Distribution of Copepoda along 140°E in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean

NORPAC net samplings at three stations along a south-north transect on ca. 140°E were conducted in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean from March 10 to 12 in 2002 during the 43rd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. The survey was held to examine the community structure and abundance of Copepoda in the seasonal ice zone of the Southern Ocean. A total of 15 species of copepod were identified at the stations. For nine species of copepod, Microcalanus pygmaeus, Calanus simillimus, Rhincalanus gigas, Euchaeta antarctica, Clausocalanus laticeps, Scolecithricella minor, Metridia lucens, Haloptilus oxycephalus and Oithona frigida, disparities of the distributions between the south of the Southern Boundary (SB) and the north became apparent. As here was a distinct difference of, about 2°C, in the sea surface temperature between the south and north of the SB, these disparities were considered to be influenced by the difference in the physical structure in the ocean, in particular by the water temperature, which was driven by the SB. Among Calanoides acutus, Calanus propinquus, and R. gigas, the earlier copepodite stages were observed at higher latitudes at all stations. This trend was considered to be a result of the sea ice retreat, which caused a later spawning period for Copepoda. In addition, an interaction between the sea ice conditions and the community structure of copepod along 140°E was suggested

Unusual abundance of appendicularians in the seasonal ice zone(140°E ) of the Southern Ocean

During the 43rd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition(JARE) cruise on March 10-12 in 2002, NORPAC net samplings at three stations along a south-north transect, ca. 140°E in the Indian sector were conducted to survey zooplankton community structure and abundance in the seasonal ice zone(SIZ) of the Southern Ocean. A total of fourteen species/taxa were identified from the three stations. While copepods were numerically dominant at two stations(79.9% and 93.1% respectively of total abundance), appendicularians were found to be numerically dominant(84.0% of total abundance) at the southernmost station. This dominance of Appendicularia at this station suggested that Appendicularia is possibly an integral part of the community structure of the zooplankton in the SIZ. The Southern Boundary(SB) on the 140°E transect was found to be located at ～64.30°S and the southernmost station was located south of the SB while the two other stations were located north of the SB. Some species, such as Rhincalanus gigas, Calanus simillimus, Amphipoda, Euphausiacea, and Polychaeta, had distribution patterns that correlated with the position of the SB, therefore the SB is considered important in influencing the distribution of the zooplankton and its community structure in the SIZ

Ascitic Bile Acids in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis

Ascitic bile acids of 8 patients with liver cirrhosis were analyzed in order to elucidate the clinical significance. The results were as follows. 1) Ascitic bile acid concentrations in intractable ascites were high, although low in tractable ascites. 2) Among the 8 patients, 4 had serum bile acid analysis performed and a significant correlation of bile acid concentration was found between ascites and serum (P<0.01). 3) Ascitic bile acid concentration was positively correlative with ascitic protein concentration (P(0.05). 4) In one patient whose group separation on Piperidinohydroxypropyl Sephadex LH-20 was determined, free bile acids were found to predominate the major part of the ascitic bile acids. These results suggest that ascitic bile acids reflect serum bile acids, and that bile acids with protein are filtered into ascitic fluid. Further patient studies will be necessary to shed light on the relationship between intractability of ascites and high ascitic bile acid concentrations

Newly Synthesized Compound, PABA-Ursodeoxycholic Acid, for Evaluation of Intestinal Bacteria

From the standpoint of utilizing a distinctive feature of para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and intestinal bile acid metabolism, a conjugate of ursodeoxycholic acid with PABA (PABA-UDCA) was newly synthesized for studying whether it can be a good material or not to evaluate enteric bacteria. In incubation experiment, this compound was reasonably deconjugated by cholylglycine hydrolase resulting in the release of PABA. In animal experiment, urinary excretions of PABA were determined during six hours following oral administration of 10 mg PABA-UDCA. Control rats (n=7) excreted 140.1 ± 59.5 μ,g (mean ± SD) of PABA. By contrast, the rats (n=9) with intestinal antisepsis by antibiotic administration excreted less (18.3 ± 16. 7 μg; P < 0.001) whereas those with intestinal bacterial overgrowth by making enteric blind loop excreted more (451.1 ± 223.6 μg; P < 0.01). These observations indicate that this new compound is likely to offer a simple and rapid method for evaluation of the intestinal microorganisms