Primary cervical malignant teratoma with a rib metastasis in an adult: Five-year survival after surgery and chemotherapy: A case report with a review of the literature

We report a case of a man presenting with a cervical malignant teratoma and a chondrosarcomatous rib metastasis. He was alive and free of recurrence five years and 10 months (= 70 months) after resection of the primary mass, followed by chemotherapy and subsequent resection of the rib tumor. This is the 35th patient reported in the literature and the first description in which an ‘adjuvant' or primary chemotherapy was used. Previous patients with a cervical malignant teratoma, reported after lethal outcome, had survivals of one to 22 months (median nine months). In all patients with a preoperative clinical impression of an aggressive, differentiated or undifferentiated malignancy, the definite diagnosis of teratoma could only be made histologically. By analogy to germ cell tumors, the prognosis of malignant teratoma might be improved if complete excision is combined with new, adjuvant chemotherapy protocols for germ cell tumors. Lessons learned from this case are placed in the context of germ cell tumors in general and of non-gonadal malignant teratomas in particula

MIPAS IMK/IAA CFC-11 (CCl3F) and CFC-12 (CCl2F2) Measurements: Accuracy, Precision and Long-Term Stability

Profiles of CFC-11 (CCl3F) and CFC-12 (CCl2F2) of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) aboard the European satellite Envisat have been retrieved from versions MIPAS/4.61 to MI-PAS/4.62 and MIPAS/5.02 to MIPAS/5.06 level-1b data using the scientific level-2 processor run by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC), Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia (IAA). These profiles have been compared to measurements taken by the balloon-borne cryosampler, Mark IV (MkIV) and MIPAS-Balloon (MIPAS-B), the airborne MIPAS-STRatospheric aircraft (MIPAS-STR), the satellite-borne Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) and the High Resolution Dynamic Limb Sounder (HIRDLS), as well as the ground-based Halocarbon and other Atmospheric Trace Species (HATS) network for the reduced spectral resolution period (RR: January 2005-April 2012) of MIPAS. ACE-FTS, MkIV and HATS also provide measurements during the high spectral resolution period (full resolution, FR: July 2002-March 2004) and were used to validate MIPAS CFC-11 and CFC-12 products during that time, as well as profiles from the Improved Limb Atmospheric Spectrometer, ILAS-II. In general, we find that MIPAS shows slightly higher values for CFC-11 at the lower end of the profiles (below ~ 15 km) and in a comparison of HATS ground-based data and MIPAS measurements at 3 km below the tropopause. Differences range from approximately 10 to 50 pptv (~ 5-20 %) during the RR period. In general, differences are slightly smaller for the FR period. An indication of a slight high bias at the lower end of the profile exists for CFC-12 as well, but this bias is far less pronounced than for CFC-11 and is not as obvious in the relative differences between MIPAS and any of the comparison instruments. Differences at the lower end of the profile (below ~15 km) and in the comparison of HATS and MIPAS measurements taken at 3 km below the tropopause mainly stay within 10-50 pptv (corresponding to ~ 2-10% for CFC-12) for the RR and the FR period. Between similar to 15 and 30 km, most comparisons agree within 10-20 pptv (10-20 %), apart from ILAS-II, which shows large differences above similar to 17 km. Overall, relative differences are usually smaller for CFC-12 than for CFC-11. For both species -CFC-11 and CFC-12 - we find that differences at the lower end of the profile tend to be larger at higher latitudes than in tropical and subtropical regions. In addition, MIPAS profiles have a maximum in their mixing ratio around the tropopause, which is most obvious in tropical mean profiles. Comparisons of the standard deviation in a quiescent atmosphere (polar summer) show that only the CFC-12 FR error budget can fully explain the observed variability, while for the other products (CFC-11 FR and RR and CFC-12 RR) only two-thirds to three-quarters can be explained. Investigations regarding the temporal stability show very small negative drifts in MIPAS CFC-11 measurements. These instrument drifts vary between ~ 1 and 3% decade-1. For CFC-12, the drifts are also negative and close to zero up to similar to 30 km. Above that altitude, larger drifts of up to similar to 50% decade-1 appear which are negative up to similar to 35 km and positive, but of a similar magnitude, above

Weighted norm inequalities for polynomial expansions associated to some measures with mass points

Fourier series in orthogonal polynomials with respect to a measure $\nu$ on $[-1,1]$ are studied when $\nu$ is a linear combination of a generalized Jacobi weight and finitely many Dirac deltas in $[-1,1]$. We prove some weighted norm inequalities for the partial sum operators $S_n$, their maximal operator $S^*$ and the commutator $[M_b, S_n]$, where $M_b$ denotes the operator of pointwise multiplication by b \in \BMO. We also prove some norm inequalities for $S_n$ when $\nu$ is a sum of a Laguerre weight on $\R^+$ and a positive mass on $0$

