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M Tomsic

Publications and source records attributed to M Tomsic.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

A kinematic model of the shoulder complex to evaluate the arm-reachable workspace.

Upper-arm evaluation including shoulder motion in physiotherapy has no three-dimensional tool for an arm-functioning evaluation, which hampers an uniform, objective comparison. Human shoulder complex models suffer from lack of shoulder girdle kinematic data. A kinematic shoulder-complex model with six degrees of freedom is proposed as the composition of the inner joint representing the shoulder-girdle joints and outer joint representing the glenohumeral joint. The outer shoulder joint has three perpendicular rotations: adduction/abduction, retroflexion/flexion and internal/external rotation of the humerus. The inner shoulder joint has two rotations, depression/elevation and retraction/protraction, and one translation, which are all dependent on the elevation angle of the humerus. The human arm-reachable workspace that represents the area within reach of the wrist is calculated on the basis of the shoulder-complex model and the additional elbow-joint direct kinematics. It was demonstrated that cross-sections of the calculated workspace are in agreement with the measured arm-reachable workspace in all three anatomical planes. The arm-reachable workspace volume and graphics were calculated and a comparison of the arm's workspaces during a patient's shoulder treatment was made. The obtained numerical and graphical arm-reachable workspaces can be used for arm-functioning evaluations in rehabilitation and ergonomics.

Arm↗
PubMed2006

Articaine is more effective than lidocaine or mepivacaine in rat sensory nerve conduction block in vitro.

The reasons for the relatively high failure rate after inferior alveolar nerve block in dentistry are not fully understood. Therefore, the effectiveness of different anesthetic solutions (2% and 4% lidocaine, 3% mepivacine, 2% and 4% articaine) in depressing the compound action potential amplitude of the sensory fibers in the rat sural nerve was examined under strictly controlled conditions in vitro. After application of an anesthetic solution and stimulation of the nerve with a supramaximal electrical stimulus, a complete disappearance of the compound action potential of the C fibers, but not of the A fibers, was observed in all the experimental groups. Both 2% and 4% articaine more effectively depressed the compound action potential of the A fibers than did other anesthetic solutions. These results are discussed in the light of recent clinical reports finding no differences in the effectiveness between 4% articaine and 2% lidocaine regarding the inferior alveolar nerve block.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2005

Ultrasonographic changes of major salivary glands in primary Sjogren's syndrome. Diagnostic value of a novel scoring system.

OBJECTIVES: To reveal typical ultrasonographic (US) changes in major salivary glands associated with Sjogren's syndrome (SS) and to determine the diagnostic value of a novel US scoring system. METHODS: In 218 consecutive patients with suspected SS, US of both parotid and submandibular salivary glands was performed besides the regular diagnostic procedure following the American-European Consensus Group criteria of 2002. Five US parameters were assessed: echogenicity, inhomogeneity, number of hypoechogenic areas, the hyperechogenic reflections and clearness of the borders of the salivary gland. The grades of these five parameters for all four salivary glands were summed. The final US score ranged from 0 to 48. RESULTS: SS was established in 68 patients. The remaining 150 subjects, in whom SS was not confirmed, constituted our control group. All five US parameters were significantly associated with SS. The patients with SS had significantly higher US scores than those not diagnosed with SS (P<0.01). Setting the cut-off US score at 17 resulted in the best ratio of specificity (98.7%) to sensitivity (58.8%). CONCLUSIONS: Well-defined US changes in the major salivary glands summarized in our novel scoring system were typical of SS patients. Advanced structural changes found on US imaging almost invariably represent SS salivary gland involvement.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Avidity of anti-beta2-glycoprotein I and thrombosis or pregnancy loss in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome.

We aimed to evaluate avidity of anti-beta(2)-glycoprotein I antibodies (anti-beta(2)-GPIs) in patients with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) at the time of acute thrombotic events or pregnancy loss as compared with clinical event-free periods. To do so, 69 sera samples from 16 patients (6 with primary APS and 10 with APS secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus ) were selected on the basis of anti-beta(2)-GPI positivity. Avidity of IgG anti-beta(2)-GPIs was determined by chaotropic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), using increased NaCl concentration during antibody binding. High, heterogeneous, and low-avidity anti-beta(2)-GPIs were measured in APS patients, with no clear pattern regarding the time of thrombotic events or pregnancy failure. In general, anti-beta(2)-GPI avidity did not change substantially during disease course. We concluded that avidity of anti-beta(2)-GPIs appears to be a rather stable parameter in an individual APS patient. Considering the previously shown association of high-avidity anti-beta(2)-GPIs with venous thrombosis, avidity of anti-beta(2)-GPIs may be a better predictor of predisposition to thrombosis and unsuccessful pregnancy than levels of antiphospholipid antibodies, which may fluctuate over time owing to several factors.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed2004

Structural characterisation of water-Tween 40/Imwitor 308-isopropyl myristate microemulsions using different experimental methods.

