Background and purpose
A common single nucleotide polymorphism, Val66Met, in the human brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene has a potential role in the pathogenesis and treatment of stroke. ...The relevance of the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism to long‐term stroke outcomes was examined, specifically with respect to changes in corticospinal integrity.
Methods
Thirty‐five stroke patients with unilateral motor weakness were genotyped within 2 weeks after onset (T1), and changes in the integrity of the ipsilesional corticospinal tract (CST) as well as alterations in motor function at 1 month (T2) and 3 months after onset (T3) were tracked.
Results
On the basis of the Fugl−Meyer assessment upper extremity score, carriers of the Met allele (Val/Met and Met/Met) showed poorer motor outcomes at T2 and T3 compared to carriers of only the Val allele (Val/Val). For both BDNF allele types, patients exhibited characteristic degeneration of the CST compared to healthy controls. There were no differences between the two genotypes with respect to time‐dependent changes in diffusion‐tensor‐imaging‐derived parameters of the CST. However, the two groups showed different relationships between motor outcomes and directional diffusivities according to the elapsed time after onset. Poorer motor function was associated with lower axial diffusivity values for the Val/Val genotype group in the sub‐acute phase (T1 and T2) but with higher radial diffusivity values for the Val/Met and Met/Met genotype group in the early chronic phase (T3).
Conclusions
Motor recovery in stroke patients may be affected by the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism, possibly through its effects on distinct pathological processes underlying corticospinal degeneration.
Background and purpose: Decreased visual function is one of the non‐motor dysfunctions of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recent evidences suggest that essential tremor (ET) is not ‘pure’ motor disorder ...and there is growing evidence that this disease is a multiple‐system disorder. In some cases, it is difficult to differentiate ET from PD. In addition, there is considerable controversy regarding the relationship between PD and ET. The objective of this study was to compare color discrimination dysfunction amongst patients with PD and ET and to investigate the clinical relevance.
Methods: Case–control comparisons of 54 patients with PD, 36 patients with ET, and 34 age‐matched controls were performed. All cases underwent Farnsworth–Munsell 100 Hue test (FMT) and clinical assessments on medication. In addition, the association between color vision abnormalities and motor handicaps was investigated.
Results: There were significant differences in the total error scores (TES) of the FMT amongst the three groups; patients with the PD had higher TES than the patients with ET and the controls after adjustments for age. In addition, the motor symptom severity in PD correlated with the FMT abnormalities, especially with regard to the axial symptoms.
Conclusion: The results of this study suggest that color vision abnormalities may be one of the non‐motor clinical characteristics of PD‐related dysfunction in contrast to ET. In addition, the severity of axial motor symptoms was closely related to visual dysfunction. Confirmation of these findings as well as the mechanisms underlying these results requires further study.
This study is an epidemiologic investigation of nosocomial severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV) transmission among healthcare workers (HCWs) after contact with an index patient. ...The aim of this study was to determine whether exposure to blood or bloody respiratory secretion is associated with human-to-human transmission of SFTSV.
Eleven days after the index patient died, two HCWs who had close exposure to the patient presented with typical symptoms of SFTS. An epidemiological investigation was conducted on all 25 HCWs who had been in close contact with the index patient. Clinical and laboratory data were collected, and transmission rate before and after the index patient had haemorrhagic manifestations was analysed.
Among 25 HCWs who had direct contact with the index patient, five HCWs were confirmed to have SFTS. All five HCWs had contact to blood or bloody respiratory secretions of the index patient without adequate use of personal protective equipment (PPE). No HCW with contact before haemorrhagic manifestations of the index patient contracted SFTS. Overall, the transmission rate was higher for HCWs who had contact after the index patient had haemorrhagic manifestations (33.3%, five of 15 HCWs, vs. 0%, zero of ten HCWs, p 0.041).
In HCWs who are inadequately protected, person-to-person transmission of SFTSV may be associated with contact with blood or bloody respiratory secretions. Therefore, universal precaution and full PPE is highly recommended for protection against SFTSV when there are signs of bleeding.
Background and purpose: Dopamine dysregulation in restless legs syndrome (RLS) may be varied by the severity of RLS, which could contribute to the conflicting results from previous functional ...neuroimaging studies on the central dopaminergic neurotransmission of RLS. The aim of this study was to observe whether reduced striatal dopaminergic neurotransmission is associated with moderate to moderately severe RLS.
