Isolation of two anti-inflammatory and one pro-inflammatory polyunsaturated fatty acids from the brown seaweed Undaria pinnatifida     

Khan MN  Cho JY  Lee MC  Kang JY  Park NG  Fujii H  Hong YK 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2007,55(17):6984-6988

Two anti-inflammatory omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) of stearidonic acid (SA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and one pro-inflammatory omega-6 PUFA of arachidonic acid (AA) were isolated from the edible brown seaweed Undaria pinnatifida. SA was active against mouse ear inflammation induced by phorbol myristate acetate, with IC50 values of 160, 314, and 235 microg per ear for edema, erythema, and blood flow, respectively. EPA was also active against edema, erythema, and blood flow, with IC50 values of 230, 462, and 236 microg per ear, respectively. Although AA at low concentrations showed anti-inflammatory activities when measured 10 h later, AA doses of more than 243 microg per ear induced inflammatory symptoms 1 h later. Mature thalli generally had larger amounts of PUFAs than young thalli. The algal blade contained more omega-3 PUFAs than were found in other parts, while the holdfast contained extremely high amounts of AA. Late-season thalli showed increased amounts of PUFAs, especially AA.  相似文献   

Histone H4 Modification During Mouse Spermatogenesis     

Yoshiki SHIRAKATA  Yuuki HIRADATE  Hiroki INOUE  Eimei SATO  Kentaro TANEMURA 《The Journal of reproduction and development》2014,60(5):383-387

The core histone is composed of four proteins (H2A, H2B, H3 and H4). Investigation of the modification patterns of histones is critical to understanding their roles in biological processes. Although histone modification is observed in multiple cells and tissues, little is known about its function in spermatogenesis. We focused on the modification patterns of histone H4 during murine spermatogenesis. We demonstrated that the individual N-terminal sites of H4 show different modification patterns during the differentiation of male germ cells. The methylation pattern varied depending on the residues that were mono-, di-, or tri-methylated. All the H4 modifications were high during the meiotic prophase, suggesting that histone H4 modification plays an important role during this stage of spermatogenesis. Elongating spermatids showed increased acetylation of histone H4, which may be associated with a histone-to-protamine substitution. Our results provide further insight into the specific relationship between histone H4 modification and gene expression during spermatogenesis, which could help to elucidate the epigenetic disorders underlying male infertility.  相似文献   

Expression of Krüppel-Like Factor 6, KLF6, in Rat Pituitary Stem/Progenitor Cells and Its Regulation of the PRRX2 Gene     

Hiroki UEHARU  Masashi HIGUCHI  Naoto NISHIMURA  Saishu YOSHIDA  Shiori SHIBUYA  Kenta SENSUI  Takako KATO  Yukio KATO 《The Journal of reproduction and development》2014,60(4):304-311

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Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Enterococcal Species Isolated from Antibiotic-Treated Dogs and Cats     

Yasushi KATAOKA  Yurie UMINO  Hiroki OCHI  Kazuki HARADA  Takuo SAWADA 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2014,76(10):1399-1402

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Applicability of effective medium theory to wood density measurements using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy     

Soichi Tanaka  Keiichiro Shiraga  Yuichi Ogawa  Yoshihisa Fujii  Shogo Okumura 《Journal of Wood Science》2014,60(2):111-116

The use of an effective medium theory is important when accurately measuring wood density using millimeter and terahertz wave techniques. To confirm the applicability of this theory to the evaluation of wood density, the relative permittivity and dielectric loss of oven-dry flat-sawn specimens of 11 different wood species were measured in a frequency range of 0.15–1.2 THz using a transmission measurement system for terahertz time-domain spectroscopy. A mixture model based on the effective medium theory well explained the density dependence of relative permittivity over the entire frequency range, while it did not fully explain that of dielectric loss, especially for higher frequencies. This indicates that wood scatters the terahertz wave with a wavelength close to the transverse sectional dimensions of the pores in wood in the same way as Mie scattering. It was found from the dielectric loss spectrum of wood substance that the frequency around 0.23 THz was preferable for the nondestructive evaluation of wood.  相似文献   

Effect of pore conformation on dielectric anisotropy of oven-dry wood evaluated using terahertz time-domain spectroscopy and eigenvalue problems for two-dimensional photonic crystals     

Soichi Tanaka  Keiichiro Shiraga  Yuichi Ogawa  Yoshihisa Fujii  Shogo Okumura 《Journal of Wood Science》2014,60(3):194-200

