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Koji mold, which belongs to the Aspergillus section Nigri, is used in the production of shochu. The section Nigri is composed of very morphologically similar members that in some cases produce mycotoxins, which rises concerns as to whether the presence of mycotoxin-producing fungi in shochu producing sites can compromise consumer safety. Thus, we examined the presence of mycotoxin-producing sec. Nigri fungi in six shochu factories (named A-F) in Japan. Airborne fungal levels in the factories were determined, and a traditional koji called "kona-koji" made from the mold naturally present in factory C (Aogashima village) was analyzed. Isolates of sec. Nigri fungi were identified morphologically and confirmed via cytochrome b gene analysis. In factory A (Nago city), airborne fungal levels of sec. Nigri were 4,000 and 100 cfu/m3 in the koji-making and fermentation rooms, respectively. In factories B, C, and D, the levels were 40, >104 cfu/m3, and 100 cfu/m3, respectively. In factory F (Iki city), there were high levels of airborne white-koji mold (a white mutant of Asp. luchuensis). The most dominant fungal species of sec. Nigri was isolated and identified as Asp. luchuensis via genetic analysis. This is likely to have originated from the commercial fermentation culture used. Asp. niger and Asp. luchuensis were isolated from kona-koji. Mycotoxin production (ochratoxin and fumonisin B2) by Asp. luchuensis (eight strains) and Asp. niger (three strains) was virtually inexistent; only one strain of Asp. niger was positive for fumonisin B2. This study clearly shows that mycotoxin-producing fungi are not dominant in the fungal flora present in the shochu factories examined and therefore, that the liquor can be safely fermented.Implications: In this study, we examined the presence of mycotoxin-producing Aspergillus sec. Nigri fungi in six shochu (Japanese distilled beverage) factories. The most dominant fungal species of sec. Nigri was isolated and identified as Aspergillus luchuensis (black-koji mold). The proportion of mycotoxin-producing Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus carbonarius was very small. In addition, the Asp. niger isolated from koji mold did not have the ability to produce ochratoxins or fumonisin B. This study clearly shows that shochu can be safely fermented.

There are problems with dose management in X-ray computed tomography (CT) because the protocol used for any examination is not always in the same scan range. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of setting the CT protocol based on the scan range.We evaluated the examination data of patients who underwent plain CT based on a scan range of chest to pelvis and abdomen to pelvis. The previous protocol [Chest-Abdomen Routine] was changed to the current protocols [Chest_Abdomen] and [Chest_Pelvis], and the previous protocol of [Abdomen Routine] was changed to the current protocols [Abdomen] and [Abdomen_Pelvis]. Examination data of height, scan length, volume CT dose index (CTDIThe SD of scan length decreased by 77.1% on abdomen to pelvis, and the SD of DLP decreased by 65.2% on abdomen to pelvis. The causes of the outliers were CT scan range, scan parameter, arm position, metal implants, and body thickness of patients.Setting CT protocols based on the scan range reduced SD of scan length and DLP. It was helpful for reducing the number of scan range outliers and analyzing the cause of outliers.

Airborne insect particles have been identified as an important cause of respiratory allergies, including allergic asthma and rhinitis. In the literature, the significance of respiratory exposure to insect particles as a cause of occupational allergy has been well-documented. Indeed, many cases of occupational allergy have been reported including allergy to the larvae of flies and moths in anglers and occupationally exposed workers, to grain pests in bakers or other workers handling grains, and to crickets and/or locusts in researchers and workers in aquaculture companies. Furthermore, the prevalence of sensitization to insect allergens is considerably high among patients with asthma and/or rhinitis who are not occupationally exposed to insects, suggesting the clinical relevance of exposure to insects in indoor and outdoor environmental non-occupational settings. Exposure to cockroaches, a well-studied indoor insect, is associated with cockroach sensitization and the development and exacerbation of asthma. Booklice, another common indoor insect, were recently identified as a significant sensitizer of asthmatic patients in Japan and India, and potentially of asthma patients living in warm and humid climates around the world. Lip b 1 was identified as an allergenic protein contributing to the species-specific sensitization to booklice. Moths are considered a significant seasonal outdoor allergen and their allergens are considered to have the highest sensitization rate among Japanese patients. However, other than cockroaches, allergenic insect proteins contributing to sensitization have not been fully characterized to date.

