Local resection of metanephric adenoma with kidney preservation

Metanephric adenoma (MA) is a rare renal neoplasm present at any age. Usually, a total nephrectomy is performed. Some successful partial nephrectomies or selective tumor resections are described in adults but not in children. We present here the case of a 15-month-old boy, the youngest patient yet to be reported with an MA. We performed a local resection of the tumor. Today, 2 1/2 years after surgery, we can document a favorable clinical course and normal ultrasound findings in the follow-up of the operated kidney. This case gives further evidence that organ-sparing resection of MA is feasible in selected cases. A close clinical and ultrasound follow-up is mandatory for this approach.

Global, regional, and local measures of complexity of multichannel electroencephalography in acute, neuroleptic-naive, first-break schizophrenics

Background: Schizophrenic symptoms commonly are felt to indicate a loosened coordination, i.e. a decreased connectivity of brain processes. Methods: To address this hypothesis directly, global and regional multichannel electroencephalographic (EEG) complexities (omega complexity and dimensional complexity) and single channel EEG dimensional complexities were calculated from 19-channel EEG data from 9 neuroleptic-naive, first-break, acute schizophrenics and 9 age- and sex-matched controls. Twenty artifact-free 2 second EEG epochs during resting with closed eyes were analyzed (2–30 Hz bandpass, average reference for global and regional complexities, local EEG gradient time series for single channels). Results: Anterior regional Omega-Complexity was significantly increased in schizophrenics compared with controls (p < 0.001) and anterior regional Dimensional Complexity showed a trend for increase. Single channel Dimensional Complexity of local gradient waveshapes was prominently increased in the schizophrenics at the right precentral location (p = 0.003). Conclusions: The results indicate a loosened cooperativity or coordination (vice versa: an increased independence) of the active brain processes in the anterior brain regions of the schizophrenics.

Clinical and microbiological results following nonsurgical periodontal therapy with or without local administration of piperacillin/tazobactam

OBJECTIVES We assessed if adjunct administration of piperacillin/tazobactam added clinical and microbiological treatment benefits. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-six subjects (mean age 52.1 years (SD ± 10.3)) (NS by group) with chronic periodontitis were randomly enrolled receiving subgingival debridement and the local administration of piperacillin/tazobactam (test group) or debridement alone (control group). Bleeding on probing (BOP), probing pocket depth (PPD), and microbiological counts of 74 species were studied by checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization up to month 6 after treatment. RESULTS Mean PPD changes between baseline and month 6 in the test and control groups were 1.5 and 1.8 mm, respectively (NS between groups). BOP in both groups decreased from about 80 to 40 %. At 4 and 12 weeks, lower counts of the following bacteria were found in the test group (site level): Fusobacterium species, Parvimonas micra, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Tannerella forsythia, Treponema denticola, and a composite load of nine pathogens (p < 0.001). At week 26, subjects receiving local antibiotics had a lower prevalence at tested sites for Fusobacterium nucleatum sp. polymorphum, Fusobacterium periodonticum, P. micra, and T. denticola. CONCLUSIONS At 26 weeks, treatment with or without piperacillin/tazobactam resulted in similar BOP and PPD improvements. At week 26 and at the subject level, the prevalence of 4/74 pathogens was found at lower counts in the group receiving local antibiotics. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Administration of piperacillin/tazobactam reduces the prevalence of Fusobacterium, P. micra, and T. denticola to a greater extent than debridement alone but with no short-term differences in PPD or BOP.

The von Mises-Fisher distribution of the first exit point from the hypersphere of the drifted Brownian motion and the density of the first exit time

A characterization is provided for the von Mises–Fisher random variable, in terms of first exit point from the unit hypersphere of the drifted Wiener process. Laplace transform formulae for the first exit time from the unit hypersphere of the drifted Wiener process are provided. Post representations in terms of Bell polynomials are provided for the densities of the first exit times from the circle and from the sphere.

Disentangling multiple drivers of pollination in a landscape-scale experiment

Animal pollination is essential for the reproductive success of many wild and crop plants. Loss and isolation of (semi-)natural habitats in agricultural landscapes can cause declines of plants and pollinators and endanger pollination services.We investigated the independent effects of these drivers on pollination of young cherry trees in a landscape-scale experiment. We included (i) isolation of study trees from other cherry trees (up to 350 m), (ii) the amount of cherry trees in the landscape, (iii) the isolation from other woody habitats (up to 200 m) and (iv) the amount of woody habitats providing nesting and floral resources for pollinators. At the local scale, we considered effects of (v) cherry flower density and (vi) heterospecific flower density. Pollinators visited flowers more often in landscapes with high amount of woody habitat and at sites with lower isolation from the next cherry tree. Fruit set was reduced by isolation from the next cherry tree and by a high local density of heterospecific flowers but did not directly depend on pollinator visitation. These results reveal the importance of considering the plant’s need for con-specific pollen and its pollen competition with co-flowering species rather than focusing only on pollinators’ habitat requirements and flower visita-tion. It proved to be important to disentangle habitat isolation from habitat loss, local from landscape-scale effects, and direct effects of pollen availability on fruit set from indirect effects via pollinator visitation to understand the delivery of an agriculturally important ecosystem service.

