Cognitive neural responses in the semantic comprehension of sound symbolic words and pseudowords.

Introduction: Sound symbolism is the phenomenon of sounds having non-arbitrary meaning, and it has been demonstrated that pseudowords with sound symbolic elements have similar meaning to lexical words. It is unclear how the impression given by the sound symbolic elements is semantically processed, in contrast to lexical words with definite meanings. In event-related potential (ERP) studies, phonological mapping negativity (PMN) and N400 are often used as measures of phonological and semantic processing, respectively. Therefore, in this study, we analyze PMN and N400 to clarify the differences between existing sound symbolic words (onomatopoeia or ideophones) and pseudowords in terms of semantic and phonological processing. Methods: An existing sound symbolic word and pseudowords were presented as an auditory stimulus in combination with a picture of an event, and PMN and N400 were measured while the subjects determined whether the sound stimuli and pictures match or mismatch. Results: In both the existing word and pseudoword tasks, the amplitude of PMN and N400 increased when the picture of an event and the speech sound did not match. Additionally, compared to the existing words, the pseudowords elicited a greater amplitude for PMN and N400. In addition, PMN latency was delayed in the mismatch condition relative to the match condition for both existing sound symbolic words and pseudowords. Discussion: We concluded that established sound symbolic words and sound symbolic pseudowords undergo similar semantic processing. This finding suggests that sound symbolism pseudowords are not judged on a simple impression level (e.g., spiky/round) or activated by other words with similar spellings (phonological structures) in the lexicon, but are judged on a similar contextual basis as actual words.

Tensile and shear bond strengths of a stainless steel used in orthodontic brackets bonded to bovine enamel using two types of resin cement.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the bond strength of stainless steel with two types of resin cements (MMA- and composite-based) on bovine enamel depending on the directionality of the applied force. The specimens were either placed in water or subjected to thermal cycles (TC), and the shear or tensile bond strengths (SBS or TBS) were determined. The SBS showed significantly greater than the TBS for both types of cement, and the SBS and TBS for composite-based cement had larger than MMA-based one. No significant difference in SBS was observed in the cements even after being subjected to TC. Cohesive failures of the cement and bovine enamel in the composite-based group, while adhesive failures were observed in MMA-based one. Consequently, the direction of the force at both cements affected the retention of stainless steel, and MMA-based cement was preferred when prioritizing less enamel damages.

Wear Behavior between Aesthetic Restorative Materials and Bovine Tooth Enamel.

Tooth enamel wear occurs because of daily mastication and occlusion. This study investigated the wear behavior of bovine teeth against aesthetic restorative materials in vitro. Abrader specimens were fabricated using four tooth-colored restorative materials (zirconia, lithium disilicate glass ceramic, dental porcelain, and resin composite), with bovine tooth enamel as a control. Flattened bovine tooth enamel was used as the substrate specimen. These materials were characterized by Vickers hardness tests and surface roughness measurements. Two-body wear tests between the abrader and substrate specimens were performed, and the worn topographies were evaluated using a contour-measuring instrument and 3D laser microscope. The restorative materials and bovine tooth enamel had similar surface roughness but different hardness and wear behaviors. Bovine teeth showed the largest wear in tooth-tooth contact as the abrader and substrate specimens. Compared to bovine teeth, zirconia, lithium disilicate glass ceramic, and dental porcelain showed greater hardness and less wear on their surfaces, and less substrate wear of the opposite tooth enamel. The lowest hardness resin composite showed intermediate wear on its surface, resulting in the lowest substrate wear. Accordingly, dentists should pay attention to the selection of restorative materials to reconstruct their morphologies owing to different wear behaviors.

Absence of multiple sleep-onset rapid eye movement periods (SOREMPs) is not a specific feature of patients with pathological sleep prolongation.

Purpose: Multiple sleep-onset rapid eye movement periods (SOREMPs) are involved in the pathophysiology of narcolepsy, but it is not clear whether the lack of multiple SOREMPs is associated with the pathophysiology of idiopathic hypersomnia or not. We examined the significance of multiple SOREMPs in patients with pathological sleep prolongation. Methods: Participants were consecutive patients complaining of unexplained sleepiness and agreed to a 3-day-sleep studies; 24 h polysomnography (PSG) followed by standard PSG and multiple sleep latency test (MSLT). Forty-one (26 females, 21.9 ± 8.1 years old, BMI 20.4 ± 2.3 kg/m2) of 54 eligible patients without other sleep pathologies showed pathological sleep prolongation. We subdivided them into those with and without multiple SOREMPs on MSLT and compared clinical and PSG variables between groups. Results: Six of 41 (14.6%) patients showed multiple SOREMPs on MSLT. There were almost no differences in sleep variables between those with and without multiple SOREMPs. We only found shorter mean sleep latency on MSLT and more REM cycles on 24 h PSG in those with multiple SOREMPs (adjusted p = 0.016 and 0.031). The frequencies of REM-related phenomena and clinical symptoms related to idiopathic hypersomnia were not different between groups. Conclusion: Our results indicated that patients with pathological sleep prolongation had the same clinical profiles regardless of the status of SOREMPs, suggesting the absence of multiple SOREMPs, prerequisite for the diagnosis of idiopathic hypersomnia, is not a specific feature of pathological sleep prolongation. Confirmation of sleep prolongation alone could be a diagnostic tool for idiopathic hypersomnia.

