Countless experiments have been devoted to understanding techniques through which memory might be improved. Many strategies uncovered in the literature are thought to act via the integration of contextual information from multiple distinct codes. However, the mnemonic benefits of these strategies often do not remain when there is no clear link between a word and its multisensory referent (e.g., in abstract words). To test the importance of this link, we asked participants to encode target words (ranging from concrete to abstract) either by drawing them, an encoding strategy recently proven to be reliable in improving memory, or writing them. Drawing provides a compelling test case because while other strategies (e.g., production, generation) shift focus to existing aspects of to-be-remembered information, drawing may forge a link with novel multisensory information, circumventing shortcomings of other memory techniques. Results indicated that while drawing’s benefit was slightly larger for concrete stimuli, the effect was present across the spectrum from abstract to concrete. These findings demonstrate that even for highly abstract concepts without a clear link to a visual referent, memory is reliably improved through drawing. An exploratory analysis using a deep convolutional neural network also provided preliminary evidence that in abstract words, drawings that were most distinctive were more likely to be remembered, whereas concrete items benefited from prototypicality. Together, these results indicate that while the advantageous effects of drawing exist across all levels of concreteness, the memory benefit is larger when words are concrete, suggesting a tight coupling between the drawing benefit and visual code.

Acute exacerbation of interstitial pneumonia (AE-IP) is the top cause of 30-day mortality in surgery for lung cancer patients. The general treatment for AE-IP is corticosteroid; however, there are some disadvantages of corticosteroid use after surgery. This study was conducted to report the clinical course of AE-IP after surgery and evaluate the effect of corticosteroid use.

This retrospective study was performed on 337 patients with interstitial pneumonia who underwent surgical resection for lung cancer at our institute between 2009 and 2018. AE-IP were observed in 14 patients (4.2%) and their management and clinical outcome were investigated.

All patients received methylprednisolone pulse therapy. Six patients (42.9%) became convalescent after pulse therapy and eight (57.1%) died within 90days after surgery due to lack of therapeutic efficacy. Oxygenation and ground-glass opacities of the survivors improved within 3days after starting pulse therapy. Patients who responded to the first pulse also responded to the second pulse. Four patients developed complications including two with bronchopulmonary fistulas that may be related to steroid treatment. Even if the corticosteroid was effective, all AE-IP patients died within 1year after surgery.

Corticosteroid therapy is effective for AE-IP after surgery; however, it may lead to severe complications after surgery.

Corticosteroid therapy is effective for AE-IP after surgery; however, it may lead to severe complications after surgery.Coronary artery fistula (CAF) is a relatively rare congenital abnormality of the coronary arteries; typically, patients who undergo surgery for CAFs are relatively young because it is a congenital disease. Here we present a case of an aneurysmal coronary-to-pulmonary artery fistula rupture in a 96-year-old female. Considering her extreme high age and missing preoperative diagnostics, only local hemostasis without anatomical repair was performed but the patient is still doing well 1 year after the operation.Ectopic intrapulmonary thyroid tissue is extremely rare and considerably difficult to diagnose without surgery. Ectopic thyroid tissue, described as a mediastinal tumor, and intrapulmonary lesions are infrequent. An abnormal shadow was detected upon chest X-ray in a 60-year old woman with a history of benign thyroid goiter. A computed tomography scan revealed a solitary nodule measuring 27 mm in diameter in the left lower lobe, the diameter of which had increased by 5 mm since initial observation eight years ago. A thoracoscopic wedge resection was performed and the lesion was determined to be a non-invasive, soft-tissue tumor. It was pathologically diagnosed as an ectopic thyroid follicular adenoma. The course of the tumor was uneventful. BMS-986365 chemical structure A diagnosis of ectopic intrapulmonary thyroid should be made cautiously and only after ruling out metastasis of a follicular adenoma or thyroid carcinoma. This diagnosis of ectopic thyroid tissue was made possible by the surgical approach.Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is an effective method for noninvasively imaging the heart which in the last two decades impressively enhanced spatial and temporal resolution and imaging speed, broadening its spectrum of applications in cardiovascular disease. CMR imaging techniques are designed to noninvasively assess cardiovascular morphology, ventricular function, myocardial perfusion, tissue characterization, flow quantification and coronary artery disease. These intrinsic features yield CMR suitable for diagnosis, follow-up and longitudinal monitoring after treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The aim of this paper is to review the technical basis of CMR, from cardiac imaging planes to cardiac imaging sequences.We conducted whole-genome sequencing of four inbred mouse strains initially selected for high (H1, H2) or low (L1, L2) open-field activity (OFA), and then examined strain distribution patterns for all DNA variants that differed between their BALB/cJ and C57BL/6J parental strains. Next, we assessed genome-wide sharing (3,678,826 variants) both between and within the High and Low Activity strains. Results suggested that about 10% of these DNA variants may be associated with OFA, and clearly demonstrated its polygenic nature. Finally, we conducted bioinformatic analyses of functional genomics data from mouse, rat, and human to refine previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTL) for anxiety-related measures. This combination of sequence analysis and genomic-data integration facilitated refinement of previously intractable QTL findings, and identified possible genes for functional follow-up studies.