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Background Spinal epidural hematoma associated with epidural metastasis is very rare. Epidural hematoma is unusual in itself, and metastatic epidural tumors do not commonly occur. Case Description A 76-year-old man with a medical history of untreated stage III rectal cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease underwent emergency spine surgery for acute development of severe quadriplegia due to cervical epidural hematoma after minor indirect trauma. Hemorrhagic lesions, such as yellow ligaments, were accompanied by hematomas that adhered to the dura mater and were confirmed on pathology to be small cell carcinoma. Some nodules were detected in the right pulmonary hilar lesion and pleural lesion on computed tomography, and stage IV small cell carcinoma was diagnosed. Conclusions To our knowledge, spinal epidural hematoma accompanied by epidural metastasis has not previously been reported. We hypothesized that tissue invasion of malignant neoplasms may cause hemorrhagic conditions. The presence of a tumor should therefore be considered in the differential diagnosis of cases of epidural hematoma.

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity and specificity of using the spinal midline (M line) on a radiographic anteroposterior (AP) view for detecting pedicle screws (PSs) breaching the medial pedicle wall. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 145 patients who underwent fusion surgery using PSs between January 2006 and May 2017. We defined the M line as a line that connected the upper and lower spinous processes through the fixed vertebrae. The M line was positive if the tip of the PS crossed the M line. The reference standard was a computed tomography scan. The reliability of the M line was examined. Results The subjects included 145 patients (70 men and 75 women; mean age, 63.4 years). A total of 599 PSs were examined. Most cases were because of spondylolisthesis (66.9%). Most screws were inserted at a lower lumber level (77.6%). Analysis of the diagnostic accuracy of the M line yielded a sensitivity of 74.1% and a specificity of 95.3%. In addition, the positive predictive value of the M line was 42.6%, and the negative predictive value of the M line was 98.7%. Conclusions Assessment of the M line via an intraoperative radiographic AP view is a simple, readily available, complementary method for detecting PSs that have breached the medial pedicle wall in the thoracic, lumbar, and sacral spine. In particular, the M line has a strong negative predictive value, which is much more meaningful.

Objective The resection of foramen magnum meningiomas (FMMs) presents neurosurgical challenges. We propose a simple classification of the tumor location and the operating space created by the tumor to help treatment planning. Methods We retrospectively analyzed 16 FMMs and divided them into 3 groups based on the tumor location—clival, foraminal, and atlantal tumors. The distance between the condyle and the neuraxis at the level of the foramen magnum was measured and defined as the available operative space (AOS). We also reviewed intraoperative video recordings to assess the surgical exposure of the tumor by the space created by the FMM and compared it with the AOS. Results There were 4 clival, 8 foraminal, and 4 atlantal tumors. The AOS of the clival tumors was 10 mm ± 1.7, the AOS of the foraminal tumors was 18 mm ± 3.7, and the AOS of the atlantal tumors was 12 mm ± 2.1. All foraminal and atlantal tumors could be detached without a brain retractor. Because a major portion of the clival tumors was covered by the spinomedullary junction, a brain spatula was needed to obtain the required surgical space. The difference in AOS between clival and foraminal/atlantal tumors was statistically significant (P = 0.044). Although 4 patients experienced postoperative complications, the average postoperative Karnofsky performance scale score improved. The surgical complication rate was significantly lower in foraminal and atlantal FMMs than in clival FMMs (P = 0.027). Conclusions The simple classification of the tumor location helped to assess surgical difficulties. Knowledge of the space created by the FMMs between the condyle and the neuraxis is useful for planning the approach strategy, especially for estimating the available working space without resection of the occipital condyle.

