A COMPARISON OF 2D IMAGE ANALYSIS AND DESIGN-BASED STEREOLOGY FOR EVALUATING MORPHOLOGICAL AND ANATOMICAL CHANGES IN THE DOPAMINERGIC SYSTEM OF THE RODENT MIDBRAIN

Background. 2D analyses produce systematic errors in quantifying anatomical and morphological features in the brain. Design-based stereology overcomes this limitation by applying probability theory, yet many neuroscience investigators still use 2D analyses. The purpose of this study is to compare 2D analysis with design-based stereology in quantifying differences of morphological and anatomical features between groups. Methods. Brain tissue samples of three different rodent models were analyzed; chronic MPTP/probenecid PD (MPD) mouse model, alcohol preferring (AP) rat model, and the enriched environment (EE) rat model. 2D analyses and design-based stereology were used to quantify neuronal number, neuronal volume and regional volume. Student's t-test (two-tailed) was used to compare quantitative data. Results. 2D analyses generated significantly different estimation form design-based stereology in neuronal number and did not find relatively small differences of neuronal number. 2D analysis generated comparable value to design-based stereology in normalized data but not in actual value. 2D estimated accurately regional volume. Discussion. 2D analyses may be used for rough screening to find a difference of neuronal number and volume but should not for the estimation of actual value. Design-based stereology should be used to estimate neuronal number and volume. Both 2D analyses and design based stereology can be used for the estimation of regional volume

Screening for Early Gastric Cancer Using a Noninvasive Urine Metabolomics Approach

The early detection of gastric cancer (GC) could decrease its incidence and mortality. However, there are currently no accurate noninvasive markers for GC screening. Therefore, we developed a noninvasive diagnostic approach, employing urine nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) metabolomics, to discover putative metabolic markers associated with GC. Changes in urine metabolite levels during oncogenesis were evaluated using samples from 103 patients with GC and 100 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Approximately 70% of the patients with GC (n = 69) had stage I GC, with the majority (n = 56) having intramucosal cancer. A multivariate statistical analysis of the urine NMR data well discriminated between the patient and control groups and revealed nine metabolites, including alanine, citrate, creatine, creatinine, glycerol, hippurate, phenylalanine, taurine, and 3-hydroxybutyrate, that contributed to the difference. A diagnostic performance test with a separate validation set exhibited a sensitivity and specificity of more than 90%, even with the intramucosal cancer samples only. In conclusion, the NMR-based urine metabolomics approach may have potential as a convenient screening method for the early detection of GC and may facilitate consequent endoscopic examination through risk stratification

Holographic entanglement entropy probe on spontaneous symmetry breaking with vector order

We study holographic entanglement entropy in 5-dimensional charged black brane geometry obtained from Einstein-SU(2)Yang-Mills theory defined in asymptotically AdS space. This gravity system undergoes second order phase transition near its critical point affected by a spatial component of the Yang-Mills fields, which is normalizable mode of the solution. This is known as phase transition between isotropic and anisotropic phases. We get analytic solutions of holographic entanglement entropies by utilizing the solution of bulk spacetime geometry given in arXiv:1109.4592, where we consider subsystems defined on AdS boundary of which shapes are wide and thin slabs and a cylinder. It turns out that the entanglement entropies near the critical point shows scaling behavior such that for both of the slabs and cylinder, $\Delta_\varepsilon S\sim\left(1-\frac{T}{T_c}\right)^\beta$ and the critical exponent $\beta=1$, where $\Delta_\varepsilon S\equiv S^{iso}-S^{aniso}$, and $S^{iso}$ denotes the entanglement entropy in isotropic phase whereas $S^{aniso}$ denotes that in anisotropic phase. We suggest a quantity $O_{12}\equiv S_1-S_2$ as a new order parameter near the critical point, where $S_1$ is entanglement entropy when the slab is perpendicular to the direction of the vector order whereas $S_2$ is that when the slab is parallel to the vector order. $O_{12}=0$ in isotropic phase but in anisotropic phase, the order parameter becomes non-zero showing the same scaling behavior. Finally, we show that even near the critical point, the first law of entanglement entropy is hold. Especially, we find that the entanglement temperature for the cylinder is $\mathcal T_{cy}=\frac{c_{ent}}{a}$, where $c_{ent}=0.163004\pm0.000001$ and $a$ is the radius of the cylinder.Comment: 1+29 pages, 4 figure

Clinical Efficacy of Near-Infrared Reflectance Imaging and Optical Coherence Tomography in Identifying Ocular Manifestations of Neurofibromatosis Type 1 in Korean Children

