Detection of Pneumothorax Visualized by Computer Analysis of Bilateral Respiratory Sounds

Pneumothorax is usually diagnosed based on the attenuation of respiratory sounds of the affected side on auscultation, but it requires a skilled technique and is limited to subjective evaluation. Thus, we designed a device which analyzes and converts the frequency of auscultatory sounds to numerical values with a computer. With this device, the bilateral sound pressure levels were compared between groups of 25 healthy subjects and 21 patients with pneumothorax to investigate the efficacy of the diagnosing tool of pneumothorax. While recording respiratory sounds of the bilateral precordial regions, the fast Fourier transform was applied with a frequency analysis software, power spectra of the auscultatory sounds were displayed in real-time, and the sound pressure level was compared between the bilateral sides. The difference was investigated at frequencies judged as less likely to be influenced by cardiac sounds (200–400 Hz). No difference was observed in the control group (n = 25, P > 0.05), but respiratory sound attenuation was detectable on the affected side in the pneumothorax group (n = 21, P < 0.01 each for the paired Student’s t-test and Wilcoxon signed-rank test). When the cutoff value was 8 dB, the sensitivity and specificity as diagnostic tool of pneumothorax was 71.4% and 100%, respectively. This device would facilitate the detection of occult pneumothorax at accident scenes, in emergency rooms and in intensive care units

Increased endothelial and epidermal thrombomodulin expression and plasma thrombomodulin level in progressive systemic sclerosis.

To clarify the relation between systemic and cutaneous vascular endothelial injury in progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS), we examined thrombomodulin (TM) expression in PSS skin lesions immuno-histopathologically and compared it with plasma soluble TM levels measured by specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The plasma soluble TM level in PSS patients was significantly higher than that of normal controls and was as high as the levels of SLE patients. In relation to disease activities, the plasma TM levels of sclerotic phase PSS patients were significantly higher than that of atrophic phase PSS patients. The plasma samples with anti-Scl-70 antibody showed a high TM level than samples with anti-centromere antibody or anti-RNP antibody. Barnett's types or systemic corticosteroid treatment did not affect the TM level. Histopathologically, the dermal endothelial TM expression significantly increased in the sclerotic skin and moderately increased in the non-sclerotic skin of PSS compared with that of normal control skin. In addition, immunoreactive TM expression in the epidermis also increased in PSS. Disease activity-dependent elevation of plasma TM levels and immuno-histopathological expression of TM suggested generalized endothelial and epidermal cell involvement in PSS, and compensation in part by overproduction of TM by endothelial cells.</p

Both the anaerobic pathway and aerobic desaturation are involved in the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids in Vibrio sp. strain ABE-1

AbstractVibrio sp. strain ABE-1 is a unique marine bacterium in terms of its ability to synthesize Δ9-trans-hexadecenoic acid and Δ7-cis-tetradecenoic acid (14:1(7c); Okuyama, H., Sasaki, S., Higashi, S. and Murata, N. (1990) J. Bacteriol. 172, 3515-3518). The present study, involving labeling with [1-14C]acetate, demonstrated that 14:1 is synthesized by the anaerobic pathway. When cells of this bacterium were grown in the presence of [1-14C]myristic acid (14:0), this compound was converted to palmitic (16:0) and hexadecenoic (16:1) acids but not to 14:1, under aerobic conditions. These results suggest that the incorporated 14:0 was elongated to 16:0 and then converted to 16:1 by the aerobic desaturation of 16:0. It appears that the anaerobic pathway and aerobic desaturation are both involved in the synthesis of unsaturated fatty acids during aerobic growth of Vibrio sp. strain ABE-1

Field-Cooling Effect in the Amorphous Magnetic Oxide

Amorphous magnetic oxides of BaO-Mn_2O_3-B_2O_3 system are prepared by a rapid quenching technique. Magnetic measurements down to 4.2 K reveal weak ferromagnetic components with T_c～50 K. The origin of the ferromagnetism is suggested to be due to manganese-rich clusters arising from concentration fluctuations in the glass. The field-cooling effect in this system is compared with that in the amorphous BaO-Fe_2O_3-B_2O_3 system

MYRbase: analysis of genome-wide glycine myristoylation enlarges the functional spectrum of eukaryotic myristoylated proteins

We evaluated the evolutionary conservation of glycine myristoylation within eukaryotic sequences. Our large-scale cross-genome analyses, available as MYRbase, show that the functional spectrum of myristoylated proteins is currently largely underestimated. We give experimental evidence for in vitro myristoylation of selected predictions. Furthermore, we classify five membrane-attachment factors that occur most frequently in combination with, or even replacing, myristoyl anchors, as some protein family examples show

Microbial mat compositions and localization patterns explain the virulence of black band disease in corals

Black band disease (BBD) in corals is characterized by a distinctive, band-like microbial mat, which spreads across the tissues and often kills infected colonies. The microbial mat is dominated by cyanobacteria but also commonly contains sulfide-oxidizing bacteria (SOB), sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB), and other microbes. The migration rate in BBD varies across different environmental conditions, including temperature, light, and pH. However, whether variations in the migration rates reflect differences in the microbial consortium within the BBD mat remains unknown. Here, we show that the micro-scale surface structure, bacterial composition, and spatial distribution differed across BBD lesions with different migration rates. The migration rate was positively correlated with the relative abundance of potential SOBs belonging to Arcobacteraceae localized in the middle layer within the mat and negatively correlated with the relative abundance of other potential SOBs belonging to Rhodobacteraceae. Our study highlights the microbial composition in BBD as an important determinant of virulence