Development and Application of a Brush-Spray Derived from a Calligraphy-Brush-Style Synthetic Hair Pen for Use in ESI/MS.

The development of a novel type of a sampling/ionization kit for use in electrospray ionization/mass spectrometry is reported. Using a small calligraphy-brush-style synthetic hair pen (nylon-brush), and analogous to paper-spray mass spectrometry, the analytes can be collected, elution/desorption and then ionized from the surface of the nylon-brush. The body of the kit was produced by means of a commercial 3D-printer, in which ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) was used as the starting material. Meanwhile, a small nylon-brush was embedded inside a 3D-printed plastic cell, in which a solvent was supplied to rinse the brush by means of capillary action. The size and weight of the kit were 1 g and 4 cm, respectively. The kit is disposable and it has various functions, including non-invasive sampling, sample-evaporation and ionization. As a result, when a type of pesticide was selected as the test sample (dimethoate; C5H12NO3PS2), the limit of detection was determined to be 0.1 µg/mL. Collecting the pesticide from a leaf-surface (lettuce) was also successful. The process for fabricating the nylon-brush kit and the optimized experimental conditions are reported herein.

Electrophysiologic evidence of spinal accessory neuropathy in patients with cervical myofascial pain syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether or not spinal accessory neuropathy exists in patients with cervical myofascial pain syndrome (MFPS). DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: A neurophysiologic laboratory in a university hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Patients with cervical MFPS (n=25) and healthy controls (n=20). INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We performed nerve conduction studies (NCSs) in bilateral spinal accessory nerves, and electromyography and stimulated single-fiber electromyography in the trapezius muscles of all patients and controls. Parameters including nerve conduction velocities (NCVs), amplitudes and areas of compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs), and mean consecutive differences (MCDs) in single-fiber electromyography were measured, analyzed, and compared with the disease durations of the patients. RESULTS: Spinal accessory NCSs showed normative NCVs but with prominently reduced CMAP amplitude in the patients with cervical MFPS, which is recognized as an axonal neuropathy of the spinal accessory nerves. Electromyography showed prominent evidence of denervation and reinnervation patterns in 48% of the MFPS patients. The abnormal MCDs in single-fiber electromyography indicated a synaptic delay of motor endplates in the motor units, and may signify evolving instability of neuromuscular transmission in the spinal accessory nerves innervating trapezius muscles of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates electrophysiologic evidence of neuroaxonal degeneration and neuromuscular transmission disorder in a significant proportion of patients with cervical MFPS. We suggest that spinal accessory neuropathy may be associated with cervical MFPS.

Quantification of the Trömner signs: a sensitive marker for cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

The Trömner sign is commonly used as a clinical neurological examination for upper motor neuron lesions above the fifth or sixth cervical segments of the spinal cord. This study aims to assess and quantify the Trömner signs utilizing electrophysiological test, and correlate to the severity of cord compression in cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). We enlisted 46 CSM patients, and 30 healthy persons as controls. Manual Trömner and Hoffmann signs were tested in all subjects. By using a self-designed instrument, we performed electrophysiological assessments for the Trömner signs in patients and controls. Parameters of conduction latencies and amplitude of muscle action potentials were measured and compared with the cord compression ratios in CSM patients. The results showed a greater diagnostic sensitivity for the quantified Trömner signs in comparison to those of manual Trömner signs and Hoffmann signs. We found a positive correlation between the amplitude of muscle action potentials obtained in the Trömner signs and the cord compression ratios in the patients with CSM. In conclusion, the Trömner signs can be measured by electrophysiological assessments. We demonstrate a new quantification method for an established neurological sign. Not only is Trömner sign a highly sensitive test in clinical neurological examination, the electrophysiological assessment of this sign can also serve as an objective marker for evaluation of the severity of cervical cord compression.