Simple and reliable quartz crystal microbalance technique for determination of solubility by cooling and heating solution.

A quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is presented as a promising technique for determining the solubility and induction of nucleation via the cooling and reverse heating of a solution. When cooling and heating a solution, the resonant frequency (F) and resonant resistance (R) of the QCM responses change significantly due to vibrational loss related to the viscous and elastic friction that depend on the solution viscosity and solid mass on the sensor, respectively. Thus, obvious refraction points appear in the QCM response profile at the induction point of primary nucleation during cooling crystallization and at the saturated point during heating dissolution.

Dissociation between anti-porcine albumin and anti-Gal antibody responses in non-human primate recipients of intraportal porcine islet transplantation.

Background: To understand humoral responses elicited after xenotransplantation, we compared the induction of anti-non-Gal antibodies vs. anti-Gal antibodies in non-human primates (NHPs) after intraportal porcine islet transplantation (PITX).

Methods: Anti-Gal and anti-non-Gal IgGs were analyzed in serial plasma samples of NHP recipients after PITX by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using synthetic Gal and by flow cytometry using α-1,3-galactosyltransferase gene knockout (GTKO) porcine endothelial cells, respectively.

Comparison of postoperative magnetic resonance imaging and second-look arthroscopy for evaluating meniscal allograft transplantation.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation of transplanted meniscal allograft with second-look arthroscopy and evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of MRI for assessing graft status.

Methods: From 1996 to 2012, among 290 knees that underwent meniscal allograft transplantation and received follow-up examination for more than 1 year, those knees that underwent second-look arthroscopy were reviewed. Patients with no postoperative MRI and patients with a time gap between postoperative MRI and second-look arthroscopy of more than 3 months were excluded.

Vestibular Performance During High-Acceleration Stimuli Correlates with Clinical Decline in SCA6.

In spinocerebellar ataxia type 6 (SCA6), the vestibular dysfunction and its correlation with other clinical parameters require further exploration. We determined vestibular responses over a broad range of stimulus acceleration in 11 patients with SCA6 (six men, age range=33-72 years, mean age±SD=59±12 years) using bithermal caloric irrigations, rotary chair, and head impulse tests. Correlations were also pursued among disability scores, as measured using the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, disease duration, age at onset, cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeat length, and the gain of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR).

Effects of repeated steroid injection at subacromial bursa with different interval.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of repeated steroid injection at subacromial bursa with different interval for patient with periarticular shoulder disorder.

Methods: Group A (n=10) received subacromial bursa injection only on their first visit, group C (n=10) received the injection on their first visit and one week later, and group B (n=10) received the injection on their first visit and two weeks later. All injections were done with a combination of 40 mg (1.

Cardioprotective effect of fimasartan, a new angiotensin receptor blocker, in a porcine model of acute myocardial infarction.

Cardioprotective effect of fimasartan, a new angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), was evaluated in a porcine model of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Fifty swine were randomized to group 1 (sham, n=10), group 2 (no angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor [ACEI] or ARB, n=10), group 3 (perindopril 2 mg daily, n=10), group 4 (valsartan 40 mg daily, n=10), or group 5 (fimasartan 30 mg daily, n=10). Acute MI was induced by occlusion of the left anterior descending artery for 50 min.

Patient-related risk factors for the extrusion of lateral meniscal allograft transplants.

Purpose: The objective of this study was to identify the patient-related risk factors for lateral meniscal extrusion after lateral meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) regarding demographic characteristics, alignment, and pre-existing arthrosis.

Methods: Seventy-one patients who underwent arthroscopic lateral MAT with bone bridge fixation between 2008 and 2011 were assessed. Lateral meniscal subluxation was measured on mid-coronal sections of magnetic resonance images 1 year postoperatively.

Esophageal cancer treated by endoscopic submucosal dissection after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy: a case report.

Introduction: The treatment of esophageal cancer remains clinically challenging because of the overall poor prognosis associated with the disease. The mortality rate associated with surgical treatment is high, and the majority of diagnosed patients are old. As such, surgery is not possible in many cases, even when the cancer has progressed to a resectable state.

The orbital volume measurement in patients with ventriculoperitoneal shunt.

Enophthalmos occurs from the increased bony volume or decreased soft tissue volume in the orbit and can be caused in patients with long-term ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt. This study tried to find out the change of orbital volume by measuring the orbital volume before and after operation in adult patients who underwent VP shunt for hydrocephalus. The 2 evaluators measured orbital volume by using ITK-SNAP 2.

Dysport and Botox at a ratio of 2.5:1 units in cervical dystonia: a double-blind, randomized study.

We aimed to compare Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA, Ipsen Biopharm, Slough, UK) and Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA, Allergan, Irvine, CA, USA) at a 2.5:1 ratio in the treatment of cervical dystonia (CD). A Dysport/Botox ratio of lower than 3:1 was suggested as a more appropriate conversion ratio, considering its higher efficacy and more frequent incidence of adverse effects not only in the treatment of CD but also in other focal movement disorders.

The prevalence of essential tremor in elderly Koreans.

Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common movement disorders. The prevalence of ET varies substantially among studies. In Korea, there is no well-designed epidemiological study of the prevalence of ET.

