Alterations in cortical morphometry of the contralesional hemisphere in children, adolescents, and young adults with perinatal stroke.

Perinatal stroke causes most hemiparetic cerebral palsy and cognitive dysfunction may co-occur. Compensatory developmental changes in the intact contralesional hemisphere may mediate residual function and represent targets for neuromodulation. We used morphometry to explore cortical thickness, grey matter volume, gyrification, and sulcal depth of the contralesional hemisphere in children, adolescents, and young adults after perinatal stroke and explored associations with motor, attention, and executive function.

Bihemispheric developmental alterations in basal ganglia volumes following unilateral perinatal stroke.

Introduction: Perinatal stroke affects millions of children and results in lifelong disability. Two forms prevail: arterial ischemic stroke (AIS), and periventricular venous infarction (PVI). With such focal damage early in life, neural structures may reorganize during development to determine clinical function, particularly in the contralesional hemisphere.

Measuring Geometric Phase without Interferometry.

A simple noninterferometric approach for probing the geometric phase of a structured Gaussian beam is proposed. Both the Gouy and Pancharatnam-Berry phases can be determined from the intensity distribution following a mode transformation if a part of the beam is covered at the initial plane. Moreover, the trajectories described by the centroid of the resulting intensity distributions following these transformations resemble those of ray optics, revealing an optical analogue of Ehrenfest's theorem associated with changes in the geometric phase.

Interferometric spatial mode analyzer with a bucket detector.

A spatial mode analyzer based on a Michelson interferometer with a bucket detector is experimentally implemented. The delay line in the interferometer is an optical implementation of the fractional Fourier transform (fFT) which enables the spatial mode analysis of a given input field in the Hermite-Gaussian (HG) mode basis. Modal weights for both 1D and 2D input fields are experimentally measured.

Variation in the Practice of Central Venous Catheter and Chest Tube Insertions among Surgery Residents.

Objectives: Central venous catheter (CVC) and chest tube (CT) insertions are common bedside procedures frequently performed by surgery residents. Despite published guidelines, variability in the practice exists. We sought to characterize the surgery residents' practice patterns surrounding these two bedside procedures.

Model-based optimization of near-field binary-pixelated beam shapers.

The optimization of components that rely on spatially dithered distributions of transparent or opaque pixels and an imaging system with far-field filtering for transmission control is demonstrated. The binary-pixel distribution can be iteratively optimized to lower an error function that takes into account the design transmission and the characteristics of the required far-field filter. Simulations using a design transmission chosen in the context of high-energy lasers show that the beam-fluence modulation at an image plane can be reduced by a factor of 2, leading to performance similar to using a non-optimized spatial-dithering algorithm with pixels of size reduced by a factor of 2 without the additional fabrication complexity or cost.

A high-resolving-power x-ray spectrometer for the OMEGA EP Laser (invited).

A high-resolving-power x-ray spectrometer has been developed for the OMEGA EP Laser System based on a spherically bent Si [220] crystal with a radius of curvature of 330 mm and a Spectral Instruments (SI) 800 Series charge-coupled device. The instrument measures time-integrated x-ray emission spectra in the 7.97- to 8.

Improving the off-axis spatial resolution and dynamic range of the NIF X-ray streak cameras (invited).

We report simulations and experiments that demonstrate an increase in spatial resolution of the NIF core diagnostic x-ray streak cameras by at least a factor of two, especially off axis. A design was achieved by using a corrector electron optic to flatten the field curvature at the detector plane and corroborated by measurement. In addition, particle in cell simulations were performed to identify the regions in the streak camera that contribute the most to space charge blurring.

Surgeon-Authored Virtual Laparoscopic Adrenalectomy Module Is Judged Effective and Preferred Over Traditional Teaching Tools.

Objective: The study assesses user acceptance and effectiveness of a surgeon-authored virtual reality (VR) training module authored by surgeons using the Toolkit for Illustration of Procedures in Surgery (TIPS).

Methods: Laparoscopic adrenalectomy was selected to test the TIPS framework on an unusual and complex procedure. No commercial simulation module exists to teach this procedure.

Development and validation of a composite scoring system for robot-assisted surgical training--the Robotic Skills Assessment Score.

Background: A standardized scoring system does not exist in virtual reality-based assessment metrics to describe safe and crucial surgical skills in robot-assisted surgery. This study aims to develop an assessment score along with its construct validation.

Materials And Methods: All subjects performed key tasks on previously validated Fundamental Skills of Robotic Surgery curriculum, which were recorded, and metrics were stored.

Fundamental skills of robotic surgery: a multi-institutional randomized controlled trial for validation of a simulation-based curriculum.

Objective: To develop and establish effectiveness of simulation-based robotic curriculum--fundamental skills of robotic surgery (FSRS).

Methods: FSRS curriculum was developed and incorporated into a virtual reality simulator, Robotic Surgical Simulator (RoSS). Fifty-three participants were randomized into an experimental group (EG) or control group (CG).

