Characterisation of antibiotic resistance of Salmonella isolated from dog treats in Japan.

Dog treats might be contaminated with Salmonella. In Canada and the USA, outbreaks of human salmonellosis related to exposure to animal-derived dog treats were reported. Consequently, surveillance data on Salmonella contamination of dog treats have been gathered in many countries, but not in Japan. In the current study, we investigated whether dog treats in Japan were contaminated with Salmonella. Overall, 303 dog treats (of which 255 were domestically produced) were randomly collected and the presence of Salmonella investigated. Seven samples were positive for Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica. Among these isolates, three were identified as serovar 4,5,12:i:-; two were serovar Rissen; and two were serovar Thompson. All serovar 4,5,12:i:- and Thompson isolates were resistant to one or more drugs. Two serovar Rissen isolates were fully susceptible to all tested antimicrobial agents. All Salmonella isolates were susceptible to cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid. The gene blaTEM was detected in two serovar 4,5,12:i:- isolates. The blaCTX-M and blaCMY genes were not detected in any isolates. This study demonstrated that dog treats in Japan could constitute a potential source of dog and human Salmonella infections, including multidrug-resistant Salmonella isolates.

Prevalence of, and risk factors for, carriage of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae among hospitalized patients in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) has been reported to be lower in Japan than in many other countries. However, extensive surveillance for CRE carriage has not been performed in Japan. AIM: To investigate the prevalence of CRE carriage in Japan among convalescent patients considered to be at high risk of being CRE carriers using an improved selective culture medium. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 22 acute care hospitals (ACHs) and 21 long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) in northern Osaka from December 2015 to January 2016. Patients who used incontinence aids, an enteral feeding tube or a urinary catheter were enrolled. Faecal specimens were examined using the newly developed M-ECC for imipenemase (IMP)-producing CRE, which is the most prevalent form of CRE in Japan. The positive isolates were analysed by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. Risk factors associated with carriage were analysed by logistic regression. FINDINGS: Among 1507 patients, 184 (12.2%) carried CRE. The percentage of positive patients was significantly higher in LTCHs (14.9%) than in ACHs (3.6%) (P<0.001). Risk factors for CRE carriage were longer hospital stay [odds ratio (OR) 2.59; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.87-3.60], enteral feeding (OR 3.03, 95% CI 2.08-4.42) and antibiotic exposure (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.40-2.87). Among the 233 CRE isolates identified, 223 were IMP producers; the remaining isolates did not produce carbapenemase. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first Japanese report to demonstrate the significant spread of CRE in both ACHs and LTCHs using an improved selective medium. A coordinated regional approach may help to prevent further spread.

Microstructure of damage in thermally activated fracture of Lennard-Jones systems.

We investigate the effect of thermal fluctuations on the critical stress and the microstructure of damage preceding macroscopic fracture of Lennard-Jones solids under a constant external load. Based on molecular dynamics simulations of notched specimens at finite temperatures, we show that the crystalline structure gets distorted ahead of the crack in the secondary creep regime. The damage profile characterizing the spatial distribution of lattice distortions is well described by an exponential form. The characteristic length of the exponential form provides the scale of damage, which is found to be an increasing function of the temperature: At low temperatures, damage is strongly localized to the crack tip, while at high temperatures, damage extends to a broader range, leading to more efficient relaxation of overloads. As a consequence, the stress intensity factor decreases with increasing temperature. The final macroscopic failure of the system occurs suddenly and is initiated by the creation of vacancies and voids. The creep strength exhibits inverse square root scaling with the notch size corrected by the extension of the process zone.

The pilot trial of the prevention of the increase in electrical taste thresholds by zinc containing fluid infusion during chemotherapy to treat primary lung cancer.

It is well known that there are various adverse effects during chemotherapy for cancer treatment. A taste disorder is also seen in 35-70% of patients. It has been reported that a zinc deficiency is associated with the development of these alterations in taste sensation. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether the zinc including infusion had the effect on taste disorder in patients with lung cancer. Taste disorder was evaluated as the increase in electrical taste thresholds using an electrogustometer. The plasma zinc concentration was also measured. Although there was no significant correlation, the increase in taste thresholds was detected in many patients who had a low zinc concentration even before receiving chemotherapy. Moreover, after 2 weeks of chemotherapy, almost all patients who did not have a zinc containing infusion showed development of taste disorder (5/5, 100% at chorda tympani area; 4/5, 80% at glossopharyngeal area), whereas no development of taste disorder was observed in those patients receiving a zinc containing infusion. These results suggest the possibility that the administration of zinc during chemotherapy could be a useful supportive therapy for preventing taste disorder and to help maintain a better quality of life.

Change in cytokeratin 19 fragment level according to the severity of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis.

A 48-year-old man was diagnosed with primary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). Whole lung lavage was performed for treatment, and the opacity on his chest X-ray completely disappeared. The value of cytokeratin 19 fragment (CYFRA) in the serum was high at the beginning, decreased after lung lavage, and became elevated again when the disease recurred 7 months later. As PAP is thought to be a problem of surfactant secreted from type II pneumocytes, and a cytokeratin is present in the alveolar epithelial tissue, the value of serum CYFRA might be related to the severity of PAP.

[The effects of media violence on aggression: focus on the role of anger evoked by provocation].

This study investigated the effects of anger evoked by earlier provocation on cognition, emotion, and aggressive behavior after being exposed to media violence. Sixty male undergraduates participated in the experiment. Before viewing one of three videos (either highly violent, violent with high entertainment, or nonviolent), half of the subjects were provoked by a confederate posing as another subject. Subjects' heart rates and eyeblink rates were recorded while viewing the video. After viewing the video, subjects described their thoughts that occurred while watching the video and rated their affective reactions toward the video. Finally, subjects' aggressive behavior toward the confederate was measured. Results of covariance structure analysis suggested that (a) anger evoked by provocation and high level of violence in videos additively elicited negative cognition and affect, which further facilitated aggressive behavior, and (b) high level of entertainment in videos elicited positive cognition and affect, which alleviated negative cognition and affect.

Effect of coffee consumption on bone metabolism.

The effects of coffee on bone metabolism are still controversial, although several studies have suggested that caffeine and/or heavy coffee consumption is associated with a significant increase in risk of fracture, osteoporosis, and periodontal disease. Therefore, we sought to clarify the relationship between coffee consumption and bone metabolism using male Wistar rats. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were assigned to three treatment groups including a control-diet group (control, n = 16, coffee-free diet), a 0.62% coffee-diet group (low caffeine, n = 16, diet supplemented with 6.2 g/kg of the control diet), and a 1.36% coffee-diet group (high caffeine, n = 16, diet supplemented with 13.6 g/kg of the control diet), and animals were maintained on an experimental diet for 140 days. Although caffeine in serum was not detected in rats fed the control diet, low-intake coffee for 140 days led to an increase in caffeine concentration to 0.53 +/- 0.11 microg/mL and high-intake coffee led to an increase of 1.77 +/- 0.22 microg/mL. No significant differences in body weight change, serum and urinary biochemical markers of bone metabolism, and bone histomorphometry were found between the coffee-diet groups and the control-diet group, except that urinary phosphorus excretion after 140 days of both coffee diets was significantly increased compared with controls (p < 0.05). In addition, the coffee diets were not associated with differences in tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin-6, which have been implicated in the pathogenesis of bone loss together with interleukin-1beta. In conclusion, the present study strongly indicates that coffee does not stimulate bone loss in rats.

Differentiation of stromal-vascular cells isolated from canine adipose tissues in primary culture.

