A novel tool to analyze MRI recurrence patterns in glioblastoma.

At least 10% of glioblastoma relapses occur at distant and even contralateral locations. This disseminated growth limits surgical intervention and contributes to neurological morbidity. Preclinical data pointed toward a role for temozolomide (TMZ) in reducing radiotherapy-induced glioma cell invasiveness. Our objective was to develop and validate a new analysis tool of MRI data to examine the clinical recurrence pattern of glioblastomas. MRIcro software was used to map the location and extent of initial preoperative and recurrent tumors on MRI of 63 patients in the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) 26981/22981/National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) CE.3 study into the same stereotaxic space. This allowed us to examine changes of site and distance between the initial and the recurrent tumor on the group level. Thirty of the 63 patients were treated using radiotherapy, while the other patients completed a radiotherapy-plus-TMZ treatment. Baseline characteristics (median age, KPS) and outcome data (progression-free survival, overall survival) of the patients included in this analysis resemble those of the general study cohort. The patient groups did not differ in the promoter methylation status of methyl guanine methyltransferase (MGMT). Overall frequency of distant recurrences was 20%. Analysis of recurrence patterns revealed no difference between the groups in the size of the recurrent tumor or in the differential effect on the distance of the recurrences from the preoperative tumor location. The data show the feasibility of groupwise recurrence pattern analysis. An effect of TMZ treatment on the recurrence pattern in the EORTC 26981/22981/NCIC CE.3 study could not be demonstrated.

Zuckerman's reivsed alternative five-factor model: Validation of the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire in four French-speaking countries

The aim of this study was to analyze the replicability of Zuckerman's revised Alternative Five-factor model in a French-speaking context by validating the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ) simultaneously in 4 French-speaking countries. The total sample was made up of 1,497 subjects from Belgium, Canada, France, and Switzerland. The internal consistencies for all countries were generally similar to those found for the normative U.S. and Spanish samples. A factor analysis confirmed that the normative structure replicated well and was stable within this French-speaking context. Moreover, multigroup confirmatory factor analyses have shown that the ZKA-PQ reaches scalar invariance across these 4 countries. Mean scores were slightly different for women and men, with women scoring higher on Neuroticism but lower on Sensation Seeking. Globally, mean score differences across countries were small. Overall, the ZKA-PQ seems an interesting alternative to assess both lower and higher order personality traits for applied or research purposes.

Structural characterization of Turtle Mountain anticline (Alberta, Canada) and impact on rock slope failure

his paper proposes a structural investigation of the Turtle Mountain anticline (Alberta, Canada) to better understand the role of the different tectonic features on the development of both local and large scale rock slope instabilities occurring in Turtle Mountain. The study area is investigated by combining remote methods with detailed field surveys. In particular, the benefit of Terrestrial Laser Scanning for ductile and brittle tectonic structure interpretations is illustrated. The proposed tectonic interpretation allows the characterization of the fracturing pattern, the fold geometry and the role of these tectonic features in rock slope instability development. Ten discontinuity sets are identified in the study area, their local variations permitting the differentiation of the study zone into 20 homogenous structural domains. The anticline is described as an eastern verging fold that displays considerable geometry differences along its axis and developed by both flexural slip and tangential longitudinal strain folding mechanisms. Moreover, the origins of the discontinuity sets are determined according to the tectonic phases affecting the region (pre-folding, folding, post-folding). The localization and interpretation of kinematics of the different instabilities revealed the importance of considering the discrete brittle planes of weakness, which largely control the kinematic release of the local instabilities, and also the rock mass damage induced by large tectonic structures (fold hinge, thrust).

Los alumnos de la E.U.E CRUZ ROJA en Madrid : evolución histórica, visión antropológica

L'objectiu principal d'aquest treball és mostrar la història de l'Escola Universitària d'Infermeria de Creu Roja a Madrid, a través dels alumnes que s'han format en ella, des de 1918 fins a l'època actual.

