Lower limb alignment in healthy Japanese adults.

BACKGROUND: Knowledge regarding the normal alignment of the lower limb is important when considering alignment for total knee arthroplasty. However, few studies have explored the lower limb alignment of healthy Japanese subjects. METHODS: Between July and October 2020, we performed whole leg standing radiography of 120 legs of 60 healthy adult Japanese volunteers aged <50 years in the closed-leg stance. The measurement parameters were hip knee ankle angle (positive for varus), percentage of constitutional varus (hip knee ankle angle ≥ 3°), mechanical axis deviation ratio, mechanical lateral distal femoral angle, medial proximal tibial angle, joint line convergence angle (positive for lateral opening), and tibial joint line angle (positive for medial inclination). RESULTS: The mean measured values for all volunteers, men and women, were as follows: hip knee ankle angle (°), 2.3, 2.6, and 2.0; mechanical axis deviation ratio, 35.8, 35.6, and 36.9; mechanical lateral distal femoral angle (°), 86.7, 87.0, and 86.7; medial proximal tibial angle (°), 85.6, 85.0, and 86.2; joint line convergence angle (°), 0.6, 0.3, and 0.8; and tibial joint line angle (°), -1.0, -0.7, -1.4, respectively. The percentage of constitutional varus was 35.8% overall, 35.8% in men and 35.3% in women. Only the medial proximal tibial angle was smaller in men than that in women (p = 0.003). CONCLUSIONS: The mechanical lateral distal femoral and medial proximal tibial angles were smaller, hip knee ankle angle was larger, and percentage of constitutional varus was higher in Japanese subjects than those reported for subjects in other countries. Our findings improve the understanding of Japanese-specific alignments when considering alignment for lower limb surgery, especially, total knee arthroplasty.

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy at 19 weeks and 0 days of gestation after prolonged hyperemesis gravidarum.

Acute fatty liver of pregnancy (AFLP) is a rare disorder that typically develops in the third trimester. We successfully diagnosed and treated a case of AFLP that developed at 18 weeks' gestation. A 34-year-old woman-gravida 4, para 3-presented with continuous vomiting and abdominal pain and developed convulsive seizures and lost consciousness after transfusion therapy. Cerebral apoplexy was excluded by computed tomography of the brain. Blood tests revealed severe metabolic acidosis, coagulopathy, and leukocytosis, followed by severe hypoglycemia and elevated levels of transaminases and ammonia. The fetus was delivered dead. Whole-body computed tomography showed fatty liver. The patient was diagnosed with AFLP based on the Swansea criteria. AFLP may be a differential diagnosis in the second trimester, and rapid termination should be considered as radical treatment. Starvation may be a risk factor for this disorder.

[Intrathoracic Migration of a Kirschner Wire Successfully Removed by Video-assisted Thoracic Surgery:Report of a Case].

A 40-year-old man who had been surgically treated for the fracture of the right humerus with two Kirschner wires (K-wires) complained of chest pain and difficulty in breathing at fourth day after surgery and visited our hospital. Chest radiography revealed dislocation of the K-wire and right pneumothorax. Video-assisted thoracic surgery( VATS) was performed immediately, and the K-wire was removed safely.

Adsorption dynamics of tannin on deacetylated electrospun Konjac glucomannan fabric.

A nonwoven fabric of Konjac glucomannan (KGM) for the adsorption of tannin was fabricated by using electrospinning and then followed by deacetylation with alkaline solution. To analyze the adsorption dynamics of tannin, the time course of the adsorption of tannin on the nonwoven KGM fabric was measured by immersing the fabric in tannin solution at different concentrations of tannin and amounts of the fabric. The initial and late stages of the adsorption behavior could be expressed, respectively, by using a diffusion-limited equation and a stoichiometric equation. A discussion on the dependence of the control parameters on the adsorption behavior is presented. The results represent the first step to provide an effective adsorption procedure for tannin in the use of modified KGM fabric.

Comparison of Stabilizer Effects on the Size, Dispersion, and Catalytic Property of Pt, PtCu, and PtRu Nanoparticles.

