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Objetivo: O relato de caso busca abordar um caso raro de neutropenia secundária ao uso de Topiramato, bem como enfatizar a importância de se atentar aos diagnósticos diferenciais e monitorar pacientes em uso prolongado do medicamento. Método: Os dados foram obtidos por meio do prontuário da paciente e revisão da literatura. Relato de caso: Paciente do sexo feminino, 24 anos, tabagista, admitida com quadro de odinofagia, cefaléia e febre de 38,7°C, há 1 dia, associado a leucopenia, em uso de topiramato como adjuvante de tratamento para emagrecimento. Previamente hígida, negava internações, cirurgias prévias ou uso de outros medicamentos. Os exames de admissão evidenciaram leucócitos 2100/mm3, neutrófilos de 252/mm3, hemoglobina 13,2, hematócrito 38,2, plaquetas 140.000, sorologia HIV negativo e exames bioquímicos normais. Ao exame, estava em bom estado geral, afebril, anictérica, com hipertrofia e hiperemia amigdaliana bilateral, sem linfonodomegalias ou visceromegalias palpáveis. A TC de tórax, abdome e pelve foi normal. O topiramato foi suspenso e, após a coleta da hemocultura, foi iniciada antibioticoterapia empírica de largo espectro com Cefepime. Foi medicada com ácido fólico e vitamina B12. Apresentou boa evolução e teve alta após uma semana, com hemograma normal. Discussão: A neutropenia febril severa, na qual o número de neutrófilos < 500/mm3, está associada a infecções graves, na maioria dos casos de origem bacteriana, que se disseminam rapidamente e cuja origem nem sempre é identificada. Grande parte dos casos é adquirida e relacionada à exposição a medicamentos, especialmente os quimioterápicos antineoplásicos. Entretanto, várias outras classes de drogas estão relacionadas a esta complicação infecciosa, como antibióticos, antiinflamatórios, antimaláricos, antiarrítmicos, antitiroideanos, psicotrópicos e anticonvulsivantes. O topiramato é um anticonvulsivante utilizado para o tratamento de epilepsias, prevenção de migrâneas e off-label para emagrecimento. Em sua bula, a neutropenia é descrita como uma reação muito rara, que ocorre em menos de 0,01% dos pacientes que utilizam esse medicamento, exigindo previamente a exclusão de outras causas, como neoplasias hematológicas, deficiência de B12 e folato, infecções virais, doenças autoimunes e síndromes genéticas. A correlação da história clínica da paciente, exames complementares e melhora da contagem de leucócitos e neutrófilos após a suspensão do fármaco durante a internação possibilitou a realização do diagnóstico de neutropenia secundária ao uso de medicamentos. Conclusão: A neutropenia febril é uma emergência médica cuja causa, com frequência relacionada a mielotoxicidade causada por um medicamento, pode ser estabelecida através de uma anamnese cuidadosa a fim de que o tratamento seja prontamente iniciado.

Abstract Background E2F/DP (Eukaryotic 2 transcription factor/dimerization partner) family proteins play an essential function in the cell cycle development of higher organisms. E2F/DP family genes have been reported only in a few plant species. However, comprehensive genome-wide characterization analysis of the E2F/DP gene family of Solanum lycopersicum has not been reported so far. Results This study identified eight nonredundant SlE2F/DP genes that were classified into seven groups in the phylogenetic analysis. All eight genes had a single E2F-TDP domain and few genes had additional domains. Two segmental duplication gene pairs were observed within tomato, in addition to cis-regulatory elements, miRNA target sites and phosphorylation sites which play an important role in plant development and stress response in tomato. To explore the three-dimensional (3D) models and gene ontology (GO) annotations of SlE2F/DP proteins, we pointed to their putative transporter activity and their interaction with several putative ligands. The localization of SlE2F/DP-GFP fused proteins in the nucleus and endoplasmic reticulum suggested that they may act in other biological functions. Expression studies revealed the differential expression pattern of most of the SlE2F/DP genes in various organs. Moreover, the expression of E2F/DP genes against abiotic stress, particularly SlE2F/DP2 and/or SlE2F/DP7, was upregulated in response to heat, salt, cold and ABA treatment. Furthermore, the co-expression analysis of SlE2F/DP genes with multiple metabolic pathways was co-expressed with defence genes, transcription factors and so on, suggested their crucial role in various biological processes. Conclusions Overall, our findings provide a way to understand the structure and function of SlE2F/DP genes; it might be helpful to improve fruit development and tolerance against abiotic stress through marker-assisted selection or transgenic approaches.

