Kinematic decomposition and classification of octopus arm movements.

The octopus arm is a muscular hydrostat and due to its deformable and highly flexible structure it is capable of a rich repertoire of motor behaviors. Its motor control system uses planning principles and control strategies unique to muscular hydrostats. We previously reconstructed a data set of octopus arm movements from records of natural movements using a sequence of 3D curves describing the virtual backbone of arm configurations.

Nearly automatic motion capture system for tracking octopus arm movements in 3D space.

Tracking animal movements in 3D space is an essential part of many biomechanical studies. The most popular technique for human motion capture uses markers placed on the skin which are tracked by a dedicated system. However, this technique may be inadequate for tracking animal movements, especially when it is impossible to attach markers to the animal's body either because of its size or shape or because of the environment in which the animal performs its movements.

The pattern of irreversible brain changes after cardiac arrest in humans.

Irreversible brain damage resulting in sustained post-arrest coma is a most serious complication of CA in resuscitated patients. In this study we present the neuropathological examination performed on 17 brains of patients who had remained unconscious for variable post-resuscitation periods and died after survival time ranging from 1 day to 36 days following cardiac arrest. Two main types of irreversible brain lesions were observed.

Pathomorphological variations of the AIDS-associated progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy.

Pathological analysis of 20 cases of the progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) appearing in the course of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) is presented. PML occurred in 10% of all AIDS cases, collected in the period from 1987 to 1999. PML appeared either as the only brain pathology or accompanied HIV-related brain alterations isolated or concomitant with one or several opportunistic infections and/or neoplastic growth (malignant lymphoma).

Opportunistic infections of the central nervous system in the course of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Morphological analysis of 172 cases.

A neuropathological analysis of 172 cases of AIDS in adults was carried out, to determine the occurrence and nature of the opportunistic infections of the central nervous system (CNS). The material comprised 155 cases of men, and 17 women. Mean age of patients was 38 years.