A 49-year-old woman with a family history of Moyamoya disease presented with sudden onset of right hemiparesis without headache. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head revealed a cerebral infarct in the left corona radiata, and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) revealed severe stenosis of the bilateral internal carotid, middle, anterior, and posterior cerebral arteries. Antithrombotic therapy improved her symptoms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe presence of the hyperdense basilar artery (HDBA) sign, which indicates basilar artery occlusion (BAO), plays an important role in the early diagnosis and intervention in patients with acute ischemic stroke. However, qualitative and quantitative assessment of the HDBA sign is challenging. This case report describes a 60-year-old woman with a history of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cerebral infarction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn patients presenting neck pain and hemiparesis, differentiation between cerebral infarction and cervical spinal epidural hematoma is vital yet challenging, particularly when magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is not feasible. A 59-year-old woman presented with a sudden onset of left-sided hemiparesis and neck pain. MRI was contraindicated because the patient underwent embolization in childhood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Treatment of calcified lesions with conventional angioplasty balloons can be difficult due to insufficient lumen expansion, high dissection rates, and repeated revascularization. We report a case in which a scoring balloon was used in lesions resistant to angioplasty with a semi-compliant balloon.
Case Description: A 72-year-old man presented with severe stenosis and a highly calcified lesion in the right cervical internal carotid artery.
Background: The number of medical students aspiring to become neurosurgeons has decreased worldwide, mainly due to poor work-life balance among neurosurgeons; therefore, recruiting students for neurosurgery is essential to ensure the availability and appropriate quality of neurosurgical treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of hands-on neuroendovascular practice for nonselective undergraduate medical students to determine whether this increases their interest in neurosurgery and contributes to their aspirations of becoming neurosurgeons.
Methods: Hands-on neuroendovascular practice for mechanical thrombectomy was performed by undergraduate 5-year medical students during their 2-week clinical rotation in the Department of neurosurgery at our university hospital between April 2021 and March 2023.
Nihon Hoshasen Gijutsu Gakkai Zasshi
September 2020
Purpose: Dynamic C-arm computed tomography perfusion (C-arm CTP) is a newly developed application that can provide cerebral perfusion images in the angio suite, similar to conventional multi-detector CTP in a diagnostic room. We introduce the workflow of C-arm CTP acquisition and our initial experience in a clinical setting.
Method: C-arm CTP was acquired with 40 ml of non-diluted contrast medium injected at 4 ml/s in the median cubital vein followed by 30 ml of saline injected at the same rate.
Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) have the advantages of achieving excellent effluent quality, a small footprint and smooth operation and maintenance. On the other hand, its high energy consumption remains a critical challenge for MBR application. Japan Sewage Works Agency has conducted a series of joint researches with several private companies since 2012 and developed four kinds of energy-saving MBR systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Hyperperfusion syndrome (HPS) after carotid artery stenting (CAS) causes serious symptoms; therefore, early evaluation after CAS is considered to be important. Measurement of cerebral blood volume using C‑arm computed tomography (C-arm CBV) has recently become possible. Here, the usefulness of C‑arm CBV for the evaluation of hyperperfusion was investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Japan, membrane bioreactor (MBRs) have been installed in 17 small-scale municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the past 8 years, together with two recently installed MBRs for larger-scale WWTPs. In this study, design and operating data were collected from 17 of them as part of a follow-up survey, and aspects including system design, biological treatment, membrane operation, problems and costs were overviewed. Because most of the MBRs were designed according to standardized guidance, system configuration of the plants was similar; pre-denitrification using the Modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) process with membrane units submerged in aerobic tanks, following a fine screen and flow equalization tank.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStable nitrogen removal from the digester supernatant for sludge via the nitritation-anammox process under steady operations of ammonium concentration and flow rate has been often reported. In this study, the effects of four non-steady operations, intentional fluctuations of influent concentration from 890 to 650 mg-N/L and hydraulic load of the 10% increase, temporally shutdown for 3-d and maximum capacity of each reactor, were evaluated in the nitritation-anammox process treating digester supernatant for sludge. No serious effects were observed in the anammox reactor because the aeration-control system in the nitritation reactor responded and controlled the nitritation efficiency satisfactorily against intentional fluctuations and temporally shutdown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article will review selected herbal products used in traditional Chinese medicine, including medicinal mushrooms ( bā xī mó gū; Agaricus blazei, yún zhī; Coriolus versicolor, líng zhī; Ganoderma lucidum, xiāng xùn; shiitake, Lentinus edodes, niú zhāng zhī; Taiwanofungus camphoratus), Cordyceps ( dōng chóng xià cǎo), pomegranate ( shí liú; Granati Fructus), green tea ( lǜ chá; Theae Folium Non Fermentatum), garlic ( dà suàn; Allii Sativi Bulbus), turmeric ( jiāng huáng; Curcumae Longae Rhizoma), and Artemisiae Annuae Herba ( qīng hāo; sweet wormwood). Many of the discussed herbal products have gained popularity in their uses as dietary supplements for health benefits. The review will focus on the active constituents of the herbs and their bioactivities, with emphasis on the most recent progress in research for the period of 2003 to 2011.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioresour Technol
