The Identification and the Classification of Tulip Breaking Virus and Cucumber Mosaic Virus found Infecting Tulip and Lily Plants

application/pdfIt is possible that there is more than one or virus strain associated with the disease known as breaking on tulip. It was attempted to obtain further information on the identification of the viruses. Two types of viruses viz, tulip virus (TV) and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) were isolated in our experiments from tulip plants, naturally showing symptoms of breaking. TV showed symptoms only on tulip and lily (Lilium formosanum) by mechanical inoculation of leaf sap from tulip, and no symptoms were observed on other test plants. Mottle symptoms appeared on the developed leaves of lily about two weeks after inoculation followed by distortion and malformation of the leaves. The thermal inactivation point was between 65° and 75℃ for 10 min. exposure, and aging occurred after about 6 day-storage at 25℃ for leaf sap of infected L. formosanum. In fectvity was lost at a dilution of 1:50,000. The particles of TV were about 750 mμ in length and were rod-shaped. The virus identified as CMV showed systemic symptoms on test plants such as Nicotiana tabacum, N. glutinosa, Cucumis sativus and Solanum melogena. The thermal inactivation point was 65°-75℃, resistance to aging was 3-4 days at room temperature and about 40 days at -5℃. The dilution end point was 1:10,000. No tobacco necrosis virus was found in naturally virus-infected tulip in this experiment. On the other hand, three kinds of viruses were isolated from naturally infected lily plants, viz, coarse mottle virus (CM), virulent coarse mottle virus (VCM) and tulip virus (TV). The host range of CM, VCM and TV were found to be limited to the Liliaceae including tulip and onion, and no symptoms were observed on test plants of CMV or other families. Three viruses produced coarse or fine mottling of several species of lily leaves, and when strong symptom expression occurs at the bud stage, the flowers were varioulsy deformed with curled and narrowed perianth segments. They produced color adding or color removing in petals of tulip. The thermal inactivation point of CM was found to be between 70°and 75℃; those of VCM, between 65° and 75℃; those of TV, between 60° and 65℃. CM, VCM and TV were active after dilution to 1:5,000 and all these viruses were active after 3 days at 24℃. The particles of CM, VCM and TV were all about 750 mμ in length. It is strongly suggested that TV, CM and VCM would be considered as a strain of tulip breaking virus.Bulletin of the University of Osaka Prefecture. Ser. B, Agriculture and biology. 1970, 22, p.103-110departmental bulletin pape

Long-term prognostic value of cardiac autonomic nervous activity in postoperative patients with congenital heart disease

Background: Abnormal cardiac autonomic nervous activity (CANA) is not uncommon in postoperative patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods and results: We attempted to clarify the prognostic value of the CANA variables in postoperative CHD patients and prospectively evaluated the CANA variables in 292 consecutive biventricular and 91 Fontan repair patients. The CANA variables included the heart rate variability, arterial baroreflex sensitivity (BRS), washout ratio of the myocardial metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy, and plasma norepinephrine level. With a follow-up of 10 ± 2 years, 98 total events that required hospitalization, including 13 deaths and 48 unscheduled cardiac events (UCEs), occurred. In all the CHD patients, all the CANA indices predicted the total events and UCEs. Of those, the NE level (p = 0.0004) and BRS (p = 0.0373) predicted the mortality. In a multivariate analysis, the BRS was an independent CANA-predictor for the total events (p = 0.007). In the biventricular patients, the plasma NE level, heart rate variability, and BRS predicted the total events and UCEs and the BRS was the only independent CANA-predictor for the total events (p = 0.0329). In the Fontan patients, the plasma NE level was the only predictor for the UCEs (p = 0.0242) and no other CANA variables were independent predictors of the total events or UCEs. Conclusions: All CANA variables, especially the BRS, were useful predictors for future clinical events in biventricular CHD patients, whereas no CANA variables, except for the plasma NE level, predicted future clinical events in the Fontan patients

