Clinical evaluation and surgical intervention for diaphragmatic eventration mimicking peritoneopericardial hernia in a cat

A 2-year-old spayed female British Shorthair cat presented with an increased frequency and duration of cough since infant period. Based on radiographic, ultrasonographic, and computed tomography findings, peritoneopericardial diaphragmatic hernia was considered so that repair surgery was planned. During celiotomy, lax diaphragm was identified instead of defect. Transabdominal diaphragmatic plication was performed to resolve lax diaphragm and to prevent recurrence by overlapping relatively normal part of diaphragm. Diagnosed with diaphragmatic eventration postoperatively, the cat showed improvement in clinical signs and imaging results. Transabdominal diaphragmatic plication is a suitable treatment; the patient maintained normally during a 14-month follow-up period.

Enhanced extraction of bioactive compounds from propolis (Apis mellifera L.) using subcritical water

The bioactive compounds and antioxidant activities of propolis extracts were investigated using subcritical water extraction (SWE). SWE was performed by varying temperature (110-200 °C) and time (10-30 min). SWE using only water as solvent successfully to extracted bioactive compounds from propolis using high-purity glass thimbles. The concentrations of galangin (16.37 ± 0.61 mg/g), and chrysin (7.66 ± 0.64 mg/g) were maximal at 200 °C for 20 min, and 170 °C for 20 min, respectively. The antioxidative properties from propolis increased with the increasing extraction temperature and extraction time on SWE. The maximum yields of the total phenolics (226.37 ± 4.37 mg/g), flavonoids (70.28 ± 1.33 mg/g), and antioxidant activities (88.73 ± 0.58%, 98.86 ± 0.69%, and 858.89 ± 11.48 mg/g) were obtained at 200 °C for 20 min. Compared with using ethanol extraction (at 25 °C for 24 h, total phenolics = 176.28 ± 0.35, flavonoids = 56.41 ± 0.65, antioxidant activities = 72.74 ± 0.41%, 95.18 ± 0.11%, 619.51 ± 8.17 mg/g), all yields of SWE extracts obtained at 200 °C for 20 min were higher. SWE is suitable for a much faster and more efficient method extracting bioactive compounds from propolis compared to traditional extraction method.

Thermal conversion kinetics and solubility of soy isoflavones in subcritical water extraction

The conversion of isoflavones during subcritical water extraction were studied using first-order reaction kinetics modeling. Isoflavones were extracted from soybean using temperatures from 100℃ to 180℃ for 3 to 30 min. It was found that malonylgenistin was the most thermally unstable, with little being detected above 100℃. The optimal extraction temperatures for acetylgenistin (AG), genistin (G), and genistein (GE) were 120℃, 150℃, and 180℃, respectively. A larger sum of the numbers of both hydroxyl groups and oxygen molecules was associated with a lower melting point and optimal extraction temperature. Kinetics modeling of reaction rate constant k and activation energy E_a showed that all of the reaction rates tended to increase with temperature, with the relationship fitted well by a first-order model in nonlinear regression. For temperatures between 100℃ and 150℃, AG → G and AG → GE conversions showed the highest rate constants, but G → GE and G → D₃ (degraded G) conversions became dominant at 180℃. Chemical compounds studied in this article: genistein (PubChem CID: 5280961), genistin (PubChem CID: 5281377), 6″-O-malonylgenistin (PubChem CID: 15934091), 6″-O-acetylgenistin (PubChem CID: 5315831).

Clinical effect and safety of thread embedding acupuncture on facial nerve palsy sequelae: A retrospective observational study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effect and safety of thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) in patients with facial nerve palsy sequelae. This was a retrospective observational study on 82 patients treated with TEA from January 2021 to May 2022. The Facial Disability Index (FDI) reported by patients and Sunnybrook Facial Grading System scores assessed by clinical practitioners were used to evaluate the intensity of facial movements, functional problems, and psychosocial status. One-way repeated measure analysis of variance showed that the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System scores improved significantly following the 2nd to 6th TEA treatments (Txs). FDI scores also showed significant increases except for the 4th Tx. Additionally, the physical scores improved significantly among the subscales of FDI, but the social/well-being scores did not. There were no reported serious adverse events or adverse events requiring medical Tx. TEA is a safe Tx that has a clinically cumulative effect, in terms of patient-oriented self-assessment of functional problems and objective facial movements, for treating facial nerve palsy sequelae.

