This study was conducted to observe egg and larvae morphological development of carp to obtain basic data for resource conservation and taxonomic research. Brood carp used in the research (total length 67.3-75.5 cm, average 71.0±3.45 cm) were bred in a circular rearing aquarium (600×300×100 cm) using a running water system from January to July, 2015. Breeding water temperature was maintained at 23.0-25.0℃(average 24.0℃). Fertilized carp eggs were translucent and globular, and their size was 1.75-1.89 mm (average 1.82±0.06 mm). Blastoderms formed 10 min after fertilization and reached the two-cell stage 30 min after fertilization. Then, the embryo turned dark and exhibited melanophores, and blood started flowing from the heart across the egg yolk at 42 hrs and 50 min after fertilization. Hatching began 70 hrs and 26 min after fertilization larvae emerged through the egg membrane, starting from the head. The length of prelarvae immediately after hatching was 5.23-5.38 mm (average 5.31±0.11 mm) the mouth and anus were closed, and the pectoral fin was formed. Postlarvae at 18 days after hatching had a total length of 11.9-13.9 mm (average 12.9±1.40 mm), separate anal fin and back membranes, and fin ray. Juveniles fish at 35 days after hatching had a total length of 29.9-30.2 mm (average 30.1±0.13 mm), with the body covered with scales, and the same number of fin rays, color, and shape as their broodstork.

Present study aimed to determine the effect of ‘bitter melon’, a popularly used fruit in Bangladesh and several other Asian countries, on high-fat-diet-induced type 2 diabetes. To investigate the effect, ethanol extract from bitter melon (BME) as a dietary supplement with mouse chow was used. BME was found to significantly attenuate the high-fat diet (HFD) -induced body weight and total fat mass. BME also effectively reduced the insulin resistance induced by the HFD. Furthermore, dietary supplementation of BME was highly effective in increasing insulin sensitivity and reducing hepatic fat and obesity. These results indicate that BME could be effective in attenuating type 2 diabetes and could therefore be a preventive measure against type 2 diabetes.

In a 12-week experiment, the rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus, and olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, were investigated to determine the effects of starvation on their physiological parameters. The protein and DNA contents of the starved fish were significantly higher than the initial values and those of the fed fish. The RNA contents and RNA/DNA ratios of the fed fish were significantly higher than those of the other groups (P<0.05). The hematocrit, hemoglobin, red blood cells (RBC), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV) of the fed rock bream were significantly higher than at baseline (P<0.05), whereas the mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) of the fed fish was lower than at baseline (P<0.05). The hematocrit, hemoglobin, RBC, and MCHC of the starved group were significantly lower than the baseline values, whereas the MCV of the starved group was significantly higher than the baseline value (P<0.05). No significant difference in alanine aminotransferase was observed between the fed fish and baseline, whereas the starved fish value was significantly higher than the baseline value (P>0.05). There were no significant differences in cortisol levels. However, the glucose level in the fed group was significantly higher than the baseline level and that in the starved group was significantly lower than the baseline level (P<0.05).

Mammalian spermatogenesis occurs in a precise and coordinated manner in the seminiferous tubules. One of the attempts to understand the detailed biological process during mammalian spermatogenesis at the molecular level has been to identify the testis specific genes followed by study of the testicular expression pattern of the genes. From the subtracted cDNA library of rat testis prepared using representational difference analysis (RDA) method, a complimentary DNA clone encoding type III member of a DnaJ family protein, DnaJC18, was cloned (GenBank Accession No. DQ158861). The fulllength DnaJC18 cDNA has the longest open reading frame of 357 amino acids. Tissue and developmental Northern blot analysis revealed that the DnaJC18 gene was expressed specifically in testis and began to express from postnatal week 4 testis, respectively. In situ hybridization studies showed that DnaJC18 mRNA was expressed only during the maturation stages of late pachytene, round and elongated spermatids of adult rat testis. Western blot analysis with DnaJC18 antibody revealed that 41.2 kDa DnaJC18 protein was detected only in adult testis. Immunohistochemistry study further confirmed that DnaJC18 protein, was expressed in developing germ cells and the result was in concert with the in situ hybridization result. Confocal microscopy with GFP tagged DnaJC18 protein revealed that it was localized in the cytoplasm of cells. Taken together, these results suggested that testis specific DnaJC18, a member of the type III DnaJ protein family, might play a role during germ cell maturation in adult rat testis.

