We developed a compact system for the spectroscopic mapping of a microstructure with a nano-focused beam at a soft X-ray beamline of synchrotron radiation. The experimental setup comprises a Wolter ...mirror and sample that are arranged with two mounting stages. The Wolter mirror is aligned with three degrees of freedom, and the sample with two degrees. The system generates a beam with an 800-nm spot and maps out a chemical distribution of non-uniform material through near-edge X-ray fine structure spectroscopy. The design and actual system are suited to experiments conducted with a nano-focused X-ray beam at beamlines of synchrotron radiation or an X-ray free-electron laser. Additionally, this technical note presents guidelines for actual experiments.
Let Ω be a bounded domain of ℝN (N ≥ 1) whose boundary ∂Ω is a C2 compact manifolds. In the present paper we shall study a variational problem relating the weighted Hardy inequalities established in ...4. As weights we adopt powers of the distance function 𝛿(x) to the boundary ∂Ω.
Current therapeutics are not effective for orofacial neuropathic pain, and better options are needed. The present study used inferior orbital nerve (ION)-injured mice to investigate the effect of ...inhibiting monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL), an enzyme that degrades the major endocannabinoid 2-arachydonoylgycerol (2-AG) in orofacial neuropathic pain. The head-withdrawal threshold to mechanical stimulation of the whisker pad was reduced on days 3, 5, and 7 after ION injury. Injection of JZL184, a selective inhibitor of MAGL, on day 7 after ION injury attenuated the reduction in head-withdrawal threshold at 2 h after administration. Moreover, the numbers of MAGL-immunoreactive neurons in the trigeminal subnucleus caudalis (Vc) and upper cervical spinal cord (C1-C2) were significantly greater in ION-injured mice than in sham-operated mice but were reduced after administration of JZL184. The increase in MAGL immunoreactivity suggests that increased 2-AG production is followed by rapid enzymatic degradation of 2-AG. JZL184 inhibited this degradation and thus increased 2-AG concentration in the brain, particularly in the Vc and C1-C2 regions, thus attenuating pain. Our findings suggest that inhibition of 2-AG degradation by MAGL inhibitors is a promising therapeutic option for treatment of orofacial neuropathic pain.
Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) are promising devices that can be used as neuroprostheses by severely disabled individuals. Brain surface electroencephalograms (electrocorticograms, ECoGs) can ...provide input signals that can then be decoded to enable communication with others and to control intelligent prostheses and home electronics. However, conventional systems use wired ECoG recordings. Therefore, the development of wireless systems for clinical ECoG BMIs is a major goal in the field. We developed a fully implantable ECoG signal recording device for human ECoG BMI, i.e., a wireless human ECoG-based real-time BMI system (W-HERBS). In this system, three-dimensional (3D) high-density subdural multiple electrodes are fitted to the brain surface and ECoG measurement units record 128-channel (ch) ECoG signals at a sampling rate of 1 kHz. The units transfer data to the data and power management unit implanted subcutaneously in the abdomen through a subcutaneous stretchable spiral cable. The data and power management unit then communicates with a workstation outside the body and wirelessly receives 400 mW of power from an external wireless transmitter. The workstation records and analyzes the received data in the frequency domain and controls external devices based on analyses. We investigated the performance of the proposed system. We were able to use W-HERBS to detect sine waves with a 4.8-μV amplitude and a 60-200-Hz bandwidth from the ECoG BMIs. W-HERBS is the first fully implantable ECoG-based BMI system with more than 100 ch. It is capable of recording 128-ch subdural ECoG signals with sufficient input-referred noise (3 μV
) and with an acceptable time delay (250 ms). The system contributes to the clinical application of high-performance BMIs and to experimental brain research.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to clarify the impact of postural changes during tidal breathing on the configuration and motion of chest-wall in order to further breathing motion evaluation. ...Subjects and Methods Chest-wall configuration and motion in the supine, right lateral, and sitting positions were measured using optoelectronic plethysmography in 15 healthy adult men. Results The anteroposterior diameters of the chest wall were significantly lower in the supine position for the pulmonary and abdominal rib cages, whereas the mediolateral diameters in the lateral position were lowest for the abdominal rib cage. Regarding chest-wall motion, both craniocaudal and anteroposterior motions of the anterior surface of the pulmonary and abdominal rib cages were significantly greater in the sitting position. Regarding motion of the left lateral abdominal rib cage, lateral motion was greatest in the lateral position. Conclusion Chest-wall configuration and motion changed according to posture in healthy men, particularly in the pulmonary and abdominal rib cages.
