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Aims This study aimed to investigate the effect of Bacillus subtilis var. natto on the susceptibility of the model host, Caenorhabditis elegans, to bacterial infection. Methods and results Caenorhabditis elegans worms were fed with a standard food consisting of Escherichia coli OP50 strain (control) or B. subtilis (natto) during their larval stage. The worms were then infected with pathogenic bacteria. We analyzed their survival time and RNA sequencing-based transcriptome. Upon infection with Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis, the survival time of B. subtilis (natto)-fed worms was longer than that of the control. Transcriptome analyses showed upregulation of genes associated with innate immunity and defense response to gram-positive bacteria in B. subtilis (natto)-fed worms. Conclusions Bacillus subtilis (natto) conferred an increased resistance of C. elegans to gram-positive bacteria. Our findings provided insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying B. subtilis (natto)-regulated host immunity and emphasized its probiotic properties for preventing and alleviating infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. Significance and impact of the study To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to show that B. subtilis (natto) confers specific resistance against gram-positive bacteria.

Background The United Nations has defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals as a blueprint for helping ensure the health and well-being of our world by 2030. The global goals address challenges we face including poverty, inequality, climate, environmental, peace and prosperity. The goals each have targets and indicators to help measure success. Indicator #9.1.1 is defined as “Proportion of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road”, which can aid in understanding multiple areas of human well-being including access to food, health care, education and in support of economic development. By understanding access to infrastructure, we can focus on affordable and equitable access for all. We focused on the Shikoku Island of Japan and calculated indicator #9.1.1 using spatial analysis. Methods We utilized data from three sources listed below. Cho-cho-moku boundaries population data from the Esri Japan corporation. Metropolitan Employment Area data from the Center for Spatial Information Science at the University of Tokyo. Emergency transport road data from the MLIT of Japan. We conducted proximity analysis with Geographic Information System (GIS) and estimated population of the target area using the area ratio of the target area to the original Cho-cho-moku area. Results The percentage of the rural population who live within 2 km of an all-season road is 79.5% and those who have no access to an all-season road in the Shikoku Island is 20.5%. Conclusions We found the proportion of the rural population that cannot reach an all-season road by calculating indicator #9.1.1. 20.5% of the rural population in the Shikoku Island of Japan may have difficulties accessing essential services such as health care, education, food, and may have difficulties with economic development. By understanding accessibility to road infrastructure, we were able to identify areas at risk for access. We can work towards creating more equitable access in a next step. Key messages By conducting spatial analysis with GIS, we can identify areas at risk for access to infrastructure. we can focus on creating more affordable and equitable access for all by understanding access to infrastructure such as health care, education and food.

To estimate the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in conscious rabbits, a single-sample method using the non-ionic contrast medium iodixanol was compared with a three-sample method using the standard agent inulin. Iodixanol and inulin were co-administered intravenously to male New Zealand White rabbits at 60 mg I/kg and 40 mg/kg, respectively, and blood was collected 30, 60, 90 and 120 min later. Serum iodixanol and inulin concentrations were separately determined by high performance liquid chromatography and colorimetry, respectively. Serum urea nitrogen (UN) and creatinine concentrations were also determined. Based on the data from healthy and cisplatin-treated rabbits, the GFR estimated by iodixanol was well consistent with that by inulin. Further, when the GFR decreased to more than 60% of the reference value, serum creatinine concentrations became elevated. However, serum UN concentrations exhibited wide fluctuations, presumably due to a difference in renal handlings. The single-sample method using iodixanol was considered to be an expedient tool in both clinical and research settings, because the stress due to a multi-sample method was reduced.

Reduction of silica (SiO2) in the bulk form is quite challenging because the bulk silica in both the amorphous and crystalline states is a highly stoichiometric material. In this work, a solution-based synthesis route is developed to produce off-stoichiometric amorphous silica (SiOx with x < 2) by using sonochemical reduction of silica-based materials in the presence of sodium. The resulting amorphous SiOx materials are found to crystallize after annealing at temperatures higher than ∼800 °C under Ar or vacuum environment, resulting in off-stoichiometric silica crystals. The main crystal phase is cristobalite, and a small amount of tridymite was also included. The thus obtained silica crystals exhibit a broad photoluminescence (PL) emission peaking at ∼500 nm, characterized by the PL decay constant on the time scale of microseconds. The spin forbidden emission of oxygen vacancies in a silica crystal lattice is likely to be responsible for the observed broad visible PL emission. The present sonochemical re...

