Background: Dermoid cysts are rare benign intracranial lesions arising from abnormal neuroectodermal folding during embryogenesis. While typically midline, near the sella or posterior fossa, we report an unusual case of a convexity dermoid cyst extending into the sylvian fissure. Methods: A 33-year-old female with a left convexity mass underwent resection, confirming a dermoid cyst. A literature review was also conducted. Results: The patient presented with progressive, intermittent right-sided hand and face paresthesias. CT showed a 4.3 × 4.7 cm hypodense lesion with peripheral calcification contiguous with the calvarium. MRI revealed an extra-axial, T2-hyperintense, T1-hypointense lesion with internal septations extending from the calvarium into the sylvian fissure. Craniotomy achieved gross total resection, revealing a soft lesion with interwoven hair, suggestive of a dermoid cyst. Pathology confirmed a cystic lesion with mature squamous epithelium, keratin, skin appendages, and chronic inflammation. Conclusions: Dermoid cysts are rare intracranial lesions that most commonly occur in the midline. This case highlights a rare convexity dermoid cyst, expanding our understanding of its atypical locations.

Background: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak is a common complication of minimally invasive tubular microdiscectomy (MIM). However, it is not known whether patients with CSF leak can be safely discharged home the same day. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of patients with incidental durotomy after MIM from January, 2009 to August, 2023. Patient demographic information, surgery information, CSF leak management, and postoperative outcomes were recorded. Results: There were 16 patients (53%) who were admitted to hospital and 14 (47%) patients discharged home the same day post CSF leak. There were no differences in patient demographics between the two groups at baseline. Twenty-nine out of 30 (97%) of the patients had onlay duraplasty, and one (3%) patient was repaired using sutures. The hospitalized group was kept on bed rest overnight or 24 hours. The discharge group was kept on best rest for 2 hours or mobilized immediately after surgery. The average length of admission for the hospitalized group was 2.4 ± 4.0 days. No patients in either group required readmission or revision surgery for CSF leak. Conclusions: Patients with CSF leak post minimally invasive tubular microdiscectomy can be safely discharged home the same day provided that duraplasty or primary repair was performed intraoperatively.

Recent clinical trials have successfully slowed Alzheimer's disease dementia progression, but only in early-stage patients. Society must therefore shift to early diagnosis. By framing this is as an engineering design challenge, we argue that a systems approach will identify solutions by providing the means to validate dementia medical technologies from multiple levels and perspectives: society, government, public health, healthcare, and patient ecosystems. We show that new data-enabled design methods can facilitate these different granularities of thinking and outline the need for designers.

The National Environmental Isotope Facility (NEIF) Radiocarbon Laboratory at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC) performs radiocarbon measurement of a wide range of sample matrices for applications in environmental research. Radiocarbon is applied to palaeoenvironmental, palaeoceanographic, and palaeoclimatic investigations, as well as work to understand the source, fate, turnover, and age of carbon in the modern carbon cycle. The NEIF Radiocarbon Laboratory supports users in the development and deployment of novel sampling techniques and laboratory approaches. Here, we give an overview of methods and procedures used by the laboratory to support the field collection, laboratory processing, and measurement of samples. This includes in-house development of novel and/or specialized methods and approaches, such as field collection of CO2 and CH4, hydropyrolysis, and ramped oxidation. The sample types covered include organic remains (e.g., plant material, peat, wood, charcoal, proteins), carbonates (e.g., speleothems, foraminifera, mollusc shell, travertine), waters (dissolved organic and inorganic carbon), gases (CO2 and CH4), soils and sediments (including sub-fractions).

Pellet injection is used for fuelling and controlling discharges in tokamaks, and it is foreseen in ITER. During pellet injection, a movement of the ablated material towards the low-field side (or outward major radius direction) occurs because of the inhomogeneity of the magnetic field. Due to the complexity of the theoretical models, computer codes developed to simulate the cross-field drift are computationally expensive. Here, we present a one-dimensional semi-analytical model for the radial displacement of ablated material after pellet injection, taking into account both the Alfvén and ohmic currents which shortcircuit the charge separation creating the drift. The model is suitable for rapid calculation of the radial drift displacement, and can be useful for e.g. modelling of disruption mitigation via pellet injection.

