Spontaneous pneumothorax as a complication of septic pulmonary embolism in an intravenous drug user: a case report.

Infective endocarditis has been the major cause of morbidity and mortality among intravenous drug users (IDUs) with infections, mostly involving the tricuspid valve and presenting multiple septic pulmonary embolisms. Numerous pulmonary complications of septic pulmonary embolism have been described, but only a few have reported spontaneous pneumothorax. Our patient, a 23-year-old heroin addict, was hospitalized for tricuspid endocarditis and septic pulmonary embolism.

Ionic liquid of choline chloride/malonic acid as a solvent in the synthesis of open-framework iron oxalatophosphates.

Two new iron(III) oxalatophosphates, Cs2Fe(C2O4)(0.5)(HPO4)2 (1) and CsFe(C2O4)(0.5)(H2PO4)(HPO4) (2), have been synthesized by using a low melting point eutectic mixture of choline chloride and malonic acid as a solvent and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and magnetic susceptibility.

Intrathoracic tracheal obstruction caused by a carotid mycotic aneurysm in a patient with deep neck infection--a case report.

Upper airway obstruction secondary to a carotid mycotic aneurysm has not been previously reported. We describe a patient with a mycotic aneurysm associated with a deep neck infection and presenting with acute tracheal obstruction. Recognition of this condition is important to avoid inadvertent rupture of the aneurysm in the course of diagnostic aspiration or surgical drainage.

Developing a short form of the Berg Balance Scale for people with stroke.

Background And Purpose: To improve the utility of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS), the aim of this study was to develop a short form of the BBS (SFBBS) that was psychometrically similar (including test reliability, validity, and responsiveness) to the original BBS for people with stroke.

Subjects And Methods: A total of 226 subjects with stroke participated in this prospective study at 14 days after their stroke; 167 of these subjects also were examined at 90 days after their stroke. The BBS, Barthel Index, and Fugl-Meyer Motor Test were administered at these 2 time points.

Viral load and outcome in SARS infection: the role of personal protective equipment in the emergency department.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of personal protective equipment (PPE) against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Sixteen patients in a SARS cluster, including 4 health care workers (HCWs) and 12 non-HCWs were studied. We compared the initial viral load by nasopharyngeal swabs, clinical progression, and outcome of this cluster.

A Rasch analysis of a self-perceived change in quality of life scale in patients with mild stroke.

A Rasch analysis was used to assess the unidimensionality and appropriateness of the scoring level of a 13-item self-perceived change in quality of life scale (CQOL) for stroke patients. A total of 158 patients with mild stroke completed the CQOL themselves at home. The results showed that a unidimensional CQOL can be created by deleting the three items related to speaking, vision, and thinking.

Pseudomembranous tracheobronchitis caused by Aspergillus in immunocompromised patients.

We report 2 cases of Aspergillus pseudomembranous tracheobronchitis in patients with diabetes. The first patient succumbed to progressive obstructive respiratory failure despite mechanical ventilation and antifungal therapy. However, the second patient survived.

Molecular genetic manipulation of Pichia pastoris SEC4 governs cell growth and glucoamylase secretion.

We have previously engineered a recombinant Pichia pastoris GS115 transformant, MSPGA-7, harboring seven copies of glucoamylase (GA) fused with modified signal peptide. High yield secretion of GA was achieved as an extra copy of SEC4 was integrated to the transformant. To elucidate the physiological role of SEC4, a dominant-negative mutant of SEC4, SEC4(S28N), was overexpressed under the control of alchohol oxidase 1 (AOX1) promoter in P.

Using SAS PROC NLMIXED to fit item response theory models.

Researchers routinely construct tests or questionnaires containing a set of items that measure personality traits, cognitive abilities, political attitudes, and so forth. Typically, responses to these items are scored in discrete categories, such as points on a Likert scale or a choice out of several mutually exclusive alternatives. Item response theory (IRT) explains observed responses to items on a test (questionnaire) by a person's unobserved trait, ability, or attitude.

Overexpression of circulating c-met messenger RNA is significantly correlated with nodal stage and early recurrence in non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The c-met receptor and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor have been shown to be involved in tumor invasiveness and metastasis. Overexpression of c-met has been demonstrated in lung cancer tissues and cell lines, but the expression of c-met in peripheral blood (circulating c-met) has not been addressed. The molecular monitoring of circulating c-met could be helpful for selecting patients for adjuvant therapy.

Discriminative, predictive, and evaluative properties of a trunk control measure in patients with stroke.

Background And Purpose: The trunk control items of the Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS-TC) have been proposed for use in examining patients with stroke. The purpose of this study was to examine the discriminative and predictive validities and the evaluative properties of the PASS-TC at 14, 30, 90, and 180 days after stroke onset.

Subjects And Methods: A total of 269 patients with stroke participated in this prospective study.

Cordyceps sinensis mycelium protects mice from group A streptococcal infection.

Group A streptococcus (GAS) infection can cause severe invasive diseases, including necrotizing fasciitis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Cordyceps sinensis, a Chinese herbal medicine, is an immunomodulator. In this study the air-pouch bacterial inoculation model was used to investigate the protective efficacy of C.

High frequency of frameshift mutation on p53 gene in Taiwanese with non small cell lung cancer.

