Ecotoxicity of heat-treated Kapur and Japanese larch

Kapur (Dryobalanops sp.) and Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi) wood samples were heat-treated in air at 180 °C for 24 and 48 h. Leaching and toxicity tests were conducted to determine the ecotoxicity effect of these heat-treated woods on the aquatic environment due to heat treatment. The toxicity of conventional preservative-treated woods, i.e. chromated copper arsenate (CCA) and ammoniacal copper quat (ACQ), was also determined for comparison purposes. Acute toxicity tests were performed using two aquatic organisms, Daphnia magna and Vibrio fischeri according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development standard procedures and Microtox assay, respectively. Significantly low toxicity to D. magna was found for the heat-treated Kapur compared to that of untreated Kapur, while heat-treated Japanese larch did not show any toxicity effect. As expected, ACQ-treated samples showed the highest toxicity to D. magna, followed by that of CCA, though toxicity of both preservative-treated woods further reduced over time. Hence, heat treatment of Kapur and Japanese larch were believed to be not harmful to the aquatic ecosystem

A case of acute skin failure misdiagnosed as a pressure ulcer, leading to a legal dispute

It is difficult to differentiate acute skin failure (ASF) from pressure ulcer (PU). ASF is defined as unavoidable injury resulting from hypoperfusion caused by severe dysfunction of another organ system. We describe a case of ASF mistaken as PU that resulted in a legal dispute. A 74-year-old male patient was admitted to our intensive care unit with sepsis due to bacterial pneumonia. Despite the use of air cushions and regular position changes, skin ulcerations occurred over his occiput, back, buttock, elbow, and ankle. After improvement in his general condition, he was transferred to the department of plastic and reconstructive surgery. Debridement was performed immediately, followed by conservative treatment (including a vacuum-assisted closure device) for 6 weeks. The buttock and occiput wounds were treated surgically. Despite complete healing, his caregivers sued the hospital for failing to prevent PU formation. ASF is a pressure-related injury resulting from hemodynamic instability due to organ system failure. Unlike PU, ASF may occur despite the implementation of all appropriate preventive measures. Furthermore, misdiagnosis of ASF as PU can lead to litigation. Therefore, it is critical for the proper diagnosis to be made quickly, and for physicians to explain that ASF occurs despite proper preventative treatment

Down-regulation of ARC contributes to vulnerability of hippocampal neurons to ischemia/hypoxia

AbstractARC is a caspase recruitment domain-containing molecule that plays an important role in the regulation of apoptosis. We examined ARC expression during neuronal cell death following ischemic injury in vivo and in vitro. After exposure to transient global ischemic conditions, the expression of ARC was substantially reduced in the CA1 region of hippocampus in a time-dependent manner with concomitant increase of TUNEL-positive cells. Quantitative analysis using Western blotting exhibited that most of ARC protein disappeared in the cultured hippocampal neurons exposed to hypoxia for 12 h and showing 60% cell viability. Forced expression of ARC in the primary cultures of hippocampal neurons or B103 neuronal cells significantly reduced hypoxia-induced cell death. Further, the C-terminal P/E rich region of ARC was effective to attenuate hypoxic insults. These results suggest that down-regulation of ARC expression in hippocampal neurons may contribute to neuronal death induced by ischemia/hypoxia

Design of the VISTA-ITL Test Facility for an Integral Type Reactor of SMART and a Post-Test Simulation of a SBLOCA Test

To validate the performance and safety of an integral type reactor of SMART, a thermal-hydraulic integral effect test facility, VISTA-ITL, is introduced with a discussion of its scientific design characteristics. The VISTA-ITL was used extensively to assess the safety and performance of the SMART design, especially for its passive safety system such as a passive residual heat removal system, and to validate various thermal-hydraulic analysis codes. The VISTA-ITL program includes several tests on the SBLOCA, CLOF, and PRHRS performances to support a verification of the SMART design and contribute to the SMART design licensing by providing proper test data for validating the system analysis codes. A typical scenario of SBLOCA was analyzed using the MARS-KS code to assess the thermal-hydraulic similarity between the SMART design and the VISTA-ITL facility, and a posttest simulation on a SBLOCA test for the shutdown cooling system line break has been performed with the MARS-KS code to assess its simulation capability for the SBLOCA scenario of the SMART design. The SBLOCA scenario in the SMART design was well reproduced using the VISTA-ITL facility, and the measured thermal-hydraulic data were properly simulated with the MARS-KS code

Kinematics Characteristic of Lower Extremity during Simulated Skiing Exercise

We analyze the kinematic factors of sectional and total movements in healthy participants to providing group dependent information during simulated exercise. Participants in this study's experiment were 26 male adults, the elapsed times in each phase, the difference in the lower extremity angles, and muscle activity were computed through analysis of kinematic factors. We revealed that motions of the experts took shorter to perform than non-experts, and showed larger variation of lower limb joint angle in most events during simulated skiing. There were also significant group dependent differences in the peak and mean EMG values during simulated skiing. Referring to these results, such a non-expert's posture leads to enhance muscle activity to keep the lower body in balance. Non-experts should maintain appropriate ROM with lower-intensity exercise to improve muscle endurance initially, and it can be useful in providing preliminary data for future training and rehabilitation studies, as well as improvements in muscle strength

Comprehensive analysis of mycobacterium tuberculosis antigen-specific CD4+ T cell responses restricted by single HLA class II allotype in an individual

Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection is generally asymptomatic as latent tuberculosis, but it is still known as the world’s leading bacterial cause of death. The diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection relies on the evidence of cellular immunity to mycobacterial antigens. Since the association between HLA class II and tuberculosis infection has been reported in several population groups, a detailed study on the CD4+ T cell response to major tuberculosis antigens is needed. To elucidate which HLA class II allotypes in an individual are preferentially used in tuberculosis, CD4+ T cells specific to TB10.4, Ag85b, ESAT-6, and CFP-10 of Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens were analyzed comprehensively. A total of 33 healthy donors were analyzed by ex vivo and cultured ELISPOT using panels of artificial antigen-presenting cells expressing a single HLA class II allotype. The CD4+ T cell responses were increased by an average of 39-fold in cultured ELISPOT compared with ex vivo ELISPOT. In ex vivo and cultured ELISPOT, CD4+ T cell responses showed significantly higher by HLA-DR than those of HLA-DQ and HLA-DP locus. In cultured ELISPOT, 9 HLA-DR allotypes, 4 HLA-DQ allotypes, and 3 HLA-DP allotypes showed positive CD4+ T cell responses. Among ten donors with positive CD4+ T cell responses when tested for mixed Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens, seven donors were positive for only a single allotype, and three were positive for two allotypes in an individual. However, only one allotype was used for a single antigen-specific response when a single tuberculosis antigen was used individually. These results on the distribution of HLA class II allotypes showing high CD4+ T-cell responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis antigens and the intra-individual allotype dominance will provide valuable information for understanding the immunobiology and immunogenetics of tuberculosis, which can contribute to the development of more effective vaccines

Adenocarcinoma Arising in a Duplication of the Cecum

Intestinal duplications are rare developmental abnormalities that may occur anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract. The possibility of a malignant change occurring in these duplications is very low. We present a case of adenocarcinoma arising in a duplication of the cecum. A 41-year-old male patient was admitted because of a palpable abdominal mass. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a 6-cm, peripheral wall-enhanced, round, cystic mass in the cecal area. Excision of the mesenteric mass and a right hemicolectomy was performed. Upon histologic examination, the patient was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma arising in a duplication of the cecum