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This study was conducted to investigate the distribution and diversity of extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC) resistance determinants in Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli obtained from the same cecal samples and to provide evidence of transmission of the resistance determinants among these bacteria in broiler farms in southern Japan. Salmonella enterica and E. coli were characterized by serotyping and multilocus sequence typing, respectively. An antimicrobial susceptibility test, plasmid analysis, and identification and localization of resistance genes were performed to determine the relatedness of ESC resistance determinants among the isolates. Of 48 flocks examined, 14 had S. enterica. In total, 57 S. enterica isolates were obtained, 45 of which showed ESC resistance. Extended-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant E. coli were also obtained from all of these ESC-resistant Salmonel- la-positive samples. ß-Lactamase genes, blaem-52 (38 isolates), &/acTX-M-14 (1 isolate), and blaçy[y_2 (6 isolates), were carried by conjugative untypable or IncP plasmids detected in the S. enterica serovars Infantis and Manhattan. The ß-lactamase genes Wo c t x -M- 1 4 (3 isolates), WacTX-M-15 (3 isolates), WasHV-2 (1 isolate), WaSHV-12 (2 isolates), and WacMY-2 (32 isolates) associated with Incll-h, IncFIB. IncFIC, IncK, IncB/O, and IncY plasmids were detected in E. coli co-isolates. Restriction mapping revealed similar plasmids in Salmonella Infantis and Salmonella Manhattan and in different sequence types of E. coli. Intraspecies transmission of plasmids was suggested within S. enterica and E. coli populations, whereas interspecies transmission was not observed. This study highlights the importance of plasmids as carriers of ESC resistance determinants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clinicopathological studies were performed on the visceral organs and the sural nerve of a male patient with Churg–Strauss syndrome (CSS) in order to understand the mechanisms of peripheral nervous system damage. A 67-year-old man, with a 2-year history of bronchial asthma, developed acutely painful paraplegia and dyspnea. Laboratory data showed a leukocytosis, an elevated serum creatinine kinase (CK) and marked eosionophilia. Autoantibodies including p- and c-ANCA were negative. Electrophysiological studies revealed a severe sensory-motor neuropathy of multiple mononeuritis type. Steroid pulse therapy performed a day after biopsy of skin, muscle and sural nerve was effective in resolving his respiratory and neurological dysfunction but a perforation of an intestinal ulcer occurred which required surgical intervention. In the biopsied sural nerve and the surgically resected intestine and mesentery there was vasculitis with fibrinoid necrosis accompanied by numerous eosinophils and macrophages containing eosinophil cationic protein (ECP). These findings suggest that in addition to ischemic changes due to vasculitis some neurotoxic substances generated by the eosinophils may be involved in the development of neuropathy in CSS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated antimicrobial resistance-related genes in 109 isolates of Trueperella pyogenes that were isolated in cattle and pigs. All 89 tetracycline-resistant T. pyogenes isolates carried the resistance gene harbored either tetW, tetM, tetA(33), tetK, or tetL. The ermX or ermB were detected in 18 of 23 erythromycin-resistant isolates. Streptomycin-resistant aadA1, aadA9, aadA11, aadA24, strA, or strB were detected in 25 of 83 isolates. There were significant differences in the percentages of tetA(33), ermB, aadA1, aadA9, aadA11, or aadA24 carriage between cattle and pig isolates. In addition, the Class 1 gene cassette was detected only in 17 cattle isolates. This suggests that T. pyogenes isolates acquire resistance gene in each environment of cattle and pigs, and that the transmission of the bacteria between cattle and pigs is limited.

We investigated the antimicrobial susceptibility of Trueperella pyogenes isolates from cattle and pigs diagnosed with septicemia at slaughter. The strains investigated in this study were found to be susceptible to ampicillin, cefazolin, gentamicin, and levofloxacin. However, 53.3% of the strains were resistant to tetracycline, 49.7% to streptomycin, 13.8% to erythromycin, 13.2% to clindamycin, and 1.2% to oxacillin and kanamycin. We also found that the resistance of pig-derived strains of T. pyogenes to tetracycline, streptomycin, erythromycin, and clindamycin was higher than that of cattle-derived strains, and these strains were resistant to up to four antimicrobial agents used simultaneously. The present results provide new data on the range of the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of various antimicrobial agents for T. pyogenes isolated from livestock with septicemia. The breakpoint values used in this study are generally considered applicable.

