Cranial nerve injuries after carotid artery surgery. A prospective study of 663 operations

Objective:To establish the incidence of cranial nerve injuries caused by carotid artery surgery.Methods:During the years 1982 to 1992, 689 carotid artery operations were performed at Malmö General Hospital. Of these 656 were pre- and postoperatively examined at the Department of Phoniatrics concerning the function of the cranial nerves IX, X, and XII.Results:There was injury to one or more of the examined nerves after 75 operations (11.4%). In 70 (10.7%) operations the hypoglossal nerve was injured, in eight (1.2%) the recurrent laryngeal nerve, in two (0.3%) the glossopharyngeal nerve and in two (0.3%) the superior laryngeal nerve. Seven patients complained of postoperative hoarseness, but had no injuries. One hypoglossal and one recurrent nerve injury was permanent. Nerve injury was more frequent in operations performed with a shunt (p = 0.05), with patch closure (p = 0.01) and by a junior surgeon (p = 0.05).Conclusion:In a prospective series, the incidence of cranial nerve injuries after carotid surgery was significant but the vast majority were reversible

Electrostatic Disorder-Induced Interactions in Inhomogeneous Dielectrics

We investigate the effect of quenched surface charge disorder on electrostatic interactions between two charged surfaces in the presence of dielectric inhomogeneities and added salt. We show that in the linear weak-coupling regime (i.e., by including mean-field and Gaussian-fluctuations contributions), the image-charge effects lead to a non-zero disorder-induced interaction free energy between two surfaces of equal mean charge that can be repulsive or attractive depending on the dielectric mismatch across the bounding surfaces and the exact location of the disordered charge distribution.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

An evolving risk perspective for policy instrument choice in sustainability transitions

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.We develop the concept of evolving risk to demonstrate that the optimal policy choice between price and quantity instruments may change over time. Drawing from system innovation, evolutionary concepts and modern financial and transaction cost economics, we analyze dynamic cost and welfare impacts of instrument choice under uncertainty. In early market deployment of niche technologies, economic and system-innovation arguments suggest price instruments can stabilize revenues and decrease market risks for investors. This accelerates deployment without necessarily compromising economic efficiency. Protective policies that work well for niche technologies should, however, be used cautiously during market upscaling and diffusion, due to the changing nature of risks. We use theoretic arguments and a case to demonstrate that a gradual shift towards quantity control may become preferable for welfare maximization under certain circumstances. Solar photovoltaics in Germany serves as illustrative case, where auctions (a form of quantity control) succeeded feed-in tariffs (a price instrument).Danish Council for Strategic ResearchEU Horizon 202

Scintigraphic features of Morquio's syndrome: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, we present for the first time the bone scintigraphy findings of a patient with Morquio's syndrome.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 46-year-old Caucasian man with Morquio's syndrome presented with lower back pain six weeks after a left total hip replacement. A whole body bone scan demonstrated an anthropomorphic skeletal pattern consistent with a mucopolysaccharide storage disease, thereby showing the cause of the patient's pain.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, the bone scintigraphy findings of a case of Morquio's syndrome have never before been published. We present our case report to add to the knowledge we have of this rare disease.</p

An update of pitfalls in prostate mpMRI: a practical approach through the lens of PI-RADS v. 2 guidelines

ObJECTIVES: The aim of the current report is to provide an update in the imaging interpretation of prostate cancer on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mpMRI), with a special focus on how to discriminate pathological tissue from the most common pitfalls that may be encountered during daily clinical practice using the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) version 2 guidelines. METHODS: All the cases that are shown in this pictorial review comply with the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) guidelines for technical mpMRI requirements. RESULTS: Despite the standardised manner to report mpMRI (PI-RADS v. 2), some para-physiologic appearances of the prostate can mimic cancer. As such, it is crucial to be aware of these pitfalls, in order to avoid the under/overestimation of prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: A detailed knowledge of normal and abnormal findings in mpMRI of the prostate is pivotal for an accurate management of the wide spectrum of clinical scenarios that radiologists may encounter during their daily practice. TEACHING POINTS: • Some para-physiologic appearances of the prostate may mimic cancer. • Knowledge of normal and abnormal findings in prostate mpMRI is pivotal. • Any radiologist involved in prostate mpMRI reporting should be aware of pitfalls

