Vinflunine in the treatment of bladder cancer

Vinflunine (VFL) is a third-generation bifluorinated semi-synthetic vinca alkaloid obtained by superacidic chemistry from its parent compound, vinorelbine. As with the other vinca alkaloids, the main antineoplastic effects of VFL arise from its interaction with tubulin, the major component of microtubules in mitotic spindles. In contrast to other vinca alkaloids, VFL shows some distinctive properties in terms of tubulin binding, possibly explaining its superior antitumor activity in vitro and in vivo compared with vinorelbine as well as its excellent safety profile. In transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), two single-agent phase II trials were performed testing VFL in platinum-pretreated patients, showing moderate response rates and promising disease control rates. Therefore, the first phase III trial in modern times for second-line TCC of the urothelium was designed in order to further investigate the activity of VFL. First results were presented at the 2008 ASCO conference. VFL appears to be a possible treatment option for patients with TCC progressing after first-line platinum-containing chemotherapy

Connections among geographical and historical descriptions in Aeneid 8

El libro 8 de Eneida ofrece una amplia versión de la historia romana desde los orígenes proto-históricos de Jano y Saturno hasta la batalla de Accio. La narración histórica se desarrolla en dos largos pasajes: el recorrido de Evandro y Eneas por Palanteo y la descripción del escudo de Vulcano. Ambos pasajes pueden ser considerados écfrasis y la hipótesis del trabajo afirma que deben leerse de manera complementaria para entender que la propuesta virgiliana de la historia, a diferencia de la de Tito Livio, consiste en una serie de fundaciones registradas en la memoria de la geografía natural y urbana de Roma.Aeneid´s Book 8 offers a large version of Roman History from the beginnings of Janus and Saturnus to Accius´ battle. Historic account is developed in two episodes: Evander and Aeneas´ tour through Palanteum and the description of Vulcanus´ shield. Both episodes can be taken as ekphrasis and the hypothesis of this paper considers that both must be read in a complementary way in order to assume that Virgilian proposal about history, unlike Livius´, consists of a series of foundations written on the memory of Roman natural and urban geography.Fil: Ames, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad; ArgentinaFil: de Santis, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad; Argentin

High-resolution SAR images for fire susceptibility estimation in urban forestry

We present an adaptive system for the automatic assessment of both physical and anthropic fire impact factors on periurban forestries. The aim is to provide an integrated methodology exploiting a complex data structure built upon a multi resolution grid gathering historical land exploitation and meteorological data, records of human habits together with suitably segmented and interpreted high resolution X-SAR images, and several other information sources. The contribution of the model and its novelty rely mainly on the definition of a learning schema lifting different factors and aspects of fire causes, including physical, social and behavioural ones, to the design of a fire susceptibility map, of a specific urban forestry. The outcome is an integrated geospatial database providing an infrastructure that merges cartography, heterogeneous data and complex analysis, in so establishing a digital environment where users and tools are interactively connected in an efficient and flexible way

The historical memory of the Italic ethnic diversity in Vergil's Aeneid

Eneida de Virgilio construye un pasado legendario que le permite al romano comprender la composición multicultural de su propia sociedad, la pertenencia étnica de los diferentes grupos y su ascendencia y participación en la vida pública romana. A través de vectores etnográficos positivos y negativos se configura una memoria histórica que combina el pasado conocido con elementos legendarios. Virgilio determina el lugar de las etnias itálicas en el proceso histórico de conformación de Italia bajo el dominio de Roma y las reconoce en su presente; aquí subyace una mirada retrospectiva y un acto de memoria sobre el Bellum Sociale.Vergil's Aeneid built a legendary past that allows the Roman understanding of the multicultural composition of their own society, the ethnicity of the different groups and their ancestry and participation in public life in Rome. Through ethnographic positive and negative vectors set up a historical memory that combines the known past with legendary elements. Vergil determines the place of ethnic emphasis in the historical process of formation of Italy under Roman rule and recognized in the present, here lies a retrospect and an act of memory on the Bellum Sociale.Fil: de Santis, Guillermo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudio sobre Cultura y Sociedad; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Ames, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudio sobre Cultura y Sociedad; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba; Argentin

Point Contact Spectra on YBa2_2Cu3_3O7−x_{7-x}/La0.7_{0.7}Ca0.3_{0.3}MnO3_3 bilayers

We present conductance characteristics of point contact junctions realized between a normal Pt-Ir tip and YBa$_2$Cu$_3$O$_{7-x}$/La$_{0.7}$Ca$_{0.3}$MnO$_3$ (YBCO/LCMO) bilayers. The point contact characteristics show a zero bias conductance peak, as a consequence of the formation of Andreev bound states at the YBCO Fermi level. The temperature evolution of the spectra reveals a depressed zero bias peak and a reduced superconducting energy gap, both explainable in terms of spin polarization effects due to the LCMO layer.Comment: 4 pages, 4 EPS figures. Proceedings of EUCAS 2005. Accepted in Journal of Physics: Conference Serie