Clinical and Neurophysiological Changes in Patients with Pineal Region Expansions

In the last 20 years neurological and neurosurgical follow up of our patients with pineal region expansions (118 patients) pointed to certain clinical and neurophysiological regularities. We performed retrospective study which included 84 patients with pineal region expansions in the period from 1992 to 2009. The study included 55 women and 29 men, mean age 30.08±13.93 years, with positive brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – 70 patients (83.4%) had simple pineal gland cysts, and 14 patients (16.67%) had expansive process in pineal region with compressive effect. All patients had headache, while 32 patients (38%) had epileptic phenomena – primary generalized seizures. Patients had common electroencephalography (EEG) pattern with paroxysmal discharges of 3Hz (or more than 3 Hz) spike-and-wave complexes. Operation with supracerebellar infratentorial approach was performed in 70 patients. In most of our patients indication for the operation was established based on the size of the cyst (15 mm or more), with the signs of compression on the quadrigeminal plate and compression of the surrounding veins, which could result in seizures and EEG changes verified in our group of patients. Pathohistological analysis revealed pineocytomas in 11 cases (15.71%), pinealoblastomas in 2 cases (2.86%), one case of teratoma (1.43%), while 56 patients had pineal gland cysts (80%). Following surgery clinical condition improved in all patients – patients became seizure-free and headaches significantly decreased. Other symptoms including diplopiae, nausea, vomiting, vertigo as well as blurred vision also disappeared. There were no complications after surgical procedures. This study points to often appearance of seizures that clinically and neurophysiologically present as primary generalized epilepsy in patients with pineal region expansions. Our hypotheses are that mass effect on the surrounding veins that affects normal perfusion, compressive effect on the quadrigeminal plate and the aqueduct of the midbrain, hemosiderin deposists, as well as secretion disturbances of anticonvulsive agent melatonin can be involved in the pathogenesis of seizures.We suggest to perform high resolution brain MRI with special demonstration of pineal region in all young patients that have seizures and specific EEG changes

Métodos secuenciales de Monte Carlo aplicados a modelos ocultos de Markov con proceso de estado y de medición correlacionados

En el marco del filtrado Bayesiano, se presenta un modelo en el cual el proceso de medición y el estado siguiente son condicionalmente dependientes, dado el conjunto de observaciones pasadas y el estado actual. Además se busca la distribución de predicción para este modelo, y la distribución de filtrado se halla con una simple actualización a partir de la de predicción. La distribución requerida se aproxima utilizando el muestreo secuencial de importancia, y la distribución queda representada por un conjunto de muestras aleatorias, que son obtenidas a partir de una función de importancia, y se le asigna a las mismas un peso de acuerdo a su relevancia.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Métodos secuenciales de Monte Carlo aplicados a modelos ocultos de Markov con proceso de estado y de medición correlacionados

En el marco del filtrado Bayesiano, se presenta un modelo en el cual el proceso de medición y el estado siguiente son condicionalmente dependientes, dado el conjunto de observaciones pasadas y el estado actual. Además se busca la distribución de predicción para este modelo, y la distribución de filtrado se halla con una simple actualización a partir de la de predicción. La distribución requerida se aproxima utilizando el muestreo secuencial de importancia, y la distribución queda representada por un conjunto de muestras aleatorias, que son obtenidas a partir de una función de importancia, y se le asigna a las mismas un peso de acuerdo a su relevancia.Fil: Gadze, Pedro. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería. Departamento de Electronica; ArgentinaFil: Cernuschi Frias, Bruno. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Saavedra 15. Instituto Argentino de Matemática Alberto Calderón; Argentina39 Jornadas Argentinas de Informática y11th Argentine Symposium on TechnologyBuenos AiresArgentinaSociedad Argentina de Investigación Operativa, SADIO

La vitrificación de ovocitos por método de mínimo volumen, método potencial para la criopreservación de la gameta femenina en bovinos

La producción de ganado vacuno es una de las explotaciones más importantes de nuestro país, siendo la de mayor relevancia en la producción pecuaria. Las biotecnologías asociadas a la reproducción permiten obtener mayores progresos genéticos y disminuir la incidencia de enfermedades de transmisión sexual, entre otras aplicaciones. La vitrificación es una biotecnología que permite la criopreservación de ovocitos y embriones. Consiste en el enfriamiento ultra rápido utilizando soluciones con alta concentración de sustancias crioprotectoras que evita la formación de cristales de hielo. Sin embargo, estas altas concentraciones de crioprotectores producen daño celular principalmente por su toxicidad y su efecto osmótico. Esta biotecnología está siendo utilizada ampliamente con éxito para la criopreservación de ovocitos y embriones humanos en las clínicas de fertilidad, habiendo desplazado en la práctica al congelamiento lento. En el bovino todavía no es utilizada de forma rutinaria, a pesar de que se ha demostrado que mejora la sobrevida embrionaria luego de la criopreservación respecto al congelamiento lento tradicional.Fil: Gutnisky, Cynthia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Morado, Sergio Adrián. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Gadze, Tomás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Donato, Antonella María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Cetica, Pablo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Unidad Ejecutora de Investigaciones en Producción Animal; Argentin

Clinical and Neurophysiological Changes in Patients with Pineal Region Expansions

In the last 20 years neurological and neurosurgical follow up of our patients with pineal region expansions (118 patients) pointed to certain clinical and neurophysiological regularities. We performed retrospective study which included 84 patients with pineal region expansions in the period from 1992 to 2009. The study included 55 women and 29 men, mean age 30.08±13.93 years, with positive brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) – 70 patients (83.4%) had simple pineal gland cysts, and 14 patients (16.67%) had expansive process in pineal region with compressive effect. All patients had headache, while 32 patients (38%) had epileptic phenomena – primary generalized seizures. Patients had common electroencephalography (EEG) pattern with paroxysmal discharges of 3Hz (or more than 3 Hz) spike-and-wave complexes. Operation with supracerebellar infratentorial approach was performed in 70 patients. In most of our patients indication for the operation was established based on the size of the cyst (15 mm or more), with the signs of compression on the quadrigeminal plate and compression of the surrounding veins, which could result in seizures and EEG changes verified in our group of patients. Pathohistological analysis revealed pineocytomas in 11 cases (15.71%), pinealoblastomas in 2 cases (2.86%), one case of teratoma (1.43%), while 56 patients had pineal gland cysts (80%). Following surgery clinical condition improved in all patients – patients became seizure-free and headaches significantly decreased. Other symptoms including diplopiae, nausea, vomiting, vertigo as well as blurred vision also disappeared. There were no complications after surgical procedures. This study points to often appearance of seizures that clinically and neurophysiologically present as primary generalized epilepsy in patients with pineal region expansions. Our hypotheses are that mass effect on the surrounding veins that affects normal perfusion, compressive effect on the quadrigeminal plate and the aqueduct of the midbrain, hemosiderin deposists, as well as secretion disturbances of anticonvulsive agent melatonin can be involved in the pathogenesis of seizures.We suggest to perform high resolution brain MRI with special demonstration of pineal region in all young patients that have seizures and specific EEG changes

Blockchain-IoT peer device storage optimization using an advanced time-variant multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm

The integration of Internet of Things devices onto the Blockchain implies an increase in the transactions that occur on the Blockchain, thus increasing the storage requirements. A solution approach is to leverage cloud resources for storing blocks within the chain. The paper, therefore, proposes two solutions to this problem. The first being an improved hybrid architecture design which uses containerization to create a side chain on a fog node for the devices connected to it and an Advanced Time‑variant Multi‑objective Particle Swarm Optimization Algorithm (AT‑MOPSO) for determining the optimal number of blocks that should be transferred to the cloud for storage. This algorithm uses time‑variant weights for the velocity of the particle swarm optimization and the non‑dominated sorting and mutation schemes from NSGA‑III. The proposed algorithm was compared with results from the original MOPSO algorithm, the Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm (SPEA‑II), and the Pareto Envelope‑based Selection Algorithm with region‑based selection (PESA‑II), and NSGA‑III. The proposed AT‑MOPSO showed better results than the aforementioned MOPSO algorithms in cloud storage cost and query probability optimization. Importantly, AT‑MOPSO achieved 52% energy efficiency compared to NSGA‑III. To show how this algorithm can be applied to a real‑world Blockchain system, the BISS industrial Blockchain architecture was adapted and modified to show how the AT‑MOPSO can be used with existing Blockchain systems and the benefits it provides

Patient with neuromyelitis optica and inflammatory demyelinating lesions comprising whole spinal cord from C2 level till conus: case report

BACKGROUND: Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an idiopathic, severe, inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, that causes severe optic neuritis and myelitis attacks. Early discrimination between multiple sclerosis (MS) and NMO is important, as optimum treatment for both diseases may differ considerably. ----- CASE PRESENTATION: We report a case of a patient who initially presented as longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis (LETM), having spastic upper extremities diparesis and spastic paraplegia, C2/C3 sensory level and urinary incontinence, as well as extensive inflammatory spinal cord lesions from C2 level to conus. After 5 months the patient had another attack of transverse myelitis, had electrophysiological findings consistent with optic neuritis, was seropositive for NMO-IgG (aquaporin-4 IgG) and thus fulfilled NMO diagnostic criteria. Following treatment of disease attacks with pulse corticosteroid therapy and intravenous immunoglobulins, we included oral azathioprine in a combination with oral prednisone in the therapy. Since there was no significant clinical improvement, we decided to use cyclophosphamide therapy, which resulted in good clinical improvement and gradual decrease of cord swelling. ----- CONCLUSION: In this NMO case report we wanted to emphasize the extensiveness of inflammatory spinal cord changes in our patient, from C2 level to conus. In the conclusion it is important to say that accurate, early diagnosis and distinction from MS is critical to facilitate initiation of immunosuppressive therapy for attack prevention