132 research outputs found
The Occipital Emissary Vein: A Possible Marker for Pseudotumor Cerebri
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Transverse sinus stenosis can lead to pseudotumor cerebri syndrome by elevating the cerebral venous pressure. The occipital emissary vein is an inconstant emissary vein that connects the torcular herophili with the suboccipital veins of the external vertebral plexus. This retrospective study compares the prevalence and size of the occipital emissary vein in patients with pseudotumor cerebri syndrome with those in healthy control subjects to determine whether the occipital emissary vein could represent a marker of pseudotumor cerebri syndrome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cranial venous system of 46 adult patients with pseudotumor cerebri syndrome (group 1) was studied on CT venography images and compared with a group of 92 consecutive adult patients without pseudotumor cerebri syndrome who underwent venous assessment with gadolinium-enhanced 3D-T1 MPRAGE sequences (group 2). The presence of an occipital emissary vein was assessed, and its proximal (intraosseous) and distal (extracranial) maximum diameters were measured and compared between the 2 groups. Seventeen patients who underwent transverse sinus stent placement had their occipital emissary vein diameters measured before and after stent placement. RESULTS: Thirty of 46 (65%) patients in group 1 versus 29/92 (31.5%) patients in group 2 had an occipital emissary vein (P < .001). The average proximal and distal occipital emissary vein maximum diameters were significantly larger in group 1 (2.3 versus 1.6 mm, P <.005 and 3.3 versus 2.3 mm, P<.001). The average maximum diameters of the occipital emissary vein for patients who underwent transverse sinus stent placement were larger before stent placement than after stent placement: 2.6 versus 1.8 mm proximally (P<.06) and 3.7 versus 2.6 mm distally (P<.005). CONCLUSIONS: Occipital emissary veins are more frequent and larger in patients with pseudotumor cerebri syndrome than in healthy subjects, a finding consistent with their role as collateral venous pathway in transverse sinus stenosis. A prominent occipital emissary vein is an imaging sign that should raise the suspicion of pseudotumor cerebri syndrome.Fil: Hedjoudje, A.. Hospital Center University De Rouen; FranciaFil: Piveteau, A.. University Hospital of Geneva; SuizaFil: Gonzalez Campo, Cecilia. Sion Hospital; Suiza. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencias Cognitivas y Traslacional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; ArgentinaFil: Moghekar, A.. The Johns Hopkins Hospital; Estados UnidosFil: Gailloud, P.. The Johns Hopkins Hospital; Estados UnidosFil: San Millán, D.. Sion Hospital; Suiz
Influence of Enterococci and Thermophilic Starter Bacteria on Cheddar Cheese Flavour
End of Project ReportThis project set out to identify suitable enterococci and thermophilic starter strains which could be added to the cheese during manufacture (as starter adjuncts) with the specific aims of enhancing flavour during ripening as well as facilitating flavour diversity - a trait sought by many commercial Cheddar companies. This project confirmed the potential of thermophilic lactic acid strains to affect flavour when used as starter adjuncts in Cheddar cheese manufacture. Their use can also lead to the development of novel flavours. Many adjunct cultures proposed to-date to enhance Cheddar flavour are composed of strains of lactococcal starter, selected for their flavouring capacity. However, application of such strains in industry would lead to increased probability of phage attack on the primary starter. On the other hand, thermophilic lactic acid strains are phage unrelated to conventional starter and thus would not lead to the introduction of starter specific phage into the cheese plant.
A thermophilic strain from the Moorepark collection (DPC 4571) was shown to have major commercial potential as a flavour enhancer.Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marin
Magneto-Roton Modes of the Ultra Quantum Crystal: Numerical Study
The Field Induced Spin Density Wave phases observed in quasi-one-dimensional
conductors of the Bechgaard salts family under magnetic field exhibit both Spin
Density Wave order and a Quantized Hall Effect, which may exhibit sign
reversals. The original nature of the condensed phases is evidenced by the
collective mode spectrum. Besides the Goldstone modes, a quasi periodic
structure of Magneto-Roton modes, predicted to exist for a monotonic sequence
of Hall Quantum numbers, is confirmed, and a second mode is shown to exist
within the single particle gap. We present numerical estimates of the
Magneto-Roton mode energies in a generic case of the monotonic sequence. The
mass anisotropy of the collective mode is calculated. We show how differently
the MR spectrum evolves with magnetic field at low and high fields. The
collective mode spectrum should have specific features, in the sign reversed
"Ribault Phase", as compared to modes of the majority sign phases. We
investigate numerically the collective mode in the Ribault Phase.Comment: this paper incorporates material contained in a previous cond-mat
preprint cond-mat/9709210, but cannot be described as a replaced version,
because it contains a significant amount of new material dealing with the
instability line and with the topic of Ribault Phases. It contains 13 figures
(.ps files
Sign reversals of the quantum Hall effect and helicoidal magnetic-field-induced spin-density waves in quasi-one-dimensional organic conductors
We study the effect of umklapp scattering on the magnetic-field-induced
spin-density-wave phases, which are experimentally observed in the
quasi-one-dimensional organic conductors of the Bechgaard salts family. Within
the framework of the quantized nesting model, we show that umklapp processes
may naturally explain sign reversals of the quantum Hall effect (QHE) observed
in these conductors. Moreover, umklapp scattering can change the polarization
of the spin-density wave (SDW) from linear (sinusoidal SDW) to circular
(helicoidal SDW). The QHE vanishes in the helicoidal phases, but a
magnetoelectric effect appears. These two characteristic properties may be
utilized to detect the magnetic-field-induced helicoidal SDW phases
experimentally.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 3 figure
Sign reversals of the Quantum Hall Effect in quasi-1D conductors
The sign reversals of the Quantum Hall Effect observed in
