Search

Introduction: Studies describing the relationship between the hip and spine have reported that corrective spinal surgery for adult spinal deformity (ASD) affects the orientation of the acetabulum. However, the extent to which spinal correction in ASD affects acetabular anteversion in the standing position is unclear, especially after total hip arthroplasty, for which dislocation is a concern. The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in anterior acetabular coverage in the upright position due to extensive correction surgery for ASD. Methods: Thirty-six consecutive patients who had undergone spinal corrective surgery from the thoracolumbar region to the pelvis were enrolled and evaluated. The ventral-central-acetabular (VCA) angle and anterior acetabular head index (AAHI) were measured with a false-profile view to evaluate the relationship between acetabular anteversion in the standing position and spinopelvic parameters before and after surgery. The spinopelvic parameters measured included thoracic kyphosis, pelvic incidence, pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope, lumbar lordosis (LL), sagittal vertical axis, and global tilt. Results: The VCA angle and AAHI were significantly increased after spinal deformity correction (p

Rupture during the 2016 Central Tottori earthquake, Japan stopped within regions characterised by stress relaxation before the earthquake, according to analyses of aftershock focal mechanisms. This could explain why large earthquakes typically do not follow each other.

BackgroundEnterovirus causing hand-foot-mouth disease (HFMD) has been reported to be associated with the development of Kawasaki disease (KD), whereas the involvement of enterovirus in the clinical course of KD is uncertain. The aim of this study is to investigate the association between the clinical course of KD and HFMD epidemics.MethodsThis study included 108 patients who developed KD during HFMD epidemic seasons (July and August) from 2010 to 2014 and who were initially treated with high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG). A mean of ≥5.0 HFMD patients reported weekly from each sentinel medical facility was considered to represent a large HFMD epidemic. We compared the clinical characteristics of KD patients in summers of years with and without large HFMD epidemics.ResultsLarge HFMD epidemics occurred in 2011 and 2013. The number of KD patients in summer was the highest in 2011. The proportion of patients with resistance to the IVIG therapy in summers of years with the large epidemics (14%) was significantly lower than that in summers of other years (31%, P = 0.030), whereas the proportion of patients with coronary artery abnormalities did not differ to a statistically significant extent. The development of KD during large HFMD epidemics was significantly associated with a lower risk of resistance to the IVIG therapy (incidence rate ratio 0.92, P = 0.049).ConclusionPatients developing KD during large HFMD epidemic may have good responsiveness to IVIG. It is important to identify microbes from KD patients to predict responsiveness to IVIG therapy.

Abstract To clarify the relationship between earthquake occurrence and fluid, we analyzed data from a dense aftershock-observation network with 69 high-gain short-period seismographs installed immediately after the mainshock occurrence (October 21) in the aftershock area of the 2016 Central Tottori Prefecture earthquake. We determined the hypocenters and focal mechanisms of the aftershocks very precisely in the period from October 22 to December 15. We then investigated the temporal changes in the spatial distributions of hypocenters and T-axis azimuths of focal mechanisms. The distributions of aftershock hypocenters and T-axis azimuths are basically temporally stable, except those in limited portions in the shallow layer near the western edge of the aftershock area, where rapid decrease of aftershocks with T-axis azimuths of WSW to west was observed. If fluid rises from the lower crust due to fault rupture, the locations of aftershocks and focal mechanisms may change over time, especially in the deepest part of the aftershock region. However, the temporal change in these parameters was not apparent at depth. These observations suggest that the aftershock activity of the Central Tottori Prefecture earthquake was controlled mainly by stress concentration rather than strength reduction due to high fluid pressure.

IKAROS and CTLA4 deficiencies are inborn errors of immunity and show similar clinical phenotypes, including hypogammaglobulinemia and autoimmune diseases (ADs). However, the differences in clinical features and pathogenesis of these are not fully understood. Therefore, we performed systematic literature reviews for IKAROS and CTLA4 deficiencies. The reviews suggested that patients with IKAROS deficiency develop AD earlier than hypogammaglobulinemia. However, no study assessed the detailed changes in clinical manifestations over time; this was likely due to the cross-sectional nature of the studies. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective longitudinal study on IKAROS and CTLA4 deficiencies in our cohort to evaluate the clinical course over time. In patients with IKAROS deficiency, AD and hypogammaglobulinemia often develop in that order, and AD often resolves before the onset of hypogammaglobulinemia; these observations were not found in patients with CTLA4 deficiency. Understanding this difference in the clinical course helps in the clinical management of both. Furthermore, our results suggest B- and T-cell-mediated ADs in patients with IKAROS and CTLA4 deficiencies, respectively.

