Discovery and spectroscopy of the young jovian planet 51 Eri b with the Gemini Planet Imager.

Directly detecting thermal emission from young extrasolar planets allows measurement of their atmospheric compositions and luminosities, which are influenced by their formation mechanisms. Using the Gemini Planet Imager, we discovered a planet orbiting the ~20-million-year-old star 51 Eridani at a projected separation of 13 astronomical units. Near-infrared observations show a spectrum with strong methane and water-vapor absorption. Modeling of the spectra and photometry yields a luminosity (normalized by the luminosity of the Sun) of 1.6 to 4.0 × 10(-6) and an effective temperature of 600 to 750 kelvin. For this age and luminosity, "hot-start" formation models indicate a mass twice that of Jupiter. This planet also has a sufficiently low luminosity to be consistent with the "cold-start" core-accretion process that may have formed Jupiter.

[Ventricular haemorrhage in preterm neonates and posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Proposal of a management protocol based on early ventriculo-peritoneal shunt]. / Hemorragia intraventricular del prematuro e hidrocefalia post-hemorrágica.Propuesta de un protocolo de manejo basado en la derivación ventrículo-peritonealprecoz.

INTRODUCTION: About 50% of the preterm neonates with a ventricular haemorrhage will develop posthaemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Medical treatment is not effective neither safe, does not reduce shunt's dependence and therefore can not be recommended; early and repetitive ventricular or lumbar punctures and the use of intraventricular fibrynolitic treatment have showed no effect on reducing patient's disability, shunt's necessity or mortality of these patients and furthermore, they can have several and important side effects. The ventriculo-peritoneal shunt can be in many cases the only option for definitive treatment, despite well-known infective and obstructive complications and there is an ongoing debate about the ideal moment for the intervention. OBJECTIVE: To present a diagnostic and treatment protocol for post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus of the preterm and describe our initial experience with its application on the Paediatric Neurosurgical Department at the Hospital Materno-Infantil Carlos Haya of Málaga. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 21 patients with diagnosis of preterm post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus were surgically treated at our hospital with ventriculoperitoneal shunt between January 2003 and September 2006 following the designed protocol. All the cases were Papile's grade III or IV with severe ventricular dilation (Thalamus-Caudate index over 1.5 cm) and subacute or chronic presentation. We used medium pressure valves and antibiotic impregnated catheters. We considered 1500 g as the minimum weight permitted for the intervention. We report the early and late postoperative complications and the patients functional state at the ambulatory follow up classifying them in 4 grades (Excellent or Grade 1; Good or Grade 2; Regular or Grade 3; Poor or Grade 4) according to the presence of neurological focal signs, relation with the surrounding environment, response to stimuli and presence of seizures. RESULTS: The most frequent complications were escaphocephalic cranium in 5 patients, persistent subgaleal collections in 2 patients, symptomatic slit ventricles in 2 patients and surgical wound dehiscence with shunt infection in 1 patient. One patient presented a systemic fungical infection with non-diagnosed meningeal compromise previous to the shunt. 7 patients required shunt replacement (14 procedures); in 2 cases of tabicated hydrocephalus an endoscopical septostomy (associated with an ETV that did not function) was done, and in a third case ETV and shunt removal was performed after shunt malfunction, with delayed failure of ETV. For the functional results 9 patients were classified as Grade 1, 5 patients as Grade 2, 3 patients as Grade 3 and 4 patients as Grade 4. This means a 67% of good or excellent results. CONCLUSIONS: We propose a diagnostic and treatment protocol for preterm neonates with haemorrhagic hydrocephalus that we have been using since 2003 at our department. In our experience it is possible to shunt patients starting at 1500 g with low morbidity. The use of protocols can help in reducing complications and improving functional results in these patients.

Hemorragia intraventricular del prematuro e hidrocefalia post-hemorrágica. Propuesta de un protocolo de manejo basado en la derivación ventrículo-peritonealprecoz / Ventricular haemorrhage in preterm neonates and posthemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Proposal of a management protocol based on early ventriculo-peritoneal shunt

Introducción: Aproximadamente el 50% de los pacientes pretérminos diagnosticados de hemorragia intraventricular desarrollará una hidrocefalia posthemorrágica. La derivación ventrículo-peritoneal de LCR puede constituir en muchos casos la única opción de tratamiento definitivo, aunque se han descrito elevados porcentajes de complicaciones infecciosas o por obstrucción, existiendo además debate sobre cual es el momento más adecuado para la intervención. Objetivo: Presentar un protocolo de diagnóstico y tratamiento de la hidrocefalia post-hemorrágica del prematuro y describir nuestra experiencia inicial con su aplicación en el Hospital Materno-Infantil Carlos Haya de Málaga. Material y métodos: Un total de 21 pacientes con diagnóstico de hidrocefalia post-hemorrágica del prematuro fueron intervenidos mediante derivación ventrículo-peritoneal entre enero de 2003 y diciembre de 2006 de acuerdo al protocolo de diagnóstico y tratamiento elaborado en nuestro centro. En todos los casos se trataba de hidrocefalias grado III o IV de Papile, con dilataciones ventriculares graves (índice tálamo-caudado superior a 1.5cm) y de presentación subaguda o crónica. Se emplearon válvulas de presión media y catéteres con impregnación antibiótica. Se consideró 1500gr como el peso mínimo necesario para la intervención. Se valoró la aparición de complicaciones postquirúrgicas y la situación funcional de los pacientes en el seguimiento ambulatorio clasificándola en cuatro grados (excelente o grado 1, buena o grado 2, regular o grado 3 y mala o grado 4) de acuerdo con la presencia de focalidad, la relación con el entorno y presencia o no de crisis comiciales. Resultados: Las complicaciones más frecuentes fueron: cráneo escafocefálico en 5 pacientes, colección subgaleal persistente en 2 casos, ventrículo en hendidura sintomático en 2 casos, dehiscencia de herida quirúrgica en 1 caso con posterior infección valvular. Un paciente presentó una infección micótica sistémica con compromiso meníngeo no diagnosticado previo a la derivación. Se requirió recambio del sistema de derivación en 7 pacientes (14 reintervenciones); en 2 de estos casos se realizó septostomía endoscópica por hidrocefalia tabicada (junto con ventriculostomía de III ventrículo fallida) y en un tercer caso se realizó una ventriculostomía endoscópica y retirada valvular tras un episodio de disfunción valvular, con fallo diferido de la ventriculostomía. En cuanto a resultados funcionales 9 pacientes se clasificaron como grado 1, 5 pacientes como grado 2, 3 pacientes como grado 3 y 4 pacientes como grado 4, con un 67% de resultados buenos o excelentes. Conclusiones: Proponemos un protocolo para el diagnóstico y tratamiento de la hidrocefalia posthemorrágica del prematuro, de aplicación en nuestro Servicio desde Enero de 2003. En nuestra experiencia es posible derivar pacientes a partir de 1500gr de peso con baja morbilidad. La protocolización puede ayudarnos a reducir complicaciones y a mejorar el pronóstico funcional de estos pacientes (AU)

