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Many tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are present in wildlife. The objective of this study is to reveal the role of wild bears in maintaining TBPs. A total of 49 brown bears (Ursus arctos yesoensis) from Hokkaido, and 18 Japanese black bears (Ursus thibetanus japonicus) from Tochigi, and 66 Japanese black bears from Nagano were examined by two molecular methods, reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization, and nested PCR. A total of 5 TBPs (Hepatozoon ursi, Babesia sp. UR2-like group, Cytauxzoon sp. UR1, Babesia sp. UR1, and Babesia microti) were detected from bear blood DNA samples. B. microti was detected from blood DNA samples of Japanese black bear for the first time, with the prevalence of 6.0% (5/84). Out of detected pathogens, H. ursi, Babesia sp. UR2-like pathogens, and Cytauxzoon sp. UR1 were considered as three of the most prevalent TBPs in bears. The prevalence of H. ursi were significantly higher in Japanese black bear (0% vs 96.4%) while that of Babesia sp. UR2-like group was higher in Hokkaido brown bears (89.8% vs 40.5%). The prevalence of Babesia sp. UR1 were significantly higher in Japanese black bears from Tochigi (44.4%), comparing with those from Nagano (18.2%). The prevalence of the detected TBPs were significantly higher in adult bears, comparing with those in younger bears. The present study suggests that Japanese bear species contribute in the transmission of several TBPs in Japan. The expanding distribution of bears might cause the accidental transmission of TBPs to humans and domestic animals.

e18562 Background: Although patients with locoregional advanced maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma (MSSCC) are often treated with surgery followed by postoperative radiotherapy (RT), the cosmetic and functional outcomes are unsatisfactory. Moreover, the efficacy and safety of intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy are controversial. Methods: In this study, we investigated the efficacy and safety of low-dose cisplatin administration through the superficial temporal artery (STA) combined with definitive RT in patients with MSSCC. Between January 2009 and December 2018, 57 patients were administered weekly intra-arterial infusions of cisplatin (30–50 mg/m2/5h) through the STA with simultaneous intravenous infusions of sodium thiosulfate. Overall response rate (ORR), local progression-free survival (LFS), maxillectomy-free survival (MFS), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and safety were evaluated retrospectively. The impact of clinical factors on survival was investigated using the Cox proportional hazard models. Results: The median follow-up time was 44 months (range, 10–80 months). There were 4, 26, 23, and 4 patients with cT2, cT3, cT4a, and cT4b, respectively. All patients completed the planned treatment except for one patient who discontinued owing to facial palsy. The ORR was 98% with 51 and 5 patients having complete and partial responses, respectively. The 3-year LFS, PFS, and OS were 74%, 63%, and 81%, respectively for all patients and 100%, 81%, and 94%, respectively for 22 patients received 70 Gy irradiation. Notably, the 3-year MFS was 95% for all patients and 100% in patients received 70 Gy RT. The most common grade 3 or more toxic event was oral mucositis (22.8%). Additionally, 4 (7.0%) patients had catheter-related infections. Late grade 3 or more adverse events included optic nerve disorder (8.8%), osteonecrosis (7.0%), encephalopathy (1.8%), and increased creatinine levels (1.8%). Salvage surgery including hard palate resection and orbital exenteration were performed in 2 and 1 patients, respectively. No clinical factor was correlated with survival outcomes in our study cohort. Conclusions: Low-dose cisplatin through STA combined with RT, especially 70 Gy RT, was associated with promising tumor response, high organ preservation rate, and tolerable adverse events in MSSCC patients. Further prospective studies are warranted to compare these outcomes with primary surgery.

