Morphological evaluation of the mandibular lingula using cone-beam computed tomography

Background: Lingula is a tongue-like flap of bone that overlaps the mandibular foramen antero-medially and location is clinically significant in oral and maxillofacial surgeries. The aim of this study was to assess the shape and precise location of lingula using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Materials and methods: In this study, 3-dimensional images provided by CBCT of 63 patients (28 females, 35 males, age range 25–70 years) were retrospectively evaluated. All CBCT images were performed due to implant planning. From both sides of 63 mandibles were classified in the following shapes: triangular, truncated, nodular and assimilated. The location was determined by 5 distances from the lingula: the anterior and the posterior borders of the mandibular ramus, man­dibular notch and lover border of mandible. Height of the lingula was measured from the lingular tip to the mandibular foramen. Results: Nodular shape of lingula was the most commonly found (32.5%). The mean distance of lingula from anterior and posterior borders of mandibular ramus was 18.5 ± 2.3 and 16.9 ± 3.5 mm, respectively. The lingula was located at 18.1 ± 3.6 mm from the mandibular notch and 38.3 mm from the lover border of mandible. The mean height of lingula was 7.8 ± 2.4 mm. Conclusions: The present study provides the morphological variation and localization of the lingula. The lingula is an important clinical landmark for mandibular osteotomy, and for determining the distance to mandibular foramen entrance

The chemokine CXCL13 in acute neuroborreliosis

Objective Recent studies have suggested an important role of the B cell chemoattractant CXCL13 in acute neuroborreliosis (NB). Our aim was to confirm the diagnostic role of CXCL13 and to evaluate its relevance as a therapy response and disease activity marker in NB. Methods CXCL13 was measured in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum of patients with NB (n = 28), systemic borreliosis (SB, n = 9), Guillaine-Barre syndrome (GBS, n = 11), Bell's palsy (BP, n = 19), other cranial nerve palsies (CNP, n = 5), cephalgia (C, n = 20), bacterial CNS infections (B-CNS-I, n = 16) and viral CNS infections (V-CNS-I, n = 18). For follow-up studies, serial sample pairs were evaluated from 25 patients with NB (n = 56), 11 with B-CNS-I (n = 25) and 14 with V-CNS-I (n = 36). Results CSF-CXCL13 was significantly elevated in NB compared with other neurological diseases (p<0.001). Using receiver operating characteristic analysis, 337 ng/g was determined as a cut-off with a sensitivity of 96.4% and a specificity of 96.9%. Of all the parameters investigated, CSF CXCL13 showed the fastest response to antibiotic therapy, decreasing significantly (p = 0.008) within 1 week. In untreated patients, CSF CXCL13 was elevated in patients with a short duration of disease. Borrelia burgdorferi antibody index showed no significant (p = 0.356) change over follow-up. Conclusions The study confirms the relevance of CXCL13 as a diagnostic biomarker of NB and suggests that CSF CXCL13 in NB is linked to duration of disease and could be a marker of disease activity and response to antibiotic therapy

"Playstation eyetoy games" improve upper extremity-related motor functioning in subacute stroke:a randomized controlled clinical trial

Aim. To evaluate the effects of "Playstation EyeToy Games" on upper extremity motor recovery and upper extremity-related motor functioning of patients with subacute stroke. Methods. The authors designed a randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded, 4-week trial, with follow-up at 3 months. A total of 20 hemiparetic inpatients (mean age 61.1 years), all within 12 months post-stroke, received 30 minutes of treatment with "Playstation EyeToy Games" per day, consisting of flexion and extension of the paretic shoulder, elbow and wrist as well as abduction of the paretic shoulder or placebo therapy (watching the games for the same duration without physical involvement into the games) in addition to conventional program, 5 days a week, 2-5 hours/day for 4 weeks. Brunnstrom's staging and self-care subitems of the functional independence measure (FIM) were performed at 0 month (baseline), 4 weeks (post-treatment), and 3 months (follow-up) after the treatment. Results. The mean change score (95% confidence interval) of the FIM self-care score (5.5 [2.9-8.0] vs 1.8 [0.1-3.7], P=0.018) showed significantly more improvement in the EyeToy group compared to the control group. No significant differences were found between the groups for the Brunnstrom stages for hand and upper extremity. Conclusion. "Playstation EyeToy Games" combined with a conventional stroke rehabilitation program have a potential to enhance upper extremity-related motor functioning in subacute stroke patients.</div

