Successful treatment of corneal wasp sting-induced panuveitis with vitrectomy

BACKGROUND: This study aims to present the management and clinical findings of a case of corneal wasp sting and to report the outcome of corneal change and panuveitis after vitrectomy. FINDINGS: Clinical findings, anterior segment photographs, corneal endothelial changes, and medical treatment of corneal wasp sting-induced panuveitis are presented. A 95-year-man was stung by a wasp on his left cornea. A severe conjunctival hyperemia, marked corneal edema, corneal epithelial defect, and uveitis developed. As soon as the patient visited our clinic, topical corticosteroid and antibiotics were given, but corneal endothelial damage and uveitis did not improve. Anterior chamber irrigation was performed with oxiglutatione solution to rinse out the wasp venom. Corneal edema and anterior uveitis improved but the endothelial cell density gradually decreased and the vitreous opacity deteriorated. Therefore, a 23-gauge vitrectomy was performed. Subsequently, the corneal edema and panuveitis improved. CONCLUSIONS: Vitrectomy may be an effective treatment for corneal endothelial damage and endophthalmitis induced by a corneal wasp sting

CHANGE IN THE OVERARM THROWING TECHNIQUE DUE TO PRACTICE IN JAPANESE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GIRLS

The purpose of this study was to investigate the change in performance and technique of the overarm throwing in elementary school girls through a practice using the standard motion model. Fifteen girls from sixth grade were participated in three sessions: videotaping sessions at the pre- and post-practice and practice session. The throwing motions were videotaped with two high-speed cameras and analysed threedimensionally. Through the practice using the standard motion model as a referen-, throwing distance and ball velocity significantly improved. The trunk forward rotation became similar to that of standard motion model and the mechanical work in the throwing arm increased after the practice. The results indicated that the use of standard motion model was useful to improve the throwing motion as well as throwing performance in elementary school girls

CHANGE IN KINETICS OF THROWING ARM JOINTS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN DUE TO TRAINING OF A DISTANCE THROW

The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of training with a standard motion model on the kinetics of throwing arm joints in elementary school children. Thirty-two children from sixth grade were participated in three sessions: pre- and post-training videotaping and technique training. Their throwing motions were videotaped with two high-speed cameras and analysed three-dimensionally. Through the training with the use of standard motion model as a reference, throwing distance and ball velocity significantly improved. Joint force, joint torque and mechanical work in throwing arm joints increased at the post-training. The results indicated that the use of standard motion model was useful for the improvement in throwing distance and joint kinetics of throwing arm

Postoperative recurrence and the role of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with pulmonary large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma

ObjectivesThe prognosis for patients with large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma is generally very poor. In this study, we describe the clinical features of recurrent tumors of large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma and discuss the role of adjuvant chemotherapy and management of recurrence in patients with large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed clinical data from 79 patients and evaluated the prognosis of patients with platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy, recurrence patterns, patient response to chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and prognosis in patients who experienced relapse.ResultsOf 72 patients, 36 had confirmed recurrent tumors upon follow-up examinations. Of those with recurrent tumors, 33 patients (91.7%) had their first recurrent tumors within 3 years. Patients who underwent platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy had a significantly lower rate of tumor recurrence and a higher rate of disease-free survival than those who had non–platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy or no adjuvant chemotherapy. Multivariate analyses revealed that platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy, pathologic stage, and the presence of second cancer are independent prognostic factors. Three patients with limited resection of the primary tumor had poor prognosis with recurrence. Postoperatively, 11 of the 36 patients without recurrence (30.6%) had metachronous second primary cancers, of which 4 patients had more than 1 site.ConclusionsPatients with large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma had frequent recurrence following resection of the primary tumor, and those without recurrence often developed metachronous second primary cancers. Platinum-based adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery may be useful for preventing recurrence in patients with large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma

Image-guided core needle biopsy for musculoskeletal lesions

Background: Image-guided percutaneous core needle biopsy (CNB) has been an important diagnostic procedure for musculoskeletal lesions. Here we surveyed the variety of diagnostic strategies available and assessed the clinical usefulness and limitations of image-guided CNB carried out by a multidisciplinary team comprising specialists in various fields. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 284 image-guided CNBs among 1899 consecutive biopsy procedures carried out at our institution for musculoskeletal tumorous conditions, focusing on their effectiveness including diagnostic accuracy and utility for classification of specimens according to malignant potential and histological subtype as well as their correlation with biopsy routes. Results: Among the 284 studied biopsies, 252 (88.7%) were considered clinically “effective”. The sensitivity for detection of malignancy was 94.0% (110/117) and the specificity was 95.3% (41/43). The diagnostic accuracy for detection of malignancy was 94.4% (151/160) and that for histological subtype was 92.3% (48/52). The clinical effectiveness of the procedure was correlated with the complexity of the biopsy route (P = 0.015); the trans-pedicular, trans-retroperitoneal and trans-sciatic foramen approaches tended to yield ineffective results. Repeat biopsy did not have a significant impact on the effectiveness of image-guided CNB (P = 0.536). Conclusions: The diagnostic accuracy rates of image-guided CNB performed at multidisciplinary sarcoma units were usable even for patients who have variety of diagnostic biopsy procedures. It is important to establish and implement diagnostic strategies based on an understanding that complicated routes, especially for spine and pelvic lesions, may be associated with ineffectiveness and/or complications

Spatio-temporal structures in sheared polymer systems

We investigate spatio-temporal structures in sheared polymer systems by solving a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau model in two dimensions. (i) In polymer solutions above the coexistence curve, crossover from linear to nonlinear regimes occurs with increasing the shear rate. In the nonlinear regime the solution behaves chaotically with large-amplitude composition fluctuations. A characteristic heterogeneity length is calculated in the nonlinear regime. (ii) We also study dynamics of shear-band structures in wormlike micellar solutions under the condition of fixed stress. The average shear rate exhibits large temporal fluctuations with occurrence of large disturbances in the spatial structures.Comment: 16pages, 10figures, to be published in Physica

ALK7 is a novel marker for adipocyte differentiation

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) family members regulate a variety of cellular functions and play important roles in cell differentiation. Activin receptor-like kinase 7 (ALK7), a receptor for TGF-β family members, was initially cloned from rats as an orphan receptor and has been recently shown to be a type I receptor for nodal, activin B and activin AB. ALK7 is expressed not only in neurons, but also in insulin-producing islet β cells and white and brown adipose tissues however, the specific functions of ALK7 in these tissues are not known. In order to test whether ALK7 is involved in adipocyte differentiation, we analyzed its expression during adipocyte differentiation. ALK7 expression was detected in the late phase of adipocyte differentiation by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining in 3T3-L1 cells. We also detected the expression of ALK7 by RT-PCR in stromal vascular fraction (SVF) cells. These results indicated that ALK7 is a novel marker specifically expressed during the late phase of adipocyte differentiation. Furthermore, our results suggest the possible involvement of nodal or activin B in adipocyte differentiation