A bifid median nerve (BMN) is not a rare variant. This study aimed to investigate the features of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) accompanied by BMN.
In this retrospective study, we defined a BMN group ...as CTS with BMN and a non-bifid median nerve (NMN) group as CTS without BMN. All hands were assigned to four severity grades according to the findings of electrodiagnosis (EDx): very mild, mild, moderate, and severe. The cross-sectional area (CSA) of the median nerve, palmar bowing of the flexor retinaculum, and persistent median artery (PMA) were assessed by ultrasonography. Numerical pain rating scale (NRS) and symptom duration were assessed as clinical variables.
Sixty-four hands (57 patients) and 442 hands (341 patients) were enrolled in the BMN and the NMN groups, respectively. BMN was prevalent in 12.6% of all CTS hands. The distribution of EDx severity grade was milder in the BMN group than in the NMN group (
<0.001). The CSA of the BMN group was 16.2±4.1 mm
, slightly larger than 15.1±4.2 mm
in the NMN group (
=0.056). The BMN group showed higher NRS than the NMN group (5.5±1.5 and 4.4±1.7, respectively;
<0.001). In the subgroup analysis, NRS was significantly higher in the BMN group than in the NMN group at all EDx severity grades. In the BMN group, the PMA group showed greater EDx severity (
=0.037) and higher NRS (6.0 and 5.0, respectively;
=0.012) than the non-PMA group. The radial side branch's CSA was larger than that of the ulnar side branch (10.0 mm
and 6.0 mm
, respectively;
0.001).
CTS with BMN presented more severe symptoms and relatively milder EDx severity. When assessing the severity of CTS with BMN, the clinical symptoms should primarily be considered, as well as we should complementarily evaluate the EDx and ultrasonography.
The discovery of a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) at the LaAlO
/SrTiO
interface
has resulted in the observation of many properties
not present in conventional semiconductor heterostructures, and ...so become a focal point for device applications
. Its counterpart, the two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG), is expected to complement the 2DEG. However, although the 2DEG has been widely observed
, the 2DHG has proved elusive. Herein we demonstrate a highly mobile 2DHG in epitaxially grown SrTiO
/LaAlO
/SrTiO
heterostructures. Using electrical transport measurements and in-line electron holography, we provide direct evidence of a 2DHG that coexists with a 2DEG at complementary heterointerfaces in the same structure. First-principles calculations, coherent Bragg rod analysis and depth-resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy consistently support our finding that to eliminate ionic point defects is key to realizing a 2DHG. The coexistence of a 2DEG and a 2DHG in a single oxide heterostructure provides a platform for the exciting physics of confined electron-hole systems and for developing applications.
Abstract The coupling between superconductors and oscillation cycles of light pulses, i.e., lightwave engineering, is an emerging control concept for superconducting quantum electronics. Although ...progress has been made towards terahertz-driven superconductivity and supercurrents, the interactions able to drive non-equilibrium pairing are still poorly understood, partially due to the lack of measurements of high-order correlation functions. In particular, the sensing of exotic collective modes that would uniquely characterize light-driven superconducting coherence, in a way analogous to the Meissner effect, is very challenging but much needed. Here we report the discovery of parametrically driven superconductivity by light-induced order-parameter collective oscillations in iron-based superconductors. The time-periodic relative phase dynamics between the coupled electron and hole bands drives the transition to a distinct parametric superconducting state out-of-equalibrium. This light-induced emergent coherence is characterized by a unique phase–amplitude collective mode with Floquet-like sidebands at twice the Higgs frequency. We measure non-perturbative, high-order correlations of this parametrically driven superconductivity by separating the terahertz-frequency multidimensional coherent spectra into pump–probe, Higgs mode and bi-Higgs frequency sideband peaks. We find that the higher-order bi-Higgs sidebands dominate above the critical field, which indicates the breakdown of susceptibility perturbative expansion in this parametric quantum matter.
Giant Piezoelectricity on Si for Hyperactive MEMS Baek, S. H.; Park, J.; Kim, D. M. ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
11/2011, Letnik:
334, Številka:
6058
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) incorporating active piezoelectric layers offer integrated actuation, sensing, and transduction. The broad implementation of such active MEMS has long been ...constrained by the inability to integrate materials with giant piezoelectric response, such as Pb(MG 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O₃-PbTiO₃ (PMN-PT). We synthesized high-quality PMN-PT epitaxial thin films on vicinal (001) Si wafers with the use of an epitaxial (001) SrTiO₃ template layer with superior piezoelectric coefficients (e 31,f = -27 ± 3 coulombs per square meter) and figures of merit for piezoelectric energy-harvesting systems. We have incorporated these heterostructures into microcantilevers that are actuated with extremely low drive voltage due to thin-film piezoelectric properties that rival bulk PMN-PT single crystals. These epitaxial heterostructures exhibit very large electromechanical coupling for ultrasound medical imaging, microfluidic control, mechanical sensing, and energy harvesting.