Pupillary Stroop effects

We recorded the pupil diameters of participants performing the words’ color-naming Stroop task (i.e., naming the color of a word that names a color). Non-color words were used as baseline to firmly establish the effects of semantic relatedness induced by color word distractors. We replicated the classic Stroop effects of color congruency and color incongruency with pupillary diameter recordings: relative to non-color words, pupil diameters increased for color distractors that differed from color responses, while they reduced for color distractors that were identical to color responses. Analyses of the time courses of pupil responses revealed further differences between color-congruent and color-incongruent distractors, with the latter inducing a steep increase of pupil size and the former a relatively lower increase. Consistent with previous findings that have demonstrated that pupil size increases as task demands rise, the present results indicate that pupillometry is a robust measure of Stroop interference, and it represents a valuable addition to the cognitive scientist’s toolbox

Relative drifts and biases between six ozone limb satellite measurements from the last decade

As part of European Space Agency’s (ESA) climate change initiative, high vertical resolution ozone profiles from three instruments all aboard ESA’s Envisat (GOMOS, MIPAS, SCIAMACHY) and ESA’s third party missions (OSIRIS, SMR, ACE-FTS) are to be combined in order to create an essential climate variable data record for the last decade. A prerequisite before combining data is the examination of differences and drifts between the data sets. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of ozone profile differences based on pairwise collocated measurements, including the evolution of the differences with time. Such a diagnosis is helpful to identify strengths and weaknesses of each data set that may vary in time and introduce uncertainties in long-term trend estimates. The analysis reveals that the relative drift between the sensors is not statistically significant for most pairs of instruments. The relative drift values can be used to estimate the added uncertainty in physical trends. The added drift uncertainty is estimated at about 3% decade$^{-1}$ (1σ). Larger differences and variability in the differences are found in the lowermost stratosphere (below 20 km) and in the mesosphere

Relative drifts and biases between six ozone limb satellite measurements from the last decade

As part of European Space Agency’s (ESA) climate change initiative, high vertical resolution ozone profiles from three instruments all aboard ESA’s Envisat (GOMOS, MIPAS, SCIAMACHY) and ESA’s third party missions (OSIRIS, SMR, ACE-FTS) are to be combined in order to create an essential climate variable data record for the last decade. A prerequisite before combining data is the examination of differences and drifts between the data sets. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of ozone profile differences based on pairwise collocated measurements, including the evolution of the differences with time. Such a diagnosis is helpful to identify strengths and weaknesses of each data set that may vary in time and introduce uncertainties in long-term trend estimates. The analysis reveals that the relative drift between the sensors is not statistically significant for most pairs of instruments. The relative drift values can be used to estimate the added uncertainty in physical trends. The added drift uncertainty is estimated at about 3% decade$^{-1}$ (1σ). Larger differences and variability in the differences are found in the lowermost stratosphere (below 20 km) and in the mesosphere

Relative Drifts and Biases Between Six Ozone Limb Satellite Measurements From the Last Decade

As part of European Space Agency\u27s (ESA) climate change initiative, high vertical resolution ozone profiles from three instruments all aboard ESA\u27s Envisat (GOMOS, MIPAS, SCIAMACHY) and ESA\u27s third party missions (OSIRIS, SMR, ACE-FTS) are to be combined in order to create an essential climate variable data record for the last decade. A prerequisite before combining data is the examination of differences and drifts between the data sets. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of ozone profile differences based on pairwise collocated measurements, including the evolution of the differences with time. Such a diagnosis is helpful to identify strengths and weaknesses of each data set that may vary in time and introduce uncertainties in long-term trend estimates. The analysis reveals that the relative drift between the sensors is not statistically significant for most pairs of instruments. The relative drift values can be used to estimate the added uncertainty in physical trends. The added drift uncertainty is estimated at about 3% decade-1 (1σ). Larger differences and variability in the differences are found in the lowermost stratosphere (below 20 km) and in the mesosphere

Assessing stimulus–stimulus (semantic) conflict in the Stroop task using saccadic two-to-one color response mapping and preresponse pupillary measures

