Bacterial Community Composition Under Paddy Conditions Is More Strongly Affected by the Difference in Soil Type than by Field Management.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of soil type and field management on bacterial communities in paddy soils, taking into account the differences in soil physicochemical properties. We collected soil samples from 51 paddy fields in six prefectures in Japan. The paddy fields were managed under organic regimes (26 fields), natural-farming regimes (12 fields), or conventional regimes (13 fields). The paddy fields were classified into four soil types: andosol, gray lowland soil, gley soil, and gray upland soil. Soil DNA was extracted from the soil samples collected 2 to 10 weeks after the flooding, and the 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis was performed. The bacterial community compositions were dominated by the phylum Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, and Firmicutes in all fields. The difference in soil type had significant effects on α-diversities of the bacterial communities, although the field management had no effect. The soil bacterial communities in the gley soils and gray upland soils individually formed different groups from those in the other soils, while the andosol and gray lowland soils tended to form relatively similar bacterial communities. On the other hand, the effects of the field management were estimated to be smaller than those of soil type. The ß-diversity of the bacterial community compositions were significantly correlated with soil pH, total nitrogen content, total carbon content, and divalent iron content. Our results suggest that the soil microbial community in paddy fields may be strongly influenced by soil physiochemical properties derived from differences in soil type.

Diversity and function of soybean rhizosphere microbiome under nature farming.

Nature farming is a farming system that entails cultivating crops without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The present study investigated the bacterial and fungal communities in the rhizosphere of soybean grown in conventional and nature farming soils using wild-type and non-nodulating mutant soybean. The effect of soil fumigant was also analyzed to reveal its perturbation of microbial communities and subsequent effects on the growth of soybean. Overall, the wild-type soybean exhibited a better growth index compared to mutant soybean and especially in nature farming. Nodulation and arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) fungi colonization were higher in plants under nature farming than in conventionally managed soil; however, fumigation drastically affected these symbioses with greater impacts on plants in nature farming soil. The rhizosphere microbiome diversity in nature farming was higher than that in conventional farming for both cultivars. However, the diversity was significantly decreased after fumigation treatment with a greater impact on nature farming. Principal coordinate analysis revealed that nature farming and conventional farming soil harbored distinct microbial communities and that soil fumigation significantly altered the communities in nature farming soils but not in conventional farming soils. Intriguingly, some beneficial microbial taxa related to plant growth and health, including Rhizobium, Streptomyces, and Burkholderia, were found as distinct microbes in the nature farming soil but were selectively bleached by fumigant treatment. Network analysis revealed a highly complex microbial network with high taxa connectivity observed under nature farming soil than in conventional soil; however, fumigation strongly broke it. Overall, the results highlighted that nature farming embraced higher microbial diversity and the abundance of beneficial soil microbes with a complex and interconnected network structure, and also demonstrated the underlying resilience of the microbial community to environmental perturbations, which is critical under nature farming where chemical fertilizers and pesticides are not applied.

Differences in Soil Bacterial Community Compositions in Paddy Fields under Organic and Conventional Farming Conditions.

Soil bacterial community compositions and temporal changes in organic paddy fields were elucidated using a 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis with a high-throughput next generation sequencer. At transplanting, bacterial community compositions in organic and conventional paddy fields were mostly similar despite differences in field management. The bacterial community composition in organic fields differed from that under conventional management during the rice growth period, possibly as a result of the decomposition process of organic fertilizers. However, differences in the frequency of tillage and photosynthetic bacterial inoculations in the organic plots had less of an impact on bacterial communities.

Extensive Bilateral Patellar Tendon Ossification in a Spinal Cord Injury Patient.

This is the first report of extensive bilateral patellar tendon ossification occurring over a prolonged time after a unilateral knee injury. An 84-year-old Japanese man with a spinal cord injury caused by a burst fracture of the T12 vertebra presented with a bony hard prominence on the left knee, which was injured in a traffic accident when he was 77 years old. Radiography revealed extensive ossification of the bilateral patellar tendons. We review the English literature with a focus on the localization of bilateral heterotopic ossification of the knee in patients who had a central nervous system injury.

Congenital double-level cervical spondylolysis: a case report and review of the literature.

