Three Severe Cases of Viral Infections with Post-Kidney Transplantation Successfully Confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction and Flow Cytometry.

Viral infections in patients with post-kidney transplantation are often difficult to diagnose as well as treat. We herein report three cases with severe viral infections after kidney transplantation. All their causative pathogens could be detected promptly by polymerase chain reaction and flow cytometry during the early stages of infection.

[Rapid LC-MS Determination of Acromelic Acids A and B, Toxic Constituents of the Mushroom Paralepistopsis acromelalga].

A rapid LC-MS method was developed for determination of acromelic acids A and B, which are toxic constituents of Paralepistopsis acromelalga (=Clitocybe acromelalga), in mushroom samples. Acromelic acids were extracted twice with 50% methanol and the extract was passed through a syringe filter, and then analyzed by LC-MS. The LC separation was performed on a multi-mode ODS column.

Application of proteotyping Strain Solution™ ver. 2 software and theoretically calculated mass database in MALDI-TOF MS typing of Salmonella serotype.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS)-based microbial identification is a popular analytical method. Strain Solution proteotyping software available for MALDI-TOF MS has great potential for the precise and detailed discrimination of microorganisms at serotype- or strain-level, beyond the conventional mass fingerprinting approaches. Here, we constructed a theoretically calculated mass database of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica consisting of 12 biomarker proteins: ribosomal proteins S8, L15, L17, L21, L25, and S7, Mn-cofactor-containing superoxide dismutase (SodA), peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase C (PPIase C), and protein Gns, and uncharacterized proteins YibT, YaiA, and YciF, that can allow serotyping of Salmonella.

Shiga Toxin Subtypes and Virulence Genes in Escherichia coli Isolated from Cattle.

Subtypes of stx1 and stx2 in 45 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains isolated from cattle were investigated by PCR. Only subtype stx1a was detected among all the stx1-positive strains. The major stx2 subtype was stx2a followed by stx2d, stx2c, stx2b, and stx2g in decreasing order of frequency.

A pediatric patient with interstitial pneumonia due to enterovirus D68.

Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) infection is associated with upper and lower respiratory tract symptoms such as fever, cough, and wheezing. Pediatric patients with EV-D68 infection easily develop more severe respiratory complications compared to patients infected with other species of enterovirus, and consequently, have a higher rate of hospitalization and admission to intensive care units. Therefore, the clinical picture of respiratory complications associated with EV-D68 infection needs to be elucidated.

Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus Antigen Detection Using Monoclonal Antibodies to the Nucleocapsid Protein.

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a tick-borne infectious disease with a high case fatality rate, and is caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). SFTS is endemic to China, South Korea, and Japan. The viral RNA level in sera of patients with SFTS is known to be strongly associated with outcomes.

Fragmentation of synthetic cannabinoids with an isopropyl group or a tert-butyl group ionized by electron impact and electrospray.

This study described a fragmentation pattern of 21 synthetic cannabinoids with an isopropyl group or a tert-butyl group by electron impact ionization quadrupole mass spectrometry and electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry in the positive mode. The compounds were categorized into four types according to substituted group such as a terminal amide and ester. The characteristic fragment ion in each group was obtained.

[Rapid Determination of Seven Fungicides in Citrus Fruits].

A rapid and simple determination method of seven fungicides, thiabendazole (TBZ), pyrimethanil (PYR), o-phenylphenol (OPP), fludioxonil (FLD), azoxystrobin (AZX), imazalil (IMZ) and diphenyl (DP) in citrus fruits by LC-MS and HPLC-FL was developed. The seven fungicides were extracted with acetonitrile from citrus fruits and cleaned up with Z-Sep/C18 cartridges. The LC separation was performed on a phenyl-hexyl column with methanol-acetonitrile-10 mmol/L ammonium formate (10 : 35 : 55) as a mobile phase.

Comprehensive Study of Pathogenic Genes Distributed in Escherichia coli Isolated from Cattle.

Pathogenic genes such as stx1, stx2, STh gene, STp gene, LT gene, invE, eae, aggR, afaD, astA, cdt and cnf were investigated in Escherichia coli isolated from cattle during Nov. 2012 and Aug. 2013.

Phylogenetic and Geographic Relationships of Severe Fever With Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus in China, South Korea, and Japan.

Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is a tick-borne acute infectious disease caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). SFTS has been reported in China, South Korea, and Japan as a novel Bunyavirus. Although several molecular epidemiology and phylogenetic studies have been performed, the information obtained was limited, because the analyses included no or only a small number of SFTSV strains from Japan.

Sensitive and specific PCR systems for detection of both Chinese and Japanese severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus strains and prediction of patient survival based on viral load.

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging infectious disease with a high case fatality risk and is caused by the SFTS virus (SFTSV). A retrospective study conducted after the first identification of an SFTS patient in Japan revealed that SFTS is endemic to the region, and the virus exists indigenously in Japan. Since the nucleotide sequence of Japanese SFTSV strains contains considerable differences compared with that of Chinese strains, there is an urgent need to establish a sensitive and specific method capable of detecting the Chinese and Japanese strains of SFTSV.

[Simultaneous screening method for Bordetella species by conventional PCR assay].

A simultaneous screening method using conventional PCR was developed for the detection and discrimination of Bordetella pertussis, Bordetella parapertussis, and Bordetella holmesii. A formulated multiprex method employing 4 kinds of paired primers on amplification of 4 corresponding different insertion sequences (IS481, IS1001, IS1002 and hIS1001) enabled rapid screening and identification. The detection limits of each DNA extracted from 3 kinds of Bordetella species were 5fg/microL for each.

MEKC-MS/MS method using a volatile surfactant for the simultaneous determination of 12 synthetic cannabinoids.

This study describes a method for the simultaneous determination of 12 synthetic cannabinoids by MEKC-MS/MS using a volatile surfactant (ammonium perfluorooctanoate) as a constituent of the micellar pseudostationary phase. Although most synthetic cannabinoids comigrated by a CZE method, sufficient separation could be achieved by the proposed method. The best separation was made possible by 50 mM ammonium perfluorooctanoate in 20% v/v acetonitrile/water (apparent pH* 9.

Simultaneous determination of pharmaceutical components in dietary supplements for weight loss by capillary electrophoresis tandem mass spectrometry.

A simple capillary electrophoresis tandem mass spectrometry method was developed for the simultaneous determination of 20 pharmaceutical components such as cathartics and appetite suppressants in dietary supplements for weight loss. This method allowed multidrug target screening and confirmation in differing radically in chemical structure. The separation was achieved on an uncoated fused-silica capillary using 20 mM ammonium formate in 20 % v/v acetonitrile-water (pH 8.

Sensitive determination of cadmium in brown rice and spinach by flame atomic absorption spectrometry with solid-phase extraction.

A sensitive flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) method was developed for the determination of cadmium (Cd) in brown rice and spinach. The method involves extraction with 1 M hydrochloric acid (HCl), followed by a selective pre-concentration by solid-phase extraction (SPE). The pH of the loading sample solution was adjusted to 4.

Rapid screening method for quinolone residues in livestock and fishery products using immobilised metal chelate affinity chromatographic clean-up and liquid chromatography-fluorescence detection.

An efficient LC method was developed for screening the presence of quinolones (QLs)--comprising fluoroquinolones (FQs) and acidic quinolones (AQs)--residues in various livestock and fishery products. Targeted analytes were for nine FQs of marbofloxacin (MAR), ofloxacin (OFL), norfloxacin (NOR), ciprofloxacin (CIP), enrofloxacin (ENR), danofloxacin (DAN), orbifloxacin (ORB), difloxacin (DIF) and sarafloxacin (SAR), and three AQs of oxolinic acid (OXA), nalidixic acid (NAL) and flumequine (FMQ). Samples comprised ten different food products covering five matrices: muscle (cattle, swine and chicken), liver (chicken), raw fish (shrimp and salmon), egg (chicken), and processed food (ham, sausage and fish sausage).

Rapid determination of glyphosate, glufosinate, bialaphos, and their major metabolites in serum by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using hydrophilic interaction chromatography.

We developed a simple and rapid method for the simultaneous determination of phosphorus-containing amino acid herbicides (glyphosate, glufosinate, bialaphos) and their major metabolites, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) and 3-methylphosphinicopropionic acid (MPPA), in human serum. Serum samples were filtrated through an ultrafiltration membrane to remove proteins. The filtrate was then washed with chloroform, and injected into a liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) system.