Epidemiology and risk factors for mortality in clostridial bacteremia in Japan: A retrospective multicenter observational study.

Objectives: Clostridium species are ubiquitous in nature and commonly cause infections, including bacteremia. C. perfringens is often the causative species, while the epidemiology of other clostridial species remains unclear.

Carbon dioxide-dependent, extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Escherichia coli bacteremia associated with pyelonephritis: A case-report.

Escherichia coli is a facultative anaerobic bacterium that causes urinary tract and bloodstream infections. Generally, E. coli is easily identified in routine clinical microbiology laboratories.

Lacticaseibacillus paracasei Bacteremia Associated With Probiotic Use in a Child With Hypoganglionosis: Case Report and Literature Review.

Probiotics are generally considered safe and used to improve intestinal function. Here, we report a Lacticaseibacillus paracasei bacteremia case in an 8-month-old girl administered probiotics containing L. paracasei after jejunostomy for hypoganglionosis.

Comparison of phylogenetic and virulence factors between isolated from biliary tract infections and uropathogenic .

is a gram-negative intestinal commensal that can also cause various infections, including urinary tract infections, biliary tract infections, neonatal meningitis, and septicemia. Although the characteristics of uropathogenic and the mechanisms of urinary tract infection have been well studied, the genetic distinctions among isolates from different types of infections have not yet been determined. This study compared the phylogenetic and virulence factors of isolates from bacteremic biliary tract infections with those from bacteremic urinary tract infections.

Accurate Identification of Klebsiella variicola by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry in Clinical Microbiology Laboratories.

Klebsiella variicola is a pathogen that is increasingly recognized as being associated with human infections, but the methods available to clinical microbiology laboratories for accurate identification are limited. In this study, we assessed the accuracy of identification of by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry using genetic identification with multiplex PCR as the reference method. Antimicrobial susceptibilities and virulence of strains were also investigated.

[Posture Control Associated with Quadrupedal and Bipedal Gait in Japanese Monkeys (Macaca fuscata)].

How the CNS deals with instability of upright posture is the core in the control of bipedal gait. In this review, we summarize our recent findings comparing kinematics and EMG activity during quadrupedal and bipedal gait in Japanese macaques. Trunk/hindlimb muscles showed step cycle-modulated activity, which was more active in bipedal than in quadrupedal gait.

[Comparative Biomechanics of Canine Agility].

Agility is a sport in which dogs compete on an obstacle course for both accuracy and time. Dogs that participate in competitions must negotiate a complex course of approximately 20 obstacles. We describe a literature review of the biomechanics of canine agility and our preliminary results.

Center of Mass Offset Enhances the Selection of Transverse Gallop in High-Speed Running by Horses: A Modeling Study.

Horses use the transverse gallop in high-speed running. However, different animals use different gaits, and the gait preference of horses remains largely unclear. Horses have fore-aft asymmetry in their body structure and their center of mass (CoM) is anteriorly located far from the center of the body.

Human abdominal abscess caused by Necropsobacter rosorum and tips for its identification: A case report.

Necropsobacter rosorum is a gram-negative facultative anaerobe, which was reclassified from the family Pasteurellaceae in 2011. It has been detected in the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts of mammals; however, reports of infection in humans are scarce. We report a case of an abdominal abscess in which N.

Association of the Serum Levels of the Nucleocapsid Antigen of SARS-CoV-2 With the Diagnosis, Disease Severity, and Antibody Titers in Patients With COVID-19: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Several types of laboratory tests for COVID-19 have been established to date; however, the clinical significance of the serum SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid (N) antigen levels remains to be fully elucidated. In the present study, we attempted to elucidate the usefulness and clinical significance of the serum N antigen levels. We measured the serum N antigen levels in 391 serum samples collected from symptomatic patients with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19 and 96 serum samples collected from patients with non-COVID-19, using a fully automated chemiluminescence immunoassay analyzer.

Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics of Recurrent Escherichia coli Bacteremia.

The causative agents of recurrent Escherichia coli bacteremia can be genetically identical or discordant, but the differences between them remain unclear. This study aimed to explore these differences, with regard to their clinical and microbiological features. Patients were recruited from a Japanese tertiary teaching hospital based on blood culture data and the incidence of recurrent E.

Tenosynovitis caused by Mycobacterium marseillense, initially identified as Mycobacterium avium complex using AccuProbe and COBAS TaqMan.

