Search

The impact of natural enemies on the reproduction and survival of Ips typographus japonicus Niijima in Hokkaido was tested by sequentially caging off cohorts of a single beetle generation so as to investigate the effects of natural enemies at different developmental stages. A consistent increase in mortality of between 17-18% in the first 2-3 weeks of exposure to natural enemies was observed, after which mortality remained relatively constant. Natural enemies which were found to occur in logs exposed during this time were the predators Medetera sp., Thanasimus substriatus, and the adult parasitoid Tomicobia watanabei. Of these, only the first two were found to be significantly associated with beetle brood mortality. However, a confounding factor was the fact that beetle density also significantly increased in logs during the period when mortality was increasing. It was found that larval mine density, and hence intraspecific mortality, was the single most important factor correlated with beetle mortality during this period. It was thus concluded that increased intraspecific competition was responsible for most of the increase in mortality during the first 2-3 weeks exposure, with predators playing a more minor role. Parasitoids were observed to occur in logs late in the exposure period when mortality was relatively constant and so appeared to have little effect on beetle reproduction and survival. The results of this study were compared to results from similar previous exclusion experiments with bark beetles and the fact that beetle density-dependent effects as a mortality factor was not considered in many of these studies noted. It is therefore suggested that some of these previous studies may have overestimated the importance of natural enemies and associates as mortality factors and subsequently underestimated the importance of intraspecific competition. Suggestions are made to improve bark beetle exclusion methodology so as to remove the confounding factor of beetle density from the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of host tree on the ecology of the insect natural enemy complex of Ips typographus was investigated. Tree species was found to influence parasitoid composition and abundance, with pteromalids being more abundant in Picea jezoensis than in P. abies. Within trees, bark texture had a significant influence on pteromalid density with higher densities occurring in smooth bark. Bark hardness was also shown to affect density of both pteromalid and braconid parasitoids. Pteromalid parasitoids were found to respond density dependently to host density. Predators showed no consistent response to host tree. Only the clerid predator Thanasimus substratus showed a density-dependent response to prey density. A predatory dolichopodid fly, Medetera sp., was shown to be a significant mortality factor for Ips typographus larvae. These results are compared to those of previous studies and their relevance to biological control commented upon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reproduction and survival of I. typographus japonicus at non-outbreak densities in relation to two tree species, its natural host, Picea jezoensis, and an introduced host, Picea abies, was investigated in 1990 and 1991 in the natural mixed forest zone of Hokkaido, Japan. Beetles did not discriminate between logs of the two species during the attack phase, however, female beetles produced significantly longer egg galleries in P. jezoensis logs than in P. abies logs, particularly in 1990. Regression analysis showed that egg galleries were on average 2 cm longer in P. jezoensis in both years. A consistent trend toward higher larval survival in P. jezoensis logs was also observed. It is postulated that these differences were caused by a combination of differences in tree ages used in the studies and therefore their physiological status and inherent differences in the suitability of each tree species as breeding resource. Intraspecific density dependent effects on reproduction and survival were similar to those previously reported for outbreak or post-outbreak populations, with the strongest effects being on reductions in egg gallery length and larval survival as beetle density increased. These factors were important even at the relatively low densities found in this study. The relevance of these results to the management of I. typographus in the spruce forests of Japan and the importance of native insects exploiting non-native host plants as new resources is briefly discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radiotherapy using energetic carbon beams from the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) has been carried out at the National Institutes of Quantum Science and Technology (QST) since June 1994. Based on positive clinical results, carbon-ion radiotherapy was authorized as an Advanced Medical Technology by Japanese government from 2003 and it was subsequently approved for inclusion in the Japanese National Health Insurance system from 2016. For the widespread use of carbon-ion radiotherapy, design studies as well as related research and development projects were conducted to develop a compact accelerator facility from 2004. Based on these studies, five compact facilities were constructed in Japan. However, since the accelerators are large in size, construction of these facilities is currently limited to university hospitals or large medical centers, and hence development of a more compact accelerator is desired. To further promote widespread proliferation of heavy-ion facilities and concurrently to maximize the potential of heavy-ion therapy, a project to develop a compact superconducting accelerator, the Quantum Scalpel project, was proposed. The compact accelerator employs superconducting technology to reduce the footprint of the entire accelerator system and the accelerator can provide various therapeutic beams of helium, carbon, oxygen, and neon ions having the energy of 56-430 MeV/ u to advanced heavy-ion therapy. In this article, we report the design of the compact superconducting accelerator for the advanced heavy-ion therapy and describe the progress of related research and development projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schnitzler syndrome (SchS) is a rare autoinflammatory disease characterized by bone pain, recurrent fever, leukocytosis, and elevated C-reactive protein, along with an urticaria-like rash and monoclonal immunoglobulin (Ig)M or IgG gammopathy. Notably, the condition is distinguished by a relatively persistent recurrent urticarial-like rash. Histopathological features observed in the skin comprise diffuse neutrophil infiltration into the dermis, absence of dermal edema, and vascular wall degeneration, all of which classify SchS as a neutrophilic urticarial dermatosis (NUD). Accumulated histological data from skin biopsies of patients with NUD have revealed a sensitive histopathological marker for NUD, acknowledged as neutrophilic epitheliotropism, which has been proposed as reflecting an autoinflammatory condition. In this report, we present three SchS patients: two men (ages 55 and 68) and a woman (age 75), all displaying neutrophilic epitheliotropism in their skin biopsy specimens. Additionally, a review of eight previously reported SchS cases in Japan identified neutrophilic epithliotropism in five cases. These findings suggest that the inclination of neutrophils toward the epithelial tissue could aid in confirming diagnoses of NUD in most cases that need to be differentiated from conventional urticaria. Consequently, we emphasize that acknowledging neutrophilic epithelial predilection as a hallmark of NUD is critical for expediting early diagnosis and appropriate treatment for SchS., (© 2023 The Authors. The Journal of Dermatology published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Dermatological Association.)

Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare patient trends in otitis media with effusion (OME) symptoms and diagnoses before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in order to investigate the effects of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19)., Methods: A retrospective, multi-center, observational study was carried out between January 2018 and December 2022 at hospitals in the Iwate Prefecture with full-time doctors. All patients were initially separated into two groups, one for the pre-COVID-19 era (from January 2018 to June 2020), and the other for the COVID-19 era (from July 2020 to December 2022)., Results: In the pre-COVID-19 era, 132 patients had tympanostomy tubes (TT) placed, while 64 patients had them placed in the COVID-19 era. Between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 eras, there were no statistically significant differences in terms of age, sex, side, craniofacial deformity, or adenoidectomy. Children in elementary school showed a greater decline than those in preschool (42-11 patients in elementary school (74%) and 49 to 32 patients in preschool school (35%); p = 0.025)., Conclusions: The percentage of TT placements for OME dropped to roughly half during the COVID-19 epidemic. This was particularly obvious in elementary school students., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All authors state no conflict of interest. All authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript being submitted. They warrant that the article is the authors' original work, hasn't received prior publication and isn't under consideration for publication elsewhere., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background/aim: Despite the global rise in the incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal carcinoma (OPC) in recent years, its prevalence and oncological outcomes in patients living in rural areas of Northern Japan has not been explored and should be investigated., Patients and Methods: A total of 105 patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent HPV screening and received first-line treatment were included in this study. The annual changes in the number of patients, survival rates, and clinical factors affecting prognosis were examined., Results: The HPV-positive rate in patients with OPC was low, with the lowest rate of 10.0% in 2013 and the highest rate of 46.7% in 2020. The number of HPV-negative cases remained almost unchanged, whereas the overall number of cases increased with the increasing number of HPV-positive cases. Additionally, HPV-positive cases exhibited a fairly good prognosis., Conclusion: The number of OPC cases increased not only in urban areas, but also in rural areas. HPV-positive cases had better outcomes than HPV-negative cases., (Copyright © 2024 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Background: Schnitzler syndrome is a rare disorder with chronic urticaria, and there is no report summarizing the current status in Japan., Methods: A nationwide survey of major dermatology departments in Japan was conducted in 2019. We further performed a systematic search of PubMed and Ichushi-Web, using the keywords "Schnitzler syndrome" and "Japan" then contacted the corresponding authors or physicians for further information., Results: Excluding duplicates, a total of 36 clinically diagnosed cases were identified from 1994 through the spring of 2022, with a male to female ratio of 1:1. The median age of onset was 56.5 years. It took 3.3 years from the first symptom, mostly urticaria, to reach the final diagnosis. The current status of 30 cases was ascertained; two patients developed B-cell lymphoma. SchS treatment was generally effective with high doses of corticosteroids, but symptoms sometimes recurred after tapering. Colchicine was administered in 17 cases and was effective in 8, but showed no effect in the others. Tocilizumab, used in six cases, improved laboratory abnormalities and symptoms, but lost its efficacy after several years. Rituximab, used in five cases, was effective in reducing serum IgM levels or lymphoma mass, but not in inflammatory symptoms. Four cases were treated with IL-1 targeting therapy, either anakinra or canakinumab, and achieved complete remission, except one case with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma., Conclusions: Since Schnitzler syndrome is a rare disease, the continuous collection and long-term follow-up of clinical information is essential for its appropriate treatment and further understanding of its pathophysiology., (Copyright © 2022 Japanese Society of Allergology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The benefits of the artificial fixation of reactive nitrogen (Nr, nitrogen [N] compounds other than dinitrogen), in the form of N fertilizers and materials are huge, while at the same time posing substantial threats to human and ecosystem health by the release of Nr to the environment. To achieve sustainable N use, Nr loss to the environment must be reduced. An N-budget approach at the national level would allow us to fully grasp the whole picture of Nr loss to the environment through the quantification of important N flows in the country. In this study, the N budgets in Japan were estimated from 2000 to 2015 using available statistics, datasets, and literature. The net N inflow to Japanese human sectors in 2010 was 6180 Gg N yr -1 in total. With 420 Gg N yr -1 accumulating in human settlements, 5760 Gg N yr -1 was released from the human sector, of which 1960 Gg N yr -1 was lost to the environment as Nr (64% to air and 36% to waters), and the remainder assumed as dinitrogen. Nr loss decreased in both atmospheric emissions and loss to terrestrial water over time. The distinct reduction in the atmospheric emissions of nitrogen oxides from transportation, at -4.3% yr -1 , was attributed to both emission controls and a decrease in energy consumption. Reductions in runoff and leaching from land as well as the discharge of treated water were found, at -1.0% yr -1 for both. The aging of Japan's population coincided with the reductions in the per capita supply and consumption of food and energy. Future challenges for Japan lie in further reducing N waste and adapting its N flows in international trade to adopt more sustainable options considering the reduced demand due to the aging population., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for patients with advanced cancer of the external auditory canal (EAC) by analyzing the outcome of the patients., Methods: This is a multi-institutional retrospective survey, and we reviewed the medical records of the subjects. A total of 181 patients with tumor (T)3 or T4 tumor in 17 institutions were enrolled. Further analysis was performed for 74 patients who underwent CRT under curative intent., Results: Overall 5-year survival rates of the patients who underwent CRT (n = 74) were 54.6%. Those of the patients who underwent CRT with modified TPF (docetaxel, cisplatin [CDDP], and 5-fluorouracil) regimen (n = 50) and CRT with CDDP regimens (n = 24) were 64.4% and 36.7%, respectively. Significant differences were observed between these two groups., Conclusion: Given the tendency that head and neck surgeons prefer CRT for advanced larger cancer of the EAC, CRT for advanced EAC cancer using the modified TPF regimen showed good clinical outcomes., Level of Evidence: 4 Laryngoscope, 131:E870-E874, 2021., (© 2020 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.)

