Infectious virus shedding from individuals infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is used to estimate human-to-human transmission risk. Control of SARS-CoV-2 transmission requires identifying the immune correlates that protect infectious virus shedding. Mucosal immunity prevents infection by SARS-CoV-2, which replicates in the respiratory epithelium and spreads rapidly to other hosts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Reproducing the medial pivot pattern after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is known to improve patient satisfaction. However, the factors affecting the postoperative medial pivot pattern in TKA are controversial. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors affecting the postoperative medial pivot pattern in posterior-stabilized TKA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetasurfaces, which consist of arrays of ultrathin planar nanostructures (also known as "meta-atoms"), offer immense potential for use in high-performance optical devices through the precise manipulation of electromagnetic waves with subwavelength spatial resolution. However, designing meta-atom structures that simultaneously meet multiple functional requirements (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, there is a need to develop vaccines to prevent infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants. One candidate is a nasal vaccine capable of inducing secretory IgA antibodies in the mucosa of the upper respiratory tract, the initial site of infection. However, regarding the development of COVID-19 vaccines, there is concern about the potential risk of inducing lung eosinophilic immunopathology as a vaccine-associated enhanced respiratory disease as a result of the T helper 2 (Th2)-dominant adaptive immune response.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Long-term outcomes of suppressing paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) with additive ganglionated plexus (GP) ablation (GPA) remains unknown.
Objectives: The aim of the study is to assess potential role of additional GPA for PAF suppression.
Methods: This study consisted of 225 patients; 68 (group A: 58 male, aged 60 ± 11 years) underwent pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) alone and 157 (group B: 137 male, aged 61 ± 11 years) GPA followed by PVI.
Background: Patients with a temporary pacemaker (TPM) for bradycardias are required to maintain bedrest until permanent pacemakers (PPMs) are implanted because of the development of Adams-Stokes syndrome, worsening heart failure, or complications associated with TPMs is anticipated. However, bedrest may be detrimental in patients because it leads to disuse syndrome. This study examined whether bedrest could decrease the incidence of cardiovascular events or complications associated with TPMs in patients waiting for PPM implantation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Musculoskelet Disord
May 2021
Background: Hallux valgus deformity has been reported to be associated with increased postural sway. However, the direction and magnitude of postural sway associated with hallux valgus remain inconclusive. We assessed the association between hallux valgus deformity and postural sway using a force plate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLittle is known about the permanent pacemaker implantation rate and predictors of permanent pacemaker implantation in patients admitted for complete atrioventricular block (cAVB). The present study was a retrospective analysis based on a multicenter cohort of 797 patients with cAVB (mean age: 79.6 ± 10.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn July 2019, a design beam of 8.3 × 10 protons/pulse, whose 25 Hz operation produced the design beam power of 1 MW, was accelerated for 10.5 h by using the J-PARC 3 GeV rapid cycling synchrotron.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany previous reports have indicated that atypical femur fractures (AFFs) are associated with the administration of bisphosphonates (BPs). A number of risk factors and hypotheses regarding the pathogenesis of AFFs have been reported to date. The purpose of the present study was to identify the factors associated with AFFs in Japanese individuals and to elucidate the association between bone metabolism and AFFs by evaluating bone turnover markers (BTMs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Few reports are available on the characteristics of electrical storms of ventricular tachycardia (VT storm) refractory to intravenous (IV) amiodarone.
Methods and results: IV-amiodarone was administered to 60 patients with ventricular tachyarrhythmia between 2007 and 2012. VT storms, defined as 3 or more episodes of VT within 24 h, occurred in 30 patients (68±12 years, 7 female), with 12 having ischemic and 18 non-ischemic heart disease.
π-Conjugated compounds that exhibit tunable luminescence in the solid state under external mechanical stimuli have potential applications in sensors and imaging devices. However, no rational designs have been proposed that impart these mechano-responsive luminescent properties to π-conjugated compounds. Here we demonstrate a strategy for mechano-responsive luminescent materials by imparting amphiphilic and dipolar characteristics to a luminescent π-conjugated system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs) provide insufficient information for the accurate diagnosis of posterior and/or right ventricular acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in patients with acute chest pain. Posterior chest leads (V7-V9) and/or right-sided precordial leads (V3R-V5R) provide important information from those specific areas, but these additional ECGs are not routinely recorded because of the time-consuming procedure involved. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate a newly developed system to synthesize these 6 additional lead ECGs non-invasively using standard 12-lead ECG information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Interv Card Electrophysiol
November 2010
We present a case of a 69-year-old male who was hospitalized for the treatment of thyroid storm due to Grave's disease, who presented with unexpected ventricular fibrillation (VF). The possible etiology was early repolarization (ER), characterized by J-point elevation in inferior and posterolateral leads, unmasked by the attenuation of beta-adrenergic effect with normalization of thyroid hormones and following the administration of a beta-blocker. Our case focuses attention on the occurrence of VF in a patient with ER during the treatment of hyperthyroidism, which to our knowledge is the first such report.
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