For bears, numerous associations between biotic and abiotic factors have been reported to correlate with the timing of den entry and emergence; however, an analysis showing which factors influence the timing of den entry and emergence has not been performed enough. In this study, a generalized linear mixed model was generated using 66 entry dates for 26 females and 40 entry dates for 26 males, and 56 emergence dates for 26 females and 25 emergence dates for 18 males between 1999 and 2012. Regarding factors for den entry, the average temperature in November and mast production of Mongolian oaks were significant for both males and females. For the date of den emergence, the average temperature in March affected strongly. For males, good mast production of Mongolian oaks in the previous year was found to be associated with early den emergence. For females, the presence of newborns had a significant influence on their den entry and emergence. This study indicated that denning behavior appears to be regulated by several abiotic and biotic factors and regulation factors are sex specific.

We characterized annual and seasonal home ranges (HR) of 27 female Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) during 2003–11 in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Mean annual HR size for bears calculated by the 95% fixed kernel method was 10.0 km2 (SD = 8.5) and differed depending on the year. However, annual HR sizes were not affected by reproductive status (with or without cubs) or age (subadult or adult). Home ranges tended to be larger in summer than in autumn. We speculate that a contributing factor to differences in HR size was annual or seasonal fluctuation of food resources. Annual shifts in HR centers and HR overlaps were estimated to be 1.2 km (SD = 0.9) and 0.55 km (SD = 0.13), respectively. Seasonal shifts in HR centers and seasonal overlaps were 1.1 km (SD = 1.1) and 0.54 km (SD = 0.12), respectively. Together, these results suggest that female Asiatic black bears in our study area do not migrate long distances seasonally or annually.

Summary Purpose The major drawbacks of brain computed tomography (CT) perfusion are limited coverage in the z-axis, radiation exposure and the use of contrast medium, all of which increase when CT angiography (CTA) is performed with double acquisitions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of the ‘toggling-table’ technique using a 40-mm detector. Materials and methods The clinical usefulness of CT perfusion and 4D-CTA (time-resolved 3D-CTA), as well as the time taken and radiation exposure, were assessed in 14 non-ischemic patients clinically indicated for CT perfusion and CTA. Results A perfusion map and 4D-CTA was successfully achieved in all patients. The total time needed for scanning and processing was approximately 30 min per examination. The 80-mm CT perfusion coverage and 4D-CTA images were advantageous for analyses of the anatomy and widely distributed lesions. The estimated effective radiation dose was 2.22 mSv, and the amount of contrast media was 40 mL. Conclusion The ‘toggling-table’ technique acts as a ‘one-stop-shop’ protocol for perfusion mapping and 4D-CTA over a wide area, following a single contrast injection and scan.

A 56-year-old-woman presented a local otolaryngologist with a complaint of hearing loss. She was treated with antibiotics as acute otitis media, however her symptom did not improved. She admitted to our hospital because of hearing loss on both sides, fever, otorrhea and vertigo. On admission, an audiogram showed bilateral mixed conductive-sensorineural hearing loss, and CT image revealed the exudates in bilateral middle ear cavities and mastoid air cells. Moreover, serum level of myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibody (MPO-ANCA) elevated (133EU). Although pulmonary, renal and cutaneous involvements were not noted and the histopathological examination of operated specimen taken from otitis media revealed non-specific inflammatory changes, in the absence of any other obvious causes of otitis media, these findings might be associated with positive serum MPO-ANCA value itself. After the initiation of therapy with methylprednisolone and azathioprine, her symptoms and hearing ability ameliorated and both CRP value and the titer of ANCA became normalized. But, after the improvement by the immunosuppressive treatment, MRSA in the otorrhea persisted. This case suggests that otitis media may be one of the symptoms of vasculitis, and some previous cases described otitis media or hearing loss as rare manifestations of vasculitis. It is important to make an early diagnosis for good prognosis of hearing ability, and we have to consider the differential diagnosis including of ANCA-related vasculitis.

