Inner southern magnetosphere observation of Mercury via SERENA ion sensors in BepiColombo mission.

Mercury's southern inner magnetosphere is an unexplored region as it was not observed by earlier space missions. In October 2021, BepiColombo mission has passed through this region during its first Mercury flyby. Here, we describe the observations of SERENA ion sensors nearby and inside Mercury's magnetosphere. An intermittent high-energy signal, possibly due to an interplanetary magnetic flux rope, has been observed downstream Mercury, together with low energy solar wind. Low energy ions, possibly due to satellite outgassing, were detected outside the magnetosphere. The dayside magnetopause and bow-shock crossing were much closer to the planet than expected, signature of a highly eroded magnetosphere. Different ion populations have been observed inside the magnetosphere, like low latitude boundary layer at magnetopause inbound and partial ring current at dawn close to the planet. These observations are important for understanding the weak magnetosphere behavior so close to the Sun, revealing details never reached before.

Women in Neurosurgery: Historical Path to Self-Segregation and Proposal for an Integrated Future.

Despite the rising percentage of women accessing the medical profession over the last few decades, surgical specialties are still largely male-dominated; in particular, a remarkable gender disparity is evident in neurosurgery, where only 19% of practitioners are females. Although women may be reluctant to choose a challenging specialty like neurosurgery due to concerns around how to balance family and career, it must be admitted that prejudices against female neurosurgeons have been deeply rooted for long, prompting many to give up and switch track to less demanding subspecialties. Among those who have persisted, many, if not most, have experienced difficulties in career progression and received unequal treatment in comparison with their male counterparts. In 1989, a group of 8 female neurosurgeons founded Women in Neurosurgery (WINS), an organization that aimed to guarantee inclusivity in neurosurgery, encouraging a better and more egalitarian working environment. Thereafter, WINS sessions were regularly promoted at international conferences, offering female neurosurgeons a platform to report issues related to gender discrimination. Over recent years, the mission of WINS sessions in national and international conferences has taken an unexpected deviation; they have progressively become supplementary scientific sessions with only women neurosurgeons as speakers, thus paving the road to a form of self-segregation. This tendency has also resulted in the establishment of sections of only female neurosurgeons within some national societies. Although there remains a faction that fiercely supports the WINS mindset of reserved spaces for women, such segregation is an upsetting prospect for those who believe that science and professionalism have no gender; a growing part of the global neurosurgical community believes that the conception of a "female neurosurgery" and a "male neurosurgery" is misguided and counterproductive and consider the existence of the WINS as anachronistic and no longer necessary.

SERENA: Particle Instrument Suite for Determining the Sun-Mercury Interaction from BepiColombo.

The ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury will provide simultaneous measurements from two spacecraft, offering an unprecedented opportunity to investigate magnetospheric and exospheric particle dynamics at Mercury as well as their interactions with solar wind, solar radiation, and interplanetary dust. The particle instrument suite SERENA (Search for Exospheric Refilling and Emitted Natural Abundances) is flying in space on-board the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and is the only instrument for ion and neutral particle detection aboard the MPO. It comprises four independent sensors: ELENA for neutral particle flow detection, Strofio for neutral gas detection, PICAM for planetary ions observations, and MIPA, mostly for solar wind ion measurements. SERENA is managed by a System Control Unit located inside the ELENA box. In the present paper the scientific goals of this suite are described, and then the four units are detailed, as well as their major features and calibration results. Finally, the SERENA operational activities are shown during the orbital path around Mercury, with also some reference to the activities planned during the long cruise phase.

A juvenile case of cerebellar arteriovenous malformation with gradual onset of dysphoria and headache.

A 25-year-old woman was admitted because of frequent vomiting and headache which had lasted over one week. She had initially clear consciousness but slowly progressive mild headache and dysphoria. Emergency cranial CT revealed a 4 cm haematoma in the left cerebellar hemisphere. CT angiography showed a 2×2 cm nidus of an arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the left hemisphere fed from the left posterior inferior cerebellar artery and draining into the inferior hemispheric vein. We performed a surgical resection of the AVM after decompression therapy to counteract the brain oedema. She recovered completely without any neurological deficits. This case recalls the importance of cooperation between diagnostic neuroradiology and neurosurgery in emergency, considering AVM, even if infrequent, among possible diseases.

Spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma. A case report.

Spinal epidural haematomas are infrequent events caused mainly by trauma or are iatrogenic following invasive spinal procedures (lumbar puncture, surgery or peridural anaesthesia). Spontaneous spinal epidural haematoma is a rare entity requiring emergency intervention in most cases. The incidence is estimated at about two to six cases per year. Early recognition, accurate diagnosis and rapid treatment may result in decreased morbidity and improved outcome. Here, we describe the case of a 60-year-old man who presented sudden paraplegia. Magnetic resonance imaging of thoracolumbar spine demonstrated an epidural mass extending from T11 to L1, causing spinal cord compression. Emergent decompressive surgery was performed and the patient had a significant improvement of neurologic deficits.

