To study the utility of muscle ultrasound (US) for detection of fasciculations and its contribution to diagnosis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Fasciculations are characteristic features of ...ALS, and US can detect them easily and reliably. New diagnostic criteria for ALS, the Awaji algorithm, reintroduced fasciculations as evidence of acute denervation equivalent to that of fibrillations and positive sharp waves.
In 81 consecutive patients with sporadic ALS, we prospectively performed needle EMG and US in 6 muscles (tongue, biceps brachii, first dorsalis interosseous, paraspinalis, vastus lateralis, and tibialis anterior), and diagnostic category were determined by revised El Escorial criteria and Awaji criteria.
Fasciculations were much more frequently detected by US than by EMG in the tongue (60% vs 0%), biceps brachii (88% vs 60%), and tibialis anterior muscles (83% vs 45%). The proportion of the patients with definite or probable ALS was 48% by revised El Escorial criteria and 79% by Awaji criteria using US.
Muscle US is a practical and efficient tool to detect fasciculations, particularly in the tongue. A combination of US and EMG substantially increases the diagnostic sensitivity of ALS.
As a basic study related to a severe accident of Molten Salt Reactor (MSR), the equilibrium vapor pressures over LiF-NaF-KF eutectic salt (46.5–11.5–42.0 mol%, FLiNaK) containing Cs and I as volatile ...Fission Product(FP) were measured by a transpiration method under pure Ar gas flow at the temperature ranging from 900 to 1100 K. As the result, the vapor pressures of Cs and I in molten FLiNaK were evaluated to be higher than those of other elements in the salt, and the vapor pressure of the solvent salt elements such as Li and K also increased with addition of CsI and CsF. The activity coefficients of CsI and CsF were derived from the partial vapor pressure of CsI and CsF calculated by assuming the gas phase equilibrium. Activity coefficients of CsI, 6 to 13 in this temperature range, showed strongly positive deviation from ideal solution while those of CsF were around unity. This peculiar activity coefficients suggest instability of CsI in the FLiNaK salt as suggested for LiF-ThF4-CsI salt by literature. The vaporization behaviors measured for the FLiNaK with different Cs/I ratio indicated strong interaction between Cs and I in FLiNaK salt.
Background and purpose
Fisher syndrome (FS) may overlap with Guillain–Barré syndrome (GBS), in particular the pharyngeal–cervical–brachial variant form (PCB‐GBS), or Bickerstaff brainstem ...encephalitis (BBE). Our aim was to elucidate the frequency of this overlap and the patterns of clinical progression in patients with FS.
Methods
Sixty consecutive patients with FS were studied. FS/PCB‐GBS was diagnosed when the patients developed pharyngeal, cervical and/or brachial weakness. Patients with flaccid tetraparesis were diagnosed as having FS/conventional GBS. FS/BBE was defined as the development of consciousness disturbances.
Results
All 60 patients initially developed the FS clinical triad alone (pure FS). Of these, 30 (50%) patients had pure FS throughout their course, whereas the remaining 50% of patients showed an overlap: PCB‐GBS in 14 (23%) patients, conventional GBS in nine (15%) patients and BBE in seven (12%) patients. The median (range) durations from FS onset to progression to FS/PCB‐GBS, FS/GBS or FS/BBE were 5 (1–7), 3 (1–4) and 3 (1–5) days, respectively. Patients with overlap syndromes more frequently received immune‐modulating treatment, and the outcomes were generally favourable. The frequencies of positivity for anti‐GQ1b, GT1a, GD1a, GD1b, GalNAc‐GD1a and GM1 antibodies were not significantly different amongst the four groups.
Conclusions
Of the patients with pure FS, 50% later developed an overlap with PCB‐GBS, conventional GBS or BBE. The overlap occurred within 7 days of FS onset; thus, physicians should pay attention to the possible development of this overlap during the first week after FS onset.
ObjectivePOEMS (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M-protein and skin changes) syndrome is a rare multisystem disease characterised by plasma cell dyscrasia and overproduction of vascular ...endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF is assumed to be useful in monitoring disease activity, because VEGF levels usually decrease after treatment. However, there is no study to investigate whether the extent of decrease in VEGF correlates with clinical outcome. We tested the predictive efficacy of serum VEGF levels in POEMS syndrome.MethodThis was an institutional review board approved retrospective observational cohort study of 20 patients with POEMS monitored regularly for more than 12 months (median follow-up, 87 months) after treatment onset using our prospectively accumulated database of POEMS from 1999 to 2015. Patients were treated by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation or thalidomide administration. Serum VEGF was measured by ELISA. Outcome measures included clinical and laboratory findings and relapse-free survival.ResultsSerum VEGF levels decreased rapidly after treatment, and stabilised by 6 months post treatment. Patients with normalised serum VEGF levels (<1040 pg/mL) at 6 months showed prolonged relapse-free survival (HR=12.81, 95% CI 2.691 to 90.96; p=0.0001) and greater later clinical improvement. The rate of serum VEGF reduction over the first 6 months post treatment correlated with increased grip strength, serum albumin levels, and compound muscle action potential amplitudes at 12 months.ConclusionsSerum VEGF level at 6 months post treatment is a predicative biomarker for disease activity and prognosis in POEMS syndrome. Serum VEGF could be used as a surrogate endpoint for relapse-free survival or clinical or laboratory improvement of POEMS syndrome for clinical trials.
