Raman microscopy of porcine inner retinal layers from the area centralis.

Purpose: To characterize the Raman spectra of porcine inner retinal layers, specifically, the inner nuclear, inner plexiform, ganglion cell, and nerve fiber layers.

Methods: Raman microscopy was employed at three excitation wavelengths, 785, 633, and 514 nm to measure Raman spectra in a high resolution grid across the inner layers of 4% paraformaldehyde cryoprotected porcine retina. Multivariate statistics were used to summarize the principal spectral signals within those layers and to map the distribution of each of those signals.

Isolation of retinal progenitor and stem cells from the porcine eye.

Purpose: Retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) and retinal stem cells (RSCs) from rodents and humans have been isolated and characterized in vitro. Transplantation experiments have confirmed their potential as tools for cell replacement in retinal degenerative diseases. The pig represents an ideal pre-clinical animal model to study the impact of transplantation because of the similarity of its eye to the human eye.

Racial/ethnic differences in survival among elderly patients with a primary glioblastoma.

Background: Few studies have assessed racial/ethnic differences in survival after primary glioblastoma diagnosis. We investigate these differences, incorporating information on White, Hispanics and Asians, as well as White, non-Hispanics and Blacks, among elderly individuals with a primary glioblastoma utilizing the population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program-Medicare linked database.

Methods: A total of 1,530 individuals diagnosed > = 66 years of age from 6/1/91 to 12/31/99 in the SEER data were linked with Medicare information from 1/1/91 to 12/31/01.

Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum.

The circulation of the deep Atlantic Ocean during the height of the last ice age appears to have been quite different from today. We review observations implying that Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum was neither extremely sluggish nor an enhanced version of present-day circulation. The distribution of the decay products of uranium in sediments is consistent with a residence time for deep waters in the Atlantic only slightly greater than today.

Loss of the mismatch repair protein MSH6 in human glioblastomas is associated with tumor progression during temozolomide treatment.

Purpose: Glioblastomas are treated by surgical resection followed by radiotherapy [X-ray therapy (XRT)] and the alkylating chemotherapeutic agent temozolomide. Recently, inactivating mutations in the mismatch repair gene MSH6 were identified in two glioblastomas recurrent post-temozolomide. Because mismatch repair pathway inactivation is a known mediator of alkylator resistance in vitro, these findings suggested that MSH6 inactivation was causally linked to these two recurrences.

The use of Raman microscopy to determine and localize vitamin E in biological samples.

Alpha-tocopherol (aT), the predominant form of vitamin E in mammals, is thought to prevent oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids. In the lung, aT is perceived to be accumulated in alveolar type II cells and secreted together with surfactant into the epithelial lining fluid. Conventionally, determination of aT and related compounds requires extraction with organic solvents.

Gulf Stream density structure and transport during the past millennium.

The Gulf Stream transports approximately 31 Sv (1 Sv = 10(6) m(3) s(-1)) of water and 1.3 x 10(15) W of heat into the North Atlantic ocean. The possibility of abrupt changes in Gulf Stream heat transport is one of the key uncertainties in predictions of climate change for the coming centuries.

Impact of a PDA-based diabetes electronic management system in a primary care office.

The objective was to determine if a personal digital assistant (PDA) diabetes management system improves processes and outcomes of diabetes care in a primary care setting. Outcomes and processes of care were compared between and within 2 groups of patients with type II diabetes. The intervention group of 58 patients was managed for 16 months with the aid of a PDA diabetes management system.

Single-fraction stereotactic radiosurgery for intracranial targets.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a technique for treating intracranial lesions with a high dose of ionizing radiation, usually in a single session, using a stereotactic apparatus for accurate localization and patient immobilization. This article describes several modalities of SRS and some of its applications, particularly for intracranial lesions.

Resection of a dominant-hemisphere intraventricular meningioma facilitated by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Case report.

Intraventricular meningiomas of the lateral ventricle occur relatively rarely, but they are often large at the time of detection and present more commonly on the left side. Although the ability to resect these tumors safely has greatly improved over time, standard surgical approaches often traverse cortex close to areas of specific cortical function. Precise cortical mapping of language and sensorimotor cortices can be accomplished noninvasively by using functional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging.

Links between annual, Milankovitch and continuum temperature variability.

Climate variability exists at all timescales-and climatic processes are intimately coupled, so that understanding variability at any one timescale requires some understanding of the whole. Records of the Earth's surface temperature illustrate this interdependence, having a continuum of variability following a power-law scaling. But although specific modes of interannual variability are relatively well understood, the general controls on continuum variability are uncertain and usually described as purely stochastic processes.

Subcutaneous transplantation of islets into streptozocin-induced diabetic rats.

Pancreatic islet transplantation into type 1 diabetic patients is currently being performed by intraportal infusion. This method, albeit reproducible, has some disadvantages including potential development of portal hypertension, hemorrhage, and an inability to retrieve or detect the transplanted tissue. Other transplant sites have been examined in animal models including the omentum, peritoneal cavity, and the spleen.

