Observation of the decay B-->J/psietaK and search for X(3872)-->J/psieta.

We report the observation of the B meson decay B+/- -->J/psietaK+/- and evidence for the decay B0-->J/psietaK0S, using 90 x 10(6) BB; events collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance with the BABAR detector at the SLAC PEP-II e+e- asymmetric-energy storage ring. We obtain branching fractions of B(B+/- -->J/psietaK+/-) = [10.8 +/- 2.

Study of high momentum eta' production in B --> eta'Xs.

We measure the branching fraction for the charmless semi-inclusive process B --> eta'Xs, where the eta' meson has a momentum in the range 2.0 to 2.7 GeV/c in the upsilon4S center-of-mass frame and Xs represents a system comprising a kaon and zero to four pions.

Endoscopic aqueductoplasty and interventriculostomy for the treatment of isolated fourth ventricle in children.

Objective: There are different approaches for the treatment of isolated fourth ventricle in children, including a suboccipital ventriculoperitoneal shunt, suboccipital craniotomy with microsurgical fenestration, and endoscopic fenestration. We discuss the indications, surgical methods, and outcome of 18 patients who underwent endoscopic treatment for isolated fourth ventricle.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical histories of 18 patients with an isolated fourth ventricle.

Search for the rare leptonic decay B+-->mu(+)nu(mu).

We have performed a search for the rare leptonic decay B+-->mu(+)nu(mu) with data collected at the Upsilon(4S) resonance by the BABAR experiment at the PEP-II storage ring. In a sample of 88.4 x 10(6) BB pairs, we find no significant evidence for a signal and set an upper limit on the branching fraction B(B+-->my(+)nu(my))< 6.

Study of B+/ --> J/psi pi+/- and B+/ -->J/psi K+/- decays: measurement of the ratio of branching fractions and search for direct CP violation.

We study B+/ --> J/psi pi(+/-) and B+/ --> J/psi K+/- decays in a sample of about 89 x 10(6) BB pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric B factory at SLAC. We observe a signal of 244+/-20 B+/ --> J/psi pi(+/-) events and determine the ratio B(B+/ --> J/psi pi(+/-))/B(B+/ --> J/psi K+/-) to be [5.37+/-0.

Post-meiotic gene products as targets for male contraception.

Post-meiotic stages of male germ cell maturation represent an interesting target system for the development of novel male contraceptive agents. In the human, these stages represent a period of only about 16 days differentiation, and thus targeting these cells would represent a contraceptive approach with a relatively rapid onset and equivalent recovery. Results from the Human Genome Project suggest that these cells also express a high number of very specific transcripts, though whether all of these are functional and/or essential for sperm differentiation and function requires more research.

Search for lepton-flavor violation in the decay tau- --> l- l+ l-.

A search for the lepton-flavor-violating decay of the tau into three charged leptons has been performed using 91.5 fb(-1) of data collected at an e(+)e(-)center-of-mass energy around 10.58 GeV with the BABAR detector at the SLAC storage ring PEP-II.

Transcription factor accessibility and histone acetylation of the progesterone receptor gene differs between parental MCF-7 cells and a subline that has lost progesterone receptor expression.

The human progesterone receptor (PgR) gene has a complex promoter that produces alternate mRNAs encoding the PgRA (94 kDa) and PgRB (120 kDa) protein isoforms. Expression of PgR is induced by estradiol (E(2)) in the breast, reproductive tract and many cell lines despite the lack of a classical estrogen responsive element (ERE) in the promoter regions. We employed chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) to analyze the sites of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and Sp1 occupancy of the PgR promoters in vivo.

Observation of B0-->omega K0, B+-->eta pi+, and B+-->eta K+ and study of related decays.

We present measurements of branching fractions and charge asymmetries for seven B-meson decays with an eta, eta', or omega meson in the final state. The data sample corresponds to 89x10(6) BB pairs produced from e(+)e(-) annihilation at the Upsilon(4S) resonance. We measure the following branching fractions in units of 10(-6): B(B+-->eta pi(+))=5.

Endoscopic aqueductoplasty: stent or not to stent?

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate if the long-term interventricular communication following aqueductoplasty is determined by the etiology of the aqueductal stenosis (AS).

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 27 patients who underwent endoscopic aqueductoplasty or endoscopic interventriculostomy with or without a stent for the treatment of AS or isolated fourth ventricle. Surgeries were performed between July 1997 and June 2003.

Genetic and genetic expression analyses of clear cell sarcoma of the kidney.

Clear cell sarcoma of the kidney (CCSK) represents a significant diagnostic and clinical challenge. In search of diagnostically useful or biologically significant genetic abnormalities, we screened 30 CCSKs from the National Wilms Tumor Study Group. Genetic gains and losses were analyzed using comparative genomic hybridization; loss of heterozygosity at 11p15 was studied using microsatellite analysis.

Salivary stones: innovative techniques in diagnosis and treatment.

During the last decade, minimally invasive and nonsurgical techniques of diagnosing and treating salivary gland duct stones have rapidly evolved. Physicians have developed alternative treatments beyond the sole use of invasive conventional surgery. Techniques and equipment have been specifically developed to deal with ductal lithiasis.

Cerebral edema leading to decompressive craniectomy: an assessment of the preceding clinical and neuromonitoring trends.