Ceftiofur, a third-generation cephalosporin antimicrobial, was used in Japanese hatcheries for many years before 2012. We continue to study Salmonella in broilers and their antimicrobial resistance. The current study aimed to express how the cessation of ceftiofur affects the antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolated from broiler chickens in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan in 2017 and 2018. A total of 274 Salmonella isolates were recovered from 1535 cecal content samples obtained from 96 broiler flocks over years 2017 and 2018. Among the S. enterica isolates, the predominant serovars were S. Manhattan (128/274, 46.7%), S. Schwarzengrund (120/274, 43.8%), and S. Infantis (26/274, 9.5%). The isolates showed a high proportion of antimicrobial resistance for oxytetracycline, sulfamethoxazole, and streptomycin. However, the β-lactam resistance rates were significantly decreased ( p  < 0.01) in 2017, while no β -lactam resistant isolates detected in 2018. The highlight of this study was the complete disappearance of β -lactam resistance in Salmonella isolates from broiler chicken in Kagoshima, Japan., Competing Interests: The authors declare that this research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationship that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

This study aimed to analyze the incidence of Campylobacter in a small-scale chicken meat processing plant producing "chicken-sashimi", and determine the effectiveness of surface burning as a treatment during processing. The most probable number (MPN) method was used to analyze the load of Campylobacter in 48 samples from four different processing steps (de-feathering, chilling, surface burning, and final-products; 12 samples each). We found the highest load of isolated bacteria in chicken skin after de-feathering. Campylobacter was not detected after the surface burning step despite a large load of bacteria present in the cecum content. Campylobacter was absent in the final products. Adequate surface burning can avoid Campylobacter contamination of chicken sashimi in the processing plant by applying the external stripping method.

Uptake transporters in brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) are involved in the penetration of basic (cationic) drugs such as diphenhydramine (DPHM) into the brain. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation alters the expression levels and activities of uptake transporters, which change the penetration of DPHM into the brain. A brain microdialysis study showed that the unbound brain-to-plasma partition coefficient ( K p,uu,brain ) for DPHM in LPS rats was approximately two times higher than that in control rats. The transcellular transport of DPHM to BMECs was increased when BMECs were cultured with serum from LPS rats. Compared with control rats or BMECs, the brain uptake of DPHM in LPS rats was increased and the intracellular accumulation of DPHM was increased under a high intracellular pH in BMECs from LPS rats, respectively. Treatment of BMECs with transporter inhibitors or inflammatory cytokines had little impact on the intracellular accumulation of DPHM in BMECs. This study suggests that LPS-induced inflammation promotes unidentified proton-coupled organic cation (H + /OC) antiporters that improve the penetration of DPHM into rat brain via the blood-brain barrier., Competing Interests: None., (© 2020 The Authors.)

Increasing game meat consumption in Japan requires the dissemination of safety information regarding the presence of human pathogens in game animals. Health information regarding the suitability of these animals as a meat source is not widely available. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the safety of game meat and detect potential human pathogens in wild deer (Cervus nippon) and boar (Sus scrofa) in Japan. Fecal samples from 305 wild deer and 248 boars of Yamaguchi, Kagoshima, and Tochigi prefectures collected monthly for 2 years were examined for the prevalence of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Campylobacter spp. STEC was isolated from 51 deer consistently throughout the year and from three boars; O-antigen genotype O146, the expression of stx2b, and eaeA absence (n=33) were the major characteristics of our STEC isolates. Other serotypes included the medically important O157, stx2b or stx2c, and eaeA-positive (n=4) and O26, stx1a, and eaeA-positive strains (n=1). Campylobacter spp. were isolated from 17 deer and 31 boars. Campylobacter hyointestinalis was the most common species isolated from 17 deer and 25 boars, whereas Campylobacter lanienae and Campylobacter coli were isolated from three and two boars, respectively. Seasonal trends for the isolation of these bacteria were not significant. This study demonstrates that wild game animals carry human pathogens; therefore, detailed knowledge of the safe handling of game meat is needed to prevent foodborne infections.