Abstract Myanmar, a country in Greater Mekong Sub-region, aims to eliminate malaria by 2030. To achieve malaria elimination, Myanmar adopted a reactive surveillance and response strategy of malaria case notification within 1 day and case investigation, foci investigation and response activities within 7 days. A literature review was conducted to gain a better understanding of how the reactive surveillance and response strategies are being implemented in Myanmar including enablers and barriers to their implementation. Only two assessments of the completeness and timeliness of reactive surveillance and response strategy in Myanmar have been published to date. The proportion of positive cases notified within one day was 27.9% and the proportion of positive cases investigated within 7 days as recommended by the national guidelines varied from 32.5 to 91.8% under different settings in reported studies. Strong collaboration between the National Malaria Control Programme and implementing partners, and adequate human resource and financial support contributed to a successful and timely implementation of reactive surveillance and response strategy. Documented enablers for successful implementation of reactive surveillance and response strategy included frontline health workers having good knowledge of reactive surveillance and response activities and availability of Basic Health Staff for timely implementation of foci response activities. Barriers for implementation of reactive surveillance and response activities were also identified, including shortage of human resources especially in hard-to-reach settings, limited mobile phone network services and internet coverage leading to delays in timely notification of malaria cases, lengthy and complex case investigation forms and different reporting systems between Basic Health Staff and volunteers.

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) was prepared from post-consumer old corrugated container (OCC) material, which was first disintegrated in water, cleaned to remove impurities, and then fibrillated by grinding. Those processed MFCs were treated with in-situ formation of calcium carbonate by adding calcium oxide and injecting carbon dioxide into the mixture up to the ratio of 1:40 (MFC : calcium carbonate) by weight. The MFCs had a dark brown color initially but turned into high brightness materials similar to commercial ground calcium carbonate (GCC) after the in-situ formation process. The MFCs that had calcium carbonate attached on their surfaces, which were lengthy and flexible, were called flexible calcium carbonate from OCC (FCCO). Paper containing FCCO gave higher bulk, higher stiffness, and higher tensile index without lowering smoothness when compared to the paper containing commercial GCC. However, brightness was slightly lowered because of initial low brightness of the OCC. This study also demonstrated the feasibility to substitute wood fibers up to 5% with FCCO without lowering essential properties for printing paper. Benefits of the waste paper are savings of both wood resources and production cost.

The clinical manifestations of subacute pacemaker lead-related cardiac perforations are highly variable. Patients with subacute perforations can present with a variety of symptoms, whereas those with acute perforations usually present with cardiac tamponade that necessitates emergent pericardiocentesis. A 32-year-old woman underwent pacemaker implantation for sick sinus syndrome. An active-fixation atrial lead was fixed to the right atrial appendage, and a ventricular lead was fixed to the right ventricle (RV) apex, with acceptable parameters. Two weeks postoperative, the patient visited the clinic for routine examination of the pacemaker parameters. Chest X-ray showed migration of the RV lead beyond the cardiac silhouette. Echocardiography revealed no evidence of pericardial effusion or tamponade. Computed tomography revealed that the RV lead was positioned beyond the RV and pericardium and into the anterior chest wall. Procedural lead revision was performed with cardiothoracic surgery backup. The lead was retracted after loosening the active-fixation screw and inserting the stylet. The lead was placed in the RV septum with active fixation. The procedure was completed without complications, and the patient was discharged after 3 days. Subacute lead perforations can present with various symptoms, and some patients may be asymptomatic without pericardial effusion. Altered lead parameters frequently provide the first indication for the diagnosis of cardiac perforation. Transvenous lead revision with surgical backup is an alternative to surgical extraction.

Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying early seed development is important in improving the grain yield and quality of crop plants. We performed a comparative label-free quantitative proteomic analysis of developing rice seeds for the WT and osctps1-2 mutant, encoding a cytidine triphosphate synthase previously reported as the endospermless 2 (enl2) mutant in rice, harvested at 0 and 1 d after pollination (DAP) to understand the molecular mechanism of early seed development. In total, 5231 proteins were identified, of which 902 changed in abundance between 0 and 1 DAP seeds. Proteins that preferentially accumulated at 1 DAP were involved in DNA replication and pyrimidine biosynthetic pathways. Notably, an increased abundance of OsCTPS1 was observed at 1 DAP; however, no such changes were observed at the transcriptional level. We further observed that the inhibition of phosphorylation increased the stability of this protein. Furthermore, in osctps1-2, minichromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins were significantly reduced compared with those in the WT at 1 DAP, and mutations in OsMCM5 caused defects in seed development. These results highlight the molecular mechanisms underlying early seed development in rice at the post-transcriptional level.

Sucrose controls various developmental and metabolic processes in plants. It also functions as a signaling molecule in the synthesis of carbohydrates, storage proteins, and anthocyanins, as well as in floral induction and defense response. We found that sucrose preferentially induced OsWRKY7, whereas other sugars (such as mannitol, glucose, fructose, galactose, and maltose) did not have the same effect. A hexokinase inhibitor mannoheptulose did not block the effect of sucrose, which is consequently thought to function directly. MG132 inhibited sucrose induction, suggesting that a repressor upstream of OsWRKY7 is degraded by the 26S proteasome pathway. The 3-kb promoter sequence of OsWRKY7 was preferentially induced by sucrose in the luciferase system. Knockout mutants of OsWRKY7 were more sensitive to the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, whereas the overexpression of OsWRKY7 enhanced the resistance, indicating that this gene is a positive regulator in the plant defense against this pathogen. The luciferase activity driven by the OsPR10a promoter was induced by OsWRKY7 and this transcription factor bound to the promoter region of OsPR10a, suggesting that OsWRKY7 directly controls the expression of OsPR10a. We conclude that sucrose promotes the transcript level of OsWRKY7, thereby increasing the expression of OsPR10a for the defense response in rice.

Abstract Background Alba (Acetylation lowers binding affinity) proteins are an ancient family of nucleic acid-binding proteins that function in gene regulation, RNA metabolism, mRNA translatability, developmental processes, and stress adaptation. However, comprehensive bioinformatics analysis on the Alba gene family of Solanum lycopersicum has not been reported previously. Results In the present study, we undertook the first comprehensive genome-wide characterization of the Alba gene family in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). We identified eight tomato Alba genes, which were classified into two groups: genes containing a single Alba domain and genes with a generic Alba domain and RGG/RG repeat motifs. Cis-regulatory elements and target sites for miRNAs, which function in plant development and stress responses, were prevalent in SlAlba genes. To explore the structure-function relationships of tomato Alba proteins, we predicted their 3D structures, highlighting their likely interactions with several putative ligands. Confocal microscopy revealed that SlAlba–GFP fusion proteins were localized to the nucleus and cytoplasm, consistent with putative roles in various signalling cascades. Expression profiling revealed the differential expression patterns of most SlAlba genes across diverse organs. SlAlba1 and SlAlba2 were predominantly expressed in flowers, whereas SlAlba5 expression peaked in 1 cm-diameter fruits. The SlAlba genes were differentially expressed (up- or downregulated) in response to different abiotic stresses. All but one of these genes were induced by abscisic acid treatment, pointing to their possible regulatory roles in stress tolerance via an abscisic acid-dependent pathway. Furthermore, co-expression of SlAlba genes with multiple genes related to several metabolic pathways spotlighted their crucial roles in various biological processes and signalling. Conclusions Our characterization of SlAlba genes should facilitate the discovery of additional genes associated with organ and fruit development as well as abiotic stress adaptation in tomato.

