Procedure for spiral computed tomography in the diagnosis of tooth impaction

The paper presents a procedure for spiral computed tomography that may be used if there are some difficulties in the diagnosis of impaction of different teeth. Examples art used to show the capacities of specified diagnosis in solving the problems and difficulties in surgical or orthodontic treatment.     

Surgery in Management of Patients with Leukaemia

Though leukaemia is not a “surgical” disease, the need for surgery in patients with leukaemia is increasing. Acute surgical problems in such patients present diagnostic difficulties, and accepted surgical principles do not necessarily apply in patients with very abnormal haematological and immunological features. The improved prognosis in some types of leukaemia means that elective surgical procedures, which formerly would not have been considered, may now be applicable just as they would be in patients with non-malignant conditions.Recent advances in the management of the leukaemias include several surgical procedures—for example, to facilitate intravenous or intrathecal therapy. Splenectomy is of value in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia when the correct indications are present, while early elective splenectomy, when no classical indications are present, may have a useful role in the management of patients with chronic granulocytic leukaemia.     

外科手术在高血压脑出血治疗中的应用

高血压脑出血是当今社会一种发病率及死亡率都非常高的神经科疾病,对于它的治疗,则是神经内外科的重点难点。目前治疗高血压脑出血的方法分为内科保守治疗和外科手术治疗两种,作者阅读了大量国内外临床相关文献,综述了高血压脑出血相关内外科治疗的方法,以及具体应用,望能为其相关研究提供有益的思路。     

The statistical analysis of survival in animal populations

Estimating, comparing and modelling survival rates are central to population biology. However, there are many difficulties in measuring these rates in animal populations in the wild. The most relevant information is based on samples of marked individuals, i.e. capture-recapture data. In recent years, a number of new statistical approaches to the analysis of such data have been developed, permitting more sophisticated and precise measurement of survival rates.     

Dating branches on the Tree of Life using DNA

The use of DNA sequences to estimate the timing of evolutionary events is increasingly popular, although it is fraught with practical difficulties. But the exponential growth of relevant information and improved methods of analysis are providing increasingly reliable sequence-derived dates, and it may become possible to reconcile fossil-derived and molecular estimates of divergence times within the next few years.     

Dating branches on the Tree of Life using DNA

The use of DNA sequences to estimate the timing of evolutionary events is increasingly popular, although it is fraught with practical difficulties. But the exponential growth of relevant information and improved methods of analysis are providing increasingly reliable sequence-derived dates, and it may become possible to reconcile fossil-derived and molecular estimates of divergence times within the next few years.     

Mathematical models for the control of pests and infectious diseases: a survey.

Most of the recent applications of mathematical optimisation theory to the optimal or other control of pests and infectious diseases are surveyed here. Comments are made on some of the difficulties encountered in solving the resulting mathematical problems and in applying the relevant conclusions to real biological systems. At the end of the survey some further problems are suggested whose study might give satisfaction to both mathematicians and those interested in the practical problems of controlling biological populations.     

Injury in nonischemic lung after unilateral pulmonary ischemia with reperfusion.

We developed an in vivo intact canine model to study pulmonary ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury. The surgical approach simulates that of unilateral lung transplantation but is free of technical difficulties and other factors related to lung preservation. Serial measurements of regional pulmonary blood flow (rPBF), extravascular density (EVD), and transcapillary protein flux were made with the quantitative imaging technique of positron emission tomography. Eleven experimental and six control animals were studied. After 2 h of warm ischemia followed by reperfusion, no significant change occurred in rPBF despite significantly increased EVD, which was greater on the ischemic than on the nonischemic side. Protein flux, measured as a rate constant, was also greater on the ischemic than on the nonischemic side (median 181 x 10(-4)/min, range 104-619, vs. median 90, range 33-132) immediately after reperfusion. Both sides were also significantly different from control values (median 37, range 21-57). On both sides, protein flux decreased over time and at 5 h after reperfusion was not different from that of controls. Data from the control animals showed that these findings in the experimental animals were not due to surgical technique, deterioration in the surgical preparation, or hyperperfusion of the nonischemic lung. Thus IR injury of one lung can lead to similar, but less severe, injury in the contralateral lung. Because injury in the nonischemic lung develops only after reperfusion of the ischemic lung, injury to the nonischemic lung is probably humorally mediated. The model is a useful and relevant method for studying the physiological consequences of pulmonary IR injury.     

