Minimally invasive management of a spinal arachnoid cyst with ultrasound-assisted catheter placement: illustrative case.

Background: Spinal arachnoid cysts are cerebrospinal fluid-filled sacs that are frequently located within the thoracic spine and can lead to symptoms due to direct compression of the thoracic spinal cord. These lesions are typically treated with laminectomy and fenestration of the cyst, with or without shunting. However, with recurrence, treatment is often more complex and sometimes requires re-exposure and fenestration or shunting.

Using Finite Element Models to Assess Spinal Cord Biomechanics after Cervical Laminoplasty for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy.

Cervical laminoplasty is an established motion-preserving procedure for degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM). However, patients with pre-existing cervical kyphosis often experience inferior outcomes compared to those with straight or lordotic spines. Limited dorsal spinal cord shift in kyphotic spines post-decompression and increased spinal cord tension may contribute to poor neurological recovery and spinal cord injury.

Management of a recurrent spinal arachnoid cyst presenting as arachnoiditis in the setting of spontaneous spinal subarachnoid hemorrhage: illustrative case.

Background: Spontaneous spinal subarachnoid hemorrhage is a rare pathological entity with a variety of presentations depending on the underlying etiology, which often remains cryptogenic. The literature is sparse regarding the most efficacious treatment or management option, and there is no consensus on follow-up time or modalities. Additionally, there are very few reports that include operative videos, which is provided herein.

Characterizing the Next Generation of Neurosurgeons: A Descriptive Analysis and Publicly Available Web Application of Neurosurgery Residency Programs' Website Data.

Objective: Neurosurgery program websites serve as a valuable resource for applicants. However, each website exists in isolation, and it can be difficult to understand the general trends in U.S.

Rapid Intravenous Glyceryl Trinitrate in Ischemic Damage (RIGID) After Stroke: Rationale, Design and Protocol for a Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.

Despite intravenous thrombolysis and endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS), many survivors still have varying degrees of disability. Glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), a nitric oxide (NO) donor, has been previously reported to induce neuroprotection after AIS. The use of GTN to reduce brain damage after stroke remains yet to be elucidated.

Binary Targeting of siRNA to Hematologic Cancer Cells using Layer-by-Layer Nanoparticles.

Using siRNA therapeutics to treat hematologic malignancies has been unsuccessful because blood cancer cells exhibit remarkable resistance to standard transfection methods. Herein we report the successful delivery of siRNA therapeutics with a dual-targeted, layer-by-layer nanoparticle (LbL-NP). The LbL-NP protects siRNA from nucleases in the bloodstream by embedding it within polyelectrolyte layers that coat a polymeric core.

Biofilm facilitates metal accumulation onto microplastics in estuarine waters.

In aquatic environments, plastic debris accumulates chemical pollutants from the surrounding water, potentially altering the fate of xenobiotics in these ecosystems. The effects of biofouling on the potential for plastic to sorb environmental pollutants remain poorly understood. In this study, we test the hypothesis that concentrations of metals are directly related to biofilm accumulation on microplastics submerged in natural estuarine waters.

Structural and Functional Rescue of Chronic Metabolically Stressed Optic Nerves through Respiration.

Axon degeneration can arise from metabolic stress, potentially a result of mitochondrial dysfunction or lack of appropriate substrate input. In this study, we investigated whether the metabolic vulnerability observed during optic neuropathy in the DBA/2J (D2) model of glaucoma is due to dysfunctional mitochondria or impaired substrate delivery to axons, the latter based on our observation of significantly decreased glucose and monocarboxylate transporters in D2 optic nerve (ON), human ON, and mice subjected to acute glaucoma injury. We placed both sexes of D2 mice destined to develop glaucoma and mice of a control strain, the DBA/2J-, on a ketogenic diet to encourage mitochondrial function.

Use of field-portable XRF analyzers for rapid screening of toxic elements in FDA-regulated products.

