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Refuse-derived fuel (RDF)-RDF-5 according to ASTM guidelines-derived from municipal solid waste and other waste materials, has been prepared as a fuel source for power plants in Japan. RDF has been known as a stable and safe solid-fuel. However, some spontaneous ignition incidents occurred during storage of RDF in certain facilities. In the present study, the storage conditions, which might induce the spontaneous ignition in RDF samples, was investigated to understand and prevent this phenomenon. When the initial temperature of RDF sample was consistent, higher water content and shorter induction times was observed (e.g., the induction times of select RDF samples with 5.8% and 16.7% water content, was 446 and 270 min, respectively). Also, the induction time was affected by the size of a RDF sample. No relationship between bacterial fermentation and spontaneous ignition was observed. The linear relationship between the induction time and the inverse of the initial temperature of the RDF sample was obtained in the Arrhenius equation.

To the Editor: Limbic encephalitis involves the hippocampus, amygdala, and insular cortex1 and causes changes in behavior and personality such as aggression and anger.2 Despite the reported effects of antipsychotics and benzodiazepines,3 some patients with limbic encephalitis may not respond to these drugs. Although antiaggressive effects of lithium and carbamazepine have been reported,4 there is no report showing such effects in limbic encephalitis. We describe a case of limbic encephalitis in which serious aggression and anger outbursts responded to the combination of carbamazepine and lithium. Case report. Mr A, a 22-year-old man with headache, was admitted to the neurosurgery ward after an anger outburst during which he exhibited an automatic masticatory-like movement. Mr A had no prior history of neurologic or psychiatric illness. He was transferred to the neurology ward for further examination wherein seronegative limbic encephalitis (ICD-10 code G04.81) was diagnosed based on laboratory findings and brain imaging. Mr A was admitted to the psychiatric ward because of serious aggression and anger outbursts. He was secluded in a quiet room and received 800 mg/d of valproate, 75 mg/d of levomepromazine, and 4 mg/d of risperidone. The observable aggressive and violent behavior was assessed to be 5 points (normal range: 0) by the Overt Aggression Scale (OAS)5 and 28 points by the excitability subscale (normal range: 0–6) of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS).6 Despite increases of valproate to 1,200 mg/d (96.5 μg/mL) and levomepromazine to 250 mg/d, his serious aggression and anger outbursts persisted (eg, abusing medical staff and beating himself with his fist). After 500 mg/d (7.8 μg/mL) of carbamazepine was combined, however, Mr A’s symptoms began to improve, but not sufficiently. After lithium was added and gradually increased to 1,000 mg/d (0.98 mEq/L), his serious aggression and anger outbursts subsided significantly, and he was allowed to leave the seclusion room. He began to talk and behave politely to medical staff. Thereafter, valproate, risperidone, and levomepromazine were tapered off without exacerbation. Mr A was able to joke with medical staff with a smile. The OAS score was 0 points and the excitability subscale on the PANSS was 6 points. His parents and friends confirmed that he had completely returned to his premorbid state. Five months after admission to the psychiatric ward, he was discharged on 600 mg/d of carbamazepine (7.4 μg/mL) and 800 mg/d of lithium (0.71 mEq/L). One month after discharge, his mental state was stable and he returned to his job as an office clerk. Three months after discharge, Mr A continued to work and have a good relationship with his family and friends, but his serum carbamazepine and lithium levels were undetectable. In this case, Mr A’s serious aggression and anger outbursts did not respond to valproate, risperidone, or levomepromazine. However, the combination of carbamazepine and lithium was clearly effective, and his behavior and personality completely returned to his premorbid state. Although Mr A’s undetectable serum carbamazepine and lithium levels 3 months after discharge were probably due to noncompliance, his mental state continued to be stable, indicating that both carbamazepine and lithium were unnecessary for long-term treatment most likely because his encephalitis remitted. These findings suggest that the combination of carbamazepine and lithium may be useful for serious aggression and anger outbursts in the acute phase of limbic encephalitis in some patients.

Here we report a genetically confirmed case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease with a prion protein gene codon 180 mutation presenting atypical magnetic resonance imaging findings. The present case exhibited an acute onset and lateralized neurologic signs, and progressive cognitive impairment. No myoclonus or periodic synchronous discharges on electroencephalography were observed. Diffusion-weighted images revealed areas of high signal intensity in the right frontal and temporal cortices at onset that extended to the whole cortex and basal ganglia of the right cerebral hemisphere at 3 months. Although the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was initially negative for neuron specific enolase, tau protein, 14–3–3 protein, and abnormal prion protein, the CSF was positive for these brain-derived proteins at 3 months after onset.

Cryptosporidium parvum is a parasitic protozoan that causes the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis, for which no satisfactory chemotherapy is currently available. Although the presence of mitochondria in this parasite has been suggested, its respiratory system is poorly understood due to difficulties in performing biochemical analyses. In order to better understand the respiratory chain of C. parvum, we surveyed its genomic DNA database in GenBank and identified a partial sequence encoding cyanide-insensitive alternative oxidase (AOX). Based on this sequence, we cloned C. parvum AOX (CpAOX) cDNA from the phylum apicomplexa for the first time. The deduced amino acid sequence (335 a.a.) of CpAOX contains diiron coordination motifs (-E-, -EXXH-) that are conserved among AOXs. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that CpAOX is a mitochondrial-type AOX, possibly derived from mitochondrial endosymbiont gene transfer. The recombinant enzyme expressed in Escherichia coli showed quinol oxidase activity. This activity was insensitive to cyanide and highly sensitive to ascofuranone, a specific inhibitor of trypanosome AOX.

A lectin, PPL, was purified from the mushroom Pleurocybella porrigens. The results of SDS–PAGE, gel filtration, and MALDI-TOF-mass of PPL indicated that its molecular mass was 56 kDa, and it was composed of four 14 kDa subunits with no disulfide bonds. In hemagglutination inhibition assay, PPL exhibited the strongest binding specificity toward GalNAc among the mono- and oligo-saccharides tested. Among the glycoproteins, asialo-bovine submaxillary mucin (asialo-BSM) showed the strongest inhibitory effect. In surface plasmon resonance analysis, asialo-BSM, porcine stomach mucin (PSM), and BSM exhibited potent binding affinity. The complete amino acid sequence was determined by amino acid sequencing of intact and of enzyme-digested PPL. The cDNA of PPL was cloned from RNA extracted from the mushroom. The open reading frame of the cDNA of the protein consisted of 411 bp, encoding 137 amino acids. This is the first report of isolation of a lectin of the genus Pleurocybella.