Jian Zhou,* Weiqiang Ju,* Xiaopeng Yuan, Xiaofeng Zhu, Dongping Wang, Xiaoshun HeOrgan Transplant Center, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work: Hyperosmolar nonketotic hyperglycemic coma is a serious, rare complication induced by methylprednisolone pulse therapy for acute rejection after orthotopic liver transplantation. Herein, we report an unusual case of a 58-year-old woman who experienced acute rejection at 30 months after OLT, only one case in which HNKHC resulted in MP (...) pulse therapy for acute rejection in all 913 recipients in our center. The general morbidity of HNKHC was 1.09‰ in this study. HNKHC is characterized by rapid onset, rapid progression, and a lack of specific clinical manifestations. High-dose MP management was a clear risk factor. The principle of treatment included rapid rehydration, low-dose insulin infusion, and correcting disorders of electrolytes and acidosis. In conclusion, clinicians considering MP pulse therapy after OLT should be alert to the occurrence of HNKHC. Keywords: liver transplantation, complications, hyperosmolar nonketotic hyperglycemic coma, methylprednisolone pulse therapy, principle of treatment. (shrink)

A model for the trapping of animals with a circular pitfall is formulated. The model's assumptions are: The animals move independently according to the same Brownian motions. The boundary of the pitfall acts as an absorbing or elastic barrier. Initially a fixed number of animals is independently homogeneously distributed over a finite study area, or the initial positions follow a homogeneous planar Poisson process. The model depends on three free parameters: the motility of the animals, their reaction to the pitfall, (...) the initial density.It appears that the catches in disjoint time intervals are multinomially or independently Poisson distributed. The parameters of these distributions are obtained by solving certain partial differential equations. (shrink)

The tradition that Socrates had two wives at once, Xanthippe and Myrto, though an established one among ancient scholars, has met with blank incredulity in modern times. It impugns the character of Socrates, who has been established by Plato's martyrology as the unimpeachable patron saint of Western philosophy. And it appears to cast a slur on Greek marriage—not that the guiding lines of this somewhat ramshackle institution are perfectly known.