Current Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance in Okayama from a National Database between 2018 and 2021

Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging global threat that must be addressed using a multidisciplinary approach. This study aimed to raise awareness of high-level antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) pathogens in Japan by comparing their recent prevalences among prefectures, particularly Okayama. Data for the isolation proportions of meropenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, cefotaxime-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, and levofloxacin-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae were collected from the Japan Nosocomial Infections Surveillance, a national database sponsored by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, between 2018 and 2021. The average isolated proportions of the seven AMR pathogens were higher in Okayama compared to other prefectures: the worst (19.9%) was meropenem-resistant P. aeruginosa, the sixth worst (57.2%) was methicillin-resistant S. aureus, the eighth worst (3.3%) was vancomycin-resistant E. faecium, the second (37.8%) and fifth worst (17.6%) were cefotaxime-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae, respectively, and the fourth (49.9%) and third worst (8.7%) were levofloxacin-resistant E. coli and K. pneumoniae, respectively. Our study highlights the notably high prevalences of representative AMR pathogens in Okayama, suggesting the need for fundamental infection prevention and control by healthcare professionals, promoting antimicrobial stewardship, and educating undergraduates and postgraduates in Okayama

Label-free observation of tissues by high-speed stimulated Raman spectral microscopy and independent component analysis

SPIE BiOS, 2013, San Francisco, California, United StatesYasuyuki Ozeki, Yoichi Otsuka, Shuya Sato, Hiroyuki Hashimoto, Wataru Umemura, Kazuhiko Sumimura, Norihiko Nishizawa, Kiichi Fukui, Kazuyoshi Itoh, "Label-free observation of tissues by high-speed stimulated Raman spectral microscopy and independent component analysis," Proc. SPIE 8588, Multiphoton Microscopy in the Biomedical Sciences XIII, 858806 (22 February 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.200277

Validation of radiographic response evaluation criteria of preoperative chemotherapy for bone and soft tissue sarcomas: Japanese Orthopaedic Association Committee on Musculoskeletal Tumors Cooperative Study

AbstractBackgroundThe radiographic evaluation of the response to preoperative chemotherapy for bone and soft tissue sarcomas is based mostly on the change in primary tumor size before and after chemotherapy, as is done for many solid cancers. Its prognostic correlation, however, has hardly been validated.MethodsWe conducted a retrospective validation study of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) radiographic response evaluation criteria of preoperative chemotherapy for bone and soft tissue sarcomas as a JOA Committee on Musculoskeletal Tumors cooperative study. A total of 125 consecutive patients with high-grade bone (n = 77) and soft tissue (n = 48) sarcomas treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy and definitive surgery in 25 tertiary referral hospitals were selected for the study. We investigated the correlation between the tumor size-based radiographic response evaluation criteria of preoperative chemotherapy for bone and soft tissue sarcomas provided by the JOA Committee on Musculoskeletal Tumors (hereafter called the JOA criteria) and the patients’ overall survival using the Kaplan-Meier method and the log-rank test.ResultsThe JOA criteria correlated relatively well with survival for malignant bone tumors (mostly comprising osteosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma) but not for soft tissue sarcomas, suggesting that the tumor size-based radiographic evaluation criteria for the response to preoperative chemotherapy in patients with soft tissue sarcomas is invalid.ConclusionsThe JOA criteria, based on the change in primary tumor size, is valid for malignant bone tumors but invalid for soft tissue sarcomas. Other new evaluation modalities of the response to preoperative chemotherapy using innovative functional imaging techniques are needed for soft tissue sarcomas

