SURGICAL STRATEGY FOR LARGE EXTRACEREBRAL SUBTENTORIAL TUMORS

Radical surgery over large subtentorial tumors is associated with a high risk of postoperative complications. Despite significant development of imaging technology, intraoperative monitoring, and microsurgical treatment, problems one of tottal and safe large subtentorial tumors removal remain unsolved. The most critical problem relating to large tumors of this localization is postoperative edema. Also brainstem ischemic stroke is not rare and this would partly due to the tumors overgrowthing the vertebral and basilar arteries. Retrospective analysis of 59 patients with large (more than 3 cm) tumors to the posterior cranial fossa operated over 2015-2019 yy. There was gross total tumor removal in 49 (83%) patients; subtotal tumor removal in 5 (8,5%) patients; partial tumor removal in 5 (8,5%) cases. Complications occurred in 15 (25%) patients. The use of ventral craniobasal aprroaches and their combination with posterior-lateral approaches to the large subtentorial tumors allows rapid and early, effective brain stem decompression and subsequent safe and total tumor removal. Ventral decompression of the brain stem structures (endoscopic endonasal and transoral approaches, presigmoid approach, extreme lateral approach) prevents neurological complications thus early patients activation. Postoperative mortality of 3 (5.0%) out of 59 patients can be reduced by intensifying perioperative patient's management.

Towards an alternative testing strategy for nanomaterials used in nanomedicine: lessons from NanoTEST

In spite of recent advances in describing the health outcomes of exposure to nanoparticles (NPs), it still remains unclear how exactly NPs interact with their cellular targets. Size, surface, mass, geometry, and composition may all play a beneficial role as well as causing toxicity. Concerns of scientists, politicians and the public about potential health hazards associated with NPs need to be answered. With the variety of exposure routes available, there is potential for NPs to reach every organ in the body but we know little about the impact this might have. The main objective of the FP7 NanoTEST project ( www.nanotest-fp7.eu ) was a better understanding of mechanisms of interactions of NPs employed in nanomedicine with cells, tissues and organs and to address critical issues relating to toxicity testing especially with respect to alternatives to tests on animals. Here we describe an approach towards alternative testing strategies for hazard and risk assessment of nanomaterials, highlighting the adaptation of standard methods demanded by the special physicochemical features of nanomaterials and bioavailability studies. The work has assessed a broad range of toxicity tests, cell models and NP types and concentrations taking into account the inherent impact of NP properties and the effects of changes in experimental conditions using well-characterized NPs. The results of the studies have been used to generate recommendations for a suitable and robust testing strategy which can be applied to new medical NPs as they are developed.

Impact of storage conditions and storage time on silver nanoparticles' physicochemical properties and implications for their biological effects

A multi-parametric assessment of the impact of storage time/conditions and capping agent charge on the stability and toxicity of AgNPs showed agglomeration, dissolution, oxidation, capping agent degradation and attachment of Ag⁺ ions all play a role.

Legislation for Ukraine's public health: the current situation and paths to further development

The paper contains the findings of an analytical study of the current national health care legislation of Ukraine and identification of priority areas in its further development. One of the key objectives of the above study was to identify the compliance of the national healthcare legal framework with the approaches to health policy formation, which are set out in the documents of global and European regional international organizations, and to assess whether the national legislation includes that spectrum of functions that are to be covered by the health care legislation. The analysis showed that Ukraine's national healthcare legislation is rather strong and well developed. Though the national healthcare legislation is mostly in line with international approaches to the state health care policy formulation, the issue of enforcing already adopted laws and by-laws and ensuring their compliance by all legally established bodies, including state authorities and self-governments, citizens, NGOs, etc, is problematic.

Color signals in human motion-selective cortex

The neural basis for the effects of color and contrast on perceived speed was examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Responses to S cone (blue-yellow) and L + M cone (luminance) patterns were measured in area V1 and in the motion area MT+. The MT+ responses were quantitatively similar to perceptual speed judgments of color patterns but not to color detection measures. We also measured cortical motion responses in individuals lacking L and M cone function (S cone monochromats). The S cone monochromats have clear motion-responsive regions in the conventional MT+ position, and their contrast-response functions there have twice the responsivity of S cone contrast-response functions in normal controls. But, their responsivity is far lower than the normals' responsivity to luminance contrast. Thus, the powerful magnocellular input to MT+ is either weak or silent during photopic vision in S cone monochromats.