Antibacterial Activity of Hypericum Erectum

In recent years, the potential of oral care in preventing aspiration pneumonia has been recognized. Consuming drinks is thought to be an easy and effective method of oral care, and the antibacterial activities of various drinks have been examined. However, the side effects associated with, for example, caffeine as an ingredient in tea (e.g. sleep disorders) need to be taken into consideration. As yet, a safe caffeine-free tea to be taken orally to prevent aspiration pneumonia has not been reported. Thus, in the present study we evaluated the antibacterial effects of hot water extracts of four teas, namely Hypericum Erectum, Crataegus cuneata, Rosa canina, and Matricaria rectita, thought to be caffeine-free. The effects of the extracts against 19 bacteria and 1 fungus were investigated by the dilution plate technique. In addition, the components of the teas were analyzed by HPLC analysis. The strongest antibacterial activity was observed for the hot water extract of H. erectum, which exhibited significant activity against oral bacteria, including Streptococcus oralis. However, the H. erectum extract did not kill microbiota, such as Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus casei. Neither hypericin nor caffeine, both of which have notable side effects, were detected in the H. erectum extract following HPLC analysis. These results suggest that H. erectum tea may be a good candidate for simple, safe oral care to prevent aspiration pneumonia in the elderly

Structured triacylglycerol containing behenic and oleic acids suppresses triacylglycerol absorption and prevents obesity in rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dietary 1(3)-behenoyl-2,3(1)-dioleoyl-<it>rac</it>-glycerol (BOO) has been reported to inhibit pancreatic lipase activity <it>in vitro </it>and suppress postprandial hypertriacylglycerolemia in humans. In the present study, the anti-obesity activities of BOO and its inhibitory effects on lymphatic triacylglycerol (TAG) absorption were investigated in rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In Experiment 1, rats were fed either BOO or soybean oil (SO) diet for 6 weeks. In the BOO diet, 20% of SO was replaced with an experimental oil rich in BOO. In Experiments 2 and 3, rats cannulated in the thoracic duct were administered an emulsions containing trioleoylglycerol (OOO) or an oil mixture (OOO:BOO, 9:1). Tri[1-¹⁴C]oleoylglycerol (¹⁴C-OOO) was added to the emulsions administered in Experiment 3.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>No observable differences were detected in food intake or body weight gain between the BOO and SO groups in Experiment 1. Plasma and liver TAG concentrations and visceral fat weights were significantly lower in the BOO group than in the SO group. The apparent absorption rate of fat was significantly lower in the BOO group than in the SO group. In Experiment 2, the lymphatic recovery of oleic and behenic acids was significantly lower at 5 and 6 h after BOO administration than after OOO administration. In Experiment 3, the lymphatic recovery of ¹⁴C-OOO was significantly lower at 5 and 6 h after BOO administration than after OOO administration.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that BOO prevents deposition of visceral fat and hepatic TAG by lowering and delaying intestinal absorption of TAG.</p

A Randomized Phase 2 Trial of Antibiotic Prophylaxis Versus No Intervention for Muscle Biopsy in A Neurology Department

Muscle biopsy can be used to confirm the diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases. However, it is unclear whether antibiotic prophylaxis prior to muscle biopsy is needed to prevent surgical site infection (SSI). We are conducting a phase 2, single-center, open-labeled, prospective randomized trial to clarify the need for antibiotic prophylaxis in patients at low risk for SSI undergoing muscle biopsy. Patients will be randomized to an antibiotic prophylaxis group or a control group, and the incidence of SSI will be compared between the groups. Our findings will clarify the need for antibiotic prophylaxis in this patient population

Epidemiological Survey of Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome Virus in Ticks in Nagasaki, Japan

Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an emerging disease endemic in East Asia. Transmitted to other organisms by infected ticks, the SFTS virus (SFTSV) and is endemic to Nagasaki in western Japan. However, epidemiological information regarding SFTSV in Nagasaki ticks has not been available to date. In this study, we began by examining the sensitivities of SFTSV gene detection by real-time RT-PCR and virus isolation in cultured cells and mice. These methods could detect SFTSV in the samples containing more than 4 × 10° ffu. Next, we attempted to isolate SFTSV and to detect viral gene in 2,222 nymph and adult ticks collected from May to August 2013 among seven regions of Nagasaki. However, neither virus isolation nor viral gene detection were confirmed in the tick pools. SFTSV positivity rates are considered to be very low in ticks, and viral loads are also very limited. Further investigations increasing the number of ticks and including larval samples as well as improved detection methods, may be required to find SFTSV-positive ticks in this region

RETRACTED: Autoimmunity as the Consequence of a Spontaneous Mutation in Rasgrp1

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy).This article has been retracted at the request of the Authors.The authors have agreed to retract the paper because of the falsification of the Western blot in Figure 6A. The figure shows a defect in Ras activation, labeled as RasGTP, following TCR engagement, in thymocytes isolated from a RasGRP1 lag mutant mouse strain. This data set is one of several that show signaling and functional deficiencies identified for cells with lost of function of RasGRP. The authors stand by the validity of the other figures, results and interpretation in this paper. This matter was investigated by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Office of Research Integrity at the United States Department of Health & Human Services, which found the figure was falsified by Luk Van Parijs, who is solely responsible. The authors deeply regret any inconvenience resulting from the publication of this data

COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against severe COVID-19 requiring oxygen therapy, invasive mechanical ventilation, and death in Japan: A multicenter case-control study (MOTIVATE study).

INTRODUCTION: Since the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant became dominant, assessing COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness (VE) against severe disease using hospitalization as an outcome became more challenging due to incidental infections via admission screening and variable admission criteria, resulting in a wide range of estimates. To address this, the World Health Organization (WHO) guidance recommends the use of outcomes that are more specific to severe pneumonia such as oxygen use and mechanical ventilation. METHODS: A case-control study was conducted in 24 hospitals in Japan for the Delta-dominant period (August-November 2021; "Delta") and early Omicron (BA.1/BA.2)-dominant period (January-June 2022; "Omicron"). Detailed chart review/interviews were conducted in January-May 2023. VE was measured using various outcomes including disease requiring oxygen therapy, disease requiring invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV), death, outcome restricting to "true" severe COVID-19 (where oxygen requirement is due to COVID-19 rather than another condition(s)), and progression from oxygen use to IMV or death among COVID-19 patients. RESULTS: The analysis included 2125 individuals with respiratory failure (1608 cases [75.7%]; 99.2% of vaccinees received mRNA vaccines). During Delta, 2 doses provided high protection for up to 6 months (oxygen requirement: 95.2% [95% CI:88.7-98.0%] [restricted to "true" severe COVID-19: 95.5% {89.3-98.1%}]; IMV: 99.6% [97.3-99.9%]; fatal: 98.6% [92.3-99.7%]). During Omicron, 3 doses provided high protection for up to 6 months (oxygen requirement: 85.5% [68.8-93.3%] ["true" severe COVID-19: 88.1% {73.6-94.7%}]; IMV: 97.9% [85.9-99.7%]; fatal: 99.6% [95.2-99.97]). There was a trend towards higher VE for more severe and specific outcomes. CONCLUSION: Multiple outcomes pointed towards high protection of 2 doses during Delta and 3 doses during Omicron. These results demonstrate the importance of using severe and specific outcomes to accurately measure VE against severe COVID-19, as recommended in WHO guidance in settings of intense transmission as seen during Omicron

Switching between laser‐induced thermophoresis and thermal convection of liquid suspension in a microgap with variable dimension

Phoretic motion of particles along a temperature gradient formed in a fluid, known as thermophoresis, often takes place under the influence of bulk motion caused by thermal convection. In this paper, using a laser heating method, the significance of two competing effects, that is, thermophoresis and thermal convection, for the particle transport in a liquid phase confined in a microgap is investigated experimentally by changing the gap size as a control parameter. It is found that there is a threshold of the gap size, above which the particles tend to accumulate around the heated spot, forming a ring-like particle distribution. On the contrary, if the gap size is below the threshold, the particles are depleted from the heated spot. Switching between these accumulation and depletion modes is expected to develop novel manipulation techniques