Brain MRI Characteristics of Patients with Anti-N-Methyl-D-Aspartate Receptor Encephalitis and Their Associations with 2-Year Clinical Outcome.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Anti-N-methyl-D-aspertate receptor encephalitis is an autoimmune-mediated disease without specific brain MRI features. Our aim was to investigate the brain MR imaging characteristics of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis and their associations with clinical outcome at a 2-year follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 53 patients with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis and performed 2-year follow-up. Brain MRIs were acquired for all patients at the onset phase. The brain MR imaging manifestations were classified into 4 types: type 1: normal MR imaging findings; type 2: only hippocampal lesions; type 3: lesions not involving the hippocampus; and type 4: lesions in both the hippocampus and other brain areas. The modified Rankin Scale score at 2-year follow-up was assessed, and the association between the mRS and onset brain MR imaging characteristics was evaluated. RESULTS: Twenty-eight (28/53, 53%) patients had normal MR imaging findings (type 1), and the others (25/53, 47%) had abnormal MRI findings: type 2: 7 patients (13%); type 3: seven patients (13%); and type 4: eleven patients (21%). Normal brain MRI findings were more common in female patients (P = .02). Psychiatric and behavioral abnormalities were more common in adults (P = .015), and autonomic symptoms (P = .025) were more common in pediatric patients. The presence of hippocampal lesions (P = .008, OR = 9.584; 95% CI, 1.803-50.931) and relapse (P = .043, OR = 0.111; 95% CI, 0.013-0.930) was associated with poor outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Normal brain MRI findings were observed in half of the patients. Lesions in the hippocampus were the most common MR imaging abnormal finding. The presence of hippocampal lesions is the main MR imaging predictor for poor prognosis in patients with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis.

The SubCons webserver: A user friendly web interface for state-of-the-art subcellular localization prediction.

SubCons is a recently developed method that predicts the subcellular localization of a protein. It combines predictions from four predictors using a Random Forest classifier. Here, we present the user-friendly web-interface implementation of SubCons. Starting from a protein sequence, the server rapidly predicts the subcellular localizations of an individual protein. In addition, the server accepts the submission of sets of proteins either by uploading the files or programmatically by using command line WSDL API scripts. This makes SubCons ideal for proteome wide analyses allowing the user to scan a whole proteome in few days. From the web page, it is also possible to download precalculated predictions for several eukaryotic organisms. To evaluate the performance of SubCons we present a benchmark of LocTree3 and SubCons using two recent mass-spectrometry based datasets of mouse and drosophila proteins. The server is available at http://subcons.bioinfo.se/.

Genome-wide analysis of salinity-stress induced DNA methylation alterations in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) using the Me-DIP sequencing technology.

Cytosine DNA methylation is a significant form of DNA modification closely associated with gene expression in eukaryotes, fungi, animals, and plants. Although the reference genomes of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) have been publically available, the salinity-stress-induced DNA methylome alterations in cotton are not well understood. Here, we constructed a map of genome-wide DNA methylation characteristics of cotton leaves under salt stress using the methylated DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing method. The results showed that the methylation reads on chromosome 9 were most comparable with those on the other chromosomes, but the greatest changes occurred on chromosome 8 under salt stress. The DNA methylation pattern analysis indicated that a relatively higher methylation density was found in the upstream2k and downstream2k elements of the CDS region and CG-islands. Almost 94% of the reads belonged to LTR-gspsy and LTR-copia, and the number of methylation reads in LTR-gypsy was four times greater than that in LTR-copia in both control and stressed samples. The analysis of differentially methylated regions (DMRs) showed that the gene elements upstream2k, intron, and downstream2k were hypomethylated, but the CDS regions were hypermethylated. The GO (Gene Ontology) analysis suggested that the methylated genes were most enriched in cellular processes, metabolic processes, cell parts and catalytic activities, which might be closely correlated with response to NaCl stress. In this study, we completed a genomic DNA methylation profile and conducted a DMR analysis under salt stress, which provided valuable information for the better understanding of epigenetics in response to salt stress in cotton.

SubCons: a new ensemble method for improved human subcellular localization predictions.