Background: Recently, monoclonal-antibody–conjugated immunomagnetic separation (IMS) procedure combined with quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) has been used for quantifying non-cultivated human noroviruses (HuNoVs). Methods: We examined the efficacy of 27 commercially available disinfectants and a prototype against GII.4 strain HuNoV through the IMS/qRT-PCR assay. Results: The average log reduction in viral titer in vitro varied among the disinfectants. The prototype was the most effective with an average log reduction of 6.86 log. Conclusions: The IMS/RT-qPCR assay is an effective method to evaluate the activities of disinfectants against GII.4 HuNoV in vitro. Further work is needed to enhance the virucidal activity of the prototype disinfectant against more resistant HuNoV strains.

Liposarcoma is a malignant adipose tissue tumor which mainly originates from the extremities and retroperitoneum. Primary pleural liposarcoma is very rare. Spindle cell lipoma is a rare benign adipose tissue tumor. A 66‐year‐old male was referred to our hospital for the evaluation of a mass‐like opacity visible on chest X‐ray. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed a well‐defined soft tissue mass with internal low attenuations and adjacent multiple nodules in the upper lobe of the left lung, and surgical excision was subsequently performed. Histopathological findings revealed adipose tissue with lipoblasts and spindle cells and immunohistochemical staining (IHC) revealed the tumor cells were strongly positive for CDK4 and MDM2. Histopathological examination of the small lung nodules showed spindle cell proliferation and adipose tissue without positivity for MDM2. Here, we report a rare case of primary pleural liposarcoma combined adjacent spindle cell lipoma of the lung.

Breeding crops with delayed senescence could plausibly increase grain yield. Here the authors show that variation at the rice SGR locus contributes to differences in senescence between indica and japonica subspecies and show that introgression can increase yield in an elite indica rice variety.

Here we present a rare case of pulmonary arterial thrombosis associated with a ductus arteriosus aneurysm that caused severe pulmonary stenosis. A 5-day-old newborn was admitted to our hospital for the evaluation of an intracardiac mass-like lesion found after the detection of a cardiac murmur. Echocardiography and heart computed tomography revealed a mass-like lesion measuring 8.1 mm in diameter across the distal main pulmonary artery to the proximal left pulmonary artery resulting in localized severe stenosis of the left pulmonary artery. Left pulmonary artery angioplasty for surgical resection of the thrombus revealed that the mass was adherent to the proximal part of the left pulmonary artery anterior wall and extended to the ductus arteriosus. Histological examination of the mass showed an old thrombus with dystrophic calcification. Five months after surgery, follow-up echocardiography showed that the left pulmonary artery peak pressure gradient had decreased but the proximal left pulmonary artery stenosis remained. Cardiac catheterization and balloon angioplasty suc cessfully relieved the pulmonary stenosis.

Recently, analysis and decision-making based on spatiotemporal unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) high-resolution imagery are gaining significant attention in smart agriculture. Constructing a spatiotemporal dataset requires multiple UAV image mosaics taken at different times. Because the weather or a UAV flight trajectory is subject to change when the images are taken, the mosaics are typically unaligned. This paper proposes a two-step approach, composed of global and local alignments, for spatiotemporal alignment of two wide-area UAV mosaics of high resolution. The first step, global alignment, finds a projection matrix that initially maps keypoints in the source mosaic onto matched counterparts in the target mosaic. The next step, local alignment, refines the result of the global alignment. The proposed method splits input mosaics into patches and applies individual transformations to each patch to enhance the remaining local misalignments at patch level. Such independent local alignments may result in new artifacts at patch boundaries. The proposed method uses a simple yet effective technique to suppress those artifacts without harming the benefit of the local alignment. Extensive experiments validate the proposed method by using several datasets for highland fields and plains in South Korea. Compared with a recent work, the proposed method improves the accuracy of alignment by up to 13.21% over the datasets.

