Dissociation and the development of spatial correlation in a molecular ultracold plasma.

Penning ionization initiates the evolution of a dense molecular Rydberg gas to plasma. This process selects for pairs of excited molecules separated by a distance of two Rydberg orbital diameters or less. The deactivated Penning partners predissociate, depleting the leading edge of the distribution of nearest-neighbor distances. For certain density and orbital radii, this sequence of events can form a plasma in which large distances separate a disproportionate fraction of the ions. Experimental results and model calculations suggest that the reduced potential energy of this Penning lattice significantly affects the development of strong coupling in an ultracold plasma.

Observation of a resonant four-body interaction in cold cesium Rydberg atoms.

Cold Rydberg atoms subject to long-range dipole-dipole interactions represent a particularly interesting system for exploring few-body interactions and probing the transition from 2-body physics to the many-body regime. In this work we report the direct observation of a resonant 4-body Rydberg interaction. We exploit the occurrence of an accidental quasicoincidence of a 2-body and a 4-body resonant Stark-tuned Förster process in cesium to observe a resonant energy transfer requiring the simultaneous interaction of at least four neighboring atoms. These results are relevant for the implementation of quantum gates with Rydberg atoms and for further studies of many-body physics.

Kilohertz dye laser system for high resolution laser spectroscopy.

We have electro-optically sliced the output light of a commercial Coherent Evolution Nd:YLF laser to pump a kilohertz repetition rate nanosecond dye laser system. Simple and highly adjustable, this laser system can easily be used for initial state preparation for ultrafast systems as well as high resolution spectroscopy.

Nondispersing Bohr wave packets.

Long-lived, nondispersing circular, or Bohr, wave packets are produced starting from Li Rydberg atoms by exposing them first to a linearly polarized microwave field at the orbital frequency, 17.6 GHz at principal quantum number n=72, which locks the electron's motion into an approximately linear orbit in which the electron oscillates in phase with the microwave field. The microwave polarization is changed to circular polarization slowly compared to the orbital frequency, and the electron's motion follows, resulting in a nondispersing Bohr wave packet.

Coherent population transfer in an atom by multiphoton adiabatic rapid passage.

Coherent population transfer in an atom using a sequence of adiabatic rapid passages through single-photon resonances is well-known, but it requires that the frequency sweep match the changing frequencies of the atomic transitions. The same population transfer can be effected via a single multiphoton adiabatic rapid passage, which requires only a small frequency sweep, if it is possible to select the desired multiphoton transition from the many possible transitions. Here we report the observation of population transfer between Rydberg states by high order multiphoton adiabatic rapid passage.

Worst headache and subarachnoid hemorrhage: prospective, modern computed tomography and spinal fluid analysis.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the hypothesis that modern computed tomographic (CT) imaging is sufficient to exclude subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in patients with severe headache. METHODS: All 38,730 adult patients who presented to Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas, during a 16-month period were prospectively screened to detect those with "the worst headache of my life." Two neuroradiologists blinded to the study hypothesis interpreted the CT scans. Patients with negative scans underwent comprehensive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis including cell count in first and last tubes, visual and spectrophotometric detection of xanthochromia, and CSF D-dimer assay. RESULTS: A chief complaint of headache was elicited in 455 patients, and 107 of these had "worst headache" and were enrolled in the study. CT-confirmed SAH was found in 18 of the 107 (17%). Only 2 patients (2.5%, 95% confidence interval, .3% to 8.8%) had SAH detected by CSF analysis among those with negative CT imaging result. CSF spectrophotometric detection was the most sensitive test for blood. Three patients with less than 6 red blood cells in tube 1 had positive spectrophotometric results, but in all 3, tube 4 was negative on spectrophotometric analysis, suggesting a high false-positive rate. CONCLUSION: Modern CT imaging is sufficient to exclude 97.5% of SAH in patients presenting to the ED with "worst headache" symptoms.

Urokinase treatment of sagittal sinus thrombosis with venous hemorrhagic infarction.

BACKGROUND: Selective catheterization of the dural venous sinuses with local infusion of urokinase may be beneficial in patients with venous sinus thrombosis, and has been reported to be safe in patients with venous infarction. However, information regarding safety in the presence of hemorrhage is sparse. METHODS: Three patients presented with severe, progressive focal neurological symptoms (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scales: 14, 22, and 12) resulting from superior sagittal sinus thrombosis, with evidence of hemorrhage on computed tomographic scans (two intraparenchymal, one subarachnoid). Selective venous catheterization was performed and low-dose urokinase was delivered directly into the thrombus by continuous infusion at 60,000 U/h. Intravenous heparin was administered concurrently. RESULTS: Angiographic patency was restored in all patients. The total duration of urokinase infusion ranged from 36 to 84 hours. There was no major morbidity or mortality related to the procedure. All patients had dramatic clinical improvement during and after the course of therapy, and none had worsening of pre-existing hemorrhage. All patients were independent at 3 months, with minimal or no deficit (National Institutes of Health Stroke Scales: 2, 0, and 2). CONCLUSION: In selected patients with superior sagittal sinus thrombosis associated with venous hemorrhagic infarction, urokinase appears to be safe and may reverse progressive neurological deterioration. Future prospective study is warranted to further investigate this treatment option, and patients with severe deficits or pre-existing hemorrhages should not be excluded.

