Non-invasive diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis by the direct boil loop-mediated isothermal amplification method and MinION™ nanopore sequencing

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is gaining attention as a public health problem. We present two cases of CL imported from Syria and Venezuela in Japan. We diagnosed them as CL non-invasively by the direct boil loop-mediated isothermal amplification method and an innovative sequencing method using the MinION? sequencer. This report demonstrates that our procedure could be useful for the diagnosis of CL in both clinical and epidemiological settings.     

The transition in frequency of Y chromatin in males during the neonatal period

Summary The frequency of Y chromatin, visualized as fluorescent bodies in cell nuclei from lymphocytes in blood smears, was signficantly less in newborn males than in three-month-old male infants and adults. The frequency of Y chromatin-positive cells on day 0 was 36.16±9.11% and then increased daily. At one month after birth the frequency was 55.07±9.29%, which was not significantly different from that in adult males (57.08±5.97%).     

Biodeposit production by the mussel Mytilus edulis L. on rocky shores

Seasonal changes in the amount of biodeposit (faeces and pseudofaeces) produced by the mussel Mytilus edulis L., which is one of the representative suspension-feeders in the rocky intertidal and shallow subtidal regions of Mutsu Bay, were studied in the laboratory. The effects of water temperature, light, food concentration, flow rate, body size, age, and spawning on biodeposit production were investigated. More biodeposit was produced in summer than in other seasons. Throughout the year, the amount of biodeposit was positively correlated with body size. Relatively more biodeposit was produced by smaller than by larger individuals. A M. edulis population living in one square meter was estimated to produce 9.20 kg of faeces and 2.71 kg of pseudofaeces per year (dry wt). More biodeposit was produced at water temperatures of 17.6–20.2° C than at 4.5–7.6° C and 25.2–26.0° C. The optimum temperature for biodeposit production was found to be ≈ 20.0 °C. When kept in the dark, M. edulis produced more biodeposit than in the light. When food concentration is increased, more psuedofaeces are produced; the amount of faeces, however, remains constant. With increasing flow rate, the amount o f biodeposit per h increased but the biodeposition rate decreased. Larger amounts of faeces and smaller amounts of pseudofaeces were produced by younger mussels than by older ones of a similar size. Spawning also affected biodeposit production.     

New peptide alkaloids from Hovenia dulcis and H. tomentella

From the root bark of Hovenia dulcis Thunb. and H. tommentella (Makino) Nakai (Rhamnaceae), three peptide alkaloids, frangulanine, hovenins-A and -B have been isolated. Hovenin-A has been shown to be des-N-methylfrangulanine (II).     

High-dose zolpidem abuse in a patient with insomnia comorbid with major depressive disorder

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - A 39-year-old married woman was referred to a psychiatry outpatient clinic for treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The dose of zolpidem she had been taking...     

Redox state of albumin affects its lipid mediator binding characteristics

Depending on its redox status, albumin is known to exist as two forms: reduced albumin or human mercaptalbumin (HMA); and oxidised albumin or human nonmercaptalbumin (HNA). The ratio of HNA to HMA is reportedly elevated in several diseases. Since lipid mediators, such as eicosanoids and lysophospholipids, are typically bound to albumin, we examined the possible preferences of lipid mediators for HNA or HMA. We observed that DHA-derived and EPA-derived eicosanoids preferred to be bound to HMA, while the levels of lysophospholipid mediators, such as lysophosphatidic acids and sphingosine 1-phosphate, were higher in the HNA fraction. Considering the bioactivities reported in previous basic studies, these results suggest that proatherosclerotic lipid mediators might generally prefer HNA, while antiatherosclerotic ones might prefer HMA. Oxidative stress affects the redox status of albumin, which might modulate the dynamism of lipid mediators. This pathway might be partly involved in the association between oxidation and atherosclerosis.     

Development of a System to Monitor Laryngeal Movement during Swallowing Using a Bend Sensor

Background

Swallowing dysfunction (also known as dysphagia), which results in a deterioration of nutritional intake, slows rehabilitation and causes aspiration pneumonia, is very common following neurological impairments. Although videofluorographic (VF) examination is widely used for detecting aspiration, an objective and non-invasive method for assessing swallowing function has yet to be established because of a lack of adequate devices and protocols. In this paper, a bend sensor whose resistance is altered by bending was introduced to monitor swallowing-related laryngeal movement.

Methods

Six healthy male volunteers were recruited in the present study. Specific time points on the signal waveform produced by the bend sensor were defined to describe laryngeal movement by differential analysis. Additionally, the physiological significance of the obtained waveform was confirmed by analyzing the sequential correlations between the signal waveform from the bend sensor and hyoid bone kinetics simultaneously recorded by VF.

Results

Seven time points were successfully defined on the signal waveform to reference laryngeal movement. Each time point was well correlated with certain VF events, with evidence of no significant time lags, and there were positive correlations between waveform time points and matched VF events. Furthermore, obvious similarities were noticed between the duration of each phase on the signal waveform and the duration of the matched hyoid bone activity.

Conclusions

The present monitoring system using a bend sensor might be useful for observing the temporal aspects of laryngeal movement during swallowing, and it was well coordinated with hyoid bone movement.     

Nationwide prevalence of Torque teno sus virus 1 and k2a in pig populations in Japan

Because broad genetic diversity has recently been detected in Torque teno sus viruses (TTSuV1 and TTSuVk2), the viral genome detection method needs to be improved to understand the prevalence of these viruses. Here, we established single PCR-based detection methods for the TTSuV1 and TTSuVk2a genomes with newly designed primer pairs and applied them to investigate the prevalence of TTSuV1 and TTSuVk2a in Japanese pig populations. The results revealed that 98.2% and 81.7% of the pig farms tested positive for the TTSuV1 and TTSuVk2a genomes, respectively, indicating that both TTSuV1 and TTSuVk2a are widespread in Japan.