Dielectric properties of 10 edible oils and 6 fatty acids were measured over the frequency range 100
Hz–1
MHz. The effects of temperature (20–45
°C), moisture content (0.02–0.31%), and fatty acid ...component on dielectric properties of oils were investigated. Results indicated that dielectric constant
ε′ of the oils and fatty acids exhibited same frequency dependence, i.e., a general plateau from 100
Hz to 500
kHz and a decrease from 500
kHz to 1
MHz significantly (
p
<
0.05). The dielectric loss
ε″ of the oils decreased with increasing frequency from 100
Hz to 13.2
kHz and then increased with increasing frequency. The
ε′ of fatty acids increased with an increase in the number of double bonds or molecular chain length. The
ε′ of oils were mainly affected by the C
18 unsaturated fatty acids. Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis provided reliable prediction of the main fatty acid components of oils. Both
ε′ and
ε′′ of oils decreased with increasing temperature. The
ε′ of oil increased with increasing moisture content. The results obtained in this work could be useful for evaluating edible oil quality.
IgG4-related disease is characterized by histologic fibrosis with IgG4-positive plasma cell infiltration. Our study evaluated MR imaging features of IgG4-related disease in the head and neck and ...brain. Images from 15 patients were retrospectively evaluated for the location, signal intensity, and enhancement patterns of lesions. Lacrimal gland enlargement was observed in 8 cases. Other lesions included orbital pseudotumor in 5, pituitary enlargement in 5, and cranial nerve enlargement in 7; the infraorbital nerve was involved in 4. All lesions were hypointense on T2-weighted images, which is typical for IgG4-related lesions. Multiple sites were involved in the head and neck and brain in 11 patients. The diagnosis of IgG4-related disease should be considered in a patient presenting with T2 hypointense lacrimal gland, pituitary, or cranial nerve enlargement, or a T2 hypointense orbital mass, especially if multiple sites in the head and neck are involved in the presence of elevated serum IgG4.
The NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) may not appropriately assess the spectrum of posterior circulation (PC)-related neurologic deficits. We determined the cutoff baseline NIHSS score that predicts ...independent daily life activity during the chronic stage in anterior circulation (AC) vs PC ischemic strokes.
A total of 310 consecutive patients hospitalized within 3 days after the onset of an ischemic stroke were prospectively enrolled in the study. Patients on thrombolytic therapy were excluded. In all patients, infarcts and vascular lesions were identified primarily using magnetic resonance techniques. A favorable outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of < or =2 at 3 months poststroke.
In 101 patients with PC stroke, the total baseline NIHSS score was lower (p < 0.001), and the subscores of ataxia (p < 0.001) and visual fields (p = 0.043) were higher than in 209 patients with AC stroke. Multivariate-adjusted OR for the favorable outcome in patients with PC vs AC stroke was 2.339 (95% CI 1.331-4.109, p = 0.003). A low baseline NIHSS score was independently predictive of a favorable outcome in both patients with PC (OR 1.547, 95% CI 1.232-1.941) and AC (1.279, 1.188-1.376) stroke. The optimal cutoff scores of the baseline NIHSS for the favorable outcome were < or =5 for patients with PC stroke (sensitivity, 84%; specificity, 81%) and < or =8 for patients with AC stroke (sensitivity, 80%; specificity, 82%).
The cutoff score of the baseline NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) for a favorable chronic outcome was relatively low in patients with PC stroke compared to patients with AC stroke. The NIHSS appears to have limitations with respect to its use when comparing the neurologic severity of PC and AC stroke.
Background and purpose
A transient ischemic attack (TIA) can occur without self‐awareness of symptoms. We aimed to investigate characteristics of patients with a tissue‐based diagnosis of TIA but ...having no self‐awareness of their symptoms and whose symptoms were witnessed by bystanders.
Methods
We used data from the multicenter registry of 1414 patients with a clinical diagnosis of TIA. For patients without evidence of ischemic lesions on imaging, clinical characteristics were compared between patients with and without self‐awareness of their TIA symptoms.
Results
Among 896 patients (559 men, median age of 70 years), 59 (6.6%) were unaware of their TIA symptoms, but had those symptoms witnessed by bystanders. Patients without self‐awareness of symptoms were older and more frequently female, and more likely to have previous history of stroke, premorbid disability, and atrial fibrillation, but less likely to have dyslipidemia than those with self‐awareness. Patients without self‐awareness of symptoms arrive at hospitals earlier than those with self‐awareness (P < 0.001). ABCD2 score was higher in patients without self‐awareness of symptoms than those with self‐awareness (median 5 vs. 4, P = 0.002). Having no self‐awareness of symptoms was a significant predictor of ischemic stroke within 1 year after adjustment for sex, ABCD2 score, and onset to arrival time (hazard ratio = 2.44, 95% confidential interval: 1.10–4.83), but was not significant after further adjustment for arterial stenosis or occlusion.
Conclusions
Patients with a TIA but having no self‐awareness of their symptoms might have higher risk of subsequent ischemic stroke rather than those with self‐awareness, suggesting urgent management is needed even if patients have no self‐awareness of symptoms.
Graphical Table of Contents Among 896 patients (559 men, median age of 70 years) with diagnosis of a tissue‐based transient ischemic attack (TIA), 59 (6.6%) were unaware of their symptoms but had their symptoms witnessed by bystanders. The cumulative incidence rate of occurrence of ischemic stroke after 1 year from TIA was higher in patients without self‐awareness than those with self‐awareness (16.3% vs. 6.9%, log‐rank; P = 0.010).
