Significance and Impact of the Study: Rhodococcus equi is a pathogenic cause of zoonotic diseases with a broad host range. This study demonstrated that virulence R. equi existed in human isolates before 1994 and reaffirmed that equine-associated pVAPA-positive, porcine-associated pVAPB-positive and bovine-or caprine-associated pVAPN-positive R. equi are widely spread globally. This study adds important information that domestic animals are major sources of human infection, thus adversely affecting public health.

The claudin family comprises four-pass transmembrane proteins involved in the formation of tight junctions (TJs). Relatively recently, claudin domain containing (CLDND) 1, also known as claudin-25, was identified as a novel member of the claudin family. In the present study, we revealed that in the adult murine brain, CLDND1 is abundant in the cerebellum among common sites of intracerebral hemorrhage. Thus, the dynamics of CLDND1 after cerebellar hemorrhage were examined. Both CLDND1 mRNA and protein levels transiently decreased at 24 hr after hemorrhagic insult. For immunostaining, an anti-CLDND1 antibody that recognizes the specific epitope in the extracellular first loop was prepared. Dual immunohistochemical staining with CD31 using coronal cryosections of intact murine cerebellum tissue revealed that CLDND1 is expressed on endothelial cells. We therefore performed an in vitro permeability test using a human brain endothelial cell (HBEC) line to reveal whether CLDND1 contributes to cell adhesion like other claudins. CLDND1 was expressed on HBECs as well as in murine cerebellum tissue, and a strong signal was observed at TJs. RNA interference against CLDND1 decreased both the mRNA and protein levels without cytotoxicity. The permeability to small molecules, but not to large ones, across confluent HBECs increased on CLDND1 knockdown compared with mock-treated cells. These results suggest that the transient decrease of CLDND1 after cerebellar hemorrhage is responsible for low-molecular-weight selective vascular hyperpermeability. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Laser cooling in solids has been demonstrated, and cooling from room temperature to cryogenic temperatures has so far been the main focus of research. However, operation at high temperatures can be advantageous. We propose that laser cooling of Yb-doped yttrium aluminum garnet ceramic discs is enhanced above 300 K. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra is evidence that the phonon-assisted energy transfer from resonant states, which exhibit a narrow PL peak, to inhomogeneously distributed energy states becomes stronger at higher temperatures. This results in an enhanced non-resonant anti-Stokes PL at high temperatures. The ideal cooling efficiency determined from the PL spectrum at 470 K is 1.7 times higher than that at 300 K.

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High-resolution computed tomography (CT) of the temporal bone, particularly axial scanning on a baseline parallel to the orbitomeatal line, produces radiation exposure to the patient's lenses. The authors evaluated the radiation dose to the lens and the visualization of temporal bone structures with use of scanning along the orbitomeatal line and on a line parallel to the hard palate. Evaluation of visualization was performed by five radiologists, with high-resolution CT scans of 45 healthy patients, and the chi 2 test was performed for comparison. The change of the baseline from the orbitomeatal line to a line parallel to the hard palate decreased the radiation dose to the lens from 12.7 cGy to 0.274 cGy and improved visualization of the stapes superstructure and the tympanic portion of the facial nerve canal, although visualization of the incus body, incudostapedial joint, lateral semicircular canal, and oval window was of equal quality. Therefore, the authors recommend a new baseline parallel to the hard palate for use at high-resolution CT of the temporal bone.