[Hospital infections in neonatal intensive care units].

Introduction: Sick newborn babies in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU) are at increased risk for hospital-acquired infections (HI). The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and localization of neonatal hospital infections in NICU.

Material And Methods: A prospective, six-month study was carried out in a NICU.

Implicit meshes for surface reconstruction.

Deformable 3D models can be represented either as traditional explicit surfaces, such as triangulated meshes, or as implicit surfaces. Explicit surfaces are widely accepted because they are simple to deform and render, but fitting them involves minimizing a nondifferentiable distance function. By contrast, implicit surfaces allow fitting by minimizing a differentiable algebraic distance, but are harder to meaningfully deform and render.

Transcranial application of low-energy laser irradiation improves neurological deficits in rats following acute stroke.

Background And Objectives: Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been shown to have beneficial effects on ischemic skeletal and heart muscles tissues. The aim of the present study was to approve the effectiveness of LLLT treatment at different locations on the brain in acute stroked rats.

Study Design/materials And Methods: Stroke was induced in 169 rats that were divided into four groups: control non-laser and three laser-treated groups where laser was employed ipsilateral, contralateral, and both to the side of the induced stroke.

[Frequency of metastatic tumors in the heart].

Introduction: Secondary or metastatic tumors in the heart occur more frequently than primary ones, and, according to the published series, their frequency found in autopsic material ranges from 1.6% to 20.6%.

[Early results of cementless hip arthroplasty in the treatment of femoral head posttraumatic and atraumatic osteonecrosis].

Aim: To evaluate the value of cementless hip arthroplasty in the treatment of posttraumatic and atraumatic osteonecrosis (ON) of the femoral head.

Methods: The study was conducted at the Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Military Medical Academy, between January 1st, 1999 and December 31st, 2003. Twenty-five patients with 27 implanted endoprostheses, and the diagnosis of osteonecrosis of the femoral head, and radiographically confirmed Arlet-Ficat stage III and IV were evaluated retrospectively.

[Biomechanical characteristics of spinal cord tissue--basis for the development of modifications of the DREZ (dorsal root entry zone) operation].

Mechanical properties of the spinal cord tissue--biological basis for the development of the modality of the DREZ surgery lesioning technique Succesful treatment of the chronic neurogenic pain of spinal cord and cauda equina injury origin remains a significant management problem. The mechanism of this pain phenomenon has been shown to be related to neurochemical changes that lead to the state of hypereactivity of the second order dorsal horn neurons. The DREZ surgery (Dorsal Root Entry Zone lesion), designed to destroy anatomy structures involved in pain generating thus interrupting the neurogenic pain mechanism, as a causative procedure in treating this chronic pain, has been performed by using different technical modalities: Radiofrequency (RF) coagulation technic, Laser, Ultrasound and Microsurgical DREZotomy technic.

Diuresis renal scintigraphy "F-0" in diagnosing of upper urinary tract obstruction in children: the clinical significance.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the clinical relevance of diuresis renal scintigraphy after simultaneously administered radiopharmaceutical and diuretic (DRS "F-0") in diagnosing obstruction of upper urinary tract in children with previously documented hydronephrosis and ureterohydronephrosis, analyzing the value of qualitative and quantitative scintigraphy parameters.

Material And Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 82 children (30 girls and 52 boys aged between 2 months and 16 years; mean 5.8 +/- 4.

Muscarinic and nicotinic receptor modulation of object and spatial n-back working memory in humans.

Working memory impairments in the n-back task in schizophrenia have been linked to sustained deficiency in mesocortical dopamine function. More recently, abnormalities in the cholinergic system have also been documented in schizophrenia, with cortical reductions in both nicotinic and muscarinic receptors. While the cholinergic hypothesis of memory is well established, the role of cholinergic receptors in modulating n-back working memory is not known.

[Discoloration of gingiva in the presence of fixed dental restorations].

Aim: To investigate the frequency of discoloration of gingiva in the presence of fixed dental restorations, regarding the type of alloy of which restorations were made, and to show histopathological changes of discolored gingiva.

Methods: One hundred and eighty four patients of both sexes were examined. The average age of the examinees was 52.

[Brown tumor of the maxilla in patient with secondary hyperparathyroidism].