The study focused on application of dielectric spectroscopy to identify the adulteration of olive oil. The dielectric properties of binary mixture of oils were investigated in the frequency range of ...101
Hz–1
MHz. A partial least squares (PLS) model was developed and used to verify the concentrations of the adulterant. Furthermore, the principal component analysis (PCA) was used to classify olive oil sample as distinct from other adulterants based on their dielectric spectra. The results showed that the dielectric spectra of binary mixture of olive oil spiked with other oils increased with increasing concentration of soy, corn, canola, sesame, and perilla oils from 0% to 100% (w/w) over the measured frequency range. PLS calibration model showed a good prediction capability for the concentrations of the adulterant. For olive oil adulterated with soy oil, the results showed that the RMS was 0.053, sd(RMS), 0.017 and
Q
2 value was 0.967. PCA classification plots for all oil samples showed clear performance in the differentiation for the different concentrations of the adulterant. Each of the oil samples could be easily grouped in different clusters using dielectric spectra. From the results obtained in this research, dielectric spectroscopy could be used to discriminate the olive oil adulterated with the different types of the oils at levels of adulteration below 5%.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of antiplatelet therapy on the initial severity and the acute outcome of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).
The authors reviewed records of 251 ...consecutive patients hospitalized in their cerebrovascular center within 24 hours after onset of ICH.
Fifty-seven patients (23%) had development of ICH during oral antiplatelet therapy. The major indication for antiplatelet therapy was the prevention of stroke recurrence (63%). As compared with patients without antiplatelet therapy, those who received antiplatelet therapy more frequently were aged 70 years or older (60% vs 35%; p < 0.001), had previous symptomatic ischemic stroke (54% vs 7%; p < 0.0001), had diabetes mellitus (26% vs 15%; p < 0.05), and had heart disease (32% vs 8%; p < 0.0001). Antiplatelet therapy was predictive of an increase in the hematoma volume by more than 40% on the second hospital day (hematoma enlargement, odds ratio OR 7.67, 95% CI 1.62 to 36.4) and the need for emergent surgical evacuation of the hematoma (OR 3.10, 95% CI 1.18 to 8.15). Antiplatelet therapy was an independent predictor for the occurrence of any of hematoma enlargement, emergent death, or evacuation surgery, which suggests that clinical deterioration occurs into the second hospital day (OR 7.45, 95% CI 2.46 to 22.5).
Antiplatelet therapy seems to contribute to the acute clinical deterioration of intracerebral hemorrhage.
Summary
Background
The Wisteria floribunda agglutinin‐positive human Mac‐2‐binding protein (WFA+‐M2BP) is a new liver fibrosis glycobiomarker with unique fibrosis‐related glyco‐alteration. WFA+‐M2BP ...is also a useful surrogate marker for the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma and for the liver functional reserve.
Aim
To evaluate the diagnostic ability of WFA+‐M2BP for liver fibrosis in the clinical setting and the clinical utility of WFA+‐M2BP for predicting the efficacy of direct‐acting anti‐viral (DAA) treatment for chronic hepatitis C patients.
Methods
The study included 159 genotype 1 hepatitis C patients who received DAA‐based treatment (telaprevir or simeprevir) combined with pegylated‐interferon alpha plus ribavirin (108 telaprevir‐ and 51 simeprevir‐based triple treatment). The relation between baseline serum WFA+‐M2BP and treatment efficacy was evaluated.
Results
The serum WFA+‐M2BP level significantly increased with the progress of liver fibrosis. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis identified 2.17 as the cut‐off index (COI) for WFA+‐M2BP for diagnosing advanced fibrosis. The sustained virological response (SVR) rate was significantly, negatively correlated with the serum WFA+‐M2BP level. Multiple logistic regression analysis found a low serum WFA+‐M2BP level (<2.17 COI) to be independently associated with SVR (odds ratio, 4.35, P = 0.027). Even for prior nonresponders and patients with the interleukin‐28B minor allele or histological advanced fibrosis, treatment outcome was favourable for patients with a low serum WFA+‐M2BP level.
Conclusion
Serum WFA+‐M2BP is a non‐invasive liver fibrosis marker useful for predicting the efficacy of DAA‐based triple therapy for chronic hepatitis C patients.
Chromium nitride (CrN) films are superior to the titanium nitride film in corrosion and wear resistances, and friction behavior. CrN has been widely applied to the molding dies, machine parts and ...sliding part. In the present paper, additions of aluminum and vanadium into CrN films were performed with an expectation of improvement in tribological properties. CrN, CrAlN and CrVN were deposited by a cathodic arc ion plating. Deposited films were characterized by X-ray diffraction for crystal structure identification and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for chemical composition analysis. Diffraction peaks that appeared were similar in position and orientation in all films because the crystal structure and the lattice constant for CrN, VN and AlN are close to each other. The composition of the film deposited with Al and V was estimated to be Cr
70Al
30N and Cr
50V
50N, respectively. Knoop hardness test showed that CrAlN was harder than CrN and CrVN. Friction and wear tests were carried out by a ball-on-disk tribometer with stainless steel and cemented carbide balls as a counter material, with and without lubricant. Flaking occurred on CrN with stainless steel ball in wear tests without lubrication by ball-on-disk tribometer, but that did not occur on CrAlN and CrVN films. In the case of the wear test with cemented carbide ball, depth of wear track on CrN film reached to the substrate. The friction coefficient was almost the same for CrN and CrAlN films; however, that for CrVN film was lower than other films, in motor oil. V addition into CrN film successfully improved its tribological properties.
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