Extensive researches have found that the mutation of p53 tumor suppressor gene is the most frequent event in many human cancers and associated with a poor clinical outcome in lung cancer patients. Because the p53 molecular mutation involved in tumorigenesis of patients with lung cancer in Taiwan remains poorly defined, the aim of this study was to assess the p53 mutation spectrum and possible etiological factors of Taiwan's patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). Cancer specimens were obtained surgically from 61 patients with pathologically proven NSCLC.

A meta-analysis of primate hand preferences, particularly for reaching.

P. F. MacNeilage, M.

Azygos vein varix mimicking mediastinal mass in a patient with liver cirrhosis: a case report.

A giant venous varix of the azygos arch is a very rare cause of a mediastinal mass. The usual diagnosis of a mediastinal mass by mediastinoscopy or percutaneous fine-needle aspiration or biopsy is very hazardous if there is a venous varix. Noninvasive thoracic CT scanning is a safe and better choice for diagnosis.

Distinctive clinical features of mild cognitive impairment with subcortical cerebrovascular disease.

Background And Purpose: Patients with mild cognitive impairment and subcortical cerebrovascular disease (svMCI) can be isolated using criteria modified from those of Erkinjuntti et al. for subcortical vascular dementia and have poorer outcomes (cognitive deterioration, disability, institutionalization, and mortality). The aim of this study was to test which of the core (dysexecutive syndrome with relative sparing of memory, gait disorders and extrapyramidal signs) and supporting (urinary and behavioral symptoms) clinical features are most useful to recognize patients with svMCI and discriminate them from those with amnestic MCI (aMCI).

Improved secretory production of glucoamylase in Pichia pastoris by combination of genetic manipulations.

Rhizopus oryzae glucoamylase (GA) has been genetically engineered with modified signal peptide (MSP), increased copy number of the gene, and coexpression of SEC4, a gene encoding a Rab protein associated with secretory vesicles, and its secretion level has been successfully raised up to 100-fold in Pichia pastoris. The MSP was designed to contain the signal peptide of mouse salivary alpha-amylase (S8L) fused to the pro-region of the signal peptide of Saccharomyces cerevisiae alpha-mating factor to replace the wild type signal peptide (WTSP) of GA. The P.

In vivo stimulatory effect of Cordyceps sinensis mycelium and its fractions on reproductive functions in male mouse.

Cordyceps sinensis (CS), an Ascomycetes fungus parasitic to Lepidoptera larvae, has been traditionally used as nutritious food for the enhancement on sexual performance and the restitution of impairment in sexual function in Chinese society. We have previously demonstrated the stimulatory effect of CS and its fractions on steroidogenesis both on primary mouse Leydig cells and MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells. In the present studies, we determined the in vivo effects of CS and its fractions on steroidogenesis in mouse.

Psychometric properties of the sensory scale of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment in stroke patients.

Objective: To examine the psychometric properties of the sensory scale of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA-S) in stroke patients with a broad range of neurological and functional impairment at times from 14 to 180 days after stroke.

Subjects: A total of 176 first stroke patients consecutively admitted to a university-based medical centre.

Design: This prospective, longitudinal investigation was based on data collected at 14, 30, 90 and 180 days after stroke.

Psychometric properties of 2 simplified 3-level balance scales used for patients with stroke.

Background And Purpose: To determine if the 3-level scales yield data as reliable and valid as data obtained for the original scales, 2 simplified 3-level measures of balance--a modified Berg Balance Scale (BBS-3P) and a modified Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients (PASS-3P)--were proposed by the researchers, and psychometric properties of each were compared with those of the original measures (the Berg Balance Scale [BBS] and the Postural Assessment Scale for Stroke Patients [PASS], respectively) in patients with stroke.

Subjects And Methods: The study consisted of 2 parts. The first part examined the reliability and concurrent and convergent validity of measurements obtained with these instruments.

Infant hand-use preferences for grasping objects contributes to the development of a hand-use preference for manipulating objects.

Twenty-five infants, divided into three approximately equal groups according to their hand-use preference for reaching for and grasping objects (right, left, or no-preference), were videotaped at 7 and 11 months while involved in a semiplay activity in which they were presented with 26 toys (20-40 s for each presentation). Unimanual manipulation activity was coded, and the increase or decrease in preferred hand use across the two ages was analyzed. Infants with a right preference for reaching showed an increase in right-hand use for unimanual manipulatory actions from 7 to 11 months.

Rasch analysis of combining two indices to assess comprehensive ADL function in stroke patients.

Background And Purpose: To justify the summation of scores representing comprehensive activities of daily living (ADL) function, a Rasch analysis was performed to examine whether items of the Barthel Index (BI), assessing ADL, and items of the Frenchay Activities Index (FAI), assessing instrumental ADL, contribute jointly to a single, unidimensional construct in stroke patients living in the community. The number of scoring points of both indices was examined for their usefulness in discerning the various ability levels of ADL in these patients.

Methods: A total of 245 patients at 1 year after stroke participated in this study.

Five new maleic and succinic acid derivatives from the mycelium of Antrodia camphorata and their cytotoxic effects on LLC tumor cell line.

Five new maleic and succinic acid derivatives were isolated from the mycelium of Antrodia camphorata. Their structures were determined by various spectroscopic means. Maleimide derivatives 2 and 3 showed appreciable cytotoxic activity against LLC cells.

Primary malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the lung: a case report.

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in adults. However, primary MFH of the lung is rare, with only a few cases reported in the literature. Here, we report the case of an 86-year-old male who was admitted to our hospital with the chief complaint of exertional dyspnea and poor appetite.