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Oriented films were prepared from aqueous suspensions of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC; microfibril fragment of sulfuric acid-hydrolyzed cotton) by a shearing method. Rotating glass vials each containing a 3–4 wt% CNC/water suspension under evaporation resulted in formation of translucent films of CNC per se. Structural characterization of the dry films was carried out by use of X-ray diffractometry and optical and scanning electron microscopy. The orientation pattern of CNCs in the films was much affected by pH condition of the starting suspensions; that is, the longitudinal axes of CNCs aligned preferentially perpendicular to the shear direction (SD) in the acidic condition of pH = 2.0, while an ordinary orientation of CNCs aligning parallel to SD was observed in the neutral condition of pH = 6.7 (adjusted with NaOH addition to the acidic suspension, however). To interpret the two distinct orientation patterns, first, it was inspected whether a mesomorphic ordered phase arrived or not in the two sheared and dried suspensions, different from each other in the counterions of surface-sulfated CNCs. As to the orientation development from the suspension of pH = 2, it was particularly assumed that the arising nematic planar domains would have been rolled up into a transversely extended body with the director perpendicular to SD. For the two film preparations, the orientation parameter of the longitudinal axis of CNC was quantified by WAXD intensity measurements, and the data were compared with those for other CNC-oriented materials such as CNC/polymer composites synthesized by immobilizing CNC suspensions via magnetic field application., First online: 07 August 2015

Background Pareidolia, which is a particular type of complex visual illusion, has been reported to be a phenomenon analogous to visual hallucinations in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies. However, whether pareidolia is observed in Parkinson's disease (PD) or whether there are common underlying mechanisms of these two types of visual misperceptions remains to be elucidated. Methods A test to evoke pareidolia, the Pareidolia test, was administered to 53 patients with PD without dementia and 24 healthy controls. The regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose was measured using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in the PD patients. Results PD patients without dementia produced a greater number of pareidolic illusions compared with the controls. Pareidolia was observed in all of the patients having visual hallucinations as well as a subset of those without visual hallucinations. The number of pareidolic illusions was correlated with hypometabolism in the bilateral temporal, parietal and occipital cortices. The index of visual hallucinations was correlated with hypometabolism in the left parietal cortex. A region associated with both pareidolia and visual hallucinations was found in the left parietal lobe. Conclusions Our study suggests that PD patients without dementia experience pareidolia more frequently than healthy controls and that posterior cortical dysfunction could be a common neural mechanism of pareidolia and visual hallucinations. Pareidolia could represent subclinical hallucinations or a predisposition to visual hallucinations in Lewy body disease.

We previously offered miscibility maps for blend systems of cellulose esters (CEs) including cellulose acetate (CA), propionate (CP), and butyrate (CB) with vinyl copolymers containing an N-vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) unit, i.e., poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone-[co]-vinyl acetate) [P(VP-[co]-VAc)] and poly(N-vinyl pyrrolidone-[co]-methyl methacrylate) [P(VP-[co]-MMA)]; the maps were constructed based on data of thermal analysis as a function of the degree of ester substitution (DS) of the CE component and the VP fraction in the copolymer component. The blend system using CP among the three CEs imparted the largest region of miscible pairings with the vinyl copolymers, and both of the maps for the CP/P(VP-[co]-VAc) and CP/P(VP-[co]-MMA) systems comprised a "miscibility window" associated with the respective copolymer compositions at high DSs of >2.65. The present work was made to interpret the expansion of the miscible markings for the CP/copolymer systems in comparison with the cases using CA and CB, in terms of a Krigbaum–Wall interaction parameter (μ) obtained by solution viscometry for selective polymer pairs involved in the respective CE/copolymer blends. The results of μ measurements were in good accordance with the earlier miscibility estimations. The assessment of very small negative μ values (i.e., extremely weak repulsion) for CP/PVAc and CP/PMMA combinations and that of considerably larger negative μ values for PVP/PVAc and PVP/PMMA combinations enabled us to give a rational explanation for the CP systems. The strongly repellent character of the two different monomer units constituting the copolymers permits accession of the CP component (DS > 2.65) to them, which would be responsible for the advent of the miscibility window. Further expansion of the window observed when cellulose acetate propionate (CAP) was adopted instead of CP as the CE component was also well explained on the basis of a μ data indicative of additional intramolecular repulsion in the CAP side.

BackgroundInterictal behavioral symptoms in frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) are variable and often difficult to discriminate from other localization-related epilepsies.Methods and resultsWe report two female patients with right FLE who exhibited fantastic confabulations. One of the patients had a 14-year history of hypermotor seizures, and the other had a 10-year history of dyscognitive seizures with automatism. Their fantastic confabulations arose in the context of moderate-to-severe cognitive impairment and of a variety of behavioral abnormalities, including emotional withdrawal and compulsive behaviors.ConclusionFantastic confabulations are rare but may be a relatively specific behavioral marker for FLE-associated psychosis.

Relapsing polychondritis (RP) is a rare inflammatory disorder of the cartilagenous structures, and it sometimes involves the central nervous system. Encephalitis associated with RP causes a wide variety of symptoms according to the affected sites. We herein report the first case of 72-year-old right-handed man who developed acute meningoencephalitis associated with RP involving the corpus callous. After immunosuppressive therapy, his symptoms dramatically improved, but difficulty in performing bimanual movements with occasional diagonistic dyspraxia in his right hand remained. Because callosal signs are easily missed, especially in acute settings, it would be useful to know that RP can sometimes cause callosal disconnection syndrome.

Iron oxide nanoparticles-incorporated carrageenan (CAR)/PHEMA composites of interpenetrating network (IPN) type were successfully prepared by in situ ferrite synthesis in the polymer network. The IPN structure was constructed at CAR/PHEMA compositions of 15/85 and 40/60 (wt/wt) by polymerization and cross-linking of 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate as an impregnating solvent of CAR gels. As a result of this IPN construction, the composites were firm and showed a good shape-retentivity in their gelatinous state. SQUID magnetometry and X-ray diffractometry were conducted for evaluation of the magnetic property of the inorganic-hybridized IPN composites. Magnetite particles with 10-30nm sizes were distributed inside the IPNs treated with the repeatable ferrite synthesis; thereby, the hybrids displayed a superparamagnetic character at ambient temperature. Specifically, the 40/60 CAR/PHEMA IPN imparted a practically passable value (10-15emu (g sample)-1) of saturation magnetization. The present IPN system offers a potential for application as a biocompatible magnetic material used in hydro-surroundings.

