bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Composite Autogeneic Human Cranioplasty: Frozen Skull Supplemented with Fresh Iliac Corticocancellous Bone
Authors: Prolo Donald J. , Oklund Sally A. 
Published: August 2004

Abstract

Skull totally exteriorized during craniotomy becomes nonviable. Resorption of the reimplanted cranial section occurs variably according to its treatment, the properties of the recipient bed, and the metabolic conditions of the host. Neurosurgeons commonly deep freeze autogeneic skull for preservation before delayed autogeneic cranioplasty. Aseptic necrosis commonly follows replacement of the autograft in its former cranial bed. This clinical study of six patients represents an attempt to block this destructive resorption by supplementing the frozen autograft with fresh corticocancellous autogeneic ilium. Observations of these patients ranging in age from 12 to 52 years support the following conclusions: (a) Osteogenesis was not enhanced by the addition of fresh corticocancellous bone to the frozen autoimplant. (b) The period of time that the autoimplant was frozen did not influence its subsequent biological behavior after cranioplasty. (c) Sterilization with ethylene oxide and in one case additional gamma irradiation did not impair the quality of the implant compared to those not sterilized. (d) Resorption occurred in both frozen and fresh but devitalized autogeneic skull. (e) Autogeneic skull is repaired by osteoconduction rather than by inducing competent perivascular stem cells to become osteogenic. (f) Freezing of autogeneic skull for preservation is practical, acceptable, but suboptimal from the perspectives of cerebral protection and cosmetic reconstruction. (g) The supplementation of the frozen autoimplant with fresh corticocancellous bone increases operating time and patient discomfort without affording additional benefit.
Experimental Carbon Dioxide Laser Brain Lesions and Intracranial Dynamics: Part 1
Authors: Tiznado Ernesto , James Hector E. , Kemper Cecilia , Wood James H. 
Published: August 2004

Abstract

Experimental brain lesions were created in the left parietooccipital cortex of the albino rabbit through the intact dura mater with high radiating carbon dioxide laser energy (40-watt impacts of 0.5-second duration for a total of 4 seconds on a 12.5-mm surface). Behavior, intracranial pressure (ICP), systolic arterial pressure (SAP), central venous pressure (CVP), electroencephalography (EEG), and gross pathology were studied at 2, 6, and 24 hours after the insult at a constant PaCO2 (38-42 torr). Disruption of the blood-brain barrier (Evans blue extravasation) was uniformly seen extending from the impact crater into the surrounding white matter in all groups. The ICP was elevated in shamoperated animals at 2 hours after the impact, and it remained elevated at 6 and 24 hours. The EEG revealed severe slowing with high voltage waves in the insulted left hemisphere. There was no change in mean SAP or CVP when compared to the sham-operated group. In the dexamethasone-pretreated group, there was a reduction of ICP when compared to the untreated group at 24 hours after the insult (P&lt;0.005), but no changes in the gross pathology were noted. (Neurosurgery 16:5–8, 1985)
Brain Stem Auditory Evoked Potentials in Arnold-Chiari Malformation: Possible Prognostic Value and Changes with Surgical Decompression
Authors: Holliday Peter O. , Pillsbury David , Kelly David L. , Dillard Robert 
Published: August 2004

Abstract

Symptomatic Arnold-Chiari malformation (Chiari II) is a recently described clinical entity, the natural history and surgical management of which remain controversial. The brain stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs) have been described as abnormal in 50 to 86% of children with myelomeningocele. We present the case of a full-term infant with myelomeningocele, shunted hydrocephalus, and Chiari II malformation who was surgically treated by decompression when she was 3 weeks old. BAEPs recorded immediately after decompression showed dramatic improvement over BAEPs recorded immediately before decompression, an improvement that could not be attributed to maturation of the central nervous system. It is postulated that in further large series the degree of abnormality in BAEPs may be of value in predicting the clinical course of these patients. The current status of BAEPs as they apply to the evaluation of posterior fossa anomalies is reviewed. (Neurosurgery 16:48–53, 1985)
Air Embolism through a Ventriculoatrial Shunt during Posterior Fossa Operation: Case Report
Authors: Nehls Daniel G. , Carter Philip L. 
Published: August 2004

