Edonerpic maleate prevents epileptic seizure during recovery from brain damage by balancing excitatory and inhibitory inputs.

Functional recovery from brain damage, such as stroke, is a plastic process in the brain. The excitatory glutamate -amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid receptor (AMPAR) plays a crucial role in neuronal functions, and the synaptic trafficking of AMPAR is a fundamental mechanism underlying synaptic plasticity. We recently identified a collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP2)-binding compound, edonerpic maleate, which augments rehabilitative training-dependent functional recovery from brain damage by facilitating experience-driven synaptic delivery of AMPARs.

Anti-epileptic drug use and subsequent degenerative dementia occurrence.

Introduction: The use of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) in degenerative dementia (DD) remains uncertain. We aimed to evaluate the association of early AED administration with subsequent DD occurrence.

Methods: Using a large nationwide database, we enrolled patients newly diagnosed with epilepsy from 2014 to 2019 ( = 104,225), and using propensity score matching, we divided them into treatment (those prescribed AEDs in 2014) and control groups.

3-D stochastic modeling approach in thermal inactivation: estimation of thermal survival kinetics of O157:H7 in a hamburger after exposure to desiccation stress.

Desiccation tolerance of pathogenic bacteria is one strategy for survival in harsh environments, which has been studied extensively. However, the subsequent survival behavior of desiccation-stressed bacterial pathogens has not been clarified in detail. Herein, we demonstrated that the effect of desiccation stress on the thermotolerance of O157:H7 in ground beef was limited, and its thermotolerance did not increase.

Modeling strain variability in Campylobacter jejuni thermal inactivation by quantifying the number of strains required.

There is a limited understanding of the survival responses of Campylobacter jejuni during thermal processing, which must be investigated for appropriate risk assessment and processing. Therefore, we aimed to elucidate the survival response of C. jejuni and develop a predictive model considering strain variability and uncertainty, which are important for quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) or risk-based processing control measures.

Testing a frailty prevention program for older men during COVID-19: A 2-year mixed-methods pilot study.

Background: Frailty is a syndrome related to declining functioning attributed to aging. As a reversible, often improved condition, preventive measures for frailty can be effective.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate a frailty prevention program for older men comprising face-to-face meetings and an original social mobile application.

Verification of the Effectiveness of a Communication Application in Improving Social Connectedness and Physical Health among Unacquainted Older Men: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study.

This study aimed to verify the effectiveness of an application (app) in establishing social connectedness among unacquainted older men, as well as improving their physical health. The nine participants were men aged 65 and older in the subarctic zone of Hokkaido, Japan. A mix of quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted as the study design.

In vitro study on the partitioning of red blood cells using a microchannel network.

To investigate the partitioning properties of red blood cells (RBCs) in the bifurcating capillary vessels, an in vitro experiment was performed to perfuse human RBC suspensions into the microfluidic channels with a width of <10 μm. Two types of microchannel geometries were established. One is a single model comprising one parent and two daughter channels with different widths, and the other is a network model that had a symmetric geometry with four consecutive divergences and convergences.

Older rural people's perception of connectedness through a communication application: A qualitative descriptive study.

Connectedness among older people is essential for healthy communities, especially among rural populations where limited social interaction and associated health effects may be cause for concern. In this qualitative descriptive study, we explored older rural people's perception of connectedness through a communication application. The study assessed 10 participants (mean age = 76.

Experimentally observed Campylobacter jejuni survival kinetics in chicken meat products during model gastric digestion tended to be lower than model predictions.

Campylobacter jejuni-related foodborne diseases are mainly attributed to the consumption of undercooked chicken meat and cross-contaminated produce. This study aimed to develop a survival kinetics model, based on the Weibull model, for predicting foodborne C. jejuni survival during gastric digestion in a model stomach.

Competitive growth kinetics of Campylobacter jejuni, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Listeria monocytogenes with enteric microflora in a small-intestine model.

Aims: The biological events occurring during human digestion help to understand the mechanisms underlying the dose-response relationships of enteric bacterial pathogens. To better understand these events, we investigated the growth and reduction behaviour of bacterial pathogens in an in vitro model simulating the environment of the small intestine.

Methods And Results: The foodborne pathogens Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli O157:H7 were cultured with multiple competing enteric bacteria.

A New Dose-Response Model for Estimating the Infection Probability of Campylobacter jejuni Based on the Key Events Dose-Response Framework.

Understanding the dose-response relationship between ingested pathogenic bacteria and infection probability is a key factor for appropriate risk assessment of foodborne pathogens. The objectives of this study were to develop and validate a novel mechanistic dose-response model for Campylobacter jejuni and simulate the underlying mechanism of foodborne illness during digestion. Bacterial behavior in the human gastrointestinal environment, including survival at low pH in the gastric environment after meals, transition to intestines, and invasion to intestinal tissues, was described using a Bayesian statistical model based on the reported experimental results of each process while considering physical food types (liquid versus solid) and host age (young adult versus elderly).

Bayesian Generalized Linear Model for Simulating Bacterial Inactivation/Growth Considering Variability and Uncertainty.

Conventional regression analysis using the least-squares method has been applied to describe bacterial behavior logarithmically. However, only the normal distribution is used as the error distribution in the least-squares method, and the variability and uncertainty related to bacterial behavior are not considered. In this paper, we propose Bayesian statistical modeling based on a generalized linear model (GLM) that considers variability and uncertainty while fitting the model to colony count data.

Evaluation of Strain Variability in Inactivation of Campylobacter jejuni in Simulated Gastric Fluid by Using Hierarchical Bayesian Modeling.

This study was conducted to quantitatively evaluate the variability of stress resistance in different strains of Campylobacter jejuni and the uncertainty of such strain variability. We developed Bayesian statistical models with multilevel analysis to quantify variability within a strain, variability between different strains, and the uncertainty associated with these estimates. Furthermore, we measured the inactivation of 11 strains of C.

Application of growth rate from kinetic model to calculate stochastic growth of a bacteria population at low contamination level.

Traditional predictive microbiology is not suited for cell growth predictions for low-level contamination, where individual cell heterogeneity becomes apparent. Accordingly, we simulated a stochastic birth process of bacteria population using kinetic parameters. We predicted the variation in behavior of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium cells at low inoculum density.

Translational medicine of the glutamate AMPA receptor.

Psychiatric and neurological disorders severely hamper patient's quality of life. Despite their high unmet needs, the development of diagnostics and therapeutics has only made slow progress. This is due to limited evidence on the biological basis of these disorders in humans.

Population-based study of a free rubella-specific antibody testing and immunization campaign in Chiba city in response to the 2018-2019 nationwide rubella outbreak in Japan.

Japan has not been able to eliminate rubella; as a result, the large rubella epidemic has occurred. Considering the complicated history of the vaccine policy in Japan, some susceptible populations became infected with rubella, resulting in an outbreak. We conducted a large serosurveillance against rubella in Chiba city after initiating free rubella-specific antibody testing and an immunization campaign during 2018-2019.

Modeling Invasion of Campylobacter jejuni into Human Small Intestinal Epithelial-Like Cells by Bayesian Inference.

Current approaches used for dose-response modeling of low-dose exposures of pathogens rely on assumptions and extrapolations. These models are important for quantitative microbial risk assessment of food. A mechanistic framework has been advocated as an alternative approach for evaluating dose-response relationships.

Transforming kinetic model into a stochastic inactivation model: Statistical evaluation of stochastic inactivation of individual cells in a bacterial population.

Kinetic models performing point estimation are effective in predicting the bacterial behavior. However, the large variation of bacterial behavior appearing in a small number of cells, i.e.

Describing the Individual Spore Variability and the Parameter Uncertainty in Bacterial Survival Kinetics Model by Using Second-Order Monte Carlo Simulation.

The objective of this study was to separately describe the fitting uncertainty and the variability of individual cell in bacterial survival kinetics during isothermal and non-isothermal thermal processing. The model describing bacterial survival behavior and its uncertainties and variabilities during non-isothermal inactivation was developed from survival kinetic data for spores under fifteen isothermal conditions. The fitting uncertainties in the parameters used in the primary Weibull model was described by using the bootstrap method.

Riluzole-induced interstitial lung disease is a rare and potentially life-threatening adverse event successfully treated with high-dose steroid therapy: Case reports and review of the literature.

Riluzole (RZ)-induced interstitial lung disease (RZ-ILD) is a rare and potentially life-threatening adverse event in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, which is rarely reported. Therefore, the optimal treatment for RZ-ILD is unclear. We describe herein three Japanese cases of ALS complicated with RZ-ILD, of which two were successfully treated with high-dose steroid therapy.

Stochastic modeling of variability in survival behavior of Bacillus simplex spore population during isothermal inactivation at the single cell level using a Monte Carlo simulation.

The control of bacterial reduction is important to maintain food safety during thermal processing. The goal of this study was to illustrate and describe variability in bacterial population behavior during thermal processing as a probability distribution based on individual cell heterogeneity regarding heat resistance. Toward this end, we performed a Monte Carlo simulation via computer, and compared and validated the simulated estimations with observed values.

Calculating stochastic inactivation of individual cells in a bacterial population using variability in individual cell inactivation time and initial cell number.

The traditional log-linear inactivation kinetics model considers microbial inactivation as a process that follows first-order kinetics. A basic concept of log reduction is decimal reduction time (D-value), which means time/dose required to kill 90% of the relevant microorganisms. D-value based on the first-order survival kinetics model is insufficient for reliable estimations of bacterial survivors following inactivation treatment.

Stochastic simulation for death probability of bacterial population considering variability in individual cell inactivation time and initial number of cells.

Decimal reduction time (D-value) based on the first-order survival kinetics model is not sufficient for reliable estimation of the bacterial survivors of inactivation treatment because the model does not consider inactivation curvature. However, even though doubt exists in the calculation of D-value, it is still widely used for risk assessment and sterilisation time estimation. This paper proposes an approach for estimating the time-to-inactivation and death probability of bacterial population that considers individual cell heterogeneity and initial number of cells via computer simulation.