Emergence of Clostridium botulinum type B-like nontoxigenic organisms in a patient with type B infant botulism

金沢大学大学院医学系研究科病態検査学We encountered a patient with infant botulism caused by a single clone of Clostridium botulinum type B. In the early convalescent phase, a C. botulinum type B-like nontoxigenic organism emerged in the feces instead. Growth inhibition of toxigenic strains by nontoxigenic strains was examined

Estimation of the population density of the leaf miner, Phytomyza ranunculi and of the surface area of leaves of the garden rununculus, Ranunculus asiaticus, as its host plant (Agriculture)

ハナキンポウゲの害虫キツネノボタンハモグリバエの個体群動態を研究するために, 先ず卵, 幼虫の密度および寄主植物の葉面積の推定法を検討した。1)卵および幼虫各令期における, 葉を抽出単位としたときの空間分布はいづれも集中的であることがわかった。よって資料の分散分析を行なうには予めもとの値xをsinh^√xに変換すべきである。2)葉当り卵および幼虫数は枝タイプの間で有意差が認められるが, 株の間には認められなかった。他方, 葉当り葉面積は枝タイプおよび株の間に有意差が認められた。3)株当り葉数の変動を知るために, 便宜上株当りの枝数と枝当り葉数の変動を別々に検討した結果, 両者とも株間, 枝タイプ間に大した差はなく, したがって株当り葉数はこれらの要因によってあまり影響を受けないようである。4)株当り葉数と葉当り虫数または葉当り葉面積の間には相関は認められない。すなわちそれぞれ2つの量は互に独立変数として扱うことができる。他方, 葉当り虫数と葉当り葉面積の間にはかなり高い相関が認められた。5)以上から株当り虫数の有効な推定値を得るには枝タイプによって, また株当り葉面積の推定値をより効率よく求めるには, 技術上のはん雑を避けるために株間変動を無視して枝タイプによって母集団を2つに層別するのが望ましい。6)以上の分析に基づいて株当りの虫数, 株当りの葉面積および単位葉面積当りの虫数の推定法を示した。In the present paper it was intended to establish the sampling design to estimate the population density of the leaf mining fly, Phytomyza ranunculi, and the surface area of leaves of the garden ranunculus, Ranunculus asiaticus, as its host plant. The insect population distributed spacially in the overdispersed pattern in all stages of egg and larva. So the original counts (x) should be transformed to sin h^√x before the analysis of variance. It was recognized that the number of insects per leaf varied significantly between branch types but did not between plants. On the other hand, the surface area of leaf of host plant per leaf differed significantly both between branch types and between plants. To know the variation of the number of leaves per plant, the number of branches on a plant and the number of leaves per branch were separately subjected to the analysis. The result showed that there were no significant differences between branch types and between plants. Also because there was no significant correlation between the number of leaves per plant and the number of insects per leaf or the surface area of leaf per leaf, two values in each pair seem to be independent of each other. The significant correlation, however, was recognized between the number of larvae per leaf and the surface area of leaf per leaf. From above analyses the population should be stratified basing upon the branch types so as to obtain the more efficient estimates of the number of insects per plant, of the surface area of leaf per plant and of the number of insects per unit surface area of leaf. The last section shows the methods to estimate those values by the subsampling or two-stage sampling with primary units of unequal size

Surgery of gastric cancer in patients over 80 years old

A retrospective study on postoperative complications and factors affecting prognosis was performed on elderly patients with gastric cancer. We studied the correlation of age, pathological depth, preoperative laboratory data, physical status, duration of surgery, volume of blood loss, blood transfusion, curability, and extent of lymph node dissection to postoperative complications and prognosis in 47 patients with gastric cancer over 80 years old. Preoperative function of lung and liver frequently showed abnormal data. Postoperative complications were noted in 47% of patients, especially in the pulmonary system, liver and heart. Curability and extent of lymph node dissection were the significant factor affecting survival. Some mortalities caused by initial malignancy were recognized in the conservative lymph node dissection in the stage I . The incidence of postoperative complications was not significantly different according to extent of lymph node dissection. Blood transfusion was the only significant factor for the incidence of postoperative complication. The most frequent cause of death was the initial malignancy. We recommend that a low grade lymph node dissection should not be readily chosen for elderly patients in early cases.</p