We present a 28-year-old female patient whose epilepsy started at the age of 19. MRI showed right perisylvian polymicrogyria. She exhibited various seizure symptoms, such as somatosensory aura involving the left leg, dyscognitive seizures, and amnesic seizures. Her mother indicated that the patient sometimes had "sleep talking", which was associated with presence of epileptic seizures of the next day. Long-term video electroencephalography (EEG) revealed that her episodes of "sleep talking" were epileptic events, specifically ictal speech, originating in the right hemisphere. The present case demonstrates the importance of considering "sleep talk" as an epileptic symptom. Careful history taking is fundamental to carry patients with possibly pathological "sleep talk" to the long-term video EEG, which will contribute correct diagnosis and treatment. (Received August 16, 2016; Accepted September 9, 2016; Published February 1, 2017).

Pareidolias are visual illusions of meaningful objects, such as faces and animals, that arise from ambiguous forms embedded in visual scenes. Pareidolias and visual hallucinations have been suggested to have a common underlying neural mechanism in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). The aim of the present study was to find an externally observable physiological indicator of pareidolias. Using a pareidolia test developed by Uchiyama and colleagues, we evoked pareidolias in patients with DLB and recorded the resultant changes in the diameters of their pupil. The time frequencies of changes in pupil diameters preceding pareidolic utterances and correct utterances by the patients, as well as correct utterances by healthy control participants, were analyzed by a fast Fourier transform program. The power at time frequencies of 0-0.46 Hz was found to be greatest preceding pareidolic utterances in patients with DLB, followed by that preceding correct utterances in control participants, followed by that preceding correct utterances in patients with DLB. When the changes in power preceding the utterance were greater than the median value of correct utterances by the control group, the frequency of pareidolic utterances was significantly greater than that of correct utterances and when the changes were the same as or lower than the median value, the frequency of correct utterances was significantly greater than that of pareidolic utterances. Greater changes in power preceding the utterance at time frequencies of 0-0.46 Hz may thus be an externally observable physiological indicator of the occurrence of pareidolias.

Objective Patients with Lewy body disease develop a variety of psychotic and misperception symptoms, including visual hallucinations and delusions, as well as ‘minor hallucinations’, that is, a sense of presence, passage hallucinations and visual illusions. Although these symptoms have been suggested to have common underlying mechanisms, the commonalities and differences among them have not been systematically investigated at the neural level. Methods Sixty-seven patients with Parkinson’s disease underwent neuropsychological and behavioural assessments, volumetric MRI and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). A factor analysis was performed to discover correlations among psychotic and misperception symptoms, other behavioural symptoms and neuropsychological performances. Partial least-squares correlation analysis was used to investigate the relationship between these symptoms and the joint features of MRI and FDG-PET. Results A sense of presence, passage hallucinations and visual illusions constituted a single behavioural factor (minor hallucinations/illusions). Visual hallucinations formed another behavioural factor along with delusions, depression and fluctuating cognition (psychosis/dysphoria). Three distinct brain–behaviour correlation patterns were identified: (1) posterior cortical atrophy/hypometabolism associated with minor hallucinations/illusions and visuospatial impairment; (2) upper brainstem and thalamic atrophy/hypometabolism associated with psychosis/dysphoria and (3) frontal cortical atrophy/hypometabolism associated with non-visual cognition. No significant differences in neuroimaging findings were identified between patients who had minor hallucinations/illusions alone and patients who also had visual hallucinations. Conclusions Our findings suggest that combined damage to the upper brainstem/thalamus and the posterior neocortex underlies both minor hallucinations/illusions and visual hallucinations and that the former pathology is more associated with visual hallucinations/frank psychosis and the latter is more associated with minor hallucinations/illusions.

Background The aim of this study was to elucidate changes in cerebral white matter after shunt surgery in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (INPH) using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Methods Twenty-eight consecutive INPH patients whose symptoms were followed for 1 year after shunt placement and 10 healthy control (HC) subjects were enrolled. Twenty of the initial 28 INPH patients were shunt-responsive (SR) and the other 8 patients were non-responsive (SNR). The cerebral white matter integrity was detected by assessing fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD). The mean hemispheric DTI indices and the ventricular sizes were calculated, and a map of these DTI indices was created for each subject. The DTI maps were analysed to compare preshunt INPH with HC and preshunt INPH with 1 year after shunt placement in each INPH group, using tract-based spatial statistics. We restricted analyses to the left hemisphere because of shunt valve artefacts. Results The ventricles became significantly smaller after shunt placement both in the SR and SNR groups. In addition, there was a significant interaction between clinical improvement after shunt and decrease in ventricular size. Although the hemispheric DTI indices were not significantly changed after shunt placement, there was a significant interaction between clinical improvement and increase in hemispheric MD. Compared with the HC group, FA in the corpus callosum and in the subcortical white matter of the convexity and the occipital cortex was significantly lower in SR at baseline, whereas MD in the periventricular and peri-Sylvian white matter was significantly higher in the SR group. Compared with the pre-operative images, the post-operative FA was only decreased in the corona radiata and only in the SR group. There were no significant regions in which DTI indices were altered after shunt placement in the SNR group. Conclusions Brain white matter regions in which FA was decreased after shunt placement were in the corona radiata between the lateral ventricles and the Sylvian fissures. This finding was observed only in shunt-responsive INPH patients and might reflect the plasticity of the brain for mechanical pressure changes from the cerebrospinal fluid system. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12987-016-0048-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