Pharmaceutically usable microemulsion systems were prepared from water and isopropyl myristate with a constant amount of Tween 40 and Imwitor 308 at a mass ratio of 1. Their type and structure were examined by measuring density and surface tension, and by viscometry, electric conductivity, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and the degree of agreement between the techniques was assessed. A model based on monodisperse hard spheres adequately fits the SAXS data in W/O microemulsions predicting, depending on composition, elongated or spherical droplets. It also suggests the involvement of strong attractive interactions in O/W systems. Results of conductivity, viscosity, density and surface tension measurements confirm the prediction of a percolation transition to a bicontinuous structure. DSC detects the degree of water interaction with surfactants thus identifying the type of microemulsion. The conclusions from all the techniques agree well and indicate that such studies could also be carried out on more complex systems. In future, the ability to determine type and structure of such microemulsion systems could enable partitioning and release rates of drugs from microemulsions to be predicted.

Caprylates↗
PubMed2004

Incidence of primary Sjogren's syndrome in Slovenia.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the annual incidence of primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) in Slovenia. METHODS: All patients admitted to our department of rheumatology or referred to our outpatient clinic between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2002 owing to sicca symptoms or because of a suspicion of SS were examined. Our rheumatological department is the only tertiary referral centre for the Ljubljana region, which has a population of 599 895 Caucasian people. All patients were evaluated by the validated European criteria for SS. The exact 95% confidence interval (CI) based on binomial distribution was created for the incidence estimate. RESULTS: 248 patients were examined; 71 of them (28.6%; 65 women, 6 men) were diagnosed as having pSS. Their mean (SD) age was 51.3 (14.5) years (range 19-78). The average annual incidence for pSS in our study population was calculated as 3.9 cases per 100 000 inhabitants (95% CI 1.1 to 10.2). CONCLUSION: The estimated annual incidence of pSS in Slovenia is 3.9/100 000.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Different roles for basic and aromatic amino acids in conserved region 2 of Escherichia coli sigma(70) in the nucleation and maintenance of the single-stranded DNA bubble in open RNA polymerase-promoter complexes.

Amino acid residues in region 2 of final sigma(70) have been shown to play an important role in the strand separation step that is necessary for formation of the functional or open RNA polymerase-promoter complex. Here we present a comparison of the roles of basic and aromatic amino acids in the accomplishment of this process, using RNA polymerase bearing alanine substitutions for both types of amino acids in region 2. We determined the effects of the substitutions on the kinetics of open complex formation, as well as on the ability of the RNA polymerase to form complexes with single-stranded DNA, and with forked DNA duplexes carrying a single-stranded overhang consisting of bases in the -10 region. We concluded that two basic amino acids (Lys(414) and Lys(418)) are important for promoter binding and demonstrated distinct roles, at a subsequent step, for two aromatic amino acids (Tyr(430) and Trp(433)). It is likely that these four amino acids, which are close to each other in the structure of final sigma(70), together are involved in the nucleation of the strand separation process.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed2001

Sensitivity of sensory axons to lidocaine nerve block in rats.

The aim of the present study was to test the sensitivity of different classes of sensory axons to lidocaine 2 and 4% nerve block. The basic approach was to examine changes in compound action potential (CAP) of A and C axons of the rat sural nerve induced by 2 or 4% lidocaine nerve block in vitro. CAP in control sural nerves (n = 6 for each experimental group) before nerve block was induced, consisted of the early component (A axons: 0.3 +/- 0.02 ms) and the late component (C axons: 12.2 +/- 1.14 ms) with peak voltage amplitudes 4.4 +/- 1.4 mV and 0.04 +/- 0.02 mV, respectively. Lidocaine 2% nerve block completely abolished the amplitude of CAP of C axons and depressed the amplitude of CAP of A axons to about 20 % of control level. Doubled concentration of lidocaine significantly decreased time taken to develop maximal depression of CAP and significantly increased excitation threshold of sensory A axons, but not of sensory C axons. However, 4% lidocaine did not affect the maximal depression of CAP of sensory A axons. These results support the view, that C axons are more sensitive to lidocaine nerve block than A axons. In addition, our results suggest a population of sensory A axons which is non-sensitive to 2% and 4% lidocaine.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2000

Acute respiratory distress syndrome in a polymyositis patient with the anti-Jo-1 antibody.

