Pipelining GF(P) Elliptic Curve Cryptography Computation

This paper proposes a new method to compute Elliptic Curve Cryptography in Galois Fields GF(p). The method incorporates pipelining to utilize the benefit of both parallel and serial methodology used before. It allows the exploitation of the inherited independency that exists in elliptic curve point addition and doubling operations. The results showed attraction because of its improvement over many parallel and serial techniques of elliptic curve crypto-computations

Development and Improvement of Methods to Disinfect Raw Beef Using Calcium Hydroxide–Ethanol–Lactate-Based Food Disinfectant for Safe Consumption

The enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) group is responsible for outbreaks and sporadic cases around the world annually. EHEC produces a potent protein known as Shiga toxin in the human intestine causing mild to bloody diarrhea. Some cases of EHEC infections may develop life-threatening symptoms, which may lead to human death. It also has other virulent factors that enable the EHEC cells to adhere to a target tissue and invade to some extent to crave more nutrition and escape the external extreme conditions, such as disinfection treatment. For those reasons, beef is not permitted for raw consumption unless guaranteed free of harmful bacteria, including EHEC, or the invading bacterial cells are completely removed or reduced to a safe level. A heat treatment that guarantees a sufficiently high temperature to reach inside the tissue of meat through the surface was established in Japan. This treatment may allow the core part of the meat to be consumed raw. However, it seemed to have some limitations. We aimed at developing a disinfection method with, hypothetically, nutrition-preserving property that is equivalent to the heat treatment or even superior. A combination of calcium hydroxide–ethanol–lactate-based food disinfectant and two proposed physical sterilization methods, assisted with microbial detection methods, exerted sufficient bactericidal activities against EHEC cells adhering to and/or invading the beef. These physical methods showed great usefulness in disinfecting fresh full-size boneless Round-beef of around 12 kg including fat on the outside. The first method applied a commercially available wide-drum washing machine (WM method) while the second method applied a specially designed plastic bag and a commercially available vibration machine (VV method). After trimming out the fat and the denatured surface of the beef (1 cm from the surface), the remaining meat mass showed no signs of denaturation and a significant reduction of viable EHEC cells by a factor of >104 CFU/ml. However, in the WM method, the disinfection process required a large amount of the disinfectant (150 L). The improved method, VV method, implemented a system that consumes a smaller amount of the disinfectant (50 L) while ensuring the targeted disinfection power degree

Antibiotic susceptibility profile of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from shrimp in Selangor, Malaysia

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a halophilic Gram-negative bacterium that is considered among gastrointestinal pathogens. Thirty isolates were tested for their susceptibility using 14 different antibiotics. One V. parahaemolyticus isolate was resistant to 10 antibiotics (cefotaxime, ceftazidime, tetracycline, amikacin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, ofloxacin, ampicillin, amoxicillin-calv-acid, and cefepime). The V. parahaemolyticus isolates were resistant to ampicillin (90%), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (63.3%), cefotaxime (60%), ceftazidime (46.7%), cefepime (50%), tetracycline (36.6%), and amikacin (26.7%). However, the isolates were highly susceptible to imipenem (100%), and piperacillin and gentamicin (96.7%). Approximately 55% of the isolates showed a multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of > 0.2, thereby indicating the high risk of sources where these isolates originated. The occurrence of MAR asserted the importance of determining drug susceptibility and monitoring the antimicrobial resistance profile to improve and ensure food safety and public health

