TB-related technical enquiries received at the Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan, during COVID-19.

Setting: Japan: a low-TB-burden country.

Objective: To characterise TB-related technical enquiries received in 2020-2022, and share the lessons learnt.

Design: This was a descriptive study.

TB-related technical enquiries received in Japan, 2017-2019.

Setting: Japan, an intermediate TB burden country.

Objective: To review TB-related technical enquiries received at the Research Institute of Tuberculosis, Japan, from January 2017 to December 2019.

Design: This was a cohort study.

The bacteriostatic effect of erythritol on canine periodontal disease-related bacteria.

Erythritol helps both prevent and improve periodontal disease and is therefore widely used for dental care in humans. However, only a few studies have investigated the effects of erythritol on periodontal disease in animals. We hypothesized that erythritol could be used to prevent and improve periodontal disease also in canines and investigated the effects of erythritol on canine periodontal disease-related pathogenic bacteria using both in vitro and in vivo methods.

Pump-Free Microfluidic Hemofiltration Device.

Hemofiltration removes water and small molecules from the blood via nanoporous filtering membranes. This paper discusses a pump-free hemofiltration device driven by the pressure difference between the artery and the vein. In the design of the filtering device, oncotic pressure needs to be taken into consideration.

Risk assessment for migration of styrene oligomers into food from polystyrene food containers.

Regulation EU 10/2011 requires a risk assessment of Non Intentionally Added Substances (NIAS) migrating into food for food contact plastics within the EU. Styrene oligomers are important potential components of NIAS in polystyrene used for food packaging and so far only dimers and trimers have been identified. They are not genotoxic in vitro, and there is good evidence that they are not endocrine disruptors.