Correlation between lung perfusion blood volume and SPECT images in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension by balloon pulmonary angioplasty.

Objectives: We evaluated the reperfusion by balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) in lung PBV and SPECT images.

Methods: In total, 17 patients and 57 sessions were evaluated. Pre-BPA and post-BPA lung PBV and SPECT/CT images, based on both anatomical segments and physiologic regions (upper/middle/lower) were compared.

Cap polyposis refractory to eradication treated with endoscopic submucosal dissection.

Cap polyposis is a rare intestinal disorder. Characteristic endoscopic findings are multiple inflammatory polypoid lesions covered by caps of fibrous purulent exudate. Although a specific treatment has not been established, some studies have suggested that eradication therapy for () is effective.

Rationale and study design of a clinical trial to assess the effects of LDL apheresis on proteinuria in diabetic patients with severe proteinuria and dyslipidemia.

Background: Diabetic nephropathy is a leading cause of end-stage kidney disease in the world. Although various types of treatment for diabetes, hypertension and dyslipidemia have improved prognosis and quality of life in patients with diabetic nephropathy, there still exist some diabetic patients with severe proteinuria showing poor prognosis. This clinical trial, LICENSE, aims to confirm the impact of LDL apheresis on proteinuria exhibiting hyporesponsiveness to treatment.

Forewings match the formation of leading-edge vortices and dominate aerodynamic force production in revolving insect wings.

In many flying insects, forewings and hindwings are coupled mechanically to achieve flapping flight synchronously while being driven by action of the forewings. How the forewings and hindwings as well as their morphologies contribute to aerodynamic force production and flight control remains unclear. Here we address the point that the forewings can produce most of the aerodynamic forces even with the hindwings removed through a computational fluid dynamic study of three revolving insect wing models, which are identical to the wing morphologies and Reynolds numbers of hawkmoth (Manduca sexta), bumblebee (Bombus ignitus) and fruitfly (Drosophila melanogaster).

Lifestyle Medicine: A Brief Review of Its Dramatic Impact on Health and Survival.

By ignoring the root causes of disease and neglecting to prioritize lifestyle measures for prevention, the medical community is placing people at harm. Advanced nations, influenced by a Western lifestyle, are in the midst of a health crisis, resulting largely from poor lifestyle choices. Epidemiologic, ecologic, and interventional studies have repeatedly indicated that most chronic illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, are the result of lifestyles fueled by poor nutrition and physical inactivity.

Sudden failure of ventricular pacing and recovery in a patient with cardiac sarcoidosis.

A 76-year-old woman with sarcoidosis who had an implantable pacemaker for complete atrioventricular block was admitted with syncope. Electrocardiogram revealed ventricular pacing failure, and a marked rise in the ventricular pacing threshold. F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) indicated increased uptake of FDG in the ventricular septum.

Quantifying the dynamic wing morphing of hovering hummingbird.

Animal wings are lightweight and flexible; hence, during flapping flight their shapes change. It has been known that such dynamic wing morphing reduces aerodynamic cost in insects, but the consequences in vertebrate flyers, particularly birds, are not well understood. We have developed a method to reconstruct a three-dimensional wing model of a bird from the wing outline and the feather shafts (rachides).

Prognostic impact of unrecognized myocardial scar in the non-culprit territories by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Aims: Unrecognized myocardial scar by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is strongly associated with cardiac event in patients with stable coronary artery disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prognostic impact of unrecognized non-infarct-related LGE (non-IR-LGE) in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Methods And Results: We studied 269 patients with a first clinical episode of AMI underwent cardiac MRI within 6 weeks after onset (209 men; age, 66 ± 12 years).

Diagnostic accuracy of an artificial neural network compared with statistical quantitation of myocardial perfusion images: a Japanese multicenter study.

Purpose: Artificial neural networks (ANN) might help to diagnose coronary artery disease. This study aimed to determine whether the diagnostic accuracy of an ANN-based diagnostic system and conventional quantitation are comparable.