Household air conditioners are known to be contaminated with dematiaceous fungi such as genus Toxicocladosporium and genus Cladosporium. We frequently encounter cases in which a large amount of fungi, which are presumed to belong to the family Cordycipitaceae, are isolated from the blowout air of the household air conditioners. Therefore, the Cordycipitaceae isolated in the survey of four cases of the air conditioners were identified by genetic analyses. As a result, all of them were found to be Simplicillium sympodiophorum. The concentration of airborne fungi, S. sympodiophorum in the blowout air was high (> 104 cfu/m3) as exceeding the upper limit of quantification in three of four cases, and 5,000 cfu/m3 in one case. This study revealed that S. sympodiophorum contaminated multiple air conditioners. Genus Toxicocladosporium was also isolated from the two air conditioners, and it was found to be Toxicocladosporium irritans by the genetic analysis.

This study examined the fungal flora contained in the dust of bedding used in 50 houses in Japan. The result showed that the mycoflora having the largest isolation rate was yeasts, which were isolated by 42 out of 50 houses (84%), and exceeded the isolation rate of Cladosporium spp. (80%) and Aspergillus spp. (66%). In addition, the isolation rate of Alternaria, which was an important fungus causing asthma, 66% was being considered as a high isolation rate, and this result was very interesting. The isolation rate of xerophilic fungi such as Aspergillus restrictus and Wallemia often found in house dust on the floor, was not very high. Forty-one strains of yeasts isolated from each dust sample were identified, and Naganishia diffluens species complex and Filobasidium magnum had a larger number of 13 strains, respectively. Since N. diffluens was the yeasts often isolated from human skin, it was thought to be an association between the fungal skin flora and fungal flora of bed dust. Meanwhile, there was no report of isolation of F. magnum from house dust previously. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing its isolation from bedding with relatively high frequency.

Homogenous iridium complexes with asymmetric ligands and different tether lengths have been solid‐supported and prepared in multi‐gram quantities. Packed in a fixed‐bed, they have been used in continuous flow for up to 120 hours in the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of APs in 2‐propanol to make 1‐phenethyl alcohols in > 95 % conversion and ee. The CsDPEN ligand and C5 tether showed higher performance than TsDPEN and the C14 tether, whilst the ketone feed concentration and reaction temperature were optimized to enable the catalyst to be used at 5 mol‐% loading with a residence time of 39 minutes. The total amount iridium leaching of from the support during sustained operation was 58–147 ppm. The flow system gives higher catalyst turnover numbers than the related batch reactions, but the nature and concentration of the base were found to influence strongly the catalyst's performance, with the finding that triethylamine maintains high enantioselectivity but slowly deactivates the catalyst, whilst potassium tert‐butoxide does the opposite. The utility of the system is shown in the high ee's and good conversions achieved for a range of aryl alcohols.

Household air conditioners are known to be contaminated with dematiaceous fungi such as genus Toxicocladosporium and genus Cladosporium. We frequently encounter cases in which a large amount of fungi, which are presumed to belong to the family Cordycipitaceae, are isolated from the blowout air of the household air conditioners. Therefore, the Cordycipitaceae isolated in the survey of four cases of the air conditioners were identified by genetic analyses. As a result, all of them were found to be Simplicillium sympodiophorum. The concentration of airborne fungi, S. sympodiophorum in the blowout air was high (10

