Background: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) measurements poorly predict vasospasm in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Variability descriptors of mean cerebral blood flow velocity (mean-CBFV) may improve this prediction. We assessed the feasibility of generating reliable mean-CBFV variability metrics using extended TCD recordings in aSAH patients and healthy controls. We also explored whether these parameters are capable to discriminate aSAH patients from healthy controls, and between patients with and without vasospasm. Methods: Bilateral mean-CBFV, systemic blood pressure and heart rate were recorded for 40 minutes in 3 groups: aSAH patients (n=8) within the first 5 days post-ictus, age-matched healthy controls (n=8) and young healthy controls (n=8). We obtained linear [standard deviations, coefficient of variations, very-low, low and high-frequency power-spectra] and non-linear [Fractality, deterministic Chaos analyses] variability metrics. Results: All TCD recordings provided consistent variability metrics. aSAH patients showed higher correlation dimensions, increased high-frequency spectral power, and decreased very-low frequency power than healthy controls. aSAH patients who developed vasospasm (n=3) showed higher mean-CBFV and lower coefficient of variations than those without vasospasm (n=5). Conclusions: Descriptors of mean-CBFV variability may distinguish between aSAH patients with and without vasospasm. Future studies are required to evaluate the role of these variability parameters for risk stratification in aSAH.

With this survey, we investigated healthcare-associated invasive mold infection (HA-IMI) surveillance and air sampling practices in US acute-care hospitals. More than half of surveyed facilities performed HA-IMI surveillance and air sampling. HA-IMI surveillance was more commonly performed in academic versus nonacademic facilities. HA-IMI case definitions and sampling strategies varied widely among respondents.

New dietary-based concepts are needed for treatment and effective prevention of overweight and obesity. The primary objective was to investigate if reduction in appetite is associated with improved weight loss maintenance. This cohort study was nested within the European Commission project Satiety Innovation (SATIN). Participants achieving ≥8% weight loss during an initial 8-week low-energy formula diet were included in a 12-week randomised double-blind parallel weight loss maintenance intervention. The intervention included food products designed to reduce appetite or matching controls along with instructions to follow national dietary guidelines. Appetite was assessed by ad libitum energy intake and self-reported appetite evaluations using visual analogue scales during standardised appetite probe days. These were evaluated at the first day of the maintenance period compared with baseline (acute effects after a single exposure of intervention products) and post-maintenance compared with baseline (sustained effects after repeated exposures of intervention products) regardless of randomisation. A total of 181 participants (forty-seven men and 134 women) completed the study. Sustained reduction in 24-h energy intake was associated with improved weight loss maintenance (R 0·37; P = 0·001), whereas the association was not found acutely (P = 0·91). Suppression in self-reported appetite was associated with improved weight loss maintenance both acutely (R −0·32; P = 0·033) and sustained (R −0·33; P = 0·042). Reduction in appetite seems to be associated with improved body weight management, making appetite-reducing food products an interesting strategy for dietary-based concepts.

A number of natural kaolinites from a variety of world sources have been investigated using electron spin resonance at both X-band and Q-band. The results show systematic differences some of which are related to the crystallinity of the material, some to the presence of transition metal ions other than Fe3+ and hole-trapping defects.

The results provide evidence for at least three sites for substitution of Fe3+ having large crystal fields : (i) a site with near maximum rhombic character having crystal field parameters D > 1·2, λ = ⅓ the occurrence of which is correlated with lack of crystalline perfection due to stacking defects or to the proximity of surfaces, (ii) a site with less rhombic character with λ = 0·234, D = 0·585 as likely parameters, and (iii) a site with parameters near the values λ = 0·207, D = 0·322.

Mössbauer and ESR evidence suggests that the principal sites of Fe3+ substitution are octahedral. The presence of Fe3+ in adjacent cation sites leads to a very broad resonance centred near g eff = 2. Other resonances in the spectra are attributed to the effect of trapped holes, some at least of which are situated at oxygen sites adjacent to Al3+ ions substituting in sites normally occupied by Si4+.

Hyperfine effects due to the presence of the transition ions Mn2+ and (VO)2+ are also observed.

