Non-contact navigated laser retinopexy for peripheral retinal tears and rhegmatogenous degenerations: first experience.

Purpose: To evaluate the first outcomes of non-contact navigated laser retinopexy for peripheral tears and rhegmatogenous degenerations of the retina.

Material And Methods: This prospective single-center interventional pilot study included 58 patients (68 eyes), among which 19 males and 39 females aged 47.5±16.

The laminar organization of the motor cortex in monodactylous mammals: a comparative assessment based on horse, chimpanzee, and macaque.

The architecture of the neocortex classically consists of six layers, based on cytological criteria and on the layout of intra/interlaminar connections. Yet, the comparison of cortical cytoarchitectonic features across different species proves overwhelmingly difficult, due to the lack of a reliable model to analyze the connection patterns of neuronal ensembles forming the different layers. We first defined a set of suitable morphometric cell features, obtained in digitized Nissl-stained sections of the motor cortex of the horse, chimpanzee, and crab-eating macaque.

The Brain of the Domestic Bos taurus: Weight, Encephalization and Cerebellar Quotients, and Comparison with Other Domestic and Wild Cetartiodactyla.

The domestic bovine Bos taurus is raised worldwide for meat and milk production, or even for field work. However the functional anatomy of its central nervous system has received limited attention and most of the reported data in textbooks and reviews are derived from single specimens or relatively old literature. Here we report information on the brain of Bos taurus obtained by sampling 158 individuals, 150 of which at local abattoirs and 8 in the dissecting room, these latter subsequently formalin-fixed.

Forebrain neuroanatomy of the neonatal and juvenile dolphin (T. truncatus and S. coeruloalba).

Knowledge of dolphin functional neuroanatomy mostly derives from post-mortem studies and non-invasive approaches (i.e., magnetic resonance imaging), due to limitations in experimentation on cetaceans.

Gene expression profiles of estrogen receptors α and β in the fetal bovine hypothalamus and immunohistochemical characterization during development.

Steroid hormones intervene in the structural and functional regulation of neuronal processes during development and thus determine brain differentiation. The effects of estrogens are mediated by two transcription factors, namely estrogen receptor α (ER-α) and estrogen receptor β (ER-β), that regulate the expression of target genes through their binding to specific DNA target sequences. We describe the mRNA expression of ER-α and ER-β in the hypothalamus of developing male and female bovines as revealed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, and the distribution of the two ERs in hypothalamic sections of all fetal stages as shown by immunohistochemistry.

The claustrum of the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagu 1821).

The mammalian claustrum is involved in processing sensory information from the environment. The claustrum is reciprocally connected to the visual cortex and these projections, at least in carnivores, display a clear retinotopic distribution. The visual cortex of dolphins occupies a position strikingly different from that of land mammals.

Expression profile of the pore-forming subunits α1A and α1D in the foetal bovine hypothalamus: a mammal with a long gestation.

This study describes the expression of the voltage operated calcium channels (VOCCs) subunits α1A (typical of the P/Q family) and α1D (of the L family) in the bovine hypothalamus. The expression of both P/Q and L families has been characterized in the brain of adult mammals. However, their distribution and expression during foetal neuronal differentiation have not yet been determined.

Immunofluorescence evidence of melanotrophs in the pituitary of four odontocete species. An immunohistochemical study and a critical review of the literature.

Cetaceans share peculiar features of their pituitary glands, with a complete separation of pars distalis and pars nervosa by a dural septum and the absence of an intermediate lobe and cleft. In most mammals the pars intermedia is the main source of circulating α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), derived from a large precursor called proopiomelanocortin (POMC), which also generates adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in the adenohypophysis. The lack of an intermediate lobe in cetaceans led us to investigate whether their glands are able to produce α-MSH, and if this hormone is secreted by a distinct population of melanotrophs or by corticotrophs in the pars distalis.

Evidence of melatonin secretion in cetaceans: plasma concentration and extrapineal HIOMT-like presence in the bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus.

The pineal gland is generally believed to be absent in cetaceans, although few and subsequently unconfirmed reports described the organ in some species. The recent description of a complete and photographed pineal body in a bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) prompted us to examine a series of 29 brains of the same species, but no gland was found. We then decided to investigate if the main product of the gland, melatonin, was nevertheless produced and present in the plasma of this species.

Bone density distribution patterns in the rostrum of delphinids and beaked whales: evidence of family-specific evolutive traits.

Toothed whales have undergone a profound telescopic rearrangement of the skull, with elongation of facial bones and formation of a hollow rostrum, filled in vivo by the mesorostral cartilage. In most species of the family Ziphiidae, this latter cartilage becomes secondarily ossified, producing in some cases the densest bone existing in nature. Starting from this observation, we wanted to investigate the patterns of distribution of bone mineral density (BMD) in the rostrum of two families of toothed whales with different ecological and behavioral traits: Delphinidae and Ziphiidae.

[MALT-lymphomas in Sjogren's disease].

Aim: To develop algorithm of early diagnosis of extranodal lymphoma arising in patients with Sjorgen's disease (SD).

