Dietary intake of 0.1% fucoxanthin significantly reduced lipid hydroperoxide levels of liver and abdominal white adipose tissue (WAT) of obese/diabetes KK-Ay mice. The fucoxanthin supplementation also significantly re...Dietary intake of 0.1% fucoxanthin significantly reduced lipid hydroperoxide levels of liver and abdominal white adipose tissue (WAT) of obese/diabetes KK-Ay mice. The fucoxanthin supplementation also significantly reduced blood glucose level and hepatic lipid contents of the mice. Oxidative stress is known to be induced in hyperglycemia and high fat conditions. Therefore, in vivo antioxidant activity of fucoxanthin found in the present study could be attributed to its anti-diabetic effect and its decreasing effect on hepatic lipids. On the other hand, little effect of fucoxanthin on lipid hydroperoxide levels was found in normal ICR mice. Although the content of fucoxanthin metabolites in the abdominal WAT of KK-Ay mice was about 50 times higher that in the liver, there was little difference in its In Vivo antioxidant activity between in the liver and in the abdominal WAT. These results suggest that well-known ability of fucoxanthin to scavenge active oxygen species and/or free radicals would not be a main reason to explain its In Vivo antioxidant activity.展开更多
Anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), a small pelagic fish and food of other economic fishes, is a key species in the Yellow Sea ecosystem. Understanding the mechanisms of its recruitment and biomass variation is important f...Anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), a small pelagic fish and food of other economic fishes, is a key species in the Yellow Sea ecosystem. Understanding the mechanisms of its recruitment and biomass variation is important for the prediction and management of fishery resources. Coupled with a hydrodynamic model (POM) and a lower trophic level ecosystem model (NEMURO), an individual-based model of anchovy is developed to study the influence of physical environment on anchovy's biomass variation. Seasonal variations of circulation, water temperature and mix-layer depth from POM are used as external forcing for NEMURO and the anchovy model. Biomasses of large zooplankton and predatory zooplankton which anchovy feeds on are output from NEMURO and are controlled by the consumption of anchovy on them. Survival fitness theory related to temperature and food is used to determine the swimming action of anchovy in the model. The simulation results agree well with observations and elucidate the influence of temperature in over-wintering migration and food in feeding migration.展开更多
Lipids were extracted from organs of the starfish Asterias amurensis associated with different treatments(raw-control,boiling and heating),and then analyzed for lipid content,lipid oxidation index,lipid classes and fa...Lipids were extracted from organs of the starfish Asterias amurensis associated with different treatments(raw-control,boiling and heating),and then analyzed for lipid content,lipid oxidation index,lipid classes and fatty acid composition.Results showed that boiling softened the hard starfish shells,thus facilitating the collection of starfish organs.As compared with raw organs,the boiled organs had lower water content and higher lipid content,possibly due to the loss of water-holding capacity caused by protein denaturation.Both boiling and heating increased the peroxide value(PV),thiobarbituric acid(TBA) value and carbon value(CV) of lipids.Despite slight increases in the content of complex lipids,associated lipid composition had no substantial variations upon boiling and heating.For simple lipids,the content of 1,2-diglyceride decreased in boiled and heated organs,with free fatty acids observed on thin layer chromatography(TLC).However,neither boiling nor heating significantly changed the fatty acid compositions of simple or complex lipids in starfish organs,suggesting that these two treatments had no significant effects on complex lipids in starfish organs.Together,our results indicated that boiling of starfish soon after capture facilitated the handling and extraction of useful complex lipids consisting of abundant glucosylceramide and eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA)-bounded phospholipids.展开更多
