Comparison of virological and serological methods for laboratory confirmation of rubella.

Background: Work toward rubella elimination has accelerated globally. A reliable laboratory confirmation of rubella-suspected cases is required for effective surveillance in the rubella-elimination phase. The use of adequate specimens is a key to improving the quality of this surveillance.

Long-term viral shedding and viral genome mutation in norovirus infection.

The duration of viral shedding in the patients from two outbreaks and four sporadic cases of norovirus (NoV) infections was investigated. The longest period of viral shedding into feces was for 173 days in an inpatient from one case of outbreak. The VP1 sequence from two long-term viral shedding cases in the outbreak revealed four synonymous and one non-synonymous mutations in one inpatient at 26 days from the onset of illness, and nine synonymous and two non-synonymous mutations and a deletion, 10 synonymous mutations and a deletion in other inpatient at 29 days and 54 days from the onset of illness, respectively.

An outbreak of cryptosporidiosis suspected to be related to contaminated food, October 2006, Sakai City, Japan.

On October 17, 2006, the Sakai City Public Health Center received a report of acute gastroenteritis among 4 members from the same company who had eaten raw meat dish called "Yukke: Korean-style beef tartar" and raw liver at a rotisserie in Sakai City on October 7. Based on information from interviews, the median incubation period was 5.5 (range, 5-7 days), and the median length of illness was 7 days (range, 4-10 days).

Dissolution-aggregation behavior of water-soluble nanographites and their adsorptive characteristics for 2-naphthol in aqueous solutions.

Carbon black was severely oxidized by concentrated nitric acid at 373 K, and the oxidation product was fractionated by ultrafiltration into five groups of a few nanometer-sized water-soluble aromatic compounds, which we called water-soluble nanographites (WSNG1-5). Most WSNGs dissolve in neutral and alkaline 0.1 moldm(-3) NaCl solutions, but precipitate in acidic solutions.