About the Epidemic of a Kind of Feveric Jaundice occurred in some Parts of Okayama City during the later Summer 1935

There occurred an epidemic of a kind of feveric jaundice in some parts of Okayama City and its vicinity from the later part of Summer till early autumn 1935. As we had never learned such an outbreak of such an epidemic in these districts, we wished to make it clear. We have studied it under the guidance of Prof. M. Suzuki and our study as a whole resulted as follows: 1) To our regret, we could not succeed in isolating the causal agent. This may be we think, for when we set about the study, the epidemic had already come to its closing period. 2) The clinical symptoms of this disease, we observed, were quite identical with those of the Sakushu fever. 3) And as the serological tests we examined the Pfeiffers phenomenon test and the agglomeration reaction on 12 cases and obtained: 7 positive reaction with Akiyami repto. type A. 3 positive reaction with Akiyami repto. type B. these 10 negative reaction with repto. ict. haemorrha. and the rest 2 of 12 cases gave negative reaction with any of these reptospiras. 4) We cannot yet dare to describe clearly from the epidemiological point of view why such a prevalence of this disease broke out in 1935, but it might be regarded as remarkable facts to indicate some relationship between the great inundation and the epidemic that the infected locality was visited by a disastrous inundation in the preceding year, that the upper course district of the flooded river Asahi was known as the region influenced by the Sakushu fever, and that the infected parts of Okayama City borders the suburbs where a great number of the rats, regarded as the mediators of the Sakushu fever are living, etc. You will have still more reports after our further study in the future

Sub-Arcsecond Near-Infrared Images of Massive Star Formation Region NGC 6334 V

We present high spatial resolution (0\farcs3) polarimetric images in the $H$ and $K$ bands and direct images in the $L'$ and $M'$ bands of the NGC 6334 V infrared nebulae. The images show complex structures including the multi-shells and various knots in the nebulae. The appearances and colors of the eastern and western nebulae differ considerably. Our polarization images also show differences between the illuminating sources of the nebulae: the eastern nebula is illuminated by a deeply embedded mid-infrared source, KDJ 4, and the western nebula by our newly detected near-infrared source, WN-A1. The degree of polarization of the nebulae is very large, up to 70% at $K$ and 60% at $H$, which is consistent with a single scattering of near-infrared radiation from each source at the walls of the mass outflows

Melhoria na segurança pública com treinamento continuado do policial militar em estande de tiro modelo

Resumo: A evolução das técnicas, o desenvolvimento de novas metodologias, novas condições de trabalho exigem do ser humano, independentemente da profissão exercida, uma atualização profissional representada pela necessidade de capacitação, treinamento ou aperfeiçoamento que devem ser obtidos em locais ideais e adequados à sua realização. O policial militar é um dos profissionais responsáveis pela segurança e integridade física de cidadãos e do patrimônio, necessitando de treinamento adequado com utilização dos melhores recursos. O suporte de treinamento escolhido como tema do presente estudo é o Estande de Tiro Fechado destinado ao treinamento do policial militar. A falta de segurança sentida pela sociedade, a insuficiência da legislação que rege sua construção e uso, fez com que por meio da interdisciplinaridade da Engenharia de Produção, fosse realizado este estudo que se caracteriza pela elaboração de um modelo de avaliação e melhoria da qualidade para auxiliar na avaliação dos itens técnicos necessários ao funcionamento eficaz do estande de tiro modelo, considerando os benefícios para a sociedade, respeitando as áreas de desenvolvimento, os materiais e equipamentos utilizados. Este universo caracteriza a necessidade urgente do treinamento continuado do policial militar, principalmente no que tange o manuseio de armas de fogo. Para a classificação e caracterização da pesquisa, utilizou-se: pesquisa teórica e aplicada, trabalho científico original, pesquisa quantitativa experimental, pesquisa qualitativa bibliográfica e estudo de caso. Dimensões da Qualidade específicas e voltadas aos itens técnicos do estande de tiro foram obtidas por meio de questionário semiestruturado, além de entrevistas com policiais militares responsáveis pelo treinamento de tiro da Polícia Militar do Estado do Paraná. Com o tratamento dos dados, pela estatística descritiva, chegou-se à elaboração dos elementos que auxiliaram na avaliação dos itens técnicos necessários para o funcionamento eficaz do Estande de Tiro Modelo

A turn in the road: How studies on the pharmacology of glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors led to the identification of a lysosomal phospholipase A 2 with ceramide transacylase activity

