A new commercial strain of ergot adapted from a wild grass

A strain of CLAVICEPS PURPUREA (F R.) T UL. isolated from ARTHRAXON LANCIFOLIUS H OCHST. was successfully adapted on rye. Experimental cultivation on rye showed 370 kg/ha yield of sclerotia containing 0.5% total alkaloid which consisted of 33% ergometrine, 17.6% ergotamine, 18.7% ergocornine and 22.7% ergokryptine. The results also reveal that alkaloid profile of the ergot strain depends largely on its host. Significantly high yield of the sclerotia and the valuable alkaloid profile of the new strain indicate its commercial potential.     

Abbreviated course of radiation therapy in older patients with glioblastoma multiforme: a prospective randomized clinical trial.

PURPOSE: To prospectively compare standard radiation therapy (RT) with an abbreviated course of RT in older patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred patients with GBM, age 60 years or older, were randomly assigned after surgery to receive either standard RT (60 Gy in 30 fractions over 6 weeks) or a shorter course of RT (40 Gy in 15 fractions over 3 weeks). The primary end point was overall survival. The secondary end points were proportionate survival at 6 months, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), and corticosteroid requirement. HRQoL was assessed using the Karnofsky performance status (KPS) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Brain (FACT-Br). RESULTS: All patients had died at the time of analysis. Overall survival times measured from randomization were similar at 5.1 months for standard RT versus 5.6 months for the shorter course (log-rank test, P =.57). The survival probabilities at 6 months were also similar at 44.7% for standard RT versus 41.7% for the shorter course (lower-bound 95% CI, -13.7). KPS scores varied markedly but were not significantly different between the two groups (Wilcoxon test, P =.63). Low completion rates of the FACT-Br (45%) precluded meaningful comparisons between the two groups. Of patients completing RT as planned, 49% of patients (standard RT) versus 23% required an increase in posttreatment corticosteroid dosage (chi(2) test, P =.02). CONCLUSION: There is no difference in survival between patients receiving standard RT or short-course RT. In view of the similar KPS scores, decreased increment in corticosteroid requirement, and reduced treatment time, the abbreviated course of RT seems to be a reasonable treatment option for older patients with GBM.     

Potentiation of tumor response to radiation or chemoradiation by selective cyclooxygenase-2 enzyme inhibitors

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is an enzyme expressed primarily in pathologic states, such as inflammatory disorders and cancer, where it mediates prostaglandin production. Its overexpression is associated with more aggressive biologic tumor behavior and adverse patient outcome. Increasing evidence shows that agents that selectively inhibit COX-2 enhance tumor response to radiation or chemotherapeutic agents. This article gives an overview of some of this evidence. In addition, we describe new results showing that celecoxib, a selective COX-2 inhibitor, enhanced response of A431 human tumor xenografts in nude mice to radiation by an enhancement factor (EF) of 1.43 and to the chemotherapeutic agent docetaxel by an EF of 2.07. Celecoxib also enhanced tumor response when added to the combined docetaxel plus radiation treatment (EF = 2.13). Further experiments showed that selective COX-2 inhibitors enhanced tumor cell sensitivity to ionizing radiation, involving inhibition of cellular repair from radiation damage and cell cycle redistribution as mechanisms for some cell types. The results show that selective COX-2 inhibitors have the potential to improve tumor radiotherapy or radiochemotherapy, and this therapeutic strategy is currently under clinical testing.     

Safety and efficacy of lenalidomide (Revlimid) in recurrent ovarian and primary peritoneal carcinoma

OBJECTIVES: To conduct a phase I trial to determine the safety and toxicity profile of a novel immunomodulatory drug, lenalidomide, in recurrent ovarian and primary peritoneal cancer. The secondary objective is to evaluate the efficacy profile and quality of life (QOL) parameters in patients receiving this treatment. METHODS: Patients with recurrent ovarian or peritoneal cancer who received standard staging surgery and at least one prior platinum-based chemotherapy regimen were treated with single-agent oral lenalidomide 25 mg daily for 21 days of a 28-day cycle. Toxicities were monitored by patient report, physical exam, and laboratories. Response was assessed by imaging, physical exam, and CA-125. Therapy was discontinued with disease progression and/or unacceptable toxicity. RESULTS: 20 patients with recurrent ovarian or peritoneal cancer were enrolled and received 70 completed 28-day cycles and 10 partial cycles of lenalidomide therapy. The majority of adverse events were grades 1-2, including fatigue (25/80 cycles), nausea/vomiting (23/80), constipation (13/80), abdominal pain (17/80), rash (12/80), neutropenia (12/80), and anemia (12/80). Grade 3 toxicities occurred in 12 of 80 cycles (14%) and no grade IV toxicities were observed. Eleven patients completed > or = 2 cycles and were evaluable for response. Nine achieved stable disease (SD) of at least 3 months, with four patients maintaining SD for > 6 months. The mean time to progression was 5.8 months (range 2-12 months). CONCLUSION: Overall, oral lenalidomide was well tolerated and may have some activity as a single agent in this heavily pre-treated population. Further studies combining lenalidomide with cytotoxic treatments may be warranted in this disease setting.     

