Sporadic calcification of the left atrium is frequently observed in patients with long standing rheumatic valvular heart disease. However, massive calcification involving the entire left atrium, the so-called porcelain or coconut atrium, is extremely rare. A case of recurrent thrombosis in the left atrium was experienced due to massive calcification of the left atrial wall, despite the therapeutic anticoagulant level of the patient following a surgical thrombectomy.
Cocos ; Dental Porcelain ; Heart Atria ; Heart Valve Diseases ; Humans ; Thrombectomy ; Thrombosis*

Calcification of the left atrium can be observed in patients with a long-lasting rheumatic heart disease. However, massive calcification of the atrial wall, so called porcelain or coconut atrium is very rare and has been generally reported only as incidental radiographic findings. We report a case of massive and firm calcifications at the left atrium in patient who underwent mitral valve replacement.
Cocos ; Dental Porcelain ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Mitral Valve ; Rheumatic Heart Disease

Calocybe indica, a tropical edible mushroom, is popular because it has good nutritive value and it can be cultivated commercially. The current investigation was undertaken to determine a suitable substrate and the appropriate thickness of casing materials for the cultivation of C. indica. Optimum mycelial growth was observed in coconut coir substrate. Primordia initiation with the different substrates and casing materials was observed between the 13th and 19th day. The maximum length of stalk was recorded from sugarcane leaf, while diameter of stalk and pileus, and thickness of pileus were found in rice straw substrate. The highest biological and economic yield, and biological efficiency were also obtained in the rice straw substrate. Cow dung and loamy soil, farm-yard manure, loamy soil and sand, and spent oyster mushroom substrates were used as casing materials to evaluate the yield and yield-contributing characteristics of C. indica. The results indicate that the number of effective fruiting bodies, the biological and economic yield, and the biological efficiency were statistically similar all of the casing materials used. The maximum biological efficiency was found in the cow dung and loamy soil casing material. The cow dung and loamy soil (3 cm thick) was the best casing material and the rice straw was the best substrate for the commercial cultivation of C. indica.
Agaricales ; Cocos ; Fruit ; Lignin ; Manure ; Nutritive Value ; Pleurotus ; Saccharum ; Silicon Dioxide ; Soil

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this investigation was to give insights into the impact of carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks on the likely capacity of enamel surface dissolution and the influence of human saliva exposure as a biological protective factor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The pH, titratable acidity (TA) to pH 7.0, and buffer capacity (β) of common beverages ingested by patients under physical activity were analyzed. Then, we randomly distributed 50 specimens of human enamel into 5 groups. Processed and natural coconut water served as controls for testing three carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks. In all specimens, we measured surface microhardness (Knoop hardness numbers) and enamel loss (profilometry, µm) for baseline and after simulated intake cycling exposure model. We also prepared areas of specimens to be exposed to human saliva overnight prior to the simulated intake cycling exposure. The cycles were performed by alternated immersions in beverages and artificial saliva. ANOVA two-way and Tukey HDS tests were used. RESULTS: The range of pH, TA, and β were 2.85 - 4.81, 8.33 - 46.66 mM/L and 3.48 - 10.25 mM/L × pH, respectively. The highest capacity of enamel surface dissolution was found for commercially available sports drinks for all variables. Single time human saliva exposure failed to significantly promote protective effect for the acidic attack of beverages. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks usually consumed during endurance training may have a greater capacity of dissolution of enamel surface depending on their physicochemical proprieties associated with pH and titratable acidity.
Beverages ; Cocos ; Dental Enamel* ; Hardness ; Humans* ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Immersion ; Motor Activity ; Protective Factors ; Saliva ; Saliva, Artificial ; Sports ; Water

Left atrial wall calcification is frequently observed in patients with rheumatic valvular heart disease. However, massive left atrial wall calcification, so called porcelain or coconut atrium, with left atrium thrombi is very rare. Here, we describe the case of a 67-year-old male patient with porcelain atrium, recurrent left atrial thrombi, and a spontaneous axillary hematoma after mitral valve replacement and surgical thrombectomy due to rheumatic valvular heart disease. The patient underwent two valvular surgeries 20 years prior; therefore, we determined not to perform additional surgeries because of a high risk of morbidity, mortality, and the recurrence of atrial thrombi. The patient has been maintained on daily warfarin as an anti-thrombic therapy for more than 5 years without major embolic complications.
Aged ; Cocos ; Dental Porcelain ; Heart Atria ; Heart Valve Diseases ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Male ; Mitral Valve ; Recurrence ; Thrombectomy ; Thrombosis ; Warfarin