MOTIVATION: Knowledge of the correct protein subcellular localization is necessary for understanding the function of a protein. Unfortunately large-scale experimental studies are limited in their accuracy. Therefore, the development of prediction methods has been limited by the amount of accurate experimental data. However, recently large-scale experimental studies have provided new data that can be used to evaluate the accuracy of subcellular predictions in human cells. Using this data we examined the performance of state of the art methods and developed SubCons, an ensemble method that combines four predictors using a Random Forest classifier. RESULTS: SubCons outperforms earlier methods in a dataset of proteins where two independent methods confirm the subcellular localization. Given nine subcellular localizations, SubCons achieves an F1-Score of 0.79 compared to 0.70 of the second best method. Furthermore, at a FPR of 1% the true positive rate (TPR) is over 58% for SubCons compared to less than 50% for the best individual predictor. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: SubCons is freely available as a webserver (http://subcons.bioinfo.se) and source code from https://bitbucket.org/salvatore_marco/subcons-web-server. The golden dataset as well is available from http://subcons.bioinfo.se/pred/download. CONTACT: arne@bioinfo.se. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Strength of the 18F(p,alpha)15O resonance at Ec.m. = 330 keV.

Production of the radioisotope 18F in novae is severely constrained by the rate of the 18F(p,alpha)15O reaction. A resonance at E(c.m.)=330 keV may strongly enhance the 18F(p,alpha)15O reaction rate, but its strength has been very uncertain. We have determined the strength of this important resonance by measuring the 18F(p,alpha)15O cross section on and off resonance using a radioactive 18F beam at the ORNL Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility. We find that its resonance strength is 1.48+/-0.46 eV, and that it dominates the 18F(p,alpha)15O reaction rate over a significant range of temperatures characteristic of ONeMg novae.

Expression of cytokines after meniscal rasping to promote meniscal healing.

PURPOSE: We have developed a new surgical procedure of rasping a meniscal surface to repair a tear in the avascular zone. This procedure stimulates vascular induction to the tear, resulting in meniscal healing. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the mechanism of vascular induction and meniscal healing. TYPE OF STUDY: Randomized trial. METHODS: A full-thickness longitudinal tear of 5 mm in length was created in the avascular zone of the anterior segment of both medial menisci of rabbits. Meniscal rasping of about 0.5 mm in depth was then done on the femoral surface of the left meniscus from the parameniscal synovium to the inner portion including the longitudinal tear, and the right meniscus was left untreated as a control. After surgery, at 1, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 112 days, 4 rabbits were killed, both medial menisci were resected, and immunohistochemical staining with monoclonal antibodies was used to quantify expression of interleukin-1alpha (IL-1alpha), transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and proliferating-cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) on the femoral surface of the menisci. A positive ratio of immunostaining was encountered. RESULTS: The positive ratio of IL-1alpha, TGF-beta1, PDGF, and PCNA on the rasped surface area reached its peak at 1, 7, 14, and 7 days, respectively, after surgery, and thereafter gradually declined. Although the time course of the positive ratio was different among these cytokines, the positive ratio on the rasped surface was significantly higher than that on the control surface at the early stage of the observation period. CONCLUSIONS: The cytokine network on the rasped meniscal surface appears to be the key to explaining the mechanism of vascular induction and meniscal healing by meniscal rasping.

A case of superficial peroneal nerve injury during ankle arthroscopy.

We report a case of superficial peroneal nerve (SPN) injury caused by ankle arthroscopy. A 20-year-old woman underwent arthroscopy on her right ankle because of chronic ankle pain after a sprain. After arthroscopy, the patient complained of pain on the dorsum of her right foot and felt a radiating pain from the anterolateral portal to the dorsomedial aspect of her foot. Eight months after arthroscopy, we found that a neuroma had developed on the intermediate dorsal cutaneous nerve, and performed neurolysis of the SPN. Her symptoms gradually decreased after surgery, and had disappeared by 45 months. To avoid such an injury of the SPN, the safest placement of the anterolateral portal is necessary and is, according to our previous anatomic study, 2 mm lateral to the peroneus tertius tendon.

Adverse effects of saline neurolysis on a chronically compressed rat sciatic nerve.

We have evaluated the effect of saline neurolysis compared with a simple decompression procedure on chronically compressed sciatic nerves in rats. Eight months after the initiation of nerve compression within a silicone tube, rats were divided into three groups of 35. In group I, saline was injected subepineurially at the compressed segment of the nerve after removal of the tube (decompression plus saline neurolysis). The nerves in group II were treated by removal of the tube only (simple decompression). In group III the tubes were left in place. Adding saline neurolysis to decompression provided no histological, morphometric, electrophysiological, or vascular advantages up to four months, and even gave worse results than simple decompression. We conclude that saline neurolysis has no beneficial effect on a chronically compressed nerve and it is not recommended for clinical use.

Effectiveness of an insole with a lateral wedge for idiopathic osteonecrosis of the knee.