Endovascular embolization of superior hypophyseal artery aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE: Internal carotid artery aneurysms arising from the superior hypophyseal artery are frequently termed paraophthalmic or paraclinoid aneurysms, but they constitute a distinct anatomic entity. They are particularly amenable to endovascular treatment. METHODS: Between 1991 and 1995, we attempted treatment in 11 patients with superior hypophyseal artery aneurysms with Guglielmi detachable coil embolization and were successful in 10. Surgical exploration in seven of the patients was unsuccessful, three patients were considered to be at high risk for surgery or to have poor likelihood of surgical success by the referring neurosurgeon, and one patient refused operative clipping. Two aneurysms were giant (> 25 mm), three were large (10-25 mm), and six were small (< 10 mm). Of the six small aneurysms, two had wide necks (> 4 mm) and four had narrow necks (< or = 4 mm). RESULTS: There were no technical or clinical complications related to embolization. Immediate complete aneurysm obliteration was obtained in five aneurysms, all of which were small. Four of the remaining five aneurysms had obliteration of the dome and body, leaving only a small remnant neck. The remaining semifusiform aneurysm represented our single treatment failure. Recanalization occurred in only one patient; that patient had a giant aneurysm. Nine of the 10 patients for whom embolization was successful had good or excellent clinical outcomes; there were no clinical deteriorations attributable to embolization. CONCLUSION: We conclude that Guglielmi detachable coil embolization of superior hypophyseal artery aneurysms is an excellent treatment alternative, especially for smaller lesions.

Treatment of large and giant fusiform intracranial aneurysms with Guglielmi detachable coils.

Results in nine patients with large or giant fusiform intracranial aneurysms that were treated with Guglielmi detachable coils (GDCs) are reported. There were six males and three females between the ages of 12 and 63. Four patients presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and four with mass effect; in one patient the aneurysm was asymptomatic and located in an arterial feeder of an arteriovenous malformation. Five aneurysms were supratentorial and four were in the posterior fossa. Five were giant and four were large. Selective occlusion with preservation of the parent artery was attempted in three cases, and complete occlusion of the aneurysm and the parent artery was performed in six patients. The tolerance to parent artery occlusion was assessed by angiography, balloon test occlusion, and amytal testing. Six aneurysms were permanently occluded and two partially recanalized. In one case, GDC embolization was not possible. The four patients who presented with SAH made an excellent clinical recovery. Three of the four patients presenting with mass effect recovered completely and one remained unchanged. The patient with an incidental aneurysm remained asymptomatic. There were no permanent complications. In conclusion, GDCs were useful for the occlusion of large and giant intradural fusiform aneurysms. Occlusion of the aneurysm and the parent artery afforded the greatest opportunity for a complete cure. Advantages of GDCs compared to balloons include: occlusion of a shorter segment of normal artery, no traction on the parent vessel, and safer and easier catheterization techniques.

Aneurysm rupture after parent vessel sacrifice: treatment with Guglielmi detachable coil embolization via retrograde catheterization: case report.

We report a patient with rupture of a giant distal vertebral artery aneurysm after balloon occlusion of the parent vertebral artery. We were able to occlude the residual lumen by endosaccular embolization and trapping with Guglielmi detachable coils via the anterior circulation. We suspect that either alterations in flow patterns or partial thrombosis of the aneurysm may have contributed to at least two subarachnoid hemorrhages within 2 days after the initial embolization. We still considered endovascular parent vessel sacrifice to be an excellent therapeutic option, particularly in distal vertebral aneurysms. We recommend a detailed evaluation of angiographic flow patterns and aneurysm patency during test occlusion. If the aneurysm continues to fill from the collateral circulation, or if marked alterations in flow patterns are present, aneurysm trapping or concurrent endosaccular embolization and parent vessel sacrifice may be necessary. Certainly, continued surveillance is required as long as any residual aneurysm is present.

Neurosurgical management of cerebral aneurysms following unsuccessful or incomplete endovascular embolization.

Modern endovascular techniques permit treatment of intracranial aneurysms in many circumstances when surgery is associated with significant morbidity. Occasionally, embolization of aneurysms is unsuccessful or incomplete or followed by complications, in which case surgical management is required. Since 1986, 196 patients have undergone embolization of intracranial aneurysms at the authors' institution and 21 (11%) required subsequent surgical treatment. Attempted embolization failed in five patients (Group A). Ten patients (Group B) had only partial occlusion of the aneurysm or demonstrated recanalization on follow-up studies. Eight of these Group B patients underwent embolization with Guglielmi detachable coils (GDCs), representing 5.7% of the 141 GDC-treated patients in this experience. Surgical treatment in these two groups consisted of clipping (eight cases), surgical parent vessel occlusion (one case), and parent vessel occlusion with extracranial-intracranial bypass (six cases). Fourteen (93%) of the 15 patients in these two groups had an excellent or good outcome with complete aneurysm occlusion. Six patients underwent surgery to treat complications related to the endovascular procedure (Group C). Of these, four patients had neurological improvement compared to their preoperative state, and two died. This series of cases demonstrates that surgical treatment of aneurysms is usually possible with good results following incomplete embolization and emphasizes the need for close and continued neurosurgical involvement in the endovascular management of intracranial aneurysms.