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Patient initials or identifier number T.S ### Relevant clinical history and physical exam A 68-year-old male with a history of bladder cancer (post-laparotomy) complained of sub-acute onset and intractable pain at rest in both lower limbs. The femoral arteries were not palpable, and the ankle

Indonesian native chickens are considered an important genetic resource, particularly with respect to their excellent traits for meat and egg production. However, few molecular genetic studies of these native chickens have been conducted. We analyzed the genetic diversity and differentiation of 4 populations of Indonesian native chickens: Black Kedu (BK), Kedu (KD), Kampung (LOC), and Arab (AR). Blood samples from 188 individuals were collected in central and western Java. Genomic DNA was genotyped using 98 autosomal SNP markers, of which 87 were found to be polymorphic. The proportion of polymorphic loci and the average heterozygosity of each population were in the range of 0.765 to 0.878 and 0.224 to 0.263, respectively. The 4 populations of Indonesian chickens appeared to be derived from 3 genetic populations (K = 3): maximum likelihood clustering showed that the BK variety and AR breed were each assigned to a distinct cluster, whereas the LOC ecotype and KD variety were admixed populations with similar proportions of membership. Principal components analysis revealed that eigenvector 1 separated BK and AR from the other 2 populations. Neighbor-joining trees constructed from pairwise distance matrix (FST) estimates, for individuals and between populations, corroborated that the LOC ecotype and KD variety were related closely, whereas the BK variety and AR breed diverged at greater distances. These results also confirmed the usefulness of SNP markers for the study of genetic diversity.

The objective of this study was to examine whether domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus) sperm undergo maturation in their capacity for survival and fertilization in the male reproductive tract. Sperm collected from the testis, epididymis and the proximal, middle and distal vas deferens were simultaneously stored in vitro in minimum essential medium (MEM) at 39°C for 0, 3 and 6h, and at 4°C for 24 and 48h. Sperm membrane integrity was measured using the dual fluorescent stain SYBR-14/propidium iodide (PI). Aliquots of sperm from the various sites were subjected to artificial insemination (AI) into the uteri of hens to assess the duration of sperm survival in the oviduct and to determine the fertility status of the sperm. Testicular sperm exhibited a very low capacity to survive under in vitro liquid storage conditions, irrespective of the storage temperature used, and in the oviduct, and they had a low ability to fertilize the ovum. On the contrary, sperm from the distal vas deferens had a higher survival rate during in vitro storage periods, a longer life span in the oviduct, and high fertility. Survival and fertilizing capacity of the sperm recovered from the testes increased gradually (P

The objective of this study was to examine the binding potential of sperm to the epithelium of the sperm storage tubules (SST) in vitro and in vivo to assess the functional maturation of fowl sperm. Sperm from the testis, epididymis, as well as the proximal, middle and distal vas deferens were incubated in vitro with either the uterovaginal junction (UVJ)- or infundibular tissue containing SST at 39°C for 30 min. Aliquots of sperm were also artificially inseminated into the uteri of hens, and the UVJ and infundibulum were collected 24 h post artificial insemination (AI). After incubation and AI, tissues were washed to remove loosely adhered sperm and subjected to fluorescence staining with 4', 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole, dihydrochloride (DAPI) for counting the number of bound sperm per 0.25 mm 2 of surface area. Sperm from the testis, epididymis, and the three segments of the vas deferens exhibited their differential (p

Summary Recently, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been used to identify genes or genomic regions responsible for economic traits, including genetic diseases in domestic animals, and to examine genetic diversity of populations. In this study, we genotyped 70 chicken autosomal SNPs using DigiTag2 assay to understand the genetic structure of the Japanese native chicken breeds Satsumadori and Ingie, and the relationship of these breeds with other established breeds, Rhode Island Red (RIR), commercial broiler and layer. Five breeds, each consisting of approximately 20 chickens, were subjected to the assay, revealing the following: Average expected heterozygosities of broiler, Satsumadori, RIR, layer and Ingie were 0.265, 0.254, 0.244, 0.179 and 0.176, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis using the concatenated 70 autosomal SNP genotypes distinguished all chickens and formed clusters of chickens belonging to the respective breeds. In addition, the 2-D scatter plot of the first two principal components was consistent with the phylogenic tree. Taken together with the pairwise Fst distances, broiler and RIR were closely positioned near each other, while Ingie was positioned far from the other breeds. Structure analysis revealed that the probable number of genetic clusters (K) was six and four with maximum likelihood and ΔK values, respectively. The clustering with maximum likelihood revealed that, in addition to the clustering of the other five breeds, the Satsumadori was subdivided into two genetic clusters. The clustering with ΔK value indicated that the broiler and Rhode Island Red were assigned to the same genetic cluster.