Temperature dependence of the primary electron transfer in photosynthetic reaction centers from Rhodobacter sphaeroides

The primary electron transfer (ET) in reaction centers (RC) of Rhodobacter sphaeroides is investigated as a function of temperature with femtosecond time resolution. For temperatures from 300 to 25 K the ET to the bacteriopheophytin is characterized by a biphasic time dependence. The two time constants of τ1=3.5±0.4 ps and τ2=1.2±0.3 ps at T=300 K decrease continously with temperature to values of τ1=1.4±0.3 ps and τ2=0.3±0.15 ps at 25 K. The experimental results indicate that the ET is not thermally activated and that the same ET mechanisms are active at room and low temperatures. All observations are readily rationalized by a two-step ET model with the monomeric bacteriochlorophyll as a real electron carrier

CDK9-mediated transcription elongation is required for MYC addiction in hepatocellular carcinoma

One-year survival rates for newly diagnosed hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are <50%, and unresectable HCC carries a dismal prognosis owing to its aggressiveness and the undruggable nature of its main genetic drivers. By screening a custom library of shRNAs directed toward known drug targets in a genetically defined Myc-driven HCC model, we identified cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (Cdk9) as required for disease maintenance. Pharmacological or shRNA-mediated CDK9 inhibition led to robust anti-tumor effects that correlated with MYC expression levels and depended on the role that both CDK9 and MYC exert in transcription elongation. Our results establish CDK9 inhibition as a therapeutic strategy for MYC-overexpressing liver tumors and highlight the relevance of transcription elongation in the addiction of cancer cells to MYC. © 2014 Huang et al

Silencing of Vlaro2 for chorismate synthase revealed that the phytopathogen Verticillium longisporum induces the cross-pathway control in the xylem

The first leaky auxotrophic mutant for aromatic amino acids of the near-diploid fungal plant pathogen Verticillium longisporum (VL) has been generated. VL enters its host Brassica napus through the roots and colonizes the xylem vessels. The xylem contains little nutrients including low concentrations of amino acids. We isolated the gene Vlaro2 encoding chorismate synthase by complementation of the corresponding yeast mutant strain. Chorismate synthase produces the first branch point intermediate of aromatic amino acid biosynthesis. A novel RNA-mediated gene silencing method reduced gene expression of both isogenes by 80% and resulted in a bradytrophic mutant, which is a leaky auxotroph due to impaired expression of chorismate synthase. In contrast to the wild type, silencing resulted in increased expression of the cross-pathway regulatory gene VlcpcA (similar to cpcA/GCN4) during saprotrophic life. The mutant fungus is still able to infect the host plant B. napus and the model Arabidopsis thaliana with reduced efficiency. VlcpcA expression is increased in planta in the mutant and the wild-type fungus. We assume that xylem colonization requires induction of the cross-pathway control, presumably because the fungus has to overcome imbalanced amino acid supply in the xylem

Auctions for Renewable Energy Support II - First insights and results of the Horizon2020 project AURES II

This is the final version. Available from Funcas via the link in this recordThe Horizon2020 project AURES II aims at ensuring the effective implementation of auctions for renewable energies in the EU Member States (MS). In recent years, auction schemes for the allocation of support for renewable electricity sources (RES) have been advancing rapidly across Europe. Auctions are considered to have brought down support levels and increased planning capability for RES deployment and state budgets. In some unfortunate cases, they have, however, also resulted in delayed or unrealised projects and increased uncertainty for project developers. A variety of auction designs are still being tested and introduced in EU MS, as well as foreseen by European legislation. Therefore, there is still a need for further assessment and improvement of national auction design and implementation to ensure the future success of RES auctions in Europe. Applying different qualitative and quantitative methods in the various work packages (WPs), the AURES II project partners have already drafted and published a large number of reports and studies. This article aims at comprehensively presenting these results and provide a first overview.European Union Horizon 202