Abstract

An unusual complication of air embolism through a ventriculoatrial shunt occurred in a patient undergoing posterior fossa operation in the sitting position. Because ventriculoatrial shunts are uncommon, this potential complication may not be widely recognized. A case is presented and the clinical aspects are discussed. (Neurosurgery 16:83–84, 1985)
Intracranial Mucocele Mimicking Arachnoid Cyst: Case Report
Authors: Tamas Laszlo B. , Wyler Allen R. 
Published: August 2004

Abstract

We describe a patient presenting with adult onset seizures whose computed tomographic scan was highly suggestive of arachnoid cyst. The cyst was removed by craniotomy and was found to be a mucocele on histological examination. During operation, no connection to the frontal sinus had been found. The very unusual combination of findings and their clinical implications are discussed. (Neurosurgery 16:85–86, 1985)
Cystic Meningiomas: Report of Two Cases
Authors: Aydin Yunus , Yolas Coskun , Konte Hayrettin , Aydin Ismail Hakki 
Published: August 2004

Abstract

Cyst formation with meningioma is extremely rare. Two cases of large peritumoral cystic lesions associated with intracranial meningiomas that simulated astrocytomas are presented. In each of these young patients, the cyst caused misdiagnosis pre- and intraoperatively. However, total excision was accomplished in each case. The pertinent literature is reviewed. (Neurosurgery 16:87–89, 1985)
Thoracic Chordoma in a Patient with Paraparesis and Ivory Vertebral Body
Authors: Schwarz Saul S. , Fisher Winfield S. , Pulliam Morris W. , Weinstein Zelig R. 
Published: August 2004

Abstract

Chordoma arising in the thoracic region is uncommon. Its presentation roentgenographically as an ivory vertebra has not been previously reported. Such a case is described, and a brief review of the incidence and location of spinal chordomas is given. (Neurosurgery 16:100–102, 1985)
Experimental Carbon Dioxide Laser Brain Lesions and Intracranial Dynamics: Part 2
Authors: Tiznado Ernesto G. , James Hector E. , Moore Susan 
Published: August 2004

Abstract
Experimental brain lesions were created over the left parietooccipital cortex of the albino rabbit through the intact dura mater with high radiating carbon dioxide laser energy (40-W impact, 0.5-second duration, for a total time of 4 seconds on a 12.5-mm surface). The brain water content was studied 2, 6, and 24 hours after the insult. Another two groups of animals received acute therapy with either dexamethasone (1 mg/kg) or furosemide (1 mg/kg). In all groups, Evans blue extravasation uniformly extended from the impact crater into the surrounding white matter. The brain water content in the gray matter was elevated from the control value by 2 hours after impact (P &lt; 0.005) and remained elevated at 6 and 24 hours. The white matter brain water content did not increase until 6 hours after impact and remained elevated in the 24-hour group (P &lt; 0.005). After dexamethasone treatment, there was a significant decrease of water in the gray matter (P &lt; 0.01), but not in the white matter. With furosemide therapy, there was no reduction of gray or white matter brain water.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Comparative Study of Radiofrequency Pulse Techniques in the Evaluation of Focal Cerebral Ischemia
Authors: Zabramski Joseph M. , Spetzler Robert F. , Kaufman Benjamin 
Published: August 2004

