The Great East Japan Earthquake (2011): using the One Health approach to minimise the impact on the livestock industry and human health.

Supplying safe livestock products made from healthy animals is the primary purpose of the agriculture industry, making it essential to include agriculture in the One Health approach to disaster preparedness and response. After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011, and the following crisis at the Fukushima Nuclear Complex, producing and supplying safe livestock products became a challenging issue, because the area was highly polluted with radiation leaks from the nuclear plants. To produce livestock products that satisfied the safety standards for radioactive materials in food for humans, it was necessary to create feeding management guidelines and set standard limits for radioactive materials in animal feeds. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) established provisional maximum limits on radioactive caesium in feeds in order to secure safe food for the nation. Furthermore, there were other issues that Japan's livestock industry had to tackle. The authors outline key measures taken by the Livestock Industry Department of the MAFF to reconstruct the livestock industry, which was a small but important part of the whole reconstruction plan. They also discuss the measures implemented to protect companion animals.

La vocation première du secteur de l'élevage est de fournir au consommateur des produits d'origine animale sans danger et issus d'animaux en bonne santé, ce qui suppose d'intégrer le secteur agricole dans les activités de préparation et de réponse aux catastrophes naturelles sur la base d'une approche Une seule santé. Après le grand séisme survenu le 11 mars 2011 sur la côte Pacifique du Tohoku au Japon et la catastrophe du complexe nucléaire de Fukushima qui a suivi, la question de l'innocuité de la production et distribution d'animaux et de produits d'origine animale est devenue un enjeu majeur en raison du taux élevé de contamination de la zone par les émissions radioactives qui s'étaient échappées des centrales nucléaires. Afin de garantir la conformité des produits de l'élevage aux normes de sécurité au regard du risque de contamination radioactive, il a fallu élaborer des lignes directrices en matière de gestion de l'alimentation animale et fixer une valeur limite à la contamination radioactive des aliments destinés aux animaux. Le ministère japonais en charge de l'agriculture, des forêts et des pêches (MAFF) a fixé à titre provisoire une limite de concentration maximale admissible pour le césium radioactif dans les aliments destinés aux animaux afin de garantir l'innocuité des denrées alimentaires distribuées à la nation. Ce problème n'est pas le seul auquel a dû faire face le secteur japonais de l'élevage suite au séisme de 2011. Les auteurs font le point sur les principales mesures adoptées par le département de l'élevage du MAFF pour restaurer le secteur, volet mineur mais néanmoins essentiel du plan de reconstruction nationale. Les mesures adoptées pour protéger les animaux de compagnie sont également présentées.

El objetivo primordial de la industria agropecuaria estriba en abastecer a la población de productos inocuos, obtenidos a partir de animales sanos. Ello hace indispensable incluir la agricultura en toda labor de preparación y respuesta para casos de catástrofe que se efectúe desde los planteamientos de Una sola salud. Después del llamado Gran terremoto del Japón Oriental que tuvo lugar el 11 de marzo de 2011, y tras la crisis del complejo nuclear de Fukushima, la producción y el suministro de productos ganaderos inocuos pasaron a ser una cuestión muy espinosa, pues la zona estaba sumamente contaminada por fugas radiactivas de las centrales nucleares. Para obtener productos ganaderos que cumplieran las normas de inocuidad relativas a la presencia de material radiactivo en los alimentos destinados al consumo humano fue necesario establecer directrices de gestión de alimentos y fijar límites normalizados de material radiactivo en los piensos animales. A fin de garantizar que el país gozara de un suministro de alimentos inocuos, el Ministerio de Agricultura, Bosques y Pesca estableció límites máximos provisionales de cesio radiactivo en los piensos. Pero este no era el único problema con que debía lidiar la industria ganadera del Japón. Los autores exponen a grandes líneas las principales medidas adoptadas por el Departamento de Industria Ganadera del Ministerio para reconstruir la industria pecuaria, en lo que representaba una parte pequeña, pero importante, del plan de reconstrucción global. Los autores examinan asimismo las medidas instituidas para proteger a los animales de compañía.

Robust water desalination membranes against degradation using high loads of carbon nanotubes.

Chlorine resistant reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were fabricated using a multi-walled carbon nanotube-polyamide (MWCNT-PA) nanocomposite. The separation performance of these membranes after chlorine exposure (4800 ppm·h) remained unchanged (99.9%) but was drastically reduced to 82% in the absence of MWCNT. It was observed that the surface roughness of the membranes changed significantly by adding MWCNT. Moreover, membranes containing MWCNT fractions above 12.5 wt.% clearly improved degradation resistance against chlorine exposure, with an increase in water flux while maintaining salt rejection performance. Molecular dynamics and quantum chemical calculations were performed in order to understand the high chemical stability of the MWCNT-PA nanocomposite membranes, and revealed that high activation energies are required for the chlorination of PA. The results presented here confirm the unique potential of carbon nanomaterials embedded in polymeric composite membranes for efficient RO water desalination technologies.

Electroretinogram in sucrose-fed diabetic rats treated with an aldose reductase inhibitor or an anticoagulant.

To investigate the role of increased polyol pathway activity and hemodynamic deficits in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima fatty (OLETF) rats, an animal model of human NIDDM, were given water with or without 30% sucrose and some of them were fed laboratory chow containing 0.03% cilostazol, an anticoagulant, or 0.05% [5-(3-thienyl)tetrazol-1-yl] acetic acid monohydrate (TAT), an aldose reductase inhibitor, for 8 wk. Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats were used as nondiabetic controls. The peak latencies of oscillatory potentials of the electroretinogram in sucrose-fed OLETF rats were significantly prolonged compared with those in OLETF rats without sucrose feeding and LETO rats. There was a marked increase in platelet aggregability and a significant decrease in erythrocyte 2,3-diphosphoglycerate in sucrose-fed OLETF rats. Cilostazol significantly improved these parameters without changes in retinal levels of sorbitol and fructose. TAT, however, ameliorated all of these parameters. These findings confirm that the sucrose-fed OLETF rat is a useful animal model of retinopathy in human NIDDM and suggest that cilostazol improved diabetic retinopathy by modifying vascular factors, not by altering polyol pathway activity.

An aldose reductase inhibitor, TAT, reduces ADP-induced platelet hyperaggregation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats with neuropathy.

To investigate the relationship between metabolic and vascular factors, especially polyol pathway and platelet aggregation, in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy, the effects of a novel potent aldose reductase inhibitor, TAT ((5-(3-thienyl) tetrazol-1-yl) acetic acid monohydrate) on adenosine diphosphate-induced platelet aggregation, polyol contents in platelets, motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV), and sciatic nerve blood flow (SNBF) were examined in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Diabetic rats demonstrated hyperaggregation in response to adenosine diphosphate, accompanied by sorbitol and fructose accumulation and myoinositol depletion in platelets. Treatment with TAT improved these abnormalities in diabetic rats. A delayed MNCV and a reduced SNBF in diabetic rats were normalized by the administration of TAT. These observations suggest that increased polyol pathway activity plays an important role in platelet aggregation in the development of diabetic neuropathy and that aldose reductase inhibitor is useful for the treatment of diabetic neuropathy from the viewpoint not only of metabolic factors but also of vascular factors.

An aldose reductase inhibitor, TAT, prevents electroretinographic abnormalities and ADP-induced hyperaggregability in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

Rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were oral given TAT, a potent aldose reductase inhibitor, at a dose of 10 mg kg-1 day-1 or 40 mg kg-1 day-1 for 30 days. Prolongation of the peak latency of oscillatory potentials in the b-wave of the electroretinogram (ERG), which is associated with retinal Müller cell dysfunction, was significantly improved by treatment with TAT as compared with untreated diabetic rats [sigma(O1 + O2 + O3) was 106.8 +/- 1.8 ms in normal controls (NC), 118.2 +/- 1.1 ms in diabetic controls (DC) (P < 0.001 vs. NC), 110.8 +/- 1.5 ms with 10 mg kg-1 TAT (P < 0.001 vs. DC) and 111.4 +/- 1.6 ms with 40 mg kg-1 TAT (P < 0.01 vs. DC)]. The improvement in ERG abnormalities in diabetic rats was accompanied by partial reduction of elevated sorbitol levels in the retina and erythrocytes, and by correction of platelet hyperaggregability. The authors' findings suggest that a better understanding of the mechanism by which TAT acts may provide new insights into the pathogenesis of hyperglycaemic retinal dysfunction and contribute to establishing effective therapy for diabetic retinopathy.

Cell counts in peripheral blood and bone marrow of male C.B-17 scid/scid mice.

Blood cell and bone marrow cell counts were carried out for male C.B-17 scid/scid (SCID) mice aged 3, 6, 9, 18 and 26 weeks and the values were compared with those in C.B-17 +/+ (C.B-17) mice. In the peripheral blood, SCID mice had markedly low numbers of leucocytes and lymphocytes throughout the study. In the bone marrow, SCID mice had relatively low levels of erythroblasts at an early age, low levels of lymphocytes and plasma cells were absent.

Characterization of a novel aldose reductase inhibitor, TAT, and its effects on streptozotocin-induced diabetic neuropathy in rats.

TAT ([5-(3-thienyl)tetrazol-1-yl]acetic acid) is a novel aldose reductase (AR) inhibitor. It exhibited highly potent inhibition of partially purified AR from rat lens (IC50 = 2.1 x 10(-8) M), rabbit lens (IC50 = 2.3 x 10(-8) M) and human placenta (IC50 = 2.8 x 10(-8) M). On the other hand, TAT had a weak inhibitory activity against mouse liver aldehyde reductase (ALR) (IC50 = 2.4 x 10(-6) M) and poor inhibitory activity against several adenine nucleotide-requiring enzymes. Against rat lens AR, TAT exhibited an uncompetitive inhibition at a concentration of 1.0 x 10(-8) M and a mixed type inhibition at higher concentrations. TAT inhibited sorbitol accumulation in the isolated rat sciatic nerve (IC50 = 1.0 x 10(-6) M), rat lens (IC50 = 5.7 x 10(-6) M), human erythrocytes (IC50 = 2.5 x 10(-7) M), and rabbit erythrocytes (IC50 = 2.1 x 10(-7) M) incubated with high glucose concentrations. The oral administration of TAT (5-100 mg/kg/day) to streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats during a 5-day treatment period decreased the sorbitol content in the sciatic nerve, dose-dependently (ED50: 8.8 mg/kg/day for the prevention and 9.0 mg/kg/day for the reversal). Moreover, TAT (2.5-40 mg/kg/day) improved the decreased motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) after a 14-day treatment period. There was a significant correlation between MNCV and sciatic nerve sorbitol content. From these results, TAT is expected to be useful for the clinical treatment of diabetic complications.

[Development of hen's egg with low antigenicity for allergic patients].

We tried to prepare hen's egg with low antigenicity for allergy patients. First, we examined the effects of pH, heating temperature and time on antigenicity of egg. Dried whole egg solid (DES) was dissolved in the buffer solution adjusted at various pH and heated at 120 degrees C for 10, 20 and 40 min. As a result the antigenicity didn't significantly decrease. Next, DES was treated with succinic anhydride, sodium hydroxide and was heated. The antigenicity of the resultant modified whole egg solid (MES) was much lower than that of heated whole egg solid. Antigenicity was measured precisely by enzyme immunoassay, inhibition ELISA, RAST inhibition and PCA. It was found that the antigenicity of MES was decreased less than 1/1000 of that of DES. Then SDS-polyacryl-amide gel electrophoresis and gel filtration were performed to clarify the degree of the change of egg proteins. The bands and peaks which corresponded to ovalbumin and ovomucoid known to be major allergenic proteins responsible for egg allergy disappeared and new bands and peaks were detected.

Establishment of a series of pituitary clonal cell lines differing in morphology, hormone secretion, and response to estrogen.

Four kinds of cultured clonal cell line were established from estrogen-induced mammotropic pituitary tumor. These clones showed differences of hormone secretion, morphology, and response to estrogen. One clone tentatively designated MtT/E, consisted of spindle-shaped epithelial cells and showed the strongest adhesion to the culture dish, but did not secrete any pituitary hormone. The second cell line, designated MtT/S, secreted only GH, showed very weak contact with the culture dish, and proliferated almost anchorage independently. the MtT/S cells were mainly spherical and formed floating or weakly adherent clusters. Some of them had very long dendrite- or neurite-like cell processes. Electron microscopic examination of the MtT/S cells showed a normal somatotrope-like appearance, i.e. the presence in the cytoplasm of many GH-containing secretory granules, well developed rough endoplasmic reticulum, and Golgi apparatus. Furthermore, these cells secreted GH in response to stimulation with GRF. The third cell line with an ovoid cell appearance tentatively designated MtT/SM, secreted both PRL and GH, and showed anchorage-dependent proliferation. The fourth cell line designated MtT/Se secreted only a small amount of GH. Among these newly established cell lines, MtT/Se was the smallest in size and showed estrogen-dependent proliferation. The many small secretory-like granules present in the cytoplasm of MtT/Se cells showed no immunocytochemically positive reaction for anterior pituitary hormone. MtT/S and MtT/SM cell lines were also sensitive to estrogen.