PURPOSE: We report a rare Japanese female who was affected with three genetic-linked diseases: double-level cervical bilateral spondylolysis in association with spina bifida occulta, cleft lip and monostotic fibrous dysplasia of the right proximal femur. The case was considered to be congenital in origin. We also review the pertinent literature of cervical spondylolysis, with a focus on the pathogenesis of multiple-level cervical spondylolysis. METHODS: A 40-year-old female presented with progressive clumsiness and numbness of the hands. Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score for the cervical spine was 14.5. Plain radiographs of the cervical spine showed bilateral spondylolysis of the articular mass portion, with an adjacent dysplastic change and spina bifida occulta of C4 and C5. Cervical laminoplasty from C4 to C6 was performed. RESULTS: The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient had some recovery of muscle power and sensation, with JOA score improving to 15.5. At the 8-year follow-up, the patient had no recurrence of symptoms, but did show kyphotic and degenerative changes at the C4/5 and C5/6 level with no apparent instability. CONCLUSIONS: This case is a rare presentation of bilateral cervical spondylolysis involving C4 and C5, presumably congenital, accompanied by combined dysplastic changes of the cervical spine, cleft lip, and fibrous dysplasia, possibly through an error involving an ossification center during the embryonic stage.

Calcaneal stress fracture: an adverse event following total hip and total knee arthroplasty: a report of five cases.

BACKGROUND: Stress fractures have been reported to occur in the pubis, femoral neck, proximal part of the tibia, and fabella during the postoperative period following total knee or total hip arthroplasty. However, to our knowledge, calcaneal stress fractures after total hip or total knee arthroplasty have not been reported in the English-language literature. Most orthopaedic surgeons are not familiar with calcaneal stress fractures that may occur in elderly patients after a total knee or total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical features, imaging findings, and bone mineral content of the proximal part of the femur and the distal end of the radius in five patients who had a calcaneal stress fracture after a total knee or total hip arthroplasty. RESULTS: All patients were women with a mean age of 76.8 years. All fractures occurred in the calcaneus on the same side as the arthroplasty. The fracture appeared at a mean of 10.2 weeks postoperatively. All patients reported heel pain on walking. Swelling and local heat were found in four and three patients, respectively. Pain was elicited by squeezing the calcaneus in all patients. Early radiographs had normal findings in two patients, and an irregular sclerotic line appeared later in the radiographs of all patients. All fractures were treated conservatively. Four fractures healed uneventfully, but one fracture displaced. All patients had osteoporosis. CONCLUSIONS: Calcaneal stress fractures during the postoperative period following total knee or total hip arthroplasty may not be as rare as previously thought. Because clinical symptoms of the fracture appear insidiously and radiographic findings are absent or subtle in the early stage, a high index of suspicion is needed for orthopaedic surgeons to make the correct diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging or repeated radiographs may be necessary to make the correct diagnosis when no abnormality is apparent on the initial radiograph.

Diagnostic value of adenosine-induced left ventricular diastolic dysfunction for detecting coronary artery restenosis in patients undergoing stent implantation by Stress ECG-gated myocardial perfusion SPECT. A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Usefulness of diastolic dysfunction after adenosine stress for detecting coronary stenosis has not been defined. The diagnostic accuracy of a combination of myocardial perfusion and diastolic function, as defined by prolongation of time to peak-filling rate (TTPF)/R-R and myocardial perfusion alone for the detection of coronary restenosis, was evaluated. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used rest (201)Tl/ adenosine stress (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion singlephoton emission computed tomography (SPECT) in 70 patients. Patients were divided into the following 4 groups: 20 patients with normal SPECT without stent (Control group), 20 patients showing normal SPECT without coronary restenosis (Group 1), 16 patients showing significant coronary restenosis and myocardial ischemia (Group 2a) and 14 patients showing significant coronary restenosis without myocardial ischemia (Group 2b). The TTPF, which was calculated by quantitative gated SPECT (QGS)/R-R, was not different between after stress and at rest in Control group (0.18±0.02 vs 0.19±0.04, P=NS). The TTPF/R-R after stress was significantly lower than that at rest in Group 1 (0.17±0.02 vs 0.18±0.03, P<0.05), but TTPF/R-R after stress was significantly higher than that at rest in Groups 2a and 2b (0.22±0.03 vs 0.16±0.03, P<0.001 in Group 2a and 0.19±0.02 vs 0.16±0.02, P<0.001 in Group 2b, respectively). Diagnostic accuracy improved from 72% to 92% when prolongation of TTPF/R-R was taken into account (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Diastolic dysfunction after stress was an accurate marker for detecting significant restenosis following stent implantation.

Cardiac resynchronization and cardioverter defibrillation therapy in a patient with isolated noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium.

Isolated noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium (INVM) is an unclassified cardiomyopathy and is thought to be due to arrest of myocardial morphogenesis. Left ventricular failure and ventricular arrhythmias may occur in approximately half of the patients and account for half of the death in this disorder. In this report, we describe a patient with INVM in whom cardiac resynchronization and cardioverter defibrillation therapy was effective for the improvement of left ventricular function and for the prevention of ventricular arrhythmias.

