Benthic macroinvertebrates in the Nishina Three Lakes and Lake Nojiri, highland lakes in Japan

order to clarifythe current status of the benthic communities in the Nishina Three Lakes (Lakes Aoki, Nakatsuna and Kizaki) and Lake Nojiri, highland lakes located atthefoot of the Japanese Northem Alps in Nagano Prefecture, We collected benthic macroinvertebrates on 1 and 2 August, 2007, Chironomidaeand Oligochaeta were the major CrOinvertebrates at all study sites and the taxonomic composition of Chironomidae was differentamong the sites. Sergentia was collected in Lakes Aoki andKizaki, whereas Chironomus was collected in all the lakes except Lake Aoki. Chaoboridae was collected at the center of the Lakes Nakatsunaand Kizaki but not in Lakes Aoki and Nojiri. The comparison of the densities of benthic maroinvertebrates with the previous studies suggests that the densities of Oligochaeta increased in Lakes Aoki,Kizakiand Nojiri, and Chironomus increasedinLake Nojiriin recent decades.Article信州大学山地水環境教育研究センター研究報告 6: 95-102(2010)departmental bulletin pape

Emergencetime and period of chironomid midges occurrlng from an indoor drainage

Mass emergence ofchironomidmidges often leads to severe nuisance conditions in food industries. We tried to clarifythe seasonal abundance and the emergence time of chironomids caught by a light traps in this industry. A total of38,708 chironomids was collected duringthe study period, andthe largest number of adult was recorded in fall. In addition, some chironomids were collected even in thewinter. These results suggest that air temperate in winter at this industry is highenough for emergence of chironomids.Asfbr emergence time,the number of chironomids increased around dawn and dusk,and decreased in the day and night. The results of the present study would be useful information for drafting planto prevent outbreaks of nuisancemidges from indoor sewage drain.Article信州大学山地水環境教育研究センター研究報告 6: 109-114(2010)departmental bulletin pape

Perinatal risks after ART conceptions based on data obtained from midwifery files of the tertiary perinatal center.

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to appraise perinatal care by ascertaining the risks associated with ART pregnancy and by analyzing the prenatal risks (delivery weeks, birth weight, maternal complications, fetal dysfunction, fetal malformation, cesarean section etc.) by separately considering the causes of pregnancy and the number of fetuses. Data for analysis are based on midwifery files obtained from a tertiary perinatal center, which is the main delivery facility for pregnant women with high-risks resulting from pregnancy by ART and other causes. Method : A retrospective cohort study was performed on all 4,074 births of at least 22 gestational weeks between January 2007 and December 2010 at a general prenatal center “A”, and the data were collected from its midwifery files. The cases were divided into the natural pregnancy group of 3,458 cases, the conventional infertility treatment group of 362 cases, and ART pregnancy group of 254 cases, and these groups were further divided into single and multiple pregnancy subgroups. Likelihood of risk in each group was analyzed by Odds ratio (OR) and adjusted Odds ratio (a-OR), and the risk factors in cesarean section was analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Results : The average age of natural pregnancy group was 32.5 years (SD5.0), the conventional infertility treatment group was 34.1 years (SD4.0), and ART pregnancy group was 36.6 years (SD4.1). Primiparity ratio was 47.0%, 60.2% and 64.6%, respectively, and the prevalence rate of gynecological problems such as uterine fibroids was 13.5%, 23.8% and 33.5%, respectively. In all respects the conventional infertility treatment group and ART group showed significantly high values, and the ART group had the highest. In comparison to the natural pregnancy group, the adjusted odds ratio of perinatal risks in the mothers and babies of the ART group was significantly higher in multiple pregnancy (10.51), premature birth (1.76), and cesarean section (2.24). However, there was no significant difference across groups with respect to the likelihood of problems in the babies, such as congenital malformations, fetal heartrate abnormalities, acidosis of blood in the umbilical cord, gestational week of delivery, and birth weight. The ART group did not exihibit any evidences of higher perinatal risks pertaining to babies. According to the logistic retrospective analysis, the risk factors of cesarean section were multiple pregnancy, primiparity, preeclampsia, and uterine diseases. The high ratio of cesarean section in the ART group was also influenced by high age, primiparity, multiple pregnancy and uterine diseases. Cesarean section in the women of the ART group with BMI lower than 18.5 was significantly higher than those of the natural and conventional infertility treatment groups; the adjusted odds ratios were 4.23 and 4.29, respectively. Conclusion : The ART group in the present study had a high ratio of cesarean section due to risk factors such as high age, primiparity, multiple pregnancy and uterine diseases. Still, there was no negative influence on babies. Provision of this information would help reduce anxiety in women who became pregnant through ART. Moreover, the study revealed an importance of health education regarding appropriate weight-control during pregnancy

