Eggshell quality deterioration associated with heat stress is a well-known phenomenon. The involvement of the 28-kDa calcium-binding protein (calbindin, CaBP-D28k) localization in this failure is not clearly understood. To test a possible direct effect of ambient temperature on calbindin-D28k localization, 40 White Leghorn laying hens were housed in individual cages and exposed to high ambient temperature (30-33°C) and thermoneutral temperature (20-22°C) which served as a control. Eggshell quality characteristics and immunohistochemical localization of all intestinal segments and eggshell gland calbindin-D28k were performed under both environmental conditions. As expected, egg weight, eggshell thickness, eggshell percentage, and eggshell density were negatively affected by high ambient temperature (P ≤ 0.01). Immunohistochemistry showed that calbindin was localized in the intestinal enterocyte cytoplasm and glandular cell cytoplasm under thermoneutral conditions. However, the calbindin intensity was prominently decreased in ileum, cecum, colon, and eggshell gland under heat stress conditions. Therefore, it could be concluded that calbindin-D28k localization in intestinal segments and eggshell gland is negatively affected by high ambient temperature which might be related to the deterioration of eggshell quality characteristics under heat stress conditions.

No abstract

Several populations of wild Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) inhabit the area around Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP). To measure and control the size of these populations, macaques are captured annually. Between May 2013 and December 2014, we performed a haematological analysis of Japanese macaques captured within a 40-km radius of FNPP, the location of a nuclear disaster two years post-accident. The dose-rate of radiocaesium was estimated using the ERICA Tool. The median internal dose-rate was 7.6 μGy/day (ranging from 1.8 to 219 μGy/day) and the external dose-rate was 13.9 μGy/day (ranging from 6.7 to 35.1 μGy/day). We performed multiple regression analyses to estimate the dose-rate effects on haematological values in peripheral blood and bone marrow. The white blood cell and platelet counts showed an inverse correlation with the internal dose-rate in mature macaques. Furthermore, the myeloid cell, megakaryocyte, and haematopoietic cell counts were inversely correlated and the occupancy of adipose tissue was positively correlated with internal dose-rate in femoral bone marrow of mature macaques. These relationships suggest that persistent whole body exposure to low-dose-rate radiation affects haematopoiesis in Japanese macaques.

No abstract

Immunohistochemistry for two nociceptive transducers, the transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V members 1 (TRPV1) and 2 (TRPV2), was performed on the pharynx and its adjacent regions. TRPV1-immunoreactivity (IR) was detected in nerve fibers beneath and within the epithelium and/or taste bud-like structure. In the pharynx, these nerve fibers were abundant in the naso-oral part and at the border region of naso-oral and laryngeal parts. They were also numerous on the laryngeal side of the epiglottis and in the soft palate. TRPV2-IR was expressed by dendritic cells in the pharynx and epiglottis, as well as in the root of the tongue and soft palate. These cells were located in the epithelium and lamina propria. TRPV2-immunoreactive (IR) dendritic cells were numerous in the naso-oral part of the pharynx, epiglottis, and tongue. Abundance of TRPV2-IR dendritic processes usually obscured the presence of TRPV2-IR nerve fibers in these portions. However, some TRPV2-IR nerve fibers could be observed in the epithelium of the soft palate. Retrograde tracing method also revealed that sensory neurons which innervate the pharynx or soft palate were abundant in the jugular-petrosal ganglion complex and relatively rare in the nodose ganglion. In the jugular-petrosal ganglion complex, TRPV1- and TRPV2-IR were expressed by one-third of pharyngeal and soft palate neurons. TRPV2-IR was also detected in 11.5 % pharyngeal and 30.9 % soft palate neurons in the complex. Coexpression of TRPV1 and CGRP was frequent among pharyngeal and soft palate neurons. The present study suggests that TRPV1- and TRPV2-IR jugular-petrosal neurons may be associated with the regulation of the swallowing reflex.

Here we determined the 90Sr concentrations in the teeth of cattle abandoned in the evacuation area of the Fukushima-Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident. 90Sr activity concentrations in the teeth varied from 6–831 mBq (g Ca)−1 and exhibited a positive relationship with the degree of radioactive contamination that the cattle experienced. Even within an individual animal, the specific activity of 90Sr (Bq (g Sr)−1) varied depending on the development stage of the teeth during the FNPP accident: teeth that were early in development exhibited high 90Sr specific activities, while teeth that were late in development exhibited low specific activities. These findings demonstrate that 90Sr is incorporated into the teeth during tooth development; thus, tooth 90Sr activity concentrations reflect environmental 90Sr levels during tooth formation. Assessment of 90Sr in teeth could provide useful information about internal exposure to 90Sr radiation and allow for the measurement of time-course changes in the degree of environmental 90Sr pollution.

No abstract

Kinship analysis was performed on a Jomon double burial from the Usu-Moshiri site in Hokkaido, Japan, using odontometric data in conjunction with mitochondrial DNA data. Q-mode correlations with respect to tooth crown measurements indicated a low similarity between the two adult female skeletons found from this burial. Moreover, mitochondrial DNA analysis revealed that these individuals were not maternal relatives. Consequently, judging from both morphological and genetic evidence, these skeletons are more likely to have been unrelated rather than consanguineous. This is the first report that provides anthropological evidence for a lack of kinship of skeletons discovered from a Jomon double burial.