Linoleic acid [LA; 18: 2 (n-6)] is the most abundant polyunsaturated fatty acid in human skin. The exclusion of LA from diet induces epidermal hyperproliferation, which is reversible by the inclusion of LA in diet, and hence, LA is heralded as an essential fatty acid (EFA). Since safflower oil (SO) has been widely recognized as the major dietary source of LA and Arctii Fructus (Arctium lappa L.) is recently reported to contain high level of LA, we compared the antiproliferative effects of SO and Arctii Fructus in this study. Epidermal hyperproliferation was induced in guinea pigs by hydrogenated coconut oil (HCO) diet for 8 wk. During following 2 wk, EFA deficient guinea pigs were fed diets of safflower oil (group HS), water extract of Arctii Fructus (group AW) or organic extract of Arctii Fructus (group AO). Normal control group was fed SO containing diet (group SO) and EFA deficient group was fed HCO containing diet (group HCO) for 10 wk. Epidermal hyperproliferation was reversed in groups AO (55.9% of group HCO) and HS(74.1% of group HCO). However, the thymidine incorporation into epidermal DNA of group HS was greater than of normal control group SO. Epidermal hyperproliferation was not reversed in group AW. The accumulations of LA into phospholipids and ceramides, and of 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-HODE), the potent antiproliferative metabolite of LA in the epidermis of group AO were greater than of group HS. In contrast, the de novo synthesis of ceramides, the major lipids maintaining epidermal barrier, did not differ between all of groups. Together, our data demonstrate that organic extract of Arctii Fructus is more prominent than safflower oil in reversing epidermal hyperproliferation by inducing the higher accumulations of LA and 13-HODE in the epidermis of guinea pigs.
Animals ; Ceramides ; Cocos ; Diet ; DNA ; Epidermis ; Guinea Pigs* ; Guinea* ; Humans ; Hydrogen ; Linoleic Acid* ; Phospholipids ; Safflower Oil ; Skin ; Thymidine ; Water

Left atrial wall calcification is frequently observed in patients with rheumatic valvular heart disease. However, massive left atrial wall calcification, so called porcelain or coconut atrium, with left atrium thrombi is very rare. Here, we describe the case of a 67-year-old male patient with porcelain atrium, recurrent left atrial thrombi, and a spontaneous axillary hematoma after mitral valve replacement and surgical thrombectomy due to rheumatic valvular heart disease. The patient underwent two valvular surgeries 20 years prior; therefore, we determined not to perform additional surgeries because of a high risk of morbidity, mortality, and the recurrence of atrial thrombi. The patient has been maintained on daily warfarin as an anti-thrombic therapy for more than 5 years without major embolic complications.
Aged ; Cocos ; Dental Porcelain ; Heart Atria ; Heart Valve Diseases ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Male ; Mitral Valve ; Recurrence ; Thrombectomy ; Thrombosis ; Warfarin

The sclerotium of Poria cocos Wolf, which grows on the roots of pine trees, has long been used as a sedative, diuretic, and anti-inflammatory agent. The accumulating data revealed that certain ingredients of the sclerotium of Poria cocos showed anti-tumor activities. Although the mechanism of anti-tumor activity is not known, the polysaccharides may potentiate the host defense mechanism through the activation of immune system. In the present study we show that PCSC22, a polysaccharide isolated from the sclerotium of Poria cocos with one percent sodium carbonate, significantly induces nitric oxide (NO). Immunohistochemical staining of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) showed that the increase of NO was due to the induction of iNOS production. To further study the mechanism responsible for the induction of iNOS gene expression, we investigated the effect of PCSC22 on the activation of p38 kinase, which is important in the gene expression of inflammatory cytokines including iNOS. Western blot assay showed that PCSC22 produced phosphorylation of p38 kinase. In conclusion, we demonstrate that PCSC stimulates macrophages to express iNOS gene through the activation of p38 kinase.
Blotting, Western ; Carbon ; Cocos* ; Cytokines ; Gene Expression ; Immune System ; Macrophages* ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Pinus ; Polysaccharides ; Poria* ; Sodium ; Wolves