Photoperiod sensitivity is a dominant determinant for the phase transition in cereal crops. CCT (CONSTANS, CO-like, and TOC1) transcription factors (TFs) are involved in many physiological functions including the regulation of the photoperiodic flowering. However, the functional roles of CCT TFs have not been elucidated in the wild progenitors of crops. In this study, we identified 41 CCT TFs, including 19 CMF, 17 COL, and five PRR TFs in Oryza rufipogon, the presumed wild ancestor of Asian cultivated rice. There are thirty-eight orthologous CCT genes in Oryza sativa, of which ten pairs of duplicated CCT TFs are shared with O. rufipogon. We investigated daily expression patterns, showing that 36 OrCCT genes exhibited circadian rhythmic expression. A total of thirteen OrCCT genes were identified as putative flowering suppressors in O. rufipogon based on rhythmic and developmental expression patterns and transgenic phenotypes. We propose that OrCCT08, OrCCT24, and OrCCT26 are the strong functional alleles of rice DTH2, Ghd7, and OsPRR37, respectively. The SD treatment at 80 DAG stimulated flowering of the LD-grown O. rufipogon plants. Our results further showed that the nine OrCCT genes were significantly downregulated under the treatment. Our findings would provide valuable information for the construction of photoperiodic flowering regulatory network and functional characterization of the CCT TFs in both O. rufipogon and O. sativa.

PLATZ (plant AT-rich sequence and zinc-binding) family proteins with two conserved zinc-dependent DNA-binding motifs are transcription factors specific to the plant kingdom. The functions of PLATZ proteins in growth, development, and adaptation to multiple abiotic stresses have been investigated in various plant species, but their role in tomato has not been explored yet. In the present work, 20 non-redundant Solanum lycopersicum PLATZ (SlPLATZ) genes with three segmentally duplicated gene pairs and four tandemly duplicated gene pairs were identified on eight tomato chromosomes. The comparative modeling and gene ontology (GO) annotations of tomato PLATZ proteins indicated their probable roles in defense response, transcriptional regulation, and protein metabolic processes as well as their binding affinity for various ligands, including nucleic acids, peptides, and zinc. SlPLATZ10 and SlPLATZ17 were only expressed in 1 cm fruits and flowers, respectively, indicating their preferential involvement in the development of these organs. The expression of SlPLATZ1, SlPLATZ12, and SlPLATZ19 was up- or down-regulated following exposure to various abiotic stresses, whereas that of SlPLATZ11 was induced under temperature stresses (i.e., cold and heat stress), revealing their probable function in the abiotic stress tolerance of tomato. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis corroborated the aforementioned findings by spotlighting the co-expression of several stress-associated genes with SlPLATZ genes. Confocal fluorescence microscopy revealed the localization of SlPLATZ–GFP fusion proteins in the nucleus, hinting at their functions as transcription factors. These findings provide a foundation for a better understanding of the structure and function of PLATZ genes and should assist in the selection of potential candidate genes involved in the development and abiotic stress adaptation in tomato.

HVA22 family proteins with a conserved TB2/DP1/HVA22 domain are ubiquitous in eukaryotes. HVA22 family genes have been identified in a variety of plant species. However, there has been no comprehensive genome-wide analysis of HVA22 family genes in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Here, we identified 15 non-redundant SlHVA22 genes with three segmentally duplicated gene pairs on 8 of the 12 tomato chromosomes. The predicted three-dimensional (3D) models and gene ontology (GO) annotations of SlHVA22 proteins pointed to their putative transporter activity and ability to bind to diverse ligands. The co-expression of SlHVA22 genes with various genes implicated in multiple metabolic pathways and the localization of SlHVA22-GFP fused proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum suggested that they might have a variety of biological functions, including vesicular transport in stressed cells. Comprehensive expression analysis revealed that SlHVA22 genes were differentially expressed in various organs and in response to abiotic stress conditions. The predominant expression of SlHVA22i at the ripening stage and that of SlHVA22g, SlHVA22k, and SlHVA22l in fruits at most developmental stages suggested their probable involvement in tomato fruit development and ripening. Moreover, the transcript expression of most tomato HVA22 genes, particularly SlHVA22b, SlHVA22i, SlHVA22k, SlHVA22l, SlHVA22m, and SlHVA22n, was affected by abscisic acid (ABA) and diverse abiotic stress treatments, indicating the likely involvement of these genes in tomato abiotic stress responses in an ABA-dependent manner. Overall, our findings provide a foundation to better understand the structures and functional roles of SlHVA22 genes, many of which might be useful to improve the abiotic stress tolerance and fruit quality of tomato through marker-assisted backcrossing or transgenic approaches.

