BACKGROUND Severe cardiogenic pulmonary edema is a frequent cause of respiratory failure, and many patients with this condition require endotracheal intubation and mechanical ventilation. We investigated whether continuous positive airway pressure delivered by means of a face mask had physiologic benefit and would reduce the need for intubation and mechanical ventilation. METHODS We randomly ...

The widely supported cohesion–tension theory of water transport explains the importance of a continuous water column and the mechanism of long-distance ascent of sap in plants (Dixon 1914, Tyree 2003, Angeles et al. 2004). The evaporation of water from the surfaces of mesophyll cells causes the air–water interface to retreat into the cellulose matrix of the plant cell wall because the cohesion ...

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is known as a pathogen of occupational diseases or a zoonosis. We report a case of E. rhusiopathiae peritonitis in a 50-yr-old male undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). He was suffered from mild abdominal pain with a distinctive erysipeloid skin lesion. E. rhusiopathiae was considered to be introduced through a lacerated wound on his hand whe...