Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis as an Onset Symptom of Crohn's Disease

We report the case of an octagenerian who presented with leukocytoclastic vasculitis as the first symptom of Crohn's disease. The patient was admitted with skin rash on the lower extremities and ankles and episodes of bloody diarrhea. Skin and colon biopsies revealed acute leukocytoclastic vasculitis and moderate Crohn's disease, respectively. The patient was treated with intravenous corticosteroids in conjunction with antibiotics and per os mesalazine. Symptoms resolved rapidly within 5 days, and the patient was still asymptomatic on follow-up 3 months later

Brainstem phaeohyphomycosis due to Curvularia lunata (Cochliobolus lunatus) in a cat

A 13-year-old female neutered domestic short-hair cat was presented with chronic progressive vestibular ataxia, lethargy and anorexia. Clinical examination revealed bilateral mucopurulent nasal discharge. Neurological examination revealed obtundation, a right head tilt, ambulatory tetraparesis, generalised vestibular ataxia, decreased postural reactions in all limbs, right Horner's syndrome, spontaneous conjugate jerk rotatory nystagmus and right positional ventral strabismus. Neuroanatomical localisation was observed in the right central vestibular system. Computed tomography revealed a solitary ill-defined contrast-enhancing mass lesion at the level of the right cerebellopontine angle. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed mild mononuclear pleocytosis and fungal elements. CSF culture was positive for Curvularia spp. Further tests for underlying diseases were all negative. The cat was treated with antibiotic and antifungal treatment, but it deteriorated rapidly and was euthanased. Necropsy of the brainstem mass lesion revealed pyogranulomatous inflammation. Panfungal polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and subsequent sequencing identified Curvularia lunata in the formalin fixed brain tissue. This is the first report of brainstem phaeohyphomycosis by Curvularia lunata (Pleosporales) in a cat. In addition, this is the first report among animal and humans where fungal elements of Curvularia lunata were found in the CSF cytology. Opportunistic fungal pathogens should be always considered within the differential diagnoses list in cats with neurological signs and advanced imaging findings compatible with solitary mass lesions in the brain. In feline patients with pyogranulomatous meningoencephalitis and a suspicion of a fungal aetiology, panfungal PCR for the ITS region and sequencing should be performed regardless of the absence of fungal elements in histopathology

Controlling molten carbonate distribution in dual-phase molten salt-ceramic membranes to increase carbon dioxide permeation rates

Dual-phase molten salt-ceramic membranes show high permselectivity for CO2 when molten carbonate is supported in a porous oxygen-ion and/or electron conductor. In this arrangement, the support likely contributes to permeation. Thus, if one is to understand and ultimately design membranes, it is also important to perform experiments with an inert support where permeation relies upon the molten carbonate properties alone. Here, a nominally inert material (Al2O3) was used in order to restrict permeation to molten carbonate. Model Al2O3 dual-phase membranes were fabricated using laser drilling to provide an order of magnitude difference in molten salt-gas interfacial area between feed and permeate sides. Molten carbonate thickness in the model membranes was also varied, independent of the molten salt-gas interfacial area. For all thicknesses studied, CO2 permeation rates showed a significant temperature dependence from 500 to 750 °C, suggesting an activated process was rate-limiting, likely a permeate-side molten salt-gas interfacial process, i.e. desorption of CO2. We applied these findings in asymmetric hollow-fibre supports, a geometry with inherent modularity and scalability, by developing a new carbonate infiltration method to control molten carbonate distribution within the hollow fibre. Compared to a conventionally prepared dual-phase hollow-fibre membrane with an uncontrolled distribution of carbonates, permeation rates were increased by up to 4 times when the molten salt was confined to the packed-pore network, i.e. without infiltrating the hollow-fibre micro-channels. X-ray micro-CT investigations supported the idea that the resulting increase in interfacial area for desorption of CO2 was the key structural difference contributing to increased permeation rates. For CO2 separation, where large volumes of gas must be processed, such increases in permeation rates will reduce the demand for membrane materials, although one must note the higher permeation rates achievable with oxygen-ion and/or electron conducting supports

Logarithmic spin, logarithmic rate and material frame-indifferent generalized plasticity

In this work we present a new rate type formulation of large deformation generalized plasticity which is based on the consistent use of the logarithmic rate concept. For this purpose, the basic constitutive equations are initially established in a local rotationally neutralized configuration which is defined by the logarithmic spin. These are then rephrased in their spatial form, by employing some standard concepts from the tensor analysis on manifolds. Such an approach, besides being compatible with the notion of (hyper)elasticity, offers three basic advantages, namely:(i) The principle of material frame-indifference is trivially satisfied ; (ii) The structure of the infinitesimal theory remains essentially unaltered ; (iii) The formulation does not preclude anisotropic response. A general integration scheme for the computational implementation of generalized plasticity models which are based on the logarithmic rate is also discussed. The performance of the scheme is tested by two representative numerical examples

Bacterial biofilm in salivary gland stones: Cause or consequence?

