Serologic survey of Brucella infection in cetaceans inhabiting along the coast of Japan.

A serologic investigation of Brucella infection was performed in 7 species of cetaceans inhabiting along the coast of Japan. A total of 32 serum samples were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using Brucella abortus and B. canis antigens. One serum sample from five melon-headed whales (Peponocephala electra) was positive for B. abortus. No serum sample showed positive for B. canis. The ELISA-positive melon-headed whale serum demonstrated a strong band appearance only against B. abortus antigens in Western blot analysis. Many detected bands were discrete, while some of them had a smeared appearance. The present results indicate that Brucella infection occurred in melon-headed whale population and the bacterial antigenicity is more similar to that of B. abortus than B. canis.

Novel DNA nano-patterning design method utilizing poly-L-lysine patterning by nanoimprint lithography.

The DNA properties have been deliberated to comprehend new functional bio-devices. However there are few reports on DNA nano-patterning to make them. Therefore, we have tried DNA nano-patterning by using a nanoimprint process. A substrate coated with a poly-L-lysine was heated at 120 degrees C for 5 min in atmosphere, and nanoimprint carried out at 120 degrees C, 6 MPa, 5 min, and we applied 1 mg/ml DNA solution on the substrate and immobilized with the poly-L-lysine. Finally the substrate was washed at twice in water and at once in hot water intensely. DNA lines that consist of lines at about 700 nm as line width was obtain, and the very fine lines correspond to convex patterns of the mold surface. These results suggest that the imprint would make the poly-L-lysine reform by exposing it under high pressure and high temperature. Therefore since DNA is immobilized with the amino group in the poly-L-lysine, a lot of amino group would expose on the surface by the imprint from the balk, and would be patterned DNA.

Specific accumulation and temporal trends of organochlorine contaminants in Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli) from Japanese coastal waters.

Organochlorine compounds (OCs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), chlordane related compounds, hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), tris(4-chlorophenyl) methane (TCPMe) and tris(4-chlorophenyl) methanol were determined in the blubber of Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli) collected from Japanese coastal waters in 1998/1999. Among OCs analyzed, PCBs were the predominant contaminants with concentrations ranging from 1.5 to 39 microg/g on a wet weight basis. OCs concentrations were relatively low and less variable in mature females possibly due to the lactational excretion from their bodies, while in males the concentrations were increased with body length. Concentrations and compositions of DDTs and HCHs showed significant differences between the truei-type population off the Pacific coast of northern Japan and dalli-type from the Sea of Japan/Okhotsk, suggesting its usefulness to discriminate different populations. OCs levels detected in truei-type porpoises collected in 1998/1999 were lower than those collected in 1984, except TCPMe. On the other hand, except DDTs, the residue levels of other organochlorines in dalli-type porpoises showed no significant decrease since 1984.