JSPS-2 Risk of FMD Importation Through Cattle Movement at the Thailand-Myanmar Border: A Preliminary Quantitative Risk Assessment Result

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is an important viral infection affecting productivity performance of many livestock species including cattle. Beef cattle are still traditionally raised in Thai households with small number of animals per family. However, a number of cattle are imported from neighboring countries, especially Myanmar. This importation is managed to supply the needs of domestic consumption and also to convey animals to the third countries.Tak, a Thailand-Myanmar border province, is a major gateway importing cattle from Myanmar. The animals imported into the province are then widely distributed to different regions of Thailand [1].  Therefore, FMD virus may move across the border and further disseminate across the country.The present study hence tried to comprehend the cattle importation process and employed risk assessment technique to quantify the risk of FMD importation via transboundary cattle movement

Imbalance of CPU temperatures in a blade system and its impact for power consumption of fans

We are now developing a new metric of data center power efficiency to fairly evaluate the contribution of each improvement for power efficiency. In order to develop it, we built a testbed of a data center and measured power consumption of each components and environmental variables in some detail, including the power consumption and temperature of each node, rack and air conditioning unit, as well as load on the CPU, Disk I/O and the network. In these measurements we found that there was a significant imbalance of CPU temperatures that caused an imbalance in the power consumption of fans. We clarified the relationship between CPU load and fan speed, and showed that scheduling or rearrangement of nodes could reduce the power consumption of fans. We reduced fan power consumption by a maximum of 62% and total power consumption by a maximum of 12% by changing the scheduling of five nodes, changing the nodes used from hot nodes to cool nodes

JSPS-10 The Effect of Consumption of Raw Chicken Meat on Humoral Immunity against Campylobacter jejuni in veterinarians and workers in a chicken processing plant

Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli are the leading cause of enteric infections in Japan and many other developed countries, and the public health burden of campylobacteriosis is increasing [1]. Although the epidemiological data in Japan is based on passive surveillance, approximately 2,000 to 3,000 cases per each year have been reported as a foodborne infection since 1982. Many risk factors for Campylobacter transmission have been identified. Handling and consumption of poultry meat are often causing of infection [2, 3]. Since Japanese have a food habitant to eat fresh raw "free-range" chicken meat and liver, the risk for infection with campylobacters may be high [4]. However, little is known about the relationship between consumption of raw chicken meat and humoral immunity against C. jejuni in humans. When people had been exposed to campylobacters contaminated in water or foods, it has been reported that their antibodies were rising [5]. This study was conducted by analyzing the antibody level against C. jejuni with questionnaires from 74 veterinarians who worked as a meat inspector and 181 workers from a chicken processing plant

Analysis of the interaction between particles and gliding arc discharge in a spouted bed reactor

In this paper, the interaction between particles and gliding arcs in a spouted bed reactor combined with gliding arc discharge was investigated using a high-speed camera. Based on the images captured by the camera, we evaluated the retention time for gliding arcs, the contact frequency of particles with the gliding arc, and the passage area of the gliding arc until its disappearance. The effects of the gas flow rate; electrode angle, which is same as the cone angle of the spouted bed; and applied voltage of gliding arcs were investigated. The retention time for gliding arcs was extended by a high applied voltage, the passage area was increased at a high gas flow rate, and the contact frequency was increased by decreasing the electrode angle. The results obtained here can support the optimization of particle treatment processes in a spouted bed with gliding arc discharge

Hepatitis C Virus-Related Lymphomagenesis in a Mouse Model

B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a typical extrahepatic manifestation frequently associated with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The mechanism by which HCV infection leads to lymphoproliferative disorder remains unclear. Our group established HCV transgenic mice that expressed the full HCV genome in B cells (RzCD19Cre mice). We observed a 25.0% incidence of diffuse large B cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (22.2% in male and 29.6% in female mice) within 600 days of birth. Interestingly, RzCD19Cre mice with substantially elevated serum-soluble interleukin-2 receptor α-subunit (sIL-2Rα) levels (>1000 pg/mL) developed B cell lymphomas. Another mouse model of lymphoproliferative disorder was established by persistent expression of HCV structural proteins through disruption of interferon regulatory factor-1 (irf-1_/_/CN2 mice). Irf-1_/_/CN2 mice showed extremely high incidences of lymphomas and lymphoproliferative disorders. Moreover, these mice showed increased levels of interleukin (IL)-2, IL-10, and Bcl-2 as well as increased Bcl-2 expression, which promoted oncogenic transformation of lymphocytes

Molecular and virulence characteristics of an outer membrane-associated RTX exoprotein in Pasteurella pneumotropica

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Pasteurella pneumotropica </it>is a ubiquitous bacterium that is frequently isolated from laboratory rodents and causes various clinical symptoms in immunodeficient animals. Currently two RTX toxins, PnxIA and PnxIIA, which are similar to hemolysin-like high-molecular-weight exoproteins are known in this species. In this study, we identified and analyzed a further RTX toxin named PnxIIIA and the corresponding type I secretion system.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The RTX exoprotein, PnxIIIA, contains only a few copies of the RTX repeat-like sequence and 3 large repeat sequences that are partially similar to the outer membrane protein found in several prokaryotes. Recombinant PnxIIIA protein (rPnxIIIA) was cytotoxic toward J774A.1 mouse macrophage cells, whereas cytotoxicity was attenuated by the addition of anti-CD11a monoclonal antibody. rPnxIIIA could bind to extracellular matrices (ECMs) and cause hemagglutination of sheep erythrocytes. Binding was dependent on the 3 large repeat sequences in PnxIIIA. Protein interaction analyses indicated that PnxIIIA is mainly localized in the outer membrane of <it>P. pneumotropica </it>ATCC 35149 in a self-assembled oligomeric form. PnxIIIA is less cytotoxic to J774A.1 cells than PnxIA and PnxIIA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The results implicate that PnxIIIA is located on the cell surface and participates in adhesion to ECMs and enhanced hemagglutination in the rodent pathogen <it>P. pneumotropica</it>.</p