Abstract
The recently developed technique of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging utilizes radiofrequency (RF) radiation in the presence of a strong magnetic field to provide cross sectional displays of body anatomy similar to computed tomography, When utilizing MR, the operator alters tissue contrast electronically by changing RF pulse sequences. The three most frequently used RF pulse sequences are partial-saturation (PS), inversion-recovery (IR), and spin-echo (SE). We evaluated the sensitivity of these RF sequences to detect ischemic changes in our primate model. Serial MR scans were carried out using all three pulse formats 5 to 60 hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in four animals. SE- and IR-sequenced proton MR images readily identified areas of evolving infarct 5 to 6 hours after MCAO, whereas PS scans that were performed during this acute period appeared normal. From 24 to 60 hours after MCAO, PS-sequenced scans showed focal areas of progressively decreasing signal intensity. However, SE and IR scans performed at the same intervals always demonstrated more extensive tissue changes. The basis of MR imaging, the effects of altering RF pulse sequences, and the resulting interpretation of changes observed in MR sections are presented. (Neurosurgery 16: 502-510, 1985)
Increased Cortisol Response to Surgery in Patients With Alcohol Problems Who Developed Postoperative Confusion
Authors: Kudoh Akira , Katagai Hiroshi , Takase Hajime , Takazawa Tomoko 
Published: August 2004

Background: Patients with alcohol problems often develop postoperative confusion and have impaired cortisol, ACTH, and norepinephrine. However, the relationship between neuroendocrine responses to surgical stress and postoperative confusion remains unclear in patients with alcohol problems.Methods: Plasma cortisol, ACTH, and norepinephrine concentrations during and after surgery in 30 patients with alcohol problems and 30 control patients who underwent lower abdominal surgery were measured before the induction of anesthesia, 15 and 60 min after skin incision, 60 min after the end of surgery, the next day, and the second day after the operation.Results: Plasma cortisol concentrations (21.2 ± 4.7 μg·dl−1) of patients with alcohol problems before anesthesia were significantly higher than 15.6 ± 4.8 μg·dl−1 of control patients. Plasma cortisol and ACTH responses to surgery in patients with alcohol problems were not significantly increased compared with preoperative values. The incidence of postoperative confusion was significantly higher in patients with alcohol problems than that of control patients (33% vs. 3%). Plasma cortisol concentrations (29.7 ± 7.0, 31.2 ± 6.6, 30.3 ± 8.0, and 28.4 ± 6.2 μg·dl−1) 15 and 60 min after the skin incision, 60 min after the end of surgery, and the next day after operation in postoperatively confused patients with alcohol problems were significantly higher than those of nonconfused patients with alcohol problems (23.0 ± 5.8, 22.7 ± 4.1, 22.4 ± 7.2, and 21.9 ± 5.5 μg·dl−1).Conclusion: The cortisol response to surgical stress increases in patients with alcohol problems who develop postoperative confusion, although cortisol response to surgical stress decreases in patients with alcohol problems without postoperative confusion.
Decreased Proteasome Activity Is Associated With Increased Severity of Liver Pathology and Oxidative Stress in Experimental Alcoholic Liver Disease
Authors: Donohue Terrence M. , Kharbanda Kusum K. , Casey Carol A. , Nanji Amin A. 
Published: August 2004

Background: Because of its role in degrading the bulk of intracellular proteins and eliminating damaged proteins, the proteasome is important in maintaining cell viability. Previously, we showed a 35–40% decrease in proteasome peptidase activity when ethanol was administered to rats by intragastric infusion. We hypothesized that this reduction was caused by ethanol‐elicited oxidative stress, the degree of which varies depending on the method of ethanol administration. This study examined the relationship of proteasome activity and content with ethanol‐induced oxidative stress and the degree of liver injury.Methods: Rats were given ethanol or isocaloric dextrose‐containing liquid diets by intragastric infusion for 1 month. The diets contained medium‐chain triglycerides (MCT), palm oil (PO), corn oil (CO), or fish oil (FO) as the principal source of fat.Results: Rats given ethanol and MCT exhibited no significant liver pathology, whereas cumulative pathology scores in ethanol‐fed rats given PO, CO, or FO were 2.5, 5.4 and 7.0, respectively, indicating that ethanol and FO caused the greatest liver damage. The severity of liver pathology in the last three groups of animals correlated with levels of lipid peroxides and serum 8‐isoprostanes. Alpha smooth muscle actin, an indicator of stellate cell activation, was increased relative to controls in the livers of all ethanol‐fed rats except FO‐fed animals, in which both control and ethanol‐fed rats had similar levels of this protein. In livers of CO and FO ethanol‐fed rats, proteasome chymotrypsin‐like activity was decreased by 55–60%, but there was no quantitative alteration in 20S proteasome subunit content. In contrast, ethanol affected neither proteasome activity nor its content in MCT‐ and PO‐treated animals.Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the severity of liver injury and ethanol‐induced oxidative stress is associated with a reduction in proteasome catalysis.
Comparison of Intracranial Self‐Administration of Ethanol Within the Posterior Ventral Tegmental Area Between Alcohol‐Preferring and Wistar Rats
Authors: Rodd Zachary A. , Bell Richard L. , Melendez Roberto I. , Kuc Kelly A. , Lumeng Lawrence , Li Ting‐Kai , Murphy James M. , McBride William J. 
Published: August 2004

