Interdisciplinary Engineering Education for Domestic/International Business Jointly Conducted by National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Kagawa College and Nagaoka University of Technology

社会情勢がめまぐるしく変化する今日，学際分野に積極的に交わり相互理解を深める経験が，高等教育に求められている。このような背景の下で，香川高等専門学校（香川高専）と長岡技術科学大学が協働し，国内外の実務を念頭におく専門科目「技術科学フロンティア概論」の，10 年にわたる教育実践について報告した。その学習目標は，複眼的，国際的，戦略的視点を持った技術者の育成である。本協働科目は，工学の専門基礎知識を修得済みの高専4，5 年生を対象に，総合工学の立場で，講師の国内外の工学実務経験に基づいて，座学，演習，卓上実験，実践型ワークショップを取り入れた集中講義形式で実施された。Active association with interdisciplinary fields and deepening mutual understanding are required in higher education in today’s fast-changing social situation. Thus, a special subject, “Introduction to Engineering Frontier” that is mindful of domestic and international business was created. The subject has been offered jointly by the National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Kagawa College (Kagawa KOSEN) and the Nagaoka University of Technology over the last decade. The aim of the course is to train engineers to think with multiple, global, and strategic viewpoints. The collaborative subject, offered as synthetic-engineering education, is intended for 4th and 5th-year students who have acquired credits for fundamental special knowledge of engineering. The subject is executed as a series of intensive classroom lectures with exercises, hands-on demonstrations, and practical workshops based on domestic and/or international engineering work experience of the instructors

NO EFFECT OF CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE ON ASCENDING OF CORYNEBACTERIUM RENALE FROM URINARY BLADDER INTO KIDNEYS IN MICE

Renal infection caused by inoculating Corynebacterium renale into the urinary bladder of mice was not influenced by the administration of cyclophosphamide (Cy). The results suggest that the ascending of C. renale from the urinary bladder into the kidneys may be independent of humoral immunity

ISOLATION OF NON-PILIATED CLONE OF CORYNEBACTERIUM RENALE STRAIN 115

A non-piliated (P^-) clone was isolated from 368 colonies of a densely piliated (P^+) clone of Corynebacterium renale strain 115 by means of a very weak agglutination with anti-pili serum. Lack of pili in P^- was confirmed by immunodiffusion and electron microscopy

SOME EXPERIMENTS ON ASCENDING OF CORYNEBACTERIUM RENALE IN MICE FROM URINARY BLADDER INTO KIDNEYS

Immunization of mice with killed organisms of Corynebacterium renale did not prevent the ascending of organisms of C. renale from the urinary bladder into the kidneys, despite the fact that the antibodies against the organisms were produced in mice. The rate of the ascending of organisms into the kidneys in athymic nude (nu/nu) mice and their heterozygous littermates (nu/+) with C. renale inoculated into the urinary bladder did not significantly differ. BCG-pretreatment did not significantly influence the ascending of C. renale from the urinary bladder into the kidneys. The results may indicate that the ascending of C. renale from the urinary bladder into the kidneys is not seriously affected by systemic humoral and cell-mediated immunity

Prevalence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Causing Acute Hepatopancreatic Necrosis Disease of Shrimp in Shrimp, Molluscan Shellfish and Water Samples in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

A total of 481 samples, including 417 shrimp and molluscan shellfish samples from retail shops and farms and 64 water samples from shrimp and molluscan shellfish farms in the Mekong Delta located the southern part of Vietnam, were examined for the presence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VpAHPND) caused acute haepatopancreatic necrosic disease (AHPND) in shrimp. VpAHPND strains were isolated in two of 298 (0.7%) molluscan shellfish samples from retail shops, seven of 71 (9.9%) shrimp samples from shrimp ponds, and two of 42 (4.8%) water samples from shrimp ponds. VpAHPND strains were classified into two types of O antigen, including O1 and O3, in which O1 was the predominant. VpAHPND strains isolated showed high resistance rates to colistin (100%), ampicillin (93.8%), and streptomycin (87.5%). These results indicate that VpAHPND is widely prevalent in environment in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Oral Iron Absorption of Ferric Citrate Hydrate and Hepcidin-25 in Hemodialysis Patients: A Prospective, Multicenter, Observational Riona-Oral Iron Absorption Trial

Oral ferric citrate hydrate (FCH) is effective for iron deficiencies in hemodialysis patients; however, how iron balance in the body affects iron absorption in the intestinal tract remains unclear. This prospective observational study (Riona-Oral Iron Absorption Trial, R-OIAT, UMIN 000031406) was conducted at 42 hemodialysis centers in Japan, wherein 268 hemodialysis patients without inflammation were enrolled and treated with a fixed amount of FCH for 6 months. We assessed the predictive value of hepcidin-25 for iron absorption and iron shift between ferritin (FTN) and red blood cells (RBCs) following FCH therapy. Serum iron changes at 2 h (ΔFe2h) after FCH ingestion were evaluated as iron absorption. The primary outcome was the quantitative delineation of iron variables with respect to ΔFe2h, and the secondary outcome was the description of the predictors of the body’s iron balance. Generalized estimating equations (GEEs) were used to identify the determinants of iron absorption during each phase of FCH treatment. ΔFe2h increased when hepcidin-25 and TSAT decreased (−0.459, −0.643 to −0.276, p = 0.000; −0.648, −1.099 to −0.197, p = 0.005, respectively) in GEEs. FTN increased when RBCs decreased (−1.392, −1.749 to −1.035, p = 0.000) and hepcidin-25 increased (0.297, 0.239 to 0.355, p = 0.000). Limiting erythropoiesis to maintain hemoglobin levels induces RBC reduction in hemodialysis patients, resulting in increased hepcidin-25 and FTN levels. Hepcidin-25 production may prompt an iron shift from RBC iron to FTN iron, inhibiting iron absorption even with continued FCH intake