Differences in the sequence of PlcR transcriptional regulator-binding site affect sphingomyelinase production in Bacillus cereus.

Bacillus cereus is an opportunistic pathogen that often causes severe infections such as bacteremia, with sphingomyelinase (SMase) being a crucial virulence factor. Although many strains of B. cereus carry the SMase gene, they are classified as SMase-producing and nonproducing strains. The reason for different SMase production among B. cereus strains remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the relationship between SMase and the PlcR transcriptional regulation system to clarify the mechanism leading to varied SMase production among B. cereus strains. We analyzed the sequence of the PlcR box, which is a transcriptional regulator-binding site, located at the promoter region of SMase and phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C. Based on differences in the PlcR box sequences, we classified the B. cereus strains into three groups (I, II, and III). SMase expression and activity were hardly detected in Group III strains. In Group I strains, SMase activity and its expression were maximal at the onset of the stationary phase and decreased during the stationary phase, whereas those were maintained during the stationary phase in Group II stains. On injection of B. cereus strains into mice or incubation with macrophages for phagocytosis assay, the SMase-producing Group I and II strains showed higher pathogenicity than Group III strains. These findings suggest that PlcR box sequence in B. cereus affects the production of SMase, which may provide important clinical information for the detection of highly pathogenic B. cereus strains.

Synthesis of Substituted 3(2H)-Furanones Using Alkylative Intramolecular Cyclization of Sulfonium Salts.

The facile alkylative intramolecular cyclization of 3-alkoxycarbonyl-2-oxopropyldiphenylsulfonium salts is described. This simple method can be readily applied to the synthesis of a novel family of 4-alkylated 3(2H)-furanones in moderate to high yields under mild conditions via a one-pot process.

Reliability and validity of A Quick Test of Cognitive Speed for detecting early-stage dementia in elderly Japanese.

AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of A Quick Test of Cognitive Speed (AQT) for detecting early-stage dementia in the elderly Japanese population. METHODS: A total of 280 clinical participants (180 with mild Alzheimer's disease, 43 with amnestic mild cognitive impairment, 32 with non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment and 25 control subjects) and 22 community-dwelling elderly individuals without dementia were recruited. The Clinical Dementia Rating, the Mini-Mental State Examination, and AQT were administered to all participants. The Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination was also administered to clinical participants. RESULTS: The intraclass correlation coefficient for the test-retest reliability of colour-form naming time on AQT was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.74-0.95, P < 0.001). AQT colour-form naming time was significantly correlated with the Clinical Dementia Rating, the total score on the Mini-Mental State Examination, and the total score on the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination and most of its subscales. AQT colour-form naming time was significantly longer in elderly individuals with mild Alzheimer's disease, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment than in control subjects. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that AQT colour-form naming time significantly distinguished subjects with early-stage dementia (mild Alzheimer's disease, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment) from controls. The area under the curve was estimated to be 0.88 (95%CI = 0.82-0.95). A cut-off of 71/72 seconds yielded the best sensitivity/specificity trade-off: sensitivity = 85% and specificity = 76%. CONCLUSIONS: AQT is a useful brief screening tool for detecting early-stage dementia in elderly Japanese individuals.

[Thickness of mouthguard sheet material after vacuum forming process depending on the thickness of mouthguard sheet].

PURPOSE: Mouthguards are available to provide protection from stomatognathic injury during sports. The aim of this study was to examine the thickness of each part of mouthguard sheet depending on the thickness of mouthguard sheet material. METHODS: Cross stripes (10 x 10 mm) were printed in mouthguard sheets. We measured the thickness of each cross stripe area using a measuring-device (R). Two mouthguard sheet materials were compared. The thickness of the mouthguard sheet materials were 2 and 4 mm. The difference in the thickness of the two mouthguard sheet materials was analyzed by Wilcoxon signed-rank test and t-test. Additionally, the relationship between the elongation and the thickness of the mouthguard sheets was investigated by regression analysis. RESULTS: All parts of the sheet mounted on the cast decreased the thickness. The changes of the thickness in each part of mouthguard sheet were similar in both the 2-mm sheets and 4-mm sheets. In addition, the ratio of changes of the thickness in the part of the sheet fitted to the anterior teeth and palate on the 2-mm sheets was greater than that of the 4-mm sheets (p < 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference between the thicknesses of the sheet on the posterior teeth. The relationship between the elongation and the thickness of mouthguard sheet was modeled by quadratic equation. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the ratio of changes of the thickness of the part of the sheet fitted to the anterior teeth and palate on the 2-mm sheets was greater than that of the 4-mm sheets. Furthermore the ratio of changes of the thickness of the part of the sheet fitted to the posterior teeth did not differ between the 2-mm and the 4-mm sheets.