Background: A previous study indicated that selectively bred alcohol‐preferring (P) rats self‐administered ethanol (EtOH) directly into the ventral tegmental area (VTA), whereas the alcohol‐nonpreferring line did not. Wistar rats will also self‐administer EtOH directly into the posterior VTA. Because Wistar rats also have a low preference for EtOH solutions but self‐inject EtOH into the VTA, this study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that there is an association between EtOH preference and sensitivity of the VTA to the reinforcing effects of EtOH.Methods: Adult P and Wistar rats were assigned to groups that received one of the following concentrations of EtOH: 0, 50, 75, 100, 150, or 200 mg/100 ml. Rats were connected to the microinjection system, placed into two‐lever (active and inactive) experimental chambers, and given EtOH for the first four sessions (acquisition), artificial cerebrospinal fluid for sessions 5 and 6 (extinction), and EtOH again in session 7 (reinstatement). Responding on the active lever produced a 100‐nl injection of the infusate.Results: P rats self‐infused 75 to 200 mg/100 ml EtOH and demonstrated lever discrimination, whereas Wistar rats reliably self‐infused only 150 and 200 mg/100 ml EtOH. Both P and Wistar rats reduced responding on the active lever when artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF) was substituted for EtOH and reinstated responding in session 7 when EtOH was restored, although P rats demonstrated a very robust enhancement of responding for 100 and 150 mg/100 ml EtOH, and this was not found for Wistar rats.Conclusions: These results suggest that, compared with Wistar rats, the posterior VTA of P rats was more sensitive to the reinforcing effects of EtOH. Furthermore, the reinstatement data suggest that the posterior VTA of P rats underwent neuronal alterations as a result of prior EtOH exposure and extinction that changed the reinforcing effects of EtOH within this region.
Epistemicism and the Combined Spectrum
Authors: Alter Torin , Rachels Stuart 
Published: August 2004

AbstractDerek Parfit's combined‐spectrum argument seems to conflict with epistemicism, a viable theory of vagueness. While Parfit argues for the indeterminacy of personhood, epistemicism denies indeterminacy. But, we argue, the linguistically based determinacy that epistemicism supports lacks the sort of normative or ontological significance that concerns Parfit. Thus, we reformulate his argument to make it consistent with epistemicism. We also dispute Roy Sorensen's suggestion that Parfit's argument relies on an assumption that fuels resistance to epistemicism, namely, that ‘the magnitude of a modification must be proportional to its effect.’
Strong Necessitarianism: The Nomological Identity of Possible Worlds
Authors: Bird Alexander 
Published: August 2004