We systematically surveyed period variations of superhumps in SU UMa-type dwarf novae based on newly obtained data and past publications. In many systems, the evolution of superhump period are found to be composed of three distinct stages: early evolutionary stage with a longer superhump period, middle stage with systematically varying periods, final stage with a shorter, stable superhump period. During the middle stage, many systems with superhump periods less than 0.08 d show positive period derivatives. Contrary to the earlier claim, we found no clear evidence for variation of period derivatives between superoutburst of the same object. We present an interpretation that the lengthening of the superhump period is a result of outward propagation of the eccentricity wave and is limited by the radius near the tidal truncation. We interpret that late stage superhumps are rejuvenized excitation of 3:1 resonance when the superhumps in the outer disk is effectively quenched. Many of WZ Sge-type dwarf novae showed long-enduring superhumps during the post-superoutburst stage having periods longer than those during the main superoutburst. The period derivatives in WZ Sge-type dwarf novae are found to be strongly correlated with the fractional superhump excess, or consequently, mass ratio. WZ Sge-type dwarf novae with a long-lasting rebrightening or with multiple rebrightenings tend to have smaller period derivatives and are excellent candidate for the systems around or after the period minimum of evolution of cataclysmic variables (abridged)., Comment: 239 pages, 225 figures, PASJ accepted

A fully automated sequential injection column preconcentration method for the on-line determination of trace vanadium, cadmium and lead in urine samples was successfully developed, utilizing electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). Polyamino-polycarboxylic acid chelating resin (Nobias chelate PA-1) packed into a handmade minicolumn was used as a sorbent material. Effective on-line retention of chelate complexes of analytes was achieved at pH 6.0, while the highest elution effectiveness was observed with 1.0 mol L(-1) HNO3 in the reverse phase. Several analytical parameters, like the sample acidity, concentration and volume of the eluent as well as the loading/elution flow rates, have been studied, regarding the efficiency of the method, providing appropriate conditions for the analysis of real samples. For a 4.5 mL sample volume, the sampling frequency was 27 h(-1). The detection limits were found to be 3.0, 0.06 and 2.0 ng L(-1) for V(V), Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively, with the relative standard deviations ranging between 1.9 - 3.7%. The accuracy of the proposed method was evaluated by analyzing a certified reference material (Seronorm(TM) trace elements urine) and spiked urine samples.

溶融–急冷法によって作製した仮想アモルファスシリカ膜のサブナノ細孔における凝縮性気体および凝縮性／非凝縮性気体混合物の透過シミュレーションを非平衡分子動力学法を用いて行った．直径約8 Aの細孔におけるエタン状LJ粒子の透過特性に関しては，400 Kから800 Kの比較的高温域において表面拡散的傾向が見られ，室温付近においては透過速度は温度の低下に伴って減少した．細孔表面との親和性がエタンに比べて小さい非凝縮性気体である窒素状LJ粒子の透過速度はエタンよりも小さく，高温域から室温に至る温度範囲で表面拡散的な透過傾向が見られた．実際のエタンの臨界温度（TC）よりも低い温度である260 Kにおけるエタン／窒素混合気体の透過シミュレーションでは，比較的エタン分率（分圧）が小さい条件ではエタンの透過速度に大きな分圧依存性は見られなかったが，ある分圧を越えると透過速度は大きく減少した．混合系における窒素の透過速度はエタン分圧が小さいところでエタン分圧の増加に伴って減少し，すべての分圧下において純窒素透過シミュレーション時の透過速度よりも小さかった．これらの結果は，細孔表面と大きな親和性を有する凝縮性気体によって非凝縮性気体の移動が阻害され透過速度が低下することを示している．また，臨界温度以下の温度のある圧力下において形成されるミクロ孔充填相は，凝縮性気体自身の透過性も低下させると考えられる．サブナノ細孔における凝縮性気体の透過・分離特性にミクロ孔充填相の形成が重要な役割を果たしていることが分子シミュレーションにより明らかとなった．

Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0809, JapanIn understanding the mechanism of population dynamicsof large mammals, it is essential to clarify the mortalityfactor. For ruminants, birth size is a major factor of neo-natal survival because smaller neonates are more suscep-tible to exposure (Haughey 1980; English and Mullery1992) and vulnerable to predators (Singer et al. 1997).Birth size is commonly related to maternal body sizewithin and across species (Clutton-Brock 1991). Thefetus/neonate-mother proportion may be a consequenceof developmental or morphological constraints (MaynardSmith et al. 1985). For example, it is well known thatfetomaternal disproportion (FMD) causes dystocia, oftenresulting in high fetal/neonatal mortality in domesticruminants (cattle, Johnson et al. 1988; Schwabe and Hall1989; Noakes 1997; West 1997: sheep, McSporran andFielden 1979; Thomas 1990; Dwyer 2003). However,dystocia in wild ruminants has been scarcely reported indetail. This is partly because dystocia may rarely occuras a consequence of natural selection toward optimalbirth size (mass) for mother and offspring (Clutton-Brock 1991), and/or dystocia may be simply difficult todetect in the field. In fact, neonatal mortality in prong-horn Antilocapra americana was caused partly bydystocia (1.8%) but mostly by trauma (61.8%) due topredation (Dunbar et al. 1999). Also, dystocia causedmortality of adult females (

Herd composition counts (HCC) are commonly used to assess population status in deer. We evaluated the reliability of HCC of sika deer (Cervus nippon Temminck) using repeated counts and by comparing estimated sex ratios and calf-to-female ratios of marked deer on Nakanoshima Island, Hokkaido, Japan between April 1999 and October 2000. Although both total counts and sex and age ratios fluctuated greatly by month, seasonal changes showed a relatively small variance. This suggested that seasonal changes in behavior within sex and age classes contributed to biased ratio estimates obtained from HCC. Route counts should be used as a relative population abundance index with estimates of detection probability, especially for females. Adult sex ratios and age ratios from HCC were unbiased during the rutting season (October–November), and age ratios in spring could be used if yearlings are counted as adults.

Ten free-ranging female sika deer (Cervus nippon) were captured to obtain the reference values for acid-base status and blood gas when immobilized with the combination of medetomidine and ketamine. The mean +/- SE of PaCO2, PaO2, and HCO3- were 58.1 +/- 6.1 mmHg, 58.8 +/- 6.4 mmHg, and 36.0 +/- 4.4 mmol/l, respectively. Although acidosis and alkalosis occurred in three and two animals, respectively, no serious conditions were observed. The blood values, however, suggest that some degree of hypoxemia and respiratory acidosis with metabolic alkalosis are developed. The trapped deer showed a significantly higher than normal rectal temperature reflective of exertion.

p70 S6 kinase (p70 S6K) has been implicated in the regulation of cell cycle progression. However, the mechanism of its activation is not fully understood. In the present work, evidence is provided that an atypical protein kinase C (PKC) isotype, PKClambda, is indispensable, but not sufficient, for the activation of p70 S6K. Both the regulatory and kinase domains of PKClambda associate directly with p70 S6K. Overexpression of the kinase domain without kinase activity or the regulatory domain of PKClambda results in the suppression of the serum-induced activation of p70 S6K. In addition, two types of dominant-negative mutants of PKClambda, as well as a kinase-deficient mutant of p70 S6K, suppress serum-induced DNA synthesis and E2F activation. The overexpresion of the active form of PKClambda, however, fails to activate p70 S6K. These results suggest that PKClambda is a mediator in the regulation of p70 S6K activity and plays an important role in cell cycle progression.

We performed microsatellite paternity analyses of two Asian black bear Ursus thibetanus littermates with a known mother. Using Cervus 3.0, we identified the probable father among 17 candidate fathers for Cub 1, but failed to identify a probable father for Cub 2. Cub 1 and her probable father shared at least one allele at all 13 loci. In contrast, Cub 2 and the probable father of Cub 1 had mismatching alleles at eight loci, indicating that the two cubs are offspring of different fathers. This is probably the first evidence for multiple paternity in Asian black bears.