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Biomedical subjects

M Uchimura

Publications and source records attributed to M Uchimura.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Optimal settings of fingerprint-type analysing computer software for the analysis of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns.

Settings of fingerprint-type analysing computer software were optimized for analysis of enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. Under the lowest values of parameters, maximum value of similarities calculated using the Dice coefficient were obtained between PFGE patterns from one EHEC strain on the same gel when reference lanes for calibration of distortions during electrophoresis were set to every fourth lane. PFGE patterns of 15 EHEC strains on different gels were investigated. Similarity values calculated using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (Pearson correlation) were significantly higher than those using the Dice coefficient with optimal values of parameters determined by the program (P < 0.01). When PFGE patterns of 45 EHEC strains were analysed by the computer program, EHEC strains from one mass outbreak and three intra-family outbreaks were each clustered and the similarity values within the clusters were > 90% using Pearson correlation.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗

Late-onset biliary leakage after laparoscopic cholecystectomy using laparoscopic coagulating shears. Report of a case.

We recently encountered a rare case of late-onset biliary leakage after laparoscopic cholecystectomy using laparoscopic coagulating shears (LCS). The patient was a 49-year-old Japanese man who had undergone a laparoscopic cholecystectomy at Hamamatsu Medical Center after a diagnosis of cholecystolithiasis associated with localized adenomyomatosis. The cystic duct and the cystic artery were closed using LCS instead of metal endoclips. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged on the 4th operative day. However, on the 7th day after the surgery, the patient developed severe upper abdominal pain and was readmitted to our center with the diagnosis of a late biliary leakage, which was confirmed by an endoscopic retrograde cholangiogram. We then treated the leak successfully with endoscopic nasobiliary drainage.

Bile Ducts↗

[Increasing incidence and the mechanism of resistance of nalidixic acid resistant Shigella sonnei].

One hundred and fourteen Shigella sonnei strains obtained in 1991 to 2000 were tested for their susceptibilities to 12 antimicrobial agents. Nalidixic acid (NA) resistance was found in 2 of 15 strains (13.3%) in 1993, 2 of 8 strains (25%) in 1996, one of 5 strains (20%) in 1998, 7 of 21 strains (33.3%) in 1999 and 6 of 12 strains (50%) in 2000. The incidence of resistance to NA in S. sonnei strains increased significantly during this period. Among those 19 NA resistant strains, 11 strains were derived from patients with traveler's diarrhea and 8 strains were derived from patients who had not traveled abroad before the infection, namely domestic patients. PFGE analysis with Xba I revealed that all strains tested differentiated into two major clonal clusters, one cluster consisted of strains derived from patients who had traveled to India after 1993, and another cluster included strains derived from domestic patients. Mechanism of NA resistance was examined by sequencing the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of gyrA gene. Among 19 NA resistant strains tested, 11 strains presented a change at Ser-83 to Leu and 7 strains presented a change at Asp-87 to Try (5 strains) or Asn (2 strains), whereas 3 NA sensitive strains had no change in the region. These findings indicated that this mutation in gyrA plays an important role in acquisition of Nalidixic-acid resistance in clinical isolates of S. sonnei.

DNA Gyrase↗

[Restoration of the habit of routine tooth brushing teeth in patients with severe dementia].

Purpose-related activities are often lost in severe dementia, including oral hygiene habits such as brushing teeth. The aim of this study is to investigate whether patients with severe dementia can be induced to develop an oral hygiene routine through an occupational therapy approach and whether routine training in oral hygiene habits can reduce dental or denture plaque. Six female inpatients in the same room, who had been given diagnosis of multiple cerebral infarction and dementia. The project design included 4 periods a, b1, b2, and c, a and c were observation periods, while b1 and b2 were general approach periods. In the approach periods we held meetings, and made the program for oral hygiene, planning and problem-solving. In the b2 period both direct intervention by the dentists, dental hygienists and occupational therapists reinforced the habit of brushing teeth in subjects and educated care approach guidance. No patient completely resumed routine habit of brushing teeth, but an improvement in brushings was found in four subjects, one case had no change, and in one case brushing deteriorated. The state of oral hygiene showed improvement in periods b1 and b2. Although the adherence of dental plaque decreased in period b2, it increased in period c. Despite the improvement in performance, sufficient improvement in oral disease prophylaxis was not recognized, suggesting the necessity of professional oral health care by dental staff, and of a disciplinary team approach.

Aged↗

Gallbladder volvulus: experience of six consecutive cases at an institute.

