Predicting recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection by assessing antimicrobial treatment based on days of antibiotic spectrum coverage and ATLAS scores.

Introduction: We aimed to determine the impact of prior antimicrobial treatment on recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) based on days of antibiotic spectrum coverage (DASC) and predict the risk of recurrence to guide the selection of appropriate initial therapeutic agents.

Methods: We assessed the antimicrobial treatment administered to 195 patients with a history of CDI for 28 days before testing positive for C. difficile using DASC and illness severity using ATLAS scores.

Investigation of Metabolites in Fermented Wheat Bran and Its Bio Function in Alleviating Colitis in Mice Model.

Wheat bran (WB) is a low-value by-product of the wheat milling industry. Solid-state fermentation with is performed to improve WB's nutritional quality (RH). Twenty-five mice (11-week-old C57BL/6N male mice) were divided into three groups.

Regulation of RHOV signaling by interaction with SH3 domain-containing adaptor proteins and phosphorylation by PKA.

RHOV and RHOU are considered atypical Rho-family small GTPases because of the existence of N- and C-terminal extension regions, abnormal GDP/GTP cycling, and post-translational modification. Particularly, RHOV and RHOU both have a proline-rich (PR) motif in the N-terminal region. It has been reported that the PR motif of RHOU interacts with GRB2, a SH3 domain-containing adaptor protein, and regulates its activity through EGF receptor signaling.

Autoantibodies inhibit Plasmodium falciparum growth and are associated with protection from clinical malaria.

Many infections, including malaria, are associated with an increase in autoantibodies (AAbs). Prior studies have reported an association between genetic markers of susceptibility to autoimmune disease and resistance to malaria, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we performed a longitudinal study of children and adults (n = 602) in Mali and found that high levels of plasma AAbs before the malaria season independently predicted a reduced risk of clinical malaria in children during the ensuing malaria season.

Assessing Interferon Regulatory Factor 4 Complex Formation: Differential Behavior of Homocomplexes Versus Heterocomplexes Induced by Mutations.

Interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) is a crucial transcription factor that plays a vital role in lymphocyte development, including in the fate-determining steps in terminal differentiation. It is also implicated in the development of lymphoid tumors such as multiple myeloma and adult T-cell leukemia. IRF4 can form a homodimer and multiple heterocomplexes with other transcription factors such as purine-rich box1 and activator protein 1.

Pfs230 Domain 7 is targeted by a potent malaria transmission-blocking monoclonal antibody.

Malaria transmission-blocking vaccines (TBVs) aim to induce antibodies that block Plasmodium parasite development in the mosquito midgut, thus preventing mosquitoes from becoming infectious. While the Pro-domain and first of fourteen 6-Cysteine domains (Pro-D1) of the Plasmodium gamete surface protein Pfs230 are known targets of transmission-blocking antibodies, no studies to date have discovered other Pfs230 domains that are functional targets. Here, we show that a murine monoclonal antibody (mAb), 18F25.

High-Throughput Antibody Profiling Identifies Targets of Protective Immunity against Malaria in Thailand.

Malaria poses a significant global health challenge, resulting in approximately 600,000 deaths each year. Individuals living in regions with endemic malaria have the potential to develop partial immunity, thanks in part to the presence of anti-plasmodium antibodies. As efforts are made to optimize and implement strategies to reduce malaria transmission and ultimately eliminate the disease, it is crucial to understand how these interventions impact naturally acquired protective immunity.

Work environmental factors associated with compassion satisfaction and end-of-life care quality among nurses in general wards, palliative care units, and home care settings: A cross-sectional survey.

Background: Nurses providing end-of-life care experience not only burnout and compassion fatigue, but also positive effects such as compassion satisfaction. Nurses' compassion satisfaction was shown to be related to job satisfaction, work engagement, and nurse caring. Studies in emergency departments, intensive care units, oncology wards, and general wards have identified work environmental factors associated with nurses' compassion satisfaction, but no similar studies have been conducted in palliative care units or home care settings.

Analytical model of a diode-pumped cesium laser for investigation of upper-state mixing and quenching reactions.

A one-dimensional analytical model of a diode-pumped cesium vapor laser was constructed, and equations were derived to explain the dependence of the laser power on the hydrocarbon gas partial pressure. By varying the hydrocarbon gas partial pressure over a wide range and measuring the laser power, the corresponding mixing and quenching rate constants were validated. A gas-flow Cs diode-pumped alkali laser (DPAL) was operated with methane, ethane, and propane as buffer gases, with the partial pressures varied from 0 to 2 atmospheres.

Case Series of Granulicatella Bacteremia: A Single-centered, Five-year Retrospective Study.

Granulicatella species are rare, nutritionally variant streptococci that cause infective endocarditis. Their clinical and microbiological characteristics remain unknown. We reviewed five years of Granulicatella cases in our hospital database (Jan 2017-Jun 2022), finding 6 Granulicatella adiacens cases and 1 Granulicatella elegans case.

Comparison of survival times of advanced cancer patients with palliative care at home and in hospital.

