Detailed images of asteroid 25143 Itokawa from Hayabusa     

Saito J  Miyamoto H  Nakamura R  Ishiguro M  Michikami T  Nakamura AM  Demura H  Sasaki S  Hirata N  Honda C  Yamamoto A  Yokota Y  Fuse T  Yoshida F  Tholen DJ  Gaskell RW  Hashimoto T  Kubota T  Higuchi Y  Nakamura T  Smith P  Hiraoka K  Honda T  Kobayashi S  Furuya M  Matsumoto N  Nemoto E  Yukishita A  Kitazato K  Dermawan B  Sogame A  Terazono J  Shinohara C  Akiyama H 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2006,312(5778):1341-1344

Rendezvous of the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa with the near-Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa took place during the interval September through November 2005. The onboard camera imaged the solid surface of this tiny asteroid (535 meters by 294 meters by 209 meters) with a spatial resolution of 70 centimeters per pixel, revealing diverse surface morphologies. Unlike previously explored asteroids, the surface of Itokawa reveals both rough and smooth terrains. Craters generally show unclear morphologies. Numerous boulders on Itokawa's surface suggest a rubble-pile structure.  相似文献   

Improvement in isolation and identification of food-derived peptides in human plasma based on precolumn derivatization of peptides with phenyl isothiocyanate     

Aito-Inoue M  Ohtsuki K  Nakamura Y  Park EY  Iwai K  Morimatsu F  Sato K 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2006,54(15):5261-5266

For the isolation and detection of food-derived peptides in blood, an approach based on the derivatization of peptides with phenyl isothiocyanate (PITC) was developed. This approach allows hydrophilic peptides to be resolved and specifically detected by reversed-phase (RP) HPLC. For the rapid capturing and clarification of peptides in human plasma, solid-phase extraction by using a mini spin column (5 mmx5 mm) packed with a strong cation exchanger was used. The clarified peptide fraction was further fractionated by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). The peptides in the SEC fractions were derivatized with PITC, and the derivatives were resolved by RP-HPLC by using an ammonium acetate buffer or a trifluoroacetic acid system. An automatic peptide sequencer based on Edman degradation with a modified program can directly analyze the resolved derivatives. Some synthetic peptides and food-derived peptides in human plasma were successfully isolated and identified by this approach.  相似文献   

Storage of maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) culture medium after harvesting fruit bodies is an effective pretreatment for ethanol conversion     

Takafumi Shimoda  Takashi Shirouchi  Akira Suzuki  Yasushi Morikawa  Kozo Nishibori 《Journal of Wood Science》2012,58(4):342-351

The storage of spent maitake culture medium (SMCM) under various conditions was investigated as a potential pretreatment of SMCM for increased ethanol conversion. When SMCM was stored at 25°C for 12?weeks, the glucose yield by enzymatic saccharification increased from 22 to 52%. Selective degradation of lignin and hemicellulose occurred in SMCM during storage. The optimal storage temperature of SMCM was at the active growing temperature of maitake mycelium, which is between 25 and 30°C. Storage of SMCM under anaerobic conditions did not increase the glucose yield compared to non-stored conditions. The glucose yield from the SMCM stored for 4?weeks at 25°C was increased by about 30% with either NaOH or vibrating ball milling pretreatment. After 12?weeks of storage, the glucose yield from SMCM without any other pretreatment was higher than that of non-stored SMCM with additional pretreatments. An ethanol yield of 42.1% was obtained from SMCM stored for 12?weeks by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation, which was comparable to yields after NaOH (41.3%) or vibrating ball milling (44.1%) pretreatments. Therefore, storage of SMCM is a very useful pretreatment for bioethanol production.  相似文献   

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

Yoshikawa Y  Horiuchi M  Ishiguro N  Kadohira M  Kai S  Mizusawa H  Nagata C  Onodera T  Sata T  Tsutsui T  Yamada M  Yamamoto S 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2012,74(8):959-968

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.  相似文献   

Male rats respond to their own alarm pheromone     

Inagaki H  Kiyokawa Y  Takeuchi Y  Mori Y 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2012,74(1):79-82

Pheromones are defined as substances released from an individual (donor) that influence a second individual (recipient) of the same species. However, it is unclear whether mammalian pheromones can affect the donor itself. To address this question, the effect of self-exposure to an alarm pheromone was examined. Exposure to the alarm pheromone resulted in an enhanced anxiety response, which was not different between recipients that perceived their own pheromone and those that perceived another individual's pheromone. The present results suggest that the alarm pheromone influences the emotional system of the recipient as well as induces similar anxiogenic effects on the donor rat that released the alarm pheromone. This is the first evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of mammalian pheromone self-exposure.  相似文献   

