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SUMMARY:To estimate the debility and death of a harbor seal Phoca largha stranded on the coast of Toyama Bay, Sea of Japan, on 3 March 1998, histopathological studies on the visceral organs were carried out. Abnormalities were found in four of the organs examined: considerable proliferation of actively phagocytic macrophages in the lymph node; heavy inflammation of the jejunum villi; a benign cortical adenoma in nodules present in the kidney; and a signet ring cell carcinoma (adenocarcinomatous mucocellulare) associated with a marked scirrhous cancer developed in the stomach. The mucocellular carcinoma seemed to have been a main factor in the death of the seal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People who experience natural disasters have a high risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. We investigated the association between the extent of house collapse and urine sodium-to-potassium (UNa/K) ratio of 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake victims. We used the baseline survey data of the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Community-Based Cohort Study of 29 542 individuals (aged 20-74 years) residing in the affected areas. The UNa/K ratio was calculated using spot urinary electrolyte values. Analysis of covariance was used to calculate the multivariate-adjusted geometric means of the UNa/K ratio in the following groups stratified according to the self-reported extent of house collapse: total collapse (TC), half collapse (HC), partial collapse (PC), and no damage (ND). Multivariable-adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for a high UNa/K ratio were calculated using logistic regression. The TC, HC, PC, and ND groups comprised 5 359 (18.1%), 3 576 (12.1%), 7 331 (24.8%), and 13 276 (44.9%) participants, respectively. The TC (3.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.28-3.38), HC (3.37; 3.30-3.43), and PC (3.32; 3.28-3.37) groups had significantly higher multivariate-adjusted geometric means of the UNa/K ratio than the ND (3.24; 3.21-3.27) group. The multivariable-adjusted ORs (95% CIs) for a high UNa/K ratio in the TC, HC, and PC groups vs. the ND group were 1.07 (0.99-1.15), 1.20 (1.11-1.31), and 1.20 (1.12-1.28), respectively. Similar associations between house collapse and UNa/K ratio were observed for both sexes. We report that victims of a natural disaster tend to have a diet with high sodium-to-potassium ratio., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Social isolation and mental health issues have become a severe problem in disaster areas in the Great East Japan Earthquake. This study examined whether the combination of the house damage and social isolation or the combination of the death of family members and social isolation is associated with depressive symptoms among survivors using the baseline study data of the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Community-Based Cohort Study (TMM CommCohort Study)., Methods: We used cross-sectional data from a baseline survey of 48,958 participants (18,423 males, 30,535 females; aged 60.1 ± 11.2 years) to examine the association between social isolation measured by the Lubben social network scale 6 (LSNS-6) and depressive symptoms measured by the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depressive Scale (CES-D). The presence of social isolation and depressive symptoms was defined by an LSNS-6 score of < 12 and a CES-D score of ≥16, respectively. We performed a logistic regression analysis to determine the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) [AOR (95% CI)] for depressive symptoms according to sex in the social isolation in comparison to without social isolation, and the associations of the combination of the house damage or the death of family members and social isolation and depressive symptoms., Results: Social isolation was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (males: OR = 1.87; 95% CI = 1.72-2.04, females: OR = 2.13; 95% CI = 2.00-2.26). Both males and females respondents with severe house damage and social isolation had a greater risk of depressive symptoms in comparison to those with an undamaged house and without social isolation (males: OR = 3.40; 95% CI = 2.73-4.24, females: OR = 2.92; 95% CI = 2.46-3.46). The risk of depressive symptoms was also higher in both males and females respondents with the death of family members and social isolation in comparison to those without the death of family members and without social isolation (males: OR = 2.18; 95% CI = 1.90-2.50, females: OR = 2.60; 95% CI = 2.35-2.88)., Conclusion: The findings suggested that a combination of social isolation and severe house damage and the death of family members caused by a large-scale natural disaster was associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms although the interaction was not statistically significant.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) activity and a high risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in a general Japanese population. The Iwate Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization pooled individual participant data from a general population-based cohort study in Iwate prefecture. The cardiovascular risk was calculated using the Framingham Risk Score (FRS). A total of 1605 of the 1631 participants (98.4%) had detectable XOR activity. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that XOR activity was independently associated with body mass index (β = 0.26, p < 0.001), diabetes (β = 0.09, p < 0.001), dyslipidemia (β = 0.08, p = 0.001), and uric acid (β = 0.13, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that the highest quartile of XOR activity was associated with a high risk for CVD (FRS ≥ 15) after adjustment for baseline characteristics (OR 2.93, 95% CI 1.16-7.40). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the FRS with XOR activity was 0.81 ( p = 0.008). XOR activity is associated with a high risk for CVD, suggesting that high XOR activity may indicate cardiovascular risk in a general Japanese population.

