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Osaka City (osaka + city)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	80%

Selected Abstracts

Seasonal prevalence of blowflies and flesh flies in Osaka City

ENTOMOLOGICAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2006
Shin-Ichiro TACHIBANA
Abstract Blowflies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and flesh flies (Sarcophagidae) were collected using a bait trap in Osaka City between April 1998 and June 1999. Seven species from four Calliphoridae genera and three species from one Sarcophagidae genus were captured. Seasonal fluctuations of captured adults for most blowflies showed a bimodal pattern, having peaks in spring and autumn, whereas all flesh flies were captured between spring and autumn. The sex ratios of captured flies were mostly biased toward females. [source]

Use of a high-throughput umu -microplate test system for rapid detection of genotoxicity produced by mutagenic carcinogens and airborne particulate matter

ENVIRONMENTAL AND MOLECULAR MUTAGENESIS, Issue 1 2004
Yoshimitsu Oda
Abstract In the present study, we developed a rapid umu -microplate test system that uses the nitroreductase- and O -acetyltransferase-overproducing Salmonella typhimurium strain NM3009 and the O -acetyltransferase-overproducing S. typhimurium strain NM2009 to detect genotoxic activity in small volume samples. The assay was used to test the genotoxicity of several standard mutagens and environmental samples. Exponentially growing cultures of NM3009, NM2009, and the parental strain TA1535/pSK1002 were incubated in 96-well microplates with test chemicals both in the presence and in the absence of rat liver S9. The relative ,-galactosidase activities were then determined colorimetrically using either chlorophenol red-,- D -galactopyranoside (CPRG) or O -nitrophenyl-,- D -galactopyranoside (ONPG) as a measure of umuC gene induction activity. The sensitivities of NM3009 without S9 mix and NM2009 with S9 mix to nitroarenes and aromatic amines were up to 24- to 75-fold higher than those of the parent strain. Induction of umuC gene expression was detected more readily with CPRG than ONPG. The umu -microplate assay also detected genotoxicity in organic extracts of particulate matter from air samples collected in Osaka City, Japan. The pattern of the responses suggested that the genotoxic activity of the particulate extract was due primarily to nitrated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Our results indicate that the umu -microplate assay may be a useful way of carrying out rapid screens for genotoxicity in small-volume environmental samples. Environ. Mol. Mutagen. 43:10,19, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Difference in subjective well-being between ethnic Korean and Japanese elderly residents in an urban community in Japan

GERIATRICS & GERONTOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Issue 4 2007
Jong-Seong Moon
Background: The ethnic Korean community in Japan has witnessed the increasing aging of their population structure. The purpose of our study was to clarify the differences in standards of living between elderly ethnic Korean and elderly Japanese populations living in Japan, and to examine whether there is any difference in subjective well-being between the two populations. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey that consisted of items addressing ethnicity, age, gender, literacy, living conditions, mental health, "sense of purpose in life", activities of daily living (ADL), medical history, quality of life (QOL), and receipt of pension benefits and public assistance; the participants were 425 elderly people (ethnic Korean residents in Japan, n = 204; Japanese, n = 221) aged 65 and older living in a community in Osaka City. Findings from the two groups were compared using the Student's t -test and the ,2 test. We also employed multiple linear regression analysis. Results: We found that the ethnic Korean group had less formal education (P < 0.001), lower ADL (P < 0.05) and QOL (P < 0.001), higher illiteracy (P < 0.05) and depression rates (P < 0.001), and a higher prevalence of hypertension, myocardial infarction and diabetes mellitus than the Japanese group. Ethnicity was a significant variable for subjective well-being in simple linear regression analysis. After adjusting for literacy, absence of sense of purpose in life and mental health in multiple regression analysis, ethnicity remained a significant variable. Conclusions: The present findings indicate that ethnic Korean elderly have poor health and social situations compared with the Japanese group, and that there was a difference in subjective well-being between the two ethnic groups. [source]

Detection and quantitative analysis of human bocavirus associated with respiratory tract infection in Osaka City, Japan

MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 5 2010
Atsushi Kaida
ABSTRACT HBoV was initially identified in patients with RTI in 2005. Since its discovery, there have been continual reports concerning HBoV detection and its prevalence. In this study of clinical specimens from young children, real-time PCR was undertaken to examine whether HBoV infection is associated with RTI and to support quantitative analysis of HBoV in these patients. In all, 376 specimens were collected from patients with RTI during April 2006,October 2008. Analyses revealed HBoV in 59 specimens (15.7%). Of HBoV-positive patients, children under the age of 3 years comprised 94.9%. Of the HBoV-positive samples, 47.5% were codetected with other respiratory viruses (dual infection, 27; triple infection, 1). During the study period, the numbers and rate of detection of HBoV were high mainly around May. Statistical analyses showed that the detection rate of HBoV during April,June was higher than during other months. Moreover, the viral load was greater in subjects with infection with HBoV alone than in subjects with mixed respiratory viral infections. Considering these results together, HBoV is probably associated with RTI in young children. However, the pathogenesis of this infection and the importance of the high rate of co-infection remain uncertain. Additional epidemiologic information and further analyses are necessary to clarify the virological characteristics and the linkage of HBoV to disease. [source]