Dynamics of co-composting of pineapple harvest and processing residues with poultry litter and compost quality.

The production of pineapple generates significant quantities of harvest and processing residues, which are very little used. This study evaluates compost quality using pineapple residues and poultry litter. Five composting treatments were tested, varying following proportions of crown, pineapple processing wastes (PPW), pineapple harvest residue (PHR), and poultry litter (PL).

Reimplantation approach for an anomalous aortic origin of the right coronary artery with an aberrant right subclavian artery.

Anomalous aortic origin of the right coronary artery is a rare disease. Although there are various reports on its treatment, the method of the surgical approach is still controversial. Here, we present a rare case of a 17 year-old man who had an anomalous aortic origin of the right coronary artery with an aberrant right subclavian artery.

Primary Pulmonary Mucosa-associated Lymphoid Tissue Lymphoma with the High Expression of IgG4.

This is the first report describing primary pulmonary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma with the high expression of IgG4. The histological findings were compatible with the diagnostic criteria for MALT lymphoma and IgG4-related respiratory disease (IgG4-RRD). An unfixed sample for Southern blotting was not obtained since computed tomography findings showed multiple lung cysts, which is rare in patients with MALT lymphoma.

A case of suspected MPO-ANCA-related hypertrophic pachymeningitis with atypical presentation.

A 66-year-old man presented to our emergency department with acute consciousness disorder, headache, and fever. Initial laboratory data indicated a high level of inflammatory reaction. Enhanced magnetic resonance imaging revealed a thickening of the right cranial dura mater on T1-weighted images.

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum in young women: Comparison between anorexia nervosa and nonanorexic patients.

Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is a benign, self-limited condition that mainly affects young people. In this report, we present four cases of this uncommon condition and a review of the current literature. Two cases had no prior significant medical history: one had a history of asthma and the other underwent regular outpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa.

Purification, crystallization and preliminary X-ray analysis of OsAREB8 from rice, a member of the AREB/ABF family of bZIP transcription factors, in complex with its cognate DNA.

The AREB/ABF family of bZIP transcription factors play a key role in drought stress response and tolerance during the vegetative stage in plants. To reveal the DNA-recognition mechanism of the AREB/ABF family of proteins, the bZIP domain of OsAREB8, an AREB/ABF-family protein from Oryza sativa, was expressed in Escherichia coli, purified and crystallized with its cognate DNA. Crystals of the OsAREB8-DNA complex were obtained by the sitting-drop vapour-diffusion method at 277 K with a reservoir solution consisting of 50 mM MES pH 6.

Sudden cardiac arrest: associated with anomalous origin of the right coronary artery from the left main coronary artery.

Anomalous origin of the coronary artery from the opposite sinus of Valsalva and a course of that artery between the ascending aorta and the pulmonary artery is a rare congenital anomaly. It can cause myocardial ischemia, syncope, and sudden cardiac death in young people. Herein, we report the case of a 24-year-old man who was brought to our hospital after cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation.

Placement of two types of spiral Z-stents at the bronchial carina for the treatment of terminal lung cancer--a new method.

Dumon Y-stents and Dynamic stents are used to treat carinal stenosis, but their placement severely impairs the expectoration of secretions, making frequent bronchoscopic aspiration necessary. We report here five patients with terminal lung cancer who had stenosis of the lower trachea and main bronchi treated using spiral Z-stents. A long tapered spiral Z-stent was placed in the lower trachea and one main bronchus, and a short straight spiral Z-stent in the contralateral main bronchus.

Anisotropic conduction properties in canine atria analyzed by high-resolution optical mapping: preferential direction of conduction block changes from longitudinal to transverse with increasing age.

Background: Anisotropic conduction properties may provide a substrate for reentrant arrhythmias. We investigated the age-dependent changes of structural and functional anisotropy in isolated right atria from infant (1 to 2 months), young (6 to 12 months), and old (6 to 10 years) dogs.

Methods And Results: The histology of the mapped atrial tissues (a small subepicardial area, 2.

A composite nasolabial flap for an entire ala reconstruction.

Background: It is difficult to reconstruct an entire alar defect. We report a case of an entire alar reconstruction carried out in two stages with a composite nasolabial flap lined with retroauricular skin and supported with the attached conchal cartilage.

Objective: A composite nasolabial flap was applied for reconstruction of entire alar defect in this patient.

N-acetyl-L-cysteine inhibits bleomycin-induced interleukin-8 secretion by bronchial epithelial cells.

Objective: Bleomycin (BLM) has proven effective for the treatment of cancers, but the most serious dose-limiting side-effect is the development of pulmonary toxicity. Although the precise mechanism in the pathogenesis of BLM-induced lung injury has not been determined, oxygen radicals and neutrophils are indicated to play a key role in it. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is thought to be an important mediator of the pathogenesis of acute lung injury.

[A case of tuberculous aneurysm of the aorta].

We reported a rare case of tuberculous aneurysm of the aorta managed successfully with urgent surgical therapy. A 35-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of fatigue and hemoptysis. Laboratory tests showed severe anemia, slight liver dysfunction, elevated level of C-reactive protein, and negative syphilis serologies.

