Identification of a resistant protein from scallop shell extract and its bile acid-binding activity     

Manabu Fukuda  Kohji Takahashi  Chiharu Ohkawa  Yuya Sasaki  Yasushi Hasegawa 《Fisheries Science》2013,79(6):1017-1025

In this study, we showed that feeding rats the organic extract of scallop shells (scallop shell extract) caused a decrease in the weights of white adipose tissues in rats fed a high-fat diet. In addition, the cholesterol concentration in the serum of rats that received a diet containing scallop shell extract was significantly lower than that in the serum of rats on the control diet. Feeding this scallop shell extract to rats increased the fecal weight as well as the fecal excretion of bile acids. The amino acid composition of the feces from rats fed the scallop shell extract was different from that of feces from rats fed the control diet, and treatment of the extract with pepsin and pancreatin identified a protein with a molecular weight of 90 kDa (90-kDa protein) as one of the indigestible proteins. Interestingly the 90-kDa protein was found to be identical to a free radical-scavenging protein we previously identified and showed the ability to bind bile acids. These results suggest that indigestible proteins (resistant proteins) in the scallop shell extract, including the 90-kDa protein, inhibit the absorption of bile acid by binding to it and cause increased excretion of fecal bile acid, which subsequently may decrease the serum cholesterol level.  相似文献   

A new primer for 16S rDNA analysis of microbial communities associated with <Emphasis Type="Italic">Porphyra yezoensis</Emphasis>     

Aki Namba  Yuya Shigenobu  Masahiro Kobayashi  Takanori Kobayashi  Ichiro Oohara 《Fisheries Science》2010,76(5):873-878

To construct high-quality 16S rDNA clone libraries for microbial communities associated with Porphyra yezoensis and to minimize the detection of rDNA from leafy gametophytes of P. yezoensis, we designed a new 16S rDNA universal primer (75F). Of the clones prepared using 75F, which was designed to distinguish between bacteria and P. yezoensis, 95% were classified into four groups, namely, β-proteobacteria, γ-proteobacteria, Lentisphaerae, and Flavobacteria. PCR-based analysis of the 16S rDNA primer constructed in this study can be used to implement 16S rDNA-based methodologies for the investigation of microbial community composition and diversity related to the Porphyra group.  相似文献   

Effects of milrinone on hemodynamics and regional blood flow in the hypoxic dog   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Setoyama K  Ota H  Miura N  Fujiki M  Misumi K  Sakamoto H 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2002,64(6):499-503

Milrinone, a therapeutic agent for acute congestive heart failure, has both inotropic and vasodilatory effects, but investigations of these effects of milrinone were almost all conducted under normoxia, and few reports have investigated how milrinone affects the hemodynamics and redistribution of regional blood flow under severe hypoxia. By using colored microspheres, we investigated how milrinone affects hemodynamics and the redistribution of regional blood flow under severe hypoxia. Twelve healthy mongrel dogs were divided into 2 groups. The milrinone group was infused with milrinone cumulatively at 25, 75 and 250 microg/kg for 5 min each. The intact group was infused with saline instead of milrinone. We measured the hemodynamics and cerebrum, cerebellum and kidney blood flow in both groups. Both groups were inspired with 10% oxygen. Milrinone induced significant decrease in mean pulmonary artery and pulmonary vascular resistance, compared with the intact group. In both groups slight decreases in mean arterial pressure, systemic vascular resistance and double-product were seen. In regional blood flow, milrinone-induced increases in blood flow were seen in the cerebrum, cerebellum, and especially in the kidneys. Milrinone's vasodilatory effects were sufficient even under hypoxia. And milrinone increased regional blood flow slightly in the cerebrum and cerebellum, and significantly in the kidneys. These results suggested that milrinone protects against hypoxia-induced organ damage especially in the kidneys. In addition, milrinone is very potent in improving severe congested hemodynamics which complicates hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction.  相似文献   

The shrinking profitability of small-scale forestry in Japan and some recent policy initiatives to reverse the trend     

