A new method of cholecystectomy

On the basis of the results of specially performed investigations on 47 complexes of the liver with extrahepatic bile ducts and gallbladder, a new method of cholecystectomy has been developed. In the clinic, 132 patients were operated on for cholelithiasis, acute and chronic cholecystitis. In performance of subserous cholecystectomy, a danger of injuring the vessels of the hepatoduodenal ligament is excluded, its adequate blood supply and that of hepatic parenchyma adjacent to the gallbladder is preserved.     

Cortisol and PTSD Symptoms Among Male and Female High‐Exposure 9/11 Survivors

Only a few studies have examined cortisol response to trauma‐related stressors in relation to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We followed a sample of high‐exposure survivors of the attacks on September 11, 2001 (9/11; 32 men and 29 women) and examined their cortisol response after recalling the escape from the attack, 7 and 18 months post‐9/11. PTSD symptoms and saliva cortisol levels were assessed before and after trauma recollection. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that PTSD symptoms and male sex predicted increased cortisol response following recollections. For men, elevated cortisol was associated with greater severity of reexperiencing symptoms (p < .001) and lower severity of avoidance symptoms (p < .001). For women, recall‐induced cortisol was minimal and unrelated to PTSD symptoms (p = .164 and p = .331, respectively). These findings suggest that augmented cortisol response to trauma‐related stressors may be evident in men reporting symptoms of PTSD. Thus, as cortisol abnormalities related to PTSD symptoms appear sex‐specific, future research on mechanisms of sex differences in response to trauma is warranted.     

Automatic segmentation of cardiac MRI cines validated for long axis views

Segmentation of cardiac magnetic resonance imaging is considered an important application in clinical practice. An automatic algorithm is proposed for segmentation of both endocardial and epicardial boundaries, in long-axis views. The data consisted of 126 patients, yielding 1008 traces. Estimated clinical parameters were highly correlated to gold standard measurements. The error between the automatic tracing and the gold standard was not significantly different than the error between two manual observers. In conclusion, a tool for segmenting the myocardial boundaries in the long-axis views is proposed, which works well, as demonstrated by the validation performed using a clinical dataset.     

Photometric and chromatographic methods of measuring the concentration of acelysin in the air of a work area]

Two methods were applied to evaluation of acelysine level. Spectrophotometric one was based on reaction with p-nitrophenyldiasonium and evaluation of the product optic density at 510 nm. The second was chromatography in thin layer, where a mixture of n-butanol, formic acid and water was used as an eluent and 0.2% ninhydrin solution in butanol and 3 ml of ice acetic acid (60-70 degrees C) served as a developer. Both methods are supposed to evaluate acelysine level in the air of working area, when a half of MAC and admixtures are present.     

Delivery mode is associated with maternal mental health following childbirth

Childbirth is a life-transforming event often followed by a time of heightened psychological vulnerability in the mother. There is a growing recognition of the importance of obstetrics aspects in maternal well-being with the way of labor potentially influencing psychological adjustment following parturition or failure thereof. Empirical scrutiny on the association between mode of delivery and postpartum well-being remains limited. We studied 685 women who were on average 3 months following childbirth and collected information concerning mode of delivery and pre- and postpartum mental health. Analysis of variance revealed that women who had cesarean section or vaginal instrumental delivery had higher somatization, obsessive compulsive, depression, and anxiety symptom levels than those who had natural or vaginal delivery as well as overall general distress, controlling for premorbid mental health, maternal age, education, primiparity, and medical complication in newborn. Women who underwent unplanned cesarean also had higher levels of childbirth-related PTSD symptoms excluding those with vaginal instrumental. The risk for endorsing psychiatric symptoms reflecting clinically relevant cases increased by twofold following unplanned cesarean and was threefold for probable childbirth-related PTSD. Maternal well-being following childbirth is associated with the experienced mode of delivery. Increasing awareness in routine care of the implications of operative delivery and obstetric interventions in delivery on a woman’s mental health is needed. Screening at-risk women could improve the quality of care and prevent enduring symptoms. Research is warranted on the psychological and biological factors implicated in the mode of delivery and their role in postpartum adjustment.