For the purpose of investigating the effect of an insole with a lateral wedge, we studied 30 patients (31 knees) aged from 46 to 78 years with idiopathic osteonecrosis of the knee for at least three years. The 18 knees treated with an insole (group I) were matched by age, gender, obesity index, area of lesion, femorotibial angle, stage, and clinical evaluation with 13 treated conservatively without an insole (group II). The clinical results, as rated by a knee score, improved significantly more in group I than in group II. Radiologically, the necrotic area and ratio decreased in group I, whereas in group II they increased. In advanced cases, with stage 4 or a femorotibial angle of more than 180 degrees, the use of an insole did not improve the clinical or radiological findings. The insole is a valuable method of conservative treatment for the early stages of osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle.

Atypical compression of the deep branch of the ulnar nerve in Guyon's canal by a ganglion. Case report.

A 61-year-old woman with an ulnar claw-finger deformity but no sensory loss had a cystic lesion excised from Guyon's canal. The ganglion was in zone 1 of the canal, which is associated with both motor and sensory deficit, but on this occasion it caused motor dysfunction alone.

Development of a surface acoustic wave LB membrane immunity sensor.

A new kind of biosensor for immunology was developed by ultrasonic technique and LB membrane. A double delay-line resonator was made by using ST-cut quartz crystal with working frequency of 149.7 MHz. Then a layer of LB membrane was covered on it. When anti-IgM antibody of various concentrations was added to it, the sensor can be used to detect IgM antigen. The biosensor was highly sensitive, small and light. The experimental results showed that the working frequency change of the sensor was proportional to the concentration of antibody with its dilution ratio between 1:10,000 and 1:100. It was also first observed that the frequency curve of the sensor resulting from the reaction of IgM antigen and antibody undulated in the experiment.

Bandage distraction technique for ankle arthroscopy.

In ankle arthroscopy, the joint space of the talocrural joint is often too narrow for insertion of the scope and instruments. Various distraction devices for this procedure have been used to widen the joint space. Bandage distraction is effective and noninvasive, but it is difficult to extend the posterior joint space sufficiently for insertion of the scope. Here we describe a new bandage distraction method that can extend the posterior joint space adequately. Using our method, the anterior and posterior joint spaces on direct lateral radiographs were measured after adding the distraction force in nine healthy volunteers (18 ankles; three men and 6 women). This was compared to a previously reported method. The posterior joint space was widened a greater amount when our new bandage distraction technique was used.

Meniscal rasping for repair of meniscal tear in the avascular zone.

We examined experimentally whether a longitudinal tear in the avascular zone of a rabbit meniscus can be healed by meniscal rasping. A full-thickness longitudinal tear 5-mm long was artificially created in the avascular zone of the anterior segment of both medial menisci. Meniscal rasping was then done on the femoral surface of the right meniscus from the parameniscal synovium to the inner segment including the tear. The left meniscus was left without further treatment as control. Two to 4 weeks after surgery, the hypertrophic synovium was observed invading from the parameniscal region to the injured portion. Eight to 16 weeks after surgery, the tear was almost completely healed. In contrast, neither hypertrophy of the synovium covering the tear nor healing was induced in the control meniscus. The mechanical test showed that there was a significant difference in the tensile strength and the stiffness of the injured portion between the rasped meniscus and the control meniscus. Meniscal rasping is easy to do, is effective, and causes few adverse effects with menisci. This procedure may be a treatment option for clinical cases of meniscal tear in the avascular zone for which we have no effective and clinically applicable methods at present, although further investigation is needed before clinical application.

Solution structures of apo and holo biotinyl domains from acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase of Escherichia coli determined by triple-resonance nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

A subgene encoding the 87 C-terminal amino acids of the biotinyl carboxy carrier protein (BCCP) from the acetyl CoA carboxylase of Escherichia coli was overexpressed and the apoprotein biotinylated in vitro. The structures of both the apo and holo forms of the biotinyl domain were determined by means of multidimensional NMR spectroscopy. That of the holo domain was well-defined, except for the 10 N-terminal residues, which form part of the flexible linker between the biotinyl and subunit-binding domains of BCCP. In agreement with X-ray crystallographic studies [Athappilly, F. K., and Hendrickson, W. A. (1995) Structure 3, 1407-1419], the structure comprises a flattened beta-barrel composed of two four-stranded beta-sheets with a 2-fold axis of quasi-symmetry and the biotinyl-lysine residue displayed in an exposed beta-turn on the side of the protein opposite from the N- and C-terminal residues. The biotin group is immobilized on the protein surface, with the ureido ring held down by interactions with a protruding polypeptide "thumb" formed by residues 94-101. However, at the site of carboxylation, no evidence could be found in solution for the predicted hydrogen bond between the main chain O of Thr94 and the ureido HN1'. The structure of the apo domain is essentially identical, although the packing of side chains is more favorable in the holo domain, and this may be reflected in differences in the dynamics of the two forms. The thumb region appears to be lacking in almost all other biotinyl domain sequences, and it may be that the immobilization of the biotinyl-lysine residue in the biotinyl domain of BCCP is an unusual requirement, needed for the catalytic reaction of acetyl CoA carboxylase.