Ikuo Ota 《Small-Scale Forestry》2002,1(1):25-37

About 80% of annual wood fiber consumption in Japan is imported. Even though most of the land surface is covered by forests in Japan, the domestic forestry and forest industry are threatened by such imports flooding the local market. Fragmented land ownership, steep terrain, rapid growth of weeds, and high labor costs have all contributed to the decline of domestic forestry. Further, the purchasing power of the Japanese Yen has become very strong in recent years, and the decreasing prices of imported timber have depressed the prices of domestic timber, eroding profitability and discouraging small-scale forestry. In spite of these difficult circumstances, there are several interesting new developments in Japanese forestry. One is the revision of the Basic Forestry Law of 1964, through which the Japanese government is steering forest policy from timber production towards environmental services. Because of this change, new ways to assist rural forestry activities will become available in the near future. Another change is the certification movement, where recent examples of Japanese companies acquiring ISO 14001 and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) forest certifications provide hope to depressed domestic forestry activities. In particular, FSC group certification is useful in motivating small-scale forest owners to implement and maintain sustainable forestry practices. This paper is based on the presentation at IUFRO Group 3.08.00 Symposium at Joensuu, Finland 2001. The original article, ‘The economic situation of small-scale forestry in Japan’, is in Niskanen and Vayrynen (2001).  相似文献   

Synthesis of dihydroxyphenacyl glycosides for biological and medicinal study: β-oxoacteoside from Paulownia tomentosa     

Hidenori Tozuka  Michikazu Ota  Hisayoshi Kofujita  Kouetsu Takahashi 《Journal of Wood Science》2005,51(1):48-59

The protected structure of -oxoacteoside (tomentoside A), 2-oxo-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethyl 3-O-(2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl--l-rhamnopyranosyl)-4-O-caffeoyl--d-glucopyranoside 14 was synthesized in 14% overall yield in 11 steps, starting from d-glucose for biological and medicinal studies of phenylpropanoid glycosides. The first step was the preparation of a 3-O-rhamnopyranosyl disaccharide sugar core 2 from a suitably protected rhamnosyl trichloroacetimidate 10 and glucose derivative (diacetone-d-glucose 1) in 71% yield. To the glucose moiety of this sugar core, several protection/deprotection procedures were performed sequentially to obtain a fully acetylated sugar core 7 with a 4-OH group on the glucose moiety, in 57% yield in five steps. Thereafter, to the 4-OH group of the glucose moiety, selective 4-O-caffeoylation was achieved by proton-transfer esterification with 3,4-di-O-allylcaffeic acid 16 to give the caffeoyl disaccharide 11 in 97% yield. Then, it was converted to trichloroacetimidate 13 for a glycosylation donor in 90% in two steps. Finally, anomeric glycosylation was conducted with 2-oxo-2-(3,4-di-allyloxyphenyl)ethyl alcohol 19 with catalytic amounts of BF₃·Et₂O to give 2-oxo-2-(3,4-di-allyloxyphenyl)ethyl 2,6-di-O-acetyl-3-O-(2,3,4-tri-O-acetyl--l-rhamnopyranosyl)-4-O-(3,4-di-allyloxycaffeoyl)--d-glucopyranoside 14 in 60% yield. Deprotected intermediates of compounds 2, 11, 14, and 19 which were obtained in high yield would be useful for biological and medicinal studies of phenylpropanoid glycosides.Part of this study was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the Japan Wood Research Society, Gifu, April, 2002  相似文献   

Seven-year changes in growth and crown shape of Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai saplings after release from suppression     

Gaku Hitsuma  Takayuki Ota  Tatsuo Kanazashi  Takashi Masaki 《Journal of Forest Research》2006,11(5):387-387

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Experiences of a Forest Owners’ Cooperative in using FSC forest certification as an environmental strategy     

Ikuo Ota 《Small-Scale Forestry》2006,5(1):111-125

Yusuhara Forest Owners’ Cooperative (YFOC) in Kochi Prefecture in Japan received its forest management certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in 2000. YFOC is recognised as the resource manager of its members’ forests, and they were the first organisation to gain such certification in Japan. With the continuous efforts of selling FSC certified wood in the domestic housing construction market, YFOC has substantially increased their timber sales in recent years. It is a noteworthy event in Japanese small-scale forestry, which has been struggling with declining economic performance for many years. This paper analyses the detail of forestry activities and changes which occurred in YFOC after certification by FSC. An interesting effect of increasing economic performance is found to have come from an unexpected direction. It is concluded that the FSC certification system is a possible tool to revitalise Japanese small-scale forestry as well as obtain favourable environmental outcomes.  相似文献   

First report of trunk rot caused by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Fomitiporia torreyae</Emphasis> in Kyoto prefecture on cultivars of Japanese cedar with no relatedness to ‘Sanbu-sugi’     

Yuko Ota  Megumi K. Kimura  Tsutomu Hattori  Yurika Miyuki  Ryota Endo 《Journal of Forest Research》2016,21(2):105-109

