We aimed to assess whether early resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) changes measured via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) could predict recovery from visual field defect (VFD) ...in acute stroke patients.
Patients with VFD due to acute ischemic stroke in the visual cortex and age-matched healthy controls were prospectively enrolled. Serial resting-state (RS)-fMRI and Humphrey visual field (VF) tests were performed within 1 week and at 1 and 3 months (additional VF test at 6 months) after stroke onset in the patient group. The control group also underwent RS-fMRI and a Humphrey VF test. The changes in RSFCs and VF scores (VFSs) over time and their correlations were investigated.
In 32 patients (65±10 years, 25 men), the VFSs were lower and the interhemispheric RSFC in the visual cortices was decreased compared to the control group (n=15, 62±6 years, seven men). The VFSs and interhemispheric RSFC in the visual cortex increased mainly within the first month after stroke onset. The interhemispheric RSFC and VFSs were positively correlated at 1 month after stroke onset. Moreover, the interhemispheric RSFCs in the visual cortex within 1 week were positively correlated with the follow-up VFSs.
Interhemispheric RSFCs in the visual cortices within 1 week after stroke onset may be a useful biomarker to predict long-term VFD recovery.
A mixture of polyphenol components was isolated from the fruits of C. annuum L. cv. Cupra, C. annuum L. cv. Orange glory, and C. annuum L. cv. ST4712 (CLST), via 70% methanol extraction followed by ...column chromatography over silica gel. The polyphenol components of the mixture were analyzed via HPLC–MS/MS and compared with the reported data. Three cinnamic acid derivatives and five flavonoid components in the fruits of the three varieties were identified for the first time in this study. The antioxidant activity and anticancer effect of the polyphenol mixtures of the three fruits were determined. The antioxidant and anticancer activities of CLST were substantially higher than those of C. annuum L. cv. Cupra and C. annuum L. cv. Orange glory. The high activities of CLST were attributed to the much higher concentration of quercetin derivatives in CLST.
Recurrent strokes and cognitive dysfunction are the major symptoms of cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL). However, emotional ...disturbances in CADASIL patients are incompletely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate emotional disturbances in CADASIL and their impact on the patients' quality of life (QOL) and caregiver burden.
From 54 patients who were diagnosed as CADASIL between January 2000 and August 2012 in the Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, 23 patients were enrolled in this study. The Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale was used for the assessment of depressive emotional disturbances (DED). For nondepressive emotional disturbances (NDED), the criteria of Kim and Choi-Kwon Neurology 2000;54:1805-1810 were used for emotional incontinence (excessive/inappropriate expression of laughing or crying), and the modified Spielberger Trait Anger Scale was used for anger proneness (excessive/inappropriate expression of anger). Patients' QOL and caregiver burden were assessed with stroke-specific emotional QOL and the Sense of Competence Questionnaire (SCQ), respectively. Functional disability was assessed by the modified Rankin scale (mRS), and white matter ischemic changes and microbleeds were analyzed using brain magnetic resonance images.
Twelve patients (52.2%) had various emotional disturbances including DED (n=10, 43.5%) and NDED (n=7, 30.4%). The presence of any emotional disturbances was associated with thalamic (p=0.012) and cortical (p=0.037) microbleeds, mRS (p=0.001), cognitive impairment (p=0.002), patients' low QOL (p=0.009) and increased caregiver burden (p=0.002). DED was associated with multiple (≥10) microbleeds (p=0.039), cognitive impairment (p=0.030) and mRS (p=0.030), and negatively influenced all domains of patients' QOL and caregiver burden. NDED was associated with cortical microbleeds (p=0.017) and mRS (p=0.014). Unlike DED, NDED was not associated with patients' poor QOL, except for thinking domain, but was significantly related to total SCQ and subscales 1 and 2 of SCQ (p=0.012).
More than half the CADASIL patients had emotional disturbances, either DED or NDED. Both are associated with patients' poor QOL and increased caregiver burden, the former more markedly than the latter. Considering that CADASIL is a progressive disease with deteriorating patients' QOL, physicians have to pay more attention to emotional problems in CADASIL patients. Treatment strategies should be investigated in this regard to improve patients' QOL and reduce caregiver burden.
Background: The confirmation of prothrombin time international normalized ratio by a central laboratory often delays intravenous thrombolysis in patients with acute ischemic stroke.
Objectives: We ...investigated the feasibility, reliability, and usefulness of point-of-care determination of prothrombin time international normalized ratio for stroke thrombolysis.