Background: Basilar fenestration is a rare congenital anomaly. When present, it is commonly found at the proximal portion of the artery near the vertebrobasilar junction. Methods: This is a case report of a ruptured basilar fenestration aneurysm in a 47-year-male successfully treated with endovascular coiling. Results: A 47-year-old male presented with sudden onset headache, neck pain, blurry vision, nausea, vomiting, and diaphoresis. Cerebral angiogram revealed a saccular basilar fenestration aneurysm located at the vertebrobasilar junction measuring 3.1 x 2.6 x 3.4 mm with a 2.3 mm neck. Multiple coils were placed including Target 360 Nano 2mm x 4 cm (Stryker, Kalamazoo, MI, US), Target 360 Nano 1.5 mm x 2 cm (Stryker, Kalamazoo, MI, US), and Target Helical Nano 1.5 mm x 1 cm (Stryker, Kalamazoo, MI, US). A repeat angiogram revealed complete exclusion of the aneurysm with preservation of both vertebral arteries. Conclusions: A literature review was conducted on basilar fenestration aneurysms which included 158 patients from 39 studies. Overall, complete exclusion of the aneurysm was achieved in 75.8% of cases, with 22.4% of cases having residual flow and 1.8% of cases with unreported exclusion status.

The electron runaway phenomenon in plasmas depends sensitively on the momentum- space dynamics. However, efficient simulation of the global evolution of systems involving runaway electrons typically requires a reduced fluid description. This is needed, for example, in the design of essential runaway mitigation methods for tokamaks. In this paper, we present a method to include the effect of momentum-dependent spatial transport in the runaway avalanche growth rate. We quantify the reduction of the growth rate in the presence of electron diffusion in stochastic magnetic fields and show that the spatial transport can raise the effective critical electric field. Using a perturbative approach, we derive a set of equations that allows treatment of the effect of spatial transport on runaway dynamics in the presence of radial variation in plasma parameters. This is then used to demonstrate the effect of spatial transport in current quench simulations for ITER-like plasmas with massive material injection. We find that in scenarios with sufficiently slow current quench, owing to moderate impurity and deuterium injection, the presence of magnetic perturbations reduces the final runaway current considerably. Perturbations localised at the edge are not effective in suppressing the runaways, unless the runaway generation is off-axis, in which case they may lead to formation of strong current sheets at the interface of the confined and perturbed regions.

The net benefit from investing in any technology is a function of the cost of implementation and the expected return in revenue. The objective of the present study was to quantify, using deterministic equations, the net monetary benefit from investing in genotyping of commercial females. Three case studies were presented reflecting dairy cows, beef cows and ewes based on Irish population parameters; sensitivity analyses were also performed. Parameters considered in the sensitivity analyses included the accuracy of genomic evaluations, replacement rate, proportion of female selection candidates retained as replacements, the cost of genotyping, the sire parentage error rate and the age of the female when it first gave birth. Results were presented as an annualised monetary net benefit over the lifetime of an individual, after discounting for the timing of expressions. In the base scenarios, the net benefit was greatest for dairy, followed by beef and then sheep. The net benefit improved as the reliability of the genomic evaluations improved and, in fact, a negative net benefit of genotyping was less frequent when the reliability of the genomic evaluations was high. The impact of a 10% point increase in genomic reliability was, however, greatest in sheep, followed by beef and then dairy. The net benefit of genotyping female selection candidates reduced as replacement rate increased. As genotyping costs increased, the net benefit reduced irrespective of the percentage of selection candidates kept, the replacement rate or even the population considered. Nonetheless, the association between the genotyping cost and the net benefit of genotyping differed by the percentage of selection candidates kept. Across all replacement rates evaluated, retaining 25% of the selection candidates resulted in the greatest net benefit when genotyping cost was low but the lowest net benefit when genotyping cost was high. Genotyping breakeven cost was non-linearly associated with the percentage of selection candidates retained, reaching a maximum when 50% of selection candidates were retained, irrespective of replacement rate, genomic reliability or the population. The genotyping breakeven cost was also non-linearly associated with replacement rate. The approaches outlined within provide the back-end framework for a decision support tool to quantify the net benefit of genotyping, once parameterised by the relevant population metrics.

Radiocarbon (14C) analysis of carbon dioxide (CO2) provides unique information on the age, turnover and source of this important greenhouse gas, raising the prospect of novel scientific investigations into a range of natural and anthropogenic processes. To achieve these measurements, cartridges containing zeolite molecular sieves are a reliable and convenient method for collecting CO2 samples. At the NERC Radiocarbon Facility (East Kilbride) we have been refining our molecular sieve methods for over twenty years to achieve high-quality, reproducible and precise measurements. At the same time, we have been developing novel field sampling methods to expand the possibilities in collecting gas from the atmosphere, soil respiration and aquatic environments. Here, we present our latest improvements to cartridge design and procedures. We provide the results of tests used to verify the methods using known 14C content standards, demonstrating reliability for sample volumes of 3 mL CO2 (STP; 1.6 mg C) collected in cartridges that had been prepared at least three months earlier. We also report the results of quality assurance standards processed over the last two years, with results for 22 out of 23 international 14C standards being within measurement uncertainty of consensus values. We describe our latest automated procedures for the preparation of cartridges prior to use.

