Congenital Rubella Syndrome: A Case Report on Changes in Viral Load and Rubella Antibody Titers.

To our knowledge, this is the first report of the use of real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction to assess changes in viral load in a patient with congenital rubella syndrome (CRS). Rubella-specific antibody titers were also determined. The patient was a male neonate born to a primipara with rubella infection at 10 weeks of gestation.

Evaluation of sensitivity of TaqMan RT-PCR for rubella virus detection in clinical specimens.

Background: An easy and reliable assay for detection of the rubella virus is required to strengthen rubella surveillance. Although a TaqMan RT-PCR assay for detection of the rubella virus has been established in Japan, its utility for diagnostic purposes has not been tested.

Objectives: To allow introduction of the TaqMan RT-PCR into the rubella surveillance system in Japan, the sensitivity of the assay was determined using representative strains for all genotypes and clinical specimens.

[Surveillance of Radioactive Cesium in Meats of Wild Animals Caught in Chiba Prefecture].

From fiscal year 2012 to 2014, we surveyed the concentration of radioactive cesium in 39 wild animal meats obtained from 20 wild boars and 19 deer caught in Chiba prefecture, using a germanium semiconductor detector. Four wild boar meats in the fiscal years 2012 and 2013 exceeded the radioactive cesium limit in general foods (100 Bq/kg), whereas none of the deer meats exceeded the limit. The left side of the wild boar that showed a radioactive cesium concentration above 100 Bq/kg was divided into 14 parts.

Levels of formaldehyde vapor released from embalmed cadavers in each dissection stage.

Formaldehyde (FA) is an aldehyde used in antiseptics and adhesives. The World Health Organization (WHO) and other institutes have linked FA to sick building syndrome and allergic diseases. Recent studies have reported that cadavers embalmed using formalin and ethanol-based preservative solutions release FA vapor during dissection and that FA vapor may adversely affect students and lecturers in gross anatomy laboratories.

Comparison between the triglycerides standardization of routine methods used in Japan and the chromotropic acid reference measurement procedure used by the CDC Lipid Standardization Programme.

Background The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ensured adequate performance of the routine triglycerides methods used in Japan by a chromotropic acid reference measurement procedure used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lipid standardization programme as a reference point. We examined standardized data to clarify the performance of routine triglycerides methods. Methods The two routine triglycerides methods were the fluorometric method of Kessler and Lederer and the enzymatic method.

Association of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity With Mortality.

Importance: The prevalence of cardiometabolic multimorbidity is increasing.

Objective: To estimate reductions in life expectancy associated with cardiometabolic multimorbidity.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Age- and sex-adjusted mortality rates and hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using individual participant data from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration (689,300 participants; 91 cohorts; years of baseline surveys: 1960-2007; latest mortality follow-up: April 2013; 128,843 deaths).

Comparative analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strains isolated in three remote areas of Japan.

A quantitative and qualitative comparison was carried out of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing strains isolated in three remote areas of Japan. A total of 452 strains from Chiba Prefecture, 75 from Yamagata Prefecture, and 315 from Kobe City were analyzed for 24 loci by variable number of tandem repeats typing (24(Beijing)-VNTR). All strains were classified in six Beijing subgroups (B(SUB)), B1 to B5 and T, based on a minimum spanning tree reconstructed using data of a standard set of 15 VNTR loci.

Putative classification of clades of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 using an IS-printing system.

Unlabelled: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 (O157) strains can be classified in clades by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), but this analysis requires significant laboratory effort. As the distribution of insertion sequence (IS) 629 insertions has been reported to be biased among different clades, O157 isolates can be putatively classified in clades by comparison with an IS629 distribution database. A database of the IS629 distribution in O157 strains isolated in Chiba Prefecture and their classification in clades was determined by SNP analysis and IS-printing, an easy and quick analytical tool for IS629 in the O157 genome.

An evolutionary analysis of nitric oxide reductase gene norV in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157.

A novel virulence gene, norV, that encodes nitric oxide (NO) reductase, was examined to investigate the emergence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157 subgroup C clusters 2 and 3 from subgroup C cluster 1. Deletion of norV occurred at a point between cluster 1 and cluster 2 just after or at the same time that an stx2 bacteriophage, which retains Shiga toxin 2 gene, was inserted into wrbA, which encodes a novel multimeric flavodoxin-like protein, in EHEC O157. Sensitivity of NO to anaerobic growth was correlated with the deletion of norV in all EHEC O157 individuals tested.

Analysis of Haemophilus influenzae serotype f isolated from three Japanese children with invasive H. influenzae infection.

In Japan, publicly subsidized Haemophilus influenzae serotype b vaccines became available in 2011; consequently, the incidence of invasive H. influenzae infection in paediatric patients of less than 5 years of age decreased dramatically. In 2013, the first case of H.

A novel subpopulation of Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis strains isolated from broiler chicken organs other than the gastrointestinal tract.

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis strains were isolated from broiler chickens from six farms in Japan and the pathogenicity associated with the recently reported 280kbp mega plasmid was examined by possession of the plasmid and histopathology of tissues from these chickens. S.

Fasting and non-fasting triglycerides and risk of ischemic cardiovascular disease in Japanese men and women: the Circulatory Risk in Communities Study (CIRCS).

Background: Non-fasting triglycerides were reported to have a greater impact on risk of ischemic cardiovascular events than fasting triglycerides. However, evidence from Asia, where the prevalence of dyslipidemia is generally lower, has been limited.

Methods: We used 1975-1986 baseline surveys to investigate cohort data of 10,659 (4264 men and 6395 women) residents aged 40-69 years, initially free from ischemic heart disease and stroke, in four Japanese communities.

