Variation of Saponarin Content in Barley Sprouts (Hordeum vulgare L.) by Natural Light Shielding: Implication of the Importance of Light Intensity.

Saponarin is a functional metabolite produced by barley sprouts, and the mass production of saponarin by this crop is attractive for dietary supplement manufacturing. Light is the most important environmental factor determining plant growth, survival, and the production of secondary metabolites including flavonoids. This study was conducted to investigate the importance of light intensity for saponarin production in barley sprouts using a hydroponic growth system. Light intensity was manipulated by using shielding treatments to 100, 80, 70, and 50% natural sunlight (NS), and crop cultivation was performed on a monthly cycle. We found that the growth rate and biomass of barley sprouts did not differ in response to the shield treatments, whereas the saponarin content did. The highest saponarin content (i.e., from 1329 to 1673 mg 100 g-1) was observed in the 100% NS treatment, and it gradually decreased as light intensity also decreased. Statistical analysis revealed a significant polynomial relationship of saponarin content with cumulative PPFD (R2 = 76%), implying that the absolute total amount of light exposure over the growth period has a large effect on saponarin productivity in a hydroponic facility. Taken together, our results showed that shielding conditions, which are often unintentionally created by the design of cultivation facilities, can adversely affect saponarin production in barley sprouts. In addition, it was confirmed through our findings that light conditions with at least 70% NS in the cultivation facility enable the production of an amount corresponding to the saponarin content of the sprouts (>1000 mg 100 g-1) produced in the open field. Further studies are needed to investigate the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms responsible for the relationship of saponarin content with light quantity and quality in barley sprouts.

Isolated injury to the tibial division of sciatic nerve after self-massage of the gluteal muscle with massage ball: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: An isolated injury to the tibial division is rare among compressive sciatic neuropathy. To date, isolated injury to the tibial division of the sciatic nerve after self-massage of the gluteal muscle has not been reported. Here, we report a case of compressive sciatic neuropathy diagnosed after self-massage of the gluteal muscle using magnetic resonance image (MRI) and ultrasound images and its associated therapeutic process. PATIENT CONCERNS: A 50-year-old woman presented right lower extremity pain for the past 7 days. DIAGNOSIS: Electrophysiological findings were consistent with right tibial neuropathy proximal to the branch to hamstring muscles. However, T2-weighted MRI showed high signal intensity and swelling in the right sciatic nerves from the superior gemellus level to the quadratus femoris level. After considering both radiologic and electrophysiological findings, the patient was diagnosed with an isolated injury to the tibial division of the right sciatic nerve. INTERVENTIONS: The patient agreed to an ultrasound-guided perineural steroid injection upon receiving detailed explanation of the procedure. OUTCOMES: After the injection, there was significant improvement in pain. CONCLUSION: Therefore, in making a diagnosis of sciatic neuropathy, it may be important to find the lesion via MRI than relying solely on the patient's history or electrophysiologic study.

Ultrasound-Guided Corticosteroid Injection in a Patient With Tietze Syndrome Combined With Costochondral Joint Swelling.

Tietze syndrome is an uncommon disease of unknown etiology that manifests as pain and tenderness of the parasternal joints. To date, however, there has been no report on ultrasonographic findings concerning swelling of the costochondral joint in Tietze syndrome. Moreover, there has been no research investigating images of ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injection, although corticosteroid injection is one of the most important treatments for Tietze syndrome. Therefore, we report a case of Tietze syndrome where ultrasound images were used in the diagnostic and therapeutic process. A 70-yr-old man was seen for left chest pain that had lasted for several weeks. Physical examination at our clinic revealed a focal tenderness of the left third costochondral joint, and an ultrasound showed a swelling of the left third costochondral joint. Considering both the radiological and the clinical examination, the patient received a diagnosis of Tietze syndrome with costochondral joint swelling. Then, the patient agreed to an ultrasound-guided left third costochondral corticosteroid injection after receiving a detailed explanation of the disease and treatment. After receiving three ultrasound-guided corticosteroid injections, his chest pain subsided, and the swelling and tenderness also disappeared completely. Collectively, our case suggests that ultrasound is important in the diagnosis and treatment of Tietze syndrome.

Unique Bond Breaking in Crystalline Phase Change Materials and the Quest for Metavalent Bonding.

Laser-assisted field evaporation is studied in a large number of compounds, including amorphous and crystalline phase change materials employing atom probe tomography. This study reveals significant differences in field evaporation between amorphous and crystalline phase change materials. High probabilities for multiple events with more than a single ion detected per laser pulse are only found for crystalline phase change materials. The specifics of this unusual field evaporation are unlike any other mechanism shown previously to lead to high probabilities of multiple events. On the contrary, amorphous phase change materials as well as other covalently bonded compounds and metals possess much lower probabilities for multiple events. Hence, laser-assisted field evaporation in amorphous and crystalline phase change materials reveals striking differences in bond rupture. This is indicative for pronounced differences in bonding. These findings imply that the bonding mechanism in crystalline phase change materials differs substantially from conventional bonding mechanisms such as metallic, ionic, and covalent bonding. Instead, the data reported here confirm a recently developed conjecture, namely that metavalent bonding is a novel bonding mechanism besides those mentioned previously.

