Genotyping of Mycoplasma pneumoniae strains isolated in Japan during 2019 and 2020: spread of p1 gene type 2c and 2j variant strains

We characterized 118 Mycoplasma pneumoniae strains isolated from three areas of Japan (Saitama, Kanagawa, and Osaka) during the period of 2019 and 2020. Genotyping of the p1 gene in these strains revealed that 29 of them were type 1 lineage (29/118, 24.6%), while 89 were type 2 lineage (89/118, 75.4%), thereby indicating that type 2 lineage was dominant in this period. The most prevalent variant of type 2 lineage was type 2c (57/89, 64%), while the second-most was type 2j, a novel variant identified in this study (30/89, 33.7%). Type 2j p1 is similar to type 2 g p1, but cannot be distinguished from reference type 2 (classical type 2) using the standard polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis (PCR-RFLP) with HaeIII digestion. Thus, we used MboI digestion in the PCR-RFLP analysis and re-examined the data from previous genotyping studies as well. This revealed that most strains reported as classical type 2 after 2010 in our studies were actually type 2j. The revised genotyping data showed that the type 2c and 2j strains have been spreading in recent years and were the most prevalent variants in Japan during the time-period of 2019 and 2020. We also analyzed the macrolide-resistance (MR) mutations in the 118 strains. MR mutations in the 23S rRNA gene were detected in 29 of these strains (29/118, 24.6%). The MR rate of type 1 lineage (14/29, 48.3%) was still higher than that of type 2 lineage (15/89, 16.9%); however, the MR rate of type 1 lineage was lower than that found in previous reports published in the 2010s, while that of type 2 lineage strains was slightly higher. Thus, there is a need for continuous surveillance of the p1 genotype and MR rate of M. pneumoniae clinical strains, to better understand the epidemiology and variant evolution of this pathogen, although M. pneumoniae pneumonia cases have decreased significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic

Molecular imaging of aberrant crypt foci in the human colon targeting glutathione S-transferase P1-1

Aberrant crypt foci (ACF), the earliest precursor lesion of colorectal cancers (CRCs), are a good surrogate marker for CRC risk stratification and chemoprevention. However, the conventional ACF detection method with dye-spraying by magnifying colonoscopy is labor- and skill-intensive. We sought to identify rat and human ACF using a fluorescent imaging technique that targets a molecule specific for ACF. We found that glutathione S-transferase (GST) P1-1 was overexpressed in ACF tissues in a screening experiment. We then synthesized the fluorogenic probe, DNAT-Me, which is fluorescently quenched but is activated by GSTP1-1. A CRC cell line incubated with DNAT-Me showed strong fluorescence in the cytosol. Fluorescence intensities correlated significantly with GST activities in cancer cell lines. When we sprayed DNAT-Me onto colorectal mucosa excised from azoxymethane-treated rats and surgically resected from CRC patients, ACF with strong fluorescent signals were clearly observed. The ACF number determined by postoperative DNAT-Me imaging was almost identical to that determined by preoperative methylene blue staining. The signal-to-noise ratio for ACF in DNAT-Me images was significantly higher than that in methylene blue staining. Thus, we sensitively visualized ACF on rat and human colorectal mucosa by using a GST-activated fluorogenic probe without dye-spraying and magnifying colonoscopy

MicroRNA expression profiling of cat and dog kidneys

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play a role in the pathogenesis of certain diseases and may serve as biomarkers. Here, we present the first analysis of miRNA expression in the kidneys of healthy cats and dogs. Kidneys were divided into renal cortex (CO) and medulla (MD), and RNA sequence analysis was performed using the mouse genome as a reference. A total of 277, 276, 295, and 297 miRNAs were detected in cat CO, cat MD, dog CO, and dog MD, respectively. By comparing the expression ratio of CO to MD, we identified highly expressed miRNAs in each tissue as follows: 41 miRNAs including miR-192-5p in cat CO; 45 miRNAs including miR-323-3p in dog CO; 78 miRNAs including miR-20a-5p in cat MD; and 11 miRNAs including miR-132-5p in dog MD. Further, the target miRNAs of these miRNAs were identified. These data provide veterinary medicine critical information regarding renal miRNA expression. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Exergy analysis of development on supercritical CO2 solar Rankine cycle system with thermally driven pump

The innovative development of a thermally driven pump in the supercritical CO2 solar Rankine cycle system has been carried out and investigated to increase the system efficiency in field operation. To confirm the advantage of the thermally driven pump over conventional mechanical feed pump, the energy and exergy analysis of the system is investigated and discussed. It can be confirmed from the analysis that the thermally driven pump operating under an actual climate condition gives the higher exergetic efficiency in output power to the system compared with the mechanical feed pump. On the contrary, the high rate of exergy destruction is found in the evacuated solar collector under both system conditions. To increase the exergetic efficiency and to prevent the destruction rate, the proper components design, which can be considered as the essential factor to develop the higher performance system, are suggested in the present study

The effect of solvent molecules on crystallisation of heterotrinuclear MII–TbIII–MII complexes with tripodal nonadentate ligands

The crystal structures and crystallisation behaviours of MII–TbIII–MII heterotrinuclear complexes, [(L)MTbM(L)]NO3 (M = Mn and Zn; L3− stands for a conjugated base of H3L = 1,1,1-tris[(3-methoxysalicylideneamino)methyl]ethane), obtained from various organic solvents (MeOH, EtOH, CH2Cl2 and CHCl3) were investigated. The trinuclear complex cation has two asymmetric centres (Δ or Λ) at two MII sites as a result of the twisted tripodal arms of L3−. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that all the analysed Zn–Tb–Zn complexes had homochiral structures (Δ,Δ- or Λ,Λ-enantiomers) in each single crystal; however, the type of crystallisation behaviour showed clear differences depending on the type of solvent molecule. Specifically, crystallisation from MeOH or CH2Cl2 resulted in the exclusive formation of the Λ-conglomerates with the Λ,Λ-enantiomers—a phenomenon we recently termed ‘absolute spontaneous resolution’. The analogous Mn–Tb–Mn complex crystallised from MeOH also resulted in the same phenomenon as that of Zn–Tb–Zn. In contrast, the meso-type (Δ,Λ) achiral isomer of the Mn–Tb–Mn complex was deposited for the first time in a series of MII–LnIII–MII trinuclear complexes from a CH2Cl2 or EtOH solution. Density functional theory calculations were performed to compare the thermodynamic stability of homochiral (Λ,Λ) and meso-type (Δ,Λ) complex cations of [(L)MnTbMn(L)]+ in MeOH and EtOH. Results were consistent with the molecular structures observed in the crystallographic analysis of the compounds deposited from these solvents