In the present study, to elucidate the influences of the deficiency of teeth on the masseter muscle, we analyzed changes in the expression of MyHC isoform mRNAs during postnatal development inmi/mimice using real-time PCR. By 8 weeks of age, MyHC I had nearly disappeared in the +/+ mice, while it was still present in themi/mi, and the level of MyHC I mRNA in themi/miwas 5.1-fold higher than that in the+/+(pmi/mimice were 41 ~ 55% lower than those in the+/+at both 3 weeks and 4 weeks of age (pmi/miand+/+. From these results, we speculate that the deficiency of teeth affects the masseter muscles during the postnatal development.

Objective. In order to elucidate which cytokine preferentially stimulates the synovium in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), we investigated the roles of tumour necrosis factor a (TNF-a) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) using SCID mice engrafted with human RA tissue (SCID-HuRAg). Methods. The SCID-HuRAg mice were prepared according to our previously described method. First, SCID-HuRAg mice were treated with chimeric anti-TNF-a monoclonal antibody (mAb, 100 mgumouse) and histological changes were examined 4 weeks after the initial treatment. Secondly, a total of 100 mg of recombinant TNF-a or IL-6 (0.6 mguh) was administered daily to mice using an osmium pump. The histological changes and serum cytokine levels were examined 4 weeks after the initial administration. Human immunoglobulin G (IgG) was administered to mice as a control. Results. Synovial inflammatory cells were significantly decreased after the anti-TNF-a mAb treatment; conversely, the degree of synovial inflammation was significantly exacerbated by TNF-a administration. The levels of both IL-6 and TNF-a in sera were significantly increased by recombinant TNF-a administration, while TNF-a levels were unchanged by IL-6 administration. This suggests that TNF-a controls IL-6 production. Despite the profound changes in inflammation, we found no effects on bone and no articular cartilage damage was produced by TNF-a. Conclusion. This study provides strong evidence that TNF-a is a key molecule in the control of the inflammatory changes that occur in the RA synovium. In addition, TNF-a regulates IL-6 production. However, other inflammatory pathways independent of TNF-a may contribute to the bone and cartilage damage seen in RA. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by hyperplasia of the synovium and an excess of inflammatory cells, leading to progressive destruction of the joints. In RA, several cytokines, e.g. interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, IL-8, IL-12, IL-17, tumour necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), interferon-c (IFN-c) and granulocyte‐macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), are involved in almost all aspects of articular inflammation and destruction w1x. TNF-a has been considered a pivotal cytokine in the pathogenesis of RA, as significant clinical and laboratory evidence has been obtained by TNF-a blockade w1‐3x. Moreover, it has been verified that neutralized monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against TNF-a can reduce the production of other proinflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1 and GM-CSF, in cultured RA synovia w4x .I n the clinical trials performed to date, anti-TNF-a mAb has been effective in the majority of treated RA patients. Moreover, anti-TNF-a mAb may reduce tissue perfusion in the inflamed synovium, according to the results

We study hadron properties near the deconfining transition in the quenched lattice QCD simulation. This paper focuses on the heavy quarkonium states, such as $J/��$ meson. In order to treat heavy quarks at $T>0$, we adopt the $O(a)$ improved Wilson action on anisotropic lattice. We discuss $c\bar{c}$ bound state observing the wave function and compare the meson correlators at above and below $T_c$. Although we find a large change of correlator near the $T_c$, the strong spatial correlation which is almost the same as confinement phase survives even $T\sim 1.5T_c$., 19 pages, 10 figures

We study hadron properties near the deconfining transition in the finite temperature lattice QCD. This paper focus on the heavy quarkonium states, such as $J/\psi$ meson. We compare the meson correlators above and below $T_c$ and discuss the possibility of the $c\bar{c}$ bound state by observing the wave function., Comment: Lattice 2000 (Finite Temperature), 4pages, 3figures

We observed an intermediate structure during the recrystallization process from the amorphous state of Bi4Ti3O12 prepared by rapid quenching. The intermediate structure which appears during the recrystallization process consists of two phases; one is pyrochlore Bi2Ti2O7 phase and the other is a stacking-fault-induced structure under the excessive Bi condition. The microstructure of the stacking-fault-induced structure was investigated by synchrotron x-ray diffraction. In the case of a large number of Bi2O2, some are inserted between the pseudoperovskite layers of Bi4Ti3O12, and a nonstoichiometric Bi2WO6-like structure is stabilized.