Eating Behavior and Childhood Overweight Among Population-Based Elementary Schoolchildren in Japan

This study investigated the relationship between eating behavior and childhood overweight among population-based elementary schoolchildren in Japan. Data was collected from fourth graders (9 or 10 years of age) from Ina Town, Saitama Prefecture, Japan from 1999 to 2009. Information about subjects’ sex, age, and lifestyle, including eating behaviors (eating until full and chewing thoroughly), was obtained using a self-administered questionnaire, and height and weight were measured directly. Overweight was determined according to the definition established by the International Obesity Task Force. Data from 4027 subjects (2079 boys and 1948 girls) were analyzed. Chewing thoroughly was associated with a significantly decreased odds ratio (OR) for being overweight, whereas eating until full significantly increased the OR for being overweight (OR: 1.50, 95% confidence interval: 1.16–1.94) among boys. However, eating until full was not associated with a significantly increased OR for being overweight among the group that reported chewing thoroughly, whereas it was associated with a significantly increased OR for being overweight (2.02, 1.38–2.94) among boys who did not chew thoroughly. In conclusion, eating until full or not chewing thoroughly was associated with being overweight among elementary schoolchildren. Results of this study suggest that chewing thoroughly may be an avenue to explore childhood overweight prevention efforts

Quaternary Complexes Modified from pDNA and Poly-l-Lysine Complexes to Enhance pH-Buffering Effect and Suppress Cytotoxicity

We developed a modified complex of pDNA and poly-l-lysine (PLL) by the addition of poly-l-histidine (PLH) and γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA) to enhance its pH-buffering effect and suppress cytotoxicity. The binary and ternary complexes of pDNA with PLL or/and PLH showed particle sizes of approximately 52-76 nm with cationic surface charge. The ternary complexes showed much higher gene expression than the binary complexes with PLL. The mixed solution of PLL and PLH showed higher buffering capacity than PLL solution. The high gene expression of ternary complexes was reduced by bafilomycin A1. These results indicated the addition of PLH to PLL complexes promoted endosomal escape by enhancing the pH-buffering effect. The binary and ternary complexes showed cytotoxicity and blood agglutination because of their cationic surface charge. We therefore developed quaternary complexes by the addition of anionic γ-PGA, which was reported to decrease the toxicity of cationic complexes. In fact, quaternary complexes showed no cytotoxicity and blood agglutination. Also, quaternary complexes showed higher gene expression than ternary complexes regardless of their anionic surface charge. Quaternary complexes showed selectively high gene expression in the spleen after their intravenous administration. Thus, we successfully developed the quaternary complexes with high gene expression and no toxicity

Pulse rate variability and health-related quality of life assessment with the Short Form-8 Japanese version in the general Japanese population

Abstract We aimed to investigate the association between pulse rate variability (PRV) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in the general population. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 5908 Japanese men and women aged 30–79 years. PRV was assessed at rest using 5-min recordings of pulse waves with a photoplethysmographic signal from a fingertip sensor, and the time and frequency domains of PRV were determined. HRQOL was assessed with the Short Form-8 (SF-8) Japanese version, and poor HRQOL was defined as an SF-8 sub-scale score < 50. A test for nonlinear trends was performed with the generalized additive model with a smoothing spline adjusted for confounders. The lowest multivariable-adjusted odds ratios for poor physical component score were found in those who had second or third quartile levels of standard deviation of normal-to-normal intervals (SDNN) and root mean square of successive difference (RMSSD), and high-frequency (HF) power and trended slightly upward in the higher levels. PRV-derived parameters were nonlinearly associated with poor physical component scores. In conclusion, reduced PRV-derived SDNN, RMSSD and HF power were associated with poor HRQOL in the domain of physical function. Higher levels of these parameters did not necessarily translate into better HRQOL