1,933 research outputs found
Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Chronic Globus Pallidus Internus Stimulation in Different Types of Primary Dystonia
Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the globus pallidus internus (GPi) offers a very promising therapy for medically intractable dystonia. However, little is known about the long-term benefit and safety of this procedure. We therefore performed a retrospective long-term analysis of 18 patients (age 12-78 years) suffering from primary generalized (9), segmental (6) or focal (3) dystonia (minimum follow-up: 36 months). Methods: Outcome was assessed using the Burke-Fahn-Marsden (BFM) scores (generalized dystonia) and the Tsui score (focal/segmental dystonia). Follow-up ranged between 37 and 90 months (mean 60 months). Results: Patients with generalized dystonia showed a mean improvement in the BFM movement score of 39.4% (range 0 68.8%), 42.5% (range -16.0 to 81.3%) and 46.8% (range-2.7 to 83.1%) at the 3- and 12-month, and long-term follow-up, respectively. In focal/ segmental dystonia, the mean reduction in the Tsui score was 36.8% (range 0-100%), 65.1% (range 16.7-100%) and 59.8% (range 16.7-100%) at the 3- and 12-month, and long-term follow-up, respectively. Local infections were noted in 2 patients and hardware problems (electrode dislocation and breakage of the extension cable) in 1 patient. Conclusion: Our data showed Gpi-DBS to offer a very effective and safe therapy for different kinds of primary dystonia, with a significant long-term benefit in the majority of cases. Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Base
Echo Delay and Overlap with Emitted Orientation Sounds and Doppler-shift Compensation in the Bat, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
The compensation of Doppler-shifts by the bat, Rhinolophusferrumequinum,
functions only when certain temporal relations between the echo
and the emitted orientation sound are given. Three echo configurations
were used:
a) Original orientation sounds were electronically Doppler-shifted and
played back either cut at the beginning (variable delay) or at the end (variable
duration) of the echo.
b) Artificial constant frequency echoes with variable delay or duration
were clamped to the frequency of the emitted orientation sound at different
Doppler-shifts.
c) The echoes were only partially Doppler-shifted and the Doppler-shifted
component began after variable delays or had variable durations.
With increasing delay or decreasing duration of the Doppler-shifted echo
the compensation amplitude for a sinusoidally modulated + 3 kHz Dopplershift
(modulation rate 0.08 Hz) decreases for all stimulus configurations
(Figs. 1, 2, 3).
The range of the Doppler-shift compensation system is therefore limited
by the delay due to acoustic travel time to about 4 m distance between
bat and target. In this range the overlap duration of the echo with the
emitted orientation sound is always sufficiently long, when compared with
data on the orientation pulse length during target approach from Schnitzler
(1968) (Fig. 5)
Parabolic Anderson model with a finite number of moving catalysts
We consider the parabolic Anderson model (PAM) which is given by the equation
with , where is the diffusion constant,
is the discrete Laplacian, and
is a space-time random environment that drives the equation. The solution of
this equation describes the evolution of a "reactant" under the influence
of a "catalyst" . In the present paper we focus on the case where is
a system of independent simple random walks each with step rate
and starting from the origin. We study the \emph{annealed} Lyapunov exponents,
i.e., the exponential growth rates of the successive moments of w.r.t.\
and show that these exponents, as a function of the diffusion constant
and the rate constant , behave differently depending on the
dimension . In particular, we give a description of the intermittent
behavior of the system in terms of the annealed Lyapunov exponents, depicting
how the total mass of concentrates as . Our results are both a
generalization and an extension of the work of G\"artner and Heydenreich 2006,
where only the case was investigated.Comment: In honour of J\"urgen G\"artner on the occasion of his 60th birthday,
25 pages. Updated version following the referee's comment
Киев-Еганское месторождение нефти
Рассматривается геологическое строение Киев-Еганского нефтяного месторождения Томской области, описываются его нефтеносные объекты, отмечается значение данного месторождения с точки зрения поисков нефтяных и газовых месторождений в восточном направлении
Real time probabilistic inundation forecasts using a LSTM neural network
Probabilistic inundation forecasts that consider the uncertainty in rainfall predictions are crucial for flood early warning systems to effectively manage and reduce potential risks posed by pluvial flood events. Timely generation of such forecasts is challenging with physically-based numerical models due to computational demands. In contrast, data-driven models have a relatively low computational cost and can generate results quickly, making them a promising alternative to overcome this issue. This study proposes a long short-term memory (LSTM) neural network that can predict inundation progression over time at a high spatial resolution The network is trained on 1600 hydraulic simulations conducted using a 1D2D hydraulic model. With the trained network, probabilistic inundation forecasts are generated by combining the deterministic inundation predictions of 50 ensemble members of the rainfall forecast. The model is successfully tested for temporally varying rainfall events in a rural study area, and can generate accurate probabilistic inundation forecasts within seconds
Biogenic volatile organic compound and respiratory CO₂ emissions after ¹³C-labeling: online tracing of C translocation dynamics in poplar plants
Background: Globally plants are the primary sink of atmospheric CO2, but are also the major contributor of a large spectrum of atmospheric reactive hydrocarbons such as terpenes (e.g. isoprene) and other biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC). The prediction of plant carbon (C) uptake and atmospheric oxidation capacity are crucial to define the trajectory and consequences of global environmental changes. To achieve this, the biosynthesis of BVOC and the dynamics of C allocation and translocation in both plants and ecosystems are important.
