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Case presentation: An 86-year-old female presented to our emergency department with chest pain and orthopnea and was diagnosed with heart failure and ST-elevation myocardial infarction, prompting hospitalization. During hospitalization, she developed a fever. A chest and abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT), conducted to investigate the cause of the fever, coincidentally revealed sedimentation of contrast agent in the descending aorta. To differentiate from aortic dissection, we conducted dynamic CT, and it was confirmed that the contrast agent within the aorta decreased over time. On the same day, an echocardiogram revealed a left ventricular ejection fraction of 36% with reduced contractile function, and a stagnant, hazy echo within the descending aorta.Discussion: In aortic dissection, the retention of contrast agent in the false lumen of the aorta is a crucial finding for diagnosis. However, we experienced a case where contrast agent accumulated in the descending aorta, caused by low ejection fraction of the left ventricle. Differential diagnosis from aortic dissection may be possible due to the gradual decrease in contrast agent over time. This case is valuable to report given the limited number of previous reports on this phenomenon.

The regulation of inflammatory responses and pulmonary disease during SARS-CoV-2 infection is incompletely understood. Here we examine the roles of the prototypic pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines IFNγ and IL-10 using the rhesus macaque model of mild COVID-19. We find that IFNγ drives the development of 18fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-avid lesions in the lungs as measured by PET/CT imaging but is not required for suppression of viral replication. In contrast, IL-10 limits the duration of acute pulmonary lesions, serum markers of inflammation and the magnitude of virus-specific T cell expansion but does not impair viral clearance. We also show that IL-10 induces the subsequent differentiation of virus-specific effector T cells into CD69+CD103+ tissue resident memory cells (Trm) in the airways and maintains Trm cells in nasal mucosal surfaces, highlighting an unexpected role for IL-10 in promoting airway memory T cells during SARS-CoV-2 infection of macaques. Author summary: Here we examine the roles of the prototypic pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines IFNγ and IL-10 during SARS-CoV-2 infection of rhesus macaques. Whole body 18FDG-PET-CT imaging showed that IFNγ promotes SARS-CoV-2 induced pulmonary disease and IL-10 dampens the size, activity, and duration of lung lesions induced after infection. We also find a major role for IL-10 in the regulation of SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses. Our data show that IL-10 limits the magnitude of the effector T cell clonal burst during the acute phase of infection. We also find that following clearance of the virus, IL-10 promotes the differentiation of lung effector T cells into CD69+CD103+ tissue resident memory cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With respect to the fossil resources shortage, the development of bio-based wood adhesives is an important research topic in wood science. There has been research on using sucrose for bio-based adhesives. However, a high acid catalyst content and a high hot-pressing temperature are required when manufacturing particleboards. In this study, to explore the possibility of p-toluenesulfonic acid (PTSA) as a promising acid catalyst for sucrose-based adhesives, the curing behavior of sucrose with PTSA (Suc-PTSA) was clarified. The thermal analysis results showed that the thermal properties of sucrose decreased significantly with the addition of PTSA. Based on the results of the insoluble matter rate, the optimal mixture ratio and heating conditions were determined to be 95:5 and 180 °C for 10 min, respectively. According to the results of FT−IR, the heat-treated Suc-PTSA contained furan compounds. In the context of the dynamic viscoelasticity, the onset temperature at which the storage modulus (E′) begins to rise was significantly lower than those of the other sucrose-based adhesives. PTSA has the potential to cure sucrose more efficiently and at lower temperatures than previous sucrose-based adhesives, making it a promising acid catalyst for sucrose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High repetition rate, high reliability and long lifetime are required for pulsed power generators for environmental applications. Also, it is necessary to optimize the pulsed power generator for each environmental application. Recent developments in pulsed power generators are described. In addition, recent research of gaseous phase pollution control using pulsed power, cleaning of lake and dam of algae bloom by discharges, and recycling of concrete by pulsed power is summarized. Index Terms--Environmental application, pulsed power, discharge plasma, magnetic pulse compressor, streamer discharge, NOx removal, algae treatment, concrete recycling.

A pulsed discharge produced underwater has been an attractive method to treat waste water. For the optimization and realization of the water treatment system utilizing underwater pulsed discharge, modeling analysis could be one of the essential works. However, there is still no simulation work about the underwater pulsed discharge due to the lack of knowledge about its characteristic parameters such as electron temperature, electron density, and so on. In this paper, the temperature and the electron density in a pulsed discharge plasma produced underwater are measured and presented. A magnetic pulse compressor (MPC) was developed and used to create the electrical discharge in water. The developed MPC is all-solid state and is, therefore, a maintenance-free generator. To define the temperature and the electron density in an underwater pulsed discharge plasma, two kinds of spectroscopic measurements, called the line-pair method and Stark broadening, were carried out. According to the experimental results, the temperature and the electron density in the pulsed discharge plasma between point-plane electrodes immersed in water are determined to be 15 000 K and [10.sup.18]/[cm.sup.3], respectively. Index Terms--Discharge plasma, electron density, electron temperature, pulsed power, streamer discharge, underwater discharge.

Recently, cyanobacteria blooms (or water blooms) occurred on the surface of water bodies frequently and extensively due to eutrophia of the water. That has posed more and more serious environmental problems worldwide. In this paper, the effects of pulsed streamerlike discharge on M. aeruginosa cells are reported, which are one genus of cyanobacteria and ease to form water blooms. A stainless needle with a diameter of 30 [micro]m was employed as a point discharge electrode, which is 15-cm apart from the cylinder cathode, and a 2-[micro]s 160-kV pulse was applied. A pulsed streamerlike discharge was obtained in the water filled with cyanobacteria cells (named as sample water in this paper). From the experimental result, it can be found that the discharge collapsed the intracellular-structure gas vesicles in the M. aeruginosa ceils, and the colonies of the cells sank to the bottom of the discharge chamber and rotten gradually. Index Terms--Cyanobacteria, M. aeruginosa, pulse-forming network, streamerlike discharge.

This study investigated the subcellular localization of key enzymes of the glyoxylate cycle, i.e. isocitrate lyase (ICL; EC 4.1.3.1 ) and malate synthase (EC 2.3.3.9), that function constitutively in coordination with oxalate biosynthesis of glucose-grown Fomitopsis palustris. The ICL purified previously from F. palustris is termed FPICL1. Subcellular fractionation analysis of the cell homogenate by the sucrose density-gradient method showed that both key enzymes were present in peroxisomes, whereas acetyl-CoA synthase (EC 6.2.1.1 ) and oxalate-producing oxaloacetate acetylhydrolase (EC 3.7.1.1 ) were cytosolic. The peroxisomal localization of FPICL1 was further confirmed by electron microscopic and immunocytochemical analysis with anti-FPICL1 antibody. In addition, the peroxisomal target signal, composed of SKL at the C terminus of the cDNA encoding FPICL1, was found, which also suggests that FPICL1 is peroxisomal. Accordingly, it is postulated that transportation of succinate from peroxisomes to mitochondria, and vice versa, for the transportation of isocitrate or citrate, occurs in glucose-grown F. palustris for the constitutive metabolic coordination of the TCA and glyoxylate cycles with oxalate biosynthesis.