminated 5 types of branching lineages. Of these 5 types, 3 types had significant associations with mice or rats, and 2 had significant associations with the beta-hemolytic phenotype. These results suggest that 16S rDNA sequencing of P. pneumotropica isolates demonstrates genetic heterogeneity and phylogenetic discrimination in terms of their hemolytic phenotype and host associations.     

Alternative BSE risk assessment methodology for beef and beef offal imported into Japan

The Food Safety Commission (FSC) of Japan, established in July 2003, has its own initiative to conduct risk assessments on food stuffs known as "self-tasking assessment". Within this framework, the FSC decided to conduct a risk assessment of beef and beef offal imported into Japan from countries with no previous BSE reports; thus, a methodology was formed to suit to this purpose. This methodology was partly based on the previous assessments of Japanese domestic beef and beef imported from U.S.A./Canada, but some modifications were made. Other organizations' assessment methods, such as those used for BSE status assessment in live cattle by the OIE and EFSA's GBR, were also consulted. In this review, the authors introduce this alternative methodology, which reflects (1) the risk of live cattle in the assessed country including temporal risks of BSE invasion and domestic propagation, with the assessment results verified by surveillance data, and (2) the risk of beef and beef offal consisting of cumulative BSE risk by types of slaughtering and meat production processes implemented and the status of mechanically recovered meat production. Other possible influencing factors such as atypical BSE cases were also reviewed. The key characteristic of the current assessment is a combination of the time-sequential risk level of live cattle and qualitative risk level of meat production at present in an assessed country.     

Implantation of permanent transvenous endocardial pacemaker in a dog with atrioventricular block

A 10-year old male mongrel dog was presented to the University Veterinary Teaching Hospital with a two-month history of episodic syncope. Twenty-four hr Holter electrocardiographic (ECG) recording revealed frequent episodes of advanced atrioventriculer block with long periods of ventricular asystole. The cause of syncope was determined to be Adams-Stokes syndrome exhibited bradyarrhythmia. After the animal failed to respond to medical therapy, permanent transvenous pacemaker implantation was performed. Postoperative Holter ECG showed 100 beat per min programmed pacemaker rhythm, which indicated successful capture of the artificial pacing. The dog recovered smoothly from the operation and syncopal episodes completely disappeared. Six months after the surgery, no complications were observed and the dog's quality of life has dramatically improved.     

cDNA cloning of goldfish Hsp27 and its chaperone activity

A cDNA fragment encoding goldfish Hsp27 was amplified by polymerase chain reaction and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The deduced amino-acid sequence of goldfish Hsp27 showed 58–62% identity to Hsp27 from other vertebrates. Three serine residues reported to be phosphorylated in human Hsp27 were conserved in goldfish Hsp27. The Hsp27 gene was transcribed in goldfish culture cells after temperature shift from 20°C to 40°C, but not from 20°C to 35°C. Recombinant goldfish Hsp27 was examined for its in vitro chaperone activity and compared to those of Hsp30 from the same fish and human recombinant Hsp27. Goldfish Hsp27 and Hsp30 showed a similar activity at 10 μM, which was significantly lower than that of human Hsp27. At 1 and 5 μM concentrations, however, goldfish Hsp27 showed slightly lower activity than goldfish Hsp30, but the activities of both goldfish proteins still remained significantly lower than that of human Hsp27. Meanwhile, goldfish Hsp27 formed oligomer, which was slightly smaller than that of Hsp30. These results suggest that goldfish Hsp27 contributes as a molecular chaperone in association with Hsp30 to compensate for stress resulting from rapid temperature fluctuations. The nucleotide sequence reported in this paper has been registered into the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases with accession number AB239443 for goldfish Hsp27.