Impact on outcomes of measuring lactates prior to ICU in unselected heterogeneous critically ill patients: A propensity score analysis.

Background: Elevated blood lactate levels were reported as effective predictors of clinical outcome and mortality in ICU. However, there have been no studies simply comparing the timing of measuring lactates before vs. after ICU admission.

Impact of acute mental stress on ankle blood pressure in young healthy men: a pilot study.

Objective: Acute mental stress (MS) increases arm blood pressure (BP); however, it remains unclear whether a stress-induced pressor response is also observed in other vessels. This study aimed to examine the impact of acute MS on ankle BP. Fifty-six young, healthy men aged 19-24 years were divided into the MS (n = 29) and control (CON) (n = 27) groups; each group performed 5-min MS (mental arithmetic) or CON tasks.

Acute mental stress-caused arterial stiffening can be counteracted by brief aerobic exercise.

Purpose: Acute mental stress (MS) causes an elevation in pulse wave velocity (PWV), an index of arterial stiffness. In contrast, aerobic exercise acutely decreases arterial stiffness, even in the short term. The present study aimed to examine whether acute MS-caused arterial stiffening can be counteracted by brief aerobic exercise.

Impact of acute mental stress on segmental arterial stiffness.

Purpose: It has been reported that acute brief episodes of mental stress (MS) result in a prolonged increase in carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), an index of aortic stiffness. However, whether acute MS also impacts arterial stiffness in other segments is unclear. The present study aimed to examine the impact of acute MS on segmental arterial stiffness.

Lactate indices as predictors of in-hospital mortality or 90-day survival after admission to an intensive care unit in unselected critically ill patients.

Background: We performed an exclusive study to investigate the associations between a total of 23 lactate-related indices during the first 24h in an intensive care unit (ICU) and in-hospital mortality.

Methods: Nine static and 14 dynamic lactate indices, including changes in lactate concentrations (Δ Lac) and slope (linear regression coefficient), were calculated from individual critically ill patient data extracted from the Multiparameter Intelligent Monitoring for Intensive Care (MIMIC) III database.

Results: Data from a total of 781 ICU patients were extracted, consisted of 523 survivors and 258 non-survivors.

Skeletal Muscle Index at Intensive Care Unit Admission Is a Predictor of Intensive Care Unit-Acquired Weakness in Patients With Sepsis.

Background: Intensive care unit-acquired weakness (ICU-AW) can be diagnosed using the Medical Research Council (MRC) score. However, such scoring may not be possible in ICU patients who may be sedated or delirious or have encephalopathy. Currently, a quantitative assessment of the cross-sectional area of the muscle is available to assess changes in skeletal muscle mass using computed tomography (CT) images.

Early prognostication of neurological outcome by heart rate variability in adult patients with out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest.

Background: Most deaths of comatose survivors of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest result from withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (WLST) decisions based on poor neurological prognostication and the family's intention. Thus, accurate prognostication is crucial to avoid premature WLST decisions. However, targeted temperature management (TTM) with sedation or neuromuscular blockade against shivering significantly affects early prognostication.

Onset of Accelerated Muscle Deoxygenation During the 20-m Shuttle Run Test in Boys.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the relative exercise intensity at which the onset of accelerated muscle deoxygenation occurs during the 20-m shuttle run test (20mSRT) between boys and men and to examine whether the timing of the onset of acceleration appearance is related to 20mSRT performance in boys.

Methods: Twenty-four boys performed the 20mSRT, during which concentration changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin and myoglobin (ΔOxy-Hb and ΔDeoxy-Hb, respectively) in the m. vastus lateralis were monitored using a portable near-infrared spectroscopy device.

Accidental falls related to clearing heavy snow on rooftops in a rural heavy snow area in Japan.

Aim: The purpose of this study is to describe our experience with patients who fell from rooftops while clearing snow. The falls occurred in rural areas that receive heavy snowfall and are undergoing depopulation and an increasing proportion of elderly residents.

Methods: A retrospective observational chart review was carried out at the sole hospital providing emergency services in a rural heavy snow area in Japan.

Accelerated point of muscle deoxygenation during the 20-m shuttle run test.

This study examined whether the point of accelerated deoxygenation of active muscle occurs during the 20-m shuttle run test (20mSRT) and, if so, whether it is associated with exercise performance in the test. Twenty-nine male subjects performed the 20mSRT, and concentration changes in oxyhaemoglobin (ΔOxy-Hb) and deoxyhaemoglobin (ΔDeoxy-Hb) in the m. vastus lateralis were measured using a portable near-infrared spectroscopy device.

A protein-protein interaction in magnetosomes: TPR protein MamA interacts with an Mms6 protein.

Magnetosomes are membrane-enveloped bacterial organelles containing nano-sized magnetic particles, and function as a cellular magnetic sensor, which assist the cells to navigate and swim along the geomagnetic field. Localized with each magnetosome is a suite of proteins involved in the synthesis, maintenance and functionalization of the organelle, however the detailed molecular organization of the proteins in magnetosomes is unresolved. MamA is one of the most abundant magnetosome-associated proteins and is anchored to the magnetosome vesicles through protein-protein interactions, but the identity of the protein that interacts with MamA is undetermined.