This study aimed to analyze difference in clinical findings, including coronary artery complications, in patients with Kawasaki disease and respiratory symptoms with several respiratory infections. We studied 182 pediatric patients diagnosed with Kawasaki disease. Examinations for respiratory viral polymerase chain reaction were conducted in the group of patients with respiratory symptoms. Echocardiography was perfomed by a pediatric cardiologist, and laboratory findings were evaluated. Clinical manifestations and laboratory findings based on medical records were compared. There were no differences between patients with and without respiratory viral infections with respect to age, male-female ratio, coronary artery complications, Kawasaki disease-specific clinical manifestations, duration of fever, duration of hospitalization, or recurrence rate. There was a significant difference in C-reactive protein levels (55.6 vs. 73.9 mg/L) between the two groups, but the other laboratory findings. The rate of respiratory infections in pediatric patients with Kawasaki disease was similar to those reported in previous studies, and clinical manifestations and laboratory findings were not significantly different between the groups.

In this study, the discharge loads of non-point pollution sources were analyzed using a Hydrologic Simulation Program-Fortran (HSPF) model for 46 sub-watersheds in order to guide the management plan for water and streams passing through the city. The results using HSPF showed good applicability in comparison to point measurements, which were based on BOD, TP, and TN. The mean value of the BOD loads was 4.08 kg/km2 per day, and the highest level of BOD was 17.75 kg/km2 per day at Namri. Three potential areas of high priority for the installment of constructed wetlands were selected in order to reduce non-point pollution sources based on BOD loads and on environmental and economic conditions. The results for these scenarios indicated a maximum rate of reduction in BOD of 39.12% within the proposed constructed wetlands.

We inoculated a spent mushroom substrate from Flammulina velutipes (SMSF) with a microbial additive and assessed the effects on chemical composition, ruminal fermentation parameters, and total-tract nutrient digestibility. In Exp. 1, three cannulated Hanwoo steers were used in an in situ trial to determine the degradation kinetics of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP). In Exp. 2, three Hanwoo steers were randomly assigned to experimental diets according to a 3 × 3 Latin square for a 3-week period (2 weeks for adaptation and 1 week for sample collection). Experimental diets included the control diet (3.75 kg/d formulated concentrate mixture + 1.25 kg/d rice straw), SMSF diet (3.19 kg/d formulated concentrate mixture + 1.25 kg/d rice straw + 0.56 kg/d SMSF), and inoculated SMSF (ISMSF) diet (3.19 kg/d formulated concentrate mixture + 1.25 kg/d rice straw + 0.56 kg/d ISMSF). The chemical composition of ISMSF did not differ from that of SMSF. Microbial additive inoculation decreased pH (P<0.05) and improved preservation for SMSF. The percentages of DM, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) in ISMSF were slightly lesser than those in SMSF. Ruminal fermentation characteristics and total-tract nutrient digestibility were not affected by diet. Overall, microbial additive inoculation improved preservation for SMSF and may allow improved digestion in the rumen; however, the total digestible nutrients (TDN) of SMSF and ISMSF diets were slightly lesser than the control diet. The ISMSF can be used as an alternative feedstuff to partially replace formulated concentrate feed.

