The relationship between ambulatory ability before surgery and the D-dimer value after total hip arthroplasty: the evaluation of ambulatory ability by the timed "Up & Go" test.

We examined whether ambulatory ability before surgery might influence the post-operative D-dimer level after total hip arthroplasty (THA). One hundred two patients with hip osteoarthritis receiving THA were included in the current study. The patients were all female, and their ages ranged from 45 to 81 (average 65.0 +- 9.3 years). Age, operated side, body mass index (BMI), disease duration before surgery, pre-operative pain evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS), total cholesterol value, maximal circumference of the lower leg of the operated side, and timed &#34;Up &#38; Go&#34;test (TUG) before surgery, were retrospectively investigated to examine their relationship with D-dimer levels on post-operative day 7. Patients were divided into 2 groups according to the D-dimer value: over 10 microg/ml (Group D), and under (Group N). Patients in group D (N= 52)were older, had a higher BMI, and had less ambulatory ability than patients in group N (N= 50). As age showed a relationship with the D-dimer value on the 7th day and TUG results, patients in the 2 groups were further subdivided into 50's, 60's, and 70's age brackets. In the 50's bracket, patients in group D had higher BMI than patients in group N, but time for TUG was not significantly different. In the 60's and 70's bracket, patients in group D had less ambulatory ability than patients in group N, but the time for TUG was not directly correlated with the D-dimer value. The results suggest that pre-operative low ambulatory ability in patients with osteoarthritis over 60 years might influence the postoperative D-dimer after THA, indicating the potential risk for post-operative deep venous thrombosis.</p

Structural and magnetic properties of Fe1+dTe single crystals

We have grown single crystals of Fe1+dTe by a conventional self-flux method. We obtained plate-like single crystals with dnom \geq 0.1. The value of the magnetization increased with increasing excess Fe concentration, and a broadening of the antiferromagnetic transition was observed for dnom >1.15. Further, we noted that the antiferromagnetic transition of Fe1.134Te (dnom = 0.15) was clearly suppressed to a lower temperature, which would indicate a possibility of controllability of magnetism by excess Fe concentration.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to ISS 2011 proceedin

Correlation between thermal aggregation and stability of lysozyme with salts described by molar surface tension increment: an exceptional propensity of ammonium salts as aggregation suppressor

Protein aggregation is a critical problem for biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.Despite the fact that soluble proteins have been used for many applications, our understandingof the effect of the solution chemistry on protein aggregation still remains to be elucidated.This paper investigates the process of thermal aggregation of lysozyme in the presence ofvarious types of salts. The simple law was found; the aggregation rate of lysozyme increasedwith increasing melting temperature of the protein (Tm) governed by chemical characteristicsof additional salts. Ammonium salts were, however, ruled out; the aggregation rates oflysozyme in the presence of the ammonium salts were smaller than the ones estimatedfrom Tm. Comparing with sodium salts, ammonium salts increased the solubility of thehydrophobic amino acids, indicating that ammonium salts adsorb the hydrophobic region ofproteins, which leads to the decrease in aggregation more effectively than sodium salts. Thepositive relation between aggregation rate and Tm was described by another factor such as thesurface tension of salt solutions. Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis showed thatthe thermal aggregates were likely to form b-sheet in solutions that give high molar surfacetension increment. These results suggest that protein aggregation is attributed to the surfacefree energy of the solution

The role of vitamin E in T-cell differentiation and the decrease of cellular immunity with aging

Spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)as a model for aging were used in this experiment and fed a regular (50 IU/Kg diet) or high vitamin E(500IU/Kg diet) diet for 6weeks. At 12weeks old, they were killed and assayed. Although proliferation of thymic lymphocytes was significantly decreased in SHR fed the regular diet compared to Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) fed the same diet, high vitamin E diet enhanced proliferation of thymic lymphocytes in SHR to almost the levels in WKY fed the regular diet. In addition, the expressions of both CD4 and CD8 antigens on CD4+CD8+ T cells, immature T cells existing in thymic cortex, were also decreased in SHR, and significantly improved by high vitamin E diet. These results suggest that high vitamin E diet enhances thymic lymphocyte proliferation through increased T-cell differentiation in thymus. Then, the effect of vitamin E on T-cell differentiation in thymus was investigated by using male Fisher rats. Rats were divided into three groups;vitamin E-free, regular and high vitamin E groups and fed a diet containing various levels of vitamin E(0, 50 and 500IU/Kg diet) for 7weeks. Although the percentages of CD4+CD8- and CD4-CD8+ T cells in thymocytes were significantly greater in the high vitamin E group, the percentage of CD4+CD8- T cells inversely decreased in the vitamin E-free group compared to the regular group. We have tried to investigate the mechanism of the increased T-cell differentiation in thymus of rats fed the high vitamin E diet through cytokine production, and thymic epithelial cell (TEC) and macrophage functions. We have found that vitamin E enhances T-cell differentiation through the increase of not macrophage but TEC function in thymus, which is associated with the increased binding capacity of TEC to immature T cells via increased expression of adhesion molecule, ICAM-1. These results suggest that vitamin E is a potent nutrient for promoting health in the aged via the improvement of cellular immunity decreased with aging

