Lateral abdominal wall hematoma as a rare complication after carotid artery stenting: a case report

Abdominal wall hematoma is a rare and life-threatening complication after carotid artery stenting (CAS), but it can occur when activated clotting time is prolonged. We report a right lateral abdominal wall hematoma caused by rupture of the superficial circumflex iliac artery after CAS in a 72-year-old man with severe stenosis of the origin of the right internal carotid artery. We performed CAS for the targeted lesion while activated clotting time exceeded 300 seconds. After 2 hours, he complained of right lateral abdominal pain. Abdominal computed tomography revealed an extensive hematoma in the right lateral abdominal wall. Activated clotting time was 180 seconds at this point. Seven hours later, he developed hypotension and hemoglobin level dropped to 11.3 g/dl. Subsequent computed tomography showed enlargement of the hematoma. Emergent selective angiography of the external iliac artery revealed active bleeding from the right superficial circumflex iliac artery. Transcatheter arterial embolization with Gelfoam and microcoils was performed successfully. With more CAS procedures being performed, it is important for endovascular surgeons and radiologists to consider the possibility of abdominal wall hematoma in this situation

Study of Solitons on submanifolds of Kenmotsu statistical manifolds

The differential geometry of Kenmotsu manifold is a valuable part of contact geometry with nice applications in other fields such as theoretical physics. Theoretical physicists have also been looking into the equation of Ricci soliton and Yamabe soliton in relation with Einstein manifolds, Quasi Einstein manifolds and string theory. In this research servey, we examine the Ricci solitons and Yamabe soliton on statistical counterpart of a Kenmotsu manifold, that is, Kenmotsu statistical manifold with some related examples. We investigate some statistical curvature properties of Kenmotsu statistical manifolds. Also, we study the almost $\eta$-Ricci solitons on submanifolds of Kenmotsu statistical manifold with concircular vector field. Furthermore, we have also discuss the behavior of almost quasi-Yamabe soliton on subamnifolds of Kenmotsu statistical manifolds endowed with concircular vector field and concurrent vector filed. Finally, we have furnish an example of $5$-dimensional Kenmotsu statistical manifolds admitting the $\eta$-Ricci soliton and almost quasi-Yamabe soliton as well.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1902.0929

Effect of Oligomers Derived from Biodegradable Polyesters on Eco- and Neurotoxicity

Biodegradable polymers are eco-friendly materials and have attracted attention for use in a sustainable society because they are not accumulated in the environment. Although the characteristics of biodegradable polymers have been assessed well, the effects of their degradation products have not. Herein, we comprehensively evaluated the chemical toxicities of biodegradable polyester, polycaprolactone (PCL), and synthetic oligocaprolactones (OCLs) with different degrees of polymerization. While the PCL did not show any adverse effects on various organisms, high levels of shorter OCLs and the monomer (1 μg/mL for freshwater microorganisms and 1 mg/mL for marine algae and mammalian cells) damaged the tested organisms, including freshwater microorganisms, marine algae, and mammalian cells, which indicated the toxicities of the degradation products under unnaturally high concentrations. These results highlight the need for a further understanding of the effects of the degradation products resulting from biodegradable polyesters to ensure a genuinely sustainable society

Enhancer activities of amphioxus Brachyury genes in embryos of the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis

The notochord and somites are distinctive chordate structures. The T‐box transcription factor gene, Brachyury, is expressed in notochord and plays a pivotal role in its formation. In the cephalochordate, Branchiostoma floridae, Brachyury is duplicated into BfBra1 and BfBra2, which are expressed in the somite‐formation region as well. In a series of experiments to elucidate the regulatory machinery of chordate Brachyury expression, we carried out a lacZ reporter assay of BfBra in embryos of the urochordate, Ciona intestinalis. Vista analyses suggest the presence of conserved non‐coding sequences, not only in the 5′‐upstream, but also in the 3′‐downstream and in introns of BfBra. We found that: (1) 5′‐upstream sequences of both BfBra1 and BfBra2 promote lacZ expression in muscle cells, (2) 3′‐downstream sequences have enhancer activity that promotes lacZ expression in notochord cells, and (3) introns of BfBra2 and BfBra1 exhibit lacZ expression preferentially in muscle and notochord cells. These results suggest shared cephalochordate Brachyury enhancer machinery that also works in urochordates. We discuss the results in relation to evolutionary modification of Brachyury expression in formation of chordate‐specific organs characteristic of each lineage

