[Massive Hemorrhage from the Delayed Diaphragmatic Injury due to the Rib Fracture after the Blunt Chest Trauma:Report of a Case]

We report a case of delayed diaphragmatic injury caused by lower rib fractures. A 56-year-old male was referred to our hospital due to the fractures of right lower ribs. Chest X-ray revealed pneumothorax, and the patient was hospitalized for follow-up. On the sixth day after the injury, the patient suddenly complained of chest pain and respiratory distress, and then shock status developed. Chest computed tomography (CT) revealed massive pleural effusion. An emergency operation was performed. The injury of the diaphragm was found. Fracture of the lower rib can cause diaphragmatic injury leading to massive hemorrhage.

Fabrication of Y2O3-Doped Zirconia/Gadolinia-Doped Ceria Bilayer Electrolyte Thin Film SOFC Cells of SOFCs by Single-Pulsed Laser Deposition Processing

An 8 -mol. % Y₂O₃-doped zirconia/10-mol. % GdO₂-doped ceria (YSZ/GDC) bilayer electrolyte and a Gd_0.5Sr_0.5CoO₃ (GSCO) cathode were deposited by a single-processing, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method to fabricate anode support cells. No additional heat treatment was needed. Laser frequencies of 10, 20, and 100 Hz were used to deposit bilayer electrolytes between the NiO–YSZ (NiO:YSZ = 60:40 wt. %) anode substrate and the GSCO cathode thin film. The GDC thin film produced at 10 Hz was smooth, well-crystallized, and highly dense. The crystallinity of the GSCO cathode on the GDC was also improved. We concluded the GDC crystallinity affected the crystallinity of the cathode thin film. The resistivity of the YSZ single layer (5.7 μm thickness) was 1.4 times higher than that of the YSZ/GDC bilayer (YSZ 3.0 μm thickness, GDC 2.7 μm thickness) at 600 °C and that of the YSZ-GDC interface became low. The optimum YSZ thickness was found to be approximately 3.0 μm, at which thickness there was effective blocking of the passage of hydrogen molecules and electrons. A cell with a YSZ (3.0 μm thickness, fabricated at 20 Hz)/GDC (5.0 μm thickness, fabricated at 10 Hz) bilayer and GSCO cathode thin film exhibited a maximum power density of 400 mW·cm^–2 at a comparatively low temperature of 600 °C.

Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase from an ammonia-oxidizing bacterium, Nitrosomonas sp. K1: purification and properties

The ammonia-oxidizing chemoautotrophic Nitrosomonas sp. strain K1 exhibited marked ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RubisCO) activity. The RubisCO [EC 4.1.1.39] was purified as an electrophoretically homogeneous protein. The molecular mass of the enzyme was estimated to be about 460 kDa by gel filtration, and it consists of two subunits [large (L): 52.2 kDa; small (S): 13.3 kDa] as demonstrated by SDS-PAGE. This confirmed that the enzyme has an L(8)S(8) structure. The K(m) values of the enzyme for RuBP, NaHCO3, and Mg2+ were estimated to be 0.112, 0.415, and 1.063 mM, respectively. The optimum pH and temperature for its activity were approximately 7.0 and 45 degrees C. The enzyme was stable up to 45 degrees C and in a pH range from 7.0-9.0 (4 degrees C, 48 h). The enzyme activity was inhibited by Cu2+, Hg2+, N-ethylmaleimide, p-chloromercuribenzoate, and SDS (0.1 mM). The activity was also inhibited by ammonium sulfate at high concentrations (38-303 mM) but the stability of the enzyme showed no inhibition at the same ammonium sulfate concentrations. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of the large and small subunits are AIKTYQAGVKEYRQTYW QPDYVPL and AIQAYHLTKKYETFSYLPQM, respectively.

Characteristics of a high-concentration-ammonium sulfate-requiring ammonia-oxidizing bacterium isolated from deodorization plants of chicken farms

A high-concentration-ammonium sulfate-requiring, ammonia-oxidizing bacterium, strain K1, was newly isolated from packed tower biological deodorization plants of chicken farms. The cells of strain K1 are rods (0.1-1.0 x 1.0-2.0 microm), gram negative, obligately aerobic, and nonmotile. Colonies (1-2 mm in diameter) on a plate culture are reddish, circular, and smooth. Intracytoplasmic membranes characteristic of nitrifying bacteria are present. The G+C content of the total DNA is 48.5 mol%. The similarity of 16S rRNA (%) to N. europaea ATCC 25978T (type strain) is 93.77%. This bacterium has a higher optimal growth temperature (35 degrees C) than is usually the case and tolerance up to 40 degrees C. The optimum concentration of ammonium sulfate in the medium is 303 mM, which should make it applicable for use in deodorization plants for enhancing the efficiency of deodorization. Phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK) and triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) were found to possess high specific activities (5700 and 4 x 10(5) U/mg, respectively) compared to the activities of these enzymes in strain ATCC 25978T (300 and 14 U/mg).