The present observations suggest that visceral and subcutaneous fat has an impact on microangiopathy as well as macroangiopathy, possibly through different adipocytokines.

The colony reverse of aflatoxin (AF)-producing strains of Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus turned pink when their cultures were exposed to ammonia vapor. The color change was visible for colonies grown on media suitable for AF production such as potato dextrose, coconut, and yeast extract sucrose agars after 2 d incubation at 25 o C. Of the 120 strains of A. flavus, A. parasiticus, and two related species in A. flavus group: A. oryzae and A. sojae tested in this study, only the AF-producing strains of A. flavus and A. parasiticus showed the pink pigmentation. The color change occurred immediately after the colony was contacted with ammonia vapor. This method was useful for rapid screening the AF-producing strains of A. flavus and A. parasiticus.

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Aspergillus flavus var. parvisclerotigenus var. nov., for some isolates from soils in maize fields in Thailand, is described and illustrated.It is characterized by the formation of abundant sclerotia smaller than those of A. flavus var. flavus. All of the isolates were identified with the remarkable producers of aflatoxins.

The distribution and aflatoxin productivity of atypical sclerotigenic strains of Aspergillus flavus isolated from soils in Thailand were investigated.Out of the 27 soil samples from 8 provinces, 9 samples were detectable for the strains. Among these 9 samples, 7 were collected from the maize fields in two northern provinces: Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. All of 11 isolates of the strains tested produced aflatoxins, while half of 24 isolates of the typical strains produced them.

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To explore the prevalence and molecular characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in veterinary medical practices, MRSA carriage was tested among 96 veterinarians (Vets), 70 veterinary technicians (VTs) and 292 dogs with which they had contact at 71 private veterinary clinics (VCs) in Hokkaido, Japan. MRSA isolates were obtained from 22 Vets [22.9%] and 7 VTs [10%]. The prevalence of MRSA among Vets was as high as that found in an academic veterinary hospital in our previous study. In contrast, only two blood donor dogs and one dog with liver disease (1.0%, 3/292) yielded MRSA. All MRSA-positive dogs were reared or treated in different VCs, in each of which at least one veterinary staff member carrying MRSA worked. Sequence types (ST) identified by multilocus sequence typing, spa types, and SCCmec types for canine MRSA isolates (ST5-spa t002-SCCmec II [from two dogs] or ST30-spa t021-SCCmec IV [from a dog]) were concordant with those from veterinary staff members in the same clinics as the MRSA-positive dogs, with which they had potentially had contact. Most MRSA isolates from veterinary staff were the same genotype (SCCmec type II and spa type t002) as a major hospital-acquired MRSA clone in Japan. The remaining MRSA was the same genotypes as domestic and foreign community-associated MRSA. Measures against MRSA infection should be provided in private VCs.