A rare instance of latent systematic error in volumetric-modulated arc therapy with field-extended multi-isocentre irradiation leading to a serious dose-delivery accident.

Volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with field-extended multi-isocentre irradiation (VMAT-FEMII) is an effective irradiation technique, particularly for large planning target volumes in the craniocaudal direction. A variety of treatment planning techniques have been reported to reduce the dosimetric impact. However, there is no guarantee that unexpected latent systematic errors would not occur.

Field demonstration of UV-LED disinfection at small and decentralized water facilities.

Ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LED) can be a good option for disinfecting water in small and decentralized facilities. A flow-through UV-LED disinfection module was evaluated at three remote locations in Japan. The disinfection efficiency of the module was monitored for over one year, targeting indigenous Escherichia coli, total coliforms, standard plate count, and heterotrophic plate count (HPC) bacteria.

Conformation-dependent UV inactivation efficiency of a conjugative, multi-drug resistant plasmid.

A conjugative, multi-drug-resistant plasmid was irradiated in-vivo and in-vitro with a 265-nm UV-light emitting diode (UV-LED) to investigate the gene inactivation efficiency of a plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (pDNA) carrying DNA transfer and replication genes. The clinical-isolate 60 kb RP4 plasmid of the IncPα group containing the traG gene, was irradiated intracellularly in E. coli DH5α and extracellularly in a water medium at pH 8.

Mycobacterial contamination in tap and shower waters in Thailand.

Waterborne disease is increasingly becoming associated with opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs), which can resist residual chlorination, regrow throughout drinking water distribution systems, and colonize premise plumbing. Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) include clinically important species and exert a high burden on healthcare systems. We briefly report a qPCR-based survey of Mycobacterium spp.

Virtual clinical trial based on outcome modeling with iteratively redistributed extrapolation data.

Virtual clinical trials (VCTs) can potentially simulate clinical trials on a computer, but their application with a limited number of past clinical cases is challenging due to the biased estimation of the statistical population. In this study, we developed ExMixup, a novel training technique based on machine learning, using iteratively redistributed extrapolated data. Information obtained from 100 patients with prostate cancer and 385 patients with oropharyngeal cancer was used to predict the recurrence after radiotherapy.

Inactivation kinetics of 280 nm UV-LEDs against Mycobacterium abscessus in water.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic premise plumbing pathogens (OPPPs) that cause a burdensome waterborne respiratory disease. Due to their resistance to chemical disinfectants and regrowth in biofilms in drinking water distribution systems, treatment can be better performed using small ultraviolet disinfection units at the point-of-use (POU), such as at a tap or showerhead. Ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) are well suited for such applications, but fluence-response data are not available for one of the most important NTM, Mycobacterium abscessus.

A Simple and Practical Method for Fluence Determination in Bench-Scale UV-LED Setups.

In UV disinfection of water, the fluence of UV required to inactivate a target microorganism is determined based on the procedures developed for conventional mercury-based UV lamps with collimation. In this regard, a simple and practical method with a mathematical model and radiometry is proposed for determining the fluence rate with UV light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs). This method was applied to a bench-scale UV-LED setup and validated by comparing the calculations with the measurements using either a spectroradiometer or a chemical actinometer.

An infant of 26 weeks gestation with congenital miliary tuberculosis complicated by chronic lung disease requiring CPAP was diagnosed on Day 104 of life: congenital tuberculosis was confirmed by detection of calcified ovaries in his mother.

Introduction: Early diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB) in infants is important but is commonly missed because the symptoms are often non-specific.

Case Presentation: A Nepalese male infant born at 26 weeks gestation and weighing 1227 g (97th centile) was admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) immediately after birth for the management of his prematurity. After extubation on Day 8, his oxygen saturation became unstable and he required nasal continuous positive airway pressure with oxygen for 3 months.

Antibody responses induced by the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in healthcare workers in a single community hospital in Japan.

Introduction: The effectiveness of several vaccines against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has been reported in the real-world setting. However, it is still unknown how long antibodies persist following vaccination and whether or not the persistence of antibodies has a protective effect against COVID-19.

Methods: Healthcare workers who had received two doses of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine were enrolled, and a single-center study was conducted at the National Hospital Organization Hakodate National Hospital.

Fetal growth restriction as the initial finding of preeclampsia is a clinical predictor of maternal and neonatal prognoses: a single-center retrospective study.

Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder specific to pregnancy that can cause severe maternal-neonatal complications. The International Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy revised the PE criteria in 2018; a PE diagnosis can be established in the absence of proteinuria when organ or uteroplacental dysfunction occurs. The initial findings of PE (IFsPE) at the first diagnosis can vary considerably across patients.

Comparative effectiveness of membrane technologies and disinfection methods for virus elimination in water: A review.

The pandemic of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has brought viruses into the public horizon. Since viruses can pose a threat to human health in a low concentration range, seeking efficient virus removal methods has been the research hotspots in the past few years. Herein, a total of 1060 research papers were collected from the Web of Science database to identify technological trends as well as the research status.

Groundwater as a potential cause of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka: a review.

The cause of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown etiology (CKDu) in the rural dry zone of Sri Lanka remains unidentified, despite vast research efforts that brought about an extensive list of potential risk factors. Among these, the long-term exposure to various nephrotoxic elements through drinking groundwater was widely suspected owing to the unique geographical distribution of the disease. This review focuses on such well-known hypotheses suspecting the relations with fluoride, hardness, major ions, heavy metals, metalloids, organic matter, agrochemical residues, pathogens, and bacterial toxins in the groundwaters of the CKDu-endemic region.

