Distribution of Air Temperature in Tajimi City in Summer

To research the distribution of air temperature in the city of Tajimi, Gifu prefecture, a total of 15 thermometers were placed at the schools and parks in the city of Tajimi, and the city of Kasugai, Aichi prefecture in August 2010. From the distribution of monthly average air temperature, air temperature at the center of Tajimi city was higher than the suburbs. Also, the days of daily minimum air temperature more than or equal to 25°C and daily maximum air temperature more than or equal to 35°C at the elementary school near the center of Tajimi city was more than those at other schools. This tendency appeared more clearly on the days of daily minimum air temperature more than or equal to 25°C. Also, the air temperature near the center of the city was higher than that ofthe suburbs in the early morning. Thus, it was indicated that the air temperature was hard to decrease as the bottom of the basin. From these results, the influence of urbanization to the formation of the daily minimum temperature in Tajimi city was indicated

Labyrinthine window rupture as a cause of acute sensorineural hearing loss

Labyrinthine window rupture (LWR) is one cause of acute sensorineural hearing loss and need for early exploration is clear for good improved hearing. Acute sensorineural hearing loss of 60 dB or more treated from May 2006 to May 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 21 ears of severe deafness, 18 ears of profound deafness, and 10 ears of total deafness. All patients were examined with temporal bone CT. Space-occupying lesions around the labyrinthine windows were suggestive images of LWR. Thirty-five ears were operated for LWR while 14 ears of SHL received conservative treatments. Fifty-seven percent of LWR improved 30 dB or more after sealing of both labyrinthine windows. Of the 15 markedly recovered ears, 14 ears were operated within 2 weeks from the onset. Of the five cured ears, four ears were operated within a week from the onset. As for the hearing prognosis of SHL, 88% of severe and profound deafness improved 30 dB or more but total deafness did not improve more than 30 dB. Exclusion of LWR from SHL and early surgical intervention in LWR will bring about good hearing prognosis to both LWR and SHL

Observational Study and Numerical Prediction Experiments on Wet-Bulb Globe Temperature in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture: Consideration of Uncertainty with a Physics Parameterization Scheme and Horizontal Resolution of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model

As part of research on the actual conditions of the thermal environment surrounding the city of Tajimi, Gifu prefecture, and the city of Kasugai, Aichi prefecture, the surface air temperature and wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) were investigated by observation at these locations on clear-sky days in August 2010. Numerical prediction experiments on the WBGT were performed to confirm the utility of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Sensitivity experiments utilizing physics parameterization schemes and horizontal resolution of the WRF model were conducted to confirm the predicted WBGT. The resultsshowed that the maximum sensitivity with the parameterization scheme was 8.4°C for the daytime average, and especially, the simple thermal diffusion surface (SLAB) scheme caused an over/estimation of 6.8°C. On the other hand, the maximum sensitivity with horizontal resolution was 0.5°C, which is much less than that with the parameterization scheme

Palmitoylation of the canine histamine H2 receptor occurs at Cys305 and is important for cell surface targeting

AbstractTo determine the presence and functional role of the histamine H2 receptor (H2R) palmitoylation, a receptor with a Cys305 to Ala (A305 receptor) mutation was generated. Wild-type (WT) and A305 receptors were tagged at their N-termini with a hemagglutinin (HA) epitope. WT, but not A305, receptors incorporated [3H]palmitate by metabolic labeling, indicating that the H2R is palmitoylated at Cys305. Immunocytochemistry of WT and A305 receptors expressed in COS7 cells revealed WT receptors to be distributed at the plasma membrane, while the majority of A305 receptors were localized intracellularly with only a small portion being at the plasma membrane. However, the affinity of the A305 receptor for tiotidine was comparable to that of the WT receptor. In addition, when the amounts of cell surface receptors as determined by anti-HA antibody binding were equivalent, A305 receptors mediated production of more cAMP than WT receptors. Preincubation of COS7 cells expressing each receptor with 10−5 M histamine for 30 min reduced subsequent cAMP production in response to histamine via the receptors to similar extents, indicating that palmitoylation is not necessary for desensitization. In addition, cell surface A305 receptors were capable of being internalized from the cell surface at a rate and extent similar to those of WT receptors. Finally, CHO cell lines stably expressing either WT or A305 receptors were incubated with 10−5 M histamine for 1, 6, 12 and 24 h. Total amounts of WT and A305 receptors, as determined by tiotidine binding, were reduced by incubation, indicating downregulation. Downregulation of the A305 receptor was more extensive than that of the WT receptor. Thus, palmitoylation of the H2R might be important for targeting to the cell surface and stability

Large quantity production with extreme convenience of human SDF-1α and SDF-1β by a Sendai virus vector

