Altered Cortical Activation Patterns in the Motor Cortex Post ACL Reconstruction Compared to Healthy Control

Following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), patients often experience persistent knee dysfunction, such as knee strength deficit, possibly correlated with altered cortical activation in the brain. However, it remains unclear if ACLR patients exhibit different cortical activation patterns in the primary motor cortex (M1) during strength tasks, when compared to healthy control. PURPOSE: To examine electrocortical activation patterns in the M1 during submaximal isometric contraction of the quadriceps between an ACLR patient and a healthy control. METHODS: Both ACLR (female, 21yrs,180.34cm, 77.11kg) and control (female, 39yrs, 160.02cm, 61.23kg) performed isometric extension of the reconstructed or matched knees at 10% of their maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). Electrocortical activation was measured using a 64-channel mobile electroencephalograph (EEG) in response to 30 trials of unanticipated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) over the hotspot, a specific M1 location producing the largest amount of quadriceps activation. TMS were delivered at 120% (AMT 120) and 140% (AMT 140) of the active motor threshold (AMT), the minimum TMS intensity to induce measurable muscle twitch. Averaged event-related potential (ERP) was used to compare presence of positive (P40, P80, P200) and negative (N20, N60, N100) peaks from the onset of TMS between subjects. RESULTS: For AMT 120 the ACLR had ERP peaks at N20, P40, and P200 whereas the control had peaks at P80 and N100. For AMT 140 the ACLR had peaks at N20, P40, N60, and P80 whereas the control had peaks at N20, P80 and N100. CONCLUSION: Our preliminary data demonstrates that early ERP peaks in ACLR compared to the control may indicate altered neural processing at the M1, with greater differences at AMT120. Such neuroadaptation over the M1 in the ACLR may result in improper regulation of muscle contraction, leading to permanent strength deficit. Future studies are warranted to determine how the altered brain’s function affects the knee function in ACLR patients to enhance rehabilitation programs after ACLR

Treatment of instability with scapular notching and glenoid component loosing by partial mixed different implant revision

In general, reverse shoulder arthroplasty revision is performed using the same implant for both the humerus and glenoid components. However, the authors of the present case used different implants from what was used previously for treating instability with scapular notching and glenoid aseptic loosening and report the case

Higher Alpha/Theta Ratio May Indicate Decreased Brain Function in Older Adults during CSPFP10 Compared to Young Adults

Declined physical ability and brain function observed in elder can affect daily living activities and negatively influence the quality of life (QOL). While the extensive research has explored the changes in cortical activity related to motor control in elder, less is known about how the brain functions during a physical function test. PURPOSE: To examine the electrocortical activation in the older adults’ brain during the Continuous Scale Physical Function Performance-10 (CSPFP-10) compared to young adults. METHODS: Twenty five older adults (OLD; 75.40±7.32 yrs, 70.33±18.23 kg, 162.87±7.55 cm) and twenty five young (YOUNG; 19.88±1.72 yrs, 66.52±14.22 kg, 167.50±10.22 cm) completed CSPFP10 while frontal (F3, Fz, F4), central (C3, Cz, C4), temporal (T7, T8, P7, P8), parietal (P3, Pz P4), and occipital (O1, Oz, O2) regions’ electrocortical activation was measured using a mobile electroencephalograph (EEG). Spectral power values (μV2/Hz) for theta (θ: 4-8 Hz) and alpha (α: 8-13 Hz) band were averaged across the target electrodes. Then α/θ ratio was calculated. Data were analyzed using independent t-test. RESULTS: OLD exhibited significantly higher α/θ ratio in frontal (M=0.98 vs.0.95, pp=.02), temporal (M=1.02 vs. 0.98, p=.006) compared to YOUNG. The separated t-test showed YOUNG had higher θ and α in frontal (θ: M= 40.93 vs. 37.56, pp=.03), central (θ: M=39.68 vs. 36.43, pp=.038), and parietal θ (M=40.55 vs. 37.98, p=.001) compared to OLD. Pearson’s correlation analysis did not find any significance between brain function and CSPFP10 scores in both groups. CONCLUSION α/θ ratio in OLD showed that their α power was relatively higher than YOUNG. Increased α power indicates suppression/selective cortical processing. It might indicate that OLD had inhibitory cortical activation process during the CSPFP10 task. Decreased frontal and parietal θ in OLD may indicate diminished decision making speed and attention with aging, while lower θ power in a central region (motor cortex) implies disrupt motor control. Overall, our result may indicate that brain activation patterns become less active during aging. It’s important to enhance both physical and brain function to improve activities of daily living and QOL in elderly population