Recently we treated three patients with gallbladder volvulus within a short period. All three patients were examined preoperatively using computed tomography (CT). The first two cases were not diagnosed accurately before laparotomy. A precise diagnosis was made for the third one prior to surgery, based on our former experiences. Typical images, with marked edema and thickened wall of the gallbladder volvulus were shown on CT. We discuss six consecutive cases of the disease experienced at Hamamatsu Medical Center (i.e., the three patients rofed above, and three who did not have preoperative CT).

Aged↗

[Characterization of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O26 and development of its isolation media].

We studied 101 strains of Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O26 isolated from diarrhea patients in six prefectural institutes of public health in Japan during June 1996 and December 1997 and tried to establish an isolation medium for EHEC O26. None of the 101 EHEC O26 strains fermented rhamnose; Whereas all of the other EHEC including O157 and non-EHEC (166 strains) fermented rhamnose except 1 strain of non-EHEC. All of the randomly selected EHEC O26 (14 strains of O26:H11.2 strains of O26:H-) showed a very high resistance to potassium tellurite (Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) > or = 50 micrograms/ml), whereas all of the randomly selected non-EHEC (26 strains) but 1 showed a high sensitivity (MIC < or = 6.25 micrograms/ml) to this compound. On the basis of these results, we developed a Rhamnose MacConkey (RMAC) medium in which lactose in the MacConkey medium was replaced by rhamnose, and Cefixime-Potassium Tellurite-RMAC (CT-RMAC) medium in which Cefixime (0.05mg/l) and Potassium Tellurite (25mg/l) was added to RMAC for the isolation of EHEC O26 strains. We then evaluated the specifcity of these selective media by growing a selected number of O26 (24 strains) and 9 selected strains of bacteria. All of the EHEC O26 strains generated rhamnose non-fermented colonies (white color) on both media. In contrast to the EHEC O26, the vast majority of E. coli strains (166/167 = 99.4%) other than EHEC O26 were theoretically assumed to generate red colonies on the RMAC medium because of their rhamnose fermenting character and most of them were assumed not to grow on CT-RMAC medium because of their sensitivity to potassium tellurite. These findings and results indicate that EHEC O26 can be easily distinguished from other strains of E. coli including O157. Although EHEC O26 strains showed somewhat poor growth on CT-RMAC medium compared with that on RMAC medium, these O26 showed almost the same degree of growth on CT-RMAC as they showed on DHL media. The results of the present study demonstrated that the use of RMAC and CT-MRAC media for the isolation of EHEC O26 is very reliable and efficient with RMAC having good sensitivity and CT-RMAC having a better specificity for the isolation of this strain of EHEC.

Culture Media↗

[Usefulness of genotypic analysis for investigation of an epidemic of Shigella sonnei infections in Ooami-shirasato Town, Chiba Prefecture].

In March 1996, an epidemic of Shigella sonnei infection occurred in Ooamishira-sato Town, Chiba Prefecture. Colicine typing, antibiotic resistance patterns, plasmid profiles, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and random amplified poly-morphic DNA (RAPD) were used for the investigation of the epidemic. Ninety-four isolates from patients exhibited three different colicine types and five different antibiotic resistance patterns. But the patterns of plasmid profile, PFGE and RAPD were uniform among the isolates with different colicine type and antibiotic resistance pattern. It is possible that these isolates belonged to a single bacterial clone and circulated through human to human.

Dysentery, Bacillary↗

[Prospective randomized trial comparing 1/2 FAM (5-fluorouracil (5-FU) + adriamycin + mitomycin C) versus palliative therapy for the treatment of unresectable pancreatic and biliary tract carcinomas (the 2nd trial in non-resectable patients). Japanese Study Group of Surgical Adjuvant Therapy for Carcinomas of the Pancreas and Biliary Tract].

