A case of advanced ankylosing spondylitis complicated with cervical myelopathy due to ossification of yellow ligament in which bone histomorphometry demonstrated delayed calcification.

There is minimal information available about bone histomorphometric findings in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). Herein, we report a case of advanced AS complicated with cervical myelopathy due to ossification of yellow ligament (OYL). A 37-year-old Japanese man who had been diagnosed with AS was administered adalimumab. Thirty-four months after adalimumab treatment, he reported upper extremity numbness, dexterity impairment and a spastic gait. Magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography of the cervical spine revealed cervical cord compression at the C5/6 level due to OYL. After surgery including posterior spinal fusion and cervical cord decompression with iliac bone graft at C5 and C6 arches, these symptoms improved. Bone histomorphometry of his ilium revealed marked osteoid formation and reduced mineral apposition, suggesting a calcification disorder. In addition, 25-hydroxy vitamin D was abnormally low (<4 ng/mL), and at 148 pg/mL parathyroid hormone was higher than the reference value, indicating secondary hyperparathyroidism. This case warrants reporting because OYL was complicated with AS and bone histomorphometric findings in AS were evaluated.

Longitudinal and cross-sectional detection of four bovine enteric viruses by multiplex- reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction: Identification of possible indicator viruses to assess biosecurity level at bovine farms.

It can be judged that if the detection frequency of prevalent pathogenic viruses decreases, biosecurity has been enhanced. To monitor bovine farm biosecurity levels, one-step multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for the simultaneous detection of group A rotavirus (RVA), bovine torovirus (BToV), bovine enterovirus (BEV), and bovine coronavirus (BCV) was designed, with the aim of configuring candidates for "viral pathogen indicators". A total of 322 bovine fecal samples were collected from calves aged less than three months at 48 bovine farms in Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures. At farm A, 20 calves were selected and sampled weekly for 12 weeks (184 samples); at farm B, 10 calves were selected and sampled for five weeks (50 samples); and at the rest of the 46 farms, 88 calves were sampled once. The screening on the 358 field samples proved positive for 27 RVA, 4 BToV, 55 BEV, and 52 BCV. In the successive sampling, RVA was detected once but not continuously, whereas BEV and BCV were detected in succession for up to five weeks. The results revealed that RVA was the primary agent among the positive samples obtained from calves aged three weeks or less, while BEV was the primary among those from the older than three weeks old. They can be employed as useful viral pathogen indicators for soundly evaluating biosecurity at bovine farms.

Rapid Evaluation of Electron Mobilities at Semiconductor-Insulator Interfaces in an Ambient Atmosphere by a Contactless Microwave-Based Technique.

Intrinsic mobility of electrons at the interfaces between crystalline organic semiconductors and insulating dielectric polymer films was rapidly evaluated in an ambient atmosphere by TRMC@Interfaces, a noncontact and nondestructive method based on dielectric loss spectroscopy of microwaves. By just preparing simple metal-insulator-semiconductor devices, local-scale motions of charge carriers injected into the interface by pulses of gate bias voltage were monitored through reflected microwave changes, resulting in the evaluation of local-scale charge carrier mobilities together with the value of trap density at the interface. The evaluated high electron mobilities of 12 cm2 V-1 s-1 for N,N'-bis(cyclohexyl)naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide) (DCy-NDI) and 15 cm2 V-1 s-1 for N,N'-dioctylperylene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide) (DC 8 -PDI) are the benchmarks for organic semiconducting materials that are comparable with the highest ones reported from the field-effect transistor devices. The present TRMC@Interfaces was found to serve as a rapid screening technique to examine the intrinsic performance of organic semiconducting materials as well as a useful tool enabling the precise discussion on the relationship among their local-scale charge carrier mobility, thin-film morphology, and packing structure.