A case of cardiac sarcoidosis mimicking Brugada syndrome

A 17-year-old boy was admitted for management of ventricular fibrillation (VF) with intermittent Brugada pattern on ECG. On evaluation, cardiac MRI revealed myocardial scar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scan showed inflammation in the heart, lungs, and lymph nodes. He was diagnosed as a case of cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) and treated with steroids. However, there was a reactivation of cardiac inflammation and the development of a second VF storm. Following catheter ablation, the patient's arrhythmia improved. This report highlights the inflammation due to CS mimicking channelopathic features.     

A case of resectable lung adenocarcinoma associated with sarcoidosis

A 71-year-old woman with uveitis was referred to our hospital for further examination of the possible underlying diseases. In roentgenological examination with plain X-ray and CT scan, hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy and a mass shadow in the right upper lung field was observed, whereas fibrotic changes were not obvious in both lung fields. Transbronchial lung biopsy with fiberoptic bronchoscope revealed granulomatous interstitial pneumonia. CD4-positive lymphocytes were increased in bronchoalveolar lavage. The patient was diagnosed as having sarcoidosis. Subsequently, right upper lobectomy was performed, and Stage I lung adenocarcinoma was diagnosed. The patient is under follow up without medication and the disease has been stable for two years. A relationship between epithelioid granulomatosis and malignant diseases is discussed and a review of the literature is given. Since it is still controversial as to the incidence of malignant diseases in sarcoidosis patients, it is important to accumulate data on these associations.     

The case for the chemoautotrophic origin of life in an iron-sulfur world

In contrast to the conventional view of a heterotrophic origin of life in a prebiotic broth it is suggested that life started chemoautotrophically and that the oxidative formation of pyrite satisfies all the necessary conditions to be met by an energy source for such an origin.Revised version of a lecture delivered on July 5, 1989 at the 6th ISSOL Meeting in Prague.     

Oldest coelacanth, from the Early Devonian of Australia

Coelacanths are well-known sarcopterygian (lobe-finned) fishes, which together with lungfishes are the closest extant relatives of land vertebrates (tetrapods). Coelacanths have both living representatives and a rich fossil record, but lack fossils older than the late Middle Devonian (385-390 Myr ago), conflicting with current phylogenies implying coelacanths diverged from other sarcopterygians in the earliest Devonian (410-415 Myr ago). Here, we report the discovery of a new coelacanth from the Early Devonian of Australia (407-409 Myr ago), which fills in the approximately 20 Myr 'ghost range' between previous coelacanth records and the predicted origin of the group. This taxon is based on a single lower jaw bone, the dentary, which is deep and short in form and possesses a dentary sensory pore, otherwise seen in Carboniferous and younger taxa.     

Oldest known pantherine skull and evolution of the tiger

The tiger is one of the most iconic extant animals, and its origin and evolution have been intensely debated. Fossils attributable to extant pantherine species-lineages are less than 2 MYA and the earliest tiger fossils are from the Calabrian, Lower Pleistocene. Molecular studies predict a much younger age for the divergence of modern tiger subspecies at <100 KYA, although their cranial morphology is readily distinguishable, indicating that early Pleistocene tigers would likely have differed markedly anatomically from extant tigers. Such inferences are hampered by the fact that well-known fossil tiger material is middle to late Pleistocene in age. Here we describe a new species of pantherine cat from Longdan, Gansu Province, China, Panthera zdanskyi sp. nov. With an estimated age of 2.55-2.16 MYA it represents the oldest complete skull of a pantherine cat hitherto found. Although smaller, it appears morphologically to be surprisingly similar to modern tigers considering its age. Morphological, morphometric, and cladistic analyses are congruent in confirming its very close affinity to the tiger, and it may be regarded as the most primitive species of the tiger lineage, demonstrating the first unequivocal presence of a modern pantherine species-lineage in the basal stage of the Pleistocene (Gelasian; traditionally considered to be Late Pliocene). This find supports a north-central Chinese origin of the tiger lineage, and demonstrates that various parts of the cranium, mandible, and dentition evolved at different rates. An increase in size and a reduction in the relative size of parts of the dentition appear to have been prominent features of tiger evolution, whereas the distinctive cranial morphology of modern tigers was established very early in their evolutionary history. The evolutionary trend of increasing size in the tiger lineage is likely coupled to the evolution of its primary prey species.     

Ectopia cilia with pedigree analysis: Second case report in the world

We present a case of ectopia cilia in a 28-year-old male patient. Ectopia cilia was were seen in the outer third of left upper eyelid. The patient''s maternal grandfather also had ectopia cilia of the left upper eyelid as reported by the patient''s mother. Ectopia cilia is a rare condition seen in humans. Only 12 cases of ectopic cilia in humans have been reported so far in the world. The present case of ectopia cilia is the second case report in the world with pedigree analysis.     

Oldest Evidence of Toolmaking Hominins in a Grassland-Dominated Ecosystem

Background

Major biological and cultural innovations in late Pliocene hominin evolution are frequently linked to the spread or fluctuating presence of C₄ grass in African ecosystems. Whereas the deep sea record of global climatic change provides indirect evidence for an increase in C₄ vegetation with a shift towards a cooler, drier and more variable global climatic regime beginning approximately 3 million years ago (Ma), evidence for grassland-dominated ecosystems in continental Africa and hominin activities within such ecosystems have been lacking.

