Purpose The aim of the study was to establish whether the duration of anticoagulant (AC) therapy can be tailored, on an objective basis, by using ventilation/perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography (V/P SPECT) and to assess the extent of residual perfusion defects over time. In particular, we addressed the following: (a) is the extent of perfusion recovery at 3 months of initial pulmonary embolism (PE) diagnosis a satisfactory criterion for deciding the duration of oral AC? (b) Is it safe to withdraw AC at 3 months if perfusion recovery is complete? Patients and methods Of 269 consecutive patients with suspected PE, 100 patients were diagnosed with PE using V/P SPECT. Sixty-seven patients with acute PE were followed up clinically and with V/P SPECT at 3 months. Sixty-four patients were subject to review and examination using V/P SPECT for a period of 6 months and 33 were followed up only clinically. Therapy was terminated after 3 months if perfusion was normalized, and patients were free of symptoms and the risk of hypercoagulability. Initial extension of PE did not have an impact on decision making. Results PE extension varied from 10 to 70% in the acute stage. After 3 months, complete resolution of PE was found in 48 patients. The treating pulmonologist decided to terminate therapy in 35 (73%) patients and to continue AC in 13 patients because of persistent risk factors. Six months later, at the second control stage, 53 patients had complete recovery of pulmonary perfusion. Eleven patients still had perfusion defects at 6 months. No recurrence was identified at 6 months in the 35 patients whose therapy was terminated after 3 months. No bleeding effects were observed in any of the patients during the 6-month follow-up. Conclusion This study shows that AC therapy can be tailored, on an objective basis, by using V/P SPECT. Normalization of perfusion at 3 months of initial PE diagnosis was a reliable indicator that AC could be safely withdrawn in patients who were without hypercoagulability risk.

Studies are supporting neuroprotective benefi t of therapeutic hypothermia in term newborns with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.We assessed survival and neurodevelopmental outcome of neonates subjected to the procedure and factors that may haveinfl uenced it. Newborns with gestational age of more than 36 weeks and less than 6 hours of age with moderate to severe asphyxialencephalopathy underwent cooling protocol at a temperature of 33.5 °C for 72 hours and rewarming period of 6 hours. The outcomemeasures assessed were death and neurodevelopmental characteristics. Twenty-fi ve children were assessed during the period fromOctober 2010 to October 2013. Median gestational age was 40 weeks, birth weight 3470 g, Apgar score 2/4 and pH on admission tothe hospital 7.02. Four (16%) children died and two were lost for follow up. At the age of fi nal assessment, developmental categoriesof communication were normal in 68.4%, problem solving in 73.7%, personal-social in 68.4%, gross motor in 57.9%, and fi ne motorin 36.8% but with a high need of retesting in this area. Seven of 19 patients (36.8%) had completely normal results for all fi ve categories,while three (15.8%) had abnormal results for all categories. None of the 18 parameters that were correlated with neurodevelopmentaloutcome showed statistical signifi cance. Amplitude integrated electroencephalography was done in ten patients and themost prominent fi nding was discontinuous activity in eight patients. In conclusion, a relatively small number of patients and limitationsof this study design precluded any far-reaching conclusions, but we think that this method can provide better survival and lessneurologic sequels in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy patients.

We prove that the meromorphic continuations of the Ruelle and Selberg zeta functions considered by Bunke and Olbrich are of finite order not larger than the dimension of the underlaying compact, odd-dimensional, locally symmetric space.

Contemporary university courses in the process of implementation of principles based on the Bologna Declaration is between traditional and contemporary paradigm of high education. Integrating of new valid forms is possible to actualize in readiness to change in relationships within academic community that still has intention of centralization in form but with no essence and purposefulness of educational work. Those changes happen in conceptions, goals and tasks, curriculums and programs, education of new teaching staff, organization and managing, financing and legal regulations and other segments streaming towards standardization and adaption of universities to needs of society and time with a special accent on creation of assumptions for continual lifetime education and professional development. In relation to this, methodic organization of teaching in which a special accent is put on teaching aids, didactic media and teaching technology is of existential value to sustainability of contemporary university courses. Results acquired through analytic descriptive method and survey method as a variant of analytic descriptive method and through apposite instruments for self evaluation of university teaching staff shows that contemporary university teaching is dominated by combining of teaching aids, that laptop and projector are dominant didactic media that characterize contemporary university courses.