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) arising primarily in the lung is an extremely rare and aggressive malignancy with poor chances of patient survival. We present a case of long-term survival by a 29-year-old woman with PNET diagnosed after a hertological and immunohertochemical examination of a biopsy specimen obtained by performing video-assisted thoracic surgery. The patient underwent a left lower lung lobe lobectomy and 6 cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy. The patient has been free of any symptoms of the recurrence of the disease for 6 years after treatment completion.

We use a dynamical systems model of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis to understand the mechanisms underlying clinical protocols used to probe patient stress response. Specifically, we address dexamethasone (DEX) and ACTH challenge tests, which probe pituitary and adrenal gland responses, respectively. We show that some previously observed features and experimental responses can arise from a bistable mathematical model containing two steady-states, rather than relying on specific and permanent parameter changes due to physiological disruption. Moreover, we show that the timing of a perturbation relative to the intrinsic oscillation of the HPA axis can affect challenge test responses. Conventional mechanistic hypotheses supported and refuted by the challenge tests are reexamined by varying parameters in our mathematical model associated with these hypotheses. We show that (a) adrenal hyposensitivity can give rise to the responses seen in ACTH challenge tests and (b) enhanced cortisol-mediated suppression of the pituitary in subjects with PTSD is not necessary to explain the responses observed in DEX stress tests. We propose a new two-stage DEX/external stressor protocol to more clearly distinguish between the conventional hypothesis of enhanced suppression of the pituitary and bistable dynamics hypothesized in our model.

In chromatin remodeling, the post-translational modification of histone proteins is mediated by multimeric protein complexes. VERNALIZATION INSENSITIVE3 (VIN3) forms a complex with Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2), which mediates the trimethylation of H3K27 to repress target gene expression. In rice, four genes (OsVIL1-OsVIL4) encoding the VIN3-like proteins are expressed ubiquitously in various tissues. Null mutants of osvil2 display pleiotropic phenotypes such as altered flowering time, floral organ defects, and reduced tiller size. In contrast, osvil1 mutants did not show significant phenotypes except in fertilization compared with the wild type. However, transgenic plants overexpressing OsVIL1 showed phenotypes of increased biomass and grain yield. Cross-sections of the basal region of elongating stems revealed that the increased biomass was mediated by inducing cell proliferation in the meristem. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay indicated that OsVIL1 repressed expression of cytokinin oxidase/dehydrogenase gene (OsCKX2) by binding to the promoter and genic regions of OsCKX2. We also observed that OsVIL1 modified the levels of H3K27me3 in the OsCKX2 chromatin. Because OsCKX2 encodes an enzyme that degrades active cytokinin, we conclude that OsVIL1 functions in the regulation of endogenous active cytokinin levels, thereby increasing plant height and productivity.

Abstract Background The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria can cause serious clinical and public health problems. This study describes the possibility of using bacteriophages as an alternative agent to control multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium. Methods The potential lytic bacteriophages (P22-B1, P22, PBST10, PBST13, PBST32, and PBST 35) were characterized by morphological property, heat and pH stability, optimum multiplicity of infection (MOI), and lytic activity against S. Typhimurium KCCM 40253, S. Typhimurium ATCC 19585, ciprofloxacin-induced antibiotic-resistant S. Typhimurium ATCC 19585, and S. Typhimurium CCARM 8009. Results P22-B1 and P22 belong to Podoviridae family and PBST10, PBST13, PBST32, and PBST 35 show a typical structure with polyhedral head and long tail, belonging to Siphoviridae family. Salmonella bacteriophages were highly stable at the temperatures ( 5 log reduction), followed by S. Typhimurium ATCC 19585 (4 log reduction) and ciprofloxacin-induced antibiotic-resistant S. Typhimurium ATCC 19585 (4 log reduction). Conclusion The results would provide vital insights into the application of lytic bacteriophages as an alternative therapeutics for the control of multidrug-resistant pathogens.

