Triploid, parthenogenetic forms of the lungfluke, Paragonimus westermani, occur in Japan, Korea and China. The origin(s) of triploidy has been debated over the years. Sequences of two regions in the mitochondrial DNA, i.e. partial lrRNA (16S), and a portion of the non-coding region, were obtained from natural populations of P. westermani. All triploid individuals (Japan, Korea, China) and a single tetraploid individual (China) had identical sequences in the 16S region studied. Some sequence variation was observed among diploids, with those from Taiwan being distinct from the remainder. Both neighbour joining and parsimony trees using the 16S region placed diploid individuals from southwestern Japan close to the triploids and the tetraploid. The fragment amplified from the mitochondrial non-coding region showed dimorphism. One form (type A) consisted of 239bp comprising two identical tracts of 70bp separated by a tract of 93bp. The second form (Type B) consisted of only a single 70bp tract. All diploid individuals from Taiwan, China and Korea possessed type A, while those from Japan were polymorphic; individuals from Oita and Hyogo had type B, those from Chiba had type A, but both types were found in Mie. On the other hand, all of the triploid individuals and two tetraploid individuals possessed type B. Both the form present in the non-coding region and the 16S sequence suggest an affinity between a south-eastern group of diploid populations in Japan and the triploid form. A possible mechanism responsible for the origin of the triploid is discussed.

A preliminary study to detect human worm carriers of Taenia solium in Papua (Irian Jaya), Indonesia was carried out using stool examinations for the detection of copro-antigens and adult proglottids after chemotherapy, and confirmation by mitochondrial DNA analysis using expelled proglottids and metacestodes developed in NOD/Shi-scid mice from eggs of expelled proglottids. Approximately 8.6% of the local population in Kama (5/58), 1 km from the local capital city centre, Wamena, were confirmed to harbour adult T. solium using these techniques.

Serology (ELISA and immunoblot) using native glycoproteins, affinity purified glycoproteins, and a recombinant antigen is known to be highly specific to Taenia solium cysticercosis in humans and pigs. These techniques were applied for dogs in the highly endemic area of cysticercosis in Papua (Irian Jaya), Indonesia. Analysis of dog sera by both ELISA and immunoblot revealed 7 of 64 dogs were highly positive. Examination of two sero-positive dogs revealed cysticerci of T. solium in the brain and heart of these dogs. Mitochondrial DNA analysis confirmed that they were the same as T. solium previously confirmed from pigs and biopsies from local people from Irian Jaya. It is suggested that the life cycle of T. solium may be completed not only between humans and pigs but also between humans and dogs.

Multilingualism in the context of academic publishing involves beliefs and actions manifested through publications in multiple languages. However, a systematic analysis of how academic journals practice multilingualism has been scant. Therefore, the present study analyzed how indexed journals of applied linguistics promote and practice multilingualism following their scopes and language policies (LPs). Initially, 67 journals underwent screening based on their “aims and scope,” resulting in 11 journals that actively promoted multilingualism. Employing a critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework, the main analysis focused on the assumptions embedded within the journals’ LPs. The findings indicated an incongruity between the journals’ stated commitment and their practices of multilingualism. Specifically, all the journals mandated submissions exclusively in English with implicit biases toward native speakerism. The study underscores the need for a collective effort within and beyond the applied linguistics community to address linguistic biases and for more equitable and inclusive academic publishing practices.

The Animal Needs Index (ANI) is used for on-farm assessment of welfare in Austria. However, no synthetic welfare assessment system exists in Japan. We performed a welfare assessment of Japanese dairy farms using the ANI scoring system. On 25 farms, 36 dairy herds were assessed using the ANI35L/2000-cattle survey. On 10 dairy farms, 16 herds were housed in free-stall barns. The other 20 herds of 15 dairy farms were housed in tie-stall barns. This study was conducted between December 2004 and January 2005. The ANI scores ranged from 6.0 to 40.0 points (mean 17.8 points). The four high ranking herds on ANI value were housed in free-stalls and allowed the use of outside areas. The 13 low ranking herds were housed in tie-stalls and were not allowed the use of outside areas. The free-stall herds had significantly higher ANI scores than tie-stall herds. The ANI scores of herds having access to outside areas were significantly higher than those of herds having no outside access. This scoring system might be useful for Japanese dairy farms. However, some assessment parameters contain subjective criteria such as cleanliness, floor slipperiness, and animal health. Further studies are necessary to improve the scoring system, in particular clarifying criteria related to those parameters.

Background. Middle-ear carcinoid tumour is a rare malignant tumour with an indolent course occasionally causing regional or distant metastasis. This paper presents a case of middle-ear carcinoid tumour metastasising to the parapharyngeal space and the parotid gland 20 years after the first surgery.

