A single-center learning curve for stereotactic laser amygdalohippocampotomy and a surgical framework to manage failures.

Objective: Stereotactic laser amygdalohippocampotomy (SLAH) is a minimally invasive procedure for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy that preserves more tissue than open procedures. As a result, although patients have better functional outcomes, more patients do not achieve seizure freedom. The rate at which this occurs is evolving with improved surgical practices.

Adaptive wheel exercise for mouse models of Parkinson's Disease.

Background: Physical exercise has been extensively studied for its therapeutic properties in neurological disease, particularly Parkinson's Disease (PD). However, the established techniques for exercise in mice are not well suited to motor-deficient disease-model animals, rely on spontaneous activity or force exercise with aversive stimuli, and do not facilitate active measurement of neurophysiology with tethered assays. Motorized wheel exercise may overcome these limitations, but has not been shown to reliably induce running in mice.

Outcomes Associated With Stereotactic Radiosurgery After Multiple Resections of Nonfunctioning Pituitary Macroadenomas: An International, Multicenter Case Series.

Background And Objectives: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) represents an effective treatment for nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas (NFPAs). However, no data have yet been published regarding results of SRS on NFPAs after multiple previous resections.

Methods: Retrospective multicentric data of patients diagnosed with NFPA and who underwent multiple resections (≥2) before SRS were reviewed and analyzed.

An ordinal clinical score predicts seizure freedom after minimally invasive epilepsy surgery.

Objective: To predict one-year seizure freedom, using a combination of relevant clinical variables, following stereotactic laser amygdalohippocampotomy for mesial temporal lobe epilepsy in a series of 101 patients.

Methods: Eight predictors of seizure freedom were selected based on their association with medial temporal lobe epilepsy: (1) MRI evidence of mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS); (2) unitemporal interictal epileptiform discharges; (3) absence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures; (4) history of febrile seizures; (5) onset of epilepsy ≤16 years; (6) absence of an auditory, visual, or vertiginous aura; and (7) unitemporal ictal onset; (8) unitemporal PET hypometabolism. We compared four multivariate models: "MTS," using just evidence of MTS; "FULL," using all eight binary predictors; "AIC" using backwards selection of variables; and "SCORE," using a 0-to-8-point ordinal score awarding one point for each binary predictor.

Harmonized Database of Western U.S. Water Rights (HarDWR) v.1.

In the arid and semi-arid Western U.S., access to water is regulated through a legal system of water rights.

Meaningful Endpoints for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Clinical Trials: Emphasis on 'Feels, Functions, Survives'. Report of a Collaborative Discussion in a Symposium with Direct Engagement from Representatives of Patients, Investigators, the National Institutes of Health, a Patient Advocacy Organization, and a Regulatory Agency.

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) carries significant mortality and unpredictable progression, with limited therapeutic options. Designing trials with patient-meaningful endpoints, enhancing the reliability and interpretability of results, and streamlining the regulatory approval process are of critical importance to advancing clinical care in IPF. A landmark in-person symposium in June 2023 assembled 43 participants from the US and internationally, including patients with IPF, investigators, and regulatory representatives, to discuss the immediate future of IPF clinical trial endpoints.

Biologically Effective Dose and Prediction of Obliteration of Arteriovenous Malformations in Pediatric Patients Treated by Gamma Knife Radiosurgery.

Background And Objectives: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) represents an effective treatment for pediatric arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). Biological effective dose (BED) has shown promising results in 2 previous studies as a predictive variable for outcomes in adults, but its role has never been studied in pediatric outcomes.

Methods: Retrospective data for patients 18 years or younger treated with a single-session SRS for AVMs were collected from 1989 to 2019.

Comparing Cortical Bone Trajectory and Traditional Pedicle Screws in Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Retrospective Cohort Study of One-Year Outcomes.

Introduction: This is a retrospective study of consecutive patients undergoing transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) at a single institution. The objective of this study was to compare the long-term results associated with cortical bone trajectory (CBT) and traditional pedicle screw (TPS) via posterolateral approach in TLIF.

Methods: Consecutive patients treated from November 2014 to March 2019 were included in the CBT TLIF group, while consecutive patients treated from October 2010 to August 2017 were included in the TPS TLIF group.

Identifying the Sources of Racial Disparity in the Treatment of Parkinson's Disease With Deep Brain Stimulation.

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a highly efficacious treatment for appropriately selected patients with advanced, medically refractory Parkinson's disease (PD). It is severely underutilized in Black patients-constituting a major treatment gap. The source of this disparity is unknown, but its identification and correction are necessary to provide equitable care.

Biological role of the major AP (abasic site) endonuclease of an archaeon from geothermal environments.

Archaea and bacteria in geothermal environments are predicted to suffer DNA depurination in vivo at high rates, which raises questions regarding the biological roles of their abasic-site-repair enzymes. Gene deletion and enzymatic assay demonstrated that the saci_0015 gene of Sulfolobus acidocaldarius encodes an AP endonuclease (Apn) accounting for as much as 95% of the assayable activity in cell extracts and is not essential for viability. To identify genetic functions of this enzyme, deletion (ΔApn) strains were examined with respect to growth, spontaneous mutation, transformation by ssDNA containing an abasic site, and conjugation.

The laterodorsal tegmentum and seizure regulation: Revisiting the evidence.

Electrical deep brain stimulation (DBS) is now a routine treatment option for patients suffering from medically refractory epilepsy. DBS of the anterior nucleus of the thalamus (ANT) has proven to be effective but, despite its success, few patients experience complete cessation of seizure activity. However, improving the therapy is challenging because the mechanism underlying its action remains largely unknown.

Artificial neural networks predict the need for permanent cerebrospinal fluid diversion following posterior fossa tumor resection.

Background: Resection of posterior fossa tumors (PFTs) can result in hydrocephalus that requires permanent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diversion. Our goal was to prospectively validate a machine-learning model to predict postoperative hydrocephalus after PFT surgery requiring permanent CSF diversion.

Methods: We collected preoperative and postoperative variables on 518 patients that underwent PFT surgery at our center in a retrospective fashion to train several statistical classifiers to predict the need for permanent CSF diversion as a binary class.

Diversity of SIRV-like Viruses from a North American Population.

A small subset of acidic hot springs sampled in Yellowstone National Park yielded rod-shaped viruses which lysed liquid host cultures and formed clear plaques on lawns of host cells. Three isolates chosen for detailed analysis were found to be genetically related to previously described isolates of the Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus (SIRV), but distinct from them and from each other. Functional stability of the new isolates was assessed in a series of inactivation experiments.

Evidence supporting deep brain stimulation of the medial septum in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Electrical brain stimulation has become an essential treatment option for more than one third of epilepsy patients who are resistant to pharmacological therapy and are not candidates for surgical resection. However, currently approved stimulation paradigms achieve only moderate success, on average providing approximately 75% reduction in seizure frequency and extended periods of seizure freedom in nearly 20% of patients. Outcomes from electrical stimulation may be improved through the identification of novel anatomical targets, particularly those with significant anatomical and functional connectivity to the epileptogenic zone.

Clinical and radiographic characteristics of diffuse astrocytic glioma, IDH-wildtype, with molecular features of glioblastoma: a single institution review.

Purpose: Genetic analyses of gliomas have identified key molecular features that impact treatment paradigms beyond conventional histomorphology. Despite at-times lower grade histopathologic appearances, IDH-wildtype infiltrating gliomas expressing certain molecular markers behave like higher-grade tumors. For IDH-wildtype infiltrating gliomas lacking traditional features of glioblastoma, these markers form the basis for the novel diagnosis of diffuse astrocytic glioma, IDH-wildtype (wt), with molecular features of glioblastoma (GBM), WHO grade-IV (DAG-G).

Loss of efferent projections of the hippocampal formation in the mouse intrahippocampal kainic acid model.

Unilateral intrahippocampal injection of kainic acid is used as a model of medial temporal lobe epilepsy and provides a platform to study the mechanisms of epilepsy. Here, we used an AAV-9 EYFP-tagged viral vector as an anterograde tracer, injected into the dorsal and ventral hippocampus after kainic acid injection, to map out the efferent hippocampal projections after the development of spontaneous seizures in this model. The purpose of the study was to identify the extent of changes in hippocampal efferent system in several brain regions that receive significant inputs from the hippocampus.

Global gridded crop harvested area, production, yield, and monthly physical area data circa 2015.

Here we provide an update to global gridded annual and monthly crop datasets. This new dataset uses the crop categories established by the Global Agro-Ecological Zones (GAEZ) Version 3 model, which is based on the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) crop production data. We used publicly available data from the FAOSTAT database as well as GAEZ Version 4 global gridded dataset to generate circa 2015 annual crop harvested area, production, and yields by crop production system (irrigated and rainfed) for 26 crops and crop categories globally at 5-minute resolution.