Picoflare jets power the solar wind emerging from a coronal hole on the Sun.

Coronal holes are areas on the Sun with open magnetic field lines. They are a source region of the solar wind, but how the wind emerges from coronal holes is not known. We observed a coronal hole using the Extreme Ultraviolet Imager on the Solar Orbiter spacecraft. We identified jets on scales of a few hundred kilometers, which last 20 to 100 seconds and reach speeds of ~100 kilometers per second. The jets are powered by magnetic reconnection and have kinetic energy in the picoflare range. They are intermittent but widespread within the observed coronal hole. We suggest that such picoflare jets could produce enough high-temperature plasma to sustain the solar wind and that the wind emerges from coronal holes as a highly intermittent outflow at small scales.

Understanding the Role of Mass-Unloading in a Filament Eruption.

We describe a partial filament eruption on 11 December 2011 that demonstrates that the inclusion of mass is an important next step for understanding solar eruptions. Observations from the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory-Behind (STEREO-B) and the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft were used to remove line-of-sight projection effects in filament motion and correlate the effect of plasma dynamics with the evolution of the filament height. Flux cancellation and nearby flux emergence are shown to have played a role in increasing the height of the filament prior to eruption. The two viewpoints allow the quantitative estimation of a large mass-unloading, the subsequent radial expansion, and the eruption of the filament to be investigated. A 1.8 to 4.1 lower-limit ratio between gravitational and magnetic-tension forces was found. We therefore conclude that following the loss-of-equilibrium of the flux-rope, the radial expansion of the flux-rope was restrained by the filamentary material until 70% of the mass had evacuated the structure through mass-unloading. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s11207-017-1224-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorised users.

Observations and Modelling of the Pre-flare Period of the 29 March 2014 X1 Flare.

On 29 March 2014, NOAA Active Region (AR) 12017 produced an X1 flare that was simultaneously observed by an unprecedented number of observatories. We have investigated the pre-flare period of this flare from 14:00 UT until 19:00 UT using joint observations made by the Interface Region Imaging Spectrometer (IRIS) and the Hinode Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS). Spectral lines providing coverage of the solar atmosphere from the chromosphere to the corona were analysed to investigate pre-flare activity within the AR. The results of the investigation have revealed evidence of strongly blue-shifted plasma flows, with velocities up to 200 km s - 1 , being observed 40 minutes prior to flaring. These flows are located along the filament present in the active region and are both spatially discrete and transient. In order to constrain the possible explanations for this activity, we undertake non-potential magnetic field modelling of the active region. This modelling indicates the existence of a weakly twisted flux rope along the polarity inversion line in the region where a filament and the strong pre-flare flows are observed. We then discuss how these observations relate to the current models of flare triggering. We conclude that the most likely drivers of the observed activity are internal reconnection in the flux rope, early onset of the flare reconnection, or tether-cutting reconnection along the filament.

Understanding the Physical Nature of Coronal "EIT Waves".

For almost 20 years the physical nature of globally propagating waves in the solar corona (commonly called "EIT waves") has been controversial and subject to debate. Additional theories have been proposed over the years to explain observations that did not agree with the originally proposed fast-mode wave interpretation. However, the incompatibility of observations made using the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EIT) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory with the fast-mode wave interpretation was challenged by differing viewpoints from the twin Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory spacecraft and data with higher spatial and temporal resolution from the Solar Dynamics Observatory. In this article, we reexamine the theories proposed to explain EIT waves to identify measurable properties and behaviours that can be compared to current and future observations. Most of us conclude that the so-called EIT waves are best described as fast-mode large-amplitude waves or shocks that are initially driven by the impulsive expansion of an erupting coronal mass ejection in the low corona.