Foot deformity is one of the causes of foot ulcers. Foot ulcers often recur due to foot deformity. Foot ulcer healing alone does not reduce the risk factor of foot ulcer recurrence. The majority of ...foot ulcer patients, most of whom are elderly, have foot deformities. This limits the chances of undergoing surgical off-loading following surgery. We present a case of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) in which surgical off-loading was performed simultaneously with foot ulcer closure that did not recur for a period of 2 years following surgery. A 70-year-old diabetic male with a DFU presented to our hospital. He underwent surgical debridement followed by reconstruction surgery (stump plasty) simultaneous with surgical off-loading (metatarsal head resection).
The immediate postoperative period during which he used the off-loading device was uneventful. Following this, he used orthosis. After 2 years, the foot ulcer had not recurred, and he was able to independently perform his daily activities.
Simultaneous surgery (reconstructive surgery and surgical off-loading) is less likely to limit daily activities and can reduce the ulcer recurrence rate.
Histopathological information about spontaneous lesions in aged Hannover Wistar rats is limited. In this study, we describe spontaneous lesions found in 39 male RccHan:WIST rats used as a control in ...a carcinogenicity study. Neoplastic lesions were frequently seen in the endocrine system, such as pituitary adenomas in the pars distalis. This strain exhibited a high incidence of thymoma (10.3%), compared to other strains. We encountered an oligodendroglioma, a pituitary adenoma of the pars intermedia, and a prostate adenocarcinoma, which are comparatively rare in rats. While the variety and incidence of non-neoplastic lesions were similar to those in other strains, several interesting lesions occurred with relatively high incidence, including “harderianization” of the extraorbital lacrimal gland, common bile duct ectasia, and hyperplasia of pulmonary endocrine cells in the lung. Furthermore, comparative analyses demonstrated that the severity of chronic progressive nephropathy and murine progressive cardiomyopathy in RccHan:WIST rats was less than that in F344 rats.
Purpose: To report the midterm outcomes of a trial comparing self-expanding nitinol stents to percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) with provisional stenting in the treatment of obstructive ...disease in the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries. Materials and Methods: The SM-01 study (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT01183117), a single-blinded, multicenter, randomized controlled trial in Japan, enrolled 105 consecutive patients with de novo or postangioplasty restenotic femoropopliteal lesions; after removing protocol violations (1 from each group), 51 patients (mean age 74±8 years; 36 men) in the stent group and 52 patients (mean age 73±8 years; 35 men) in the PTA group were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. The groups were well-matched at baseline. Patients were followed to 36 months with duplex imaging. Three-year primary patency was assessed based on a duplex-derived peak systolic velocity ratio <2.5. Freedom from clinically-driven target vessel revascularization (TVR) and target lesions revascularization (TLR) were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Results: The technical success rate was higher (100% vs 48%, p<0.001) and the frequency of vascular dissection was lower (4% vs 31%, p<0.001) in the stent group. The S.M.A.R.T stent group had a higher 3-year primary patency rate (73% vs 51%, p=0.033). Freedom from clinically-driven TVR and TLR were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusion: The S.M.A.R.T. stent maintained a higher primary patency rate than PTA at 3 years in this randomized trial; the need for clinically-driven revascularization was similar for both therapies.
The performance of a multi-channel seismometer system with phase-shifted optical interferometry was improved by newly introduced sensors and a processing unit. The current version of the system ...consists of three optical wired seismometers and the unit. We deployed the system at Sakurajima Volcano and successfully operated it from June to December 2019. As the Sakurajima Volcano frequently erupts, a number of eruption events were observed during the observation period, as were a number of lightning strikes. In this study, we evaluated the observation performance of the volcanic earthquake and the noise caused by the lightning, using the spectrum and amplitude of the waveform. The results show that this sensor can observe earthquakes caused by eruptions as well as ordinary seismometers do. When the lightning struck, pulsed noise with power in a wide frequency band was observed in the existing seismometer, but not in the new sensor. Therefore, the observation was not affected by lightning. In addition, this system was found to be effective in the array analysis of volcanic earthquakes.
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