Carbon-supported Pt, Pt-Cu, and Pt-Ru nanoparticles were prepared by an alcohol reduction method in the presence of carboxylates and phosphinate in order to investigate the role of these stabilizers in the nanoparticle formation process and the effect on catalytic properties in 2-propanol oxidation. For the Pt-Cu system, long chain carboxylate gave small dispersed particles even with high metal loading while phosphinate gave aggregated particles. For the Pt and Pt-Ru systems, fewer aggregates were observed and the particle size was independent of the chain length of carboxylate while much smaller and dispersed particles were obtained with phosphinate. Phosphinate mainly prevents metal crystal growth while carboxylates prevent both crystal growth and formation of aggregated particles. Although surface poisoning is severe on small dispersed particles in 2-propanol oxidation, dehydrogenation of 2-propanol at low potential is little affected. Phosphinate-protected catalysts were more tolerant to poisoning promoting 2-propanol electrooxidation at high potential range. The presence of Cu promoted 2-propanol electrooxidation at low potential range. These components made phosphinate-protected PtCu best perform in 2-propanol oxidation at 30 °C.

Study of plasma coagulation induced by contact with calcium chloride solution.

Blood coagulation capability is one of the most important factors for the diagnosis of patients with thrombosis. Regarding the blood coagulation as an example of gelation of soft matter, we can apply an analytical method to this phenomenon and pick up some relevant parameters. In various systems, gelation dynamics induced by contact between a polymer solution and a crosslinker solution are well explained by the "moving boundary picture" (Yamamoto et al., J. Phys. Chem. B, 2010, 114, 10002-10009). The aim of this paper is to clarify whether this picture can be applied to a clinically important biological system used for blood coagulation tests. We have measured the time course of the thickness of a plasma gel layer formed when plasma comes in contact with calcium chloride solution in a rectangular cell and analyzed theoretically on the basis of the moving boundary picture. The entire process was well expressed using a scaled equation involving three parameters characterizing the plasma, k, Kin, and ß, where k is the time required to reach the incipient stage of three-dimensional network formation, the parameter Kin is proportional to calcium chloride concentration and ß is a constant. These results indicate the direct applicability of the general theory of gelation dynamics induced by contact between two solutions to the in vitro coagulation (gelation) of plasma, and the fitting parameters may be used for diagnosis.

[Evaluation of the right internal iliac artery which is anastomosed to transplant renal artery using non-contrast enhanced MR angiography with electrocardiography-gated and 3D True SSFP time-spatial labeling inversion pulse sequence].

To evaluate whether electrocardiography-gated is useful in non-contrast-enhanced MRA with time-spatial labeling inversion pulse (Time-SLIP) in renal transplantation patients compared with respiration-triggered free-breathing. Simulation-based analyses of black blood time interval (BBTI) values for spatial selective inversion-recovery pulse and electrocardiography rates were performed, and confirmed on human subjects using a three-dimensional (3D) coherent steady-state free precession (SSFP) sequence on a 1.5 tesla Toshiba MRI scanner. Signal acquisition interval and BBTI values in which signal of a water tissue becomes the null point showed a strong correlation, and successfully suppressed signals from the background and provided better contrast between the arteries and the background. Because electrocardiography-gated non-contrast MRA does not depend on the respiration interval, providing a contrast stable, it was suggested to be an effective screening tool for evaluation of pelvic arteries.

X-ray-induced reduction of Au ions in an aqueous solution in the presence of support materials and in situ time-resolved XANES measurements.

Synchrotron X-ray-induced reduction of Au ions in an aqueous solution with or without support materials is reported. To clarify the process of radiation-induced reduction of metal ions in aqueous solutions in the presence of carbon particles as support materials, in situ time-resolved XANES measurements of Au ions were performed under synchrotron X-ray irradiation. XANES spectra were obtained only when hydrophobic carbon particles were added to the precursor solution containing Au ions. Changes in the shape of the XANES spectra indicated a rapid reduction from ionic to metallic Au in the precursor solution owing to synchrotron X-ray irradiation. In addition, the effects of the wettability of the carbon particles on the deposited Au metallic spots were examined. The deposited Au metallic spots were different depending on the relationship of surface charges between metal precursors and support materials. Moreover, a Au film was obtained as a by-product only when hydrophilic carbon particles were added to the precursor solution containing the Au ions.