Incremental prognostic value of cardiac function assessed by ECG-gated myocardial perfusion SPECT for the prediction of future acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of ECG-gated rest 201Tl/stress 99mTc-tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography for the prediction of acute coronary syndrome (ACS: myocardial infarction (MI) and unstable angina (UA)) and the implications of ejection fraction (EF) has not yet been defined in Japanese. METHODS AND RESULTS: The 1,895 patients were followed up for the occurrence ACS. The mean follow-up interval was 26.9+/-15.5 months. The 142 patients with revascularization within 60 days were censored. Summed stress score (SSS) and summed difference score (SDS) were calculated. The 19 MI and 29 UA occurred (1.1% and 1.6%, respectively). Univariate Cox analysis showed that hypertension (Wald 5.09, p<0.05), poststress EF (Wald 10.9, p<0.01), SSS (Wald 12.4, p<0.001) and SDS (Wald 18.7, p<0.001) were significant predictors of ACS. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that hypertension (Wald 4.27, p<0.05) and SDS (Wald 8.59, p<0.01) were independent predictors. When multiple clinical risk factors (number of coronary risk factors > or =2), significant ischemia (SDS > or =4) and low EF (EF <45%) were applied to multivariate Cox analysis, the combination of significant ischemia and low EF showed the highest predictive value (Wald 11.9; p<0.001) for future ACS. CONCLUSION: Poststress EF added incremental prognostic value for the prediction of ACS.

Prognostic value of myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography for the prediction of future cardiac events in a Japanese population: a middle-term follow-up study.

BACKGROUND: The prognostic value of rest 201Tl/stress (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for the prediction of future hard cardiac events, including acute myocardial infarction (AMI), unstable angina (UAP) and cardiac death, and the implications for risk stratification has not yet been defined in a Japanese population. METHODS AND RESULTS: The 1,988 patients who underwent rest 201Tl/stress (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin SPECT were identified and followed up for the occurrence of AMI, UAP and cardiac death. The mean follow-up interval was 26.9+/-15.8 months. The 142 patients were revascularized within 60 days after SPECT and they were censored from the prognostic analysis. Summed stress score (SSS), summed rest score and summed difference score (SDS) were calculated using a 5-point scoring (Normal: 0, No uptake: 4) and a 20-segment model; 22 cases of myocardial infarction, 31 of UAP and 22 cardiac deaths occurred (1.2%, 1.7% and 1.2%, respectively). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that hypertension (Wald 6.37, p<0.05) and SDS (Wald 8.77, p<0.01) were independent predictors of AMI and UAP. Advanced age (Wald 16.0, p<0.001), SSS (Wald 10.9, p<0.01) and SDS (Wald 4.58, p<0.05) were independent predictors of cardiac death. CONCLUSION: Myocardial perfusion SPECT yields prognostic information toward the identification of acute coronary syndrome and cardiac death.

A new plain radiography method using the optimal angle of knee flexion for assessing early degeneration of the knee joint.

During total knee arthroplasty for primary osteoarthritis, we measured the area of worn cartilage on the medial femoral condyle in 44 knees. By reference to a lateral femoral radiograph of each knee, the optimal knee flexion angle-reflecting the worn area of the femoral condyle-was determined and found to be 19.8 degrees +/- 7.6 degrees. Using this result, a new method for posteroanterior radiography of the weight-bearing knee (20/10 radiography) was devised. We compared the use of our method with Rosenberg's method in 56 varus knees and found that the width of the cartilage space determined by our method was narrower than that determined by Rosenberg's method (t test, <0.001). These results confirmed that 20/10 radiography well reflects the region of worn cartilage in knees with early-stage primary osteoarthritis.

Multibacterial sepsis in an alcohol abuser with hepatic cirrhosis.

An alcohol abuser with hepatitis C developed multibacterial sepsis. His mean 100% alcohol intake reached 400 ml/day. In January 2001, he suddenly experienced fever (39 degrees C) with no other symptoms. One week later, he was admitted to our hospital and was subsequently diagnosed with sepsis associated with four species of bacteria (Streptococcus constellatus, Fusobacterium mortiferum, Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, and non-spore-forming anaerobic gram-positive bacillus). A drip infusion of imipenem/cilastatin was administrated, resulting in a successful therapeutic outcome. No underlying disorder was found except for gastric ulcers and hepatic cirrhosis. Damaged gastric mucosa was assumed to be the possible cause and route for the bacterial invasion.