Physical activity in acute cerebrovascular insufficiency]

It was noted that physical activity of 1052 patients hospitalized for the acute cerebral flow failure due to atheromatosis is an important indicator of the cerebral ischemia. Extension of ischemia evaluated on the basis of physical activity enables to foresee possible improvement and survival. Authors' own classification of physical activity may be helpful in the monitoring of cerebral flow failure therapy.     

Cost of the treatment of acute cerebrovascular insufficiency causing cerebral infarction]

Many countries are interested in the cost of therapy of the acute cerebral flow insufficiency leading to brain infarction. Total costs include: drugs, laboratory tests, nursing care, the cost of patients' food, equipment, amortization, hospital administration etc. The total expenditure for a 10-15-day treatment of the acute neurological incident depended on the severity of the disease and was 8 million ++ z?oty in case of mildly ill patient, 9 million in case of moderately severe disease, and 21 million z?oty in case of severely ill patient. If the costs of such tests as CT and TCD-scanning will be added, total cost will increase significantly.     

A computerized system for remote monitoring of subterranean termites near structures.

Sensors comprising wooden stakes painted with conductive circuits of silver particle emulsion were inserted in Sentricon stations in soil near structures. Sensors were wired to a datalogger that was programmed to test for circuit breakage every 2 h and store the data in its memory. A host computer was programmed to access the datalogger through telephone communication lines for data download every 4 d. The computerized monitoring system was tested in three remote sites, and site visits were conducted monthly for 6 mo to examine system accuracy in detecting termite activity. The mean monthly accuracy for the system to correctly report the presence (true positive) or absence of termites (true negative) in the stations was 85%, but the accuracy at 6 mo after system installation ranged from 41 to 79%. Mean sensor longevity, defined as the time for a sensor circuit to break in the absence of termites, was approximately 4.4 mo.     

A new method for the rapid diagnosis of acute streptococcal infection]

The work deals with the development of the rapid method of the identification of acute streptococcal infection on the basis of the coagglutination test. The rapid method of the extraction of group-specific polysaccharide antigen from the cell walls of group A streptococci is proposed. The data on the use of native sera and their fractions in the development of coagglutination diagnostica have been described and analyzed. The advantages of the new method of the diagnosis of acute streptococcal infection in comparison with the traditional microbiological method are shown.     

Brain stem insufficiency in acute ischemia and cerebral hemorrhage]

Consciousness disorders are closely related to the general dysfunction of the brain stem, and called by some authors brain stem insufficiency. To evaluate the degree of brain stem dysfunction, an original scale has been elaborated. Each group of brain stem functions are scored. Consciousness being the most important symptom of the brain stem insufficiency is scored about 50% in a 63-score scale. Scores are used to achieve the most objectivity in the clinical monitoring of the brain stem insufficiency. Its utility was examined in 75 patients with either ischemia or cerebral hemorrhage. Patients of both groups with severe insufficiency below 33 scores and persisting over 24 hours had no chance to survive. The authors suggest that the scores may successfully be used in the clinical monitoring of all disorders producing consciousness disturbances. Survival of patients with brain stem insufficiency in the course of cerebral ischemia or hemorrhage depends on the degree and duration of the brain stem insufficiency.     

A cerebrovascular response model for functional neuroimaging including dynamic cerebral autoregulation

Functional neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used to isolate an evoked response to a stimulus from significant background physiological fluctuations. Data analysis approaches typically use averaging or linear regression to remove this physiological baseline with varying degrees of success. Biophysical model-based analysis of the functional hemodynamic response has also been advanced previously with the Balloon and Windkessel models. In the present work, a biophysical model of systemic and cerebral circulation and gas exchange is applied to resting state NIRS neuroimaging data from 10 human subjects. The model further includes dynamic cerebral autoregulation, which modulates the cerebral arteriole compliance to control cerebral blood flow. This biophysical model allows for prediction, from noninvasive blood pressure measurements, of the background hemodynamic fluctuations in the systemic and cerebral circulations. Significantly higher correlations with the NIRS data were found using the biophysical model predictions compared to blood pressure regression and compared to transfer function analysis (multifactor ANOVA, p < 0.0001). This finding supports the further development and use of biophysical models for removing baseline activity in functional neuroimaging analysis. Future extensions of this work could model changes in cerebrovascular physiology that occur during development, aging, and disease.     