Methodology: We combined tunable diode laser absorption spectrometry (TDLAS) and proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) for studying isoprene biosynthesis and following C fluxes within grey poplar (Populus x canescens) saplings. This was achieved by feeding either 13CO2 to leaves or 13C-glucose to shoots via xylem uptake. The translocation of 13CO2 from the source to other plant parts could be traced by 13C-labeled isoprene and respiratory 13CO2 emission.
Principal Finding: In intact plants, assimilated 13CO2 was rapidly translocated via the phloem to the roots within 1 hour, with an average phloem transport velocity of 20.3±2.5 cm h21. 13C label was stored in the roots and partially reallocated to the plants’ apical part one day after labeling, particularly in the absence of photosynthesis. The daily C loss as BVOC ranged between 1.6% in mature leaves and 7.0% in young leaves. Non-isoprene BVOC accounted under light conditions for half of the BVOC C loss in young leaves and one-third in mature leaves. The C loss as isoprene originated mainly (76–78%) from recently fixed CO2, to a minor extent from xylem-transported sugars (7–11%) and from photosynthetic intermediates with slower turnover rates (8–11%).
Conclusion: We quantified the plants’ C loss as respiratory CO2 and BVOC emissions, allowing in tandem with metabolic analysis to deepen our understanding of ecosystem C flux
The economic implications of HLA matching in cadaveric renal transplantation.
Abstract
Background: The potential economic effects of the allocation of cadaveric kidneys on the basis of tissue-matching criteria are controversial. We analyzed the economic costs associated with the transplantation of cadaveric kidneys with various numbers of HLA mismatches and examined the potential economic benefits of a local, as compared with a national, system designed to minimize HLA mismatches between donor and recipient in first cadaveric renal transplantations. Methods: All data were supplied by the U.S. Renal Data System. Data on all payments made by Medicare from 1991 through 1997 for the care of recipients of a first cadaveric renal transplant were analyzed according to the number of HLA-A, B, and DR mismatches between donor and recipient and the duration of cold ischemia before transplantation. Results: Average Medicare payments for renal-transplant recipients in the three years after transplantation increased from 80,807 for kidneys with six HLA mismatches between donor and recipient, a difference of 34 percent (P\u3c0.001). By three years after transplantation, the average Medicare payments were 74,997 for those with more than 36 hours (P\u3c0.001). In simulations, the assignment of cadaveric kidneys to recipients by a method that minimized HLA mismatching within a local geographic area (i.e., within one of the approximately 50 organ-procurement organizations, which cover widely varying geographic areas) produced the largest cost savings ($4,290 per patient over a period of three years) and the largest improvements in the graft-survival rate (2.3 percent) when the potential costs of longer cold-ischemia time were considered. Conclusions: Transplantation of better-matched cadaveric kidneys could have substantial economic advantages. In our simulations, HLA-based allocation of kidneys at the local level produced the largest estimated cost savings, when the duration of cold ischemia was taken into account. No additional savings were estimated to result from a national allocation program, because the additional costs of longer cold-ischemia time were greater than the advantages of optimizing HLA matching
Foraging behavior and Doppler shift compensation in echolocating hipposiderid bats, I-Iipposideros bicolor and I-Iipposideros speoris
1. Two hipposiderid bats,H. bicolor andH. speoris, were observed in their natural foraging areas in Madurai (South India). Both species hunt close together near the foliage of trees and bushes but they differ in fine structure of preferred hunting space:H. bicolor hunts within the foliage, especially whenH. speoris is active at the same time, whereasH. speoris never flies in dense vegetation but rather in the more open area (Fig. 1, Table 1).
2. Both species emit CF/FM-sounds containing only one harmonic component in almost all echolocation situations. The CF-parts of CF/FM-sounds are species specific within a band of 127–138 kHz forH. speoris and 147–159 kHz forH. bicolor (Tables 2 and 3).
3. H. speoris additionally uses a complex harmonic sound during obstacle avoidance and during laboratory tests for Doppler shift compensation.H. bicolor consistently emits CF/FM-sounds in these same situations (Fig. 2).
4. Both hipposiderid bats respond to Doppler shifts in the returning echoes by lowering the frequency of the emitted sounds (Fig. 3). However, Doppler compensations are incomplete as the emitted frequencies are decreased by only 55% and 56% (mean values) of the full frequency shifts byH. speoris andH, bicolor, respectively.
5. The differences in Doppler shift compensation, echolocating and hunting behavior suggest thatH. speoris is less specialized on echolocation with CF/FM-sounds thanH. bicolor
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