A High-Speed Congenic Strategy Using First-Wave Male Germ Cells

BACKGROUND: In laboratory mice and rats, congenic breeding is essential for analyzing the genes of interest on specific genetic backgrounds and for analyzing quantitative trait loci. However, in theory it takes about 3-4 years to achieve a strain carrying about 99% of the recipient genome at the tenth backcrossing (N10). Even with marker-assisted selection, the so-called 'speed congenic strategy', it takes more than a year at N4 or N5. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we describe a new high-speed congenic system using round spermatids retrieved from immature males (22-25 days of age). We applied the technique to three genetically modified strains of mice: transgenic (TG), knockin (KI) and N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-induced mutants. The donor mice had mixed genetic backgrounds of C57BL/6 (B6):DBA/2 or B6:129 strains. At each generation, males used for backcrossing were selected based on polymorphic marker analysis and their round spermatids were injected into B6 strain oocytes. Backcrossing was repeated until N4 or N5. For the TG and ENU-mutant strains, the N5 generation was achieved on days 188 and 190 and the proportion of B6-homozygous loci was 100% (74 markers) and 97.7% (172/176 markers), respectively. For the KI strain, N4 was achieved on day 151, all the 86 markers being B6-homozygous as early as on day 106 at N3. The carrier males at the final generation were all fertile and propagated the modified genes. Thus, three congenic strains were established through rapid generation turnover between 41 and 44 days. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This new high-speed breeding strategy enables us to produce congenic strains within about half a year. It should provide the fastest protocol for precise definition of the phenotypic effects of genes of interest on desired genetic backgrounds

Toxic isolectins from the mushroom Boletus venenatus

Ingestion of the toxic mushroom Boletus venenatus causes a severe gastrointestinal syndrome, such as nausea, repetitive vomiting, diarrhea, and stomachache. A family of isolectins (B. venenatus lectins, BVLs) was isolated as the toxic principles from the mushroom by successive 80% ammonium sulfate-precipitation, Super Q anion-exchange chromatography, and TSK-gel G3000SW gel filtration. Although BVLs showed a single band on SDS-PAGE, they were further divided into eight isolectins (BVL-1 to -8) by BioAssist Q anion-exchange chromatography. All the isolectins showed lectin activity and had very similar molecular weights as detected by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) analysis. Among them, BVL-1 and -3 were further characterized with their complete amino acid sequences of 99 amino acids determined and found to be identical to each other. In the hemagglutination inhibition assay, both proteins failed to bind to any mono- or oligo-saccharides tested and showed the same sugar-binding specificity to glycoproteins. Among the glycoproteins examined, asialo-fetuin was the strongest inhibitor. The sugar-binding specificity of each isolectin was also analyzed by using frontal affinity chromatography and surface plasmon resonance analysis, indicating that they recognized N-linked sugar chains, especially Galbeta1-->4GlcNAcbeta1-->4Manbeta1-->4GlcNAcbeta1-->4GlcNAc (Type II) residues in N-linked sugar chains. BVLs ingestion resulted in fatal toxicity in mice upon intraperitoneal administration and caused diarrhea upon oral administration in rats.publishe