Treatment with mild brain hypothermia for cardiopulmonary resuscitation after myoclonic seizures in infant with robertsonian type of trisomy 13.

Congenital chromosomal abnormality with trisomy 13 is known to be associated with poor life prognosis and lethal. Therefore, physician advice the patients be kept in intensive treatment with resuscitation and state of the art intensive care when sudden change in the general condition with this trisomy is observed. We report herein, the treatment with mild brain hypothermia therapy for cardiopulmonary resuscitation after myoclonic seizures in infant with Robertsonian type of trisomy 13 in intensive care unit. Our study indicated that brain hypothermia therapy and steroid pulse therapy on an infant who was believed to have post-resuscitation hypoxic encephalopathy was highly effective as the patient's general condition recovered to the original state after four months.

High density monolayer of diisocyanide on gold surface as a platform of supported Rh-catalyst for selective 1,4-hydrogenation of α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl compounds.

A high density monolayer of diisocyanide on gold surface was utilized as a platform of supported Rh catalyst for selective 1,4-hydrogenation of α,ß-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. The catalyst exhibited high turnover numbers in a range of 50 000 to 150 000 per Rh atom and showed steady catalyst performance over six recycle usages.

Solution softening in magnesium alloys: the effect of solid solutions on the dislocation core structure and nonbasal slip.

There is a pressing need to improve the ductility of magnesium alloys so that they can be applied as lightweight structural materials. In this study, a mechanism for enhancing the ductility of magnesium alloys has been pursued using the atomistic method. The generalized stacking fault (GSF) energies for basal and prismatic planes in magnesium were calculated by using density functional theory, and the effect of the GSF energy on the dislocation core structures was examined using a semidiscrete variational Peierls-Nabarro model. Yttrium was found to have an anomalous influence on the solution softening owing to a reduction in the GSF energy gradient.

Established, emerging and future applications of FDG-PET/CT in the uterine cancer.

Integrated positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) with 2-[¹8F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) is a useful technique to acquire both glucose metabolic and anatomic imaging data using a single device in a single diagnostic session and has opened a new field in clinical oncologic imaging. FDG-PET/CT has been used successfully for the staging, optimization of treatment, re-staging, therapy monitoring, and prognostic prediction of uterine cervical cancer and endometrial cancer as well as various malignant tumours. The present review discusses the current role of FDG-PET/CT in the management of uterine cancer, discussing its usefulness and limitations in the imaging of these patients.

Immunohistochemical localisation of D-beta-aspartic acid in pingueculae.

BACKGROUND: D-beta-aspartic acid residues, which are biologically uncommon, have been reported to accumulate in various proteins of the living body with age. In the present study, D-beta-aspartic acid-containing proteins were found to be localised in pingueculae, which represent one of the most prominent age-related ocular changes. METHODS: Surgical specimens of conjunctivae with or without pingueculae were obtained from eight patients. Immunohistochemical localisation of D-beta-aspartic acid-containing proteins was performed using a polyclonal antibody against D-beta-aspartic acid-containing peptides. RESULTS: Strong immunoreactivity to D-beta-aspartic acid-containing peptides was detected in the subepithelial amorphous materials of all surgical specimens with pingueculae. In contrast, no immunoreactivity to D-beta-aspartic acid-containing peptides was detected in the specimens without pingueculae. CONCLUSIONS: Pingueculae are thought to be aggregates of proteins that contain D-beta-aspartic acid residues. It is known that the conversion of L- to D-aspartyl residues is accelerated by ultraviolet irradiation. In addition, D-beta-aspartic acid-containing proteins, in general, tend to aggregate with each other and accumulate in the tissues. These facts indicate that ultraviolet irradiation-induced racemisation of aspartic acid is closely related to the development of pingueculae.

Immunohistochemical localisation of D-beta-aspartic acid-containing proteins in climatic droplet keratopathy.

