Relationship between salmon egg subsidy and the distribution of an avian predator.

As a spatial subsidy, which is the phenomenon of transferring resources from a donor system to a recipient system, anadromous salmonids contribute to the supply of marine-derived nutrients to freshwater and terrestrial systems. Live salmon and salmon carcasses and eggs are utilized by various organisms and affect their abundance and distribution. However, the evaluation of the effect of salmon subsidies on the abundance and distribution of terrestrial animals is biased toward predators or scavengers that utilize spawning adults and carcasses, and few studies have focused on the effect of salmon eggs as a subsidy.

Occurrence patterns of crop-foraging sika deer distribution in an agriculture-forest landscape revealed by nitrogen stable isotopes.

Conflicts arising from the consumption of anthropogenic foods by wildlife are increasing worldwide. Conventional tools for evaluating the spatial distribution pattern of large terrestrial mammals that consume anthropogenic foods have various limitations, despite their importance in management to mitigate conflicts. In this study, we examined the spatial distribution pattern of crop-foraging sika deer by performing nitrogen stable isotope analyses of bone collagen.

Chromosomal analyses of human giant diploid oocytes by next-generation sequencing.

Purpose: Although giant oocytes (GOs) having about twice cytoplasmic volume compared with general oocytes in mammals including the human are rarely recovered, it is thought that GOs have potentially chromosomal abnormalities. The aim of the present study was to assess chromosome numbers in chromosome-spindle complexes (CSCs) and polar bodies of human GOs by using micromanipulation for sampling and next-generation sequencing (NGS) for analyses of the chromosome numbers.

Methods: When recovered oocytes whose cytoplasm has lager than 140 µm or above, the oocytes were defined as GOs, and recovered GOs were vitrified.

Role of autopsy imaging-computed tomography in the post-mortem study of farm animals.

Background: Autopsy imaging (Ai) is used to determine the cause of death, providing pre-dissection information. Ai is often used in the field of human forensic medicine but has never been applied on farm animals.

Methods: Ai-computed tomography (CT) was performed before necropsy for farm animals (one goat, one ox, one cow and three calves) that died or were euthanised.

Testosterone regulates the emission of ultrasonic vocalizations and mounting behavior during different developmental periods in mice.

Testosterone masculinizes male sexual behavior by providing organizational and activational effects during the perinatal and peripubertal periods and during adulthood, respectively. We revealed that the emission of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) and mounting behavior was regulated by different neural circuits. However, the detailed testosterone effects on these two behaviors have not been fully elucidated.

Convergent evolution of body color between sympatric freshwater fishes via different visual sensory evolution.

Although there are many examples of color evolution potentially driven by sensory drive, only few studies have examined whether distinct species inhabiting the same environments evolve similar body colors via shared sensory mechanisms. In this study, we tested whether two sympatric freshwater fish taxa, halfbeaks of the genus and ricefishes of the genus in Sulawesi Island, converge in both body color and visual sensitivity. After reconstructing the phylogeny separately for and using transcriptome-wide sequences, we demonstrated positive correlations of body redness between these two taxa across environments, even after phylogenetic corrections, which support convergent evolution.

Molecular mechanisms of embryonic implantation in mammals: Lessons from the gene manipulation of mice.

Background: Human infertility has become a serious and social issue all over the world, especially in developed countries. Numerous types of assisted reproductive technology have been developed and are widely used to treat infertility. However, pregnancy outcomes require further improvement.

Low expression of a D/L-hybrid mutant (D/L) in the novel haplotype H-2 identified in atopic dermatitis model NC/Nga mice.

Environmental factors and the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are involved in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis (AD). However, MHC type (H2 haplotype) of AD model mice NC/Nga is poorly understood. Alloreactive CD8 or CD4 T cells in NC/Nga strongly responded to each antigen-presenting cells (A/J: H-2, C57BL/6: H-2, BALB/c: H-2, or C3H/HeJ: H-2), suggesting that NC/Nga has other H2 haplotype.

Isolation and identification of Enterobacteriaceae from raw horsemeat intended for human consumption (Basashi).

The status of Enterobacteriaceae contamination was investigated in a total of 131 samples of raw horsemeat (Basashi) intended for human consumption purchased from a general meat shop or by mail-order from October 2012 to December 2013. The bacteria were isolated from 105 of the 112 samples (93.8%).