A series of inhibitors of glucosylceramide synthesis, the PDMP based family of compounds, has been developed as a tool for the study of sphingolipid biochemistry and biology. During the course of developing more active glucosylceramide synthase inhibitors, we identified a second site of inhibitory activity for PDMP and its structural homologues that accounted for the ability of the inhibitors to raise cell and tissue ceramide levels. This inhibitory activity was directed against a previously unknown pathway for ceramide metabolism, viz . the formation of 1- O -acylceramide. In this pathway the addition of a fatty acyl group to the primary hydroxyl of ceramide occurs through a transacylation with either phosphatidylethanolamine or phosphatidylcholine as a substrate. However, both in the absence and presence of ceramide, water serves as an acceptor for the fatty acid. Thus the enzyme may be considered to be a phospholipase A 2 . The enzyme is unique in that it has an acidic pH optimum and is localized to lysosomes by cell fractionation. More recently, the 1- O -acylceramide synthase has been purified, sequenced, and cloned. This phospholipase A 2 was discovered to be structurally homologous to lecithin cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT). However, this phospholipase A 2 does not recognize cholesterol and lacks the defined lipoprotein-binding domain present in LCAT. We now refer to this enzyme as lysosomal phospholipase A 2 (LPLA 2 ). Although acidic phospholipase A 2 activities have been previously identified, LPLA 2 appears to be the first lysosomal PLA 2 to have been sequenced. This new phospholipase A 2 lacks an obvious and proven biological function. Published in 2004.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45762/1/10719_2004_Article_5257241.pd

Transient improvement of urticaria induces poor adherence as assessed by Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8.

Poor adherence to medication is a major public health challenge. Here, we aimed to determine the adherence to oral and topical medications and to analyze underlying associated factors using the translated Japanese version of Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 regarding urticaria treatment. Web-based questionnaires were performed for 3096 registered dermatological patients, along with a subanalysis of 751 registered urticaria patients in this study. The adherence to oral medication was significantly associated with the frequency of hospital visits. Variables that affected the adherence to topical medication included age and experience of drug effectiveness. The rate of responses that "It felt like the symptoms had improved" varied significantly among the dermatological diseases treated with oral medications. Dermatologists should be aware that adherence to the treatment of urticaria is quite low. Regular visits and active education for patients with urticaria are mandatory in order to achieve a good therapeutic outcome by increasing the adherence

Identification of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)-inducible genes in human amniotic epithelial cells

BACKGROUND: Exposure to dioxins results in a broad range of pathophysiological disorders in human fetuses. In order to evaluate the effects of dioxins on the feto-placental tissues, we analyzed the gene expression in 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) treated primary cultures of human amniotic epithelial cells. METHODS: Human amniotic epithelial cells were dispersed by trypsin from amniotic membranes and cultured in DME/Ham's F12 medium supplemented with 10% FBS. Two weeks after plating, cells were treated with 50 nM TCDD or DMSO (control), further incubated for 48 hrs, and the gene expression was analyzed by DNA microarray technology and quantitative real-time PCR. RESULTS: Thirty eight TCDD-inducible genes, including cytochromeP4501A1 and cytochromeP4501B1, were identified. One of the remarkable profiles of the gene expression was the prominent up-regulation of interferon-inducible genes. The genes involved in the interferon gene expression and interferon signaling pathways were also up-regulated. Furthermore, the expression of genes related to collagen synthesis or degradation was enhanced by TCDD. CONCLUSION: Using DNA microarray and quantitative real-time PCR analyses, we identified TCDD-inducible genes, including interferon-inducible genes and genes related to collagen synthesis or degradation, in human amniotic epithelial cells

A water channel closely related to rat brain aquaporin 4 is expressed in acid- and pepsinogen-secretory cells of human stomach

AbstractWe isolated a cDNA clone encoding a water channel protein, aquaporin (AQP), from human stomach. The encoded protein consisted of 323 amino acid residues, containing six putative transmembrane domains. The protein was designated human aquaporin 4 (hAQP4) because of its 94% sequence similarity to rat brain AQP4. Expression of hAQP4 cRNA in Xenopus oocytes resulted in a significant increase in osmotic water permeability, indicating that this protein functions as a water channel. Northern blot analysis demonstrated a strong signal of hAQP4 mRNA in brain, lung, and skeletal muscle as well as in stomach. Immunohistochemical experiments with human stomach tissues showed that hAQP4 as a protein is expressed mainly in cells located in the glandular portion of the fundic mucosa. These include chief cells which secrete pepsinogen and parietal cells which secrete hydrochloric acid. These results strongly indicate that hAQP4 is a principal factor involved in the osmotic regulation of pepsinogen and acid secretion in the stomach