S状結腸エンドストーマに合併したmucosal implantationの1例を報告した.症例は55歳男性.1985年9月に,直腸癌,膀胱浸潤に対し,骨盤内臓器全摘術,回腸導管,S状結腸エンドストーマ造設術を施行した,その後徐々に結腸ストーマ周囲にmucosal implantationを生じ,その増大とともに装具との接触による出血や疼痛をおぼえるようになったために,CO2レーザーを用いた治療を行った.今回治療経過を報告するとともに,mucosal implantationの成因について述べたが,正しいストーマー造設法を行うことにより予防できることを強調したい.

PURPOSE/AIM OF THE EXHIBIT: The purpose of this exhibit is: 1. To explain "resampling", an image data processing, performed by the digital radiographic system based on flat panel detector (FPD). 2. To show the influence of "resampling" on the basic imaging properties. 3. To present accurate measurement methods of the basic imaging properties of the FPD system.1. The relationship between the matrix sizes of the output image and the image data acquired on FPD that automatically changes depending on a selected image size (FOV). 2. The explanation of the image data processing of "resampling". 3. The evaluation results of the basic imaging properties of the FPD system using two types of DICOM image to which "resampling" was performed: characteristic curves, presampled MTFs, noise power spectra, detective quantum efficiencies. CONCLUSION/SUMMARY: The major points of the exhibit are as follows: 1. The influence of "resampling" should not be disregarded in the evaluation of the basic imaging properties of the flat panel detector system. 2. It is necessary for the basic imaging properties to be measured by using DICOM image to which no "resampling" is performed.

Primary chondrosarcoma was found in the quadrate lobe of the liver of a 6-year-old, intact, male Golden Retriever. At 6 months after partial hepatectomy, recurrence in the liver occurred. The dog died of its systemic metastases 10 months thereafter. Histologically, the hepatic mass revealed neoplastic chondrocytes with abundant chondroid matrix, and there were few myxoid areas where the cellularity and pleomorphism of the neoplastic cells were more prominent. The neoplastic cells were positive for periodic acid-Schiff and were immunohistochemically positive for vimentin and S-100 protein; the matrix was deeply stained for alcian blue and was metachromatic for toluidine blue stain. This tumor might be derived from pluripotent mesenchymal cells in the connective tissue of the liver. To the best of our knowledge, in all mammalians, including humans, this is the first report of extraskeletal chondrosarcoma primarily arising in the liver.

This work proposes a new multi-user detection scheme based on ubiquitous antennas for co-channel heterogeneous radio signals, which are generated from different kinds of wireless services in the same frequency band. The ubiquitous antenna system is composed of multiple radio base stations (RBSs), the central control station (CCS) and radio-on-fiber (RoF) link. Computer simulation results show that the multi-user detector employing the minimum mean square error (MMSE) based combiner and the successive interference canceller (SIC) in combination can achieve the coexistence of coded orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (COFDM) and direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) signals.

Presented here are new optical head and optical disk technologies for an HD DVD system. The former include DVD- and CD-compatible optics and a radial tilt detection method, while the latter include new "low-to-high" media and the application of HD DVD rewritable disk format specifications.

For pt.2 see Proc. 22nd Asian conference Remote sensing, vol.1 (Nov 2001). Danger regarding the wooden building overcrowdedness has already been pursued by two analyses by GIS and Remote Sensing (by TM only) in the case study of the Great Hanshin Earthquake 1995. WHO proposed, "It is necessary to secure the citizens' healthy life and create the healthy city". At present, because of the wooden building overcrowdedness in urban areas of Tokyo Bay, there are several unhealthy districts there. Therefore, an unhealthy district should be remodelled into a healthy city in the urban planning according to the WHO proposal. The healthy city level of urban areas of Tokyo Bay was evaluated from two analyses using GIS and Remote Sensing by TM & IKONOS. This study does detailed analysis of two areas to detect the degree of wooden building overcrowdedness by using only Remote Sensing Analysis by TM & IKONOS. Two indices of the vegetation and the urbanization were considered how there was effectiveness as a disaster prevention project index in two selected municipal districts.

In high density optical disk systems employing blue laser diodes, high NA (numerical aperture) objective lenses and thin cover layer disks, compatibility with conventional DVDs and CDs is strongly required. The authors have previously proposed a blue/DVD/CD compatible optical head, whose NA for the blue optical disk is 0.7. On the other hand, NA 0.85 single objective lenses have also become available, which are suitable for the compatibility requirements because of the long working distance. So, this paper further proposes a blue/DVD/CD compatible optical head, whose NA for the blue optical disk is 0.85. In order to realize the compatibility between different types of disks, it is necessary to correct the spherical aberration and control the NA for each disk. In this three-wavelength optical head, the spherical aberration is corrected by variable magnification, and the NA is controlled by a wavelength selective aperture.