A culture condition supporting adipocyte differentiation of stromal-vascular (S-V) cells isolated from canine adipose tissues was established. Morphological observation and determination of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH) activity were used as the criteria for adipocyte differentiation. After reaching confluence, the cells were able to undergo terminal adipocyte differentiation by treatment with 100 microM indomethacin, 10 microg/ml insulin and 0.5 mM 1-methyl-3-isobutylxanthine (MIX) in medium supplemented with 5% fetal calf serum (FCS). In the absence of either indomethacin or insulin, the S-V cells did not undergo adipose conversion and GPDH activity was not increased, indicating that both indomethacin and insulin play essential roles in this culture system. The S-V cells from inguinal adipose tissues exhibited the greatest increase in GPDH activity among the four depots (inguinal > abdominal-subcutaneous > perirenal > omental). demonstrating that adipocyte differentiation was also intensely dependent on anatomic sites from which the S-V cells were derived. Interestingly, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) was found to accelerate adipocyte differentiation in combination with indomethacin and insulin. Under this condition, up to 90% of the cells displayed adipocyte phenotypes and the GPDH activity reached 1288 +/- 441 mU/mg protein. This culture system may be useful for investigating other adipogenic factors as well as anti-adipogenic factors involved in the regulation of canine adipose tissue development.

Long-term local hyperthermia in the treatment of advanced breast cancer (case report).

BACKGROUND: It is difficult to control non-resectable locally advanced primary and recurrent breast cancer by conventional modalities. Recently, hyperthermia (HT) has been recognized as an effective adjuvant to radiotherapy (RT) and chemotherapy (CT) in treatment of various malignancies, including breast cancer. PATIENT AND METHODS: The patient was a 58-year-old female Japanese, with breast cancer, T4N2M0, stage IIIb (papillo-tubular carcinoma). Previous treatment included RT and neoadjuvant CT Local HT was performed with a total number of 87 sessions given over 12 months. The mean time of each session was 40 minutes. Elevation of temperature to a tumoricidal level of 43 degrees C was confirmed. The patient received cyclophosphamide (50 mg p.o./day) and tamoxifen (20 mg p.o./day) during the whole period of HT. Due to the decreased amount of WBC, further CT was not possible, except for one course of CMF performed 3 months after the start of HT. RESULTS: The patient had a decrease in the intensity of pain even after the first 3 sessions. In one month, movement in the right shoulder became possible in an anterio-posterior direction. By 5 months, the healing of ulceration became evident. At present, the patient is in continuous CR for 15 months after HT. The movement in the shoulder joint is markedly improved in all directions. In addition, HT did not cause any notable complications. CONCLUSION: Long-term HT may be useful in the management of locally advanced breast cancer and these results should encourage further clinical study.

Apolipoprotein E, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) mutation and the risk of senile dementia--an epidemiological study using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method.

We examined apolipoprotein E (Apo E) polymorphism and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677 C to T mutation by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method in 100 elderly Japanese aged 60 or more, and assessed whether these genetic factors are associated with an increased risk for the clinical phenotypes of senile dementia, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VD) by cross-sectional survey. It was found that the Apo E epsilon 4 allele were associated with an increased prevalence of AD as previously reported. Although, it was not strongly related to the severity of senile dementia, a weak association between the ApoE genotype and the severity of dementia was suggested. The proportion of patients with senile dementia was higher in the group of carriers of MTHFR mutation than in the group of noncarriers. Furthermore, the proportion of male patients with senile dementia was higher in the group of homozygous for the mutation (+/+) than the group without the mutation (-/-). Notably in VD patients, 5 of 7 males had the +/+ genotype. The results suggest that the ApoE epsilon 4 genotype and the MTHFR mutation are associated with the clinical phenotype and the clinical onset of senile dementia.

Coffee and fitness-coffee suppresses lipopolysaccharide-induced liver injury in rats.

To clarify the relationship between coffee and fitness, we investigated the effect of coffee on weight gain and total cholesterol as well as production of cytokines and activities of GOT (aspartate aminotransferase; EC 2.6.1.1.) and GPT (alanine aminotransferase; EC 2.6.1.2.) as injected lipopolysaccharides. Forty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into three dietary groups (n=16), which were fed a stock diet (control group), the diet supplemented with freeze-dried coffee of 6.2 g/kg (0.62% coffee group), and the diet supplemented with freeze-dried coffee of 13.6 g/kg (1.36% coffee group). It was confirmed by HPLC analysis that the serum caffeine concentrations in both coffee groups became significantly higher in 140 days after the start of feeding. No significant differences in body weight and serum cholesterol were found between the coffee groups and control group, though the coffee groups tended to be somewhat high at cholesterol level. Activities of serum GOT and GPT increased at 2 h after LPS injection, but in the coffee groups were significantly suppressed (p<0.05). However, the coffee feeding could not suppress the increases of serum cytokine (TNF-alpha and IL-6) levels. These results suggest that coffee may serve as a preventive against liver injury.