To clarify the effect of pore conformation on the dielectric anisotropy of wood, the relative permittivity along the longitudinal and tangential axes of flat-sawn oven-dry specimens of 12 different wood species was measured using terahertz time-domain transmission spectroscopy and compared with the values calculated using the eigenvalue problem for two-dimensional photonic crystals. The measured dielectric anisotropy, which is the ratio of the relative permittivity along longitudinal axis to that along the tangential axis, was well explained by the calculated value. It was concluded that the ratio of tangential to radial widths of wood pores affects the relative permittivity along the tangential axis, and that the dielectric anisotropy decreased with an increase in the ratio. This discussion can also be applied to the relative permittivity in frequencies below 0.15 THz. These findings show promise as a new method for evaluating the porous structure of wood.  相似文献   

Effect of improvement cutting on the community structure of aphyllophoraceous fungi on Okinawa Island     

Satoshi Yamashita  Tsutomu Hattori  Shin Abe  Hideaki Goto  Hiroki Sato 《Journal of Forest Research》2014,19(1):143-153

Improvement cutting, which decreases tree density by cutting and thinning while leaving logging residues, has been practiced on Okinawa Island since the 1970s and changes not only the vegetation composition but also the amount and composition of woody debris on the forest floor. To quantitatively compare the effect of improvement cutting with the effects of woody debris and vegetation on the community structure of aphyllophoraceous fungi, we conducted a field survey of vegetation composition, the amount and composition of woody debris, and the aphyllophoraceous fungi flora on Okinawa Island in December 2006. We established 3 plots in forest stands without logging and 13 plots in a forest that had undergone improvement cutting from 1 to 22 years before our field survey. The number and volume of woody debris tended to be highest soon after improvement cutting. We recorded 1,172 fungal samples belonging to 81 species in four orders. Fungal species richness was correlated with the composition of the woody debris. Fungal species composition in forest plots 1 year after improvement cutting differed from most of the other logged forests. Variation partitioning revealed that the effects of improvement cutting explained 14.1 % of the total variation in fungal species composition, and that differences in woody debris and vegetation not related to improvement cutting explained 40.4 %. Changes in the composition of woody debris caused by improvement cutting explained at most 2.7 % of the variation. This suggests that improvement cutting does not have a strong effect on fungal community structure, but woody debris does.  相似文献   

Treatment with an aromatase inhibitor induces complete sex change in the protogynous honeycomb grouper (Epinephelus merra)     

Ramji K. Bhandari  Mikihiko Higa  Hiroki Komuro  Shigeo Nakamura  Masaru Nakamura 《Fish physiology and biochemistry》2003,28(1-4):141-142

To study the mechanism of protogynous sex change in honeycomb grouper, the wild fish of both sexes and transitionals were collected for one year, and changes in gonadal structures and serum levels of sex hormones in each individual were examined. The onset of sex change was associated with low serum estradiol - 17β (E2) levels. In order to clarify whether E2 deprivation causes sex change, maturing females were implanted with the non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor (Fadrozole, AI). AI caused complete sex change from female to functional males in two and half months. The present results suggest that E2 is an important endogenous factor which regulates protogynous sex change in the honeycomb grouper.  相似文献   

Spatial-uniform application method of methane fermentation digested slurry with irrigation water in the rice paddy field     

Kozue Yuge  Hiroki Maeda  Munehiro Tanaka  Mitsumasa Anan  Yoshiyuki Shinogi 《Paddy and Water Environment》2014,12(3):335-342

Promoting biomass utilization, the objectives of this study were to clarify the spatial distribution of nitrogen, one of the most important fertilizer components in the methane fermentation digested slurry (i.e., the digested slurry), and to establish an effective method to apply spatial-uniformly digested slurry with irrigation water in the rice paddy field. A numerical model describing the unsteady two-dimensional flow and solution transport of paddy irrigation water was introduced. The accuracy of this model was verified with a field observation. The tendencies of the TN simulated in inlet and outlet portions had good agreement with the measured data and the accuracy of the numerical model could be verified. Using the numerical model, scenario analyses were conducted to determine the method for spatial-uniform application of the digested slurry with irrigation water. The simulated results indicated that drainage of the surface water and trenches at the soil surface were effective for spatial-uniform application of the digested slurry with irrigation water in the rice paddy fields. The effect of the trenches was maximized when the surface water of the rice paddy field was drained adequately.  相似文献   

Characterization of cystathionine λ-lyase in the liver of rainbow trout <Emphasis Type="Italic">Oncorhynchus mykiss</Emphasis>     

Takanobu?GotoEmail author  Yuko?Osada  Hiroyuki?Funatsu  Hiroki?Sugiyama  Shusaku?Takagi  Akihiko?Mochizuki 《Fisheries Science》2005,71(1):245-247

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