In order to examine the mechanisms involved in steroid-induced arthropathy after intra-articular corticosteroid injection, a histological examination was performed in vivo using severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice that were implanted with human articular cartilage into the back (SCID/hu model). In addition, the effect of corticosteroids on chondrocyte apoptosis was evaluated in vitro using cultured human chondrocytes.Human articular cartilage was obtained during knee surgery and implanted subcutaneously into the backs of SCID mice. One month later, weekly injections of corticosteroid (hydrocortisone acatate: 1 mg/0.2 ml, triamcinolone acetonide: 0.2 mg/0.2 ml, dexamethasone acetate: 0.1 mg/0.2 ml) in the subcutaneous cavity around the grafted cartilage in SCID mice were initiated. After six weeks of treatment, the grafted cartilage pieces were removed from the SCID mice and examined histologically. Chondrocyte apoptosis after corticosteroid treatment was also investigated using cultured human chondrocytes.In the corticosteroid treated, grafted articular cartilage, apoptotic chondrocytes were apparent in the superficial and middle layers of cartilage. But a reduced intensity of Safranin O staining was not remarkable. In the cultured chondrocytes, apoptotic changes were also observed after corticosteroid treatment.Corticosteroid treatment induces chondrocyte apoptosis and it may be important to understand the steroid-induced arthropathy.

Disturbance rejection is becoming more and more important as optical disk players are being utilized in more applications. The paper considers the design of a tracking servo controller for a CD player using the disturbance observer (DOB) theory. By adding a DOB to the conventional PID controller, the tracking performance is dramatically improved in the presence of sinusoidal vibrations or a shock disturbance. The effectiveness of the DOB is verified by experimentation using an actual CD player as well as by computer simulations.

Fast scan techniques, which are used to reduce scanning times, have raised scanning noise levels in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems, resulting in greater patient discomfort and stress. It is well known that this noise is caused by vibration of the gradient coil due to the Lorentz forces generated by the current in the gradient coil, which is placed in a static magnetic field. We have confirmed that MRI noise can be substantially reduced by sealing the gradient coil in a vacuum chamber to block airborne vibration propagation, by supporting the gradient coil independently to block solid vibration propagation and by decreasing the eddy currents induced in RF coils, the RF shield and the static-field-magnet cryostat. Based on these findings, we have developed a silent MRI system in which scanning noise is markedly reduced under a wide range of scanning conditions.

To clarify the pharmacological action of methotrexate (MTX) on the synovium of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) using severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice in which human RA synovial tissue had been grafted (SCID-HuRAg).One month after engraftment of human RA tissue into SCID mice, MTX (0.3 mg/kg) was administered orally, then the appearance of apoptosis in the grafted tissue was examined by TdT mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) staining and electron microscopy at various time points after MTX administration. In cultured synovial cells, synovial apoptotic changes after MTX treatment were studied by agarose gel electrophoresis and flow cytometric analysis. To compare the histological changes induced by MTX with those induced by other disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) and a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug, histological examination of the grafted synovial tissues from SCID-HuRAg mice was conducted after 4 weeks of oral administration of MTX (0.3 mg/kg/week), salazosulfapyridine (30 mg/kg/day), auranofin (0.2 mg/kg/day), bucillamine (10 mg/kg/day), or indomethacin (2 mg/kg/day).A significant decrease in the number of inflammatory cells was observed in the grafted synovial tissue of MTX treated SCID-HuRAg. A similar antiinflammatory effect was not observed with the other DMARD. Induction of apoptosis was noted with MTX treatment but not with the others. The pro-apoptotic effect of MTX was also observed in synovial cell cultures.MTX induces apoptosis in RA synovium that, in turn, may contribute to its antiinflammatory effect on RA synovitis.

One of the most useful applications for an optical disk is a digital still camera (DSC). It is widely recognized that the vibration/shock caused by the motion of these devices is a serious problem for a portable CD (compact disk) or MD (mini disk) player. As far as a DSC with a recordable optical disk is concerned, if is far more important to reduce the effect of the disturbances in order not to fail to write data properly in the presence of even a strong disturbance. In this paper the disturbance observer has been implemented on a new recordable optical disk drive for DSC and some remarkable simulation and experimental results are shown.