High correlation of Middle East respiratory syndrome spread with Google search and Twitter trends in Korea

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) was exported to Korea in 2015, resulting in a threat to neighboring nations. We evaluated the possibility of using a digital surveillance system based on web searches and social media data to monitor this MERS outbreak. We collected the number of daily laboratory-confirmed MERS cases and quarantined cases from May 11, 2015 to June 26, 2015 using the Korean government MERS portal. The daily trends observed via Google search and Twitter during the same time period were also ascertained using Google Trends and Topsy. Correlations among the data were then examined using Spearman correlation analysis. We found high correlations (>0.7) between Google search and Twitter results and the number of confirmed MERS cases for the previous three days using only four simple keywords: “MERS”, “[Image: see text]” (“MERS (in Korean)”), “[Image: see text]” (“MERS symptoms (in Korean)”), and “[Image: see text]” (“MERS hospital (in Korean)”). Additionally, we found high correlations between the Google search and Twitter results and the number of quarantined cases using the above keywords. This study demonstrates the possibility of using a digital surveillance system to monitor the outbreak of MERS

Acute Symptoms after a Community Hydrogen Fluoride Spill

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to describe the demographic characteristics, and clinical signs and symptoms of patients who visited a general hospital because of the release of chemically hazardous hydrogen fluoride that occurred on September 27, 2012 in Gumi City, Korea. METHODS: The medical records at 1 general hospital 9 km from the accident site were reviewed using a standardized survey format. There were 1,890 non-hospitalized and 12 hospitalized patients exposed to hydrogen fluoride between September 27 and October 13 2012. RESULTS: Among the 12 hospitalized patients, 11 were discharged within 1 week and the other was hospitalized for 10 days. The chief complaints were respiratory symptoms such as hemoptysis and shortness of breath, gastrointestinal symptoms, neurologic symptoms, sore throat, and lip burn. The number of non-hospitalized patients exhibited a bimodal distribution, peaking on the first and twelfth days after the accident. Their chief complaints were sore throat (24.1%), headache (19.1%), cough (13.1%), and eye irritation (9.2%); some patients were asymptomatic (6.2%). Patients who visited the hospital within 3 days (early patients) of the spill more often had shortness of breath (27.0%) and nausea (6.3%) as the chief complaints than patients who visited after 3 days (late patients) (3.5% and 2.6%, respectively). However, cough and rhinorrhea were more common in the late patients (14.0% and 3.3%, respectively) than in the early patients (5.0% and 0.0%, respectively). Patients who were closer to the accident site more often had shortness of breath and sputum as the chief complaints than patients who were farther away. The mean serum calcium concentration was 9.37 mg/dL (range: 8.4–11.0 mg/dL); none of the patients had a decreased serum calcium level. Among 48 pulmonary function test results, 4 showed decreased lung function. None of the patients had abnormal urine fluoride levels on the eighth day after exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Patients hospitalized due to chemical hazard release of hydrogen fluoride had acute respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurologic health problems. Non-hospitalized patients have acute symptoms mainly related to upper respiratory irritation

Subscapular and Pectoralis Major Sparing Deltopectoral Approach for Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty

In reverse ball shoulder replacement, surgery is usually performed using a deltopectoral approach or an anterosuperior transdeltoid approach. The deltopectoral approach is to incise the pectoralis major to upper 1/3 to 1/2, and subscapularis tendon should be removed at the lesser tuberosity of the humerus. This approach has the problem of breaking the shoulder deltoid instead of incising the rotator cuff. Therefore, we report a detailed procedure of reverse ball shoulder replacement using approach without incision of the pectoralis major muscle and subscapularis muscle

Changes in activity and isozyme patterns of peroxidase and chitinase in kiwifruit pollen