Methods: The ANN was trained to classify potentially abnormal areas as true or false based on the nuclear cardiology expert interpretation of 1001 gated stress/rest Tc-MIBI images at 12 hospitals.

Effect of a calcium phosphate and fluoride paste on prevention of enamel demineralization.

This study aimed to examine the anti-demineralization capacities of (a) tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP) and dicalcium phosphate anhydrous (DCPA) and 950 ppm fluoride paste, (b) casein phosphopeptide amorphous calcium phosphate paste and (c) 950 ppm fluoride solution using optical coherence tomography (OCT). Enamel blocks were cut from the bovine incisors and treated using one of the above-mentioned three materials or deionized water as control (n=10). All samples were subjected to a demineralization gel for 1 h followed by a remineralization solution for 23 h.

[Tricuspid Valve Repair in a Patient with Isolated Tricuspid Valve Infective Endocarditis with Pulmonary Embolism;Report of a Case].

We report a case of 39-year-old man who developed tricuspid valve infective endocarditis with a complication of pulmonary embolism. He was transferred to our institution because of intermittent fever and enlargement of the vegetation of the tricuspid valve in spite of optimal antibiotics treatment. Computed tomography revealed pulmonary embolism, and transesophageal echocardiography showed a large and mobile vegetation (22×10 mm) on the tricuspid valve with moderate regurgitation.

Owl-inspired leading-edge serrations play a crucial role in aerodynamic force production and sound suppression.

Owls are widely known for silent flight, achieving remarkably low noise gliding and flapping flights owing to their unique wing morphologies, which are normally characterized by leading-edge serrations, trailing-edge fringes and velvet-like surfaces. How these morphological features affect aerodynamic force production and sound suppression or noise reduction, however, is still not well known. Here we address an integrated study of owl-inspired single feather wing models with and without leading-edge serrations by combining large-eddy simulations (LES) with particle-image velocimetry (PIV) and force measurements in a low-speed wind tunnel.

Association of Growth Differentiation Factor 15 with Mortality in a Prospective Hemodialysis Cohort.

Background/aims: Cardiovascular disease and protein-energy wasting are among the strongest predictors of the high mortality of dialysis patients. In the general population, the novel cardiovascular and wasting biomarker, growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15), is associated with decreased survival. However, little is known about GDF15 in dialysis patients.

Convergent Synthesis of the ent-ZA'B'C'D'-Ring System of Maitotoxin.

Stereoselective synthesis of the ent-ZA'B'C'D'-ring system of maitotoxin has been accomplished through a convergent strategy utilizing Suzuki-Miyaura cross coupling reaction of ZA'-ring alkylborane and C'D'-ring (Z)-vinyl iodide, and subsequent construction of the B'-ring by reduction of the O,S-acetal.

Tumor growth limited to subcutaneous site vs tumor growth in pulmonary site exhibit differential effects on systemic immunities.

To evaluate systemic immunity associated with tumor growth limited to a subcutaneous site versus growth proceeding at multiple tumor sites, we established syngeneic mouse subcutaneous and pulmonary tumor models by local subcutaneous and intravenous injection of colon carcinoma CT26 cells. We found that splenic myeloid-derived suppressor cell (MDSC) levels were significantly increased in the subcutaneous tumor model but not in the pulmonary tumor model. Furthermore, both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells as well as CD4+ Foxp3+ T cells were significantly decreased in the subcutaneous tumor model and were largely unchanged in the pulmonary tumor model.

Comparison of the OUTBACK Elite Reentry Catheter and the Bi-directional Approach after Failed Antegrade Approach for Femoro-popliteal Occlusive Disease.

Aim: A successful antegrade wire crossing for femoro-popliteal chronic total occlusion (FP-CTO) is still a technical challenge. We attempted to demonstrate the safety and feasibility of the OUTBACK Elite reentry catheter and the bi-directional approach for failed FP-CTO cases with the antegrade approach.

