Role of subchondral bone in the restoration of articular cartilage.

The role of subchondral bone in the restoration of the articular cartilage was determined in experiments on mongrel dogs subjected to gonarthrosis modeling followed by subchondral zone tunneling and introduction of bone marrow suspension into the canal. Light microscopy, computer histomorphometry, and electron probe microanalysis showed that stimulation of functional activity of chondrocytes was achieved via correction of homeostasis of the cartilage and subchondral bone and improvement of tissue trophic. Restoration of the microarchitecture of the subchondral bone and improving its vascularization after tunneling with the introduction of bone marrow suspension into the drill holes enhances chondrocyte metabolism and recovers their functionality.

[Method of customized analysis of tension deformities in fixed dental restorations].

The paper presents the technique for transporting CT and CAD 3D-modelling data in software for tension deformities analysis with the possibility for customizing physical properties of certain anatomical structures and constructive materials. The obtained data allowed performing analyzing of tension deformities of dental restorations in ANSYS software.

[Planning and performing surgical stage of dental implantation in difficult clinical cases based on computer modeling].

Clinical experience of preoperative computer modeling of dental implant intervention is described. By studying the ergonomics and the accuracy a proper stereolithography guide is selected. This method allows performing a complex preoperative virtual study of dental implants placement depending on future prosthodontics restoration in difficult clinical cases. Requires collaboration at the planning stage of prosthodontist, surgeon, radiologist, 3D-modeling specialists.

[Clinical opportunities of 3D-modeling for implant treatment planning for the patients with full or partly adentia in difficult anatomo-topographic conditions].

The message is about dental rehabilitation in difficult anatomo-topographic conditions of full adentia and high-grade atrophy of alveolar processes. The more high quality level decision of this problem using the methods of 3D-computer modeling during the diagnostic examination and planning of dental implantation is proposed.

Musical hallucination associated with hearing loss / Alucinações musicais associadas a perda auditiva

In spite of the fact that musical hallucination have a significant impact on patients' lives, they have received very little attention of experts. Some researchers agree on a combination of peripheral and central dysfunctions as the mechanism that causes hallucination. The most accepted physiopathology of musical hallucination associated to hearing loss (caused by cochlear lesion, cochlear nerve lesion or by interruption of mesencephalon or pontine auditory information) is the disinhibition of auditory memory circuits due to sensory deprivation. Concerning the cortical area involved in musical hallucination, there is evidence that the excitatory mechanism of the superior temporal gyrus, as in epilepsies, is responsible for musical hallucination. In musical release hallucination there is also activation of the auditory association cortex. Finally, considering the laterality, functional studies with musical perception and imagery in normal individuals showed that songs with words cause bilateral temporal activation and melodies activate only the right lobe. The effect of hearing aids on the improvement of musical hallucination as a result of the hearing loss improvement is well documented. It happens because auditory hallucination may be influenced by the external acoustical environment. Neuroleptics, antidepressants and anticonvulsants have been used in the treatment of musical hallucination. Cases of improvement with the administration of carbamazepine, meclobemide and donepezil were reported, but the results obtained were not consistent.