Indispensable roles of OX40L-derived signal and epistatic genetic effect in immune-mediated pathogenesis of spontaneous pulmonary hypertension

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Pulmonary hypertension (PH) refers to a spectrum of diseases with elevated pulmonary artery pressure. Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a disease category that clinically presents with severe PH and that is histopathologically characterized by the occlusion of pulmonary arterioles, medial muscular hypertrophy, and/or intimal fibrosis. PAH occurs with a secondary as well as a primary onset. Secondary PAH is known to be complicated with immunological disorders. The aim of the present study is to histopathologically and genetically characterize a new animal model of PAH and clarify the role of OX40 ligand in the pathogenesis of PAH.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Spontaneous onset of PAH was stably identified in mice with immune abnormality because of overexpression of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family molecule OX40 ligand (OX40L). Histopathological and physical examinations revealed the onset of PAH-like disorders in the C57BL/6 (B6) strain of OX40L transgenic mice (B6.TgL). Comparative analysis performed using different strains of transgenic mice showed that this onset depends on the presence of OX40L in the B6 genetic background. Genetic analyses demonstrated a susceptibility locus of a B6 allele to this onset on chromosome 5. Immunological analyses revealed that the excessive OX40 signals in TgL mice attenuates expansion of regulatory T cells the B6 genetic background, suggesting an impact of the B6 genetic background on the differentiation of regulatory T cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Present findings suggest a role for the OX40L-derived immune response and epistatic genetic effect in immune-mediated pathogenesis of PAH.</p

Short day length-induced decrease of cesium uptake without altering potassium uptake manner in poplar

Short day length-induced alteration of potassium (K) localization in perennial trees is believed to be a mechanism for surviving and adapting to severe winters. To investigate the relationship between cesium (Cs) and K localizations, a model tree poplar, hybrid aspen T89, was employed. Under short day length conditions, the amount of 137Cs absorbed through the root and translocated to the root was drastically reduced, but 42K was not. Potassium uptake from the rhizosphere is mediated mainly by KUP/HAK/KT and CNGC transporters. In poplar, however, these genes were constantly expressed under short-day conditions except for a slight increase in the expression a KUP/HAK/KT gene six weeks after the onset of the short-day treatment. These results indicated that the suppression of 137Cs uptake was triggered by short day length but not regulated by competitive Cs+ and K+ transport. We hypothesize that there are separately regulated Cs+ and K+ transport systems in poplar

Distribution of allele frequencies at TTN g.231054C > T, RPL27A g.3109537C > T and AKIRIN2 c.*188G > A between Japanese Black and four other cattle breeds with differing historical selection for marbling

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Marbling defined by the amount and distribution of intramuscular fat, so-called <it>Shimofuri</it>, is an economically important trait of beef cattle in Japan. Our previous study detected 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), <it>g.231054C > T</it>, <it>g.3109537C > T </it>and <it>c.*188G > A</it>, respectively, in the 5' flanking region of the <it>titin </it>(<it>TTN</it>), the 5' flanking region of the <it>ribosomal protein L27a </it>(<it>RPL27A</it>) and the 3' untranslated region of the <it>akirin 2 </it>genes (<it>AKIRIN2</it>), which have been considered as positional functional candidates for the genes responsible for marbling, and showed association of these SNPs with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle. In the present study, we investigated the allele frequency distribution of the 3 SNPs among the 5 cattle breeds, Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn, Holstein and Brown Swiss breeds.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We genotyped the <it>TTN g.231054C > T</it>, <it>RPL27A g.3109537C > T </it>and <it>AKIRIN2 c.*188G > A </it>SNPs by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method, using 101 sires and 1,705 paternal half sib progeny steers from 8 sires for Japanese Black, 86 sires and 27 paternal half sib progeny steers from 3 sires for Japanese Brown, 79 sires and 264 paternal half sib progeny steers from 14 sires for Japanese Shorthorn, 119 unrelated cows for Holstein, and 118 unrelated cows for Brown Swiss breeds. As compared to the frequencies of the <it>g.231054C > T T</it>, <it>g.3109537C > T T </it>and <it>c.*188G > A A </it>alleles, associated with high marbling, in Japanese Black breed that has been subjected to a strong selection for high marbling, those in the breeds, Japanese Shorthorn, Holstein and Brown Swiss breeds, that have not been selected for high marbling were null or lower. The Japanese Brown breed selected slightly for high marbling showed lower frequency than Japanese Black breed in the <it>g.3109537C > T T </it>allele, whereas no differences were detected between the 2 breeds in the frequencies of the <it>g.231054C > T T </it>and <it>c.*188G > A A </it>alleles.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Based on this finding, we hypothesized that the pressure of the strong selection for high marbling in Japanese Black breed has increased the frequencies of the <it>T</it>, <it>T </it>and <it>A </it>alleles at the <it>TTN g.231054C > T</it>, <it>RPL27A g.3109537C > T </it>and <it>AKIRIN2 c.*188G > A </it>SNPs, respectively. This study, together with the previous association studies, suggested that the 3 SNPs may be useful for effective marker-assisted selection to increase the levels of marbling.</p

