Treatment of relapsing acute lymphoblastic leukemia in childhood. III. Experiences with 54 first bone marrow, nine isolated testicular, and eight isolated central nervous system relapses observed 1985-1989

Of 54 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and first hematological recurrence observed between 1985 and 1989, 31 relapsed while still on treatment and 23 after cessation of therapy. Of the former, only one survived. Of the latter, 11 children survived after a minimum follow-up of 25 months. During the same period, a first isolated testicular relapse was observed in nine boys, of whom six survived, and an isolated CNS relapse in eight patients, of whom three survived. As a rule, survivors of a bone marrow or testicular relapse were doing well while those surviving a CNS relapse had considerable neuropsychological sequelae. These results, compared with those of two preceding studies, suggest that with intensification of front-line treatments, it becomes more difficult to rescue children who relapse, particularly those with a bone marrow relapse while on therapy.

Lodz jenseits von "Fabriken, Wildwest und Provinz". Kulturwissenschaftliche Studien über die Deutschen in und aus den polnischen Gebieten

Die vor 100 Jahren von Polen, Juden und Deutschen bewohnte Textilmetropole Lodz wurde als «Eldorado des Ostens» angesehen. Lodz bot einerseits die Möglichkeit für Aufstieg und Wohlstand, barg andererseits aber auch die Gefahr der Proletarisierung und des sozialen Verfalls zahlreicher Familien. Die Stadt wurde und wird daher bis heute kaum mit Kultur assoziiert. Dennoch gab es auch hier ein vielfältiges kulturelles Leben. Der Band stellt mit den kulturellen Aktivitäten der neureichen Fabrikanten und gesellschaftlichen Aufsteiger sowie den volkstümlichen und heimatkundlichen Elementen der städtischen Kultur einige bisher kaum beachtete Aspekte in den Mittelpunkt. Dazu kommen Beiträge zur deutsch-jüdischen Literatur aus dem Getto Litzmannstadt sowie der deutschen Erinnerung an Lodz nach 1945. Ergänzt wird dies durch drei weitere Beiträge, die sich mit dem Zeitungswesen und der Heimatliteratur der Deutschen in Großpolen und Galizien beschäftigen. Dieser Tagungsband liefert zwölf Beiträge über die Deutschen in und aus den polnischen Gebieten und betrachtet neben dem Schwerpunkt Lodz auch Posen, Bromberg und Lemberg.

Buttress form of the central African rain forest tree Microberlinia bisulcata, and its possible role in nutrient acquisition

Buttressing is a trait special to tropical trees but explanations for its occurrence remain inconclusive. The two main hypotheses are that they provide structural support and/or promote nutrient acquisition. Studies of the first are common but the second has received much less attention. Architectural measurements were made on adult and juvenile trees of the ectomycorrhizal species Microberlinia bisulcata, in Korup (Cameroon). Buttressing on this species is highly distinctive with strong lateral extension of surface roots of the juveniles leading to a mature buttress system of a shallow spreading form on adults. This contrasts with more vertical buttresses, closer to the stem, found on many other tropical tree species. No clear relationship between main buttress and large branch distribution was found. Whilst this does not argue against the essential structural role of buttresses for these very large tropical trees, the form on M. bisulcata does suggest a likely second role, that of aiding nutrient acquisition. At the Korup site, with its deep sandy soils of very low phosphorus status, and where most nutrient cycling takes place in a thin surface layer of fine roots and mycorrhizas, it appears that buttress form could develop from soil-surface root exploration for nutrients by juvenile trees. It may accordingly allow M. bisulcata to attain the higher greater competitive ability, faster growth rate, and maximum tree size that it does compared with other co-occurring tree species. For sites across the tropics in general, the degree of shallowness and spatial extension of buttresses of the dominant species is hypothesized to increase with decreasing nutrient availability.