Comparison of Transcranial Doppler and Ultrasound-Tagged Near Infrared Spectroscopy for Measuring Relative Changes in Cerebral Blood Flow in Human Subjects.

Background: Currently, no reliable method exists for continuous, noninvasive measurements of absolute cerebral blood flow (CBF). We sought to determine how changes measured by ultrasound-tagged near-infrared spectroscopy (UT-NIRS) compare with changes in CBF as measured by transcranial Doppler (TCD) in healthy volunteers during profound hypocapnia and hypercapnia.

Methods: Ten healthy volunteers were monitored with a combination of TCD, UT-NIRS (c-FLOW, Ornim Medical), as well as heart rate, blood pressure, end-tidal PCO2 (PEtCO2), end-tidal O2, and inspired O2.

A low-cost, tablet-based option for prehospital neurologic assessment: The iTREAT Study.

Objectives: In this 2-center study, we assessed the technical feasibility and reliability of a low cost, tablet-based mobile telestroke option for ambulance transport and hypothesized that the NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) could be performed with similar reliability between remote and bedside examinations.

Methods: We piloted our mobile telemedicine system in 2 geographic regions, central Virginia and the San Francisco Bay Area, utilizing commercial cellular networks for videoconferencing transmission. Standardized patients portrayed scripted stroke scenarios during ambulance transport and were evaluated by independent raters comparing bedside to remote mobile telestroke assessments.

An update in postcardiac arrest management and prognosis in the era of therapeutic hypothermia.

Prognostication of patients who remain comatose following successful resuscitation after cardiac arrest has long posed a challenge for the consulting neurologist. With increasing rates of early defibrillation, out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and expanding use of therapeutic hypothermia, prognostication in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy has become an increasingly common consult for neurologists. Much of the data we previously relied upon for prognostication were taken from patients who were not treated with therapeutic hypothermia.

Endophytic nitrogen fixation in dune grasses (Ammophila arenaria and Elymus mollis) from Oregon.

Several tropical grasses harbor symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria within their stem and rhizome tissue that may contribute to the nitrogen nutrition of the host plant. We present evidence here that sand dune grasses (Ammophila arenaria and Elymus mollis) from Oregon also contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Surface-sterilized stem and rhizome tissue from these species possess acetylene reduction (nitrogen fixation) activity and large populations (10(5) to 10(6) cfu/g fresh weight) of bacteria.