Comparative Efficacy of the Stromal-Vascular Fraction Cells of Lipoaspirate and Hyaluronic Acid in the Treatment of Gonarthrosis: Results of an Interim Analysis.

The use of cell technologies, in particular the stromal-vascular fraction of adipose tissue, is a new direction in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the weight-bearing joints. Stromal-vascular fraction cells have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects and are able to differentiate into connective tissue cells, including cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. Our clinical study showed the safety and good tolerability of intra-articular administration of autologous stromal-vascular fraction cells in 16 patients with severe manifestations of osteoarthritis. Single administration of stromal-vascular fraction cells led to more pronounced and stable (up to 12 months) clinical improvement in the main symptoms of the disease, including pain and functional activity of the affected joints, in comparison with intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid (10 patients of the comparison group).

[Dietary changes in males from adolescence to adulthood: results of a 28-year prospective study].

Dietary pattern usually changes with age; however, certain dietary habits may remain constant. The goal of this study was to analyze dynamic changes in the dietary pattern of males from adolescence to adulthood during a 28-year prospective follow-up. Material and methods. Initially, a representative population sample of 1,005 boys aged 11 to 12 years (mean age 11.9±0.1 years) was examined. Four visits were performed at the ages of 15, 17, 22 and 43. Assessment of actual dietary pattern was carried out by the 24-hour dietary recall method. Results. It was discovered that dietary pattern was changing with age as follows: proportions (Δ%) of meats [M (95% confidence interval)] 2.4 (-0.5-5.3), fish and seafood 1.5 (0.4-2.7), eggs 0.8 (0.1-1.5), and vegetable oils 0.3 (0.1-0.5) were increasing with age, whereas the proportions of animal fats -1.0 [-1.4…-0.6], bread and bakery -2.8 [-5.5…-0.1], sweets and confectionery -2.6 [-4.8…-0.5] were decreasing. We also observed a trend of increased consumption of fruits and fruit juices [Δ=4.9 (1.5-8.4)%]. The magnitudes of the tracking coefficients (correlation coefficients) between the initial (at the age of 15 years) values of the contributions of the main food groups to the total weight of the daily diet and their values at subsequent stages of prospective study showed that eating habits, as a certain dietary pattern, are relatively stable only in adolescence. Conclusion. Over 28 years of prospective observation of males, from adolescence to adulthood, their eating patterns underwent significant changes, which must be taken into account when developing preventive measures aimed at correcting unhealthy dietary patterns in children and adolescents, and at transition to a balanced diet.

Using three-dimensional digital models to establish alveolar morphotype.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to propose a classification of alveolar morphotype and assess a relationship between extraction/non-extraction orthodontic treatment and changes to the alveolar process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-five subjects (mean age = 23.2, SD = 5.1) were selected. Areas of the sections of the alveolar process (ASAP) at three different levels (0, 2, and 4 mm) were measured on pre- and post-treatment three-dimensional digital models. Method reliability was analysed using Dahlberg's formula, intraclass correlation coefficient, and paired t-tests. RESULTS: The mean ASAP was smallest at level 0 and largest at level 4. Pre-treatment ASAP < 773 mm2, < 863.9 mm2, and < 881.1 mm2 at levels 0, 2, and 4 mm, respectively, should be described as a "thin" alveolar morphotype. Regression models showed that pre-treatment ASAP was a predictor of the change of the alveolus during treatment only at level 2. CONCLUSIONS: Patients for whom pre-treatment ASAP is < 773 mm2, < 863.9 mm2, and < 881.1 mm2 at levels 0, 2, and 4 mm, respectively, should be described as having a "thin" alveolar morphotype. In these patients, extraction treatment, associated with a decrease in the alveolus area, should be exercised with caution.

POSTOPERATIVE FIXATION AFTER REPOSITIONING OF PREMAXILLA IN A PATIENT WITH BILATERAL CLEFT LIP AND PALATE - CASE REPORT.