AbstractDispositional essentialism, a plausible view about the natures of (sparse or natural) properties, yields a satisfying explanation of the nature of laws also. The resulting necessitarian conception of laws comes in a weaker version, which allows differences between possible worlds as regards which laws hold in those worlds and a stronger version that does not. The main aim of this paper is to articulate what is involved in accepting the stronger version, most especially the consequence that all possible properties exist in all worlds. I also suggest that there is no particularly strong reason for preferring the weaker to the stronger version. For example, Armstrong's instantiation condition on universals entails that according to strong necessitarianism every property is instantiated in all possible worlds. But first we do not need to accept Armstrong's instantiation condition, in part because his arguments for it are forceful only for a contingentist about laws and properties. Secondly, even if we do accept the condition, the consequence that all properties are instantiated is not itself contradictory, so long as any form of necessitarianism holds. Strong necessitarianism is prima facie counter‐intuitive. But for that matter so is weak necessitarianism. Accepting either weak or strong necessitarianism requires denying the force of intuition in this area. And indeed we have every reason to deny the force of intuition and its primary source, imagination, concerning modal facts.
Tackling the plant proteome: practical approaches, hurdles and experimental tools
Authors: Rose Jocelyn K.C. , Bashir Sajid , Giovannoni James J. , Jahn Molly M. , Saravanan Ramu Subramanian 
Published: August 2004

SummaryThe study of complex biological questions through comparative proteomics is becoming increasingly attractive to plant biologists as the rapidly expanding plant genomic and expressed sequence tag databases provide improved opportunities for protein identification. This review focuses on practical issues associated with comparative proteomic analysis, including the challenges of effective protein extraction and separation from plant tissues, the pros and cons of two‐dimensional gel‐based analysis and the problems of identifying proteins from species that are not recognized models for functional genomic studies. Specific points are illustrated using data from an ongoing study of the tomato and pepper fruit proteomes.
Dermatophagoides farinae‐specific IgG subclass responses in atopic dogs undergoing allergen‐specific immunotherapy
Authors: Hou C. C. , Nuttall T. J. , Day M. J. , Hill P. B. 
Published: August 2004

Canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) is known to involve IgE‐mediated mechanisms, but the role of IgG in the pathogenesis is less well understood. Previous studies have shown that total serum IgG concentrations are increased in CAD and suggested that a subclass of IgG, IgGd, is involved in the pathogenesis. Furthermore, induction of IgG blocking antibodies has been suggested as a possible mode of action of allergen‐specific immunotherapy (ASIT). The aim of this study was to characterize the changes in Dermatophagoides farinae (DF)‐specific total IgG and IgG subclasses during treatment of atopic dogs with ASIT. Twenty‐one dogs with confirmed atopic dermatitis and showing positive reactions to DF on intradermal testing were treated with alum‐precipitated vaccines for 9 months. Blood samples were collected before and after 3, 6, and 9 months of ASIT. Lyophilized whole‐body DF allergens were reconstituted to 1 mg/mL in sterile phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS), and SDS–PAGE was used to separate mite proteins. Separated proteins were transferred onto blotting membranes, cut into strips, and incubated with canine sera. For DF‐specific total IgG responses, strips were probed with horseradish peroxidase‐conjugated goat anti‐dog IgG and subsequently incubated with the colorimetric substrate DAB (3,3’‐diaminobenzidine). For DF‐specific IgG subclass responses, strips were probed sequentially with one of a panel of four monoclonal antibodies with specificity for each subclass, bovine anti‐mouse IgG conjugated to horseradish peroxidase, and finally, the chemiluminescent substrate ECL that was used for its higher sensitivity. Images of the positive bands were captured using Kodak Image Station, and the number of bands and their intensity was analysed by Kodak 1D Image Analysis Software. Prior to ASIT, a number of proteins of different molecular weights were recognized by antisera specific for total IgG and the subclasses IgG1 and IgG4, the most common being the high‐molecular‐weight chitinase, Df 15. There was virtually no IgG2 or IgG3 response to DF allergens. During ASIT, the total IgG response to DF allergens varied widely between dogs and could increase, decrease, fluctuate or remain the same. For each dog, the changes in total DF‐specific IgG were paralleled by equivalent changes in IgG1 and IgG4, but there was no induction of IgG2 or IgG3 antibodies. There were no significant increases in total IgG or IgG subclass responses in dogs showing a good response to ASIT. These findings suggest that atopic dogs mount an IgG1 and IgG4 response against multiple antigens of Dermatophagoides farinae, but these responses are not consistently augmented by ASIT. This suggests that successful ASIT in dogs is not associated with the production of blocking antibodies. Funding: Self‐funded.