Fourier analysis of human soft tissue facial shape: sex differences in normal adults.

Sexual dimorphism in human facial form involves both size and shape variations of the soft tissue structures. These variations are conventionally appreciated using linear and angular measurements, as well as ratios, taken from photographs or radiographs. Unfortunately this metric approach provides adequate quantitative information about size only, eluding the problems of shape definition. Mathematical methods such as the Fourier series allow a correct quantitative analysis of shape and of its changes. A method for the reconstruction of outlines starting from selected landmarks and for their Fourier analysis has been developed, and applied to analyse sex differences in shape of the soft tissue facial contour in a group of healthy young adults. When standardised for size, no sex differences were found between both cosine and sine coefficients of the Fourier series expansion. This shape similarity was largely overwhelmed by the very evident size differences and it could be measured only using the proper mathematical methods.

[Epidemiological investigation on epilepsy in children of school age (author's transl)]. / Indagine epidemiologica sull'epilessia in eta' scolare.

An epidemiological investigation was carried out in 1976-77 on all children attending the fourth year of primary education (9-10 years old) in Venice. The method of analysis was a questionnaire similar to that proposed by Rose (Epilepsy 1973) and by Meighan (Epilepsy 1976). Out of 1838, 1350 answered the questionnaire. The questionnaire synthesises various symptoms of epilepsy in 30 questions starting from the most severe ones. In a second phase the answers were divided into 8 groups: the hypothesis was that the percentage of children with epilepsy in groups 1-3 (high probability to have epilepsy) would be significantly higher than in groups 4-7. In order to test this hypothesis and to assess the discriminating quality of the questionnaire, a random sample of 114 children was submitted to clinical and EEG examination. The final classification in: A) epilepsy; B) febrile convulsions; C) minimal brain disfunction (M.B.D., according to Rose's definition); D) normal, was agreed upon including the heterogeneous information derived from history, neurological examination and EEG interpretation. A statistical elaboration of the findings has shown that the weighted average prevalence rate resulted to be 8.7%; the one relating to febrile convulsions was 27.93%; the one of M.B.D. was 5.2%. The high incidence of apparently positive cases may be explained because of difficulty in understanding some of the terminology used in the questionnaire; such cases, however, have been identified and discarded after a fuller history and neurological examination had been obtained. The problem of false negative cases seems however more important since it may also be caused by prejudice and by the reluctance of many people to accept the idea of epilepsy. For the appraisal of the incidence of this phenomenon we have examined all children (about 90) in two schools of the city indipendently from the answers in the questionnaire: no case of epilepsy was found. Further investigation is being carried out through an inquiry in EEG laboratories, hospitals and private phisicians in order to find out the real number of epileptic children. The incidence of epilepsy estimated with other methods appears similar to our data (Cooper 1965 - Huser and Kurland 1975). As a conclusion the questionnaire survey approach can be effectively used in studies on epilepsy together with epidemiological investigations in the assessment of cases of epilepsy not yet diagnosed as such.

[Quantitative alterations of the immunoglobuline classes and the presence of autoantibodies in liver diseases (author's transl)]. / Alterazioni quantitative delle classi di immunoglobuline e presenza di autoanticorpi nelle epatopatie.

The AA., after the literature revision concerning the autoantibodies in the autoimmune diseases, have examined the cases of acute and chronic hepatitis happened in the period 1972-1976. After a short observation of used methodologies the AA. have connected the presence of autoantibodies (FN, SM, AM) with the rate of immunoglobulins in single groups of liver diseases, divided in acute hepatitis, chronic persistent hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis, liver cirrhosis (cryptogenetic and alcoholic). The results are that while the immunoglobulins fractions increase, although in different manner, in every pattern of liver disease studied, instead, there are no typical changes of single immunoglobulins rate in the groups with autoantibodies. Statistically it is not possible to assert that single antibodies belong to immunoglobulins determinate class. Finally it had been impossible to demonstrate sex and age influence on the immunoglobulins increase in the groups of liver disease with autoantibodies.

Chemical composition of ultracentrifugal fractions in different patterns of human atheroslcerosis.

The chemical composition of ultracentrifugal fractions of VLDL (d less than 1006), LDL (d 1006-1063) and HDL (d less than 1063) has been studied in males affected by atherosclerosis of different vascular beds. Thirty-seven subjects affected by post-infarction cardiopathy (M.I.) showed significantly higher values of total-C, VLDL-C and LDL-C when compared to 52 controls. Twenty-three patients affected by non-occlusive ischaemic heart disease (I.H.D.) showed higher values than controls of total-C, VLCL-C, LDL-C, total TG, VLDL-TG, and GDL-TG. Twenty-three patients with atherosclerosis of the inferior limbs (P.A.) were characterized by increased levels of total-TG, VLDL-TG, VLDL-C, HDL-C. A group of patients who had suffered a stroke from cerebro-vascular disease (C.V.D.) did not show any significant difference from controls. In the M.I. group, 56% of the patients had a high level of C-VLDL. Patients with I.H.D. were characterized mostly by an increase in C-LDL, Patients with P.A. showed the highest values of total -TG, VLDL-TG and LDL-TG. Some of the observed differences are probably due to different metabolic backgrounds. Some other differences may be due to variations in dietary habits after heart infarction. Patients with levels of plasma cholesterol and triglyceride beyond the 90th percentile of the normal group showed many abnormalities in the chemical composition of their lipoproteins. It is noteworthy that increased amounts of cholesterol may collect in lipoprotein classes different from LDL while increased amounts of triglyceride may collect in classes different from VLDL.