Methodology/Principal Findings

We report stable isotopic analyses of pedogenic carbonates and ungulate enamel, as well as faunal data from ∼2.0 Ma archeological occurrences at Kanjera South, Kenya. These document repeated hominin activities within a grassland-dominated ecosystem.

Conclusions/Significance

These data demonstrate what hitherto had been speculated based on indirect evidence: that grassland-dominated ecosystems did in fact exist during the Plio-Pleistocene, and that early Homo was active in open settings. Comparison with other Oldowan occurrences indicates that by 2.0 Ma hominins, almost certainly of the genus Homo, used a broad spectrum of habitats in East Africa, from open grassland to riparian forest. This strongly contrasts with the habitat usage of Australopithecus, and may signal an important shift in hominin landscape usage.     

Oldest Pathology in a Tetrapod Bone Illuminates the Origin of Terrestrial Vertebrates

The origin of terrestrial tetrapods was a key event in vertebrate evolution, yet how and when it occurred remains obscure, due to scarce fossil evidence. Here, we show that the study of palaeopathologies, such as broken and healed bones, can help elucidate poorly understood behavioural transitions such as this. Using high-resolution finite element analysis, we demonstrate that the oldest known broken tetrapod bone, a radius of the primitive stem tetrapod Ossinodus pueri from the mid-Viséan (333 million years ago) of Australia, fractured under a high-force, impact-type loading scenario. The nature of the fracture suggests that it most plausibly occurred during a fall on land. Augmenting this are new osteological observations, including a preferred directionality to the trabecular architecture of cancellous bone. Together, these results suggest that Ossinodus, one of the first large (>2m length) tetrapods, spent a significant proportion of its life on land. Our findings have important implications for understanding the temporal, biogeographical and physiological contexts under which terrestriality in vertebrates evolved. They push the date for the origin of terrestrial tetrapods further back into the Carboniferous by at least two million years. Moreover, they raise the possibility that terrestriality in vertebrates first evolved in large tetrapods in Gondwana rather than in small European forms, warranting a re-evaluation of this important evolutionary event.     

肺结节病合并Alternaria alternata所致皮肤链格孢病1例

患者,女,61岁,确诊肺结节病、口服糖皮质激素7月,双手背及腕部红色斑块3个月。组织病理示表皮轻度棘层增厚,真皮浅、中层中性粒细胞、淋巴、组织细胞、浆细胞、多核巨细胞混合性浸润,可见散在双轮廓厚壁酵母样结构。六铵银染色见不规则肿胀菌丝及酵母样厚壁孢子。真菌培养见棕/灰褐色菌落,镜下见棕色分隔孢子。ITS区序列分析鉴定为Alternaria alternate。口服伊曲康唑胶囊200 mg/d,联合外用硝酸舍他康唑乳膏2次/d,连续用药4个月后皮损完全消退,随访半年,未见复发。     

Old world blowflies in the new world

Human activity, particularly migration and the export of live animals, can provide vehicles for the dispersal of many parasites and their vectors. These movements, often overlooked until too late, provide potential for epidemic outbreaks and can profoundly alter accepted ideas on the geographic distribution and epidemiological status of particular species. In this review, Brian Laurence discusses the recent rapid spread of blowflies into the americas; these conspicious green flies transport a variety of gastro-intestinal pathogens between their favoured environments of latrines and exposed food, and some species are important parasites of flesh wounds, causing cutaneous myiasis.     

Aristotle's study of the animal world: the case of the kobios and phucis

Aristotle was a remarkable observer of the living world. He made detailed observations on the anatomy and life history characteristics of many organisms as part of a larger study into the differentiae (diaphora) of groups of animals. This reexamination of Aristotle's observations of two small fishes is a study into the work or the way of being of particular organic wholes. As such, it is directed by three main objectives: to evaluate the accuracy of those observations Aristotle makes with regard to the kobios and phucis in the History of Animals, as well as to understand how he might have conducted his research; to determine whether aspects of those observations would ground more philosophical arguments; and to contribute to the understanding of the basic biology of these fishes. In so doing, this article also may introduce a new generation of biologists to the richness of Aristotle's biological observations and the questions that motivated them.     

Cytologic and immunocytochemical studies of cerebrospinal fluid in meningeal sarcoidosis. A case report.

Serial studies were done on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from a patient with sarcoidosis involving the meninges. Initially when the disease was active, the CSF protein was increased and glucose decreased. The number of cells in the CSF was moderately increased, and many mononuclear cells were present. Cytologic studies of the CSF showed many normal and some atypical lymphocytes. Immunochemical studies showed that most of these lymphocytes were T cells, with T-helper cells predominating over T-suppressor cells by a ratio of 3.92; B-lymphocytes were polyclonal. Subsequent studies of the CSF over the following three and one-half years showed that the protein and glucose content and the cell counts in the fluid did not correlate well with the activity of the disease. The number of atypical lymphocytes seemed to be a more useful marker of disease activity in the patient. Cytologic studies, when interpreted within the context of other CSF and clinical findings, are useful for the assessment of patients with sarcoidosis involving the meninges.     

Canopy Flow Analysis Reveals the Advantage of Size in the Oldest Communities of Multicellular Eukaryotes

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