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This article analyses how diverse stances toward nuclear energy were produced and reproduced among Japanese labour unions from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s, and how these stances of the formative period influenced the subsequent development of inter-union politics before and after the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011, based on content analysis of union bulletins and other materials of pro- and anti-nuclear energy unions. This article asks three research questions: (i) what factors contributed to proor anti-nuclear energy stances of labour unions?; (ii) what elements constituted or framed unions' arguments on the issue of nuclear energy?; and (iii) what impact did these stances and arguments formed in the early period have on the subsequent development of inter-union politics over nuclear energy, especially in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster? The paper shows union ideologies and institutional integration were the factors influencing unions' stances on nuclear energy. It also analyses the worldviews of pro- and anti-nuclear energy unions based on the three policy styles of technological enthusiasts, moralists and cost-benefiters. The Fukushima disaster reinforced the previously formed division of union ideologies, but considerably weakened the discourse of technological enthusiasm stressed by pro-nuclear energy unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alpha-fetoprotein-producing carcinoma (AFPC)/hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HAC) and neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC) are uncommon in the stomach. Composite tumors consisting of these carcinomas and their histologic phenotypes are not well known. Between 2002 and 2007, to estimate the prevalence of composite tumors consisting of tubular adenocarcinoma, AFPC/HAC and NEC, we reviewed specimens obtained from294 consecutive patients treated surgically for gastric cancer. We examined histological phenotype of tumors of AFPC or NEC containing the composite tumor by evaluating immunohistochemical expressions of MUC2, MUC5AC,MUC6, CDX2, and SOX2. Immunohistochemically, AFPC/HAC dominantly showed the intestinal ormixed phenotype, and NEC frequently showed the gastric phenotype. In the composite tumor, the tubular and hepatoid components showed the gastric phenotype, and the neuroendocrine component showed the mixed type. The unique composite tumor predominantly showed the gastric phenotype, and the hepatoid and neuroendocrine components were considered to be differentiated from the tubular component. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Control of pandemics requires strong leadership not only by central government but also in local fields, where people actually fight against it. Miyagi Pandemic Influenza Study Group was organized in Sendai area, Japan, in February 2001, and an attempt to study preparation against pandemic influenza was started. Its members are from local governments and hospitals including administrative officers, physicians and laboratory workers, and other functions including manufacturer of an antiviral, army headquarter, academia and local press, although all are volunteer participants. Its main goal is to prepare against coming large-scale epidemic of influenza as concretely as possible in our own local communities. A group meeting has been held every month or two for lectures, presentation and discussion. Documents and other materials were collected and stocked to supply anyone who wants them as references to learn about past pandemics and the present planning. In addition, materials written in English have been translated into Japanese by the members to make them easily accessible for ordinary Japanese people. Discussion in the meetings includes the priority for vaccination or antiviral drugs among staffs of hospitals and communities, several desktop simulations and ways of local governments to manage health and social crises. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A series of studies were performed to investigate the ability of rapid antigen-detection kits in diagnosis of influenza. Clinical specimens were collected from a total of more than 3000 cases of influenza-like illness who visited out-patient clinics in Sendai and Fukuoka, Japan, during the 2001–2002 and 2002–2003 influenza seasons. Each clinical specimen was examined with a kit and virus isolation, and results were analyzed retrospectively by several points of interest: sensitivity of the kits based on the virus isolation and the sensitivity by type and subtype of influenza, kinds of specimens, the time course of influenza, and variation of sources of the specimens. Thus, the sensitivities of a kit were 83%, 52% and 58% in general for influenza A(H3N2), A(H1N1), and B, respectively, and those of another kit were 76%, 71%, and 62%, respectively, in 2001–2002 influenza season. The sensitivity using nasal swabs was better than that using throat swab, though only 5% up. Specimens tended to be less sensitive when collected shortly after the onset of illness, and the sensitivity seemed quite varied (17–92%) by source of specimens: staff who collect the specimens, and/or by population of the patients. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article describes six clusters of acute respiratory illness related to human enterovirus 68 (HEV68) in the U.S., Europe and Asia from 2008-2010. HEV68 infection was reportedly linked with respiratory illness ranging from mild illness not requiring hospitalization to severe illness demanding intensive care and mechanical ventilation. Three cases, one in Japan and two in the Philippines, were said to be fatal. HEV68 disproportionately occurred among children in these six clusters. In August-November 2010, HEV68 was found within a prospective study of respiratory infections in the northern part of the Netherlands. Cases of HEV68 in Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia were described.

