Typing Method for the QUB11a Locus of : IS Insertions and Tandem Repeat Analysis.

QUB11a is used as a locus for variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) analysis of Beijing lineage. However, amplification of QUB11a occasionally produces large fragments (>1,400 bp) that are not easily measured by capillary electrophoresis because of a lack of the typical stutter peak patterns that are used for counting repeat numbers. IS insertion may complicate VNTR analysis of large QUB11a fragments in .

Prevalence and Characteristics of Salmonella and Campylobacter in Retail Poultry Meat in Japan.

This study was performed to determine the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility, and genetic relatedness of Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica and Campylobacter spp. in poultry meat, and to analyze the association of genetic types of these bacteria with their geographical distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles.

[TYPING OF MYCOBACTERIUM TUBERCULOSIS STRAINS IN FUKUOKA PREFECTURE, JAPAN, USING 24-LOCUS VARIABLE-NUMBER TANDEM-REPEAT TYPING].

[Aim] To determine genotypes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. [Methods] A total of 296 isolates from 296 tuberculosis patients is tested using 24-locus variable-number tandem- repeat (VNTR) typing. We also determined whether these isolates and a further 10 were Beijing lineage.

[Antimicrobial Susceptibility and Resistance Mutations in Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli Isolates from Human and Meat Sources].

Recently, there has been a marked increase in the number of reports of fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance and its genetic determinants in Campylobacter species isolated from meat and human subjects in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Between 2011 and 2013, 55 and 64 isolates were collected from meat (chicken meat and beef liver) and humans, respectively, in this prefecture.

Phylogenetic assignment of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Beijing clinical isolates in Japan by maximum a posteriori estimation.

Intra-species phylogeny of Mycobacterium tuberculosis has been regarded as a clue to estimate its potential risk to develop drug-resistance and various epidemiological tendencies. Genotypic characterization of variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR), a standard tool to ascertain transmission routes, has been improving as a public health effort, but determining phylogenetic information from those efforts alone is difficult. We present a platform based on maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimation to estimate phylogenetic information for M.

Role of glucocorticoid receptor in the inhibitory effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate on the estrogen-induced endothelial nitric oxide synthase phosphorylation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

We aimed to clarify which steroid receptor is involved in the inhibitory effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) on estrogen-induced endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The progesterone/glucocorticoid receptor (GR) antagonist RU-486 and introduction of GR siRNA caused attenuation of the inhibitory effect of MPA on the estrogen-induced eNOS phosphorylation and eNOS activity in HUVEC.

Pilot study of fluvoxamine treatment for climacteric symptoms in Japanese women.

Background: Selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are commonly prescribed for the treatment of depression and can be used as nonhormonal alternatives to manage hot flashes for women with a history of breast cancer and unable to take hormone replacement therapy. There are, however, few reports on the efficacy of SSRIs for the treatment of natural postmenopausal climacteric symptoms. In this pilot study, we evaluate the SSRI, fluvoxamine, for controlling climacteric symptoms and vasomotor symptoms, in particular.

Medroxyprogesterone acetate attenuates estrogen-induced nitric oxide production in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

We report the novel observation that medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) attenuates the induction by 17beta estradiol (E2) of both nitric oxide (NO) production and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Although MPA had no effect on basal NO production or basal eNOS phosphorylation or activity, it attenuated the E2-induced NO production and eNOS phosphorylation and activity. Moreover, we examined the mechanism by which MPA attenuated the E2-induced NO production and eNOS phosphorylation.