Automatic detection of anatomical features on 3D ear impressions for canonical representation.

We propose a shape descriptor for 3D ear impressions, derived from a comprehensive set of anatomical features. Motivated by hearing aid (HA) manufacturing, the selection of the anatomical features is carried out according to their uniqueness and importance in HA design. This leads to a canonical ear signature that is highly distinctive and potentially well suited for classification.

Layout consistent segmentation of 3-D meshes via conditional random fields and spatial ordering constraints.

We address the problem of 3-D Mesh segmentation for categories of objects with known part structure. Part labels are derived from a semantic interpretation of non-overlapping subsurfaces. Our approach models the label distribution using a Conditional Random Field (CRF) that imposes constraints on the relative spatial arrangement of neighboring labels, thereby ensuring semantic consistency.

Motor and electrocorticographic epileptic activity induced by 3-mercaptopropionic acid in immature rats.

The convulsant action of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (3-MPA), a known inhibitor of glutamate decarboxylase activity, was studied in 7-, 12-, 18- and 25-day-old rats and in adult animals. 3-MPA elicited predominantly clonic, minimal seizures as well as generalized tonic-clonic (major) seizures at all developmental stages studied. The CD50 for major seizures did not change during development; CD50 for minimal seizures was significantly lower in 18-day-old rats than in older animals.

[Differential diagnosis in early muscular hypotonia: spinal atrophy].

Changes in type, size and structure of muscle fibres were analyzed in 68 biopsies with clinical and morphological signs of spinal atrophy. Reliability of clinical prebioptic diagnosis was evaluated in comparison with bioptic finding and final diagnosis. Muscle biopsy is often to be performed in spite of apparently unambiguous clinical and electromyographical finding.

[Computer tomography in the diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases in children].

Recently in the literature occasional reports were published on the use of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of neuromuscular diseases. The authors compared in a group of 23 children aged 3 to 15 years the results of clinical, laboratory, electromyographic, bioptic and CT findings on muscles. Only in four children the result of CT did not correlate with the clinical finding because of the incipient stage of the disease with structural changes which were yet only slightly expressed.

Benign posttraumatic encephalopathy.

Twenty-eight post-injury states were assessed in 27 children (in one child two attacks occurred) aged 1-9 years. The states could be classed as so called benign posttraumatic encephalopathy. The mild head injury was followed after a latent period (proved in 22 attacks) of 5 min.

[Transcranial Doppler measurement of hemodynamics in the major cerebral arteries].

Using a pulsed Doppler velocity meter, the authors assessed by a transcranial approach, in order to obtain an idea on the normal haemodynamics of the basal cerebral arteries, the maximal systolic blood flow (Vmax., m.s-1) in these arteries in a group of 25 healthy young men and in 20 healthy children.

[Supratentorial and infratentorial localization of brain tumors in various periods in childhood].

The authors evaluated a group of 220 children (119 boys and 101 girls) aged 11 months to 15 years with histologically confirmed brain tumours hospitalized at the Clinic of Child Neurology, Childrens Hospital, Brno in 1953-1986. Tumours were diagnosed in infants 15 times, in 41 toddlers, in 72 preschool children, in 56 young school children and in 36 older school children. The ratio of supra- and infratentorial localization in infants was practically identical, in toddlers and preschool children there was a marked predominance of infratentorial tumours, in younger school age this localization was slightly predominating, in older school age supratentorial tumours predominated.

[The clinical picture and treatment of migraine in children].

Child neurologists present their experience with diagnosis and treatment assembled in a group of 111 children hospitalized on account of migraine. The figure indicates the age distribution of the children; the first attack developed in 80% of the children during puberty, up to the age of 10 the sex ratio was proportional, later girls predominate 3:1.

Motor and electrocorticographic epileptic activity induced by bicuculline in developing rats.

Motor seizures were induced by intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected bicuculline in 270 rats aged 7, 12, 18, 25, or 90 days.

Ontogenetic development of ketamine-induced sleeping time and electrocorticographic changes in rats.

Latency to the loss of righting reflex and sleeping time after ketamine were measured in 261 rats aged 7, 12, 18, 25 and 90 days. The sensitivity to ketamine was highest in 7-day-old animals and decreased with age. In the youngest group rats slept after the 20-mg/kg dose whereas not all adult animals lost their righting ability after a dose of 160 mg/kg.

[Therapeutic effect of dopaminergic substances in drug-resistant Lennox-Gastaut syndrome].

The authors administered to 18 children with an expressed pharmaco-resistant Lennox-Gastaut syndrome as adjuvant treatment medium doses of amantadine (Viregyt-K, Egyt), 8 mg/kg/day divided into 1-2 portions or L-DOPA (Nakom, Lek) 22 mg/kg/day in 3-4 portions. The mean age at the time of administration of the agonist or dopamine precursor was 5 years (1-12.5 years).

[Administration of high doses of B6 in age-related epileptic encephalopathies].

The authors present an account on 14 patients with markedly pharmaco-resistant age-conditioned epileptic encephalopathies (4 x West's syndrome, 5 x Lennox-Gastaut's syndrome and 5 x an intermediate stage of the two), treated with large doses of vitamin B6 (Pyridoxin Spofa). The mean age at the onset of therapy was 2.5 years (0.

Relationship of focal epileptogenesis to hemispheric motor prevalence in human ontogenesis.

The authors describe the clinical and electroencephalographic findings in 220 children with focal and secondary generalized epilepsies without gross structural aetiology, with the aim of evaluating the significance of hemispheric motor prevalence for the formation, activity and possibility of compensation of the focus. Focal epileptogenesis was observed significantly more often: a) in partial seizures with elementary symptomatology in the motor non-dominant hemisphere, b) in the motor non-dominant hemisphere in boys, c) in the whole series, irrespective of the form of epilepsy and sex, in the motor nondominant hemisphere in children under the age of six and in the motor dominant hemisphere in children over the age of six. The findings in partial seizures with an elementary motor symptomatology probably arise from the very close relationship to motor areas of the cerebral cortex, in boys from evidently greater hemispheric functional asymmetry than in girls and the age correlation from unequal maturation of functionally identical parts of the brain hemispheres during ontogenesis.

Transient global amnesia after mild head injury in childhood.

In seven entirely healthy children in the age group of 6.5 to 14.5 years, mild head injury produced transient global amnesia (TGA) of median duration of 4.

EEG changes induced by convulsants interfering with GABAergic inhibition in rats. I. Cortical recordings.

Electrocorticographic changes induced by 3 convulsant drugs interfering with the GABA system were studied in 73 adult rats. Aminooxyacetic acid first elicited changes (periods of theta waves) nearly constantly in occipital regions. Bicuculline induced not only occipital theta waves but also groups of spikes with the same frequency in frontal regions; there was no predominance of one of these regions.

Influence of clonazepam and ethosuximide on ECoG pattern induced by metrazol during ontogenesis in rats.

Metrazol (80 mg/kg s. c.) elicited ECoG episodes of rhythmic activity the shape, frequency and localization of which depended on the age of rats.