Calcium deposition in photocrosslinked poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) hydrogels encapsulated rat bone marrow stromal cells

Reproducing the features of the extracellular matrix is important for fabricating three‐dimensional (3D) scaffolds for tissue regeneration. A collagen‐like polypeptide, poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly), is a promising material for 3D scaffolds because of its excellent physical properties, biocompatibility, and biodegradability. In this paper, we present a novel photocrosslinked poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) hydrogel as a 3D scaffold for simultaneous rat bone marrow stromal cell (rBMSC) encapsulation. The hydrogels were fabricated using visible‐light photocrosslinking at various concentrations of methacrylated poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) (20–50 mg/ml) and irradiation times (3 or 5 min). The results show that the rBMSCs encapsulated in the hydrogels survived 7 days of incubation. Calcium deposition on the encapsulated rBMSCs was assessed with scanning electron microscope observation, Alizarin Red S, and von Kossa staining. The most strongly stained area was observed in the hydrogel formed with 30 mg/ml of methacrylated poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) with 5‐min irradiation. These findings demonstrate that poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) hydrogels support rBMSC viability and differentiation, as well as demonstrating the feasibility of using poly(Pro‐Hyp‐Gly) hydrogels as a cytocompatible, biodegradable 3D scaffold for tissue regeneration.     

A case of juvenile pulmonary infarction associated with diet therapy]

A 31-year-old man experienced chest pain, fever, bloody sputum and cough after diet therapy. Chest radiography and chest CT showed infiltration in the right lower lung field and right pleural effusion. Pulmonary embolism and infarction was diagnosed using 99mTc-MAA perfusion scans and chest enhanced CT. The patient did not have a thrombotic disposition and deep vein thrombosis in the lower extremities. This case did not have an acute onset or dyspnea, and was not typical of pulmonary embolism. The diet therapy may have caused dehydration and acted as a predisposing cause of pulmonary embolism.     

Predictive value of QT dispersion for acute heart failure after autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

The aim of our study was to evaluate whether corrected QT dispersion (QTc dispersion), an electrocardiographic marker, is a good predictor of the development of acute heart failure after high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We enrolled 50 consecutive patients, from age 15 to 63 years, with hematopoietic diseases scheduled to undergo autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and compared QTc dispersion with other markers before transplantation conditioning. In univariate logistic analysis, QTc dispersion was a significant factor for acute heart failure after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (odds ratio, 3.7 per 10 msec; confidence interval, 1.6-8.5; P = 0.002). There were no significant differences as age, sex, systolic or diastolic echocardiographic function markers, cumulative anthracycline dose, or QTc before transplantation between patients with and without acute heart failure. After multiple adjustments for left ventricular ejection fraction, cumulative anthracycline dose, cyclophosphamide conditioning dose, QTc dispersion was a significant and independent factor for acute heart failure after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (odds ratio, 48.0 per 10 msec; confidence interval, 1.4-1666.3; P = 0.03). This study demonstrated that QTc dispersion could be used as a powerful noninvasive predictor of the development of acute heart failure after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.     

Joint biomarkers in idiopathic femoral head osteonecrosis: comparison with hip osteoarthritis

OBJECTIVE: To compare concentrations of joint biomarkers in synovial fluid (SF) between idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ION) and osteoarthritis (OA) of the hip joint. METHODS: Levels of the joint biomarkers cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), antigenic keratan sulfate (AgKS), and hyaluronan (HA) in SF samples from 21 cases of ION and their relationship to disease stage and history of steroid use were assessed and compared to the result of 29 cases of hip OA. RESULTS: In both the ION and hip OA groups, levels of COMP and AgKS in SF showed a significant positive correlation. The ION group had significantly higher levels of AgKS in SF than the hip OA group. In the ION group, stage II patients had significantly higher SF levels of both COMP and AgKS than those in stage III patients. No difference in level of HA in hip joint SF was found between steroid and non-steroid treated ION patients or between the stage II and III subgroups. CONCLUSION: SF levels of COMP and AgKS may serve as useful joint biomarkers that reflect cartilage metabolism not only in hip OA but also in ION.     

Correction to: Detection of acute rib fractures on CT images with convolutional neural networks: effect of location and type of fracture and reader’s experience

Emergency Radiology -     

Multiple logistic regression analysis of risk factors for the development of steroid-dependent asthma in the elderly: a comparison with younger asthmatics

BACKGROUND: The percentage of the aged among all patients with bronchial asthma is increasing. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk factors for the development of steroid-dependent asthma in the elderly. METHODS: A multiple logistic regression analysis involving various clinical factors between steroid-dependent and -independent asthma was carried out for 59 asthmatics aged over 60 years, including 16 patients with steroid-dependent asthma. The calculated risk for each factor was compared with that obtained from 122 younger asthmatics aged 20-59 years. RESULTS: Among the factors examined (sex, age, period from onset of asthma, type of asthma and family history of asthma, plus history of smoking, atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, chronic sinusitis and nasal polyps), the significant risk factors for the development of steroid dependency in the elderly asthmatics were only family history of bronchial asthma (relative risk 3.6) and smoking history (relative risk 6.9). CONCLUSIONS: Some risk factors for steroid-dependent asthma in younger individuals were not significant in the elderly. Since the smoking history was most closely associated with the development of steroid dependency in the elderly, even though most of them had quit smoking, it is important for patients with asthma to avoid smoking.     

Clinical effects of long-term administration of pimobendan in patients with moderate congestive heart failure

Summary The long-term efficacy of the positive inotropic and vasodilator drug, pimobendan, was assessed in 21 patients suffering from symptomatic heart failure. Patients were randomized to 16 weeks of double-blind therapy with either 2.5 or 5.0mg/day of pimobendan (n = 10), or a matching placebo (n = 11). Patients were blinded on the study drug if their clinical status had not substantially worsened during the study. Of the placebo-treated patients, 5 patients were withdrawn from the study because of a deterioration of their heart failure, while none of the active treated group was withdrawn because of increased symptoms. Quality of life, assessed by the specific activity scale derived from the metabolic costs of individual physical activity, was 3.45 ± 0.90 (SD) mets in the baseline state and increased significantly after week 16, averaging 5.07 ± 1.40 and 4.67 ± 1.47 mets at weeks 16 and 24, respectively. In the placebo-treated group, the specific activity scale was 3.27 ± 1.21 mets at the baseline and remained unchanged throughout the study period. Patients treated with pimobendan were able to significantly increase their exercise duration. The accompanying increase in peak oxygen uptake was statistically insignificant, due to the limited number of patients enrolled in the study. These results suggest that in contrast to the recent pessimistic view of the long-term efficacy of cardiotonic drugs, pimobendan is beneficial in treating patients with congestive heart failure and may favorably modify their prognosis. Further largescale evaluation of this agent is warranted.