The secretory pattern and source of immunoreactive prolactin in pregnant African (Loxodonta africana) and Asian (Elephas maximus) elephants     

Yamamoto Y  Yamamoto T  Yuto N  Hildebrandt TB  Lueders I  Wibbelt G  Shiina O  Mouri Y  Sugimura K  Sakamoto S  Kaewmanee S  Nagaoka K  Watanabe G  Taya K 《The Journal of reproduction and development》2012,58(1):105-111

The objective of the present study was to define the secretion of prolactin (PRL) in pregnant African and Asian elephants. Levels of immunoreactive (ir-) PRL in serum and placental homogenates were measured by a heterologous radioimmunoassay (RIA) based on an ovine and human RIA system, and the localization of ir-PRL in the placenta was detected by immunohistochemistry using anti-human PRL. Circulating ir-PRL clearly showed a biphasic pattern during pregnancy in African and Asian elephants. Serum levels of ir-PRL started to increase from the 4 - 6th month of gestation and reached the first peak level around the 11-14th month. A second peak of circulating ir-PRL levels was observed around the 18-20th month of gestation followed by an abrupt decline after parturition. In contrast, in a case of abortion of an African elephant, the second peak of ir-PRL was not observed, and the levels remained low for about four months until parturition. The weight of the fetus delivered at the 17th month of gestation was 23.5 kg, which was quite small compared with normal fetuses in previous reports. Ir-PRL was detected in placental homogenates, and immunolocalization was observed in trophoblasts in both the African and Asian elephants, indicating that the placenta is the source of ir-PRL during pregnancy in elephants. The present results clearly demonstrated that circulating ir-PRL shows a biphasic pattern during normal pregnancy and that the placenta appears to be an important source of circulating ir-PRL during pregnancy in both African and Asian elephants.  相似文献   

Expression of genes related to corticotropin production and glucocorticoid feedback in corticotroph adenomas of dogs with Cushing's disease     

Teshima T  Hara Y  Takekoshi S  Teramoto A  Osamura RY  Tagawa M 《Domestic animal endocrinology》2009,36(1):3-12

Cushing's disease caused by pituitary corticotroph adenoma is a common endocrine disease in dogs. A characteristic biochemical feature of corticotroph adenomas is their relative resistance to negative feedback by glucocorticoids. In this study, we examined gene expression related to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) production and secretion, and the negative feedback by glucocorticoids in canine corticotroph adenoma. We used resected corticotroph adenomas from 10 dogs with Cushing's disease. In order to investigate the alteration of gene expression between corticotroph adenoma and normal corticotrophic cells, ACTH-positive cells in the anterior lobe were microdissected using a laser-capture microdissection system, and mRNA levels of proopiomelanocortin (POMC), corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1), glucocorticoid receptor (GR), mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), and 11 beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11HSD) type 1 and type 2 were determined using real-time RT-PCR. POMC, CRHR1, and 11HSD2 mRNA levels in corticotroph adenoma were greater than those in normal corticotrophic cells (POMC, 5.5-fold; CRHR1, 4.9-fold; 11HSD2, 4.2-fold, P<0.01, respectively). MR and 11HSD1 mRNA levels in corticotroph adenoma were lower than those in normal corticotrophic cells (MR, 2.2-fold; 11HSD1, 2.9-fold, P<0.01, respectively). GR mRNA levels did not differ between corticotroph adenoma and normal corticotrophic cells. Our results may help to understand the increased ACTH production and the resistance to negative feedback suppression by glucocorticoids in canine corticotroph adenomas. These changes in gene expression may have a role in the growth of canine corticotroph adenoma, and help elucidate the pathophysiology of dogs with Cushing's disease.  相似文献   

Evaluation of a strawberry-harvesting robot in a field test     

Shigehiko Hayashi  Kenta Shigematsu  Satoshi Yamamoto  Ken Kobayashi  Yasushi Kohno  Junzo Kamata  Mitsutaka Kurita 《Biosystems Engineering》2010,105(2):160-171

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Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in relation to virulence genes and phylogenetic origins among urogenital Escherichia coli isolates from dogs and cats in Japan     

Harada K  Niina A  Nakai Y  Kataoka Y  Takahashi T 《American journal of veterinary research》2012,73(3):409-417

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In vitro evaluation of the relationship between the semitendinosus muscle and cranial cruciate ligament in canine cadavers     

Kanno N  Amimoto H  Hara Y  Harada Y  Nezu Y  Yogo T  Tagawa M 《American journal of veterinary research》2012,73(5):672-680

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