AIM: To investigate the cumulative development incidence and predictive factors for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive patients. METHODS: We studied 6150 HCV infected patients who we...AIM: To investigate the cumulative development incidence and predictive factors for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive patients. METHODS: We studied 6150 HCV infected patients who were between 40-70 years old (HCV-group). Another 2050 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) were selected as control (HBV-group). The mean observation period was 8.0 ± 5.9 years in HCV-group and 6.3 ± 5.5 years in HBV-group. The primary goal is the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in both groups. The cumulative appearance rate of IPF and independent factors associated with the incidence rate of IPF were calculated using the Kaplan- Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard model. All of the studies were performed retrospectively by collecting and analyzing data from the patient records in our hospital. RESULTS: Fifteen patients in HCV-group developed IPF. On the other hand, none of the patients developed IPF in HBV-group. In HCV-group, the cumulative rates of IPF development were 0.3% at 10th year and 0.9% at 20th year. The IPF development rate in HCV-group was higher than that in HBV-group (P = 0.021). The IPF development rate in patients with HCV or HBV was high with statistical significance in the following cases: (1) patients ≥ 55 years (P 〈 0.001); (2) patients who had smoking index (package per day x year) of ≥20 (P = 0.002); (3) patients with liver cirrhosis (P = 0.042). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that age, smoking and liver cirrhosis enhance the development of IPF in HCV positive patients.展开更多
We carried out SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating on A-type granitic intrusions from the Namaqua-Natal Province,South Africa,Sverdrupfjella,western Dronning Maud Land,Antarctica and the Nampula Province of northern Mozambique....We carried out SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating on A-type granitic intrusions from the Namaqua-Natal Province,South Africa,Sverdrupfjella,western Dronning Maud Land,Antarctica and the Nampula Province of northern Mozambique.Zircon grains in these granitic rocks are typically elongated and oscillatory zoned,suggesting magmatic origins.Zircons from the granitoid intrusions analyzed in this study suggest^1025-1100 Ma ages,which confirm widespread Mesoproterozoic A-type granitic magmatism in the Namaqua-Natal(South Africa),Maud(Antarctica)and Mozambique metamorphic terrains.No older inherited(e.g.,~2500 Ma Achean basement or^1200 Ma island are magmatism in northern Natal)zircon grains were seen.Four plutons from the Natal Belt(Mvoti Pluton,Glendale Pluton,Kwalembe Pluton,Ntimbankulu Pluton)display 1050-1040 Ma ages,whereas the Nthlimbitwa Pluton in northern Natal indicates older 1090-1080 Ma ages.A sample from Sverdrupfjella,Antarctica has^1091 Ma old zircons along with^530 Ma metamorphic rims.Similarly,four samples analysed from the Nampula Province of Mozambique suggest crystallization ages of^1060-1090 Ma but also show significant discordance with two samples showing younger^550 Ma overgrowths.None of the Natal samples show any younger overgrowths.A single sample from southwestern Namaqualand yielded an age of^1033 Ma.Currently available chronological data suggest magmatism took place in the Namaqua-Natal-MaudMozambique(NNMM)belt between^1025 Ma and^1100 Ma with two broad phases between^1060-1020 Ma and 1100-1070 Ma respectively,with peaks at between^1030-1040 Ma and^1070-1090 Ma.The age data from the granitic intrusions from Namaqualand.combined with those from Natal,Antarctica and Mozambique suggest a crude spatial-age relationship with the older>1070 Ma ages being largely restricted close to the eastern and western margins of the Kalahari Craton in northern Natal,Mozambique.Namaqualand and WDML Antarctica whereas the younger<1060 Ma ages dominate in southern Natal and western Namaqualand and are largely restricted to the southern and possibly the western margins of the Kalahari Craton.The older ages of magmatism partially overlap with or are marginally younger than the intracratonic Mkondo Large lgneous Provinee intruded into or extruded onto the Kalahari Craton,suggesting a tectonic relationship with the Maud Belt.Similar ages from granitic augen gneisses in Sri Lanka suggest a continuous belt stretching from Namaqualand to Sri Lanka in a reconstituted Gondwana,formed during the terminal stages of amalgamation of Rodinia and predating the East African Orogen.This contiguity contributes to defining the extent of Rodinia-age crustal blocks,subsequently fragmented by the dispersal of Rodinia and Gondwana.展开更多