Brown tumor or parathyroid osteopathy is a kind of bony lesion caused by hyperparathyroidism. It appears as an expansive osteolytic lesion mostly in mandible, ribs, pelvis and femur, but rarely in the upper jaw. Bone resorption is the result of osteoclastic activity due to an increased activity of parathyroid hormone.

[Cytohistologic and immunohistochemical characteristics of the aortic intima and media in coarctation of the aorta of the adult type].

Introduction: Classically, coarctation of the aorta has been divided into infantile and adult forms. The vascular malformation responsible for coarctation is a defect of the vessel intima and media giving rise to a prominent posterior infolding ("the posterior shelf") which, in some cases, may extend around the entire circumference of the aorta. Histological examination of the coarcted aortic segment discloses intimal and medial lesion consisting of thickened ridges that protrude posteriorly into the aortic lumen.

[Surgery for coarctation of the aorta in infants younger than three months].

Introduction: Recurrent coarctation is a complication which is seen at a consistent rate following repair for coarctation of the aorta in young infants.

Objective: This retrospective analysis was carried out to compare the results between resection with end-to-end anastomosis (ETE), and resection with extended end-to-end anastomosis (E-ETE), in this age group during late follow-up period. The role of ductus arteriosus is not clearly defined and the second objective of this study was to analyze intimal thickening in aortic coarctation.

[Results of treatment of cyanotic heart defects in children].

Cyanotic heart diseases are relatively rare, but they are severe and heterogeneous congenital heart diseases, which require complex surgery. Development of different advanced surgical procedures, such as arterial switch operation (ASO), Fontan and its modifications, Norwood etc. operations, as well as better perioperative care significantly improved survival rate and quality of life of these children.

[Umbilical metastasis (Sister Mary Joseph's nodule) diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration].

Sister Mary Joseph's nodule is the eponym for metastatic involvement of the umbilicus. This less common entity is the sign of disseminated malignant disease, mainly of digestive and gynecologic origin, and is associated with a poor prognosis. A case of Sister Mary Joseph's nodule in a 76-year-old woman in whom the umbilical metastasis was the first sign of malignant disease in presented.

[Cerebellar hemangioblastomas--a study of the immunoprofile of neoplastic stromal component].

Background: Central nervous system hemangioblastomas (HBs) are uncommon, highly vascularized tumors that are predominantly found in the cerebellum. They occur sporadically or in association with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. HBs are of unknown histogenesis, and the origin of stromal cells is still a subject of debate.

[Menetrier's disease associated with ulcerative colitis].

In this paper a 21 year old patient was presented with Ménétrier's disease, associated with ulcerative colitis. The first symptoms of ulcerative colitis occurred at the age of eleven, since when the patient has been conservatively treated several times because of the exacerbations of the disease. During control examinations presence of polyploid changes in stomach was discovered by upper endoscopy.

Radionuclide voiding pattern in children with unstable bladder.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate bladder function parameters by means of quantitative radionuclide cystography (QRC) in anxious, irritable children with unstable bladder.

Methods: Quantitative radionuclide cystography was performed in 18 children aged between 8 and 12 years, without evidence of neurologic and nephrologic disorders. Findings were compared with those obtained in 10 healthy children aged between 7 and 10 years.

Alteration of 99mTc-DMSA biodistribution in glomerulonephritis.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the relation between (99m)Tc-DMSA biodistribution and its reliability as a marker of renal function in patients with glomerular kidney diseases.

Material And Methods: Sixty-seven patients involved in this study were classified into two groups according to (99m)Tc-DTPA clearance and serum creatinine values: the 1st group consisted of 42 patients without renal failure while the 2nd group included 25 patients with renal failure. (99m)Tc-DMSA biodistribution was determined by measuring kidney, blood and urine activity at 2 h and 4 h.

[Breast carcinoma with melanocytic differentiation].

Azzopardi and Eusebi were the first to describe pigmented breast cancers in 1977. They postulated that the mammary cancer might become colonized by melanocytes at the expense of the epidermis, which was focally depleted of melanocytes, and that it occurred in most cases of breast cancers in which tumor cells reached the dermal-epidermal interface. Other authors suggested melanocytic differentiation of tumor cells.