Material And Methods: SD diagnosis was made in 457 patients treated in Rheumatology Institute clinic in 1999-2004, 38 (8.3%) females aged 19-82 had lymphoproliferative diseases.

[Spiral computed tomography in the diagnosis of limb osteomyelitis].

The results of radiation studies in 121 patients of different age (4 to 75 years) examined for limb osteomyelitis are analyzed. All the patients underwent routine X-ray study and computed tomography (CT), 26 patients had X-ray fistulography; 8, linear tomography; 10, CT fistulography; 6, scintigraphy, and 15, ultrasound study. Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis (AHO), chronic hematogenous osteomyelitis (CHO), and atypical (here Garre's sclerosing osteomyelitis and Brodie's abscess) osteomyelitis were ascertained in 10.

[Comparative assessment of 5-year survival with cancer of the buccal mucosa treated by different methods].

We analyzed case histories of 495 patients with oral cancer treated in the Head and Neck Tumor Clinic of the Russian Cancer Research Center RAMS from 1985 to 1998. 88 patients were included in the study out of which 50 reserved combined (radiotherapy + surgery) and 38--complex (chemotherapy + radiotherapy + surgery) treatment. On assessing the clinical results we got the following results: after combined treatment 5-year survival was 45.

[Bone tissue morphological structure in congenital deformations of the jaws].

Morphological structure of bone tissue was studied in various types of congenital deformations of the jaws. Morphological changes in the bone with deformations and the severity of these disorders depended not so much on the type on the deformation, but mainly on its severity, which can be explained by a drastic increase of functional exercise because of impaired occlusion and impossibility of proper chewing. Decelerated weak restructuring of bone tissue and imperfect osteogenesis in deformed bone, similar in various types of deformations, were demonstrated on morphological material.

[The effect of hyperbaric oxygenation on the urea content of the saliva in acute and chronic soft-tissue inflammation in the maxillofacial area].

Urea levels were measured in the saliva of 30 patients with acute and chronic maxillofacial inflammation treated with multiple modalities including hyperbaric oxygenation (HBO). Urea concentrations were evaluated before, in the course of and after HBO session. A total of four 40-min sessions were made (1 session a day, 1.

[The psychological assessment of patients with congenital and acquired maxillofacial deformities in the pre- and postoperative periods].

Complex rehabilitation of 20 patients with congenital and acquired maxillofacial deformations included psychological examinations using the finish-the-sentence test, Taylor's, Eysenck's [correction of Isenk's], Leonhard-Smisek, and Dembo-Rubinstein tests. Depressive states were detected in 4, neurotic reactions with depressive incorporations in 16 examinees. After surgery the manifestations of depression decreased in 60% of patients.

[The use of tactivin in the combined treatment and prevention of complications in reconstructive operations on the bones of the facial skeleton].

Sixty-three patients with congenital and acquired defects and deformations of facial bones without concomitant diseases were examined. Twenty-eight of them were operated on; auto- and alloplasty was resorted to in 18 patients, and to 10 patients tactivin was administered after common protocols for immunocorrection before or after surgery. Immunologic and clinical studies showed that immunodeficiency states are the most probable causes of postoperative complications following repair surgery on the facial bones.

Role of basic residues in the proteolytic activation of Sendai virus fusion glycoprotein.

Cleavage activation of the Sendai virus (Fushimi strain) fusion (F) protein was analyzed by site-directed mutagenesis of the amino acids proximal to the highly conserved fusion peptide. In addition, the functional properties of the wild-type and mutant proteins were examined to determine their ability to elicit the formation of syncytia when co-expressed with the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) glycoprotein. Viral genes were expressed from recombinant T7 transcription vectors (pT7/T3 plasmids) containing F or HN genes, after transfection into cells previously infected with a recombinant vaccinia virus expressing T7 RNA polymerase (vTF7-3).

Characterization of human parainfluenza virus type 2 RNAs in infected cells and by in vitro synthesis.

The RNA species synthesized in HPIV-2 infected CV-1 cells were identified and characterized. The largest RNA of approximately 5.5 x 10(6) in molecular weight (MW) based on electrophoretic mobility, was identified as the genomic RNA.

[Immunological and biochemical indices during the use of hyperbaric oxygenation for treating patients with jaw deformities].

Analysis of changes in immunological and biochemical parameters in patients operated on for congenital deformations of the jaw bones and improperly grown fractures showed that postoperative therapy including hyperbaric oxygenation sessions was conducive to increase of immunological reactivity in patients with initially reduced immunological reactivity. No changes in urinary excretion of hydroxyproline were observed in the patients with deformations of the jaws.

Inhibition of replication of human respiratory syncytial virus by 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine.

The effect of 6-diazo-5-oxo-L-norleucine (L-DON), a glutamine analog, on RSV replication was studied. At a concentration of 0.01 mM L-DON, 99% of RSV replication in treated CV-1 cells was inhibited.

[A clinico-genetic study of patients with congenital deformities of the jaw bones].

Clinical and genetic examination of 78 patients, 43 of these women with jaw bone deformations aged 16 to 30, has revealed that inferior macrognathia combined with superior macrognathia were the most incident in jaw bone deformations. The share of familial cases was 23.9%, this proving a hereditary predisposition to such conditions.