Non-communicable diseases are projected to become the most common causes of death in Africa by 2030. The impact on health of epidemiological and nutritional transitions in sub-Saharan Africa remains unclear. To assess the trends of dietary fatty acids over time in Uganda, we examined fatty acids in serum collected from individuals in rural south-west Uganda, at three time points over two decades. Independent cross-sectional samples of 915 adults and children were selected from the general population cohort in 1990 (n 281), 2000 (n 283) and 2008 (n 351). Serum phospholipid fatty acids were measured by GC. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to compare the geometric means of fatty acids by time period. Serum fatty acid profiling showed high proportions of SFA, cis-MUFA and industrial trans-fatty acids (iTFA), likely to be biomarkers of high consumption of palm oil and hydrogenated fats. In contrast, proportions of n-6 and n-3 PUFA from vegetable oils and fish were low. From 1990 to 2008, serum phospholipids showed increases in absolute amounts of SFA (17·3 % increase in adults and 26·4 % in children), MUFA (16·7 % increase in adults and 16·8 % in children) and n-6:n-3 PUFA (40·1 % increase in adults and 39·8 % in children). The amount of elaidic acid, iTFA from hydrogenated fats, increased in children (60·1 % increase). In this rural Ugandan population, we show evidence of unfavourable trends over time of dietary fatty acids.

High-$Z$ impurities in magnetic-confinement devices are prone to develop density variations on the flux surface, which can significantly affect their transport. In this paper, we generalize earlier analytic stellarator calculations of the neoclassical radial impurity flux in the mixed-collisionality regime (collisional impurities and low-collisionality bulk ions) to include the effect of such flux-surface variations. We find that only in the homogeneous density case is the transport of highly collisional impurities (in the Pfirsch–Schlüter regime) independent of the radial electric field. We study these effects for a Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) vacuum field, with simple analytic models for the potential perturbation, under the assumption that the impurity density is given by a Boltzmann response to a perturbed potential. In the W7-X case studied, we find that larger amplitude potential perturbations cause the radial electric field to dominate the transport of the impurities. In addition, we find that classical impurity transport can be larger than the neoclassical transport in W7-X.

Epstein Barr virus (EBV) infects 95% of the global population and is associated with up to 2% of cancers globally. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody levels to EBV have been shown to be heritable and associated with developing malignancies. We, therefore, performed a pilot genome-wide association analysis of anti-EBV IgG traits in an African population, using a combined approach including array genotyping, whole-genome sequencing and imputation to a panel with African sequence data. In 1562 Ugandans, we identify a variant in human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQA1, rs9272371 (p = 2.6 × 10−17) associated with anti-EBV nuclear antigen-1 responses. Trans-ancestry meta-analysis and fine-mapping with European-ancestry individuals suggest the presence of distinct HLA class II variants driving associations in Uganda. In addition, we identify four putative, novel, very rare African-specific loci with preliminary evidence for association with anti-viral capsid antigen IgG responses which will require replication for validation. These findings reinforce the need for the expansion of such studies in African populations with relevant datasets to capture genetic diversity.

The accumulation of impurities in the core of magnetically confined plasmas, resulting from standard collisional transport mechanisms, is a known threat to their performance as fusion energy sources. Whilst the axisymmetric tokamak systems have been shown to benefit from the effect of temperature screening, that is an outward flux of impurities driven by the temperature gradient, impurity accumulation in stellarators was thought to be inevitable, driven robustly by the inward pointing electric field characteristic of hot fusion plasmas. We have shown in Helander et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett., vol. 118, 2017a, 155002) that such screening can in principle also appear in stellarators, in the experimentally relevant mixed collisionality regime, where a highly collisional impurity species is present in a low collisionality bulk plasma. Details of the analytic calculation are presented here, along with the effect of the impurity on the bulk ion flow, which will ultimately affect the bulk contribution to the bootstrap current.

Retreat of Mendenhall Glacier nearJuneau, Alaska, U.S.A., has exposed a bedrock ridge spotted with “siltskins”, patchy coatings of calcite-cemented clay-to sandsized lithic grains. Coatings 0.5–20 mm thick occur in two distinct morphologies. Thin, striated siltskins coat mainly stoss faces. Thicker, corrugated siltskins on lee faces consist of parallel micro-ridges elongated downslope. Thin-section analysis shows that siltskins consist of a basal, calcite-rich layer overlain by microlaminated layers of calcite-cemented lithic grains. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) analysis of laminae and surfaces shows laterally persistent Ca/Si differences. Isotopic values for δO18 and δO13 ranged from −19.52‰ to −12.74‰ and −6.18‰ to −3.44‰, respectively, consistent with deposition from subglacial waters of varying isotopic composition and with derivation of carbon from inorganic sources. Corrugated siltskins are complex depositional features modified by erosional processes. Parallel micro-ridges spaced 1–10 mm apparently formed as sediment-rich water dripped down lee-slope rock faces. Ice–rock separation, flow energy and the transported sediment controlled the layering and depositional forms. Siltskins probably formed when a subglacial cavity system was active on the rock ridge and provide clues about how microscale hydrologic processes interact with larger-scale subglacial systems.

The bootstrap current and flow velocity of a low-collisionality stellarator plasma are calculated. As far as possible, the analysis is carried out in a uniform way across all low-collisionality regimes in general stellarator geometry, assuming only that the confinement is good enough that the plasma is approximately in local thermodynamic equilibrium. It is found that conventional expressions for the ion flow speed and bootstrap current in the low-collisionality limit are accurate only in the $1/\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}$ -collisionality regime and need to be modified in the $\sqrt{\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}}$ -regime. The correction due to finite collisionality is also discussed and is found to scale as  $\unicode[STIX]{x1D708}^{2/5}$ .

Coin finds are used to inform discussion about coins in circulation and, hence, economic activity. This discussion often rests on the assumption that patterns in finds of accidentally lost coins mirror to a useful extent those of the coins in circulation at the time. Whenever possible, such assumptions should be tested. This study does this empirically with data from a known coinage. Conditional support was found for the assumption. There is also some evidence that coin size and denomination can affect the coin record but these variables did not add significantly to predictions about coins in circulation based only on the numbers of coins found. Some conditions and precautions are suggested when using the assumption and some uses of data based on accidentally lost coins are discussed.

Aerial photography was obtained for the Beaufort Sea north of Tuktoyaktuk. The flight path covered two distinct ice zones over a 15.5 km transect extending perpendicular to the coast, yielding fifty-nine photographs at a scale of 1 : 2000. The process of ridge extraction was automated using a series of computer algorithms for image filtering, edge detection and edge linking. Examples from two different sections along the transect are chosen for presentation: (a) a heavily ridged area, and (b) an area with one dominant linear ridge feature that separates ice cover of different age. Two parameters used in the automated process, a minimum edge gradient and minimum number of connected pixels said to form a continuous ridge segment, influence the number, length and spatial pattern of extracted ridges. Direct one-to-one correlations between manually interpreted ridges from photographs and the algorithm extracted ridges from digital data are not always possible. However, results indicate that the automated ridge extraction procedure reliably characterizes the overall direction and density of the ice ridges. The distribution of the ice-ridge directions is estimated from circular (angular) histograms constructed directly from the digital data. Analysis of the Beaufort Sea transect reveals that the ice ridging is strongly anisotropic, with a principal direction parallel to the local coastline.

Glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops are produced over large areas in North America. A study was conducted at six western Canada research sites to determine seed date and tillage system effects on weed populations in GR spring wheat and canola cropping systems from 2000 to 2003. Four-year wheat–canola–wheat–pea rotations were devised with varying levels of GR crops in the rotation. Weed populations were determined at pre– and post–in-crop herbicide application intervals in 2000 and 2003. Early seeding led to higher and more variable in-crop wild oat and wild buckwheat populations. High frequencies of in-crop glyphosate wheat in the rotation usually improved weed management and reduced weed density and variability. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) across all locations revealed that by 2003, green foxtail, redroot pigweed, sowthistle spp., wild buckwheat, and wild oat, all associated with the rotation lacking in-crop glyphosate. Similar CDA analyses for individual locations indicated specific weeds were associated with 3 yr of in-crop glyphosate (Canada thistle at Brandon, henbit at Lacombe, and volunteer wheat, volunteer canola, and round-leaved mallow at Lethbridge). However, only henbit at Lacombe and volunteer wheat at Lethbridge occurred at significant densities. Although excellent weed control was attained in rotations containing a high frequency of GR crops, the merits of more integrated approaches to weed management and crop production should also be considered. Overall, rotations including GR spring wheat did not significantly increase short-term weed management risks in conventional tillage or low soil-disturbance direct-seeding systems.

With the changing distribution of infectious diseases, and an increase in the burden of non-communicable diseases, low- and middle-income countries, including those in Africa, will need to expand their health care capacities to effectively respond to these epidemiological transitions. The interrelated risk factors for chronic infectious and non-communicable diseases and the need for long-term disease management, argue for combined strategies to understand their underlying causes and to design strategies for effective prevention and long-term care. Through multidisciplinary research and implementation partnerships, we advocate an integrated approach for research and healthcare for chronic diseases in Africa.