The covered-ice breakup in subarctic to arctic rivers in the early snowmelt season often gives any damage to instruments monitoring physical and chemical factors of water. The serious condition has brought few time se...The covered-ice breakup in subarctic to arctic rivers in the early snowmelt season often gives any damage to instruments monitoring physical and chemical factors of water. The serious condition has brought few time series data during the snowmelt runoff except the river stage or discharge. In this study, the contribution of snowmelt runoff to the discharge and sediment load is quantified by monitoring water turbidity and temperature at the lowest gauging station of U. S. Geological Survey in the Yukon River, Alaska, for more than 3 years (June 2006 to September 2009). The turbidity was recorded by a self-recording turbidimeter with a sensor of infrared-ray back-scattering type, of which the window is cleaned by a wiper just before a measurement. The turbidity time series, coupled with frequent river water sampling at mid-channel, produce time series of suspended sediment (SS) concentration, particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) concentration (mg?L–1) by using the high correlation (R2 = 0.747 to 0.790;P 11 to 2.01 × 1011 m3), 8.7% - 22.5% of the annual sediment load (3.94 × 107 to 5.08 × 107 ton), 11.6% - 23.7% of the annual POC flux (4.05 × 105 to 4.77 × 105 ton), and 10.3% - 24.5% of the annual PON flux (2.80 × 104 to 3.44 × 104 ton). In the snowmelt season, the peak suspended sediment concentration preceded the peak discharge by a few days. This probably results from the fluvial sediment erosion in the river channels.展开更多
Oxidative stability of three different lipid classes, namely, monogalactosyl diacylglycerol (MGDG) and digalactosyl diacylglycerol (DGDG) from spinach and edible brown seaweed (Akamoku) and triacylglycerol (TAG) of li...Oxidative stability of three different lipid classes, namely, monogalactosyl diacylglycerol (MGDG) and digalactosyl diacylglycerol (DGDG) from spinach and edible brown seaweed (Akamoku) and triacylglycerol (TAG) of linseed oil was compared. Analysis of oxygen consumption and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition demonstrated that spinach DGDG had the highest oxidative stability, followed by Akamoku DGDG, Akamoku MGDG, spinach MGDG, and linseed TAG. These results disagree with the order of oxidative stability expected from the average number of bis-allylic positions of each lipid. Additionally, DGDG constituents of both spinach and Akamoku showed higher oxidative stability than their MGDG constituents. The unusual oxidative stability of MGDG and DGDG could be conferred by the protection of bis-allylic positions of the PUFA against oxidative attack by the galactosyl moiety of the GL.展开更多
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of squalene (SQ) on plasma and hepatic lipid levels of obese/diabetic KK-Ay mice and wild-type C57BL/6J mice. SQ supplementation significantly increased the HDL ...The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of squalene (SQ) on plasma and hepatic lipid levels of obese/diabetic KK-Ay mice and wild-type C57BL/6J mice. SQ supplementation significantly increased the HDL cholesterol of KK-Ay mice, which was paralleled with no significant difference in the total and non-HDL cholesterol levels. The increase in HDL cholesterol was also found in the plasma of normal C57BL/6J mice, but the difference was not significant. SQ administration significantly increased neutral lipids (NL) in the liver of KK-Ay mice, while no significant difference was observed in the polar lipids and the total cholesterol levels. The increase in NL was primarily due to the increase in TAG. However, the cholesterol level significantly increased due to SQ intake in the liver of C57BL/6J mice, while no significant difference was found in other lipid levels. The present study suggests that SQ may effectively increase HDL cholesterol level, an important anti-atherosclerotic factor, especially in subjects with metabolic disorders.展开更多
This is the first report to purify and characterize POX in shoots of buckwheat species. POX was partially purified from Tartary buckwheat shoots by 48.0 fold with a final yield of 9.07%. During ion-exchange and gel fi...This is the first report to purify and characterize POX in shoots of buckwheat species. POX was partially purified from Tartary buckwheat shoots by 48.0 fold with a final yield of 9.07%. During ion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography,only one peak corresponding to POX activity was found. The molecular weight of POX was determined to be 37.5 kDa using gel filtration chromatography. The optimal pH of POX activity was 5.5 (guaiacol, quercetin) and 5.0 (ABTS). The Km of POX activity was 22.3 mM (guaiacol), 6.3 mM (ABTS) and 0.92 mM (quercetin). In contrast, the Km for quercetin in the presence of Fe3+ions was two orders of magnitude less (0.018 mM) than that in its absence. The stability of POX activity was increased in the presence of trivalentmetal ions, even after 186 h in solution. POX activity was retained by 83.6% and 56.1% in the presence of 1?mMFe3+and Al3+ions, respectively, whereasit was completely inactivated in their absence. To the best of our knowledge, this is thefirst study to detail the activation and stabilization of POX activity in relation to trivalent metal ions.展开更多
