Microbial mat compositions and localization patterns explain the virulence of black band disease in corals

Black band disease (BBD) in corals is characterized by a distinctive, band-like microbial mat, which spreads across the tissues and often kills infected colonies. The microbial mat is dominated by cyanobacteria but also commonly contains sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (SOB), sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), and other microbes. The migration rate in BBD varies across different environmental conditions, including temperature, light, and pH. However, whether variations in the migration rates reflect differences in the microbial consortium within the BBD mat remains unknown. Here, we show that the micro-scale surface structure, bacterial composition, and spatial distribution differed across BBD lesions with different migration rates. The migration rate was positively correlated with the relative abundance of potential SOBs belonging to Arcobacteraceae localized in the middle layer within the mat and negatively correlated with the relative abundance of other potential SOBs belonging to Rhodobacteraceae. Our study highlights the microbial composition in BBD as an important determinant of virulence

Direct production of polyhydroxybutyrate and alginate from crude glycerol by Azotobacter vinelandii using atmospheric nitrogen

廃棄物から生分解性プラスチック素材へ --大気窒素活用型発酵生産への展開--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-06-08.While biodiesel is drawing attention as an eco-friendly fuel, the use of crude glycerol, a byproduct of the fuel production process, has increasingly become a concern to be addressed. Here we show the development of a low-cost fermentation technology using an atmospheric nitrogen-fixing bacterium to recycle crude glycerol into functional biopolymers. Azotobacter vinelandii showed substantial growth on tap water-diluted crude glycerol without any pretreatment. The number of viable A. vinelandii cells increased over 1000-fold under optimal growth conditions. Most of the glycerol content (~ 0.2%) in the crude glycerol medium was completely depleted within 48 h of culture. Useful polymers, such as polyhydroxybutyrate and alginate, were also produced. Polyhydroxybutyrate productivity was increased ten-fold by blocking the alginate synthesis pathway. Although there are few examples of using crude glycerol directly as a carbon source for microbial fermentation, there are no reports on the use of crude glycerol without the addition of a nitrogen source. This study demonstrated that it is possible to develop a technology to produce industrially useful polymers from crude glycerol through energy-saving and energy-efficient fermentation using the atmospheric nitrogen-fixing microorganism A. vinelandii

Pneumatosis intestinalis with a benign clinical course: a report of two cases

Abstract Background Pneumatosis intestinalis (PI) is a rare condition characterized by the presence of gas within the gastrointestinal tract wall. Most cases of PI have a benign clinical course, although some have serious outcomes. Mechanical stress on or bacterial infection of the gastrointestinal tract wall may be responsible for the onset of PI, but the detailed mechanism of PI pathogenesis is still unclear. Here, we describe two Japanese patients presenting with benign PI. Case presentation Case 1, a 37-year-old previously healthy male patient, had a 1-week history of abdominal pain, and case 2, a 78-year-old female diabetic patient, had a 2-week history of voglibose treatment and abdominal pain. Intramural gas was mainly distributed in the colon in case 1 and in the small intestine in case 2. Interestingly, neither patient showed obvious inflammatory signs upon admission and recovered spontaneously with conservative treatment, including fasting and fluid infusion without antibiotics. Voglibose treatment was terminated in case 2. Recent studies have shown the presence of nonpathogenic bacteria, such as Clostridium spp., in PI lesions, which usually play an important role in modulating the tolerance of the gastrointestinal immune responses. The benign clinical course and spontaneous resolution of PI in these patients, without specific treatment, suggests that nonpathogenic indigenous bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract participate in the pathogenesis of PI. Conclusion In patients with benign PI, the absence of an inflammatory response and the spontaneous resolution of the disease without specific treatment suggest the participation of nonpathogenic indigenous bacteria of the gastrointestinal tract