Protein losing enteropathy (PLE) due to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is relatively uncommon. PLE may be appeared sequentially after the diagnosis of SLE or concurrently with SLE. In most of concurrent cases, PLE was diagnosed one of various symptoms of SLE. Cases of PLE as the initial and only clinical presentation of SLE have been rarely reported. We described a 30-year old woman with general edema and abdominal distension was diagnosed PLE after stool alpha 1 antitrypsin clearance test. Her symptoms were getting worse even though the treatment with intravenous albumin. She was finally diagnosed PLE associated with SLE by additional laboratory findings (positive antinuclear antibody and anti-dsDNA IgG and low C3, C4 and CH50). She was treated with high dose of steroids and her symptoms were improved.

Schwannoma is a peripheral nerve sheath tumour that largely originates from the posterior mediastinum. Schwannoma arising in mediastinal lymph node is extremely rare. A 53‐year‐old female was referred to our hospital for the evaluation of enlarged mediastinal lymph node. Computed tomography scan revealed a non‐enhancing soft tissue mass at Rt. paratracheal area. Endobronchial ultrasound showed a well‐defined round‐shaped lymph node and transbronchial needle aspiration was performed from this lymph node. Pathologic findings revealed spindle cells with strong S100 positivity. Complete surgical excision was done. We report a rare case of schwannoma arising in mediastinal lymph node diagnosed by endobronchial ultrasound.

Background Recently, gut microbiota have been studied extensively for health promotion, disease prevention, disease treatment, and exercise performance. It is recommended that athletes avoid dietary fiber and resistant starch to promote gastric emptying and reduce gastrointestinal distress during exercise, but this diet may reduce microbial diversity and compromise the health of the athlete’s gut microbiota. Objective This study compared fecal microbiota characteristics using high-throughput sequencing among healthy sedentary men (as controls), bodybuilders, and distance runners, as well as the relationships between microbiota characteristics, body composition, and nutritional status. Methods Body composition was measured using DXA, and physical activity level was assessed using IPAQ. Dietary intake was analyzed with the computerized nutritional evaluation program. The DNA of fecal samples was extracted and it was sequenced for the analysis of gut microbial diversity through bioinformatics cloud platform. Results We showed that exercise type was associated with athlete diet patterns (bodybuilders: high protein, high fat, low carbohydrate, and low dietary fiber diet; distance runners: low carbohydrate and low dietary fiber diet). However, athlete type did not differ in regard to gut microbiota alpha and beta diversity. Athlete type was significantly associated with the relative abundance of gut microbiota at the genus and species level: Faecalibacterium, Sutterella, Clostridium, Haemophilus, and Eisenbergiella were the highest (p

Analysis of conversations between international university students in the Corpus of English as a Lingua Franca Interaction (CELFI, McDonough & Trofimovich, 2019) has demonstrated that holds, which are temporary cessations of dynamic movement, are a robust visual cue of nonunderstanding that can be reliably interpreted by external observers as signals of listener comprehension difficulties (e.g. McDonough et al., 2019, 2022, 2023). Using CELFI materials, this study used an experimental design to explore whether business communication students (N = 64) benefit from instructional activities designed to raise their awareness of holds as a signal of nonunderstanding. The students carried out perception tests in Week 1 and Week 5 that presented video excerpts from CELFI showing the depicted listeners' hold onsets and releases, and the students rated those listeners' comprehension. In the interim, 31 students completed weekly awareness-raising activities via Moodle (2 hours per week) for four weeks. A mixed ANOVA showed that students who participated in the awareness-raising activities showed significant improvement in their ability to discriminate between hold onsets and releases. Implications for the use of awareness-raising activities to promote recognition of nonverbal behavior are discussed.

