A Case of Malignant Pericardial Mesothelioma With Constrictive Pericarditis Physiology Misdiagnosed as Pericardial Metastatic Cancer

Malignant pericardial mesothelioma is a rare and progressive cardiac tumor. There is no established standard treatment and the prognosis is poor. Most patients were retrospectively diagnosed from surgery or autopsy due to absence of specific clinical manifestation. Most patients with pericardial mesothelioma have demonstrated constrictive physiology on echocardiography or cardiac catheterization. Therefore, pericardial mesothelioma was often misdiagnosed as other causes of constrictive pericarditis. We report a case of primary pericardial mesothelioma misdiagnosed as pericardial metastasis of unknown origin

Optical and microstructural studies of atomically flat ultrathin In-rich InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells

Optical and microstructural properties of atomically flat ultrathin In-rich (UTIR) InGaN/GaN multiple quantum well were investigated by means of photoluminescence (PL), time-resolved PL (TRPL), and cathodoluminescence (CL) experiments. The sample exhibits efficient trapping of the photoexcited carriers into quantum wells (QWs) and the effect of internal electric field in the QWs was found negligible by excitation power-dependent PL and TRPL. These phenomena were attributed to the nature of UTIR InGaN QWs, indicating the potential of this system for application in optoelectronic devices. Variation of TRPL lifetime across the PL band and spatially resolved monochromatic CL mapping images strongly suggest that there is micrometer-scale inhomogeneity in effective band gap in UTIR InGaN/GaN QWs, which is originated from two types of localized areas.open141

Development of Anthropometry-Based Equations for the Estimation of the Total Body Water in Koreans

For developing race-specific anthropometry-based total body water (TBW) equations, we measured TBW using bioelectrical impedance analysis (TBWBIA) in 2,943 healthy Korean adults. Among them, 2,223 were used as a reference group. Two equations (TBWK1 and TBWK2) were developed based on age, sex, height, and body weight. The adjusted R2 was 0.908 for TBWK1 and 0.910 for TBWK2. The remaining 720 subjects were used for the validation of our results. Watson (TBWW) and Hume-Weyers (TBWH) formulas were also used. In men, TBWBIA showed the highest correlation with TBWH, followed by TBWK1, TBWK2 and TBWW. TBWK1 and TBWK2 showed the lower root mean square errors (RMSE) and mean prediction errors (ME) than TBWW and TBWH. On the Bland-Altman plot, the correlations between the differences and means were smaller for TBWK2 than for TBWK1. On the contrary, TBWBIA showed the highest correlation with TBWW, followed by TBWK2, TBWK1, and TBWH in females. RMSE was smallest in TBWW, followed by TBWK2, TBWK1 and TBWH. ME was closest to zero for TBWK2, followed by TBWK1, TBWW and TBWH. The correlation coefficients between the means and differences were highest in TBWW, and lowest in TBWK2. In conclusion, TBWK2 provides better accuracy with a smaller bias than the TBWW or TBWH in males. TBWK2 shows a similar accuracy, but with a smaller bias than TBWW in females

Complete Atrioventricular Block Secondary to Bortezomib Use in Multiple Myeloma

Bortezomib is an inhibitor of 26S proteasome, which is an effective treatment for multiple myeloma. The common adverse effects of bortezomib are asthenic conditions, gastrointestinal disturbances, and peripheral neuropathy. Here we describe a patient with dyspnea and general weakness because of complete atrioventricular block while receiving bortezomib. We immediately stopped bortezomib, and after inserting a permanent VDD pacemaker, the patients' symptoms disappeared

A New Steroidal Saponin from the Tubers of Ophiopogon japonicus and Its Protective Effect Against Cisplatin-Induced Renal Cell Toxicity

A new furostanol saponin, ophiopogonin T, was isolated from the tubers of Ophiopogon japonicus. Its structure was established by extensive spectroscopic techniques including 1D ( 1 H and 13 C) and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments (correlation spectroscopy (COSY), heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC), heteronuclear multiple bond correlation (HMBC) and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY)), high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESIMS), and chemical methods. Using cell-based assays, this compound was evaluated for its cytotoxic effect on cancer cell lines and its protective effect against anticancer drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Cisplatin-induced cytotoxicity in porcine kidney (LLC-PK1) cells was significantly reduced upon treatment with ophiopogonin T, without affecting human hepatoma (HepG2) cancer cell proliferation or tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). These results collectively reflect the beneficial effect of ophiopogonin T on the side effects of cisplatin

Clinical and Radiographic Features of Adult-onset Ankylosing Spondylitis in Korean Patients: Comparisons between Males and Females

The objective of this study was to investigate clinical and radiographic features and gender differences in Korean patients with adult-onset ankylosing spondylitis. Multicenter cross-sectional studies were conducted in the rheumatology clinics of 13 Korean tertiary referral hospitals. All patients had a confirmed diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis according to the modified New York criteria. Clinical, laboratory, and radiographic features were evaluated and disease activities were assessed using the Bath ankylosing spondylitis disease activity index. Five hundred and five patients were recruited. The male to female ratio was 6.1:1. Average age at symptom onset was 25.4±8.9 yr and average disease duration was 9.6±6.8 yr. Males manifested symptoms at a significantly earlier age. HLA-B27 was more frequently positive in males. Hips were more commonly affected in males, and knees in females. When spinal mobility was measured using tragus-to-wall distance and the modified Schober's test, females had significantly better results. Radiographic spinal changes, including bamboo spine and syndesmophytes, were more common in males after adjustment of confounding factors. In conclusion, we observed significant gender differences in radiographic spinal involvement as well as other clinical manifestations among Korea patients with adult-onset ankylosing spondylitis. These findings may influence the timing of the diagnosis and the choice of treatment