Automated flow quantification for spin labeling MR imaging.

OBJECTIVE: The Time-Spatial Labeling Inversion Pulse (Time-SLIP) technique enables tracing of regional fluid flows without the use of contrast medium. The objective of this study is to quantify automatically slow and complex fluid flows using the Time-SLIP technique. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Series images were acquired with a 1.5-T MRI scanner using the Time-SLIP technique with half-Fourier fast spin-echo (FSE) and balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) sequences. In this method, labeled fluid regions in images were automatically detected based on image processing techniques for a given point. The flow velocity of the labeled fluid region was calculated using regression fitting for the region's position. To evaluate our method, constant and non-constant laminar flows in a water phantom were studied. In addition, volunteer experiments were conducted to quantify the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. RESULTS: In the constant flow experiments the correlation factor r (2) between the flow velocity calculated from our method and the laminar peak velocity calculated from the volumetric flow rate was 0.9992 for the FSE sequence and 0.9982 for the bSSFP sequence. In the non-constant flow study, the flow velocity was calculated accurately for any period inversion time even when the flow velocity was changed, and the quantification error was negligible. In the volunteer experiments, r (2) between the flow velocity calculated by the proposed method and that obtained by manual annotation was 0.9383. CONCLUSION: The experimental results showed that our proposed method can quickly and accurately provide information on flow velocities especially for slower and complex flows. Our method is, therefore, expected to be useful in diagnostic support systems.

[Optimal imaging parameters and the advantage of cerebrospinal fluid flow image using time-spatial labeling inversion pulse at 3 tesla magnetic resonance imaging: comparison of image quality for 1.5 tesla magnetic resonance imaging].

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) imaging by time-spatial labeling inversion pulse (Time-SLIP) technique is labeled by CSF with a selective inversion recovery (IR) pulse as internal tracer, thus making it possible to visualize CSF dynamics non-invasively. The purpose of this study was to clarify labeled CSF signals during various black blood time to inversion (BBTI) values at 3 tesla (T) and 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to determine appropriate CSF imaging parameters at 3 T MRI in 10 healthy volunteers. To calculate optimal BBTI values, ROIs were set in untagged cerebral parenchyma and CSF on the image of the CSF flow from the aqueduct to the fourth ventricle in 1.5 T and 3 T MRI. Visual evaluation of CSF flow also was assessed with changes of matrix and echo time (TE) at 3 T MRI. The mean BBTI value at null point of untagged CSF in 3 T MRI was longer than that of 1.5 T. The MR conditions of the highest visual evaluation were FOV, 14 cm×14 cm; Matrix, 192×192; and TE, 117 ms. CSF imaging using Time-SLIP at 3 T MRI is expected visualization of CSF flow and clarification of CSF dynamics in more detail by setting the optimal conditions because 3 T MRI has the advantage of high contrast and high signal-to-noise ratio.

[Rapid growth of peripheral lung lipoma;report of a case].

Peripheral lung lipoma is extremity rare entity. To date 13 English literature and 5 Japanese cases including our case were published since Buchman's 1st report in 1911. A 53 year-old man was sent to our hospital with 2.5 cm lung mass detected on chest X-ray by annual health check. Computed tomography(CT)scan revealed homogenous fat density mass which was thought benign tumor, however, because of rapid growth lung mass which has not been detected on chest X-ray 1 year before, surgery was inevitable choice for diagnosis. On operative findings, lung adhesion and many vessels were seen around the mass. These facts suggested some possibility of the relationship between inflammation and the occurrence, growth of lipoma. We present a rare case of peripheral lung lipoma with rapid growth pattern.

Relationship between Rate-Limiting Process and Scaling Law in Gel Growth Induced by Liquid-Liquid Contact.

Gelation through the liquid-liquid contact between a polymer solution and a gelator solution has been attempted with various combinations of gelator and polymer solutions. In many combinations, the gel growth dynamics is expressed as X∼t, where X is the gel thickness and t is the elapsed time, and the scaling law holds for the relationship between X and t. In the blood plasma gelation, however, the crossover of the growth behavior from X∼t in the early stage to X∼t in the late stage was observed. It was found that the crossover behavior is caused by a change in the rate-limiting process of growth from the free-energy-limited process to the diffusion-limited process. How, then, would the crossover phenomenon be described in terms of the scaling law? We found that the scaling law does not hold in the early stage owing to the characteristic length attributable to the free energy difference between the sol-gel phases, but it does in the late stage. We also discussed the analysis method for the crossover in terms of the scaling law.