Animal model of acute respiratory insufficiency by HCl aspiration in Lewe mini-pigs

Acute respiratory insufficiency or adult respiratory distress syndrome is a common medical emergency in intensive medicine complicated by high mortality. To study the acute respiratory insufficiency under standardized conditions an animal model in Lewe-mini-pigs has been developed. This model is based on aspiration pneumonitis produced by intrabrochial atomisation of 0.2 N hydrochloric acid. General anesthesia was performed by neuroleptanalgesia. In all animals the profound changes in gas exchange, pulmonary mechanics and hemodynamics as well as quasi-static volume-pressure relationships after hydrochloric acid aspiration were described. The results suggest that this model is suitable to outline the profound changes in pulmonary function in this type of acute respiratory insufficiency.     

A new stereotactic instrument for use with computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging

The new stereotactic instrument has the advantages of use with computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) without special adaptations of instruments, brain targets transferred directly from CT or MRI to apparatus, and use with conventional stereotactic techniques. The apparatus is designed to meet present demands of neurosurgical facilities of good standards and capabilities, encompassing present and future developments towards more efficient and less invasive brain operations.     

A new two-breath technique for extracting the cerebrovascular response to arterial carbon dioxide

Cerebrovascular autoregulation is evaluated from spontaneous fluctuations in mean flow velocity (MFV) by transcranial Doppler ultrasound of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) with respect to changes in arterial blood pressure (BP(MCA)), but the effects of spontaneous fluctuations in arterial Pco(2) on MFV have been largely ignored. Autoregressive moving average analysis (ARMA), a closed-loop system identification technique, was applied to data from nine healthy subjects during spontaneous breathing, during inspiration of 10% CO(2) for two breaths once per minute for 4 min, and during sustained breathing of 7% CO(2). Cerebrovascular resistance index (CVRi) was calculated (CVRi = BP(MCA)/MFV). Reliable estimates of gain for BP(MCA) --> MFV were obtained for spontaneous breathing and the two-breath method. In contrast, reliable gain estimates for Pco(2) --> MFV or Pco(2) --> CVRi were achieved only under the two-breath method. Pco(2) --> MFV gain was smaller with the two-breath method than during sustained 7% CO(2) (P < 0.05). BP(MCA) was elevated by 7% CO(2) but not by the two-breath method. The closed-loop model provides insight into interactions between BP(MCA) and Pco(2) on cerebrovascular control, but reliable solutions for Pco(2) effects with ARMA analysis require perturbation by the two-breath method.     

A transgenic mouse model for monitoring endoplasmic reticulum stress

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is caused by the accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER lumen, and is associated with vascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Although the connection between ER stress and some disease-related proteins has been studied using animal models of these diseases, no in vivo data concerning ER stress are available. Here we report a new method for monitoring ER stress in vivo, based on XBP-1 mRNA splicing by inositol requiring-1 (IRE-1) during ER stress. The stress indicator was constructed by fusing XBP-1 and venus, a variant of green fluorescent protein. During stress, the spliced indicator mRNA is translated into an XBP-1-venus fusion protein, which can be detected by its fluorescence. We used transgenic animals expressing the ER stress indicator to show that it can be used to monitor physiological and pathological ER stress in vivo.     

A new technique for monitoring pollen flow in orchids

Summary The orchid Prasophyllum fimbria is pollinated by nectar-feeding native bees and wasps. The pollinia are patially separated from the viscidium by a stipe so that pollinia can be labelled with coloured histochemical stains without interfering with pollinarium removal. Pollen flow was monitored by following the movement of the coloured pollen in several populations of P. fimbria in Western Australia. Statistical analysis confirmed that pollen labelling did not interfere with pollinarium removal or subsequent pollination of the labelled flower. Fifty eight labelled pollinaria were removed by vectors from 16 test spikes, with a total of 125 flowers on 47 spikes receiving labelled pollen. An average of 2 flowers received pollen for every pollinium removed but up to 6 flowers received pollen from a single collinium. No significant differences between mean vector flights and pollen flow distances were detected. On average, geitonogamous transfers only accounted for 22% of all pollinations. This is a simple and inexpensive technique for the direct labelling of pollen with minimal disruption to the pollination system and may have applications in other plant families.     

A new operation for velopharyngeal insufficiency: the palatoglossus myomucosal pharyngoplasty.

Myomucosal flaps employing the palatoglossi were used to correct posttonsillectomy velopharyngeal insufficiency because the palatopharyngeus were resected with the posterior tonsillar pillar. This new sphincter pharyngoplasty may have a role as a secondary option for treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency. It should be remembered that this operation has only been performed in a single patient without cleft palate, and, therefore, its application in the cleft population and its potential complication rate are unknown.