Synthesis of aminoalkyl-substituted aurone derivatives as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a progressive and neurodegenerative disorder of the brain, is the most common cause of dementia among elderly people. To date, the successful therapeutic strategy to treat AD is maintaining the levels of acetylcholine by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase (AChE). In the present study, aurone derivatives were designed and synthesized as AChE inhibitors based on the lead structure of sulfuretin.

Effect of sagittal allograft position on coronal extrusion in lateral meniscus allograft transplantation.

Purpose: This study assessed the incidence of graft extrusion on the sagittal plane on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and evaluated the correlation between the sagittal position of the allograft and coronal graft extrusion.

Methods: The study involved 99 patients who underwent lateral meniscus allograft transplantation (LMAT) for knees that had undergone total meniscectomy and 50 sex- and age-matched control patients who underwent MRI for evaluation of knee pain and had no intra-articular lesions. Graft extrusion and sagittal graft position parameters, including the distance from the articular cartilage center to the anterior meniscus (CAMD), the distance from the articular cartilage center to the posterior meniscus, the distance from the anterior articular cartilage margin to the anterior horn (ACMD), or the distance from the posterior articular cartilage margin to the posterior horn, were assessed on immediate postoperative MRI studies (2 days after surgery) and compared between the LMAT and control groups.

The diagnostic value of pedobarography.

Pedobarography can quantify static and dynamic foot pressure. Despite an increase in the clinical use of pedobarography, the results and the clinical diagnosis do not always correlate, leading to confusion and misdiagnosis. The authors evaluated the potential of pedobarography to diagnose several diseases associated with abnormal pressure across the plantar surface.

Deep-nanoscale pattern engineering by immersion-induced self-assembly.

The directed self-assembly (DSA) of block copolymers (BCPs) is expected to complement conventional optical lithography due to its excellent pattern resolution and cost-effectiveness. Recent studies have shown that BCPs with a large Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (χ) are critical for a reduction of the thermodynamic defect density as well as an increase in pattern density. However, due to their slower self-assembly kinetics, high-χ BCPs typically necessitate solvent vapor annealing, which requires complex facilities and procedures compared to simple thermal annealing.

Does sequence of graft tensioning affect outcomes in combined anterior and posterior cruciate ligament reconstructions?

Background: Controversy persists regarding the protocol for tensioning and securing the grafts in one-stage reconstruction of combined anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries. Many authors have reported stability examinations and functional results after reconstruction for this relatively rare injury, and the best sequence for tensioning the grafts is not known.

Questions/purposes: We sought to determine (1) if there are differences in postoperative anteroposterior stability in a protocol of simultaneous tensioning of both grafts and ACL-first fixation compared with a protocol of tensioning and fixation of the PCL first in one-stage reconstruction of combined ACL/PCL injuries; and (2) if there is a difference in postoperative functional outcome scores between the two protocols.

Reliable control of filament formation in resistive memories by self-assembled nanoinsulators derived from a block copolymer.

Resistive random access memory (ReRAM) is a promising candidate for future nonvolatile memories. Resistive switching in a metal-insulator-metal structure is generally assumed to be caused by the formation/rupture of nanoscale conductive filaments (CFs) under an applied electric field. The critical issue of ReRAM for practical memory applications, however, is insufficient repeatability of the operating voltage and resistance ratio.

REM sleep behavior disorder: association with motor complications and impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease.

Objective: Clinical phenotypes such as old age, longer disease duration, motor disability, akineto-rigid type, dementia and hallucinations are known to be associated with REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD) in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the relationship between motor fluctuations/impulse control and related behaviors (ICRB) and RBD is not clear. We designed this study to elucidate the clinical manifestations associated with RBD to determine the implications of RBD in PD.

Differences in ward-to-cath lab systolic blood pressure predicts long-term adverse outcomes after drug-eluting stent implantation.

We sought to investigate the effect of ward-to-cath lab blood pressure (BP) differences on long-term clinical outcomes in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with drug-eluting stent (DES). There are limited data available on the association between PCI with DES and BP differences on long-term clinical outcomes. This study enrolled 994 patients who underwent PCI with DES from March 2003 to August 2007.

Reference equations for the six-minute walk distance in healthy korean adults, aged 22-59 years.

Background: The six-minute walk test has been widely used in people with chronic cardiopulmonary disorders as an outcome assessment with regards to therapeutic or prognostic determinants. This study was undertaken to determine the six-minute walk distance (6MWD) in a sample of healthy Koreans and to create a reference equation. We also compared the 6MWD of our cohort with previously published equations.

Surface energy-mediated construction of anisotropic semiconductor wires with selective crystallographic polarity.

ZnO is a wide band-gap semiconductor with piezoelectric properties suitable for opto-electronics, sensors, and as an electrode material. Controlling the shape and crystallography of any semiconducting nanomaterial is a key step towards extending their use in applications. Whilst anisotropic ZnO wires have been routinely fabricated, precise control over the specific surface facets and tailoring of polar and non-polar growth directions still requires significant refinement.

High-performance graphene-quantum-dot photodetectors.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have received much attention due to their novel phenomena of charge transport and light absorption/emission. The optical transitions are known to be available up to ~6 eV in GQDs, especially useful for ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors (PDs). Thus, the demonstration of photodetection gain with GQDs would be the basis for a plenty of applications not only as a single-function device in detecting optical signals but also a key component in the optoelectronic integrated circuits.