Early combined treatment with steroid and immunoglobulin is effective for serious Kawasaki disease complicated by myocarditis and encephalopathy

Severe-type Kawasaki disease (KD) complicated by serious myocarditis and encephalopathy can be successfully treated without abnormality of the coronary arteries by steroid pulse treatment and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg). A 4-year-old Japanese girl was diagnosed with KD due to a 6-day history of fever, rash, flushed lips, conjunctival hyperemia, palmar edema, and cervical lymphadenopathy. The day after initiation of IVIg and aspirin, cardiac gallop rhythm was identified. Cardiac ultrasonography revealed severe left ventricular dysfunction. Disturbance of consciousness, hallucinations, and slurred speech were also observed. Magnetic resonance imaging showed no abnormalities, but electroencephalography revealed high-voltage slow waves. Despite this serious disease, cardiac function and neurological abnormalities showed complete recovery without dilatation of the coronary arteries by steroid pulse treatment and additional IVIg. Follow-up at 15 months revealed no abnormality of the coronary arteries. In conclusion, we suggest that early combined treatment with steroid and IVIg is effective for serious KD complicated by myocarditis and encephalopathy

Current Performance and On-Going Improvements of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope

An overview of the current status of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope constructed and operated at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan is presented. The basic design concept and the verified performance of the telescope system are described. Also given are the status of the instrument package offered to the astronomical community, the status of operation, and some of the future plans. The status of the telescope reported in a number of SPIE papers as of the summer of 2002 are incorporated with some updates included as of 2004 February. However, readers are encouraged to check the most updated status of the telescope through the home page, http://subarutelescope.org/index.html, and/or the direct contact with the observatory staff.Comment: 18 pages (17 pages in published version), 29 figures (GIF format), This is the version before the galley proo

Genetic Characterization of Coronaviruses from Domestic Ferrets, Japan

We detected ferret coronaviruses in 44 (55.7%) of 79 pet ferrets tested in Japan and classified the viruses into 2 genotypes on the basis of genotype-specific PCR. Our results show that 2 ferret coronaviruses that cause feline infectious peritonitis–like disease and epizootic catarrhal enteritis are enzootic among ferrets in Japan

Autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 3 variant in rheumatoid arthritis

Introduction. Although type 1 diabetes mellitus is largely associated with autoimmune thyroid disease and this entity has been recently referred to as autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 3 variant, the autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 3 variant in patients with rheumatoid arthritis has not been reported so far. We herein describe the first case of rheumatoid arthritis that was associated with autoimmune polyglandular syndrome type 3 variant

The Impact of the Composition Effect on Ferromagnetic Properties of Tb2Co2Ga

The ferromagnetic properties of Tb2Co2Ga, crystallizing into an orthorhombic W2CoB2-type structure, were investigated by preparing 11 polycrystalline samples with different starting atomic compositions. We found that Tb2Co2Ga possesses a homogeneity range in the ternary phase diagram. The Curie temperature TC is sensitive to the atomic composition and ranges rather widely, i.e., from 75 to 145 K. For the samples with a TC above 90 K, the nearest Tb–Tb and the Tb–Co distances would be important factors deciding TC, considering the RKKY interaction through the hybridization between Tb and Co atoms. An anisotropic change of two kinds of Co–Tb–Co angles in the octahedron formed by two Tb and four Co atoms occurs in the samples with a TC lower than 90 K. Such a change of octahedral parameters seems to be related to a difference of shapes in the ac magnetization anomaly at TC between the samples in the lowest TC (~ 75 K) group and those in the other groups

Genetic Characterization of Coronaviruses from Domestic Ferrets, Japan

We detected ferret coronaviruses in 44 (55.7%) of 79 pet ferrets tested in Japan and classified the viruses into 2 genotypes on the basis of genotype-specific PCR. Our results show that 2 ferret coronaviruses that cause feline infectious peritonitis–like disease and epizootic catarrhal enteritis are enzootic among ferrets in Japan

Reversible adhesive-free nanoscale adhesion utilizing oppositely charged polyelectrolyte brushes

高原淳 九州大学先導物質化学研究所 教授と、小林元康 科学技術振興機構(JST) 戦略的創造研究推進事業ERATO 型研究「高原ソフト界面プロジェクト」グループリーダーは、材料表面にナノメートルオーダーの厚みを持つ歯ブラシ状の構造を作製し、水を挟んで貼り合わせるだけで繰り返し接着と剥離を行うことができる新しい低環境負荷型の接着法を発表しました。特に異種材料同士の接着に貢献が期待されています。（九州大学プレスリリースより）Two prepared silicon wafers bearing cationic and anionic polyelectrolyte brushes were joined with 2 μL of water under 0.098 MPa of pressure at room temperature. The bonded area was fixed at 5 x 10 mm2. A lap shear strength of 1.52 MPa was achieved through the adhesion of poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl trimethylammonium chloride] and poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt) brush substrates due to electrostatic attractive interactions between the positively and negatively charged polymers. In contrast, the lap shear strength of bonded polymer brushes with like charges was only 0.027–0.072 MPa. The polyelectrolyte brushes remained on the substrates even after their separation in the lap shear test; and the brush substrates readhered in the presence of a small amount of water. Furthermore, the adhering substrates were smoothly debonded in aqueous NaCl solution due to the electrostatic interaction of the hydrated salt ions. However, the substrates did not separate in deionized water. In summary, reversible nanoscale adhesion was achieved using oppositely charged polyelectrolyte brushes combined with aqueous solution

Lupus-related protein-losing enteropathy associated with pseudo-pseudo Meigs’ syndrome and successfully treated with hydroxychloroquine

We herein report the first case of lupus-related protein-losing enteropathy associated with pseudo-pseudo Meigs’ syndrome. Lupus-related protein-losing enteropathy and pseudo-pseudo Meigs’ syndrome are extremely rare complications in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, Both have a similar clinical course characterized by producing marked ascites, and respond to steroids in typical cases. However, in our case, steroid monotherapy was inadequate and the addition of hydroxychloroquine was effective for their treatment. Furthermore, no reports have previously confirmed elevated CA 125 levels with lupus-related protein-losing enteropathy or increased 99mTc-HSA activity with pseudo-pseudo Meigs’ syndrome. In addition, we are the first to report an evaluation of the histopathology of lupus-related protein-losing enteropathy. Previously reported cases have been described as being caused by either pseudo-Meigs’s syndrome or lupus-related protein-losing enteropathy as the cause of the rare pathology that causes marked pleural effusion and ascites in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, but it has not been evaluated whether the other is co-occurring. Our case highlights that there is a potential case of overlapping lupus-related protein-losing enteropathy and pseudo-Pseudo-Meigs’s syndrome. Furthermore, it is possible that patients with marked ascites with elevated CA 125 levels were mistakenly diagnosed with Meigs’s syndrome or pseudo-Meigs’s syndrome associated with malignant or benign ovarian tumors and underwent surgery. Clinicians should not forget SLE with pseudo-Pseudo-Meigs’s syndrome as one of the differential diagnoses for marked ascites with elevated CA 125 levels