This chapter reviews recent studies on blends of conventional cellulose esters (CEs), such as cellulose acetate (CA), cellulose propionate (CP), and cellulose butyrate (CB), with non-crystalline vinyl (co)polymers mainly comprising the N-vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) unit. The mixing behavior of the CE/VP-containing copolymer blends is seriously affected by the chain length (i.e., carbon number) and degree of substitution (DS) as to the acyl substituent of the CE component, and by the VP fraction in the copolymer component. Relatively low-substituted CEs are commonly miscible with VP-containing copolymers by virtue of hydrogen bond formation between the CE-hydroxyls and VP-carbonyls. The blend systems using CP and CB with higher DSs impart a “miscibility window” involved in the monomer composition that constitutes the copolymer component. This observation is interpretable as a result of the indirect CE–copolymer attraction driven by intra-copolymer repulsion. A convincing argument for the miscibility behavior is provided by assessing the attractive or repulsive interactions between the blend constituents in terms of the viscometric interaction parameter. In addition to the basic characterization of the blend miscibility and intermolecular interaction, we also survey some useful applications of miscible CE blends to functional films exhibiting improved adsorption, optical, or thermomechanical properties. Particular attention is paid to the molecular orientation and optical anisotropy induced in deformed films of CA/VP-methyl methacrylate polymer blends.

This chapter is a general introduction to the present monograph and first describes the significance of the studies on “Blends and Graft Copolymers of Cellulosics” in the research field of compositional materials based on cellulose and related polysaccharides. Secondly, some technical key-terms and methods used for characterizing cellulosic blends and graft copolymers are explained. Finally, the outline of this book is provided by summarizing the main subjects of the constituting chapters with a perspective to tie together the subjects.

This chapter focuses on a “melt-spun” cellulosic fiber that was developed through an industry—university cooperative research project. Fiber-formable cellulose is one of the oldest and most familiar apparel materials for humans. However, conventional cellulosic fibers in filamentous forms, such as viscose rayon and acetate rayon, are produced by a solution spinning process that requires conditionally harmful solvents and other reagents. In the present research, the major aim was to design a thermoplastic cellulose derivative and produce filamentous fibers from it using a solvent-free, melt-spinning process. Improved thermal processability of raw cellulose by chemical modification and polymer blending was crucial for successful melt spinning. In relation to the rheological conditioning of the cellulosic composition, we also discuss industrial technical aspects regarding the control of the elongational flow-viscosity and running speed of the filaments in the practical melt-spinning process. Finally, we demonstrate that the melt-spun cellulosic fiber and ensuing textiles exhibit standard properties and distinct functionalities suitable for apparel use. Examples include the facile design of various types of fibers with different cross sections, which are usually not obtained with solution-spun cellulosic fibers.

We fabricated high performance films using cellulose butyral (CB) synthesized from native cellulose. Two-step reactions were adopted to produce the derivative CB, including etherification of cellulose with glycidol in NaOH/urea aqueous solution to yield O -(2,3-dihydroxypropyl) cellulose (DHPC), and butyralization of DHPC. Both DHPC and CB products were easily processed into a thin film by hot-press molding. The butyral modifier significantly improved the tenacity of highly ductile DHPC, by virtue of the possible chain-entangling action of the ring structures in the stretching process. Thereby the film toughness was markedly enhanced. The CB films exhibited excellent optical transparency and a good adhesive property to glass plates. Thus the films may be comparable to commercial poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) films in optical and mechanical performances and therefore possess a potential applicability as interlayer for laminated glasses.

Chitosan phenylcarbamate (CtsPC) samples were synthesized with different degrees of substitution (DS) ranging from 2.3 to 3.5, and their lyotropic liquid crystallinity in ionic liquids was investigated. 1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide ([C2Mim][N(CN)2]) was found to be a novel solvent for CtsPC, and the concentrated lyotropic system formed a cholesteric liquid-crystalline phase and mostly exhibited vivid colorations owing to selective reflection of visible light. Ultraviolet–visible–near-infrared spectroscopy and wide-angle X-ray diffractometry were used to evaluate the maximum wavelength of selective light reflection and the distance and rotational difference between adjacent nematic thin layers in the cholesteric mesophase, respectively. The cholesteric helical pitch increased with decreasing polymer concentration, increasing temperature or increasing DS. The helical sense remained right-handed under the adopted measurement conditions, although CtsPCs are known to form a left-handed cholesteric structure in polar organic solvents, such as N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF). Accordingly, an inversion of the cholesteric sense was achieved by combination of [C2Mim][N(CN)2] and DMF as solvent; circular dichroism and optical rotatory dispersion spectroscopy verified that the sense of CtsPC cholesterics changed from left-handed to right-handed with increasing [C2Mim][N(CN)2] content in the mixed solvent.

Study Objectives To investigate conditions and clinical significance of pareidolias in patients with idiopathic rapid eyemovent (REM) sleep behavior disorder (iRBD). Methods This cross-sectional study examined 202 patients with iRBD (66.8 ± 8.0 yr, 58 female) and 46 healthy control subjects (64.7 ± 5.8 years, 14 females). They underwent the Pareidolia test, a newly developed instrument for evoking pareidolias, video polysomnography, olfactory tests, and Addenbrooke's cognitive examination-revised. Results Results show that 53.5% of iRBD patients exhibited one or more pareidolic responses: The rate was higher than control subjects showed (21.7%). The pictures evoking pareidolic responses were more numerous for iRBD patients than for control subjects (1.2 ± 1.8 vs. 0.4 ± 0.8, p < .001). Subgroup analyses revealed that iRBD patients with pareidolic responses had higher amounts of REM sleep without atonia (RWA), with lower sleep efficiency, lower cognitive function, and older age than subjects without pareidolic responses. Results of multivariate analyses show the number of pareidolic responses as a factor associated with decreased cognitive function in iRBD patients with better predictive accuracy. Morbidity length and severity of iRBD, olfactory function, and the amount of RWA were not factors associated with better predictive accuracy. Conclusions Half or more of the iRBD patients showed pareidolic responses. The responses were proven to be associated more intimately with their cognitive decline than clinical or physiological variables related to RBD. Pareidolias in iRBD are useful as a predictive marker of future development of Lewy body diseases.

