We study the existence of nontrivial solution branches of three-coupled Gross-Pitaevskii equations (CGPEs), which are used as the mathematical model for rotating spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensates ...(BEC). The Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction is exploited to test the branching of nontrivial solution curves from the trivial one in some neighborhoods of bifurcation points. A multilevel continuation method is proposed for computing the ground state solution of rotating spin-1 BEC. By properly choosing the constraint conditions associated with the components of the parameter variable, the proposed algorithm can effectively compute the ground states of spin-1 Formula: see text and Formula: see text under rapid rotation. Extensive numerical results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm. In particular, the affect of the magnetization on the CGPEs is investigated.
Background and purpose
Physical activity is associated with a reduced incidence of first‐time stroke. However, few studies have examined the effect of pre‐stroke physical activity on post‐stroke ...complications and clinical outcomes.
Methods
A total of 39 835 cases of stroke registered in the nationwide stroke registry system of Taiwan between 2006 and 2009 were analyzed according to five levels of severity as determined by National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score upon hospital admission. Pre‐stroke physical activity was defined in the Taiwan Stroke Registry as dedicated leisure‐time physical activity for at least 30 min/day for 3 days/week for more than 6 months. A Cox model was used to compare complications and outcomes between active and inactive groups.
Results
The active and inactive groups were similar in age distribution and stroke type distribution, but the active group had better National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores upon admission. The active group also had significantly fewer post‐stroke complications. Active patients had lower hospital mortality and better functional outcomes upon discharge as per the modified Rankin Scale. Improved functional status in the active group was significant at 1, 3 and 6 months post‐stroke.
Conclusion
Dedicated leisure‐time physical activity for at least 30 min/day, at least three times per week for more than 6 months was associated with decreased stroke severity, fewer post‐stroke complications, lower mortality and better outcomes.
In situ synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and transmission electronic microscopy were used to study the precipitation and transformation behaviors of metastable β″ and β′ phases of ...naturally aged Al–Mg–Si alloys, AA 6022, during continuous heating, and subsequent isothermal aging. A new SAXS analysis approach for the complex SAXS profiles enabled a quantitative analysis of the structural evolution and the corresponding kinetics of the concurrent needle-like β″ and rod-like β′ phase transformations, of different size characteristics. The stable cross-section and rapid length growth along the needles of β″ phase, and the radius growth of β′ phase during the temporal evolution were characterized well by the concomitant nucleation, growth and coarsening stages. For an alloy aged at 260
°C, the β″ precipitates (∼3.5
nm in radius) and β′ precipitates (∼10.5
nm in radius) reached the coarsening stages at
t
=
30 and 210
min, respectively. During the coarsening stage, the β″ precipitates dissolved partially into the matrix and transformed partially to the β′ phase, and then stabilized with the residual ∼65% precipitates. The same methodology was also applied to an Al–Mg–Si alloy, AA 6111, containing Cu. The β″ precipitates of AA 6111 alloy aged at 180
°C showed an inert radius (∼1.8
nm) and a growing length with aging time, and the longer incubation period of ∼60
min observed in the early stage of precipitation, relative to AA 6022, was attributed to the more natural clusters.
Key points
Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and transgenic mice have beta‐amyloid (Aβ) aggregation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
It is possible that Aβ from the periphery contributes to the ...load of Aβ in the brain, as Aβ has prion‐like properties.
The present investigations demonstrate that Aβ injected into the GI tract of ICR mice is internalised into enteric cholinergic neurons; at 1 month, administration of Aβ into the body of the stomach and the proximal colon was observed to partly redistribute to the fundus and jejunum; at 1 year, vagal and cerebral β‐amyloidosis was present, and mice exhibited GI dysfunction and cognitive deficits.
These data reveal a previously undiscovered mechanism that potentially contributes to the development of AD.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common age‐related cause of dementia, characterised by extracellular beta‐amyloid (Aβ) plaques and intracellular phosphorylated tau tangles in the brain. Aβ deposits have also been observed in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of AD patients and transgenic mice, with overexpression of amyloid precursor protein. In the present studies, we investigate whether intra‐GI administration of Aβ can potentially induce amyloidosis in the central nervous system (CNS) and AD‐related pathology such as dementia. We micro‐injected Aβ1–42 oligomers (4 μg per site, five sites) or vehicle (saline, 5 μl) into the gastric wall of ICR mice under general anaesthesia. Immunofluorescence staining and in vivo imaging showed that HiLyte Fluor 555‐labelled Aβ1–42 had migrated within 3 h via the submucosa to nearby areas and was internalised into cholinergic neurons. At 1 month, HiLyte Fluor 555‐labelled Aβ1–42 in the body of the stomach and proximal colon had partly re‐distributed to the fundus and jejunum. At 1 year, the jejunum showed functional alterations in neuromuscular coupling (P < 0.001), and Aβ deposits were present in the vagus and brain, with animals exhibiting cognitive impairments in the Y‐maze spontaneous alteration test (P < 0.001) and the novel object recognition test (P < 0.001). We found that enteric Aβ oligomers induce an alteration in gastric function, amyloidosis in the CNS, and AD‐like dementia via vagal mechanisms. Our results suggest that Aβ load is likely to occur initially in the GI tract and may translocate to the brain, opening the possibility of new strategies for the early diagnosis and prevention of AD.
Key points
Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and transgenic mice have beta‐amyloid (Aβ) aggregation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
It is possible that Aβ from the periphery contributes to the load of Aβ in the brain, as Aβ has prion‐like properties.
The present investigations demonstrate that Aβ injected into the GI tract of ICR mice is internalised into enteric cholinergic neurons; at 1 month, administration of Aβ into the body of the stomach and the proximal colon was observed to partly redistribute to the fundus and jejunum; at 1 year, vagal and cerebral β‐amyloidosis was present, and mice exhibited GI dysfunction and cognitive deficits.
These data reveal a previously undiscovered mechanism that potentially contributes to the development of AD.
The optical design and performance of the recently opened 13A biological small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) beamline at the 3.0 GeV Taiwan Photon Source of the National Synchrotron Radiation ...Research Center are reported. The beamline is designed for studies of biological structures and kinetics in a wide range of length and time scales, from angstrom to micrometre and from microsecond to minutes. A 4 m IU24 undulator of the beamline provides high‐flux X‐rays in the energy range 4.0–23.0 keV. MoB4C double‐multilayer and Si(111) double‐crystal monochromators (DMM/DCM) are combined on the same rotating platform for a smooth rotation transition from a high‐flux beam of ∼4 × 1014 photons s−1 to a high‐energy‐resolution beam of ΔE/E ≃ 1.5 × 10−4; both modes share a constant beam exit. With a set of Kirkpatrick–Baez (KB) mirrors, the X‐ray beam is focused to the farthest SAXS detector position, 52 m from the source. A downstream four‐bounce crystal collimator, comprising two sets of Si(311) double crystals arranged in a dispersive configuration, optionally collimate the DCM (vertically diffracted) beam in the horizontal direction for ultra‐SAXS with a minimum scattering vector q down to 0.0004 Å−1, which allows resolving ordered d‐spacing up to 1 µm. A microbeam, of 10–50 µm beam size, is tailored by a combined set of high‐heat‐load slits followed by micrometre‐precision slits situated at the front‐end 15.5 m position. The second set of KB mirrors then focus the beam to the 40 m sample position, with a demagnification ratio of ∼1.5. A detecting system comprising two in‐vacuum X‐ray pixel detectors is installed to perform synchronized small‐ and wide‐angle X‐ray scattering data collections. The observed beamline performance proves the feasibility of having compound features of high flux, microbeam and ultra‐SAXS in one beamline.