Nitrogen deficiency induces senescence and the expression of genes encoding ammonium transporters (AMTs) in terrestrial plants where the AMT family is subdivided into AMT1 and AMT2 subfamilies. Nitrogen starvation in ...Nitrogen deficiency induces senescence and the expression of genes encoding ammonium transporters (AMTs) in terrestrial plants where the AMT family is subdivided into AMT1 and AMT2 subfamilies. Nitrogen starvation in the red seaweed Pyropia yezoensis causes senescence-like discoloration. In this study, we identified five genes in P. yezoensis encoding AMT domain-containing proteins, which were phylogenetically categorized into the AMT1 subfamily. We also found a gene encoding a Rhesus protein (Rh) that was related to, but diverged from, AMTs. Moreover, our phylogenetic analysis showed that AMT domain-containing proteins from micro- and macro-algae belonged to either the AMT1 or Rh subfamily, indicating the absence of AMT2 in algae. Gene expression analyses revealed the presence of gametophyte- and sporophyte-specific AMT1 genes that were up-regulated transiently and continually, respectively, under nitrogen-deficient conditions. In addition, up-regulated sporophyte-specific gene expression was suppressed when nitrogen was resupplied. Accordingly, an expansion of the ancient AMT gene has produced AMT1 functional variants differing in temporal and nitrogen starvation-inducible expression patterns during the life cycle of P. yezoensis. These findings help elucidate the unique nutrition starvation responses involving functionally diverse AMT1 and Rh subfamilies in red seaweed.展开更多
Phototropism is a response to the direction of light that guides growth orientation and determines the shape of plants to optimize photosynthetic activity. The phototropic response is present not only in terrestrial p...Phototropism is a response to the direction of light that guides growth orientation and determines the shape of plants to optimize photosynthetic activity. The phototropic response is present not only in terrestrial plants but also in water-living algae. However, knowledge about phototropism in Bangiophycean seaweeds is limited. Here, we examined the phototropic response of the red alga Pyropia yezoensis to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of phototropism in Bangiophyceae. When leafy gametophytes and filamentous sporophytes of P. yezoensis were cultured under directional light, phototropism was observed in the gametophytes. Conchosporangia on the sporophytes also exhibited phototropism. Phototropism was positive in the majority of gametophytes and conchosporangia but in some cases was negative. In addition, a strong phototropic response occurred under white light, whereas blue and red light elicited minor and no responses, respectively. This observation is in contrast with the phototropic response in terrestrial plants and several algae, in which blue light is responsible for positive phototropism. Surprisingly, the genome of P. yezoensis has no homologues of the photoreceptors for blue and red light, revealing differences in the regulation of phototropism between terrestrial plants and P. yezoensis . Studies on the phototropism in P. yezoensis could shed light on the evolutional divergence of phototropic responses in plants.展开更多
Recent studies are focusing on the distribution of water mass because the mixture region of water mass is highly related to the rich fishing grounds[Yasuda I.,Watanabe Y.,Fish.Oceanogr.3(3):172–181,1994].Due to the l...Recent studies are focusing on the distribution of water mass because the mixture region of water mass is highly related to the rich fishing grounds[Yasuda I.,Watanabe Y.,Fish.Oceanogr.3(3):172–181,1994].Due to the large data size and time-varying property,efficient exploration and visualization of the ocean data is always extremely challenging.To extract the dynamic behaviors of the water mass and its mixture from a large-scale simulated ocean dataset,we developed an efficient visualization system by applying our volume compression method and our volume rendering method.This system allows us to investigate the time-varying distributions of ocean physical properties,additionally from the user’s perspective and requirements.In the experiments,we show the generality and expressiveness by applying our system for single-and multi-property visualizations to find some significant ocean water mass.Consequently,we could obtain a clear visualization result to show the dynamic behaviors of the mixture of water mass for simulation data regarding a location in the northwestern Pacific near Japan.展开更多
(1)This article,published on 20 June 2013,had the following title:A VASUALIZATION FOR THE DYNAMIC BEHAVIORS OF THE MIXTURE OF WATER MASS FOR NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC NEAR JAPAN Here“VASUALIZATION”should be“VISUALIZATIO...(1)This article,published on 20 June 2013,had the following title:A VASUALIZATION FOR THE DYNAMIC BEHAVIORS OF THE MIXTURE OF WATER MASS FOR NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC NEAR JAPAN Here“VASUALIZATION”should be“VISUALIZATION”.展开更多
文摘Dietary intake of 0.1% fucoxanthin significantly reduced lipid hydroperoxide levels of liver and abdominal white adipose tissue (WAT) of obese/diabetes KK-Ay mice. The fucoxanthin supplementation also significantly reduced blood glucose level and hepatic lipid contents of the mice. Oxidative stress is known to be induced in hyperglycemia and high fat conditions. Therefore, in vivo antioxidant activity of fucoxanthin found in the present study could be attributed to its anti-diabetic effect and its decreasing effect on hepatic lipids. On the other hand, little effect of fucoxanthin on lipid hydroperoxide levels was found in normal ICR mice. Although the content of fucoxanthin metabolites in the abdominal WAT of KK-Ay mice was about 50 times higher that in the liver, there was little difference in its In Vivo antioxidant activity between in the liver and in the abdominal WAT. These results suggest that well-known ability of fucoxanthin to scavenge active oxygen species and/or free radicals would not be a main reason to explain its In Vivo antioxidant activity.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40830854)the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No.2011CB403606)
文摘Anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), a small pelagic fish and food of other economic fishes, is a key species in the Yellow Sea ecosystem. Understanding the mechanisms of its recruitment and biomass variation is important for the prediction and management of fishery resources. Coupled with a hydrodynamic model (POM) and a lower trophic level ecosystem model (NEMURO), an individual-based model of anchovy is developed to study the influence of physical environment on anchovy's biomass variation. Seasonal variations of circulation, water temperature and mix-layer depth from POM are used as external forcing for NEMURO and the anchovy model. Biomasses of large zooplankton and predatory zooplankton which anchovy feeds on are output from NEMURO and are controlled by the consumption of anchovy on them. Survival fitness theory related to temperature and food is used to determine the swimming action of anchovy in the model. The simulation results agree well with observations and elucidate the influence of temperature in over-wintering migration and food in feeding migration.
基金supported by the International Science and Technology Cooperation Program of China(GrantNo.2010DFA31330)partically by the Sakura Program of Japan Society for Promotion of Science
文摘Lipids were extracted from organs of the starfish Asterias amurensis associated with different treatments(raw-control,boiling and heating),and then analyzed for lipid content,lipid oxidation index,lipid classes and fatty acid composition.Results showed that boiling softened the hard starfish shells,thus facilitating the collection of starfish organs.As compared with raw organs,the boiled organs had lower water content and higher lipid content,possibly due to the loss of water-holding capacity caused by protein denaturation.Both boiling and heating increased the peroxide value(PV),thiobarbituric acid(TBA) value and carbon value(CV) of lipids.Despite slight increases in the content of complex lipids,associated lipid composition had no substantial variations upon boiling and heating.For simple lipids,the content of 1,2-diglyceride decreased in boiled and heated organs,with free fatty acids observed on thin layer chromatography(TLC).However,neither boiling nor heating significantly changed the fatty acid compositions of simple or complex lipids in starfish organs,suggesting that these two treatments had no significant effects on complex lipids in starfish organs.Together,our results indicated that boiling of starfish soon after capture facilitated the handling and extraction of useful complex lipids consisting of abundant glucosylceramide and eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA)-bounded phospholipids.
文摘The covered-ice breakup in subarctic to arctic rivers in the early snowmelt season often gives any damage to instruments monitoring physical and chemical factors of water. The serious condition has brought few time series data during the snowmelt runoff except the river stage or discharge. In this study, the contribution of snowmelt runoff to the discharge and sediment load is quantified by monitoring water turbidity and temperature at the lowest gauging station of U. S. Geological Survey in the Yukon River, Alaska, for more than 3 years (June 2006 to September 2009). The turbidity was recorded by a self-recording turbidimeter with a sensor of infrared-ray back-scattering type, of which the window is cleaned by a wiper just before a measurement. The turbidity time series, coupled with frequent river water sampling at mid-channel, produce time series of suspended sediment (SS) concentration, particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration and particulate organic nitrogen (PON) concentration (mg?L–1) by using the high correlation (R2 = 0.747 to 0.790;P 11 to 2.01 × 1011 m3), 8.7% - 22.5% of the annual sediment load (3.94 × 107 to 5.08 × 107 ton), 11.6% - 23.7% of the annual POC flux (4.05 × 105 to 4.77 × 105 ton), and 10.3% - 24.5% of the annual PON flux (2.80 × 104 to 3.44 × 104 ton). In the snowmelt season, the peak suspended sediment concentration preceded the peak discharge by a few days. This probably results from the fluvial sediment erosion in the river channels.
文摘Oxidative stability of three different lipid classes, namely, monogalactosyl diacylglycerol (MGDG) and digalactosyl diacylglycerol (DGDG) from spinach and edible brown seaweed (Akamoku) and triacylglycerol (TAG) of linseed oil was compared. Analysis of oxygen consumption and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition demonstrated that spinach DGDG had the highest oxidative stability, followed by Akamoku DGDG, Akamoku MGDG, spinach MGDG, and linseed TAG. These results disagree with the order of oxidative stability expected from the average number of bis-allylic positions of each lipid. Additionally, DGDG constituents of both spinach and Akamoku showed higher oxidative stability than their MGDG constituents. The unusual oxidative stability of MGDG and DGDG could be conferred by the protection of bis-allylic positions of the PUFA against oxidative attack by the galactosyl moiety of the GL.
文摘The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of squalene (SQ) on plasma and hepatic lipid levels of obese/diabetic KK-Ay mice and wild-type C57BL/6J mice. SQ supplementation significantly increased the HDL cholesterol of KK-Ay mice, which was paralleled with no significant difference in the total and non-HDL cholesterol levels. The increase in HDL cholesterol was also found in the plasma of normal C57BL/6J mice, but the difference was not significant. SQ administration significantly increased neutral lipids (NL) in the liver of KK-Ay mice, while no significant difference was observed in the polar lipids and the total cholesterol levels. The increase in NL was primarily due to the increase in TAG. However, the cholesterol level significantly increased due to SQ intake in the liver of C57BL/6J mice, while no significant difference was found in other lipid levels. The present study suggests that SQ may effectively increase HDL cholesterol level, an important anti-atherosclerotic factor, especially in subjects with metabolic disorders.
文摘This is the first report to purify and characterize POX in shoots of buckwheat species. POX was partially purified from Tartary buckwheat shoots by 48.0 fold with a final yield of 9.07%. During ion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography,only one peak corresponding to POX activity was found. The molecular weight of POX was determined to be 37.5 kDa using gel filtration chromatography. The optimal pH of POX activity was 5.5 (guaiacol, quercetin) and 5.0 (ABTS). The Km of POX activity was 22.3 mM (guaiacol), 6.3 mM (ABTS) and 0.92 mM (quercetin). In contrast, the Km for quercetin in the presence of Fe3+ions was two orders of magnitude less (0.018 mM) than that in its absence. The stability of POX activity was increased in the presence of trivalentmetal ions, even after 186 h in solution. POX activity was retained by 83.6% and 56.1% in the presence of 1?mMFe3+and Al3+ions, respectively, whereasit was completely inactivated in their absence. To the best of our knowledge, this is thefirst study to detail the activation and stabilization of POX activity in relation to trivalent metal ions.
