Helical tomotherapy versus 3D conformal radiotherapy in dosimetric planning for patients with localized prostate cancer

Radiotherapy is one of the therapeutics selected for localized prostate cancer, in cases where the tumour is confined to the prostate, penetrates the prostatic capsule or has reached the seminal vesicles (T1 to T3 stages). The radiation therapy can be administered through various modalities, being historically used the 3D conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). Other modality of radiation administration is the intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), that allows an increase of the total dose through modulation of the treatment beams, enabling a reduction in toxicity. One way to administer IMRT is through helical tomotherapy (TH). With this study we intent to analyze the advantages of helical tomotherapy when compared with 3DCRT, by evaluating the doses in the organs at risk (OAR) and planning target volumes (PTV)

Analytical method for the determination of strychnine in tissues by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry: two case reports

This paper describes an analytical method for strychnine determination in biological samples by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and their application in the investigation of two cases involving strychnine ingestion: A fatal case and a clinical one. The strychnine is isolated from biological samples using a liquid-liquid extraction procedure. The clean-up procedure is performed using an acid solution. Papaverine is used as internal standard in the quantification of strychnine. In the analysed specimens, the limits of quantification were 0.1 [mu]g/ml or 0.1 [mu]g/g. The recovery rate ranged from 75.0% to 98.7% and the coefficients of variation ranged from 4.8% to 10.5%.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T6W-408KCFB-8/1/f8bbeefad9e20909aef50467f67a2e8

Endoscopic treatment of bleeding gastric varices with histoacryl (N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate): a South European single center experience

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic injection of N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate is the current recommended treatment for gastric variceal bleeding. Despite the extensive worldwide use, there are still differences related to the technique, safety, and long term-results. We retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of cyanoacrylate in patients with gastric variceal bleeding. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between January 1998 and January 2010, 97 patients with gastric variceal bleeding underwent endoscopic treatment with a mixture of N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate and Lipiodol(TM). Ninety-one patients had cirrhosis and 6 had non-cirrhotic portal hypertension. Child-Pugh score at presentation for cirrhotic patients was A-12.1 %; B-53.8 %; C-34.1 % and median MELD score at admission was 13 (3-26). Successful hemostasis, rebleeding rate and complications were reviewed. Median time of follow up was 19 months (0.5-126). RESULTS: A median mixture volume of 1.5 mL (0.6 to 5 mL), in 1 to 8 injections, was used, with immediate hemostasis rate of 95.9 % and early rebleeding rate of 14.4 %. One or more complications occurred in 17.5 % and were associated with the use of Sengstaken-Blakemore tube before cyanoacrylate and very early rebleeding (p < 0.05). Hospital mortality rate during initial bleeding episode was 9.3 %. Very early rebleeding was a strong and independent predictor for in-hospital mortality (p < 0.001). Long-term mortality rate was 58.8 %, in most of the cases secondary to hepatic failure. CONCLUSION: N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate is a rapid, easy and highly effective modality for immediate hemostasis of gastric variceal bleeding with an acceptable rebleeding rate. Patients with very early rebleeding are at higher risk of death

Dental abscess and “unexpected death”...

Even though we are living in an era of major technical-scientific advances and effective antimicrobial and antiviral therapy,dental infections are still the most important predisposing factors for head and neck infections. Odontogenic infections can cause severe complications, e.g. compromised airways, tissue necrosis, deep neck infections, mediastinitis, endocarditis and sepsis. These severe odontogenic infections can be potentially life-threatening. Usually odontogenic infections respond well to a combination of surgical treatment (incision, rainage) and antibiotic therapy. However, especially when the medico-surgical therapy is installed late, cases may evolve unfavourably and be fatal. The authors report a case of a 30-year-old man who was observed on three consecutive occasions by the General Practitioner in a District Hospital, for a decayed tooth with abscess and was, then, referred to a Central Hospital. There, he was examined for the fourth time, this one by a Stomatologist at the Emergency Department, where he died. The post mortem examination revealed bacterial (Gram +) acute neutrophilic (purulent) infection of soft tissues of the mandibular region and neck with para-tracheal extension, as well as thrombosis ofthe left jugular vein. Circumstantial clinical information, post mortem findings, pathophysiology (including complications andprogression of the disease to death) are discussed, highlighting the relevance of accurate and timely diagnosis and treatmentto avoid malpractice and mortality.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