We report a case of a 66-year-old caucasian woman suffering from polymyositis with the anti-Jo-1 antibody. Shortly after admission to our hospital, despite the fact that the patient was given intravenous pulse methylprednisolone (1000 mg/day for 3 consecutive days), she developed severe, ventilatory-dependent, acute respiratory distress syndrome. Evaluation for infectious or noninfectious aetiologies of acute respiratory distress syndrome was unrevealing. Bronchoalveolar lavage disclosed neutrophilic alveolitis. Histological examination of a transbronchial biopsy revealed an interstitial fibrosing process and cuboidalisation of the alveolar epithelium. In addition to high-dose methylprednisolone the patient was given intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide fortnightly for six weeks and afterwards every 4 weeks. All symptoms resolved and arterial blood gases returned to normal. Remission has been maintained with azathioprine. One year after onset, polymyositis is in complete remission. This is the first report of a patient suffering from polymyositis with the anti-Jo-1 antibody who survived such a complication. Intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide was probably a life saving therapy.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

Sensitivity of peripheral nerve fibres to sodium pentobarbital anaesthesia in rat.

The sensitivity of different classes of peripheral nerve fibres to anaesthesia with sodium pentobarbital in rat was tested. The basic approach was to examine changes in compound action potential (CAP) in a rat sural nerve induced by sodium pentobarbital. Rats were either sacrificed by cervical dislocation (control) or anaesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (100 mg/kg, i.p.), and a 30 mm long sural nerve segment excised and placed on electrodes in a thermostatically controlled recording chamber. CAPs were evoked by electrically stimulating the sural nerve segment with supra-threshold stimuli. CAP in control sural nerves consisted of the early component (A axons: 32.73 +/- 2.91 m/s) and the late component (C axons: 0.92 +/- 0.05 m/s) with peak voltage amplitudes 4.9 +/- 1.0 mV and 0.1 +/- 0.03 mV, respectively. Anaesthesia with sodium pentobarbital had no effect on CAP latency. However, the amplitude of CAP of both A and C axons was reduced by approximately 40% and 50%, respectively. The depressant effect of pentobarbital on CAPs was statistically significant for both groups of axons (p<0.01). Non-selective sensitivity of A and C axons to pentobarbital suggests even distribution of receptors for GABA in these two populations of axons in the rat peripheral nerve.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1999

Prevalence of Sjögren's syndrome in Slovenia.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of Sjögren's syndrome (SS) in Slovenia. METHODS: A total of 889 randomly selected adults were invited to take part in our study. The classification of SS was based on the validated criteria reported by a multicentre study performed in Europe. The participants were asked six simple questions for assessing both ocular and oral involvement. Information on co-morbidities and related treatment was collected at the same time. All participants were subjected to a Schirmer-I test, an unstimulated salivary flow test, as well as serological studies (rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibodies, anti-Ro/SS-A and anti-La/SS-B antibodies). When indicated, Rose Bengal score, salivary scintigraphy and histopathological investigation of the minor salivary glands were carried out until three out of the six European classification criteria for SS were shown to be negative or until SS was diagnosed. RESULTS: Out of the 889 invited subjects, 332 (37.3%) participated in our study: 183 females, mean age (+/- S.D.) 52.2 +/- 13.7 yr (range 20-84) and 149 males, mean age (+/- S.D.) 56.3 +/- 12.9 yr (range 23-84). After the first visit, 244 of the 332 (73.5%) participants proved to be negative for three out of the six above-mentioned criteria, and were eliminated from further tests. The remaining 88 participants were consecutively subjected to Rose Bengal score, salivary scintigraphy and minor salivary gland biopsy. Fifteen participants refused to perform either one or more of the proposed tests at the second study stage. Two females of the 332 study participants [0.60% (exact 95% CI 0.07%, 2.16%)] fulfilled the criteria for primary SS. CONCLUSIONS: The estimated prevalence of definite SS in Slovenia is 0.60%.

Adult↗