Chromosomal integration of blaCTX-M genes in diverse Escherichia coli isolates recovered from river water in Japan

Occurrence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (ESBLEC) in environmental waters is of great concern. However, unlike clinical ESBLEC, their genetic characteristics, in particular the genetic contexts of ESBL genes, are not well understood. In this study, we sequenced and analyzed the genomes of CTX-M-producing E. coli isolates recovered from river water to fully characterize the genetic contexts of blaCTX-M genes. Among the 14 isolates with completed genomes, blaCTX-M genes were detected on the chromosome in nine isolates. All but one chromosomal blaCTX-M genes were associated with ISEcp1 and were carried on different transposition units ranging in size from 2, 855 bp to 11, 093 bp; the exception, blaCTX-M-2, was associated with ISCR1. The remaining five isolates carried blaCTX-M genes on epidemic IncI1 plasmids of different sequence types (STs) (ST3, ST16, ST113, and ST167) (n = 4) or on an IncB/O/K/Z plasmid (n = 1). This study revealed that environmental E. coli carry blaCTX-M genes in diverse genetic contexts. Apparent high prevalence of chromosomal blaCTX-M potentially indicates that some E. coli can stably maintain blaCTX-M genes in environmental waters, though further studies are needed to confirm this

Development of a novel evaluation method for air particles using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy analysis

The aim of this study was to develop a novel evaluation method for air particles using surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy (SPR) analysis. An L1 sensor chip modified with immobilized liposome was used as a model of the membrane of epithelial cells in organs of respiration. A test suspension of dispersed air particles was flowed onto the sensor chip. The interaction between the surface of the sensor chip and particulates in the sample solution was detected by SPR. It is deduced that the SPR measurement provides information about the adsorption/desorption behavior of the particles on the membrane. Environmentally certified reference materials, diesel particulate matter, vehicle exhaust particulates, urban particulate matter, coal fly ash, and rocks, were used as air particulate samples. Filtrates of suspensions of these samples were analyzed by SPR. Each sample revealed characteristic SPR sensor-gram patterns. For example, diesel particulate matter strongly interacted with the lipid bilayer, and was hardly dissociated. On the other hand, coal fly ash and rock particles interacted poorly with the membrane. The presented method could be used to evaluate or characterize air particles.ArticleANALYST. 138(18):5437-5443 (2013)journal articl

Occurrence of class 1 integrons carrying two copies of the blaGES-5 gene in carbapenem-non-susceptible Citrobacter freundii and Raoultella ornithinolytica isolated from wastewater

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Application of Hamamatsu MPPC to T2K Neutrino Detectors

A special type of Hamamatsu MPPC, with a sensitive area of 1.3x1.3mm^2 containing 667 pixels with 50x50um^2 each, has been developed for the near neutrino detector in the T2K long baseline neutrino experiment. About 60 000 MPPCs will be used in total to read out the plastic scintillator detectors with wavelength shifting fibers. We report on the basic performance of MPPCs produced for T2K.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of NDIP 2008, Aix-les-Bains, France, June 15-20, 200

Performance of Multi-Pixel Photon Counters for the T2K near detectors

We have developed a Multi-Pixel Photon Counter (MPPC) for the neutrino detectors of T2K experiment. About 64,000 MPPCs have been produced and tested in about a year. In order to characterize a large number of MPPCs, we have developed a system that simultaneously measures 64 MPPCs with various bias voltage and temperature. The performance of MPPCs are found to satisfy the requirement of T2K experiment. In this paper, we present the performance of 17,686 MPPCs measured at Kyoto University.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figure

Transient dynamics for sequence processing neural networks

An exact solution of the transient dynamics for a sequential associative memory model is discussed through both the path-integral method and the statistical neurodynamics. Although the path-integral method has the ability to give an exact solution of the transient dynamics, only stationary properties have been discussed for the sequential associative memory. We have succeeded in deriving an exact macroscopic description of the transient dynamics by analyzing the correlation of crosstalk noise. Surprisingly, the order parameter equations of this exact solution are completely equivalent to those of the statistical neurodynamics, which is an approximation theory that assumes crosstalk noise to obey the Gaussian distribution. In order to examine our theoretical findings, we numerically obtain cumulants of the crosstalk noise. We verify that the third- and fourth-order cumulants are equal to zero, and that the crosstalk noise is normally distributed even in the non-retrieval case. We show that the results obtained by our theory agree with those obtained by computer simulations. We have also found that the macroscopic unstable state completely coincides with the separatrix.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure

Mass production test of Hamamatsu MPPC for T2K neutrino oscillation experiment

In the T2K near neutrino detectors, about 60 000 Hamamatsu Multi-Pixel Photon Counters (MPPCs) will be used. The mass production of MPPC has started in February 2008.In order to perform quality assurance and to characterize each device, we have developed an MPPC test system. For each MPPC, gain, breakdown voltage, noise rate, photo detection efficiency, and cross-talk and after-pulse rate are measured as functions of the bias voltage and temperature. The design of the test system and the measurement procedure are described.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of NDIP 2008, Aix-les-Bains, France, June 15-20, 200

Rapid Formation of Cerebral Microbleeds after Carotid Artery Stenting

Background: Recent studies reported that cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), i.e. small areas of signal loss on T2*-weighted gradient-echo (GE) imaging, could develop rapidly after acute ischemic stroke. We hypothesized that CMBs rapidly emerge after carotid artery stenting (CAS). Objective: We investigated the frequency of and predisposing factors for CMBs after CAS. Methods: We retrospectively examined MRI before and after CAS in 88 consecutive patients (average age: 71.7 ± 7.2 years, average rates of carotid stenosis: 72.6 ± 12.8%) who underwent CAS for carotid artery stenosis between March 1, 2009, and September 30, 2010. We defined new CMBs as signal losses that newly appeared on the follow-up GE. We examined the association of new CMBs with demographics, risk factors, and baseline MBs. Results: Among 88 patients, 18 (20.5%) had CMBs initially, and 7 (8.0%) developed new CMBs right after CAS. New CMBs appeared on the same side of CAS in all of the 7 patients. New CMBs appeared significantly more frequently in the CMB-positive group than in the CMB-negative one (22% vs. 4%, p = 0.03) on the pre-CAS MRI. Multivariate analysis also revealed that the presence of CMBs before CAS was an independent predictor of new development of CMBs after CAS (odds ratio: 8.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.39–47.1). Conclusion: CMBs can develop rapidly after CAS, especially in patients with pre-existing CMBs. Since the existence of CMBs prior to CAS suggests a latent vascular damage which is vulnerable to hemodynamic stress following CAS, particular attention should be paid to the prevention of intracerebral hemorrhage due to hyperperfusion after CAS