Magnetic Nanoparticles for Plasmid DNA Adsorption via Hydrophobic Interaction

This study aims the preparation of magnetic poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate-N-methacryloyl-Lphenylalanine), [poly(HEMA-MAPA)] nanoparticles for plasmid DNA separation on the basis of hydrophobic interactions. Magnetic nanoparticles will be produced emulsion polymerization of 2- hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA) and N-methacryloyl-L-phenylalanine (MAPA) monomers. Nanosized particles including hydrophobic groups stemmed from polymerizable derivative of phenylalanine aminoacid were evaluated to offer surface area that is enough for the higher capacity DNA purification than commercial micronsized sorbents for DNA purification. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/3494

CSF levels of glutamine synthetase and GFAP to explore astrocytic damage in seronegative NMOSD

OBJECTIVE: To explore levels of astrocytopathy in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) by measuring levels of the astrocytic enzyme glutamine synthetase (GS) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an established astrocytic biomarker known to be associated with disease activity in multiple sclerosis. METHODS: Cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of GS and GFAP were measured by ELISA in patients with NMOSD (n=39, 28 aquaporin-4 (AQP4)-Ab-seropositive, 3 double-Ab-seronegative, 4 myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-Ab-seropositive and 4 AQP4-Ab-seronegative with unknown MOG-Ab-serostatus), multiple sclerosis (MS) (n=69), optic neuritis (n=5) and non-neurological controls (n=37). RESULTS: GFAP and GS concentrations differed significantly across groups (both p<0.001), showing a similar pattern of elevation in patients with AQP4-Ab-seropositive NMOSD. GS and GFAP were significantly correlated, particularly in patients with AQP4-Ab-seropositive NMOSD (rs=0.70, p<0.001). Interestingly, GFAP levels in some patients with double-Ab-seronegative NMOSD were markedly increased. CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate astrocytic injury occurs in some patients with double-Ab-seronegative NMOSD, which hints at the possible existence of yet undiscovered astrocytic autoimmune targets. We hypothesise that elevated GS and GFAP levels could identify those double-Ab-seronegative patients suitable to undergo in-depth autoimmune screening for astrocytic antibodies

Particulate impurities in cell-based medicinal products traced by flow imaging microscopy combined with deep learning for image analysis

Cell-based medicinal products (CBMPs) are rapidly gaining importance in the treatment of life-threatening diseases. However, the analytical toolbox for characterization of CBMPs is limited. The aim of our study was to develop a method based on flow imaging microscopy (FIM) for the detection, quantification and characterization of subvisible particulate impurities in CBMPs. Image analysis was performed by using an image classification approach based on a convolutional neural network (CNN). Jurkat cells and Dynabeads were used in our study as a representation of cellular material and non-cellular particulate impurities, respectively. We demonstrate that FIM assisted with CNN is a powerful method for the detection and quantification of Dynabeads and cells with other process related impurities, such as cell agglomerates, cell-bead adducts and debris. By using CNN, we achieved a more than 50-fold lower misclassification rate compared with the use of output parameters from the FIM software. The limit of detection was ~15 000 beads/mL in the presence of ~500 000 cells/mL, making this approach suitable for the detection of these particulate impurities in CBMPs. In conclusion, CNN-assisted FIM is a powerful method for the detection and quantification of cells, Dynabeads and other subvisible process impurities potentially present in CBMPs.Drug Delivery Technolog