Background: The nitinol stent has proven superior primary patency than balloon angioplasty in superficial femoral artery (SFA) lesions, but a systematic comparison of the patency of 2 different nitinol stents (S.M.A.R.T. and Luminexx) in patients with SFA lesions has not been done. Methods and Results: A multicenter, prospective database that included 511 consecutive patients who had undergone endovascular therapy with nitinol stenting for 638 limbs (S.M.A.R.T.: n=503; Luminexx: n=135) was retrospectively analyzed. Patency was assessed by duplex ultrasound. Outcomes were compared between the groups by the Kaplan-Meier and log-rank methods. To minimize the differences between each group, propensity-matched analysis was also performed. Stent fracture occurred in 11% (57/503) of the S.M.A.R.T. and 23% (31/135) of the Luminexx stents (P=0.0005). Despite a higher prevalence of chronic total occlusion (55% vs. 40%, P=0.002) and longer lesions (154±93mm vs. 135±71mm, P=0.03) in the S.M.A.R.T. group, there was no significant difference in patency for up to 5 years (P=0.50). When 119 lesions per group were assessed after propensity-matched analysis, the 5-year patency rate was 74% for the S.M.A.R.T. and 65% for the Luninexx stent (P=0.10). Conclusions: Despite a different stent fracture rate, there was no significant difference in terms of patency between the S.M.A.R.T. and Luninexx stents for up to 5 years. (Circ J 2011; 75: 421-427)

Analysis of SNPs on the Z sex chromosome is thought to be a useful approach to estimate genetic diversity and genetic relationships in chicken populations. The objective of this research was to analyze the genetic diversity and genetic relationship of Indonesian native chicken populations. Here, we genotyped six unlinked SNP loci on the Z chromosome of 103 hens and 85 cocks from the four populations of Indonesian native chickens: Black Kedu (BK), Kedu (KD), Kampung (LOC), and Arab (AR). Genetic diversity and matrix pairwise distance FST were computed for 23 BK, 116 LOC, 20 AR, and 29 KD chickens. Average expected heterozygosity was greater in LOC and KD than BK and AR. The lowest pairwise FST value was estimated at 0.028 (P

While percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent (DES) is widely applied to patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), high restenosis rate in hemodialysis (HD) patients treated with early-generation DES was a major clinical concern. Newer generation DES, which has thinner

【In this study, to examine genetic variability within a breed and genetic relationships between populations/breeds, we genotyped 606 birds from seven Japanese native chicken breeds at seven polymorphic loci of egg white proteins and compared those with Asian native chicken populations and commercial breeds. Genotyping of the Japanese native breeds showed that ovalbumin, two ovoglobulins and ovotransferrin were polymorphic, but ovomacroglobulin, ovoflavoprotein and lysozyme were monomorphic. The proportion of polymorphic loci ( $P_{poly}$ ) and average heterozygosity ( $\bar{H}$ ) within a population ranged from 0.286 to 0.429 and from 0.085 to 0.158, respectively. The coefficient of gene differentiation ( $G_{ST}$ ) was 0.250 in the Japanese native chicken breeds. This estimate was higher than that of Asian native chicken populations ( $G_{ST}$ = 0.083) 0.083) and of commercial breeds ( $G_{ST}$ = 0.169) 0.169). Dendrogram and PCA plot showed that Satsuma-dori, Jitokko, Amakusa-daio and Hinai-dori were closely related to each other and grouped into Asian native chickens and that Tsushima-jidori, Nagoya and Chan (Utaichan) were ramified far from other Japanese native chicken breeds. The egg white protein polymorphisms demonstrated that the population differentiation of the seven Japanese native chicken breeds was relatively large.】