The optical design and performance of the BioSAXS beamline at the Taiwan Photon Source are reported
Background and purpose
Orolingual angioedema (OA) is an uncommon but potentially life‐threatening complication of treatment with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt‐PA; alteplase) during ...acute ischaemic stroke. This study aimed to determine the incidence of rt‐PA‐related OA in an Asian stroke population and the risk of pre‐stroke anti‐hypertensive drug use for development of this complication.
Methods
A multi‐center stroke registry was used to identify the pre‐stroke medications of acute ischaemic stroke patients receiving intravenous rt‐PA from January 2002 to December 2013. The clinical manifestations of rt‐PA‐related OA were recorded and the incidence of this complication was determined. The risks of pre‐stroke use of different anti‐hypertensive agents for the occurrence of rt‐PA‐related OA were determined from this study and from a meta‐analysis.
Results
A total of 559 patients received intravenous rt‐PA over a 12‐year period. Five patients (two males) developed OA after rt‐PA administration. The incidence of OA amongst these patients was 0.89% (95% confidence interval 0.29%–2.09%), which was lower than that obtained by meta‐analysis (1.9%). Amongst pre‐stroke anti‐hypertensive medications, angiotensin‐converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors were found in this study to have the highest relative risk for rt‐PA‐related OA (17.1; 95% confidence interval 3.0–96.9). Meta‐analysis also revealed that pre‐stroke use of ACE inhibitors was associated with a high relative risk of OA after intravenous rt‐PA (12.9; 95% confidence interval 4.5–37.0).
Conclusions
The incidence of rt‐PA‐related OA in the Asian population is lower than that in the Caucasian population. Pre‐stroke use of ACE inhibitors significantly increases the risk of this complication.
The mechanism of ethanol reforming has been systematically studied by both energetic calculation to examine ethanol decomposition and electronic structure analysis to investigate the redox capability ...of the nine selected metals of Co, Ni, Cu, Rh, Pd, Ag, Ir, Pt, and Au with the same crystal structure and surface orientation. The energetic calculation shows that most of the dissociation barriers are lower on Co(111), Ni(111), Rh(111), and Ir(111) surfaces and higher on Cu(111), Ag(111), and Au(111) surfaces. The initial C−H bond dissociation, forming the doubly adsorbed *C(H2)C(H2)O(H)* and *C(H2)C(H2)O*, with a lower barrier than those in the initial C−C and C−O bond dissociations is considered as the most feasible decomposition route. In addition, the linear correlation between reaction barriers and d-band centers breaks down in the case of C−H bond dissociation due to the lower barriers on Rh(111) and Ir(111) surfaces. This result may be related to the suitable bond distances on Rh(111) and Ir(111) surfaces to form the more stable double adsorbates, *C(H2)C(H2)O(H)* and *C(H2)C(H2)O*. In the electronic structure analysis, Rh(111) and Ir(111) surfaces with higher density of state (DOS) distributions around the Fermi level can efficiently accept/donate electrons from/to the reacting ethanol and its fragments, showing better redox capability. Therefore, the excellent efficiency of Rh- and Ir-based catalysts, as observed from the reforming experiment, can be attributed to both the lower decomposition barrier and the higher DOS distribution around the Fermi level based on the first-principles calculation.