Recurrent, Tumor Mutation Burden-High, Cutaneous Angiosarcoma of the Scalp Treated with Pembrolizumab

Introduction: Chemoradiotherapy with taxanes is well-recognized as a first-line therapy for cutaneous angiosarcoma (CAS), but second-line therapy for CAS is still controversial. Case Presentation: In this report, we described a 75-year-old Japanese case of recurrent, tumor mutation burden-high CAS on the scalp treated with pembrolizumab. Our present case survived for 1 year despite of taxane refractory CAS with mediastinal lymph node metastasis, though the administration of anti-PD-1 Abs alone could not fully suppress the tumor progression of CAS. Conclusion: Since various factors such as pro-angiogenic molecules are correlated with the tumor progression in CAS, the administration of anti-PD-1 Abs alone could not fully suppress the tumor progression of CAS. Further novel anticancer drugs are needed in the future for the treatment of CAS

圧迫側歯根膜の血流変化について

During the tooth movement, an optimal compressive force (orthodontic force) must be applied to the periodontal ligament. In order to achieve an optimal force, it is important to understand the changes of blood flow and the vascular networks on the pressure side of the periodontal ligament. However, there are few published reports about the long-term daily changes of the blood flow in the vascular networks of the periodontal ligament. We studied the daily changes of the blood flow in the pressure side of the periodontal ligament of the dog mandibular canine using a microcirculation analyzer, which enables to discriminate between blood flow of arteries and veins based on a cross-correlation coefficient between laser speckle and pulse signals. We measured the blood flow in the pressure side of its periodontal ligament through a thin cavity wall. The following results were obtained ; 1. The microcirculation analyzer and the cross-correlation coefficient that we used in this study could measure the changes of arterial and venous blood flow on the pressure side of the periodontal ligament. 2. The overall blood flow after the force application decreased immediately. 3. The blood flow after the force application increased on day 1 especially in the arteries. 4. The arterial and venous blood flow recovered after 3, 7, and 14 days of the force application to the same levels as under non-pressurized conditions

Non-Surgical Management of Bile Leakage After Hepatectomy: A Single-Center Study

【Background】 Bile leakage after hepatectomy is a common complication. The purpose of the present study was to retrospectively evaluate the usefulness of non-surgical management of bile leakage after hepatectomy, using 12-year data from a single center study. 【Methods】 Data from 15 patients (13 men, two women; mean age 67.1 ± 7.0 years) who had undergone nonsurgical management for bile leakage between January 2005 and November 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. 【Results】 We categorized bile leakage as central (n = 5) or peripheral (n = 10) leakage based on communication with the biliary tree. Percutaneous bile leakage drainage and/or endoscopic naso-biliary drainage (ENBD) (n = 2) or the rendezvous technique (n = 3) was successfully performed in five central-type cases, while all peripheral-type cases were treated with drainage alone; only one case required additional ethanol ablation. Bacterial bile cultures were positive in 11 cases and negative in four cases. The drainage catheters were removed after complete resolution in 13 cases (86.7%), while two patients with cases of peripheral-type leakage died due to cancer progression while the drain was in place. No case needed conversion to reoperation. The mean duration of drainage therapy in all cases was 210.1 ± 163.0 days (range 17?531 days), with 316.8 ± 180.8 days in the central type and 156.7 ± 131.5 days in the peripheral type; this duration was not significantly different (P = 0.129). 【Conclusion】 Non-surgical treatment is a minimally　invasive and effective management strategy for postoperative bile leakage and the modality used depends on the type of bile leakage encountered.journal articl

The inhibitory effect of a Platycodon root extract on ultraviolet B-induced pigmentation due to a decrease in Kit expression

