Nitrogen Management of Strobilurin-Treated Wheat Crops

Five field experiments were performed in winter wheat crops over three years to study the effects of two strobilurin fungicides, trifioxystrobin and kresoxim-methyl, and different rates of nitrogen on foliar disease severity and the accumulation and partitioning of dry matter and nitrogen. The strobilurin fungicides were included within triazole, epoxiconazole, based fungicide programmes. A few positive interactions were observed between a mixture of triazole and strobilurin and higher nitrogen rates. It was observed that, the crops treated with a mixture of triazole and strobilurin tended to show, compared to those treated with triazole alone, better control of Septoria diseases and prolonged green leaf area duration. There was no evidence that aboveground dry matter accumulation was increased following the apphcation of fungicides irrespective of the programme used. However, it was observed in two of the field experiments conducted in the 3rd year, that yield was greater when the plots were treated with a mixture of triazole and strobilurin than when either no fimgicide or triazole alone was applied. There was no difference in aboveground nitrogen accumulation between fungicide programmes, however, greater nitrogen accumulation in grains was observed following the application of a mixture of triazole and strobilurin compared to when the plots were treated with either no fungicide or triazole alone. The greater nitrogen accumulation in grains observed with the crops treated with a mixture of triazole and strobilurin appeared to be attributable, more consistently, to an improved translocation of nitrogen to grains than to an increased nitrogen uptake from the soil. The two strobilurins, i.e. kresoxim-methyl and trifioxystrobin, tested in this study, performed differently, most of the time a better performance was observed with trifioxystrobin compared to kresoxim-methyl. Canopy size and accumulation of dry matter and nitrogen were significantly increased by the apphcation of nitrogen fertilizer

Long-term observation of fibrillation cycle length in patients under angiotensin II receptor blocker therapy for chronic atrial fibrillation

AbstractIntroductionThe long-term effect of angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) on atrial fibrillation (AF) is unclear. In this study, we evaluated the change in the fibrillation cycle length (FCL) in patients under long-term ARB therapy for chronic AF.Methods and resultsThe study population consisted of 25 chronic AF patients who were prescribed the same medication for more than 6 years and in whom specific ECG recording for FCL evaluation could be performed before and after the 6-year observation period. The patients were divided into 2 groups: those with and without ARB (ARB group and non-ARB group and n=15 and 10, respectively). FCL was calculated by the spectral analysis of the fibrillation waves in the surface ECG. There was no significant difference in the clinical characteristics between the 2 groups. In the ARB group, the mean FCL was prolonged from 154±20ms to 187±37ms (p=0.005), whereas it remained unchanged in the non-ARB group (150±12ms vs. 149±10ms). In the comparison between patients with and those without FCL prolongation (>30ms; n=6 and 19, respectively), a significant difference was observed only in those prescribed ARBs.ConclusionIn cases of chronic AF, FCL might be prolonged under long-term ARB treatment

Evaluation of the impact of atrial fibrillation on rehospitalization events in heart failure patients in recent years

SummaryBackgroundAlthough we have previously reported that the presence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) is an independent risk factor for rehospitalization in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) in a population from 1996 to 2002, the impact of AF configuration as a risk factor in a more recent population remains to be clarified.Methods and results319 patients with CHF admitted to our institute in 2006–2007 were retrospectively evaluated. The patients were divided into 3 groups in accordance with their basic cardiac rhythm, i.e. sinus rhythm (n=210), chronic AF (n=68), and paroxysmal AF (n=41). During the follow-up period of 19±17months, there was no significant difference in mortality or rehospitalization events among the 3 groups (p=0.542). In the multivariate analysis, no administration of β-blockers was the only independent risk factor for rehospitalization due to CHF exacerbation.ConclusionsThe clinical impact of AF configuration as a risk factor of rehospitalization due to CHF exacerbation was considered to be decreased in recent years

Inhibition of retinoid X receptor improved the morphology, localization of desmosomal proteins and paracellular permeability in three-dimensional cultures of mouse keratinocytes.