Ultrafast Relaxation Dynamics of Osmium-Polypyridine Complexes in Solution

We present steady-state absorption and emission spectroscopy and femtosecond broadband photoluminescence up-conversion spectroscopy studies of the electronic relaxation of Os(dmbp)3 (Os1) and Os(bpy)2(dpp) (Os2) in ethanol, where dmbp is 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-biypridine, bpy is 2,2′-biypridine, and dpp is 2,3-dipyridyl pyrazine. In both cases, the steady-state phosphorescence is due to the lowest 3MLCT state, whose quantum yield we estimate to be ≤5.0 × 10–3. For Os1, the steady-state phosphorescence lifetime is 25 ns. In both complexes, the photoluminescence excitation spectra map the absorption spectrum, pointing to an excitation wavelength-independent quantum yield. The ultrafast studies revealed a short-lived (≤100 fs) fluorescence, which stems from the lowest singlet metal-to-ligand-charge-transfer (1MLCT) state and decays by intersystem crossing to the manifold of 3MLCT states. In addition, Os1 exhibits a 50 ps lived emission from an intermediate triplet state at an energy 2000 cm–1 above that of the long-lived (25 ns) phosphorescence. In Os2, the 1MLCT–3MLCT intersystem crossing is faster than that in Os1, and no emission from triplet states is observed other than the lowest one. These observations are attributed to a higher density of states or a smaller energy spacing between them compared with Os1. They highlight the importance of the energetics on the rate of intersystem crossing.

Local Stereology of Tensors of Convex Bodies

In this paper, we present local stereological estimators of Minkowski tensors defined on convex bodies in ℝ d . Special cases cover a number of well-known local stereological estimators of volume and surface area in ℝ3, but the general set-up also provides new local stereological estimators of various types of centres of gravity and tensors of rank two. Rank two tensors can be represented as ellipsoids and contain information about shape and orientation. The performance of some of the estimators of centres of gravity and volume tensors of rank two is investigated by simulation.

Local formation of varved sediments in a karstic collapse depression of Lake Banyoles (NE Spain)

Banyoles is the largest and deepest lake of karstic-tectonic origin in the Iberian Peninsula. The lake comprises several circular sub-basins characteri- zed by different oxygenation conditions at their hypolimnions. The multiproxy analysis of a > 5 m long sediment core combined with high resolution seis- mic stratigraphy (3.5 kHz pinger and multi-frequency Chirp surveys), allow a precise reconstruction of the evolution of a karstic depression (named B3) until present times. Local meromictic conditions in this sub-basin have been conducive to deposition and preservation of ca. 85 cm of varved sediments since the late 19th century. The onset of these conditions is likely related to lake waters eutrophication caused by increasing farming activities in the wa- tershed. Increasing clastic input and organic productivity during the second half of the 20th century have also been recorded within the laminated sedi- ments, revealing an intensification of human impact and warmer water tem- peratures.

Neuralgia of the glossopharyngeal nerve in a patient with posttonsillectomy scarring: recovery after local infiltration of procaine-case report and pathophysiologic discussion

We describe a patient with a three-year history of severe progressive left-sided glossopharyngeal neuralgia (GPN) that failed to adequately respond to various drug therapies. The application of lidocaine spray to the posterior pharyngeal wall provided no more than short-term relief. Apart from a large hypertrophic tonsillectomy scar on the left side all clinical and radiologic findings were normal. In terms of therapeutic local anaesthesia, the hypertrophic tonsillectomy scar tissue was completely infiltrated with the local anaesthetic (LA) procaine 1%. The patient has been almost completely pain-free ever since, and the lidocaine spray is no longer needed. Six weeks after the first treatment a repeat infiltration of the tonsillectomy scar led to the complete resolution of all symptoms. The patient has become totally symptom-free without the need to take any medication now for two and a half years. This is the first report of a successful therapeutic infiltration of a tonsillectomy scar using an LA in a patient with GPN that has been refractory to medical treatment for several years. A possible explanation may be that the positive feedback loop maintaining neurogenic inflammation is disrupted and "sympathetically maintained pain" resolved by LA infiltration.

Constitutionality: Conditions for Crafting Local Ownership of Institution-Building Processes

This article presents constitutionality as a new approach for analyzing bottom-up institution-building processes emphasizing local perceptions and local agency in common pool resource management. Using four case studies—fisheries in Zambia; pasture and forestry in Mali; fisheries in Indonesia; forestry in Bolivia—this approach analyzes examples of local institution building differing from top-down imposed participation. Our analysis highlights six components of constitutionality: emic perceptions of the need for new institutions, participatory processes of negotiation, preexisting institutions as a basis for institution building, outside catalyzing agents, recognition of local knowledge, and higher level acknowledgment of the new institutions.