Apesar das alucinações musicais causarem grandes repercussões na vida dos pacientes, sempre foram pouco valorizadas e estudadas pelos profissionais. Alguns investigadores sugerem uma combinação de disfunções periféricas e centrais como o mecanismo causador das alucinações. A fisiopatologia mais aceita entre os pesquisadores de alucinação musical associada à hipoacusia ou anacusia (causada por lesão coclear, de nervo coclear ou interrupção de informação na ponte ou mesencéfalo) é a desibinição de circuitos de memória auditiva devido à deprivação sensorial. Em relação às áreas corticais envolvidas na alucinação musical, há evidência de que um mecanismo excitatório no córtex temporal superior, como nas epilepsias, seja responsável pela alucinação musical. Finalmente, considerando a lateralidade, estudos funcionais de percepção e imagética em indivíduos normais mostraram que canções com letras levam a ativação temporal bilateral e melodias ativam apenas o lobo temporal direito. É bem documentado o efeito de aparelhos auditivos na alucinação musical através de uma melhora da perda auditiva. Neurolépticos, antidepressivos e anticonvulsivantes têm sido usados no tratamento de alucinação musical na experiência clínica, mas não há eficácia comprovada na maioria dos casos. Há casos descritos na literatura com melhora das alucinações musicais com uso de carbamazepina, meclobemide e donepezil, entretanto sem resultados consistentes.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation improve tinnitus in normal hearing patients: a double-blind controlled, clinical and neuroimaging outcome study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Tinnitus is a frequent disorder which is very difficult to treat and there is compelling evidence that tinnitus is associated with functional alterations in the central nervous system. Targeted modulation of tinnitus-related cortical activity has been proposed as a promising new treatment approach. We aimed to investigate both immediate and long-term effects of low frequency (1 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in patients with tinnitus and normal hearing. METHODS: Using a parallel design, 20 patients were randomized to receive either active or placebo stimulation over the left temporoparietal cortex for five consecutive days. Treatment results were assessed by using the Tinnitus Handicap Inventory. Ethyl cysteinate dimmer-single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging was performed before and 14 days after rTMS. RESULTS: After active rTMS there was significant improvement of the tinnitus score as compared to sham rTMS for up to 6 months after stimulation. SPECT measurements demonstrated a reduction of metabolic activity in the inferior left temporal lobe after active rTMS. CONCLUSION: These results support the potential of rTMS as a new therapeutic tool for the treatment of chronic tinnitus, by demonstrating a significant reduction of tinnitus complaints over a period of at least 6 months and significant reduction of neural activity in the inferior temporal cortex, despite the stimulation applied on the superior temporal cortex.

Design, synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of 3-benzylazetidine-2-one-based human chymase inhibitors.

3-Benzylazetidine-2-one derivatives were designed and evaluated as a novel series of chymase inhibitors. Structure-activity relationship studies of 3-benzylazetidine-2-ones led to compounds 23, which exhibited 3.1 nM inhibition of human chymase and enhancement of stability in human plasma (t(1/2) 6h).

[Anti-arboviral properties of different substances of chemical and plant origin]. / Antyarbovirusni vlastyvosti riznykh rechovyn khimichnogo i roslynnogo pokhodzhennia.

The paper deals with the results of search for inhibitors of two arboviral infections, including Alfavirus of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (family Togaviridae) and Bunyavirus Tahyna (family Bunyaviridae), interferon inducers among 99 substances of organic synthesis and 92 compounds of plant origin. Antiarboviral activity of some of these chemicals were investigated as well. Reproduction of the studied viruses in cell culture was inhibited by 8 derivatives of triazole, triazine and uracile (UPI-264 and UPI-273, PV-166, PV-169, PV-171, PV-184, PV-188 and PV-214) and 21 plant remedies (lyophilizates ASHCH-1, BL-1, VN, GAL-1, GAPr-1, GACH-1, GVPr-1, GVCH-1, GM-1, GCA-2, GCV-2, LGSHCHA, LSHCH-6, KIS-1, KJL-1, KKL-1, RDO-1, SX-2, SHCHKS-1, YA and YAN).

Turbulence-induced edge image waviness: theory and experiment.

A theoretical model for the edge image waviness effect is developed for the ground-to-ground imaging scheme and validated by use of IR imagery data collected at the White Sands Missile Range. It is shown that angle-of-arrival (AA) angular anisoplanatism causes the phenomenon of edge image waviness and that the AA correlation scale, not the isoplanatic angle, characterizes the edge image waviness scale. The latter scale is determined by the angular size of the imager and a normalized atmospheric outer scale, and it does not depend on the strength of turbulence along the path. Spherical divergence of the light waves increases the edge waviness scale. A procedure for estimating the atmospheric and camera-noise components of the edge image motion is developed and implemented. A technique for mitigation of the edge image waviness that relies on averaging the effects of AA anisoplanatism on the image is presented and validated. The edge waviness variance is reduced by a factor of 2-3. The time history and temporal power spectrum of the edge image motion are obtained. These data confirm that the observed edge image motion is caused by turbulence.

Expressed emotion and psychoeducational intervention for relatives of patients with schizophrenia: a randomized controlled study in Japan.

