ABSTRACT
Kidney involvement in systemic sclerosis occurs in about 20% of cases, with scleroderma renal crisis as a significant complication. However, cases of glomerular disease with massive proteinuria are rare. We present a unique case of systemic sclerosis with the development of nephrotic syndrome. The report provides clinical details and podocyte pathological findings. A 40-year-old male with prior skin sclerosis was diagnosed with systemic sclerosis. Treatment with oral prednisone led to gradual improvement, but a year later, he experienced a systemic sclerosis renal crisis. Using the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors improved kidney function. However, 3 months later, nephrotic syndrome was diagnosed. Despite an increased prednisolone dose, proteinuria persisted. A kidney biopsy revealed glomerular sclerosis and characteristic vascular changes. Immunofluorescent studies showed no deposits. Electron microscopy confirmed podocyte abnormalities.
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Congenital intestinal atresia requires emergency surgery soon after birth. Lymphangioma, a benign tumor, is caused by an anomalous lymphatic system. We report a case of congenital intestinal atresia associated with a mesenteric cystic lymphangioma in a low birth weight neonate. PRESENTATION OF CASE: At 21 weeks of pregnancy, ultrasonography revealed a cystic lesion in the fetal abdominal cavity. At 31 weeks, magnetic resonance imaging showed dilatation of the small intestine. This low birth weight (1752â¯g) male infant was born by vaginal delivery at 32 weeks 3 days' gestation. Laparotomy on day 2 of life revealed jejunal atresia and a mesenteric cyst. The cyst was removed and intestinal anastomosis was performed. Histologically, the cyst proved to be a mesenteric lymphangioma. DISCUSSION: The most popular theories regarding the mechanism of congenital intestinal atresia include reperfusion injury and intestinal tract blood flow disturbance. In this fetus, intestinal torsion had occurred around the mesenteric cystic lymphangioma, which apparently disturbed the mesenteric blood flow and caused intestinal atresia. CONCLUSION: There have been few reports of the combination of a mesenteric cystic lymphangioma and congenital intestinal atresia. This case supports the theory that small bowel atresia and stenosis are caused by accidental blood flow disturbance.
ABSTRACT
Bi(1-x)Gd(x)FeO3 (0 < or = x < or = 1.0) nanoparticles were synthesized by a wet chemical method. The annealing temperatures were controlled to obtain single-phase Bi(1-x)Gd(x)FeO3 nanoparticles. The crystal diameters decreased as the number of doped Gd ions increased. The crystal structure changed, as the number of Gd ions increased, from rhombohedral to orthorhombic perovskite, at x = 0.2. The behavior of the magnetization curves observed at various values of x (x = 0.05, 0.1, 0.15) of the rhombohedral structure suggested that the canted antiferromagnetism and remanent magnetization (M(r)) drastically increased, compared with those at x = 0 (BiFeO3). It is suggested that the spin-canting angle of the Fe ions increased with the increase in the number of Gd ions. The dielectric properties at x = 0.1 showed that the dielectric loss (tan delta) was improved, compared with that at x = 0 (BiFeO3), by approximately 90%, while the real part of the dielectric constant epsilon' was reduced by approximately 15%. The reason is that the doping impurities restrained the reduction in the leakage current. It was found, from the X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectra, that Gd ions were doped accurately and that the symmetry of the B site was improved. The Mössbauer analysis suggested the existence of magnetic cycloid spiral ordering.
