A Case of a Nonpetrous Cholesterol Granuloma Presenting as a Temporal Mass

Objective. A case of a skull base cholesterol granuloma (CG) of the squamosal temporal bone. This is the first ever reported case of CG in a well-pneumatized squamous temporal bone. Design. Case report and review of the literature. Discussion. CG is a cystic mass typically found in the petrous apex and occasionally in the paranasal sinuses and orbit. Experience with the treatment of these expansile and inflammatory processes has largely been garnered from those occurring in the petrous apex, where they are surgically drained, via a transtympanic, transmastoid, or middle fossa approach. We report a case of cholesterol granuloma situated in the temporal fossa presenting as a temporal mass. The accessible location of this particular lesion made it amenable to total excision, avoiding the need for surgical drainage and possibility for recurrence. Conclusion. This case supports the theory of pathogenesis of such lesions typically occurring where pneumatized air spaces interface with bone marrow, in this case, where the reaches of pneumatized cells in the squamous portion of the temporal bone meet diploic bone

Stochastic Reaction-diffusion Equations Driven by Jump Processes

We establish the existence of weak martingale solutions to a class of second order parabolic stochastic partial differential equations. The equations are driven by multiplicative jump type noise, with a non-Lipschitz multiplicative functional. The drift in the equations contains a dissipative nonlinearity of polynomial growth.Comment: See journal reference for teh final published versio

Compton Scattering by Nuclei

The concept of Compton scattering by even-even nuclei from giant-resonance to nucleon-resonance energies and the status of experimental and theoretical researches in this field are outlined. Nuclear Compton scattering in the giant-resonance energy-region provides information on the dynamical properties of the in-medium mass of the nucleon. The electromagnetic polarizabilities of the nucleon in the nuclear medium can be extracted from nuclear Compton scattering data obtained in the quasi-deuteron energy-region. Recent results are presented for two-body effects due to the mesonic seagull amplitude and due to the excitation of nucleon internal degrees of freedom accompanied by meson exchanges. Due to these studies the in-medium electromagnetic polarizabilities are by now well understood, whereas the understanding of nuclear Compton scattering in the Delta-resonance range is only at the beginning. Phenomenological methods how to include retardation effects in the scattering amplitude are discussed and compared with model predictions.Comment: 146 pages, 37 figures, submitted to Phys. Report

Dust and molecular shells in asymptotic giant branch stars - Mid-infrared interferometric observations of R Aql, R Aqr, R Hya, W Hya and V Hya

Mid-IR (8 - 13 micron) interferometric data of four oxygen-rich AGB stars (R Aql, R Aqr, R Hya, and W Hya) and one carbon-rich AGB star (V Hya) were obtained with MIDI/VLTI between April 2007 and September 2009. The spectrally dispersed visibility data are analyzed by fitting a circular fully limb-darkened disk (FDD). Results. The FDD diameter as function of wavelength is similar for all oxygen-rich stars. The apparent size is almost constant between 8 and 10 micron and gradually increases at wavelengths longer than 10 micron. The apparent FDD diameter in the carbon-rich star V Hya essentially decreases from 8 to 12 micron. The FDD diameters are about 2.2 times larger than the photospheric diameters estimated from K-band observations found in the literature. The silicate dust shells of R Aql, R Hya and W Hya are located fairly far away from the star, while the silicate dust shell of R Aqr and the amorphous carbon (AMC) and SiC dust shell of V Hya are found to be closer to the star at around 8 photospheric radii. Phase-to-phase variations of the diameters of the oxygen-rich stars could be measured and are on the order of 15% but with large uncertainties. From a comparison of the diameter trend with the trends in RR Sco and S Ori it can be concluded that in oxygen-rich stars the overall larger diameter originates from a warm molecular layer of H2O, and the gradual increase longward of 10 micron can be most likely attributed to the contribution of a close Al2O3 dust shell. The chromatic trend of the Gaussian FWHM in V Hya can be explained with the presence of AMC and SiC dust. The observations suggest that the formation of amorphous Al2O3 in oxygen- rich stars occurs mainly around or after visual minimum. However, no firm conclusions can be drawn concerning the mass-loss mechanism.Comment: 32 pages (including 7 pages appendix), 10 figure

Antigenic Complementarity in the Origins of Autoimmunity: A General Theory Illustrated With a Case Study of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura

We describe a novel, testable theory of autoimmunity, outline novel predictions made by the theory, and illustrate its application to unravelling the possible causes of idiopathic thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP). Pairs of stereochemically complementary antigens induce complementary immune responses (antibody or T-cell) that create loss of regulation and civil war within the immune system itself. Antibodies attack antibodies creating circulating immune complexes; T-cells attack T-cells creating perivascular cuffing. This immunological civil war abrogates the self-nonself distinction. If at least one of the complementary antigens mimics a self antigen, then this unregulated immune response will target host tissues as well. Data demonstrating that complementary antigens are found in some animal models of autoimmunity and may be present in various human diseases, especially ITP, are reviewed. Specific mechanisms for preventing autoimmunity or suppressing existing autoimmunity are derived from the theory, and critical tests proposed. Finally, we argue that Koch's postulates are inadequate for establishing disease causation for multiple-antigen diseases and discuss the possibility that current research has failed to elucidate the causes of human autoimmune diseases because we are using the wrong criteria

Conversations in Cochlear Implantation: The Inner Ear Therapy of Today

As biomolecular approaches for hearing restoration in profound sensorineural hearing loss evolve, they will be applied in conjunction with or instead of cochlear implants. An understanding of the current state-of-the-art of this technology, including its advantages, disadvantages, and its potential for delivering and interacting with biomolecular hearing restoration approaches, is helpful for designing modern hearing-restoration strategies. Cochlear implants (CI) have evolved over the last four decades to restore hearing more effectively, in more people, with diverse indications. This evolution has been driven by advances in technology, surgery, and healthcare delivery. Here, we offer a practical treatise on the state of cochlear implantation directed towards developing the next generation of inner ear therapeutics. We aim to capture and distill conversations ongoing in CI research, development, and clinical management. In this review, we discuss successes and physiological constraints of hearing with an implant, common surgical approaches and electrode arrays, new indications and outcome measures for implantation, and barriers to CI utilization. Additionally, we compare cochlear implantation with biomolecular and pharmacological approaches, consider strategies to combine these approaches, and identify unmet medical needs with cochlear implants. The strengths and weaknesses of modern implantation highlighted here can mark opportunities for continued progress or improvement in the design and delivery of the next generation of inner ear therapeutics