Early brain injury has recently been identified as an indicator of poor prognosis after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα (CaMKIIα) has been shown to phosphorylate neuronal NOS (nNOS) at Ser 847 , resulting in a reduction in nNOS activity. In this study, we revealed chronological changes in the phosphorylation of nNOS at Ser 847 in the hippocampus and cortex immediately after SAH. In a rat single-hemorrhage model of SAH, the hippocampus and adjacent cortex were collected up to 24 h after SAH. Samples from rats that were not injected with blood were used as controls. NOS was partially purified from the crude samples using ADP-agarose affinity chromatography. Western blot analysis revealed that nNOS phosphorylated (p-nNOS) at Ser 847 was significantly increased in the hippocampus, but not in the cortex, at 1 h after SAH compared with that resulting from the control treatment. Immunoreactivity of p-nNOS at Ser 847 was observed in interneurons of the hippocampus at 1 h after SAH. Injection of saline instead of blood also significantly induced p-nNOS at Ser 847 levels in the hippocampus at 1 h after injection. The colocalization of CaMKIIα and nNOS was transiently increased in the hippocampus at 0.5 h after SAH. Our data suggest that immediately after SAH, an increase in intracranial pressure might induce transient cerebral ischemia, potentially promoting the phosphorylation of nNOS at Ser 847 by CaMKIIα in the hippocampus. The activation of p-nNOS at Ser 847 in the hippocampus may alleviate ischemic insults immediately after SAH to exert a neuroprotective effect against early brain injury.

A systematic study on thin film preparation by means of reactive magnetron sputtering was carried out for an antiperovskite manganese compound Mn3CuN, a recently discovered ferromagnetic shape-memory alloy. We obtained a (1 1 1) oriented thin film that possesses a ferromagnetic transition temperature similar to stoichiometric bulk samples on an yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) substrate. On the other hand, (1 0 0) oriented thin films were obtained on MgO substrates while the thin films were deficient in nitrogen. The correlation between the sputtering parameters and nitrogen deficiency was thoroughly investigated in order to reduce the nitrogen deficiency. The magnetization measurements of a Mn3CuN0.86 thin film revealed a magnetic anisotropy that is consistent with the behavior of magnetostriction of this material.

Mn-doped LiAlO2 powders were synthesized by the sol–gel method. The crystalline phase of the sol–gel-derived host lithium aluminate could be successfully controlled as α-LiAlO2 single phase by heat treatment at 700 °C. The results of electron spin resonance spectroscopic analyses revealed that Mn ions existed as isolated Mn4+ and clustered cations in the host α-LiAlO2 matrix, and a part of the isolated Mn4+ were thought to substitute the Al3+ octahedral sites. The red emission peaks derived from d–d transitions of the Mn4+ (3d3) configuration from 2E to 4A2 were observed around 670 nm. The emission intensity increased consistently with the Mn-doping concentration, and the highest intensity was achieved at the Mn-doping of 0.10 mol. At and above 0.10 mol Mn-doping, the concentration quenching was observed. Based on these results, the relationships between the crystalline phases of the LiAlO2 phosphor matrix, amount of the doped-manganese, and the photoluminescence properties were discussed from a viewpoint to develop a novel α-LiAlO2:Mn4+ red phosphor.

By using the conventional sol–gel technique, γ-LiAlO2 and LiAl5O8 powders were synthesized from appropriate gel precursor composition of Li/Al=1/1 and Li/Al=1/5, respectively. The precursor gel having Li/Al=1/1 was converted into α-LiAlO2 at 600 °C. Subsequently, α-/γ-LiAlO2 phase transformation completed at 800 °C. Further heat treatment at and above 1200 °C leads to the in-situ formation of LiAl5O8, which could be accompanied by the excessive evaporation of Li species from γ-LiAlO2. Another precursor gel with the stoichiometric composition (Li/Al=1/5) could be successfully converted into LiAl5O8 at 800 °C. However, above 1200 °C, LiAl5O8 was decomposed to yield α-Al2O3. The samples exhibited the maximum PL emission peak around 670 nm (λex.=270 nm) assigned to the d–d transitions of the Fe3+ (3d5) configuration from 4T1 (4G) to 6A1 (6S). The highest PL red emission intensity was found to be achieved for the in-situ formed LiAl5O8 from γ-LiAlO2 by heat treatment up to 1600 °C, and the amount of the Fe3+ activator in this material was determined to be 0.8 ppm by the chemical composition analysis. As a host material for the Fe3+-activated PL red emission, LiAl5O8 was found to be much better than γ-LiAlO2, and the PL emission properties of LiAl5O8 in terms of the red emission intensity, the quantum efficiency, and the red color index were found to be improved consistently with the crystallite size and the crystallinity.