Developmental endothelial locus-1 as a potential biomarker for the incidence of acute exacerbation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Background Despite the high disease burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and risk of acute COPD exacerbation, few COPD biomarkers are available. As developmental endothelial locus-1 (DEL-1) has been proposed to possess beneficial effects, including anti-inflammatory effects, we hypothesized that DEL-1 could be a blood biomarker for COPD. Objective To elucidate the role of plasma DEL-1 as a biomarker of COPD in terms of pathogenesis and for predicting acute exacerbation. Methods Cigarette smoke extract (CSE) or saline was intratracheally administered to wild-type (WT) and DEL-1 knockout (KO) C57BL/6 mice. Subsequently, lung sections were obtained to quantify the degree of emphysema using the mean linear intercept (MLI). Additionally, plasma DEL-1 levels were compared between COPD and non-COPD participants recruited in ongoing prospective cohorts. Using negative binomial regression analysis, the association between the plasma DEL-1 level and subsequent acute exacerbation risk was evaluated in patients with COPD. Results In the in vivo study, DEL-1 KO induced emphysema (KO saline vs. WT saline; P = 0.003) and augmented CSE-induced emphysema (KO CSE vs. WT CSE; P < 0.001) in 29 mice. Among 537 participants, patients with COPD presented plasma log (DEL-1) levels lower than non-COPD participants (P = 0.04), especially non-COPD never smokers (P = 0.019). During 1.2 ± 0.3 years, patients with COPD in the lowest quartile of Log(DEL-1) demonstrated an increased risk of subsequent acute exacerbation, compared with those in the highest quartile of Log(DEL-1) (adjusted incidence rate ratio, 3.64; 95% confidence interval, 1.03–12.9). Conclusion Low DEL-1 levels are associated with COPD development and increased risk of subsequent COPD acute exacerbation. DEL-1 can be a useful biomarker in patients with COPD.This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. 2019R1C1C1007918). This research was also supported by funds (2016ER670100, 2016ER670101, 2016ER670102 and 2018ER670100, 2018ER670101, 2018ER670102) from Research of Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

GNPS - guided discovery of Madurastatin siderophores from the termite-associated actinomadura sp. RB99

In this study, we analyzed if Actinomadura sp. RB99 produces siderophores that that could be responsible for the antimicrobial activity observed in co-cultivation studies. Dereplication of high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry (HRMS/MS) and global natural product social molecular networking platform (GNPS) analysis of fungus-bacterium cocultures resulted in the identification of five madurastatin derivatives (A1, A2, E1, F, and G1), of which were four new derivatives. Chemical structures were unambiguously confirmed by HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR experiments, as well as MS/MS data and their absolute structures were elucidated based on Marfey’s analysis, DP4+ probability calculation and total synthesis. Structure analysis revealed that madurastatin E1 (2) contained a rare 4-imidazolidinone cyclic moiety and madurastatin A1 (5) was characterized as a Ga3+-complex. The function of madurastatins as siderophores was evaluated using the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans as model organism. Based on homology models, we identified the putative NRPS-based gene cluster region of the siderophores in Actinomadura sp. RB99.The National Research Foundation of Korea, the Postdoctoral Research Program of Sungkyunkwan University, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.https://www.wiley-vch.de/en/shop/journals/234am2023BiochemistryGeneticsMicrobiology and Plant Patholog

Microstructural evolution induced by micro-cracking during fast lithiation of single-crystalline silicon

h i g h l i g h t s Lithiation of Si results in various microstructures depending of crystal orientation. A complex vein-like microstructure of Li x Si was observed in {100} oriented Si. Micro-cracks provide a fast path for Li diffusion and cause a non-uniform lithiation. Crystalline Li x Si plays an important role in micro-crack generation. a r t i c l e i n f o t r a c t We report observations of microstructural changes in {100} and {110} oriented silicon wafers during initial lithiation under relatively high current densities. Evolution of the microstructure during lithiation was found to depend on the crystallographic orientation of the silicon wafers. In {110} silicon wafers, the phase boundary between silicon and Li x Si remained flat and parallel to the surface. In contrast, lithiation of the {100} oriented substrate resulted in a complex vein-like microstructure of Li x Si in a crystalline silicon matrix. A simple calculation demonstrates that the formation of such structures is energetically unfavorable in the absence of defects due to the large hydrostatic stresses that develop. However, TEM observations revealed micro-cracks in the {100} silicon wafer, which can create fast diffusion paths for lithium and contribute to the formation of a complex vein-like Li x Si network. This defect-induced microstructure can significantly affect the subsequent delithiation and following cycles, resulting in degradation of the electrode