Two non-animal test methods, KeratinoSens™ and LuSens, have been approved by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) test guidelines for evaluating the sensitization potential of chemicals, and been positioned as a method for appraising key event (KE)-2, namely, the keratinocyte response component of the Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) in sensitization process. However, these two methods require separate cytotoxicity tests to determine the concentrations to be tested in the main test. Therefore, we developed a simple and highly accurate KE-2 test method named α-Sens that uses the dual luciferase assay system and attempted a further application of luciferase-based determination of cell viability to calculate the normalized Antioxidant response element (ARE)-mediated transcriptional activity, named normalized ARE Activity (nAA), to evaluate the sensitizing potential of chemicals. A cell line carrying the ARE-inducible Firefly luciferase reporter gene and Thymidine kinase (TK) promoter-driven Renilla luciferase gene was established and used for the α-Sens. A total of 28 chemicals, consisting of 19 skin sensitizers and nine non-skin sensitizers were tested by this assay system. The α-Sens yielded an accuracy (%), sensitivity (%), and specificity (%) against corresponding values for local lymph node assay of 96.4 %, 95.0 %, and 100 %, respectively, and for human data of 100 % for all. The α-Sens gave clear positive results for phenyl benzoate and eugenol, chemicals for which KeratinoSens™ or LuSens yielded false-negative results, using a new parameter. Our results suggest that better prediction capacity could be achieved by using nAA as a classifier compared to other existing KE-2 test methods. In conclusion, the α-Sens is promising as a simple and highly accurate in vitro skin sensitization test method for evaluation of KE-2., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

We report 16S rRNA amplicon sequence data from feces from 58 wild boars, 60 feral raccoons, 9 wild Japanese badgers, 21 wild masked palm civets, and 8 wild raccoon dogs in Japan. The predominant bacterial taxa in the fecal microbiota were similar in part but varied among the animal species., (Copyright © 2020 Ishida-Kuroki et al.)

We report 16S rRNA amplicon sequence data from feces of 109 wild deer in Japan. The dominant bacterial taxa in fecal microbiota of wild deer hunted between village and mountainous areas and those living on Miyajima Island and in Nara Park were similar but differed in abundance., (Copyright © 2020 Ishida-Kuroki et al.)

We investigated the hemolytic properties, biochemical properties, and possession of virulence factor genes of Trueperella pyogenes isolated from cattle and pigs with septicemia. The porcine strains showed significantly stronger hemolyticity than the bovine strains. In addition, T. pyogenes from cattle and pigs also differed in biochemical properties. Virulence factor genes (nanP, cbpA, fimC, and fimE) were more prevalent in bovine strains, whereas other virulence factor genes (nanH and fimG) were more prevalent in porcine strains. T. pyogenes isolated from pig and cattle with septis cases in Japanese meat inspection showed variability in biochemical and genetic properties. Differences were observed between porcine and bovine strain in term of the hemolytic strength and possession of genes for factors promoting adhesions which are considered pathogenic.

This study aimed to analyze the Salmonella serovars, measure the minimum inhibitory concentration of antimicrobials, and examine the antimicrobial resistance genes of Salmonella isolated from 192 broiler flocks in Kagoshima Prefecture in Japan, from 2013 to 2016. We found that all Salmonella isolates belonged to three serovars: Salmonella Manhattan, S. Infantis, and S. Schwarzengrund. Among them, S. Schwarzengrund prevalence has recently increased annually making the main serovar. Most recovered isolates were highly resistant to streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, and oxytetracycline. We saw the reduction of third-generation cephalosporin resistance and identified the reason of increased kanamycin resistance to be the increased number of S. Schwazengrund isolates. Among the kanamycin-resistant Salmonella isolates, aphA1 constituted the main resistance gene detected.

The prevalence of antibiotic resistance in 376 Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates from fecal samples of Hooded and White-naped cranes was investigated on the Izumi plain in Kagoshima prefecture, Japan, during winter 2016 and 2017. Resistance to oxytetracycline, ampicillin, and nalidixic acid were observed in 10.9%, 3.1-4.4%, and 2.1-7.7% of isolates, respectively. Since the previous surveillance in 2007, isolation rates of antibiotic-resistant E. coli recovered from wild cranes have remained at significantly low levels compared with those in Japanese livestock. Our results indicate that surveillance of antibiotic-resistant E. coli from wild cranes wintering in the Izumi plain could be a useful strategy to indicate natural environmental pollution by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment.