The aim of this study was to examine the pre-operative clinical and neuromonitoring courses in patients with a decompressive craniectomy to assess and to compare clinical and neuromonitoring signs indicating extensive cerebral edema. We conducted a retrospective analysis of the clinical signs and courses of simultaneous monitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) and cerebral oxygenation (PtiO2) in 26 consecutive patients who were sedated and treated with a decompressive craniectomy due to extensive cerebral edema after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) (n = 20) or severe head injury (SHI) (n = 6). Pathological monitoring trends always preceded clinical deterioration.

Reconstruction following lateral skull base surgery with introduction of facial incisionless reanimation surgery.

The large ablations needed to remove some lateral skull base pathologic conditions remain a challenge to the reconstructive surgeon. Major shortcomings abound despite significant development of surgical techniques and advances in the understanding of healing. The tremendous advances of the past 30 years with the dawn of major tissue transfer techniques, new biomaterials, and the use of surgical teams with enormous combined clinical knowledge bases have catapulted surgical reconstruction efforts.

Performance characteristics of a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction assay for the detection of tumor-specific fusion transcripts from archival tissue.

Pediatric small round cell tumors still pose tremendous diagnostic problems. In difficult cases, the ability to detect tumor-specific gene fusion transcripts for several of these neoplasms, including Ewing sarcoma/peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (ES/PNET), synovial sarcoma (SS), alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS), and desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), can be extremely helpful. Few studies to date, however, have systematically examined several different tumor types for the presence of multiple different fusion transcripts in order to determine the specificity and sensitivity of the RT-PCR method, and no study has addressed this issue for formalin-fixed material.

Transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions from ears with tympanostomy tubes.

Objective: Otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) are low-level acoustic signals which emanate from the cochlea and can be recorded in the ear canal. The two types of OAEs are spontaneous and evoked otoacoustic emissions.

Methods: In this retrospective study, transient-evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) were measured in 385 ears from 204 children with normal hearing and tympanostomy tubes.

Endoscopic intraventricular surgery for treatment of hydrocephalus and loculated CSF space in children less than one year of age.

Controversy exists regarding whether children under 1 year of age have a higher risk of treatment failure after neuroendoscopic procedures for the treatment of hydrocephalus than older children. We retrospectively reviewed the surgical management and clinical outcome of 15 infants who underwent neuroendoscopic surgery for the treatment of CSF space loculation and hydrocephalus. We performed 8 third ventriculostomies, 3 endoscopic arachnoid cyst fenestrations, 2 aqueductoplasties, 1 septostomy and in 1 patient, three endoscopic fenestrations for isolated ventricular compartments.

Genetic analysis of mediastinal nonseminomatous germ cell tumors in children and adolescents.

Primary mediastinal germ cell tumors (M-GCTs) represent a heterogeneous group of tumors that varies with regard to age at presentation, histologic differentiation, and outcome. We retrospectively analyzed archival tissue samples of mediastinal mature and immature teratomas (n = 15) and malignant nonseminomatous M-GCTs (n = 20) with comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). The aim of this study was to define distinct genetic subgroups of M-GCT among the pediatric cohort that may differ in their clinical behavior and prognosis.

Nasopharyngeal extension of a craniopharyngioma in a 4 year old girl.

Nasopharyngeal extension of a craniopharyngioma is very rare and usually presents with headache, nasal obstruction and visual disturbances. We present a case of a 4 year old girl, who became symptomatic with visual deterioration. MRI showed a huge supra - and infrasellar cystic craniopharyngioma with extension into the sphenoid sinus.

Patterns of congenital lower urinary tract obstructive uropathy: relation to abnormal prostate and bladder development and the prune belly syndrome.

The pathogenesis of lower urinary tract obstruction is disputed, particularly its relation to both abnormal prostatic development and the prune belly syndrome (PBS). In an attempt to clarify this issue we examined 11 males (17-38 weeks gestation) with PBS who were autopsied at our institution. The lower urinary tract was embedded intact and prepared as serial histologic sections.

Deletion mapping of 6q21-26 and frequency of 1p36 deletion in childhood endodermal sinus tumors by microsatellite analysis.

The most common malignant germ cell tumor of early childhood is the endodermal sinus tumor (CEST), also known as yolk sac tumor. Previous cytogenetic studies of CEST have demonstrated recurrent deletion of distal regions of chromosomes 1p and 6q. Studies utilizing comparative genomic hybridization have likewise demonstrated loss of distal 6q, however these studies show discrepant data concerning chromosome 1 abnormalities.

Multipoint imprinting analysis indicates a common precursor cell for gonadal and nongonadal pediatric germ cell tumors.

Pediatric germ cell tumors (GCTs) commonly arise at extragonadal sites. It has been proposed that nongonadal GCTs arise from ectopic primordial germ cells that have aberrantly migrated during embryogenesis. During a time between their migration and development to mature gametes, primordial germ cells are characterized by their lack of imprinting, which can be assessed by the evaluation of allelic gene expression and DNA methylation in differentially methylated control regions.

Objective tinnitus in children.

Objective: To discuss the various symptoms and causes of objective tinnitus in children.

Study Design: Retrospective case review.

Patients: Five children who had audible signals emanating from their ears caused by audible spontaneous otoacoustic emissions, palatal myoclonus, arteriovenous malformation, and acoustic trauma.