10 years RPLD postal dose audits for radiotherapy in Japan

BACKGROUNDIn 2007, a postal dose audit of an external radiation therapy unit was initiated in Japan using radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter (RPLD). The methodology developed by National Institute of Radiological Sciences and operated by Association for Nuclear Technology in Medicine. Audit is performed according to the request of the hospitals and the fee is about 700 € for 4 X-ray beam conditions. METHODSRPLD and solid phantom are used in the audit. RPLD is silver activated phosphate glass and the density is 2.61 g/cm3. RPLD characteristics such as repeatable readout and negligible fading effect is suitable for the postal dose audit. Audit began with a reference condition and expanded its application to beams of different field size and wedged beams in 2010. In addition, in 2016, the modern type treatment units such as a flattening filter free linear accelerator, Tomotherapy unit, and Cyberknife unit could also be applied to audit.RESULTSBy the end of the Oct. 2017, 4,579 beams were checked. Regarding the reference condition (2,326 beams), mean and standard deviation of the ratio of the measured dose to the intended dose (deviation) were +0.3% and +1.1%, respectively. This result indicates that the audit system was maintained well, and the dose was successfully evaluated. Regarding the variation in audit results, 99.9% of the beams was within tolerance level (Deviation should be within the 5%). However, 5 beams exceeded the tolerance level of 5%. In most cases, there was a clear mistake in the contents of the entry sheet of the audit. Hearing was done to the hospitals to clarify the cause, and in almost every case the cause was identified. CONCLUSIONSThis activity has certainly improved the quality of the radiation therapy in Japan. More efforts are underway, such as application to electron beams or intensity modulated radiation therapy.International Symposium on Standards, Applications and Quality Assurance in Medical Radiation Dosimetry (IDOS 2019

Recent results of a postal dose audit for radiotherapy machine in Japan with non-reference condition

Purpose In Japan, postal dose audits have been performed on the radiation therapy units using a radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeter (RGD) since 2007. In 2010, the audit for the non-reference condition including field size change or wedge insertion was initiated. This study summarizes the latest results of non-reference condition.Methods Through these 4 years, 458 beams have been measured for different field size from 5 x 5 cm2 to 25 x 25 cm2 and 301 beams have been measured for different wedge angle from 15 to 60 degrees.Results For the beams with the field size change, the mean differences of measured from stated dose at each field size, 5 x 5 (n = 197), 15 x 15 (n = 55), 20 x 20 (n = 173), and 25 x 25 (n =33) cm2, were -0.3%, 0.3%, 0.4%, and 0.2% respectively. The standard deviations of the distribution at each field size were 1.0%, 1.0%, 1.2%, and 1.5% respectively. For the wedged beam irradiation, the mean of the differences of measured from stated dose with each wedge angles, 15° (n = 112), 30° (n = 102), 45° (n = 45), and 60° (n = 42), were 0.1%, 0.1%, 0.1%, and 0.3% respectively. The standard deviations of the distribution at each wedged angle were 1.0%, 1.3%, 1.2%, and 1.3% respectively. Conclusion The postal dose audit using RGD to non-reference condition has been successfully performed. The mean differences of measured from stated dose were within 0.5% for every field size and wedge angle.The 7th Korea-Japan Joint Meeting on Medical Physic

A calibration system of therapy-level dosimeter in terms of absorbed dose to water by ANTM

A calibration system of therapy-level dosimeter in terms of absorbed dose to water by ANTMThe 7th Korea-Japan Joint Meeting on Medical Physic

Malignant Lymphoma in the Psoas Major Muscle

An 84-year-old Japanese man taking warfarin to prevent cerebral infarction secondary to atrial fibrillation was admitted to our hospital for evaluation of a painless right back mass. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed an oval-shaped mass in the right psoas major muscle. The mass showed high intensity on T1-, T2-, and diffusion-weighted imaging and mimicked an acute-phase hematoma. However, it showed no chronological changes typical of a hematoma, and MRI revealed enlargement of the mass 1 week after admission. Histopathological examination of a biopsy specimen revealed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Although skeletal muscle lymphoma is rare, physicians should be familiar with its MRI characteristics. In addition, determination of the lymphoma subtype has important implications for the treatment of skeletal muscle lymphoma because DLCBL may have an especially poor prognosis

Analysis of the uncertainties in the dose audit system using radiophotoluminescent glass dosimeters in Japanese radiotherapy units

A dosimetry audit of radiotherapy units in Japan was performed usingradiophotoluminescent glass dosimeters (RPLDs). This study analyses theuncertainties associated with the procedure for determining the absorbed dose by anRPLD from a high-energy photon beam in radiotherapy units. The absorbed dose isderived using six parameters: the indicated value given by the RPLD, the individualdosimeter sensitivity correction factor for each element, the calibration coefficient forthe reference radiation quality, the correction factor for the radiation quality, thecorrection factor for the phantom material, and the correction factor of nonlinearity. Theuncertainty of each parameter was estimated based on the ISO standard methodology,“Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement.” The estimated combinedstandard uncertainty of the dose measured by RPLD was 1.4% under the referencecondition. This value was compared to the standard deviation of the differencebetween the measured and intended doses obtained from the actual audit results(4,447 beams from 577 hospitals) over 13 years. The average percentage differencebetween the measured and calculated doses under the reference condition was 0.4%,with a standard deviation (k=1) of 1.3%. The results were consistent with theuncertainty estimated by this report and demonstrate the reliability of the RPLDdosimetry method