This article presents orthodontic-surgical treatment in an eight-year-old patient with bilateral cleft lip and palate where premaxilla was surgically repositioned in the mixed dentition stage. By cranial and dorsal insertion of the premaxilla were created satisfactory occlusal relationship for ongoing eruption of permanent teeth, together with functional lip closure, improved pronunciation and a positive change in appearance of the centrofacial area. Reposition of premaxilla was associated with bilateral alveolar bone grafting of the cleft defect with cancellous bone from the iliac crest. Based on the model surgery were prepared rigid orthodontic wires, which ensured postoperative fixation of the segments of the upper jaw. The patient was wearing band fixed appliance for another 6 months after surgery. Healing was uncomplicated, the new position of the premaxilla was stable and more physiological. This procedure was friendly for a child patient and did not require fixation of the jaw segments by Sauer splint.

Production and Analysis of Biological Properties of Recombinant Human Apolipoprotein A-I.

Production of recombinant human apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) in E. coli cells is described and its biological properties are compared with those of natural protein. Recombinant apoA-I was isolated as a chimeric polypeptide and then processed to a mature form apoA-I (rapo-I). We studied the ability of the resulting protein to penetrate into hepatocyte nuclei and regulate the rate of DNA biosynthesis in complex with estriol. Penetration of rapoA-I conjugated with FITC into hepatocyte nuclei was demonstrated. rapoA-I-estriol and apoA-I-estriol complexes induced similar increase in DNA biosynthesis rate in isolated hepatocytes, which confi rms functional similarity of the obtained recombinant mature protein (rapoA-I) and native human apoA-I.

[The specificity of children and adolescent eating habits (data for schoolchildren in Moscow and Murmansk)].

Objective of the study is to evaluate the specificity of schoolchildren's eating behavior in the cities of Moscow and Murmansk. Dietary habits of 785 children 10-17 years old residing in two cities--Moscow (222 boys and 221 girls, 14.1 ± 1.9 years old) and Murmansk (183 and 159 correspondingly, 14.1 ± 1.8 years old)--were analyzed. The questionnaire included data on the meals ratio per day, frequency of vegetables and fruit intake, fast-food intake, hot meals, soft drinks, meat, fish and milk intake, usage of school cafeteria, regularity of breakfasts. Parents responded to questions concerning the materialsupport of family and education. It was found that more than half of schoolchildren (64.4%) had meals irregularly (3 times per day or less), only 50.9% received hot meals several times a day. Every third child (31.6%) has insufficient intake of vegetables and fruit, 11.8%--insufficient intake of meat dishes. Only 51.4% of schoolchildren consumed dairy products daily (one or several times a day). At the same time 19.5% of children used fast-food products several times a week or more often, 42.2%--carbonated drinks, and 22.7%--smoked food. Only 45.7% of schoolchildren regularly ate at school caf- eteria; 21.9% did it irregularly and 32.5%--did not attend school canteen at all. There were no significant differences between Moscow and Murmansk children as well as gender differences in the usage of school cafeteria. At the same time only 23.4% of children [26.3% in Moscow and 19.3% in Murmansk (significantly less, p = 0.032)] liked cafeteria food, 38.7% did not like and 37.9% had no certain answer. Less obese children (54.0%) have breakfast everyday than children with normal weight (75.4%, p = 0.019). Children of mothers with high and incomplete high education (89.4%) have more regular meat intake (3-4 times per week or more often) than the children of mothers with secondary, incomplete secondary and secondary special education (81.9%, p = 0.034). Schoolchildren feeding is often irregular, irrational and poorly balanced. Some of examined schoolchildren already had excessive body mass (20.7%), that may lead to metabolic and cardiovascular disturbances in young adult and mature age.

