Contribution of hypoxia-measuring molecular imaging techniques to radiotherapy planning and treatment

Hypoxia is related to poor prognosis because it is associated to chemo-and radioresistance. During recent years the evolution of imaging methods like PET/CT and MRI has meant the appearance of new perspectives with direct implications in radiation therapy. We discuss previous experiences in staging, planning and in the follow-up process with these techniques for measuring tumour hypoxia.     

Myasthenia-like syndrome induced by cardiovascular agents. Report of a case

The case of a myasthenia-like syndrome induced by cardiovascular drugs is reported. The clinical and electrophysiological features of the case are discussed.

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Sommario Viene descritto il caso di una sindrome miastenica indotta da farmaci efficaci sul sistema cardiovascolare. Vengono analizzate e discusse le principali caratteristiche cliniche ed elettrofisiologiche del caso.

     

Oral tolerance impairment in mice with staphylococci-induced wasting syndrome.

The effects of staphylococci-induced experimental wasting disease on the immune response of 1 month old CD1 mice were investigated. Animals were separated into different subgroups in order to study their cellular immune competence. Malnutrition of wasted mice was associated with anorexia, diarrhea and weakness. Footpad-injected splenic cells produced normal graft vs. host (GvH) reactions in the popliteal lymph nodes of F1 hybrids. In other experiments, the SRBC intragastric feeding of wasted mice did not cause a tolerant anti-erythrocyte humoral immune response. Three weeks after the staphylococci injections, convalescent erythrocyte-fed wasted mice exhibited an anti-SRBC PFC production similar to that observed in non-tolerant immunized control healthy mice. In return, healthy SRBC-fed control mice showed the specific attenuation of antibody response characteristics of oral tolerance. Differences were found between the immune competence of the undernourished staphylococci-treated wasted mice and those shown by other authors in protein-depleted mice.     

Validation of a screening questionnaire for hip and knee osteoarthritis in old people

Background  

To develop a sensitive and specific screening tool for knee and hip osteoarthritis in the general population of elderly people.     

F-wave study at different stimulation rates

In 50 ulnar nerves of healthy subjects, F-wave latency, duration, amplitude and persistence were determined at different frequencies of the antidromic impulse (0.2-0.5-1-2 Hz). The F amplitude and persistence were found significantly increased at higher stimulation rates, suggesting that the frequency of the antidromic impulse influences the motoneuron pool discharges. Individual cross-correlation values (r) obtained for latency and duration, latency and amplitude, amplitude and duration did not show any significant changes at different stimulation rates.     

Elimination and minimization of the spherical aberration of intraocular lenses in high myopia

By applying Seidel aberration theory we have studied the spherical aberration of intraocular lenses in place ( S _IL), and the total spherical aberration of pseudophakic eyes ( S _IT). The optimum lens shapes for zero S _IL and S _IT or for minimum S _IL and S _IT of 12 schematic, highly myopic eyes were investigated. When the power required for emmetropization is positive, the total Seidel spherical aberration of the whole eye cannot be zero but can only be minimized. If the power of the intraocular lens is negative, the total Seidel spherical aberration of the whole eye can be made zero, and one of the optimum lens shapes would be meniscus with the convex surface towards the retina. In addition to improving the quality of the image, the lens has advantages from the physiological point of view, since it helps to maintain the structure of the eye.     

Autonomously replicating plasmids carrying theAMA1 region inPenicillium chrysogenum

Plasmid vectors containing theAMA1 sequence transformed with high efficiency and replicated autonomously inPenicillium chrysogenum. The efficiency of transformation ofP. chrysogenum was related to the length of theAMA1 fragment used for constructing the different autonomously replicating plasmids. One of the two palindromic inverted repeats ofAMA1 (the 2.2-kbSalI-HindIII fragment) is sufficient to confer autonomous replication and a high transformation efficiency. Deletion of the 0.6-kb central fragment located between the inverted repeats did not affect either the ability of the plasmids to replicate autonomously or the efficiency of transformation, but did alter the mitotic stability and the plasmid copy number. Deletion of any fragment of the 2.2-kb repeat caused the loss of the ability to replicate autonomously and reduced the transformation efficiency. Most of the transformants retained the original plasmid configuration, as multimers and without reorganization, after several rounds of autonomous replication. TheAMA1 region works as an origin of replication inP. chrysogenum andA. nidulans but not apparently inAcremonium chrysogenum.