Treatment of 213 Patients with Symptomatic Tarlov Cysts by CT-Guided Percutaneous Injection of Fibrin Sealant.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: There has been a steady progression of case reports and a small surgical series that report successful surgical treatment of Tarlov cysts with concomitant relief of patients' symptoms and improvement in their neurological dysfunction, yet patients are still told that these lesions are asymptomatic by physicians. The purpose of this study was to analyze the efficacy and safety of intervention in 213 consecutive patients with symptomatic Tarlov cysts treated by CT-guided 2-needle cyst aspiration and fibrin sealing. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was designed to assess outcomes in patients who underwent CT-guided aspiration and injection of ≥1 sacral Tarlov cyst at Johns Hopkins Hospital between 2003 and 2013. In all, 289 cysts were treated in 213 consecutive patients. All these patients were followed for at least 6 months, 90% were followed for 1 year, and 83% were followed for 3-6 years. The aspiration-injection procedure used 2 needles and was performed with the patients under local anesthesia and intravenous anesthesia. In the fibrin-injection stage of the procedure, a commercially available fibrin sealant was injected into the cyst through the deep needle (Tisseel VH). RESULTS: One year postprocedure, excellent results were obtained in 104 patients (54.2% of patients followed), and good or satisfactory results were obtained in 53 patients (27.6%). Thus, 157 patients (81.8%) in all were initially satisfied with the outcome of treatment. At 3-6 years postprocedure, 74.0% of patients followed were satisfied with treatment. There were no clinically significant complications. CONCLUSIONS: The aspiration-injection technique described herein constitutes a safe and efficacious treatment option that holds promise for relieving cyst-related symptoms in many patients with very little risk.

Perfusionist techniques of reducing acute kidney injury following cardiopulmonary bypass: an evidence-based review.

Cardiac surgery utilizing cardiopulmonary bypass has come a long way since its introduction nearly 60 years ago. In the early days, end-organ damage was linked to contact of the blood with the extracorporeal circuit. One potential cardiac surgery complication known to result in significant morbidity and mortality is acute kidney injury (AKI). Causes of AKI are multifaceted, but most of them are associated with techniques that perfusionists employ during extracorporeal circuit management. These can cause patients to either go on dialysis or renal replacement therapy. Patients with AKI have longer lengths of stay and consume significant resources beyond those with normal kidney function. Few current evidence-based markers determine if the kidneys are adequately protected during surgery. Most relevant literature does not address perfusion-specific techniques that reduce the incidence of AKI. This paper reviews the pathophysiology of the kidney and focuses on perfusion techniques that may reduce the incidence of AKI.

Neurologic deficits after cervical laminectomy in the prone position.

New neurologic deficits are known to occur after spine surgery. We present four patients with cervical myeloradiculopathy who underwent cervical laminectomy, fusion, or both in the prone position, supported by chest rolls. Three patients were intubated and positioned while awake, whereas the fourth patient was positioned after induction. Surgeries were successfully carried out, except for transient episodes of relative hypotension intraoperatively. On recovery from anesthesia, all patients were noted to have new neurologic deficits. Immediate CT myelography or surgical reexploration was unremarkable. All patients improved gradually with administration of high-dose steroids and induction of hypertension. Use of the prone position with abdominal compression may compromise spinal cord perfusion and lead to spinal cord ischemia. The use of frames that prevent abdominal compression, as well as avoidance of perioperative arterial hypotension, is important in maintaining adequate spinal cord perfusion during and after decompressive spinal cord surgery.

Two telomerase reverse transcriptases (TERTs) expressed in Candida albicans.

The human pathogenic yeast Candida albicans contains two telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) genes. CaTERT1 and CaTERT2 appear either to be two alleles of the same gene or two entirely different genes that encode 867-residue proteins that differ by five amino acids. Both TERTs have a calculated pI of 9.5 and a M(r) of 100.9 kDa and are the smallest TERTs identified to date. Both genes appear to be expressed. Based on sequence similarity between CaTERT1 and the Saccharomyces cerevisiae orthologue Est2p, we suggest a revised alignment for motif E of Est2p. The identification of these TERT genes provides the first opportunity to study telomerase in an important human pathogen.

Sine qua non: the formulation of a theory of neurosurgery.

