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We investigated a newly developed digitized Trail Making Test using an iPad (iTMT) as a brief cognitive function screening test. We found that the iTMT part-A (iTMT-A) can estimate generalized cognitive function in rehabilitation inpatients examined using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Forty-two hospitalized participants undergoing rehabilitation (rehab participants), 30 of whom had cerebral infarction/hemorrhage (stroke participants), performed the iTMT five times (first three times: iTMT-A; fourth: paper version of TMT-A; fifth: the inverse version of iTMT-A) and the MMSE once. Each iTMT-A trial's completion time was divided into the move and dwell times. A linear mixed model following post-hoc tests revealed that the completion time of the third and fourth iTMT-A was faster compared to that of the first iTMT-A, suggesting the presence of a learning effect. In the partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis, the coefficient of determination for estimating the MMSE score was increased by using the dwell and move times extracted from the repeated iTMT-A and the availability of TMT-B, even for subjects with low MMSE scores. These findings indicate that the dwell time of iTMT-A may be important for estimating cognitive function. The iTMT-A extracts significant factors temporally and spatially, and by incorporating the learning effect of repeated trials, it may be possible to screen cognitive and physical functions for rehabilitation patients.

The article discusses the purely endoscopic subtemporal keyhole anterior transpetrosal approach (eATPA) for accessing the petrous apex region to remove lesions such as meningiomas and schwannomas. The study conducted by Goto and Morisako involved 10 patients, with 8 achieving gross-total resection. The eATPA technique showed similar outcomes to the microscopic anterior transpetrosal approach (mATPA) but with shorter operative times, smaller craniotomies, and reduced risk of postoperative temporal lobe edema, making it a promising new surgical technique for the future. [Extracted from the article]

Sila[1]ferrocenophane bearing a 9-silafluorenylidene moiety (1) as a bridging unit was synthesized and isolated as a stable crystalline compound. Sila[1]ferrocenophane 1, which was newly obtained in this study, was characterized by spectroscopic analyses, a single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) analysis, and electrochemical measurements. Due to the characteristic 9-silafluorenyl moiety, 1 exhibited large electron affinity and a slightly higher oxidation potential relative to that of ferrocene. In addition, 1 was found to undergo ring-opening polymerization (ROP) triggered by thermolysis at a lower temperature relative to that of Ph2Sifc (1′, fc = 1,1′-ferrocenylidene). It also underwent ROP through reduction by KC8 to give the corresponding polymeric compound. The DFT calculations suggested that one-electron reduction of 1 would promote ring-opening polymerization, as shown in the experimental results.

Study Design Cross-sectional study. Purpose We aimed to quantitatively assess bone marrow edema (BME) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for patients with degenerative lumbar diseases. Overview of Literature BME adjacent to a sclerotic endplate of the lumbar spine, detected using T2-weighted fat-saturated MRI, is closely associated with low back pain in patients with degenerative lumbar diseases. However, currently, there no quantitative evaluation methods for BME adjacent to the vertebral endplate. Methods Patients with degenerative lumbar diseases, whose MRIs detected BME, were enrolled. On a T2-weighted fat-saturated MRI, BME appeared as a high-intensity region adjacent to the vertebral endplate. We calculated the contrast ratios (CRs) of BME and normal bone marrow using the signal intensities of BME, normal bone marrow, and the spinal cord. On computed tomography, we calculated Hounsfield unit (HU) values in the same area as BME, the sclerotic endplate, and normal bone marrow to assess bone density. Results There were 16 men and 14 women, with an average age of 73.5 years. The mean CRs of BME and normal bone marrow were −0.015±0.056 and −0.407±0.023, respectively. BME’s CR was significantly higher than that of normal bone marrow (p

Capillary hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors usually diagnosed in infancy and involving skin and soft tissues. We report a rare case of an adult capillary hemangioma of the left sphenoid sinus extending into the intrasellar and parasellar regions. A 71-year-old woman presented with complaints of headaches and diplopia. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a T2-hyperintense mass-like lesion involving the left posterior ethmoid and sphenoid sinuses and left cavernous sinus, that had extended into the intrasellar and parasellar regions. Dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed enhancing vessel-like structures within the lesion during the arterial phase, which were observed to expand further in the late phase of the examination. This characteristic feature indicated increased vascularity, suggesting the presence of a capillary hemangioma. The patient underwent endoscopic resection via the endonasal transpterygoid approach, and the lesion was diagnosed histopathologically as a capillary hemangioma. To aid diagnosis and clinical management, radiologists should be aware of the imaging findings related to capillary hemangiomas.