The incidence of cleft lip and palate in the Czech Republic in 1994-2008.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate in the Czech Republic among infants born during 1994-2008 as well as to define the ratio per live births and sex ratios. Another aim was to determine whether there was any trend in the incidence in this time period. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Prague Center for the Treatment of Congenital Facial Anomalies. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Data were collected from the National Birth Defects Register (Institute of Health Information and Statistics), the Czech Statistical Office and the Czech Health Statistics Yearbooks. The incidence, ratios per live births and sex differences were calculated. Possible trends in the data series were investigated. RESULTS: Totally 2417 infants with a cleft defect were found among 1 471 789 newborns in time period 1994-2008. The overall incidence was 1.64 per 1000 live births or 1 in 600 live births. The incidence of cleft lip was 0.39/1000, the incidence of cleft palate was 0.68/1000 and the incidence of cleft lip and palate was 0.57/1000. The ratio per live births was 1 in 2648 in cleft lip, 1 in 1801 in cleft lip and palate and 1 in 1505 in cleft palate. The incidence was much higher among male babies in cleft lip patients (male to female ratio 2.07) and in patients with cleft lip and palate (males to females ratio 1.85). The male to female ratio in cleft palate newborns was 0.92. No traceable trend was found in the incidence. CONCLUSIONS: In the Czech Republic, every year approximately 170 infants with cleft lip and/or palate were born, the incidence was 1.64 per 1000 live born infants during considered period. Males were affected more frequently with isolated cleft lip and cleft lip and palate, on the other hand, in cleft palate patients, there was a slight dominance of females. Further long-term studies are necessary in order to elucidate reasons of the oscillations in incidence of cleft anomalies, to identify possible teratogens and to give a starting indication for planning health service resource requirements for this group of affected infants (Tab. 3, Fig. 4, Ref. 51).

Perinatal Stressors as a Factor in Impairments to Nervous System Development and Functions: Review of In Vivo Models.

The human body is faced with stress throughout ontogeny. At the stage of intrauterine development, the mother's body serves as a source of resources and most of the humoral factors supporting the development of the fetus. In normal conditions, maternal stress-related humoral signals (e.g., cortisol) regulate fetal development; however, distress (excessive pathological stress) in the perinatal period leads to serious and sometimes irreversible changes in the developing brain. The mother being in an unfavorable psychoemotional state, toxins and teratogens, environmental conditions, and severe infectious diseases are the most common risk factors for the development of perinatal nervous system pathology in the modern world. In this regard, the challenge of modeling situations in which prenatal or early postnatal stresses lead to serious impairments to brain development and functioning is extremely relevant. This review addresses the various models of perinatal pathology used in our studies (hypoxia, exposure to valproate, hyperserotoninemia, alcoholization), and assesses the commonality of the mechanisms of the resulting disorders and behavioral phenotypes forming in these models, as well as their relationship with models of perinatal pathology based on the impact of psychoemotional stressors.

Reflection of the effectiveness of heterosensory integration in measures of event-linked potentials.

The phenomenon of bimodal event-linked potential mismatch and summation of unimodal responses were used to study the relationship between mismatch amplitude and the effectiveness of visual-auditory integration. The effectiveness of integration was assessed in terms of the extent to which experimental measures approached the parameters of the "ideal observer." The greater the effectiveness of integration, the greater the focus of mismatch shifted from the occipital to the frontal areas of the cortex. The greatest correlation between mismatch amplitude and the effectiveness of visual-auditory integration was seen in the left frontal cortex.

In situ impedance spectroscopy of filament formation by resistive switches in polymer based structures.

It is shown that the impedance spectroscopy allows identification of the resistive switching mechanisms in complex composite structures. This statement was demonstrated on an example of organic based sandwich structures with a modified polymer matrix as an active element. The impedance spectroscopy scanning was performed for a series of intermediate states formed within the switching process. Analysis of the experimentally obtained impedance spectra shows that the electron transport is provided by delocalized charge carriers and proceeds via conducting filaments formed in a highly resistive matrix. The filament configuration changes during the switching. With the shift from isolating to conducting states, single isolated filaments are reorganized into a branched network.

[Representation of heterosensory integration effectiveness in parameters of event-related potentials].

A phenomenon of a mismatch of the bimodal ERP and the sum of unimodal ERPs was used in our research. It was investigated how the mismatch amplitude depends on audio-visual integration effectiveness. The effectiveness was calculated on basis of approximation degree of an experimental performance to parameters of "ideal observer". It was determined, the higher the subject's integration effectiveness is, the rostraler the mismatch focus localization is. The highest correlation of the mismatch amplitude and the audio-visual integration effectiveness was revealed in the left frontal cortex.

[Koferdam and its application]. / Koferdam a jeho pouzití.

For perfect dental treatment it is essential in the majority of cases to ensure a readily surveyed and perfectly dry working field. This is met best by the use of the rubber membrane--koferdam. In the submitted work the authors inform the stomatological public on basic terms and principles of work with koferdam which is considered irreplaceable under certain conditions.