The Identity Style Inventory (ISI-3) and the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS): Factor structure, reliability, and convergent validity in French-speaking college students

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the factor structure and the reliability of the French versions of the Identity Style Inventory (ISI-3) and the Utrecht-Management of Identity Commitments Scale (U-MICS) in a sample of college students (N = 457, 18 to 25 years old). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the hypothesized three-factor solution of the ISI-3 identity styles (i.e. informational, normative, and diffuse-avoidant styles), the one-factor solution of the ISI-3 identity commitment, and the three-factor structure of the U-MICS (i.e. commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment). Additionally, theoretically consistent and meaningful associations among the ISI-3, U-MICS, and Ego Identity Process Questionnaire (EIPQ) confirmed convergent validity. Overall, the results of the present study indicate that the French versions of the ISI-3 and UMICS are useful instruments for assessing identity styles and processes, and provide additional support to the cross-cultural validity of these tools.

U.S. National Parks and "The Tragedy of the Commons" : A contribution to the characterization of U.S. mountain guides' professional practice

This paper aims at presenting the stakes related to the access to protected land in the United States and to its conservation, through the analysis of the professional practice of U.S. mountain guides. From a methodological standpoint, this research is based both on a theoretical analysis grounded in the field of environmental economics and on an empirical study. The authors' starting point is Garrett Hardin's paper, "The Tragedy of the Commons" (Science, 1968), even if it introduces some confusion on the notion of common goods. So as to avoid this confusion, the authors use two theoretical tools pertaining to a typology of common goods and the different property rights that can be applied in National Parks. Finally, they apply this framework to the observations made on the field in Colorado in July 2009.

U-Pb ages of magmatic rocks of the western Austroalpine Dent-Blanche-Sesia unit

Conventional U-Pb ages on zircon and monazite demonstrate that granites and gabbros intruded during a short time span of 5 Ma between 293 and 288 Ma in several polycyclic basement units of the Western Austroalpine domain. This bimodal activity reflects increasing underplating of an upwelling mantle at the base of a thinning post-Variscan continental crust.

U-Pb and Ar-Ar geochronological data from the Pelagonian basement in Evia (Greece): geodynamic implications for the evolution of Paleotethys

High precision U-Pb zircon and Ar-40/Ar-39 mica geochronological data on metagranodiorites, metagranites and mica schists from north and central Evia island (Greece) are presented in this study. U-Pb zircon ages range from 308 to 1912 Ma, and indicate a prolonged magmatic activity in Late Carboniferous. Proterozoic ages represent inherited cores within younger crystals. Muscovite Ar-40/Ar-39 plateau ages of 288 to 297 Ma are interpreted as cooling ages of the magmatic bodies and metamorphic host rocks in upper greenschist to epidote-amphibolite metamorphic conditions. The multistage magmatism had a duration between 308 and 319 hla but some older intrusions, as well as metamorphic events, cannot be excluded. Geochemical analyses and zircon typology indicate calc-alkaline affinities for the granites of central Evia and alkaline to calc-alkaline characteristics for the metagranodiorites from the northern part of the island. The new data point towards the SE continuation, in Evia and the Cyclades, of a Variscan continental crust already recognised in northern Greece (Pelagonian basement). The Late Carboniferous magmatism is viewed as a result of northward subduction of the Paleotethys under the Eurasian margin.

Polymerase chain reaction genotyping of Epstein-Barr virus in scraping samples of the tongue lateral border in HIV-1 seropositive patients

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the etiological agent of oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL), an oral lesion with important diagnostic and prognostic value in acquired immunodeficiency disease syndrome. The two EBV genotypes, EBV-1 and EBV-2, can be distinguished by divergent gene sequences encoding the EBNA-2, 3A, 3B, and 3C proteins. The purpose of this study was to identify the EBV genotype prevalent in 53 samples of scrapings from the lateral border of the tongue of HIV-1 seropositive patients, with and without OHL, and to correlate the genotypes with presence of clinical or subclinical OHL with the clinic data collected. EBV-1 and EBV-2 were identified through PCR and Nested-PCR based on sequence differences of the EBNA-2 gene. EBV-1 was identified in the 31 samples (15 without OHL, 7 with clinical OHL and 9 with subclinical OHL), EBV-2 in 12 samples (10 without OHL, 1 with clinical and 1 subclinical OHL), and a mixed infection in 10 samples (2 without OHL, 3 with clinical and 5 with subclinical OHL). The presence of EBV-1 was higher in women, but a significant statistical result relating one the EBV genotypes to the development of OHL was not found. We conclude that the oral epithelium in HIV-1 seropositive patients can be infected by EBV-1, EBV-2 or by a mixed viral population.