Sensory neurons regenerate more dominantly than motoneurons during the initial stage of the regenerating process after peripheral axotomy.

This study was designed to determine whether sensory neurons or motoneurons were dominant during the earlier stage of the regeneration process after peripheral axotomy. After transection of the right sciatic nerves of rats, epineurial end neurorrhaphy was performed. At 5, 7 and 14 days postoperatively, the nerves were re-transected at the positive pinch site, and their proximal stumps were exposed to the retrograde neurotracer, Fluoro-Gold (F-G). Seventy-two hours later, the lumbar spinal cords and the L4 and L5 dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were harvested and evaluated. The incidence and the intensity of F-G labelling in DRG were significantly higher than in anterior horns (AH). These results demonstrated that sensory neurons were more dominant than motoneurons in nerve regeneration.

Effects of basic fibroblast growth factor on proliferation and phenotype expression of chondrocytes embedded in collagen gel.

1. Whether basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) can stimulate proliferation and synthesis of chondroitin sulfate of chondrocytes in gel culture while maintaining the phenotype was studied. 2. At 3 weeks in culture, the cell number in 1.0 ng/ml (18.5+/-2.1 x 10(5)) and 10.0 ng/ml of the bFGF group (15.3+/-1.9 x 10(5)) was significantly larger than that in 0 ng/ml (12.3+/-2.1 x 10(5)), 0.1 ng/ ml (11.7+/-2.2 x 10(5)) and 100.0 ng/ml of the bFGF group (9.8+/-2.3 x 10(5)). 3. All doses of bFGF used in this study suppressed synthesis of chondroitin 6-sulfate. 4. Chondrocyte phenotype in gel culture was maintained for 4 weeks even with stimulation of bFGF.

Bilateral piriformis syndrome after total hip arthroplasty.

We present the case of a 39-year-old man with bilateral piriformis syndrome 4 and 6 years after two cementless total hip arthroplasties, respectively. During surgical exploration, each sciatic nerve was found to be entrapped by a tense piriformis muscle and hypertrophic posterior hip capsule. The sciatic-type pain was relieved after sectioning each piriformis muscle with external neurolysis. This is the first reported case of piriformis syndrome after total hip arthroplasty.

Anatomic bases of ankle arthroscopy: study of superficial and deep peroneal nerves around anterolateral and anterocentral approach.

We studied the anatomy of the anterolateral and anterocentral portal sites for ankle arthroscopy with reference to the superficial peroneal nerve (SPN) in 29 cadavers (51 ankles) and the deep peroneal nerve (DPN) in 11 cadavers (21 ankles). In relation to the level of division into the medial and intermediate cutaneous nerves and their terminal branches, we classified the structure of the SPN surrounding the ankle into five types. We also identified the point where the SPN and the DPN cross the level of the talocrural joint. 32% of specimens had different SPN division types on the two sides and there was an average of 2 nerves at the level of the talocrural joint. Branches of the SPN were found lateral to the edge of the peroneus tertius tendon in 11.8% of specimens, and at its lateral edge in 27.5%. The DPN and some branches of the SPN were positioned around the lateral edge of the extensor hallucis longus tendon. We consider that the anterolateral portal should be made at least 2 mm lateral to the peroneus tertius tendon to avoid injury to the SPN, since the diameter of the scope is 27 mm. The anterocentral portal is unsuitable for arthroscopy due to a high risk of injury to the DPN and branches of the SPN.

Mennen plate fixation for fractures of the femoral shaft after ipsilateral hip arthroplasty.

We performed osteosynthesis with the use of a Mennen plate for six patients with femoral fractures in the vicinity of the stem, which occurred after ipsilateral hip arthroplasty. The fixation was so favorable that postoperative deformity was slight. At 4 months after surgery, bone fusion was obtained in all patients, and their hip joint functions recovered to the preinjury level. For femoral fractures in the vicinity of the stem after ipsilateral arthroplasty, there are no suitable fixation methods other than treatment with the Mennen plate. Therefore, this method is recommended.