Monte-Carlo simulation study of the two-stage percolation transition in enhanced binary trees

We perform Monte-Carlo simulations to study the Bernoulli ($p$) bond percolation on the enhanced binary tree which belongs to the class of nonamenable graphs with one end. Our numerical results show that the system has two different percolation thresholds $p_{c1}$ and $p_{c2}$. All the points in the intermediate phase $(p_{c1} < p < p_{c2})$ are critical and there exist infinitely many infinite clusters in the intermediate phase. In this phase the corresponding fractal exponent continuously increases with $p$ from zero to unity.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Association between acetylcholine receptor characteristics in biceps motor endplates and the epidemiological predictors for conversion from ocular to generalized myasthenia gravis

Objective: Epidemiological studies have identified various predictors of conversion from ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) to secondary generalized myasthenia gravis (SGMG), but none have been confirmed. We investigated the effects of the epidemiological conversion predictors on the destruction of motor endplates in the biceps of patients with OMG and attempted to identify predictors of conversion to SGMG histologically.Methods: Patients with clinically diagnosed OMG who requested immunohistological diagnosis and who underwent muscle biopsy were included in this study. We immunostained the biceps motor endplate and semi-quantitatively measured the density and number of AChRs to determine their association with the epidemiological predictors of conversion from OMG to SGMG.Results: Thirteen patients with OMG were included, of which two patients with positive AChR antibody and concomitant thymoma converted to SGMG. In the classification according to the presence of AChR antibody, the AChR densities tended to be lower in the antibody-positive group than in the negative group (p=0.079), and the AChR numbers were significantly lesser in the AChR antibody-positive group than in the negative group (p=0.019). There were no differences in AChR densities or numbers according to sex, presence of thymic abnormalities, or presence of comorbid autoimmune diseases.Conclusion: In OMG, the AChR numbers in motor endplates of the biceps were significantly lesser in the AChR antibodypositive group than in the negative group. Since the muscle strength tends to decrease as the number of AChRs decreases, AChR antibody positivity may be a predictor of OMG to SGMG conversion, but further studies are needed to confirm

Development of D-to-D-to-P telemedicine at a remote island hospital using smart glasses

Background: Medical resources on remote islands are limited, which makes it difficult for patients to receive specialized medical care.Purpose: This study aimed to develop and evaluate a method to perform doctor-to-doctor-to-patient (D-to-D-to-P) telemedicine.Methods: The-D-to-D-to-P telemedicine was implemented to provide specialized medical support from a neurologist at Nagasaki University Hospital to a rural physician wearing camera-equipped smart glasses at Goto Chuoh Hospital on a remote island, which was called a virtual neurological outpatient (VNO). For the first six months, the rural physician independently saw patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and then for the next six months, VNO was implemented. Comparisons were made before and after the implementation of the VNO. Next, by adding a 4 K overhead camera, in-person examinations of a single outpatient were compared between the rural physician with VNO and another neurologist unrelated to the VNO.Results: The clinical efficacy of VNO was not superior to no VNO, but had a learning effect on rural physicians and was satisfactory for patients. By adding a 4 K overhead camera to the VNO, the accuracy of the in-person examination by the rural physician was shown to be equivalent to that of an in-person neurologist.Conclusion: VNO using smart glasses could be applied for D-to-D-to-P telemedicine in neurology. However, to promote telemedicine on remote islands, it will be necessary to improve the system to make it more accessible to rural physicians

Perfusion abnormality in neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease with stroke-like episode: A case report

Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disease. Some patients with NIID occasionally present with acute symptoms. However, its mechanism remains unclear. We report a patient with NIID who presented with a stroke-like episode. Arterial spin labeling magnetic resonance imaging revealed hypoperfusion in the focal cerebral region at the onset while no apparent arterial occlusion was observed. The abnormal perfusion area was normalized 6 days after admission. Therefore, the perfusion abnormality was likely the main cause of acute neurologic deficits in NIID. NIID should be considered in the differential diagnosis of stroke mimics

Cysteinyl-tRNA synthetase governs cysteine polysulfidation and mitochondrial bioenergetics

Cysteine hydropersulfide (CysSSH) occurs in abundant quantities in various organisms, yet little is known about its biosynthesis and physiological functions. Extensive persulfide formation is apparent in cysteine-containing proteins in Escherichia coli and mammalian cells and is believed to result from post-translational processes involving hydrogen sulfide-related chemistry. Here we demonstrate effective CysSSH synthesis from the substrate l-cysteine, a reaction catalyzed by prokaryotic and mammalian cysteinyl-tRNA synthetases (CARSs). Targeted disruption of the genes encoding mitochondrial CARSs in mice and human cells shows that CARSs have a crucial role in endogenous CysSSH production and suggests that these enzymes serve as the principal cysteine persulfide synthases in vivo. CARSs also catalyze co-translational cysteine polysulfidation and are involved in the regulation of mitochondrial biogenesis and bioenergetics. Investigating CARS-dependent persulfide production may thus clarify aberrant redox signaling in physiological and pathophysiological conditions, and suggest therapeutic targets based on oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction

Case report: A novel approach of closed-loop brain stimulation combined with robot gait training in post-stroke gait disturbance

Most post-stroke patients have long-lasting gait disturbances that reduce their daily activities. They often show impaired hip and knee joint flexion and ankle dorsiflexion of the lower limbs during the swing phase of gait, which is controlled by the corticospinal tract from the primary motor cortex (M1). Recently, we reported that gait-synchronized closed-loop brain stimulation targeting swing phase-related activity in the affected M1 can improve gait function in post-stroke patients. Subsequently, a gait-training robot (Orthobot®) was developed that could assist lower-limb joint movements during the swing phase of gait. Therefore, we investigated whether gait-synchronized closed-loop brain stimulation combined with robot-assisted training targeting the swing phase could enhance the recovery of post-stroke gait disturbance. A 57-year-old female patient with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis underwent closed-loop brain stimulation combined with robot-assisted training for 10 min 2 years after left pons infarction. For closed-loop brain stimulation, we used transcranial oscillatory electrical current stimulation over the lesioned M1 foot area with 1.5 mA of DC offset and 0–3 mA of sine-wave formed currents triggered by the paretic heel contact to set the maximum current just before the swing phase (intervention A; two times repeated, A1 and A2). According to the N-of-1 study design, we also performed sham stimulation (intervention B) and control stimulation not targeting the swing phase (intervention C) combined with robot-assisted training in the order of A1-B-A2-C interventions. As a result, we found larger improvements in gait speed, the Timed Up and Go test result, and muscle strength after the A1 and A2 interventions than after the B and C interventions. After confirming the short-term effects, we performed an additional long-term intervention twice a week for 5 weeks, for a total of 10 sessions. Gait parameters also largely improved after long-term intervention. Gait-synchronized closed-loop brain stimulation combined with robot-assisted training targeting the swing phase of gait may promote the recovery of gait function in post-stroke patients. Further studies with a larger number of patients are necessary

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements