Limbic P300s in temporal lobe epilepsy with and without Ammon's horn sclerosis

Limbic P300 potentials can be recorded within the mesial temporal robes of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). To delineate possible mechanisms of their generation and pathological alteration, we analysed limbic P300s in 55 TLE patients with and 29 without Ammon's horn sclerosis (AHS) and correlated their amplitudes with neuronal cell counts in 30 histopathological specimens. Limbic P300 amplitudes were reduced on the side of the epileptogenic focus only in patients with AHS. Moreover, in AHS patients, limbic P300 latencies were prolonged bilaterally; and in patients with left-sided AHS, amplitudes were reduced bilaterally. Both findings suggest bilateral functional deficits in TLE with unilateral AHS. Limbic P300 areas correlated significantly with neuronal densities of dentate gyrus granule cells but not hippocampal pyramidal cells in the CA1-4 (cornu ammonia) subfields. This finding points to a potential mechanism for the bilateral effects of unilateral AHS as both dentate gyri exhibit strong reciprocal contralateral connectivity

Pop-up shops for increasing employability and contributing to civil society in times of austerity

This chapter discusses a learning and teaching unit pop-up shop rooted in experiential learning. This pop-up shop learning activity aims to increase employability and educate young learners how to contribute to civil society. The discussion offers a reflection on how lecturers’ roles are changing in response to the austerity informed UK policies and HE measures. Universities are increasingly required to generate larger numbers of enterprising, employment-ready graduates. Increased monitoring of the efficient use of public spending in HE has seen the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) bringing more focus on employability rates, which in turn help to determine university rankings. These rankings put pressure on HE senior management, which is then passed down through the hierarchy to lecturers. The detailed guidance on how to run pop-up shops offers a pragmatic answer to the outlined challenges to inspire lecturers to develop their learning and teaching strategies. Particular attention is paid to developing reflective skills in learners.N/

Anatomic Variations of the Intrahepatic Bile Ducts: Analysis of Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography in 1,011 Consecutive Patients

Objectives: The aim of the study was to evaluate the frequency of anatomic variations of the hepatic duct bifurcation using magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Methods: A total of 1,160 consecutive patients, referred to our department for MRCP due to suspected pancreatobiliary disease or before liver transplantation, were reviewed retrospectively. A total of 149 patients with less than optimal results due to imaging limitations or secondary differentiations of bile duct anatomy were excluded from the study. The final study population was composed of 1,011 cases. Results: Of the 1,160 patients, 149 were excluded from the analysis. Typical biliary anatomy was observed in 79.4% of cases, but female potential living liver donors more frequently presented an anatomic variation. Typical anatomy was present in 75.7% of the females and 85.3% of the males (p < 0.05). Out of the remaining 1,011 patients, 208 (20.57%) were diagnosed with different levels of various anatomic variations of the intra-and extrahepatic biliary ducts. Of the 208 cases with diagnosed variations, 204 (98.07%) and 4 (1.92%) turned out to have 1 and 2 different variations, respectively. The trifurcation variant was observed in 81 cases (8.01%), while 73 subjects (7.23%) had an aberrant right biliary duct draining into the common hepatic duct. A right dorsocaudal branch draining into the left hepatic duct was present in 42 cases (4.15%). Four cases (0.4%) had 2 different variations and 8 (0.8%) had uncommon anatomic variations. Conclusions: Typical intrahepatic biliary anatomy is present in about 80% of the inhabitants of the Aegean region of Turkey, but anatomic variants seem to be more frequent in females as compared to males. Trifurcation was the most common anatomic variation in our study population. The presence of an aberrant right hepatic duct emptying into the common hepatic duct was the second most common observation amongst our findings. (C) 2014 S. Karger AG, Base