Congenital malformations caused by Akabane virus in porcine fetuses in southern Japan.

Akabane virus (AKAV) is known as a major teratogenic agent of ruminant fetuses. In this study, we investigated the relationship between porcine abnormal deliveries and AKAV by serology, pathology, and virology investigations using specimens from 16 stillborn fetuses delivered in southern Japan between 2013 and 2015. The major clinical manifestations in stillborn fetuses were hydranencephaly, arthrogryposis, spinal curvature, and both skeletal muscle and subcutaneous edema. Histologic examination of the specimens identified atrophy of skeletal muscle fibers accompanied by adipose replacement. Nonsuppurative encephalomyelitis and decreased neuronal density in the ventral horn of the spinal cord were shown in two separate fetuses, respectively. Neutralizing antibody titers to AKAV were detected in most of the tested fetuses (13/16). The AKAV sequences detected in the affected fetuses in 2013 and 2015 were highly identical and closely related to Japanese AKAV isolates which were isolated in 2013 and sorted into genogroup I of AKAV. Immunohistochemistry visualized AKAV antigens in the neuronal cells of the central nervous system of the fetuses. These findings indicate that AKAV was involved in the birth of abnormal piglets at the affected farm. The clinical manifestations and histopathological features in the stillborn fetuses were very similar to those in ruminant neonates affected by AKAV. To avoid misdiagnosis and to evaluate the precise impact of AKAV on pig reproduction, AKAV should be considered in differential diagnoses of reproductive failures in pigs.

Photoisomerization and energy transfer in naphthalene-terminated stilbene dendrimers.

Naphthalene-terminated stilbene dendrimers, the largest stilbene dendrimers to date, underwent photoisomerization via highly efficient energy transfer from the dendron group to the core stilbene. It was also demonstrated that the energy transfer efficiency in these dendrimers may be controlled by light, utilizing trans-cis isomerization as the key photoreaction.

[Sarcoidosis and hypercalcemia in a patient undergoing hemodialysis].

We report sarcoidosis-related hypercalcemia in a patient undergoing hemodialysis, The patient, a 54-year-old woman, had been undergoing maintenance hemodialysis since 1989. The cause of end-stage renal disease was membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis. The patient was admitted to our hospital in January 2002 for the treatment of hypercalcemia(13.5 mg/dl), which was diagnosed in December 2001. Chest X-ray showed bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy, chest CT scan showed mediastinal lymph node swelling, and Ga-scintigraphy showed abnormal accumulation of gallium in the mediastinum. The patient's intact-PTH was 80-100 pg/ml. ACE(31.4 IU/l) and 1.25(OH)2D3(85 pg/ml) were elevated, and the bronchial lavage fluid CD4/CD8 ratio was slightly elevated. Epitheloid granulomatous tissue was obtained from a subclavian lymph node biopsy. Thus, the patient was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. The hypercalcemia and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy improved with corticosteroid therapy.