Functional study of the transplanted kidney with power Doppler US and time/intensity curves.

Purpose: Power Doppler ultrasound (US) with time-intensity curves was used to study renal graft function both in the absence of disease and with complications (acute tubular necrosis and chronic rejection) in an attempt to identify pathognomonic patterns. Time-intensity curves allow representation of the kidneys' wash-in and wash-out phases after intravenous administration of sonographic contrast material.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-six asymptomatic renal transplant patients (36 men and 20 women), 19 of whom had altered creatinine clearance levels, were studied by power Doppler US with time-intensity curves followed by biopsy.

Effect of autogenous cortical bone particulate in conjunction with enamel matrix derivative in the treatment of periodontal intraosseous defects.

Background: The aim of the present study was to assess the additional clinical benefit of autogenous cortical bone particulate (ACBP) when added to enamel matrix derivative (EMD), compared to EMD alone, in the treatment of deep periodontal intraosseous defects.

Methods: A total of 28 intraosseous lesions in 27 patients with advanced periodontitis were included in this controlled clinical trial and randomly assigned to the EMD group (14 defects) or to the EMD + ACBP group (14 defects). Immediately before surgery (baseline) and after 6 and 12 months, probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and gingival recession (REC) were recorded.

Role of multidetector row computed tomography in the assessment of adrenal gland injuries.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of adrenal injuries in a group of patients submitted to multidetector row CT evaluation after blunt trauma and to assess the impact of CT findings on clinical management decisions.

Materials And Method: During a 4-year period, 2026 emergency CT examinations were performed in the setting of major blunt trauma. A total of 82 patients were retrospectively identified as having adrenal gland traumatic lesions.

Color power Doppler US and contrast-enhanced US features of abdominal solid organ injuries.

Utilization of color power Doppler and sonographic contrast agents to basic ultrasound (US) further improve the detection and characterization of abdominal injuries, increasing the diagnostic accuracy and value of US as an important technique in the evaluation of the abdominal trauma. This paper provides an illustrated summary of our clinical experience with color power Doppler US (CD-US) and contrast-enhanced US (CE-US) in the evaluation of abdominal solid organ injuries, involving 32 documented cases over a 2-year period. The findings of the CD-US and CE-US were compared with those provided by state-of-the-art contrast-enhanced multidetector 16-row CT.

Autogenous bone graft in conjunction with enamel matrix derivative in the treatment of deep periodontal intra-osseous defects: a report of 13 consecutively treated patients.

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of a regenerative procedure based on supra-crestal soft tissue preservation in association with combined autogenous bone (AB) graft/enamel matrix derivative (EMD) application in the treatment of deep periodontal intra-osseous defects.

Methods: Thirteen consecutively treated patients, seven females and six males, aged 30-65 years, three smokers, were included. A total of 15 deep, one- to two-wall intra-osseous defects were selected.

Assessment of fetal swallowing with gray-scale and color Doppler sonography.

Objective: Our study was focused on the evaluation of fluid dynamics to assess the value of gray-scale and color Doppler sonography for evaluating the development of fetal swallow-related movements from early gestation until birth.

Materials And Methods: We examined 56 fetuses from weeks 15-39 of gestation. Each fetus was examined throughout four distinct periods of gestation: weeks 15-18, 22-25, 30-34, and 37-39.

An integrated system to remote monitor and control anaerobic wastewater treatment plants through the internet.

The TELEMAC project brings new methodologies from the Information and Science Technologies field to the world of water treatment. TELEMAC offers an advanced remote management system which adapts to most of the anaerobic wastewater treatment plants that do not benefit from a local expert in wastewater treatment. The TELEMAC system takes advantage of new sensors to better monitor the process dynamics and to run automatic controllers that stabilise the treatment plant, meet the depollution requirements and provide a biogas quality suitable for cogeneration.

The Color Doppler with contrast agent US in the study of post Cholecistectomy Syndrome.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the study of intra- and extra-biliary ducts by contrast-enhanced colour-Doppler in patients who have undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Materials And Methods: Contrast-enhanced colour-Doppler US was performed in 15 patients who had undegone laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The US contrast agent was introducted into the Kehr or Pedinelli tube to allow visualisation of the bile ducts and duodenum.

Guided tissue regeneration in human gingival recessions. A 10-year follow-up study.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes of the mucogingival complex of guided tissue regeneration (GTR)-treated gingival recession defects over a 10-year follow-up.

Methods: The study population consisted of 20 patients, 11 males and nine females, mean age: 44.3+/-10.

Vesicoureteral reflux in young patients: comparison of voiding color Doppler US with echo enhancement versus voiding cystourethrography for diagnosis or exclusion.

