A 4-nitrophenol (4-NP)-degrading bacterium was isolated from activated sludge and identified as a Rhodococcus sp. This bacterium, designated as strain PN1, could utilize 4-NP as a sole carbon, nitrogen and energy source. Degradation tests of 4-NP using cell suspensions of strain PN1 revealed that the degradation was induced by 4-NP and that 4-nitrocatechol (4-NC) was one of the metabolites. A gene library was constructed from the total DNA of strain PN1 and introduced into Rhodococcus rhodochrous ATCC 12674. Two recombinant strains showed 4-NP hydroxylase activity, and a 9.1-kb DNA fragment encoding the activity was isolated from one of the strains. In addition, a 2.4-kb smaller fragment expressing the activity was subcloned from the 9.1-kb fragment and sequenced. The sequence analysis showed that the fragment encodes a two-component 4-NP hydroxylase, the predicted amino acid sequence of which exhibits significant similarity to those of phenol hydroxylases and 4-hydroxyphenylacetate 3-hydroxylases belonging to the two-component flavin diffusible monooxygenase (TC-FDM) family proposed by Galán et al. (J. Bacteriol., 182, 627-636, 2000).
Delirium is a critical challenge in the intensive care unit (ICU) or high care unit (HCU) setting and is associated with poor outcomes. There is not much literature on how many patients in this setting are assessed for delirium and what tools are used. This study investigated the status of delirium assessment tools of patients in the ICU/HCU. We conducted a multicenter prospective observational study among 20 institutions. Data for patients who were admitted to and discharged from the ICU/HCU during a 1-month study period were collected from each institution using a survey sheet. The primary outcome was the usage rate of delirium assessment tools on an institution- and patient-basis. Secondary outcomes were the delirium prevalence assessed by each institution’s assessment tool, comparison of delirium prevalence between delirium assessment tools, delirium prevalence at the end of ICH/HCU stay, and the relationship between potential factors related to delirium and the development of delirium. Result showed that 95% of institutions used the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist (ICDSC) or the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU) to assess delirium in their ICU/HCU, and the remaining one used another assessment scale. The usage rate (at least once during the ICU/HCU stay) of the ICDSC and the CAM-ICU among individual patients were 64.5% and 25.1%, and only 8.2% of enrolled patients were not assessed by any delirium assessment tool. The prevalence of delirium during ICU/HCU stay was 17.9%, and the prevalence of delirium at the end of the ICU/HCU stay was 5.9%. In conclusion, all institutions used delirium assessment tools in the ICU/HCU, and most patients received delirium assessment. The prevalence of delirium was 17.9%, and two-thirds of patients had recovered at discharge from ICU/HCU.Trial registration number: UMIN000037834.
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is believed to infect about half of the world's population and is related to many gastric diseases, duodenal ulcer and a variety of non-gastrointestinal tract disorders. In this study, the inhibitory effects of refined deep seawater (RDSW) on H. pylori growth and motility were investigated. Deep seawater was collected offshore from Muroto, Kochi, Japan, desalinated, and refined to increase the mineral concentration. The in vitro assays with 16 H. pylori isolates by 20 types of RDSW with combinations of 5 Mg/Ca ratios and 4 degrees of hardness were performed. Bacterial growth and mobility were inhibited in a hardness-dependent manner. A difference in the Mg/Ca ratio influenced the inhibitory effects when the degree of hardness was unchanged. At a hardness of 1000, anti-H. pylori activities were observed in all strains for at least at one of the 5 Mg/Ca ratios. Evaluation of the anti-H. pylori effects was then conducted in vivo in Mongolian gerbils, to which RDSW at 5 different Mg/Ca ratios (hardness: 1000) was administered for 2 weeks. The number of H. pylori colonized in the stomach showed a significant decrease with 2 types of RDSW (C and D), compared with commercial mineral water. Furthermore, 1 L of each 5 types of RDSW was given daily for 10 days to healthy subjects infected with H. pylori. An urea breath test examined before and after the 10-day period showed reduction of Δ 13 C values in more of these subjects compared to controls who drank commercial mineral water. In vivo anti-H. pylori effects were observed in ≥90% of subjects drinking any of the 5 types of RDSW. These results raised the possibility that the application of refined deep seawater can be available for prevention of or as an adjuvant therapy for H. pylori infection.
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