New records of Calommata signata (Araneae: Atypidae) from eastern part of Tottori Prefecture, Honshu, Japan.

Three new localities of an endangered spider, Calommata signata (Araneae, Atypidae), were discovered　from eastern part of Tottori Prefecture, western Honshu, Japan in 2006 and 2007. They are Kugami　(Iwami-cho), garden of the Tottori Prefectural Museum, and the campus of Tottori University　(Tottori City).　Three of the four habitats, including an already-known habitat of the Iwami-Makidani population in the backyard　of the Coastal Branch of Tottori Prefectural Museum, were mown turf garden and one was bare ground. All sites　are within the residential area. All the records of Calommata　signata known from Tottori Prefecture are presented.

Epidemiology of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance in salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium isolates from food-producing animals in Japan

A total of 225 isolates of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium from food-producing animals collected between 2003 and 2007 were examined for the prevalence of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) determinants, namely qnrA, qnrB, qnrC, qnrD, qnrS, qepA and aac(6')Ib-cr, in Japan. Two isolates (0.8%) of S. Typhimurium DT104 from different dairy cows on a single farm in 2006 and 2007 were found to have qnrS1 on a plasmid of approximately 9.6-kbp. None of the S. Typhimurium isolates had qnrA, qnrB, qnrC, qnrD, qepA and acc(6')-Ib-cr. Currently in Japan, the prevalence of the PMQR genes among S. Typhimurium isolates from food animals may remain low or restricted. The PFGE profile of two S. Typhimurium DT104 isolates without qnrS1 on the farm in 2005 had an identical PFGE profile to those of two S. Typhimurium DT104 isolates with qnrS1. The PFGE analysis suggested that the already existing S. Typhimurium DT104 on the farm fortuitously acquired the qnrS1 plasmid

High-density Integrated Linkage Map Based on SSR Markers in Soybean

A well-saturated molecular linkage map is a prerequisite for modern plant breeding. Several genetic maps have been developed for soybean with various types of molecular markers. Simple sequence repeats (SSRs) are single-locus markers with high allelic variation and are widely applicable to different genotypes. We have now mapped 1810 SSR or sequence-tagged site markers in one or more of three recombinant inbred populations of soybean (the US cultivar ‘Jack’ × the Japanese cultivar ‘Fukuyutaka’, the Chinese cultivar ‘Peking’ × the Japanese cultivar ‘Akita’, and the Japanese cultivar ‘Misuzudaizu’ × the Chinese breeding line ‘Moshidou Gong 503’) and have aligned these markers with the 20 consensus linkage groups (LGs). The total length of the integrated linkage map was 2442.9 cM, and the average number of molecular markers was 90.5 (range of 70–114) for the 20 LGs. We examined allelic diversity for 1238 of the SSR markers among 23 soybean cultivars or lines and a wild accession. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 7, with an average of 2.8. Our high-density linkage map should facilitate ongoing and future genomic research such as analysis of quantitative trait loci and positional cloning in addition to marker-assisted selection in soybean breeding

Efficacy of Prednisolone in Generated Myotubes Derived From Fibroblasts of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Patients

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a recessive X-linked form of muscular dystrophy characterized by progressive muscle degeneration. This disease is caused by the mutation or deletion of the dystrophin gene. Currently, there are no effective treatments and glucocorticoid administration is a standard care for DMD. However, the mechanism underlying prednisolone effects, which leads to increased walking, as well as decreased muscle wastage, is poorly understood. Our purpose in this study is to investigate the mechanisms of the efficacy of prednisolone for this disease. We converted fibroblasts of normal human cell line and a DMD patient sample to myotubes by MyoD transduction using a retroviral vector. In myotubes from the MyoD-transduced fibroblasts of the DMD patient, the myotube area was decreased and its apoptosis was increased. Furthermore, we confirmed that prednisolone could rescue these pathologies. Prednisolone increased the expression of not utrophin but laminin by down-regulation of MMP-2 mRNA. These results suggest that the up-regulation of laminin may be one of the mechanisms of the efficacy of prednisolone for DMD

Phylogenetic groups and cephalosporin resistance genes of Escherichia coli from diseased food-producing animals in Japan

