Prevalence of Baylisascaris Roundworm in Captive Kinkajous in Japan.

Baylisascaris potosis causes larva migrans in animals. The present study evaluated the prevalence of B. potosis in captive kinkajous ( Potos flavus ) and the ability of milbemycin to treat natural infections of B.

Relationship between Urinary N-Desmethyl-Acetamiprid and Typical Symptoms including Neurological Findings: A Prevalence Case-Control Study.

Neonicotinoid insecticides are nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists used worldwide. Their environmental health effects including neurotoxicity are of concern. We previously determined a metabolite of acetamiprid, N-desmethyl-acetamiprid in the urine of a patient, who exhibited some typical symptoms including neurological findings.

Comparison of the analgesic effect between continuous wound infiltration and single-injection transversus abdominis plane block after gynecologic laparotomy.

Purpose: Both single-injection transversus abdominis plane (TAP) block and continuous wound infiltration (CWI) provide postoperative analgesia, but no study has compared the two regional techniques. We tested the hypothesis that CWI is more effective for controlling postoperative pain compared with single-injection TAP block after laparotomy.

Methods: We conducted a prospective randomized study of patients undergoing gynecologic laparotomy with midline incision through the umbilicus under general anesthesia.

Evaluation of Bone Metastasis Using Serial Measurements of Serum N-Telopeptides of Type I Collagen in Patients with Lung Cancer: A Prospective Study.

Background/aim: The bone resorption biomarker cross-linked N-Telopeptides of type I collagen (NTx) has been shown to aid in the diagnosis of metastatic bone disease from lung cancer (MBDLC). Patients with MBDLC are often treated with zoledronic acid (ZA). ZA reduces the levels of NTx and also lowers the risk of skeletal adverse events in patients with MBDLC.

Cytogenetic dosimetry by micronucleus assay using peripheral blood cells is modified by thyroid hormones.

Cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) assay is a convenient and easy method of radiation biodosimetry that uses peripheral blood (PB) cells. However, for micronuclei (MN) frequency induced by ionising radiation, a dose-response relationship in abnormal condition, such as in cancer patients, has not been assessed. To clarify the difference between the dose-response curve generated by the CBMN assay in conditions when thyroid hormone levels were normal and during thyroid hormone withdrawal (THW) prior to (131)I treatment, 12 thyroid cancer patients who underwent thyroidectomy were studied.

Larva migrans in squirrel monkeys experimentally infected with Baylisascaris potosis.

Roundworms of the genus Baylisascaris are natural parasites primarily of wild carnivores, and they can occasionally cause infection in humans and animals. Infection results in visceral larva migrans and/or neural larva migrans, which can be severe or fatal in some animals. Recently, Baylisascaris nematodes isolated from kinkajous (Potos flavus) and previously referred to as Baylisascaris procyonis were renamed as Baylisascaris potosis; however, data regarding the pathogenicity of B.

Broadening the versatility of lentiviral vectors as a tool in nucleic acid research via genetic code expansion.

With the aim of broadening the versatility of lentiviral vectors as a tool in nucleic acid research, we expanded the genetic code in the propagation of lentiviral vectors for site-specific incorporation of chemical moieties with unique properties. Through systematic exploration of the structure-function relationship of lentiviral VSVg envelope by site-specific mutagenesis and incorporation of residues displaying azide- and diazirine-moieties, the modifiable sites on the vector surface were identified, with most at the PH domain that neither affects the expression of envelope protein nor propagation or infectivity of the progeny virus. Furthermore, via the incorporation of such chemical moieties, a variety of fluorescence probes, ligands, PEG and other functional molecules are conjugated, orthogonally and stoichiometrically, to the lentiviral vector.

Phase I/II trial of 2-weekly docetaxel combined with cisplatin plus fluorouracil in metastatic esophageal cancer (JCOG0807).

We carried out a phase I/II trial of adding 2-weekly docetaxel to cisplatin plus fluorouracil (CF) therapy (2-weekly DCF regimen) in esophageal cancer patients to investigate its safety and antimetastatic activity. Patients received 2-weekly docetaxel (30 mg/m(2) [dose level (DL)1] or 40 mg/m(2) [DL2] with a 3 + 3 design in phase I, on days 1 and 15) in combination with fixed-dose CF (80 mg/m(2) cisplatin, day 1; 800 mg/m(2) fluorouracil, days 1-5) repeated every 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) in phase I and central peer review-based response rate in phase II.

Experimental infection of Mongolian gerbils with Baylisascaris potosis.

The present study evaluated the pathogenicity of Baylisascaris potosis, a newly described ascarid nematode, in Mongolian gerbils. Gerbils were infected with varying doses of either B. potosis or Baylisascaris transfuga embryonated eggs (100, 1,000, and 4,000) for 30 days postinfection (pi).

Molecular identification of Heterakis spumosa obtained from brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in Japan and its infectivity in experimental mice.

Heterakis spumosa is a nematode of invasive rodents, mainly affiliated with Rattus spp. of Asian origin. Despite the ecological importance and cosmopolitan distribution, little information is available on the genetic characteristics and infectivity to experimental animals of this roundworm.

