Pyogenic spondylitis due to Streptococcus agalactiae with paraspinal abscess and vertebral destruction in a diabetic patient: time course of imagings.

Summary: A 76-year-old female with type 2 diabetes mellitus presented with hematuria, low back pain, and intermittent fever for 7 days. She was admitted to our hospital and diagnosed with Streptococcus agalactiae (GBS) bacteremia. CT showed an air density within the right iliopsoas muscle, and an MRI of the spine revealed hyperintensity in the right half of the L1-L2 intervertebral disk, leading to the diagnosis of a paraspinal abscess and L1-L2 pyogenic spondylitis.

Supramolecular Helical Assemblies of Dirhodium(II) Paddlewheels with 1,4-Diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane: A Remarkable Substituent Effect on the Helical Sense Preference and Amplification of the Helical Handedness Excess of Metallo-Supramolecular Helical Polymers.

We report unique coordination-driven supramolecular helical assemblies of a series of dirhodium(II) tetracarboxylate paddlewheels bearing chiral phenyl- or methyl-substituted amide-bound -terphenyl residues with triethylene glycol monomethyl ether (TEG) or -dodecyl tails through a 1:1 complexation with 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO).

Classification of abnormal gait patterns of poststroke hemiplegic patients in principal component analysis.

Unlabelled: Motoya R, Yamamoto S, Naoe M, Taniguchi R, Kawahara A, Iwata T. Classification of abnormal gait patterns of poststroke hemiplegic patients in principal component analysis. Jpn J Compr Rehabil Sci 2021; 12: 70-77.

Encapsulation of Aromatic Guests in the Bisporphyrin Cavity of a Double-Stranded Spiroborate Helicate: Thermodynamic and Kinetic Studies and the Encapsulation Mechanism.

A double-stranded spiroborate helicate bearing a bisporphyrin unit in the middle forms an inclusion complex with electron-deficient aromatic guests that are sandwiched between the porphyrins. In the present study, we systematically investigated the effects of size, electron density, and substituents of a series of aromatic guests on inclusion complex formations within the bisporphyrin. The thermodynamic and kinetic behaviors during the guest-encapsulation process were also investigated in detail.

Water-mediated deracemization of a bisporphyrin helicate assisted by diastereoselective encapsulation of chiral guests.

Deracemization is a powerful method by which a racemic mixture can be transformed into an excess of one enantiomer with the aid of chiral auxiliaries, but has been applied only to small chiral molecular systems. Here we report a deracemization of a racemic double-stranded spiroborate helicate containing a bisporphyrin unit upon encapsulation of chiral aromatic guests between the bisporphyrin. The chiral guest-included helicate is kinetically stable, existing as a mixture of right- and left-handed double helices, which eventually undergo an inversion of the helicity triggered by water resulting from the water-mediated reversible diastereoselective B-O bond cleavage/reformation of the spiroborate groups, thus producing an optically-active helicate with a high enantioselectivity.

Spiroborate-Based Double-Stranded Helicates: Meso-to- Racemo Isomerization and Ion-Triggered Springlike Motion of the Racemo-Helicate.

A one-handed double-stranded spiroborate helicate exhibits a unique reversible extension-contraction motion coupled with a twisting motion in one direction triggered by binding and release of a Na ion while retaining its handedness. Here we report that an extended meso-helicate was also produced together with the racemo-helicate, and the meso-helicate was readily converted to the racemo-helicate assisted by a Na ion as a template in the presence of water. The thermodynamic analyses of the ion-triggered springlike motion of the racemo-helicate using a series of monovalent cations with different sizes revealed that the association constants of the extended racemo-helicate decreased in the following order: Li > Na > NH > Ag ≥ K > Cs > Rb, which roughly agrees with the reverse order of their ionic radii except for the NH ion due to the more elongated contracted helicates when complexed with larger cations as supported by the crystal and DFT calculated structures.

Water absorption by decellularized dermis.

