Uretero-Internal Pudendal Artery Fistula with Longterm Indwelling of Ureteral Stent: A Case Report

A 74-year-old woman presenting with bilateral ureteral stricture was referred to our hospital. She had undergone radical hysterectomy and adjuvant irradiation therapy for cervical cancer in 2000. Double-J stents were inserted in both the ureters and replaced at regular intervals. Eighteen months after ureteral stenting, she complained of gross hematuria and was managed with hemostatic agents. During a routine replacement of the right double-J stent, massive bleeding was observed from the urethra which continued intermittently. The source of bleeding was not identified on computed tomography and angiography. We kept her at rest, which reduced the bleeding. However, she required intermittent transfusions. Angiography was performed at the time of bleeding on March 5, 2011. A uretero-internal pudendal artery fistula was found, and coil embolization was performed. Thereafter, hematuria did not recur up to the last followup in July 2011

Exploration of new superconductors and functional materials and fabrication of superconducting tapes and wires of iron pnictides

This paper reviews the highlights of a 4-years-long research project supported by the Japanese Government to explore new superconducting materials and relevant functional materials. The project found several tens of new superconductors by examining ~1000 materials, each of which was chosen by Japanese team member experts with a background in solid state chemistry. This review summarizes the major achievements of the project in newly found superconducting materials, and the wire and tape fabrication of iron-based superconductors. It is a unique feature of this review to incorporate a list of ~700 unsuccessful materials examined for superconductivity in the project. In addition, described are new functional materials and functionalities discovered during the project.Comment: 141 pages, 127 Figures, 14 Tables, 535 Refrence

Proton Beam Therapy and Continuous Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy for Polymorphous Low-Grade Adenocarcinoma in the Hard Palate

Polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma is a rare malignant tumor that mainly occurs in salivary glands, particularly in the hard palate. To date, surgery has been the most commonly used treatment method with the aim of achieving negative margins of resection. Here, we report a case of a 51-year-old woman who presented with a painless growing mass in her oral cavity with Rouviere’s lymph node metastasis. Laboratory data showed severe anemia because of bleeding from the tumor. We inserted two catheters into the bilateral external carotid arteries via the superficial temporal arteries, and began continuous intra-arterial infusion with cisplatin and a cisplatin-neutralizing agent. The bleeding stopped after the first infusion, and we continued with weekly arterial cisplatin infusion and proton beam therapy (70.4 GyE in 32 fractions). A decrease in tumor volume has been maintained for 2 years, with no evidence of new metastasis

Avaliação da atividade antibiofilme de nanopartículas de prata biogênicas com modificações moleculares de superfície / Evaluation of the antibiofilm activity of biogenic silver nanoparticles with molecular surface modifications

A resistência bacteriana aos antimicrobianos tem se mostrado um grande desafio a saúde humana, e apesar da necessidade de novos antimicrobianos, e da intensa pesquisa poucos tornaram-se efetivos nos últimos anos.  As nanopartículas de prata (AgNPs) apresentam grande eficiência bactericida. Essas nanopartículas podem ser sintetizadas por vias químicas, físicas e biológicas, sendo que a síntese biológica pelo fungo Fusarium oxysporum é conhecida por utilizar reagentes menos tóxicos, e eficiente atividade antimicrobiana. Diferentes alterações de superfície das nanopartículas podem ser feitas, como a encapsulação por albumina ou a incorporação em micelas, e é provável que essas alterações sejam capazes de modificar as propriedades das nanopartículas. Nesse trabalho, essas modificações foram realizadas e avaliadas com relação as propriedades antibacterianas e antibiofilme. O objetivo desse trabalho foi analisar essas AgNPs, comparando suas características e as possíveis modificações na sua atividade microbicida, citotóxica, além de trazer novos conhecimentos sobre as nanopartículas e a nanotecnologia. Para isso foi feita a determinação da concentração mínima inibitória e determinada a atividade antibiofilme das AgNPs. As AgNps sem modificações apresentaram um tamanho médio de 81,25 nm, as AgNPs micelares apresentaram um tamanho médio de 138,1 nm, não foi possível medir o tamanho médio das nanopartículas encapsuladas por albumina. Todas as nanopartículas testadas foram bactericidas para todas as cepas analisadas, as médias das faixas de concentração mínima inibitória foram de 10,62 a 29,75 ?g/ml. Enquanto as AgNPs micelares apresentaram menor atividade antibiofilme, as AgNP BSA apresentaram atividade antibiofilme equivalente à das AgNP, indicando potencial para serem usados como tratamento contra biofilme.  Os resultados desse trabalho sugerem que a modificação das nanopartículas por albumina não demonstrou grande alteração na atividade antimicrobiana e atividade antibiofilme, enquanto a nanopartícula micelar apresentou indicativos de redução na atividade antibiofilme. A nanotecnologia, em especial as nanopartículas de prata oferecem novas estratégias para o combate de infecções comuns e causadas por bactérias multirresistentes. As modificações dessas AgNPs auxiliam ainda mais na atividade antimicrobiana e biossegurança.