We examined the molecular orientation and optical anisotropy that are induced by the stretching of cellulose acetate (CA)-graft-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films, in connection with the side-chain contents. The copolymers were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization. The molecular characterization was successfully performed by NMR and GPC analyses, before and after deliberate cleavage of the PMMA grafts. Even if the molecular weight of the grafts increased, the dispersity index remained below 1.2. The molecular orientation behavior in uniaxially drawn films of the copolymers was estimated by a fluorescence probe technique. The measurement revealed a declining tendency of the orientation development with an increase in degree of the molar substitution (MS) of MMA unit of the copolymers. In comparison of birefringence (Δn) at a given stage of elongation of the films, the value of Δn decreased rapidly with increasing MS, which eventually led to the conversion from a positive Δn for pristine CA ...

The liquefaction of starch in the presence of commercial polyol resulted in liquefaction products (LPs) with much lower hydroxyl values compared to those resulting from glycerol liquefaction. With the use of the obtained LPs (as initiators) and a catalytic amount of potassium hydroxide, oxypropylation was conducted under mild conditions (at 120°C, inner pressure generation of

Blend miscibility of cellulose propionate (CP) with synthetic copolymers comprising N-vinyl pyrrolidone (VP) and vinyl acetate (VAc) units was examined, and a data map was constructed as a function of the degree of substitution (DS) of CP and the VP fraction in the copolymer component. Results of differential scanning calorimetry and Fourier transform infrared measurements indicated that the pairing of CP/P(VP-co-VAc) formed a miscible or immiscible blend system according to the balance in effectiveness of the following factors: (1) hydrogen bonding between residual hydroxyls of CP and VP carbonyls of P(VP-co-VAc); (2) steric hindrance of propionyl side-groups to the interaction specified in (1); (3) intramolecular repulsion between the two units constituting the vinyl copolymer; and, additionally, (4) structural affinity between two segmental moieties involving the propionyl group and VAc unit, respectively. The factor 3 inducing intercomponent attraction is responsible for the appearance of a so-called "miscibility window" in the miscibility map, and the factor 4 substantially expands the miscible region whole, wider relative to those in the maps for the corresponding blend series based on cellulose acetate and butyrate. In further refined estimation by dynamic mechanical analysis and T_[1ρ]^H quantification in solid-state [13]C NMR, it was found that the miscible blends of hydrogen-bonding type (using CPs of DS < 2.7) were completely homogeneous on a scale within a few nanometers, whereas the polymer pairs situated in the window region (using CPs of DS > 2.7) formed blends exhibiting a somewhat larger size of heterogeneity (ca. 5–20 nm).

Novel hybrid hydrogels were prepared by introducing nano-hydroxyapatite (nHAp) into chitin solution dissolved in NaOH/urea aqueous solution at low temperature, and then by cross-linking with epichlorohydrin (ECH). Their structure and morphology were characterized by FTIR spectra, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Our findings revealed that hydroxyapatite nano-particles were uniformly dispersed in chitin hydrogel networks. The chitin/nHAP hybrid hydrogel (Gel2) exhibited about 10 times higher mechanical properties (compressive strength: 274 kPa) than that of chitin hydrogel. Moreover, COS-7 cell culture experiment proved that cells could adhere and proliferate well on the chitin/nHAp hydrogels, suggesting good biocompatibility. All these results signified that these bio-materials could be potential candidates as scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Carrageenan-based magnetic composites were prepared via in situ synthesis of iron oxides in a gelatinous network of the polysaccharide. The repeatable synthesis process involved three steps: immersion into ferrous salt (FeCl2) solution, alkali treatment in sodium hydroxide solution and oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, successively performed with τ- or κ-carrageenan hydrogels as the starting material. Field emission scanning electron microscope observations, X-ray diffractometry and superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry were carried out for the freeze-dried composites. Feroxyhite and magnetite and/or maghemite particles were produced after one cycle and multicycles of the in situ process, respectively, with a size less than several tens of nanometers, and were distributed throughout the inside as well as on the surface of numerous fibrillar entities constituting the carrageenan matrix. Nearly all the composite products explored displayed a superparamagnetic (SPM) property at 298 K; the estimated saturation magnetization (Ms) increased with increasing concentrations of FeCl2 in the gel immersion step and with repetition of the standardized process of iron oxide synthesis. By repeating the synthesis cycle 3–4 times, a composite of practically high Ms reaching ∼25 emu (g sample)−1 was easily obtained without impairing the SPM character. Insight was provided into the evolution mechanism of the oxidation state and dimensional distribution of the cyclically loaded iron oxide nanoparticles through comparison with another composite series obtained by a co-precipitation method with a 1:2 mixture of ferrous/ferric salts. Carrageenan-based magnetic composites were prepared via in situ synthesis of iron oxides in a gelatinous network of the polysaccharide. Magnetic properties and morphology were characterized by SQUID magnetometry, X-ray diffractometry and electron miscroscopy. By operation of 3–4 cycles of the standard synthesis route, a carrageenan composite imparting a high value of saturation magnetization (∼25 emu (g sample)−1) was easily realized while the superparamagnetic property at room temperature was maintained. Insight was provided into the evolution mechanism in oxidation state and dimensional distribution of the cyclically loaded iron oxide nanoparticles.