Objectives Consistently variable with several peaks in heart rate histogram (e.g. bigeminy and trigeminy) is one of the arrhythmia types. We investigated the effects of gating error by consistently variable patients on left ventricular (LV) functional with cadmium zinc telluride (CZT) camera. The purpose of this study is to evaluate LV functional parameters by setting different heartbeat acceptance windows on gated myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) (MPS) in consistently variable patients, using echocardiography (echo) as a reference. Materials and methods Sixteen consistently variable patients underwent the gated MPS using a D-SPECT. The MPS images were obtained by setting two different types of heartbeat acceptance windows. The heartbeat acceptance windows were set to include only one peak and two peaks of the maximum count peaks, respectively. Results Mean end-diastolic volume, end-systolic volume and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were 112.7 mL, 62.2 mL and 51.3% for one peak, 114.5 mL, 66.1 mL and 47.1% for two peak, and 113.0 mL, 54.2 mL and 54.1% for echo, respectively. The mean differences between two peaks and echo in LVEF were larger than those of between one peak and echo. Conclusion Our study suggests that setting the heartbeat acceptance window of one peak was suitable for accurate measurement of LV function in consistently variable patients.

Koji mold, which belongs to the

Culture-independent DNA sequencing of fungal internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) region was compared to a culture-dependent morphological identification technique to characterize house dust-borne fungal communities. The abundant genera were Aspergillus, Wallemia, Cladosporium, and Penicillium. Statistically significant between-method correlations were observed for Wallemia and Cladosporium (Spearman’s ρ = 0.75 and 0.72, respectively; p Penicillium tended to be detected with much higher (averaged 26-times) relative abundances by the culture-based method than by the DNA-based method, although statistically significant inter-method correlation was observed with Spearman’s ρ = 0.61 (p = 0.002). Large DNA sequencing-based relative abundances observed for Alternaria and Aureobasidium were likely due to multicellularity of their spores with large number of per-spore ITS2 copies. The failure of the culture-based method in detectiing Toxicocladosporium, Verrucocladosporium, and Sterigmatomyces was likely due to their fastidiousness growth on our nutrient medium. Comparing between the two different techniques clarified the causes of biases in identifying environmental fungal communities, which should be amended and/or taken into consideration when the methods are used for future fungal ecological studies.

Houses damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake that have severe mold problems should be disinfected before or immediately after residents are allowed to return permanently. In this study, the efficacy of a fungicide based on the Fenton reaction was evaluated in lab and field tests. Use of Fenton’s reagent successfully disinfected aqueous solutions containing five species of fungi (Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus penicillioides, Aspergillus restrictus, Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and Wallemia sebi). Spraying Fenton’s reagent solutions (ferrous ions [pH = 3] and hydrogen peroxide [pH = 3]) onto the surface of wood samples inoculated with C. sphaerospermum significantly suppressed fungal growth (mold cover = 12–27%) compared with spraying distilled water (82–97%) or a hydrogen peroxide solution (73–80%). Field tests were performed in two houses in the evacuation area in Fukushima, Japan to evaluate fungicidal activity in a home environment. The airborne fungal counts of C. sphaerospermum, Penicillium, Aspergillus westerdijkiae, Alternaria, Fusarium, Aspergillus versicolor, and Eurotium were strongly decreased by spraying the Fenton’s reagent solutions (except for C. sphaerospermum in House B) (median disinfection rate = 99%). Fungi growing on floor and sink surfaces were inactivated by spraying with Fenton’s reagent solutions (except for Cladosporium spp. in House A and Aspergillus restrictus in House B) (median disinfection rate = 50–98%). Thus, Fenton reaction–based fungicides may be effective for remediation of mold problems in houses.

In contrast to the swordtip squid (Uroteuthis edulis) caught in the spring and summer, those caught in the autumn in the Japan Sea and the Tsushima Strait are characterized by thick bodies with lar...

In 2017, 2 household washing machines which were used at a house in Saitama prefecture were tested for fungal flora sampling. The fungi were identified in detail via genetic analysis of the ITS region. The number of fungi which were isolated were 8.7×106～6.1×107 cfu/100cm2 and dematiaceous fungi such as Ochroconis musae, Exophiala, Cyphellophora, Knufia epidermidis were dominant. As for Knufia epidermidis, this is the first report for identification from a Japanese household. The number of isolated Cladosporium, which is common in the environment, was fewer compared with the above 4 genera. The identified fungi were Cladosporium halatolerans, which is recently being recognized as the main species of Cladosporium. In our research, we have cleaned the 2 washing machines with different bleaches. Residual fungi was detected in washing machine A, which was cleaned with an oxygen bleach. On the other hand, no fungi was detected in washing machine B, which was cleaned with a chlorine bleach.