Fundamental postulates underlying the fabric of biomedicine are rarely discussed, much less seen in print. Scientific surgery and its subspecialties are relatively new fields, and their philosophical basis has received little attention since Halsted's day. During the last quarter century, we have "reinvented" neurosurgery, and a concatenation of forces is escalating that is further accelerated by technological change. Social, economic, political, and scientific climates concurrently exert unusually stressful influences on all practitioners, irrespective of the individual setting. This provides a reason to reexamine what neurosurgeons do and why, and to attempt to define the guidelines of theoretical basis for the specialty of neurosurgery and its procedures. This article examines the accomplishments of past generations in an effort to establish surgical substrata and proceeds to attempt to readdress elements of a theoretical basis of our current practice.

The treatment of meningiomas in the region of the cavernous sinus.

The diagnosis and treatment of meningiomas of the cavernous sinus remains a controversial part of skull base surgery practice. The most common presenting symptom headache is nonspecific. Visual loss and oculomotor disturbance are the next likely symptoms and signs. It is possible to achieve total tumor removal in about 50% of patients, but an increase in cranial nerve dysfunction occurs in nearly as many. Improvement of neurological function, except for vision, is unusual. Because of the risk of complicating cranial nerve dysfunction by surgery, focused radiation as an alternative treatment has been explored in a small number of patients. Unfortunately, volume reduction is only seen in about one-third, but risks do appear to be low and nearly 60% of patients recorded have improvement in preoperative cranial nerve deficits. With these indolent tumors, much longer follow-ups are required before the role of focused radiation can be assessed.

Renoprotective effects of a novel inhibitor of advanced glycation.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: ALT-946, an inhibitor of advanced glycation with a minimal inhibitory effect on nitric oxide synthase, was compared with aminoguanidine in experimental diabetic nephropathy. METHODS: In vitro and in vivo assays were used to assess the ability of ALT-946 to inhibit AGE-protein cross-link formation. Diabetic animals were randomly allocated into groups receiving aminoguanidine for 32 weeks, ALT-946 or vehicle (untreated). As a delayed intervention protocol, an additional diabetic group was treated with ALT-946 from week 16 to week 32 of the study. Non-diabetic rats were studied concurrently. Systolic blood pressure, body weight, plasma glucose, glycated haemoglobin and urinary albumin excretion were measured serially. Accumulation of advanced-glycation end products in the kidney was assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The ALT-946 inhibitor was more potent than aminoguanidine in inhibiting AGE-protein cross-linking both in vitro and in vivo. Increased albuminuria observed in diabetic rats was attenuated in all three treatment groups. We found no difference in body weight, blood pressure or glycaemic control with any of the treatments. The untreated diabetic group had a twofold increase in glomerular staining for advanced-glycation end products compared with the diabetic groups which received treatment. CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION: ALT-946 is a potent inhibitor of advanced renal glycation end-product accumulation and reproduces the renoprotective effects of aminoguanidine. Therefore, ALT-946 should be considered as a treatment for preventing or retarding diabetic nephropathy.

Hemangioblastomas of the central nervous system in von Hippel-Lindau syndrome and sporadic disease.