This study was conducted to analyze the correlation between cultivation environment, cropping system, and the quality of cut flower in autumn-winter season chrysanthemum‘Jinba’, and to suggest the cultivation factors that can improve the quality of cut flower. It was examined for cultivation environment such as average day and night temperature, average day and night relative humidity, average day and night vapor pressure deficit (VPD), and integrated solar radiation of 4 farms planted in mid-October. Also, it was surveyed for cropping system such as cutting condition, growth period, irrigation method, soil chemical properties. Chrysanthemum ‘Jinba’ was harvested in order to investigate the quality of cutting of four farms, and then growth, chlorophyll content, and vase life of cut flowers were investigated. Based on these data, it was analyzed for the correlation between cultivation environment, cropping system, and quality of cut flower elements. In correlation between cultivation environment and quality of cut flower, the average night temperature showed a negative correlation with the growth of cut flower, and it was no correlation with other environmental factors. The vase life showed a negative correlation with the average day and night temperature and VPD, and a most positive correlation with the average day and night humidity. In correlation between cropping system and quality of cut flower, the cutting length, period of vegetative growth, daily irrigation amount, and total irrigation amount showed a less positive correlation, and leaf number of cutting and soil pH showed a most positive correlation with growth of cut flower. On the other hand, soil EC showed a less negative correlation, and days to flowering after light out showed a most negative correlation with growth of cut flower. The vase life of cut flower was not correlated with the cropping system factors.

Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs; also known as Asingle [As] spermatogonia in mice) divide to self-renew or to produce progenitor cells known as Apaired(Apr) spermatogonia in basal compartment of seminiferous tubules of mammalian testis. These characterized cells are the finally differentiated product of a developmental process referred to as “spermatogenesis.” In the development of SSCs it is critical to maintain a balance between self-renewal and differentiation. because an excess of either process will lead to infertility. these two processes are tightly controlled by intrinsic signals of SSCs and extrinsic signals from the microenvironment, known as the SSC niche. The SSC niche is formed by Sertoli cells, the only somatic cells found inside the seminiferous tubules. The WNT/β-catenin pathway is known to regulate Sertoli cell functions critical to their capacity to support spermatogenesis in the postnatal testis, but The mechanisms and factors of the pathway are not well known. We found a factor TLE3 (Transducin Like Enhancer Of Split 3). The transcriptional co-repressor TLE family is known to function as transcription co-repressors within the context of Wnt signaling by interacting with histone deacetylase HDAC2. We examined the expression level of TLE3 in various mouse tissues. As a result of RT-PCR, TLE3 showed significantly higher expression in testis than that in other tissues. Immunofluorescent analysis revealed that TLE3 and HDAC2 expression are differentially regulated in the mouse testis during postnatal development. In adult testis, TLE3 and HDAC2 were co-expressed in Sertoli cells. TLE3 and HDAC2 protein are also located in nucleus in mouse TM4 Sertoli cells. Taken together, TLE3 may play a role in regulating WNT/β-catenin pathway via interaction with HDAC2 in Sertoli cell. Futher studies are needed to look into factors that regulated by siTLE3 in Sertoli cell and interated with TLE3 in WNT/β-catenin pathway.

To characterize the female or male transcriptome of the Pacific abalone and further increase genomic resources, we sequenced the mRNA of full-length complementary DNA (cDNA) libraries derived from pooled tissues of female and male Haliotis discus hannai by employing the Iso-Seq protocol of the PacBio RSII platform. We successfully assembled whole full-length cDNA sequences and constructed a transcriptome database that included isoform information. After clustering, a total of 15,110 and 12,145 genes that coded for proteins were identified in female and male abalones, respectively. A total of 13,057 putative orthologs were retained from each transcriptome in abalones. Overall Gene Ontology terms and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways analyzed in each database showed a similar composition between sexes. In addition, a total of 519 and 391 isoforms were genome-widely identified with at least two isoforms from female and male transcriptome databases. We found that the number of isoforms and their alternatively spliced patterns are variable and sex-dependent. This information represents the first significant contribution to sex-preferential genomic resources of the Pacific abalone. The availability of whole female and male transcriptome database and their isoform information will be useful to improve our understanding of molecular responses and also for the analysis of population dynamics in the Pacific abalone.