ツシマ デントウ ハッコウ ショクヒン 「センダンゴ」 ノ カク チイキ ニ オケル セイゾウ ホウホウ

長崎県対馬市は南北に長い島であり,対馬のそれぞれの農家ではサツマイモを原料とした固有の伝統保存食品である『せんだんご』を小規模に製造している。 せんだんごは,水で戻し,捏ねた生地を麺状に加工して茹であげ『ろくべえ麺』として食される。 ろくべえは,原料であるサツマイモ単体では生じ得ない食感を有していることから,せんだんごの製造工程に着目した。 せんだんごの製造には,"芋を腐らせる(発酵させる)"工程,それを丸めて数ヶ月に及ぶ軒下での"寒晒し"の工程があることから,島内各地域の「せんだんご製造農家」を訪問し,製造方法の調査を行った。 その結果,これら両工程にはカビなどの微生物が繁殖しており,黒色カビが繁殖した場合は味が悪くなるという理由からその部位が破棄され,白色や青色カビが繁殖した部位の製造が続行される。 このことから微生物の働きがあってせんだんごとなり,さらにろくべえ麺特有の食感が与えられると推察した。 さらに,せんだんご製造に重要な働きをすると考えられる微生物を特定するにあたり,数年にわたり島内の調査を重ねた結果,基本的にはせんだんご製造工程には3段階の発酵工程(発酵1(浸漬),発酵2(棚板に広げて発酵),発酵3(ソフトボール大の塊で発酵))と洗浄・成型工程の2工程4区分に分けられることが確認された。Sendango is an indigenous preserved food derived from sweet potato that is traditionally made in Tsushima, Japan located between the Korean Peninsula and Kyushu. The local people process a noodle called Rokube from Sendango and eat it with soup, fish or chicken. Rokube has a unique texture similar to konyaku, and unlike that of cooked sweet potato. There are two or three fermentation processes involved in Sendango production; therefore, we inferred that the unique texture of Rokube may result from the fermentation process. Sendango is manufactured in several farmhouses on the island ; however, the manufacturing process varies among districts. We investigated each local Sendango manufacturing process and determined the microorganisms involved in fermentation. The investigation of Sendango manufacturing procedures was carried out in three towns, Toyotama, Izuhara, and Mitsushima, by interviews and observations between December and February each year from 2008 to 2011. The processes consist of three main fermentations. In Fermentation-1 (F1), sliced or smashed sweet potatoes were soaked in cold water for 7-10 days. Gas production and film formation were observed during F1. In Fermentation-2 (F2), the soaked sweet potato pieces were piled to a thickness of 5-20cm for 20-30 days. Intense propagation of filamentous fungi was observed during F2. In fermentation-3 (F3), softball-sized lumps were formed on the sticky sweet potato by fungi. The sweet potatoes were left outside for approximately 1 month. The lumps gradually hardened by drying. Many fungal mycelia were observed on the surface of potatoes and inside the lumps during F3. The three aforementioned fermentation processes were used for Sendango production in two towns (Toyotama and Izuhara). In Izuhara, smashed sweet potatoes were placed in sandbags knit with plastic strings, and the bags were soaked in the flowing river water. The sandbags collected from the river water were left on the river bank for 20 days. F2 was carried out in sandbags. In Mitsushima, Sendango production consisted of two fermentation processes, F1 and F3. The fermentation process occurs over a long time period. The propagation of filamentous fungi was particularly intense during F2 and F3. It is thought that filamentous fungi are indispensable for Sendango production. We characterized the microorganisms participating in Sendango production based on this investigation