Epizootic hemorrhagic disease (EHD) is an arthropod-borne disease of wild and domestic ruminants caused by the EHD virus (EHDV). To date, seven EHDV serotypes have been identified. In Japan, strain Ibaraki of EHDV serotype 2 has caused outbreaks of Ibaraki disease in cattle. In addition, EHDV serotype 7 (EHDV-7) has caused large-scale EHD epizootics. In mid-September 2016, eight cattle at a breeding farm in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan developed fever. Since EHDV-7 was detected in sentinel cattle in western Japan in 2016, we suspected that the cause of this fever might be an EHDV-7 infection. In this study, we tested cattle for EHDV-7 and some other viruses. Consequently, EHDV was isolated from washed blood cells collected from three of the eight cattle, and genetic analysis of genome segment 2 revealed that this isolate was EHDV-7. Moreover, all affected cattle tested positive for anti-EHDV-7 neutralizing antibodies. Our results suggest that the fever was caused by EHDV-7 infection. In addition, we modified a conventional reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay for the specific detection of EHDV. This modified assay could detect various strains of EHDV isolated in Japan, Australia, and North America. Furthermore, the assay permitted the detection of EHDV-7 in blood cells collected from seven of the eight cattle. We believe that this modified assay will be a useful tool for the diagnosis of EHD.In plants and fungi, sphingolipids, characterized by the presence of a sphingoid base (SB), comprise neutral classes, including ceramide (Cer) and glucosylceramide (GlcCer), and acidic classes, including glycosyl inositol phosphoryl ceramide (GIPC). The major class of plant and fungal sphingolipids is GIPC; however, owing to their complicated extraction and analysis, there is still little information regarding the food characteristics of GIPC compounds. In the present study, we evaluated the content and SB composition of highly polar sphingolipids (HPS) in materials that had been obtained from our previous food processing study for GlcCer and Cer. This assessment was based on the changes that occur in HPS containing GIPC in sake rice (saka-mai) during the rice polishing and sake (rice wine) brewing process. In addition, we report a new investigation into the composition of sphingolipids in koji rice and sake yeast. HPS levels were the highest among the sphingolipid classes in brown rice cultivars and highly polished rice. Sake and sake lees (sake-kasu) were produced using three different starter cultures. In sake lees, Cer levels were the highest among the classes, while HPS was greatly reduced based on the amount of highly polished rice and koji rice, and these HPS were mainly composed of sphinganine (d180), which is a minor SB in highly polished rice, koji rice, and sake yeast. In addition, considerable levels of free SBs, mainly comprising d180, were detected in sake lees. The levels of HPS and free SBs in sake lees were dependent on the starter culture. These results suggest that HPS was hydrolyzed to Cer and that sake yeast also affected the levels of Cer and free SBs during brewing. One interesting question raised by these results is whether changes in the class and base compositions of sphingolipids during brewing contribute to taste of the final product and other food functions.A novel spontaneous emulsification method using porous polymer particles was investigated for the facile preparation of emulsions without mechanical manipulation. Porous water-soluble polymer particles prepared by spray freeze-drying could absorb soybean oil via capillary action. When the particles were added to water, emulsification proceeded rapidly with the dissolution of the polymer. The importance of using a water-soluble polymer for particle formation for the formation of fine emulsions and maintenance of dispersibility was confirmed. This emulsification technology is expected to be applied to the development of formulations that improve the solubility and mucosal absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs.Control of powder alignment is essential for maximizing the functionality of color cosmetics and sunscreens. Various surface treatments were applied to nanosized titanium dioxide to modify their surface characteristics.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/acetylcysteine.html  Such modifications can be used to control the behavior of dispersions in cosmetics, enabling them to align uniformly. The powders were mixed with solvents and applied to a cellulose triacetate film. The features of powder alignment on the film were evaluated using several approaches. When the type of surface treatment changed by varying the weight ratio, there was no significant correlation between its alignment and treatment. However, when we focused on the pseudo-HLB each treated pigment, their alignments were correlated. It was confirmed that the powders subjected to the appropriate surface treatment combinations from the pseudo-HLB standpoint made it possible to align uniformly and create a smooth coating film. As a result, it has a high UV-shielding ability. The surface-treated powders in this study were found to change the UV shielding ability and surface roughness of the layer formed when they were formed by spreading the sample powder dispersion and drying of the film. It was suggested that the pseudoHLB, which is calculated based on the chemical structure after the surface treatment process, is useful for choosing the optimum surface treatment to create a uniformly aligned pigment layer.Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is a promising tool for the screening of glycolipid-type biosurfactants (BSs) from a crude extract of microbial products. However, it is unsuitable for the detection of lower molecular weight products because the observed ions are overlapped with matrix-derived ions at lower mass range. In this study, we applied a "matrix-free" surface-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI-MS) analysis using a through-hole alumina membrane as an ionization-assisting substrate. Using this method, we could detect a variety of lower molecular weight products in an extract of a glycolipid BS producer with good sensitivity. In addition, the culture solution could be analyzed directly by this method.