Evaluation of the masticatory part and the habitual chewing side by wax cube and bite force measuring system (dental prescale).

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the masticatory side as well as which side was the habitual chewing side by the use of wax cubes and a bite force measuring system in normal dentate subjects (ND) and complete denture wearers (CD). METHODS: Forty two ND subjects (29 males, 13 females; mean age, 24.8 +/- 2.4 years), and 11 CD subjects (4 males, 7 females; mean age, 72.8 +/- 7.0 years) participated in the study. The test food used in this study was wax cubes to determine the masticatory side. The difference in the occlusal contact area and occlusal force between the masticatory side and the opposite side was investigated using Dental Prescale. ND was classified into 2 groups: those whose agreement on the masticatory part was high (ND-H) or low (ND-L). The distribution of the center of the occlusal balance was analyzed by Dental Prescale in ND-H, ND-L, and CD. RESULTS: The occlusal contact area and occlusal force of the masticatory side was greater than the opposite one, and the center of the occlusal balance was wide in ND-H. In ND-L and CD, the occlusal contact area and occlusal force did not differ between the masticatory side and the opposite one, and the center of the occlusal balance developed a tendency to gather in the center. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggested that the evaluation of the masticatory side and the use of Dental Prescale were helpful in determining the habitual chewing side.

Relationship between medicine and stimulated saliva and oral moisture.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between medicine and stimulated saliva and oral moisture. METHODS: Fourteen patients with subjective oral dryness and 13 healthy adults were enrolled in this study. Disease, medicine, and medicines that had a side effect of oral dryness were investigated. The Saxon test was performed by chewing a piece of gauze sponge for 2 min. Oral moisture was measured at the lingual and buccal mucosa using an oral moisture checking device. Statistical analysis was performed by the Mann-Whitney U-test and Student t-test. RESULTS: Stimulated saliva and oral moisture did not differ according to the number of diseases. Oral moisture at lingual mucosa was different between a minor medicine group (0-2 types of medicine) (31.3 +/- 1.9%) and a major medicine group (>or=3 types of medicine) (29.5 +/- 2.2%) (p = 0.05). Oral moisture differed between a group not taking any medicine that had a side effect of oral dryness (31.2 +/- 1.8% at lingual mucosa and 33.8 +/- 1.4% at buccal mucosa) and a group taking such medicine (29.3 +/- 2.3% at lingual mucosa and 32.4 +/- 1.8% at buccal mucosa) (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that oral moisture tended to decrease in the subjects who took many types of medicine or who took medicine that had a side effect of oral dryness. The medicine did not influence the amount of stimulated saliva. Therefore, it was suggested that medicine could influence the moisture of the oral mucosa.

A new method for denture identification.

Three denture marking methods were performed on specimen plates which were prepared using a heat-cured acrylic resin. The first method (LA) was to place a label into a suitable space on the specimen, and then cover it with autopolymerizing acrylic resin. The second method (DA) was to print the mark directly on the specimen, and then cover it with autopolymerizing acrylic resin. The third method (DB) was to print the mark directly on the specimen, and then cover it with bonding resin. To investigate the durability of these methods, specimens were immersed in NaOCl, denture cleanser, and coffee. Photographs of the specimens were taken and RGB values were measured. Differences in durability were analyzed by Friedman test. The RGB values were significantly different between LA and DB, but those of DA changed little. The results made it clear that DA was a more durable denture marking method than LA--which is a method generally used.

[Fragments of information of Naoe Okamoto - the life of one of Japan's first female pharmacists.].

It has generally been believed that Naoe Okamoto of Fukui Prefecture, who was licensed to open a pharmacy in December 1885, was Japan's first female pharmacist. However, there has been no way to confirm this because the pharmacists' registry held by the Ministry of Internal Affairs was destroyed by the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923. This paper describes a hazy picture of her life, which we traced based on fragments of information from the Tokyo University Pharmacy and Life Science (TUPLS), pharmaceutical journals of her time, and two residents of Fukui City who met her when they were children. Naoe Okamoto was born in Asuwakamicho, Fukui City, in 1870, as the eldest daughter of a druggist operating since the Edo Era. Born in a socially and economically privileged family, Naoe went to Tokyo and entered Tokyo Pharmacists School (currently TUPLS) in 1883 or 1884. After two-years' study, she passed the pharmacist certification examination held by the Tokyo Prefecture Government in the autumn of 1885 and received a license to open a pharmacy from the Minister of Internal Affairs. In 1886 or 1887, she overtook the family business and married a doctor. She got divorced shortly thereafter, but continued to manage the family business although she had a younger brother. She died in 1941 at the age of 71. Her house and all articles left by her were burned to ashes after an air raid by the US Army Air Corps in July 1945 during the Second World War. Naoe left her small native city in Fukui Prefecture to study pharmacy in the capital at the beginning of the Meiji Era, when it was extremely difficult for women to pursue a professional career. She obtained the license to operate a pharmacy and pursued her career as a pharmacist through the Meiji, Taisho and Showa Eras. Her life offers great courage and lessons to today's 139,000 female pharmacists in Japan. Naoe Okamoto should be remembered as a pioneer of female pharmacists at this turning point when the 6-year pharmacy education system is about to start.