September 2011
A pilot plant involving a nitritation-anammox process was operated for treating digester supernatant. In the preceding nitritation process, ammonium-oxidizing bacteria were immobilized in gel carriers, and the growth of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria was suppressed by heat-shock treatment. For the following anammox process, in order to maintain the anammox biomass in the reactor, a novel process using anammox bacteria entrapped in gel carriers was also developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts are frequently used to treat hydrocephalus. The use of a programmable valve allows the operator to easily change the opening pressure. In Japan, many people use magnetic induction therapy apparatuses in their homes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 36-year-old man who was poorly compliant with his antihypertensive medication regimen was admitted to our hospital because he had nausea and an altered mental status. His disorientation increased on admission. His blood pressure was 219/156 mmHg.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe hyper-vascular form of solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) is rare and there have been few therapeutic evaluations of this entity. We encountered a hyper-vascular SFT and had difficulty removing it surgically. Following radiotherapy, both tumor size and feeder vessels were reduced and we could proceed with gross total removal.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe number of membrane bioreactor (MBR) installations is increasing worldwide, not only for small-scale industrial WWTPs but also for larger-scale municipal WWTPs. In Europe, MBR has been installed in municipal WWTPs since late 1990s, and more than 100 full-scale plants are operated at the moment. In this paper, present state of European municipal MBRs is described in terms of design and operating conditions, as well as operating problems and their solutions, based on the information collected from 17 full-scale WWTPs by interview and questionnaire survey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although fast acquisition of multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) can make it possible to acquire sufficient early vascular enhancement using small volumes and high concentrations of contrast material (CM), there are still some problems with nephrotoxicity and costs related to CM.
Purpose: To compare the qualitative and quantitative performance in cervicocranial CT angiography (CTA) using two different iodine volumes and concentrations of CM.
Material And Methods: CTA ranging from the aortic arch (AA) to distal to the circle of Willis (cW) was performed on a 32-MDCT system.
More than 30 Curcuma species (Zingiberaceae) are found in Asia, where the rhizomes of these plants are used as both food and medicine, such as in traditional Chinese medicine. The plants are usually aromatic and carminative, and are used to treat indigestion, hepatitis, jaundice, diabetes, atherosclerosis and bacterial infections. Among the Curcuma species, C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVarious materials have been used for cranioplasty; however, these materials frequently produce artifacts that appear when examined with conventional radiography. Computed tomography (CT), in particular, detects high density artifacts near artificial bones, which is manipulated by increased noise, and limits diagnostic performance. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent and shape of the artifacts due to artificial cranial bones and to consider CT imaging parameters necessary for accurate recognition of structures under the materials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 67-year-old man who had twice previously undergone operations for a tuberculum sellae meningioma was admitted to hospital for further treatment. After the third surgical intervention, the patient developed persistent low-grade fever and impaired consciousness. Computed tomography, 1 week after surgery, showed postsurgical hydrocephalus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany important bioactive compounds have been discovered from natural sources using bioactivity-directed fractionation and isolation (BDFl) [Balunas MJ, Kinghorn AD (2005) Drug discovery from medicinal plants. Life Sci 78:431-441]. Continuing discovery has also been facilitated by the recent development of new bioassay methods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRehmanniae Radix (Di Huang) is one of the most important traditional Chinese medicines (TCM), and is used for multiple therapeutic purposes. In our investigation of the chemical constituents of Rehmanniae Radix, steamed roots were prepared by the classical processing method. Reversed-phase HPLC of the 50% MeOH extract of steamed Rehmanniae Radix yielded three 5-hydroxymethylfurfural derivatives.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAngiogenesis is a critical step in tumor progression and involves several steps including endothelial cell (EC) proliferation, migration, and matrix remodeling. We investigated the antiangiogenic effects of 20( S)-protopanaxadiol ( 1) and 20( S)-protopanaxatriol ( 2), the sapogenins of two major ginseng saponins, in an angiogenesis model of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). These compounds inhibited the proliferative activity of HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner and have potential as anticancer drug candidates.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF