A case of biopsy-proven cardiac sarcoidosis without any other extracardiac manifestations

SummaryA 49-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for uncontrollable heart failure. She had never been diagnosed as having sarcoidosis. Chest X-ray showed cardiomegaly without bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy. Echocardiography showed diffuse hypokinesis of the left ventricle mimicking idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. No specific manifestations implying sarcoidosis were observed. On cardiac catheterization, coronary angiograms were normal, whereas concurrent routine endomyocardial biopsy showed foci of non-caseating granuloma, indicating sarcoidosis. Pathological finding was the only clue to diagnose cardiac sarcoidosis among our standard examinations for heart failure. No other additional investigations found any extracardiac features of sarcoidosis. All serological and immunological examinations were within normal range. This is a challenging case of biopsy-proven cardiac sarcoidosis without any other extracardiac involvement

Development of a mugineic acid family phytosiderophore analog as an iron fertilizer

Iron (Fe) is an essential nutrient, but is poorly bioavailable because of its low solubility in alkaline soils; this leads to reduced agricultural productivity. To overcome this problem, we first showed that the soil application of synthetic 2′-deoxymugineic acid, a natural phytosiderophore from the Poaceae, can recover Fe deficiency in rice grown in calcareous soil. However, the high cost and poor stability of synthetic 2′-deoxymugineic acid preclude its agricultural use. In this work, we develop a more stable and less expensive analog, proline-2′-deoxymugineic acid, and demonstrate its practical synthesis and transport of its Fe-chelated form across the plasma membrane by Fe(III)•2’-deoxymugineic acid transporters. Possibility of its use as an iron fertilizer on alkaline soils is supported by promotion of rice growth in a calcareous soil by soil application of metal free proline-2’-deoxymugineic acid

Actively forming Kuroko-type volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) mineralization at Iheya North, Okinawa Trough, Japan

Modern seafloor hydrothermal systems provide important insights into the formation and discovery of ancient volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) deposits. In 2010, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 331 drilled five sites in the Iheya North hydrothermal field in the middle Okinawa Trough back-arc basin, Japan. Hydrothermal alteration and sulfide mineralization is hosted in a geologically complex, mixed sequence of coarse pumiceous volcaniclastic and fine hemipelagic sediments, overlying a dacitic to rhyolitic volcanic substrate. At site C0016, located adjacent to the foot of the actively venting North Big Chimney massive sulfide mound, massive sphalerite-(pyrite-chalcopyrite ± galena)-rich sulfides were intersected (to 30.2% Zn, 12.3% Pb, 2.68% Cu, 33.1 ppm Ag and 0.07 ppm Au) that strongly resemble the black ore of the Miocene-age Kuroko deposits of Japan. Sulfide mineralization shows clear evidence of formation through a combination of surface detrital and subsurface chemical processes, with at least some sphalerite precipitating into void space in the rock. Volcanic rocks beneath massive sulfides exhibit quartz-muscovite/illite and quartz-Mg-chlorite alteration reminiscent of VHMS proximal footwall alteration associated with Kuroko-type deposits, characterized by increasing MgO, Fe/Zn and Cu/Zn with depth. Recovered felsic footwall rocks are of FII to FIII affinity with well-developed negative Eu anomalies, consistent with VHMS-hosting felsic rocks in Phanerozoic ensialic arc/back-arc settings worldwide. Site C0013, ∼100 m east of North Big Chimney, represents a likely location of recent high temperature discharge, preserved as surficial coarse-grained sulfidic sediments (43.2% Zn, 4.4% Pb, 5.4% Cu, 42 ppm Ag and 0.02 ppm Au) containing high concentrations of As, Cd, Mo, Sb, and W. Near surface hydrothermal alteration is dominated by kaolinite and muscovite with locally abundant native sulfur, indicative of acidic hydrothermal fluids. Alteration grades to Mg-chlorite dominated assemblages at depths of >5 mbsf (metres below sea floor). Late coarse-grained anhydrite veining overprints earlier alteration and is interpreted to have precipitated from down welling seawater as hydrothermal activity waned. At site C0014, ∼350 m farther east, hydrothermal assemblages are characterized by illite/montmorillonite, with Mg-chlorite present at depths below ∼30 mbsf. Recovered lithologies from distal, recharge site C0017 are unaltered, with low MgO, FeO and base metal concentrations. Mineralization and alteration assemblages are consistent with the Iheya North system representing a modern analogue for Kuroko-type VHMS mineralization. Fluid flow is focussed laterally along pumiceous volcaniclastic strata (compartmentalized between impermeable hemipelagic sediments), and vertically along faults. The abundance of Fe-poor sphalerite and Mg-rich chlorite (clinochlore/penninite) is consistent with the lower Fe budget, temperature and higher oxidation state of felsic volcanic-hosted hydrothermal systems worldwide compared to Mid Ocean Ridge black smoker systems

Exemplifying parametric timed specifications over signals with bounded behavior

Specifying properties can be challenging work. In this paper, we propose an automated approach to exemplify properties given in the form of automata extended with timing constraints and timing parameters, and that can also encode constraints over real-valued signals. That is, given such a specification and given an admissible automaton for each signal, we output concrete runs exemplifying real (or impossible) runs for this specification. Specifically, our method takes as input a specification, and a set of admissible behaviors, all given as a subclass of rectangular hybrid automata, namely timed automata extended with arbitrary clock rates, signal constraints, and timing parameters. Our method then generates concrete runs exemplifying the specification.Comment: This is the author (and extended) version of the manuscript of the same name published in the proceedings of the 14th NASA Formal Methods Symposium (NFM 2022). This work is partially supported by ERATO HASUO Metamathematics for Systems Design Project (No. JPMJER1603), JST and by the ANR-NRF French-Singaporean research program ProMiS (ANR-19-CE25-0015

Suspected de novo Hepatitis B in a Patient Receiving Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha Therapy for the Treatment of Crohn's Disease

We report a 45-year-old female patient who developed acute hepatic disorder during anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapy for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD). She was diagnosed as colonic CD and placed on infliximab (IFX). She was negative for hepatitis B surface antigen at the initiation of IFX therapy, but developed acute hepatitis after the 30th administration of IFX 4 years and 1 month after the first administration. She was suspected to have had occult hepatitis B virus infection before IFX therapy, and de novo hepatitis B was considered the most likely diagnosis. Hepatitis subsided after discontinuation of anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapy and initiation of treatment with entecavir. She started to receive adalimumab to prevent relapse of CD. She has continued maintenance therapy with entecavir and adalimumab and has since been asymptomatic. As de novo hepatitis B may be fatal, virological testing for hepatitis B is essential for patients who are being considered for treatment that may weaken the immune system

A development and evaluation of experimental ultrasonographic computed tomography for TMJ imaging

本論文の要旨は,第95回日本補綴歯科学会学術大会(平成8年5月)および第29回広島大学歯学会総会(平成8年6月)において発表した。本研究の一部は,文部省科学研究費補助金基盤A試験(平成6-8年度,No.06557107)によった