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical efficacy of near-infrared reflectance (NIR) imaging and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in identifying ocular manifestations of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) in Korean children. Methods This retrospective chart review study included five Korean children with NF1 aged under 18 years who had undergone ophthalmic procedures, including slit-lamp examinations, NIR imaging, and OCT scanning. Results Multiple patchy bright lesions were observed on NIR imaging in all eyes (10 eyes in five patients). Further NIR imaging and OCT scans showed that these lesions, confined to the choroid, were choroidal nodules. Lisch nodules, contrastingly, were found in only four of 10 eyes by slit-lamp examinations on the same day as the NIR imaging. One of those four eyes had only one Lisch nodule, which did not meet the NF1 diagnostic criteria. Conclusion NIR imaging enabled the detection of choroidal nodules in Korean children with NF1. Moreover, for Korean children with NF1, choroidal nodules were earlier-detected ocular manifestations relative to Lisch nodules. NIR imaging, along with OCT, is a useful protocol for localizing NF1 nodules in children

A Preliminary Report of Crosslinguistic Evidence on Efficacy of Semantic-Complexity Based Naming Treatment in Korean Aphasics

The current study investigated the efficacy of semantic-complexity based naming treatment in Korean participants with aphasia. Results suggested that both participants showed small to medium effect sizes in the trained items. However, generalization effects were greater in the participant who received treatment on the atypical items first, than the participant who was initiated on the typical items. These results are consistent with the previous findings in English-speaking aphasic participants (Kiran & Thompson, 2003; Kiran, 2008). Preliminary findings of two Korean participants with aphasia added crosslinguistic evidence on efficacy of the semantic complexity based naming treatment

Effects of Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation During Hemiplegic Arm Reaching in Individuals with Stroke: An Exploratory Study

SummaryObjective/BackgroundThis study investigated the effects of rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS) on muscle activity and elbow motion during arm reaching with hemiplegic arm in participants with stroke.MethodsSixteen adults with stroke who resided in a community were recruited in this study. The RAS consisted of sound emitted from a digital metronome. While sitting upright in a chair, participants reached their arms towards a target (a switch on a table) both with and without RAS. The three-dimensional motion analysis system and surface electromyography system were used for measurements during the reaching tasks.ResultsWe found that RAS elicited better performance in reaching movements than those movements performed without RAS. RAS shortened the movement time (p = .002), reduced the change in acceleration (p = .001), increased the elbow extension range of motion (p = .001), increased muscle activation of the triceps brachii (p = .024), and reduced the co-contraction ratio (p = .015) of the affected arm.ConclusionRAS might be a useful technique to facilitate improvements in motor function of the affected arm in patients with stroke

Validation of Compact-Standard Antenna Method for Antenna Calibration above 1 GHz

In this paper, we propose a compact-standard antenna method (C-SAM) for antenna calibration above 1 GHz. The test-site evaluation of the fully-anechoic room (FAR) condition satisfied the free-space conditions. When the C-SAM was compared with conventional antenna calibration methods, the maximum deviation was within ±0.18 dB for the 1–18 GHz frequency range. Unlike the conventional antenna calibration methods, the proposed method is a simple standard antenna method that calculates the antenna factor of the antenna under calibration (AUC) with only one site insertion loss (SIL) measurement of an antenna calibration site that meets free-space conditions. Therefore, the C-SAM is the best candidate for antenna calibration owing to the method’s simplicity and cost-reduction potential

Biomechanical Analysis of Biodegradable Cervical Plates Developed for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion

Study Design In-vitro biomechanical investigation. Purpose To evaluate the biomechanical effects of the degeneration of the biodegradable cervical plates developed for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) on fusion and adjacent levels. Overview of Literature Biodegradable implants have been recently introduced for cervical spine surgery. However, their effectiveness and safety remains unclear. Methods A linear three-dimensional finite element (FE) model of the lower cervical spine, comprising the C4–C6 vertebrae was developed using computed tomography images of a 46-year-old woman. The model was validated by comparison with previous reports. Four models of ACDF were analyzed and compared: (1) a titanium plate and bone block (Tita), (2) strong biodegradable plate and bone block (PLA-4G) that represents the early state of the biodegradable plate with full strength, (3) weak biodegradable plate and bone block (PLA-1G) that represents the late state of the biodegradable plate with decreased strength, and (4) stand-alone bone block (Bloc). FE analysis was performed to investigate the relative motion and intervertebral disc stress at the surgical (C5–C6 segment) and adjacent (C4–C5 segment) levels. Results The Tita and PLA-4G models were superior to the other models in terms of higher segment stiffness, smaller relative motion, and lower bone stress at the surgical level. However, the maximal von Mises stress at the intervertebral disc at the adjacent level was significantly higher in the Tita and PLA-4G models than in the other models. The relative motion at the adjacent level was significantly lower in the PLA-1G and Bloc models than in the other models. Conclusions The use of biodegradable plates will enhance spinal fusion in the initial stronger period and prevent adjacent segment degeneration in the later, weaker period