Selective extraction of oxygenated terpene in caraway (Carum carvi L.) using subcritical water extraction (SWE) technique

Caraway contains terpenes such as carvone, limonene and carveol, that have antibacterial and antifungal properties. Subcritical-water extraction (SWE) can be used to extract terpenes by changing temperature under high pressure. This study evaluated the SWE of terpenes from caraway when varying the extraction conditions of temperature (110 °C-190 °C), time (5-15 min), and particle size (>1000, 850-1000, 425-850, and < 425 μm). The optimal conditions for the extraction of carvone, which determines the quality of caraway, were found to be 170 °C, 15 min, and a particle size of < 425 μm. Also, the carvone yield was much higher when using SWE (28.5 mg/g caraway) than for solvent extraction (20.2 mg/g caraway) and hydrodistillation (19.8 mg/g caraway). The overall results showed that oxygenated terpene like carvone has a high solubility in subcritical water, and nonoxygenated terpene like limonene can partially be converted to carvone via a process of SWE.

Thermal decomposition and oxidation of β-caryophyllene in black pepper during subcritical water extraction

Subcritical water extraction is an efficient technique for extracting components from various plants by changing the polarity of water. β-caryophyllene is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene with the highest content found among black pepper essential oils. In this study, the efficiency of extraction and yield of β-caryophyllene from black pepper were investigated using a subcritical water extraction technique. The optimal conditions of β-caryophyllene (1.19 ± 0.38 mg/g), and caryophyllene oxide (0.82 ± 0.38 mg/g) were obtained from black pepper under extraction conditions of 170 °C/10 min, and 200 °C/15 min, respectively. As the extraction temperature was increased, β-caryophyllene oxidation proceeded and the extraction content of caryophyllene oxide increased. It is anticipated that both β-caryophyllene and caryophyllene oxide with high biological activity can be used to selectively extract compounds using subcritical water extraction, which will be helpful in industrial applications.

Recovery of hesperidin and narirutin from waste Citrus unshiu peel using subcritical water extraction aided by pulsed electric field treatment

The objective of this study was to identify whether the efficacy of extracting hesperidin and narirutin from Citrus unshiu peel by-products can be increased by combining pulsed electric field (PEF) and subcritical water extraction (SWE). The samples were treated with a PEF at a strength of 3 kV/cm for 60 and 120 s. Subsequent SWE was conducted at extraction temperatures of 110-190 °C for 3-15 min. The concentration of hesperidin was highest at 46.96 ± 3.37 mg/g peel (dry basis) after PEF treatment at 120 s, combined with SWE at 150 °C for 15 min, while that of narirutin peaked at 8.76 ± 0.83 mg/g after PEF treatment at 120 s, integrated with SWE at 190 °C for 5 min. The concentrations of both hesperidin and narirutin increased with PEF treatment time. The PEF increased the amounts of hesperidin and narirutin extracted by 22.1% and 33.6%, respectively. This study demonstrate the potential of PEF pretreatment for enhancing the SWE of flavonoids from C. unshiu peel.

Pilot-scale subcritical-water extraction of nodakenin and decursin from Angelica gigas Nakai

Active components were extracted from Angelica gigas Nakai by subcritical-water extraction (SWE) with the purpose of determining how the extraction conditions affect the SWE of antioxidant properties and active components (nodakenin and decursin), and to compare pilot-scale SWE (8 L) and conventional extraction methods. The extraction yields of nodakenin and decursin in the pilot-scale system were highest at 150 °C for 10 min and 190 °C for 15 min, respectively. The extraction yield of decursin increased as the stirring speed was increased to 200-250 rpm. Pearson's correlation indicated that the radical-scavenging activities using DPPH and ABTS assays were more sensitive to the Maillard reaction (R² = 0.822 and 0.933, respectively) than to the total phenolic contents (R² = 0.486 and 0.724, respectively). The extraction yield of decursin was higher when using conventional extraction methods than for SWE.

Hydrolysis of beta-glucan in oat flour during subcritical-water extraction

Oat (Avena sativa L.) β-glucan is bound tightly to other components of the endosperm cell wall, which means that β-glucan extraction processes are complex and involve many different stages. Subcritical-water extraction (SWE) has emerged as a promising method for extracting β-glucan under high temperature and pressure conditions. This study investigated the efficiency of the SWE of β-glucan from oat flour. The yield of β-glucan was optimized under the following conditions: extraction temperature of 200 °C, solvent pH of 4.0, extraction time of 10 min, and particle size of 425-850 μm. The extraction yield under the optimal condition was 6.98 ± 1.17 g/100 g oat flour, which was more than twofold higher than when using hot-water extraction at 60 °C for 3 h. β-glucan degradation to 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furaldehyde was increased under high-temperature conditions. SWE is a feasible alternative for extracting β-glucan in a single-step process, and could be developed into an effective industrial process.

Conversion of 6-gingerol to 6-shogaol in ginger (Zingiber officinale) pulp and peel during subcritical water extraction

Subcritical water extraction is an eco-friendly method for the extraction of less polar compounds without the use of organic solvents. This study determined the extraction conditions that maximize the contents of 6-gingerol and 6-shogaol obtained from ginger pulp and peel. The highest yields of 6-gingerol (0.68 ± 0.08 mg/g), and 6-shogaol (0.39 ± 0.03 mg/g) were obtained from ginger pulp at the extraction conditions of 130 °C/25 min, and 190 °C/15 min. 6-Shogaol content increased with the increasing extraction temperature and extraction time due to the conversion of 6-gingerol to 6-shogaol by thermal cracking. The antioxidant activity of ginger extracts were increased depending on the increasing of 6-shogaol content.

Optimization of subcritical water extraction of flavanols from green tea leaves

The subcritical-water extraction (SWE) of six kinds of flavanols from green tea leaves and the effect of extraction conditions were investigated by varying the temperature and time. The maximum yield of total flavanols, 71.36 ± 4.23 mg/g green tea leaves (mean ± SD), was obtained under extraction temperature/time conditions of 150 °C/5 min. The efficiency of SWE for total flavanols was slightly higher than that of the conventional extraction solvents such as methanol and ethanol. The extraction of flavanols via SWE was specifically adequate for epimer structures such as catechin, catechin gallate, and gallocatechin gallate due to the epimerization of epicatechins. The extraction efficiency of epimers was increased at temperatures up to 170 °C, whereas that of epicatechins was decreased. Thus, most epicatechins were converted to epimers during SWE, leading to some flavanol destruction at high temperatures, except when a short extraction time of 5 min was used.

Superconducting properties of hole doped Ba(0.6)Li(0.4)Fe2As2 single crystal

We report the emergence of superconductivity in Li doped Ba-122 single crystals grown by the Bridgman method. The superconducting transition temperature Tc,onset is around 19 K. The specific heat capacity C/T shows a weak anomaly near Tc. The value of ΔC/γnTc is smaller than the value predicted in BCS theory indicating a multigap nature of the sample. The magnetic measurements show that the lower critical field Hc1(T) exhibits a linear temperature dependence, with a pronounced change of the Hc1(T) curvature around 0.4Tc and Hc1(0) ≈ 430 Oe in the Ba0.6Li0.4Fe2As2 single crystal. Furthermore, temperature dependence of the penetration depth λ(T) follows a power law (~T(n)) below 0.4Tc which predicts possible S±-wave pairing in a Ba0.6Li0.4Fe2As2 superconductor. Over a wide range of temperatures, the Jc(H) exhibits a relation J(c)[proportionality] H(-α) with α = 0.5 ~ 0.6 for H || c and H || ab which indicates random defects in the sample. We found that the temperature dependence of the critical current density Jc(T) can be fitted well with the δl-type pinning model, whose origin is attributed to spatial variations of charge carrier mean free path l. We suggest that the large mismatch in the ionic radius of Ba and Li can affect the irreversible magnetic properties of the Ba0.6Li0.4Fe2As2 single crystal without any structural transition.

Inhibition of BRCA1 in breast cell lines causes the centrosome duplication cycle to be disconnected from the cell cycle

BRCA1-dependent ubiquitination activity regulates centrosome number in several tissue culture cell lines derived from breast cells. In these experiments, we asked how BRCA1 inhibits centrosome amplification. In general, supernumerary centrosomes can accumulate by three mechanisms: (1) failed cytokinesis and the accumulation of centrosomes by duplication in a repeated S-phase of the cell cycle, (2) disruption of the licensing of centrosome doubling such that they duplicate at inappropriate times in the cell cycle, or (3) fragmentation of the centrosomes. In this study, we found that inhibition of BRCA1 caused premature separation of centrioles and reduplication. By blocking cells in early S-phase before centrosome amplification secondary to BRCA1 inhibition could occur and then releasing, we found that inhibition of BRCA1 caused centrosome amplification between late S-phase and G2/M before the cell divided. These results suggest that normal BRCA1 function is critical in these cell lines to prevent centriole separation and centrosome reduplication before mitosis.

