Effect of conditioned media, nutritive elements, and mitotic synchronization on the accuracy of the cytogenetic analysis in acute nonlymphocytic leukemia patients presenting with inv(16)/t(16;16) or t(15;17).

To improve the yield of the cytogenetic analysis in patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL), six culture conditions for bone marrow or peripheral blood cells were tested in parallel. Two conditioned media (CM), phytohemagglutinin leukocyte PHA-LCM and 5637 CM, nutritive elements (NE), and methotrexate (MTX) cell synchronization were investigated in 14 patients presenting with either inv(16)/ t(16;16) (group 1, n = 9 patients) or t(15;17) (group 2, n = 5). The criteria used to identify the most favorable culture conditions were the mitotic index (MI), the morphological index (MorI), and the percentage of abnormal metaphases. In the presence of PHA-LCM and 5637 CM, the MI were significantly increased in group 2, whereas in the MTX conditions, MI remained very low in both groups. The values of the MorI did not reveal any significant changes in chromosome resolution between the conditions in either group. The addition of NE did not have a positive effect in quantity or quality of metaphases. Because of the variability of the response of leukemic cells to different stimulations in vitro, several culture conditions in parallel are required to ensure a satisfactory yield of the chromosome analysis in ANLL.

Determinación de la longitud de la falla y velocidad de ruptura para terremotos de magnitud media

En el proceso de inversión de la función de directividad para la obtención de la longitud de falla y velocidad de mptura, en el caso de terremotos de magnitud media, es muy dificil obtener ambos parámetros independientemente y deben hacerse hipótesis sobre uno de los dos parámetros. Proponemos una solución a este problema mediante un proceso iterativo, que iniciamos con un valor hipotético de la velocidad de ruptura. El resultado final resulta ser independiente del valor de partida. Mediante este proceso hemos obtenido la longitud de falla y velocidad de ruptura de dos terremotos, el del 18-nov-1970, ocurrido en la Dorsal Oriental del Pacifico, y el del 4-jul-1966, ocurrido en la Dorsal Centro-Atlántica. Para el sismo del 18-nov-1970 los valores obtenidos en la b = (18 4- 1) km v = (2.3 f 0.1) kmls y para el sismo del 4-jul-1966 b = (19 f 2) km, v = (2.1 i 0.1) kmls. Las desviaciones tipicas de estos parámetros, del orden del 5-10 %, son inferiores a las obtenidas en trabajos previos.

Compaction of growth media based on Sphagnum peat during one-year culturing of container seedlings

Tiivistelmä: Turvepohjaisten kasvualustojen tiivistyminen yksivuotisessa paakkutaimikasvatuksessa

Postmortem whole-body CT angiography: evaluation of two contrast media solutions.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to establish a standardized procedure for postmortem whole-body CT-based angiography with lipophilic and hydrophilic contrast media solutions and to compare the results of these two methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Minimally invasive postmortem CT angiography was performed on 10 human cadavers via access to the femoral blood vessels. Separate perfusion of the arterial and venous systems was established with a modified heart-lung machine using a mixture of an oily contrast medium and paraffin (five cases) and a mixture of a water-soluble contrast medium with polyethylene glycol (PEG) 200 in the other five cases. Imaging was executed with an MDCT scanner. RESULTS: The minimally invasive femoral approach to the vascular system provided a good depiction of lesions of the complete vascular system down to the level of the small supplying vessels. Because of the enhancement of well-vascularized tissues, angiography with the PEG-mixed contrast medium allowed the detection of tissue lesions and the depiction of vascular abnormalities such as pulmonary embolisms or ruptures of the vessel wall. CONCLUSION: The angiographic method with a water-soluble contrast medium and PEG as a contrast-agent dissolver showed a clearly superior quality due to the lack of extravasation through the gastrointestinal vascular bed and the enhancement of soft tissues (cerebral cortex, myocardium, and parenchymal abdominal organs). The diagnostic possibilities of these findings in cases of antemortem ischemia of these tissues are not yet fully understood.

Rocas volcánicas de las series Inferior y Media del Grupo El Cobre en la Sierra Maestra (Cuba Oriental): volcanismo generado en un arco de islas tholeiítico

Las características geoquímicas (elementos mayores y trazas) de las rocas analizadas son similares a las del arco volcánico de Ke rmadec en Pa c í fico SW. Por último, los bajos contenidos en REE, el patrón de REE con morfología plana, así como los bajos contenidos en elementos incompatibles (K, Rb, Zr, Th) son similares a los de las series tipo IAT presentes en el arco volcánico del Caribe. Estos nuevos datos sobre el volcanismo del Paleógeno de la Sierra Maestra sugieren que los modelos de placas tectónicas que han sido propuestos para explicar el origen del arco volcánico de Sierra Maestra deben ser revisados.

Fine speckle contrast in InGaAs/InP systems: Influence of layer thickness, missmatch, and growing temperature

This work is focused on the study of the fine speckle contrast present in planar view observations of matched and mismatched InGaAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on InP substrates. Our results provide experimental evidence of the evolution of this fine structure with the mismatch, layer thickness, and growth temperature. The correlation of the influence of all these parameters on the appearance of the contrast modulation points to the development of the fine structure during the growth. Moreover, as growth proceeds, this structure shows a dynamic behavior which depends on the intrinsic layer substrate stress.

Strokes and TIAs during and after Carotid Artery Doppler: Cause or Coincidence?

The aim of the present study was to explore the prevalence of acute cerebrovascular symptoms temporally related to carotid Doppler examination (DEx), in order to increase the awareness and recording of such events and to discuss possible mechanisms. All adult patients who complained of acute onset neurologic symptoms during or shortly after a carotid DEx, between 01/2003 and 12/2011 in the University Hospital of Lausanne were prospectively collected. We identified four consecutive patients with acute onset neurologic symptoms during or shortly after a carotid DEx among approximately 13,500 patients who underwent carotid DEx in our facility during the nine-year period (0.015% of all examined carotids). Clinical data, imaging reports and CTA (CT angiography) or/and ultrasound images are presented for each patient. Ischemic cerebrovascular events during or immediately after cervical Doppler could be due to chance or to several physical factors. They should be promptly recognized by Doppler personnel and properly treated, but do not put into question the overwhelming benefits of Doppler in cerebrovascular patients.

Evaluation des campagnes de prévention contre le SIDA en Suisse : SIDA-MEDIA : rapport final 1988

L'analyse qui va suivre tentera de donner un panorama de la diffusion et de la répercussion des campagnes de prévention dans les médias. Ce panorama nous permettra d'estimer quantitativement et qualitativement l'impact des messages d'information et de prévention sur les médias.