Abnormal Tei index predicts poor left ventricular mass regression and survival after AVR in aortic stenosis patients

SummaryBackgroundA Tei index is known to reflect overall cardiac performance including systolic and diastolic function in a variety of heart disease. We investigated the relationship between preoperative Tei index and postoperative left ventricular (LV) mass regression and survival after aortic valve replacement (AVR) for aortic valve stenosis (AS).MethodsOne hundred fifty-four patients with AS were classified into a group with abnormal (Abn) LV function (n=47, 0.45≤Tei index) and a group with normal (Nor) LV function (n=107, Tei index<0.45). The pre- and postoperative echocardiographic variables including LV dimension, LV wall thickness, and LV mass regression as well as 6-year survival were compared between the two groups.ResultsThere was a significant difference in both absolute and relative LV mass index (LVMI) regression (P=0.004 and 0.0007). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that the preoperative LVMI, Tei index, and follow-up period were independent predictors of LVMI regression after AVR. Thirteen patients died (valve-related death in 5). Although the overall survival rate in the Nor-LV group (92.8%) was significantly better than that in the Abn-LV group (71.6%), there was no significant difference in survival free from valve-related death.ConclusionsPreoperative Tei index can be one of the significant predictors of LVMI regression and overall survival after AVR

Weekly Teriparatide Therapy Rapidly Accelerates Bone Healing in Pyogenic Spondylitis with Severe Osteoporosis

Pyogenic spondylitis is a frequently observed disease in orthopedics, and the number of cases is increasing. Some patients with pyogenic spondylitis suffer from vertebral destruction due to infection. The disease is typically treated with antibiotics, bed rest, spinal support, and lesion curettage; however, vigorous drug therapy against vertebral body destruction by pyogenic spondylitis has not been attempted. In this report, a case of pyogenic spondylitis with spinal destruction caused by infection and treated with once-weekly teriparatide administration is presented. Vertebral body erosion in cortical and cancellous areas by the infection was rapidly repaired after 6 weeks of once-weekly teriparatide treatment. Treatment with once-weekly teriparatide appears to be a new strategy for patients with severe osteoporosis suffering from pyogenic spondylitis

Suppressor T cell Inducing Factor from a Human Macrophage Like Cell Line-U 937

U 987, a human histiocytic lymphoma cell line, spontaneously produces a factor(M-SF) which inhibits blastogenic responses of lymphocytes and Interleukin 2(IL-2) activated killer(IAK) induction from human peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). We investigated the mechanism of the suppressor action and the physicochemical character of the M-SF. Suppressive activity of U 937 culture supernatant was absorbed with human peripheral blood T lymphocytes. When the M-SF pretreated T cells were added, the mitogenic response of fresh allogeneic or autologus PBL to phytohaemagglutinin(PHA), Concanavalin A(Con A) and pokeweed mitogen(PWM) were suppressed. In addition, IL-2 activated killer activity was suppressed when the M-SF pretreated T cells were present in the induction phase of IAK. These suppressions were mediated by soluble factors produced by M-SF treated T lymphocytes. These results suggest that the pretreatment of T lymphocytes with M-SF resulted in the induction of suppressor T lymphocytes. M-SF also inhibited the protein kinase activity associated with T cell membrane. The intensity of phosphorylated T cell membrane proteins with the molecular weights of 110, 94, 42, 38 and 34 killodaltons on SDS PAGE were decreased. Dephosphorylation of these proteins may be related to the functional alteration of T lymphocytes. CPG-10 Gel permeation and hydrophobic interaction column chromatographic analysis revealed that the M-SF was an extremely hydrophobic sialoprotein of which approximate molecular weight was 10,000 daltons

Чисельне моделювання фазових переходів у просторово-розподілених стохастичних системах

У рамках комп’ютерного експерименту у роботі вивчалася можливість реалізації фазового переходу типу порушення симетрії у просторово-розподіленій синергетичній системі за рахунок дії скорельованих у часі шумів. У якості базової моделі була використана система Лоренца із двома шумами та просторовою (дифузійною) складовою у рівнянні на параметр порядку. Побудована модель добре описує ряд процесів, наприклад, самоорганізацію дефектної структури під впливом скорельованих внутрішнього та зовнішнього шумів

Classical A_n--W-Geometry

This is a detailed development for the $A_n$ case, of our previous article entitled "W-Geometries" to be published in Phys. Lett. It is shown that the $A_n$--W-geometry corresponds to chiral surfaces in $CP^n$. This is comes out by discussing 1) the extrinsic geometries of chiral surfaces (Frenet-Serret and Gauss-Codazzi equations) 2) the KP coordinates (W-parametrizations) of the target-manifold, and their fermionic (tau-function) description, 3) the intrinsic geometries of the associated chiral surfaces in the Grassmannians, and the associated higher instanton- numbers of W-surfaces. For regular points, the Frenet-Serret equations for $CP^n$--W-surfaces are shown to give the geometrical meaning of the $A_n$-Toda Lax pair, and of the conformally-reduced WZNW models, and Drinfeld-Sokolov equations. KP coordinates are used to show that W-transformations may be extended as particular diffeomorphisms of the target-space. This leads to higher-dimensional generalizations of the WZNW and DS equations. These are related with the Zakharov- Shabat equations. For singular points, global Pl\"ucker formulae are derived by combining the $A_n$-Toda equations with the Gauss-Bonnet theorem written for each of the associated surfaces.Comment: (60 pages