Background: We established a community-based cohort study to assess the long-term impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on disaster victims and gene-environment interactions on the incidence of major diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases., Methods: We asked participants to join our cohort in the health check-up settings and assessment center based settings. Inclusion criteria were aged 20 years or over and living in Miyagi or Iwate Prefecture. We obtained information on lifestyle, effect of disaster, blood, and urine information (Type 1 survey), and some detailed measurements (Type 2 survey), such as carotid echography and calcaneal ultrasound bone mineral density. All participants agreed to measure genome information and to distribute their information widely., Results: As a result, 87,865 gave their informed consent to join our study. Participation rate at health check-up site was about 70%. The participants in the Type 1 survey were more likely to have psychological distress than those in the Type 2 survey, and women were more likely to have psychological distress than men. Additionally, coastal residents were more likely to have higher degrees of psychological distress than inland residents, regardless of sex., Conclusion: This cohort comprised a large sample size and it contains information on the natural disaster, genome information, and metabolome information. This cohort also had several detailed measurements. Using this cohort enabled us to clarify the long-term effect of the disaster and also to establish personalized prevention based on genome, metabolome, and other omics information.

A comprehensive survey of microbial flora within pink biofilms in bathrooms was performed. Pink biofilms develop relatively rapidly in bathrooms, can be difficult to remove, and are quick to recur. Bacterium-sized cells were found to be predominant in 42 pink biofilms in Japan using a scanning electron microscope. Methylobacterium strains were detected from all samples in bathrooms by an isolation method. To explain this predominance, 14 biofilm samples were analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Methylobacterium was indicated to be the major genus in all biofilms. The isolated Methylobacterium survived after contact with 1.0% cleaning agents, including benzalkonium chloride for 24 h. Their tolerance did not differ under biofilm-like conditions on fiber reinforced plastics (FRP), a general material of bath tubs, floors, and walls. Also, the strains exhibited higher tolerance to desiccation than other isolated species on FRP. Some Methylobacterium survived and exhibited potential to grow after four weeks of desiccation without any nutrients. These specific characteristics could be a cause of their predominance in bathrooms, an environment with rapid flowing water, drying, low nutrients, and occasional exposure to cleaning agents.

We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of an immunochromatography kit, Single-path Emetic Tox Mrk (Merck), which targets a marker protein for the detection of Bacillus cereus that produces emetic toxin. Strains were isolated after outbreaks of food poisoning, and from retail prepared foods and food products. The strains were examined for the presence of the emetic toxin-synthetase gene by PCR. All 58 emetic strains isolated from the food poisoning cases showed a positive reaction in the immunochromatography kit. No emetic strains gave false negative result. Among 47 non-emetic strains, only two strains isolated from the food poisonings and one strain isolated from food products showed a false positive reaction in the test. We concluded that this method has high sensitivity and specificity. The test can be used for detection of emetic toxin-producing B. cereus not only from food poisoning cases, but also in food products.

Gallbladder adenocarcinomas from patients in two high-prevalence areas, Niigata (Japan) and Santiago (Chile), were analyzed for acquired mutations in exons 5-8 of the p53 tumor suppressor gene, and the characteristics of p53 alterations in the two groups were compared. Of 42 tumors, 22 (52.4%) harbored 25 alterations identified by PCR amplification and direct sequencing (13 of 22 tumors from Niigata and 12 of 20 tumors from Santiago). All alterations were single base pair substitutions, 20 (80%) leading to an amino acid substitution or a chain-termination signal, and 5 (20%) were silent. Immunohistochemically, 55 of 84 cases (65.5%) showed overexpression of p53 protein, with no significant difference in frequency between the two areas. Missense mutations correlated highly with overexpression of the p53 protein (93.4%). Mutations of p53 occurred in all four exons examined, most commonly in exon 5, but in no particular "hot spot." In base-change spectra, all 12 mutations from Santiago showed transitions, with 4 arising at the CpG dinucleotide (33.3%). In contrast, no such transition was found at CpG sites in Niigata, and 4 of 13 mutations (30.8%) were transversions. The data indicated that p53 mutations are highly important in carcinogenesis in the gallbladder. In addition, the difference in p53 mutational spectra in Niigata and Santiago indicate a likely regional difference in mutagenesis.