Methods: Thirteen elderly patients with RLS and 12 normal elderly controls were enrolled in the study. All the subjects were dopaminergic‐drug naïve and twelve patients with RLS had the severity of moderate to moderately severe degree based on the International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group (IRLSSG) Severity Scale. We compared dopamine transporter density (DAT) availability and D2 receptor density in the striatum between patients with RLS and controls using 123I2β‐carbomethoxy‐3β‐(4‐iodophenyl)tropane single‐photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and 123Iiodobenzamide SPECT.
Results: Dopamine transporter density of patients with RLS was increased in the caudate (P = 0.037), posterior putamen (P = 0.041), and entire striatum (P = 0.046) compared with that of normal controls. DAT density was higher in the anterior putamen of patients with RLS than controls, although statistically not significant (P = 0.079). There was no difference in the D2 receptor density between patients with RLS and normal controls in the whole striatum or any of subregions.
Conclusions: Dysregulation rather than simple upregulation or downregulation of central dopaminergic neurotransmission may underlie the pathogenesis of RLS, and decreased dopaminergic neurotransmission may cause moderate to moderately severe RLS in the elderly.
Objective. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is prevalent among the elderly in Asian countries; however, the utilization of total knee replacement (TKR) is unknown. Using data from a national registry, we ...sought to estimate the incidence of TKR by age and sex, and the trend for TKR utilization from 2002 to 2005 in South Korea. Methods. Reimbursement records from all hospitals in South Korea were extracted from the Health Insurance Review Agency (HIRA) database. Records with both the procedure code corresponding to a TKR and the diagnosis code of knee OA were selected. We estimated the age- and sex-specific rates of TKR. To compare the rate of TKR between men and women, we calculated age-standardized risk ratios. A TKR registry from a single centre containing more clinical information was analysed, and the differences in the clinical features between men and women were compared. Results. From 2002 to 2005, 47 961 TKRs were performed in subjects over the age of 40 yrs due to OA. The rate of TKR has increased over the 4 yrs and was much higher in women than in men. Compared with men, the age-standardized rate ratios for TKR in women ranged from 7.4 to 8.0. The single-centre registry data revealed that there was no difference in age, disease duration and the Kellgren–Lawrence grade at the time of surgery between men and women. Conclusion. Using a national database, we found that the rate of TKR increased steadily from 2002 to 2005 in South Korea. The TKR rate in women was much higher than that in men. Risk factors that account for such disparity in TKR utilization need to be further investigated.
A performance of forced arterial suction thrombectomy was not reported for the treatment of acute basilar artery occlusion. This study compared revascularization performance between intra-arterial ...fibrinolytic treatment and forced arterial suction thrombectomy with a Penumbra reperfusion catheter in patients with acute basilar artery occlusion.
Fifty-seven patients with acute basilar artery occlusion were treated with intra-arterial fibrinolysis (n = 25) or forced arterial suction thrombectomy (n = 32). Baseline characteristics, successful revascularization rate, and clinical outcomes were compared between the groups.
Baseline characteristics, the frequency of patients receiving intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, and mean time interval between symptom onset and femoral puncture did not differ between groups. The forced arterial suction thrombectomy group had a shorter procedure duration (75.5 minutes versus 113.3 minutes, P = .016) and higher successful revascularization rate (88% versus 60%, P = .017) than the fibrinolysis group. Fair outcome, indicated by a modified Rankin Scale 0-3, at 3 months was achieved in 34% of patients undergoing forced arterial suction thrombectomy and 8% of patients undergoing fibrinolysis (P = .019), and the mortality rate was significantly higher in the fibrinolysis group (25% versus 68%, P = .001). Multiple logistic regression analysis identified the forced arterial suction thrombectomy method as an independent predictor of fair outcome with adjustment for age, sex, initial NIHSS score, and the use of intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (odds ratio, 7.768; 95% CI, 1.246-48.416; P = .028).
In acute basilar artery occlusion, forced arterial suction thrombectomy demonstrated a higher revascularization rate and improved clinical outcome compared with traditional intra-arterial fibrinolysis. Further clinical trials with the newer Penumbra catheter are warranted.