Meta-Analytically Informed Network Analysis of Resting State fMRI Reveals Hyperconnectivity in an Introspective Socio-Affective Network in Depression

Alterations of social cognition and dysfunctional interpersonal expectations are thought to play an important role in the etiology of depression and have, thus, become a key target of psychotherapeutic interventions. The underlying neurobiology, however, remains elusive. Based upon the idea of a close link between affective and introspective processes relevant for social interactions and alterations thereof in states of depression, we used a meta-analytically informed network analysis to investigate resting-state functional connectivity in an introspective socio-affective (ISA) network in individuals with and without depression. Results of our analysis demonstrate significant differences between the groups with depressed individuals showing hyperconnectivity of the ISA network. These findings demonstrate that neurofunctional alterations exist in individuals with depression in a neural network relevant for introspection and socio-affective processing, which may contribute to the interpersonal difficulties that are linked to depressive symptomatology.     

On the surgical treatment of facial paralysis in the early nineteenth century

The treatment of facial paralysis is generally considered to have been nonsurgical until the end of the nineteenth century. However, the authors discovered recently that already in the 1840s the celebrated German facial reconstructive surgeons Dieffenbach and von Langenbeck applied the technique of subcutaneous myotomy to healthy facial muscles to reestablish balance in the chronically paralyzed faces of their patients. They performed their operations at a time when anesthesia, asepsis, antisepsis, and antibiotics had not yet been introduced into surgery. It is concluded that Dieffenbach and von Langenbeck were the first, in recorded history, to develop a surgical way to treat irreversible facial paralysis. As their principles are still being used in surgical practice, they cannot be regarded as antiquated, which illustrates the difficulties that reconstructive surgeons still experience in the treatment of irreversible facial paralysis.     

The long-term prognosis of pre-term infants

The dramatic increases in the survival rate of prematurely born, very low birth weight infants (<1500 g) have created concern about the possible sequelae experienced by these children, in terms of both severe problems and less severe learning and behavior problems. The methodological difficulties involved in answering questions about the outcomes of these children, including the choice of appropriate outcome measures, the analysis of individual variation, the problems associated with dropouts, the relevant comparison groups, the importance of survival rate, and the question of correcting for the degree of prematurity, are considered. In spite of the difficulties in interpreting the studies, the research indicates that many premature children have learning disabilities, particularly in the perceptual and visual motor functioning and some aspects of language and reading. In addition, ethical issues related to prematurity are discussed, including parents’ rights, decision-making, and cost and treatment. Finally, some solutions are proposed involving the use of risk indices for the early detection of developmental problems.     

Genome-Wide Estimation of Linkage Disequilibrium from Population-Level High-Throughput Sequencing Data

Rapidly improving sequencing technologies provide unprecedented opportunities for analyzing genome-wide patterns of polymorphisms. In particular, they have great potential for linkage-disequilibrium analyses on both global and local genetic scales, which will substantially improve our ability to derive evolutionary inferences. However, there are some difficulties with analyzing high-throughput sequencing data, including high error rates associated with base reads and complications from the random sampling of sequenced chromosomes in diploid organisms. To overcome these difficulties, we developed a maximum-likelihood estimator of linkage disequilibrium for use with error-prone sampling data. Computer simulations indicate that the estimator is nearly unbiased with a sampling variance at high coverage asymptotically approaching the value expected when all relevant information is accurately estimated. The estimator does not require phasing of haplotypes and enables the estimation of linkage disequilibrium even when all individual reads cover just single polymorphic sites.     

Antibiotic misuse in a pediatric teaching hospital.