Methods: Among 312 patients with ischemic stroke, 202 who arrived at the emergency room within 4.5 h of stroke onset were enrolled in the study. Patients with lost orders for point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio or central laboratory testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio (n = 47) were excluded. We compared international normalized ratio values and the time interval from arrival to the report of test results (door-to-international normalized ratio time) between point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio and central laboratory testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio. In patients who underwent thrombolysis, we compared the time interval from arrival to thrombolysis (door-toneedle time) between the current study population and historic cohort at our center.
Results: In the 155 patients included in the study, the median door-to-international normalized ratio time was 9.0 min (interquartile range, 5.0-12.0 min) for point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio and 46.0 min (interquartile range, 38.0-55.0 min) for central laboratory testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio (p < 0.001). The intraclass correlation coefficient between point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio and central laboratory testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio was 0.975 (95% confidence interval: 0.966-0.982). Forty-nine of the 155 patients underwent intravenous thrombolysis. The door-to-needle time was significantly decreased after implementation of point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio (median, 23.0 min; interquartile range, 16.0-29.8 vs median, 46.0 min; interquartile range, 33.5-50.5 min).
Conclusion: Utilization of point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio was feasible in the management of patients with acute ischemic stroke. Point-of-care testing for the prothrombin time international normalized ratio was quick and reliable and had a pivotal role in expediting thrombolysis.
Decreasing the time delay for thrombolysis, including intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) with tissue plasminogen activator and intra-arterial thrombectomy (IAT), is critical for decreasing the morbidity ...and mortality of patients experiencing acute stroke. We aimed to decrease the in-hospital delay for both IVT and IAT through a multidisciplinary approach that is feasible 24 h/day.
We implemented the Stroke Alert Team (SAT) on May 2, 2016, which introduced hospital-initiated ambulance prenotification and reorganized in-hospital processes. We compared the patient characteristics, time for each step of the evaluation and thrombolysis, thrombolysis rate, and post-thrombolysis intracranial hemorrhage from January 2014 to August 2016.
A total of 245 patients received thrombolysis (198 before SAT; 47 after SAT). The median door-to-CT, door-to-MRI, and door-to-laboratory times decreased to 13 min, 37.5 min, and 8 min, respectively, after SAT implementation (
<0.001). The median door-to-IVT time decreased from 46 min (interquartile range IQR 36-57 min) to 20.5 min (IQR 15.8-32.5 min;
<0.001). The median door-to-IAT time decreased from 156 min (IQR 124.5-212.5 min) to 86.5 min (IQR 67.5-102.3 min;
<0.001). The thrombolysis rate increased from 9.8% (198/2,012) to 15.8% (47/297;
=0.002), and the post-thrombolysis radiological intracranial hemorrhage rate decreased from 12.6% (25/198) to 2.1% (1/47;
=0.035).
SAT significantly decreased the in-hospital delay for thrombolysis, increased thrombolysis rate, and decreased post-thrombolysis intracranial hemorrhage. Time benefits of SAT were observed for both IVT and IAT and during office hours and after-hours.
In this study, we introduce a new melt-spinning technology for producing basalt fibers on a laboratory scale and provide a dynamic model describing the basalt-fiber spinning process with the thermal ...effect in terms of an Arrhenius equation. The new trial system for basalt melt-spinning was established, while a microwave furnace was used to melt the quarried basalt rocks. And a susceptor, i.e., silicon carbide (SiC) was applied. A crucible with a one-hole bushing took the role of the spinning block, which was placed in the heating zone. A take-up device controlled by a PC was installed and the take-up speed was varied in order to investigate the fiber drawing effect on the thickness produced. Experimental results demonstrated that this new system is feasible for producing basalt fibers. The theoretical estimate of the fiber diameter profile with the Arrhenius viscosity description along the spinning line agreed well with the measurement. The diameter profile of the basalt fibers decreased with a funnel-shaped profile along the spinning line, while it changed very rapidly near the bushing hole up to the position 15 mm downwards, and then the fiber diameter decreased further up to the position 30 mm. In the remaining spinning zone the diameter reduction was very small. The gravitational effect of the molten basalt in the crucible on the fiber diameter was negligible.