Few studies have evaluated the performance of air purifiers in removing airborne fungi in houses. Here, we evaluated the ability of a HEPA air purifier fan to remove airborne fungi in six houses in Japan. In each house, the number of airborne fungi decreased more rapidly when the air purifier fan was on (test measurement) than when it was off (control) , demonstrating its ability to decrease the fungal concentration. The number of airborne fungi decreased between 1.5 and 6 times faster when the air purifier fan was on than when it was off (spontaneous decrease) . Clean air change rates, calculated from measurements taken 15 min after the test equipment operation began, ranged from 2.9 to 5.4 (h-1) , indicating adequate air cleaning. One of the six test houses contained a much greater concentration of airborne fungi than the standard set by the Architectural Institute of Japan. When the air purifier fan was operated in the house, the indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratio decreased from 77.5, equating to a fungal concentration of 53,000 cfu/m3 at 0 min to 0.72 or 620 cfu/m3 after 45 min, which is below the standard. This reduction clearly demonstrated the antifungal effect of the air purifier fan.

Despite the commercial importance of swordtip squid Uroteuthis edulis in Tsushima Strait, which lies between southwestern Japan and South Korea, data on its hatching grounds and migratory routes are lacking. To infer this information, we first revealed a significant negative correlation between ambient water temperatures and strontium:calcium (Sr:Ca) ratios in squid statoliths through tank experiments. Next, we counted statolith microincrements in spring and summer migratory groups of the species to elucidate their hatching dates, after measuring Sr:Ca ratios from the nucleus to the edge of each statolith. Based on these methods, spring and summer groups appear to inhabit the southern East China Sea as juveniles, and move northeastward with currents along shelf edges in the Kuroshio region. However, individuals in the spring group are apparently affected by cold waters in the northern East China Sea before reaching the Tsushima Strait, likely resulting in the unique characteristics of this seasonal group. In contrast, those in the summer group are likely unaffected because of higher water temperatures in summer than in spring. This study is the first to infer the migratory routes of the spring and summer groups of the swordtip squid.

Background Booklice, belonging to the order Psocoptera, are small household insect pests that are distributed worldwide. Liposcelis bostrychophila (L. bostrychophila), a common home-inhabiting species of booklouse, infests old books, sheets of paper and stored food. Recent entomological and serological studies demonstrated that L. bostrychophila accounted for the majority of detectable insects in house dust and could be a potent inducer of respiratory allergy. Our recent proteomic analysis identified a potent allergenic protein from L. bostrychophila, designated Lip b 1, and determined its partial amino acid sequences. Methods Cloning of cDNAs for Lip b 1 was performed by large-scale transcriptome analysis (RNA-seq) and subsequent reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The full-length amino acid sequences deduced from Lip b 1 cDNAs were bioinformatically analyzed. The recombinant proteins of glutathione-S-transferase (GST)-fused Lip b 1 were analyzed by Western blot and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Lip b 1 cDNAs encoding two types of 254-amino acid proteins were cloned. The clones shared 87% identity, and the deduced molecular weights and isoelectric points were consistent with those determined in our previous study. The two types of Lip b 1 proteins in the GST-fused form were similarly reactive with sera from allergic patients sensitized with L. bostrychophila. Conclusions Lip b 1 is a novel protein possibly causing booklouse allergy. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

A 43-year-old woman presented with oral discomfort, sneezing, urticaria, eyelid angioedema, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, dyspnoea and wheeze soon after eating a Japanese flour pancake (okonomiyaki, containing wheat, egg, yam, pork, prawn and squid). Subsequent analysis of the flour used in the pancake revealed the presence of Dermatophagoides farinae (4500 mites/g). The patient tested positive for specific IgE to D. farinae (15.2 kU/L) and D. pteronyssinus (14.0 kU/L) with negative responses to other ingredients in the pancake. Oral ingestion of dust mite in poorly stored foods can cause anaphylactic reactions in patients with allergy.