We assessed the accuracy of voiding color Doppler ultrasonography (US) with echo enhancement for diagnosis or exclusion of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) versus voiding cystourethrography (VCUG) and evaluated patient tolerance of the echo-enhancing agent. One hundred twenty-two patients (ages range, 1 month to 17 years) with 244 ureterorenal units underwent voiding color Doppler US with echo enhancement, which was followed by VCUG on the same day. After US of the urinary tract, the bladder was filled with saline solution via catheter.

Modulation of clinical expression of plaque-induced gingivitis: effect of incisor crown form.

Evidence indicates that incisor crown form correlates with clinical periodontal features. It was hypothesized that incisor crown form may explain subject differences in gingivitis expression. The present experimental gingivitis study aimed to assess the effect of incisor crown form on plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation, and on individual susceptibility to plaque-induced gingivitis.

Helical CT diagnosis of small bowel obstruction in the acute clinical setting.

Definite confirmation or exclusion closed loop obstruction (CLO) is one of the most difficult tasks the radiologist has to face in the clinical practice. Aim of this retrospective work was to study the value of spiral computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of closed loop obstruction complicated by intestinal ischemia. The state of the art CT signs of closed loop obstruction were taken into consideration.

Complexity analysis of the temperature curve: new information from body temperature.

An attempt was made to develop a truly quantitative approach to temperature, based on models derived from nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory. Three different procedures for measuring the degree of complexity of the temperature curve were compared, and the possible correlations between these measurements and certain physiopathologically relevant parameters in healthy subjects were examined. Twenty-three healthy subjects (10 males, 13 females) between 18 and 85 years of age had their temperature measured every 10 min for at least 30 h.

[Recurrent cystopyelitis related to inguinal bladder hernia: a case report evaluated by color Doppler US].

The authors describe an unusual inguinal biadder case responsible for recurrent urinary tract infections. The Eco Color Doppler technique allowed correct diagnosis of the pathology, whose first signs (recurrent cystopyelitis) could have been erroneously correlated to the diabetic status of the patient Subsequently, the authors stress the importance of this technique as a useful tool to ensure swift and correct diagnosis.

Mechanical model for theoretical determination of maximum running speed in mammals.

A mechanical model for the determination of maximum speed in terrestrial tetrapods, designed for application to extinct species, is proposed. Only external bone measures and average body mass estimations are used as input data, and the hypothesis is made that leg bones are strong enough to endure the stress of running at maximum speed at a certain universal safety factor. The model is applied to a broad sample of living mammalian species to test its predictive power, and it is found to provide very good estimates of maximum running speed.

Analysis of color Doppler signal intensity variation after levovist injection: a new approach to the diagnosis of thyroid nodules.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a galactose-based ultrasonographic contrast agent, Levovist (Schering AG, Berlin, Germany), in differentiating benign from malignant thyroid nodules by analysis of the time-intensity curves correlating the variation of the intensity signal value during the contrast transit time. Fifty-four patients scheduled for surgical removal of a nodule or the thyroid gland or both after cytologic examination were enrolled in this study; all of the nodules underwent a baseline color and power Doppler evaluation and then to a color Doppler examination after an intravenous bolus injection of Levovist. The time-intensity curves were analyzed with respect to the histologic results.

An immunoblotting technique for the serodiagnosis of brucellosis by Brucella ovis.

An immunoblotting (IB) technique was developed for the serodiagnosis of brucellosis caused by Brucella ovis. Immunoblotting was performed, using a B. ovis HS (hot saline extract) antigen, on 44 blood serum samples which came from rams belonging to known brucella-free flocks, 114 samples originating from ten experimentally B.

Evaluation of tests employed in serological diagnosis of brucellosis caused by Brucella ovis.

A survey was carried out to verify the sensitivity and specificity of various tests (complement fixation test--CF; agar gel immunodiffusion--AGID; indirect enzyme linked immunosorbent assay--ELISA; immunoblotting--IB) employed in the serological diagnosis of brucellosis caused by Brucella ovis. The tests were executed on 44 blood serum samples of rams coming from B. ovis-free flocks, 75 of B.

Vesico-ureteral reflux: diagnosis and staging with voiding color Doppler US: preliminary experience.

Introduction: The aim of this study is to assess the accuracy of a new US examination: 'voiding color Doppler US ' in the early diagnosis and staging of vesico-ureteral reflux (VUR). The contrast agent US was SH U 508A (Levovist, Schering, Berlin), which produces a chromatic accentuation of the signals picked up by the color Doppler US. Eighteen patients (10 females, eight males) were recruited for the study.