CLOVER Collected Literature in Organized and Valuable Repository
Not a member yet
8005 research outputs found
Sort by
Anatomical features of ossa cordis in the Steller sea lion
Get PDFjournal articleIrregular triangular cartilage or bone fragments are sometimes found in the fibrous triangle of the heart. Ossa cordis and/or cartilago cordis has been demonstrated in various terrestrial animal species. Regarding marine mammals, sperm whales lack heart bones, and there have been no studies on bones or cartilage in pinniped hearts. Therefore, we examined the ossa cordis and/or cartilago cordis of the Steller sea lion. Eleven Steller sea lion hearts were examined morphologically and histologically. Before dissection, some hearts were imaged by CT to confirm the presence of ossa cordis or cartilago cordis. As a result, ossa cordis-like fragments were confirmed in four adults and one pup. All of the fragments were found at the right fiber triangle, and one adult had ossified tissue, including adipose tissue in the bone marrow cavity. The ossa cordis probably support the aorta because they surround the aorta as in other terrestrial animals. Steller sea lions can dive to a few hundred meters, but they need to rest on land frequently. Hence, their ossa cordis help maintain heart function during the tachycardia that occurs upon repeated surfacing and movements on land after diving in water.journal articl
Effects of training distance / velocity through winter to spring periods on 5000m running performance in the snowy region
Get PDFjournal articleThe purpose of this study is to elucidate relationships that training distance / velocity in snowy season to spring and 5000m running performance at spring. Eight male collegiate athletes had been recording daily training running distance （RD） and running points （RP） since January 1st to April 30th, and they participated 5000m in the track event at April 30th or May 2nd. The running points were calculated that multiplied velocity points （relative velocity of the 5000m personal best record） and running distance. Average running velocity at training was evaluated by divided RP by RD （RP/RD）. As a results, RD and RP at snowy months, a non-snowy month and all of periods had negative relationships between 5000m running performance （achievement rate to the previous season best records） at the spring first track event. And RP/RD at snowy months, non-snowy month and all of periods had positive relationships between 5000m running performance at the spring first track event. These results showed that running velocity is important than running distance to improve 5000m running performance. Previous studies reported that running distance at training is positive relationships between running performance, but the results of this study showed that it is not applied at snowy season. These differences may be induced by specific kinematics and physiological responses at running on the snowy surface. To take opportunity of higher velocity running at snowy seasons to spring is important to good performance in 5000m running at the spring first track events.journal articl
Fecal Cortisol Dynamics of Captive Giraffes in Zoos in Northern Japan
Get PDFjournal articleAnimals in zoos are kept under environmental conditions differing from those of their original habitat. Recently, zoos have been attempting to reduce stress by introducing environmental enrichment. Adrenal-derived glucocorticoids are common stress indicators found in blood, saliva, urine, and feces. Fecal cortisol levels have been studied as a stress marker in captive giraffes, but the data are insufficient. In this study, we examined fecal cortisol in captive giraffes in northern Japan to increase basic data on fecal cortisol as an indicator of environmental enrichment. For one month, we collected fecal samples from 14 giraffes [Masai giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) and reticulated giraffes (Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata)] from eight zoos. The fecal samples were stored at –20 °C until fecal cortisol levels were measured using a cortisol EIA kit after drying, grinding, and ethanol extraction. Cortisol levels were compared between males and females, pregnant and nonpregnant animals, by age, and by differences in temperature of the rearing environment. The fecal cortisol levels ranged from 37~10346 pg/g. Among females, pregnant individuals had the highest values. Among nonpregnant females, a female that was harassed by a male had higher fecal cortisol levels than the others. This may be due to chronic psychological distress. In males, values varied greatly among individuals. This study increases the volume of giraffe fecal cortisol data, which will contribute to establishing basic giraffe fecal cortisol values.journal articl
Invited review : Unknown-parent groups and metafounders in single-step genomic BLUP
Get PDFjournal articleSingle-step genomic BLUP (ssGBLUP) is a method for genomic prediction that integrates matrices of pedigree (A) and genomic (G) relationships into a single unified additive relationship matrix whose inverse is incorporated into a set of mixed model equations (MME) to compute genomic predictions. Pedigree information in dairy cattle is often incomplete. Missing pedigree potentially causes biases and inflation in genomic estimated breeding values (GEBV) obtained with ssGBLUP. Three major issues are associated with missing pedigree in ssGBLUP, namely biased predictions by selection, missing inbreeding in pedigree relationships, and incompatibility between G and A in level and scale. These issues can be solved using a proper model for unknown-parent groups (UPG). The theory behind the use of UPG is well established for pedigree BLUP, but not for ssGBLUP. This study reviews the development of the UPG model in pedigree BLUP, the properties of UPG models in ssGBLUP, and the effect of UPG on genetic trends and genomic predictions. Similarities and differences between UPG and metafounder (MF) models, a generalized UPG model, are also reviewed. A UPG model (QP) derived using a transformation of the MME has a good convergence behavior. However, with insufficient data, the QP model may yield biased genetic trends and may underestimate UPG. The QP model can be altered by removing the genomic relationships linking GEBV and UPG effects from MME. This altered QP model exhibits less bias in genetic trends and less inflation in genomic predictions than the QP model, especially with large data sets. Recently, a new model, which encapsulates the UPG equations into the pedigree relationships for genotyped animals, was proposed in simulated purebred populations. The MF model is a comprehensive solution to the missing pedigree issue. This model can be a choice for multibreed or crossbred evaluations if the data set allows the estimation of a reasonable relationship matrix for MF. Missing pedigree influences genetic trends, but its effect on the predictability of genetic merit for genotyped animals should be negligible when many proven bulls are genotyped. The SNP effects can be back-solved using GEBV from older genotyped animals, and these predicted SNP effects can be used to calculate GEBV for young-genotyped animals with missing parents.journal articl
Immune Response in Chickens Vaccinated with Freeze-Thawed or Warmed Water-in-Oil Vaccine
Get PDFjournal articleThis study investigated whether freezing or warming water-in-oil (W/O) vaccines affected the immune responses of chickens. One of the conditions affecting the efficacy of commercially available animal vaccines is the storage temperature range. Previous studies have shown that the properties of some inactivated vaccines change owing to freezing, leading to reduced immune responsiveness after inoculation. In this study, we first determined the freezing temperatures of a commercial W/O vaccine using freezers maintained at −10, −13, −15, and −20°C. The results showed that the W/O vaccine froze from −10 to −12°C. Next, we evaluated the effect on antibody level transitions (sample-to-positive ratio) in 46-day-old broiler chickens vaccinated with the W/O vaccine that was maintained at −20°C, 5°C, and −10°C, in that order. In addition, the effect on antibody value transitions was evaluated in 45-day-old broiler chickens vaccinated with the W/O vaccines that were frozen and thawed between −20°C and 5°C repeatedly or warmed to 42°C. In these experiments, no remarkable effect of the freeze-thawing or warming treatments on antibody value transitions was observed. These results suggested that the efficacy of the W/O vaccine was not significantly affected when placed in a frozen environment or left in a room temperature environment of 42°C or lower for approximately 5 d. These data indicate the possibility of expanding the temperature range for handling W/O vaccines.journal articl
Clinical and pathophysiological delineation of musculocontractural Ehlers—Danlos syndrome caused by dermatan sulfate epimerase deficiency (mcEDS-DSE) : A detailed and comprehensive glycobiological and pathological investigation in a novel patient
No full textjournal articlejournal articl
Characteristics of Smoked Bacon with Sakhalin Spruce Chips （Picea glehnii）
No full textjournal articlejournal articl