A novel mitochondrial nuclease-associated protein: a major executor of the programmed nuclear death in Tetrahymena thermophila.

Background Information: Programmed nuclear death (PND) in the ciliate Tetrahymena is an apoptosis-like phenomenon that occurs in a restricted space of cytoplasm during conjugation. In the process, only the parental macronucleus is selectively eliminated from the progeny cytoplasm, in conjunction with differentiation of new macronuclei for the next generation. For the last decade, mitochondria have been elucidated to be a crucial executioner like apoptosis: apoptosis-inducing factor and yet-unidentified nucleases localised in mitochondria are major factors for PND.

Effective delayed percutaneous coronary intervention for advanced atrial ventricular block in patients with recent myocardial infarction.

We present a case of effective late reperfusion for atrio-ventricular conduction recovery in a patient with recent myocardial infarction complicated by advanced atrio-ventricular block (AVB). A 50-year-old Japanese man was transferred to our hospital with a recent diagnosis of myocardial infarction 44 h after onset. We performed emergent coronary angiography on Day 5 because he developed bradycardia with two to one advanced AVB resistant to atropine without chest pain or ST-T changes.

Clinical and cardiac features of patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage presenting with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: Subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) is known as one of the aetiologies of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). However, the mechanisms of circulatory collapse in these patients have remained unclear.

Methods And Results: We examined 244 consecutive OHCA patients transferred to our emergency department.

Transient left ventricular apical ballooning in a patient with cardiac arrest after subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) often accompanies cardiac abnormalities. Sudden cardiac arrest is also known to occur after SAH. A 32-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of cardiac arrest immediately after the onset of SAH.

Prompt prediction of successful defibrillation from 1-s ventricular fibrillation waveform in patients with out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest.

Purpose: Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is a common cardiac arrest rhythm that can be terminated by electrical defibrillation. During cardiopulmonary resuscitation, there is a strong need for a prompt and reliable predictor of successful defibrillation because myocardial damage can result from repeated futile defibrillation attempts. Continuous wavelet transform (CWT) provides excellent time and frequency resolution of signals.

Gigantic macroautophagy in programmed nuclear death of Tetrahymena thermophila.

Programmed nuclear death (PND) in Tetrahymena is a unique process during conjugation, in which only the parental macronucleus is degraded and then eliminated from the progeny cytoplasm, but other co-existing nuclei such as new micro- and macronuclei are unaffected. PND through autophagic elimination is expected to be strictly controlled, considering the significant roles in ciliates such as turnover of disused organelles and production of the next generation. Here we demonstrate that PND in Tetrahymena involves peculiar aspects of autophagy, which differ from mammalian or yeast macroautophagy.

Development of an artificial vital sign generator for pulse oximeter.

This paper presents an artificial vital sign generator that enables medical trainees to measure SpO(2) and the pulse rate of a patient simulator using a pulse oximeter. The proposed system has a biological model that possesses a structure that is the inverse of a pulse oximeter probe, and it works using the inverse procedure to that of pulse oximetry. The SpO(2) generating function has been validated using two commercially available pulse oximeters.

Arterial oxygen desaturation response to repeated bouts of sprint exercise in healthy young women.

The decline in arterial oxygen saturation of hemoglobin during exercise has been termed exercise-induced arterial hypoxemia (EIAH). We examined whether repeated bouts of sprint exercise (SprE) would induce EIAH in healthy young men and women. Ten men and 11 women (20.

A patient with severe hypercalcemia in multiple organ dysfunction syndrome: role of elevated circulating 1alpha,25(OH)2 vitamin D levels.

A 54-year-old man was transferred to our ICU because of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS). He died after 38 days of intensive care. During treatment, his serum calcium (Ca) levels continued to increase and reached 3.

Role of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) in programmed nuclear death during conjugation in Tetrahymena thermophila.

Background: Programmed nuclear death (PND), which is also referred to as nuclear apoptosis, is a remarkable process that occurs in ciliates during sexual reproduction (conjugation). In Tetrahymena thermophila, when the new macronucleus differentiates, the parental macronucleus is selectively eliminated from the cytoplasm of the progeny, concomitant with apoptotic nuclear events. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying these events are not well understood.

Impact of protein and carbohydrate supplementation on plasma volume expansion and thermoregulatory adaptation by aerobic training in older men.

We examined whether protein-carbohydrate (CHO) supplementation immediately after exercise each day during aerobic training facilitated plasma volume (PV) expansion and thermoregulatory and cardiovascular adaptations in older men. Fourteen moderately active older men [68 +/- 5 (SD) yr] were divided into two groups so as to have no significant differences in anthropometric measures, PV, and peak oxygen consumption rate (Vo(2peak)). Each group was provided with a mixture of protein and CHO (3.