Cumulative antibiogram preparation among hospitals participating in the Japan Surveillance for Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology.

Background: The cumulative antibiogram is essential to guide empirical therapy for infectious diseases and monitor the trend of antimicrobial resistance. However, the status of antibiogram generation at medical institutions in Japan is uncertain.

Methods: A web-based questionnaire survey was conducted in February 2023 on the status of antibiogram preparation among facilities participating in the Japan Surveillance for Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology (J-SIPHE), an infection control surveillance system in Japan.

Electrophysiological effects of an anti-influenza drug oseltamivir on the guinea-pig atrium: comparison with those of pilsicainide.

We assessed the effects of oseltamivir on the conduction velocity and effective refractory period in the guinea-pig atrium in comparison with those of a class Ic antiarrhythmic drug pilsicainide. The recording and stimulating electrodes were attached on the epicardium close to the sinus nodal region and on the left atrial appendage. Oseltamivir (10-100 µM) as well as pilsicainide (1-10 µM) decreased the atrial conduction velocity in a frequency-dependent manner.

Microglial activation and amyloid-beta clearance induced by exogenous heat-shock proteins.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the accumulation of fibrillar amyloid-beta (Abeta) peptides to form amyloid plaques. Understanding the balance of production and clearance of Abeta peptides is the key to elucidating amyloid plaque homeostasis. Microglia in the brain, associated with senile plaques, are likely to play a major role in maintaining this balance.