Aim: Strengthening neighborhood social networks is important for promoting health among older adults. However, effective intervention strategies aimed at increasing older adults' social networks have not yet been established. The present study examined whether a university-led community intervention that provided communication opportunities could increase older Japanese adults' neighborhood social networks., Methods: The present study used a quasi-experimental design. Before the intervention, using postal mail, we carried out a baseline questionnaire survey that was sent to all people living in the Tsurukabuto community aged ≥60 years (n = 1769), of whom 1068 responded. For the community intervention, 18 event-based programs were provided over the course of 1 year at Kobe University. Academic staff at Kobe University organized all the programs. During the program, social interactions among participants were promoted. A follow-up survey was distributed to those who responded to the baseline survey, and 710 individuals answered the question about their participation in the intervention programs (138 respondents were participants, 572 were non-participants). The neighborhood social network was measured in both the baseline and follow-up surveys., Results: Analysis of covariance showed that the changes in neighborhood social network among participants in the program was significantly higher than the changes among non-participants (P = 0.046) after adjusting for the baseline score of social network., Conclusions: The present study found that participants of the intervention expanded their neighborhood social network, but non-participants did not. This finding shows that community interventions using university resources could increase older adults' neighborhood social networks. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2018; 18: 462-469., (© 2017 Japan Geriatrics Society.)