Case report. A 35-year-old woman who underwent multiple tympanomastoidectomies for middle-ear carcinoid presented with tumours of both the parapharyngeal space and parotid gland, detected by regular imaging. Based on the clinical course, metastatic relapse of middle-ear carcinoid was suspected. This was treated with subtotal parotidectomy with elective neck dissection (levels II and III), leading to the pathological diagnosis of carcinoid tumour. A cervico-parotid approach was selected to avoid complications associated with parapharyngeal space tumour removal. Transient facial palsy (House–Brackmann grade III) occurred, which completely recovered two months after surgery.

Conclusion. Awareness of parapharyngeal space tumours possibly caused by metastasis from a middle-ear tumour is necessary.

In June 2020, a large-scale food poisoning outbreak involving about 3000 elementary and junior high school students occurred in Yashio, Saitama, Japan. A school lunch was the only food stuff ingested by all of the patients. Escherichia coli serotype O7:H4 carrying the astA gene for enteroaggregative E. coli (EAggEC) heat-stable enterotoxin 1 (EAST1) was detected in faecal specimens from the patients, and sample inspection revealed its presence in a seaweed salad and red seaweed (Gigartina tenella) as one of the raw materials. Analysis of the antibiotic sensitivity of the isolates revealed resistance to ampicillin and cefotaxime. All isolates were confirmed to be of the same origin by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis after digestion with the restriction enzyme XbaI, and single nucleotide polymorphism analysis using whole genome sequencing. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a large-scale food poisoning caused by E. coli O7:H4, which lacks well-characterized virulence genes other than astA.

Studies on community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and pneumococcal pneumonia (PP) related to the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) introduction in Asia are scarce. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological and microbiological determinants of hospitalised CAP and PP after PCV13 was introduced in Japan. This observational hospital-based surveillance study included children aged ⩽15 years, admitted to hospitals in and around Chiba City, Japan. Participants had bacterial pneumonia based on a positive blood or sputum culture for bacterial pathogens. Serotype and antibiotic-susceptibility testing of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae isolates from patients with bacterial pneumonia were assessed. The CAP hospitalisation rate per 1000 child-years was 17.7, 14.3 and 9.7 in children aged <5 years and 1.18, 2.64 and 0.69 in children aged 5–15 years in 2008, 2012 and 2018, respectively. There was a 45% and 41% reduction in CAP hospitalisation rates, between the pre-PCV7 and PCV13 periods, respectively. Significant reductions occurred in the proportion of CAP due to PP and PCV13 serotypes. Conversely, no change occurred in the proportion of CAP caused by H. influenzae. The incidence of hospitalised CAP in children aged ⩽15 years was significantly reduced after the introduction of PCV13 in Japan. Continuous surveillance is necessary to detect emerging PP serotypes.

This study aims to create controlled fine space by electrospinning, and to develop the electrode materials for high-performance energy devices. With the popularization of mobile devices, household appliances, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, and the like, the use of power storage devices is expanding, and further performance improvements are required. In this study, a novel electrode material was developed by compositing Si with carbon nanofibers derived from polyacrylonitrile (PAN) by electrospinning and heat treatment. The texture and structure of the nanofibers were observed and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with image processing. Nano spaces were created in the CNFs and Si particles were able to be contained in the CNFs. In the second and subsequent cycles of the charge/discharge experiments of lithium ion battery (LIB) electrode made from the materials, the capacity was more than twice the theoretical capacity using graphite, and good cycle performance was obtained.

Using first-principles calculation, we investigate water-dissociation dynamics in a Σ5 tilt grain boundary (GB) of Methyl-Ammonium Lead Triiodide (MAPbI3) perovskite. We find that the water dissociation process undergoes with two-step reaction at the GB: one of H ions of a water molecule that segregates into the GB is dissociated, migrates along the GB, and is attracted by an N atom in the MAPbI3, following the H-ion release from the ammonium. The process thereby generates OH− ion and, in turn, leads to possible initiation of the degradation for crystallinity in the perovskite.

The gullet worms, classical Gongylonema pulchrum and newly differentiated Gongylonema nepalensis, are prevalent in various mammals in Japan and Sardinia, Italy, respectively. The former species is cosmopolitan in distribution, dwelling in the mucosa of the upper digestive tract of a variety of domestic and wild mammals, and also humans. At present, the geographical distribution of G. nepalensis is known in Nepal and Sardinia, with the nematode having been recorded from the oesophagus of water buffaloes (Nepal), cattle, sheep, goats and wild mouflon (Sardinia). To clarify their natural transmission cycles among domestic and wild mammals, the present study analysed the ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) and mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1) of worms of various origins: G. pulchrum worms from sika deer, wild boars, Japanese macaques, and feral alien Reeves's muntjacs in Japan, and G. nepalensis worms from a red fox and a wild boar in Sardinia. Although the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of rDNA and partial cox1 nucleotide sequences of G. pulchrum from native wild mammals in Japan were distinct from those of the worms in cattle, the worms from feral alien Reeves's muntjacs showed the cattle-type ITS genotype and cox1 cattle-I and II haplotypes. The rDNA and cox1 nucleotide sequences of G. nepalensis from a red fox in Sardinia were almost identical to those of the worms from domestic and wild ruminants on the island. The ecological interaction between domestic and wild mammals and their susceptibility to different Gongylonema spp. must be considered when trying to elucidate this spirurid's transmission dynamics in nature.

