Antimicrobial activity of tebipenem to Escherichia coli isolates from outpatients with complicated urinary tract infections.

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli have emerged as a global concern in urinary tract infections (UTIs). This study investigated the susceptibility of clinical isolates of E. coli from complicated UTIs (cUTIs) to tebipenem pivoxil (TBPM), an oral carbapenem developed in Japan.

Traces of pandemic fluoroquinolone-resistant clone ST131 transmitted from human society to aquatic environments and wildlife in Japan.

Transmission of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria among humans, animals, and the environment is a growing concern worldwide. The distribution of an international high-risk fluoroquinolone-resistant clone, ST131, has been documented in clinical settings. However, the transmission of ST131 from humans to surrounding environments remains poorly elucidated.

The performance of a Fully Automated Urine Particle Analyzer, Sysmex UF-5000, in detecting fastidious bacteria in urine samples.

Several types of fastidious bacteria can cause tract infections. We evaluated the performance of counting fastidious bacteria using a Fully Automated Urine Particle Analyzer UF-5000. The results showed that UF-5000 counts fastidious bacteria in urine without the need for culture using measurement principles based on flow cytometry.

The third nationwide surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibility against Neisseria gonorrhoeae from male urethritis in Japan, 2016-2017.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae is one of the important pathogens of sexually transmitted infections. N. gonorrhoeae is rapidly becoming antimicrobial resistant, and there are few drugs that are effective in the initial treatment of gonorrhea.

Is it meaningful to apply midstream urine culture to urine specimens with negative Gram stain results?

Introduction: Gram staining is a convenient method for bacterial estimation. Urine culture is typically used to diagnose urinary tract infections. Therefore, urine culture is also performed on Gram stain-negative urine specimens.

Prediction of presence of fastidious bacteria by the Fully Automated Urine Particle Analyzer UF-1000i in the case of ineffective antimicrobial therapy for urinary tract infection.

Introduction: Recent studies have reported associations between fastidious bacteria that are difficult to grow and isolate in conventional urine culture conditions and urinary tract infections (UTIs). Because the Fully Automated Urine Particle Analyzer UF-1000i (hereinafter referred to as "UF-1000i") detects fastidious bacteria without being affected by culture conditions, owing to its flow cytometry-based principle, we evaluated the robustness of UF-1000i detection using clinical urine samples from patients with UTIs following ineffective antimicrobial therapy.

Methods: A total of 150 patients diagnosed with UTIs were enrolled, and their laboratory findings were analyzed, focusing on the discrepancy in bacterial numbers between UF-1000i and conventional culture at each antimicrobial therapy effectiveness classification.

AAUS guideline for chlamydial urethritis.

Urogenital chlamydial infection is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Many cases of chlamydial infection are reported worldwide every year. Genital chlamydial infection in women can also cause obstetric issues, including infertility and miscarriage.

Nationwide surveillance of bacterial pathogens isolated from patients with acute uncomplicated cystitis in 2018: Conducted by the Japanese Research Group for Urinary Tract Infections (JRGU).

Introduction: The aim of this study was to monitor the development of drug-resistant bacteria isolated from acute uncomplicated cystitis (AUC) and to evaluate methodology of the survey conducted by collecting only clinical data.

Methods: We enrolled female patients at least 16 years of age diagnosed with AUC in 2018. Patient information including age, menopausal status, and results of bacteriological examination were collected and analyzed regardless of bacterial identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing or extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) detection method.

Emergence and evolution of antimicrobial resistance genes and mutations in Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a global health concern. Strains from two internationally circulating sequence types, ST-7363 and ST-1901, have acquired resistance to third-generation cephalosporins, mainly due to mosaic penA alleles. These two STs were first detected in Japan; however, the timeline, mechanism, and process of emergence and spread of these mosaic penA alleles to other countries remain unknown.

Deuterium-labeled Raman tracking of glucose accumulation and protein metabolic dynamics in Aspergillus nidulans hyphal tips.