Clinical time course of pediatric acute disseminated encephalomyelitis.

The detailed clinical time course in acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM) from initial symptoms, through exacerbation, to remission has not been widely reported. Hence, this study aimed to investigate the clinical time course of pediatric ADEM. This was a multicenter retrospective study based on registry data from medical chart reviews. The study included children who met the international consensus diagnostic criteria for ADEM. The patients comprised 18 boys and 6 girls, with a mean age of 5.5 ±â€¯3.3 years at onset. From onset, the time until peak neurological symptoms, time until initial improvement, and time until full recovery was 3.1 ±â€¯3.7 days, 6.0 ±â€¯4.5 days, and 26 ±â€¯34 days, respectively. Twenty-three (96%) patients were treated with high-dose methylprednisolone (mPSL) with a mean duration of 4.1 ±â€¯4.0 days from onset. The condition of 15 patients (65%) improved within 3 days of high-dose mPSL initiation, whereas, that of four patients began to improve after >5 days of high-dose mPSL initiation. Only one patient (4%) did not achieve full recovery despite treatment with high-dose mPSL, intravenous immunoglobulin, and plasma exchange. This study presents the detailed clinical time course in pediatric ADEM in Japan. Progression of neurologic deficits typically lasts a few days, with initial improvement in 1 week leading to full recovery within 1 month.

Surface Structure of Organic Semiconductor [ n]Phenacene Single Crystals.

Surface structure relaxation of organic semiconductors affects the properties of organic devices, although such relaxation has not been well explored. Only two examples have been experimentally reported; tetracene shows a large surface relaxation, while rubrene exhibits no relaxation. Therefore, a systematic investigation of the surface relaxation is conducted on [ n]phenacenes ( n = 5, 7, and 9). Electron density analyses are performed based on the synchrotron surface X-ray scattering with the aid of first-principles calculations. The results show little surface relaxation in [ n]phenacenes.

Effects of Sanyaku and Its Constituent Diosgenin on the Fasted and Postprandial Hypertriacylglycerolemia in High-Fat-Diet-Fed KK- A y Mice.

In this study, we examined the fasted and postprandial triacylglycerol (TG) levels in KK- A y mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD) or a HFD containing either 500 ppm (0.05%) of diosgenin or 500 ppm (0.05%) of diosgenin-containing Chinese yam sanyaku. Oral fat tolerance tests revealed that, not only in the fasting state but also after loading of lipid emulsion, plasma levels of TG were significantly reduced in sanyaku- and diosgenin- fed mice. Levels of fat oxidation, especially in the dark phase (from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.), were increased in the sanyaku and diosgenin groups. Moreover mRNA levels of lipoprotein lipase and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ, coactivator 1α were moderately upregulated in the liver of sanyaku- and diosgenin-ingested mice. These results suggest that consecutive ingestion of diosgenin or diosgenin-containing sanyaku at the dose achievable in a human diet potentially ameliorates fasted and postprandial hypertriacylglycerolemia, which could be associated with the improvement of TG metabolism.

Clinical prediction rule for neurological sequelae due to acute encephalopathy: a medical community-based validation study in Harima, Japan.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to verify the screening performance of our clinical prediction rule for neurological sequelae due to acute encephalopathy (NSAE-CPR), which previously identified the following three variables as predictive of poor outcomes: (1) refractory status epilepticus; (2) consciousness disturbance and/or hemiplegia at 6 hours from onset and (3) aspartate aminotransferase >90 IU/L within 6 hours of onset. DESIGN: Medical community-based multicentre retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Six regional hospitals in Harima and one tertiary centre in Kobe, Japan, from 2008 to 2012. PARTICIPANTS: We enrolled a total of 1612 patients aged <16 years who met the diagnostic criteria for an initial diagnosis of complex febrile seizure. Patients with a history of neurological disease and those included in the derivation cohort were excluded. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the association between each of the three predictor variables and poor AE outcome (Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category score ≥2). Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis was also performed to assess the screening performance of the NSAE-CPR. RESULTS: The ROC analysis identified at least one of the three predictive variables as an optimal cut-off point, with an area under the curve of 0.915 (95% CI 0.825 to 1.000). The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, positive and negative likelihood ratios and Matthews correlation coefficient were 0.867, 0.954, 0.149, 0.999, 18.704, 0.140 and 0.349, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that the NSAE-CPR can be used for the screening and identification of patients with poor outcomes due to acute encephalopathy within 6 hours of onset.