Closure of chronic abdominal wall defects: a long-term evaluation of the components separation method

Incisional hernias and abdominal wall defects are frequently iatrogenic problems that have been found to complicate as many as 11% of all abdominal operations. Current techniques for closure of large, chronic abdominal wall defects have limitations. The use of local musculofascial flaps rather than fascial patches (i.e., the tensor fascia lata) or synthetic material for the repair of chronic abdominal wall defects is preferable. The superiority of innervated muscle flaps that provide dynamic abdominal support has been demonstrated. This report focuses on patients with chronic abdominal wall defects in whom previous techniques have failed. An algorithmic approach to planned reconstruction is presented utilizing the "components separation" technique as its foundation. Thirty-seven patients who underwent abdominal reconstruction following this algorithm are reviewed and their clinical course is outlined. The components separation technique provides a compound innervated and vascularized muscle flap for dynamic support of the reconstructed abdominal wall. The experience documented here and by others suggests that this technique is a safe and effective method for reconstructing the abdominal wall in patients with recurrent herniation. Enterocutaneous fistulas, however, continue to present a challenge to the surgeon.

Plastic ankle-foot orthoses: evaluation of function

Plastic ankle-foot orthoses (PAFOs) are worn by persons with hemiplegia to correct gait abnormalities such as foot drop during swing and insufficient pushoff during stance. A PAFO should resist plantarflexion sufficiently to provide toe clearance during the swing phase of gait without excessively increasing the knee bending moment during heelstrike. It should resist dorsiflexion during late stance to raise the heel to simulate gastrocnemiussoleus muscle group function. Five PAFOs were evaluated as to the amount of plantarflexion-dorsiflexion resistance that was provided when worn by hemiplegic and able-bodied subjects. A self-aligning goniometer measured ankle angle as the subject walked, and a gait event marker system recorded occurrences of gait events. The Seattle design polypropylene orthosis which enclosed the malleoli was the least flexible; it provided the greatest plantarflexion resistance to ensure against toe drag during swing for patients with severe plantarflexion spasticity. It offered the greatest dorsiflexion resistance to provide a good substitute for the gastrocnemiussoleus during the latter part of stance as required by patients with flaccid plantarflexors and full ankle range of motion. Progressive trimming of the Seattle design polypropylene orthosis made it more flexible and comparable in function to the commercially available Engen and Teufel orthoses. The latter 2 orthoses did not provide a pushoff substitute as well as the Seattle design orthosis which enclosed the malleoli, but they did provide an adequate amount of toe clearance during swing. The more flexible orthoses would be appropriate for subjects with mild to moderate plantarflexor spasticity.

Knee moments: origin in normal ambulation and their modification by double-stopped ankle-foot orthoses

While the primary function of an ankle-foot orthosis is to stabilize the ankle complex, these devices often cause an unstable knee joint. The effect of a double upright ankle-foot orthosis on knee stability was evaluated during the stance phase of the walking cycle. The external moments applied to the knee in the anteroposterior plane were determined by measuring the ground reaction forces and the position of the knee with respect to these forces. Total knee moment and individual moment contributions of the fore/aft shear and vertical ground reaction forces were analyzed. Moments generated during normal ambulation were compared with those generated by an ankle-foot orthosis with an adjustable double stop. Knee moment components due to fore/aft shear and vertical ground reaction forces tended to counterbalance each other, minimizing the magnitudes of total knee moment. Fore/aft shear moment was most affected by the magnitude of the fore/aft shear force and had the major effect on total knee moment when the fore/aft shear force was peaking during the heel-strike and push-off phases. The vertical force moment was most affected by the length of the moment arm (position of knee center with respect to force) rather than magnitude of force, and had the major effect on total knee moment during midstance phase.

Double-stopped ankle-foot orthosis in flaccid peroneal and tibial paralysis: evaluation of function

This study was undertaken to evaluate how effectively an ankle-foot orthosis can substitute for paralyzed musculature, and to determine the forces it sustains in so doing. Timing of the events of gait, the ground reaction forces, their magnitude and location, and the brace moments were studied. Midstance phase was found lengthened at the expense of push-off phase. During push-off, vertical loading and posterior shear were markedly reduced by tibial block. Also, the dorsiflexion moment in the orthosis was correspondingly increased. The orthosis was found to substitute for muscle function in that it approximates the foot-ankle motion of heel-strike and allows a push-off substitute.