Trunk rot, caused by Fomitiporia torreyae, is one of the most economically important sap rot diseases on Cryptomeria japonica, especially on a cutting cultivar ‘Sanbu-sugi’. This disease had been reported only from Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures in Japan; however, a similar trunk rot on Japanese cedars was found recently in Kyoto prefecture. We identified the causal agent of the trunk rot on Japanese cedars in Kyoto prefecture, clarified the genotype of ‘Sanbu-sugi’ (sensu stricto) using microsatellite markers, and then investigated the relatedness of these infected cedars with ‘Sanbu-sugi’. The pathogen was identified as F. torreyae by its DNA sequences and morphological characteristics of the fruiting body. The 25 ramets of ‘Sanbu-sugi’ had only one genotype based on eight microsatellite loci. Infected Japanese cedars in Kyoto were comprised of different genotypes and showed no close relatedness to ‘Sanbu-sugi’. This is the first report of trunk rot caused by F. torreyae on cultivars of Japanese cedar with no relatedness to ‘Sanbu-sugi’ outside of Chiba and Ibaraki prefectures and showed the potential for expansion of this disease to Japanese cedar plantations in other areas.  相似文献   

Policies Affecting Forestry Entrepreneurship   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Anssi Niskanen  Anders Lunnan  Ikuo Ota  Keith Blatner  John Herbohn  Lyndall Bull  Ian Ferguson  Gordon M. Hickey 《Small-Scale Forestry》2007,6(3):233-255

Many demand and supply-side policies impede or foster forestry entrepreneurship. A study was conducted to consolidate existing knowledge on policies influencing forestry entrepreneurship in Finland, Norway, Japan, Australia, the Philippines and the USA, and to draw conclusions on these impeding and fostering factors. From the country studies it was difficult to find common structures on policies affecting forestry entrepreneurship. This is understandable because most policies in forestry are aimed at supporting sustainable forest management, wood production and ecological services of the forests rather than entrepreneurship as such. Despite the high variety of policies applied in the study countries, it can be concluded that strict public control on forests’ use and management potentially impedes forestry entrepreneurship. While these policies assist to correct market failure and to promote sustainability of forest management, they may also result into unnecessary and ineffective regulations that limit the opportunities for forestry entrepreneurship. A common feature promoting the demand for forestry entrepreneurship in some of the countries studied is the strong emphasis on forestry cooperatives, which were important institutions to support small-scale forestry entrepreneurship. In many study countries, different ad hoc programs are implemented to find new economic and entrepreneurial opportunities aside from the current use of wood and forests. Subsidies and tax incentives are commonly applied to reduce risks from making forestry investments or otherwise increase the economic return from timber production.  相似文献   

Combination of serum phosphorylated neurofilament heavy subunit and hyperintensity of intramedullary T2W on magnetic resonance imaging provides better prognostic value of canine thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation     

Tadahisa MASHITA  Hiroaki KAMISHINA  Yuya NAKAMOTO  Yosuke AKAGI  Ataru NAKANISHI  Yusuke HARASAKI  Tsuyoshi OZAWA  Takashi UEMURA  Yui KOBATAKE  Shunsuke SHIMAMURA  Naoki KITAMURA  Sadatoshi MAEDA  Yuji UZUKA  Gerry SHAW  Jun YASUDA 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2015,77(4):433-438

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic value of concurrent measurement of serum phosphorylated neurofilament heavy subunit (pNF-H) concentration and intramedullary T2W hyperintensity in paraplegic to paraplegic dogs. Our hypothesis was that concurrent measurement of these would provide a more accurate prediction of functional outcome in dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH). A prospective case-control clinical study was designed using 94 dogs with acute onset of thoracolumbar IVDH. The association of serum pNF-H concentration, T2W hyperintensity on sagittal MRI (T2H/L2), deep pain perception and surgical outcome were evaluated with logistic regression analysis after three months for all 94 surgically treated dogs. Sensitivity to predict non-ambulatory outcome was compared among pNF-H and T2H/L2 and combination of both. Logistic regression analysis indicated that serum pNF-H concentration and T2H/L2 were significantly correlated with surgical outcome (P<0.05); however, deep pain perception was not (P=0.41). The results of logistic regression analysis indicated that the odds ratios of unsuccessful long-term outcome were 2.6 for serum pNF-H concentration, 1.9 for T2H/L2 and 2.3 for deep pain sensation. The sensitivity and specificity to predict non-ambulatory outcome for using serum parameter pNF-H>2.6 ng/ml, using T2H/L2 value of>0.84 and using both serum pNF-H and T2H/L2, were 95% and 75.7%, 65% and 86.5%, and 90.0% and 97.5%, respectively. Therefore, combined measurements of serum pNF-H and T2H/L2 might be useful for predicting long-term outcome in dogs with thoracolumbar IVDH.  相似文献