Analytical instrumentation continues its amazing evolution, especially in regard to generating ever more sensitive, faster, and reliable measurements. Perhaps the most difficult challenges are making these instruments small enough to use in the field, equipping them with well-designed software that facilitates and simplifies their use by nonexperts while preserving enough of their analytical capabilities to render them useful for a wide variety of applications. Perhaps the most impressive and underappreciated example of instruments that meet these criteria are field-portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzers.

Case-control study of the association between select HLA genes and anti-erythropoietin antibody-positive pure red-cell aplasia.

Aims: Antibody (Ab)-positive pure red-cell aplasia (PRCA) is a very rare but serious adverse event associated with recombinant human erythropoietin treatment (4.1 reports per 100,000 patient-years) in which patients produce antibodies to recombinant and endogenous erythropoietin, halting red blood cell production. In a previous case series, four Thai subjects with chronic kidney disease and Ab-positive PRCA were reported to have the HLA-DRB1*9 allele.

A phase II trial of R115777, an oral farnesyl transferase inhibitor, in patients with advanced urothelial tract transitional cell carcinoma.

Background: R115777 is a potent farnesyl transferase inhibitor and has significant antitumor effects in vitro and in vivo.

Methods: The objective of the current study was to determine the objective response proportion in patients with metastatic transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urothelial tract who received treatment with R115777 at a dose of 300 mg orally given twice daily for 21 days followed by 7 days of rest for every 4-week cycle. Thirty-four patients with TCC were enrolled in this Phase II study.

Phase I and pharmacokinetic study of the farnesyltransferase inhibitor R115777 in combination with irinotecan in patients with advanced cancer.

Purpose: R115777 is a selective, nonpeptidomimetic inhibitor of farnesyltransferase (FTase), an enzyme responsible for the post-translational modification of several proteins, including Ras. Given the high frequency of K-Ras mutations in malignancies commonly treated with irinotecan, the broad preclinical antiproliferative activity of R115777 and its largely non-overlapping toxicity profile with irinotecan, this phase I study of the combination of R115777 and irinotecan in patients with advanced cancer was undertaken.

Patients And Methods: Enrolled onto the study were 14 patients (eight male, six female; median age 63 years, range 48-72 years).

A Phase I trial of the farnesyl protein transferase inhibitor R115777 in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with advanced cancer.

Purpose: This Phase I study was undertaken to define the toxicity, pharmacodynamics, and maximum tolerated dose of the combination of R115777, a farnesyl transferase inhibitor, with gemcitabine and cisplatin in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Patients And Methods: Thirty patients with solid tumors received a median of 2.5 cycles (range 1-30+) through five dose levels.

Proton transfer reaction ion trap mass spectrometer.

Proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry is a relatively new field that has attracted a great deal of interest in the last few years. This technique uses H(3)O(+) as a chemical ionization (CI) reagent to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the parts per billion by volume (ppbv) to parts per trillion by volume (pptv) range. Mass spectra acquired with a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) are simple because proton transfer chemical ionization is "soft" and results in little or no fragmentation.

Phase II study of the efficacy and tolerability of two dosing regimens of the farnesyl transferase inhibitor, R115777, in advanced breast cancer.

Purpose: R115777 is an orally active farnesyl transferase inhibitor that specifically blocks farnesylation of proteins involved in growth-factor-dependent cell-signal-transduction pathways. We conducted a phase II study in 76 patients with advanced breast cancer.

Patients And Methods: Two cohorts of patients were recruited sequentially.

Analysis of pesticide residues on museum objects repatriated to the Hupa tribe of California.

In the past, it was common practice for museum professionals and private collectors to apply a variety of pesticide agents to objects in their collections to preserve them from depredations by microorganisms, fungi, and other pests. The Native American Graves Repatriation and Protection Act allows federally recognized tribes to request that museums return objects taken from their ancestors. Given that poor records were kept on the treatment of individual objects, it is unknown whether specific objects are contaminated with these pesticide agents.

Controls over monoterpene emissions from boreal forest conifers.

We investigated controls over the emission of monoterpenes from two species of boreal forest conifers, black spruce (Picea mariana Miller (B.S.P.