• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.470-476
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• 2018

Facial motor evoked potential (FMEP) by multi-pulse transcranial electrical stimulation (mpTES) can complement free-running electromyography (EMG) and direct facial nerve stimulation to predict the functional integrity of the facial nerve during cerebello-pontine angle (CPA) tumor surgery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the standardized test methods and the usefulness of FMEP as a predictor of facial nerve function and to minimize the incidence of facial paralysis as an aftereffect of surgery. TES was delivered through electrode Mz (cathode) - M3/M4 (anode), and extracranially direct distal facial muscle excitation was excluded by the absence of single pulse response (SPR) and by longer onset latency (more than 10 ms). FMEP from the orbicularis oris (o.oris) and the mentalis muscle simultaneously can improve the accuracy and success rate compared with FMEP from the o.oris alone. Using the methods described, we can effectively predict facial nerve outcomes immediately after surgery with a reduction of more than 50% of FMEP amplitude as a warning criterion. In conclusion, along with free-running EMG and direct facial nerve stimulation, FMEP is a useful method to reduce the incidence of facial paralysis as a sequela during CPA tumor surgery.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.60 no.5
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• pp.375-387
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• 2023

The subsea power cables are increasingly important for harvesting renewable energies as we develop offshore wind farms located at a long distance from shore. Particularly, the continuous flexural motion of inter-array dynamic power cable of floating offshore wind turbine causes tremendous fatigue damages on the cable. As the subsea power cable consists of the helical structures with various components unlike a mooring line and a steel pipe riser, the fatigue analysis of the cables should be performed using special procedures that consider stick/slip phenomenon. This phenomenon occurs between inner helically wound components when they are tensioned or compressed by environmental loads and the floater motions. In particular, Vortex-induced vibration (VIV) can be generated by currents and have significant impacts on the fatigue life of the cable. In this study, the procedure for VIV fatigue analysis of the dynamic power cable has been established. Additionally, the respective roles of programs employed and required inputs and outputs are explained in detail. Demonstrations of case studies are provided under severely sheared currents to investigate the influences on amplitude variations of dynamic power cables caused by the excitation of high mode numbers. Finally, sensitivity studies have been performed to compare dynamic cable design parameters, specifically, structural damping ratio, higher order harmonics, and lift coefficients tables. In the future, one of the fundamental assumptions to assess the VIV response will be examined in detail, namely a narrow-banded Gaussian process derived from the VIV amplitudes. Although this approach is consistent with current industry standards, the level of consistency and the potential errors between the Gaussian process and the fatigue damage generated from deterministic time-domain results are to be confirmed to verify VIV fatigue analysis procedure for slender marine structures.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.452-464
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• 1990

It is well known that extracellular Calcium plays a very important role in several steps of smooth muscle excitability and contractility, and there have been many concerns about factors influencing the distribution of extracellular Ca++ and the Ca++ flux through the cell membrane of the smooth muscle. Based on the assumption that Mg++ may also play an important role in the excitation and contraction processes of the smooth muscle by taking part in affecting Ca++ distribution and flux, many researches are being performed about the exact role of Mg++, especially in the vascular smooth muscle. But yet the effect of Mg++ in the smooth muscle activity is not clarified, and moreover the mechanism of Mg++ action is almost completely unknown. Present study attempted to clarify the effect of Mg++ on the excitability and contractility in the multiunit and unitary smooth muscle, and the mechanism concerned in it. The preparations used were the guinea-pig aortic strip as the experimental material of the multiunit smooth muscle and the rat uterine strip as the one of the unitary smooth muscle. The tissues were isolated from the sacrificed animal and were prepared for recording the isometric contraction. The effects of Mg++ and Ca++ were examined on the electrically driven or spontaneous contraction of the preparations. And the effects of these ions were also studied on the K+ or norepinephrine contracture. All experiments were performed in tris-buffered Tyrode solution which was aerated with 100% 02 and kept at 35oC. The results obtained were as follows: 1] Mg++ suppressed the phasic contraction induced by electrical field stimulation dose-dependently in the guinea-pig aortic strip, while the high concentration of Ca++ never recovered the decreased tension. These phenomena were not changed by the a - or b - adrenergic blocker. 2]Mg++ played the suppressing effect on the low concentration [20 and 40 mM] of K+-contracture in the aortic muscle, but the effect was not shown in the case of 100mM K+-contracture. 3] Mg++ also suppressed the contracture induced by norepinephrine in the aortic preparation. And the effect of Mg++ was most prominent in the contracture by the lowest [10 mM] concentration of norepinephrine. 4] In both the spontaneous and electrically driven contractions of the uterine strip, Mg++ decreased the amplitude of peak tension, and by the high concentration of Ca++ the amplitude of tension was recovered unlike the aortic muscle. 5] The frequency of the uterine spontaneous contraction increased as the [Ca++] / [Mg++] ratio increased up to 2, but the frequency decreased above this level. 6] Mg++ decreased the tension of the low[20 and 40mM] K+-contracture in the uterine smooth muscle, but the effect did not appear in the 100mM K+-contracture. From the above results, the following conclusion could be made. 1] Mg++ seems to suppress the contractility directly by acting on the smooth muscle itself, besides through the indirect action on the nerve terminal, in both the aortic and uterine smooth muscles. 2] The fact that the depressant effect of Mg++ on the K+-contracture is in inverse proportion to an increase of K+ concentration appears resulted from the extent of the opening state of the Ca++ channel. 3] Mg++ may play a depressant role on both the potential dependent and the receptor-operated Ca++ channels. 4] The relationship between the actions of Mg++ and Ca++ seems to be competitive in uterine muscle and non-competitive in aortic strip.