Although a role for right hemisphere dysfunction has been hypothesized in Cotard delusion, it remains unclear which functions are disturbed. We report here the first known patient with unilateral right hemisphere lesions and delusions of death (1 of the 2 types of Cotard delusion). This man began to believe that he was dead after suffering a right hemisphere infarction involving the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes, as well as the thalamus. He had delusions of death in the context of both depersonalization/derealization and delusional misidentifications of people and places. Neuropsychological testing revealed left hemispatial neglect and deficits in general attention. The patient's sense of body ownership and face recognition abilities were preserved. This case suggests that abnormal feelings of familiarity, which have been implicated in several delusional misidentification syndromes, contribute significantly to the development of delusions of death. If this is true, affective processes involved in the identification of people and places and in the feeling of being alive may partially overlap, and these affective processes may be supported by the right hemisphere.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although neuroimaging plays an important role in the diagnosis of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus, its predictive value for response to shunt surgery has not been established. The purpose of the current study was to identify neuroimaging markers that predict the shunt response of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Sixty patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus underwent presurgical brain MR imaging and clinical evaluation before and 1 year after shunt surgery. The assessed MR imaging features included the Evans index, high-convexity tightness, Sylvian fissure dilation, callosal angle, focal enlargement of the cortical sulci, bumps in the lateral ventricular roof, and deep white matter and periventricular hyperintensities. The idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus grading scale total score was used as a primary clinical outcome measure. We used measures for individual symptoms (ie, the idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus grading scale subdomain scores, such as gait, cognitive, and urinary scores), the Timed Up and Go test, and the Mini-Mental State Examination as secondary clinical outcome measures. The relationships between presurgical neuroimaging features and postoperative clinical changes were investigated by using simple linear regression analysis. To identify the set of presurgical MR imaging features that best predict surgical outcomes, we performed multiple linear regression analysis by using a bidirectional stepwise method. RESULTS: Simple linear regression analyses demonstrated that presurgical high-convexity tightness, callosal angle, and Sylvian fissure dilation were significantly associated with the 1-year changes in the clinical symptoms. A multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that presurgical high-convexity tightness alone predicted the improvement of the clinical symptoms 1 year after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: High-convexity tightness is a neuroimaging feature predictive of shunt response in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus.

Post-operative memory changes after temporal lobe surgery have been established mainly by group analysis of cognitive outcome. This study investigated individual patient-based memory outcome in surgically-treated patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). This study included 84 consecutive patients with intractable TLE caused by unilateral hippocampal sclerosis (HS) who underwent epilepsy surgery (47 females, 41 left [Lt] TLE). Memory functions were evaluated with the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised before and at 1 year after surgery. Pre-operative memory function was classified into three patterns: verbal dominant memory impairment (Verb-D), visual dominant impairment (Vis-D), and no material-specific impairment. Post-operative changes in verbal and visual memory indices were classified into meaningful improvement, worsening, or no significant changes. Pre-operative patterns and post-operative changes in verbal and visual memory function were compared between the Lt and right (Rt) TLE groups. Pre-operatively, Verb-D was the most common type of impairment in both the Lt and Rt TLE groups (65.9 and 48.8%), and verbal memory indices were lower than visual memory indices, especially in the Lt compared with Rt TLE group. Vis-D was observed only in 11.6% of Rt and 7.3% of Lt TLE patients. Post-operatively, meaningful improvement of memory indices was observed in 23.3-36.6% of the patients, and the memory improvement was equivalent between Lt and Rt TLE groups and between verbal and visual materials. In conclusion, Verb-D is most commonly observed in patients with both the Lt and Rt TLE associated with HS. Hippocampectomy can improve memory indices in such patients regardless of the side of surgery and the function impaired.

We appreciate the letter by Terao et al1 on our recent publication. The posterior wall of the precentral gyrus corresponds to the primary motor cortex or Brodmann’s area 4 at its mid to dorsal parts and to the premotor cortex or Brodmann’s area 6 at its ventral part. The region associated with apraxia of speech in our study, which …

Objective To investigate the cortical metabolic alterations that precedes longitudinal cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease (PD). Methods We analyzed the data of 46 PD patients who did not have dementia at baseline and completed 3-year follow-up. Based on the results of general cognitive, memory and visuospatial tests, patients were classified into cognitively normal PD (PD-CogNL), PD with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), and PD dementia (PDD). The regional cerebral glucose metabolism at rest was measured using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography. Voxel-wise effect size analyses were performed to delineate abnormal metabolic patterns associated with changes in cognitive status in PD. Results At baseline, 29 patients had PD-CogNL, and 17 patients had PD-MCI. At follow-up, 28 patients had PD-CogNL, 12 patients had PD-MCI, and 6 patients developed PDD. Seventeen of 29 PD-CogNL patients remained to be PD-CogNL, and 9 PD-CogNL patients converted to PD-MCI. Eleven PD-MCI patients reverted to normal cognition during follow-up. 3 PD-CogNL and 3 PD-MCI patients developed PDD. Cognitively stable PD-CogNL group had frontal predominant hypometabolism. PDD converters showed parieto-occipital hypometabolism at baseline regardless of whether a patient's initial cognitive status is PD-CogNL or PD-MCI. Conclusions Parieto-occipital hypometabolism is a good predictor of early dementia conversion in PD.

Background Visual hallucinations are a core clinical feature of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), and this symptom is important in the differential diagnosis and prediction of treatment response. The pareidolia test is a tool that evokes visual hallucination-like illusions, and these illusions may be a surrogate marker of visual hallucinations in DLB. We created a simplified version of the pareidolia test and examined its validity and reliability to establish the clinical utility of this test. Methods The pareidolia test was administered to 52 patients with DLB, 52 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 20 healthy controls (HCs). We assessed the test-retest/inter-rater reliability using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and the concurrent validity using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) hallucinations score as a reference. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the pareidolia test to differentiate DLB from AD and HCs. Results The pareidolia test required approximately 15 minutes to administer, exhibited good test-retest/inter-rater reliability (ICC of 0.82), and moderately correlated with the NPI hallucinations score (rs = 0.42). Using an optimal cut-off score set according to the ROC analysis, and the pareidolia test differentiated DLB from AD with a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 92%. Conclusions Our study suggests that the simplified version of the pareidolia test is a valid and reliable surrogate marker of visual hallucinations in DLB.