Objectives: One primary concern about receiving care at home is that survival might be shortened because the quality and quantity of treatment provided at home will be inferior to that given in the hospital. Although our previous study demonstrated a longer survival of those with home-based palliative care (PC), it lacked adjustment for some potential confounders including symptoms and treatments during the stay. We aimed to compare the survival times among advanced cancer patients receiving home-based and hospital-based PC with adjusting for symptoms and treatments.

Effect of patients' attitude and perception of oral hygiene on white spot lesion development and plaque accumulation during orthodontic treatment : A survey of patients with fixed appliances.

Purpose: To explore the impact of oral hygiene practices, as well as beliefs and attitudes toward orthodontic treatment on white spot lesion (WSL) development and plaque accumulation in orthodontic patients.

Materials And Methods: A total of 106 individuals (61 female, 45 male) patients aged 10-49 years who were treated with fixed appliances treatment completed a 14-question survey regarding aspects of their oral hygiene (OH) and orthodontic visits. The number of teeth with WSL and the plaque indexes were recorded for each patient.

A New Approach to Prepare Chiral Aroma: Asymmetric Oxidation of Ionols with a Heme Acquisition System A Derived from Symbiotic Fluorescent Bacteria.

The aim of this study was to propose an alternative route for preparing chiral β- and α-ionols by asymmetric oxidation with a heme acquisition system A (HasA) derived from symbiotic fluorescent bacteria as a biocatalyst. The HasA (6 g) in distilled water (300 mL) was stirred at 1150 rpm for 1 day at 40°C. Subsequently, a secondary alcohol (0.

A novel asexual blood-stage malaria vaccine candidate: PfRipr5 formulated with human-use adjuvants induces potent growth inhibitory antibodies.

PfRipr is a highly conserved asexual-blood stage malaria vaccine candidate against . PfRipr5, a protein fragment of PfRipr inducing the most potent inhibitory antibodies, is a promising candidate for the development of next-generation malaria vaccines, requiring validation of its potential when formulated with adjuvants already approved for human use. In this study, PfRipr5 antigen was efficiently produced in a tank bioreactor using insect High Five cells and the baculovirus expression vector system; purified PfRipr5 was thermally stable in its monomeric form, had high purity and binding capacity to functional monoclonal anti-PfRipr antibody.

Serologic Evidence of Human Exposure to Ehrlichiosis Agents in Japan.

In retrospective analyses, we report 3 febrile patients in Japan who had seroconversion to antibodies against Ehrlichia chaffeensis antigens detected by using an immunofluorescence and Western blot. Our results provide evidence of autochthonous human ehrlichiosis cases and indicate ehrlichiosis should be considered a potential cause of febrile illness in Japan.

A VS ultrasound diagnostic system with kidney image evaluation functions.

Purpose: An inevitable feature of ultrasound-based diagnoses is that the quality of the ultrasound images produced depends directly on the skill of the physician operating the probe. This is because physicians have to constantly adjust the probe position to obtain a cross section of the target organ, which is constantly shifting due to patient respiratory motions. Therefore, we developed an ultrasound diagnostic robot that works in cooperation with a visual servo system based on deep learning that will help alleviate the burdens imposed on physicians.

Recruitment of Irgb6 to the membrane is a direct trigger for membrane deformation.

Irgb6 is a member of interferon γ-induced immunity related GTPase (IRG), and one of twenty "effector" IRGs, which coordinately attack parasitophorous vacuole membrane (PVM), causing death of intracellular pathogen. Although Irgb6 plays a pivotal role as a pioneer in the process of PVM disruption, the direct effect of Irgb6 on membrane remained to be elucidated. Here, we utilized artificial lipid membranes to reconstitute Irgb6-membrane interaction , and revealed that Irgb6 directly deformed the membranes.

Rationale and design of a multicenter, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial to investigate the effects of naldemedine on opioid-induced constipation for patients with cancer pain: A study protocol.

Background: It is unclear which laxatives are appropriate to prevent opioid-induced constipation (OIC). This study will evaluate whether prophylactic use of naldemedine prevents OIC in patients with cancer who start opioid administration.

Methods: This study is a multicenter, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

Asexual Blood-Stage Malaria Vaccine Candidate PfRipr5: Enhanced Production in Insect Cells.

The malaria asexual blood-stage antigen PfRipr and its most immunogenic fragment PfRipr5 have recently risen as promising vaccine candidates against this infectious disease. Continued development of high-yielding, scalable production platforms is essential to advance the malaria vaccine research. Insect cells have supplied the production of numerous vaccine antigens in a fast and cost-effective manner; improving this platform further could prove key to its wider use.

Changes in home visit utilization during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicenter cross-sectional web-based survey.

Objective: Home care is one of the essential community health care services; thus, identifying changes of home care utilization before and during the COVID-19 pandemic would be useful for researchers and policymaker to reconsider the home care system, the support needed for home care staff, and the collaborative system with hospitals in the COVID-19 era. We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional web-based anonymous survey of the directors of home visit facilities in Japan in August 2021.

Results: A total of 33 participants from 37 facilities responded to the survey.