A total of 318 Escherichia coli isolates obtained from different food-producing animals affected with colibacillosis between 2001 and 2006 were subjected to phylogenetic analysis: 72 bovine isolates, 89 poultry isolates and 157 porcine isolates. Overall, the phylogenetic group A was predominant in isolates from cattle (36/72, 50%) and pigs (101/157, 64.3%) whereas groups A (44/89, 49.4%) and D (40/89, 44.9%) were predominant in isolates from poultry. In addition, group B2 was not found among diseased food-producing animals except for a poultry isolate. Thus, the phylogenetic group distribution of E. coli from diseased animals was different by animal species. Among the 318 isolates, cefazolin resistance (minimum inhibitory concentrations: ≥32 μg/ml) was found in six bovine isolates, 29 poultry isolates and three porcine isolates. Of them, 11 isolates (nine from poultry and two from cattle) produced extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). The two bovine isolates produced blaCTX-M-2, while the nine poultry isolates produced blaCTX-M-25 (4), blaSHV-2 (3), blaCTX-M-15 (1) and blaCTX-M-2 (1). Thus, our results showed that several types of ESBL were identified and three types of β-lactamase (SHV-2, CTX-M-25 and CTX-M-15) were observed for the first time in E. coli from diseased animals in Japan

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2016 (J-SSCG 2016)

Background and purposeThe Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2016 (J-SSCG 2016), a Japanese-specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in February 2017 and published in the Journal of JSICM, [2017; Volume 24 (supplement 2)] https://doi.org/10.3918/jsicm.24S0001 and Journal of Japanese Association for Acute Medicine [2017; Volume 28, (supplement 1)] http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jja2.2017.28.issue-S1/issuetoc.This abridged English edition of the J-SSCG 2016 was produced with permission from the Japanese Association of Acute Medicine and the Japanese Society for Intensive Care Medicine.MethodsMembers of the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine were selected and organized into 19 committee members and 52 working group members. The guidelines were prepared in accordance with the Medical Information Network Distribution Service (Minds) creation procedures. The Academic Guidelines Promotion Team was organized to oversee and provide academic support to the respective activities allocated to each Guideline Creation Team. To improve quality assurance and workflow transparency, a mutual peer review system was established, and discussions within each team were open to the public. Public comments were collected once after the initial formulation of a clinical question (CQ) and twice during the review of the final draft. Recommendations were determined to have been adopted after obtaining support from a two-thirds (> 66.6%) majority vote of each of the 19 committee members.ResultsA total of 87 CQs were selected among 19 clinical areas, including pediatric topics and several other important areas not covered in the first edition of the Japanese guidelines (J-SSCG 2012). The approval rate obtained through committee voting, in addition to ratings of the strengths of the recommendation, and its supporting evidence were also added to each recommendation statement. We conducted meta-analyses for 29 CQs. Thirty-seven CQs contained recommendations in the form of an expert consensus due to insufficient evidence. No recommendations were provided for five CQs.ConclusionsBased on the evidence gathered, we were able to formulate Japanese-specific clinical practice guidelines that are tailored to the Japanese context in a highly transparent manner. These guidelines can easily be used not only by specialists, but also by non-specialists, general clinicians, nurses, pharmacists, clinical engineers, and other healthcare professionals

Combined use of Azolla and loach suppressed paddy weeds and increased organic rice yield: second season results

Organic farming uses alternatives to agricultural chemicals such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The primary challenge in organic rice farming is controlling weeds without using herbicides and improving rice yield without chemical fertilizers. In our previous paper entitled as combined use of Azolla and loach suppressed weed Monochoria vaginalis and increased rice yield without agrochemicals, we reported the first year rice growth season results from an in situ container experiment. The experiment was designed with 4 treatments—control (with neither Azolla nor loach), Azolla (Azolla alone), loach (loach alone), and Az+Lo (combined Azolla and loach)—with 3 replications each. The first year results showed that combined use of Azolla and loach was successful in weed suppression and increase in rice yield in 2012. In this paper, we report the second year results from the continuous container experiment in 2013. M.vaginalis emergences were very low in second year rice growth season on all treatments. Compared first year, the rice yields decreased in second year on all treatments due to different weather condition and with or without organic soybean oil cake application between two rice growth seasons. The second year results also showed the raising loach had a stronger effect to increase tiller and panicle numbers, and spikelet number per panicle, then improve rice yields to 2.3 times than control. The Azolla residues left from first year have weaker effect on rice growth and yield, but increase soil organic matter accumulation at second year. The two years study indicated that combined use of Azolla and loach can meet two of the greatest challenges in organic rice production: providing effective weed control and improving rice nutrition without agrochemicals