OBJECTIVE: The pathogenesis of salivary calculi is not yet clear; however, 2 theories have been formulated: (1) "the classic theory," based on calcium microdeposits in serous and ductal acinous cells, successively discharged into the ducts; (2) "the retrograde theory," based on a retrograde migration of food, bacteria, and so on from the oral cavity to the salivary duct. The aim of the present study is to highlight the role of bacteria and biofilm in stone formation. STUDY DESIGN: Case series without comparison. SETTING: Laboratory of the Department of Anatomical Pathology. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Traditional optic microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were carried out on 15 salivary gland calculi that were collected from 12 patients. A qPCR (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction) assay was performed to highlight the presence of bacterial DNA on each stone. RESULTS: Optic microscopy showed formations that-due to their size, shape, and Gram and Giemsa staining-seemed to be Gram-positive bacterial cells. PAS- (periodic acid-Schiff) and alcian-PAS-positive staining matrix was present around them. The ultrastructural observation of the material processed for scanning electron microscopy showed the presence of structures resembling bacterial cells in the middle of the stones, surrounded by soft, amorphous material. Results of qPCR showed the presence of bacterial DNA in the internal part of the tissue sample. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of bacteria and/or bacterial products resembling biofilm in salivary gland stones supports the "retrograde theory." This evidence may support the hypothesis that biofilm could be the causative effect of lithiasic formations

Tsunami-Related Data: A Review of Available Repositories Used in Scientific Literature

Various organizations and institutions store large volumes of tsunami-related data, whose availability and quality should benefit society, as it improves decision making before the tsunami occurrence, during the tsunami impact, and when coping with the aftermath. However, the existing digital ecosystem surrounding tsunami research prevents us from extracting the maximum benefit from our research investments. The main objective of this study is to explore the field of data repositories providing secondary data associated with tsunami research and analyze the current situation. We analyze the mutual interconnections of references in scientific studies published in the Web of Science database, governmental bodies, commercial organizations, and research agencies. A set of criteria was used to evaluate content and searchability. We identified 60 data repositories with records used in tsunami research. The heterogeneity of data formats, deactivated or nonfunctional web pages, the generality of data repositories, or poor dataset arrangement represent the most significant weak points. We outline the potential contribution of ontology engineering as an example of computer science methods that enable improvements in tsunami-related data management

The effect of spacing on the vortex-induced vibrations of two tandem flexible cylinders

Vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) of two flexible cylinders arranged in tandem are studied using a two-way fluidstructure interaction (FSI) method with different spacing ratios (Sx/D) at Reynolds number Re = 500 using a twoway fluid-structure interaction (FSI) method. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of spacing on the hydrodynamic interactions and the VIV responses of these cylinders. The responses of the two flexible cylinders are found to be similar to the classical VIV responses at small Sx/D. Once Sx/D is large enough for the vortices to become detached from the upstream cylinder, the response of the upstream cylinder is similar to the typical VIV response whereas the downstream cylinder undergoes wake-induced vibration (WIV). The characteristics of the response of the downstream cylinder in the present study are similar to those of the first two response regimes classified by previous researchers. The third regime is not observed for the flexible downstream cylinder with both ends fixed. The two changes in the phase relation between the cross-flow displacements of the two tandem flexible cylinders are discovered to be linked with the initial-upper branch transition and the upperlower branch transition, respectively. The correlation lengths of the two flexible cylinders decrease significantly in the transition range between the upper and lower branches. Three modes of vortex shedding (2S, P + S and 2P) have been identified in the present study. The upper-branch 2P mode is found to be associated with largeamplitude vibration of the upstream cylinder and the P + S mode is observed to be related to large-amplitude vibration of the downstream cylinder for Sx/D = 3.5 and 5. On the other hand, the lower-branch 2P mode leads to small-amplitude vibration of the downstream cylinder in the post-lock-in range at Sx/D = 2.5. The relative phase shifts of the sectional lift coefficients on different spanwise cross sections can be attributed to the variation of the vortex shedding flow along the flexible cylinders, and these phase shifts result in poor phasing between the forces and the displacements which is related to the decrease of the correlation lengths

A hysteretic multiscale formulation for nonlinear dynamic analysis of composite materials

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.A new multiscale finite element formulation is presented for nonlinear dynamic analysis of heterogeneous structures. The proposed multiscale approach utilizes the hysteretic finite element method to model the microstructure. Using the proposed computational scheme, the micro-basis functions, that are used to map the microdisplacement components to the coarse mesh, are only evaluated once and remain constant throughout the analysis procedure. This is accomplished by treating inelasticity at the micro-elemental level through properly defined hysteretic evolution equations. Two types of imposed boundary conditions are considered for the derivation of the multiscale basis functions, namely the linear and periodic boundary conditions. The validity of the proposed formulation as well as its computational efficiency are verified through illustrative numerical experiments

Expression of AXL receptor tyrosine kinase relates to monocyte dysfunction and severity of cirrhosis

Infectious complications in patients with cirrhosis frequently initiate episodes of decompensation and substantially contribute to the high mortality. Mechanisms of the underlying immuneparesis remain underexplored. TAM receptors (TYRO3/AXL/MERTK) are important inhibitors of innate immune responses. To understand the pathophysiology of immuneparesis in cirrhosis, we detailed TAM receptor expression in relation to monocyte function and disease severity prior to the onset of acute decompensation. TNF-α/IL-6 responses to lipopolysaccharide were attenuated in monocytes from patients with cirrhosis (n = 96) compared with controls (n = 27) and decreased in parallel with disease severity. Concurrently, an AXL-expressing (AXL+) monocyte population expanded. AXL+ cells (CD14+CD16highHLA-DRhigh) were characterised by attenuated TNF-α/IL-6 responses and T cell activation but enhanced efferocytosis and preserved phagocytosis of Escherichia coli. Their expansion correlated with disease severity, complications, infection, and 1-yr mortality. AXL+ monocytes were generated in response to microbial products and efferocytosis in vitro. AXL kinase inhibition and down-regulation reversed attenuated monocyte inflammatory responses in cirrhosis ex vivo. AXL may thus serve as prognostic marker and deserves evaluation as immunotherapeutic target in cirrhosis