This research investigates the effects that perturbations in roller drafting operations have on fiber bundles in the draft zone. In particular, it examines the effect of perturbations on the ...thickness of the output bundle. To do so, a test signal was characterized by a stochastic signal with an autocorrelation function and was generated using the Random Phase Spectral (RPS) method. Each stochastic signal represented perturbations in the roller drafting. Then, the spatial and temporal distributions of the linear density of the fiber bundle in the drafting zone were simulated, using the mathematical model that described the bundle flow dynamics in the roller drafting process, and the irregularities of the output linear density were estimated. Results showed that changes in the bundle cohesion, input linear density, and draft ratio led to distinctive variations with some special pattern in the output bundle linear density, but changes in the draft process speed did not. For example, perturbations in the bundle cohesion generated a stochastically periodic component in the irregularities of the output linear density. In contrast, periodic attributes generated from perturbations in the input linear density subsided in the output bundle as the perturbation intensity increased. At the same time, the output bundle irregularity was strongly influenced by the perturbation strength of the input linear density. Variation in the draft ratio appeared similarly in the output thickness irregularities. However, variations in the process speed did not influence the output irregularities, indicating that inertial effects of the fiber bundle on the draft dynamics can be neglected.
Japanese Erwinia pyrifoliae strains cause bacterial shoot blight of pear (BSBP) in Japan. The genetics of Japanese Erwinia remains largely unknown relative to the abundant genomic information ...available for other Erwinia strains. We compared the genome of Japanese and Korean E. pyrifoliae strains along with those of E. amylovora and E. tasmaniensis. Comparisons with the Korean E. pyrifoliae strain revealed numerous gene insertions/deletions, rearrangements, and inversions in the central regions of the chromosomes. Approximately 80% (2843) of coding DNA sequences (CDSs) are shared by these two genomes which represent about three-quarters of the genome, and there are about 20% unique CDSs. Comparative analysis with closely related erwinias showed that 1942 (more than 50%) core open reading frames (ORF) are shared by all these strains. In addition to two type III secretion systems (hrp/dsp and inv/spa), the genome of Ejp617 encodes numerous virulence factors, including a type VI secretion system, an exopolysaccharide synthesis cluster, and another protein secretion system present in plant pathogenic Erwinia strains. The availability of whole genome sequence should provide a resource to further improve the understanding of pathogenesis in Japanese E. pyrifoliae Ejp617 and to facilitate evolutionary studies among the species of the genus Erwinia.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Core spun yarn is understood as a cross-sectionally structured composite yarn in which the core strand is wrapped by staples. The quality of the core spun yarn is thus determined by the structural ...characteristics, if the core filaments are firmly located in the center of the yarn and well covered by the sheath-staples. A variety of core spun yarns can be attained by various combinations of sheath staples and core filaments, which leads to a better mechanical, thermal, or physiological performance of the yarn. Applying the ring spinning principle, however, to manufacture the core spun yarn often causes defects in the yarn; for example, the aesthetic defects due to the appearance of the core filaments on the yarn surface. In this study we conceived and constructed a measuring system that operates on the machine vision along with programs for recognizing the surface defects and monitoring the measuring process. We checked the feasibility of the new measurement system. Experimental trials demonstrated that the wrapping defect measurement system gave reproducible and trustable results. The twist effect on the surface defects of the core spun yarn, which is closely related with the probable occurrence of the core filaments on the yarn surface, can be described by a wrapping defect index and it revealed that there is a twist level that provides the yarn with the minimum number of defects on the surface.
The dynamics of the friction yarn formation process is described in terms of the dynamic behavior of the process state variables. Production efficiency and product quality of friction spinning are ...influenced by these process state variables. This study was performed with the intention of setting up a dynamic model based on mass balance in order to delineate the dynamic behavior of the cross-sectional area of the in-process bundle on the friction drum surface and to attain the distribution profiles of the cross-sectional area in transient state and in steady state as well. Then, simulation results were compared with those of the experiment, while the input variation was used as a test signal. Theoretical model shows that the bundle thickness on the friction drum has the dynamic characteristics of an integrating system with interval due to the finite length of the input fleece zone, and is in good correspondence with the results of the experiment. A periodic change in the fleece feeding rate led to the fact that there was a specific range of the fluctuation wavelength in the fleece feeding rate, whereas a change in the in-process bundle thickness completely disappeared or became locally maximized in certain wavelength areas. This could lead to a magnification or inaction of the perturbations with the corresponding wavelength in the bundle thickness; a bundle thickness irregularity. Experiments also identified that the theoretical model accurately described the fiber accumulation dynamics in a friction spinning process.
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