The first report of peritoneal tetrathyridiosis in squirrel monkey (Saimiri sciureus).

This report describes a case of peritoneal larval cestodiasis caused by tetrathyridia of Mesocestoides sp. in an adult female squirrel monkey. The monkey had lived in a zoological garden in Japan and had a clinical history of wasting.

Isolable aryl-substituted silyl radicals: synthesis, characterization, and reactivity.

Isolable aryl-substituted silyl radicals (tBu2 MeSi)2(Ar)Si(·) (Ar = C6H5, 4-tBuC6H4, 4-PhC6H4, 3,5-tBu2C6H3) were synthesized by the reaction of the corresponding iodosilane with an equimolar amount of potassium graphite (KC8 ) in tetrahydrofuran (THF). The crystal structure of 3,5-tBu2C6H3 derivative, which was determined by X-ray crystallography, showed a planar geometry around the Si atom for the radical center. EPR studies of all four radicals revealed the lack of the delocalization of the unpaired electron over the aromatic ring.

Lateral solid-phase epitaxy of oxide thin films on glass substrate seeded with oxide nanosheets.

We developed a technique to fabricate oxide thin films with uniaxially controlled crystallographic orientation and lateral size of more than micrometers on amorphous substrates. This technique is lateral solid-phase epitaxy, where epitaxial crystallization of amorphous precursor is seeded with ultrathin oxide nanosheets sparsely (≈10% coverage) deposited on the substrate. Transparent conducting Nb-doped anatase TiO2 thin films were fabricated on glass substrates by this technique.

[Evaluation of recurrence rates on change in hormone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status after neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients].

Background: Neo-adjuvant chemotherapy(NAC)may affect hormone receptor(HR)and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2(HER2)status in breast cancer patients. However, the correlation between recurrence rates and this status change remains unclear.

Methods: We evaluated 70 consecutive breast cancer patients receiving NAC with anthracyclines and taxanes, with or without trastuzumab, between January 2005 and May 2012.

Baylisascaris potosis n. sp., a new ascarid nematode isolated from captive kinkajou, Potos flavus, from the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

We describe a new nematode species, Baylisascaris potosis n. sp., isolated from captive kinkajou, Potos flavus, from the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

Molecular evolution of VP3, VP1, 3C(pro) and 3D(pol) coding regions in coxsackievirus group A type 24 variant isolates from acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis in 2011 in Okinawa, Japan.

A large acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) outbreak occurred in 2011 in Okinawa Prefecture in Japan. Ten strains of coxsackievirus group A type 24 variant (CA24v) were isolated from patients with AHC and full sequence analysis of the VP3, VP1, 3C(pro) and 3D(pol) coding regions performed. To assess time-scale evolution, phylogenetic analysis was performed using the Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method.

Effect of litter moisture on the development of footpad dermatitis in broiler chickens.

Broiler chicks were reared on either wet litter or dry litter to compare the development of footpad dermatitis (FPD). Broilers reared on wet litter first developed FPD at 14 days of age. Their FPD scores increased sharply after 21 days of age, reaching 2.

Relation of risk factors with response to carvedilol in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction - a report from the Japanese Diastolic Heart Failure Study (J-DHF).

Background: The Japanese Diastolic Heart Failure Study (J-DHF) has suggested beneficial effects of the standard-dose prescription of carvedilol in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFPEF). However, it is unclear whether any risk factors modulate the effects of the standard-dose carvedilol.

Methods And Results: Data from 245 patients with HFPEF in J-DHF were evaluated.

Qualitative profiling and quantification of neonicotinoid metabolites in human urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

Neonicotinoid pesticides have been widely applied for the production of fruits and vegetables, and occasionally detected in conventionally grown produce. Thus oral exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides may exist in the general population; however, neonicotinoid metabolites in human body fluids have not been investigated comprehensively. The purpose of this study is the qualitative profiling and quantitative analysis of neonicotinoid metabolites in the human spot urine by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC/MS).

Activation of brown adipose tissue thermogenesis by electrical stimulation to the dorsal surface of the tissue in rats.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a heat-producing organ that plays an important role in maintenance of energy homeostasis. The purpose of this study was to test a novel method for stimulating BAT thermogenesis in rats. Application of electrical field stimulation to the dorsal surface of interscapular BAT caused a substantial rise in tissue temperature without affecting rectal temperature.

Comparative outcomes of elderly and non-elderly patients receiving first-line palliative chemotherapy for advanced biliary tract cancer.

Background And Aim: Few studies have reported the efficacy and safety of palliative chemotherapy in elderly patients with advanced biliary tract cancer. We aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of palliative chemotherapy for advanced biliary tract cancer in elderly patients.

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 403 consecutive patients who received palliative chemotherapy between April 2006 and March 2009 for pathologically confirmed unresectable or recurrent biliary tract cancer.

Survey of Japanese encephalitis virus in pigs and wild boars on Ishigaki and Iriomote Islands in Okinawa, Japan.

SUMMARY We previously revealed that Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) seroprevalence was 4.5% in pigs on Ishigaki Island from 2005 to 2007. However, a partial E gene sequence (151 bp) of the JEV genome (JEV/sw/Ishigaki/1/2005) was detected in one pig.