Differences in subcortical functional connectivity in patients with epilepsy.

Introduction: Epilepsy is a disease characterized by abnormal paroxysmal bioelectrical activity in the brain cortex and subcortical structures. Seizures per se change brain metabolism in epileptic focus and in distal parts of the brain. However, interictal phenomena can also affect functional connectivity (FC) and brain metabolism in other parts of the brain.

Comparison of cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen, blood flow, and bispectral index under general anesthesia.

Significance: The optical measurement of cerebral oxygen metabolism was evaluated.

Aim: Compare optically derived cerebral signals to the electroencephalographic bispectral index (BIS) sensors to monitor propofol-induced anesthesia during surgery.

Approach: Relative cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen ( ) and blood flow (rCBF) were measured by time-resolved and diffuse correlation spectroscopies.

Regeneration of Articular Cartilage Using Membranes of Polyester Scaffolds in a Rabbit Model.

One promising method for cartilage regeneration involves combining known methods, such as the microfracture technique with biomaterials, e.g., scaffolds (membranes).

What do we know about inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors? - A systematic review.

Background: Inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors (IMTs) are rare intermediate-grade neoplasms that have a high recurrence rate after excision and exhibit low metastatic potential. These tumors contain proliferating neoplastic, fibroblastic and myofibroblastic cells, and are also characterized by chronic inflammatory infiltration by lymphocytes, plasma cells, eosinophils, and histiocytes. They belong to the group of inflammatory spindle cell lesions.

In vitro evaluation of electrochemically bioactivated Ti6Al4V 3D porous scaffolds.

Triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) are known for their advanced mechanical properties and are wrinkle-free with a smooth local topology. These surfaces provide suitable conditions for cell attachment and proliferation. In this study, the in vitro osteoinductive and antibacterial properties of scaffolds with different minimal pore diameters and architectures were investigated.

Optimizing serum total carbon dioxide concentration during short and nocturnal frequent hemodialysis using lactate as dialysate buffer base.

Introduction: Definitive clinical studies to determine the optimal dialysate lactate concentration to prescribe during frequent hemodialysis when using the NxStage System One dialysis delivery system at low dialysate flow rates have not been reported.

Methods: We used clinical data from patients who transferred from in-center thrice-weekly hemodialysis (ICHD) to daily home hemodialysis using the NxStage System One and the H mobilization model to calculate acid generation rates in patient sub-groups during the FREEDOM study. Assuming those acid generation rates were representative, we then predicted using the H mobilization model the effect of using dialysate lactate concentrations of 40 and 45 mEq/L on predialysis serum total carbon dioxide (tCO ) concentrations in patients who transfer from ICHD to short and nocturnal frequent hemodialysis prescriptions used in current clinical practice; the prescriptions evaluated varied by treatment frequency, dialysate volume per treatment, and treatment times.

Is the New Infant Jarvik 2015 Suitable for Patients<8 kg? In Vitro Study Using a Hybrid Simulator.

Our aim was to study the feasibility of implanting the Infant Jarvik 2015 in patients weighing less than 8 kg. The Infant Jarvik 2015 left ventricular assist device (LVAD) was tested in a hybrid simulator of the cardiovascular system reproducing specific patients' hemodynamics for different patient weights (2-7 kg). For each weight, the sensitivity of the pump to different circulatory parameters (peripheral resistance, left ventricular elastance, right ventricular elastance, heart rate, and heart filling characteristics) has been tested repeating for each experiment a pump ramp (10 000-18 000 rpm).

Computer-aided analysis of micro-morphological structure of porous membranes.

Background: The paper presents an approach and computer-aided method of numerical evaluation of the quality of porous membranes used as scaffolds for cultivation of chondrocytes in regeneration of biological tissues.

Materials: The scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of 300× and 1000× magnification presenting the sections of artificial polyvinylpyrrolidone membranes obtained in two alternative production processes are examined.

Theory And Methods: There is presented a combined morphological and statistical method of the assessment of artificial membranes' porosity, based on computer-aided segmentation and analysis of the size and shape of pores.

Response of human normal and leukemia cells to factors released by amnion fragments in vitro.

Amnion is a membrane surrounding the embryo/fetus which determine growth factors and interleukins with angiogenic, immunogenic, and anti-inflammatory properties. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of conditioned culture medium from 24-h cultures of human amnion (hAM CCM) on migration and proliferation of human umbilical vein endothelial primary cells (HUVECs), freshly isolated bone marrow mononuclear cells (BM MNCs), and Jurkat leukemia cell line. Amnion membrane was freshly isolated from healthy placenta and its fragments cultured in vitro to produce hAM CCM.

Serotonin controls initiation of locomotion and afferent modulation of coordination via 5-HT receptors in adult rats.

Key Points: Experiments on neonatal rodent spinal cord showed that serotonin (5-HT), acting via 5-HT receptors, is required for initiation of locomotion and for controlling the action of interneurons responsible for inter- and intralimb coordination, but the importance of the 5-HT system in adult locomotion is not clear. Blockade of spinal 5-HT receptors interfered with voluntary locomotion in adult rats and fictive locomotion in paralysed decerebrate rats with no afferent feedback, consistent with a requirement for activation of descending 5-HT neurons for production of locomotion. The direct control of coordinating interneurons by 5-HT receptors observed in neonatal animals was not found during fictive locomotion, revealing a developmental shift from direct control of locomotor interneurons in neonates to control of afferent input from the moving limb in adults.

Impella LD microaxial pump supporting combined mitral and coronary surgery in a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy. A short bridge to recovery?

