Serum specimens were collected from 125 pigs on Miyako Island, 112 pigs on Ishigaki Island, and 42 pigs on Kume Island from 2005 to 2007, and 54 pigs on Yonaguni Island from 2006 to 2007. Their sera were tested for Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) antibody by hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assay. Five serum samples (4.5%) from Ishigaki Island were positive for HI antibody, and 4 of the 5 samples were positive for 2-mercaptoethanol-sensitive antibody (IgM Ab). All samples from Miyako, Kume, and Yonaguni Islands were negative for HI antibody. Our results indicate that JEV transmission activity was extremely low on Miyako, Ishigaki, Kume, and Yonaguni Islands. The JEV genome (JEV-RNA) was detected from the sera of one pig on Ishigaki Island. The partial gene of the E region (151 nt) was analyzed phylogenetically. The analysis showed that the new JEV-RNA belonged to genotype 3 and was closely related to JEV strains isolated in Taiwan from 1985 to 1996. It was suggested that JEV previously introduced from Taiwan had been maintained on Ishigaki Island.

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This study describes the first isolation of hemorrhagic metalloproteinase HR1b from the venom of Okinawa habu, and its cDNA cloning. The substrate specificity of isolated HR1b definitely differed from that of HR1a, further supporting the presence of a metalloproteinase distinguishable from HR1a in the venom of Okinawa habu. The deduced amino acid sequence of HR1b showed 99.67% identity with HR1b of Amami habu, with only two amino acid residue replacements.

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Two sesterterpenes, deoxymanoalide (1) and deoxysecomanoalide (2), were isolated from the nudibranch Chromodoris willani collected in Okinawa and their structures determined on the basis of spectroscopic data and chemical conversions. The mollusk feeds on a sponge containing manoalide (3) and secomanoalide (4) and is likely to biotransform them into 1 and 2. Both 1 and 2 showed moderate antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis and inhibited snake venom phospholipase A2 at 0.2 to 0.5 μM.

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Vaccinations with habu (Protobothrops flavoviridis) venom toxoid were administered to individuals living in Amami Oshima from 1965 to 2002, and its effectiveness was investigated in 1991. The results raised the possibility that normal human serum inherently contains an inhibitor of the hemorrhagic metalloproteinase HR2, considered to be one of the major components of habu venom. In this study, we investigated the interaction between the hemorrhagic metalloproteinases HR1 and HR2 from habu-venom and human alpha 2-macroglobulin (α2M). Hemorrhagic activity of HR2 was completely inhibited by human α2M. However, the hemorrhagic activity of the large molecule HR1a was not inhibited. Size exclusion chromatography revealed that human α2M captured the HR2 molecule and formed a complex with it, thus inhibiting hemorrhagic activity. These results suggest that human α2M plays an important role in the inhibition of hemorrhage induced by HR2 from habu venom.

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Herein we develop the sire and dam model counterpart of the combined-merit animal model (CM-AM) method for marker-assisted best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) of breeding values, and thus for marker-assisted selection. With the current procedure, a specific data-structure, such as that of carcass traits in meat animals, is assumed in order that the solutions may be equivalent to those in the CM-AM method. The resulting system of mixed model equations becomes compact with the total additive genetic merit considered, and with non-parent animal equations absorbed, relative to the CM-AM method. Hence, the current procedure is expected to be useful for marker-assisted BLUP of breeding values for particular quantitative traits, especially in large outbreeding populations with complex pedigrees where the fraction of non-parents is high. A numerical illustration is given using data on carcass weight in beef cattle.

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In this paper we report two incidents of ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) that occurred in 2008 on Kakeroma Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. A family consisting of father (42 y.o.), mother (39 y.o.), daughter (11 y.o.) and son (6 y.o.), as well as a friend of the family (male, 78 y.o.) consumed sliced flesh (sashimi) and developed typical symptoms of CPF 4-5 h later: diarrhea, vomiting, and paresthesia of the extremities. Additionally, the two male adults (42 and 78 y.o.) developed mild hypotention (84/48 and 94/40 mmHg, respectively) and bradycardia (36 and 50 bpm, respectively) and were rushed to the ER of the nearest hospital, located on an adjacent island. The implicated fish were caught together off the west coast of the island and were identified as Variola louti and Lutjanus monostigma based on analysis of 16S rRNA gene coded on mtDNA. Remnants of the implicated fish and other fish caught on the same occasion were examined by the official mouse bioassay method (MBA), which defines the minimum amount of CFP toxin needed to kill a male mouse of ddY strain of 20 g body weight within 24 h as one mouse unit (MU). A significantly high toxicity was detected in the V. louti (0.2 MU/g) eaten by the family and the L. monostigma (0.8 MU/g) eaten by the elderly man. Other specimens of Lethrinus nebulosus, Variola albimarginata, Lutjanus gibbus (2 specimens), Aphareus rutilans, and Sphyraena forsteri (2 specimens) were found to be nontoxic (< 0.025 MU/g).
The medical records regarding island inhabitants (ca. 1,500) kept at Kakeroma Tokushukai Clinic, the only medical facility on the Island, and also at Setouchi Tokushukai Hospital, a nearest hospital on an adjacent island (Amami) revealed 6 CFP outbreaks involving 13 cases between 2005 and 2008. The estimated frequency of CFP was 10.0 incidents/10,000 persons/year and the morbidity rate was 21.7 cases/10,000 persons/year. The symptoms and signs observed in the patients and the implicated fish species, L. monostigma and V. louti, were typical of CFP in this region.

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2008年に鹿児島県奄美群島で発生した魚類摂食に起因する食中毒シガテラの3事例について，原因魚3試料および同時に漁獲された近海魚5種7試料のLC-MS/MSによるシガトキシン類（CTXs）一斉分析の検討を行った．食中毒の原因となったイッテンフエダイ2試料およびバラハタ1試料のすべてからCTX1B，54-deoxyCTX1B，52-epi-54-deoxyCTX1Bが検出されたが，CTX3C類縁体は認められなかった．これら2魚種のCTXs組成比は，それぞれ沖縄海域の両種における組成と共通していた．一方，宮崎県での食中毒原因試料はCTX3C類縁体が主要毒であり，毒組成の違いが示された．また，LC-MS/MSで測定した毒量はマウス毒性試験（MBA）結果（0.1～0.8 MU/g）と同程度であったが，比毒性が明確でない54-deoxyCTX1Bによる総毒力への影響も推察された．一方，MBAで陰性（<0.025 MU/g）を示した近海魚1試料からも微量のCTXsが検出された．

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