A 10 Year Survey on Childhood CNS Tumors

AbstractObjectiveTumors of the central nervous system constitute the largest group of solid neoplasms in children and are second only to leukemia in their overall frequency during childhood. The main purpose of the present study is to determine the incidence, age, sex, location and histological diagnosis of CNS tumors in children, less than 15 years of age, in the Mofid Children's Hospital, in the past 10 years. Materials and MethodsIn this descriptive retrospective study we reviewed the medical records of 143 children with diagnosis of CNS tumors admitted during the past 10 years in neurology and surgery departments of Mofid Children's Hospital between the years 1996 and 2006.ResultsDuring the 10 year study period, CNS tumor was diagnosed in 143 patients; of these tumors, 119 were intracranial and 58 were intraspinal; 51.3% of brain tumors were located in the supratentorial and 48.7% in the infratentorial regions. The most common intracranial neoplasms were astrocytic tumors (36.8%), embryonal tumors (31.1%) and ependymal tumors (13.4%). Of the intraspinal neoplasms the most frequently noted were embryonal tumors(37.5%), mesenchymal meningothelial tumors (20.8%), followed by astrocytic tumors (16.7%). The median age at diagnosis was 8.9 ± 4.1 years with a male to female ratio of 1.4:1 (PConclusionBrain tumors in children constitute a diverse group in terms of incidence,distribution and histopathological diagnosis.

C-REACTIVE PROTEIN AND LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE IN SERUM AND CEREBROSPINAL FLUID IN RAPID AND EARLY DIAGNOSIS OF CHILDHOOD MENINGITIS

ObjectiveBacterial meningitis is still a life threatening epidemiological problem especially in many developing countries; considering its dire consequences, its prompt and accurate diagnosis has become a priority for clinicians. Because of the various limitations of conventionally used laboratory techniques, we evaluated and compared the diagnostic utility of C-reactive protein(CRP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH)in serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)in the diagnosis of bacterial meningitis and its effectivity in distinguishing it from aseptic meningitis (AP).Material and MethodsA total of 125 pediatric cases, aged between 1 month and 12 years, including patients with bacterial meningitis (n=45), aseptic meningitis (n=42) and a control group (n=38), were retrospectively analyzed on the basis of data from the initial clinical examinations. Cultures, smears and other common serum and CSF indices were compared with serum and CSF CRP levels and LDH activity.ResultsCompared with each of the other variables, there were significant differences in the mean values of serum-CRP, CSF-glucose, CSF-LDH and CSF/serum LDH ratio between the bacterial and aseptic meningitis groups (

Decommissioning vs. repowering of offshore wind farms—a techno-economic assessment

Offshore wind turbines are normally designed for a nominal service life of 20 to 25 years; however, with a significant number of units approaching the second half of their service life, the discussion on selecting the most appropriate end-of-life scenario becomes ever more relevant. Scenarios to be investigated mainly include decommissioning, repowering, or service life extension, while such decisions depend on a number of criteria which should be taken into account and should ultimately inform a techno-economic and risk assessment. This paper performs an initial comparative assessment between two of these scenarios, repowering and decommissioning, through a purpose developed techno-economic analysis model which calculates relevant key performance indicators. The economic model of risk aversion is further adopted to calculate the certainty equivalent of LCoE (levelized cost of energy) based on each of the examined end-of-life scenarios and a stochastic expansion of the deterministic model. An application to a typical, hypothetical offshore wind farm qualifies the full repowering scenario as the prevailing option, under the assumptions considered, with a lower amount of risk premium (1.136 £/MWh) and certainty equivalent (69.821 £/MWh) in comparison to other scenarios, reducing LCoE by nearly 35% compared to partial decommissioning and 36.5% compared to full decommissioning

Alcohol reverses the effects of KCNJ6 (GIRK2) noncoding variants on excitability of human glutamatergic neurons.

Synonymous and noncoding single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the KCNJ6 gene, encoding G protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium channel subunit 2 (GIRK2), have been linked with increased electroencephalographic frontal theta event-related oscillations (ERO) in subjects diagnosed with alcohol use disorder (AUD). To identify molecular and cellular mechanisms while retaining the appropriate genetic background, we generated induced excitatory glutamatergic neurons (iN) from iPSCs derived from four AUD-diagnosed subjects with KCNJ6 variants ("Affected: AF") and four control subjects without variants ("Unaffected: UN"). Neurons were analyzed for changes in gene expression, morphology, excitability and physiological properties. Single-cell RNA sequencing suggests that KCNJ6 AF variant neurons have altered patterns of synaptic transmission and cell projection morphogenesis. Results confirm that AF neurons express lower levels of GIRK2, have greater neurite area, and elevated excitability. Interestingly, exposure to intoxicating concentrations of ethanol induces GIRK2 expression and reverses functional effects in AF neurons. Ectopic overexpression of GIRK2 alone mimics the effect of ethanol to normalize induced excitability. We conclude that KCNJ6 variants decrease GIRK2 expression and increase excitability and that this effect can be minimized or reduced with ethanol.VoRN/APsychiatry and Behavioral SciencesHenri Begleiter Neurodynamics LaboratoryN/

Decommissioning vs. repowering of offshore wind farms—a techno-economic assessment

Offshore wind turbines are normally designed for a nominal service life of 20 to 25 years; however, with a significant number of units approaching the second half of their service life, the discussion on selecting the most appropriate end-of-life scenario becomes ever more relevant. Scenarios to be investigated mainly include decommissioning, repowering, or service life extension, while such decisions depend on a number of criteria which should be taken into account and should ultimately inform a techno-economic and risk assessment. This paper performs an initial comparative assessment between two of these scenarios, repowering and decommissioning, through a purpose developed techno-economic analysis model which calculates relevant key performance indicators. The economic model of risk aversion is further adopted to calculate the certainty equivalent of LCoE (levelized cost of energy) based on each of the examined end-of-life scenarios and a stochastic expansion of the deterministic model. An application to a typical, hypothetical offshore wind farm qualifies the full repowering scenario as the prevailing option, under the assumptions considered, with a lower amount of risk premium (1.136 £/MWh) and certainty equivalent (69.821 £/MWh) in comparison to other scenarios, reducing LCoE by nearly 35% compared to partial decommissioning and 36.5% compared to full decommissioning