AIM: Biologically uncommon D-beta-aspartic acid (D-beta-Asp) accumulates in the body with age and is involved in the ageing process. In the present study, the localisation of D-beta-Asp-containing proteins was investigated in surgical specimens with climatic droplet keratopathy (CDK), one of the ocular changes related to the ageing process. METHODS: Immunohistochemical localisation of D-beta-Asp-containing proteins using polyclonal antibodies raised against D-beta-Asp-containing peptides was examined in three corneas with CDK, three corneas with interstitial keratitis, six corneas with bullous keratopathy, and three corneas without any corneal diseases. RESULTS: Strong immunoreactivity to D-beta-Asp-containing peptide was detected in all the surgical specimens with CDK. In contrast, no immunoreactivities to D-beta-Asp-containing peptides were detected in the surgical specimens with bullous keratopathy, interstitial keratitis, or no corneal diseases. CONCLUSIONS: CDK was regarded as aggregations of D-beta-Asp-containing proteins. The formation of D-amino acids in protein causes the different side chain orientations and beta-linkage of Asp residues elongates the main chain of proteins. Therefore, D-beta-Asp formation will result in a partial unfolding of proteins leading to the aggregation of proteins seen in CDK.

Changes in corneal topography after 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy versus after 20-gauge standard vitrectomy.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the changes in regular and irregular corneal astigmatism after 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy and 20-gauge standard vitrectomy. DESIGN: Prospective observational comparative case series. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-two eyes of 32 patients undergoing 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy and 25 eyes of 24 patients undergoing 20-gauge standard vitrectomy. METHODS: Corneal topography was obtained preoperatively and at 2 weeks and 1 month postoperatively. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The dioptric data of the central 3-mm zone of the cornea were decomposed using Fourier harmonic analysis into spherical power, regular astigmatism, asymmetry, and higher-order irregularity. RESULTS: None of the 4 Fourier indices changed throughout the observation period in the 25-gauge group. In the 20-gauge group, regular astigmatism, asymmetry, and higher-order irregularity were increased significantly at 2 weeks after vitrectomy (P<0.05, Wilcoxon signed-ranks test) and returned to preoperative levels by 1 month. The spherical power in the 20-gauge group did not change after surgery. For regular astigmatism, asymmetry, and higher-order irregularity, the 20-gauge group showed significantly greater surgically induced changes than the 25-gauge group (P<0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-five-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy does not induce significant changes in corneal topography and exerts little influence on the optical quality of the cornea.

Multimodality treatments for nodal relapse after endoscopic mucosal resection of a superficial esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Patients with esophageal intraepithelial carcinoma (m1) and carcinoma invading the lamina propria (m2) are generally considered good candidates for endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) in Japan, as hardly any of them show lymph node metastasis. Although a few cases of esophageal carcinoma invading the lamina propria have been reported to show nodal involvement, lymph node metastasis and subsequent death due to carcinoma after EMR of m1 or m2 esophageal carcinoma has never been reported in the English literature. Here we describe a patient who suffered relapse of lymph node metastasis after EMR of an esophageal carcinoma invading the lamina propria without any of the reported risk factors associated with lymph node metastasis, including vascular invasion. Unfortunately, the patient died due to disease recurrence, despite receiving multimodality treatments including chemoradiotherapy and salvage surgery.

Unsuspected uterine leiomyosarcoma: magnetic resonance imaging findings before and after focused ultrasound surgery.

Uterine leiomyosarcoma, initially diagnosed as leiomyoma on magnetic resonance (MR) images, was disclosed after focused ultrasound surgery (FUS). The tumor did not display high signal intensity on either T1- or T2-weighted images on the patient's first visit. Four months thereafter, T2-weighted images revealed a high signal intensity area within the tumor, while T1-weighted images showed low signal intensity. Six months after FUS, the nonperfused volume calculated on meglumine gadoterate-enhanced T1-weighted images decreased markedly and an intermediate signal intensity in a circular area on T2-weighted images appeared to be atypically increasing in volume. After laparoscopic myomectomy, this tumor was diagnosed as uterine leiomyosarcoma coexistent with leiomyoma. The early stages of uterine leiomyosarcoma are clinically difficult to diagnose; therefore, both careful monitoring during FUS and close follow-up after the procedure are vital.