Six polymorphic sites of the bovine prion protein gene (PRNP) were genotyped in 569 animals of Asian native cattle, Japanese breeds, purebred mythun (Bos frontalis), and mythun x cattle composite animals. At the 23-bp indel site, a deletion (23-) allele was a major allele in all populations except mythun. At the 12-bp indel site, an insertion (12+) allele was a major allele in all populations. The 14-bp indel site was polymorphic in all Asian native cattle. In the octapeptide repeat region, a six-repeat allele was a major allele in all populations, and 5/5 and 4/6 genotypes were detected in Japanese Black and Mongolian cattle and in mythun, respectively. Two nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (K3T and S154N) were detected in Asian native cattle and mythun. Haplotype analysis using the genotypes of the six sites estimated 33 different haplotypes. The haplotype 23- 12- K 6 S 14+ was found in all populations.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the impact of atrial fibrillation (AF) on long-term outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study enrolled 1039 patients (age 70±11 years, male 74%) who underwent the initial PCI between August 2011 and June 2016. AF was assessed with

Polymorphisms in the prion protein gene (PRNP) are known to be associated with transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in human, sheep and goats. There is tentative association between PRNP promoter polymorphism and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) susceptibility in cattle. In this study, we genotyped for six bovine PRNP polymorphic sites including a 23-bp indel in the promoter, a 12-bp indel in the intron 1, two nonsynonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), octapeptide repeats in the coding region and a 14-bp indel in the 3'-untranslated region in 178 animals representing Japanese Brown, Kuchinoshima feral, Mishima, Japanese Shorthorn and Holstein. In 64 Japanese Brown cattle, three indel sites were polymorphic. All of the six sites were monomorphic in Kuchinoshima. The 23-bp and 12-bp indel sites were polymorphic in Mishima cattle. The 23-bp and 14-bp indel sites were polymorphic in Japanese Shorthorn cattle. Both SNP sites were monomorphic in all cattle examined in this study. At the 23-bp indel site, the genotype frequencies of Japanese Brown and Holstein breeds were similar to that of BSE affected cattle. We estimated 12 different haplotypes from these genotypic data. A '23-12-K6S14+' haplotype was the major haplotype in all populations, whose frequencies ranged from 0.50 to 1.00.

Objectives We investigated the time course of stent patency in the femoro-popliteal artery for as long as 4 years. Background Stent fracture has been related to poor 2-year patency in the femoro-popliteal artery. Methods We studied 239 consecutive patients who underwent provisional de novo stenting with nitinol stents for 333 limbs (Luminexx stent [C. R. Bard, Inc., Murray Hill, New Jersey] in 91 limbs; Smart stent [Cordis Corp., Miami Lakes, Florida] in 242 limbs) from April 2004 to December 2007. Stent fracture was determined by X-ray with multiple projections. Patency was assessed by duplex ultrasonography as peak systolic velocity ratio Results Primary patency was 81%, 74%, 68%, and 65% at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years, respectively. Stent fracture occurred in 14% (78 of 544) per stent and 17% (55 of 333) per limbs. Stent fracture was significantly associated with multiple stent deployments (with fracture = 2.3 ± 0.9 stents vs. without fracture = 1.5 ± 0.7 stents, p Conclusions Stent fracture worsened the patency during the first 2 years, but it did not apparently affect patency beyond 2 years. In particular, complete stent separation did not affect patency.