We report fabrication and performance of the 2×2 photonic crystal fiber (PCF) splitter that enables multi-spectral bands operation of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. The PCF splitter ...was made by coupling PCFs to a planar lightwave circuit (PLC) splitter chip, which worked as a single mode splitter from visible to near infrared wavelengths. The core size of the PLC splitter chip was about 3μm×3μm and the core-cladding index difference was about 0.25%, which gave the cutoff wavelength at 630nm. The implemented PCF-PLC splitter showed a small excess loss of 1.2∼3.3dB and a low polarization-dependent loss of 0.15∼0.19dB over a wide wavelength range from 640nm to 1000nm. With the splitter, OCT images of a human finger and a nail have been successfully obtained at several spectral bands; 680nm, 840nm, and 930nm center wavelengths.
Mechanical Writing of Ferroelectric Polarization Lu, H.; Bark, C.-W.; de los Ojos, D. Esque ...
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
04/2012, Letnik:
336, Številka:
6077
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Ferroelectric materials are characterized by a permanent electric dipole that can be reversed through the application of an external voltage, but a strong intrinsic coupling between polarization and ...deformation also causes all ferroelectrics to be piezoelectric, leading to applications in sensors and high-displacement actuators. A less explored property is flexoelectricity, the coupling between polarization and a strain gradient. We demonstrate that the stress gradient generated by the tip of an atomic force microscope can mechanically switch the polarization in the nanoscale volume of a ferroelectric film. Pure mechanical force can therefore be used as a dynamic tool for polarization control and may enable applications in which memory bits are written mechanically and read electrically.
Accumulation of β-catenin and subsequent stimulation of β-catenin-T cell-factor (Tcf)/lymphoid-enhancerfactor (Lef) transcriptional activity causes dedifferentiation of articular chondrocytes, which ...is characterized by decreased type II collagen expression and initiation of type I collagen expression. This study examined the mechanisms of α-catenin degradation, the role of α-catenin in β-catenin signaling, and the physiological significance of α-catenin regulation of β-catenin signaling in articular chondrocytes. We found that both α- and β-catenin accumulated during dedifferentiation of chondrocytes by escaping from proteasomal degradation. β-Catenin degradation was ubiquitination-dependent, whereas α-catenin was proteasomally degraded in a ubiquitination-independent fashion. The accumulated α- and β-catenin existed as complexes in the cytosol and nucleus. The complex formation between α- and β-catenin blocked proteasomal degradation of α-catenin and also inhibited β-catenin-Tcf/Lef transcriptional activity and the suppression of type II collagen expression associated with ectopic expression of β-catenin, the inhibition of proteasome, or Wnt signaling. Collectively, our results indicate that ubiquitin-independent degradation of α-catenin regulates β-catenin signaling and maintenance of the differentiated phenotype of articular chondrocytes.
Aims
This study aimed to assess the antifungal and anti‐biofilm effects of 6‐shogaol against Candida auris using in vitro phenotypic and genotypic analyses.
Methods and Results
Our results showed ...that 6‐shogaol exhibited antifungal as well as anti‐biofilm activity by inhibiting biofilm formation and eradicating the preformed biofilms of C. auris. The rate and extent of antifungal activity were further confirmed by a time‐kill assay. The XTT reduction assay confirmed that 6‐shogaol decreased cellular metabolic activity in the biofilm. The effect of 6‐shogaol on established C. auris biofilms was visualized by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Also, this study demonstrated that 6‐shogaol reduced the levels of aspartyl proteinases and downregulated the expression of the efflux pump‐related CDR1 gene in C. auris.
Conclusions
The data indicated that 6‐shogaol extracted from ginger had antifungal and anti‐biofilm effects on C. auris.
Significance and Impact of the Study
This study demonstrated the value of the plant‐derived 6‐shogaol as a promising and potent bioactive compound. The mode of action of this compound against C. auris biofilm was also proposed.
The mean diameter of the 100-nm polystyrene sphere was measured with the transmission electron microscope (TEM) with a view to the development of the accurate and visual sizing technique for nm scale ...particles. To minimize the sizing error due to the inaccurate instrument-stated magnification and the edge location uncertainty, the 300-nm spheres were mixed with 100-nm spheres to provide an internal calibrator, whose diameter is accurately known. The diameters of 100-nm spheres were determined by comparing with that of 300-nm spheres in the same negatives (TEM pictures). For the correction of the electron beam-induced shrinkage effect, the dependence of the shrinkage on the accelerating voltage, beam intensity, and the exposure time was examined and analyzed. Based on such an investigation, and with the several data manipulation routines, the mean diameter was determined with the expanded uncertainty of approximately 2% at the 95% confidence level. The measured value is consistent with those obtained by other laboratories using different techniques for the same spheres.
By using theoretical predictions based on first‐principle calculations, we explore an interface engineering approach to stabilize polarization states in ferroelectric heterostructures with a ...thickness of just several nanometers.
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