ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Pyogenic infectious spondylitis (PIS) is a rare condition, with an incidence between 0.2 and 2 cases per 100000 per annum. It's most common symptom-back or neck pain-occurs in more than 90% of cases. Herein, we reported a case of thoracic PIS accompanied by pneumothorax in a 65-year-old male patient. CASE SUMMARY: A 65-year-old man presented with right chest pain and dyspnea. The initial erect posteroanterior chest radiography revealed pneumothorax, which was further evaluated by chest computed tomography, revealing pleural effusion in the right lung and a paravertebral abscess with bony destruction of vertebral body. Based on magnetic resonance imaging, the patient was diagnosed with thoracic infectious spondylitis with an anterior paravertebral abscess. He was prescribed antibiotics and underwent neurosurgery due to aggravated symptoms and neurologic deficit. Tissue examination revealed that the cause of pleural effusion and pneumothorax was Staphylococcus aureus infection contiguously spread to lung pleura. After several surgical treatments with intravenous antibiotic therapy for two months and transition to oral antibiotics (rifampin 600 mg qd and ciprofloxacin 500 mg bid), the patient received physical therapy to recover balance. One month after discharge, the patient had no chest pain or dyspnea, and exhibited no elevation in inflammatory markers or new thoracic lesions. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the very first report of a case of thoracic PIS with pneumothorax.
ABSTRACT
A functional radish tea beverage was developed using pressure roasted radish pieces, barley, and cassia seeds. Stevia, short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS), and inverted sugar syrup were used as sugar substitutes. The formula developed for mass production was, pressure roasted radish pieces, barley, and cassia seed teas prepared separately, then mixed (3:1:1, v/v/v). Inverted sugar syrup (54.4 g/L), stevia (0.73 g/L), scFOS (17 g/L), citric acid (0.01%), and vitamin C (0.05%) were added. Sweetness and caloric contents of the roasted radish tea beverage were 6.5°Bx and 19.35 Kcal/100 mL, respectively. Based on consumer acceptance testing (n=60 persons), overall acceptance, taste, and sweetness scores of the roasted radish tea beverage were higher than for a commercially available H tea beverage. Caloric contents were reduced by approximately 23.5% using sugar substitutes. The IC50 value for the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity of hot water extracts of dried radish increased 2.5-fold after pressure roasting.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Rosacea is a common skin condition, but the currently available treatments are not satisfactory. OBJECTIVE: We wanted to assess the efficacy and safety of photopneumatic therapy (PPx), which delivers pneumatic energy and broadband light (400~1,200 nm), for the treatment of erythematotelangiectatic rosacea. METHODS: Twenty two patients with erythematotelangiectatic rosacea were treated 3~5 times with PPx. Three independent dermatologists evaluated the efficacy of PPx by comparing the photographs taken before and after treatment. Patient self-assessment was also done by interviews. RESULTS: The photographic assessment by the dermatologists of the improvement showed that >50% improvement occurred in 64% (14/22) of the patients. The specific categories of improvement were as follows: poor (<25% improvement), 1 patient; fair (25~50% improvement), 7 patients; good (50~75% improvement), 11 patients; and excellent (>75% improvement), 3 patients. Based on the patients' self-assessment, 20 patients (91%) acknowledged an improvement. CONCLUSION: PPx is an effective and safe treatment option for erythematotelangiectatic rosacea.
ABSTRACT
The effects of alpha-neurofeedback (ANF) on electroencephalographic alpha-activity were investigated. Each session consisted of a 2.5-min eye-opened state and 17.5-min of ANF, which was divided into 16 1.25-min bins. Alpha amplitudes were gradually increased as the session was repeated. The maximum value at the start of ANF gradually decreased as time passed, but the slowdown of alpha-activity during each session was decreased as the session was repeated. The correlation between alpha-activity at the end of ANF and at the following session's eye-opened state was highly significant. These results showed that ANF enhances the ability of alpha-activity to maintain itself rather than the increase of alpha-amplitude during intrasession and that the maintained alpha-activity during former training remained until the next session.
