Plant factories with artificial lighting have been developed to improve food production, functional ingredients, and profitability. Intensive research has been performed to elucidate the effects of light intensity and wavelength on plant growth and nutritional quality with the use of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In particular, the effects of monochromatic red, blue, or simultaneous red + blue light have been studied because these wavelengths are predominantly used for photosynthesis. We examined the effects of alternating red and blue light provided by LEDs over a period of 24 hours on the growth and nutritional properties of leafy lettuce. The results clearly show that alternating red and blue light accelerated plant growth significantly compared with white fluorescent lamps or red and blue LEDs at the same daily light integral. Plants grown under alternating red/blue light had a greater net assimilation rate and total and projected leaf area (an indicator of the fraction of leaf area that absorbs more light) than other plants. Additionally, alternating red and blue light maintained high concentrations of sugars, ascorbic acid, and anthocyanins in leaves. Taken together, the results indicate that continuous irradiation with alternating red and blue light could enhance growth while maintaining the nutritional quality in lettuce.

Campylobacter fetus often causes systemic infection in immunocompromised or older patients, and prenatal infection, but Campylobacter has rarely been reported as a cause of adnexitis in healthy young women. Here we report two cases of endometriotic cysts infected by C. fetus for the first time. In case 1, a 28-year-old woman with a left adnexal cyst was hospitalized for left tubo-ovarian abscess and underwent left salpingo-oophorectomy. In case 2, a 22-year-old woman with a right adnexal cyst was hospitalized for a bilateral tubo-ovarian abscess and underwent right salpingo-oophorectomy and left salpingectomy. In both cases, C. fetus was detected on culture, and histopathology indicated a purulent endometriotic cyst. The present findings suggest that endometriotic cyst can be a focus of C. fetus infection.

Introduction New-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) during pregnancy is rare and difficult to diagnose, especially in cases that manifest as preeclampsia. We report a patient with new-onset SLE that manifested as preeclampsia during pregnancy and provide a review of the literature to identify factors for a rapid diagnosis. Case A 32-year-old primigravid Japanese woman was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and underwent emergent cesarean section at 29 weeks of gestation. Her hypertension and renal disorder gradually improved after the operation, but her thrombocytopenia and anemia worsened. SLE was diagnosed on postoperative day 5 by a comprehensive autoimmune workup. She was discharged on postoperative day 34 with remission. Conclusion Our case and previous reports suggest that distinguishing underlying SLE from preeclampsia in the third trimester is particularly difficult. Helpful factors for diagnosis of suspected SLE in these cases were persistence of symptoms and new atypical symptoms for preeclampsia revealed after delivery (e.g., fever, renal disorder, and thrombocytopenia).

The effects of red and blue light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation patterns and time on the growth of leaf lettuce in a plant factory were investigated. During the same cultivation period, fresh weight was statistically higher for alternative red and blue LED irradiation (SHIGYO TM method) than for the other two treatments: simultaneous red and blue LED irradiation and fluorescent lamp irradiation. The SHIGYO method was effective for the light-dark cycle (LD) 16:8 h, and for continuous irradiation (24 h light). Due to increased plant growth rates, the SHIGYO method decreased the time taken to reach harvest, therefore, increasing the number of harvests per year. The electrical power consumption for growth per plant unit using LEDs was less than that for fluorescent lamps. These findings are expected to contribute to increased productivity in plant factories.

Numerous studies in plant factories show that alternating irradiation of red and blue (R/B) light promotes growth of leafy lettuce compared with simultaneous R+B (RB) light or white (W) light, even under the same daily light integrals. Here we investigate why alternating R/B light enhances lettuce growth in terms of the anatomical and photosynthetic changes in leaves. At 16 days after sowing (DAS), plants under alternating R/B light for 12/12 hours (R12/B12) had higher leaf thickness, mesophyll cell density, and leaf mass per area than did plants under RB light for 24 hours (RB24) or W light for 24 hours (W24). At 35 DAS, these anatomical values of leaves and the daily carbon gain of leaves evaluated by gas exchange analysis were higher under R12/B12 than under W24, and were similar to RB24. The projected leaf area and maximum leaf length were highest under R12/B12 across all growth stages, which would promote light capture. Marketable fresh weight under R12/B12 at 35 DAS was highest among the treatments. These results indicate that leaf morphological changes affecting the light absorption efficiency and photosynthetic rate could be the primary factors of enhanced lettuce production under the alternating R/B light condition.