UV light-emitting diode (UV-LED) at 265 nm as a potential light source for disinfecting human platelet concentrates.

The risk of sepsis through bacterial transmission is one of the most serious problems in platelet transfusion. In processing platelet concentrates (PCs), several methods have been put into practice to minimize the risk of bacterial transmission, such as stringent monitoring by cultivation assays and inactivation treatment by photoirradiation with or without chemical agents. As another potential option, we applied a light-emitting diode (LED) with a peak emission wavelength of 265 nm, which has been shown to be effective for water, to disinfect PCs.

Analysis of a plasmid encoding botulinum neurotoxin type G gene in Clostridium argentinense.

Clostridium argentinense produces botulinum neurotoxin type G (BoNT/G). We sequenced and analyzed the plasmid harboring the bont/G gene, designated pCAG, in C. argentinense strain 2740.

Genomic characterization and distribution of bovine foamy virus in Japan.

Bovine foamy virus (BFV) is distributed through worldwide cattle herds. Although the biological features of BFV are not well understood, appearance of clinical manifestation by superinfection with other microorganisms is inferred. In Japan, reports of genomic characterizations and epidemiology of this virus are limited.

Evaluation of groundwater quality and reverse osmosis water treatment plants in the endemic areas of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology (CKDu) in Sri Lanka.

Community-based reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment plants are employed as an interim solution for producing safe drinking water for the endemic areas of Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology (CKDu) in the rural dry zone of Sri Lanka. It is recognized that RO-treated groundwater diminishes the progression of CKDu; thus, proper maintenance of these RO plants would be indispensable to protect public health. The present study broadly investigated the quality of groundwater in CKDu-endemic areas, and the performance, operations, and maintenance of the RO plants which purified this groundwater.

Survey of bovine foamy virus infection among cattle in Japan and comparison with bovine leukemia virus infection.

The prevalence of bovine foamy virus (BFV) infections in cattle on farms in the Kanto region of Japan was determined using agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Six out of 20 farms contained BFV-positive cattle. Furthermore, 16.

Evaluation of serological assays available in a biosafety level 2 laboratory and their application for survey of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus among livestock in Ethiopia.

A serological survey of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was conducted among dromedary camels and herbivorous animals sharing the same pasturage in Ethiopia. The pseudotyped vesicular stomatitis virus coated with the spike protein of MERS-CoV was used in virus neutralization (VN) tests performed in a biosafety level (BSL)-2 laboratory. The results were similar to those obtained from the VN test using live MERS-CoV and were more sensitive than the ELISA performed using synthetic MERS S1 fragment as the antigen as well as the competitive ELISA performed using a monoclonal antibody against MERS-CoV.

Identification of Aquatic Organisms Using a Magneto-Optical Element.

In recent advanced information society, it is important to individually identify products or living organisms automatically and quickly. However, with the current identifying technology such as RFID tag or biometrics, it is difficult to apply to amphibians such as frogs or newts because of its size, stability, weakness under a wet environment and so on. Thus, this research aims to establish a system that can trace small amphibians easily even in a wet environment and keep stable sensing for a long time.

Transcriptional activation of long terminal repeat of bovine leukemia virus by bovine heat shock factor 1.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) causes enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL). The BLV genome encodes Tax protein, a transcriptional activator of viral gene expression that binds to the BLV long terminal repeat (LTR). Heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) is a known regulator of the heat shock response proteins, including heat shock proteins.

Isolation of bovine foamy virus in Japan.

Bovine foamy virus (BFV) is endemic in many countries, but has not been reported in Japan. A syncytium-forming virus was isolated from peripheral blood leukocytes of clinically healthy cattle on a farm in Kanagawa prefecture during a periodic epidemiological survey of viral diseases. The isolate was propagated in primary fetal bovine muscle cells and subsequently passaged in Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells.

Inactivation of feline calicivirus using ultraviolet light-emitting diodes.

Ultraviolet light-emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) with peak emission wavelengths of 265, 280 and 300 nm were applied for the inactivation of feline calicivirus (FCV) in water, and the results were compared to those derived with a common viral surrogate coliphage MS2. The fluence response profiles indicated that the log10-based inactivation rate constant of FCV was 0.113, 0.

Mutation of the S and 3c genes in genomes of feline coronaviruses.

Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is classified into two biotypes based on its pathogenicity in cats: a feline enteric coronavirus of low pathogenicity and a highly virulent feline infectious peritonitis virus. It has been suspected that FCoV alters its biotype via mutations in the viral genome. The S and 3c genes of FCoV have been considered the candidates for viral pathogenicity conversion.

Effects of UV Irradiation by Light Emitting Diodes on Heterotrophic Bacteria in Tap Water.

Ultraviolet light emitting diodes (UV-LEDs) are small mercury-free devices that can be installed at the point of use (POU) of water for disinfection. Considering that heterotrophic bacteria are of concern in drinking water systems, we applied a flow-through UV-LED apparatus to dechlorinated tap water, and determined the heterotrophic plate count (HPC) in samples after UV-LED exposure (UV+) compared to samples without UV-LED application (UV-). The UV+ and UV- samples were maintained at 20°C to track HPC profiles during storage for 7 days.