Retinoic acid (RA) plays an important role in epithelial homeostasis and influences the morphology, proliferation, differentiation and permeability of epithelial cells. Mouse keratinocytes, K38, reconstituted non-keratinized stratified epithelium in three-dimensional (3D) cultures with serum, which contains retinol (a source of RA), but the morphology was different from in vivo epithelium. The formed epithelium was thick, with loosened cell-cell contacts. Here, we investigated whether the inhibition of RA receptor (RAR)/retinoid X receptor (RXR)-mediated signaling by an RXR antagonist, HX 531, improved K38 3D cultures in terms of morphology and intercellular junctions. The epithelium formed by 0.5 μM HX531 was thin, and the intercellular space was narrowed because of the restoration of the layer-specific distribution of desmoglein (DSG)-1, DSG3 and plakoglobin (PG). Moreover, the levels of desmosomal proteins and tight junction proteins, including DSG1, DSG2, DSG3, PG, claudin (CLDN)-1 and CLDN4 increased, but the adherens junction protein, E-cadherin, did not show any change. Furthermore, CLDN1 was recruited to occludin-positive cell-cell contacts in the superficial cells and transepithelial electrical resistance was increased. Therefore, K38 3D cultures treated with 0.5 μM HX531 provides a useful in vitro model to study intercellular junctions in the non-keratinized epithelium.福岡歯科大学2021年

Two cases of pulmonary dirofilariasis

Pulmonary dirofilariasis is almost always asymptomatic. An abnormal nodule was accidentally discovered by a chest x-ray during a medical checkup and detailed examination for other diseases was performed. Case １. A female patient, in her ７０s, was admitted owing to flu-like symptoms and bloody sputum. A chest computed tomography（CT）scan revealed a nodular shadow with １０‐mm ground glass opacity in the right lower lobe. Case２. A female patient, in her ６０s, was admitted due to an abnormal shadow on a chest xray in the left lung during a regular medical checkup. A chest CT scan revealed a nodular shadow with １３‐mm ground glass opacity in the left upper lobe. Lung cancer was suspected in both cases. Thoracoscopy and partial lung resection were performed to confirm the diagnosis. The specimen consisted of granulation tissue and no malignancy was found at operation. Final pathological diagnosis revealed pulmonary dirofilariasis. Pulmonary dirofilariasis can be definitively diagnosed by detecting a worm body. We believe partial lung resection during video-assisted thoracic surgery is a minimally invasive and an effective treatment for this disease

Long-term CMV monitoring and chronic rejection in renal transplant recipients

IntroductionCytomegalovirus (CMV) is well established to be an independent risk factor for graft loss after kidney transplantation (KTx). Monitoring for CMV in the chronic phase is not defined in the current guideline. The effects of CMV infection, including asymptomatic CMV viremia, in the chronic phase are unclear.MethodsWe performed a single-center retrospective study to investigate incidence of CMV infection in the chronic phase, defined as more than 1 year after KTx. We included 205 patients who received KTx between April 2004 and December 2017. The CMV pp65 antigenemia assays to detect CMV viremia were continuously performed every 1–3 months.ResultsThe median duration of the follow-up was 80.6 (13.1–172.1) months. Asymptomatic CMV infection and CMV disease were observed in 30.7% and 2.9% in the chronic phase, respectively. We found that 10–20% of patients had CMV infections in each year after KTx which did not change over 10 years. The history of CMV infection in the early phase (within 1 year after KTx) and chronic rejection were significantly associated with CMV viremia in the chronic phase. CMV viremia in the chronic phase was significantly associated with graft loss.DiscussionThis is the first study to examine the incidence of CMV viremia for 10 years post KTx. Preventing latent CMV infection may decrease chronic rejection and graft loss after KTx

Cellular response of Parachlorella kessleri to a solid surface culture environment

Attached culture allows high biomass productivity and is a promising biomass cultivating system because neither a huge facility area nor a large volume of culture medium are needed. This study investigates photosynthetic and transcriptomic behaviors in Parachlorella kessleri cells on a solid surface after their transfer from liquid culture to elucidate the physiological and gene-expression regulatory mechanisms that underlie their vigorous proliferation. The chlorophyll content shows a decrease at 12 h after the transfer; however, it has fully recovered at 24 h, suggesting temporary decreases in the amounts of light harvesting complexes. On PAM analysis, it is demonstrated that the effective quantum yield of PSII decreases at 0 h right after the transfer, followed by its recovery in the next 24 h. A similar changing pattern is observed for the photochemical quenching, with the PSII maximum quantum yield remaining at an almost unaltered level. Non-photochemical quenching was increased at both 0 h and 12 h after the transfer. These observations suggest that electron transfer downstream of PSII but not PSII itself is only temporarily damaged in solid-surface cells just after the transfer, with light energy in excess being dissipated as heat for PSII protection. It thus seems that the photosynthetic machinery acclimates to high-light and/or dehydration stresses through its temporal size-down and functional regulation that start right after the transfer. Meanwhile, transcriptomic analysis by RNA-Seq demonstrates temporary upregulation at 12 h after the transfer as to the expression levels of many genes for photosynthesis, amino acid synthesis, general stress response, and ribosomal subunit proteins. These findings suggest that cells transferred to a solid surface become stressed immediately after transfer but can recover their high photosynthetic activity through adaptation of photosynthetic machinery and metabolic flow as well as induction of general stress response mechanisms within 24 h

Successful remission of ulcerative colitis flare-up during pregnancy with adsorptive granulomonocytapheresis plus tacrolimus

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is 1 of the 2 major phenotypes of chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which afflicts millions of individuals throughout the world with debilitating symptoms that impair function and quality of life. Further, IBD often affects women during childbearing age. Indeed, UC activity frequently increases during pregnancy, and the medications used to induce remission may adversely affect the health of the mother and the unborn child. We report successful induction of a remission in a UC case who experienced a flare-up in the first trimester of pregnancy. Upon relapse, she was treated with steroids and adsorptive granulomonocytapheresis (GMA) with the Adacolumn plus tacrolimus. This combination therapy induced a stable remission that was maintained during her entire pregnancy. She gave birth to a healthy child at 36 weeks of pregnancy with no maternal or fetal complications. Our experience indicates that GMA, as a non-drug therapeutic intervention with a favorable safety profile, plus tacrolimus might be a relevant treatment option for patients with active IBD during pregnancy. A future study of a large cohort of pregnant patients should strengthen our findings

An IFN-γ-IL-18 Signaling Loop Accelerates Memory CD8+ T Cell Proliferation

Rapid proliferation is one of the important features of memory CD8+ T cells, ensuring rapid clearance of reinfection. Although several cytokines such as IL-15 and IL-7 regulate relatively slow homeostatic proliferation of memory T cells during the maintenance phase, it is unknown how memory T cells can proliferate more quickly than naïve T cells upon antigen stimulation. To examine antigen-specific CD8+ T cell proliferation in recall responses in vivo, we targeted a model antigen, ovalbumin(OVA), to DEC-205+ dendritic cells (DCs) with a CD40 maturation stimulus. This led to the induction of functional memory CD8+ T cells, which showed rapid proliferation and multiple cytokine production (IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α) during the secondary challenge to DC-targeted antigen. Upon antigen-presentation, IL-18, an IFN-γ-inducing factor, accumulated at the DC:T cell synapse. Surprisingly, IFN-γ receptors were required to augment IL-18 production from DCs. Mice genetically deficient for IL-18 or IFN-γ-receptor 1 also showed delayed expansion of memory CD8+ T cells in vivo. These results indicate that a positive regulatory loop involving IFN-γ and IL-18 signaling contributes to the accelerated memory CD8+ T cell proliferation during a recall response to antigen presented by DCs