BACKGROUND Although in clinical practice endovascular therapy (EVT) with a nitinol stent for femoro-popliteal artery (FPA) lesions has been widely applied for TASC II A/B lesions, primary patency beyond 2 years remains unknown, as do the factors associated with restenosis. METHODS AND RESULTS A prospectively maintained database that included 189 limbs treated with nitinol stents for de novo TASC II A/B FPA lesions was retrospectively analyzed. The outcomes were overall primary and secondary patency during the follow-up period and predictors associated with restenosis. Primary patency overall with nitinol stents was 84%, 82%, 80%, 80% and secondary patency was 96%, 93%, 90%, 90% at 12, 24, 36, 48 months, respectively. Primary patency was not statistically different between the 2 types of nitinol stents (Luminexx vs S.M.A.R.T. Control. stent, P=0.37) during follow-up period. From the multivariate analysis, administration of cilostazol was the strongest independent factor associated with restenosis (P=0.0012). CONCLUSIONS Nitinol stent implantation for TASC II A/B FPA lesions is suitable and durable in sustaining freedom from restenosis through 4 years of follow-up.

Background: Stent thrombosis (ST) in the coronary artery has been associated with a high mortality rate (45%). Despite its broad use, incidence of ST and its impact on clinical outcome following endovascular therapy (EVT) for femoropopliteal (FP) lesions have not been systematically studied. Methods: Five hundred and fifty-nine consecutive patients (74±9 years; 33% female; 47% with critical limb ischemia; 31% TASC C/D) who underwent stent implantation (81% bare metal and 19% drug-eluting stents) in FP lesions (length, 157±100 mm) were retrospectively studied. ST was diagnosed when the following criteria were met: 1) initial procedural success; 2) rapid symptom occurrence; 3) thrombus present at procedure; and 4) lesion resolved with Results: Rate of ST linearly increased during the follow-up and reached 1.6% (7/559) at 36 months following stent implantation. MALE-free survival rate was 74.6% at 36 months after stent implantation. The independent predictors were age (HR), body mass index (HR), CLI (HR), hemodialysis (HR), and chronic heart failure (HR), while ST (0.99; [0.14-7.33] was not significantly associated with MALE-free survival. Conclusion: ST, which occurred in 1.6% at 36 months after stent implantation, was not an independent predictor of MALE-free survival in patients with PAD in FP lesions.

Background: Neoatherosclerosis is known to occur after coronary stenting, but whether it occurs following stenting in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) remains unknown. Methods: This study comprised angioscopic evaluations of 149 stents implanted in the 102 SFA lesions from 92 patients from April 2012 to September 2014. Complete neointimal coverage (defined as struts fully embedded and invisible) was found in 87 stents in the 67 native lesions from the 61 patients. We compared characteristics between the cases with (23 stents, 26%) and without yellow neointima (YN) at the site of complete neointimal coverage, and evaluated the predictors of YN. Results: Median follow-up duration was significantly longer in the YN(+) than YN(-) group (370 [interquartile range: 282-884] days vs. 350 [95-394] days, P Conclusions: YN was associated with the degree of dyslipidemia, suggesting the presence of neoatherosclerosis in the SFA following stenting.

Recurrent atrial tachyarrhythmias occur as a result of residual atrial arrhythmogenic substrates after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. In patients with AF, electrograms with reduced amplitudes indicate diseased myocardium.The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between the distribution of low-voltage areas and the type of induced atrial tachyarrhythmias.Our prospective observational study enrolled 152 consecutive AF patients scheduled for an initial ablation (46% persistent AF). After pulmonary vein isolation, voltage mapping was performed during sinus rhythm, and regions with reduced electrogram amplitudes (0.5 mV) were defined as low-voltage areas. Burst pacing was performed to investigate the inducibility of atrial tachyarrhythmias.Low-voltage areas were more frequently observed in patients with persistent AF than paroxysmal AF (50% vs. 34%, P = .048). A higher proportion of patients with low-voltage areas presented with inducibility of atrial tachyarrhythmias than those without, as follows: AF 70% vs. 16% (P = .0001); perimitral macroreentrant atrial tachycardia (AT) 18% vs. 0% (P = .0001); and roof-dependent macroreentrant AT 13% vs. 0% (P = .01). Investigation into the regional distribution of low-voltage areas revealed that patients with perimitral macroreentrant AT more frequently coincided with low-voltage areas than those without in the septal (100% vs. 18%, P.0001) and anterior regions (55% vs. 11%, P = .001), and those with roof-dependent AT in the roof (75% vs. 15%, P.0001) and posterior regions (75% vs. 15%, P = .0001).Low-voltage areas are associated with high inducibility of atrial tachyarrhythmias after pulmonary vein isolation. In addition, the distribution of low-voltage areas is specific for each type of macroreentrant AT.

