The burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis and hospital-acquired rotavirus gastroenteritis among children aged less than 6 years in Japan: a retrospective, multicenter epidemiological survey.

Background: Rotavirus is a leading worldwide cause of acute gastroenteritis in young children. This retrospective hospital-based study assessed the burden of rotavirus gastroenteritis in children younger than 6 years in Japan.

Methods: Children admitted to eight hospitals for acute gastroenteritis between 2008 and 2009 were identified from hospital admission databases.

Role of the carboxy-terminal region of the outer membrane protein AatA in the export of dispersin from enteroaggregative Escherichia coli.

Enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC) is an emerging enteric pathogen in both developing and industrialized countries. AatA, an outer-membrane protein that is a homolog of E. coli TolC, facilitates the export of the dispersin protein Aap across the outer membrane in EAEC.

Biofilm formation by and accessory gene regulator typing of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains recovered from patients with nosocomial infections.

The association between biofilm formation and the accessory gene regulator (agr) types of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains in our hospital were investigated. The biofilm index and the incidence of MRSA strains carrying agr-2 in the infection group (n=91) were significantly higher than were those in the carrier group (n=225), suggesting that biofilm formation and agr type are associated with nosocomial MRSA infections.

Increased interleukin-18 expression in bone marrow of a patient with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and unrecognized macrophage-activation syndrome.

The aberrant induction of proinflammatory cytokines is considered to be crucial in the pathogenesis of systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and adult-onset Still's disease. Interleukin-18 (IL-18) in particular has been reported to be a candidate for the key cytokine in both diseases; however, the origin of IL-18 is unclear. To clarify the origin, we investigated specimens from various organs obtained during autopsy of a child with systemic JIA and macrophage activation syndrome, using immunohistochemical staining.

Effects of supplemental L-methionine on E-64 [trans-epoxysuccinyl-1-leucyl-amido (4-guanido) butane]-induced dysmorphology in rat embryos cultured in vitro.

E-64 [trans-epoxysuccinyl-1-leucyl-amido (4-guanido) butane] is teratogenic, inducing a spec-trum of malformations in vivo and producing similar effects in vitro. Numerous studies support the concept that E-64-induced malformations result from embryonic nutritionaldeficiency, without affecting the maternal nutritional status. This has provided a useful model with which to investigate the nutritional requirements of the early embryo, as well as the role of various nutrients in the etiology of congenital defects.