Cardiac surgeons have to face the problem of impaired left ventricle function in patients undergoing routine valve or coronary procedures. The intra-aortic balloon pump is not always effective in preventing cardiac failure. The idea of using a microaxial rotating pump as a short-term perioperative support seems to be a convenient solution.

Comparison of the manual, semiautomatic, and automatic selection and leveling of hot spots in whole slide images for Ki-67 quantification in meningiomas.

Background. This paper presents the study concerning hot-spot selection in the assessment of whole slide images of tissue sections collected from meningioma patients. The samples were immunohistochemically stained to determine the Ki-67/MIB-1 proliferation index used for prognosis and treatment planning.

Analysis of the cytotoxicity of carbon-based nanoparticles, diamond and graphite, in human glioblastoma and hepatoma cell lines.

Nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of attention as carriers for drug delivery to cancer cells. However, reports on their potential cytotoxicity raise questions of their safety and this matter needs attentive consideration. In this paper, for the first time, the cytotoxic effects of two carbon based nanoparticles, diamond and graphite, on glioblastoma and hepatoma cells were compared.

Cholinergic mechanisms in spinal locomotion-potential target for rehabilitation approaches.

Previous experiments implicate cholinergic brainstem and spinal systems in the control of locomotion. Our results demonstrate that the endogenous cholinergic propriospinal system, acting via M2 and M3 muscarinic receptors, is capable of consistently producing well-coordinated locomotor activity in the in vitro neonatal preparation, placing it in a position to contribute to normal locomotion and to provide a basis for recovery of locomotor capability in the absence of descending pathways. Tests of these suggestions, however, reveal that the spinal cholinergic system plays little if any role in the induction of locomotion, because MLR-evoked locomotion in decerebrate cats is not prevented by cholinergic antagonists.

Threefold peritoneal test of osmotic conductance, ultrafiltration efficiency, and fluid absorption.

Background: Fluid removal during peritoneal dialysis depends on modifiable factors such as tonicity of dialysis fluids and intrinsic characteristics of the peritoneal transport barrier and the osmotic agent-for example, osmotic conductance, ultrafiltration efficiency, and peritoneal fluid absorption. The latter parameters cannot be derived from tests of the small-solute transport rate. We here propose a simple test that may provide information about those parameters.

Application of a time-resolved optical brain imager for monitoring cerebral oxygenation during carotid surgery.

Recent studies have shown that time-resolved optical measurements of the head can estimate changes in the absorption coefficient with depth discrimination. Thus, changes in tissue oxygenation, which are specific to intracranial tissues, can be assessed using this advanced technique, and this method allows us to avoid the influence of changes to extracerebral tissue oxygenation on the measured signals. We report the results of time-resolved optical imaging that was carried out during carotid endarterectomy.

Risk assessment of ventricular arrhythmia using new parameters based on high resolution body surface potential mapping.

Background: The effective screening of myocardial infarction (MI) patients threatened by ventricular tachycardia (VT) is an important issue in clinical practice, especially in the process of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy recommendation. This study proposes new parameters describing depolarization and repolarization inhomogeneity in high resolution body surface potential maps (HR BSPM) to identify MI patients threatened by VT.

Material/methods: High resolution ECGs were recorded from 64 surface leads.

Coronary flow evaluation by densitometric analysis of sequences of coronarographic images.

An indicator dilution method has been designed and applied to measure coronary flow rates in patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. It requires densitometric analysis of two particular angiographic sequences of the artery of interest, acquired digitally under specific conditions imposed on the contrast medium injections. The method was tested first on a simple artery model, and then on coronarography images obtained during routine examinations of patients.

Evaluation of the QRS-T angle using the high-resolution 64-lead electrocardiography.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the influence of the number of electrocardiogram (ECG) leads on the diagnostic value of TCRT (spatial QRS-T angle) parameter (12 standard ECG leads and 61 surface ECG leads were used). The TCRT parameter, which describes the spatial QRS-T angle, is a useful indicator of the risk of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and sudden cardiac death (SCD). It is usually calculated from standard 12 leads ECG.

Evaluation of the T-wave alternans detection methods: a simulation study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate influence of noise, T-wave jitter and electrocardiographic (ECG) signal parameters on sensitivity of T-wave alternans (TWA) detection methods.

Methods: Methods of the TWA detection were tested: correlation (CM), spectral (FFTM), spectral with coherent averaging (CFFTM), complex demodulation (CDM), Karhunen-Loeve transform (KLT) and KLT realized by adaptive filtering. The TWA amplitude and duration time were estimated on simulated ECG signals.

Optimization of the Monte Carlo code for modeling of photon migration in tissue.

The Monte Carlo method is frequently used to simulate light transport in turbid media because of its simplicity and flexibility, allowing to analyze complicated geometrical structures. Monte Carlo simulations are, however, time consuming because of the necessity to track the paths of individual photons. The time consuming computation is mainly associated with the calculation of the logarithmic and trigonometric functions as well as the generation of pseudo-random numbers.

Dialysis adequacy indices for peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis.

Dialysis adequacy indices that may be used to evaluate the efficiency of small-solute removal include Kt/V, fractional solute removal (FSR), and equivalent urea clearance (EKR). To analyze possible relationships between those indices, we used the two-compartment variable-volume urea kinetic model to simulate several dialysis modalities: hemodialysis (HD) performed three times or six times weekly, automatic nightly peritoneal dialysis (PD), and continuous ambulatory PD. Instead of targeting a chosen Kt/V value, we selected a weekly FSR of 1.