Clinical experience in the application of allogenic grafts from a bone tissue bank in the surgical treatment of tumor-like bone lesions

Background. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the surgical treatment of bony tumor-like lesions using bone allografts. Material and methods. The study group consisted of 266 patients, 136 males and 90 females, ranging in age from 9 to 55 years (mean 29). From 1999 to 2004, 250 surgical operations were performed, including resection of osteolytic bone tumor and filling of the bone defect with an allogenic bone graft. The results of histopathological examinations confirmed the presence of tumor-like lesions in all cases. The follow-up period was from 6 months to 4 years, with a mean period of 18 months. Results. The results were analyzed based on clinical examinations and x-rays enabling the evaluation of the bone remodeling process. In 208 patients (92%), no recurrence was observed. In an other 18 patients (8 with dysplasia fibrosa, 5 with aneurysmal bone cyst, 3 with solitary bone cyst, 2 with defectus fibrosus), 50 surgical operations were performed due to multiple recurrences of the tumor. Conclusions. A very good outcome was achieved by treating tumor-like bone lesions using allogenic bone grafts. The advantages of surgical treatment are the possibility of radical and complete resection of the lesion and histopathological evaluation of tissue samples shortly afterwards. Large and thorough resection ensures good treatment outcome.     

Estimation of short-time cross-correlation between frequency bands of event related EEG

Simultaneous variations of the event-related power changes (ERD/ERS) are often observed in a number of frequency bands. ERD/ERS measures are usually based on the relative changes of power in a given single frequency band. Within such an approach one cannot answer questions concerning the mutual relations between the band-power variations observed in different frequency bands. This paper addresses the problem of estimating and assessing the significance of the average cross-correlation between ERD/ERS phenomena occurring in two frequency bands. The cross-correlation function in a natural way also provides estimation of the delay between ERD/ERS in those bands. The proposed method is based on estimating the short-time cross-correlation function between relative changes of power in two selected frequency bands. The cross-correlation function is estimated in each trial separately and then averaged across trials. The significance of those mean cross-correlation functions is evaluated by means of a nonparametric test. The basic properties of the method are presented on simulated signals, and an example application to real EEG and ECoG signals is given.     

Choroby wątroby i nerek w przebiegu ciliopatii

Ciliopathies constitute a group of disorders characterized by cilia abnormalities and an extremely heterogeneous clinical presentation. The liver and kidneys are the most commonly affected organs and the term hepatorenal fibrocystic disorders is used to describe ciliopathies with combined liver and kidney involvement. Liver disorders in ciliopathies can be grouped into three categories: congenital hepatic fibrosis, Caroli's disease and polycystic liver disease. Kidney disorders related to primary cilia abnormalities include autosomal dominant and recessive polycystic kidney diseases and nephronophthisis.     

The impact of supramolecular nanocarriers to contemporary pharmaceutical and analytical chemistry: a minireview

The paper gives a short review of the most important research results published recently in the field of the applications of supramolecular nanocarriers in modern pharmaceutical and analytical chemistry. The main attention has been paid to the fast developing technology of chemical sensors, ion-selective electrodes and separation methods, in particular to newly designed packing in high-performance liquid chromatography employing supramolecularly aided and membrane mimicking processes.     

Experimental Investigation on the Low Velocity Impact Response of Fibre Foam Metal Laminates

The combination of fibre metal laminates (FML) and sandwich structures can significantly increase the performance under impact of FMLs. The goal of this work was to create a material that will combine the superior properties of FMLs and foam sandwich structures in terms of the impact resistance and simultaneously have lower density and fewer disadvantages related to the manufacturing. An extensive impact testing campaign has been done using conventional fibre metal laminates (carbon- and glass-based) and in the proposed fibre foam metal laminates to assess and compare their behaviour. The main difference was observed in the energy absorption mechanisms. The dominant failure mechanism for fibre foam laminates is the formation of delaminations and matrix cracks while in the conventional fibre metal laminate the main failure mode is fibre cracking due to high local stress concentrations. The reduction in the fibre cracking leads to a better after-impact resistance of this type of structure improving the safety of the structures manufactured with these materials.