Summary The purpose of this study was to compare the short‐ and long‐term changes in condylar position related to the glenoid fossa, and skeletal and occlusal stability after orthognathic surgery. ...All of the study patients were assessed by cone‐beam computed tomography images for condylar rotational changes and anteroposterior position in the pre‐surgery, post‐surgery and post‐retention period. The condylar positions were evaluated on three planes: axial, coronal and sagittal. In the skeletal and occlusal measurements, there was no significant difference between the post‐surgery group and the post‐retention group. After sagittal split ramus osteotomy (SSRO), the condyle on the axial plane rotated inward (P < 0·05) and maintained during the post‐retention period. In the anteroposterior condylar position related to the glenoid fossa, the condyles had changed from the anterior position in the pre‐surgery group to a concentric position in the post‐surgery group and then returned to the anterior position in the post‐retention groups. These results suggested that the changed anteroposterior condylar position in the glenoid fossa after SSRO with rigid fixation had moved from a concentric to anterior position for post‐retention period.
Monolayer MoS2 (1L-MoS2) has photoluminescence (PL) properties that can greatly vary via transition between neutral and charged exciton PLs depending on carrier density. Here, for the first time, we ...present a chemical doping method for reversible transition between neutral and charged excitons of 1L-MoS2 using chlorine-hydrogen-based plasma functionalization. The PL of 1L-MoS2 is drastically increased by p-type chlorine plasma doping in which its intensity is easily tuned by controlling the plasma treatment duration. We find that despite their strong adhesion, a post hydrogen plasma treatment can very effectively dedope chlorine adatoms in a controllable way while maintaining robust structural integrity, which enables well-defined reversible PL control of 1L-MoS2. After exhaustive chlorine dedoping, the hydrogen plasma process induces n-type doping of 1L-MoS2, degrading the PL further, which can also be recovered by subsequent chlorine plasma treatment, extending the range of tunable PL into a bidirectional regime. This cyclically-tunable carrier doping method can be usefully employed in fabricating highly-tunable n- and p-type domains in monolayer transition-metal dichalcogenides suitable for two-dimensional electro-optic modulators, on-chip lasers, and spin- and valley-polarized light-emitting diodes.
While the prevalence of radiographic and symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA) is higher in women, male mice are more frequently used in animal experiments to explore its pathogenesis or drug efficacy. In ...this study, we examined whether sexual dimorphism affects pain and joint degeneration in destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) mouse model.
DMM or sham surgery was performed on the knee of male and female C57BL/6 mice. Joint damage was assessed by safranin O staining and scored using the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) scoring system. Von Frey hair, incapacitance, and rotarod tests were conducted to measure joint pain. The analgesic effect of capsazepine (CPZ), a TRPV1 antagonist, was compared between male and female mice.
Histology and OARSI scoring analysis showed that cartilage degeneration developed, and progressed in both male and female DMM groups, however, damage was less severe in females at the late stage of OA. Pain behavior, as measured by mechanical allodynia, was displayed for longer in male DMM mice compared to females. Incapacitance data showed that CPZ significantly reduced DMM-induced pain in male mice but not in female mice. Immunofluorescence microscopy analysis demonstrated that DMM surgery increased the expression of TRPV1 in both female and male dorsal root ganglion (DRG). Injection of CPZ significantly suppressed TRPV1 expression in the DRG of male mice only.
Joint damage develops comparably in both female and male mice after DMM although it progresses less in females. There was a subtle sex difference in pain behaviors and analgesic efficacy of a TRPV1 antagonist, which was accompanied by a differential regulation of TPRV1.
•Lactobacillus plantarum KU5 was identified as the best strain for SMS fermentation.•L. plantarum KU5 and molasses improved fermentability and aerobic stability of SMS.•Ensiling in ton-bag silos ...reduced aerobic stability and increased NH3-N content.
In the first experiment, the effect of two novel Lactobacillus plantarum strains was studied on the fermentation of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) through 10d of ensiling. Based on lactic acid production and lactic acid bacteria population, L. plantarum KU5 was identified as the best strain for fermentation with a 5-L bag silo. Spent mushroom substrate was ensiled with 0.5% (v/w) L. plantarum KU5 without or with 5% molasses. Silages treated with microbial inoculant and molasses had the lowest pH and the highest fermentative odors. In a second set of experiments similar to the above 5-L silo study, the simultaneous application of L. plantarum KU5 inoculant and molasses to 80-L silos improved fermentability and aerobic stability of SMS silages. For similar treatment using ton-bag silos, aerobic stability decreased and NH3-N content increased dramatically. In conclusion, sawdust-based SMS for animal use was successfully ensiled with L. plantarum KU5 inoculant and molasses.
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