Introduction: About 50% of the preterm neonates with a ventricular haemorrhage will develop post haemorrhagic hydrocephalus. Medical treatment is not effective neither safe, does not reduce shunt's dependence and therefore can not be recommended; early and repetitive ventricular or lumbar punctures and the use of intraventricular fibrynolitic treatment have showed no effect on reducing patient's disability, shunt's necessity or mortality of these patients and furthermore, they can have several and important side effects. The ventriculo-peritoneal shunt can be in many cases the only option for definitive treatment, despite well-known infective and obstructive complications and there is an ongoing debate about the ideal moment for the intervention. Objective: To present a diagnostic and treatment protocol for post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus of the preterm and describe our initial experience with its application on the Paediatric Neurosurgical Department at the Hospital Materno-Infantil Carlos Haya of Málaga. Materials and methods: A total of 21 patients with diagnosis of preterm post-haemorrhagic hydrocephalus were surgically treated at our hospital with ventriculoperitoneal shunt between January 2003 and September 2006 following the designed protocol. All the cases were Papile's grade III or IV with severe ventricular dilation (Thalamus-Caudate index over 1.5cm) and subacute or chronic presentation. We used medium pressure valves and antibiotic impregnated catheters. We considered 1500g as the minimum weight permitted for the intervention. We report the early and late postoperative complications and the patients functional state at the ambulatory follow up classifying them in 4 grades (Excellent or Grade 1; Good or Grade 2; Regular or Grade 3; Poor or Grade 4) according to the presence of neurological focal signs, relation with the surrounding environment, response to stimuli and presence of seizures. Results: The most frequent complications were escaphocephalic cranium in 5 patients, persistent subgaleal collections in 2 patients, symptomatic slit ventricles in 2 patients and surgical wound dehiscence with shunt infection in 1 patient. One patient presented a systemic fungical infection with non-diagnosed meningeal compromise previous to the shunt. 7 patients required shunt replacement (14 procedures); in 2 cases of tabicated hydrocephalus an endoscopical septostomy (associated with an ETV that did not function) was done, and in a third case ETV and shunt removal was performed after shunt malfunction, with delayed failure of ETV. For the functional results 9 patients were classified as Grade 1, 5 patients as Grade 2, 3 patients as Grade 3 and 4 patients as Grade 4. This means a 67% of good or excellent results. Conclusions: We propose a diagnostic and treatment protocol for preterm neonates with haemorrhagic hydrocephalus that we have been using since 2003 at our department. In our experience it is possible to shunt patients starting at 1500g with low morbidity. The use of protocols can help in reducing complications and improving functional results in these patients (AU)

Fast computation of Lyot-style coronagraph propagation.

We present a new method for numerical propagation through Lyot-style coronagraphs using finite occulting masks. Standard methods for coronagraphic simulations involve Fast Fourier Transforms (FFT) of very large arrays, and computing power is an issue for the design and tolerancing of coronagraphs on segmented Extremely Large Telescopes (ELT) in order to handle both the speed and memory requirements. Our method combines a semi-analytical approach with non-FFT based Fourier transform algorithms. It enables both fast and memory-efficient computations without introducing any additional approximations. Typical speed improvements based on computation costs are of about ten to fifty for propagations from pupil to Lyot plane, with thirty to sixty times less memory needed. Our method makes it possible to perform numerical coronagraphic studies even in the case of ELTs using a contemporary commercial laptop computer, or any standard commercial workstation computer.

Parámetros de valoración diagnóstica y de evolución en la disfemia del adulto / Diagnostic assessment and evolution parameters in adult dysphemia

La disfemia es un síndrome caracterizado por tartamudez, síntomas motóricos y vegetativos. Es frecuente en la infancia y con los años tiende a disminuir su intensidad. Hemos hecho una revisión bibliográfica mediante búsqueda en la base de datos médico Medline de los parámetros de valoración y las escalas logofoniátricas para identificar la conducta del tartamudeo e identificar los factores que facilitan esta disfluencia a largo plazo. Además, como otras alteraciones del lenguaje, la disfemia no es bien conocida por los profesionales de la medicina y creemos que es absolutamente fundamental que el trabajo que desarrolla el terapeuta de la voz sea coordinado y dirigido por un médico especialista en Rehabilitación; a pesar de que sólo el diplomado en logopedia sea el único profesional que pueda abordar directamente el problema (AU)