Stress concentration in adhesively bonded joints, which is considered a major factor affecting their strength, can be avoided by tailoring the material properties of the adhesives using a ...functionally graded adhesive (FGA). The material properties of second-generation acrylic (SGA) adhesives can be simply changed by changing the mixing ratio of the agents. However, the superiority of FGA joints using SGA adhesives has not been experimentally clarified yet. Therefore, in this study, a shear strength test and a constant load low-cycle shear test were conducted on single lap joint (SLJ) specimens tailoring the adhesive layer stepwise. The FGA specimen was compared with the non-tailored specimens using stiff or flexible adhesives. The SLJ test results showed 16% improvement in the joint strength by stepwise tailoring of the adhesive layer. Additionally, the difference in the strain distributions among the different adhesive layers was investigated via a digital image correlation (DIC) method, and the shear strain at the edge of the FGA specimen was more than 40% decreased compared to the non-tailored specimen using the flexible adhesive. The low-cycle test results also showed the superiority of the FGA specimen to the other specimens. The FGA specimen held up more than 4 times the number of cycle of other specimens with an applied load of 18 kN or more. This was attributed to the suppressed plastic deformation at the edges of the adhesive layer owing to the introduction of FGAs.
Dynamic stiffness and damping of epoxy adhesives are critical for ensuring the safety, reliability, and comfort of structures subjected to vibrations and impact loads. This study conducts split ...Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) tests to investigate the synergistic effects of silica micro-nanoparticles on these critical properties. Micro-nanoparticle content and composition ratio purity are varied at 2, 5, and 10% by weight (wt%) and from 0% (pure microparticles) to 100% (pure nanoparticles), respectively. Positive simultaneous stiffening and energy absorption effects are observed at a silica content of 5 wt% owing to improved nanoparticle dispersion; this increases the interface area and induces cooperative matrix–filler interactions. At this silica content and a composition ratio of 50%, stiffness and damping are 45 and 40% larger than those of neat epoxy, respectively. Silica micro-nanoparticles are less effective in improving particle dispersion at more than 5 wt%. Conventional mechanical dispersion is limited to applications below a certain silica content; the results suggest a simple, low-cost dispersion technique as an alternative to the in-situ technique and provide options for designing epoxy stiffness and damping appropriate for specific applications.
Background and Purpose
Vasopressin V1B receptor antagonists may be effective for the treatment of depression and anxiety and the objective of this study was to characterize the pharmacological ...profiles of two newly synthesized arginine vasopressin receptor 1B (V1B receptor) antagonists, TASP0233278 and TASP0390325.
Experimental Approach
We investigated the in vitro profiles of TASP0233278 and TASP0390325. In addition, the effect of TASP0390325 on the increase in plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) levels induced by corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRF)/desmopressin (dDAVP) was investigated. We also investigated the antidepressant and anxiolytic profiles of TASP0233278 and TASP0390325 in animal models.
Key Results
Both TASP0233278 and TASP0390325 showed a high affinity and potent antagonist activity for V1B receptors. Oral administration of TASP0390325 antagonized the increase in plasma ACTH levels induced by CRF/dDAVP in rats, indicating that TASP0390325 blocks the anterior pituitary V1B receptor in vivo. Oral administration of TASP0233278 or TASP0390325 also exerted antidepressant effects in two models of depression (a forced swimming test and an olfactory bulbectomy model). Moreover, TASP0233278 improved depressive‐like behaviour induced by repeated treatment with corticosterone, a model that has been shown to be resistant to treatment with currently prescribed antidepressants. In addition to depression models, TASP0233278 or TASP0390325 exerted anxiolytic effects in several anxiety models (social interaction, elevated plus‐maze, stress‐induced hyperthermia, separation‐induced ultrasonic vocalization and sodium lactate‐induced panic‐like responses in panic‐prone rats).
Conclusion
TASP0233278 and TASP0390325 are potent and orally active V1B receptor antagonists with antidepressant and anxiolytic activities in rodents.
Aims: To quantitatively analyse the faecal bacterial communities of Holstein calves and track their succession up to 12 weeks of age.
Methods and Results: Faecal samples obtained from four female ...Holstein calves were analysed by the RNA‐based, sequence‐specific rRNA cleavage method. Twelve scissor probes covering major rumen bacterial groups were used, detecting c. 60–90% of the total 16S rRNAs. At 1 week of age, 16S rRNAs from members of the Bacteroides‐Prevotella group (40·0% of the total 16S rRNAs), Faecalibacterium (21·7%), the Clostridium coccoides–Eubacterium rectale group (16·7%) and the Atopobium cluster (10·9%) were detected at high levels. Throughout the 12‐week period, rRNAs of the Bacteroides‐Prevotella and the Cl. coccoides‐Eu. rectale groups constituted the major fraction of microbiota (c. 50–70% of the total). The relative abundances of the Atopobium cluster, Faecalibacterium, and some probiotic bacteria (such as those of the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium) decreased as the animal aged. Instead, an uncultivated rumen bacterial group, as well as Ruminococcus flavefaciens and Fibrobacter emerged at the detectable levels (1–2%) in the faeces sampled at a postweaning age. In addition, certain bacterial groups that were not covered by the probe suite increased as the animals aged.
Conclusions: Young calves undergo dynamic changes in their intestinal bacterial community during the first 12 weeks of life. As young ruminants undergo metabolic and physiological development in their digestive tracts in the transition from a monogastric to a ruminant animal at an early age, the intestinal bacterial community may reflect such development.
Significance and Impact of the Study: The succession of the bacterial communities in the faeces of calves was quantitatively monitored in the present study for the first time. The approach used here was demonstrated to be a useful means for determining the populations of predominant faecal bacterial groups in a variety of calf experiments in response to diet, stress and disease.
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