Background: Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genotypes in lamotrigine -induced (LTG-induced) cutaneous adverse drug reactions (cADRs) have been described in several reports but controversy remains even for a given ethnic group. We attempted to clarify a possible association between LTG-induced cADRs and HLA alleles in Japanese patients., Method: Sixteen subjects, including eight patients with LTG-induced cADRs and eight LTG-tolerant controls were included in this study. All eight patients with LTG-induced cADRs gave positive results in a drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test (DLST) with LTG. We performed HLA-typing for HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, -DQA1, -DQB1, -DPA1 and -DPB1, using PCR with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes and multiple analyte profiling (xMAP) technology (Luminex System; Luminex Corporation, Austin, TX). We examined differences between allele frequencies in our two groups of subjects and the allele frequencies in the general Japanese population., Results: The frequencies of HLA-DRB1*0405, and HLA-DQB1*0401 alleles were higher in our LTG-cADRs patients than the reference frequencies in the general Japanese population. We also detected HLA-DQA1*0303 frequently in our LTG-cADRs patients, but data for this allele in the Japanese population was not available. Our observation was presumably due to the linkage disequilibrium among the three alleles. The haplotype frequency of HLA-DRB1*0405, DQB1*0401 and DQA1*0303 in our LTG-cADRs subjects was also different from the corresponding haplotype frequency in the database for the Japanese population and the difference was statistically significant. One patient with the HLA-DRB1*0405, -DQB1*0401 and DQA1*0303 haplotype was safely re-treated with LTG after results of a DLST with LTG ceased to be positive about 4 months after discontinuation of LTG., Limitations: Our analysis included only 16 patients. Associations between LTG-induced cADRs and specific HLA loci will have to be confirmed in larger studies., Conclusions: LTG-induced cADRs are associated with HLA-DRB1*0405, -DQB1*0401 and -DQA1*0303., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is a common skin cancer that arises from the cells of the basal layer of the epithelium or from the external root sheath of the hair follicle. In the present report, 256 cases treated surgically between 1999 and 2008 in our department were retrospectively analyzed. The most frequent BCC locations included the face (77.8%), especially the nose (26.9%) and eyelids (21.5%). Incomplete excisions occurred in 21 cases. Two patients experienced local recurrence; one of these patients exhibited a bone metastasis while the other had a metastasis of the parotid gland without the local recurrence. The rate of local BCC recurrence was 0.78%, which is lower than that described in previous reports. We categorized BCC into four histological types: superficial, solid, adenoid and infiltrative. The solid type was the most frequent histological type (62.1%). For preventive recurrence, we treated BCC patients with two-step surgery when the tumor was large or histologically invasive. At the first step, we excised the tumor with a sufficient safety margin, and at the second step, we performed reconstruction after the histological confirmation that no remnant malignant cells were in the tumor margins. In the present report, no local recurrence occurred in patients following the two-step surgery. Therefore, two-step surgery is recommended for tumors at locations and with histological types related to frequent recurrence., (© 2011 Japanese Dermatological Association.)

Second primary malignancies (SPMs) are one of the most critical problems in treating head and neck cancer patients. Our hospital had 742 patients with a diagnosis of malignant head and neck tumors during the five-year period from 2002 to 2006. In this study, we analyzed 360 of those patients who were assumed to have risk factors such as alcohol and tobacco use: 106 oral, 120 laryngeal, 50 oropharyngeal and 84 hypopharyngeal cancer patients. Synchronous SPMs are defined as second cancers diagnosed at the same time or within 6 months of the diagnosis of the index head and neck cancers. There were 4 (3.8%) and 11 (10.4%) oral cancer patients, 11 (8.3%) and 8 (5.8%) laryngeal cancer patients, 7 (14.0%) and 4 (8.0%) oropharyngeal cancer patients, and 30 (28.6%) and 7 (8.3%) hypopharyngeal cancer patients with synchronous and metachronous SPMs, respectively. The number of metachronous patients with synchronous SPMs tended to increase during this time period. The frequencies of SPMs in oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer patients are similar to those in oral and laryngeal cancer patients. Notably, the most frequent SPMs are upper gastrointestinal tract cancers in Japan, compared to lung cancers in Europe. The five-year overall survival rate of patients with synchronous SPMs was significantly poorer than that of patients without any other tumor except for the index cancer, according to the Kaplan-Meier analysis. In conclusion, searching for SPMs in the upper gastrointestinal tract is a critical issue in head and neck cancer patients in Japan.