OBJECTIVE: The presentation, screening, management, and clinical outcomes of patients who presented to our institution from 1973 to 1999 with central nervous system (CNS) hemangioblastomas in von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) syndrome and sporadic disease were analyzed. METHODS: The surgical pathology database of our institution was searched to identify all patients with histologically verified CNS hemangioblastomas occurring from 1973 to 1999. The medical, radiological, surgical, pathological, and autopsy records from these patients were reviewed retrospectively and statistically analyzed. RESULTS: Forty patients (21 males and 19 females) presented with CNS hemangioblastomas. Twenty-five patients (62%) harbored sporadic hemangioblastomas. Fifteen patients (38%) had VHL syndrome. These 40 patients presented with 61 hemangioblastomas (8 patients had multiple lesions). Ten patients (25%) harbored spinal cord hemangioblastomas (5 patients had multiple lesions). Patients with VHL disease tended to present with neurological symptoms and signs at a younger age than patients with sporadic disease (P = 0.09), to present with multiple lesions (53%), and to develop new lesions (rate, 1 lesion/2.1 yr). Hemangioblastomas of the spinal cord were more prevalent in patients with VHL syndrome (P = 0.024). Neuroradiological screening of patients with VHL syndrome allowed identification of more than 75% of new lesions before they became symptomatic. Sixty-six surgical procedures were performed (12 patients required multiple operations). Six patients with VHL syndrome required surgery for new lesions. Surgical complications occurred in six patients (15%). Symptom resolution or arrest of progression at 1 year was documented in 88% of patients. Recurrence of symptoms from partially resected lesions occurred in eight patients (20%). No deaths associated with surgery occurred. One patient with sporadic disease and one patient with VHL syndrome (5%) died as a result of late medical complications from CNS hemangioblastomas. CONCLUSION: Surgical outcomes for patients with CNS hemangioblastomas are favorable. However, management of hemangioblastomas is a more difficult and prolonged endeavor for patients with VHL syndrome. In patients with VHL syndrome, neuroradiological screening allows identification of lesions before they become symptomatic. Because patients with VHL syndrome are at risk for development of new lesions, they require lifelong follow-up.

Competency-based residency training: the next advance in graduate medical education.

The goal of all graduate medical education is to ensure that the graduating physician is competent to practice in his or her chosen field of medicine. The evaluation of a resident's competency to practice, however, has never been clearly defined, nor has the fixed period of time given for residency training in each specialty been shown to be the right amount of time for each individual resident to achieve competency. To better ensure that new physicians have the competencies they need, the author proposes the replacement of the current approach to residents' education, which specifies a fixed number of years in training, with competency-based training, in which each resident remains in training until he or she has been shown to have the required knowledge and skills and can apply them independently. Such programs, in addition to tailoring the training time to each individual, would make it possible to devise and test schemes to evaluate competency more surely than is now possible. The author reviews the basis of traditional residency training and the problems with the current training approach, both its fixed amount of time for training and the uncertainty of the methods of evaluation used. He then explains competency-based residency education, notes that it is possible, indeed probable, that some trainees will become competent considerably sooner than they would in the current required years of training, quotes a study in which this was the case, and explains the implications. He describes the encouraging experience of his neurosurgery department, which has used competency-based training for its residents since 1994. He then discusses issues of demonstrating competency in procedural and nonprocedural fields, as well as the evaluation of competency in traditional and competency-based training, emphasizing that the latter approach offers hope for better ways of assessing competency.

The Atlanta Urban Networks Study: a blueprint for endemic transmission.

OBJECTIVE: To study prospectively social networks and behavior in a group of persons at risk for HIV because of their drug-using and sexual practices, with particular emphasis on the interaction of risks and concomitant network structure. METHODS: A longitudinal study was conducted of 228 respondents in Atlanta, Georgia in six inner-city community chains of connected persons, interviewing primary respondents and a sample of their contacts every 6 months for 2 years. Ascertained were: HIV and immunologic status; demographic, medical, and behavioral factors; and the composition of the social, sexual, and drug-using networks. RESULTS: The prevalence of HIV in this group was 13.3% and the incidence density was 1.8% per year. Substantial simultaneity of risk-taking was observed, with a high level of both non-injecting (crack, 82%) and injecting (heroin, cocaine or both, 16 30%) drug use, the exchange of sex or money for drugs by men (approximately 35%) and women (57-71%), and high frequency of same-sex sexual activity by men (9.4%) and women (33%). The intensity of interaction, as measured by network features such as microstructures and concurrency, was significantly greater than that observed in a low prevalence area with little endemic transmission. CONCLUSION: The traditional hierarchical classification of risk for HIV may impede our understanding of transmission dynamics, which, in the setting of an inner-city population, is characterized by simultaneity of risk-taking, and moderately intense network interactions. The study provides further evidence for the relationship of network structure to transmission dynamics, but highlights the difficulties of using network information for prediction of individual seroconversion.