Objectives Patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) have poor overall and limb prognosis. Although nutritional status influences overall prognosis, and the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) is a widely used, simple and well established nutritional status screening method, the association between the GNRI and the overall and limb prognosis of patients with CLI following endovascular therapy (EVT) has not been explored. Methods Clinical outcomes were retrospectively evaluated in 473 consecutive patients (74 ± 10 years; 59% male) with CLI who underwent EVT. The GNRI on admission was calculated as follows: [14.89 × albumin (g/dL)] + [41.7 × (body weight/ideal body weight)]. Cox proportional hazard analysis was performed to explore the independent association between the GNRI and mortality and major amputation. Results Patients (53% ambulatory, 38% wheelchair bound, and 9% bedridden) were divided into two groups based on the median GNRI: the higher group (GNRI ≥ 91.2, n = 237) and the lower group (GNRI n = 236). Median follow up duration after EVT was 11.3 months. Three years after EVT, the survival rate (74% in the higher GNRI, and 48% in the lower GNRI, respectively), and limb salvage rate (92% in the higher GNRI, and 84% in the lower GNRI) were significantly lower in the lower GNRI group. GNRI (hazard ratio [HR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–1.05), along with being wheelchair bound (HR, 1.87; 95% CI 1.17–2.97; vs. ambulatory status), being bedridden (HR, 3.10; 95% CI, 1.63–2.97; vs. ambulatory status), being on hemodialysis (HR, 2.33; 95% CI, 1.49–3.64), and having chronic heart failure (HR, 2.22; 95% CI, 1.44–3.43) were the independent predictors of mortality. The GNRI (HR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01–1.07), being bedridden (HR, 4.15; 95% CI, 1.67–10.3; vs. ambulatory status), isolated below knee disease (HR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.30–4.77), and hemodialysis (HR, 2.44; 95% CI, 1.23–4.85) were independently associated with major amputation. Conclusions The GNRI on admission was independently associated with mortality and major amputation after EVT in patients with CLI.

Although endovascular therapy (EVT) is recommended in patients with peripheral artery disease presenting TASC II A-C femoropopliteal (FP) arterial lesions, restenosis following bare-metal stents (BMS) remains a clinical concern. Recently, Zilver PTX drug-eluting stent (DES) has shown favorable

In patients with left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, an elevated left atrial pressure would increase the atrial arrhythmogenic substrate. Recently, diastolic wall strain (DWS) has been reported to indicate left ventricular distensibility as a novel and simple echocardiographic index. The

A single amino acid substitution between Asn and Ser at position 631 in the chicken Mx protein has been reported to determine resistant and sensitive antiviral activity. In this study, we investigate whether various kinds of chicken breeds and jungle fowls carry the resistant or sensitive Mx allelic gene by using the mismatched PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique. In total, 271 samples from 36 strains of 17 chicken breeds and from 3 kinds of jungle fowls were examined. The rates of the resistant Mx gene and sensitive gene were 59.2% and 40.8%, respectively. Only a Red jungle fowl captured in Laos carried the resistant Mx gene, and the other three Red jungle fowls from Indonesia and Gray and Green jungle fowls all had the sensitive Mx gene. These results were confirmed by the determination of amino acid sequences in the GTPase effector domain of jungle fowls.

The gene constitution of polymorphisms of the four calpain genes (µ-calpain, m-calpain, p94, and µ/m-calpain) were analyzed in South-East Asian native chickens, White Leghorn and Broiler commercial chickens, and Red and Green jungle fowl. Polymorphisms were detected at all loci in chickens and Red jungle fowl, but only for CAPN1 (µ-calpain gene) in Green jungle fowl. CAPN2 and CAPN1.5 are linked on chicken chromosome 3, and the genotype for these loci were treated as haplotype. Some combinations of calpain loci were tested using principal component analysis, and the best combination (CAPN1, CAPN3, and CAPN1.5) was determined. The proportion of polymorphic loci (Ppoly) and heterozygosity ( ) were 1.00 and 0.316‐0.465 in domestic chickens and red jungle fowl, and 0.33 and 0.137 in Green jungle fowl, respectively. GST values suggested that the degree of subdivision among native chickens was relatively low except for Thailand, which was highest. Pair-wise FST testing, dendrogram and principal component analysis from the results of calpain loci showed that the four South-East Asian native and commercial chicken populations were close genetically.

