Anatomy of the occipital lobe using lateral and posterior approaches: a neuroanatomical study with a neurosurgical perspective on intraoperative brain mapping.

BACKGROUND: A major concern of occipital lobe surgery is the risk of visual field deficits. Extending anatomical occipital lobectomy to the functional requires awake conditions because the anterior resection border comprises language-, motor- and visuospatial function-related areas within the temporal and parietal lobes. This study investigated the lateral and posterior perspectives of the occipital lobe anatomy when approaching intraaxial occipital lobe lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten adult cadaveric cerebral hemispheres were dissected after being prepared following the concept described by Klingler for the first time. RESULTS: The occipital lobe was located posteriorly to the parietotemporal line. Within the occipital lobe, the occipital horn of the lateral ventricle represented the only anatomical landmark. Laterally, optic radiation was identified as a part of the sagittal stratum. None of the intraoperatively identifiable tracts was found medial to the occipital horn. Language- and motor-related areas were identified anteriorly and should be actively identified when lobectomy based on function is planned. Subcortically, from a posterior perspective, the anterolateral border constituted the arcuate fascicle/superior longitudinal fascicle complex and was anteromedial to the thalamocortical tract. Remaining posterior to the line connecting the preoccipital notch with the superior Rolandic point avoided the cortical and white matter tracts related to language, motor and visuospatial function. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of occipital lobe anatomy and surrounding structures is essential to preoperatively assess the risk of the procedure and proper consultation of a patient in terms of the extent of resection, primarily concerning visual field deficits.

Effect of high-pressure-induced ice I-to-ice III phase transitions on inactivation of Listeria innocua in frozen suspension.

The inactivation of Listeria innocua BGA 3532 at subzero temperatures and pressures up to 400 MPa in buffer solution was studied to examine the impact of high-pressure treatments on bacteria in frozen matrices. The state of aggregation of water was taken into account. The inactivation was progressing rapidly during pressure holding under liquid conditions, whereas in the ice phases, extended pressure holding times had comparatively little effect. The transient phase change of ice I to other ice polymorphs (ice II or ice III) during pressure cycles above 200 MPa resulted in an inactivation of about 3 log cycles, probably due to the mechanical stress associated with the phase transition. This effect was independent of the applied pressure holding time. Flow cytometric analyses supported the assumption of different mechanisms of inactivation of L. innocua in the liquid phase and ice I (large fraction of sublethally damaged cells due to pressure inactivation) in contrast to cells subjected to ice I-to-ice III phase transitions (complete inactivation due to cell rupture). Possible applications of high-pressure-induced phase transitions include cell disintegration for the recovery of intracellular components and inactivation of microorganisms in frozen food.

[The effect of treatment of bacteriuria on pregnancy outcome]. / Utjecaj lijecenja bakteriurije na ishod trudnoce.

In the period from 1972 to 1979, 3497 pregnant women were tested at the two Zagreb Health Centers. Urine cultures were taken from all women by Arneil's "dip slide" method, modified by Babic. Significant asymptomatic bacteriuria (SAB) was found at the onset of pregnancy in 10.7% cases. Pregnant women with SAB at the end of pregnancy, in comparison to those whose urine was sterile, had significantly more children weighing under 1000 g at birth (1.3% v. 0.2%; x2 = 8.44, p less than 0.01) and under 2500 g (6.5% v. 3.8%; x2 = 3.95, p less than 0.05), more deliveries by vacuum extraction (3.0% v. 1.3%; x2 = 4.62, p less than 0.05), and a significantly higher perinatal mortality (64.9 v. 15.6; x2 = 24.73, p less than 0.001). The treatment of SAB at the very beginning of pregnancy significantly decreased, by a fourth (25.5%), its frequency at the end of pregnancy. This figure is almost twice as high in those not treated (46.1%, x2 = 16.64, p less than 0.001). SAB treatment contributed to a significantly lower frequency of hypertension at the end of pregnancy (8.9%) in comparison to non-treated cases (31.4%, x2 = 29.45, p less than 0.001).