Heat-killed Lactobacillus brevis KB290 attenuates visceral fat accumulation induced by high-fat diet in mice.

AIMS: This study aimed to evaluate the anti-adiposity effect of heat-killed Lactobacillus brevis KB290 originating from traditional Japanese fermented pickles in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). METHODS AND RESULTS: C57BL/6J mice were fed a normal-fat diet, HFD or HFD supplemented with heat-killed KB290 for 8 weeks. Epididymal and renal adipose tissue weights, as well as areas of epididymal adipocytes, were significantly lower in the mice fed a HFD supplemented with KB290 than in those fed an unsupplemented HFD. Mice whose diets were supplemented with KB290 had elevated adiponectin and ß3-adrenergic receptor expression in epididymal adipose tissue and an accompanying higher serum free fatty acid level. Furthermore, the HFD-induced elevations in serum glucose, insulin and HOMA-IR were significantly suppressed by dietary supplementation with KB290. Amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes revealed that KB290 ingestion altered the composition of the intestinal microbiota. CONCLUSIONS: Heat-killed L. brevis KB290 suppressed diet-induced visceral fat accumulation and ameliorated diet-induced metabolic symptoms and intestinal gut microbiota modifications, suggesting possibility of novel paraprobiotic. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Heat-killed L. brevis KB290 is useable as a material to develop functional foods that attenuate visceral fat accumulation.

Self-management of infection control behavior of adult recipients of living-donor liver transplantation within 5 years after transplantation.

This study determines the present condition of self-management of infection control behavior of adult recipients who underwent living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT). The design was a qualitative study using a semistructured interview. The subjects were recipients who underwent LDLT at Kyoto University Hospital within 5 years to March 2011 and gave their consents to participate in this study. The subjects were 10 recipients (4 male and 6 female), and their average age was 56.7 years. Of 502 sentences about self-management behavior extracted from the verbatim records of all subjects, 61 sentences were about infection control behavior. Cluster analysis was used to classify these sentences into 5 groups: basic preventive behavior, application preventive behavior, active preventive behavior, change of preventive behavior depending on physical condition, and establishment of preventive behavior.

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis with oculomotor nerve palsy.

We report a patient with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis with oculomotor nerve palsy. The patient presented with a high fever, diplopia, blepharoptosis and impairment of ocular movement of the left eye except for lateral gaze. Multiple erythematous and livedoid lesions were observed on the forehead, both cheeks and both legs. Laboratory examination showed positive results for myeloperoxidase antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies. Skin biopsy revealed leucocytoclastic vasculitis of the small arteries in the lower dermis. The patient was successfully treated with systemic corticosteroids.

Acute heart failure associated with human parvovirus B19 infection.

We report a patient with acute heart failure due to human parvovirus B19 infection. The patient was a 36-year-old man with polyarthralgia, fatigue and swelling of his upper eyelids and all four limbs. These symptoms disappeared, but 5 days after the first consultation, the patient presented with severe exertional dyspnoea, chest pain and swelling of his whole body. Erythema was observed on the skin of hands, fingers and abdomen. Pleural and pericardial effusion, ascites and hepatosplenomegaly were detected. Laboratory examination showed positive results for anti-human parvovirus B19 IgM and B19 DNA in the serum. A diagnosis of acute heart failure by pericarditis caused by B19 was made. This case report suggests that B19 should be considered as a cause of acute heart failure through acute pericarditis.

Branching mechanism of intergranular crack propagation in three dimensions.

We investigate the process of slow intergranular crack propagation by the finite element method model and show that branching is induced by partial arresting of a crack front owing to the geometrical randomness of grain boundaries. A possible scenario for the branching instability of crack propagation in a disordered continuous medium is also discussed.

Differentiation, Distribution, and Elimination of Two Different Pineapple mealybug wilt-associated viruses Found in Pineapple.

Surveys for Pineapple mealybug wilt-associated virus-1 (PMWaV-1) and PMWaV-2 were conducted on pineapple samples from Hawaii and around the world. Tissue blot immunoassays (TBIAs) with two different monoclonal antibodies (MAb) specific to either PMWaV-1 or PMWaV-2 indicated that both closteroviruses are widely distributed throughout the pineapple-growing areas of the world. In the worldwide survey, PMWaV-1 was found in 80% of the mea-lybug wilt of pineapple (MWP)-symptomatic and 78% of the asymptomatic pineapple plants tested. A subset of plants was tested for PMWaV-2; 100% of the symptomatic plants and 12% of the asymptomatic plants were positive for this virus. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay was developed to differentiate between PMWaV-1 and PMWaV-2. Oligonucleotide primers were designed using distinct regions of the HSP 70 homolog genes of the two viruses. PMWaV-specific RT-PCR assays and TBIAs were used to screen the pineapple accessions maintained at the United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service National Clonal Germplasm Repository for PMWaV infection; 73% of the accessions were found infected with at least one PMWaV. Pineapple accessions found PMWaV-free were challenged with viruliferous mealybugs to test for immunity to PMWaV-1. No immune germ plasm was identified. Potential alternative virus hosts were screened for infection with virus-specific RT-PCR assays and TBIAs and were also challenged with viruliferous mealybugs. No alternate hosts of PMWaV-1 or PMWaV-2 were identified. PMWaV-1 infection was eliminated through axillary and apical bud propagation from infected crowns. Strategies to manage MWP are discussed.

The genetic diversity and epizootiology of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus.