The benefit of single-family treatment (SFT) in addition to short educational sessions (SES) consisting of multiple-family treatment was investigated. The study design was a randomized controlled study. Subjects were 30 patients suffering from schizophrenia with at least one of their family members showing high expressed emotion (EE) in the Camberwell Family Interview. After the SES, the patients were randomly allocated to two groups: those who received routine individual outpatient treatment and those who received additional SFT and routine treatment. The two groups were followed for 9 months after discharge, and the relapse risks were compared. The relapse risk was lower in the SES+SFT group than in the SES group (23.1% vs. 35.3%). However, the difference was not significant. When high-EE families were classified into those with many critical comments (high-CC) or a high score of emotional overinvolvement (high-EOI), the relapse risk was 0% in the patients living with a high-CC family not only in the SES+SFT group but also in SES group. In the patients living with a high-EOI family, the relapse risk was lower in the SES+SFT group than in the SES group (42.9% vs. 60.0%). These findings suggest that high-EE families should receive at least SES, and additional SFT should be given to families with specific needs.

Experimental validation of the differential image motion lidar concept.

We have experimentally validated the concept of a differential image motion (DIM) lidar for measuring vertical profiles of the refractive-index structure characteristic C(n)(2) by building a hard-target analog of the DIM lidar and testing it against a conventional scintillometer on a 300-m horizontal path throughout a range of turbulent conditions. The test results supported the concept and confirmed that structure characteristic C(n)(2) can be accurately measured with this method.

Tilt angular anisoplanatism and a full-aperture tilt-measurement technique with a laser guide star.

A method is presented for sensing atmospheric wave-front tilt from a laser guide star (LGS) by observing a laser beacon with auxiliary telescopes. The analysis is performed with a LGS scatter model and Zernike polynomial expansion of wave-front distortions. It is shown that integration of the LGS image over its angular extent and the position of the auxiliary telescope in an array reduce the tilt sensing error associated with the contribution from the downward path. This allows us to single out only the wave-front tilt of the transmitted beam on the uplink path that corresponds to the tilt for the scientific object. The tilt angular correlation is analyzed in the atmosphere with a finite turbulence outer scale. The tilt correlation angle depends on the angular size of the telescope and the outer scale of turbulence. The tilt sensing error increases with the auxiliary telescope diameter, suggesting that an auxiliary telescope must be small. The Strehl ratio associated with the contribution from the downward path is in the range from 0.1 to 0.9 when the relative telescope diameter D/r(0) varies from 4 to 93 and the turbulence outer scale is in the 10-150-m range. Tilt correction increases the Strehl ratio compared with the uncorrected image for all the system parameters and seeing conditions considered. The method discussed gives a higher performance than the conventional technique, which uses an off-axis natural guide star. A scheme for measuring tilt with a beam projected from a small aperture is described. This scheme allows us to avoid phosphorescence of the main optical train for a sodium LGS.

1,3-Disubstituted benzazepines as neuropeptide Y Y1 receptor antagonists.

A novel class of potent and selective non-peptide neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y1 receptor antagonists, having benzazepine nuclei, have been designed, synthesized, and evaluated for activity. Through a blind screening we found the compound 1-N-(3-(N'-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino)benzyl)-7-methoxy-(3-(3)-methyl ureido)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1-benzazepin-2-one (9: IC50 = 1.6 microM). Chemical modifications of 9 gave a potent NPY Y1 antagonist 3-(N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-N'-methylguanidino)-1-N-(3-(N'-(tert-butoxy carbonyl)amino)benzyl)-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1-benzazepin-2-one (14c: IC5(0=43 nM), which had no affinity for NPY Y2 and Y5 receptors.

1,3-Disubstituted benzazepines as novel, potent, selective neuropeptide Y Y1 receptor antagonists.

