Rapid immunocytochemistry (ICC) can improve the accuracy of intraoperative cytological diagnoses; however, it is usually applied without heat-induced antigen retrieval (HIAR). We established a HIAR ...method for rapid ICC and evaluated its efficacy and reliability. Rapidly fixed smear samples were immunostained using 35 antibodies. We compared the results of HIAR by boiling in a pot or heating in an electric kettle. The smears were incubated for 3 min with each primary antibody and immuno-enzyme polymer reagent, and for 1 min with diaminobenzidine solution. HIAR for 1 min using the kettle method yielded the best cellular integrity. For 32 out of the 35 antibodies, results achieved using rapid ICC within 11 min were comparable to that achieved using standard ICC. HIAR was essential for 13 antibodies. For two of the antibodies, HIAR was not required when standard ICC was applied, but consistent staining with rapid ICC was obtained only with HIAR. In conclusion, we established a rapid ICC procedure using a simple HIAR method, which allowed efficient immunostaining of a panel of antigens, including nuclear antigens, within only 11 min. The combined use of this rapid ICC technique with other staining techniques could be useful for improving intraoperative cytological diagnoses.
An adhesion model in Distinct Element Method (DEM) for mixing of food powders having different adhesive forces was developed. It is necessary to determine which adhesive force should be applied in ...the DEM simulation when the particles having high adhesive force and particles having low adhesive force during mixing come in contact with each other. The simulations of mixing behavior of particles having high, low and their average adhesive forces were performed to discuss the effects of adhesive forces on mixing behavior. While, in order to compare to the mixing behavior simulated, two types of mixing experiments of salt and potato starch, and wheat flour and potato starch which have different adhesive forces were carried out. As a result, it was found that when the particles having different adhesive forces contact, the mixing behavior and mixing index of the simulation using the values of high adhesive force would be in agreement with those of the experiment.
Controlling flow behavior of micro food powder in the mixer is important for improving the efficiency of premix powder production. Four important factors (particle diameter, particle diameter ...distribution, particle shape, adhesion force) which could influence the flow behavior in the mixer were examined by several experiments and Distinct Element Method simulations. The experiments and simulations showed that the particle diameter, particle diameter distribution and particle shape had little effect on the flow behavior of the food powder in the rotating drum, while the adhesive force had a very large effect. On the basis of this finding, we proposed a simple adhesion model for representing the behavior of micro food powder in the mixer. It was found that the flow behavior of several kinds of food powder can be represented by the proposed model.
Excessive assistance may decrease stroke patients' physical activity and make them more dependent on assistance. We have structured a system that provides an ADL (activities of daily living) ...educational program that focuses on stroke patients' toileting in our daily clinical practice. Here, we investigated the effect of a functional independence measure (FIM) scale on the recovery of patients with acute stroke.We retrospectively collected the data of 407 stroke patients from the medical record system of our emergency hospital in Tsukuba, Japan. The enrolled stroke patients (n = 373) were divided into FIM and control groups. Both groups received the standard treatment, but for the FIM group, ward and rehabilitation staff calculated the toilet FIM score for patients 1 ×/wk. The FIM scale measures the amount of assistance a patient needs to perform activities of daily living and is often used in rehabilitation settings. The rehabilitation staff then instructed the ward staff about better assistance methods based on each patient's physical function and executive dysfunction. We evaluated the usefulness of the FIM scale was based on the patients' FIM scores at discharge and improvements in their scores.The recoveries of the total, motor, and cognitive FIM scores recovery at discharge were significantly greater in the FIM group compared with the control group (68.0 vs 45.0, P = .004; 41.0 vs 24.0, P = .005; and 24.0 vs 20.0, P = .007, respectively). The use of the FIM scale contributes to the patients' recovery of physical function and cognitive function.The FIM scale can contribute to stroke patients' recovery of activities of daily living.
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