Elastic scattering and reaction mechanisms of the halo nucleus 11Be around the Coulomb barrier.

Collisions induced by (9,10,11)Be on a 64Zn target at the same c.m. energy were studied. For the first time, strong effects of the 11Be halo structure on elastic-scattering and reaction mechanisms at energies near the Coulomb barrier are evidenced experimentally. The elastic-scattering cross section of the 11Be halo nucleus shows unusual behavior in the Coulomb-nuclear interference peak angular region. The extracted total-reaction cross section for the 11Be collision is more than double the ones measured in the collisions induced by (9,10)Be. It is shown that such a strong enhancement of the total-reaction cross section with 11Be is due to transfer and breakup processes.

Recombinant factor VIIa (rFVIIa) is effective at massive bleeding after caesarean section--a case report.

A case of 31-year old woman who underwent emergency caesarean section (CS) following suspicion of the HELLP syndrome was reported. She developed arterial hypertension in 33rd week. In 38th week of her gestation elevated liver enzymes and positive albumin in urine were reported and pathological flow in umbilical artery and fetal aorta was found on ultrasound. The HELLP score was 12 and the HELLP syndrome was diagnosed. The pregnancy was terminated by CS for fetal distress and the HELLP syndrome. Two hours after the section she developed massive uterine bleeding with the signs of hemorrhagic shock. Despite of replacement therapy laboratory data worsened. DIC was diagnosed. Recombinant factor VIIa was administrated; after several minutes bleeding decreased and laboratory data normalized.

Attitudes, behaviour and knowledge on sexuality among female adolescents in Zagreb, Croatia.

The aim of this study was to estimate the level of knowledge about sexuality, attitudes and sexual behaviour of female adolescents. The study included 194 female students, 117 from Medical High School (MHS) and 77 from General High School (GHS) in Zagreb. Data was collected using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. In addition to items on personal data (age, parental education etc.), the participants were asked to define terms about sexuality (e.g. menstruation, puberty) the definitions of which are found in biology textbooks for the fifth and eighth grade of primary school. The aim of the third part of the survey was to collect information about attitudes and behaviour of female adolescents. The results showed a low level of knowledge in students of both schools. General High School students showed a higher level of knowledge than their Medical High School peers. One fifth of General High School students and 1/3 of Medical High School students were unable to define the term "menstruation". The majority of adolescents talk about sexuality with their friends, 92.1% of General High School and 81.2% of Medical High School students. Almost 50% of students of both schools would like to talk about sexuality with their school doctor. 6.9% of Medical High School students had at least one sexual intercourse while none of the General High School students had been sexually active at the time of the survey. As the majority of students were not sexually active and results showed a rather low level of knowledge, this seems to be the ideal period for the implementation of educational programs aimed at increasing the level of knowledge, and thus preventing unwanted consequences (STD, pregnancy, abortion, infertility).

Early diagnosis and treatment of ectopic pregnancy.

During the period from 1995 to 1999, 64 patients were treated for ectopic pregnancy. All patients admitted to the department passed the same procedure including (complete preoperative laboratory findings, Beta HCG, serum progesterone and transvaginal colour Doppler). In patients who had ultrasound finding typical for ectopic pregnancy in combination with positive Beta HCG, conservative treatment was primarily done. In the rest of the patients, Beta HCG was tested every second day and in combination with the clinical and vaginosonographical findings the patients underwent diagnostic or operative laparoscopy. Out of 64 patients 36 had visible ectopic pregnancy when admitted to the clinical department. Three patients had no visible ectopic pregnancy neither at the time of their admission to the department nor at the time of laparoscopy. One of them had cervical pregnancy and the other two had pregnancies in the uterine part of the tube. The patient with cervical pregnancy was treated with metrotrexat (MTX) 12 mg daily in 5 doses. One patient with cornual pregnancy was treated with high doses of oxytocin infusion in combination with MEB intravenously 3 x 1 amp. The other patient with cornual pregnancy underwent laparoscopy with cornual resection and salpingectomy. Four of other tubar pregnancies were treated with metrotrexat 12 mg/day for 5 days. Other ectopic pregnancies were treated as follows: 36 laparoscopic salpingectomies, 10 laparoscopic salpingotomies with ovum expression, 9 adnexectomies by laparotomy, and 2 laparoscopic adnexectomies.

Long non-iatrogenic right coronary artery dissection in stable angina pectoris treated with stenting.

An extensive spontaneous right coronary artery dissection was the only abnormal angiographic finding detected in a 67-year-old man with chronic exercise-induced angina pectoris. The lesion was treated with multiple stenting with good angiographic results. The clinical implications of this finding and the details of the intervention performed are discussed in light of published data concerning this increasingly recognized angiographic entity.

Minimally invasive surgery in the field of gynecologic oncology.