Background: Arthritis may occur after the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease (KD). Most cases are self-limiting; however, some patients require prolonged treatment.Method: To characterize KD-related arthritis, 14 patients who required arthritis treatment within 30 days after the diagnosis of KD were recruited from the 23rd KD survey in Japan. Twenty-six additional patients were included from our tertiary center and literature review cohorts.Results: The estimated prevalence of KD-related arthritis in Japan was 48 per 100,000 KD patients. Patients with KD-related arthritis had an older age at onset (52 vs. 28 months, P = 0.002) and higher rate of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) resistance in comparison to those without arthritis (86 vs. 17%, P < 0.001). Among 40 patients, 18 had arthritis in the acute phase KD (continued fever-onset type) and 22 did in the convalescent phase (interval fever-onset type). Both showed a similar rate of complete KD or IVIG response. Interval-type patients required biologics for arthritis control less frequently (5 vs. 39%, P = 0.02) and had a higher 2-year off-treatment rate (100 vs. 43%, P = 0.009) than continued-type ones. Interval-types showed lower serum ferritin and interleukin-18 levels than continued-types. When continued-types were grouped according to whether or not they required biologics (n = 7 and n = 11, respectively), the former subgroup had higher ferritin and interleukin-18 levels (P = 0.01 and 0.02, respectively). A canonical discriminant analysis differentiated interval-type from continued-type with the combination of age, time to arthritis, and the ferritin and matrix metalloproteinase-3 levels.Conclusion: Arthritis requiring treatment is a rare complication of KD. KD-associated arthritis includes interval-type (KD-reactive) and continued-type (true systemic-onset juvenile idiopathic arthritis [JIA] requiring biologics), and overlapping arthritis, suggesting the pathophysiological continuity of autoinflammation between KD and JIA.

Improvement of p-type thermoelectric performance for Heusler-type Fe2V1.08−yTiyAl0.92 alloys with y = 0–0.34 has been investigated, focusing on the valence electron concentration (VEC) effect for tuning the Fermi level across the center of the pseudogap via Ti doping, combined with a constructive modification of the electronic structure around the pseudogap through the off-stoichiometric V/Al composition change. The Seebeck coefficient changes its sign from negative to positive at around VEC = 6.0 due to Ti doping, and the peak value reaches approximately 120 μV/K at 350 K for y = 0.22. As a result of a drastic reduction in the electrical resistivity at 300–600 K, the power factor enhances up to 3.7 × 10−3 W/mK2 at 300 K for y = 0.30. The thermal conductivity increases with Ti doping to 15.5 W/mK at 350 K for y = 0.16, because of an increased stability of the L21 structure for VEC closer to 6.0, but then decreases to approximately 12 W/mK for y = 0.34. While the dimensionless figure of merit ZT = 0.13 is achieved at 500 K for y = 0.34, the codoping of Ta (Fe2V0.69Ti0.34Ta0.05Al0.92) leads to a further enhancement of up to ZT = 0.18 at 500 K.

Abstract In this study, we propose a force sensor using a shape-memory polymer (SMP) whose stiffness varies according to the temperature. An SMP can be deformed above its glass transition temperature (T g) by applying a small load. A deformed SMP maintains its shape when cooled below T g and returns to its predefined shape when subsequently heated above T g. The reversible change in the elastic modulus between the glassy and rubbery states of an SMP can be on the order of several hundred-fold. The relationship between the applied force and the deformation of the SMP changes depending on the temperature. Our sensor consists of strain gauges bonded to an SMP bending beam and senses the applied force by measuring the strain. Therefore, the force measuring range and the sensitivity can be changed according to the temperature. In this study, we evaluate a prototype of the sensor using the SMP sheet with embedded electrical heating wire. Moreover, we improve the sensor by combining the SMP and a stainless steel plate. The enhanced versatility of SMP force sensors is demonstrated through a series of experiments conducted using the prototype.