Late Established Mutans Streptococci in Children over 3 Years Old

Acquisition of mutans streptococci has been reported to most commonly occur at approximately 26 months of age. In the present study, we detected Streptococcus mutans and S. sobrinus using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays in children, then re-examined the subjects to determine the time of acquisition of these bacteria over a 1-year period. The subjects were 57 children ranging in age from 3 to 5 years old, each with primary dentition. Plaque samples were collected from all erupted tooth sites using a sterile toothbrush. PCR assays were performed to detect the targeted mutans streptococci at the beginning of the study (baseline) and after 1 year. At the baseline examination, the prevalence of S. mutans and S. sobrinus was 61.4% and 54.4%, respectively, in all subjects, of whom 14 (24.6%) were positive for S. mutans alone, 10 (17.5%) for S. sobrinus alone, and 21 (36.8%) for both S. mutans and S. sobrinus, with 12 (21.1%) negative for both. After 1 year, 4 of 22 (18.2%) subjects newly had acquired S. mutans and 15 of 26 (57.7%) had aquired S. sobrinus, while 5 (8.8%) remained negative for both bacteria. The age of the first positive S. mutans finding ranged from 49 to 71 months, while that for S. sobrinus ranged from 49 to 81 months old. Our results suggest that S. sobrinus becomes established later than S. mutans in the oral cavities of children over the age of 3 years old

Effects of glycosylation on swimming ability and flagellar polymorphic transformation in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 6605

The role of flagellin glycosylation on motility was investigated in Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci. The swimming activity of glycosylation-defective mutants was prominently decreased in a highly viscous medium. The mutants showed differences in polymorphic transitions and in the bundle formation of flagella, indicating that glycosylation stabilizes the filament structure and lubricates the rotation of the bundle.</p

An Intratracheal Instillation Bioassay System for Detection of Lung Toxicity Due to Fine Particles in F344 Rats

It is an urgent priority to establish in vivo bioassays for detection of hazards related to fine particles, which can be inhaled into deep lung tissue by humans. In order to establish an appropriate bioassay for detection of lung damage after particle inhalation, several experiments were performed in rats using quartz as a typical lung toxic particle. The results of pilot experiments suggest that Days 1 and 28 after intratracheal instillation of 2 mg of fine test particles in vehicle are most appropriate for detection of acute and subacute inflammatory changes, respectively. Furthermore, the BrdU incorporation on Day 1 and the iNOS level on Day 28 proved to be suitable end-point markers for this purpose. An examination of the toxicity of a series of particles was performed with the developed bioassay. Although some materials, including nanoparticles, demonstrated toxicity that was too strong for sensitive assessment, a ranking order could be clarified. The bioassay thus appears suitable for rapid hazard identification with a possible ranking of the toxicity of various particles at single concentrations

Diabetes-Mediated Exacerbation of Neuronal Damage and Inflammation After Cerebral Ischemia in Rat: Protective Effects of Water-Soluble Extract from Culture Medium of Ganoderma lucidum Mycelia

"Advances in the Preclinical Study of Ischemic Stroke, Chapter 11", Edited by Maurizio Balestrino, ISBN 978-953-51-0290-8, Published: March 16, 2012. Open Acess

Creating Classes for Developing the Concept of Functions : A System of Learning Activities for Drawing out Four Qualities Tied to Nurturing the Concept of Functions

本研究は，数・量・図形的要素を見出し，どのような関係があるのかを考え，そこにきまりを発見していく力を育成するために以下の研究を進めた。昨年度は，函数観念の育成につながる授業の中で引き出したい４つの姿である，①事象の中に数・量・図形的要素を見つけようとする姿，②どのような関係かを考えていこうとする姿，③関係の中にある法則を見つけようとする姿，④事象を関係で見ていこうとする姿を発達段階ごとに設定し，その４つの姿を引き出すことを目的とした学習活動を仕組む授業実践を積み重ねた。さらに，本年度は，「関数の考えの指導」の関数の考えの背景となる「物事を動的に見ようとする態度」に焦点をあて，４つの姿を引き出すこととする。それらの取り組みを小学校と中学校で統一して取り組むことで「中一ギャップ」や算数・数学への円滑な移行ができると考えた。その結果，単元の事前と事後，昨年と今年とでは４つの姿をについて，どの項目についても肯定的な回答であった。また，教師が意図的に関数の考えを授業の中で取り扱っていくことが，子どもに「関数の観念」を育んでいく上で効果的であり，小・中学校で統一した指導も可能であることが分かった。This study was conducted, as a means of nurturing the ability to discover set facts when seeking out numerical, volumetric, and graphical elements in pondering relationships. Last year, four of figure you want a drawer in the class, which leads to the development of the function concept has been pulled out. This year, the focus was placed on “attitudes for seeing things dynamically”, as a precursor to thinking about functions, and the instruction thereof. It was felt that unifying these efforts in elementary and junior high schools would relieve the “first-year gap”. The result of these efforts was a positive response to all four qualities in both years, before and after the teaching units. In addition, teachers’ deliberate treatment of the idea of functions in classrooms was effective in engendering the “concept of functions” in children, showing that it is possible to have a unified way of teaching in elementary and junior high schools