Convolutional auto-encoder for image denoising of ultra-low-dose CT.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to validate a patch-based image denoising method for ultra-low-dose CT images. Neural network with convolutional auto-encoder and pairs of standard-dose CT and ultra-low-dose CT image patches were used for image denoising. The performance of the proposed method was measured by using a chest phantom. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Standard-dose and ultra-low-dose CT images of the chest phantom were acquired. The tube currents for standard-dose and ultra-low-dose CT were 300 and 10 mA, respectively. Ultra-low-dose CT images were denoised with our proposed method using neural network, large-scale nonlocal mean, and block-matching and 3D filtering. Five radiologists and three technologists assessed the denoised ultra-low-dose CT images visually and recorded their subjective impressions of streak artifacts, noise other than streak artifacts, visualization of pulmonary vessels, and overall image quality. RESULTS: For the streak artifacts, noise other than streak artifacts, and visualization of pulmonary vessels, the results of our proposed method were statistically better than those of block-matching and 3D filtering (p-values < 0.05). On the other hand, the difference in the overall image quality between our proposed method and block-matching and 3D filtering was not statistically significant (p-value = 0.07272). The p-values obtained between our proposed method and large-scale nonlocal mean were all less than 0.05. CONCLUSION: Neural network with convolutional auto-encoder could be trained using pairs of standard-dose and ultra-low-dose CT image patches. According to the visual assessment by radiologists and technologists, the performance of our proposed method was superior to that of large-scale nonlocal mean and block-matching and 3D filtering.

Direct Estimation of the Surface Location of Immobilized Functional Groups for Concerted Catalysis Using a Probe Molecule.

The location of active sites during concerted catalysis by a metal complex and tertiary amine on a SiO2 surface is discussed based on the interaction between the functionalized SiO2 surface and a probe molecule, p-formyl phenylboronic acid. The interactions of the probe molecule with the surface functionalities, diamine ligand, and tertiary amine, were analyzed by FT-IR and solid-state (13)C and (11)B MAS NMR. For the catalyst exhibiting high 1,4-addition activity, the diamine ligand and tertiary amine base exist in closer proximity than in the catalyst with low activity.

Effect of gold deposition onto titanium on the adsorption of alkanethiols as the protein linker functionalizing the metal surface.

A new method to enhance the biofunctionalization of Ti materials was developed by the immersion of Au-sputtered titanium plates into a solution of alkanethiol with a carboxy group end (HS-C11-COOH). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the gold content increased with the Au sputtering time and reached over 98 at% after 100 s. The content of the characteristic alkanethiol elements (S, C, and O) in the immersed Ti specimens increased with the Au sputtering time, which indicates that the binding of alkanethiol molecules is enhanced by the Au modification on the Ti surface. Qualitative analysis of XPS (Au-S, COO(-), and OH(-) species) and FTIR spectra (peaks assignable to an aliphatic carboxylic acid) for the sample after immersion also supported this. A strong positive correlation between the S and Au content confirms that Au sputtering is an effective method to control the alkanethiol treatment of Ti substrates.

Simulation of Drug Release from PLGA Particles In Vivo.

Specific targeting of tissues and/or cells is essential for any type of drug delivery system because this determines the efficacy and side effects of the drug. Poly lactic-co-glycolic acids (PLGA) have long been used as biomaterials for drug delivery due to their excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Direct visualization of PLGA particles is feasible even within tissues, and cell specificity of the drug delivery system is normally assessed by using labeled particles. However, particle labeling alone does not address factors such as the release and distribution of the drug. Thus, it is desirable to set up a simulation system of drug release and distribution in vivo. In the present study, we aimed to establish a method to simulate drug distribution in PLGA drug delivery by using Hoechst 33342 as an imitating drug. Our approach enabled us to identify, isolate, and characterize cells exposed to Hoechst 33342 and to deduce the concentration of this fluorescent dye around both targeted and nontargeted cells. We believe that the method described herein will provide essential information regarding the specificity of cell targeting in any type of PLGA drug delivery system.

[Effect of tracheostomy with imipramine on apneusis attacks in a girl with Rett syndrome].

A girl with Rett syndrome was suffered from severe apneusis attacks, resulting in cardiopulmonary arrest, which required resuscitation. Her apneusis attacks did not respond at all to diazepam, magnesium citrare or tricyclic antidepressants but ceased by tracheostomy with oral imipramine. The breathing abnormality appeared to involve difficulty in terminating inspiration. This supports the idea that a lack of serotonin may cause her apneusis attacks.

