Successful radical resection of a leiomyosarcoma of the pulmonary trunk

AbstractJ Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;122:1039-4

White matter microstructural alterations in patients with neuropathic pain after spinal cord injury: a diffusion tensor imaging study

BackgroundThrough contrastive analysis, we aimed to identify the white matter brain regions that show microstructural changes in patients with neuropathic pain (NP) after spinal cord injury (SCI).MethodsWe categorized patients with SCI into NP (n = 30) and non-NP (n = 15) groups. We extracted diffusion tensor maps of fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean (MD), axial (AD), and radial (RD) diffusivity. A randomization-based method in tract-based spatial statistics was used to perform voxel-wise group comparisons among the FA, MD, AD, and RD for nonparametric permutation tests.ResultsAtlas-based analysis located significantly different regions (p < 0.05) in the appointed brain atlas. Compared to the non-NP group, the NP group showed higher FA in the posterior body and splenium of the corpus callosum and higher AD in the corpus callosum, internal capsule, corona radiata, posterior thalamic radiation, sagittal stratum, external capsule, cingulum, fornix/stria terminalis, superior longitudinal fasciculus, and uncinate fasciculus.ConclusionThe results demonstrated that compared with the non-NP group, NP pathogenesis after SCI was potentially related to higher values in FA that are associated with microstructural changes in the posterior body and splenium of the corpus callosum, which could be regarded as central sensitization or network hyperexcitability

Effects of Energetic Carbon Cluster Ion Irradiation on Lattice Structures of EuBa2Cu3O7-x Oxide Superconductor

C-axis oriented EuBa2Cu3O7-x oxide films 100 nm thick were irradiated with 0.5 MeV C 10 monoatomic ions, 2 MeV C4 cluster ions and 4 MeV C8 cluster ions at room temperature. Before 11 and after the irradiation, the x -ray diffraction (XRD) measurement was performed using Cu-Kα x-12 ray. The c-axis lattice constant increases almost linearly as a function of numbers of irradiating car-13 bon ions, but it does rarely depend on the cluster size. Cluster size effects are observed in the XRD 14 peak intensity and the XRD peak width. With increasing the cluster size, the decrease in peak in-15 tensity becomes more remarkable and the peak width increases. The experimental result implies 16 that the cluster ions with a larger size provide a more localized energy deposition in a sample, and 17 cause larger and more inhomogeneous lattice disordering. As such a local and large lattice disor-18 dering acts as pinning centers for quantum vortex, energetic carbon cluster ion irradiation will be 19 effective for the increment in the critical current of EuBa2Cu3O7-x superconductors

Static Hydrophobic Cuprous Oxide Surface Fabricated via One-Step Laser-Induced Oxidation of a Copper Substrate

In this study, we developed a one-step method for fabricating hydrophobic surfaces on copper (Cu) substrates. Cuprous oxide (Cu2O) with low free energy was successfully formed after low-fluence laser direct irradiation. The formation of Cu2O enhanced the hydrophobicity of the Cu substrate surface, and the contact angle linearly increased with the proportion of Cu2O. The Cu2O fabricated by low-fluence laser treatment showed the same crystal plane orientation as the pristine Cu substrate, implying an epitaxial growth of Cu2O on a Cu substrate

The impact of ankle–foot orthoses on toe clearance strategy in hemiparetic gait: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Ankle–foot orthoses (AFOs) are frequently used to improve gait stability, toe clearance, and gait efficiency in individuals with hemiparesis. During the swing phase, AFOs enhance lower limb advancement by facilitating the improvement of toe clearance and the reduction of compensatory movements. Clinical monitoring via kinematic analysis would further clarify the changes in biomechanical factors that lead to the beneficial effects of AFOs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the actual impact of AFOs on toe clearance, and determine the best strategy to achieve toe clearance (including compensatory movements) during the swing phase. Methods This study included 24 patients with hemiparesis due to stroke. The gait performance of these patients with and without AFOs was compared using three-dimensional treadmill gait analysis. A kinematic analysis of the paretic limb was performed to quantify the contribution of the extent of lower limb shortening and compensatory movements (such as hip elevation and circumduction) to toe clearance. The impact of each movement related to toe clearance was assessed by analyzing the change in the vertical direction. Results Using AFOs significantly increased toe clearance (p = 0.038). The quantified limb shortening and pelvic obliquity significantly differed between gaits performed with versus without AFOs. Among the movement indices related to toe clearance, limb shortening was increased by the use of AFOs (p < 0.0001), while hip elevation due to pelvic obliquity (representing compensatory strategies) was diminished by the use of AFOs (p = 0.003). The toe clearance strategy was not significantly affected by the stage of the hemiparetic condition (acute versus chronic) or the type of AFO (thermoplastic AFOs versus adjustable posterior strut AFOs). Conclusions Simplified three-dimensional gait analysis was successfully used to quantify and visualize the impact of AFOs on the toe clearance strategy of hemiparetic patients. AFO use increased the extent of toe clearance and limb shortening during the swing phase, while reducing compensatory movements. This approach to visualization of the gait strategy possibly contributes to clinical decision-making in the real clinical settings. Trial registration UMIN000028946. Registered 31 August 2017 (retrospectively registered)