We present results for mesonic propagators in temporal and spatial directions at T below and above the deconfining transition in quenched QCD. Anisotropic lattices are used to get enough information in the temporal direction. We use the Wilson fermion action for light quarks and Fermilab action for heavy quarks., LATTICE 99 (finite temperature and density), 3 pages, LaTeX with 3 eps figures, espcrc2.sty, psfig.sty

To evaluate the frequency of the false positive results, we examined 168 patients for the presence of HCV using two HCV antibody assay systems, Synpep HCV-EIA (Synpep) and Abbott EIA II (Abbott). The results obtained by the two methods were significantly different in 22 patients. Cases in 17 of these patients, the results were positive with Abbott but negative with Synpep, and there were no clinical signs or delectable virus RNA. However, in 2 cases, the results were markedly positive with Abbott and weakly positive with Synpep. The presence of virus RNA and the increase of transaminase were observed in one case but both were noted in the other case. The serum of these two patients reacted with the C33C and C22-3 regions in RIBA II. We observed another 2 cases in which the elevation of the cut-off index with Synpep preceded that with Abbott at the early stage of acute hepatitis C. We also compared the cut-off index with the histology activity index (HAI) score determined by liver biopsy. The average cut-off index with Synpep was proportional to the HAI score in the range between 0 and 13. Based on the cut-off index/HAI score relationship, we suggest that patients with inactive chronic hepatitis show a Synpep cut-off index less than 11.

Many research efforts in high density optical recording have been carried out. In high linear density recording, the digital video disk system1) has already been produced using the PRML (Partial Response Maximum Likelihood) technology. In high track density recording, the authors have proposed the land/groove recording technology, using a 3 beam optical head and a crosstalk canceller2),3).

Magneto-optical disk drives have been put to practical use for coded data file and digital video file applications. However, in order that they are more widely used as personal computer peripherals or portable video disk recorders, optical heads need to be more compact. A hybrid chip integration technology for a laser diode, a photodiode, etc. is effective for this purpose1). The application of a polarizing holographic optical element (HOE) also meets this requirement, because it can possess many optical functions, such as polarizing beam splitter and error signal detection2). This paper proposes a newly designed compact optical head module for magneto-optical disks, combining the hybrid chip integration technology and the polarizing HOE. The module size is ϕ10mm × t11mm.

結腸ストーマ閉鎖術を受けた33例について,術後合併症とそれらに関する因子を検討した.ストーマ造設の原因疾患は,大腸癌14例(42.4%),大腸憩室疾患5例(15.2%),Hirschsprung病3例(9.1%)などであり,種類別ではループ式が24例(72.7%)を占めていた,術式は原則として開腹前にストーマが内翻・閉鎖されてから,腸管部分切除および腹腟内吻合が行われた.手術死亡例はなく,合併症は14例,14件(42,4%)に発生した.その内訳は,創感染7例(21,2%),縫合不全・腸瘻4例(12,1%),狭窄2例(6.1%)およびイレウス1例(3.0%)であった.10種の因子について,それぞれ合併症との関連を統計学的に検討したが有意差は認められなかった,結腸ストーマ閉鎖術に伴う合併症の発生率は高く,これを減少させるために,適切な術前処置と慎重な手術手技を行うことが必要であると考えられた.

The average of ascorbic acid of samples of Citrus unshiu grown in Chita county, Aichi prefecture in the end of January was 34.3mg% in large size and 29.7mg% in small size.In order to observe the change of ascorbic acid content of the samples, we took up the following four factors: (a) places of cultivation, Chita county, Aichi prefecture and Mikkabi-town, Shizuoka prefecture, (b) size, large and small, (c) stored in heated room or not, and (d) kept during 0 days, 20 days, 40 days.By the method of analysis of variance by four way layout with replication, we found difference of ascorbic acid content of edible part of the samples significant only in the factor of keeping days in the level of significance 1%.We also found difference of the weight ratio of edible part/peel of the samples significant only in both factors of keeping days and size in the level of significance 1%.Thus we confirmed that the ascorbic acid content of Citrus unshiu bought in the end of January weight ratio of edible part to the whole, and weight ratio of peel to the whole are to change by the days, during which they are kept.

We present three cases of lung cancer with bulla, which were preoperatively detected by TBLB or brushing cytology. Case 1:55 year-old man. Large-cell carcinoma of the right upper lobe. A giant bulla had been observed eight years earlier. The carcinoma protruded into the bulla just like a pedunculated polyp. Case 2: 67-year-old woman. Adenocarcinoma with severe fibrosis adjoined to the bulla of the right upper lobe. Case 3: 63-year-old man. Adenocarcinoma surrounding the central margin of the subpleural giant bula of the right lower lobe. We also discussed the clinical and pathological problems of lung cancer with bullous disease.