Role of palliative CSF diversion in patients with intracranial metastatic disease and symptomatic hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus, unless treated, is one of the terminal manifestations of intracranial metastatic disease. Single lesions causing obstructive hydrocephalus are amenable to surgical resection, but in the setting of multiple lesions and communicating hydrocephalus from leptomeningeal disease, the approach to treatment is much less defined. The use of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) and ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS) has been described, but data is limited. In this review, we summarize the sparse data available in literature describing the use of CSF diversion for patients with metastatic disease presenting with hydrocephalus and neurological decline

Extent of resection and timing of surgery in adult low grade glioma

Low grade glioma is a group of WHO grade II tumours including diffuse astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, and oligoastrocytoma. Strong evidence exists in literature now to support early surgery and higher extent of safe resection in improving outcomes. In this review, we are highlighting some of the important studies done in the last few years specifically addressing timing of surgery and extent of resection

Physicochemical characterization of chitosan/agar blend gel beads prepared via the interphase method with different drying techniques.

In this study, natural and biodegradable chitosan/agar blend gel-beads were prepared via the interphase method. Agar was added to chitosan dissolved in aqueous acetic acid and stirred homogenously under a controlled temperature. With a syringe, the gel solution were added and dropped wisely to the oily phase. The gel-beads were dried at two different conditions: in the oven at 60°C, and in the freeze dryer for 12 hours. The physicochemistry of the resulting materials were subsequently characterized by fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). FTIR results confirmed the formation of intermolecular hydrogen bonding between the amino and hydroxyl groups of chitosan and the hydroxyl groups of the agar. From the TGA results, we noticed that heat stability of the chitosan/agar blend beads was high compared to its individual components. SEM micrographs showed regular shaped chitosan beads with spherical forms and rough surfaces with pores

Penyempurnaan Kecerdasan Emosional Dalam Pendidikan Islam Untuk Anak Remaja Melalui Kegiatan Spiritualitas (Didikan Shubuh)

Menurut Cooper dan Sawaf (1999), kecerdasan emosi adalah kemampuan merasakan,memahami dan secara efektif menerapkan daya dan kepekaan emosi sebagai sumber energy, informasi, koreksi dan pengaruh yang manusiawi. Pendidikan Islam sangat tepat dalam memengaruhi emosional para remaja kearah yang lebih baik dan bisa mengendalikan apa yang akan dipikirkan , diucapkan , dan lalu diperbuat. Hal ini dilakukan demi kebaikan remaja sehingga mereka tidak terjerumus ke hal yang bathil. Dengan kegiatan seperti Majlis Remaja Islam, pelaksanaan kegiatan didikan subuh , remaja lebih terarah dalam kesehariannya, bermanfaat bagi lingkungan masyarakat, keluarga, dan diri pribadi mereka. Ilmu yang didapat seperti pengayaan makna dalam Al-Quran dan Hadist ,kegiatan kesenian seperti syair dan berbagai musyawarah yang dilakukan untuk kegiatan sosial kemasyarakatan lainnya. Spiritualitas bagi para remaja dibutuhkan agar dapat membentengi diri dari tindakan maksiat dan lebih kurang meminimalisir segala bentuk penyimpangan yang ada di kehidupan mereka sehari-hari karena pemikiran dunia ini hanya sementara dan akhirat kekal untuk selamanya menjadi moto bagi kita untuk hidup secara seimbang dan tidak melalaikan dan melebihkan diantara keduanya

Current role of laser interstitial thermal therapy in the treatment of intracranial tumors

Laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is gaining popularity in the treatment of both primary and secondary intracranial tumors. The goal of LITT is to deliver thermal energy in a predictable, controlled, and minimally invasive fashion. It can be particularly valuable in patients with recurrent tumors who, due to previous radiation or surgery, may have a potentially higher risk of wound breakdown or infection with repeat craniotomy. Deep-seated lesions that are often inaccessible through open approaches (thalamus, hypothalamus, mesial basal temporal lobe, brainstem) may also be suitable targets. The experience and data published thus far on this modality is limited but growing. This review highlights the use of LITT as a primary treatment method in a variety of intracranial tumors, as well as its application as an adjunct to established surgical techniques

A new route maintenance strategy for dynamic source routing protocol

Although DSR can respond a route quickly, it yields a long delay when a route is rebuilt. This is because when source node receives RERR packet, it will try to find alternative routes from route cache. If alternative routes are not available, source node, then, will enter route discovery phase to find new routes. In this paper we introduce a new route maintenance strategy by utilizing location information. We called this new route maintenance strategy as DISTANCE (Distance baSed rouTe maintenANCE). DISTANCE works by adding another node (called bridge node) into the source list to prevent the link from failure. From the simulation result, DISTANCE improves the performance of DSR in terms of packet sending ratio and delay

Mobility models towards the performance of geographical-based route maintenance strategy in DSR

In the future, Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANET)s are expected to be deployed in myriads of scenarios having complex node mobility and connectivity dynamics. Unfortunately, these complex movement scenarios give a tough challenge to the MANET routing protocol. We reviewed some mobility models that have different mobility characteristic, and also studied the effect of these mobility models towards the performance of geographical-based route maintenance strategy in the Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) protocol

Isoprene oxidation by the gram-negative model bacterium variovorax sp. WS11

Plant-produced isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene) represents a significant portion of global volatile organic compound production, equaled only by methane. A metabolic pathway for the degradation of isoprene was first described for the Gram-positive bacterium Rhodococcus sp. AD45, and an alternative model organism has yet to be characterised. Here, we report the characterisation of a novel Gram-negative isoprene-degrading bacterium, Variovorax sp. WS11. Isoprene metabolism in this bacterium involves a plasmid-encoded iso metabolic gene cluster which differs from that found in Rhodococcus sp. AD45 in terms of organisation and regulation. Expression of iso metabolic genes is significantly upregulated by both isoprene and epoxyisoprene. The enzyme responsible for the initial oxidation of isoprene, isoprene monooxygenase, oxidises a wide range of alkene substrates in a manner which is strongly influenced by the presence of alkyl side-chains and differs from other well-characterised soluble diiron monooxygenases according to its response to alkyne inhibitors. This study presents Variovorax sp. WS11 as both a comparative and contrasting model organism for the study of isoprene metabolism in bacteria, aiding our understanding of the conservation of this biochemical pathway across diverse ecological niches

Interdiffusion Behavior of Aluminide Coated Two-Phase α2-Ti3Al/γ-TiAl Alloys at High Temperatures

Lower density materials of TiAl based intermetallic alloys have recently attracted intensive attention for the replacement of nickel-based superalloys used at high temperatures. As aluminium-rich titanium aluminide intermetallic compounds are normally brittle, two-phase α2-Ti3Al/γ-TiAl alloys have been developed. To increase the corrosion resistance of these alloy systems, an aluminide coating of TiAl3 layer is normally applied. During operation at high temperatures, however, interdiffusion between the coating and the alloy substrate can occur and decrease the TiAl3 layer thickness of the coating. The effects of temperature exposure on the growth of the TiAl2 interdiffusion zone layer on two-phase α2-Ti3Al/γ-TiAl alloys with a chemical composition of Ti-47Al-2Nb-2Cr-0.5Y-0.5Zr are presented in this paper. The exponents for kinetics and rate constant of the TiAl2 interdiffusion layer growth of this multi-component system were found under variation of temperature. The results were compared with those from other researchers