A case of chorioangioma with polyhydramnios

Chorioangioma is the most common benign placental tumor arising from the chorionic stroma and capillaries, and histologically accounts for about 1% of placental tumors1). It rarely exceeds 5 cm in diameter, and is clinically diagnosed in 1 out of every 8,000-50,000 patients1). We report a patient with a relatively large chorioangioma (10 cm in diameter) accompanied by polyhydramnios

A case of placenta previa accreta successfully treated by open infrarenal aortic clamping

Open infrarenal aortic clamping has been performed for traumatic pelvic hemorrhage or aortic rupture, and there are few reports of its use in the field of obstetrics and gynecology1). We report a patient with placenta previa accreta who was successfully treated by open infrarenal aortic clamping

Separate-type scanner and wideband high-voltage amplifier for atomic-resolution and high-speed atomic force microscopy

We have developed a liquid-environment atomic force microscope with a wideband and low-noise scanning system for atomic-scale imaging of dynamic processes at solid/liquid interfaces. The developed scanning system consists of a separate-type scanner and a wideband high-voltage amplifier (HVA). By separating an XY-sample scanner from a Z-tip scanner, we have enabled to use a relatively large sample without compromising the high resonance frequency. We compared various cantilever- and sample-holding mechanisms by experiments and finite element analyses for optimizing the balance between the usability and frequency response characteristics. We specifically designed the HVA to drive the developed scanners, which enabled to achieve the positioning accuracy of 5.7 and 0.53 pm in the XY and Z axes, respectively. Such an excellent noise performance allowed us to perform atomic-resolution imaging of mica and calcite in liquid. Furthermore, we demonstrate in situ and atomic-resolution imaging of the calcite crystal growth process in water. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC

A case of Falciparum malaria without getting serious by early therapeutic intervention

A １７years old man studying in Nigeria came back to Japan three days before hospitalization date. He came to our emergency department with fever, headache and epigastric pain from the day before. At first, I couldn’t diagnose with physical examination, blood test and image inspection. But my leader suggested that possibility of malaria because of his travel history. Then we checked his peripheral blood smear and found a malaria parasite. Immediately, we hospitalized him and started antimalarial drug. ３ days after admission, fever went down, and malaria parasite disappeared in peripheral blood smear. He discharged in ７ days after admission. A polymerase chain reaction of Plasmodium falciparum was positive at a later date. Plasmodium falciparum is often to become severe, and it is important to diagnose early onset. Our case suggests that rapid diagnostic kit and peripheral blood smear are useful to diagnose malaria, and early therapeutic intervention may prevent severe malaria and complications

Impaired early-phase suppression of glucagon secretion after glucose load is associated with insulin requirement during pregnancy in gestational diabetes

Aims/Introduction: The role of glucagon abnormality has recently been reported in type 2 diabetes; however, its role in gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is still unknown. The glucose intolerance in GDM is heterogeneous, and not all patients require insulin treatment during pregnancy. Here, we investigated whether glucagon abnormality is associated with the requirement for insulin treatment during pregnancy. Materials and Methods: A total of 49 pregnant women diagnosed with GDM were enrolled. They underwent a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test during mid-gestation, and we measured their plasma glucagon levels (by a new sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) at fasting (0 min), and at 30, 60 and 120 min after glucose load in addition to the levels of plasma glucose and serum insulin. All participants underwent another oral glucose tolerance test at postpartum. Results: Of the 49 patients, 15 required insulin treatment (Insulin group) and 34 were treated with diet therapy alone until delivery (Diet group). The early-phase glucagon secretion after glucose load, as determined by the changes in glucagon from the baseline to 30 min, was paradoxically augmented during mid-gestation in the Insulin group, but not in the Diet group. The impaired glucagon suppression during mid-gestation in the Insulin group was not associated with insulin secretory/sensitivity indexes studied, and was ameliorated postpartum, although the plasma glucose levels remained higher in the Insulin group versus the Diet group. Conclusions: Impaired early-phase suppression of glucagon could be associated with the requirement for insulin treatment during pregnancy in patients with GDM

Sedentary Time and All-Cause Mortality

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the association between sedentary time and mortality with regard to leisure‐time physical activity with or without cardiometabolic diseases such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using data from the J‐MICC (Japan Multi‐Institutional Collaborative Cohort) Study, 64 456 participants (29 022 men, 35 434 women) were analyzed. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were used to characterize the relative risk of all‐cause mortality to evaluate its association with sedentary time (categorical variables: <5, 5 to <7, 7 to <9, ≥9 h/d and 2‐hour increments in exposure) according to the self‐reported hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus using a Cox proportional hazards model. A total of 2257 participants died during 7.7 years of follow‐up. The corresponding HRs for each 2‐hour increment in sedentary time among participants with all factors, no factors, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus were 1.153 (95% CI, 1.114–1.194), 1.125 (95% CI, 1.074–1.179), 1.202 (95% CI, 1.129–1.279), 1.176 (95% CI, 1.087–1.273), and 1.272 (95% CI, 1.159–1.396), respectively. Furthermore, when analyzed according to the combined different factors (hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus), HRs increased with each additional factor, and participants reporting all 3 conditions had the highest HR of 1.417 (95% CI, 1.162–1.728) independently of leisure‐time metabolic equivalents. CONCLUSIONS: The association between sedentary time and increased mortality is stronger among patients with hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes mellitus regardless of leisure‐time physical activity in a large Japanese population