Studies investigating exercise-induced gut microbiota have reported that people who exercise regularly have a healthy gut microbial environment compared with sedentary individuals. In contrast, recent studies have shown that high protein intake without dietary fiber not only offsets the positive effect of exercise on gut microbiota but also significantly lowers the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria. In this study, to resolve this conundrum and find the root cause, we decided to narrow down subjects according to diet. Almost all of the studies had subjects on an ad libitum diet, however, we wanted subjects on a simplified diet. Bodybuilders who consumed an extremely high-protein/low-carbohydrate diet were randomly assigned to a probiotics intake group (n = 8) and a placebo group (n = 7) to find the intervention effect. Probiotics, comprising Lactobacillus acidophilus, L. casei, L. helveticus, and Bifidobacterium bifidum, were consumed for 60 days. As a result, supplement intake did not lead to a positive effect on the gut microbial environment or concentration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). It has been shown that probiotic intake is not as effective as ergogenic aids for athletes such as bodybuilders with extreme dietary regimens, especially protein and dietary fiber. To clarify the influence of nutrition-related factors that affect the gut microbial environment, we divided the bodybuilders (n = 28) into groups according to their protein and dietary fiber intake and compared their gut microbial environment with that of sedentary male subjects (n = 15). Based on sedentary Korean recommended dietary allowance (KRDA), the bodybuilders′ intake of protein and dietary fiber was categorized into low, proper, and excessive groups, as follows: high-protein/restricted dietary fiber (n = 12), high-protein/adequate dietary fiber (n = 10), or adequate protein/restricted dietary fiber (n = 6). We found no significant differences in gut microbial diversity or beneficial bacteria between the high-protein/restricted dietary fiber and the healthy sedentary groups. However, when either protein or dietary fiber intake met the KRDA, gut microbial diversity and the relative abundance of beneficial bacteria showed significant differences to those of healthy sedentary subjects. These results suggest that the positive effect of exercise on gut microbiota is dependent on protein and dietary fiber intake. The results also suggest that the question of adequate nutrition should be addressed before supplementation with probiotics to derive complete benefits from the intervention.

The authors wish to make the following erratum to this paper [...]

In this study, we propose a method to estimate structural deformation and failure by using displacement-strain transformation matrices, i.e., strain-to-displacement transformation (SDT) and displacement-to-strain transformation (DST). The proposed SDT method can be used to estimate the complete structural deformation where it is not possible to apply deformation measurement sensors, and the DST method can be used for to estimate structural failures where strain and stress sensors cannot be applied. We applied the SDT matrix to a 1D beam, a 2D plate, rotating structures and real wind turbine blades, and successfully estimated the deformation in the structures. However, certain difficulties were encountered while estimating the displacement of brittle material such as an alumina beam. The study aims at estimating the displacement and stress to predict the failure of the structure. We also explored applying the method to multi-material structures such as a two-beam bonded structure. In the study, we used alumina−aluminum bonded structures because alumina is bonded to the substrate to protect the structure from heat in many cases. Finally, we present the results of the displacement and failure estimation for the alumina−aluminum structure.

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of bacteriophage on macrophage-mediated inflammatory immune responses against intracellular pathogens. The intracellular survival of nonlysogenic, lysogenic Salmonella Typhimurium, and Listeria monocytogenes were evaluated in chicken macrophage HD11 cells treated with Salmonella bacteriophage P22 for 24 h at 37°C. The relative expression of inflammatory mediator-related genes (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, LITAF, and iNOS) was estimated by using a qPCR. The production of inflammatory factors (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α, and NO) was determined by using ELISA kits. The numbers of invading nonlysogenic S. Typhimurium (ST), lysogenic S. Typhimurium (LY), and L. monocytogenes(LM) in HD11 cells were reduced by 0.90, 0.83, and 1.51 log units, respectively, after 1 h of infection at 37°C. The relative expression levels of inflammatory mediator-encoding genes (IL-8, IL-10, and iNOS) were increased in ST- and LM-infected chicken macrophage HD11 cells treated with P22. The level of NO production was increased to 26.8 μM at LM-infected HD11 cells treated with P22, which corresponded to the reduction of intracellular L. monocytogenes in HD11 cells. The results suggest that the bacteriophage P22 has the potential to reduce the numbers of intracellular pathogens, S. Typhimurium and L. monocytogenes. This study would provide valuable insights into the interaction between bacteriophages and macrophages and help to develop new strategies for enhancing the microbiological safety in poultry.