Effect of Hydraulic Activity on Crystallization of Precipitated Calcium Carbonate (PCC) for Eco-Friendly Paper

Wt% of aragonite, a CaCO3 polymorph, increased with higher hydraulic activity (°C) of limestone in precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) from the lime-soda process (Ca(OH)2-NaOH-Na2CO3). Only calcite, the most stable polymorph, was crystallized at hydraulic activity under 10 °C, whereas aragonite also started to crystallize over 10 °C. The crystallization of PCC is more dependent on the hydraulic activity of limestone than CaO content, a factor commonly used to classify limestone ores according to quality. The results could be effectively applied to the determination of polymorphs in synthetic PCC for eco-friendly paper manufacture

Anti-CV2/CRMP5 Paraneoplastic Chorea Effectively Managed with Intravenous Amantadine

Background: Paraneoplastic chorea is typically a subacute progressive hyperkinetic movement disorder. The mainstay of treatment is managing the underlying neoplasm. However, the clinical course may be variable, and effective symptomatic management can precede the start of cancer treatment. Case report: A 63-year-old man presented with insidious onset, slowly progressive generalized chorea for 1 year, later diagnosed as anti-CV2/CRMP5 autoantibody positive paraneoplastic chorea. His chorea was markedly improved with intravenous amantadine. Discussion: In patients with anti-CV2/CRMP5 autoantibody-related chorea, sequential follow-up of brain magnetic resonance imaging reveals progression from active inflammation to atrophy. Our report highlights the efficacy of intravenous amantadine in paraneoplastic chorea

Waiting impulsivity in progressive supranuclear palsy-Richardson’s syndrome

BackgroundWaiting impulsivity in progressive supranuclear palsy-Richardson’s syndrome (PSP-RS) is difficult to assess, and its regulation is known to involve nucleus accumbens (NAc) subregions. We investigated waiting impulsivity using the “jumping the gun” (JTG) sign, which is defined as premature initiation of clapping before the start signal in the three-clap test and compared clinical features of PSP-RS patients with and without the sign and analyzed neural connectivity and microstructural changes in NAc subregions.Materials and methodsA positive JTG sign was defined as the participant starting to clap before the start sign in the three-clap test. We classified participants into the JTG positive (JTG +) and JTG negative (JTG-) groups and compared their clinical features, microstructural changes, and connectivity between NAc subregions using diffusion tension imaging. The NAc was parcellated into core and shell subregions using data-driven connectivity-based methods.ResultsSeventy-seven patients with PSP-RS were recruited, and the JTG + group had worse frontal lobe battery (FAB) scores, more frequent falls, and more occurrence of the applause sign than the JTG- group. A logistic regression analysis revealed that FAB scores were associated with a positive JTG sign. The mean fiber density between the right NAc core and right medial orbitofrontal gyrus was higher in the JTG + group than the JTG- group.DiscussionWe show that the JTG sign is a surrogate marker of waiting impulsivity in PSP-RS patients. Our findings enrich the current literature by deepening our understanding of waiting impulsivity in PSP patients and introducing a novel method for its evaluation

Environmental Remediation and Conversion of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) into Useful Green Products by Accelerated Carbonation Technology

This paper reviews the application of carbonation technology to the environmental industry as a way of reducing carbon dioxide (CO2), a green house gas, including the presentation of related projects of our research group. An alternative technology to very slow natural carbonation is the co-called ‘accelerated carbonation’, which completes its fast reaction within few hours by using pure CO2. Carbonation technology is widely applied to solidify or stabilize solid combustion residues from municipal solid wastes, paper mill wastes, etc. and contaminated soils, and to manufacture precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). Carbonated products can be utilized as aggregates in the concrete industry and as alkaline fillers in the paper (or recycled paper) making industry. The quantity of captured CO2 in carbonated products can be evaluated by measuring mass loss of heated samples by thermo-gravimetric (TG) analysis. The industrial carbonation technology could contribute to both reduction of CO2 emissions and environmental remediation

Long QT Syndrome and Torsade de Pointes Associated with Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

Prolongation of QTc interval associated with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) has previously been reported in published case series. We report an unusual case of a patient who presented with TC associated with long-QT syndrome and developed cardiac arrest secondary to torsade de pointes. Since QT prolongation and bradycardia persisted after the resolution of TC, the patient received permanent pacemaker. Since then additional event did not occur. QT prolongation and bradycardia could be persistent even after recovery of TC, and permanent pacemaker insertion may be a treatment option of long QT syndrome related with TC