In this research, zeolite-derived aluminosilicate phosphors were synthesized through the ion exchange route. Red light-emitting property of Eu3+-doped aluminosilicate phosphors were discussed from a view point of the Eu content, heat-treatment condition and the oxidation state of Eu ions. The crystalline phase of the host aluminosilicates could be successfully controlled as designed based on the published NaAlO2–SiO2 binary phase diagram. Orange-red emission peaks derived from the 5D0→7Fj (j=0, 1, 2, 3, 4) transition of Eu3+ were observed around 590–700 nm, and 4f65d→4f7 transition of Eu2+ was observed at around 400–500 nm. The relative intensity I(5D0→7F2) of the dominant emission peak at 612 nm increased consistently with the Eu content. The results of the XANES spectroscopy analysis revealed that Eu2+ ion in the 1400 °C as heat-treated host aluminosilicate were successfully converted to Eu3+ by the additional annealing at 1100 °C. The Eu contents and heat-treatment conditions were determined to exhibit the best performance as a red phosphor, which were 10 wt% and 1500 °C, respectively

With the miniaturization of functional devices, the difference in the electronic properties, for example, due to the structural nonuniformity in each element of nanoscale blocks has an ever more crucial influence on macroscopic functions. Laser-combined scanning tunneling microscopy, a potential method that enables us to probe the photoinduced carrier dynamics on the nanoscale, is reviewed with the latest results.

Whole-cell patch-clamp techniques were applied to Chinese hamster ovary cells stably expressing cloned smooth muscle Ca(2+) channel alpha(1)-subunits. In the presence of Ba(2+) as a charge carrier, U-shaped inactivation was observed in the presence and absence of Ca(2+) agonists. Also, tail currents deactivated slowly when conditioning steps of positive potential were applied. The deactivation time constant was decreased by hyperpolarizing the repolarization step. Application of ATP-gamma-S or H-7 had little effect on the conditions necessary to induce slow tail, suggesting involvement of physical processes in the channel protein. In the presence of Bay K 8644, additional application of nifedipine decreased the amplitudes of the test and tail currents induced by a test step preceded by a conditioning step to +80 mV, but did not affect the decay time constant of the tail current. From these results and assumptions we have drawn up a kinetic scheme with one closed state, two open states (O(1), O(2)) and two inactivated states linked to the closed state and open state O(1), respectively, i.e., open state O(2) protected from inactivation. Computer calculation reconstructed slow deactivation and U-shaped inactivation properties. A similar kinetic scheme with Ca(2+)-agonist-binding states accounted for the results in the presence of Ca(2+) agonists.

We investigated the effects of [(dihydroindenyl)oxy]alkaonic acid (DIOA) on the Cl(-) secretion in Calu-3 human airway epithelial cells that exclusively express the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) as an apical Cl(-) channel. The 5'-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino) benzoate (NPPB)-sensitive short-circuit current (I(sc)) and apical conductance were markedly reduced by DIOA (100 microM) in the presence and absence of isoproterenol (10 nM). Replacement of the butyl group in DIOA with a methyl group attenuated the inhibitory effects. The ED(50) of DIOA (17.0+/-1.0 microM) was almost equivalent to that of NPPB (15.6+/-2.1 microM). In conclusion, DIOA inhibits CFTR as strongly as NPPB does.