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A laboratory test with a flow-through system was designed and its applicability to testing antifouling paints of varying efficacies was investigated. Six different formulations of antifouling paints were prepared to have increased contents (0 to 40 wt%) of Cu 2 O. The test plates were initially aged for 45 days by rotating them at a speed of 10 knots inside a cylinder drum. A bioassay was then conducted using the alga, Ectocarpus sp., as the test species. The new bioassay for screening antifouling paints under a flow-through system was successfully established using algae affixed on substrata. The correlation between the mean values of CIELAB parameters ( L* , a* and b* ), the total colour difference ( Δ E *), and the cell survival rate of the algae was investigated. The paint performance estimated from the bioassay was confirmed using correlation patterns between colour parameters and the algal cell survival rate.

A 12-year-old girl was found to have decending colon diverticulum perforation and retroperitoneal abscess on computed tomography (CT) carried out to determine the cause of fever and stomachache. CT-guided drainage tube placement was performed. She was suspected of having MEN2B from her specific facial appearance, Marfan-like body shape and lingual mucosa neuroma. Cervical ultrasonography and serum tumor marker revealed medullary thyroid carcinoma and metastasis to cervical lymph node. Genetic examination revealed a mutation of RET gene codon 918. Therefore, she was diagnosed as having MEN2B. Laboratory data showed elevated urinary catecholamines. Metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) adrenal scintigraphy showed bilateral adrenal uptake and a definitive diagnosis of bilateral adrenal pheochromocytomas was made. Discharge from the drainage tube persisted and it was difficult to continue conservative treatment. Therefore, laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy and transverse colon colostomy were performed. Subsequently, total thyroidectomy and cervical lymph node dissection were performed. At five years of follow up, bilateral lung metastases were observed, but the serum calcitonin level was normal and the patient is under observation.

Background: Oral health is important for maintaining general health and is associated with components of physical frailty among the elderly. Oral health problems are common in hospitalized patients; however, no reports on oral health problems pertain to patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The present study aimed to evaluate the association between oral health and physical frailty in these patients., Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we included consecutive patients admitted for CVD to our hospital between May 2014 and December 2018. Physical frailty was assessed using the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Oral health characteristics, such as the number of remaining teeth, denture use, occlusal support, and periodontal status, were assessed., Results: In our cohort (n = 457), 111 (24.3%) patients had physical frailty. Univariate linear regression showed that the number of teeth present and the prevalence of occlusal support were significantly lower in patients with than without physical frailty. Pearson correlation indicated that the number of teeth significantly correlated with the nutritional status (r = 0.27) and SPPB score (r = 0.24), grip strength (r = 0.33), and 6-minute walking distance (r = 0.26). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that the number of teeth was independently associated with physical frailty after adjusting for confounders., Conclusions: Oral health was closely associated with physical frailty, and nutritional status in patients with CVD; thus, it could be an important screening marker for early frailty symptoms and a predictor of future malnutrition risk., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background: Poor oral health status can lead to a deteriorated level of general health and is common among patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery. However, the effect of oral health status on postoperative outcomes in cardiovascular surgery patients remains unclear. Thus, we investigated the effect of preoperative oral health status on postoperative complications and functional recovery after cardiovascular surgery., Methods: This single-centre retrospective cohort study included 884 inpatients undergoing elective cardiovascular surgery. Oral health status was assessed based on the number of remaining teeth, use of dentures, occlusal support, and periodontal status. We investigated postoperative complications related to surgery and postoperative functional recovery by measuring the reacquisition of walking ability, activities of daily living, and length of postoperative hospital stay., Results: In this cohort (age 66.9 ± 13.4 years), the mean number of remaining teeth was 18.7 ± 9.4. Patients were grouped based on tertiles of the data distribution of remaining teeth: ≥ 20 teeth (470 patients); 10-19 teeth (137 patients); < 10 teeth (185 patients). The number of missing teeth was associated with age ( P < 0.001). The prevalence of postoperative pneumonia and reintubation after surgery was 3.2% and 2.5%, respectively, which was significantly higher in patients with severe tooth loss ( P < 0.05 for both). After adjusting for age and other confounding factors, the number of remaining teeth was a statistically significant predictor of functional recovery ( P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Preoperative oral health status was related to postoperative respiratory complications and independently associated with functional recovery. Preoperative oral intervention may improve functional recovery after cardiovascular surgery., (© 2020 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Coral reef degradation due to various local stresses, such as nutrient enrichment and terrestrial run-off into coastal waters, is an increasing global concern. Inorganic phosphates have been considered to possibly inhibit skeleton formation in corals. Despite many studies available on the effects of nutrients on corals, a clear consensus on how nutrients exert deteriorative effects on corals has not been established satisfactorily. In this study, we examined the effects of phosphates and nitrates on in vitro aragonite CaCO 3 formation by using biogenic polyamines and in vivo aragonite formation in the skeleton of juvenile Acropora digitifera corals. We showed that the phosphates at similar concentrations clearly inhibited both in vitro and in vivo CaCO 3 formation. In contrast, nitrates inhibited neither in vitro aragonite CaCO 3 formation nor in vivo aragonite formation in juvenile coral skeleton. Furthermore, our findings showed that inhibition of coral skeleton formation was due to absorption of phosphate on the skeleton, which inorganically inhibited normal development of juvenile coral skeleton.