Background: This study aimed to examine the prevalence, serovars, and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolates from broiler chickens in Kagoshima, Japan. A total of 192 flocks and 3071 samples were collected from broiler chickens at local farms in Kagoshima, Japan from 2009 to 2012., Result: Among the tested farms, 49.0% of flocks were positive for Salmonella, and 243 isolates were obtained from 3071 cecal samples (7.9%). All the Salmonella isolates were one of three serovars: S. Infantis (57.6%); (140/243), S. Manhattan (40.3%; 98/243 and S. Schwarzengrund (2.1%; 5/243). The proportion of S. Infantis isolates decreased from 66.0% in 2009 to 50.0% in 2011 but increased to 57.6% in 2012, while the proportion of S. Manhattan isolates significantly increased from 26.4 to 50% from 2009 to 2011, and decreased moderately to 40.9% in 2012. Most of the recovered Salmonella isolates were resistant to three antimicrobials, i.e., streptomycin (95.1%), sulfamethoxazole (91.0%) and oxytetracycline (91.4%). In contrast, all Salmonella strains were susceptible to chloramphenicol. Comparison of this study to previous studies of the antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella isolates showed that: the percentage of antibiotic-resistance isolates increased dramatically for two antibiotics, ampicillin (from 22.4 to 55.1%) and cefotaxime (from 9.1 to 52.7%). In contrast, the percentage of ofloxacin-resistant isolates decreased across the three survey periods, from 20.8% in 2004-2006 to 1.6% in the present study period (2009-2012). In addition, S. Infantis exhibited a variety of resistance to antimicrobials examined from sensitive to resistance to eight antimicrobials. Multidrug resistance to more than 6 six antimicrobials was detected in 113 (46.5%) of the isolates, and most of them were S. Manhattan., Conclusions: There was a marked change in the serovars and antimicrobial resistance profiles of the Salmonella isolates in this study compared to those in previous studies. The percentage of S. Manhattan isolates increased as did the percentages of ampicillin- and cefotaxime-resistant isolates.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. In our research for patients with PD, they were having trouble with posture disorder, gait disorder, fatigue and constipation. And almost of them have gotten some exercise to keep their health and felt beneficial effect of exercise. Rehabilitation for patients with PD is one of standard therapies of PD and includes stretching, muscle training, exercise using external cueing strategies and walking. Recently, the exercise effect includes the report of the effect on PD progression. It is important that we confirm the needs of patients with PD and start rehabilitation at an early stage to prevent movement disorder.

Background: Diabetes and hypertension constitute a significant and growing burden of disease in South Africa. Presently, few patients are achieving adequate levels of control. In an effort to improve outcomes, the Department of Health is proposing a shift to a patient-centred model of chronic care, which empowers patients to play an active role in self-management by enhancing their knowledge, motivation and skills. The aim of this study was to explore patients' current experiences of chronic care, as well as their motivation and capacity for self-management and lifestyle change., Methods: The study involved 22 individual, qualitative interviews with a purposive sample of hypertensive and diabetic patients attending three public sector community health centres in Cape Town. Participants were a mix of Xhosa and Afrikaans speaking patients and were of low socio-economic status., Results: The concepts of relatedness, competency and autonomy from Self Determination Theory proved valuable in exploring patients' perspectives on what a patient-centred model of care may mean and what they needed from their healthcare providers. Overall, the findings of this study indicate that patients experience multiple impediments to effective self-management and behaviour change, including poor health literacy, a lack of self-efficacy and perceived social support. With some exceptions, the majority of patients reported not having received adequate information; counselling or autonomy support from their healthcare providers. Their experiences suggests that the current approach to chronic care largely fails to meet patients' motivation needs, leaving many of them feeling anxious about their state of health and frustrated with the quality of their care., Conclusions: In accordance with other similar studies, most of the hypertensive and diabetic patients interviewed for this study were found to be ill equipped to play an active and empowered role in self-care. It was clear that patients desire greater assistance and support from their healthcare providers. In order to enable healthcare providers in South Africa to adopt a more patient-centred approach and to better assist and motivate patients to become effective partners in their care, training, resources and tools are needed. In addition, providers need to be supported by policy and organisational change.

Epidemiologic surveillance study was conducted in southern Japan to determine the antimicrobial resistance phenotypes and characterize the β-lactamase genes and the plasmids harboring these genes in Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis (S. Infantis) isolates from broilers. Between January, 2007 and December, 2008, a total of 1,472 fecal samples were collected and examined at the Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, Kagoshima University, Japan. In 93 (6.3%) isolates recovered, 33 (35.5%) isolates showed resistance to cefotaxime, an extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC), conferred by TEM-20, TEM-52 and CTX-M-25 extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs). In addition to ESC-resistance, eight (8.6%) isolates exhibited resistance to cefoxitin mediated by CMY-2 AmpC β-lactamase. Plasmid analysis and polymerase chain reaction replicon typing revealed the bla TEM-20 and bla CMY-2 genes were associated with IncP plasmids, bla TEM-52 was linked with a non-typable plasmid and bla CTX-M-25 was carried by an IncA/C plasmid. Non-β-lactam resistance to streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, and oxytetracycline encoded by the aadA1, sul1, and tet(A) genes, respectively, was found in 86 (92.5%) isolates. Resistance to kanamycin and ofloxacin was exhibited in 12 (12.9%) and 11 (11.8%) isolates, respectively, the former was mediated by aphA1-Iab. These data indicate that S. Infantis isolates producing ESBLs and AmpC β-lactamase have spread among broiler farms in Japan. These data demonstrated that the incidence of ESC-resistant S. Infantis carrying bla TEM-52 remarkably increased and S. Infantis strains harboring bla CMY-2, bla TEM-20, or bla CTX-M-25 genes emerged from broilers in Japan for the first time in 2007 and 2008.