Visualization and assessment of saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus

Conclusion: The saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus run in the bony groove, before reaching the orifice of the vestibular aqueduct. We first clinically visualized this sulciform groove using three-dimensional (3D) cone beam CT images. This strategy can be useful to assess the condition of the saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus concerning the longitudinal flow system of endolymph. Objective: To assess the saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus in the endolymphatic system in order to advance clinical studies on inner ear dysfunction. Methods: The sulciform groove of the saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus of human subjects was analyzed by cone beam CT and compared with that of a cadaver. Results: We could obtain reconstructed 3D CT images of the sulciform groove of the saccular duct and endolymphatic sinus using several CT window levels

Caracterização in vitro da atividade antimicrobiana de óleo essencial de orégano e nanopartículas de prata biogênicas em nebulização / In vitro characterization of the antimicrobial activity of oregano essential oil and biogenic silver nanoparticles delivered by nebulization

A colibacilose e a salmonelose geram grandes prejuízos para a indústria avícola, diminuindo a produção e contaminando carne e ovos. Ao mesmo tempo, centenas de milhares de brasileiros são internados com pneumonia e outras infecções pulmonares todo ano, gerando um custo de centenas de milhões de reais ao ano. O problema da resistência bacteriana a antibióticos é comum a estas duas situações, e contribui para estes quadros. Com a necessidade de exploração de antimicrobianos alternativos na busca para reversão desses quadros, este projeto avaliou as propriedades antimicrobianas do óleo essencial de orégano e de nanopartículas de prata, biologicamente sintetizadas na forma de nebulização. Para isso, foram realizados testes microbiológicos que demonstraram a atividade antimicrobiana dos vapores do óleo essencial de orégano e a capacidade deste e das nanopartículas de prata biologicamente sintetizadas de reduzir 1 a 5 logs nas populações bacterianas testadas

A Kinematic Approach for Efficient and Robust Simulation of the Cardiac Beating Motion

Computer simulation techniques for cardiac beating motions potentially have many applications and a broad audience. However, most existing methods require enormous computational costs and often show unstable behavior for extreme parameter sets, which interrupts smooth simulation study and make it difficult to apply them to interactive applications. To address this issue, we present an efficient and robust framework for simulating the cardiac beating motion. The global cardiac motion is generated by the accumulation of local myocardial fiber contractions. We compute such local-to-global deformations using a kinematic approach; we divide a heart mesh model into overlapping local regions, contract them independently according to fiber orientation, and compute a global shape that satisfies contracted shapes of all local regions as much as possible. A comparison between our method and a physics-based method showed that our method can generate motion very close to that of a physics-based simulation. Our kinematic method has high controllability; the simulated ventricle-wall-contraction speed can be easily adjusted to that of a real heart by controlling local contraction timing. We demonstrate that our method achieves a highly realistic beating motion of a whole heart in real time on a consumer-level computer. Our method provides an important step to bridge a gap between cardiac simulations and interactive applications

A microRNA-based liquid biopsy signature for the early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective, prospective and multicenter study

Background Currently, there is no clinically relevant non-invasive biomarker for early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Herein, we established and evaluated a circulating microRNA (miRNA)-based signature for the early detection of ESCC using a systematic genome-wide miRNA expression profiling analysis. Methods We performed miRNA candidate discovery using three ESCC tissue miRNA datasets (n = 108, 238, and 216) and the candidate miRNAs were confirmed in tissue specimens (n = 64) by qRT-PCR. Using a serum training cohort (n = 408), we conducted multivariate logistic regression analysis to develop an ESCC circulating miRNA signature and the signature was subsequently validated in two independent retrospective and two prospective cohorts. Results We identified eighteen initial miRNA candidates from three miRNA expression datasets (n = 108, 238, and 216) and subsequently validated their expression in ESCC tissues. We thereafter confirmed the overexpression of 8 miRNAs (miR-103, miR-106b, miR-151, miR-17, miR-181a, miR-21, miR-25, and miR-93) in serum specimens. Using a serum training cohort, we developed a circulating miRNA signature (AUC:0.83 [95%CI:0.79–0.87]) and the diagnostic performance of the miRNA signature was confirmed in two independent validation cohorts (n = 126, AUC:0.80 [95%CI:0.69–0.91]; and n = 165, AUC:0.89 [95%CI:0.83–0.94]). Finally, we demonstrated the diagnostic performance of the 8-miRNA signature in two prospective cohorts (n = 185, AUC:0.92, [95%CI:0.87–0.96]); and (n = 188, AUC:0.93, [95%CI:0.88–0.97]). Importantly, the 8-miRNA signature was superior to current clinical serological markers in discriminating early stage ESCC patients from healthy controls (p < 0.001). Conclusions We have developed a novel and robust circulating miRNA-based signature for early detection of ESCC, which was successfully validated in multiple retrospective and prospective multinational, multicenter cohorts