Atrasentan and renal events in patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease (SONAR): a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Short-term treatment for people with type 2 diabetes using a low dose of the selective endothelin A receptor antagonist atrasentan reduces albuminuria without causing significant sodium retention. We report the long-term effects of treatment with atrasentan on major renal outcomes. Methods: We did this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial at 689 sites in 41 countries. We enrolled adults aged 18–85 years with type 2 diabetes, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR)25–75 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 of body surface area, and a urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR)of 300–5000 mg/g who had received maximum labelled or tolerated renin–angiotensin system inhibition for at least 4 weeks. Participants were given atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily during an enrichment period before random group assignment. Those with a UACR decrease of at least 30% with no substantial fluid retention during the enrichment period (responders)were included in the double-blind treatment period. Responders were randomly assigned to receive either atrasentan 0·75 mg orally daily or placebo. All patients and investigators were masked to treatment assignment. The primary endpoint was a composite of doubling of serum creatinine (sustained for ≥30 days)or end-stage kidney disease (eGFR <15 mL/min per 1·73 m 2 sustained for ≥90 days, chronic dialysis for ≥90 days, kidney transplantation, or death from kidney failure)in the intention-to-treat population of all responders. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of their assigned study treatment. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01858532. Findings: Between May 17, 2013, and July 13, 2017, 11 087 patients were screened; 5117 entered the enrichment period, and 4711 completed the enrichment period. Of these, 2648 patients were responders and were randomly assigned to the atrasentan group (n=1325)or placebo group (n=1323). Median follow-up was 2·2 years (IQR 1·4–2·9). 79 (6·0%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 105 (7·9%)of 1323 in the placebo group had a primary composite renal endpoint event (hazard ratio [HR]0·65 [95% CI 0·49–0·88]; p=0·0047). Fluid retention and anaemia adverse events, which have been previously attributed to endothelin receptor antagonists, were more frequent in the atrasentan group than in the placebo group. Hospital admission for heart failure occurred in 47 (3·5%)of 1325 patients in the atrasentan group and 34 (2·6%)of 1323 patients in the placebo group (HR 1·33 [95% CI 0·85–2·07]; p=0·208). 58 (4·4%)patients in the atrasentan group and 52 (3·9%)in the placebo group died (HR 1·09 [95% CI 0·75–1·59]; p=0·65). Interpretation: Atrasentan reduced the risk of renal events in patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease who were selected to optimise efficacy and safety. These data support a potential role for selective endothelin receptor antagonists in protecting renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk of developing end-stage kidney disease. Funding: AbbVie

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

ピックペンを用いた免疫磁気ビーズ分離法およびLAMP法に基づく臨床的に重要な12種類のO抗原型に属する志賀毒素産生性大腸菌検査法の開発

京都大学0048新制・課程博士博士(医学)甲第18898号医博第4009号新制||医||1009(附属図書館)31849京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻(主査)教授 木原 正博, 教授 中川 一路, 教授 一山 智学位規則第4条第1項該当Doctor of Medical ScienceKyoto UniversityDFA

Improvement of the quantitation method for the tdh (+) Vibrio parahaemolyticus in molluscan shellfish based on most-probable- number, immunomagnetic separation, and loop-mediated isothermal amplification.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a marine microorganism that can cause seafood-borne gastroenteritis in humans. The infection can be spread and has become a pandemic through the international trade of contaminated seafood. Strains carrying the tdh gene encoding the thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH) and/or the trh gene encoding the TDH-related hemolysin (TRH) are considered to be pathogenic with the former gene being the most frequently found in clinical strains. However, their distribution frequency in environmental isolates is below 1%. Thus, very sensitive methods are required for detection and quantitation of tdh (+) strains in seafood. We previously reported a method to detect and quantify tdh (+) V. parahaemolyticus in seafood. This method consists of three components: the most-probable-number (MPN), the immunomagnetic separation (IMS) targeting all established K antigens, and the loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) targeting the tdh gene. However, this method faces regional issues in tropical zones of the world. Technicians have difficulties in securing dependable reagents in high-temperature climates where we found MPN underestimation in samples having tdh (+) strains as well as other microorganisms present at high concentrations. In the present study, we solved the underestimation problem associated with the salt polymyxin broth enrichment for the MPN component and with the immunomagnetic bead-target association for the IMS component. We also improved the supply and maintenance of the dependable reagents by introducing a dried reagent system to the LAMP component. The modified method is specific, sensitive, quick and easy and applicable regardless of the concentrations of tdh (+) V. parahaemolyticus. Therefore, we conclude this modified method is useful in world tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate zones

Phase Behavior of Bicontinuous and Water/Diesel Fuel Microemulsions Using Nonionic Surfactants Combined with Hydrophilic Alcohol Ethoxylates

Bicontinuous and water-in-diesel microemulsions were formulated using single nonionic alkyl poly glycol ethers combined with hydrophilic alcohol ethoxylates. The phase behavior at temperatures ranging from 0 degrees C to 50 degrees C was investigated. Visual inspection as well as cross-polarizers were used to detect anisotropy. The fish phase diagrams were determined. The presence of the hydrophilic alcohol ethoxylates was necessary to initiate both types of microemulsions. Increasing the hydrophobic chain length of the surfactant led to a wider range of temperature stability at lower surfactant concentration. Meanwhile, increasing the ethylene oxide units in the headgroup by two units led to a phase diagram that is dominated by lyotropic liquid crystal. The formulated water in diesel microemulsions were tested experimentally in a 4-cylinder diesel engine. From this it is observed that the emissions of NOx, soot, and CO2 were reduced substantially compared to neat diesel, while for the CO the reduction occurs just at low load