The second nationwide surveillance of antibacterial susceptibility patterns of pathogens isolated from skin and soft-tissue infections in dermatology departments in Japan.

The present study compared trends in antimicrobial resistance patterns in pathogens isolated from skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) in Japan with those of a nationwide survey conducted in 2013. Three organisms that caused most of the SSTIs were collected from 12 dermatology departments in medical centers and 12 dermatology clinics across Japan between April 2019 and August 2020. A total of 390 strains, including 267 Staphylococcus aureus, 109 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS), and 14 Streptococcus pyogenes strains were submitted to a central laboratory for antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

Potential Causative Mutation for Melanism in Rats Identified in the Agouti Signaling Protein Gene (Asip) of the Rattus rattus Species Complex on Okinawa Island, Japan.

The occurrence of black fur, or melanism, in many mammalian species is known to be linked to DNA sequence variation in the agouti signaling protein (Asip) gene, which is a major determinant of eumelanin and pheomelanin pigments in coat color. We investigated 38 agouti (i.e.

The first nationwide surveillance of antibacterial susceptibility patterns of pathogens isolated from skin and soft-tissue infections in dermatology departments in Japan.

To investigate the trends of antimicrobial resistance in pathogens isolated from skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTI) at dermatology departments in Japan, a Japanese surveillance committee conducted the first nationwide survey in 2013. Three main organisms were collected from SSTI at 30 dermatology departments in medical centers and 10 dermatology clinics. A total of 860 strains - 579 of Staphylococcus aureus, 240 of coagulase-negative Staphylococci, and 41 of Streptococcus pyogenes - were collected and shipped to a central laboratory for antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

[Efficacy of leukotriene receptor antagonists in asthma treatment and analysis of background factors evaluated by a questionnaire survey among physicians].

The efficacy of leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRAs) in the treatment of asthma and the involvement of various patient background factors were investigated. A questionnaire was used to survey the physicians of 1,600 asthma patients regarding the use of LTRAs, whether treatment was being continued or had been discontinued, and reasons for continuation or discontinuation. The results showed that 797 patients had used an LTRA, with 468 having used pranlukast (P), 294 having used montelukast (M) and 25 having used zafirlukast.

[The realities of clinical asthma diagnosis from questionnaire results].

We investigated the basis on which respiratory physicians establish a diagnosis of asthma in clinical practice. A questionnaire survey was conducted on physicians in charge of 1,600 asthma patients receiving outpatient treatment at the Hokkaido University General Hospital or its affiliated hospitals or clinics. The bases for diagnosis were ranked as follows: 1) recurrent paroxysmal dyspnea or symptoms such as wheezing and cough (86%); 2) detection of wheezing on auscultation (78%); 3) improvement in symptoms or auscultation findings after using bronchodilators (56%); 4) improvement in symptoms or auscultation findings after using inhaled corticosteroids (55%); 5) diagnosis of asthma by another physician (46%); and 6) spirometry findings (31%).

[Studies on airway hyperresponsiveness by the Astograph(r) method in asthmatics and young adult non-asthmatic asymptomatics].

We investigated airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) by the continuous inhalation method using an Astograph(R) in 105 asthmatics and 141 non-asthmatic asymptomatics. The range of Dmin (1 U=one minute inhalation of 1 mg/ml of methacholine) of asthmatics was 0.001 to 28.

Effect of low-dose theophylline on airway inflammation in COPD.

Objective: Recent studies have shown that theophylline may exert anti-inflammatory effects on neutrophils. We undertook to assess the effect of theophylline on airway inflammation in COPD.

Methodology: We performed a 4-week randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 11 theophylline-naive patients with mild to moderate COPD.

Retinoic acid inhibits interleukin-4-induced eotaxin production in a human bronchial epithelial cell line.

Retinoic acid (RA) is known to accelerate wound healing and induce cell differentiation. All-trans RA (ATRA) exerts its effect by binding retinoic acid receptors, which are members of the nuclear receptor family. We investigated whether RA can alter expression of eotaxin, a potent eosinophil chemoattractant that is regulated by the transcription factors signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) and NF-kappaB.