The regeneration of the periodontal attachment apparatus remains clinically challenging because of the involvement of three tissue types and the complexity of their relationship. Human recombinant ...bone morphogenic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) can accelerate the regeneration of bone and cementum and the insertion of periodontal ligament fibers but may lead to a deranged periodontal relationship, ankylosis and root resorption.This study evaluated a novel approach to regeneration of the periodontal attachment apparatus using a combination of ex vivo autologous bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) engineered by replication-defective adenovirus to express the BMP-2 gene and Pluronic F127 (PF127). Twenty-four periodontal defects were surgically created in 12 New Zealand white rabbits and randomly assigned to three experimental groups with MSCs: the advBMP-2 group; the advbetagal group; the MSC group and one control group: PF127 only. The regenerated periodontal attachment apparatus was assessed histologically and the total regenerated bone volume was calculated from three-dimensional computed tomography analysis.This approach regenerated not only cementum with Sharpey's fiber insertion, but also statistically significant quantities of bone, re-establishing a more normal relationship among the components of the regenerated periodontal attachment apparatus, which is beneficial for the maintenance of periodontal health.Ex vivo gene transfer using stem cells as vectors may provide an advantage of slower BMP-2 release, increasing cementogenesis. There is regeneration of the periodontal attachment apparatus, whereas direct usage of the protein (rhBMP-2) yields unhinged periodontal relationship. Thus, this approach may represent an alternative means for periodontal alveolar bone graft in clinical settings.
Abstract Objectives The aim of our study was to review the experience of early use of everolimus for recipients after adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation. Methods From February 2012 to ...December 2012, 80 recipients underwent living donor liver transplantation. Forty-three of them used everolimus as an adjunct to the calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) in the early postoperative period. Thirty-nine patients had hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and poor renal function was noted in 9 patients. Ten of them were females and 33 were males. The age varied from 39 to 75 years old. The starting date of use was within 1 week in 33 patients, 2 weeks in 9 patients, and 1 patient was administered on postoperative day 20. The initial doses of everolimus were 0.25 mg every 12 hours and increased to 0.5 mg every 12 hours to target the level at 3–5 ng/mL. Doppler ultrasound was performed regularly postoperative days 1, 4, and 14. Results The mean time between liver transplantation and everolimus treatment was 12 ± 8 days. The maximum dose of everolimus used was 1 mg/d with a target trough level between 3 and 5 ng/mL. At 3 months, a target trough level of 3 ng/mL was achieved. Six of 9 renal failure patients showed significant recovery of renal function, whereas 3 of them showed further deterioration and 1 required hemodialysis. During the follow-up period of 9 ± 6 months, all showed good patency of hepatic artery without thrombosis. Three patients (7%) developed HCC recurrence, whereas 1 patient died at the 10th month postoperative due to sepsis. Elevation of lipid profile was noted in 5 patients. Stomatitis was the most frequent side effect and occurred in 15 patients. Conclusions The early use of everolimus was safe and feasible. Also, it can be safely used in patients with prior renal failure while reducing the doses of CNIs. Although the recurrence rate of HCC was reduced, further study is ongoing to evaluate the long-term impact of everolimus on prevention of HCC recurrence.
Abstract Background Hepatic artery pseudoaneurysm (PA) after liver transplantation (LT) is a rare but potentially fatal complication. Among a series of 50 patients of LT, we experienced 3 such cases. ...Some authors also have reported cases of PA, either intrahepatic or extrahepatic. The aim of this study was to investigate the important factors that affect the treatment outcome. Methods Three patients were presented. To analyze the factors, not only our patients but also the patients with PA reported in the literature (including 10 case series and 23 case reports) were enrolled for analysis. The possible factors probably affecting the survival were compared statistically, including age, sex, clinical manifestation as bleeding (including gastrointestinal bleeding, hemobilia, or intra-abdominal bleeding), treatment (with embolization or surgical exploration or stent), diagnosis establishment before or after bleeding, and so forth. Results From univariate analysis, the significant factors that affect survival are sex (female) ( P = .036), stent treatment ( P = .006), and early detection ( P = .036), whereas age ( P = .493) and presentation with hemorrhage ( P = .877) are not significant factors. However, according to multivariate analysis, stent treatment has a borderline significance ( P = .056). Conclusions Early detection of such a life-threatening complication is a key determinant of survival. “Early” does not refer to early postoperative days but means the detection prior to the rupture of the pseudoaneurysm. Postoperative imaging studies such as computed tomographic scan or magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography early and periodically to follow up the graft status is recommended, especially for those who had received other interventions before or after the liver transplantation.
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