Gelation and Orientation Dynamics Induced by Contact of Protein Solution with Transglutaminase Solution.

Gel growth induced by contact of polymer solutions with crosslinker solutions yields an emerging class of anisotropic materials with many potential applications. Here, we report the case of a study on the dynamics in forming anisotropic gels using this approach with an enzyme as a trigger of gelation and gelatin as the polymer. Unlike the previously studied cases of gelation, the isotropic gelation was followed by gel polymer orientation after a lag time. The isotropic gelation dynamics did not depend on concentrations of the polymer turning into gel and of the enzyme inducing gelation, whereas, for the anisotropic gelation, the square of the gel thickness was a linear function of the elapsed time, and the slope increased with polymer concentration. The gelation dynamics of the present system was explained by a combination of diffusion-limited gelation followed by free-energy-limited orientation of polymer molecules.

Effects of gentle mechanical skin stimulation on subjective symptoms and joint range of motions in people with chronic neck and shoulder discomfort.

This study aimed to examine the efficacy of a 2-week self-administered gentle mechanical skin stimulation on chronic neck and shoulder discomfort. In participants (n = 12) with chronic neck and shoulder discomfort, subjective measures of pain sensation, discomfort, and difficulty in moving using a visual analog scale (VAS, 0-10) and objective measures of 12 different joint range of motions (ROMs) for the cervical and shoulder regions, using a digital goniometer, were collected before and after self-care with contact acupuncture, called microcones. The self-care for 2 weeks significantly (p < 0.001) decreased all VAS scores to 2.2-2.3 from baseline values of 6.0-7.4. Of the 12 ROMs tested, 8 were significantly increased (p < 0.013). This open-label study suggests the use of self-care with microcones in improving subjective symptoms and joint ROMs in people suffering from chronic neck and shoulder discomfort. However, a randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial is needed to further investigate the efficacy and safety of microcones.

Studies on the formation mechanism and the structure of the anisotropic collagen gel prepared by dialysis-induced anisotropic gelation.

We have found that dialysis of 5 mg/mL collagen solution into the phosphate solution with a pH of 7.1 and an ionic strength of 151 mM [corrected] at 25 °C results in a collagen gel with a birefringence and tubular pores aligned parallel to the growth direction of the gel. The time course of averaged diameter of tubular pores during the anisotropic gelation was expressed by a power law with an exponent of 1/3, suggesting that the formation of tubular pores is attributed to a spinodal decomposition-like phase separation. Small angle light scattering patterns and high resolution confocal laser scanning microscope images of the anisotropic collagen gel suggested that the collagen fibrils are aligned perpendicular to the growth direction of the gel. The positional dependence of the order parameter of the collagen fibrils showed that the anisotropic collagen gel has an orientation gradient.

New protein purification system using gold-magnetic beads and a novel peptide tag, "the methionine tag".

Gold magnetic particles (GMP) are magnetic iron oxide particles modified with gold nanoparticles. The gold particles of GMP specifically bind to cysteine and methionine through Au-S binding. The aim of the present study was to establish a quick and easy protein purification system using novel peptide tags and GMP. Here, we created a variety of peptide tags containing methionine and cysteine and analyzed their affinity to GMP. Binding assays using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as a model protein indicated that the tandem methionine tags comprising methionine residues had higher affinity to the GMP than tags comprising both methionine and cysteine residues. Tags comprising both methionine and glycine residues showed slightly higher affinity to GMP and higher elution efficiency than the all-methionine tags. A protein purification assay using phosphorylcholine-treated GMP demonstrated that both a tandem methionine-tagged EGFP and a methionine and glycine-tagged EGFP were specifically purified from a protein mixture with very high efficiency. The efficiency was comparable to that of a histidine-tagged protein purification system. Together, these novel peptide tags, "methionine tags", specifically bind to GMP and can be used for a highly efficient protein purification system.