Calpains are intracellular Ca2+-dependent proteases and enzymes that contribute to growth and meat quality. In the present study, we identified polymorphisms in four calpain genes (CAPN1, CAPN2, CAPN3, and CAPN1.5) expressed ubiquitously in chicken using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and mapped them using two backcross families (East Lansing (EL) and Kobe University (KU)). CAPN2 and CAPN1.5 mapped to two locations on chromosome 3 about 30 cM apart, while CAPN3 mapped to chromosome 5. CAPN1 was linked to a previously unlinked microsatellite marker LEI0140 to form a new linkage group called E66. CAPN2 and CAPN3 extend the amount of conserved synteny between chicken chromosome 3 and human chromosome 1, and between chicken chromosome 5 and human chromosome 15, respectively. Although CAPN2, CAPN3, and CAPN1.5 were found in the University of California Santa Cruz chicken genome browser gateway, CAPN1 and LEI0140 were not in specific genomic positions.

We performed exon trapping in order to locate functional genes on chicken chromosomes (GGA) and to identify functional gene sequences from chicken cosmids. Sequence analysis of 100 clones revealed 17 putative exons, five of which were identified with known sequences in a gene database search: thymopoietin beta (TMPO), U5 snRNP-specific 40 kDa protein (HPRP8BP), dihydropyridine receptor alpha 1 subunit (CACNL1A3), cystein string protein (CPS) and C15orf4. We attempted to map the genes to chicken chromosomes by using FISH and linkage analysis. The chromosomal localizations were GGA1 (TMPO), GGA10 (C15orf4), GGA23 (HPRP8BP) and GGA28 (CPS) by FISH and linkage analysis, while that of CACNL1A3 was predicted to be on a microchromosome by FISH but not by linkage analysis. Comparative mapping analyses between chickens and humans for the genes revealed both known and new synteny. The syntenic conservation between GGA1 and human chromosome (HSA) 12q23 (TMPO) and between GGA10 and HSA15q25 (C15orf4), were consistent with a recent publication, while two new syntenies were observed between GGA28 and HSA20q13.3 in CPS and between GGA23 and HSA1p34-35 in HPRP8BP. The information of presently mapped genes can contribute as anchor markers based on functional genes and the construction of a comparative map.

The impacts of severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) on the prognosis of patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) have not been systematically studied. We retrospectively analyzed 622 patients with PAD (intermittent claudication [IC]: n=446

Patient initials or identifier number N.S ### Relevant clinical history and physical exam 85 years old male was admitted to our hospital for treatment of juxtarenal aorticaneurysm with saccular type. Because he had several comorbidities, we selected endovascularaneurysm repair. Pre

Blood samples were collected from four native breeds (Chahua chicken, Xishuangbanna Game chicken, Wuding chicken, and Yangbi Huang chicken) in the Yunnan province of China, and their protein polymorphisms were analyzed by using electrophoresies. Out of 16 loci examined, polymorphisms were found in the following eight loci: plasma esterase, plasma amylase, plasma alkaline phosphatase, plasma albumin, plasma transferrin, plasma postalbumin, and hemoglobin. The other eight loci, erythrocyte lactate dehydrogenase, erythrocyte 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, erythrocyte phosphoglucomutase, erythrocyte phosphohexose isomerase, erythrocyte tetrazolium oxidase, erythrocyte malate dehydrogenase, erythrocyte esterase and hemoglobin, were monomorphic. The proportion of the polymorphic loci and the expected average heterozygosity were estimated as 0.438–0.500 and 0.141–0.174, respectively. A dendrogram was drawn according to the genetic distance, which was calculated by the Nei's genetic distance matrix, among four Chinese native breeds. The results indicated that Chahua, Wuding and Yangbi Huang chickens were genetically remote from Xishuangbanna Game chicken. Moreover, the genetic distance was calculated among the Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi and Nepalese native fowl populations, and another dendrogram was constructed. In the latter dendrogram, Chahua, Wuding and Yangbi Huang chickens were genetically closer to Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi native fowls than Xishuangbanna Game chicken.

Three electrophoretic variations (AA, BB and AB) of ovalbumin controlled by codominant alleles OvA and OvB have been observed in various chicken populations. We compared nucleotide sequences of the open reading frame between two alleles of ovalbumin gene. The difference between the two alleles was found as a non-synonymous substitution of asparagine to aspartic acid as a result of AAT to GAT point mutation at position 8032–8034 in exon 8. We developed polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) protocol in combination with Mbo I restriction endnuclease mapping for the detection of this substitution. By the PCR-RFLP the allelic frequency of the OvB was estimated to be within the range of 0.000–0.150 in 11 Asian indigenous chicken populations and 0.000 in four improved breeds used in the present study. Gene frequency, estimated by PCR-RFLP in the present study, paralleled that obtained by protein polymorphisms of egg white. Thus, this study provides, for the first time, information of the occurrence of ovalbumin allele OvA and OvB in Asian indigenous chicken populations.

Cattle exhibit a range of carcass defects, including blood splash (BLS), intramuscular edema (INE), muscle steatosis (MUS), bruising (BR), trim loss (TRL) and others (OTH). These defects lower the carcass value and can result in significant economic loss to producers. We estimated the incidence, relationship with inbreeding coefficients and genetic parameters of carcass defects in Japanese Black cattle using 561 619 carcass records from Kagoshima, Japan during April 1988 through March 2011. The defect incidence ranged from 0.22% for TRL to 5.73% for BR. The incidence of MUS and BR increased from 1.21% to 6.57% and from 1.06% to 9.31%, respectively. The incidence of INE peaked at 7.44% in 1999 and decreased thereafter. We observed a positive linear relationship between the defect incidence and the inbreeding coefficients in MUS, BR and TRL (P0.01). The heritabilities estimated by univariate animal model with Gibbs sampling for BLS, INE, MUS, BR and TRL were 0.24, 0.06, 0.18, 0.05 and 0.02, respectively. The contribution of farm variance to phenotypic variance was negligible (0.01 to 0.04). Significant genetic correlations of TRL were estimated with MUS (0.63) and BR (0.63). Our results suggest that genetic factors contribute to the incidence of BLS and MUS.

The Building Standard Law of Japan and related Enforcement Order and Notifications have been substantially revised since the year 2000 to introduce a performance-based regulatory and deregulation system for building control systems. Up to then, time-history analyses were mandatory for isolated buildings and had to be specially approved by the Minster of the Ministry of Construction (MOC). Simplified design procedures based on the equivalent linear method for seismically isolated buildings have been issued as “Notification 2009 — Structural calculation procedure for buildings with seismic isolation” from MOC, and are now integrated into the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation (MLIT). Along with Notification 2009, “Notification 1446 of year 2000 — Standard for specifications and test methods for seismic isolation devices” was also issued. Buildings with heights equal to or less than 60m and that are designed according to these Notifications, including base isolated buildings, only need approval from local building officials, and no longer require the special approval of the Minister of MLIT. This paper summarizes: 1) some statistics related to buildings with seismic isolation completed up to the end of 2001; 2) simplified design procedures required by Notification 2009 of year 2000; and 3) performance of seismic isolation devices required by Notification 1446 of year 2000.

Genetic variations of seven egg white protein loci in 1,112 samples from eight Asian countries (Yunnan province of China, Mongolia, Nepal, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia) and 360 samples from two improved breeds (Isa Brown, Boris Brown) were investigated by using starch gel and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Five egg white protein loci (Oν, G 3 , G 2 , G 1 and Tf E W ) were found to be polymorphic in Asian native chicken populations. The proportion of polymorphic loci (P p o l y ) and average heterozygosity (H) of Asian native populations varied from 0.143 to 0.714 and 0.014 to 0.225, respectively, and were higher than those of improved breeds. The subdivision index (G S T ) value among 18 native chicken populations in Asia is lower (0.0827) than among improved chicken populations (0.1693). This value means that the degree of subdivision among Asian native populations is lower than among improved breeds and gene constitutions among populations in Asia are similar.

