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Journal Article 2001; 22(1): 53-73 PubMed PMID: 11393163 Citation  Keywords:  Adrenal Glands:physiology, Animals, Biological Clocks, Blood Pressure:physiology, Chronobiology Disorders:physiopathology, Chronobiology Phenomena, Chronotherapy, Circadian Rhythm:physiology, Drug Administration Schedule, Genomics, Homeostasis, Humans, Pi.   

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Evaluation Studies 2006; 27(Suppl 2): 108-111 PubMed PMID: 17159792 Citation  Keywords:  2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic Acid:toxicity, Alanine Transaminase:blood, Alkaline Phosphatase:blood, Animals, Creatinine:blood, Dogs, Female, Herbicides:toxicity, Male, Organ Size:drug effects, Spermatogenesis:drug effects, Testis:anatomy & histology, To.   

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to investigate the toxicity of the herbicide MCPA after repeated treatment according to OECD No 409.

METHODS: The herbicide MCPA was administrated to dogs of both sexes in daily doses: 0, 1, 5 and 15 mg/kg per os during 90 days. Clinical observations were recorded, opthalmoscopic, haematological, clinical chemistry parameters were investigated. The morphological changes were examined using pathological and histological techniques.

RESULTS: An increase in the activity of the enzyme ALT and of urea concentration was observed in the middle- and high-dose groups. ALP and creatinine were decreased in dogs of all dose groups. After 60 days of MCPA administration, the concentration of glucose decreased in the high-dose group. The relative weight of both testes was decreased in the males from the high-dose group in comparison to controls. The decrease in testes weight was associated with focal testicular atrophy and loss of spermatogenic cells in the lobuli of testes. Focal hepatocellular necrosis, inflammatory changes and mononuclear nodules were observed in the liver, predominantly in males of the high-dose group.

CONCLUSIONS: Administration of MCPA did not cause mortality and had no adverse effects on hematological parameters of animals. The results of the study showed that MCPA treatment caused inflammatory lesions in the liver, moderate damage of the kidney, and had focal adverse effect on the development of spermiogenesis. The changes were reversible....

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Controlled Clinical Trial 2006; 27(3): 373-380 PubMed PMID: 16816833 Citation  Keywords:  Bottle Feeding, Chronobiology Phenomena:physiology, Circadian Rhythm:physiology, Double-Blind Method, Feeding Behavior:physiology, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant Formula:pharmacology, Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena, Infant, Newborn, Male, Nucl.   

: On the basis of the circadian nutritional variations present in breast milk, and of the implications for the sleep/wake cycle of the nutrients present in infant formula milks, we designed a formula milk nutritionally dissociated into a Day/Night composition. The goal was to improve the bottle-fed infant's sleep/wake circadian rhythm. A total of 21 infants aged 4-20 weeks with sleeping difficulties were enrolled in the three-week duration study. The sleep analysis was performed using an actimeter (Actiwatch) placed on an ankle of each infant to uninterruptedly record movements during the three weeks. The dissociated Day milk, designed to be administered from 06:00 to 18:00, contained low levels of tryptophan (1.5g/100g protein) and carbohydrates, high levels of proteins, and the nucleotides Cytidine 5 monophosphate, Guanosine 5 monophosphate and Inosine 5 monophosphate. The dissociated Night milk, designed to be administered from 18.00 to 06.00, contained high levels of tryptophan (3.4g/100g protein) and carbohydrates, low levels of protein, and the nucleotides Adenosine 5 monophosphate and Uridine 5 monophosphate. Three different milk-feeding experiments were performed in a double-blind procedure covering three weeks. In week 1 (control), the infants received both by day and by night a standard formula milk; in week 2 (inverse control), they received the dissociated milk inversely (Night/Day instead of Day/Night); and in week 3, they received the Day/Night dissociated formula concordant with the formula design. When the infants were receiving the Day/Night dissociated milk in concordance with their environment, they showed improvement in all the nocturnal sleep parameters analyzed: total hours of sleep, sleep efficiency, minutes of nocturnal immobility, nocturnal awakenings, and sleep latency. In conclusion, the use of a chronobiologically adjusted infant formula milk seems to be effective in improving the consolidation of the circadian sleep/wake cycle in bottle-fed infants....

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Clinical Trial 2005; 26(6): 752-756 PubMed PMID: 16380699 Citation  Keywords:  Biomechanical Phenomena, Female, Foot:anatomy & histology, Humans, Imaging, Three-Dimensional, Models, Anatomic, Postpartum Period:physiology, Pregnancy:physiology, Stress, Mechanical, Weight-Bearing,.   

OBJECTIVES: The aim is data detection and finding some load consequences generated by various mechanical or physiological changes in the interaction of the end segment of the body--the foot--and the environment.

DESIGN: Shape instability of the foot caused by e.g. loading of the foot by long-term frequency loads--walking, by extreme loads--sport, by hormonal changes--pregnancy, by aging, by pathologies, etc. The footprint surface was numerically described in 3D by means of stereo-photo-gram-metrical method--DMR digital relief model. Density of discrete points--250-400 per one print.

SETTING: Detailed DMR was constructed by means of triangular web including contour picture with the use of Atlas program. The specified generated web is characterized by triangles with a cca 1 mm side in the number of up to 4,500 elements per one footprint model.

RESULTS: The results enable us to deduce shape characteristics of DMR--the shape of the interactive boundary of the foot--the rest surface, to solve foot arch straining, to solve issues of discomfort and distribution of the pressure at the boundary of the foot--the rest surface, the shoe, etc. The gained findings can be interpreted in the field of prevention, therapy, orthopedics, podology, and enable us to come up with recommendations for the orthopedic practice and industrial use in the footwear production, etc. THE MAIN FINDINGS: The difference between volume reductions of the space under the foot arch characterizes the level of "fall" of the arch. This criterion is independent of the foot size, and is in 3D.