Filamentous fungi grow exclusively at their tips, where many growth-related fungal processes, such as enzyme secretion and invasion into host cells, take place. Hyphal tips are also a site of active metabolism. Understanding metabolic dynamics within the tip region is therefore important for biotechnology and medicine as well as for microbiology and ecology.

Characterization of 2 Neisseria gonorrhoeae Strains With High-Level Azithromycin Resistance Isolated in 2015 and 2018 in Japan.

We identified and characterized the first 2 Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains with high-level azithromycin resistance isolated in Japan. These were in the clade of ceftriaxone- and azithromycin-resistant strains isolated in Australia and the United Kingdom. The multilocus sequence typing, N.

Human Adenovirus B7d-Associated Urethritis after Suspected Sexual Transmission, Japan.

Outbreaks of acute respiratory disease associated with human adenovirus (HAdV) B7d have been reported, including fatal cases in the United States. In 2018, we detected HAdV-B7d in a patient with urethritis, probably transmitted through sexual contact. Infectious HAdV-B7d was excreted in urine and gargle for >10 days after the disappearance of symptoms.

Theoretical Modeling of Electronic Structures of Polyiodide Species Included in α-Cyclodextrin.

The molecular mechanism of blue color formation in an iodine-starch reaction is studied by employing the iodine-α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) complex as a practical model system that resembles the structural properties of the blue amylose-iodine complex. To this end, we construct, using the quantum chemistry method, a molecular model of the complex (I/Li/2α-CD) that consists of one I, two molecules of α-CD, and a lithium cation, and this model is employed as a basic unit in constructing the structural models of polyiodide ions (I). The initial structure in the geometry optimization is adopted from the α-CD-iodine complex structure obtained from the X-ray crystallography study.

The third national Japanese antimicrobial susceptibility pattern surveillance program: Bacterial isolates from complicated urinary tract infection patients.

The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of bacterial pathogens isolated from patients with complicated urinary tract infections were analyzed using national surveillance data. The data consisted of 881 bacterial strains from eight clinically relevant species. The data were collected for the third national surveillance project from January 2015 to March 2016 by the Japanese Society of Chemotherapy, the Japanese Association for Infectious Disease, and the Japanese Society of Clinical Microbiology.

Comparison of single- and multiple-dose cefazolin as prophylaxis for transurethral enucleation of prostate: A multicenter, prospective, randomized controlled trial by the Japanese Research Group for Urinary Tract Infection.

Objectives: To compare the optimal administration period of antimicrobial prophylaxis in patients undergoing transurethral enucleation of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Methods: We carried out a randomized controlled trial to compare the differences in incidence of perioperative genitourinary tract infection between single and multiple (3 days) administrations of cefazolin for transurethral enucleation of the prostate in benign prostatic hyperplasia patients without pyuria or bacteriuria between January 2015 and December 2018.

Results: This multicenter randomized controlled trial included 203 patients who underwent a transurethral enucleation of the prostate procedure.

The resonance® metallic ureteral stent in the treatment of malignant ureteral obstruction: a prospective observational study.

Background: To study the outcomes and experiences of using metallic stents in treating patients with malignant ureteral obstruction (MUO), we examined the effects of metallic ureteral stenting using the Cook Resonance® stent in the treatment of MUO.

Methods: All patients who had a Resonance metallic stent inserted between April 2015 and March 2018 at one of multiple facilities were prospectively observed with a 1-year follow-up. The primary outcome was the patency rate of the metallic ureteral stent.

Inhomogeneous Molecular Distributions and Cytochrome Types and Redox States in Fungal Cells Revealed by Raman Hyperspectral Imaging Using Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares.

Hyphae of filamentous fungi consist of compartments that are distinct both spatially and functionally, thereby forming a unique multicellular system. Much work has been done mainly using fluorescence imaging to reveal what biomolecules are present in those different hyphal sections and what physiological roles they play. Nevertheless, a holistic understanding of hyphal functions including the polarized growth of hyphae is still lacking because of the difficulty in simultaneous acquisition of spatial and chemical information on various molecular components in living hyphae.