Intensive cyclic chemotherapy and transplantation of autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) or whole blood in high-risk breast cancer — follow up at 10 years

Aim: The main aim of our paper is to contribute to objectification of currently widely discussed results of overall survival (OS), disease free survival (DFS) and time from relapse to tumor progression (TTP) in women with breast cancer. Methods: Forty consecutive patients fulfilling the eligibility criteria were admitted to the study. Fifty-six women were included in the control group. All patients received 6 cycles of adjuvant intensive cyclic combined chemotherapy with epirubicin 150 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 1250 mg/m2 (EC) applied each 14 days. To overcome haematological toxicity transplantations of autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) or whole blood enriched of PBPC were used. Results: We found statistically significant difference in OS regardless of the stage of the disease to the benefit of women treated by intensive cyclic EC chemotherapy when compared with the control group. In evaluation of DFS no statistically significant difference was found in survival between the control group and the group with all stages of the disease. TTP in women without relation to the stage was statistically significantly longer than in the control group. Conclusion: In our study intensive cyclic EC chemotherapy did not show better curative effect when compared with conventional dosage chemotherapy.Цель:объективизация широко обсуждаемых результатов по общей выживаемости (OВ), периода ремиссии (ПР) и продолжительности периода от рецидива к опухолевой прогрессии (ПРОП) у больных раком молочной железы. Методы: обследовано 40 больных, отвечающих установленным критериям отбора, и 56 здоровых женщин, составивших контрольную группу. У всех больных проведено 6 циклов адъювантной интенсивной циклической комбинированной химио­терапии (эпирубицин — 150 мг/м2 и циклофосфамид — 1250 мг/м2 (ЭЦ)), проводимой каждые 14 дней. Для преодоления гематологической токсичности применяли трансплантацию клеток-предшественников периферической крови (КППК) или цельной крови, обогащенной КППК. Результаты: выявлены статистически значимые различия в ОВ, не зависящие от стадии заболевания, у пациенток, получавших интенсивную циклическую химиотерапию ЭЦ, по сравнению с контрольной группой. При оценке ПР не выявлено статистически значимых различий выживаемости между контрольной группой и больными во всех стадиях заболевания. ПРОП у пациенток независимо от стадии заболевания статистически значимо выше, чем таковой контрольной группы. Выводы: по результатам исследования, интенсивная циклическая химиотерапия ЭЦ не имеет лечебных преимуществ по сравнению со стандартной дозовой химиотерапией

First occurence of Cherry virus a (cva) in the Czech Republic

A preliminary survey on Cherry virus A (CVA) has been performed in the Czech Republic in 2008-2009, including a germplasm collection, various growing areas and nurseries. 200 sweet and sour cherry leaf samples (Prunus avium, P. cerasus) were collected and tested by optimized RT-PCR using a new set of primers CVAZR2/CVAZF2. The 405 bp CVA-specific amplicon was obtained from two sweet cherry trees, namely cv. H 15/31 from Holovousy germplasm collection (originally from Romania) and the seedling P. avium from the nursery SEMPRA Turnov. To confirm RTPCR results, CVA amplification products were directly sequenced. To our knowledge, this is the first report of CVA in the Czech Republic.Keywords: CVA, sweet and sour cherries, RT-PC

Thin static charged dust Majumdar-Papapetrou shells with high symmetry in D >= 4

We present a systematical study of static D >= 4 space-times of high symmetry with the matter source being a thin charged dust hypersurface shell. The shell manifold is assumed to have the following structure S_(beta) X R^(D-2-beta), beta (in the interval ) is dimension of a sphere S_(beta). In case of (beta) = 0, we assume that there are two parallel hyper-plane shells instead of only one. The space-time has Majumdar-Papapetrou form and it inherits the symmetries of the shell manifold - it is invariant under both rotations of the S_(beta) and translations along R^(D-2-beta). We find a general solution to the Einstein-Maxwell equations with a given shell. Then, we examine some flat interior solutions with special attention paid to D = 4. A connection to D = 4 non-relativistic theory is pointed out. We also comment on a straightforward generalisation to the case of Kastor-Traschen space-time, i.e. adding a non-negative cosmological constant to the charged dust matter source.Comment: Accepted in Int. J. Theor. Phy

The Microphenotron: a robotic miniaturized plant phenotyping platform with diverse applications in chemical biology

Background Chemical genetics provides a powerful alternative to conventional genetics for understanding gene function. However, its application to plants has been limited by the lack of a technology that allows detailed phenotyping of whole-seedling development in the context of a high-throughput chemical screen. We have therefore sought to develop an automated micro-phenotyping platform that would allow both root and shoot development to be monitored under conditions where the phenotypic effects of large numbers of small molecules can be assessed. Results The ‘Microphenotron’ platform uses 96-well microtitre plates to deliver chemical treatments to seedlings of Arabidopsis thaliana L. and is based around four components: (a) the ‘Phytostrip’, a novel seedling growth device that enables chemical treatments to be combined with the automated capture of images of developing roots and shoots; (b) an illuminated robotic platform that uses a commercially available robotic manipulator to capture images of developing shoots and roots; (c) software to control the sequence of robotic movements and integrate these with the image capture process; (d) purpose-made image analysis software for automated extraction of quantitative phenotypic data. Imaging of each plate (representing 80 separate assays) takes 4 min and can easily be performed daily for time-course studies. As currently configured, the Microphenotron has a capacity of 54 microtitre plates in a growth room footprint of 2.1 m², giving a potential throughput of up to 4320 chemical treatments in a typical 10 days experiment. The Microphenotron has been validated by using it to screen a collection of 800 natural compounds for qualitative effects on root development and to perform a quantitative analysis of the effects of a range of concentrations of nitrate and ammonium on seedling development. Conclusions The Microphenotron is an automated screening platform that for the first time is able to combine large numbers of individual chemical treatments with a detailed analysis of whole-seedling development, and particularly root system development. The Microphenotron should provide a powerful new tool for chemical genetics and for wider chemical biology applications, including the development of natural and synthetic chemical products for improved agricultural sustainability

Dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) content in stands of Norway spruce (Picea abies) in central Europe

Norway spruce is the main forest tree species in the Czech Republic. Until now, little attention has been given in the literature to the dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) content under Norway spruce stands as a function of stand characteristics. The aim of this study is to estimate soil organic carbon (SOC) content and stock changes in organic and surface mineral soil horizons on forest sites with a dominant representation of Norway spruce. In the study area, a significantly higher content of SOC was found in the surface mineral soil horizon than in the organic soil horizon. In both soil horizons, there was evidence of an increasing trend of SOC with the increasing age of forest stands, a decreasing trend of SOC with increasing density of stocking and an increasing trend of SOC with increasing altitude. The relationship of SOC content with soil group (Podzol vs. non-Podzol) has also been demonstrated. The greatest potential for long-term carbon sequestration in soils was shown in older stands (101-190 years) dominated by Norway spruce with lower density of stocking, located in forest vegetation zones (altitude range: 1010-1225 m a.s.l.) where natural mountain Norway spruce forests currently occur. According to our results, Norway spruce stands may perform a stable function of carbon sequestration in the soil at these sites, especially in the mineral soil horizon