Morphology and TGF-beta1 Concentration Analysis of Ligamentum Flavum in Patients with Lumbar Canal Stenosis and Lumbar Disc Herniation.

The most common spinal disorder in elderly patients is lumbar spinal canal stenosis, causing low back and leg pain and paresis. The aetiology of degenerative changes occurring in lumbar stenosis remain unclear: some authors hypothesize hyperplasia and others hypertrophy of the LF. The change in LF is known to be related to degenerative changes secondary to the aging process or mechanical instability. This study aimed to analyse the ligamentum flavum (LF) of patients with lumbar canal stenosis and lumbar disc herniation to evaluate the morphology and concentration of the Transforming Growth Factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1). The study was undertaken in three phases: A) Measurement of the thickness of the ligamentum flavum in patients with lumbar stenosis and/or herniated lumbar disc through axial T1 weighted lumbo-sacral MR images; B) Removal of ligamentum flavum in patients undergoing intervention for lumbar stenosis and lumbar disc herniation (control group); C) Optical microscopy study of the morphology of degenerated ligamentum and immunohistochemical analysis to assess the concentration of TGF-beta 1 in the LF. Morphological analysis of the LF (i.e. the increase in the number of fibres or distension and relaxation of the same as a result of degenerative processes) and the presence or absence of a high concentration of TGF-beta1 (then more fibroblasts involved in the degenerative process) can be important to establish whether there is hypertrophy or hyperplasia of the LF in lumbar canal stenosis. The current study showed that decreased elasticity of the LF in the elderly is due to a loss of elastic fibres that are degenerated and a concomitant increase in collagenous fibres (hypertrophy). TGF-beta1 concentrations of the LF were higher in lumbar spinal stenosis than in disc herniations. This suggest that LF of lumbar canal stenosis is hypertrophic: LF hypertrophy could be due to thickening of the normal elastic layer and the abnormal collagenous layer and to higher expression of TGF-beta 1 by fibroblasts.

Acute interhemispheric subdural haematoma. A case report.

Acute interhemispheric subdural haematoma (AISH) was considered extremely rare until identification with imaging studies. Interhemispheric subdural hematoma in adults is a rare complication of head injury with no more than 100 cases reported since 1940. The classical presentation of this disorder is a contralateral monoparesis of the leg or a hemiparesis more pronounced in the leg1. Treatment may consist of conservative observation or craniotomy and is dictated by the clinical course. Conservative management is the treatment of choice for patients without disturbances of consciousness and for patients with stable clinical conditions. Surgical treatment is necessary in patients with progressive neurological deterioration. We describe the case of traumatic AISH in a 31-year-old patient who presented a contralateral monoparesis of the leg.

Bilateral acute foot drop in a case of axonal injury. A case report.

Head trauma of varying severity may induce diffuse axonal injury. Areas most commonly affected are white matter in the hemispheres (particularly parasagittal zone), corpus callosum and the brain stem. We describe a case of diffuse axonal injury after brain trauma in a 51-year-old man. Diffuse axonal injury was localized in the white matter of the hemispheres (parasagittal zone) and the patient presents a complete motor deficit of the feet.

Epidural hematoma caused by a spinal osseous epidural arteriovenous fistula in a 14-year-old patient. A case report.

Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae are the most common type of spinal vascular malformations (AVMs). They have been classified into four types: dural AVM (type I), glomus AVM (type II), juvenile AVM (type III), and intradural direct arteriovenous fistula (type IV). Intradural AVMs manifest as subarachnoid or intramedullary hemorrhages, whereas dural AVM manifest as epidural hematoma. Spinal osseous epidural arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is not a well-defined vascular abnormality in the spine and consists in a high-flow vascular lesion outside the dura or spinal canal. It is located in the extradural space involving a bone at the area of the dilated venous sac to which all the feeders converge to the margin. We describe the case of a 14-year-old girl with cervical epidural hematoma caused by a spinal epidural arteriovenous fistula.

A case of traumatic plastic deformation of the forearm in the adult.

Traumatic plastic deformation is a rare occurrence in childhood and is exceptional during adult age. The authors report one case of the lesion occurring in a patient aged 20 years; they emphasize the need for adequate treatment, and formulate a pathogenetic hypothesis with a biomechanical basis.

Results of the multicentric Italian experience on the Gamma nail: a report on 648 cases.

In a multicentric study, the data of 628 trochanteric fractures, two non-unions, and 18 pathologic or impending fractures treated by Gamma nail in 13 Italian traumatology services were collected and analyzed. In 70% of the patients weight bearing was allowed in the first postoperative week and 78% of the controlled patients returned to their pretrauma walking ability. Complications included intraoperative (1.4%) and postoperative (1.2%) shaft fractures, "cut out" of the lag screw (2.6%), and nail failure (0.5%). There were no cases of infection. An analysis of complications showed that most of them were due to technical mistakes. The safest procedure is 2 mm diaphyseal overreaming, introduction of the nail without hammering, and distal locking; the lag screw should be placed in the lower part of the head of the femur.