To evaluate the prevalence of extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in broiler chickens, 41 rectal samples taken from 4 commercial farms were examined. Desoxycholate hydrogen sulfide lactose agars, supplemented with either 4 μg/ml cefotaxime or 16 μg/ml ceftazidime, were used to screen ESC-resistant bacteria. ESC-resistant bacteria were isolated from all samples. Of the 164 ESC-resistant bacteria (included 4 isolates per a sample), 163 were Escherichia coli, while 1 isolate was identified as Enterobacter cloacae. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes and plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamase genes in the isolates were determined by PCR and sequencing. One AmpC β-lactamase gene, bla(CMY-2) (66%), and 4 ESBL genes, bla(CTX-M-1) (26%), bla(CTX-M-55) (10%), bla(SHV-5) (4%) and bla(CTX-M-2) (3%), were detected in the E. coli isolates. The epidemiological relationship of the CMY-2 and CTX-M β-lactamase-producing isolates among the farms was analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis using the XbaI restriction enzyme. Forty-one (Y1-Y41) and 14 (X1-X14) clusters were found in the CMY-2 and CTX-M-carrying E. coli isolates, respectively. Some clusters included isolates derived from more than 1 farm, indicating some cross-contamination of clonal strains and spread of CMY-2 AmpC β-lactamase or CTX-M ESBL among the farms.

Cefotaxime (CTX)-resistant and -susceptible Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis isolates obtained from broilers raised on a farm in January 2010 in Japan were characterized to establish their resistance determinants. The CTX-resistant isolates produced CTX-M-14 extended-spectrum β-lactamase and harbored 2 distinct plasmid of approximately 140- and 95-kb, whereas the CTX-susceptible isolates harbored one 140-kb plasmid. The 95-kb plasmids were replicon typed as IncI1 carrying the bla(CTX-M-14) gene, while the 140-kb plasmids were IncP and harbored the aphA1, aadA1, tetA, and sul1 genes. Genetic fingerprinting by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis revealed similar macrorestriction profiles amongst CTX-resistant and susceptible isolates, suggesting a clonal relationship. The presence of CTX-resistant S. Infantis on a broiler farm has occurred through the acquisition of IncI1 resistance plasmid.

The present study was conducted to 1) identify the natural source of feed contamination by zearalenone (ZEN), which was suspected to have caused persistently increased urinary ZEN concentrations in one of our experimental cattle herds, and 2) evaluate the effects of intervention against this source of contamination. As an experimental model, a fattening Japanese Black cattle herd showing persistently increased urinary ZEN concentrations was identified. Urinary ZEN concentrations of cows fed with new rice straw (experimental group, n = 6) vs. cows that continued to feed on the old rice straw (control group, n = 4) were measured at the start (d 1) and at 2 wk (d 14) after the onset of feeding with straw. In addition, the ZEN concentration in feed and water samples was measured by using both the ELISA and HPLC methods. Furthermore, isolation and identification of fungi from rice straw and concentrate feed samples were performed. The urinary ZEN concentration [ZEN (pg/mL)/creatinine (mg/mL) = pg/mg of creatinine] of cows fed with new rice straw was significantly (P < 0.05) less (843 pg/mg of creatinine) than that of cows fed with old rice straw (15,951 pg/mg of creatinine). On both d 1 and 14, the ZEN concentrations of old rice straw were greater than those of new rice straw. In addition, fungal colonies were observed in the culture media that was obtained from the old rice straw suspected of ZEN contamination, but not in the culture media from new rice straw or other feed samples. In conclusion, our field trials clearly indicate that the rice straw fed to the cows was naturally contaminated with ZEN, and that the monitoring of urinary ZEN concentrations could prove to be a useful tool for detecting the exposure of cattle to ZEN contamination at the farm level.