Background Management of pacemaker(PM)infections among advanced aged patients possesses particular clinical challenges due to higher rates of concurrent cardiovascular disease and medical comorbidities.Novel leadless ...Background Management of pacemaker(PM)infections among advanced aged patients possesses particular clinical challenges due to higher rates of concurrent cardiovascular disease and medical comorbidities.Novel leadless cardiac pacemakers(LCPs)may provide new opportunities for better management options in this population,however,there is limited data especially in Asian populations to guide the decision making.Methods We reviewed 11 octogenarians(median age:86[minimum 82–maximum 90]years;male:73%;median body mass index(BMI):20.1 kg/m^(2))who received Micra Transcatheter Pacing System(Medtronic Inc,Minneapolis,MN)implantations following transvenous lead extractions(TLEs)for PM infections.Results All patients had more than two medical comorbidities(average 3.7 comorbidities).The indications for LCP implantations were atrioventricular block in four patients,atrial fibrillation bradycardia in five,and sinus node dysfunction in two.Eight patients(73%)were bridged with temporary pacing using active fixation leads(median interval of 14.0 days),while one with severe dementia underwent a concomitant LCP implantation and TLE during the same procedure.Successful TLEs and LCP implantations were successfully accomplished in all without any complications.The median time from the TLE procedure to discharge was 22 days(minimum 7–maximum 136).All patients remained free of infections during a mean follow-up period of 17.2±6.5 months.Conclusions LCP implantations were safe and effective after removing the entire infectious PM system in all octogenarians.The novel LCP technology may offer an alternative option for considering a re-implantation strategy after transvenous PM infections in elderly patients,particularly those with severe frailty and PM dependency.展开更多
基金Grants-in-Aid from Okinaka Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
文摘AIM: To investigate the cumulative development incidence and predictive factors for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis in hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive patients. METHODS: We studied 6150 HCV infected patients who were between 40-70 years old (HCV-group). Another 2050 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) were selected as control (HBV-group). The mean observation period was 8.0 ± 5.9 years in HCV-group and 6.3 ± 5.5 years in HBV-group. The primary goal is the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in both groups. The cumulative appearance rate of IPF and independent factors associated with the incidence rate of IPF were calculated using the Kaplan- Meier method and the Cox proportional hazard model. All of the studies were performed retrospectively by collecting and analyzing data from the patient records in our hospital. RESULTS: Fifteen patients in HCV-group developed IPF. On the other hand, none of the patients developed IPF in HBV-group. In HCV-group, the cumulative rates of IPF development were 0.3% at 10th year and 0.9% at 20th year. The IPF development rate in HCV-group was higher than that in HBV-group (P = 0.021). The IPF development rate in patients with HCV or HBV was high with statistical significance in the following cases: (1) patients ≥ 55 years (P 〈 0.001); (2) patients who had smoking index (package per day x year) of ≥20 (P = 0.002); (3) patients with liver cirrhosis (P = 0.042). CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that age, smoking and liver cirrhosis enhance the development of IPF in HCV positive patients.
基金supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to K.S.(Nos.09041116and 13440151)a Grant-in-Aid for the Young Scientists from JSPS to T.H.Antarctic Research funding to GHG from the NRF,SouthAfrica,Grant ID.110739
文摘We carried out SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating on A-type granitic intrusions from the Namaqua-Natal Province,South Africa,Sverdrupfjella,western Dronning Maud Land,Antarctica and the Nampula Province of northern Mozambique.Zircon grains in these granitic rocks are typically elongated and oscillatory zoned,suggesting magmatic origins.Zircons from the granitoid intrusions analyzed in this study suggest^1025-1100 Ma ages,which confirm widespread Mesoproterozoic A-type granitic magmatism in the Namaqua-Natal(South Africa),Maud(Antarctica)and Mozambique metamorphic terrains.No older inherited(e.g.,~2500 Ma Achean basement or^1200 Ma island are magmatism in northern Natal)zircon grains were seen.Four plutons from the Natal Belt(Mvoti Pluton,Glendale Pluton,Kwalembe Pluton,Ntimbankulu Pluton)display 1050-1040 Ma ages,whereas the Nthlimbitwa Pluton in northern Natal indicates older 1090-1080 Ma ages.A sample from Sverdrupfjella,Antarctica has^1091 Ma old zircons along with^530 Ma metamorphic rims.Similarly,four samples analysed from the Nampula Province of Mozambique suggest crystallization ages of^1060-1090 Ma but also show significant discordance with two samples showing younger^550 Ma overgrowths.None of the Natal samples show any younger overgrowths.A single sample from southwestern Namaqualand yielded an age of^1033 Ma.Currently available chronological data suggest magmatism took place in the Namaqua-Natal-MaudMozambique(NNMM)belt between^1025 Ma and^1100 Ma with two broad phases between^1060-1020 Ma and 1100-1070 Ma respectively,with peaks at between^1030-1040 Ma and^1070-1090 Ma.The age data from the granitic intrusions from Namaqualand.combined with those from Natal,Antarctica and Mozambique suggest a crude spatial-age relationship with the older>1070 Ma ages being largely restricted close to the eastern and western margins of the Kalahari Craton in northern Natal,Mozambique.Namaqualand and WDML Antarctica whereas the younger<1060 Ma ages dominate in southern Natal and western Namaqualand and are largely restricted to the southern and possibly the western margins of the Kalahari Craton.The older ages of magmatism partially overlap with or are marginally younger than the intracratonic Mkondo Large lgneous Provinee intruded into or extruded onto the Kalahari Craton,suggesting a tectonic relationship with the Maud Belt.Similar ages from granitic augen gneisses in Sri Lanka suggest a continuous belt stretching from Namaqualand to Sri Lanka in a reconstituted Gondwana,formed during the terminal stages of amalgamation of Rodinia and predating the East African Orogen.This contiguity contributes to defining the extent of Rodinia-age crustal blocks,subsequently fragmented by the dispersal of Rodinia and Gondwana.
文摘Background Management of pacemaker(PM)infections among advanced aged patients possesses particular clinical challenges due to higher rates of concurrent cardiovascular disease and medical comorbidities.Novel leadless cardiac pacemakers(LCPs)may provide new opportunities for better management options in this population,however,there is limited data especially in Asian populations to guide the decision making.Methods We reviewed 11 octogenarians(median age:86[minimum 82–maximum 90]years;male:73%;median body mass index(BMI):20.1 kg/m^(2))who received Micra Transcatheter Pacing System(Medtronic Inc,Minneapolis,MN)implantations following transvenous lead extractions(TLEs)for PM infections.Results All patients had more than two medical comorbidities(average 3.7 comorbidities).The indications for LCP implantations were atrioventricular block in four patients,atrial fibrillation bradycardia in five,and sinus node dysfunction in two.Eight patients(73%)were bridged with temporary pacing using active fixation leads(median interval of 14.0 days),while one with severe dementia underwent a concomitant LCP implantation and TLE during the same procedure.Successful TLEs and LCP implantations were successfully accomplished in all without any complications.The median time from the TLE procedure to discharge was 22 days(minimum 7–maximum 136).All patients remained free of infections during a mean follow-up period of 17.2±6.5 months.Conclusions LCP implantations were safe and effective after removing the entire infectious PM system in all octogenarians.The novel LCP technology may offer an alternative option for considering a re-implantation strategy after transvenous PM infections in elderly patients,particularly those with severe frailty and PM dependency.