Value of Paraspinal Electromyography in the Evaluation of Thoracic Myelopathy

The authors have performed paraspinal needle EMG studies in twenty five patients with thoracic myelopathy. They were divided into demonstrable thoracic lesions and non-demonstrable thoracic lesions by neuroimaging studies resulting in 12 cases of the former and 13 cases of the latter. There were abnormal paraspinal EMG findings in 83% with demonstrable thoracic lesions. All five patients with thoracic disc diseases revealed abnormalities which indicated subsequent involvement of ventral roots by compressive lesions. In non-demonstrable thoracic lesions, the authors could demonstrate abnormal paraspinal EMGs in a relatively high percentage (62.5%) of preseumed and still occult thoracc myelopathy, but not in all four patients with demyelinating disease. Therefore it is concluded that paraspinal EMG studies are valuable in those patients wih thoracic myelopathy as a method of predicting he presumed nature of their causes and indicating the level of anticipated myelography or spinal CT. However, it was impossible to differentiate among patients with malignancy, those with thoracic disc diseases and those with unknown thoracic myelopathy by the paraspinal EMG studies

Impact of commercial cigarette smoke condensate on brain tissue co-cultured with astrocytes and blood-brain barrier endothelial cells

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effect of two commercial cigarette smoke condensates (CCSC) on oxidative stress and cell cytotoxicity in human brain (T98G) or astrocytes (U-373 MG) in the presence of human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC). Cell viability of mono-culture of T98G or U-373 MG was markedly decreased in a concentration-dependent manner, and T98G was more susceptible than U-373 MG to CCSC exposure. Cytotoxicity was less prominent when T98G was co-cultured with HBMEC than when T98G was co-cultured with U-373 MG. Significant reduction in trans-epithelial electric resistance (TEER), a biomarker of cellular integrity was noted in HBMEC co-cultured with T98G (HBMEC-T98G co-culture) and U-373 MG co-cultured with T98G (U-373 MG-T98G co-culture) after 24 or 48 hr CCSC exposure, respectively. TEER value of U-373 MG co-cultured with T98G (79-84%) was higher than HBMEC co-cultured with T98G (62-63%) within 120-hr incubation with CCSC. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by CCSC in mono-culture of T98G and U-373 MG reached highest levels at 4 and 16 mg/ml, respectively. ROS production by T98G fell when co-cultured with HBMEC or U-373MG. These findings suggest that adverse consequences of CCSC treatment on brain cells may be protected by blood-brain barrier or astrocytes, but with chronic exposure toxicity may be worsened due to destruction of cellular integrity.

Effect of W/C Ratio on Durability and Porosity in Cement Mortar with Constant Cement Amount

Water is often added to concrete placing for easy workability and finishability in construction site. The additional mixing water can help easy mixing and workability but causes increased porosity, which yields degradation of durability and structural performances. In this paper, cement mortar samples with 0.45 of W/C (water to cement) ratio are prepared for control case and durability performances are evaluated with additional water from 0.45 to 0.60 of W/C. Several durability tests including strength, chloride diffusion, air permeability, saturation, and moisture diffusion are performed, and they are analyzed with changed porosity. The changing ratios and patterns of durability performance are evaluated considering pore size distribution, total porosity, and additional water content

Prediction of Adult Emergence Time and Generation Number of Overwintered Small Brown Planthopper, Laodelphax striatellus According to RCP8.5 Climate Change Scenario

ABSTRACT: Recently, climate change scenarios were substituted by the Special Report on Emission Scenarios (SRES) for Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP). Using the RCP scenario, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) produced new climate change scenarios. Further, the National Institute of Meteorological Research (NIMR) of Korea produced new climate change scenarios for the Korean Peninsula. In this study, emergence time of small brown planthopper (SBPH), Laodelphax striatellus and the number of generations a year were estimated during climatic normal year with previous studies and they were predicted during 2050s (2045-2054) and 2090s (2085-2094) by means of RCP8.5 climate change scenario. In comparison with 176.0±0.97 Julian data in the climatic normal year, the emergence time of overwintering SBPH was predicted to be 13.2±0.18 days (162.8±0.91 Julian date) earlier in 2050s and 32.1±0.61 days (143.9±1.08 Julian date) earlier in 2090s. The SBPH was expected to produce an additional 2.0±0.02 generations in 2050s and 5.2±0.06 generations in 2090s

Stress-induced Cardiomyopathy during Pulmonary Resection (Takotsubo Syndrome) - A case report -

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is caused by emotional or physical stressors and mimics acute myocardial infarction, though Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is characterized by reversible left ventricular (LV) apical ballooning in the absence of significant coronary artery disease. We describe a 51-year-old male who underwent left upper lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer, and during which cardiogenic arrest occurred due to stress-induced cardiomyopathy, successfully managed by intra-aortic balloon pumping and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

An Isolated True Aneurysm of the Superficial Femoral Artery in a Young Woman - A case report -

A 39-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital due to a pulsatile mass on her right inner thigh that was evident for two months. She did not exhibit any risk factors of atherosclerosis, no evidence of vasculitis, or any signs of previous trauma history. Ultrasound and computed tomography revealed an adult fist-sized aneurysm on the distal superficial femoral artery. The aneurysm was resected and peripheral circulation was restored with the interposition of a saphenous vein graft. The resected aneurysm had three layers that showed atherosclerosis on histological examination