University of Graz

About: University of Graz is a education organization based out in Graz, Steiermark, Austria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 17934 authors who have published 37489 publications receiving 1110980 citations. The organization is also known as: Carolo Franciscea Graecensis & Karl Franzens Universität.

Cardiac myxomas: 24 years of experience in 49 patients.

Abstract: Objectives: In this single-center study we reviewed our experience with a significant number of cardiac myxoma cases occurring over the past two decades. Patients and methods: Cardiac myxomas represented 86% of all surgically treated cardiac tumors at our center. Specifically, there were 49 consecutive patients, each with at least one myxoma. A detailed clinical, immunological, and echocardiographic long-term examination of 37 patients revealed one recurrent myxoma. Results: Most myxomas originated from the left atrium (87.7%), but also much less frequently from the mitral valve (6.1%), from the right atrium (4.1%), and from the left and right atria (2.0%). The myxomas produced a prolapse into the left ventricle in 40.8% of the patients, mitral stenosis in 10.2%, and threatened left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in 2.0%. Multiple myxomas were found in 20.4% of the patients. Cardiac signs appeared in 93.9% of the patients. Preoperative embolic events had occurred in 26.5%. Immunologic alterations were present in 87.5%. For resection, a bilateral atriotomy was used. An additional aortotomy was needed to expose one mitral valve myxoma. Postoperatively, 81.1% of the patients remained without cardiac symptoms. The early mortality rate was 2.0% and the late mortality rate was 6.1%. Long-term prognosis was excellent with an actuarial survival rate of 0.74. Specific immunologic alterations were found in 71.4% of the patients. The actuarial freedom from reoperation of the myxoma was 0.96. The rate of reoperations was low with 2.0% after 24 years. Conclusions: Myxomas were usually detected and operated on in symptomatic patients. A high index of suspicion seems important for early diagnosis. Immunologic findings may play an additional role in confirming the diagnosis and the recurrence of a myxoma. Immediate surgical treatment was indicated because of the high risk of embolization or of sudden cardiac death. Also, a familial genesis must be excluded in myxoma patients. q 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging for characterizing diffuse and focal white matter abnormalities in multiple sclerosis.

Abstract: High-resolution diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed in 14 patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis (MS) and the trace of the diffusion tensor (〈D〉) and the fractional anisotropy (FA) were determined in normal appearing white matter (NAWM) and in different types of focal MS lesions. A small but significant increase of the 〈D〉 in NAWM compared to control white matter ((840 ± 85) × 10–6 mm2/sec vs. (812 ± 59) × 10–6 mm2/sec; P < 0.01) was found. In addition, there was a significant decrease in the FA of normal-appearing regions containing well-defined white matter tracts, such as the genu of the internal capsule. In non-acute lesions, the 〈D〉 of T1-hypointense areas was significantly higher than that of T1-isointense lesions ((1198 ± 248) × 10–6 mm2/sec vs. (1006 ± 142) × 10–6 mm2/sec; P < 0.001), and there was a corresponding inverse relation of FA. Diffusion characteristics of active lesions with different enhancement patterns were also significantly different. DTI with a phase navigated interleaved echo planar imaging technique may be used to detect abnormalities of isotropic and anisotropic diffusion in the NAWM and selected fiber tracts of patients with MS throughout the entire brain, and it demonstrates substantial differences between various types of focal lesions. Magn Reson Med 44:583–591, 2000. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Leakage radiation microscopy of surface plasmon polaritons

Abstract: We review the principle and methodology of leakage radiation microscopy (LRM) applied to surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). Therefore we first analyze in detail the electromagnetic theory of leaky SPP waves. We show that LRM is a versatile optical far-field method allowing direct quantitative imaging and analysis of SPP propagation on thin metal films. We illustrate the LRM potentiality by analyzing the propagation of SPP waves interacting with several two-dimensional plasmonic devices realized and studied in the recent years.