Problem statement: Heavy metals constitute one of the most hazardous substances that could be accumulated in biota. Fish populations exploited by man often live in coastal area environments that contain high levels of heavy metals, coming from human activities such as industrial and agricultural wastes. A problem to deal when using fishes as biomonitors of heavy metals is the relationship exist...

Exploitation of crosses between the japonica and indica subspecies of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is hindered by hybrid sterility. However, germplasm containing the S-5" wide compatibility allele, derived from tropical japonica (javanica), can be used as an intermediate in the transfer of traits. A PCR-based DNA marker, STS213, was used to identify the fraction of an F3 population, segregating for S...

This study is the first to demonstrate that shizukaol D, a natural compound isolated from Chloranthusjaponicus, can activate AMP- activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key sensor and regulator of intracellular energy metabolism, leading to a decrease in triglyceride and cholesterol levels in HepG2 cells. Furthermore, we found that shizukaol D induces mitochondrial dysfunction by depolarizing the m...

BACKGROUND Sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea; Echinodermata) have the capacity to regenerate lost tissues and organs. Although the histological and cytological aspects of intestine regeneration have been extensively studied, little is known of the genetic mechanisms involved. There has, however, been a renewed effort to develop a database of Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) in Apostichopus japonicus, ...

Age determination and feeding habits of the Japanese threadfin bream, Nemipterus japonicus, was carried out in the northern Oman Sea (Chabahar area), based on 212 specimens collected between September 2009 and May 2010. The minimum and maximum fork length and body weight were measured as 145, 258 mm and 55.31, 288.12 g. The relationship between Body Weight (BW) and Fork Length (FL) for all indi...

The USDA rice core collection, containing 1,801 accessions from 115 countries or sources and representing about 10% of the whole collection, was established by a stratified random-sampling method. A total of 990 accessions in the core collection that headed in 110 days or less and were 150 cm or less in height were evaluated for straighthead resistance on a 1 to 9 scale with 1 being very resist...