Anti-podoplanin antibody against MPM

Podoplanin (aggrus) is highly expressed in several types of cancers, including malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Previously, we developed a rat anti-human podoplanin mAb, NZ-1, and a rat–human chimeric anti-human podoplanin antibody, NZ-8, derived from NZ-1, which induced antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity against podoplanin-positive MPM cell lines. In this study, we showed the antitumor effect of NZ-1, NZ- 8, and NZ-12, a novel rat–human chimeric anti-human podoplanin antibody derived from NZ-1, in an MPM orthotopic xenograft SCID mouse model. Treatment with NZ-1 and rat NK (CD161a+) cells inhibited the growth of tumors and the production of pleural effusion in NCI-H290/PDPN or NCI-H226 orthotopic xenograft mouse models. NZ-8 and human natural killer (NK) (CD56+) cells also inhibited tumor growth and pleural effusion in MPM orthotopic xenograft mice. Furthermore, NZ-12 induced potent ADCC mediated by human MNC, compared with either NZ-1 or NZ-8. Antitumor effects were observed following treatment with NZ-12 and human NK (CD56+) cells in MPM orthotopic xenograft mice. In addition, combined immunotherapy using the ADCC activity of NZ-12 mediated by human NK (CD56+) cells with pemetrexed, led to enhanced antitumor effects in MPM orthotopic xenograft mice. These results strongly suggest that combination therapy with podoplanin-targeting immunotherapy using both NZ-12 and pemetrexed might provide an efficacious therapeutic strategy for the treatment of MPM

Long-Term Demographic Forecasting for the Chugoku Region Until 2050 : An Estimation Considering the Characteristics of Inter-Regional Migration <Article>

本稿では新たに男女別・年齢別の転出者数と転入者数が地域間で整合し、地域間移動を経済格差や移動動態で説明した人口モデルを開発することで、2050年までの中国地域の長期人口予測を行った。年齢別の転出率を考慮したモデルからは、今後進展する少子高齢化により人口変動において社会増減が縮小し、自然減が支配的になることが示された。さらに、高度成長期に人口が多く流入した広島県では今後20年間で高齢者数が24％も増加するとともに、自然減の規模が徐々に拡大していくことが示された。また、2005～2010年の転入超過率を一定と仮定したモデルを採用している他機関の推計と比較すると、他機関の推計が悲観的な予測値であることが明らかとなった。さらに、出生率の変動は各地域の2050年時点の人口に対して1割ほどの規模で影響を与えることがわかった。This paper develops a population forecasting model for the Chugoku region in Japan, highlighting the consistent structure of interregional migration, and the effects of economic disparity between regions. By considering the changes in out-migration rate by age, the results show that population aging causes a reduction in interregional migration, which leads to natural demographic change dominating. Moreover, it is predicted that elderly people will rapidly increase by 24% in Hiroshima prefecture due to the aging of post-war baby boomers that had inflow during the rapid growth period, and so again natural demographic change will become increasingly significant. The forecasts of other institutions, which assume that the net migration rate during 2005-2010 will remain constant in the future, are more pessimistic than the results found in this paper. Lastly, the change in the fertility rate may affect the prefectural population in the Chugoku region in 2050 by around 10%

Detection of Enterobacter cloacae complex strain with a blaNDM-1-harboring plasmid from an elderly resident at a long-term care facility in Okayama, Japan

Amidst the global spread of antimicrobial resistance, New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase (NDM)-type carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) remain uncommon in Japan, and the detection of such highly drug-resistant organisms is limited to inbound cases. There is little evidence regarding the prevalence of NDM beta-lactamase gene (blaNDM)-harboring CPE in the domestic community, especially in the provincial cities of Japan. Herein, we report the isolation of a blaNDM-1-harboring plasmid in Enterobacter cloacae complex strain isolated from an elderly woman without a history of traveling abroad who had resided in a long-term care facility in Okayama, Japan. The multidrug-resistant blaNDM-harboring CPE isolate was detected in a stool sample of the patient during routine screening at admission. We performed whole-genome sequencing analysis of the isolate using MiSeq (Illumina) and MinION (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) platforms. The isolate was identified as sequence type 171, which has predominantly been reported in the United States and China. The blaNDM-1 gene was encoded on the 46,161 bp IncX3 plasmid, with sequence similarity to plasmids of similar size isolated from individuals in China. Collectively, the genomic data suggest that an imported CPE isolate may have spread among healthy individuals in the regional area of Japan