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a key neuropeptide regulating reproduction in humans and other vertebrates. Here, we evaluated the reproductive control system mediated by GnRH in the Pacific abalone Haliotis discus hannai. We cloned a prepro-GnRH cDNA (Hdh-GnRH) from the pleural-pedal ganglion (PPG) in H. discus hannai, and analyzed its spatiotemporal gene expression pattern. The open reading frame of Hdh-GnRH encodes a protein of 101 amino acids, consisting of a signal peptide, a GnRH dodecapeptide, a cleavage site, and a GnRH-associated peptide. This structure and sequence are highly similar to GnRH-like peptides reported for mollusks and other invertebrates. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction demonstrated that Hdh-GnRH mRNA was more strongly expressed in the ganglions (PPG and cerebral ganglion [CG]) than in other tissues (gonads, gills, intestine, hemocytes, muscle, and mantle) in both sexes. In females, the expression levels of Hdh-GnRH mRNA in the PPG and branchial ganglion (BG) were significantly higher at the ripe and partial spent stages than at the early and late active stages. In males, Hdh-GnRH mRNA levels in the BG showed a significant increase in the partial spent stage. Unexpectedly, Hdh-GnRH levels in the CG were not significantly different among the examined stages in both sexes. These results suggest that Hdh-GnRH mRNA expression profiles in the BG and possibly the PPG are tightly correlated with abalone reproductive activities.

Interleukin-12 (IL12) and IL23 are members of the IL12 family and secreted from antigen presenting cells (APCs) such as dendritic cells and macrophages. IL12 and IL23 are composed of two subunits of a sharing subunit, IL12B, and a unique subunit, IL12A for IL12 and IL23A for IL23. IL12 is involved in induction of T helper (Th) type 1 response, whereas IL23 is associated with the differentiation of naive T cells into Th17 cells. It has shown that IL12, a proinflammatory cytokine, is down-regulated during pregnancy for successful establishment and maintenance pregnancy and increases in plasma levels in women with preeclampsia. IL23 decreases IL12 expression to change the immune microenvironment at the maternal fetal interface in humans and mice. In the present study we determined the expression of IL12 and IL23 and their receptors in the endometrium and placenta during pregnancy. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed levels of IL12A and IL12B mRNAs in the endometrium were high during early pregnancy, but maintained low during mid- to term pregnancy. During pregnancy, levels of IL12RB1 mRNA in the endometrium showed a biphasic pattern with the highest levels on Days 15 and 60 of pregnancy, while levels of IL12RB2 mRNA did not change. Levels of IL23A and IL23R mRNAs in the endometrium decreased toward term pregnancy. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that IL12A protein was localized specifically to scattered cells in endometrial stroma, but barely detected during mid- to term pregnancy. Conceptuses from early pregnancy expressed IL12, IL23, and their receptors, except IL12RB2, and corioallantoic tissues during mid- to late pregnancy expressed IL12, IL23, and their receptors, but not IL23R. These results showed that IL12 and IL23 and their receptors were expressed at the maternal-conceptus interface, suggesting that IL12 and IL23 may play a key role in regulating maternal immune environment for the establishment and maintenance of pregnancy in pigs.

Bovine mammalian gland has biopotential in therapeutic protein production and could be used as a model in further lactation researches. In this study, we have isolated bovine mammary gland-derived epithelial cells (BMECs) from Korean Holstein dairy cattle and themselves show differential dynamic ability in in-vitro culture. BMECs enables to form lobulo-alveolar structure, express milk production related gene. Functional studies indicated that BMECs secret exogeneous antibacterial fragment-Bovine Lactoferricin B (bLfcin-B), which is inserted in PiggyBac system, and this bioactive fragment inhibits the growths of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. These data demonstrated that BMECs open new scope in either bioactive fragment, heading to prevent the spread of mastitis or post-mastitis damage in dairy graze and could be an ideal bioreactor for antibacterial proteins.