CONCLUSIONS: Shape characteristics of footprints in pregnant women and in the period after childbirth were calculated on the basis of the defined criterion. The results of the group of four women tested in three periods suggest that there is no clear tendency towards the foot arch falling/increasing of the foot arch "fall" during the pregnancy period....

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Journal Article 2005; 26(1): 71-74 PubMed PMID: 15726025 Citation  Keywords:  DNA:genetics, Female, Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein, Fragile X Syndrome:complications, Friedreich Ataxia:genetics, Gait Ataxia:etiology, Humans, Iron-Binding Proteins:genetics, Middle Aged, Mutation:physiology, Nerve Tissue Proteins:genetics, Pheno.   

: DNA testing broadens diagnostic tools available for hereditary ataxias. However, together with current knowledge of genes and their mutations crop up new phenotype figures of diseases already well known. Diagnostic problems in practice can consist in part due to the very similar symptoms of hereditary ataxias and acquaintance in or availability of new techniques such as DNA testing and result in misdiagnosis. We present a case study of a 57 year-old woman with both expansion of the triplet repetitive sequence of FRDA gene and a premutation in FMR1 gene. At present we diagnose her with Very Late Onset Friedreich s ataxia, but we advise of possible combinations or aggravations of her symptoms due to manifestation of Fragile X premutation tremor/ataxia syndrome. In nontypical phenotypes of DNA verifying hereditary ataxias we recommend searching of comorbidity, specifically from a range of hereditary ataxias with very similar spectra of symptoms....

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Bibliography 2004; 25(4): 310-316 PubMed PMID: 15361824 Citation  Keywords:  China, Chronobiology Phenomena, History, 20th Century, History, 21st Century,.   

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Evaluation Studies 2004; 25(1-2): 52-56 PubMed PMID: 15159683 Citation  Keywords:  Algorithms, Biomechanical Phenomena:methods, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted:methods, Imaging, Three-Dimensional:methods, Models, Anatomic, Moire Topography:methods, Pregnancy,.   

THE AIM OF THE STUDY: Methods of automatic and semiautomatic picture determination, evaluation of Moiré contourgraph applied to pregnant women

TYPE OF THE STUDY: Development of algorithm, experimental biomechanical study of the dynamics of pregnant women's axial system.

METHOD: Achieving the correct data for 3D picture analysis derived from 2D pictures requires further precision making. In general, it requires algorithmization and elaboration of software plug-in, which make processing of enormous number of picture data significantly faster. The following corrections, adjustments and calculations had to be done to be used for Moiré contourgraph: correction of the radial distortion of the lens--automatically, aligning the histogram--automatically, picture detection of the defined object shape and determining its centre of gravity with sub-pixel precision--automatically, centre of gravity of the picture of the cross-section of pseudo-contour line of the Moiré contourgraph--semi-automatically, correction of radial shifts in 2D-data orthonormalization--semi-automatically, determining the distance of a projected point in 2D from the net as z-coordinate in 3D--semi-automatically, a) points projected in 2D picture on the pseudo-contour line, b) points not projected in 2D picture on the pseudo-contour line.

RESULTS: Algorithmization of each approach leading to semi-automatic and automatic processing of data obtained from Moiré contourgraphs. Main distortions, errors and inaccuracy of picture data are eliminated. The resulting position of the detected point in 3D derived from the 2D picture is determined with sub-pixel precision of primary picture coordinates.

CONCLUSION: Precision given to coordinates of reference points obtained from original picture data allows for eliminating limiting inaccuracy in determining real coordinates of a 3D object from 2D Moiré contourgraph. Coordinates of a virtual model of a real object corresponding to its real values are determined. This makes the base for non-invasive recording and reconstruction of data on the human body's shape including the details in 3D. The presented file of methods will be used to assess dynamics of the women's axial system during their pregnancy and one year after giving birth....

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Journal Article 2004; 25(1-2): 14-23 PubMed PMID: 15159677 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators:physiology, Cannabinoids:pharmacology, Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena:drug effects, Cardiovascular System:drug effects, Central Nervous System:drug effects, Dronabinol:pharmacology, Humans, Psychotropic Dru.   

: Dronabinol (Delta 9-tetrahydocannabinol, THC), the main source of the pharmacological effects caused by the use of cannabis, is an agonist to both the CB1 and the CB2 subtype of cannabinoid receptors. It is available on prescription in several countries. The non-psychotropic cannabidiol (CBD), some analogues of natural cannabinoids and their metabolites, antagonists at the cannabinoid receptors and modulators of the endogenous cannabinoid system are also promising candidates for clinical research and therapeutic uses. Cannabinoid receptors are distributed in the central nervous system and many peripheral tissues including spleen, leukocytes; reproductive, urinary and gastrointestinal tracts; endocrine glands, arteries and heart. Five endogenous cannabinoids have been detected so far, of whom anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol are best characterized. There is evidence that besides the two cannabinoid receptor subtypes cloned so far additional cannabinoid receptor subtypes and vanilloid receptors are involved in the complex physiological functions of the cannabinoid system that include motor coordination, memory procession, control of appetite, pain modulation and neuroprotection. Strategies to modulate their activity include inhibition of re-uptake into cells and inhibition of their degradation to increase concentration and duration of action. Properties of cannabinoids that might be of therapeutic use include analgesia, muscle relaxation, immunosuppression, anti-inflammation, anti-allergic effects, sedation, improvement of mood, stimulation of appetite, anti-emesis, lowering of intraocular pressure, bronchodilation, neuroprotection and antineoplastic effects....

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