[The usefulness of an oral moisture checking device (Moisture Checker for Mucus)].

PURPOSE: An oral moisture checking device is easy to use for the examination of oral dryness during clinical procedures. This study examined the usefulness of an oral moisture checking device. METHODS: The subjects in the examination of factors that influence the measured value of the oral moisture checking device were 16 sound adults (mean age 27.5). The subjects in the examination of measuring the moisture of sound adults were 32 adults (mean age 24.4). In the factors that influence the measured value of the device, the measuring pressure was examined by comparing the measured value with a trial stopper and without the stopper. The factor of sensor cover was examined by comparing the measured value before and after changing the sensor cover. The factor of device was examined by comparing the measured value using the two devices. The moisture of sound adults was measured at the lingual mucosa and buccal mucosa. RESULTS: The measured value with a trial stopper was lower by 0.2-0.3% than that without the stopper. The measured value differed before and after changing the sensor cover by 0.5-0.8%. The measured value was not different among devices. The mean value of the moisture of sound adults was 30.6+/-0.3% at the lingual mucosa, and 30.9+/-0.3% at the buccal mucosa. CONCLUSIONS: The measurement errors of the oral moisture checking device were within 1% under the condition of proper measuring pressure. Additionally, the moisture of sound adults converged toward definite values. The results of this study suggested that the oral moisture checking device is useful for the examination of xerostomia.

Structure of a cDNA for Ciona Cytochrome b(5) and the ubiquitous expression of mRNA in embryonic tissues.

A cDNA clone for cytochrome b(5) was isolated from a cDNA library of an ascidian, Ciona savignyi, by a plaque hybridization method using a digoxigenin-labeled cDNA for the soluble form of human cytochrome b(5). The cDNA is composed of 5'- and 3'-noncoding sequences, and a 396-base pair coding sequence. The 3'-noncoding sequence contains polyadenylation signal sequences. The amino acid sequence of 132 residues deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA showed 61% identity and 82% similarity to the cytochrome b(5) of another ascidian species, Polyandrocarpa misakiensis, which we previously cloned. The amino-terminal hydrophilic domain of 98 residues contains well-conserved structures around two histidine residues for heme binding. A cDNA expression system was constructed to prepare a putative soluble form of Ciona cytochrome b(5). The recombinant soluble cytochrome b(5) showed an asymmetrical absorption spectrum at 560 nm as is shown by mammalian cytochromes b(5) upon reduction with NADH and NADH-cytochrome b(5) reductase. The recombinant Ciona cytochrome b(5) is reduced by NADH-cytochrome b(5) reductase with an apparent K(m) value of 3.3 microM. This value is similar to that of the cytochrome b(5) of Polyandrocarpa misakiensis. The expression of Ciona cytochrome b(5) mRNA during development was examined by an in situ hybridization method and ubiquitous expression in embryonic tissues was observed. The results indicate that cytochrome b(5) plays important roles in various metabolic processes during development.

[Acceptance of van Swieten's liquor in Japan].

Carl Peter Thunberg, a Swedish medical doctor and botanist who visited Japan in 1775 as a medical doctor attached to the Dutch Trade House in Dejima, Nagasaki, taught the treatment of syphilis using mercury water to Japanese doctors and interpreters. This therapy is based on the oral administration of a 0.014% solution of mercuric chloride and was published in 1754 by Gerard van Swieten in Vienna, who questioned the utility of the conventional salivation therapy. The dose was set taking safety into account. Kogyu Yoshio, a Japanese-Dutch interpreter, had already read about it in a book written by J. J. Plenck, when he was taught about the therapy by Thunberg. He recorded Thunberg's teachings in his book "Komohijiki", presenting details of various formulations, including a high-dose formulation. The mercury therapy was subsequently spread across the country by medical doctors who learned Western medicine through the Dutch. In the 1820's, Genshin Udagawa, who read a number of Western medical books, published books on Western drugs. In these books, G. Udagawa included precise information on "Swieten Yakushu-hu (medicated alcohol)", including information on the dosage, formulation, mode of usage, and precautions for use. The maximum dose of mercuric chloride established chloride established by van Swieten was included in the Japanese Pharmacopoeia up to its 5th edition.