What Does Soil-Transmitted Helminth Elimination Look Like? Results From a Targeted Molecular Detection Survey in Japan

Background: Japan is one of the few countries believed to have eliminated soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). In 1949, the national prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides was 62.9%, which decreased to 0.6% in 1973 due to improvements in infrastructure, socioeconomic status, and the implementation of national STH control measures. The Parasitosis Prevention Law ended in 1994 and population-level screening ceased in Japan; therefore, current transmission status of STH in Japan is not well characterized. Sporadic cases of STH infections continue to be reported, raising the possibility of a larger-scale recrudescence of STH infections. Given that traditional microscopic detection methods are not sensitive to low-intensity STH infections, we conducted targeted prevalence surveys using sensitive PCR-based assays to evaluate the current STH-transmission status and to describe epidemiological characteristics of areas of Japan believed to have achieved historical elimination of STHs. Methods: Stool samples were collected from 682 preschool- and school-aged children from six localities of Japan with previously high prevalence of STH. Caregivers of participants completed a questionnaire to ascertain access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and potential exposures to environmental contamination. For fecal testing, multi-parallel real-time PCR assays were used to detect infections of Ascaris lumbricoides, Necator americanus, Ancylostoma duodenale and Trichuris trichiura. Results: Among the 682 children, no positive samples were identified, and participants reported high standards of WASH. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first STH-surveillance study in Japan to use sensitive molecular techniques for STH detection. The results suggest that recrudescence of STH infections has not occurred, and that declines in prevalence have been sustained in the sampled areas. These findings suggest that reductions in prevalence below the elimination thresholds, suggestive of transmission interruption, are possible. Additionally, this study provides circumstantial evidence that multi-parallel real-time PCR methods are applicable for evaluating elimination status in areas where STH prevalence is extremely low.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Polarization-Sensitive Optical Coherence Tomographic Documentation of Choroidal Melanin Loss in Chronic Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada Disease

Purpose: Vogt–Koyanagi–Harada (VKH) disease is a systemic autoimmune disorder that affects organs with melanocytes. The sunset glow fundus (SGF) in VKH disease was evaluated with polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT).Methods: The study involved 28 eyes from 14 patients with chronic VKH disease, 21 eyes from 21 age-matched controls, and 22 eyes from 22 high-myopic patients with a tessellated fundus. VKH eyes were grouped into sunset or non-sunset groups on the basis of color fundus images. The presence of melanin in the choroid was determined by using the degree of polarization uniformity (DOPU) obtained by PS-OCT. The sunset glow index (SGI) was calculated by using color fundus images. Presence of an SGF was evaluated by using DOPU, SGI, subfoveal choroidal thicknesses, near-infrared images, and autofluorescence images at 488 nm (SW-AF) and 785 nm (NIR-AF).Results: There were 16 eyes in the sunset group and 12 eyes in the non-sunset group. For all eyes in the sunset group, the disappearance of choroidal melanin was clearly detected with PS-OCT. Percentage areas of low DOPU in the choroidal interstitial stroma of the sunset group were significantly lower than those of other groups and showed no overlap with other groups. The distribution of choroidal thicknesses and SGI in the sunset group substantially overlapped with other groups. The subjective analyses of the sunset and non-sunset groups, using near infrared, SW-AF, or NIR-AF, showed substantial inconsistencies with the PS-OCT results.Conclusions: PS-OCT provides an in vivo objective evaluation of choroidal melanin loss of the SGF in chronic VKH disease

What does soil-transmitted helminth elimination look like? Results from a targeted molecular detection survey in Japan

Background: Japan is one of the few countries believed to have eliminated soil-transmitted helminths (STHs). In 1949, the national prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides was 62.9%, which decreased to 0.6% in 1973 due to improvements in infrastructure, socioeconomic status, and the implementation of national STH control measures. The Parasitosis Prevention Law ended in 1994 and population-level screening ceased in Japan; therefore, current transmission status of STH in Japan is not well characterized. Sporadic cases of STH infections continue to be reported, raising the possibility of a larger-scale recrudescence of STH infections. Given that traditional microscopic detection methods are not sensitive to low-intensity STH infections, we conducted targeted prevalence surveys using sensitive PCR-based assays to evaluate the current STH-transmission status and to describe epidemiological characteristics of areas of Japan believed to have achieved historical elimination of STHs. Methods: Stool samples were collected from 682 preschool- and school-aged children from six localities of Japan with previously high prevalence of STH. Caregivers of participants completed a questionnaire to ascertain access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), and potential exposures to environmental contamination. For fecal testing, multi-parallel real-time PCR assays were used to detect infections of Ascaris lumbricoides, Necator americanus, Ancylostoma duodenale and Trichuris trichiura. Results: Among the 682 children, no positive samples were identified, and participants reported high standards of WASH. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first STH-surveillance study in Japan to use sensitive molecular techniques for STH detection. The results suggest that recrudescence of STH infections has not occurred, and that declines in prevalence have been sustained in the sampled areas. These findings suggest that reductions in prevalence below the elimination thresholds, suggestive of transmission interruption, are possible. Additionally, this study provides circumstantial evidence that multi-parallel real-time PCR methods are applicable for evaluating elimination status in areas where STH prevalence is extremely low.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Research and Design of a Routing Protocol in Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks

无线传感器网络，作为全球未来十大技术之一，集成了传感器技术、嵌入式计算技术、分布式信息处理和自组织网技术，可实时感知、采集、处理、传输网络分布区域内的各种信息数据，在军事国防、生物医疗、环境监测、抢险救灾、防恐反恐、危险区域远程控制等领域具有十分广阔的应用前景。 本文研究分析了无线传感器网络的已有路由协议，并针对大规模的无线传感器网络设计了一种树状路由协议，它根据节点地址信息来形成路由，从而简化了复杂繁冗的路由表查找和维护，节省了不必要的开销，提高了路由效率，实现了快速有效的数据传输。 为支持此路由协议本文提出了一种自适应动态地址分配算——ADAR（AdaptiveDynamicAddre...As one of the ten high technologies in the future, wireless sensor network, which is the integration of micro-sensors, embedded computing, modern network and Ad Hoc technologies, can apperceive, collect, process and transmit various information data within the region. It can be used in military defense, biomedical, environmental monitoring, disaster relief, counter-terrorism, remote control of haz...学位：工学硕士院系专业：信息科学与技术学院通信工程系_通信与信息系统学号：2332007115216

Epidemiology of Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense Diphyllobothriasis, Japan, 2001–2016

We report 958 cases of cestodiasis occurring in Japan during 2001–2016. The predominant pathogen was Diphyllobothrium nihonkaiense tapeworm (n = 825), which caused 86.1% of all cases. The other cestode species involved were Taenia spp. (10.3%), Diplogonoporus balaenopterae (3.3%), and Spirometra spp. (0.2%). We estimated D. nihonkaiense diphyllobothriasis incidence as 52 cases/year. We observed a predominance of cases during March–July, coinciding with the cherry salmon and immature chum salmon fishing season, but cases were present year-round, suggesting that other fish could be involved in transmission to humans. Because of increased salmon trade, increased tourism in Japan, and lack of awareness of the risks associated with eating raw fish, cases of D. nihonkaiense diphyllobothriasis are expected to rise. Therefore, information regarding these concerning parasitic infections and warnings of the potential risks associated with these infections must be disseminated to consumers, food producers, restaurant owners, physicians, and travelers