S100 protein family is small calcium-binding proteins with two EF-hand motifs and comprises more than 20 proteins in human. Although S100A proteins are known to play important roles in proinflammatory responses including damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) signaling and in the establishment of pregnancy, the expression of S100As have not been determined in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle in pigs. Thus, this study was performed to investigate expression and localization of S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 in the uterine endometrial tissues during the estrous cycle in pigs. Real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that S100A8, S100A9, and S100A12 mRNAs were expressed in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle with higher levels on days 15 and 18 of the estrous cycle than the other days of cycle. Immunohistochemistry analysis showed that S100A9 and S100A12 proteins were mainly localized to the immune cells in the uterine endometrium. Especially, S100A9- and S100A12-positive immune cells were detected in the uterine blood vessels on day 15 of the estrous cycle, and also localized to stroma near to luminal epithelium on days 0 and 18 of the estrous cycle. These results showed that S100As were expressed in the uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle in a cyclic stage-specific manner, and these proteins were localized to the immune cells in the endometrium. These suggest that immune cells expressing S100A proteins may be recruited into the endometrium during the estrous cycle and play an important role in regulating endometrial function in pigs.

The Hippo signaling pathway is essential for regulating proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis in mammalian cells. Hippo signaling pathway exists in most body tissues and organs, where it controls the size of organs and tissues by keeping cell growth in check and promoting cell death as needed. It has been reported that the members of Hippo signaling pathway are highly expressed in mammalian ovaries and uteri. However, the regulatory mechanism of this pathway in the uterus during estrous cycle regulation remains unclear. Serine/Threonine Protein Kinase 4 (STK4, also known as MST1, a homolog of Hippo in Drosophila) is a major factor of Hippo signaling pathway. However STK4 in the mouse uterus has not yet been examined. The purpose of our study was to determine the expression of STK4 during the estrous cycle and regulation by estrogen in the mouse uterus. We found that STK4 was dynamically expressed in uterine endometrium during the estrous cycle. STK4 highly expressed at the estrus, diestrus, and were found to dramatically decrease as it progressed to the proestrus, metestrus stage of uterus during the estrous cycle. Expression of STK4 was dominant in glandular epithelial and luminal epithelial of proestrus, estrus, and diestrus stage, whereas in metestrus stage, expression of gene intensity was faint. Estrogen or estrogen receptor antagonist ICI 182,780 treatment, in ovariectomized mouse uterus, Expression of STK4 and its downstream genes were increased by estrogen. Our results show that the Hippo signaling pathway is estrogen-dependent in the mouse uterus. These informations will give us on sights to understand uterine dynamics during the estrous cycle.

Due to modern trends with postponing child-bearing and getting worse living environment in women, an ovarian aging increased pregnancy failure and other complications with menopause or premature ovarian failure. Although several theories have been suggested such as mitochondrial malfunction, DNA damage/repair/methylation, caloric restriction, studies regarding ovarian aging-related molecular mechanisms for development of therapeutic methods are insufficient so far. Our objective is to determine molecular pathways of ovarian aging that result in pregnancy failure and other complications in women health to develop treatment strategies. This study is consisted of two parts: in Phase I stage, we analyzed distinct gene expression profile between young and aged mouse ovaries, and in Phase II stage several preferentially expressed genes in both ovaries were selected and analyzed their physiological functions and involved molecular networks related to ovarian aging for development of diagnostic markers and therapeutic methods. Ovaries from 10 week and 11 month-old FVB/NJ female mice with synchronized estrus cycle were collected for this study. A half of each ovary was used for RNA preparation and the other half for histological analysis. Using the Illumina HiSeq 2000 System, preferentially expressed genes were identified. Functional annotation database-based gene-set enrichment analyses and Pathway Studio® were employed to evaluate aging-related molecular networks. These findings were confirmed through qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. To validate RNA-Seq data, we examined expression patterns of marker genes (Amh, Bmp15 and Nobox) that were wellknown to be decreased in ovarian aging process. In young or aged ovary, preferentially expressed 876 genes were identified and extracellular matrix (ECM; p<0.001) and chromatin/nucleosome-related (p<0.001) protein-coded genes have the majority in these genes by GOTERM analysis. Amongthem, we selected several candidate genes and confirmed their expression profiles by qRT-PCR and immunohistochemistry followed by molecular network analysis. Regarding molecular interactions in these genes, PathwayStudio® was employed to predict aging-involved molecular networks in mouse ovary. Here we report a couple of candidate molecular networks and medicines (chemicals) for targeting these preferentially expressed genes/proteins. Further analyses are scheduled to produce transgenic animal models and with human ovarian tissues/cell lines.