Dose responses of plasma calcitriol, calcium (Ca), bone metabolic markers and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were evaluated in four nonpregnant Holstein cows treated subcutaneously with an aqueous formulation of calcitriol at four doses in a 4 × 4 Latin-square design. Calcitriol, Ca, and markers of bone metabolism were analyzed in plasma samples. GFR was measured in predose and day 5 samples. Plasma calcitriol and Ca concentrations increased dose-dependently. The calcitriol dose was positively correlated with the area under the concentration-time curve of plasma calcitriol. Bone formation markers tended to increase from day 3 onward for all doses. No significant changes in GFR were noted. Thus, exogenous calcitriol administered between 0.0625 and 0.5 µg/kg body weight elicited dose-dependent increases in both plasma calcitriol and Ca and elevated bone formation markers without affecting renal function in nonpregnant cows.

This paper describes the fatigue crack propagation behavior of extruded AZ31B magnesium alloys (average grain size: approximately 15 and 119 μm, respectively). Fatigue crack propagation tests were performed on center cracked tension (CCT) specimens at a stress ratio ofR=0.1 and a frequency of 10 Hz at room temperature. Loading axis was parallel to the extrusion direction; crack face was perpendicular to basal plane of each grain. The crack growth rate (da/dN) of the coarse-grained specimen was approximately 5 times higher than that of the fine-grained specimen. Fracture surfaces of the fine-grained and coarse-grained specimens showed various directional steps independent of macroscopic crack growth direction.

Background: Booklice (Liposcelis bostrichophila) are a common household insect pest distributed worldwide. Particularly in Japan, they infest ‘tatami’ mats and are the most frequently detected insect among all detectable insects, present at a frequency of about 90% in dust samples. Although it has been hypothesized that they are an important indoor allergen, studies on their allergenicity have been limited. Methods: To clarify the allergenicity of booklice and the cross-reactivity of this insect allergen with allergens of other insects, patients sensitized to booklice were identified from 185 Japanese adults with allergic asthma using skin tests and IgE-ELISA. IgE-inhibition analysis, immunoblotting and immunoblotting-inhibition analysis were performed using sera from these patients. Allergenic proteins contributing to specific sensitization to booklice were identified by two-dimensional electrophoresis and two-dimensional immunoblotting. Results: The booklouse-specific IgE antibody was detected in sera from 41 patients (22% of studied patients). IgE inhibition analysis revealed that IgE reactivity to the booklouse allergen in the sera from one third of booklouse-sensitized patients was not inhibited by preincubation with extracts from any other environmental insects in this study. Immunoblotting identified a 26-kD protein from booklouse extract as the allergenic protein contributing to specific sensitization to booklice. The amino acid sequence of peptide fragments of this protein showed no homology to those of previously described allergenic proteins, indicating that this protein is a new allergen. Conclusions: Sensitization to booklice was relatively common and specific sensitization to this insect not related to insect panallergy was indicated in this population.

Titanium has widely been used as a biomaterial because of its excellent biocompatibility. However, problems with respect to biological reaction and fitness of elastic modulus for human bone have yet to be solved. Porous titanium is expected to be a promising material to solve these problems. The aim of this study is to clarify the effect of the porous titanium with and without annealing on the biomechanical compatibility. Porous titanium was made by spark plasma sintering. And the parts of the samples were annealed. The samples were machined from the sintered compacts for the evaluation of the mechanical properties. The tensile strength of porous titanium was 42 MPa, which is lower than half the value for human cortical bone, while the annealed samples was 95 MPa, a value somewhat close to that of the human cortical bone. We found that the mechanical properties with annealing porous titanium indicated a value close to the human bone.

