Removal of remodeling/reprogramming factors from oocytes and the impact on the full-term development of cloned embryos.

The reason for the poor development of cloned embryos is not yet clear. Several reports have suggested that some nuclear remodeling/reprogramming factors (RRFs) are removed from oocytes at the time of enucleation, which might cause the low success rate of animal cloning. However, there is currently no method to manipulate the amount of RRFs in oocytes.

Subcutaneous angiolipoma: magnetic resonance imaging features with histological correlation.

Purpose: Despite producing pain, angiolipoma is sometimes misdiagnosed as an ordinary small lipoma, which is usually not associated with pain. Few reports have described magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings of angiolipoma. The aim of the present study was to clarify the MR imaging features of angiolipoma.

Recurrence of fibrous hamartoma of infancy excised 14 years after the primary surgery.

Fibrous hamartoma of infancy is a rare, benign, superficial soft-tissue mass. It usually occurs within the first 2 years of life at the axial regions, upper arms, and external genital areas. There have been some recurrences within the 1st year of the surgery, although no cases have been reported to recur after 1 year.

Clinical usefulness of assessing lumbar somatosensory evoked potentials in lumbar spinal stenosis. Clinical article.

Object: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of assessing lumbar somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) in central lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

Methods: The latencies of lumbar SSEPs were recorded in 40 patients with central LSS, including 16 men and 24 women. The mean age of the patients was 67.

Complexation of alpha-cyclodextrin with carborane derivatives in aqueous solution.

Although the complexation of carborane derivatives with beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) is well-known, we present here the first observation of the complexation of carborane derivatives with alpha-CD in aqueous solution. The stoichiometry and association constant (K(a)) of the complexes were estimated from Job's plots and NMR titration studies, respectively. The carborane : alpha-CD stoichiometry was 1 : 1 in all cases.

New mathematical approach for approximating the baseline of F-waves using spreadsheet software.

Objective: The aim of this study was to see if curved baselines of F-waves could be mathematically approximated with universal spreadsheet software.

Methods: The subjects were 3 healthy persons and 3 patients with cervical myelopathy. Supramaximal electrical stimuli were applied 200 times to the median nerve at the wrist.

Clinical value of motor evoked potentials with transcranial magnetic stimulation in the assessment of lumbar spinal stenosis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of assessing motor evoked potentials (MEP) in lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Twenty-three LSS patients were enrolled. The preoperative data of MEP latency (MEPLT), clinical symptoms, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores for low back pain, visual analogue scale (VAS) for back pain, leg pain and numbness, walking distance and the minimal cross-sectional area (mCSA) of the dural sac were evaluated.

Epidemiological study of low back pain and occupational risk factors among taxi drivers.

A survey of taxi drivers was conducted to determine the actual situation of drivers' low back pain (LBP). The survey was carried out in October 2002, the target drivers were asked to complete a questionnaire which contains questions regarding physique of drivers, demographic features, working conditions, office environment, health conditions, the presence of low back pain, the level of low back pain based on Visual Analogue Scale and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire score. As a result, the total number of valid responses was 1,334 and the response rate was 71 percent, and the 1-wk prevalence of LBP was 20.