quasi-one-dimensional conductors of the Bechgaard salts family are explained
within the framework of the quantized nesting model. The sequence of reversals
is driven by slight modifications of the geometry of the Fermi surface. It is
explained why only even phases can have signign reversals and why negative
phases are less stable than positive ones.Comment: 4 LaTex pages, 3 Postscript figure
Collective modes in a system with two spin-density waves: the `Ribault' phase of quasi-one-dimensional organic conductors
We study the long-wavelength collective modes in the magnetic-field-induced
spin-density-wave (FISDW) phases experimentally observed in organic conductors
of the Bechgaard salts family, focusing on phases that exhibit a sign reversal
of the quantum Hall effect (Ribault anomaly). We have recently proposed that
two SDW's coexist in the Ribault phase, as a result of Umklapp processes. When
the latter are strong enough, the two SDW's become circularly polarized
(helicoidal SDW's). In this paper, we study the collective modes which result
from the presence of two SDW's. We find two Goldstone modes, an out-of-phase
sliding mode and an in-phase spin-wave mode, and two gapped modes. The sliding
Goldstone mode carries only a fraction of the total optical spectral weight,
which is determined by the ratio of the amplitude of the two SDW's. In the
helicoidal phase, all the spectral weight is pushed up above the SDW gap. We
also point out similarities with phase modes in two-band or bilayer
superconductors. We expect our conclusions to hold for generic two-SDW systems.Comment: Revised version, 25 pages, RevTex, 7 figure
Effect of umklapp scattering on the magnetic-field-induced spin-density waves in quasi-one-dimensional organic conductors
We study the effect of umklapp scattering on the magnetic-field-induced
spin-density-wave (FISDW) phases which are experimentally observed in the
quasi-one-dimensional organic conductors of the Bechgaard salts family. Within
the framework of the quantized nesting model, we show that the transition
temperature is determined by a modified Stoner criterion which includes the
effect of umklapp scattering. We determine the SDW polarization (linear or
circular) by analyzing the Ginzburg-Landau expansion of the free energy. We
also study how umklapp processes modify the quantum Hall effect (QHE) and the
spectrum of the FISDW phases. We find that umklapp scattering stabilizes phases
which exhibit a sign reversal of the QHE, as experimentally observed in the
Bechgaard salts. These ``negative'' phases are characterized by the
simultaneous existence of two SDWs with comparable amplitudes. As the umklapp
scattering strength increases, they may become helicoidal (circularly polarized
SDWs). The QHE vanishes in the helicoidal phases, but a magnetoelectric effect
appears. These two characteristic properties may be utilized to detect the
magnetic-field-induced helicoidal SDW phases experimentally.Comment: Revtex, 27 pages, 9 figure
Enteric methane emissions in response to ruminal inoculation of Propionibacterium strains in beef cattle fed a mixed diet
Fully relativistic calculation of magnetic properties of Fe, Co and Ni adclusters on Ag(100)
We present first principles calculations of the magnetic moments and magnetic
anisotropy energies of small Fe, Co and Ni clusters on top of a Ag(100) surface
as well as the exchange-coupling energy between two single adatoms of Fe or Co
on Ag(100). The calculations are performed fully relativistically using the
embedding technique within the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method. The magnetic
anisotropy and the exchange-coupling energies are calculated by means of the
force theorem. In the case of adatoms and dimers of iron and cobalt we obtain
enhanced spin moments and, especially, unusually large orbital moments, while
for nickel our calculations predict a complete absence of magnetism. For larger
clusters, the magnitudes of the local moments of the atoms in the center of the
cluster are very close to those calculated for the corresponding monolayers.
Similar to the orbital moments, the contributions of the individual atoms to
the magnetic anisotropy energy strongly depend on the position, hence, on the
local environment of a particular atom within a given cluster. We find strong
ferromagnetic coupling between two neighboring Fe or Co atoms and a rapid,
oscillatory decay of the exchange-coupling energy with increasing distance
between these two adatoms.Comment: 8 pages, ReVTeX + 4 figures (Encapsulated Postscript), submitted to
PR
Contemporary snapshot of tumor regression grade (TRG) distribution in locally advanced rectal cancer: a cross sectional multicentric experience.
Pre-operative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) followed by surgical resection is still the standard treatment for locally advanced low rectal cancer. Nowadays new strategies are emerging to treat patients with a complete response to pre-operative treatment, rendering the optimal management still controversial and under debate. The primary aim of this study was to obtain a snapshot of tumor regression grade (TRG) distribution after standard CRT. Second, we aimed to identify a correlation between clinical tumor stage (cT) and TRG, and to define the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the restaging setting. Between January 2017 and June 2019, a cross sectional multicentric study was performed in 22 referral centers of colon-rectal surgery including all patients with cT3-4Nx/cTxN1-2 rectal cancer who underwent pre-operative CRT. Shapiro-Wilk test was used for continuous data. Categorical variables were compared with Chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test, where appropriate. Accuracy of restaging MRI in the identification of pathologic complete response (pCR) was determined evaluating the correspondence with the histopathological examination of surgical specimens.In the present study, 689 patients were enrolled. Complete tumor regression rate was 16.9%. The "watch and wait" strategy was applied in 4.3% of TRG4 patients. A clinical correlation between more advanced tumors and moderate to absent tumor regression was found (p = 0.03). Post-neoadjuvant MRI had low sensibility (55%) and high specificity (83%) with accuracy of 82.8% in identifying TRG4 and pCR.Our data provided a contemporary description of the effects of pre-operative CRT on a large pool of locally advanced low rectal cancer patients treated in different colon-rectal surgical centers
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