[Vitamin E disturbances in chronic renal failure].

Plasma levels of alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) in chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) patients may be decreased, normal or elevated. However, an abnormal distribution of vitamin E in each lipoprotein has been reported. In comparison to control subject low-density lipoprotein (LDL), patient LDL contained less vitamin E. On the contrary, malondialdehyde (MDA) in patient LDL was enhanced. According to the evaluation of the susceptibility of LDL to in vitro oxidation and the rate of lipid peroxidation by fluorescence development during copper exposure, the susceptibility of patient LDL was enhanced, suggesting a possible relationship between excessive LDL peroxidation and accelerated atherosclerosis. In a clinical small uncontrolled trial, the increments of an aortic calcification index estimated by CT scan in patients treated with vitamin E were suppressed compared to those treated without vitamin E, suggesting that vitamin E might prevent the progress of atherosclerosis in CRI patients.

Effect of vitamin E on production of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) by macrophages.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), a putative cytokine involved in inflammatory and immune responses, was identified in rat peritoneal macrophages by Western blot analysis and its secretion into culture medium by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To clarify the possibility of vitamin E as an immune modulator, we investigated the effect of vitamin E on MIF production in macrophages in response to calcium ionophore A23187 and lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Intraperitoneal injections of vitamin E (5 mg per rat) for 6 successive days resulted in a significant increase of alpha-tocopherol content in peritoneal macrophages. Alpha-tocopherol content of macrophages in vitamin E-treated rats was 478.3 +/- 90.7 ng/10(6) cells, whereas in control rats it was 1.5 +/- 0.5 ng/10(6) cells. For the control macrophages, total MIF content of the medium (2.5 x 10(6) cells/18 ml) without stimulation was 40.7 +/- 3.6 ng after 14 h culture, whereas stimulation with calcium ionophore A23187 (400 nM) and LPS (5.0 microg/ml) induced the elevation of MIF content to 65.9 +/- 7.5 ng and 74.3 +/- 10.4 ng, respectively (p < 0.05, n = 3). On the other hand, vitamin E-enriched macrophages without stimulation showed less MIF content (14.0 +/- 4.2 ng) than the control (p < 0.05, n = 3). Similarly, the increase of MIF of vitamin E-treated macrophages was significantly suppressed after stimulation with calcium ionophore A23187 or LPS, compared with the control macrophages (p < 0.01, n = 3). From analysis of intracellular MIF content by Western blot, we found no alteration of intracellular MIF content of vitamin E-macrophages, in contrast to the decreased content of control stimulated-macrophages, showing that vitamin E suppressed MIF secretion into the culture medium. Taken together, these results indicate that vitamin E may contribute to the regulation of inflammatory and immune responses through regulation of MIF secretion, possibly by modulating macrophage-membrane architecture.

[The effect of media violence on aggression: is aggressive behavior mediated by aggressive cognitions and emotions?].

This study investigated whether cognitions and emotions elicited by media violence mediate aggressive behavior. Eighty undergraduates, 40 men and 40 women, participated in the experiment. First, subjects were exposed to one of four violent videos which varied in levels of violence and entertainment. Subjects' heart rate and eyeblink rate were continuously recorded while they watched the video. After watching it, subjects described their thoughts which occurred while watching it and rated their affective reactions to it. Finally, their aggressive behavior was measured. Results showed that (1) videos high in violence elicited more aggressive thoughts, more thoughts of negative affect, stronger negative affects, and stronger empty-powerless affects, whereas videos high in entertainment elicited stronger positive affects; (2) no significant differences were found among the videos in terms of physiological reactions and aggressive behavior; and (3) cognitions and emotions elicited by media violence did not mediate aggressive behavior.