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) is a rhabdovirus which causes a serious disease in salmonid fish. The T1 ribonuclease fingerprinting method was used to compare the RNA genomes of 26 isolates of IHNV recovered from sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), chinook salmon (O. tshawytscha), and steelhead trout (O. mykiss) throughout the enzootic portion of western North America. Most of the isolates analyzed in this study were from a single year (1987) to limit time of isolation as a source of genetic variation. In addition, isolates from different years collected at three sites were analyzed to investigate genetic drift or evolution of IHNV within specific locations. All of the isolates examined by T1 fingerprint analysis contained less than a 50% variation in spot location and were represented by a single fingerprint group. The observed variation was estimated to correspond to less than 5% variation in the nucleic acid sequence. However, sufficient variation was detected to separate the isolates into four subgroups which appeared to correlate to different geographic regions. Host species appeared not to be a significant source of variation. The evolutionary and epizootiologic significance of these findings and their relationship to other evidence of genetic variation in IHNV isolates are discussed.

The antihypertensive property of NIP-121, a novel potassium channel opener in rats.

The antihypertensive effects of NIP-121, a novel potassium channel opener, were examined in comparison with cromakalim and its active enantiomer, lemakalim. In experiments by direct blood pressure measurements, orally administered NIP-121 dose-relatedly decreased arterial blood pressure in conscious spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs), and the ED20 values (the doses to produce 20% decrease of the mean blood pressure) of NIP-121 and cromakalim were 0.010 and 0.11 mg/kg, respectively, NIP-121 thus being about ten times more potent than cromakalim. The duration of the hypotensive effect by NIP-121 was longer than that by cromakalim. The hypotensive effect of NIP-121 was stronger in SHRs than in normotensive rats. All three drugs showed tachycardia that was antagonized by a beta-blocker, propranolol. Intravenously administered NIP-121 also showed a more potent hypotensive action with longer duration than cromakalim in conscious SHRs. The ED20 values for hypotension by NIP-121, cromakalim, and lemakalim were 0.017, 0.040, and 0.016 mg/kg, respectively. The intravenous hypotensive potency of NIP-121 but not cromakalim was similar to that of p.o. administration. The repeated treatments with NIP-121 (0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 mg/kg p.o. once a day) for 15 days did not modify the degree of the hypotensive action. In the anesthetized SHRs, pretreatment with glibenclamide but not other antagonists (atropine, propranolol, diphenhydramine + cimetidine, or indomethacin) suppressed the decrease in blood pressure induced by NIP-121.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Potassium channel opening properties of a novel compound, NIP-121, cromakalim and nicorandil in rat aorta and portal vein.

A novel compound, NIP-121, cromakalim and nicorandil caused concentration-dependent relaxation of rat aortas precontracted with 30 mM KCl, with pEC50 (M) values of 8.2, 7.1 and 5.5, respectively. At 60 mM KCl, the vasorelaxation induced by NIP-121 or cromakalim was almost abolished whereas that induced by nicorandil remained. In preparations precontracted with prostaglandin F2 alpha(PGF2 alpha) (10(-5) M), glibenclamide (10(-7) M) and phentolamine (3 x 10(-6), 3 x 10(-5) M) antagonized the relaxation induced by NIP-121 and cromakalim but not that induced by nicorandil. Methylene blue (10(-5) M) showed antagonistic effects against the vasorelaxation induced by nicorandil but not that induced by NIP-121. NIP-121 (10(-7), 10(-6) M) and cromakalim (10(-6), 10(-5) M) significantly increased the 86Rb+ efflux rate in rat aorta. The three compounds inhibited the frequency of spontaneous contractions of the rat portal vein (pIC30; NIP-121 = 8.0, cromakalim = 7.1 and nicorandil = 4.9); glibenclamide and phentolamine antagonized the effects of these compounds. In conclusion, NIP-121 is a more potent K+ channel opener than cromakalim in these tissues. Nicorandil apparently behaves as a K+ channel opener in the rat portal vein, but the vasorelaxation may involve some other mechanisms, such as generation of cyclic GMP.

Antihypertensive and diuretic effects of NZ-105, a novel dihydropyridine derivative.

Studies on the antihypertensive and diuretic actions of NZ-105, a new dihydropyridine derivative, were performed in comparison with nicardipine. NZ-105 and nicardipine (5, 10 and 20 mg/kg, p.o.) dose-dependently decreased systolic blood pressure in three types of experimentally hypertensive rats, including spontaneously hypertensive rats, renal hypertensive rats and deoxycorticosterone acetate-salt hypertensive rats and normotensive Wistar-strain rats. The hypotensive effects were larger in hypertensive rats than in normotensive Wistar rats. The hypotensive actions of NZ-105 were very slow in onset and long-lasting in all models, e.g., the hypotension by NZ-105 (10 mg/kg, p.o.) reached a peak (-52 mmHg) at 3 hr and lasted for more than 9 hr in spontaneously hypertensive rats. The hypotensive action in spontaneously hypertensive rats was reproducible after repeated dosing twice a day for 29 days. The hypotensive action after i.v. injection of NZ-105 (0.1 mg/kg) in spontaneously hypertensive rats was also slow in onset (peak time: 10 min) and long-lasting (more than 120 min). The hypotensive potency of NZ-105 was about the same as that of nicardipine, but the increment in heart rate was smaller than in the case of nicardipine. Both NZ-105 and nicardipine showed diuretic and natriuretic actions in spontaneously hypertensive rats. After repeated administration, these actions of NZ-105 were unchanged, whereas those of nicardipine were reduced. These results suggest that NZ-105 is a useful antihypertensive drug with concomitant diuretic effects.