Impact of Hypertension, Diabetes and Dyslipidemia on Ischemic Heart Disease among Japanese: A Case-Control Study Based on National Health Insurance Medical Claims

Aim Although the important role of conventional risk factors (cigarette smoking, hypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia) inthe pathogenesis of ischemic heart disease (IHD) has been established, how frequently IHD is preceded by exposure to conventionalrisk factors remains controversial. The present study aimed to identify the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes anddyslipidemia among patients with IHD and examine associations between each of them with IHD in a Japanese population.Methods Data were collected from health insurance claims in May 2010 for National Health Insurance beneficiaries aged 40-79 years in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. One sex- and age-matched control was randomly selected for each of 42,236 patientswith IHD (International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision code: I20-25). The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes anddyslipidemia and the number of these risk factors were compared between the patients and controls. Associations betweenrisk factors and IHD were examined using a conditional logistic regression model.Results Over 90% of patients with IHD had at least one of hypertension, diabetes or dyslipidemia. The odds of IHD were 4.5-fold (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.3, 4.7), 4.2-fold (95% CI: 3.9, 4.6) and 5.3-fold (95% CI: 4.9, 5.7) higher for patients withhypertension, diabetes and dyslipidemia, respectively, compared with patients without any of these risk factors. Patients withseveral risk factors were at increased risk for IHD.Conclusion Comprehensive risk reduction strategies that encourage a healthy lifestyle and diet and promote the recognition,evaluation and management of conventional risk factors are important to prevent IHD

Role of Sphingomyelinase in Infectious Diseases Caused by Bacillus cereus

Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) is a pathogen in opportunistic infections. Here we show that Bacillus cereus sphingomyelinase (Bc-SMase) is a virulence factor for septicemia. Clinical isolates produced large amounts of Bc-SMase, grew in vivo, and caused death among mice, but ATCC strains isolated from soil did not. A transformant of the ATCC strain carrying a recombinant plasmid containing the Bc-SMase gene grew in vivo, but that with the gene for E53A, which has little enzymatic activity, did not. Administration of an anti-Bc-SMase antibody and immunization against Bc-SMase prevented death caused by the clinical isolates, showing that Bc-SMase plays an important role in the diseases caused by B. cereus. Treatment of mouse macrophages with Bc-SMase resulted in a reduction in the generation of H2O2 and phagocytosis of macrophages induced by peptidoglycan (PGN), but no effect on the release of TNF-α and little release of LDH under our experimental conditions. Confocal laser microscopy showed that the treatment of mouse macrophages with Bc-SMase resulted in the formation of ceramide-rich domains. A photobleaching analysis suggested that the cells treated with Bc-SMase exhibited a reduction in membrane fluidity. The results suggest that Bc-SMase is essential for the hydrolysis of SM in membranes, leading to a reduction in phagocytosis

Brain Metastasis from Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Metastasis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) into the central nervous system is extremely rare. We report a patient with synchronous GIST and brain metastasis. At disease onset, there was left hemiplegia and ptosis of the right eyelids. Resection cytology of the brain tumor was reported as metastasis of GIST. After positron emission tomography examination, another tumor in the small bowel was discovered, which suggested a small bowel GIST associated with intracranial metastasis. Immunohistochemical analysis of the intestinal tumor specimen obtained by double balloon endoscopy showed a pattern similar to the brain tumor, with the tumors subsequently identified as intracranial metastases of jejunal GIST. After surgical resection of one brain tumor, the patient underwent whole brain radiation therapy followed by treatment with imatinib mesylate (Gleevec; Novartis Pharma, Basel, Switzerland). Mutational analysis of the original intestinal tumor revealed there were no gene alterations in KIT or PDGFRα. Since the results indicated the treatment had no apparent effect on either of the tumors, and because ileus developed due to an intestinal primary tumor, the patient underwent surgical resection of the intestinal lesion. However, the patient's condition gradually worsen and she subsequently died 4 months after the initial treatment

Preparation and Characterization of Chitosan-Coated Poly(l-Lactic Acid) Fibers and Their Braided Rope

Novel chitosan (CS)-coated poly(l-lactic acid) (PLA) fibers (CS–PLA) were prepared by reaction of an alkali and CS under heat treatment without a chemical binder. These treatments induced hydrolysis on the PLA surface, formation of ionic bonds between the carboxyl groups of the PLA surface and the amino groups of CS, and dehydration between the carboxyls and amines. The prepared fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and mechanical strength tests. The presence of CS on the fiber surface was observed by the visual test of CS–PLA with amido black 10B and confirmed by the amine ratio obtained by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The coating thickness of CS on the surface of the PLA fibers was approximately 28 nm, as determined from calculations based on the results of Kjeldahl nitrogen analysis and elemental analysis. The degradation properties of CS–PLA were also investigated. These properties were apparently enhanced by hydrophilicity resulting from the CS-coating treatment. Furthermore, braided ropes prepared using CS–PLA became tight with increasing number of core ropes. Results indicate that the objective tensile strength and flexibility of the braided rope could be controlled by adjusting the number of core fibers

Clostridium perfringens Iota-Toxin: Structure and Function

toxin

Chlorine partitioning near the polar vortex edge observed with ground-based FTIR and satellites at Syowa Station, Antarctica, in 2007 and 2011

2020 Author(s). We retrieved lower stratospheric vertical profiles of O3, HNO3, and HCl from solar spectra taken with a ground-based Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) installed at Syowa Station, Antarctica (69.0°S, 39.6°E), from March to December 2007 and September to November 2011. This was the first continuous measurement of chlorine species throughout the ozone hole period from the ground in Antarctica. We analyzed temporal variation of these species combined with ClO, HCl, and HNO3 data taken with the Aura MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder) satellite sensor and ClONO2 data taken with the Envisat MIPAS (the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) satellite sensor at 18 and 22 km over Syowa Station. An HCl and ClONO2 decrease occurred from the end of May at both 18 and 22 km, and eventually, in early winter, both HCl and ClONO2 were almost depleted. When the sun returned to Antarctica in spring, enhancement of ClO and gradual O3 destruction were observed. During the ClO-enhanced period, a negative correlation between ClO and ClONO2 was observed in the time series of the data at Syowa Station. This negative correlation was associated with the relative distance between Syowa Station and the edge of the polar vortex. We used MIROC3.2 chemistry-climate model (CCM) results to investigate the behavior of whole chlorine and related species inside the polar vortex and the boundary region in more detail. From CCM model results, the rapid conversion of chlorine reservoir species (HCl and ClONO2) into Cl2, gradual conversion of Cl2 into Cl2O2, increase in HOCl in the winter period, increase in ClO when sunlight became available, and conversion of ClO into HCl were successfully reproduced. The HCl decrease in the winter polar vortex core continued to occur due to both transport of ClONO2 from the subpolar region to higher latitudes, providing a flux of ClONO2 from more sunlit latitudes into the polar vortex, and the heterogeneous reaction of HCl with HOCl. The temporal variation of chlorine species over Syowa Station was affected by both heterogeneous chemistries related to polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) occurrence inside the polar vortex and transport of a NOx-rich air mass from the polar vortex boundary region, which can produce additional ClONO2 by reaction of ClO with NO2. The deactivation pathways from active chlorine into reservoir species (HCl and/or ClONO2) were confirmed to be highly dependent on the availability of ambient O3. At 18 km, where most ozone was depleted, most ClO was converted to HCl. At 22 km where some O3 was available, an additional increase in ClONO2 from the prewinter value occurred, similar to the Arctic