Giant cell reparative granuloma (GCRG) is a benign nonneoplastic granulomatous lesion and is rare in the cranial bone. We present a pediatric case of this lesion arising from the condyle and lower clivus. A 9-year-old girl presented with slowly progressive hoarseness and dysphagia. She showed left glossopharyngeal, vagus, and hypoglossal nerve palsy. An osteolytic lesion around the lower clivus and condyle joint was accompanied by deformation of the craniovertebral junction. An endoscopic endonasal approach was used to decompress the cranial nerve and confirm the pathological finding. The lesion around the condyle was not resected to preserve occipito-cervical stability. The residual lesion has been observed carefully for 6 months, and regrowth has not occurred. GCRG is a rare granulomatous lesion in the cranial bone. This case is the first report of a pediatric clival GCRG. Treating pediatric GCRG may be helpful.

We report a liquid material based on an L -valine-appended pyromellitic diimide framework. This liquid adopts a room-temperature liquid with Tg at −50 °C and can dissolve naphthalene derivatives to show various photoluminescent colors. Furthermore, the on/off photoluminescence of these solutions can be controlled by heating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the facile synthesis of asymmetric perylene diimides (asym−PDIs) using readily available reagents, demonstrating their distinct photoluminescent properties. In CHCl3, asym−PDIs exhibit higher solubility compared to traditional perylene dyes, of which solubilities can be varied by substituent selections. Among them, UV‐vis absorption spectra of CPE in CHCl3 solution displayed no aggregate peaks in the ground state, maintaining high photoluminescent quantum yields. Also, CPE can be readily dispersed into poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA (CPE−PMMA), forming thin films without aggregate formation. Importantly, the emission color of CPE−PMMA thin films significantly changes with the addition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These color changes should be strongly correlated with the HOMO level of the added PAHs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pituitary apoplexy is extremely rare in children and adolescents. A case of an 11-year-old pubertal female with complaints of intermittent holocranial headaches for 4 months, with progressive visual disturbances, who presented to the emergency department after the sudden onset of a thunderclap headache and acute deterioration in right eye vision, is presented. On laboratory investigation, her prolactin level was higher than 1000 ng/mL. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a sellar mass with suprasellar extension and characteristics of hemorrhage within it. The patient underwent emergency endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal decompression of the tumor. Postoperatively, the patient recovered well, with improvement in right eye vision and a decrease in the prolactin level to normal. She was discharged on hormone replacement therapy. A literature review showed that only 21 patients with clinical pituitary apoplexy in the age group younger than 20 years have been reported since 1980 after the advent of CT; the present patient is the 22nd and the youngest patient with clinical pituitary apoplexy.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the resected area of endonasal endoscopic approach (EEA) and transcranial approach (TCA) for skull base meningiomas (SBMs) using voxel-based-lesion mapping and visualized the appropriate tumor location in each approach. Methods: We retrospectively examined 182 patients with SBMs who underwent tumor resection in our hospital between 2014 and 2019. Pre- and post-operative SBMs were manually delineated on MRI to create the voxels-of-interest (VOIpre and VOIpost) and were registered onto the normalized brain (normalized VOIpre and normalized VOIpost). The resected map was created by subtracting normalized VOIpost from the normalized VOIpre divided by the number of cases. The resected maps of TCA and EEA were compared by subtracting them. Results: Twenty patients underwent EEA and 135 patients underwent TCA. The tumor resected map demonstrated that the resected area of EEA frequently accumulated on the central skull base, while that of TCA accumulated near the central skull base. The border of both approaches matched the circle that connects neural foramens at the skull base. Conclusions: The resected area of SBMs by EEA and TCA was well visualized by voxel-based-lesion mapping. The circle connecting the neural foramens was the border of EEA and TCA.

A bisferrocenylsilane-bridged bisphosphine, i.e., a bisphosphine bridged by bis(1’-dicyclohexylphosphino-1-ferrocenyl)dimethoxysilane, was synthesized and structurally characterized. Its redox behavior was examined by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry, which revealed two-step oxidation processes.

The reduction of fullerene (C60) with sodium dispersion in the presence of an excess amount of dipropyl sulfate was found to yield highly propylated fullerene, C60(nC3H7)n (max. n = 24), and C60(nC3H7)20 was predominantly generated as determined by mass spectroscopy.

A spirogermabifluorene that bears sterically demanding 3,3′,5,5′-tetra(t-butyl)-2,2′-biphenylene groups (1) was obtained from the reaction of in-situ-generated 2,2′-dilithiobiphenylene with GeCl2·(dioxane). The solid-state structure and the redox behavior of 1 were examined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and electrochemical measurements, respectively. The sterically hindered biphenyl ligands endow 1 with high redox stability and increased electron affinity. The experimental observations were corroborated by theoretical DFT calculations.