The aim of this paper was to present the results in minimal invasive surgery in the field of gynecologic oncology at General hospital Zabok, Croatia. 381 laparoscopic procedures were performed between 1994 and 1998. There were 263 operations of the benign adnexal masses, and 107 operations due to benign tumors of corpus uteri (there were 18 LAVH, 12 LH and 77 TLH). There were 11 laparoscopic operations due to carcinoma (1 ovary, 6 corpus and 4 cervix). Operations were: 3 LAVH (laparoscopically assisted vaginal hysterectomy), 5 TLH (total laparoscopic hysterectomy) with pelvic lymphadenectomy, 1 LAVH with pelvic lymphadenectomy, 1 coelio Shauta operation with laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomy and paraaortal lymphadenectomy, and 1 laparoscopic adnexectomy. Among laparoscopic procedures in 370 patients operations were successfully performed as planed, while in 11 patients it was necessary to switch to laprotomy. Among serious complications of laparscopic operations it is necessary to note 2 lesions of the ureter and 1 lesion of the bladder. Laparoscopic lymphadenectomies were performed successfully; there were no serious early or late postoperative complications. There was no operative mortality. Even though many authors claim that laparoscopic operations in the field of gynecologic oncology are safe and have the same results as in open surgery, patients benefit from shorter recovery and better quality of life during laparoscopic procedures.

Seismicity precursors in the Friuli area : Tilt-strain and water table level variations

Some interesting results obtained from several instrumentations installed in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia area are summarized. The instruments operated by the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics of the Trieste University are the Trieste-Grotta Gigante horizontal pendulum station operating since '58 and the five tilt-strainmeter stations operating in Friuli since '77. Moreover, the local seismicity recorded by the Osservatorio Geofisico Sperimentale Trieste telenetwork, the rainfall and the groundwater table variations (data supplied by the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region) are considered. Evidences of seismicity long-term precursors are recognized in the records of the five tilt-strainmeter stations in the Friuli area. A triggering effect of the groundwater table variations seems evident. The Alpine and the Dinaric tectonic structures which collide in the zone, thus causing the seismic processes evolution, appear to be related to two different tectonic wavelenghts: the first one corresponding to a lithospheric depth and to long-term effects, the second one to a crustal depth and to shorter-time effects.(AU)

[Heart failure in patients with valve prostheses]. / Lo scompenso cardiaco nel paziente con protesi valvolare.

Congestive heart failure in patients with prosthetic valves is a complex syndrome which poses difficult clinical and therapeutical problems. In order to identify etiologic factors, pathophysiologic substrates, clinical pictures and natural history we retrospectively evaluated 124 consecutive patients (mean age 61 +/- 11 years) with prosthetic valves, hospitalized during the 1984-1990 period because of congestive heart failure. The following main etiologies were identified: acute prosthetic valve failure (19%), chronic prosthetic failure (15%), preexisting left ventricular dysfunction (9%), newly acquired left ventricular dysfunction (8%), associated valve diseases (15%), chronic constrictive pericarditis (2%), multiple causes (31%). At a mean follow-up of 8.9 +/- 4.5 years, mortality was 8.8%/patients/year in the whole group, 3% in the subgroup with chronic prosthetic failure and 19% among the cases with preexisting left ventricular dysfunction. Among the patients who underwent reoperation because of prosthetic failure, the following were incremental risk factors: mechanical (vs biological) failing prosthetic valve, mitral prosthesis, emergency operations, mitral and or aortic insufficiency as the initial diagnosis. The preliminary knowledge of the possible etiologies and of the pathophysiologic substrates can help the physician while treating the single patient with heart failure after valve replacement. Many implications derived from this kind of patients are also useful in order to select surgical candidates among patients with valve disease.

Theoretical aspects of multiple deconvolution analysis for quantification of left to right cardiac shunts.

A new method for quantification of left to right cardiac shunts by Bourguignon et al based on multiple deconvolution analysis is critically analysed within the framework of a simple mathematical model. Underlying assumptions are explicitly stated and their validity discussed. It turns out that some reinterpretation of the method is necessary. Using the same ideas as in multiple deconvolution analysis, a new relation for the pulmonary to systemic flow ratio is proposed on a theoretical basis. This technique may be useful when diagnosing left to right cardiac shunts with radiocardiographic methods.

Mutagenicity studies on denzimol, a new anticonvulsant drug.

N-[beta-[4-(beta-Phenylethyl)phenyl]-beta-hydroxyethyl] imidazole hydrochloride (denzimol, Rec 15-1533), a new anticonvulsant drug, was tested using the Ames procedures with and without metabolic activation, on five strains of Salmonella tythimurium and using the host mediated assay with Schizosaccharomyces pombe as microorganism test. In both tests the drug did not show any mutagenic activity when compared with mutagenic standards.

Mutagenicity studies on fenticonazole, a new antifungal imidazole derivative.

The forward mutational assay on Schizosaccharomyces pombe and the mitotic gene conversion assay on Saccharomyces cerevisiae were performed in order to verify whether alpha-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-beta,N-imidazolylethyl 4-phenylthiobenzyl ether nitrate (fenticonazole, Rec 15/1476) shows a potential mutagenicity. In both tests the drug does not seem to possess any mutagenic activity when compared with mutagenic standards.

The Salmonella mutagenicity assay on fenticonazole, a new antifungal imidazole derivative.

alpha-(2,4-Dichlorophenyl)-beta,N-imidazolylethyl 4-phenylthiobenzyl ether nitrate (fenticonazole, Rec 15/1476), a new potent antibacterial and antifungal imidazole derivative, was tested for mutagenicity in the Salmonella reversion assay developed by Ames et al. Fenticonazole was found to be negative for strains TA 1535, TA 1537, TA 1538, TA 98, TA 100 with and without microsomal activation.