Social segregation in male, but not female yearling rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta).

Males and females of many species sex-segregate, ranging from complete separation of habitats to social segregation within the same space, sometimes varying across seasons and lifespan development. Mechanisms for such segregation are not well understood, though some have suggested that sex differences in preferred juvenile behaviors lead to greater behavioral compatibility within than between sexes. This within-sex behavioral compatibility may be the source of sex-segregation.

Should total number of lymph nodes be used as a quality of care measure for stage III colon cancer?

Objective: To assess whether TNODS is an independent prognostic factor after adjusting for the lymph node ratio (LNR).

Summary Background Data: The medical literature has suggested that the TNODS is associated with better survival in stage II and III colon cancer. Thus TNODS was endorsed as a quality measure for patient care by American College of Surgeons, National Quality Forum.

Young surgeons' attitudes regarding surgery and professional organizations.

Background: Attitudes of young surgeons regarding professional organizations are unclear. We surveyed young surgeons to assess their opinions regarding the role of The American College of Surgeons in the future of surgery.

Methods: A 21-question on-line survey was distributed to all young (age <45 years) ACS members.

Sexual differentiation of behaviour in monkeys: role of prenatal hormones.

The theoretical debate over the relative contributions of nature and nurture to the sexual differentiation of behaviour has increasingly moved towards an interactionist explanation that requires both influences. In practice, however, nature and nurture have often been seen as separable, influencing human clinical sex assignment decisions, sometimes with disastrous consequences. Decisions about the sex assignment of children born with intersex conditions have been based almost exclusively on the appearance of the genitals and how other's reactions to the gender role of the assigned sex affect individual gender socialisation.

Are basidiomycete laccase gene abundance and composition related to reduced lignolytic activity under elevated atmospheric NO3(-) deposition in a northern hardwood forest?

Anthropogenic release of biologically available N has increased atmospheric N deposition in forest ecosystems, which may slow decomposition by reducing the lignolytic activity of white-rot fungi. We investigated the potential for atmospheric N deposition to reduce the abundance and alter the composition of lignolytic basidiomycetes in a regional network of four northern hardwood forest stands receiving experimental NO(3)(-) deposition (30 kg NO(3)(-)-N ha(-1) year(-1)) for a decade. To estimate the abundance of basidiomycetes with lignolytic potential, we used PCR primers targeting laccase (polyphenol oxidase) and quantitative fluorescence PCR to estimate gene copy number.

The prognostic superiority of log odds of positive lymph nodes in stage III colon cancer.

Background: Literature showed that lymph node ratio (LNR) and total number of lymph nodes (TNODS) are independent prognostic factors in node-positive colon cancer. Our study assesses the prognostic superiority of the log odds of positive lymph nodes (LODDS) in the same patient population.

Material And Methods: A total of 24,477 stage III colon cancer cases from the SEER registry were reviewed.

Sex differences in rhesus monkey toy preferences parallel those of children.

Sex differences in toy preferences in children are marked, with boys expressing stronger and more rigid toy preferences than girls, whose preferences are more flexible. Socialization processes, parents, or peers encouraging play with gender-specific toys are thought to be the primary force shaping sex differences in toy preference. A contrast in view is that toy preferences reflect biologically-determined preferences for specific activities facilitated by specific toys.

Lymph node ratio: role in the staging of node-positive colon cancer.

Background: Recent literature has shown that lymph node ratio (LNR) is superior to the number of positive lymph nodes (pLNs) in predicting the prognosis in several malignances other than colon cancer. We hypothesize that LNR may play a similar role in stage III colon cancer.

Methods: We included 24,477 stage III colon cancer cases from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results cancer registry.

Utilization of standardized patients to evaluate clinical and interpersonal skills of surgical residents.

Background: This project was designed to determine the growth of interpersonal skills during the first year of a surgical residency.

Methods: All categorical surgical residents were given a clinical skills examination of abdominal pain using standardized patients during their orientation (T1). The categorical residents were retested after 11 months (T2).

Early tracheostomal healing in rabbits with use of various tracheal incisions.

Various tracheal incisions (vertical, horizontal, or window) are used by surgeons for creation of a tracheostomy. The inflammatory response and healing varies with each incision and may contribute to complications such as tracheal stenosis. This study evaluates the effect of these tracheotomies on early stomal wound healing in a rabbit model.

Face processing in humans and new world monkeys: the influence of experiential and ecological factors.

This study tests whether the face-processing system of humans and a nonhuman primate species share characteristics that would allow for early and quick processing of socially salient stimuli: a sensitivity toward conspecific faces, a sensitivity toward highly practiced face stimuli, and an ability to generalize changes in the face that do not suggest a new identity, such as a face differently oriented. The look rates by adult tamarins and humans toward conspecific and other primate faces were examined to determine if these characteristics are shared. A visual paired comparison (VPC) task presented subjects with either a human face, chimpanzee face, tamarin face, or an object as a sample, and then a pair containing the previous stimulus and a novel stimulus was presented.