In this study, changes in activity and isozyme patterns of peroxidase (POD) and chitinase in kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) pollen were investigated under different storage conditions. Although residual activity was detected in heat-treated pollen, changes in POD activity were observed due to difference in storage conditions as revealed by preliminary studies in which pollen germination varied with different storage conditions. POD activity of kiwifruit pollen increased as proportions of viable pollen increased, indicating a positive correlation (R2=0.993) between pollen viability and POD activity. There was a detectable difference in the relative activity of POD enzyme between heat-treated and viable pollen. Decoloration of Congo Red was observed in germination medium which fresh pollen was cultured. The activity of individual chitinase isozymes present in kiwifruit pollen differed depending on storage conditions, which had a direct impact on pollen vigor. Although direct evidence showing that chitinase isozymes are implicated in pollen vigor is still uncertain, distinction of isozymes may facilitate more precise identification of viable pollen which possesses germination potential from non-viable pollen. Taken together, these results suggest that monitoring the activity of POD and chitinase can be an attractive alternative to evaluate pollen vigor in kiwifruit

Greater Motor Evoked Torque in ACLR Patients during Force Reproduction Task Compared to Health Controls

Persistent quadriceps dysfunction following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) may lead to further pathological complication. Quadriceps weakness has been linked to corticospinal excitability. However, it remains unclear how this altered corticospinal excitability contributes to ACLR patients during knee strength tasks when compared to healthy controls. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine force reproduction strategies during isometric knee extension between ACLR patients and healthy controls. METHODS: Five ACLR (20.40±1.67yrs, 72.12±12.87kg, 171.07±7.40cm) participants and five matched healthy controls (21.00±1.73yrs, 65.77±13.61kg, 166.62±11.99cm) performed an isometric force reproduction task. They were instructed to maintain 10% of maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in response to unexpected Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) over the primary motor cortex, targeting the quadriceps. The TMS stimulations were randomly delivered at two different intensities: 120% and 140% active motor threshold (AMT). Additionally, resting twitch torque (RTT) was measured by delivering TMS stimulations at 100% intensity over the quadriceps. Motor evoked torque (MET, %) was calculated by normalizing the 120% and 140% peak change relative to 10% MVIC by RTT values. Comparisons were made using 2-way ANOVAs with one within factor (intensity, 2 levels) and one between factor (group, 2 levels). RESULTS: A significant TMS intensity by group interaction was observed for MET (F[1,8] = 18.639, p = 0.003). The ACLR group had higher MET than the control group at AMT 140% (196.12±40.83 vs 106.69±34.01%, p = 0.006), while there was no difference at 120% (117.19±36.72 vs 69.06±44.18%, p = 0.098). CONCLUSION: The ACLR group produced similar torque changes to the CONT group at 120% of AMT, but more torque changes at the higher intensity. This may indicate protective neural adaptations responsible for force production, particularly at the corticospinal tract. However, this altered corticospinal excitability may also cause heightened quadriceps contraction during high-intensity tasks, potentially resulting in anterior ACL translation, which could put stress on the ACL and increase the risk of re-tear

Imprinting Skyrmion spin textures in spinor Bose-Einstein condensates

We investigate an experimental method for imprinting Skyrmion spin textures in a spinor Bose-Einstein condensate by rapidly moving the zero-field center of a three-dimensional (3D) quadrupole magnetic field through the condensate. Various excitations such as 2D Skyrmions and coreless vortices were created in spin-1 sodium condensates, initially prepared in a uniform polar or ferromagnetic phase. The spin textures were characterized with the spatial distribution of the spin tilt angle, which is found to be in good quantitative agreement with the local description of single spins under the field rotation. We demonstrate the creation of a highly charged Skyrmion in a trapped condensate by applying the imprinting process multiple times

NDE Detection and Characterization of Damage in Honeycomb Sandwich Composites

This study deals with a non-destructive evaluation technique for detecting defects in composite panels. In this non-destructive evaluation technique, various low-frequency techniques are applied such as a tapping technology. Another terahertz wave application will be utilized. In particular, the tapping technique is utilized in order to evaluate the characteristics of the honeycomb member based on the hysteresis effect analysis. Here, the area surrounded by the hysteresis loop in the force-displacement curve is related to the increased internal friction loss that is the cause of the energy absorption absorbed by the composite member after the load is applied. The loop area where the composite member was damaged was well agreed with the damage level. Artificial defects were manufactured on the surface of honeycomb sandwich composite panels. An NDE technique was proposed in order to detect defects by using terahertz waves and was discussed for tuning the practical use