1,5-Bis(2,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrrol-1-yl)naphthalene

In the title compound, C22H22N2, the asymmetric unit contains one half-mol­ecule. A crystallographic inversion centre is located at the mid-point of the bond common to both rings, in the central naphthalene unit. Quantum-mechanical ab initio calculations on the isolated mol­ecule showed that the minimum energy configuration occurs when the naphthalene ring system and the pyrrolyl groups deviate only slightly from perpendicularity. In the crystal, due to the effects of crystal packing, the mol­ecule deviates by approximately 4° from the a priori expected ideal value of 90° [C—C—N—C torsion angle = 86.11 (15)°]

2,2′,5,5′-Tetra­methyl-1,1′-(hexane-1,6-di­yl)di-1H-pyrrole

The mol­ecule of the title compound, C18H28N2, composed of two 2,5-dimethyl­pyrrole groups linked by a hexane chain, lies across a crystallographic inversion centre. The mean plane of the pyrrole ring is almost perpendicular to the mean plane of the central chain, making a dihedral angle of 89.09 (8)°. The crystal structure is stabilized by inter­molecular C—H⋯π inter­actions

Pim1 maintains telomere length in mouse cardiomyocytes by inhibiting TGF beta signalling

Aims Telomere attrition in cardiomyocytes is associated with decreased contractility, cellular senescence, and upregulation of proapoptotic transcription factors. Pim1 is a cardioprotective kinase that antagonizes the aging phenotype of cardiomyocytes and delays cellular senescence by maintaining telomere length, but the mechanism remains unknown. Another pathway responsible for regulating tetomere length is the transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta) signalling pathway where inhibiting TGF beta signalling maintains telomere Length. The relationship between Pim1 and TGF beta has not been explored. This study delineates the mechanism of telomere length regulation by the interplay between Pim1 and components of TGF beta signalling pathways in proliferating A549 cells and post-mitotic cardiomyocytes.Methods and results Telomere length was maintained by lentiviral-mediated overexpression of PIM1 and inhibition of TGF beta signalling in re A549 cells. Telomere length maintenance was further demonstrated in isolated cardiomyocytes from mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of PIM1 and by pharmacological inhibition of TGF beta signalling. Mechanistically, Pim1 inhibited phosphorylation of Smad2, preventing its translocation into the nucleus and repressing expression of TGF beta pathway genes.Conclusion Pim1 maintains tetomere lengths in cardiomyocytes by inhibiting phosphorylation of the TGF beta pathway downstream effectors Smad2 and Smad3, which prevents repression of telomerase reverse transcriptase. Findings from this study demonstrate a novel mechanism of telomere length maintenance and provide a potential target for preserving cardiac function.[GRAPHICS].Therapeutic cell differentiatio

Prima facie reasons to question enclosed intellectual property regimes and favor open-source regimes for germplasm

In principle, intellectual property protections (IPPs) promote and protect important but costly investment in research and development. However, the empirical reality of IPPs has often gone without critical evaluation, and the potential of alternative approaches to lend equal or greater support for useful innovation is rarely considered. In this paper, we review the mounting evidence that the global intellectual property regime (IPR) for germplasm has been neither necessary nor sufficient to generate socially beneficial improvements in crop plants and maintain agrobiodiversity. Instead, based on our analysis, the dominant global IPR appears to have contributed to consolidation in the seed industry while failing to genuinely engage with the potential of alternatives to support social goods such as food security, adaptability, and resilience. The dominant IPR also constrains collaborative and cumulative plant breeding processes that are built upon the work of countless farmers past and present. Given the likely limits of current IPR, we propose that social goods in agriculture may be better supported by alternative approaches, warranting a rapid move away from the dominant single-dimensional focus on encouraging innovation through ensuring monopoly profits to IPP holders

Comment letters to the National Commission on Commission on Fraudulent Financial Reporting, 1987 (Treadway Commission) Vol. 2

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/aicpa_sop/1662/thumbnail.jp