RESUMEN
An identification method for testing contamination in products was assessed using various vegetables and fruits (70 types in total). DNA was extracted from plant fragments which are 1 to several millimeters long and the plastid rpl16-rpl14 linker sequence (approximately 550 base pairs) was amplified by PCR. The DNA nucleotide sequence was determined, and homology and SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) analyses were carried out. Consequently, the test plants were difficult to distinguish between closely related species, but could be divided into 38 groups at the genus level or the species level. Although problems such as the accuracy of discrimination among some closely related plants and DNA stability under an acidic condition remain to be resolved, this method is considered to be expected to identify plant fragments mixed in products or raw materials.
Asunto(s)
ADN de Plantas/análisis , Frutas/química , Plantas Comestibles/genética , Plastidios/genética , Verduras/química , Polimorfismo de Nucleótido SimpleRESUMEN
We recently reported polymorphism in the mitochondrial genes of Tribolium castaneum, a stored grain pest. Here, we show that T. castaneum samples from the main island of Japan can be easily differentiated from samples from other areas by using real-time PCR with minor groove binding (MGB) TaqMan probes containing a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) to amplify a 179-bp fragment. This assay was also applicable to samples stored at room temperature for 5 months after natural death, and samples whose DNA was artificially degraded by heat, pressure, or gamma-ray irradiation.
Asunto(s)
Contaminación de Alimentos , Tribolium/clasificación , Animales , Harina , Japón , Laboratorios , Reacción en Cadena de la Polimerasa , Polimorfismo de Nucleótido SimpleRESUMEN
Peptidyl arginine deiminases (PADs) catalyze the post-translational deimination of peptidyl arginine residues to form citrulline residues. Aberrant citrullination of histones by one of the PAD isozymes, PAD4, is associated with various diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, so high-throughput screening systems are needed to identify PAD4 inhibitors as chemical tools to investigate the role of PAD4, and as candidate therapeutic agents. Here, we utilized the addition-cyclization reaction between phenylglyoxal and citrulline under acidic conditions to design turn-on fluorescent probes for citrulline based on the donor-excited photoinduced electron transfer (d-PeT) mechanism. Among several derivatives of phenylglyoxal bearing a fluorescent moiety, we found that FGME enabled detection of citrulline without a neutralization process, and we used it to establish a simple methodology for turn-on fluorescence detection of citrulline.
Asunto(s)
Citrulina/análisis , Colorantes Fluorescentes/química , Fenilglioxal/química , Transporte de Electrón , Fluorescencia , Colorantes Fluorescentes/síntesis química , Estructura Molecular , Fenilglioxal/síntesis química , Procesos FotoquímicosRESUMEN
Tribolium castaneum, a pest of stored grain, has a uniform morphology, preventing the visual identification of strains from different areas. Polymorphisms in the nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial genes of this species were examined, and combined into seven haplotypes among the test insect specimens originating from Japan, Thailand, and Canada. These results suggested the potential for geographical differentiation.
Asunto(s)
Escarabajos/genética , Genes Mitocondriales/genética , Laboratorios , Polimorfismo Genético , Animales , Técnicas de CultivoRESUMEN
Polymorphism in the mitochondrial gene ND5 enables the determination of the order, a taxonomic rank, of many insects from the 5 major insect orders-Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera. DNA nucleotide sequences of multiple species were determined and more than 19 nucleotides characteristic of each order were identified; this makes it possible to discriminate insects at the order level more precisely and easily than when using conventional techniques.
