A blind accuracy assessment of computer-modeled forensic facial reconstruction using computed tomography data from live subjects.

A computer modeling system for facial reconstruction has been developed that employs a touch-based application to create anatomically accurate facial models focusing on skeletal detail. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the system and illustrates its accuracy and reliability with a blind study using computed tomography (CT) data of living individuals. Three-dimensional models of the skulls of two white North American adults (one male, one female) were imported into the computer system. Facial reconstructions were produced by two practitioners following the Manchester method. Two posters were produced, each including a face pool of five surface model images and the facial reconstruction. The face pool related to the sex, age, and ethnic group of the target individual and included the surface model image of the target individual. Fifty-two volunteers were asked to choose the face from the face pool that most resembled each reconstruction. Both reconstructions received majority percentage hit rates that were at least 50% greater than any other face in the pool. The combined percentage hit rate was 50% above chance (70%). A quantitative comparison of the facial morphology between the facial reconstructions and the CT scan models of the subjects was carried out using Rapidform(™) 2004 PP2-RF4. The majority of the surfaces of the facial reconstructions showed less than 2.5 mm error and 90% of the male face and 75% of the female face showed less than 5 mm error. Many of the differences between the facial reconstructions and the facial scans were probably the result of positional effects caused during the CT scanning procedure, especially on the female subject who had a fatter face than the male subject. The areas of most facial reconstruction error were at the ears and nasal tip

The Spin Structure of the Nucleon

We present an overview of recent experimental and theoretical advances in our understanding of the spin structure of protons and neutrons.Comment: 84 pages, 29 figure

STUDY OF D+ AND D- FEYNMAN X DISTRIBUTIONS IN PI- -NUCLEUS INTERACTIONS AT THE SPS

Experiment WA82 studied charm production by a pi- beam of 340 GeV/c at the CERN OMEGA' spectrometer, using a silicon microstrip vertex detector and an impact parameter trigger. Results on the x(F) distributions of D+ and D-mesons are presented and discussed. A clear excess of D- over D+, increasing at high x(F), is observed. RI Lamanna, Ernesto/C-7658-201

Modelling the Risk of Visual Field Loss Arising from Long-Term Exposure to the Antiepileptic Drug Vigabatrin: A Cross-Sectional Approach

Background: The antiepileptic drug vigabatrin has been used widely since 1989, but has only been approved for use in the US since 2009. The risk:benefit of vigabatrin is generally predicated upon an assumed frequency of associated visual field loss (VAVFL) of approximately 31 %. This estimate is based upon relatively short-term usage (up to 4–5 years) and it is essential to determine whether the frequency of VAVFL increases with longer-term usage. Objective: The aim of this study was to model, from cross-sectional evidence, over greater ranges of treatment duration and cumulative dose than previously evaluated, the risk (frequency) of VAVFL with increasing exposure to vigabatrin. Study Design and Setting This was a retrospective cohort study undertaken in a regional hospital epilepsy clinic. Patients: The cohort comprised 147 consecutive patients treated with vigabatrin for refractory complex partial (focal) seizures, who had all undergone ophthalmological examination and who had undertaken perimetry, reliably, according to a standard and robust protocol. The visual field plots were evaluated masked to treatment duration and dose. Main Outcome Measure: The risk (frequency) of VAVFL with increasing exposure to vigabatrin was modelled, from the cross-sectional evidence, by standard and plateau logistic regression. Results: The cohort comprised 80 females and 67 males (mean age 40.3 years, standard deviation 13.7). The median duration of vigabatrin exposure was 7.9 years (interquartile range 3.6–11.0, range 0.2–16.1 years); 46 patients (31 %) had received vigabatrin for over 10 years. Eighty-seven patients (59 %) exhibited VAVFL; the proportion with VAVFL was higher in males (66 %) than females (54 %). The plateau model for duration and for cumulative dose exhibited a better fit than the standard model (both p < 0.001). The modelled frequency of VAVFL increased with increasing exposure up to approximately 6 years duration and 5 kg cumulative dose, and plateaued at approximately 76 % (95 % CI 67–85) and 79 % (95 % CI 70–87), respectively. Severity of VAVFL, classified in terms of the visual field index Mean Deviation, was not significantly associated with either duration or cumulative dose of therapy. Conclusion: Clinicians and patients, in enabling informed choice, should be alert to the possible substantial increased risk:benefit for VAVFL with increasing long-term exposure to vigabatrin and the ensuing increased cost:benefit resulting from the necessary additional visual assessments

Long-term oral methylphenidate treatment in adolescent and adult rats: differential effects on brain morphology and function

Methylphenidate is a widely prescribed psychostimulant for treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents, which raises questions regarding its potential interference with the developing brain. In the present study, we investigated effects of 3 weeks oral methylphenidate (5 mg/kg) vs vehicle treatment on brain structure and function in adolescent (post-natal day [P]25) and adult (P65) rats. Following a 1-week washout period, we used multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess effects of age and treatment on independent component analysis-based functional connectivity (resting-state functional MRI), D-amphetamine-induced neural activation responses (pharmacological MRI), gray and white matter tissue volumes and cortical thickness (postmortem structural MRI), and white matter structural integrity (postmortem diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)). Many age-related differences were found, including cortical thinning, white matter development, larger dopamine-mediated activation responses and increased striatal functional connectivity. Methylphenidate reduced anterior cingulate cortical network strength in both adolescents and adults. In contrast to clinical observations from ADHD patient studies, methylphenidate did not increase white matter tissue volume or cortical thickness in rat. Nevertheless, DTI-based fractional anisotropy was higher in the anterior part of the corpus callosum following adolescent treatment. Furthermore, methylphenidate differentially affected adolescents and adults as evidenced by reduced striatal volume and myelination upon adolescent treatment, although we did not observe adverse treatment effects on striatal functional activity. Our findings of small but significant age-dependent effects of psychostimulant treatment in the striatum of healthy rats highlights the importance of further research in children and adolescents that are exposed to methylphenidate