Measurements in the infrared wavelength domain allow direct assessment of the physical state and energy balance of cool matter in space, enabling the detailed study of the processes that govern the formation and evolution of stars and planetary systems in galaxies over cosmic time. Previous infrared missions revealed a great deal about the obscured Universe, but were hampered by limited sensitivity.

SPICA takes the next step in infrared observational capability by combining a large 2.5-meter diameter telescope, cooled to below 8 K, with instruments employing ultra-sensitive detectors. A combination of passive cooling and mechanical coolers will be used to cool both the telescope and the instruments. With mechanical coolers the mission lifetime is not limited by the supply of cryogen. With the combination of low telescope background and instruments with state-of-the-art detectors SPICA provides a huge advance on the capabilities of previous missions.

SPICA instruments offer spectral resolving power ranging from R ~50 through 11 000 in the 17–230 μm domain and R ~28.000 spectroscopy between 12 and 18 μm. SPICA will provide efficient 30–37 μm broad band mapping, and small field spectroscopic and polarimetric imaging at 100, 200 and 350 μm. SPICA will provide infrared spectroscopy with an unprecedented sensitivity of ~5 × 10−20 W m−2 (5σ/1 h)—over two orders of magnitude improvement over what earlier missions. This exceptional performance leap, will open entirely new domains in infrared astronomy; galaxy evolution and metal production over cosmic time, dust formation and evolution from very early epochs onwards, the formation history of planetary systems.

In 1985, Dashidaira Dam, equipped with a flushing gate, was built on the Kurobe River in Toyama, Japan. Since the dam sediments were first flushed out in December 1991, benthic fish counts have decreased year by year due to repeated flushing of clay-rich dam sediments.

In June 2001, the flushed dam water contained a low oxygen concentration (1 to 2 mg/l) and high concentrations of smectite and vermiculite. To establish the cause of the death of the benthic fish, living flatfish were collected from Toyama Bay in order to examine their gills, which showed tissue damage and chemical changes caused by adherent expandable clays, derived from the flushed dam sediments. For comparison, exposure experiments on rainbow trout were carried out using smectite suspensions. Examination by optical microscopy revealed that the gills had shrunk because of the smectite concentrations. Low oxygen concentrations and large amounts of expanding clays have a significant effect on downstream benthic life.

The Zn-bearing beaverite of Sato et al. (2008) has been named ‘beaverite-(Zn)’ in accordance with the alunite supergroup nomenclature of Bayliss et al. (2010), and data for the mineral have been approved by the IMA-CNMNC. Beaverite-(Zn) occurs as a dark-brown secondary mineral in the hydrothermal Cu-Zn-Pb ore deposit of the Mikawa mine, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Electron microprobe analysis gave an empirical formula of Pb0.95(Fe1.88Al0.10)(Zn0.83Cu0.03)(SO4)2[(OH)5.36O0.38] on the basis of S = 2. The Rietyeld analysis (Sato et al, 2008) indicated it to be trigonal, R3̄m, a = 7.3028(2), c = 17.0517(4) Å, V = 787.56(4) Å3.

The occurrence is reported of spectacular oriented needles of rutile within quartz veins and pods in granulite-facies rocks that have undergone partial melting under ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) conditions in the Karur region in southern India. Laser Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis confirm that (1) the mineral inclusions within quartz are pure rutiles, and (2) a secondcategory of quartz contains pure hematite inclusions. The rutile never coexists with the hematite inside the same quartz specimens. Fluidinclusions in the quartz are characterized as a CO2 + H2O mixture. Application of two geothermometric calibrations utilizing Ti in quartz yields minimum estimates of ~1190ºC, suggesting the formation of the rutile-quartz under UHT metamorphic condition. It is proposed that such Ti-rich quartz segregations couldbe another indicator for extreme crustal metamorphism at very high temperatures.

Active participation in social activities is important for the wellbeing of older adults. This study explored benefits of active social engagement by evaluating whether relationships that comprise active involvement (e.g. co-engagement in activities) bring more social benefits (i.e. social support, companionship, positive social influence) than other relationships that do not involve co-engagement. A total of 133 adults ages 60 years and older living in a rural Midwestern city in the United States of America were interviewed once and provided information on 1,740 social network members. Among 1,506 social relationships in which interactions occurred at least once a month, 52 per cent involved engagement in social activities together and 35 per cent involved eating together regularly. Results of the generalised linear mixed model showed that relationships involving co-engagement were significantly more likely to also convey social support (i.e. emotional, instrumental, informational), companionship and social influence (encouragement for healthy behaviours) than relationships that do not involve co-engagement. Having more network members who provide companionship was associated with higher sense of environmental mastery, positive relations with others and satisfaction with social network. Interventions may focus on maintaining and developing such social relationships and ensuring the presence of social settings in which co-engagement can occur. Future research may explore whether increasing co-engagement leads to an enhanced sense of companionship and psychological wellbeing.