Patients rarely experience visual hallucinations while being observed by clinicians. Therefore, instruments to detect visual hallucinations directly from patients are needed. Pareidolias, which are complex visual illusions involving ambiguous forms that are perceived as meaningful objects, are analogous to visual hallucinations and have the potential to be a surrogate indicator of visual hallucinations. In this study, we explored the clinical utility of a newly developed instrument for evoking pareidolic illusions, the Pareidolia test, in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies—one of the most common causes of visual hallucinations in the elderly. Thirty-four patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, 34 patients with Alzheimer’s disease and 26 healthy controls were given the Pareidolia test. Patients with dementia with Lewy bodies produced a much greater number of pareidolic illusions compared with those with Alzheimer’s disease or controls. A receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated that the number of pareidolias differentiated dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer’s disease with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 88%. Full-length figures and faces of people and animals accounted for >80% of the contents of pareidolias. Pareidolias were observed in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies who had visual hallucinations as well as those who did not have visual hallucinations, suggesting that pareidolias do not reflect visual hallucinations themselves but may reflect susceptibility to visual hallucinations. A sub-analysis of patients with dementia with Lewy bodies who were or were not treated with donepzil demonstrated that the numbers of pareidolias were correlated with visuoperceptual abilities in the former and with indices of hallucinations and delusional misidentifications in the latter. Arousal and attentional deficits mediated by abnormal cholinergic mechanisms and visuoperceptual dysfunctions are likely to contribute to the development of visual hallucinations and pareidolias in dementia with Lewy bodies.

The aim of this study was to validate the Japanese version of the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) [Mori: Japanese Edition of Hodges JR’s Cognitive Assessment for Clinicians, 2010] designed to detect dementia, and to compare its diagnostic accuracy with that of the Mini-Mental State Examination. The ACE-R was administered to 85 healthy individuals and 126 patients with dementia. The reliability assessment revealed a strong correlation in both groups. The internal consistency was excellent (α-coefficient = 0.88). Correlation with the Clinical Dementia Rating sum of boxes score was significant (rs = –0.61, p < 0.001). The area under the curve was 0.98 for the ACE-R and 0.96 for the Mini-Mental State Examination. The cut-off score of 80 showed a sensitivity of 94% and a specificity of 94%. Like the original ACE-R and the versions designed for other languages, the Japanese version of the ACE-R is a reliable and valid test for the detection of dementia.

Dementia is one of the most debilitating symptoms of Parkinson's disease. A recent longitudinal study suggests that up to 80% of patients with Parkinson's disease will eventually develop dementia. Despite its clinical importance, the development of dementia is still difficult to predict at early stages. We previously identified olfactory dysfunction as one of the most important indicators of cortical hypometabolism in Parkinson's disease. In this study, we investigated the possible associations between olfactory dysfunction and the risk of developing dementia within a 3-year observation period. Forty-four patients with Parkinson's disease without dementia underwent the odour stick identification test for Japanese, memory and visuoperceptual assessments, (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography scans and magnetic resonance imaging scans at baseline and 3 years later. A subgroup of patients with Parkinson's disease who exhibited severe hyposmia at baseline showed more pronounced cognitive decline at the follow-up survey. By the end of the study, 10 of 44 patients with Parkinson's disease had developed dementia, all of whom had severe hyposmia at baseline. The multivariate logistic analysis identified severe hyposmia and visuoperceptual impairment as independent risk factors for subsequent dementia within 3 years. The patients with severe hyposmia had an 18.7-fold increase in their risk of dementia for each 1 SD (2.8) decrease in the score of odour stick identification test for Japanese. We also found an association between severe hyposmia and a characteristic distribution of cerebral metabolic decline, which was identical to that of dementia associated with Parkinson's disease. Furthermore, volumetric magnetic resonance imaging analyses demonstrated close relationships between olfactory dysfunction and the atrophy of focal brain structures, including the amygdala and other limbic structures. Together, our findings suggest that brain regions related to olfactory function are closely associated with cognitive decline and that severe hyposmia is a prominent clinical feature that predicts the subsequent development of Parkinson's disease dementia.

The anterior and mediodorsal thalamic nuclei form neuroanatomical networks supporting memory along with the mammillary body, medial temporal structures, prefrontal cortices and posterior cingulate cortex. In this review article, we discuss human diencephalic amnesic syndromes, including Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome and amnesia associated with thalamic infarcts, and animal neuropsychological studies from a neuroanatomical network perspective. In addition, we suggest future research directions for understanding the functional roles of the anterior and mediodorsal thalamic nuclei in memory function based on findings from recent animal studies.

Investigations were made into the molecular dynamics and intercomponent mixing state in solid films of two series of cellulosic graft copolymers, cellulose acetate- g -poly( e -caprolactone) (CA- g -PCL) and cellulose butyrate- g -PCL (CB- g -PCL), both series being prepared over a wide range of compositions with CAs or CBs of acyl DS ≈ 2.1, 2.5, and 2.95. It was shown by T 1ρ H measurements in solid-state 13 C NMR spectroscopy that all the copolymer samples, except ones using CA of DS = 2.98, formed an amorphous monophase in which the trunk and graft components were mixed homogeneously at least in a scale of a few nanometers. However, those copolymer samples gave, more or less, a response of dynamic heterogeneity, when examined under mechanical oscillation. Through dielectric relaxation measurements, a clear comparison was made between the CA- g -PCL and CB- g -PCL series, regarding the cooperativeness in segmental motions of the trunk and graft chains, directly associated with the extent of the dynamic heterogeneity. The cooperativeness was generally higher in the CB-based copolymer series, probably due to working of the butyryl substituent as an internal compatibilizer.

We investigated the effects of aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) on item and associative recognition memory. Three groups of participants (younger adults, elderly adults, and AD patients) studied photographs of common objects that were located on either the left or the right side of a black computer screen inside either a red or a blue square. In a subsequent old/new recognition memory test, the participants were presented with four kinds of stimuli: "intact" stimuli, which were presented as they were during the study phase; "location-altered" stimuli, which were presented in a different location; "color-altered" stimuli, which were presented with a different surrounding color; and "new" stimuli, which consisted of photographs that had not been presented during the study phase. Compared with younger adults, the older adults showed equivalent performance in simple item recognition but worse performance in discriminating location-altered and color-altered stimuli. Compared with older adults, the AD patients showed equivalent performance in discriminating color-altered stimuli but worse performance in simple item recognition and the discrimination of location-altered stimuli. We speculate that distinct structural and functional changes in specific brain regions that are caused by aging and AD are responsible for the different patterns of memory impairment.

