Search results

PURPOSE: As deficits in memory and cognition are commonly observed in survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI), causing reduced quality of life for the patient, a major goal in experimental TBI research is to identify and evaluate cognitive dysfunction. The present study assessed the applicability of the serial Morris water maze (MWM) test to determine cognitive function following experimental TB

Following experimental and clinical traumatic brain injury (TBI), the local cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (lCMR(Glc)) is commonly estimated using the 2-[(18)F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) method. The adequate estimation of lCMR(Glc) using FDG requires a correction factor, the lumped constant (LC), to convert FDG net uptake into lCMR(Glc). The LC, and thus lCMR(Glc) calculations, require a s

BACKGROUND: Although large spontaneous cerebellar haematomas are associated with high mortality, surgical treatment may be life-saving. We evaluated the clinical outcome and identified prognostic factors in 76 patients with cerebellar haematoma, all treated with suboccipital decompression, haematoma evacuation and external ventricular drainage.METHODS: Patients receiving surgical and neurocritical

OBJECTIVES: The management of patients with spontaneous subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) has changed, in part due to interventions now being extended to patients who are older and in a worse clinical condition. This study evaluates the effects of these changes on a complete 5-year patient material.METHODS: Demographic data and results from 615 patients with SAH admitted from 2007 to 2011 were put to

When reconstructing combined defects of the cervical spine and the posterior pharyngeal wall the goals are bone stability along with continuity of the aerodigestive tract. We present a case of a patient with a cervical spine defect, including C1 to C3, associated with a posterior pharyngeal wall defect after excision of a chordoma and postoperative radiotherapy. The situation was successfully solv

Microdialysis enables the chemistry of the extracellular interstitial space to be monitored. Use of this technique in patients with acute brain injury has increased our understanding of the pathophysiology of several acute neurological disorders. In 2004, a consensus document on the clinical application of cerebral microdialysis was published. Since then, there have been significant advances in th

Aquaporin TIP2;1 is a protein channel permeable to both water and ammonia. The structural origin of ammonia selectivity remains obscure, but experiments have revealed that a double mutation renders it impermeable to ammonia without affecting water permeability. Here, we aim to reproduce and explain these observations by performing an extensive mutational study using microsecond long molecular dyna

Plants integrate widely fluctuating temperatures to monitor seasonal progression. Here, we investigate the temperature signals in field conditions that result in vernalisation, the mechanism by which flowering is aligned with spring. We find that multiple, distinct aspects of the temperature profile contribute to vernalisation. In autumn, transient cold temperatures promote transcriptional shutdow

Objectives: To investigate the prevalence of obesity among different types of employment status in the Italian working population, and to examine associated risk factors. Material and Methods: Cross-sectional survey of 36 814 people that declared to have been occupied with the same type of contract for at least 5 years was analyzed. Multivariable logistic regression models were built considering w

Using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we study the adsorption structure of NO on Pd(111) at pressures of up to 720 Torr. From atomically resolved STM images, we identify, at high pressures, only the (2 × 2)-3NO structure, which is identical with the highest NO-coverage structure found at low pressure and low temperature. DFT ca

In aromatic molecules characterised by extended π-systems valence and core excitons can have very similar binding energies. This is shown for a number of compounds, and in each case the core exciton binding energies are analysed in terms of the Coulomb screening and rehybridisation contributions. The latter semiquantitatively explain the binding energy differences between the valence and core exci

The reactivity of catalytic surfaces is often dominated by very reactive low-coordinated atoms such as step-edge sites1-11. However, very little knowledge exists concerning the influence of step edges on the selectivity in reactions involving multiple reaction pathways. Such detailed information could be very valuable in rational design of new catalysts with improved selectivity. Here we show, fro

High-pressure scanning tunneling microscopy was used to study the room-temperature adsorption of CO on a Pt(111) single-crystal surface in equilibrium with the gas phase. The coverage was found to vary continuously, and over the entire range from 10-6-760 Torr pressure-dependent moiré patterns were observed, characteristic of a hexagonal or nearly hexagonal CO overlayer. Two different pressure ran

Carbon monoxide adsorption on high area platinum fuel cell catalysts was investigated. Isotopic exchange experiments were performed to determine the exchange rate (k) of CO under different partial pressures of CO (p co) in argon. A linear dependence of In(k) with In(pco) was observed. This pressure dependence of the rate of exchange is explained by considering a change in surface coverage of CO wi

We show that Cr subcoatings in beamline optical elements can introduce an additional structure in C K-edge X-ray absorption measurements, which somewhat resembles the well-known losses produced by carbon contamination. The photon throughput variations induced by Cr and C require different treatments when correcting absorption spectra. The potential difficulties in unravelling the two effects could

Intermolecular hydrogen-bonding in thick films of isonicotinic acid evaporated onto rutile TiO2(110) has been investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). The rate of deposition is found to be a key factor in overcoming the kinetic barriers to extensive hydrogenbond formation, which, when present, gives rise to large energy shifts between bulk a

Intermolecular hydrogen bonding in thick films of pyridine carboxylic acids (isonicotinic, picolinic and bi-isonicotinic acid) evaporated onto rutile TiO2(1 1 0) has been investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. These molecules are shown to be strongly H-bonded in the condensed phase, and a surface core-level shift is observed due to the presence of non