This paper explores the impact of corporate control, measured by ownership structure, on top-executives’ compensation in Japan. According to agency theory, the pay-performance link is expected to be affected by the firm’s ownership structure. Using a sample of 4,411 firm-year observations (401 firms for the 11-years period from 2001 to 2011) for Japanese non-financial firms publicly traded on the first section and second section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), this study demonstrates that institutional ownership (both financial and corporate) is negatively related to the level of executives’ compensation. Such finding is in line with efficient monitoring hypothesis which claims that the presence of institutional shareholders provides direct monitoring over managers, limits managerial self-dealing and curves the increase in top-executives pay. On the other hand, the results also show that managerial ownership is positively related to their compensation which supports managerial power theory hypothesis, i.e. management-controlled firms are more likely to extract more compensation from the business than other firms. Overall, this study confirms that corporate control has significant impact on cash compensation paid to Japanese top-executives after controlling the conventional pay-performance relationship.

Spindle dynamics has a critical role in many physiological mechanisms such as genomic integrity and aging. It is also well known that these mechanisms affect oocyte quality. Because the oocyte quality affects fertility and embryo development, many efforts have been conducted to understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate spindle dynamics during oocyte maturation. Here, we show that translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) regulates spindle dynamics during oocyte maturation and prevents deterioration of oocyte quality during postovulatory aging. TCTP was expressed and localized at the cytoplasm with strong enrichment at the spindle microtubules during meiosis. Through the knockdown of TCTP, we found that TCTP regulated stability of the polar microtubules. Meanwhile, spindle dynamics were dramatically decreased with reduced TCTP level during the postovulatory oocyte aging both in vitro and in vivo. Knockdown of TCTP accelerated the reduction of spindle dynamics and aging-related quality deterioration of oocytes. Conversely, overexpression of TCTP rescued microtubule dynamics during postovulatory aging of oocytes and prevented aging-induced deterioration of quality. In addition, overexpression of TCTP improved fertilization competency and subsequent embryonic development. Therefore, our results demonstrate that TCTP is a microtubule-associating protein required to regulate spindle dynamics in mouse oocytes and protects oocytes from aging-related quality deterioration.

Banks play a crucial role in bringing stability and economic development through their expected contribution in proper financial resource mobilisation across the economy. Despite the importance, there is little focus in recent literature which provided the empirical evidence how the global financial crisis affect the bank efficiency in Bangladesh. Thus, this paper aims to examine the effect of the global financial crisis and other factors on the efficiency of Bangladesh commercial banks. By employing the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method, we computed the technical efficiency of individual banks operating in the Bangladesh banking sector during 2000 to 2013. The empirical findings indicate that the Bangladesh banking sector has exhibited the highest efficiency level during 2001, while efficiency seems to be at the lowest level during 2010. The study finds that crisis along with bank size, capital adequacy ratio, return on average equity and real interest rate have a significant effect on bank efficiency in Bangladesh. In order to keep the sound financial development of Bangladesh, banks operating in the Bangladesh banking sector have to consider all the potential technologies which could improve their profit efficiency levels, since the main motive of banks is to maximise shareholders’ value or wealth through profit maximisation.