There is a strong association between single PAVM and various neurologic manifestations. The prevalence is greater for patients with multiple PAVM, suggesting increased predisposition for paradoxical embolization with a greater number of malformations.

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is a key tool for the analysis of displacement and stress changes caused by large crustal earthquakes, particularly in remote areas. A challenge for traditional InSAR has been its limited spatial and temporal coverage especially for very large events, whose dimensions exceed the typical swath width of 70–100 km. This problem is addressed by the ALOS‐2 satellite, whose PALSAR‐2 instrument operates in ScanSAR mode, enabling a repeat time of 2 weeks and a swath width of 350 km. Here we present InSAR line‐of‐sight displacement data from ALOS‐2/PALSAR‐2 observations covering the Mw 7.8 Gorkha, Nepal earthquake and its Mw 7.3 aftershock that were acquired within 1 week of each event. The data are made freely available and we encourage their use in models of the fault slip and associated stress changes. The Mw 7.3 aftershock not only extended the rupture area of the main shock toward the east but also left a 20 km gap where the fault has little or no coseismic slip. We estimate this unslipped fault patch has the potential to generate a Mw 6.9 event.

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We analyze over a century of geodetic data to study crustal deformation and plate motion around the Japanese Islands, using the block-fault model for crustal deformation developed by Matsu'ura et al. (1986). In this model, crustal deformation corresponds to the sum of relative movement among designated blocks and displacement due to dislocations along the locked parts of designated faults. We model the area including the Japanese Islands with 19 crustal blocks and 104 faults based on the distribution of active faults and seismicity. Three kinds of data are used; rates of change of angles and lengths, and average velocities of very long baseline interferometry stations. With the inversion of these geodetic data we obtain block motions and average slip rates of faults. This geodetic model predicts that the Pacific plate moves N69 ø _+ 2øW at about 80 -+ 3 mm/yr relative to the Eurasian plate which is much lower than that predicted in geologic models. Substantial aseismic slip occurs on the subduction boundaries. The block containing the Izu Peninsula may be separated from the rigid part of the Philippine Sea plate. The faults on the coast of Japan Sea and the western part of the Median Tectonic Line have slip rates exceeding 4 mm/yr, while the Fossa Magna does not play an important role in the tectonics of the central Japan. The geodetic model requires the division of northeastern Japan, contrary to the hypothesis that northeastern Japan is a part of the North American plate. Owing to rapid convergence, the seismic risk in the Nankai trough may be larger than that of the Tokai gap. eastward and northward velocities of each block and its rate of rotation about a vertical axis near its center. For each upper fault patch the model is described by two parameters, the relative strike-slip and dip-slip deficit rates, respectively. The "slip deficit" equals the amount by which the slip on the fault patches lags behind the relative block motion. If a fault patch is completely locked by friction, the slip deficit equals the relative block motion. These rates are assumed to be constant over each fault patch. On the basis of preliminary trials we conclude that calculated deficit rates are insensitive to modest changes in fault geometry, so we fix the coordinates of the fault patches. In this case the observables are linear functions of the parameters, and linear inverse theory is applicable. Matsu'ura et al. also describe a method for solving the nonlinear inverse problem that results when the coordinates of the fault patches are treated as unknowns, but we did not use this feature. The amount of detail provided by the model and the number of degrees of freedom in the model depend on the number of blocks and the number of fault patches assumed. The block geometry is chosen according to geological considerations, with the condition that the complexity of the model should match the resolving power of the data. If all the near-surface fault patches were frictionless, then the slip rate across each fault would equal the appropria...

The physiological roles of sonic hedgehog (Shh) have been intensively characterized in development of various organs. However, their functions in adult tissues have not been fully elucidated. We investigated the expression and the potential function of Shh in crush‐injured adult rat sciatic nerves. The Shh expression was up‐regulated in Schwann cells adjacent to the injured site. The time‐course analyses of various neurotrophic factors revealed the up‐regulation of Shh mRNA followed by that of brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA. The continuous administration of cyclopamine, a hedgehog signal inhibitor, to the injured site suppressed the increase of BDNF expression and deteriorated the survival of motor neurons in lumbar spinal cord. Treatment of exogenous Shh in cultured Schwann cells enhanced the BDNF expression. The BDNF promoter activity (exon I and II) was increased in IMS32 cells co‐transfected with Shh and its receptor Smoothened. These findings imply that the up‐regulated expression of Shh in Schwann cells may play an important role in injured motor neurons through the induction of BDNF.