The fibrillar coat of Candida albicans is of interest as its significance in antigenicity, antiphagocytosis, and adherence to host tissues. The partial biochemical properties and ultrastructure of fibrillar coat induced by rabbit sera were examined. The induced fibrillar layer was destroyed by treatments of lyticase, proteinase K and dithiothreitol. The total protein concentration of fibrillar cell wall lysate was higher than that of non-fibrillar cell wall lysate, but the total sugar concentration was similar. On SDS-PAGE analysis, the protein profiles between in fibrillar cells and in non-fibrillar cells were shown to be different. In fibrillar cells, the major bands of cell wall lysate were 83, 66, 54, 47, 33, and 26 kDa in dithiothreitol-treated lysate. The proteins of 26 and 19 kDa were predominant in lyticase-treated lysate. Although the fibrillar thickness and protein amount of cell wall lysate were increased in according to the incubation time, the protein profiles did not changed. These results suggest that the proteins of 83, 66, 54, 47, 33, 26, and 19 kDa may be major constituents of fibrillar coat in C. albicans.
Candida albicans* ; Candida* ; Cell Wall ; Dithiothreitol ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel ; Endopeptidase K

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been a major public health emergency worldwide. Vaccines were rapidly developed and approved to prevent the spread of viral infection. However, various side effects of the COVID-19 messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines have been reported after their commercialization. A 24-year-old man visited our emergency department with polyuria and polydipsia that occurred after he received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine 10 days beforehand. The initial laboratory findings showed very low urine osmolality with hyperosmolar hypernatremia. Based on these findings, diabetes insipidus was suspected, and sella magnetic resonance imaging showed an enlarged pituitary gland and the absence of posterior pituitary higher intensity. After 12 hours of using oral desmopressin acetate, urine volume decreased, and after 5 days of administration, serum electrolyte and serum osmolality improved. This case report of diabetes insipidus occurring after vaccination with the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is presented as a reminder that close monitoring is necessary for patients with polyuria and polydipsia after vaccination.

Nicolau syndrome or embolia cutis medicamentosa is a rare complication of a still largely unidentified pathogenesis at the site of intramuscular injections of various drugs. It is characterized by development of an acute, severe pain around the injection site followed by a localized erythema, a reticular rash, a hemorrhagic patch and varying degrees of tissue damage. The disease outcomes vary from atrophic ulcers and pigmentation to lower limb paralysis and limb amputation. We describe a 34-year-old woman with the diagnosis of this syndrome after she received an intramuscular diclofenac-beta-dimethyl-aminoethanol injection to the lateral aspect of the right upper buttock. The patient was treated by surgical debridement with concomitant primary closure.
Adult ; Amputation ; Buttocks ; Debridement ; Diclofenac ; Erythema ; Exanthema ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Injections, Intramuscular ; Lower Extremity ; Paralysis ; Pigmentation ; Ulcer

No abstract available.
Polymorphism, Genetic*

No abstract available.
Polymorphism, Genetic*

BACKGROUND: Nucleoplasty is a minimally invasive spinal surgery using a Coblation(R) technique that creates small voids within the disc. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of cervical nucleoplasty in patients with cervical disc disorder. METHODS: Between March 2008 and December 2009, 22 patients with cervical disc disorders were treated with cervical nucleoplasty after failed conservative treatment. All procedures were performed under local anesthesia, and fluoroscopic guidance and voids were created in the disc with the Perc(TM) DC Spine Wand(TM). Clinical outcomes were evaluated by the Modified Macnab criteria and VAS score at preprocedure, postprocedure 1 month, and 6 months. RESULTS: Six patients had one, eight patients had two and eight patients had three discs treated; a total of 46 procedures was performed. Mean VAS reduced from 9.3 at preprocedure to 3.7 at postprocedure 1 month and to 3.4 at postprocedure 6 months. There was no significant complication related to the procedure within the first month. Outcomes were good or excellent in 17/22 (77.3%) cases. Postprocedure magnetic resonance imaging was acquired in two patients after two months showing morphologic evidence of volume reduction of protruded disc material in one patient but not in the other. CONCLUSIONS: Percutaneous decompression with a nucleoplasty using a Coblation(R) technique in the treatment of cervical disc disorder is a safe, minimally-invasive and less uncomfortable procedure, with an excellent short-term clinical outcome.
Anesthesia, Local ; Decompression ; Diskectomy ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine

OBJECTIVES: The present study assessed the effect of trazodone on the cerebral hemodynamics of male Sprague-Dawley rats. METHOD: The changes of regional cerebral blood flow(rCBF) and pill arterial diameter were measured by laser-Doppler flowmetry and by a videomicroscopy, respectively. The changes in vascular tone and intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) of isolated basilar artery were simultaneously measured using a small vessel myograph and a cation measurement system, respectively. RESULT: Both the rCBF and the pill arterial diameter were dose-dependently decreased by systemic administration of trazodone(0.3-10 mg/kg, i.v.), but not by topical application of trazodone(10-300 micrometer). Pretreatment with 5-HT(2A/2C) receptor antagonist(ketanserin or ritanserin, 1 mg/kg, i.v., respectively) significantly blocked the changes in rCBF induced by trazodone. m-Chlorophenylpiperazine(mCPP ; 0.1-3 mg/kg, i.v. or 5-500 micrometer topical), a major active metabolite of trazodone, also dose-dependently decreased the rCBF as well as the pial arterial diameter. The mCPP-induced decreases in rCBF were significantly blocked by ketanserin. Pretreatment with itraconazole(1 mg/kg, p.o.), a selective inhibitor of CYP3A4, a subfamily of cytochrome P450, markedly attenuated the trazodone-induced changes in rCBF. In an isolated rat basilar arterial strip loaded with fura-2/AM, mCPP(5-500 micrometer caused a vasoconstriction in association with increases in [Ca2+]i, in a concentration-dependent manner. Pretreatment with 1 micrometerketanserin strongly blocked the effects of mCPP on the vascular tone as well as on the [Ca2+]i, of rat basilar artery. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that trazodone decreases rCBF through stimulation of 5-HT(2A/2C) receptors by its active metabolite, mCPP.
Animals ; Basilar Artery ; Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Ketanserin ; Laser-Doppler Flowmetry ; Male ; Microscopy, Video ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Ritanserin ; Trazodone* ; Vasoconstriction

No abstract available.
Candida albicans* ; Candida*