Author Response to Letter to the Editor

This is an author response to the letter by doctors Nicholas Doher and Harsh V Gupta. Despite the narrow indication for the dopamine transporter (DAT) scan to distinguish essential tremor from Parkinsonian syndromes, as approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), DAT imaging is utilised for various other clinical symptoms in patients with parkinsonism. DAT scan is the only non-invasive modality developed to assess functional integrity of the dopaminergic system currently used in clinical practice, and could give valuable clinical information for selected patients. The authors believe that the approved indication of the DAT scan will be broadened to meet its versatile diagnostic potential

A Sternum-Disk Distance Method to Identify the Skin Level for Approaching a Surgical Segment without Fluoroscopy Guidance during Anterior Cervical Discectomy And Fusion

Study DesignA retrospective review of prospectively collected data.PurposeTo introduce the sternum-disk distance (SDD) method for approaching the exact surgical level without C-arm guidance during anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgery and to evaluate its accuracy and reliability.Overview of LiteratureAlthough spine surgeons have tried to optimize methods for identifying the skin level for accessing the operative disk level without C-arm guidance during ACDF, success has rarely been reported.MethodsIn total, 103 patients who underwent single-level ACDF surgery with the SDD method were enrolled. The primary outcome measure was the accuracy of the SDD method. The secondary outcome measures were the mean SDD value at each cervical level from the cranial margin of the sternum in the neutral and extension positions of the cervical spine and the inter- and intra-observer reliability of the SDD outcome determined using repeated measurements by three orthopedic spine surgeons.ResultsThe SDD accuracy (primary outcome measure) was indicated in 99% of the patients (102/103). The mean SDD values in the neutral-position magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were 108.8 mm at C3–C4, 85.3 mm at C4–C5, 64.4 mm at C5–C6, 44.3 mm at C6–C7, and 24.1 mm at C7–T1; and those in the extension-position MRI were 112.9 mm at C3–C4, 88.7 mm at C4–C5, 67.3 mm at C5–C6, 46.5 mm at C6–C7, and 24.3 mm at C7–T1. The Cohen kappa coefficient value for intra-observer reliability was 0.88 (excellent reliability), and the Fleiss kappa coefficient value for inter-observer reliability as reported by three surgeons was 0.89 (excellent reliability).ConclusionsBased on the results of the present study, we recommend performing ACDF surgery using the SDD method to determine the skin level for approaching the surgical cervical segment without fluoroscopic guidance

The Distinct Metabolic Phenotype of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Defines Selective Vulnerability to Glycolytic Inhibition

Adenocarcinoma (ADC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) are the two predominant subtypes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and are distinct in their histological, molecular and clinical presentation. However, metabolic signatures specific to individual NSCLC subtypes remain unknown. Here, we perform an integrative analysis of human NSCLC tumour samples, patient-derived xenografts, murine model of NSCLC, NSCLC cell lines and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and reveal a markedly elevated expression of the GLUT1 glucose transporter in lung SqCC, which augments glucose uptake and glycolytic flux. We show that a critical reliance on glycolysis renders lung SqCC vulnerable to glycolytic inhibition, while lung ADC exhibits significant glucose independence. Clinically, elevated GLUT1-mediated glycolysis in lung SqCC strongly correlates with high 18F-FDG uptake and poor prognosis. This previously undescribed metabolic heterogeneity of NSCLC subtypes implicates significant potential for the development of diagnostic, prognostic and targeted therapeutic strategies for lung SqCC, a cancer for which existing therapeutic options are clinically insufficient

Global assessment of genomic variation in cattle by genome resequencing and high-throughput genotyping

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Integration of genomic variation with phenotypic information is an effective approach for uncovering genotype-phenotype associations. This requires an accurate identification of the different types of variation in individual genomes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report the integration of the whole genome sequence of a single Holstein Friesian bull with data from single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) array technologies to determine a comprehensive spectrum of genomic variation. The performance of resequencing SNP detection was assessed by combining SNPs that were identified to be either in identity by descent (IBD) or in copy number variation (CNV) with results from SNP array genotyping. Coding insertions and deletions (indels) were found to be enriched for size in multiples of 3 and were located near the N- and C-termini of proteins. For larger indels, a combination of split-read and read-pair approaches proved to be complementary in finding different signatures. CNVs were identified on the basis of the depth of sequenced reads, and by using SNP and CGH arrays.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results provide high resolution mapping of diverse classes of genomic variation in an individual bovine genome and demonstrate that structural variation surpasses sequence variation as the main component of genomic variability. Better accuracy of SNP detection was achieved with little loss of sensitivity when algorithms that implemented mapping quality were used. IBD regions were found to be instrumental for calculating resequencing SNP accuracy, while SNP detection within CNVs tended to be less reliable. CNV discovery was affected dramatically by platform resolution and coverage biases. The combined data for this study showed that at a moderate level of sequencing coverage, an ensemble of platforms and tools can be applied together to maximize the accurate detection of sequence and structural variants.</p