Focuses on the publication history of the scientific journals of the Mycological Society of Japan, as it celebrates its 50-year anniversary in 2006. Publication of the "Transactions of the Mycological Society of Japan," in 1956; Plans for the publication of "Mycoscience," in time for the anniversary; Technical terms in mycology which originated from articles in "Transactions of the Mycological Society of Japan" and "Mycoscience."

Objective Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are composed of DNA and antimicrobial proteins, including myeloperoxidase (MPO). Recent studies have demonstrated that impaired regulation of NETs could trigger an autoimmune response. Propylthiouracil (PTU), an antithyroid drug, is associated with a risk of MPO antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) production and MPO ANCA-associated vasculitis (MPO AAV). This study was undertaken to clarify the mechanism of MPO ANCA production, using the PTU-induced model of MPO AAV. Methods NETs were induced by treating human neutrophils with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) in vitro. We examined whether the addition of PTU influenced the NET formation induced by PMA and the degradation of NETs by DNase I, which is regarded as a regulator of NETs. Furthermore, we examined whether NETs generated by the combination of PMA and PTU induced MPO ANCA and MPO AAV in vivo in rats. Results When NETs were induced by PMA with PTU using human neutrophils in vitro, abnormal conformation of NETs was observed. Interestingly, the abnormal NETs were hardly digested by DNase I. Moreover, rats immunized with the abnormal NETs, which had been induced by PMA with PTU using rat neutrophils, produced MPO ANCA and developed pulmonary capillaritis. When rats were given oral PTU with intraperitoneal injection of PMA, pauci-immune glomerulonephritis and pulmonary capillaritis occurred with MPO ANCA production in the serum. Conclusion Our findings indicate that abnormal conformation and impaired degradation of NETs induced by PTU are involved in the pathogenesis of PTU-induced MPO ANCA production and MPO AAV. These findings suggest that disordered NETs can be critically implicated in the pathogenesis of MPO AAV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors adapted a measure of apathy previously used with Japanese college students to investigate relations between this construct and personality traits among U.S. college students. Males and females reported similar levels of apathy, and both were significantly lower than those obtained from Japanese college students. Analyses demonstrate the construct validity of the apathy scales for use with English-speaking participants, and highlight interesting similarities and differences between North American and Japanese students. Results (a) suggest a differentiation between apathy and other personality constructs, (b) demonstrate that apathy is comprised of emotional, social, and goal-oriented components, and (c) point to cultural differences in the transition from adolescence to adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlabelled: A total of 22 Japanese patients with hypophosphatasia were included in a study analysing the relationship between mutations in the tissue-nonspecific alkaline phosphatase (TNSALP) gene and the severity of the phenotype in Japanese patients with hypophosphatasia. The enzymatic activity of some of the identified mutant TNSALP proteins was also examined using corresponding expression vectors. Eighteen mutations, including 6 novel ones, were identified in the patients. Among them, the common mutations were F310L and T1559del. Of note, five patients with F310L mutation in one of the alleles exhibited a relatively mild phenotype without respiratory complications despite its perinatal onset. In contrast, the T1559del mutation is associated with perinatal lethal and infantile forms when not found in patients with the F310L mutation. The genotype-phenotype relationship was, to some extent, consistent with the enzymatic activity of the mutant ALP proteins; mutations K207E and G409C found in a surviving case of infantile hypophosphatasia, as well as F310L, retained some residual activities, whereas T1559del caused a complete loss of activity.Conclusion: In Japanese patients, the common mutations F310L and T1559del are associated with the relatively mild and lethal forms of hypophosphatasia, respectively. Our results may enhance the importance of