The relationships between baseline neuropsychiatric factors and clinical outcome in patients with functional neurological disorder (FND)/conversion disorder remain poorly understood.
This ...prospective, naturalistic pilot study investigated links between predisposing vulnerabilities (risk factors) and clinical outcome in patients with motor FND engaged in usual care within a subspecialty FND clinic.
Thirty-four patients with motor FND were enrolled and completed baseline and 6-month follow-up psychometric questionnaires. Univariate screening tests followed by multivariate linear regression analyses were used to investigate neuropsychiatric predictors of 6-month clinical outcome in patients with motor FND.
In univariate analyses, baseline secure attachment traits and depression as measured by the Relationship Scales Questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory-II positively correlated with improved Patient Health Questionnaire-15 scores. In a multivariate linear regression analysis adjusting for the interval time between baseline and follow-up data collection, baseline secure attachment and depression scores independently predicted improvements in Patient Health Questionnaire-15 scores. In additional analyses, patients with a diagnosis of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures compared to individuals with other motor FND subtypes showed a trend toward worse 6-month physical health outcomes as measured by the Short Form Health Survey-36.
Future large-scale, multi-site longitudinal studies are needed to comprehensively investigate neuropsychiatric predictors of clinical outcome in patients with motor FND, including functional weakness, functional movement disorders, and psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.
Paragangliomas are extra-adrenal tumors of the autonomic nervous system and may be found within the skull base, neck, chest, and abdomen. When presenting within the abdominal cavity, they may arise ...as a primary retroperitoneal neoplasm and can mimic vascular malformations or other conditions related to specific retroperitoneal organs such as the pancreas, kidneys, or adrenals. Retroperitoneal paragangliomas are mostly benign with good prognosis; however, they can present with abdominal pain, palpable mass, or hypertensive episodes. Patients should be initially evaluated with catecholamine levels, followed by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging to locate the primary lesion. Surgical excision remains the mainstay of treatment, although advanced disease and proximity to vital organs can make excision difficult or impossible. This case report describes a patient who initially underwent work up for a suspected pancreatic head mass which was discovered to be a retroperitoneal paraganglioma by frozen section.
Histone methyltransferases (HMT) catalyze the methylation of histone tail lysines, resulting in changes in gene transcription. Misregulation of these enzymes has been associated with various forms of ...cancer, making this target class a potential new area for the development of novel chemotherapeutics. EZH2 is the catalytic component of the polycomb group repressive complex (PRC2), which selectively methylates histone H3 lysine 27 (H3K27). EZH2 is overexpressed in prostate, breast, bladder, brain, and other tumor types and is recognized as a molecular marker for cancer progression and aggressiveness. Several new reagents and assays were developed to aid in the identification of EZH2 inhibitors, and these were used to execute two high-throughput screening campaigns. Activity assays using either an H3K27 peptide or nucleosomes as substrates for methylation are described. The strategy to screen EZH2 with either a surrogate peptide or a natural substrate led to the identification of the same tractable series. Compounds from this series are reversible, are (3)H-S-adenosyl-L-methionine competitive, and display biochemical inhibition of H3K27 methylation.
Teachers the world over are discovering the importance and benefits of incorporating popular culture into the music classroom. The cultural prevalence and the students' familiarity with recorded ...music, videos, games, and other increasingly accessible multimedia materials help enliven course content and foster interactive learning and participation. Pop-Culture Pedagogy in the Music Classroom: Teaching Tools from American Idol to YouTube provides ideas and techniques for teaching music classes using elements of popular culture that resonate with students' everyday lives. From popular songs and genres to covers, mixes, and mashups; from video games such as Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero to television shows like American Idol, this exciting collection offers pedagogical models for incorporating pop culture and its associated technologies into a wide variety of music courses. Biamonte has collected well-rounded essays that consider a variety of applications. After an introduction, the essays are organized in 3 sections. The first addresses general tools and technology that can be incorporated into almost any music class: sound-mixing techniques and the benefits of using iPods and YouTube. The middle section uses popular songs, video games, or other aspects of pop culture to demonstrate music-theory topics or to develop ear-training and rhythmic skills. The final section examines the musical, lyrical, or visual content in popular songs, genres, or videos as a point of departure for addressing broader issues and contexts. Each chapter contains notes and a bibliography, and two comprehensive appendixes list popular song examples for teaching harmony, melody, and rhythm. Two indexes cross-reference the material by title and by general subject. While written with college and secondary-school teachers in mind, the methods and materials presented here can be adapted to any educational level.
As part of the Copernicus programme of the European Commission (EC), the European Space Agency (ESA) operates the Sentinel-2 mission that acquires high spatial resolution optical imagery. The ...consistency of the image time series is ensured by some specific performance requirements such as multi-temporal spatial registration and radiometric stability, routinely monitored by the Sentinel-2 Mission Performance Centre (S2MPC). The products also provide a rich set of metadata and auxiliary data to support high-level processing activities. This presentation provides a description of the main level-1 products calibration and validation activities, performed by the S2MPC including several Expert Support Laboratories (ESL). Measured performances and analysed results show the good quality of the mission products both in terms of radiometry and geometry. The current performances for Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B are compared to mission product quality requirements.
Thirteen children (1.8-15.8 years of age) with brain tumors were studied with 11CL-methionine positron emission tomography (METPET). Patients were injected intravenously with tracer before a baseline ...PET scan was obtained. To assess the sensitivity of 11CL-methionine uptake to competitive inhibition, 10 patients received oral L-phenylalanine (100 mg/kg); 1 hour later, a second METPET was obtained. Subjective assessment of 11CL-methionine uptake closely paralleled results of quantitative examination (r = 0.81). 11CL-methionine uptake in tumor-containing brain was increased in 11 patients (mean ratio of 11C radioactivity in tumor to normal brain: 1.5 +/- 0.57; range: 1.13-2.98). Increased tracer uptake occurred in ependymomas (3), medulloblastoma (1), and astrocytomas (5), but was less intense in low-grade tumors. L-phenylalanine reduced L-methionine uptake (25-69%) in 70% of studies. L-methionine uptake was not sensitive to competitive inhibition in brain radiation injury. Two-phase METPET is of potential value in difficult clinical situations evident in children with brain tumors, including the differential diagnosis of tumor recurrence and cerebral radiation injury.
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