Asunto(s)
Complejo I de Transporte de Electrón/genética , Genes Mitocondriales , Insectos/clasificación , Animales , Secuencia de Bases , Genes de Insecto , FilogeniaRESUMEN
This study was conducted as a prospective, multicenter trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of micafungin as an empirical therapy for suspected invasive fungal infections (IFIs), including febrile neutropenia (FN), and to evaluate the usefulness of ß-D: -glucan (BG) and Aspergillus galactomannan (GM) antigen in patients with hematologic diseases. A total of 121 patients were enrolled and assessed for safety, and 119 were examined for clinical efficacy. The main underlying diseases were acute myeloid leukemia (38.0%), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (18.2%), and malignant lymphoma (18.2%). The median initial daily dose and duration of micafungin treatment were 150 mg/day and 13 days, respectively. The overall response rate for suspected IFIs (n = 119), based on four composite endpoints, including baseline IFI, breakthrough IFIs (proven and probable), survival, and premature discontinuation, was 79.0%. In addition, the response rate for FN (n = 81), based on these four endpoints as well as defervescence during neutropenia, was 39.5%. Breakthrough IFIs (proven, probable, and possible) occurred in five patients during micafungin treatment. All of these patients were positive for either BG or GM before the breakthrough IFIs. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) associated with micafungin was 10.7% and most were mild. The majority of AEs were liver dysfunction. These results indicate the effectiveness and safety of micafungin as an empirical therapy for suspected IFIs, including FN, and the usefulness of monitoring both BG and GM to detect breakthrough IFIs.
Asunto(s)
Antifúngicos/efectos adversos , Equinocandinas/efectos adversos , Neoplasias Hematológicas/complicaciones , Lipopéptidos/efectos adversos , Micosis/prevención & control , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Antifúngicos/uso terapéutico , Antígenos Bacterianos/sangre , Aspergilosis/complicaciones , Aspergilosis/diagnóstico , Aspergilosis/tratamiento farmacológico , Aspergilosis/prevención & control , Candidiasis Invasiva/complicaciones , Candidiasis Invasiva/diagnóstico , Candidiasis Invasiva/tratamiento farmacológico , Candidiasis Invasiva/prevención & control , Enfermedad Hepática Inducida por Sustancias y Drogas/epidemiología , Diagnóstico Precoz , Equinocandinas/uso terapéutico , Femenino , Galactosa/análogos & derivados , Humanos , Leucemia Mieloide Aguda/complicaciones , Lipopéptidos/uso terapéutico , Linfoma/complicaciones , Masculino , Mananos/sangre , Micafungina , Persona de Mediana Edad , Micosis/complicaciones , Micosis/diagnóstico , Micosis/tratamiento farmacológico , Leucemia-Linfoma Linfoblástico de Células Precursoras/complicaciones , Adulto Joven , beta-Glucanos/sangreRESUMEN
Leuconostoc is a Gram-positive coccus characterized by its resistance to glycopeptide antibiotics. Generally, this bacterium is susceptible to ß-lactam antibiotics; however, here we present a leukemia patient who developed leuconostoc bacteremia during antimicrobial therapy with carbapenem. The appropriate choice of antibiotics at optimal doses enables leuconostoc infection to be overcome, even in compromised hosts. We report 3 cases of leuconostoc bacteremia: the leukemia case which was successfully treated, along with discussions of two other cases with malignancies.
Asunto(s)
Bacteriemia/microbiología , Infecciones por Bacterias Grampositivas/microbiología , Leuconostoc/crecimiento & desarrollo , Neoplasias/microbiología , Anciano , Antibacterianos/uso terapéutico , Bacteriemia/tratamiento farmacológico , Carbapenémicos/uso terapéutico , Femenino , Infecciones por Bacterias Grampositivas/tratamiento farmacológico , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Neoplasias/tratamiento farmacológicoRESUMEN
An 84-year-old man presented with the chief complaints of fever and disturbance of consciousness at another hospital. A sheath dilator had been inserted into the urethra instead of an indwelling catheter at the hospital. Since he had previously been treated for myelodysplastic syndrome in our Department of Internal Medicine, he was transferred to our hospital. He presented at our Department with the chief complaints of urinary difficulty and lower abdominal fullness. Kidney-ureter-bladder x-ray and computed tomography revealed the sheath dilator in the uretha and bladder. First, we performed a percutaneous cystostomy under local anesthesia. Second, we utilized optical forceps and successfully removed the sheath dilator transurethrally under intravenous anesthesia.