The efficacy of 1/2 FAM, which consists of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), adriamycin (ADM) and mitomycin C (MMC), was compared with that of palliative treatment in patients with unresectable pancreatic and biliary tract carcinomas in a multicenter randomized trial. The patients assigned to 1/2 FAM group were treated with 5-FU 200 mg/m2/day IV, ADM 15 mg/m2/day IV and MMC 5 mg/m2/day IV. These 3 drugs were given concurrently as the initial dose within a week after palliative operation, and this regimen was repeated for at least 2 whole courses, at 4-week intervals before the next course of therapy. Those randomized to the control group were subjected to palliative treatment alone. Completely eligible for analysis were 42 cases of the 1/2 FAM group and 41 of the control group. There was no significant difference between the groups with respect to the overall and differentiated survival times according to the tumor sites and the clinical efficacy. As for the duration of 50% inhibition of tumor progression, a significantly better outcome was obtained in 1/2 FAM group. Tumor progression was most significantly inhibited in patients with gallbladder carcinoma. In 1/2 FAM group, tumor reduction was achieved in 1 CR and 2 PR patients. The most frequent adverse reaction was gastrointestinal manifestations, along with diarrhea and alopecia. 1/2 FAM did not contribute to the life prolongation, but inhibited the tumor progression for a significantly longer duration and, to a lesser extent, reduced the tumor size in unresectable pancreatic and biliary tract carcinomas. This regimen is suggested to be useful particularly in the treatment of the latter carcinoma.

Adult↗

[Effect of 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine (5'-DFUR) on the activity of pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase (pyNPase) in normal and tumor tissues of human stomach].

PyNPase (pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase) activity and IL-1 alpha were measured in normal and tumor tissues of the specimens resected from gastric cancer patients who had been divided into two groups; one given preoperative 5'-DFUR (oral administration at a mean dose of 10.0 g) and one not given 5'-DFUR (control). PyNPase activities in both groups were higher in tumor than in normal tissues (p = 0.0001), but, less in tumor tissue of the preoperative administration group than the controls (p = 0.0376). IL-1 alpha levels in both groups were higher in tumor than in normal tissues (p < 0.01). Multiple regression analysis of the results showed that IL-1 alpha strongly influenced on PyNPase activity in tumor tissues (higher IL-1 alpha levels resulted in higher PyNPase activities in tumor tissues) (p = 0.0334).

Antineoplastic Agents↗

High prevalence of thermostable direct hemolysin (TDH)-like toxin in Vibrio mimicus strains isolated from diarrhoeal patients.

A total of 17 isolates of Vibrio mimicus from patients, 29 from environment and 2 from food was examined for toxigenicity. Sixteen (94%) clinical isolates and one (50%) from food produced TDH-like toxin, whereas none of the environmental isolates did so. The food from which V. mimicus with TDH-like toxin production was isolated, was one which had caused food poisoning. Only one environmental strain produced CT-like toxin, whilst ST-like toxin was not detected from any strains tested.

Animals↗

Production of hemagglutinins and pili by Vibrio mimicus and its adherence to human and rabbit small intestines in vitro.

Clinical isolate of Vibrio mimicus were examined for production of cell-associated hemagglutinin (HA) and pili and for adherence to formalin-fixed human intestinal mucosa. V. mimicus grown on CFA agar for 3 h at 37 degrees C possessed HA and adhered better to the mucus layer than to the epithelial cell surface. A significant correlation was found between the HA titers and adherence ability to the epithelial cell surface of villi (P less than 0.05); adherence to the ileal lymphoid follicle-associated epithelium occurred at higher levels. In contrast, V. mimicus grown on CFA agar for 20 h at 37 degrees C exhibited lower levels of HA and reduced adherence ability. The production of pili was more pronounced after 20 h of incubation than after 3 h of incubation. In comparison with V. cholerae 01 and V. cholerae non-01 cultured under similar conditions, V. mimicus showed inferior adherence, but with similar HA production or piliation.

Adult↗

Localized, aggregative, and diffuse adherence to HeLa cells, plastic, and human small intestines by Escherichia coli isolated from patients with diarrhea.

Adherence of diarrhea-associated Escherichia coli was studied by scanning electron microscopy. Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) adherence factor-positive (EAF+) E. coli of EPEC serotypes (class I EPEC) adhered to plastic and human jejunal and ileal mucosa, similar to case and HeLa cells. Localized adherence, elongation of cell microvilli, and "locking" of the bacterial aggregates by the elongated microvilli were evident after incubation for 20 min. EAF+ E. coli adhered strikingly to mucus but rarely to M cells in Peyer's patch-associated epithelium. Most enteroaggregative E. coli (EAggEC) strains adhered to plastic, similar to HeLa cells. Some diffuse-adhering E. coli (DAEC) strains displayed no adherence to plastic but formed "dimples" on HeLa cells. Both EAggEC and DAEC adhered at lower levels to human small intestines (except M cells) than did EAF+ E. coli. In all cases of EAF+ E. coli, EAggEC, and DAEC, strains were found with atypical characteristics. The data demonstrate the unique adherence characteristics of EAF+ E. coli, EAggEC, and DAEC.

Adhesins, Escherichia coli↗