Long-term visual outcome after nonradical microsurgery patients with parasellar and cavernous sinus meningiomas.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the long-term visual outcome in patients with parasellar and cavernous sinus meningiomas treated with nonradical surgery. METHODS: Retrospective clinical review of 29 patients with parasellar or cavernous sinus meningiomas and visual sensory or ocular motor dysfunction at presentation, all of whom had at least 10 years of follow-up after initial diagnosis and treatment with nonradical surgery. RESULTS: Nineteen of 29 patients had a unilateral or bilateral optic neuropathy at presentation, and 7 patients developed a unilateral or bilateral optic neuropathy during a mean follow-up period of 13.6 years. However, 27 (93%) of 29 patients retained vision of 20/40 or better in at least one eye, and 14 patients (48%) retained vision of 20/40 or better in both eyes. New ocular motility deficits developed in 3 (10%) of 29 patients during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Radical surgery is not required to achieve long-term useful visual function for patients with parasellar or cavernous sinus meningiomas.

Intracanalicular schwannoma of the facial nerve: a manifestation of neurofibromatosis type 2.

Primary facial nerve tumors, which are relatively uncommon, can present a diagnostic dilemma based on their location and variable pattern of symptoms. Of primary cranial nerve tumors, schwannomas of the facial nerve rank third in frequency after those of the eighth and fifth cranial nerves. We report an illustrative case of an intracanalicular schwannoma associated with several central nervous system tumors, consistent with neurofibromatosis type 2. Initially assumed to be an eighth cranial nerve tumor, the schwannoma was found intraoperatively to arise from the facial nerve. Early diagnosis and treatment enabled excision of the tumor without sacrifice of the facial nerve. Facial nerve schwannomas can resemble acoustic schwannomas in their clinical presentation. Only a heightened level of clinical vigilance will point to the correct diagnosis and result in an optimal therapeutic outcome for patients with these rare tumors.

Neodymium:YAG laser posterior capsulotomies performed by residents at a Veterans Administration Hospital.

PURPOSE: To assess the initial efficacy of neodymium:YAG (Nd:YAG) laser posterior capsulotomies performed by residents at a teaching institution and to evaluate the associated complications over an extended follow-up. SETTING: Department of Ophthalmology, Edward Hines, Jr. Veterans Administration Hospital, Hines, Illinois, USA. METHODS: This retrospective noncomparative case review comprised 212 pseudophakic eyes having Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomies from April 1992 through March 1995. Evaluated were postoperative changes in best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), intraocular pressure (IOP) elevations, and complications related to the procedure. RESULTS: In all 212 eyes, Snellen visual acuity was obtained at least 1 week after the capsulotomy. The BCVA in 96 eyes (45.3%) improved by 3 or more lines, in 43 (20.3%) by 2 lines, and in 51 (24.1%) by 1 line. Nineteen eyes (9.0%) did not improve by 1 or more lines, and 3 eyes (1.4%) had decreased Snellen acuity. All but 4 eyes with less than 1 line of improvement had underlying ocular pathology or a previous incomplete capsulotomy. For evaluation of postoperative complications, long-term follow-up was available for 133 of 212 eyes (62.7%). The mean follow-up for this group was 3.18 years. Postoperative complications were found in 14 of these eyes (10.5%). Nine (6.8%) had a rise in IOP greater than 10 mm Hg after the capsulotomy. One eye (0.8%) developed a persistent iritis, 2 (1.5%) had vitreous prolapse into the anterior chamber, and 2 (1.5%) developed rhegmatogenous retinal detachments. CONCLUSION: Postoperative Snellen acuity results and complication rates compare favorably with those in previous studies. The results indicate that Nd:YAG laser posterior capsulotomies performed by residents with attending supervision are safe, effective, and carry a low associated complication rate over a long follow-up.