The signaling of stem cell factor (SCF) through its receptor Kit is known to play an important role in regulating cutaneous melanogenesis. In the course of UVB-induced pigmentation, the expression of membrane-bound SCF by epidermal keratinocytes is upregulated at an early phase and subsequently activates neighboring melanocytes via their Kit receptors. In order to identify effective skin-lightening materials, we screened botanical extracts to determine their abilities to diminish Kit expression in melanocytes. A Platycodon root extract was consequently found to have a remarkable inhibitory activity on Kit expression. When the extract was applied to three-dimensional human skin substitutes in vitro and to human skin in vivo after UVB irradiation, their pigmentation was significantly reduced, confirming the substantial contribution of the suppression of SCF/Kit signaling to preventing or inhibiting melanin synthesis. These data demonstrate that a Platycodon root extract is a promising material for a skin-lightening product to improve pigmentation-related diseases

Compressed Amplatzer Vascular Plug II Embolization of the Left Subclavian Artery for Thoracic Endovascular Aortic Repair is Efficient and Safety Method Comparable to Conventional Coil Embolization

[Background] Left subclavian artery (LSA) embolization is occasionally required to prevent type II endoleak in the thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) procedure. This is a retrospective study comparing compressed Amplatzer Vascular Plug II embolization (CAE) and conventional coil embolization (CCE) in preventing retrograde flow into the aneurysmal sac through the LSA after TEVAR. [Methods] We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who underwent CAE or CCE of the LSA during TEVAR from June 2013 to March 2016 in our hospital. The efficacy, safety and cost of each method were compared between two groups. [Results] Thirty patients underwent LSA embolization during TEVAR. Six CCEs in 6 patients were performed from June 2013 to November 2013, while twenty-four CAEs in 24 patients were performed from December 2013 to March 2016. Technical success was achieved in all patients in both groups. No embolization-related complications or type II endoleaks from LSA were recorded during the follow-up period in all patients. In both groups, all embolic materials were detected in the proximal portion of the LSA from the LSA orifice to the vertebral artery origin and no vertebral artery occlusions were detected. The mean compression ratio of AVP II was 58 ± 5.9% of predicted length of standard procedure. In the CAE group, one AVP II was sufficient to achieve complete LSA occlusion in all patients. On the other hand, multiple coils (10.2 ± 2.7) were used in the CCE group (P < .01), resulting in a significantly lower cost incurred in the CAE group (CAE: 129,000 JPY vs. CCE: 639,600 ± 140,060 JPY; P < .01). [Conclusion] The CAE is a useful and cost-effective procedure for TEVAR-related LSA embolization.journal articl

Characterization of follistatin-related gene as a negative regulatory factor for activin family members during mouse heart development

Follistatin-related gene (FLRG) encodes a secretory glycoprotein that has characteristic cysteine-rich follistatin domains. FLRG protein binds to and neutralizes several transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily members, including myostatin (MSTN), which is a potent negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass. We have previously reported that FLRG was abundantly expressed in fetal and adult mouse heart. In this study, we analyzed the expression of FLRG mRNA during mouse heart development. FLRG mRNA was continuously expressed in the embryonic heart, whereas it was very low in skeletal muscles. By contrast, MSTN mRNA was highly expressed in embryonic skeletal muscles, whereas the expression of MSTN mRNA was rather low in the heart. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemical analysis revealed that FLRG expressed in smooth muscle of the aorta and pulmonary artery, valve leaflets of mitral and tricuspid valves, and cardiac muscles in the ventricle of mouse embryonic heart. However, MSTN was expressed in very limited areas, such as valve leaflets of pulmonary and aortic valves, the top of the ventricular and atrial septa. Interestingly, the expression of MSTN was complementary to that of FLRG, especially in the valvular apparatus. Biochemical analyses with surface plasmon resonance biosensor and reporter assays demonstrated that FLRG hardly dissociates from MSTN and activin once it bound to them, and efficiently inhibits these activities. Our results suggest that FLRG could function as a negative regulator of activin family members including MSTN during heart development