Expression of thioredoxin in granulomas of sarcoidosis: possible role in the development of T lymphocyte activation.

Background: Activated T lymphocytes are one of the characteristic features of sarcoidosis. The mechanism of T cell activation, expressing various activation markers including interleukin 2 receptor (IL-2R), has been extensively investigated but the precise mechanism remains unknown. Although thioredoxin (TRX) displays a number of biological activities including IL-2R inducing activity, its role in the induction of IL-2R expression on T cells in sarcoidosis has not been determined.

Investigation of albumin-synthesizing ability in rat cirrhotic liver-derived hepatocytes using primary hepatocyte culture.

Background/aims: In cirrhosis, despite a decrease in the total number of hepatocytes, a normal serum albumin level is maintained during the compensatory stage of the disease in many cases. Therefore, to elucidate the mechanism in hepatocytes related to the regulation of the serum albumin level, the albumin-synthesizing ability of individual hepatocytes was investigated in cirrhotic rats.

Methods: Cirrhotic rats were prepared by oral administration of furfural to male Wistar rats for 20 weeks.

p38 Mitogen-activated protein kinase regulates IL-8 expression in human pulmonary vascular endothelial cells.

The aim of this study was to examine the role of p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase in interleukin (IL)-8 expression in tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha- and IL-1alpha-stimulated human pulmonary vascular endothelial cells. To this end, the phosphorylation and activation of p38 MAP kinase and the effect of SB 203580, a specific inhibitor of p38 MAP kinase activity, on p38 MAP kinase activity and IL-8 expression in TNF-alpha- and IL-1alpha-stimulated human pulmonary vascular endothelial cells were examined. TNF-alpha- and IL-1alpha- induced phosphorylation and activation of p38 MAP kinase and IL-8 expression in human pulmonary endothelial cells.

Leukemia inhibitory factor, a potent cardiac hypertrophic cytokine, enhances L-type Ca2+ current and [Ca2+]i transient in cardiomyocytes.

This study investigates whether leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a potent cardiac hypertrophic cytokine, affects the L-type Ca2+ current (I(Ca,L)) and intracellular Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) in cardiomyocytes. I(Ca,L) was recorded using a whole cell patch clamp configuration in guinea pig cardiomyocytes, and the [Ca2+]i transient was detected by use of Fluo-3 in rat cardiomyocytes. Cells were preincubated with LIF (1000 U/ml) for 15 min before whole cell recording.

Retinoic acid differentially regulates interleukin-1beta and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist production by human alveolar macrophages.

Mechanism in the pathogenesis of acute respiratory distress syndrome which is the clinical feature of pulmonary involvement in retinoic acid (RA) syndrome has been investigated. Pulmonary infiltration of matured neutrophils and leukemic cells is thought to be associated with the pathogenesis of pulmonary involvement in RA syndrome; however. Little is known about the mechanism in pulmonary infiltration of these cells.

Correlation of plasma monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) and monocyte inflammatory protein-1alpha (MIP-1alpha) levels with disease activity and clinical course of sarcoidosis.

MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha exhibit chemotactic activity toward macrophages/monocytes and induce the production of inflammatory cytokines affecting granuloma formation. Up-regulated expression of MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha in the affected organ of sarcoidosis has been shown; however, the relationship between their plasma levels and the clinical course of this disease has not been determined. In the present study we measured plasma MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha levels in 26 patients with active sarcoidosis by ELISA in order to assess the state of MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha in this disease.

Lower serum concentrations of cytokines in elderly patients with pneumonia and the impaired production of cytokines by peripheral blood monocytes in the elderly.

It has been well documented that the immune function declines with age; however, little is known about the monocyte/macrophage function of age. In the present study, we measured the concentrations of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), IL-1 beta, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-8 and monocyte inflammatory protein-1 alpha (MIP-1 alpha) in sera from 15 elderly patients and 22 young patients with pneumonia, in the acute phase and after recovery, by ELISA. In addition, we measured the concentrations of these cytokines in culture supernatants from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated peripheral blood monocytes from normal healthy elderly subjects and young subjects in order to clarify the ability of the elderly to produce these cytokines.

[Swyer-James syndrome with bronchial asthma and recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax].

An 18-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for treatment of the fifth episode of spontaneous pneumothorax. She had a history of repeated pneumonia in childhood and mycoplasma pneumonia at 12 years of age. A chest X-ray film revealed a left-sided pneumothorax, atelectasis of the left upper lobe, and hyperlucency of the left lung.

[A case of Sjögren's syndrome complicated with cryoglobulinemia, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, and renal tubular acidosis].

A 68-year-old woman had been complained of xerostomia since she was 30 years old. Further symptoms of polyuria, polyposia and insomnia had been developed since she was 35 years old. The biopsy material from a minor salivary gland demonstrated the infiltration of lymphocytes into mesenchyme which was compatible with Sjögren's syndrome.