Transgenerational acclimation to acidified seawater and gene expression patterns in a sea urchin.

Transgenerational responses of susceptible calcifying organisms to progressive ocean acidification are an important issue in reducing uncertainty of future predictions. In this study, a two-generation rearing experiment was conducted using mature Mesocentrotus nudus, a major edible sea urchin that occurs along the coasts of northern Japan. Morphological observations and comprehensive gene expression analysis (RNA-seq) of resulting larvae were performed to examine transgenerational acclimation to acidified seawater.

Early Filial Cannibalism in Fish Revisited: Endocrinological Constraint, Costs of Parental Care, and Mating Possibility.

AbstractOffspring desertion by parents generally occurs at an early stage of parental care, which is thought to minimize the costs of parental care prior to desertion. This study investigated the effects of endocrinological constraints on early total filial cannibalism by male in the field, a paternal brooding blennid fish with androgen-dependent brood cycling. In brood reduction experiments, cannibal males showed low levels of plasma 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) relative to noncannibals and also similar levels of 11-KT to males in the parental care phase.

Effects of mucus trail following on the distance between individuals of opposite sex and its influence on the evolution of the trait in the Ezo abalone .

Background: Aggregation affects the fertilization rate of species that utilize external fertilization. However, the process of aggregation has not been studied in detail, using either theoretical models or real world observations. We used the Ezo abalone as a model animal species to evaluate whether mucus trail following (MTF) facilitates aggregation by reducing the distance between members of opposite sexes.

Filial Cannibalism by Male Fish as an Infanticide to Restart Courtship by Self-Regulating Androgen Levels.

Parental care is costly for animal parents [1-3], who often desert, abort, or kill their offspring and sometimes even eat them-so-called filial cannibalism [1, 4]. A primary adaptive hypothesis for filial cannibalism centers on the expected nutritional benefits from eating offspring (the energy-based [EB] hypothesis [5-7]). However, many empirical studies are inconsistent with the EB hypothesis [8, 9].

Effects of ocean acidification with pCO diurnal fluctuations on survival and larval shell formation of Ezo abalone, Haliotis discus hannai.

This study assessed the effects of constant and diurnally fluctuating pCO on development and shell formation of larval abalone Haliotis discus hannai. The larvae was exposed to different pCO conditions; constant [450, 800, or 1200 μatm in the first experiment (Exp. I), 450 or 780 μatm in the second experiment (Exp.

Male coercive mating in externally fertilizing species: male coercion, female reluctance and explanation for female acceptance.

Male coercive mating exerts a strong evolutionary pressure on mating-related traits of both sexes. However, it is extremely rare in externally fertilizing species probably because the male mating behaviour is incomplete until females release their eggs. Here we showed that males of the externally fertilizing fish Rhabdoblennius nitidus coercively confine females to the nests until spawning, and investigated why females accept male coercive mating.

Large- and small-size advantages in sneaking behaviour in the dusky frillgoby Bathygobius fuscus.

Sneaking tactic, a male alternative reproductive tactic involving sperm competition, is generally adopted by small individuals because of its inconspicuousness. However, large size has an advantage when competition occurs between sneakers for fertilization of eggs. Here, we suggest that both large- and small-size advantages of sneaker males are present within the same species.

Differential development of carbachol-induced desensitization in receptor-mediated Ca2+ influx and Ca2+ release pathways in smooth muscle of guinea-pig taenia caeci.

1. We have found that development of carbachol (CCh)-induced desensitization to receptor agonists, but not to receptor by-passed stimulation, is transiently interrupted by a Ca2+-dependent resensitization during the early stage in the smooth muscle of guinea-pig taenia caeci. To further characterize the receptor-mediated signal transduction pathways involved in this peculiar desensitization process, we examined the desensitization processes during Ca2+ influx- and Ca2+ release-mediated contractions in response to activation of muscarinic receptors or histamine H1 receptors.

Perioperative respiratory complications caused by cystic lung malformation in Proteus syndrome.

A 7-year-old girl with Proteus syndrome, complicated with severe kyphoscoliosis and cystic lung malformation, developed respiratory complications during and after posterior spinal fusion under general anesthesia. We speculated that low oxygenation while in the prone position contributed to ventilation perfusion mismatch owing to the cystic lung malformation that existed predominantly in the right lung, and that postoperative respiratory failure was caused by initially increased bronchial mucous secretions and secondary persistent bacterial pneumonia. Cystic lung malformation rather than reduced respiratory function, although both can be a cause of mucous clearance impairment, should be considered as one of the predictive factors for perioperative respiratory failure in Proteus syndrome.

Effects of sarin on the nervous system of subway workers seven years after the Tokyo subway sarin attack.

This study was designed to assess the after effects of sarin exposure on the nervous system in victims of the Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack, which occurred on 20 March, 1995. We performed a similar study 3 yr after the disaster. This time, we newly enrolled 36 staff of the Teito Rapid Transit Authority (Tokyo Eidan subway) to assess the 7 yr after effects on the nervous system, and merged previous data including unpublished data to enhance statistical power.

Long-term treatment with the Na+-glucose cotransporter inhibitor T-1095 causes sustained improvement in hyperglycemia and prevents diabetic neuropathy in Goto-Kakizaki Rats.

We examined the effects of T-1095, an orally active inhibitor of Na(+)-glucose cotransporter (SGLT), on the development and severity of diabetes in Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat, a spontaneous, non-obese model of type 2 diabetes. T-1095 was administered as dietary admixture (0.1% w/w) beginning at 7 weeks of age for 32 weeks.

Uptake of cadmium in meals from the digestive tract of young non-smoking Japanese female volunteers.

Objectives: To estimate rates of cadmium (Cd) uptake from the digestive tract and changes in Cd in biological specimens after intake of Cd mainly in rice.

Methods: Twenty-five young non-smoking Japanese female volunteers (20-23 in age) were recruited and a 20-d experimental study was conducted. With polished rice containing 0.

[Effects of quantity of Japanese cedar pollen, air pollution and urbanization on allergic rhinitis morbidity in Ibaraki prefecture].

Objectives: It has been reported that morbidity from allergic rhinitis in the National Health Insurance records in Ibaraki Prefecture for May correlated with the quantity of Japan cedar pollen scattered in each year. The purpose of the present investigation was to clarify the Japanese cedar pollinosis contribution to morbidity, and also clarifying the influence of air pollution and medical resources on the crisis and symptoms of allergic rhinitis.

Methods: The charts in four otolaryngology facilities were used for analyzing the Japan cedar pollinosis content with reference to the allergic rhinitis during the pollen season.