Methods: Endovascular therapy for FP-CTO was performed in 219 lesions from May 2013 to December 2016 at Morinomiya Hospital.

A multi-institutional joint study of contact dermatitis related to hair colouring and perming agents in Japan.

Background: In Japan, allergic contact dermatitis caused by hair colouring agents is a considerable problem for those occupationally exposed and also for consumers. Over the last 20 years, p-phenylenediamine (PPD) has been a common allergen, with ∼7% positive patch test reactions.

Objectives: To investigate which ingredients caused allergic contact dermatitis related to hair dye and perming solutions in Japan, to assess whether PPD is suitable for screening for hair dye allergy, and to propose allergens for a Japanese hairdresser series.

Comparison of the measured pre-ejection periods and left ventricular ejection times between echocardiography and impedance cardiography for optimizing cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Background: The pre-ejection period (PEP) and left ventricular ejection time (LVET) are easily measured by impedance cardiography (ICG). We hypothesized that the PEP/LVET measured by ICG would correlate with that measured by echocardiography, and that PEP/LVET measured by ICG would be useful for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) optimization.

Methods: Newly CRT implanted patients were optimized by echocardiography.

Smart wing rotation and trailing-edge vortices enable high frequency mosquito flight.

Mosquitoes exhibit unusual wing kinematics; their long, slender wings flap at remarkably high frequencies for their size (>800 Hz)and with lower stroke amplitudes than any other insect group. This shifts weight support away from the translation-dominated, aerodynamic mechanisms used by most insects, as well as by helicopters and aeroplanes, towards poorly understood rotational mechanisms that occur when pitching at the end of each half-stroke. Here we report free-flight mosquito wing kinematics, solve the full Navier-Stokes equations using computational fluid dynamics with overset grids, and validate our results with in vivo flow measurements.

Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome as the initial presentation of nail-patella syndrome: a case of a de novo LMX1B mutation.

Background: Nail-patella syndrome (NPS) is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations in the LMX1B gene and is characterized by nail dysplasia, skeletal abnormalities, and nephropathy. We herein report a case of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) prior to overt orthopedic symptoms in a patient with NPS.

Case Presentation: A 24-year-old woman presented to our hospital with knee pain.

Thyroid Status and Mortality in a Prospective Hemodialysis Cohort.

Context And Objective: Compared with the general population, hemodialysis patients have a substantially higher risk of hypothyroidism, as defined by an elevated serum thyrotropin (TSH) level, and cardiovascular mortality. Whereas an elevated TSH is associated with cardiovascular disease and death in the general population, associations among dialysis patients have been inconsistent.

Design, Setting, Participants, And Main Outcome: We examined 541 hemodialysis patients from 17 southern California dialysis centers in the prospective Hypothyroidism, Cardiovascular Health, and Survival study who underwent protocolized measurement of repeated serum TSH levels every 6 months from 2013 to 2015.

The Histological Features of a Myocardial Biopsy Specimen in a Patient in the Acute Phase of Reversible Catecholamine-induced Cardiomyopathy due to Pheochromocytoma.

A 63-year-old Japanese woman with an adrenal tumor was transferred to our hospital due to cardiogenic shock. Right and left ventriculography showed severe hypokinesis of the middle segment and the apex in both ventricles, and an endomyocardial biopsy demonstrated a small number of necrotic myocytes and cellular infiltration. She was diagnosed with pheochromocytoma and quickly recovered after treatment with an α-blocker.

Paroxysmal nonepileptic events in children with epilepsy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to clarify the characteristics of paroxysmal nonepileptic events (PNEs) suspected as being epileptic seizures by families of children with epilepsy.

Methods: The video-EEG (vEEG) recordings of habitual paroxysmal events in children with epilepsy at Nagoya University Hospital between October 2006 and January 2016 were reviewed. Based on the doctor's suspicion before the vEEG, the PNEs were divided into two groups that included PNEs suspected as epileptic seizures and PNEs suspected as PNEs.