AbstractWe describe a robust expression of human stromal cell-derived factor-1α (SDF-1α) and SDF-1β, the members of CXC-chemokine family, with a novel vector system based upon Sendai virus, a non-segmented negative strand RNA virus. Recombinant SDF-1α and SDF-1β were detected as a major protein species in culture supernatants, reached as high as 10 μg/ml. This remarkable enrichment of the products allowed us to use even the crude supernatants as the source for biological and antiviral assays without further concentration nor purification and will thus greatly facilitate to screen their genetically engineered derivatives

Factors causing climatologically high temperatures in a hottest city in Japan: a multi-scale analysis of Tajimi

In this study, multi-scale climatological features of extreme high temperature (EHT) events in Tajimi, the hottest cities in Japan, were investigated using observational data collected by the Japan Meteorological Agency over the past 23 years, and original data observed by the authors over the last 3 years. Results revealed the background factors that lead to climatologically high temperatures in Tajimi: the occurrence of a characteristic pressure pattern called ‘whale’: the synoptic-scale factors, and the urbanization of Tajimi: the meso-γ-scale factors. In addition, the high temperatures measured in Tajimi are affected by the foehn-like westerly airflow coming from the mountains located in the northwest/west towards the Nobi Plain where Tajimi is located at the east end: the meso-β-scale factors, and the location of the Tajimi observation site, which is within an urbanized area where the highest temperatures tend to be observed: the micro-scale factors. In contrast, statistical analysis demonstrated that the small-scale basin effects and soil dryness around Tajimi were of lesser importance than aforementioned factors, in the occurrence of EHT events in Tajimi

米胚芽発酵ギャバ(GABA)エキス末入りパンの作製

In this study, in order to promote intake of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) routinely and continuously, we prepared several functional breads containing different percentages (0%, 1%, 2% or 3%) of GABA, designated as Taimatsu GABA (T-GABA), produced by fermented rice germ, which has been shown to have various physiological actions. The dough containing T-GABA (1%) showed greater expansion as compared with that containing T-GABA (0%, 2% or 3%). The quantity of wet-type gluten decreased in a T-GABA percentage-dependent manner. The stickiness of wet-type gluten containing T-GABA (1%, 2% or 3%) was decreased as compared with that of the control bread (T-GABA; 0%). Although the weight of the bread containing GABA (1%, 2% or 3%) was not altered as compared with that of the control bread (T-GABA; 0%) after baking, the height of the bread containing T-GABA (3%) was the lowest. In the sensory evaluation, referees judged the bread containing T-GABA (1%) as showing a slightly better level of taste, feeling of softness, crust, crumb and fragrance as compared with that of the control bread (T-GABA; 0%). Together, these findings indicate that breads containing T-GABA are of functionally high quality and value, and we propose to introduce these breads into some long-term care health facilities

ICU治療肺炎の原因微生物

ICU 治療肺炎の原因微生物を明らかにすることを目的とした．ICU で治療が行われた市中肺炎43例を対象とし，これら症例の原因微生物をretrospective に検討した．その結果，29例（67％）で原因微生物が検出され，その内訳は，Streptococcus pneumoniae 9例，Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus（ MSSA） 8例，Legionella pneumophila 4例，Haemophilus influenzae ３例，Klebsiella pneumoniae 3例，Pseudomonas aeruginosa 2例であった．The purpose was to clarify the causative organisms of Intensive Care Unit treatment pneumonia. Forty-three patients with severe community-acquire pneumonia who were treated in ICU and the causative organisms of these patients were retrospectively examined. As a result, the causative organisms were detected in 29 patients (67%) including Streptococcus pneumoniae in 9 patients, Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) in 8 patients, Legionella pneumophila in 4 patients, Haemophilus influenzae in 3 patients, Klebsiella pneumoniae in 3 patients, Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 2 patients

Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages

Generalist and specialist species differ in the breadth of their ecological niches. Little is known about the niche width of obligate human pathogens. Here we analyzed a global collection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis lineage 4 clinical isolates, the most geographically widespread cause of human tuberculosis. We show that lineage 4 comprises globally distributed and geographically restricted sublineages, suggesting a distinction between generalists and specialists. Population genomic analyses showed that, whereas the majority of human T cell epitopes were conserved in all sublineages, the proportion of variable epitopes was higher in generalists. Our data further support a European origin for the most common generalist sublineage. Hence, the global success of lineage 4 reflects distinct strategies adopted by different sublineages and the influence of human migration.We thank S. Lecher, S. Li and J. Zallet for technical support. Calculations were performed at the sciCORE scientific computing core facility at the University of Basel. This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grants 310030_166687 (S.G.) and 320030_153442 (M.E.) and Swiss HIV Cohort Study grant 740 to L.F.), the European Research Council (309540-EVODRTB to S.G.), TB-PAN-NET (FP7-223681 to S.N.), PathoNgenTrace projects (FP7-278864-2 to S.N.), SystemsX.ch (S.G.), the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF; S.N.), the Novartis Foundation (S.G.), the Natural Science Foundation of China (91631301 to Q.G.), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (5U01-AI069924-05) of the US National Institutes of Health (M.E.)