Characterization of a new Saccharomyces cerevisiae isolated from banana stems and its mutant with l-leucine accumulation for awamori brewing.

We isolated a new strain of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, 35a14, from banana stems in Okinawa. This strain did not belong to any industrial yeast groups in a phylogenetic tree and produced high levels of alcohol. Furthermore, awamori, an Okinawa's traditional distilled alcoholic beverage, brewed with an l-leucine overproducing mutant derived from 35a14 showed a high concentration of isoamyl acetate.

A pediatric case with peripheral facial nerve palsy caused by a granulomatous lesion associated with cat scratch disease.

Background: Cat scratch disease is a common infectious disorder caused by Bartonella henselae that is transmitted primarily by kittens. It typically exhibits a benign and self-limiting course of subacute regional lymphadenopathy and fever lasting two to eight weeks. The most severe complication of cat scratch disease is involvement of the nervous system, such as encephalitis, meningitis, and polyneuritis.

Usefulness of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in first complete remission for pediatric blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm with skin involvement: a case report and review of literature.

No standard treatment has been established in childhood blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasma (BPDCN) because of its rarity. We treated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia-type regimen for a child with BPDCN with skin and leukemic involvement. She has been disease-free for 4 years after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in first complete remission.