© 2015, The Psychonomic Society, Inc. Conflict in the Stroop task is thought to come from various stages of processing, including semantics. Two-to-one response mappings, in which two response-set colors share a common response location, have been used to isolate stimulus–stimulus (semantic) from stimulus–response conflict in the Stroop task. However, the use of congruent trials as a baseline means that the measured effects could be exaggerated by facilitation, and recent research using neutral, non-color-word trials as a baseline has supported this notion. In the present study, we sought to provide evidence for stimulus–stimulus conflict using an oculomotor Stroop task and an early, preresponse pupillometric measure of effort. The results provided strong (Bayesian) evidence for no statistical difference between two-to-one response-mapping trials and neutral trials in both saccadic response latencies and preresponse pupillometric measures, supporting the notion that the difference between same-response and congruent trials indexes facilitation in congruent trials, and not stimulus–stimulus conflict, thus providing evidence against the presence of semantic conflict in the Stroop task. We also demonstrated the utility of preresponse pupillometry in measuring Stroop interference, supporting the idea that pupillary effects are not simply a residue of making a response

MIPAS IMK/IAA CFC-11 (CCl₃F) and CFC-12 (CCl₂F₂) measurements: accuracy, precision and long-term stability

Profiles of CFC-11 (CCl3F) and CFC-12 (CCl2F2) of the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) abord the European satellite Envisat have been retrieved from versions MIPAS/4.61–MIPAS/4.62 and MIPAS/5.02–MIPAS/5.06 level-1b data using the scientific level-2 processor run by Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) and Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA). These profiles have been compared to measurements taken by the balloon borne Cryosampler, Mark IV (MkIV) and MIPAS-Balloon (MIPAS-B), the airborne MIPAS stratospheric aircraft (MIPAS-STR), the satellite borne Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment Fourier transform spectrometer (ACE-FTS) and the High Resolution Dynamic Limb Sounder (HIRDLS) as well as the ground based Halocarbon and other Atmospheric Trace Species (HATS) network for the reduced spectral resolution period (RR: January 2005–April 2012) of MIPAS Envisat. ACE-FTS, MkIV and HATS also provide measurements during the high spectral resolution period (FR: July 2002–March 2004) and were used to validate MIPAS Envisat CFC-11 and CFC-12 products during that time, as well as ILAS-II profiles. In general, we find that MIPAS Envisat shows slightly higher values for CFC-11 at the lower end of the profiles (below ~ 15 km) and in a comparison of HATS ground-based data and MIPAS Envisat measurements at 3 km below the tropopause. Differences range from approximately 10–50 pptv (~ 5–20 %) during the RR period. In general, differences are slightly smaller for the FR period. An indication of a slight high-bias at the lower end of the profile exists for CFC-12 as well, but this bias is far less pronounced than for CFC-11, so that differences at the lower end of the profile (below ~ 15 km) and in the comparison of HATS and MIPAS Envisat measurements taken at 3 km below the tropopause mainly stay within 10–50 pptv (~ 2–10 %) for the RR and the FR period. Above approximately 15 km, most comparisons are close to excellent, apart from ILAS-II, which shows large differences above ~ 17 km. Overall, percentage differences are usually smaller for CFC-12 than for CFC-11. For both species – CFC-11 and CFC-12 – we find that differences at the lower end of the profile tend to be larger at higher latitudes than in tropical and subtropical regions. In addition, MIPAS Envisat profiles have a maximum in the mixing ratio around the tropopause, which is most obvious in tropical mean profiles. Estimated measurement noise alone can, in most cases, not explain the standard deviation of the differences. This is attributed to error components not considered in the error estimate and also to natural variability which always plays a role when the compared instruments do not measure exactly the same air mass. Investigations concerning the temporal stability show very small negative drifts in MIPAS Envisat CFC-11 measurements. These drifts vary between ~ 1–3 % decade−1. For CFC-12, the drifts are also negative and close to zero up to ~ 30 km. Above that altitude larger drifts of up to ~ 50 % decade−1 appear which are negative up to ~ 35 km and positive, but of a similar magnitude, above

Overt is no better than covert when rehearsing visuo-spatial information in working memory

In the present study, we examined whether eye movements facilitate retention of visuo-spatial information in working memory. In two experiments, participants memorised the sequence of the spatial locations of six digits across a retention interval. In some conditions, participants were free to move their eyes during the retention interval, but in others they either were required to remain fixated or were instructed to move their eyes exclusively to a selection of the memorised locations. Memory performance was no better when participants were free to move their eyes during the memory interval than when they fixated a single location. Furthermore, the results demonstrated a primacy effect in the eye movement behaviour that corresponded with the memory performance. We conclude that overt eye movements do not provide a benefit over covert attention for rehearsing visuo-spatial information in working memory