Risk Factors and Prevalence of Deep Vein Thrombosis After the 2016 Kumamoto Earthquakes.

BACKGROUND: After previous earthquakes, a high prevalence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) has been reported. We examined DVT prevalence and risk factors in evacuees of the Kumamoto earthquakes by performing mobile DVT screening at various evacuation centers around the epicenter. Methods and Results: For 1 month after the Kumamoto earthquake on 14 April 2016, mobile DVT screening using portable ultrasonography (US) was performed at 80 evacuation centers. Questionnaires, physical examination, and US of the lower limb were carried out, and simple D-dimer measurements were undertaken for DVT-positive examinees. The total number of examinees was 1,673, of whom 178 (10.6%) had DVT. The prevalence of DVT seemed to be gradually decreasing in the screening period, but age, use of sleep medication, prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidemia, leg edema, and lower leg varix were significantly higher in the DVT positive group than in the negative group. On multivariable logistic regression analysis, high age (≥70 years old), use of sleep medication, lower leg edema, and lower leg varix were significant predictors of DVT. In examinees with these 4 predictors, the DVT positive rate was 71.4%. CONCLUSIONS: In the first month after the Kumamoto earthquakes, DVT prevalence and severity, evaluated on D-dimer level, decreased with the passage of time. Mobile DVT screening indicated significant factors stratifying DVT risk in the evacuees.

Isolation and characterization of a 4-nitrotoluene-oxidizing enzyme from activated sludge by a metagenomic approach.

To isolate a biocatalytic enzyme, metagenomic libraries were constructed in fosmids from samples of activated sludge used to treat coke plant wastewater. Six indigo-producing clones were isolated from approximately 40,000 metagenomic clones in the search for the oxygenase responsible. In vitro mutagenesis and whole-sequencing revealed one open reading frame to be responsible for the production of indigo in the fosmid clones. The deduced sequence of the gene product showed 60% identity with 2-naphthoate monooxygenase from Burkholderia sp. JT1500. Subclones carrying this open reading frame (icpA) retained indigo production, and indigo-producing enzymes expressed from subclones catalyzed the oxidization of 4-nitrotoluene to form 4-nitrobenzyl alcohol. These results suggested that the icp product is an enzyme involved in catalyzing 4-nitrotoluene's oxygenation.