Water absorption by decellularized dermis was investigated and compared with biopolymer and synthetic polymer hydrogels (glutaraldehyde-crosslinked gelatin and crosslinked poly(acrylamide) hydrogel, respectively). Porcine dermis was decellularized in an aqueous sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution. Histological evaluation revealed that the SDS-treated dermis has much larger gaps between collagen fibrils than non-treated dermis, and that water absorption depends on these gaps.

High temperature in-situ observations of multi-segmented metal nanowires encapsulated within carbon nanotubes by in-situ filling technique.

Multi-segmented one-dimensional metal nanowires were encapsulated within carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through in-situ filling technique during plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and environmental TEM were employed to characterize the as-prepared sample at room temperature and high temperature. The selected area electron diffractions revealed that the Pd4Si nanowire and face-centered-cubic Co nanowire on top of the Pd nanowire were encapsulated within the bottom and tip parts of the multiwall CNT, respectively.

Serum biomarkers as predictors of lung function decline in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Background: Recent studies show that COPD patients exhibit low-grade systemic inflammation, and that plasma fibrinogen and high neutrophil counts are related to faster declines in lung function. We examined correlations between serum biomarkers and the decline of lung function in COPD patients.

Method: Baseline levels of 9 serum biomarkers (TIMP-1, alpha1-antitrypsin, MMP-9, TNF-alpha, TGF-beta, IL-6, IL-8, neutrophil elastase and CRP), fibrinogen and white blood cell counts (WCC) were measured in 96 COPD patients.

[Systemic inflammation in COPD and asthma: similarities and differences].

While recent studies have shown that patients with COPD and patients with asthma exhibit evidence of airway and systemic inflammation, markers of systemic inflammation have not been compared between the two diseases. To evaluate circulating inflammatory markers, blood was sampled from 111 patients with COPD, 75 control subjects and 46 asthmatic patients (some of whom were smokers). Measurements of WCC, serum levels of fibrinogen, high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, neutrophil elastase and alphal-antitrypsin (alpha1-AT) were done.

Systemic inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma: Similarities and differences.

Background And Objective: While recent studies have shown that patients with COPD and patients with asthma exhibit evidence of airway and systemic inflammation, markers of systemic inflammation have not been compared between the two diseases.

Methods: To evaluate circulating inflammatory markers, blood was sampled from 111 patients with COPD, 75 control subjects and 46 asthmatic patients (some of whom were smokers). Measurements of WCC, serum levels of fibrinogen, high-sensitivity (hs)-CRP, IL-8, IL-6, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, neutrophil elastase and alpha1-antitrypsin (alpha1-AT) were performed.

Adenoviral E1A suppresses secretory leukoprotease inhibitor and elafin secretion in human alveolar epithelial cells and bronchial epithelial cells.

Background: An imbalance between neutrophil protease and surrounding antiprotease levels has been shown to be important in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Adenoviral E1A DNA and protein are frequently detected in the lungs of COPD patients. As secretory leukoprotease inhibitor (SLPI) and elafin/skin-derived antileukoproteinase (SKALP) are locally produced in the lung and inhibit neutrophil elastase activity, we hypothesized that adenoviral E1A might affect the production of these antiproteases.

Immunological rapid urease test using monoclonal antibody for Helicobacter pylori.

Background And Aim: The current diagnostic methods for detecting Helicobacter pylori infection include rapid urease test (RUT), urea breath test (UBT), histology, culture, and serum antibody detection. The present study evaluated the efficacy of a novel highly specific test, an immunological RUT (IRUT), that uses a monoclonal antibody against H. pylori urease.

Myoclonus and metabolic alkalosis from licorice in antacid.

A 90-year-old woman with hypertension developed metabolic alkalosis and myoclonus. Her medications included diltiazem hydrochloride, benidipine hydrochloride, kallidinogenase, procaterol hydrochloride, sennoside, dihydrocodeine phosphate, and KM powder antacid that contained 354 mg of licorice and 900 mg of sodium bicarbonate per 3.9 g of powder.