IPN-type composites consisting of cellulose acetate (CA) and poly(methyl methacrylate; PMMA) were successfully synthesized in film form. In this synthesis, a mercapto group (SH)-containing CA, CA-MA, was prepared in advance by esterification of CA with mercaptoacetic acid, and then intercomponent cross-linking between CA-MA and PMMA was attained by thiol–ene polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) onto the CA-MA substrate. For comparison, polymer synthesis was also attempted to produce a semi-IPN type of composites comprising CA and cross-linked PMMA, via copolymerization of MMA and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as cross-linker in a homogeneous system containing CA solute. Thermal and mechanical properties of thus obtained polymer composites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, and a tensile test, in correlation with the mixing state of the essentially immiscible cellulosic and methacrylate polymer components. It was shown that the specific IPN technique using thiol–ene reactions usually resulted in a much better compatibility-enhanced polymer composite, which exhibited a higher tensile strength and even an outstanding ductility without parallel in any film sample of CA, PMMA, and their physical blends.

Background/Aims: Frontal lobe dysfunction is believed to be a primary cognitive symptom in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH); however, the neuropsychology of this disorder remains to be fully investigated. The objective of this study was to delineate a comprehensive profile of cognitive dysfunction in iNPH and evaluate the effects of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt surgery on cognitive dysfunction. Methods: A total of 32 iNPH patients underwent neuropsychological testing of memory, attention, language, executive function, and visuoperceptual and visuospatial abilities. Of these 32 patients, 26 were reevaluated approximately 1 year following CSF shunt surgery. The same battery of tests was performed on 32 patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and 30 healthy elderly controls. Results: The iNPH patients displayed baseline deficits in attention, executive function, memory, and visuoperceptual and visuospatial functions. Impairments of attention, executive function, and visuoperceptual and visuospatial abilities in iNPH patients were more severe than in those with AD, whereas the degree of memory impairment was comparable to that in AD patients. A significant improvement in executive function was observed following shunt surgery. Conclusion: Patients with iNPH are impaired in various aspects of cognition involving both ‘frontal’ executive functions and ‘posterior cortical’ functions. Shunt treatment can ameliorate executive dysfunction.

Cellulose diacetate-graft-poly(L-lactide) (CDA-g-PLLA) and poly(vinyl acetate-co-vinyl alcohol)-graft-PLLA (P(VAc-co-VOH)-g-PLLA) were synthesized over a range of compositions, by ring-opening copolymerization of L-lactide at the original hydroxyl positions of the respective trunk polymers, CDA (acetyl DS = 2.15) and P(VAc-co-VOH)-g-PLLA (VAc = 64.2 mol%). All the products of both graft copolymer series were non-crystallizable and their solution-cast films showed no domain segregation of the two components that constituted the trunk and side-chains. A comparative study on the molecular orientation and optical anisotropy induced by uniaxial stretching of film samples was undertaken for the two copolymer series with various side-chain lengths. Overall behaviour of the orientation was estimated from the statistical second () and fourth () moments obtained by a fluorescence polarization method using a rod-like probe of ~2.5 nm. Upon stretching, any film of both series imparted a positive orientation function, i.e., f = (3 − 1)/2 > 0, which increased with the extent of deformation. The degree of molecular orientation was higher in the CDA-graft series with a semi-rigid trunk, and, in both series, it declined monotonically with increasing content of the PLLA side-chain. With regard to the optical anisotropy, CDA-g-PLLA films always exhibited a positive birefringence (Δn > 0) upon stretching, while drawn films of P(VAc-co-VOH)-g-PLLA displayed a negative one. This contrast in polarity reflects a difference in the intrinsic birefringence between the two trunk polymers. Of interest was the finding of a discontinuous change in Δn value with copolymer composition (PLLA content) for the respective graft series, when compared at a given stage of elongation of the films. Discussion took into consideration the locally different orientation manners of the attached PLLA chain segments.

Recent evidence suggests that patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), as compared with normal individuals, exhibit increased false recognition by stimulus repetition in the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) task or associative recognition memory tasks, probably due to impaired recollection-based monitoring. However, because of possible alternative explanations for the findings of these previous studies, the evidence for impaired recollection-based monitoring in AD patients remains inconclusive. In this study, we employed stimulus repetition in old/new recognition judgments of single-item picture memory without a factor of association between the stimuli and examined whether AD patients showed increased false item recognition as compared with healthy controls. AD patients and healthy controls studied single-item pictures presented either once or three times. They were later asked to make an old/new recognition judgment in response to (a) Same pictures, pictures identical to those seen at encoding, (b) Similar lures, novel pictures similar to but not identical to those seen at encoding, and (c) Dissimilar lures, novel pictures not similar to those seen at encoding. For Same pictures, repeated presentation of stimuli increased the proportion of "old" responses in both groups. For Similar lures, repeated presentation of stimuli increased the rate of "old" responses in AD patients but not in control subjects. The results of the present study clearly demonstrated elevated false recognition by stimulus repetition in single-item recognition in AD patients. The present findings strongly support the view that AD patients are impaired in their ability to use item-specific recollection in order to avoid false recognition.

Background and purpose Cognitive and behavioural symptoms represent primary clinical manifestations of anterior thalamic infarcts (ATIs) in the tuberothalamic artery territory. The aim of the study is to understand the pathomechanism of cognitive and behavioural disturbances in left ATI (LATI). Methods 6 patients with isolated LATIs were investigated using neuropsychological assessments, MRI stereotactic lesion localisation and positron emission tomography. Results The patients were characterised clinically by verbal memory impairment, language disturbances dominated by anomia and word-finding difficulty and apathy. The ventral anterior nucleus (VA) proper, magnocellular VA (VAmc), ventral lateral anterior nucleus (VLa), ventral lateral posterior nucleus (VLp) and mammillothalamic tract were involved in all patients. Compared with healthy controls, the regional cerebral blood flow was lower in the thalamus, the dorsolateral, medial and orbital frontal lobes, the anterior temporal lobe, the inferior parietal lobule and the occipital lobe of the left hemisphere. Conclusions The authors propose that the Papez circuit disruption at the mammillothalamic tract and possibly thalamomedial temporal disconnection at the VA region is responsible for memory impairment and that the thalamo-anterior temporal disconnection is associated with language disturbance in LATI, respectively.

Idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with documented impairments in various visual functions. However, there have been only a limited number of studies that have reported on the brain regions responsible for impairment of visual recognition in PD. In our study, we evaluated the performance of PD patients and 24 healthy controls on the Poppelreuter-type overlapping figure identification test to investigate the impairment of visual recognition. We also measured the PD patients' resting cerebral glucose metabolism using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and investigated the relationship between the impairment of visual recognition and cortical hypometabolism. The PD patients had substantial and frequent illusory responses in the overlapping figure identification test, and their illusory misidentifications were correlated with hypometabolism in the visual cortices, including the right inferior temporal gyrus and the bilateral temporo-parieto-occipital junction. These findings suggest that PD patients have impaired visual recognition characterized by illusory misidentifications of visual stimuli, which could be attributed to dysfunction of the visual cortices. © 2011 Movement Disorder Society

Hyposmia is one of the cardinal early symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD). Accumulating clinical and pathological evidence suggests that dysfunction of the olfactory-related cortices may be responsible for the impaired olfactory processing observed in PD; however, there are no clear data showing a direct association between altered brain metabolism and hyposmia in PD. In this study, we evaluated brain glucose metabolism and smell-identification ability in 69 Japanese patients with nondemented PD. Olfactory function was assessed using the Odor Stick Identification Test for Japanese. The regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose consumption at rest was measured using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and was analyzed using SPM-based group comparisons and the brain-behavior partial least-squares method. We found that olfactory dysfunction was closely related to cognitive dysfunction, including memory impairment. Moreover, brain-behavior partial least-squares analysis revealed that odor-identification performance was closely associated with broad cortical dysfunction, including dysfunction of the piriform cortex and amygdala. Our results suggest that the cognitive deficit in olfactory perception is an important aspect of hyposmia in PD and that this deficit is caused by altered brain metabolism in the amygdala and piriform cortex.

Organosolv lignin (OSL) esters (side-chain carbon number, n = 3, 4, and 5) have been demonstrated to be miscible with poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL) on a scale (20–30 nm) for detecting glass transition temperature (T g) by differential scanning calorimetry (Polym. J. 2009, 41(3), 219–227). Further precise quantification of homogeneity was conducted for the OSL propionate (OSL-Pr, n = 3)/PCL and OSL butyrate (OSL-Bu, n = 4)/PCL blends by means of dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). DMA revealed a composition-dependent T g for these blend samples, which implies the attainment of an intimate mixing of the ingredients on a scale of ≤15 nm. From the measurements of proton spin-lattice relaxation times (T 1ρ H) using solid-state NMR, the blends were estimated to be substantially homogeneous on a scale of ∼6 nm. But the equalization of the T 1ρ H for the components of OSL-Pr/PCL was not remarkable; that is, the constituents of OSL-Pr/PCL were relatively imperf...

Wood flour (WF) was converted not only to thermoplastic material but also to carrier matrix for in-situ synthesis of iron oxide nano-particles by a set of etherification; namely, considerable hydroxypropylation and modest carboxymethylation. A sequence of procedure for the in-situ synthesis of iron oxides includes ferrous ion-absorption of the etherified WF, precipitation of ferrous hydroxide by an alkaline treatment, and oxidation of the ferrous hydroxide. Magnetometry measurements revealed that the magnetic woody composite showed superparamagnetism (SPM) at room temperature. The observation of SPM may be of significance in the perceptibility to an external magnetic stimulus only on demand and without energy loss.

Cellulose ester derivatives having phosphoryl side-chains were synthesized by phosphorylation of two types of cellulose propionate (CP); the difference between the two CPs was whether the primary hydroxyl group at C6 had been fully propionylated or not. Dimethyl phosphate, dimethyl thiophosphate, diethyl phosphate, or diethyl thiophosphate was introduced into the residual hydroxyl positions of the CPs. Chemical composition of the respective derivatives was characterized by elemental analysis and a combined use of saponification and HPLC quantification of the released propionic acid. Their thermal properties were investigated by DSC and TGA, and an intermediate residue of the pyrolysis was also examined by FT-IR spectroscopy. From the thermal degradation measurements using TGA, the C6-O phosphorylation was found to noticeably prevent the CP derivatives from weight loss in the pyrolysis process under dynamic air, i.e., providing them with a flame-resistance functionality, whereas the C2-O and C3-O phosphorylation did not give rise to such an appreciable resistance effect. A discussion was focused on the difference in pyrolysis mechanism between the phosphorylated CPs. However, most samples of the CP derivatives showed a clear T g considerably lower than the onset temperature of the thermal degradation. Thus we suggest that it is possible to design thermoplastic flame resistant/retardant materials based on cellulose, by controlling the substitution distribution of the phosphoryl and propionyl groups introduced.

Chitin derivatives having a normal acyl group (side-chain carbon number, N = 2–6) at different degrees of substitution (DS) were synthesized by a homogenous reaction of crab-shell chitin with various acyl chlorides in N,N-dimethylacetamide–LiCl solution. NMR analysis quantitatively demonstrated the acylations not only for C3/C6 hydroxy protons but also for C2 amino proton(s). Solution cast blend films of the acyl chitin products with poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) were provided for the miscibility characterization by differential scanning calorimetry. The critical total-DS required for attaining a miscibility of the blending polymer pair decreased with an increase in N. The degree of miscibility was enhanced definitely with an increase in ester-DS, but it made less correlation with amide-DS. In analogy with cellulose ester/PCL blend systems, a structural affinity of the ester side-group of the chitinous component considered with a repeating unit of PCL may be a crucial factor for the miscibility attainment.