Aramid-wrapped CNT hybrid sol–gel sorbent for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

This work describes the preparation of an analytical microextraction sorbent using a simple and versatile sol–gel hybrid composite, i.e., aramid oligomers wrapping multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) covalently bonded to a porous silica network. To overcome the inherent shortcomings of the CNTs'' solubility and dispersion in both organic phases and in the sol–gel solution, the outer surface of the CNTs was initially functionalized with carboxylic acid groups and then reacted with both aramid oligomers and 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane (APTES). The obtained sorbent was characterized by FT-IR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Using sol–gel chemistry, the functionalized CNTs were coated onto SPME fibers and used in conjunction with GC-MS for the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water and soil samples. Excellent repeatability (run-to-run RSD% ∼ 8) and reproducibility (fiber-to-fiber RSD% ∼ 6) were achieved in addition to low LODs (0.10–0.30 ng mL⁻¹) and noticeable recovery%. The present method of sorbent preparation led to enhanced thermal and chemical stabilities, a long sorbent lifetime and good affinity towards PAHs. Moreover, the present sorbent enhanced the extraction capability by more than 30% compared to that of commercially available PDMS counterparts.

This work describes the preparation of an analytical microextraction sorbent using a simple and versatile sol–gel hybrid composite, i.e., aramid oligomers wrapping multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) covalently bonded to a porous silica network.     

Color Change after 25% Hydrogen Peroxide Bleaching with Photoactivation: A Methodological Assessment Using Spectrophotometer versus Digital Photographs

This study aimed to evaluate the color change of teeth bleached with light activation using two different objective color measurement approaches after two years of clinical follow-up. A cross-sectional retrospective clinical study according to STROBE was followed including 30 participants. The 25% hydrogen peroxide gel (Philips Zoom) was applied with a supplementary LED light for 15 min in four cycles. Tooth color was assessed based on CIEL*a*b* values using a spectrophotometer (Spectroshade) at different time points (baseline, post bleaching, 1 week, 1 year, and 2 years). Standardized digital photographs were taken at each time point. The L*, a*, and b* values were measured from the digital photographs using Adobe Photoshop software. The color difference (ΔE) was separately calculated using the L*, a*, and b* values obtained with spectrophotometric and photographic analyses at each evaluation time. Data were analyzed with non-parametric tests (p < 0.05). A color regression was detected by both measurement approaches after 1 and 2 years (p < 0.05). Greater ΔE values were acquired with the spectrophotometer compared to the digital photographic analysis (p < 0.05). Although a greater color change was observed with the spectrophotometer, both approaches were able to detect the color rebound using the 25% hydrogen peroxide light-activated in-office system. Digital photographic analysis might therefore be used to assess color change after bleaching.     

Isolated Double Gastric Perforation in Blunt Abdominal Trauma—a Case Report

Blunt abdominal trauma mostly results from motor vehicle accidents, recreational accidents, falls or assaults with commonly injured internal organs being the spleen, liver, retroperitoneum, small bowel, kidneys, bladder, colorectal, diaphragm and pancreas. Gastric rupture is quite uncommon. Isolated gastric perforations following blunt trauma to the abdomen are mostly seen in paediatric patients. It is uncommon in adult patients and even rarer is the occurrence of double gastric perforations. We report here with a case of isolated double gastric perforation in a 24-year-old male patient following vehicular accident.     

Nitrogen mustard gel-induced inflammation triggers lymphomatoid papulosis in patients with mycosis fungoides

Lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) is a paraneoplastic primary cutaneous CD30⁺ lymphoproliferative disorder (LPD) that has been associated with malignant lymphomas, most commonly mycosis fungoides (MF). We observed 10 patients with MF who developed severe inflammation after using nitrogen-mustard (NM) gel from 1 to 8 months and who developed LyP. We hypothesized that NM gel produced local inflammation, which induced CD30 expression in malignant T cells in situ leading to the appearance of LyP papules. The high frequency of induction of LyP lesions in patients with severe inflammation while on treatment with NM gel suggests an association between inflammatory stimuli and development of LyP. Our observation provides insight into the pathogenesis of CD30⁺ LPD.