Complete genome sequence of a clinical isolate harboring a novel variant of the carbapenemase gene, .

strain CRE21025 was isolated from a gallbladder abscess of a patient admitted to the hospital in Shimane Prefecture in 2021. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of this isolate, bearing a novel variant of the imipenemase-type gene, , by whole-genome sequencing using Oxford Nanopore and Illumina methods.

Risk Factors for Concussion in Under 18, Under 22 and Professional Men's Rugby Union: A Video Analysis of 14,809 Tackles.

Objective: This study aimed to identify the risk factors for tackle-related concussion observed in matches involving under (U) 18, U 22 and professional men's Rugby Union players through video analysis.

Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

Methods: Twenty Rugby Union matches each for high school (U18), university/college (U22) and professional (Elite) were randomly selected from 202 matches in the 2018/2019 season.

Association between number of medications and hip fractures in Japanese elderly using conditional logistic LASSO regression.

To examine the association between hip fracture and associated factors, including polypharmacy, and develop an optimal predictive model, we conducted a population-based matched case-control study using the health insurance claims data on hip fracture among Japanese patients. We included 34,717 hospitalized Japanese patients aged ≥ 65 years with hip fracture and 34,717 age- and sex- matched controls who were matched 1:1. This study included 69,434 participants.

Case fatality rate considering the lag time from the onset of COVID-19 infection to related death from 2020 to 2022 in Japan.

Importance: On an ecological scale, the lag time between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and related fatality has varied between epidemic waves and prefectures in Japan. The variability in lag time across areas of Japan during the seven distinct waves can help derive a more appropriate estimation of the weekly confirmed case fatality rate (CFR) of COVID-19.

Objective: To estimate the 7-day moving average CFR across area block levels in Japan from February 2020 to July 2022 using the lag time between COVID-19 infection and related fatality.

Novel indicator for the spread of new coronavirus disease 2019 and its association with human mobility in Japan.

The Japanese government adopted policies to control human mobility in 2020 to prevent the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, which causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The present study examined the impact of human mobility on COVID-19 cases at the prefectural level in Japan by devising an indicator to have a relationship between the number of infected people and on human mobility. We calculated origin-destination travel mobility within prefectures in Japan from March 1st to December 31st, 2020, using mobile phone data.

The impact of declaring the state of emergency on human mobility during COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

Background/objectives: Japan has responded to the spread of COVID-19 through declaration of a state of emergency to regulate human mobility. Although the declaration was enforced by the government for prefectures, there is limited evidence as to whether the public complied with requests for voluntary stay at home. In this study, we evaluated the impact of declaring a state of emergency on human mobility during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

Association between the efficacy and immune-related adverse events of pembrolizumab and chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer patients: a retrospective study.

Background: The combination of immune-checkpoint inhibitors with chemotherapy has become the standard of treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. However, the association between therapeutic efficacy and the development of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) remains unclear in patients treated with combination therapy. We aimed to investigate the frequency of irAEs, and the association between therapeutic efficacy and the development of irAEs in patients with NSCLC.

Novel rice iron biofortification approaches using expression of ZmYS1 and OsTOM1 controlled by tissue-specific promoters.

Intrinsic improvement of iron (Fe) concentration in rice grains, called rice Fe biofortification, is a promising countermeasure against widespread human Fe deficiency. In this study, two novel rice Fe biofortification approaches are reported. The first approach (Y approach) involved the expression of maize YELLOW STRIPE 1 controlled by the HEAVY METAL ATPASE 2 promoter.

Changes in social environment due to the state of emergency and Go To campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan: An ecological study.

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan, the state of emergency, as a public health measure to control the spread of COVID-19, and the Go To campaign, which included the Go To Travel and Go To Eat campaigns and was purposed to stimulate economic activities, were implemented. This study investigated the impact of these government policies on COVID-19 spread.

Methods: This ecological study included all 47 prefectures in Japan as samples between February 3 and December 27, 2020.

Rapid detection and discrimination of potentially toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans and Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis by multiplex real-time PCR and amplicon melting curve analysis.

We developed a multiplex real-time PCR assay with amplicon melting curve analysis to rapidly discriminate Corynebacterium ulcerans from Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis and detect the bacterial diphtheria toxin gene. This assay should be a valuable tool for identification of potentially toxigenic C. ulcerans.

Phylogeny, Prevalence, and Shiga Toxin (Stx) Production of Clinical Escherichia coli O157 Clade 2 Strains Isolated in Shimane Prefecture, Japan.

This study investigated the genetic and pathogenic variation of the subgroups of clade 2 strains of Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157. A total of 111 strains of STEC O157 isolated in Shimane prefecture, Japan, were classified in clade 2 (n = 39), clade 3 (n = 16), clade 4/5 (n = 3), clade 7 (n = 14), clade 8 (n = 17), and clade 12 (n = 22) by single-nucleotide polymorphism analysis and lineage-specific polymorphism assay-6. These results showed a distinct difference from our previous study in which clade 3 strains were the most prevalent strains in three other prefectures in Japan, indicating that the clade distribution of O157 strains was different in different geographic areas in Japan.

Delineating the future of iron biofortification studies in rice: challenges and future perspectives.

Iron (Fe) deficiency in humans is a widespread problem worldwide. Fe biofortification of rice (Oryza sativa) is a promising approach to address human Fe deficiency. Since its conceptualization, various biofortification strategies have been developed, some of which have resulted in significant increases in grain Fe concentration.

Potential Implications of Interactions between Fe and S on Cereal Fe Biofortification.

Iron (Fe) and sulfur (S) are two essential elements for plants, whose interrelation is indispensable for numerous physiological processes. In particular, Fe homeostasis in cereal species is profoundly connected to S nutrition because phytosiderophores, which are the metal chelators required for Fe uptake and translocation in cereals, are derived from a S-containing amino acid, methionine. To date, various biotechnological cereal Fe biofortification strategies involving modulation of genes underlying Fe homeostasis have been reported.

Molecular processes in iron and zinc homeostasis and their modulation for biofortification in rice.

More than a billion people suffer from iron or zinc deficiencies globally. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) iron and zinc biofortification; i.

Rapid and Accurate Diagnosis Based on Real-Time PCR Cycle Threshold Value for the Identification of Campylobacter jejuni, astA Gene-Positive Escherichia coli, and eae Gene-Positive E. coli.

We previously developed a multiplex real-time PCR assay (Rapid Foodborne Bacterial Screening 24 ver.5, [RFBS24 ver.5]) for simultaneous detection of 24 foodborne bacterial targets.

Comparison of two methods of bacterial DNA extraction from human fecal samples contaminated with Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Campylobacter jejuni.

In this study, 2 methods of DNA extraction were evaluated for use in conjunction with the screening system Rapid Foodborne Bacterial Screening 24 (RFBS24), which employs multiplex real-time SYBR Green polymerase chain reaction (SG-PCR) and can simultaneously detect 24 target genes of foodborne pathogens in fecal DNA samples. The QIAamp DNA Stool mini kit (Qkit) and Ultra Clean Fecal DNA Isolation Kit (Ukit) were used for bacterial DNA extraction from fecal samples artificially inoculated with Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Campylobacter jejuni. SG-PCR and simplex real-time quantitative PCR (S-qPCR) analyses revealed higher copy numbers (8-234 times) of DNA in samples obtained using Ukit compared with those obtained using Qkit, resulting in lower cycle threshold values for the Ukit samples of the 4 bacteria on SG-PCR analysis.