Survey of patient and public perceptions of electronic health records for healthcare, policy and research: study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Immediate access to patients' complete health records via electronic databases could improve healthcare and facilitate health research. However, the possible benefits of a national electronic health records (EHR) system must be balanced against public concerns about data security and personal privacy. Successful development of EHR requires better understanding of the views of the public and those most affected by EHR: users of the National Health Service. This study aims to explore the correlation between personal healthcare experience (including number of healthcare contacts and number and type of longer term conditions) and views relating to development of EHR for healthcare, health services planning and policy and health research. METHODS/DESIGN: A multi-site cross-sectional self-complete questionnaire designed and piloted for use in waiting rooms was administered to patients from randomly selected outpatients' clinics at a university teaching hospital (431 beds) and general practice surgeries from the four primary care trusts within the catchment area of the hospital. All patients entering the selected outpatients clinics and general practice surgeries were invited to take part in the survey during August-September 2011. Statistical analyses will be conducted using descriptive techniques to present respondents' overall views about electronic health records and logistic regression to explore associations between these views and participants' personal circumstances, experiences, sociodemographics and more specific views about electronic health records. DISCUSSION: The study design and implementation were successful, resulting in unusually high response rates and overall recruitment (85.5%, 5336 responses). Rates for face-to-face recruitment in previous work are variable, but typically lower (mean 76.7%, SD 20). We discuss details of how we collected the data to provide insight into how we obtained this unusually high response rate.

Flavone-catalyzed apoptosis in Scutellaria baicalensis.

In response to mechanical damage, roots of Scutellaria baicalensis undergo cell death within 24h. The flavone baicalein was identified as the factor regulating apoptosis in the damaged roots of S. baicalensis. Plant apoptosis is known to be triggered by oxidative damage of DNA through oxidative bursts, whereas baicalein causes apoptosis in Scutellaria cells by a copper-dependent oxidation of nuclear DNA without inducing an oxidative burst. S. baicalensis possesses an interesting system for quickly producing this apoptosis-inducing flavone in its cells. Intact Scutellaria cells contain little baicalein but store a large amount of baicalin (baicalein 7-O-ß-D-glucuronide). Stress treatment of Scutellaria cells immediately initiates hydrolysis of baicalin by endogenous ß-glucuronidase, and the resulting baicalein is immediately translocated to the nucleus, leading to apoptosis. Thus, S. baicalensis possesses a unique apoptosis-inducing system that is linked with metabolism of baicalin.

Viscoelastic behavior of commercially available tissue conditioners under compression.

Three commercially available tissue conditioners -Tissue conditioner II (STII), Tissue conditioner (GTC), and Tissue Care (TTC)- were tested using a rheometer to evaluate their viscoelasticity under compression at a constant distortion (10%). Immediately after fabrication, STII showed the highest hardness and compressive modulus of elasticity, followed by TTC and GTC. TTC showed the highest relaxation rate, followed by GTC and STII. STII and GTC showed equivalent relaxation times, while TTC showed the shortest relaxation time. The modulus of viscosity was highest in STII, followed by GTC and TTC. The immersion of each sample in water resulted in increases in hardness, compressive modulus of elasticity, relaxation time, and modulus of viscosity and decreases in relaxation rates. The three products have different viscoelastic properties. Further, the results indicate that STII and GTC exhibit better performance when used as functional impression materials, while TTC exhibits better performance when used as a tissue conditioner.

Viscoelastic adlayers of collagen and lysozyme studied using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring.

In this study the effects of molecular structure of proteins on their adsorption behaviour and viscoelasticity are investigated using a QCM-D method. The adsorption measurements show that spherical lysozyme is rapidly adsorbed on the gold surface as a stiff monolayer, as indicated by a sharp drop in the oscillation frequency (Deltaf) of the sensor, and by a very small increase in the energy dissipation of the adlayer (DeltaD). Fibrous calfskin collagen (CSC) is, however, adsorbed on the same surface rather slowly in two steps to form a thick and soft multilayer (large Deltaf and DeltaD) at pH 3 in salt-free conditions. The two-step adsorption is not observed for stiffly aggregated CSC. This study clearly demonstrates that the polymer structure strongly affects not only how adsorption develops but also the viscoelastic properties of the adlayer.

Discovery and structure-activity relationships of a novel class of quinazoline glucokinase activators.

We describe design, syntheses and structure-activity relationships of a novel class of 4,6-disubstituted quinazoline glucokinase activators. Prototype quinazoline leads (4 and 5) were designed based on the X-ray analyses of the previous 2-aminobenzamide lead classes. Modifications of the quinazoline leads led to the identification of a potent GK activator (21d).