Anisotropic structure of calcium-induced alginate gels by optical and small-angle X-ray scattering measurements.

It was more than 50 years ago that an appearance of birefringence in alginate gels prepared under cation flow was reported for the first time, however, the anisotropic structure of the alginate gel has not been studied in detail. In the present study, anisotropic Ca-alginate gels were prepared within dialysis tubing in a high Ca(2+)-concentration external bath, and optical and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements were performed to characterize the structure of the gel. The observations of the gel with crossed polarizers and with circular polarizers revealed the molecular orientation perpendicular to the direction of Ca(2+) flow. Analyses of the SAXS intensity profiles indicated the formation of rod-like fibrils consisting of a few tens of alginate molecules and that the anisotropy of the gel was caused by the circumferential orientation of the large fibrils. From the observed asymmetric SAXS pattern, it was found that the axis of rotational symmetry of the anisotropic structure was parallel to the direction of Ca(2+) flow. The alignment factor (A(f)) calculated from the SAXS intensity data confirmed that the orientation of the fibrils was perpendicular to the direction of Ca(2+) flow.

Diverse effects of FK506 on the apoptosis of hepatocytes and infiltrating lymphocytes in an allografted rat liver.

BACKGROUND: The current study investigated whether FK506 (FK) regulates the apoptotic systems in allografted rat liver and the contribution of Fas/Fas-ligand system and Bcl-2 family during acute rejection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The recipients were divided into three groups, the allo, the allo-FK, and the syn group. Rats were euthanized 1, 3, 5, and 7 d after OLT. Apoptotic activity was explored using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay. The expression of Fas/Fas-ligand and Bcl-2/Bax in the grafted livers was investigated by Western blotting and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The apoptotic index (AI) of hepatocytes in the allo-FK group was less than that in the allo group. Fas in the allo group was more intense than that in the allo-FK group in the periportal areas on day 1 and 3, while Bcl-2 in the allo group was less intense than that in the allo-FK group in the pericaval areas at all time-points after OLT. CONCLUSION: FK provides beneficial antiapoptotic effects on hepatocytes in the grafted rat livers through both the down-regulation of Fas expression in the periportal areas and the up-regulation of Bcl-2 expression in the pericaval areas.

Gel growth of aqueous konjac glucomannan solution containing sodium trimetaphosphate dialyzed with dilute sodium hydroxide.

The growth rate of the hydrogel of the aqueous konjac glucomannan (KGM) solution containing sodium trimetaphosphate (STMP) dialyzed with aqueous NaOH was investigated in a rectangular cell. The growth rate of the KGM-STMP gel depended on both the KGM and STMP concentrations in addition to the NaOH concentration. The initial growth rate of the KGM-STMP gel was closely related to the diffusion of NaOH into the KGM-STMP solution, leading to the ring-opening reaction of STMP and the deacetylation of KGM at the interface. The time course of the gelation of the KGM-STMP solution was analyzed on the basis of the moving boundary picture theory by introducing the characteristic length to express the consumption of NaOH in the gel layer accompanying the decomposition of STMP. Dynamic mechanical measurements were performed to compare the gelation of the KGM-STMP solution mixed homogeneously with dilute NaOH and the gel dynamics by the dialysis method.

Crossover of Rate-Limiting Process in Plasma Gel Growth by Contact with Source of Gelator.

Plasma is regarded as a solution of precursor polymers specifically transformed to gel-forming polymers by a reaction with initiators. We developed a theory for the gel growth dynamics of plasma induced by contact with a source of gelators that are yielded by the initiation. In developing the theory, we combined the Ginzburg-Landau type dynamics with the gelator diffusion dynamics expressed by the moving boundary picture. The theory predicts the crossover of the rate-limiting process in the time course of the thickness of the gel layer X from the energy-limited process expressed by X∼t to the diffusion-limited process expressed by X∼t, where t is the time elapsed from when the plasma comes into contact with the source of gelators. A demonstration experiment was performed by placing a tissue factor coating plate as the initiator in plasma. Log-log plot of X vs. t showed a crossover as predicted by the theory, and the parameters characterizing plasma were determined.