Stereotactic interstitial radiosurgery for cerebral metastases.

Object: The Photon Radiosurgery System (PRS) is a miniature x-ray generator that can stereotactically irradiate intracranial tumors by using low-energy photons. Treatment with the PRS typically occurs in conjunction with stereotactic biopsy, thereby providing diagnosis and treatment in one procedure. The authors review the treatment of patients with brain metastases with the aid of the PRS and discuss the indications, advantages, and limitations of this technique.

Effect of excitation wavelength on the Raman spectroscopy of the porcine photoreceptor layer from the area centralis.

Purpose: Raman microscopy, based upon the inelastic scattering (Raman) of light by molecular species, has been applied as a specific structural probe in a wide range of biomedical samples. The purpose of the present investigation was to assess the potential of the technique for spectral characterization of the porcine outer retina derived from the area centralis, which contains the highest proportion of cone:rod cell ratio in the pig retina.

Methods: Retinal cross-sections, immersion-fixed in 4% (w/v) PFA and cryoprotected, were placed on salinized slides and air-dried prior to direct Raman microscopic analysis at three excitation wavelengths, 785 nm, 633 nm, and 514 nm.

Craniotomy for meningioma in the United States between 1988 and 2000: decreasing rate of mortality and the effect of provider caseload.

Object: The goal of this study was to determine the risk of adverse outcomes after contemporary surgical treatment of meningiomas in the US and trends in patient outcomes and patterns of care.

Methods: The authors performed a retrospective cohort study by using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample covering the period of 1988 to 2000. Multivariate regression models with disposition end points of death and hospital discharge were used to test patient, surgeon, and hospital characteristics, including volume of care, as outcome predictors.

Rapidly rising incidence of cerebrospinal fluid shunting procedures for idiopathic intracranial hypertension in the United States, 1988-2002.

Objective: Obesity, a major risk factor for idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH), is rapidly increasing in all ages of the United States population. We studied trends in the incidence of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts for IIH in the United States between 1988 and 2002, using a national hospital discharge database.

Methods: This was a retrospective study using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and robust weighted least-squares regression, adjusted for stratified survey methodology.

Spinal epidural abscess: clinical presentation, management, and outcome.

Background: We sought to describe the clinical characteristics of patients with spinal epidural abscess and to relate presentation and treatment to short-term clinical and neurologic outcome.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records and radiographic images of all patients admitted to our institution with a diagnosis of spinal epidural abscess between January 1995 and March 2001.

Results: Thirty males and 18 females were admitted with spinal epidural abscess.

Factors associated with outcome after hemicraniectomy for large middle cerebral artery territory infarction.

Objective: Large or malignant middle cerebral artery infarction is associated with a high mortality rate. Hemicraniectomy reduces intracranial pressure and has been demonstrated to increase survival. Questions remain regarding selection of patients for surgery and functional outcomes.

Surgery for primary supratentorial brain tumors in the United States, 1988 to 2000: the effect of provider caseload and centralization of care.

Contemporary reports of patient outcomes after biopsy or resection of primary brain tumors typically reflect results at specialized centers. Such reports may not be representative of practices in nonspecialized settings. This analysis uses a nationwide hospital discharge database to examine trends in mortality and outcome at hospital discharge in 38,028 admissions for biopsy or resection of supratentorial primary brain tumors in adults between 1988 and 2000, particularly in relation to provider caseload.

Effect of reserpine on the generation of the chromogranin A-derived neuropeptide WE-14 in rat oxyntic mucosa.

WE-14, a post-translational product of the neuroendocrine protein chromogranin A (CgA), is generated in distinct subpopulations of endocrine cells. The objective of this study was to investigate the generation of WE-14 in the endocrine cell types of the oxyntic mucosa of the stomach, after treatment with reserpine, an irreversible inhibitor of vesicular monoamine uptake 2 (VMAT2). Reserpine (10 mg/kg) was administered subcutaneously and tissue analysed 1, 3, 5 and 18 h following treatment.

Computed tomographic demonstrated infarcts after surgical and endovascular treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background: Cerebral infarction is a sequela of vasospasm. Other etiologies for infarction after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), however, have not been well-studied. To determine the incidence and etiologies for infarction after SAH, we reviewed the head CT scans of all SAH patients at our center from 1993-2000.

Preparation of planar retinal specimens: verification by histology, mRNA profiling, and proteome analysis.

Purpose: Elucidation of the transcriptome and proteome of the normal retina will be difficult since it is comprised of at least 55 different cell types. However the characteristic layered cellular anatomy of the retina makes it amenable to planar sectioning, enabling the generation of enriched retinal cell populations. The aim of this study was to validate a reproducible method for preparing enriched retinal layers from porcine retina.