31 research outputs found
Frontolysis by surface heat flux in the eastern Japan Sea: importance of mixed layer depth
Cerebral Arterial Air Embolism after Diagnostic Flexible Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature
Cerebral arterial air embolism (CAAE) is an extremely rare complication of diagnostic flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy, reported to occur once about every 103978 examinations. In all the eight cases of CAAE reported previously, the patients had undergone transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) or transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) prior to the onset of CAAE. Herein, we describe the case of a 77-year-old patient with double primary lung cancer who developed CAAE after bronchial curette cytology, which is considered to be less invasive than TBLB or TBNA. The patient was treated with supplemental oxygen, but paresis of the left upper arm and left spatial neglect remained. This is the first report of CAAE occurring after bronchial curettage during diagnostic flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopy
An Exceptionally Narrow Band-Gap (∼4 eV) Silicate Predicted in the Cubic Perovskite Structure: BaSiO<sub>3</sub>
The electronic structures
of 35 <i>A</i><sup>2+</sup><i>B</i><sup>4+</sup>O<sub>3</sub> ternary cubic perovskite oxides, including their hypothetical
chemical compositions, were calculated by a hybrid functional method
with the expectation that peculiar electronic structures and unique
carrier transport properties suitable for semiconductor applications
would be hidden in high-symmetry cubic perovskite oxides. We found
unique electronic structures of Si-based oxides (<i>A</i> = Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba, and <i>B</i> = Si). In particular,
the unreported cubic BaSiO<sub>3</sub> has a very narrow band gap
(4.1 eV) compared with conventional nontransition-metal silicates
(e.g., ∼9 eV for SiO<sub>2</sub> and the calculated value of
7.3 eV for orthorhombic BaSiO<sub>3</sub>) and a small electron effective
mass (0.3<i>m</i><sub>0</sub>, where <i>m</i><sub>0</sub> is the free electron rest mass). The narrow band gap is ascribed
to the nonbonding state of Si 3s and the weakened Madelung potential.
The existence of the predicted cubic perovskite structure of BaSiO<sub>3</sub> was experimentally verified by applying a high pressure of
141 GPa. The present finding indicates that it could be possible to
develop a new transparent oxide semiconductor of earth abundant silicates
if the symmetry of its crystal structure is appropriately chosen.
Cubic BaSiO<sub>3</sub> is a candidate for high-performance oxide
semiconductors if this phase can be stabilized at room temperature
and ambient pressure
Delayed-type hypersensitivity in sheep induced by synthetic peptides of bovine leukemia virus encapsulated in mannan-coated liposome
The chimeric transcript RUNX1–GLRX5: a biomarker for good postoperative prognosis in Stage IA non-small-cell lung cancer
Common Variation of IL28 affects Gamma-GTP Levels and Inflammation of the Liver in Chronically Infected Hepatitis C Virus Patients
Background & Aims: A common genetic variation at the IL28 locus has been found to affect the response of peg-interferon and ribavirin combination therapy against chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. An allele associated with a favorable response (rs8099917 T), which is the major allele in the majority of Asian, American, and European populations, has also been found to be associated with spontaneous eradication of the virus.
Methods: As no studies have yet analyzed the effect of the polymorphism on biochemical and inflammatory changes in chronic infection, we analyzed a cohort of patients with chronic hepatitis C (n = 364) for the effect of the IL28 polymorphism on viral, biochemical, and histological findings.
Results: We found that the proportion of HCV wild type core amino acids 70 and 91 was significantly greater (p = 1.21 × 10-4 and 0.034) and levels of gamma-GTP significantly lower (p = 0.001) in patients homozygous for the IL28 major allele. We also found that inflammation activity and fibrosis of the liver were significantly more severe in patients homozygous for the IL28 major allele (p = 0.025 and 0.036, respectively). Although the higher gamma-GTP levels were also associated with higher inflammatory activity and fibrosis, multivariate analysis showed that only the IL28 allele polymorphism, sex, alcohol consumption, and liver fibrosis were independently associated with gamma-GTP levels (p = 0.001, 0.0003, 0.0013, and 0.0348, respectively).
Conclusions: These results suggest that different cytokine profiles induced by the IL28 polymorphism resulted in different biochemical and inflammatory conditions during chronic HCV infection and contribute to the progression of liver diseases