Background: Mycobacterium marseillense is a new species of the Mycobacterium avium complex. There has been only a few human infections caused by M. marseillense worldwide.

Kinematic adjustments to arboreal locomotion in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata).

Although biomechanical adaptations to arboreal locomotion have been well investigated in primates and other mammals in laboratory settings, the results are not consistent, and more species need to be studied to build a comprehensive picture of this. Here, we used three-dimensional videography to quantify kinematic parameters thought to be associated with locomotor stability while two Japanese macaques walked on terrestrial and simulated arboreal substrates (a horizontal pole, which was narrow relative to the animal's body width). The parameters investigated included temporal-spatial gait variables, those associated with compliant walking, the height of the shoulder and hip, and hand and foot clearance during the swing phase.

Comparative performance and cycle threshold values of 10 nucleic acid amplification tests for SARS-CoV-2 on clinical samples.

Background: A number of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for SARS-CoV-2 with different reagents have been approved for clinical use in Japan. These include research kits approved under emergency use authorization through simplified process to stabilize the supply of the reagents. Although these research kits have been increasingly used in clinical practice, limited data is available for the diagnostic performance in clinical settings.

The prevalence of the iutA and ibeA genes in Escherichia coli isolates from severe and non-severe patients with bacteremic acute biliary tract infection is significantly different.

Background: Although Escherichia coli is the most frequently isolated microorganism in acute biliary tract infections with bacteremia, data regarding its virulence are limited.

Results: Information on cases of bacteremia in acute biliary tract infection in a retrospective study was collected from 2013 to 2015 at a tertiary care hospital in Japan. Factors related to the severity of infection were investigated, including patient background, phylogenetic typing, and virulence factors of E.

Dynamical determinants enabling two different types of flight in cheetah gallop to enhance speed through spine movement.

Cheetahs use a galloping gait in their fastest speed range. It has been reported that cheetahs achieve high-speed galloping by performing two types of flight through spine movement (gathered and extended). However, the dynamic factors that enable cheetahs to incorporate two types of flight while galloping remain unclear.

Underground locomotion in moles: kinematic and electromyographic studies of locomotion in the Japanese mole (Mogera wogura).

A series of kinematic and electromyographic (EMG) studies were conducted to characterize the neural control of underground movement in the Japanese mole, Mogera wogura. For the purposes of the present study, the locomotion of moles was classified into two modes: crawling, which comprises alternate movements of the left and right forelimbs; and burrowing, in which both forelimbs move synchronously. In crawling, moles exhibit both symmetrical and asymmetrical locomotion independent of cycle duration and speed of travel.

First Reported Human Case of Spondylodiscitis by Staphylococcus condimenti: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Staphylococcus condimenti is a Gram-positive coccus that was first isolated from soy sauce mash. Only four cases of human S. condimenti infections have been reported to date.

Genetic diversity and epidemiology of accessory gene regulator loci in .

Quorum sensing is known to regulate bacterial virulence, and the accessory gene regulator () loci is one of the genetic loci responsible for its regulation. Recent reports examining show that two loci, and regulate toxin production, but the diversity of loci and their epidemiology is unknown. In our study, analysis was performed to research genetic diversity of , and isolates from clinical samples underwent multilocus sequence typing (MLST) and PCR analysis of loci.

Control system for the new RIKEN 28-GHz superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source for SRILAC.

A new RIKEN 28-GHz superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source (SC-ECRIS) has been installed for the superconducting RIKEN linear accelerator (SRILAC). The new SC-ECRIS control system mainly consists of programmable logic controllers (PLCs) embedded with the Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System. To improve the reliability as compared with previous control systems, two types of PLC central processing units, sequential and Linux, have been installed in the same unit.

High intensity vanadium beam for synthesis of new superheavy elements with well-controlled emittance by using "slit triplet".

To provide a very powerful vanadium (V) beam with an intensity of at least 6 particle μA for synthesizing a new superheavy element (SHE) with atomic number Z = 119, we have developed a high-temperature oven (HTO) system to evaporate the metallic V powder inside the new superconducting (SC) electron cyclotron ion source. We successfully extracted a V beam with a maximum beam intensity of 600 eμA with 2.8-kW microwave power and 900-W heating power of the HTO.

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry can be used to identify Helicobacter cinaedi.

We examined the applicability of Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry using 54 Helicobacter cinaedi isolates from humans. In all 54 isolates, MALDI-TOF MS detected H. cinaedi as the best match organism.