genotyping patients with hypophosphatasia to predict their prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Seven hexon hypervariable regions (HVRs) of adenoviruses (Ads) were identified by comparing the regions among different serotypes; however, no one has compared HVR sequences among the identical serotypes, except for adenovirus type 3 (Ad3). To examine a variability between the HVRs for each serotype, we compared the sequences of Ad1–6 isolates, respectively, isolated between 1988 and 2007 in Yamagata, Japan. We selected 23–43 isolates randomly and sequenced 894–987bp regions. Except for strains with insertions and deletions, the sequence identities among Ad1–6 were 99–100%, excluding that between the two Ad5 groups (approx. 94%). Even the insertions and deletions were likely to be established, as these changes were repeatedly observed. The obtained phylogenetic tree indicated that Ad isolates and reference strains branched depending on serotype. The Yamagata isolates had similar sequences or amino acid arrangements to the reference strains as well as to other strains isolated in different areas. HVRs have been stably conserved as serotype-specific regions for a long period with only minor genomic variations. Therefore, we herein recommend that these regions be hereafter referred to as “serotype-specific regions”, which might be a more appropriate title with which to characterize the epidemiological nature of these sites than the current “HVRs”. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Antigenicity of all the A(H3) viruses which we isolated from specimens collected in Sendai and Fukuoka, Japan in 2002–2003 influenza season was examined by hemagglutination inhibition test (HI) using the ferret antiserum against A/Panama/2007/99 (H3N2), the vaccine strain for the past three influenza seasons, provided by WHO Influenza Collaborating Center, Japan. All the viruses were isolated in MDCK cell system. From the beginning of the epidemic, we found that many isolated virus strains reacted with the standard antiserum more than 4- to 16-fold less than its homologous titer, in both cities. The number of isolation of such antigenic drifted viruses increased and dominated the isolates in this season. We show here the chronological appearance of such variants in this season. Furthermore, we performed genetic analyses on the HA genes of the isolates along with those of previous two consecutive seasons. Thus it was revealed that the isolates of this season make a clear cluster different from the cluster in the previous seasons, and the variants of 2002–2003 season make a different cluster from those of previous two seasons. Moreover, no difference was found in clusters which could explain the difference between these variants and nonvariants, and among variants isolated in four cities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article reports on the results of a study of inter-subspecies hybrid dikaryons of oyster mushroom independently isolated in Vietnam and Japan. A description of the experimental set-up and measurement methods is presented. The study concluded that the asexual reproduction might allow stable maintenance of a particular pair of nuclei.

Business continuity plans (BCPs) can be effective and proactive countermeasures to respond flexibly to crises caused by unexpected natural disasters such as large tsunamis. BCP guidelines for fisheries are being issued by the Fisheries Agency (Japan) and the utilization of such BCPs has been spreading in Japan. Despite the need to promote the social implementation of BCPs in the fisheries industry, there is a lack of quantitative criteria for the tsunami damage threshold of various fishing ports and facilities. In this research, we surveyed the damage to the fishing facilities from the tsunami generated by the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake. Data were collected on the tsunami damage for various fishery facilities and used to establish criteria for tsunami damage thresholds. In addition, tsunami damage inferred from 1506 scenarios of tsunami computations was predicted probabilistically for a model region as the Nachi Katsu'ura Fishery Port in Wakayama Prefecture. The method we developed in this research makes it possible to assess the probabilistic tsunami damage by combining a tsunami hazard assessment method with criteria for damage occurrence for fishery port facilities and equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]