Clonal spread of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli isolates among pups in two kennels

Although the dog breeding industry is common in many countries, the presence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria among pups in kennels has been infrequently investigated. This study was conducted to better understand the epidemiology of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli isolates from kennel pups not treated with antimicrobials. We investigated susceptibilities to 11 antimicrobials, and prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) in 86 faecal E. coli isolates from 43 pups in two kennels. Genetic relatedness among all isolates was assessed using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Susceptibility tests revealed that 76% of the isolates were resistant to one or more of tested antimicrobials, with resistance to dihydrostreptomycin most frequently encountered (66.3%) followed by ampicillin (60.5%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (41.9%), oxytetracycline (26.7%), and chloramphenicol (26.7%). Multidrug resistance, defined as resistance against two or more classes of antimicrobials, was observed in 52 (60.5%) isolates. Three pups in one kennel harboured SHV-12 ESBL-producing isolates. A comparison between the two kennels showed that frequencies of resistance against seven antimicrobials and the variation in resistant phenotypes differed significantly. Analysis by PFGE revealed that clone sharing rates among pups of the same litters were not significantly different in both kennels (64.0% vs. 88.9%), whereas the rates among pups from different litters were significantly different between the two kennels (72.0% vs. 33.3%, P < 0.05). The pups in the two kennels had antimicrobial-resistant E. coli clones, including multidrug-resistant and ESBL-producing clones. It is likely that resistant and susceptible bacteria can clonally spread among the same and/or different litters thus affecting the resistance prevalence

Rolling-based manipulation for multiple objects

This paper discusses the manipulation of multiple objects under rolling contacts. For manipulating multiple objects, the following two key issues do not arise in the manipulation of a single object: 1) each object's motion is restricted by the other objects and 2) the contact force among objects is not controlled directly. As for 1), we first formulate the motion constraint for the whole grasp system, and then provide a necessary condition for manipulating multiple objects uniquely. As for 2), we provide a condition for determining the contact forces among objects uniquely. We further show a sufficient condition for manipulating multiple objects within the object motion constraint. Under this sufficient condition, we propose a control scheme for object motion by taking the motion constraint into account. Simulation and experimental results are provided to confirm our idea

Plasma Oxytocin Concentrations During and After Gestation in Japanese Pregnant Women Affected by Anxiety Disorder and Endometriosis

[Background] Oxytocin has a key role in mother-infant bonding, maternal care, social interaction, and stress-related psychiatric disorders. However, the factors determining oxytocin concentrations during and after pregnancy such as medical history related to nursing or parental behavior are unknown. To elucidate these, we analyzed the relationships between oxytocin concentrations during and after pregnancy, and medical history assessed in the Japan Environment and Children’s Study (JECS). [Methods] We then selected the pregnant women with a medical history of anxiety disorder and endometriosis as cases and pregnant women without medical history as controls adjusting the cohort for age and parity for a nested case-control study, after which 162 women remained for analysis. We evaluated 162 pregnant women from JECS using answers provided in a questionnaire and by measuring plasma oxytocin concentration by ELISA during the first (T1) and second (T2) trimesters of pregnancy, and after childbirth (T3). [Results] Oxytocin concentration increased in a time dependent manner, consistent with previous reports. There were weak negative correlations between oxytocin concentration at T1 and the mother’s age and height, but no correlation with other factors. The mean oxytocin concentrations of pregnant women with a history of an anxiety disorder (n = 7) and endometriosis (n = 13) were significantly lower than those of pregnant women with no such history at T2 and T3. [Conclusion] These results suggest that oxytocin concentrations during and after pregnancy were affected by a past history of anxiety disorder and endometriosis. This is the first study of the relationship between oxytocin concentration and endometriosis. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms, further study is needed

Tactile Differentiator

This paper proposes the Tactile Differentiator that can enhance the edge of polygonal surface through tracing motion. It is composed of a flexible beam anchored at the base with a moment sensor, and an actuator for moving the whole system. When the beam tip passes over the edge where two different planes are intersected with an arbitrary angle, the Tactile Differentiator provides a step change of output, as if it were just like a differentiator. The edge enhancement factor of sensor is introduced with the shape of beam, the intersection angle of environment, and the contact friction. By using the factor, the design orientation of the sensor is discussed. Experimental results are also shown to verify the basic idea

Disconnectivity between Dorsal Raphe Nucleus and Posterior Cingulate Cortex in Later Life Depression

The dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) has been repeatedly implicated as having a significant relationship with depression, along with its serotoninergic innervation. However, functional connectivity of the DRN in depression is not well understood. The current study aimed to isolate functional connectivity of the DRN distinct in later life depression (LLD) compared to a healthy age-matched population. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) data from 95 participants (33 LLD and 62 healthy) were collected to examine functional connectivity from the DRN to the whole brain in voxel-wise fashion. The posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) bilaterally showed significantly smaller connectivity in the LLD group than the control group. The DRN to PCC connectivity did not show any association with the depressive status. The findings implicate that the LLD involves disruption of serotoninergic input to the PCC, which has been suggested to be a part of the reduced default mode network in depression

Evaluation of vascular quality of life questionnaire in dialysis patients with peripheral arterial disease treated by low-density lipoprotein apheresis

Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a common complication in dialysis patients. Early diagnosis and treatment are recommended. Low-density lipoprotein apheresis (LDL-A) is a potential therapy to improve PAD. However, the mechanism has yet to be fully clarified due to lack of established quantitative methods to assess the therapeutic effects of LDL-A treatment. Improvement of skin perfusion pressure (SPP) or ankle brachial index (ABI) is a representative therapy goal, but clinical symptoms were not always consistent with the values of SPP/ABI. Vascular quality of life questionnaire (VascuQOL) was proposed as a disease-specific QOL score, getting validated recently. The possibility of VascuQOL to reflect the severity of PAD in dialysis patients and evaluate the therapeutic effects of LDL-A has yet to be elucidated. Methods: This is an observational study. LDL-A treatment was performed in 32 dialysis patients with PAD. They were divided to critical limb ischemia (CLI) group (17 subjects) and non-CLI group (15 subjects) according to their clinical manifestations. We examined the relationship of PAD severity with SPP, ABI, VascuQOL, and lipid profile such as apoB/apoA-I ratio, malondialdehyde-modified LDL, and remnant-like particles cholesterol. Furthermore, we evaluated these parameters successively to find out a suitable therapeutic marker just after the first LDL-A, at tenth LDL-A, and 1 month after completion of LDL-A treatment. Results: All of the lipid markers were higher in CLI patients, but not significantly different from those in the non-CLI group. They decreased significantly just after LDL-A, although no changes were observed 1 month after completion of LDL-A treatment. ABI was significantly different between the CLI and non-CLI groups, but did not improve by LDL-A treatment. By contrast, SPP was ameliorated significantly and the peak was at tenth LDL-A. Among VascuQOL domains, “Symptom” and “Emotional” domains were significantly different between the CLI and non-CLI groups. The average score of VascuQOL increased successively until 1 month after completion of LDL-A treatment. Conclusions: Several domains of VascuQOL can reflect the severity of PAD in dialysis patients. VascuQOL was a useful marker to show the prolonged therapeutic effects of LDL-A treatment in dialysis patients with PAD, independent of SPP