Antibiotic use at a pediatric teaching hospital was reviewed for a month. A total of 188 courses of therapy were evaluated with respect to choice of antibiotic, dosage and necessity of treatment. Errors in therapy were noted in 30% of the medical orders and 63% of the surgical orders. The most frequent error, unnecessary therapy, was found in 13% and 45% of the medical and surgical orders respectively. Error rates were highest for the most frequently ordered antibiotics, notably the penicillins. The magnitude of the problem appeared to be similar to that previously reported from general ana adult hospitals. The difficulties with solutions such as educational programs and compulsory consultation are discussed.     

Two new human cases of dirofilariasis in Sardinia

Two new human cases of dirofilariasis, both due to Dirofilaria (Nochtiella) repens, recently occurring in Nuoro province (Sardinia) on people permanently resident in the island, are described. The parasite was located in one case into the uterine round ligament, in the other it was subconjunctival. Some observations about the diagnostic difficulties in the first one and the dramatic symptoms in the second, whose parasite was yet alive during the surgical ablaction, are discussed. These cases are the 9th and the 10th, respectively, reported in man in Sardinia, but it is possible that other cases are undiagnosed and consequently are not published.     

A review of the biomechanical properties of bone as a material

Experimental studies on bone all reveal important difficulties in data interpretation. This paper proposes an analysis of experimental studies performed so far, with particular attention to the anisotropic characteristics of bone, its behaviour in the post-elastic phase, and its dependence on viscoelastic phenomena. Mechanical properties are also correlated with variables such as moisture, deformation rate during testing, density, variations in different regions of the bone, and the most relevant strength criteria are recalled. The investigation performed is also intended to provide an evaluation of the degree of refinement of biomechanical experimental data for use in a numerical approach to bone mechanics.     

笼养猕猴疝根治手术的探讨

目的对发生嵌闭性疝的猕猴,采用疝手术治疗法挽救其生命。方法各种猕猴疝经确诊,实施手术治疗。结果共实施各种猕猴疝手术7例,手术成功率100%,愈后恢复良好。结论根据疝的位置和临床症状,确诊疝的种类,采取相应的疝根治手术疗法,7例猕猴疝病例手术后经过治疗护理,没有手术并发症及手术死亡,手术治疗法是治疗猕猴疝最有效的方法,对相关的灵长类动物外科手术及保护珍贵猕猴动物资源,减少猕猴因各种疝引起的痛苦或死亡均有一定的参考价值。     

Nose surgery: how to prevent a middle vault collapse--a review of 50 patients 3 to 21 years after surgery

There is a conception, likely a misconception, that when performing a nasal osteotomy with a concomitant dorsal hump removal, the upper lateral cartilages are detached or damaged and, over the long-term, respiratory difficulties result because of a middle vault collapse or interference with the internal nasal valve. A follow-up of 50 patients between 3 and 21 years postoperatively provides evidence that this can be prevented. The vast majority (82 percent) reported they were breathing very well for an average of 6.5 years postoperatively. Of the authors' own 38 primary rhinoplasty patients, only two patients (5 percent) reported respiratory difficulties. The authors are unable to substantiate that either the osteotomy or the dorsal hump removal was responsible. Of the 12 patients who had their primary rhinoplasty performed elsewhere, six (50 percent) reported respiratory difficulties before the secondary rhinoplasty at this clinic. Furthermore, an appreciable improvement in breathing was reported by 66.7 percent of these patients after the secondary rhinoplasty. The authors conclude that their gentle proper surgical technique, combined with a good understanding of nasal physiology (with respect to the septum, inferior turbinates, and external and internal valves), allows them to perform a concomitant dorsal hump removal and osteotomy without interfering with nasal physiology.     

Antidepressants in the general hospital.

An approach to the use of antidepressant medication in the general hospital is presented. The type of depression most likely to respond to chemotherapy is described, categories of available antidepressant agents are discussed, and relevant pharmacologic aspects are outlined. This paper suggests clinical guidelines for the use of these drugs, particularly in medical and surgical patients.     

Epidural anesthesia and analgesia in ferrets

Anesthesia and analgesia should be provided to ferrets that are undergoing potentially painful surgical procedures. The epidural route of administration for anesthetic or analgesic drugs can be used. This column outlines the relevant ferret anatomy, indications and contraindications and technique of epidural administration of anesthesia and analgesia in ferrets.