Two clay samples originating in the kaolinized granite area near St. Austell, Cornwall, have been examined by Mössbauer spectroscopy. The iron-containing impurity in the sample with a red discoloration (sample A) has, by measurement of the hyperfine magnetic field, been identified as hematite. In the case of sample B, which was yellow in colour, preliminary Mössbauer work indicated β-FeOOH as the impurity, but detailed measurements of hyperfine field and Nöel temperature, when compared with similar results for a synthetic β-FeOOH sample, suggested otherwise. X-ray and chemical work suggested that the iron-containing phase in sample B is goethite, α-FeOOH in which some substitution of Al+3 for Fe3+ has occurred; the Mössbauer data are consistent with this conclusion. Both clay samples exhibited superparamagnetic behaviour and this has been utilized to obtain rough estimates of the mean radius of the particles of the iron-containing impurity. These were 117 Å for the α-Fe2O3 in sample A and 270 Å for aluminian α-FeOOH in sample B.

The effect of heat treatment in air at temperatures from 200°C to 1000°C of two Cornish biotites has been studied using the M6ssbauer effect in 57Fe. One of the micas was also studied after heating in vacuo.

Progressive changes in the Mössbauer spectra of the materials after heat treatment can be correlated with the following processes: Oxidation of Fe2+ ions in isolated octahedral sites to give Fe3+ in the co-ordination Fe3+(OsOH); oxidation of Fe2+ ions in adjacent a-octahedral (cis OH−) sites to give Fe3+(O6); and oxidation of Fe z+ in adjacent a and b (trans OH−) sites to give either Fe3+(O5OH) or Fe3+(O6) depending on whether a shared hydroxyl group remains intact or otherwise (these processes occur at temperatures below 500°C Also, at higher temperatures, dehydroxylation of Fe3+(O5OH) to give more Fe3+ in the Fe3+(O6) configuration. Finally, in the temperature range 900 to 1000°C structural breakdown yielding α-Fe2O3 as the iron-containing phase.

The results and interpretation are in good agreement with thermogravimetric data and with a previous infra-red study. The mechanism of charge diffusion in the lattice during oxidation is discussed in the light of the results.

Well-resolved Mössbauer spectra of several dioctahedral and trioctahedral micas have been obtained and subjected to detailed computer analysis. Most of the spectra can be resolved into two ferrous quadrupole doublets and one ferric quadrupole doublet. In dioctahedral micas, ferrous iron is seen to occupy the larger, more symmetric octahedral site in preference to the smaller, less symmetric site, confirming predictions made on the basis of structure alone. In trioctahedral micas there is still a tendency for ferrous iron to occupy preferentially the more symmetric octahedral site even though the two octahedral sites are no longer distinguished by size. A lithium-rich biotite gives a spectrum typical of that expected from a mica with a zinnwaldite structure, but the spectrum of a more authenticated zinnwaldite could not be resolved sufficiently for detailed structural interpretation. The spectra of pyrophyllite and talc give results that can be related to the corresponding micas by considering their respective structural differences. In none of the micas studied was there evidence of ferric iron in tetrahedral coordination. The ferrous: ferric ratios obtained from the Mössbauer spectra do not always agree with the chemical values. In several cases the spectra show more ferrous iron than found chemically. It is suggested that the spectral values are more accurate, oxidation on chemical analysis being the most likely source of error.

Background: Intracranial mycotic aneurysms are rare forms of vascular abnormalities. They are typically fragile and have high tendency to bleed. Even when they are successfully secured upon intervention, the medical management can be challenging in presence of other non-ruptured aneurysms and concomitant cerebral vasospasm. Methods: A 31 year old female was admitted with right sided large intracerebral hemorrhage due to ruptured mycotic MCA aneurysm. She was also known with severe tricuspid regurgitation from drug abuse. Others aneurysms were also located intracranially and extracranially, including subclavian and renal arteries. Results: The MCA aneurysm was successfully clipped during decompressive craniectomy. The non-ruptured left ACA aneurysm was occluded through endovascular intervention. Due to cardiac condition and presence of other non-secured extarcranial aneurysms, we followed the MNI protocol for treating cerebral vasospsam by milrinone infusion. The treatment was successful for over three weeks until another micro-aneurysm had ruptured which had lead to severe and rapid clinical deterioration, that had lead eventually to death. Conclusions: Intracranial mycotic aneurysms remain challenging. Patients should be selected for surgical clipping versus endovascular intervention based on clinical state and radiological features. We suggest using milrinone over induced hypertension therapy for post-intervention cerebral vasospasm in order to lower the risk for rupturing non-secured aneurysms.

