Mycophenolate mofetil therapy for two cases of antiphospholipid antibody-associated chorea

<p>Chorea is associated with involuntary movement and may occur via an autoimmune mechanism. Until now, we treated immune-mediated chorea with glucocorticoids and cyclophosphamide as the efficacy of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) therapy for this condition was unknown. Here, we report two cases of antiphospholipid antibody (aPL)-associated chorea that were cured by MMF. Measurement of aPL could help for future management of chorea patients. This report provides new insight into the beneficial effects of MMF on aPL-associated chorea.</p

In Situ Electrochemical Raman Spectroscopy of Air-Oxidized Semiconducting Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Bundles in Aqueous Sulfuric Acid Solution

In this study, we oxidized approximately 90% semiconducting, highly crystalline single-walled carbon nanotube (hc-SWCNT) bundles in the atmosphere at 450 °C for 30 min to obtain SWCNTs modified with oxygen-containing functional groups and investigated not only the influence of air oxidation on the electrochemical doping of the air-oxidized SWCNT (AO-SWCNT) bundles in aqueous sulfuric acid solution using in situ Raman spectroscopy, but also the relationship between the in situ electrochemical Raman data and the properties of electric double-layered supercapacitors (EDLSCs). By oxidizing the hc-SWCNTs in air, AO-SWCNTs with a small diameter distribution could be prepared. When a negative charge was applied to the AO-SWCNTs used as a working electrode in a three-electrode electrochemical cell for in situ Raman spectroscopy, a large downshift of the G⁺ line of the AO-SWCNTs was observed compared to that before air oxidation. On increasing the ratio of small-diameter nanotubes/total nanotubes, the Raman data obtained in situ revealed that the effect of the weakening of the C–C bond was stronger than that of the renormalization of the phonon energy. In contrast, in the case of applying a positive charge to the AO-SWCNTs, the magnitude of the upshift of the G⁺ line for the AO-SWCNTs was slightly larger than that for the hc-SWCNTs. The influent electric charges per unit mass and the specific capacitances of the AO-SWCNT electrodes for the maximum magnitude of the shift of the G⁺ line (10.7 cm^–1) were 60.1 C/g and 50.1 F/g, respectively, which are larger than those of hc-SWCNT electrodes. In situ Raman spectroscopy is a useful method to simultaneously assess the increase or decrease in the diameter distribution of small nanotubes and the specific capacitances of electric double-layered supercapacitors of chemically functionalized SWCNTs by the magnitude of the shift of the G⁺ line compared to unfunctionalized SWCNTs

Structural and Electrochemical Characterization of Ethylenediaminated Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Prepared from Fluorinated SWCNTs

We prepared ethylenediaminated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) from fluorinated SWCNTs by substituting fluorine groups with ethylenediamine groups. The ethylenediaminated SWCNTs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman scattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area measurement by nitrogen adsorption, contact angle measurement, zeta potential analysis, and thermogravimetry. In addition, the properties of 30 wt % sulfuric acid aqueous electrolyte-based electric double-layer supercapacitors (EDLSCs) with free-standing ethylenediaminated SWCNT electrodes were investigated. The degree of ethylenediamine functionalization was 0.603 mmol/g and 1.46 μmol/m², and the specific surface area was ∼413.3 m²/g. From HRTEM observation, isolated nanotubes disentangled from the bundled SWCNTs were present in many observed areas, and the structures retained a nanotube skeleton. The properties of the EDLSCs with the ethylenediaminated SWCNT electrodes included an average specific capacitance of 94 F/g at a low scan rate of 10 mV/s and an energy density of 2.6 Wh/kg at a power density of 0.24 kW/kg. The EDLSCs exhibited an average specific capacitance of 67 F/g at a high scan rate of 1000 mV/s and an energy density of 1.3 Wh/kg at a power density of 24 kW/kg, values that were superior to those of carboxylated SWCNT electrodes