Rumpel-Leede phenomenon in a hypertensive patient due to mechanical trauma: a case report.

In this report, we present an interesting case of a patient with Rumpel-Leede phenomenon, a rare occurrence that can result in significant delays in medical treatment. This phenomenon is characterized by the presence of a petechial rash that results from acute dermal capillary rupture. In our patient, it occurred secondary to raised pressure in the dermal vessels caused by repeated inflation of a sphygmomanometer cuff. Contributory factors in Rumpel-Leede phenomenon include prevalent conditions such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, thrombocytopenia, chronic steroid use, antiplatelets, and anticoagulants.A 58-year-old Russian woman with diabetes and hypertension presented to our hospital with a non-ST elevation myocardial infarction, and she subsequently developed a petechial rash on her distal upper limbs. A vasculitic screen was performed, with normal results.Given the timing and distribution of the rash, it was felt that this was an example of Rumpel-Leede phenomenon in a susceptible individual. This is an important diagnosis to be aware of in patients with vascular risk factors presenting for acute medical care who subsequently develop a petechial rash

Resonant solar neutrino oscillation versus laboratory neutrino oscillation experiments

The interplay between resonant solar neutrino oscillations and neutrino oscillations in laboratory experiments is investigated in a 3 generation model. Due to the assumed hierarchy of neutrino masses, together with our choice of a convenient parameterization of the 3 generation mixing matrix, we can derive a simple analytic formula which reduces the solar neutrino problem to an effective 2 generation problem. The reduction makes it apparent that the allowed range of mixing and mass parameters crucially depend on whether the survival probability of solar neutrinos S satisfies S greater than or equal to 1/3 or not. The formulae for probabilities of laboratory neutrino oscillations are also greatly simplified. We argue that a combination of the observed solar neutrino depletion and data obtained from reactor experiments seems to rule out some range of neutrino masses. If a sizable nu/sub ..mu../ ..-->.. nu/sub e/ oscillation is observed at accelerators, as suggested at this Workshop, it severely restricts the range of 2 mixing angles

Kinetics of the reduction of wüstite by hydrogen and carbon monoxide for the chemical looping production of hydrogen

Hydrogen of very high purity can be produced via the steam-iron process, in which steam oxidises metallic Fe in 3/4Fe + H2O→1/4Fe3O4 + H2. It is then advantageous to oxidise Fe3O4 in air to Fe2O3, an oxygen-carrier. This higher oxide of Fe is then reduced to regenerate metallic iron by reacting with synthesis gas, producing metallic Fe and possibly some wüstite (FexO, 0<x<1). In this three-stage process, the reduction of FexO to Fe is the slowest reaction. This paper is concerned with the kinetics of the reduction of wüstite (FexO) by reaction with CO, and, or H2. Starting with pure (99 wt%) wüstite, the intrinsic kinetics of its reduction to metallic iron were measured in fluidised beds at different temperatures. The reaction was found to have 3 distinct stages, (i) the removal of lattice oxygen in wüstite, (ii) rate increasing with conversion of solid and (iii) rate decreasing with conversion of solid. A random pore model was used to simulate the latter stages of the reduction of wüstite by either H2 or CO or a mixture of the two. It was found that the intrinsic rate of reduction in H2 is substantially faster than with CO, whereas the resistances to diffusion of H2 and CO through the product layer of Fe are comparable; these factors account for differences in the overall rates observed with these gases.This is the final published version. It is also available from the publisher at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000925091400428X

IL11 stimulates IL33 expression and proinflammatory fibroblast activation across tissues

Interleukin 11 (IL11) is upregulated in inflammatory conditions, where it is mostly believed to have anti-inflammatory activity. However, recent studies suggest instead that IL11 promotes inflammation by activating fibroblasts. Here, we assessed whether IL11 is pro- or anti-inflammatory in fibroblasts. Primary cultures of human kidney, lung or skin fibroblasts were stimulated with IL11 that resulted in the transient phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and the sustained activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERK). RNA sequencing over a time course of IL11 stimulation revealed a robust but short-lived transcriptional response that was enriched for gene set hallmarks of inflammation and characterized by the upregulation of SERPINB2, TNFRSF18, Interleukin 33 (IL33), CCL20, IL1RL1, CXCL3/5/8, ICAM1 and IL11 itself. IL33 was the most upregulated signaling factor (38-fold, p = 9.8 × 10-5), and IL1RL1, its cognate receptor, was similarly increased (18-fold, p = 1.1 × 10-34). In proteomic studies, IL11 triggered a proinflammatory secretome with the notable upregulation of IL8, IL6, MCP1, CCL20 and CXCL1/5/6, which are important chemotaxins for neutrophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes. IL11 induced IL33 expression across fibroblast types, and the inhibition of STAT3 but not of MEK/ERK prevented this. These data establish IL11 as pro-inflammatory with specific importance for priming the IL33 alarmin response in inflammatory fibroblasts across tissues

Sexual reproduction and genetic polymorphism within the cosmopolitan marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia pungens.

Different clades belonging to the cosmopolitan marine diatom Pseudo-nitzschia pungens appear to be present in different oceanic environments, however, a 'hybrid zone', where populations of different clades interbreed, has also been reported. Many studies have investigated the sexual reproduction of P. pungens, focused on morphology and life cycle, rather than the role of sexual reproduction in mixing the genomes of their parents. We carried out crossing experiments to determine the sexual compatibility/incompatibility between different clades of P. pungens, and examined the genetic polymorphism in the ITS2 region. Sexual reproduction did not occur only between clades II and III under any of experimental temperature conditions. Four offspring strains were established between clade I and III successfully. Strains established from offspring were found interbreed with other offspring strains as well as viable with their parental strains. We confirmed the hybrid sequence patterns between clades I and III and found novel sequence types including polymorphic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the offspring strains. Our results implicate that gene exchange and mixing between different clades are still possible, and that sexual reproduction is a significant ecological strategy to maintain the genetic diversity within this diatom species