The effectiveness of 2 consecutive intra-articular polydeoxyribonucleotide injections compared with intra-articular triamcinolone for hemiplegic shoulder pain: A STROBE-complaint retrospective study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of intra-articular injection of polydeoxyribonucleotide (PDRN), compared with intraarticular triamcinolone (TA) injection, in subacute stroke patients with hemiplegic shoulder pain (HSP).Participants were subacute stroke patients with HSP who had undergone 2 consecutive intra-articular injections of TA or PDRN.Numeric rating scale (NRS) and passive range of motion (PROM) of hemiplegic shoulder were evaluated until 4 weeks after 2nd injection.In the results, there were significant improvements in all PROM measures 2 weeks after the second injection, compared with pre-injection results, in both groups (P < .05). In the PDRN group, however, none of the PROM measures were significantly improved at 3 and 4 weeks after the second injection, compared with pre-injection results (P ≥ .05). When comparing pre-injection results with those at 4 weeks after the second injection, all PROM and NRS measures in the TA group were more improved than in the PDRN group, but this was not statistically significant (P ≥ .05).In conclusion, considering the systemic side effects of steroids, especially among patients with diabetes or metabolic syndrome, PDRN seems to be a worthwhile treatment option for HSP, although PDRN does not seem to have an equivalent persistence effects when compared with TA.

The Correlation Between Clinical Characteristics and Radionuclide Salivagram Findings in Patients With Brain Lesions: A Preliminary Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the correlation between radionuclide salivagram findings and clinical characteristics in dysphagic patients with brain lesions. METHODS: The medical records of 35 dysphagic patients with brain lesions who simultaneously underwent both a videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) and radionuclide salivagram were analyzed retrospectively. The subjects were divided into two groups according to the presence of aspiration on a salivagram (group A, patients with aspiration on the salivagram; group B, patients with no aspiration on the salivagram). The differences between clinical characteristics and VFSS findings (penetration-aspiration scale [PAS]) between the two groups were analyzed. RESULTS: Eleven out of 35 patients displayed salivary aspiration on the radionuclide salivagram. There were no significant differences between the two groups according to age, sex, disease duration, PAS on VFSS and feeding methods (p≥0.05). The incidence of aspiration pneumonia was significantly higher in group A. In a multivariate logistic regression analysis with forward stepwise method, the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score was the only significant parameter in predicting positive findings in salivagrams (odds ratio=0.760; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.625-0.923; p=0.006). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of the MMSE score for positive detection in salivagrams was 0.855 (95% CI, 0.689-0.953; p<0.0001). The optimal cut-off value was 7 for the MMSE score (sensitivity 72.73%, specificity 100%). CONCLUSION: In patients with brain lesions who complain of dysphagia, the MMSE score was correlated with salivary aspiration. If patients present with a score of 7 or less on the MMSE, performing a radionuclide salivagram may helpful for early detection of patients at high risk of aspiration pneumonia induced from salivary aspiration.

Growth Mechanism of Strain-Dependent Morphological Change in PEDOT:PSS Films.

UNLABELLED: Understanding the mechanism of the strain-dependent conductivity change in polymers in stretched conditions is important. We observed a strain-induced growth of the conductive regions of PEDOT: PSS films, induced by a coalescence of conductive PEDOT-rich cores. This growth due to coalescence leads to a gradual decrease in the electrical resistivity up to 95%, independent of the thickness of the PEDOT: PSS films. The primary mechanism for the evolution of the PEDOT-rich cores proceeds by the cores growing larger as they consuming relatively smaller cores. This process is caused by a strain-induced local rearrangement of PEDOT segments in the vicinity of PSS shells around the cores and also changes the chemical environment in PEDOT, induced by the electron-withdrawing effects around the PEDOT chains. The strain-induced growth mechanism is beneficial to understanding the phenomenon of polymeric chain rearrangement in mechanical deformation and to modulating the electrical conductivity for practical applications.

New pathway for the formation of metallic cubic phase Ge-Sb-Te compounds induced by an electric current.

The novel discovery of a current-induced transition from insulator to metal in the crystalline phase of Ge2Sb2Te5 and GeSb4Te7 have been studied by means of a model using line-patterned samples. The resistivity of cubic phase Ge-Sb-Te compound was reduced by an electrical current (~1 MA/cm(2)), and the final resistivity was determined based on the stress current density, regardless of the initial resistivity and temperature, which indicates that the conductivity of Ge-Sb-Te compound can be modulated by an electrical current. The minimum resistivity of Ge-Sb-Te materials can be achieved at high kinetic rates by applying an electrical current, and the material properties change from insulating to metallic behavior without a phase transition. The current-induced metal transition is more effective in GeSb4Te7 than Ge2Sb2Te5, which depends on the intrinsic vacancy of materials. Electromigration, which is the migration of atoms induced by a momentum transfer from charge carriers, can easily promote the rearrangement of vacancies in the cubic phase of Ge-Sb-Te compound. This behavior differs significantly from thermal annealing, which accompanies a phase transition to the hexagonal phase. This result suggests a new pathway for modulating the electrical conductivity and material properties of chalcogenide materials by applying an electrical current.