By applying a display ecology to the Deeper, Wider, Faster proactive, simultaneous telescope observing campaign, we have shown a dramatic reduction in the time taken to inspect DECam CCD images for potential transient candidates and to produce time-critical triggers to standby telescopes. We also show how facilitating rapid corroboration of potential candidates and the exclusion of non-candidates improves the accuracy of detection; and establish that a practical and enjoyable workspace can improve the experience of an otherwise taxing task for astronomers. We provide a critical road test of two advanced displays in a research context—a rare opportunity to demonstrate how they can be used rather than simply discuss how they might be used to accelerate discovery.

The discovery, identification, and radiocarbon dating of the large achatinid land snail Limicolaria kambeul chudeaui at six places in northwestern Sudan, north of the 100-mm isohyet, provide convincing evidence that at least 300 mm annual rainfall existed there 6000 yr ago. Since then the rainfall north of ca. 20°N lat in the eastern Sahara has certainly been <300 mm and probably <200 mm. Accelerator mass spectrometry has allowed the organic fraction, presumably conchiolin, to be accurately radiocarbon dated whereas carbonate fractions are ca. 600 yr too old. Comparative studies show the subfossil form, L. k. chudeaui, to be the most primitive in its species complex and to occupy a narrow east-west belt across Africa north of 15°N and west of 35°E. The northern limit of living forms lies within the southern part of the Sahelian zone in forest or forest-savanna. They cannot live in open grassland. Therefore, the distribution of L. k. chudeaui marks the former northern position of this zone during the middle Holocene, indicating a latitudinal shift of at least 5° (500 km).

Fossil remains of Euceratherium collinum (extinct shrub-ox) have been found throughout North America, including the Grand Canyon. Recent finds from the Escalante River Basin in southern Utah further extend the animal's range into the heart of the Colorado Plateau. E. collinum teeth and a metapodial condyle (foot bone) have been recovered in association with large distinctively shaped dung pellets, a morphology similar to a ‘Hershey's Kiss’ (HK), from a late Pleistocene dung layer in Bechan Cave. HK dung pellets have also been recovered from other alcoves in the Escalante River Basin including Willow and Fortymile canyons. Detailed analyses of the HK pellets confirmed them to be E. collinum and indicate a browser-type diet dominated (> 95%) by trees and shrubs: Artemisia tridentata (big sagebrush), Acacia sp. (acacia), Quercus (oak), and Chrysothamnus (rabbit brush). The retrieval of spring and fall pollen suggests E. collinum was a year-round resident in the Escalante River Basin.

Plant and animal remains found in packrat (Neotoma spp.) middens and cave fill from the eastern and southern Great Basin region reveal the presence of subalpine conifers and boreal mammals at relatively low elevations during the Late Wisconsin. Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) and bristlecone pine (P. longaeva) were important in the late Pleistocene plant communities throughout this region. Spruce (Picea cf. engelmannii) and common juniper (Juniperus communis) were present in some of the more northerly localities, and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and white fir (Abies concolor) were present in southern and eastern localities. Single needle pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla), common across this region today, was apparently not present north of the Sheep Range of southern Nevada during the Late Wisconsin. Pikas (Ochotona cf. princeps), small boreal mammals present in only a few Great Basin mountain ranges today, were common throughout the region. Heather voles (Phenacomys cf. intermedius) have been found in two cave fill deposits in Nevada, though they are unknown in the Great Basin today. Limber and bristlecone pines are generally restricted to rocky substrates in modern subalpine habitats in the Great Basin, and this may also have been the case when these plants grew at lower elevations during the Late Wisconsin. Subalpine conifers were present on the rock outcrops sampled by the packrat middens, but shrub communities, perhaps dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), may have been present on alluvial valley-bottom substrates. Forested habitats would thus have been isolated habitat islands, as they are today. Boreal small mammals, including pikas and heather voles, were able to colonize the Great Basin mountain ranges during the late Pleistocene. We suggest that these mammals were able to survive in the intervening valley-bottoms under a cool-summer climatic regime, and that continuous forest or woodland corridors were not necessary for migration.