Visceral leishmaniasis in border areas: clustered distribution of phlebotomine sand flies in Clorinda, Argentina

Three years after the first report of Lutzomyia longipalpis in Clorinda, Argentina, a border city near Asunción, Paraguay, the city was surveyed again. Lu. longipalpis was found clustered in the same neighbourhoods in 2007 as in 2004, even though the scattered distribution of canine visceral leishmaniasis was more related to the traffic of dogs through the border.

Th1 and Th17 hypercytokinemia as early host response signature in severe pandemic influenza.

INTRODUCTION Human host immune response following infection with the new variant of A/H1N1 pandemic influenza virus (nvH1N1) is poorly understood. We utilize here systemic cytokine and antibody levels in evaluating differences in early immune response in both mild and severe patients infected with nvH1N1. METHODS We profiled 29 cytokines and chemokines and evaluated the haemagglutination inhibition activity as quantitative and qualitative measurements of host immune responses in serum obtained during the first five days after symptoms onset, in two cohorts of nvH1N1 infected patients. Severe patients required hospitalization (n = 20), due to respiratory insufficiency (10 of them were admitted to the intensive care unit), while mild patients had exclusively flu-like symptoms (n = 15). A group of healthy donors was included as control (n = 15). Differences in levels of mediators between groups were assessed by using the non parametric U-Mann Whitney test. Association between variables was determined by calculating the Spearman correlation coefficient. Viral load was performed in serum by using real-time PCR targeting the neuraminidase gene. RESULTS Increased levels of innate-immunity mediators (IP-10, MCP-1, MIP-1beta), and the absence of anti-nvH1N1 antibodies, characterized the early response to nvH1N1 infection in both hospitalized and mild patients. High systemic levels of type-II interferon (IFN-gamma) and also of a group of mediators involved in the development of T-helper 17 (IL-8, IL-9, IL-17, IL-6) and T-helper 1 (TNF-alpha, IL-15, IL-12p70) responses were exclusively found in hospitalized patients. IL-15, IL-12p70, IL-6 constituted a hallmark of critical illness in our study. A significant inverse association was found between IL-6, IL-8 and PaO2 in critical patients. CONCLUSIONS While infection with the nvH1N1 induces a typical innate response in both mild and severe patients, severe disease with respiratory involvement is characterized by early secretion of Th17 and Th1 cytokines usually associated with cell mediated immunity but also commonly linked to the pathogenesis of autoimmune/inflammatory diseases. The exact role of Th1 and Th17 mediators in the evolution of nvH1N1 mild and severe disease merits further investigation as to the detrimental or beneficial role these cytokines play in severe illness.

Phase III trial of consolidation therapy with yttrium-90-ibritumomab tiuxetan compared with no additional therapy after first remission in advanced follicular lymphoma.

PURPOSE: We conducted an international, randomized, phase III trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of consolidation with yttrium-90 ((90)Y)-ibritumomab tiuxetan in patients with advanced-stage follicular lymphoma in first remission. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with CD20(+) stage III or IV follicular lymphoma, who achieved a complete response (CR)/unconfirmed CR (CRu) or partial response (PR) after first-line induction treatment, were randomly assigned to receive (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan (rituximab 250 mg/m(2) on day -7 and day 0 followed on day 0 by (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan 14.8 MBq/kg; maximum of 1,184 MBq) or no further treatment (control). The primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS), which was calculated from the time of random assignment. RESULTS: A total of 414 patients (consolidation, n = 208; control, n = 206) were enrolled at 77 centers. (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan consolidation significantly prolonged median PFS (after a median observation time of 3.5 years) in all patients (36.5 v 13.3 months in control arm; hazard ratio [HR] = 0.465; P < .0001) and regardless of whether patients achieved PR (29.3 v 6.2 months in control arm; HR = 0.304; P < .0001) or CR/CRu (53.9 v 29.5 months in control arm; HR = 0.613; P = .0154) after induction treatment. Median PFS with consolidation was prolonged in all Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index risk subgroups. After (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan consolidation, 77% of patients in PR after induction converted to CR/CRu, resulting in a final CR rate of 87%. The most common toxicity with (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan was hematologic, and grade 3 or 4 infections occurred in 8% of patients. CONCLUSION: Consolidation of first remission with (90)Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan in advanced-stage follicular lymphoma is highly effective with no unexpected toxicities, prolonging PFS by 2 years and resulting in high PR-to-CR conversion rates regardless of type of first-line induction treatment.