A novel series of potent and selective non-peptide neuropeptide Y (NPY) Y1 receptor antagonists, having benzazepine nuclei, have been designed, synthesized, and evaluated for activity. Chemical modification of the R(1) and R(3) substituents in structure 1 (Chart 1) yields several compounds that show high affinity for the Y1 receptor (K(i) values of less than 10 nM). SAR studies revealed that introduction of an isopropylurea group at R(1) and a 3-(benzo-condensed-urea) group, 3-(fluorophenylurea) group, or a 3-(N-(4-hydroxyphenyl)guanidine) group at R(3) in structure 1 afforded potent and subtype-selective NPY Y1 receptor antagonists. 3-(3-(Benzothiazol-6-yl)ureido)-1-N-(3-(N'-(3-isopropylureido++ +))benzyl )-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-1-benzazepin-2-one (21), which was one of the most potent derivatives, competitively inhibited specific [(125)I]peptide YY (PYY) binding to Y1 receptors in human neuroblastoma SK-N-MC cells (K(i) = 5.1 nM). 21 not only inhibited the Y1 receptor-mediated increase in cytosolic free Ca(2+) concentration in SK-N-MC cells but also antagonized the Y1 receptor-mediated inhibitory effect of peptide YY on gastrin-induced histamine release in rat enterochromaffin-like cells. 21 showed no significant affinity in 17 receptor binding assays including Y2, Y4, and Y5 receptors.

Experimental validation of a technique to measure tilt from a laser guide star.

We have experimentally demonstrated for what is believed to be the first time a method for sensing wave-front tilt with a laser guide star (LGS). The tilt components of wave fronts were measured synchronously from the LGS by use of a telescope with a 0.75-m effective aperture and from the star Polaris by use of a 1.5-m telescope. The Rayleigh guide star was formed at an altitude of 6 km and at a corresponding range of 10.5 km by projection of a focused beam at Polaris from the full aperture at the 1.5-m telescope. Both telescope mounts were unpowered and bolted in place, allowing us to reduce substantially the telescope vibration. The maximum value of the measured cross-correlation coefficient between the tilt for Polaris and the LGS is 0.71. The variations of the measured cross-correlation coefficient in the range from 0.22 to 0.71 are caused by turbulence at altitudes above 6 km, which was not sampled by the laser beacon but affected tilt for Polaris, the cone effect for turbulence below 6 km, residual mount jitter of the telescopes, and variations of the signal/noise ratio. The results support our concept of sensing atmospheric tilt by observing a LGS with an auxiliary telescope and indicate that this method is a possible solution for the tip-tilt problem.

Ear and nose foreign body removal in children.

The removal of foreign bodies in children is very common in the otolaryngologist's daily routine. We present a prospective series of 187 cases of ear and nose foreign bodies removed from children aged 0-12 years old in a 6-month period--95 females (50.8%) and 92 males (49.2%); 78 children (41.71%) aged from 1 to 2 years, 66 (35.29%) from 3 to 5 years. There were 93 cases (49.73%) of ear foreign bodies, in which a bean was the most common (24.73%), and 94 cases (50.27%) of nose foreign bodies, in which sponge fragments predominated (36.17%). In 82 cases (45.85%), the removal was performed within the first 24 h after the foreign body insertion, and 86 (45.98%) of the patients had previous attempts to remove it. Thirteen cases with complications (external ear canal lacerations, tympanic membrane perforation) were observed in patients in whom these previous attempts had been made, but there were no sequelae. This corresponds to one of the largest reports of ear and nose foreign body removal in children in the literature; we conclude that younger children are more prone to insert foreign bodies, which are objects usually found at home. Complications may occur as a result of attempts to remove the foreign body without the help of specialised personnel or proper conditions.

Detection of nucleoprotein gene of Sendai virus in the lungs of rats by touchdown nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

The nucleoprotein (NP) gene of Sendai virus was detected by touchdown nested reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in the lungs of a rat presented with respiratory illness and high serum ELISA titer to Sendai virus. This method seemed to be of value in controlling infection in laboratory rodents.

[Use of quantum hemotherapy in complex treatment of aged patients with suppurative inflammatory diseases]. / Zastosuvannia kvantovoï hemoterapiï u kompleksi likuvannia kvorykh pozhyloho viku z hniino-zapal'nymy zakhvoriuvanniamy.

The results of different kinds of the quantum hemotherapy application in elderly patients with purulent-inflammatory disease of soft tissues were summarized. The combined laser-ultraviolet irradiation proved to be the most effective, its application permitted to improve significantly the results of treatment.

Synthesis and modification of a novel 1 beta-methyl carbapenem antibiotic, S-4661.

We describe an efficient method for introducing a sulfamoylamino group into the C-2' position of pyrrolidine using the Mitsunobu reaction. S-4661, its N-methyl analogues and stereoisomers were synthesized using this method and their structure-activity relationships were investigated.