Patient initials or identifier number K.T. ### Relevant clinical history and physical exam A 75-year-old hypertensive woman had sudden extreme back pain. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) revealed Stanford type An aortic dissection from ascending aorta to common iliac arteries, causing

Arterial repair differences between paclitaxel-coated nitinol drug-eluting stent (DES) vs. bare-metal stent (BMS) up to 1 year after implantation in the superficial femoral artery (SFA) have not been well characterized. We compared angioscopic findings 1 year after implantation in the SFA of 22 DES in 18 patients and 12 BMS in 9 patients (follow-up period 354 ± 49 vs. 383 ± 81 days, P = 0.20). Neointimal coverage (NIC) was graded as: 0, stent struts exposed; 1, struts bulged into the lumen, although covered; 2, struts embedded by the neointima, but translucent; and 3, struts fully embedded and invisible. NIC was defined as heterogeneous when NIC grade variation was ≥1. Presence of thrombus and yellow plaques (YP) was assessed. Baseline patient and lesion characteristics were similar between the groups. In terms of procedural characteristics, stent diameter was smaller in DES than in BMS (6.5 ± 0.5 vs. 7.4 ± 0.8 mm, P = 0.0020). Both DES (grade 2 5 %, grade 3 95 %) and BMS (grade 3 100 %) revealed dominant NIC grades of 2 or 3 (P = 0.46), however, DES showed greater NIC heterogeneity than BMS (91 vs. 42 %, P = 0.004). Both thrombus and YP were more frequently observed in DES than in BMS (64 vs. 17 %, P = 0.001; 95 vs. 67 %, P = 0.042, respectively). In conclusion, although arterial repair was limited after DES implantation in the SFA, it was extensive at 1 year.

Efficacy of endovascular therapy (EVT) for patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) remains controversial, particularly for non-ambulatory patients of poor prognosis. We sought to risk stratify non-ambulatory patients with tissue loss due to isolated below-the-knee (BTK) lesions who underwent EVT

The morphological identification and ecological studies on the 3 subspecies of red jungle fowls were carried out in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam from 1994 to 1998. A total of 59 red jungle fowls and 47 hybrids with native chicken were collected and applied to the detailed morphological examination. For the ecological investigation, the hearing survey was performed at 55 localities. Fifty nine red jungle fowls were identified to 3 subspecies groups, Gallus gallus gallus with white earlobes, and G. g. spadiceus and G. g. jabouillei with red earlobes. The earlobe color was used as the most important index for the subspecies identification. Collecting places of individuals were also used as an effective index from the result of zoogeographical survey. There is an extensive zone of intergradation among the habitats of these 3 subspecies. The G. g. gallus inhabiting the continental Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam expresses pure white earlobes covered completely with white patch, and the G. g. gallus inhabiting deep south Thailand expresses incomplete white earlobes.Therefore, the names of G. g. gallus type C (Continental) and G. g. gallus type I (insular) are reasonable to these zoogeographically differentiated two groups of G. g. gallus.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) is essential for the signalling of growth. In this study, we performed single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) detection in the Japanese quail IGF1R coding region and an association study between SNPs and body weight in two lines (SS and LL) selected for large and small body weight. Of 21 SNPs obtained, a SNP at position AB292766:c.2293G>A led to the replacement of a valine with an isoleucine (V765I). The two lines were fixed for alternate alleles, with allele encoding valine fixed in the LL line. A significant effect of the SNP genotype was found on 10-week body weight (P < 0.01) and on 4- to 10-week and 6- to 10-week average daily gain (P < 0.05) in the F(2) family obtained from lines LL and SS. In six populations maintained in Japan or France, the frequency of allele encoding valine was higher than the allele encoding isoleucine.