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Yusuke Yagi,1,2 Akito Doke,1,3 Saya Iwame,1,3 Yu Arakawa,1,4 Yuka Yamagishi1,4 1Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Kochi Medical School Hospital, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan; 2Department of Pharmacy, Kochi Medical School Hospital, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan; 3Department of Clinical Laboratory, Kochi Medical School Hospital, Nankoku, Kochi, Japan; 4Department of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, JapanCorrespondence: Yuka Yamagishi, Department of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University, Nankoku, Kochi, 783-8505, Japan, Tel +81 88 866 5811, Fax +81 88 880 2611, Email y.yamagishi@mac.comBackground: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) enteritis is a condition in which MRSA grows abnormally in the intestine after administration of antimicrobial agents, resulting in enteritis. Patients with MRSA detected in stool culture tests are often diagnosed with MSRA enteritis. However, uncertainty remains in the diagnostic criteria; therefore, we conducted epidemiological studies to define these cases.Patients and Methods: Patients who tested positive for MRSA by stool culture using selective media 48 h after admission to Kochi Medical School Hospital between April 1, 2012, and December 31, 2022, and did not meet the exclusion criteria were included. We defined MRSA enteritis (Group A) as cases that were responsive to treatment with vancomycin hydrochloride powder, had a Bristol Stool Scale of ≥ 5, and a stool frequency of at least three times per day; all others were MRSA carriers (Group B). Multivariate analysis was performed to risk factors associated with MRSA enteritis.Results: Groups A and B included 18 (25.4%) and 53 (74.6%) patients, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that a white blood cell count of > 10000/μL (odds ratio [OR], 5.50; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12– 26.9), MRSA count of ≥ 2+ in stool cultures (OR, 8.91; 95% CI, 1.79– 44.3), and meropenem administration within 1 month of stool specimen submission (OR, 7.47; 95% CI, 1.66– 33.6) were risk factors of MRSA enteritis.Conclusion: The case definitions reviewed for MRSA enteritis may be useful as diagnostic criteria. Keywords: MRSA enteritis, diagnostic criteria, white blood cell, MRSA counts in stool cultures, meropenem

Geodetic imaging data and seismicwaveformdata have complementary strengthswhen considering the modelling of earthquakes. The former, particularly modern space geodetic techniques such as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), permit high spatial density of observation and thus fine resolution of the spatial pattern of fault slip; the latter provide precise and accurate timing information, and thus the ability to resolve how that fault slip varies over time. In order to harness these complementary strengths, we propose a method through which the two data types can be combined in a joint inverse model for the evolution of slip on a specified fault geometry. We present here a derivation of Akaike's Bayesian Information Criterion (ABIC) for the joint inversion of multiple data sets that explicitly deals with the problem of objectively estimating the relative weighting between data sets, as well as the optimal influence of model smoothness constraints in space and time. We demonstrate our ABIC inversion scheme by inverting InSAR displacements and teleseismic waveform data for the 1997 Manyi, Tibet, earthquake.We test, using a simplified fault geometry, three cases-InSAR data inverted alone, vertical component teleseismic broad-band waveform data inverted alone and a joint inversion of both data sets. The InSAR-only model and seismic-only model differ significantly in the distribution of slip on the fault plane that they predict. The joint-inversion model, however, has not only a similar distribution of slip and fit to the InSAR data in the InSAR-only model, suggesting that those data provide the stronger control on the pattern of slip, but is also able to fit the seismic data at a minimal degradation of fit when compared with the seismic-only model. The rupture history of the preferred, joint-inversion model, indicates bilateral rupture for the first 20 s of the earthquake, followed by a further 25 s of westward unilateral rupture afterwards, with slip peaking at 7m in the upper 6 km of the fault. This joint-inversion approach is thus shown to be a viable method for the study of large shallow continental earthquakes, and may be of particular benefit in cases where near-field seismic observations are not available. © The Authors 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal Astronomical Society.

Yoshika Kurokawa,1 Hideko Sone,1 Tin-Tin Win-Shwe,1 Yang Zeng,1 Hiroyuki Kimura,2 Yosuke Koyama,1 Yusuke Yagi,2 Yasuto Matsui,3 Masashi Yamazaki,4 Seishiro Hirano1 1Center for Health and Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 2Department of Analytical and Bioinorganic Chemistry, Kyoto Pharmaceutical University, 3Department of Environmental Engineering, Kyoto University Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto, 4TIA Center Office, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan Abstract: Dendrimers have been expected as excellent nanodevices for brain medication. An amine-terminated polyamidoamine dendrimer (PD), an unmodified plain type of PD, has the obvious disadvantage of cytotoxicity, but still serves as an attractive molecule because it easily adheres to the cell surface, facilitating easy cellular uptake. Single-photon emission computed tomographic imaging of a mouse following intravenous injection of a radiolabeled PD failed to reveal any signal in the intracranial region. Furthermore, examination of the permeability of PD particles across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in vitro using a commercially available kit revealed poor permeability of the nanoparticles, which was suppressed by an inhibitor of caveolae-mediated endocytosis, but not by an inhibitor of macropinocytosis. Physicochemical analysis of the PD revealed that cationic PDs are likely to aggregate promptly upon mixing with body fluids and that this prompt aggregation is probably driven by non-Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek attractive forces originating from the surrounding divalent ions. Atomic force microscopy observation of a freshly cleaved mica plate soaked in dendrimer suspension (culture media) confirmed prompt aggregation. Our study revealed poor transfer of intravenously administered cationic PDs into the intracranial nervous tissue, and the results of our analysis suggested that this was largely attributable to the reduced BBB permeability arising from the propensity of the particles to promptly aggregate upon mixing with body fluids. Keywords: PAMAM dendrimer, nanomaterial, aggregation, blood–brain barrier

Sachio Fushida, Katsunobu Oyama, Jun Kinoshita, Yasumichi Yagi, Kouichi Okamoto, Hidehiro Tajima, Itasu Ninomiya, Takashi Fujimura, Tetsuo OhtaDepartment of Gastroenterological Surgery, Kanazawa University Hospital, Kanazawa, JapanBackground: In gastric cancer, poor prognosis is associated with peritoneal dissemination, which often accompanies malignant ascites. We searched for a target molecule in peritoneal metastasis and investigated its clinical utility as a biomarker.Methods: Biopsy specimens from both primary lesions and peritoneal metastasis, and if possible, malignant ascites, were obtained from 40 patients with gastric cancer. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results: VEGF expression was seen in 70% of peritoneal samples. Of the 40 patients, 35 had malignant ascites. These 35 patients were divided into two groups: 15 with ascites found beyond the pelvic cavity (large group) and 20 whose ascites were within the pelvic cavity (small group). The two groups did not significantly differ by serum VEGF levels, but ascites VEGF levels in the large group were significantly higher than in the small group (P < 0.0001). Serum VEGF and ascites VEGF levels were highly correlated in the large group (r = 0.686). A high ascites VEGF level was found to be a risk factor for survival (P = 0.045). We include a report of a patient with chemoresistant refractory gastric cancer and symptomatic ascites who obtained 8 months of palliation from systemic bevacizumab.Conclusion: Anti-VEGF therapies are promising, and the ascites VEGF level is an important marker in managing patients with gastric cancer and peritoneal metastasis.Keywords: vascular endothelial growth factor, malignant ascites, peritoneal metastasis, gastric cancer, bevacizumab