Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome developed with the progression of pulmonary parenchymal involvement: A case report.

Unlabelled: Platypnea-orthodeoxia syndrome (POS) attributed to patent foramen ovale (PFO) can be caused by a variety of clinical conditions. A 70-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for further evaluation of POS. Her symptoms developed along with the spread of infiltrative shadows in both lower lung fields during the preceding 2 years.

Unexpected Anesthetic Circuit Leak Attributed to Improper Use of a Tube Holder: A Case Report.

Leaks involving the anesthesia circuit can cause significant complications including hypoxia and hypoventilation. We present a case of a circuit leak caused by damage to the corrugated tubing attributed to improper use of the tube holder. A 58-year-old male was scheduled for resection of a palatal tumor under an intubated general anesthetic.

Imaging of Right-to-Left Shunt in an Adult Patient with Unroofed Coronary Sinus with Persistent Left Superior Vena Cava.

A 54-year-old woman with a history of multiple cardiac surgeries suffered from hypoxemia caused by a right-to-left intra-cardiac shunt due to coronary sinus (CS) anomaly with persistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC). Both the contrast echocardiography and enhanced computed tomography (CT) provided conclusive diagnosis of this rare congenital anomaly, which was overlooked for a long time. However, an important diagnostic clue was left-arm injection of the contrast media.

Autoantibody profiles and their association with blood eosinophils in asthma and COPD.

Background: Autoimmune involvement in the pathogenesis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been proposed, and autoantibodies are a hallmark of autoimmunity. This study aimed to compare the autoantibody profiles of asthma and COPD, and the relationship between autoantibodies and features of these diseases.

Methods: We recruited 110 asthma patients and 92 COPD patients for a prospective study.

Immunohistological Expression of p16INK4a is Commonly Present Both in Benign and Malignant Sweat Gland Neoplasias.

The expression of p16INK4a has been reported to be a significant marker for malignant transformation of epidermal tumors. However, little is known about sweat gland tumors. We examined the immunohistological expression of p16INK4a in benign and malignant sweat gland tumors.

Nocturnal Oxygen Desaturation Index is Inversely Correlated with Airflow Limitation in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

The concurrent diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome (SAHS) (overlap syndrome), can contribute to worsening respiratory symptoms, but whether the severity of COPD is associated with co-morbid SAHS is unknown. We investigated whether the severity of COPD is associated with the complication of SAHS by examination of nocturnal oximetry as an alternative to polysomnography. Patients with COPD concurrently completed nocturnal oximetry, pulmonary function tests, a COPD assessment test, an Epworth sleepiness scale and a hospital anxiety and depression scale to evaluate the severity of COPD and possible concurrent presence of SAHS.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with community-acquired, health-care-associated and hospital-acquired empyema.

Background And Aims: Patients with pneumonia, a common cause of empyema, are stratified based on their risk factors, and the treatment of empyema might benefit from this risk stratification.

Methods: The etiology, bacteriologic profile and outcome of patients diagnosed with empyema in Shinko Hospital between May 2005 and October 2013 were retrospectively studied. The patients were stratified according to whether they had community-acquired empyema (CAE), health-care-associated empyema (HCAE) or hospital-acquired empyema (HAE).

Persistent frequent subclinical seizures and memory impairment after clinical remission in smoldering limbic encephalitis.

Aim: To delineate a possible correlation between clinical course and EEG abnormalities in non-infectious "smoldering" limbic encephalitis.

Methods: Long-term clinical data, including video-EEG monitoring records, were analysed in two patients.

Results: The two patients were positive for anti-voltage-gated potassium channel complex antibody and unspecified antineuronal antibody, respectively.

Effect of unsaturated bonds in the sn-2 acyl chain of phosphatidylcholine on the membrane-damaging action of Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin toward liposomes.

Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin degrades phosphatidylcholine (PC) in the bilayer of liposomes and destroys the membrane. The effect of the type and position of unsaturation in the fatty acyl chain of PC (18:0/18:1 PC) synthesized on the toxin-induced leakage of carboxyfluorescein (CF) from PC liposomes was examined. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that the phase transition temperature (T(m)) was minimal when the triple bond was positioned at C (9) in the sn-2 acyl chain.

Role of tyrosine-57 and -65 in membrane-damaging and sphingomyelinase activities of Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin.

Clostridium perfringens alpha-toxin (370 residues) is a major virulence factor in the pathogenesis of gas gangrene. The toxin is composed of an N-terminal domain (1-250 residues) where lies the catalytic site and a C-terminal domain (251-370 residues), the Ca(2+)-binding domain, responsible for binding to membranes. The role of Tyr-57 and Tyr-65 close to the catalytic pocket (site) in the N-domain was investigated.

The link between response styles and major depression and anxiety disorders after child-loss.

Although several studies have indicated that persons with a high ruminative coping style experience higher depression after the loss of a loved one, the relationship between ruminative coping and the occurrence of clinical depression and anxiety disorders after a loss has not been thoroughly investigated. This study investigated the relationship between response styles (ruminative coping v distractive coping) and the onset of major depression and anxiety disorders in a sample of parents who had experienced sudden child-loss (N = 106). The incidence of major depression after the loss of a child was very high (69%).