[Validation study on a multi-residue analysis of pesticides in agricultural products by using phosphoric acid treatment and GC-MS/MS].

A rapid method for multi-residue determination of pesticides in agricultural products was validated. The sample was cut into pieces and placed into a mixer cup containing half weight amount of 10% phosphoric acid in order to suppress degradation of easily degraded pesticides, represented by captan, and then homogenized. Pesticides in the phosphoric acid-treated sample were extracted with acetonitrile using a homogenizer, followed by salting out with anhydrous magnesium sulfate and sodium chloride.

Analysis of the population genetics of clades of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7/H- isolated in three areas in Japan.

Aims: The genetic differences of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 (O157) strains isolated from humans in three widely-separated areas in Japan were analysed to provide information on possible geographic aspects of O157 pathogenicity.

Methods And Results: Epidemiologically unlinked O157 strains were isolated in Chiba (300 strains), Fukuoka (260 strains) and Yamagata (81 strains) prefectures. These strains were classified in clades by single nucleotide polymorphism in seven loci and lineage-specific polymorphism assay-6, and differences between the strains in each clade were compared by population genetic analyses using the IS-printing system.

Phylogenetic and population genetic analysis of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis strains isolated in Japan using whole genome sequence data.

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Infantis has been reported to be carried asymptomatically in chickens and isolated from some human patients with diarrhea. The aim of this study was to investigate the phylogeny of S.

[Simultaneous determination of statins in dietary supplements by ultra-performance liquid chromatography].

A method for the determination of 12 statins [atorvastatin (ATOR), cerivastatin (CERI), fluvastatin (FLU), lovastatin (LO), lovastatin acid (LOA), mevastatin (ME), mevastatin acid (MEA), pitavastatin (PITA), pravastatin (PRA), rosuvastatin (ROSU), simvastatin (SIM), and simvastatin acid (SIMA)] in dietary supplements by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) has been developed. Statins were ultrasonically extracted with 50% (v/v) methanol. Clean-up was performed using an Oasis MAX mini-cartridge column with methanol and methanol containing 0.

[Exploring the link between standard lifestyle questionnaires administered during specific medical check-ups and incidence of metabolic syndrome in Chiba Prefecture].

Objectives: The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between standard lifestyle questionnaires and the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS).

Methods: We analyzed the data on 278,989 people (111,524 males and 167,465 females) living in Chiba Prefecture who underwent consecutive medical check-ups in 2008 and 2009. The standard lifestyle questionnaire administered during the check-ups consisted of 10 items, including three on exercise behaviors, four on dietary behaviors, and one each on drinking, smoking, and sleeping behaviors.

Glycated hemoglobin measurement and prediction of cardiovascular disease.

Importance: The value of measuring levels of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) for the prediction of first cardiovascular events is uncertain.

Objective: To determine whether adding information on HbA1c values to conventional cardiovascular risk factors is associated with improvement in prediction of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Analysis of individual-participant data available from 73 prospective studies involving 294,998 participants without a known history of diabetes mellitus or CVD at the baseline assessment.

Evolutionary model of the divergence of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 lineage I/II clades reconstructed from high resolution melting and Shiga-like toxin 2 analyses.

We have studied 167 epidemiologically unlinked strains of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157 (O157) isolated from patients with hemorrhagic colitis (HC), 87 strains from patients not with HC and 35 asymptomatic carriers (the not HC group), and differentiated these strains into clades using high resolution melting analysis. In addition, lineage analysis was carried out using lineage-specific polymorphism assay-6 and analysis of the distribution of IS629 insertion sites was carried out using IS-printing. Most strains were correctly clustered by minimum spanning tree analysis, and strains in the major clades showed linkage disequilibrium, confirming the clade differentiation in this study.

[Analytical procedure of variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis and effective use of analysis results for tuberculosis control].

Variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis is one of the methods for molecular epidemiological studies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. VNTR analysis is a method based on PCR, provides rapid highly reproducible results and higher strain discrimination power than the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis widely used in molecular epidemiological studies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Genetic lineage compositions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates differ among the regions from where they are isolated, and allelic diversity at each locus also differs among the genetic lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Enantiomeric determination of DOPA in dietary supplements containing Mucuna pruriens by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.

We developed a simple and rapid liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for the enantiomeric determination of DOPA in dietary supplements containing Mucuna pruriens. L- and D-DOPA were ultrasonically extracted with 1% formic acid aqueous solution. The isolated extracts were analyzed by LC/MS using a Crownpak CR (-) column at 30℃.

WU polyomavirus detected in respiratory tract specimens from young children in Japan.

Polyomaviruses (PyV) WU and KI are reportedly associated with respiratory tract disease (RTD) worldwide but their incidence is unclear in Japan. In a 2 year prospective study, WU/KIPyV were detected in 48 (13.9%) and in five (1.

Linkage disequilibrium of the IS629 insertion among different clades of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7/H-strains.

The distribution of insertion sequence (IS) 629 was investigated among enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7/H-(O157) strains in different clades. Minimum spanning tree analysis showed that most strains in each clade clustered in a separate branch, indicating biased distribution of the IS629 insertion in different clades. The standardized index of association of the IS629 distribution data showed linkage disequilibrium in the strains in every clade, indicating that IS629 distribution data could be used for population genetic analysis.

[Current situation and issues for analyzing illegal drug products].

Thirty-two psychotropic substances (31 compounds and one plant) have been controlled as designated substances (Shitei-yakubutsu) in Japan by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law since April 2007. Although the trafficking of these drugs has decreased because of this regulation, new designer drugs (synthetic cannabinoids and cathinones) have appeared, one after the other. As of October 2011, 40 compounds had been newly added to this category.