Utilizing Video Self-Modeling and Video Hero Modeling to Increase Task Engagement of an Elementary-Aged Student with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

　本研究では，集中して着替えに取り組むことが難しい一人の知的障害のある自閉症スペクトラム障害児に対して，３種類のビデオモデリング技法を順次適用し，どの技法がもっとも着替え従事率の上昇をもたらすかを検討した。用いられた技法は，①本人が着替えに取り組 むビデオを着替えに先立ち視聴させる技法，②本人が着替えの競争でヒーローに勝つビデオを着替えに先立ち視聴させる技法，③ヒーローが着替えに取り組むビデオを着替えの最中に視聴させる技法の３つであった。ABACADA デザインを用いてこれら３つの介入効果を比 較した結果，③の技法のみに効果が確認された

Evolution of two-step structural phase transition in Fe1+dTe detected by low-temperature x-ray diffraction

The low-temperature crystal structure of Fe1.13Te, which exhibits an anomalous two-step magnetic transition, was clarified by the systematic x-ray diffraction measurements. It was found that two-step structural phase transition, tetragonal-orthorhombic-monoclinic, occurred correspondingly to the two-step magnetic transition. The detailed analysis of the profile at 5 K indicated the coexistence of the minor orthorhombic area inside the major monoclinic lattice, which could explain the lower-shift (suppression) of the antiferromagnetic transition temperature in Fe1.13Te and suggest a possibility of superconductivity at the domain boundary.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Development of a novel method for visualizing restricted diffusion using subtraction of apparent diffusion coefficient values

In order to visualize restricted diffusion, the present study developed a novel method called 'apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) subtraction method (ASM)' and compared it with diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI). The diffusion-weighted images of physiological saline, in addtion to bio-phatoms of low cell density and the highest cell density were obtained using two sequences with different effective diffusion times. Then, the calculated ADC values were subtracted. The mean values and standard deviations (SD) of the ADC values of physiological saline, low cell density and the highest cell density phantoms were 2.95 +/- 0.08x10(-3), 1.90 +/- 0.35x10(-3) and 0.79 +/- 0.05x10(-3) mm(2)/sec, respectively. The mean kurtosis values and SD of DKI were 0.04 +/- 0.01, 0.44 +/- 0.13 and 1.27 +/- 0.03, respectively. The ASM and SD values were 0.25 +/- 0.20x10(4), 0.51 +/- 0.41x10(4) and 4.80 +/- 4.51x10(4) (sec/mm(2))(2), respectively. Using bio-phantoms, the present study demonstrated that DKI exhibits restricted diffusion in the extracellular space. Similarly, ASM may reflect the extent of restricted diffusion in the extracellular space

A novel method for assessing the renal biopsy specimens using an activatable fluorescent probe

Gamma-glutamyl hydroxymethyl rhodamine green (gGlu-HMRG) is an activatable fluorescent probe that can be activated by γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT). The expression of GGT in the kidney, which is one of the major organs exhibiting enhanced GGT expression, is exclusively localised to the cortex. Here, we aimed to investigate the feasibility of gGlu-HMRG as a probe for the on-site assessment of renal biopsy specimens. gGlu-HMRG fluorescent probe was applied to the renal proximal tubular epithelial cells and cortical collecting duct cells in vitro, mouse kidneys ex vivo, and human biopsy specimens. In addition, the fluorescence intensities in the cortex and the medulla were comparatively evaluated in the biopsy specimens. The fluorescence signal was rapidly detected in the renal proximal tubular epithelial cells, whereas that in the cortical collecting duct cells was not detected. The fluorescence signal was detected in the mouse kidneys ex vivo without markedly affecting the tissue morphology. In the human biopsy specimens, the fluorescence signal in the cortex was significantly distinct from that in the medulla (p?<?0.05). Thus, this fluorescent probe can be used to distinctly identify the renal cortex in the biopsy specimens