Impaction of an intrathoracic kidney acted as a shield against herniation of the abdominal viscera in a case of right congenital diaphragmatic hernia.

We describe a case of an intrathoracic kidney combined with right congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) that was diagnosed at 32 weeks of gestation. Although it has been well established that a right CDH shows a poorer outcome than a left CDH, our present case showed a good outcome because there was no herniation of other abdominal viscera, except for the right kidney. Our findings in this case indicate that impaction of the intrathoracic kidney may act as a 'shield' against further herniation of other abdominal viscera into the thoracic cavity.

Hyponatremia as an independent prognostic factor in patients with terminal cancer.

Purpose: Hyponatremia is a common and associated with poor clinical outcome in cancer patients. But little is known regarding hyponatremia in terminal cancer patients. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prognostic role of the hyponatremia in terminal cancer patients.

Effects of PI3Kγ overexpression in the hippocampus on synaptic plasticity and spatial learning.

Previous studies have shown that a family of phosphoinositide 3-kinases (PI3Ks) plays pivotal roles in the brain; in particular, we previously reported that knockout of the γ isoform of PI3K (PI3Kγ) in mice impaired synaptic plasticity and reduced behavioral flexibility. To further examine the role of PI3Kγ in synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent behavioral tasks we overexpressed p110γ, the catalytic subunit of PI3Kγ, in the hippocampal CA1 region. We found that the overexpression of p110γ impairs NMDA receptor-dependent long-term depression (LTD) and hippocampus-dependent spatial learning in the Morris water maze (MWM) task.

Effect of Food Deprivation on a Delayed Nonmatch-to-place T-maze Task.

Food deprivation can affect performance on difficult cognitive task, such as the delayed nonmatch-to-place T-maze task (DNMT). The importance of food deprivation on maintaining high motivation for DNMT task has been emphasized, but not many studies have investigated the optimal conditions for depriving rodents to maximize performance. Establishing appropriate conditions for food deprivation is necessary to maintain DNMT task motivation.

Mind bomb-1 is an essential modulator of long-term memory and synaptic plasticity via the Notch signaling pathway.

Background: Notch signaling is well recognized as a key regulator of the neuronal fate during embryonic development, but its function in the adult brain is still largely unknown. Mind bomb-1 (Mib1) is an essential positive regulator in the Notch pathway, acting non-autonomously in the signal-sending cells. Therefore, genetic ablation of Mib1 in mature neuron would give valuable insight to understand the cell-to-cell interaction between neurons via Notch signaling for their proper function.

Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract inhibits glutamate-induced cell death through inhibition of calcium signals and nitric oxide formation in cultured rat hippocampal neurons.

Background: Proanthocyanidin is a polyphenolic bioflavonoid with known antioxidant activity. Some flavonoids have a modulatory effect on [Ca²⁺]i. Although proanthocyanidin extract from blueberries reportedly affects Ca²⁺ buffering capacity, there are no reports on the effects of proanthocyanidin on glutamate-induced [Ca²⁺]i or cell death.

Prognosis of heart failure patients with reduced and preserved ejection fraction and coexistent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Aims: The long-term prognosis of patients with heart failure with preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (HFPEF) and coexistent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has not been previously investigated. The primary aim of this study was to determine whether the long-term prognosis of HFPEF patients with COPD differs from that of heart failure patients with reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (HFREF) and COPD. The secondary aim was to identify independent predictors of event-free survival in patients with HF and COPD.