文摘Nitrogen deficiency induces senescence and the expression of genes encoding ammonium transporters (AMTs) in terrestrial plants where the AMT family is subdivided into AMT1 and AMT2 subfamilies. Nitrogen starvation in the red seaweed Pyropia yezoensis causes senescence-like discoloration. In this study, we identified five genes in P. yezoensis encoding AMT domain-containing proteins, which were phylogenetically categorized into the AMT1 subfamily. We also found a gene encoding a Rhesus protein (Rh) that was related to, but diverged from, AMTs. Moreover, our phylogenetic analysis showed that AMT domain-containing proteins from micro- and macro-algae belonged to either the AMT1 or Rh subfamily, indicating the absence of AMT2 in algae. Gene expression analyses revealed the presence of gametophyte- and sporophyte-specific AMT1 genes that were up-regulated transiently and continually, respectively, under nitrogen-deficient conditions. In addition, up-regulated sporophyte-specific gene expression was suppressed when nitrogen was resupplied. Accordingly, an expansion of the ancient AMT gene has produced AMT1 functional variants differing in temporal and nitrogen starvation-inducible expression patterns during the life cycle of P. yezoensis. These findings help elucidate the unique nutrition starvation responses involving functionally diverse AMT1 and Rh subfamilies in red seaweed.
文摘Phototropism is a response to the direction of light that guides growth orientation and determines the shape of plants to optimize photosynthetic activity. The phototropic response is present not only in terrestrial plants but also in water-living algae. However, knowledge about phototropism in Bangiophycean seaweeds is limited. Here, we examined the phototropic response of the red alga Pyropia yezoensis to elucidate the regulatory mechanism of phototropism in Bangiophyceae. When leafy gametophytes and filamentous sporophytes of P. yezoensis were cultured under directional light, phototropism was observed in the gametophytes. Conchosporangia on the sporophytes also exhibited phototropism. Phototropism was positive in the majority of gametophytes and conchosporangia but in some cases was negative. In addition, a strong phototropic response occurred under white light, whereas blue and red light elicited minor and no responses, respectively. This observation is in contrast with the phototropic response in terrestrial plants and several algae, in which blue light is responsible for positive phototropism. Surprisingly, the genome of P. yezoensis has no homologues of the photoreceptors for blue and red light, revealing differences in the regulation of phototropism between terrestrial plants and P. yezoensis . Studies on the phototropism in P. yezoensis could shed light on the evolutional divergence of phototropic responses in plants.
基金supported by“Hakodate Marine Bio Cluster Project”in the knowledge Cluster Program from 2009a Grant-in-Aid for University and Society Collaboration from the Ministry of Education,Culture,Sports,Science and Technology(MEXT)+1 种基金a Grant-in-Aid for the Research Program on Climate Change Adaptation(RECCA)a Japan and France JST-ANR joint Grand-in-Aid for the PetaFlow project.
文摘Recent studies are focusing on the distribution of water mass because the mixture region of water mass is highly related to the rich fishing grounds[Yasuda I.,Watanabe Y.,Fish.Oceanogr.3(3):172–181,1994].Due to the large data size and time-varying property,efficient exploration and visualization of the ocean data is always extremely challenging.To extract the dynamic behaviors of the water mass and its mixture from a large-scale simulated ocean dataset,we developed an efficient visualization system by applying our volume compression method and our volume rendering method.This system allows us to investigate the time-varying distributions of ocean physical properties,additionally from the user’s perspective and requirements.In the experiments,we show the generality and expressiveness by applying our system for single-and multi-property visualizations to find some significant ocean water mass.Consequently,we could obtain a clear visualization result to show the dynamic behaviors of the mixture of water mass for simulation data regarding a location in the northwestern Pacific near Japan.
文摘(1)This article,published on 20 June 2013,had the following title:A VASUALIZATION FOR THE DYNAMIC BEHAVIORS OF THE MIXTURE OF WATER MASS FOR NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC NEAR JAPAN Here“VASUALIZATION”should be“VISUALIZATION”.