Fatigue strength, crack initiation and propagation behavior of rolled AZ31B magnesium alloy plate were investigated. Axial tension−compression fatigue tests were carried out with cylindrical smooth specimens. Two types of specimens were machined with the loading axis parallel (L-specimen) and perpendicular (T-specimen) to rolling direction. Monotonic compressive 0.2% proof stress, tensile strength and tensile elongation were similar for both specimens. On the other hand, monotonic tensile 0.2% proof stress of the L-specimen was slightly higher than that of the T-specimen. Moreover, monotonic compressive 0.2% proof stresses were lower than tensile ones for both specimens. The fatigue strengths of 10 7 cycles of the L- and T-specimens were 95 and 85 MPa, respectively. Compared with the monotonic compressive 0.2% proof stresses, the fatigue strengths were higher for both specimens. In other words, the fatigue crack did not initiate and propagate even though deformation twins were formed in compressive stress under the cyclic tension−compression loading. The fatigue crack initiated at early stage of the fatigue life in low cycle regime regardless of specimen direction. The crack growth rate of the L-specimen was slightly lower than of the T-specimen. Consequently, the fatigue lives of the L-specimen were longer than those of the T-specimen in low cycle regime.

ZnO is heat-resistant and inexpensive, and the raw material of which is abundant, it is considered to be a good candidate thermoelectric material. Usually, a low-resistance n-type ZnO sintered body is obtained by doping 0.5-5 mol% Al2O3 followed by burning at a high temperature of approximately 1673K. However, this high-temperature burning has drawbacks, such as high power consumption and an increase in thermal conductivity with grain growth. Under these circumstances, we attempted to address these disadvantages. When ZnO was burned with Al as a dopant in an electric furnace at a temperature as low as approximately 1473K, ZnO with relatively good thermoelectric properties was obtained. In addition, the Al-doped sample showed lower electric resistance (332 K: 6.85×10-4Ωcm) than the Al2O3-doped sample, as determined on the basis of the resistance temperature characteristics of these samples. The causes of this low resistance may be as follows: 1) the metal-Al-mediated sample was densified by burning at a low temperature of approximately 1473K and 2) the Al distribution to the entire region of the ZnO bulk, resulting in the spread of Al solid-solution regions in the ZnO. We also found that the thermal conductivity decreased (973 K: 3.66 Wm-1K-1) in the Al-doped sample.

This paper describes that the probabilities of exceedance is so effective to estimate safe and secure structural parameters under considering the incompatibility between the seismic performance and the wind-resistance performance. In this paper, a technique, which estimate the comprehensive safety for the earthquake loading and the wind loading based on the concept of probability, is indicated. It is tried that the structural parameters of base-isolated high-rise buildings are estimated by means of this technique. From the results, it is confirmed by estimating the probabilities of exceedance that the seismic performance and the wind-resistance performance have the incompatibility. It is also confirmed that the displacement in the base-isolator and the shear force in the first story have the incompatibility. The possibility to estimate safe and secure structural parameters for the design criteria based on the probability concept is indicated.

Pseudoelastic behaviors were observed in compressive and tensile loading-unloading tests at room temperature. The large anelastic strains were observed in compressive stress-strain hysteresis loops. The fatigue limit of axial load-controlled fatigue test at 107 cycles was 90MPa at room temperature. The deformation twins were observed in the specimen subjected to the higher stress amplitude of fatigue limit and free deformation twins were observed in the specimen subjected to the lower stress amplitude of fatigue limit. Stress-strain hysteresis loops were linear in tensile and compressive phases at the lower stress amplitude of fatigue limit and the complicated pseudoelastic deformations were observed in tensile and compressive phases at the higher stress amplitude of fatigue limit of axial load-controlled fatigue tests. Compressive mean strain generated by cyclic pseudoelastic deformations at the higher stress amplitude of fatigue limit. Fatigue cracks initiated at the secondary particle/matrix interface or broken secondary particle near the surface. Subsequently, small cracks tended to grow through transgranular.