PURPOSE: Borage oil (BO) and safflower oil (SO) are efficacious in reversing epidermal hyperproliferation, which is caused by the disruption of epidermal barrier. In this study, we compared the antiproliferative effect of dietary BO and SO. Altered metabolism of ceramide (Cer), the major lipid of epidermal barrier, was further determined by measurement of epidermal levels of individual Cer, glucosylceramide (GlcCer), and sphingomyelin (SM) species, and protein expression of Cer metabolizing enzymes. METHODS: Epidermal hyperproliferation was induced in guinea pigs by a hydrogenated coconut diet (HCO) for 8 weeks. Subsequently, animals were fed diets of either BO (group HCO + BO) or SO (group HCO + SO) for 2 weeks. As controls, animals were fed BO (group BO) or HCO (group HCO) diets for 10 weeks. RESULTS: Epidermal hyperproliferation was reversed in groups HCO + BO (67.6% of group HCO) and HCO + SO (84.5% of group HCO). Epidermal levels of Cer1/2, GlcCer-A/B, and beta-glucocerebrosidase (GCase), an enzyme of GlcCer hydrolysis for Cer generation, were higher in group HCO + BO than in group HCO, and increased to levels similar to those of group BO. In addition, epidermal levels of SM1, serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT), and acidic sphingomyelinase (aSMase), enzymes of de novo Cer synthesis and SM hydrolysis for Cer generation, but not of Cer3-7, were higher in group HCO + BO than in group HCO. Despite an increase of SPT and aSMase in group HCO + SO to levels higher than in group HCO, epidermal levels of Cer1-7, GlcCer-A/B, and GCase were similar in these two groups. Notably, acidic ceramidase, an enzyme of Cer degradation, was highly expressed in group HCO + SO. Epidermal levels of GlcCer-C/D and SM-2/3 did not differ among groups. CONCLUSION: Dietary BO was more prominent for reversing epidermal hyperproliferation by enhancing Cer metabolism with increased levels of Cer1/2, GlcCer-A/B, and SM1 species, and of GCase proteins.
Animals ; Borago* ; Carthamus tinctorius* ; Ceramidases ; Cocos ; Diet ; Epidermis* ; Glucosylceramidase ; Guinea Pigs* ; Guinea* ; Hydrogen ; Hydrolysis ; Metabolism* ; Safflower Oil* ; Serine C-Palmitoyltransferase ; Sphingomyelin Phosphodiesterase

PURPOSE: The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of Korean Red Ginseng(KRG) on vaginal blood flow and histological changes in a hypercholesterolemic female rat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups: the control(n=20) and the hypercholesterolemia(n=40). Hypercholesterolemia group was fed a high fat diet(2% cholesterol, 1% cholic acid, 5% coconut oil) for 12 weeks. The hypercholesterolemia group was further divided into the vehicle only and the KRG treatment(50 mg/kg/day) groups. After 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, vaginal blood flow was measured by a laser Doppler flowmeter. Vaginal tissues were processed for histology and Western blot. RESULTS: After 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, serum cholesterol levels(mg/dl) were significantly increased in the hypercholesterolemia group(1185.0+/-736.1, 934.3+/-212.3) compared with the control group(69.7+/-19.5, 67.1+/-7.2), and partially decreased in KRG treatment group(688.2+/-251.5, 694.2+/-150.4), respectively. Vaginal blood flow(ml/min/100 g tissue) after pelvic nerve stimulation was lower in the hypercholesterolemia group(17.3+/-7.9, 17.9+/-5.5) compared with the control group(27.3+/-17.1, 26.9+/-16.4), however, the KRG treatment group(29.5+/-10.3, 27.4+/-11.1) was as high as the control group, respectively. The expressions of TGF-beta1 tended to increase in the vagina of the hypercholesterolemia animals compared to those of the control and the KRG treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: KRG treatment in hypercholesterolemic female rats decreased serum cholesterol levels and improved vaginal blood flow. These results suggest that KRG treatment may have a beneficial effect in women's sexual health.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cholesterol ; Cholic Acid ; Cocos ; Female* ; Flowmeters ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Models, Animal ; Panax* ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reproductive Health ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1 ; Vagina