Limbic Regression with Derepression of Oedipal Feelings

Most knowledge of the normal preschool oedipal feelings for a parent of the opposite sex come from reconstructive analysis of neurologically normal adults or from observation of phallic stage children. We have discovered in the symptoms of a severely brain-damaged adolescent evidence of a slightly different and interesting type. It seems to result from a biological unmasking of repressed material by post-encephalitic age regression

Laboratory diagnostic, epidemiological, and clinical characteristics of human leptospirosis in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, 2003-2020.

BackgroundLeptospirosis is considered an endemic disease among agricultural workers in Okinawa Prefecture, which is the southernmost part of Japan and has a subtropical climate, but data on the current status and trend of this disease are scarce.Methodology/principal findingsWe conducted a retrospective study of clinically suspected leptospirosis patients whose sample and information were sent to the Okinawa Prefectural Institute of Health and Environment from November 2003 to December 2020. Laboratory diagnosis was established using culture, nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and/or microscopic agglutination test (MAT) with blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and/or urine samples. Statistical analyses were performed to compare the epidemiological information, clinical features, and sensitivities of diagnostic methods among laboratory-confirmed cases. Serogroups and the species of Leptospira isolates were determined by MAT using 13 antisera and flaB sequencing. A total of 531 clinically suspected patients were recruited, among whom 246 (46.3%) were laboratory confirmed to have leptospirosis. Among the confirmed cases, patients aged 20-29 years (22.4%) and male patients (85.7%) were the most common. The most common estimated sources of infection were recreation (44.5%) and labor (27.8%) in rivers. Approximately half of the isolates were of the L. interrogans serogroup Hebdomadis. The main clinical symptoms were fever (97.1%), myalgia (56.3%), and conjunctival hyperemia (52.2%). Headache occurred significantly more often in patients with Hebdomadis serogroup infections than those with other serogroup infections. The sensitivities of culture and PCR exceeded 65% during the first 6 days, while the sensitivity of MAT surpassed that of culture and PCR in the second week after onset. PCR using blood samples was a preferable method for the early diagnosis of leptospirosis.Conclusions/significanceThe results of this study will support clinicians in the diagnosis and treatment of undifferentiated febrile patients in Okinawa Prefecture as well as patients returning from Okinawa Prefecture

Direct action of nitric oxide on osteoblastic differentiation

AbstractThe effect of nitric oxide (NO) on osteoblastic differentiation was examined in cultured mouse osteoblasts. Interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α expressed inducible NO synthase gene with little effect on constitutive NO synthase gene. These cytokines increased NO production, which was inhibited by l-NMMA pretreatment, and decreased alkaline phosphatase (AIPase) activity, which was not restored by l-NMMA. Furthermore, NO donors, sodium nitroprusside and NONOate dose-dependently elevated AIPase activity and expression of osteocalcin gene. These results suggest that NO directly facilitates osteoblastic differentiation and the cytokine-induced inhibition of AIPase activity is mediated via mechanism other than NO

Influence of Asthma Onset on Airway Dimensions on Ultra–high-resolution Computed Tomography in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

[Purpose]: Asthma onset before the age of 40 years is associated with distinct clinical manifestations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, but its morphologic features remain unestablished. This study aimed to explore airway morphology in COPD patients with asthma onset before 40 years of age using ultra–high-resolution computed tomography (U-HRCT), which allows a more accurate quantitation of the lumen and the wall in smaller airways than using conventional CT. [Materials and Methods]: Clinical data of 500 consecutive patients undergoing full inspiratory U-HRCT (1024×1024 matrix and 0.25 mm slice thickness) were retrospectively analyzed. COPD patients without asthma, COPD patients with asthma onset at age below or 40 years and above, and non-COPD smoker controls (N=137, 29, 34, and 22, respectively) were enrolled. The length, lumen area (LA), wall thickness and area (WA), and wall area percent (WA%) of the segmental (third-generation) to sub-subsegmental (fifth-generation) bronchus and the low attenuation volume percent (LAV%) were measured. [Results]: LA and WA were smaller in the fourth and fifth generation in COPD patients than in non-COPD controls, regardless of the age of asthma onset. LA was smaller and WA% was larger in the fourth-generation and fifth-generation airways in COPD with asthma onset before 40 years than COPD without asthma, whereas WA did not differ between them. In multivariate analyses, asthma onset before 40 years was associated with smaller LA in COPD patients independent of demographics, use of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting bronchodilators, airflow limitation, and LAV%. [Conclusions]: Asthma onset before 40 years of age could be associated with greater lumen narrowing of the airways in COPD