We performed skin cancer screening from 2000 to 2004 at two locations in Japan's Oita Prefecture: Himeshima, a small fishing island, and Naoiri, an inland agricultural area. We found 108 and 21 cases of AK in Himeshima and Naoiri, respectively. None of the AKs transformed into SCC, and 21.7% of the AKs underwent spontaneous remission during our observation period. The prevalence and incidence of AK in Himeshima were five times higher than in Naoiri: 1,399 and 826 per 100,000 population, respectively, in the fishing village, vs. 261 and 164 in the agricultural community. Seven and three cases of BCC were observed in Himeshima and Naoiri, respectively. There were two cases of SCC in Himeshima. The highest risk ratio of skin types I to III was 9.2 in Himeshima. Although people engaged in outdoor occupations are thought to be more prone to skin cancer and precancerous skin lesions, our results suggested different potentials for AK in people engaged in different outdoor occupations.

The purpose of this study was to develop a strain of canine X-linked muscular dystrophy (CXMD), a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, in Japan. A female beagle was artificially inseminated with frozen-thawed spermatozoa derived from an affected golden retriever. Subsequently, two carrier female dogs (G1 carriers) and four normal male littermates were produced. Thereafter, the two G1 carriers were mated with beagle sires. As a result, each bitch whelped three times, and out of 54 pups, 17 affected male descendants, and 11 carrier female descendants (G2 carriers) were detected. One G2 carrier was then mated with a beagle sire and 15 pups in two whelpings were produced, including five affected males and four carrier females (G3 carriers). A total of 10 female beagles were artificially inseminated to evaluate the fertility of the frozen-thawed spermatozoa from the two affected dogs. The whelping rates of the two affected dogs were 4/5 and the litter sizes were 5.0 +/- 1.41 and 6.0 +/- 0.82, respectively. These results indicate that a canine X-linked muscular dystrophy colony has been established in Japan. We called them CXMDJ.

Data on T-cell subsets from 89 human T-cell lymphotropic virus-I (HTLV-I) carriers and 25 seronegative people were analyzed to identify differences in T-cell subset values among three subgroups: HTLV-I carriers with abnormal lymphocytes (Ably; n = 24), carriers without Ably (n = 65), and HTLV-I seronegatives (n = 25). Estimates of mean values were adjusted for age, sex, smoking, and alcohol drinking, as appropriate. The percentage of CD25+ T cells was elevated in carriers with Ably (mean, 16.7 +/- 1.0) compared with the seronegatives (11.4 +/- 1.4; p = 0.0002); individuals with CD25 T-cell percentages above the median for the seronegatives had a corresponding 5.4-fold risk for being a carrier with Ably. Similarly, the percentage of CD4 T cells was elevated in carriers with Ably. Conversely, the percentage of CD8 T cells was lower among both groups of HTLV-I carriers than in the seronegatives. There was a corresponding significant increase (p = 0.0004) of the CD4/CD8 ratio among carriers with Ably (1.57 +/- 0.12) compared with the seronegatives (1.22 +/- 0.12). Among subjects with CD4/CD8 ratios above the median for the seronegatives, there were 6.8- and 4.5-fold risks for being carriers with or without Ably, respectively. The percentage of CD7 was lower among carriers with Ably (75.6 +/- 1.6) than among seronegatives (78.9 +/- 1.5; p = 0.13). The percentage of beta-interleukin-2-receptor-positive T cells did not vary among the three subgroups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Thirteen cases among 16,260 patients seen at our department during the nine years from 1981 were diagnosed as pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE). The sex and age distributions were similar to those so far reported in the literature. There were two cases of the autosomal dominant type. One patient had skin lesions typical of PXE in association with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. In two of three patients with cutis laxa-like lesions, eruptions of elastosis perforans serpiginosa were present. In three cases, we failed to detect deposition of calcium in typical skin lesions in either an early or a late stage by histochemical staining, in spite of the presence of slightly degenerated elastic fibers.

A survey was made on the incidence of coccidial oocysts in 11,365 fecal samples from Japanese broiler houses during five years from 1973 to 1977. The Eimerian species were identified by a combination of two methods, examination of oocyst morphology and chicken passage test. Oocysts were detected from 7,526 (66.2%) of the samples tested during five years. Annual variation was statistically significant at the 5% level. Coccidial incidence during July to September (corresponding to summer season) was found to be higher than that of other seasons. With regard to regional variation, incidence found in the north-eastern half of Japan was lower than that in the south-western half. Oocyst detection rate increased up to 40 days of age in chickens and kept plateau thereafter. Eimeria acervulina predominated throughout the years, seasons, regions and age of chickens. Other species of Eimeria were subjected to wide fluctuation while the survey was carried out.

Three substrains were cloned from chick kidney cell monolayers infected with the Ishii strain of lentogenic Newcastle disease virus isolated in Japan. These substrains, which differed in plaque morphology, were distinguished as having no +24R+ and -24R- patterns in the hemagglutination (HA)-elution test.