In brief, perioperative oral intervention consists of elimination of odontogenic foci and maintenance of oral hygiene in patients undergoing surgery. The importance of oral intervention before, during, and after medical treatments is well-known, especially in cancer patients, because odontogenic foci such as untreated deep dental caries or periodontitis can cause systemic infection in patients with myelosuppression resulting from chemotherapy. Although perioperative oral intervention is currently recommended for patients with cardiovascular disease, its efficacy in this population has not been established. This article consists of three sections: first, we review the current knowledge about the association between dental disease and cardiovascular disease to show the importance of oral hygiene maintenance and the risks of invasive dental procedures in patients with cardiovascular disease; second, we introduce pertinent, but limited evidence concerning the effect of oral care in preventing postoperative pneumonia; and finally, we present the optimal strategy for perioperative oral intervention in cardiovascular surgery patients.

Refractory ascites causes distress in patients with cancer. Cell-free and concentrated ascites reinfusion therapy(CART)is an option for the treatment of ascites. Conventional CART had drawbacks in terms of the volume of ascites it could treat and the complications it caused. As a result, a modified form of CART(KM-CART)was developed. The current study retrospectively examined the effectiveness and safety of KM-CART in patients with cancer. Nineteen patients with cancer underwent KMCART a total of 30 times between March 2017 and January 2018. The volume of the collected ascitic fluid was 7.0±2.6 L, and the albumin(Alb)concentration in the reinfused ascitic fluid was 52.6±31.4 g. Serum Alb level after KM-CART did not decrease from the pretreatment level, while serum creatinine(Cr)level decreased significantly. Abdominal girth and bilateral thigh circumference decreased significantly, and appetite improved. Adverse events were noted in the form of liver dysfunction( noted once)and postrenal failure(noted once), but both patients recovered with subsequent treatment. A decrease in the blood pressure was noted duringparacentesis and reinfusion of ascitic fluid, but blood pressure remained within an acceptable range, and a fever was not noted. KM-CART can treat a large volume of ascites and facilitates the treatment while causingfew adverse events. KM-CART is useful for ascites and greatly improves the quality of life(QOL)for patients with cancer.

Candidate clones which conferred Al tolerance to yeast transformants (TFs) were obtained from a cDNA library derived from a highly Al-tolerant poaceae, Andropogon virginicus L. One such clone, AL3A-4, encoded an S-adenosyl methionine synthetase (SAMS) gene. A full-length cDNA was obtained by 5'-RACE, designated AvSAMS1 , and introduced into Arabidopsis thaliana to investigate its biological functions under Al stress. Two TF plant lines both showed higher tolerance than the Col-0 ecotype (non-TF) not only for Al stress, but also for Cu, Pb, Zn and diamide stresses, suggesting the AvSAMS1 was a multiple tolerance gene. More than 40 of A. thaliana Al response-genes (Al induced genes and Al repressed genes) were selected from microarray results and then used for investigations of DNA or histone methylation status under Al stress in Col-0 and the AvSAMS1 TF line. The results indicated that Al stress caused alterations of methylation status in both DNA and histone H3 (H3K4me3 and H3K9me3) and that these alterations were different between the AvSAMS1 TF and Col-0, suggesting the differences were AvSAMS1 -gene dependent. These results suggested the existence of AvSAMS1 -related epigenetic gene-regulation under Al stress.

Seasonal environmental changes have the potential to influence the genetic structure of species with a short generation time, such as Drosophila. We previously found the seasonal change in linkage disequilibrium (LD) between the chemoreceptor (Cr) genes in a local Japanese population (Kyoto [KY]). This could be caused by fluctuation in the population size or selection in temporally heterogeneous environments or both. Here, we analyzed the scale of LD between 51 X-linked polymorphisms (10 Cr and 41 non-Cr gene markers) in the 2 seasonal samples from the KY population and an autumn sample from 106 localities in and around Japan (Ja03au). Many of the non-Cr genes have receptor function but fewer functional connections to each other. The magnitude of LD in Ja03au did not significantly differ from that in the KY autumn sample. The lack of local differentiation was confirmed in an autumn sample from another local Japanese population. On the other hand, the magnitude of LD was significantly larger in spring than in autumn in the 2 independent KY samples. This suggests that reduction in the population size during winter increased the magnitude of LD in spring in the mainland population in Japan. Long-distance LD could be a useful measure for assessing seasonal fluctuation in effective population size.

Some forms of multilocus selection with epistasis, such as truncation selection, can effectively reduce the mutation load [Kondrashov, A. S. (1988) Nature 336, 435-440]. Many quantitative characters, including complex genetic diseases, are likely to be subject to these types of selection. However, direct measurement of selection in natural populations is difficult and the effect of epistasis on within-species variations remains unclear. Epistatic interaction in the fitness effect can generate linkage disequilibrium (LD). Therefore, we may detect the action of natural selection from its amount and pattern. Here, we report a large number of interlocus nonrandom associations between polymorphisms in 98 Drosophila chemoreceptor genes. LD was examined in two fly samples collected at the same location, but in different seasons. The amount of LD was much larger in the spring sample than in the autumn one. The between-sample difference was much more striking for the replacement polymorphisms than for the silent polymorphisms. This difference between the replacement and silent polymorphisms could not be attributed to differences in the mean marker distances. We also found a significant excess of associations between one frequent and one less common allele for the replacement polymorphisms, but not for the silent polymorphisms. It is unlikely that a simple seasonal bottleneck could explain all these differences in the scale of LD between the samples and between the replacement and silent polymorphisms. Natural selection is suggested to play a significant role in shaping the pattern of LD observed in this study.