Neutralizing natural anti-IL-17F autoantibodies protect Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndrome Type 1 (APS-1) patients from asthma

Non peer reviewe

Dual-task in large perceptual space reveals subclinical hemispatial neglect

Objective: Both clinically observable and subclinical hemispatial neglect are related to functional disability. The aim of the present study was to examine whether increasing task complexity improves sensitivity in assessment and whether it enables the identification of subclinical neglect. Method: We developed and compared two computerized dual-tasks, a simpler and a more complex one, and presented them on a large, 173 x 277 cm screen. Participants in the study included 40 patients with unilateral stroke in either the left hemisphere (LH patient group, n = 20) or the right hemisphere (RH patient group, n = 20) and 20 healthy controls. In addition to the large-screen tasks, all participants underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. The Bells Test was used as a traditional paper-and-pencil cancellation test to assess neglect. Results: RH patients made significantly more left hemifield omission errors than controls in both large-screen tasks. LH patients' omissions did not differ significantly from those of the controls in either large-screen task. No significant group differences were observed in the Bells Test. All groups' reaction times were significantly slower in the more complex large-screen task compared to the simpler one. The more complex large-screen task also produced significantly slower reactions to stimuli in the left than in the right hemifield in all groups. Conclusions: The present results suggest that dual-tasks presented on a large screen sensitively reveal subclinical neglect in stroke. New, sensitive, and ecologically valid methods are needed to evaluate subclinical neglect.Peer reviewe

Computer-based Assessment: Dual-task Outperforms Large-screen Cancellation Task in Detecting Contralesional Omissions

Objective: Traditionally, asymmetric spatial processing (i.e., hemispatial neglect) has been assessed with paper-and-pencil tasks, but growing evidence indicates that computer-based methods are a more sensitive assessment modality. It is not known, however, whether simply converting well-established paper-and-pencil methods into a digital format is the best option. The aim of the present study was to compare sensitivity in detecting contralesional omissions of two different computer-based methods: a “digitally converted” cancellation task was compared with a computer-based Visual and Auditory dual-tasking approach, which has already proved to be very sensitive. Methods: Participants included 40 patients with chronic unilateral stroke in either the right hemisphere (RH patients, N = 20) or the left hemisphere (LH patients, N = 20) and 20 age-matched healthy controls. The cancellation task was implemented on a very large format (173 cm × 277 cm) or in a smaller (A4) paper-and-pencil version. The computer-based dual-tasks were implemented on a 15′′ monitor and required the detection of unilateral and bilateral briefly presented lateralized targets. Results: Neither version of the cancellation task was able to show spatial bias in RH patients. In contrast, in the Visual dual-task RH patients missed significantly more left-sided targets than controls in both unilateral and bilateral trials. They also missed significantly more left-sided than right-sided targets only in the bilateral trials of the Auditory dual-task. Conclusion: The dual-task setting outperforms the cancellation task approach even when the latter is implemented on a (large) screen. Attentionally demanding methods are useful for revealing mild forms of contralesional visuospatial deficits.Peer reviewe

Plate Bending Models for Paper Manufacturing Processes and Comparisons to Simulations with Finite Element Methods

An analytical plate bending model is used in a novel measurement method that is being developed for feedback control of material properties in paper manufacturing. The model involves an efficient material model for paper yet allowing a selected level of material complexity. In this study, the effects of the simplifications are studied by comparing the results with a discretized model applied in finite element methods. The boundary conditions required for specifying the censoring location in the real system proves to be challenging and a specific combined load distribution might be necessary to apply the developed model.Peer reviewe

Predicting the Properties of Industrially Produced Oat Flours by the Characteristics of Native Oat Grains or Non-Heat-Treated Groats

The aim of this study was to determine whether the properties of the native oat grain or non-heat-treated groats (laboratory-scale dehulling) can be used to predict the quality of the industrially produced oat flour produced from heat-treated groats. Quality properties such as the color, hectoliter weight, thousand seed weight and hull content of Finnish native grains (n = 30) were determined. Furthermore, the relationship between the properties of the native grains and the chemical composition of the raw oat materials before and after the milling process were studied. A significant relationship (p < 0.01) was observed between the thousand seed weight of the native oat groats and the chemical composition of the industrially produced oat flour. Furthermore, the protein content of the native grains measured by NIT correlated with the chemical composition of the oat flours. These results suggest that the properties of oat flour produced on an industrial scale, including heat treatment, could be predicted based on the properties of native oat grains

A microfluidic oxygen sink to create a targeted cellular hypoxic microenvironment under ambient atmospheric conditions

Physiological oxygen levels within the tissue microenvironment are usually lower than 14%, in stem cell niches these levels can be as low as 0-1%. In cell cultures, such low oxygen levels are usually mimicked by altering the global culture environment either by O-2 removal (vacuum or oxygen absorption) or by N-2 supplementation for O-2 replacement. To generate a targeted cellular hypoxic microenvironment under ambient atmospheric conditions, we characterised the ability of the dissolved oxygen-depleting sodium sulfite to generate an in-liquid oxygen sink. We utilised a microfluidic design to place the cultured cells in the vertical oxygen gradient and to physically separate the cells from the liquid. We demonstrate generation of a chemical in-liquid oxygen sink that modifies the surrounding O-2 concentrations. O-2 level control in the sink-generated hypoxia gradient is achievable by varying the thickness of the polydimethylsiloxane membrane. We show that intracellular hypoxia and hypoxia response element-dependent signalling is instigated in cells exposed to the microfluidic in-liquid O-2 sink-generated hypoxia gradient. Moreover, we show that microfluidic flow controls site-specific microenvironmental kinetics of the chemical O-2 sink reaction, which enables generation of intermittent hypoxia/re-oxygenation cycles. The microfluidic O-2 sink chip targets hypoxia to the cell culture microenvironment exposed to the microfluidic channel architecture solely by depleting O-2 while other sites in the same culture well remain unaffected. Thus, responses of both hypoxic and bystander cells can be characterised. Moreover, control of microfluidic flow enables generation of intermittent hypoxia or hypoxia/re-oxygenation cycles. (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Acta Materialia Inc.Peer reviewe