The neu-oncogene product in serum and tissue of patients with breast carcinoma

Patients with non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) (n = 387) and cardiac chest pain (CCP) (n = 93) were compared with community controls (n = 81), using a symptom questionnaire that assessed the presence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), functional dyspepsia, and oesophageal dysfunction and chest pain characteristics. A significantly (p < 0.05) increased prevalence of symptoms compatible with IBS occurred in NCCP patients when compared with those with CCP and with controls. Dysphagia was more frequent in both those with non-cardiac and cardiac chest pain than in controls; this was not apparent, however, when patients with concomitant IBS were excluded. The presence of oesophageal or gastrointestinal symptoms did not enable discrimination with regard to the chest pain characteristics. We conclude that unselected referred patients with documented NCCP are more likely to have IBS and that the presence of oesophageal symptoms such as dysphagia may merely reflect the spectrum of the 'irritable gut'.     

Terrestrial digital video broadcasting for mobile reception using OFDM

Performance of a system design for digital video broadcasting is examined with emphasis on mobile reception. Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is used to achieve good bandwidth efficiency and to mitigate the intersymbol interference resulting from the channel delay spread. The resulting equivalent channel including OFDM can be modeled as a flat Rayleigh fading channel plus an interchannel interference (ICI) term due to the channel Doppler spread. This ICI term is analyzed and shown to result in an error floor. Performance improvements due to antenna diversity and trellis-coded modulation (TCM) are given. Finally, multiresolution modulation is discussed as a means of achieving graceful degradation and giving degrees of freedom for further performance improvement.This research was supported by the Multimedia Systems R & D Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd.     

The radiotherapy of inoperable non-small-cell bronchial carcinoma. A retrospective analysis of 427 cases

BACKGROUND: The influence of tumor and patient characteristics on survival as well as acute normal tissue toxicity was retrospectively analyzed. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 427 patients with inoperable non-small cell lung cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Two thirds received a total dose of at least 70 Gy, and one third was irradiated with 60 to 66 Gy (2.0 to 2.5 Gy per fraction; split-course technique). 92% had a Karnofsky performance index of > or = 80%. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated and comparisons were made by the log-rank test. Prognostic factors were adjusted for by a proportional hazards analysis. RESULTS: Five-year survival rates (+/- SE) and the median survival times (95% confidence interval) were 2 +/- 2% and 11.1 months (9.1 ... 14.5) after 60 to 66 Gy; 8 +/- 2% and 14.9 months (13.3 ... 16.5) after 70+ Gy. The difference was significant in univariate (p = 0.0013) and multivariate analysis (p = 0.0006). Tumor stage (p = 0.0029: I + II > III; IIIA > IIIB) and gender (p = 0.0387: female > male patients) reached significance in multivariate analysis. Acute pneumonitis and esophagitis were observed in 11% and 9% of cases. CONCLUSIONS: Inoperable non-small cell lung cancer stage I to IIIA should be treated in a curative intention with total doses of about 70 Gy. This is feasible with acceptable normal tissue toxicity. Stage IIIB patients have a particular bad prognosis and should only be treated palliatively.     

MRT of experimental liver abscesses: a comparison of a new blood pool contrast medium with gadolinium-DTPA in animal experiments

PURPOSE: In an experimental pyogenic liver abscess model, the signal intensities were compared intraindividually and interindividually after the application of a new blood pool contrast agent, 24-gadolinium-DTPA (diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid) cascade polymer, and after the application of gadopentetate dimeglumine. METHODS: In 20 rabbits with experimentally induced liver abscesses, the relative signal intensities of the liver, abscess centre, abscess wall and portal vein were assessed before and between 30 seconds and 60 minutes after injection of a 25 mumol/kg dose of gadolinium polymer and of 100 mumol/kg of gadolinium-DTPA, respectively. Measurements were performed at 1.5 Tesla, using a head coil and a Flash-2-D sequence. RESULTS: The interindividual comparison (unpaired T-test, p < 0.05) yielded significant differences of the relative signal intensities of the abscess centre (at any time point after contrast-media application), abscess wall (between 15 and 60 minutes after contrast media application), and portal vein (between 30 seconds and 7.5 minutes after contrast media application). The interindividual comparison showed a significantly higher abscess centre-liver contrast (between 30 seconds and 12.5 minutes after contrast media application) and a significantly higher abscess wall-centre contrast (between two and 7.5 minutes after contrast media application) after the application of gadolinium polymer compared with gadopentetate dimeglumine. CONCLUSION: In this animal model, the higher abscess centre-liver contrast after the application of gadolinium polymer was the basis for a better and prolonged visibility of the abscesses, as compared with images acquired after injection of gadopentetate dimeglumine.     

Microwave cavity perturbation technique: Part I: Principles

This report reviews the analysis used to extract the complex conductivity of a compound from a microwave cavity perturbation measurement. We intend to present a generalized treatment valid for any spheroidally shaped sample of arbitrary conductivity which is placed at either the electric or magnetic field antinode of the cavity. To begin with, we establish the relationship between the measured parameters and the conductivity for a spherical sample. Next, we extend these results to the case of spheroids; and for the first time, we cover all different configurations that one can possibly use to study an arbitrary conducting sample inside a cavity: in particular, all possible orientations of the sample with respect to the applied field are solved.     

Flow of solutions of hydroxypropyl guar-poly(ethylene oxide) mixtures through a porous medium

Summary In flow through porous media, solutions of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) exhibit extension thickening, whereas hydroxypropyl guar (HPG) solutions are shear-thinning at high concentrations. The results show that the extension-thickening exhibited by PEO solutions becomes less critical with increasing flow rate as the concentration of HPG in the solution is increased. At high concentrations of HPG, the presence of PEO inhibits the shear-thinning behaviour, without increasing the apparent viscosity of the solution. The presence of HPG reduces the rate and extent of degradation of PEO in the flowing solution.     

Binding of tissue plasminogen activator to endothelial cells. The effect on functional properties. Localization of a ligand in the B-chain of tPA

The binding of 125I-labelled tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), the tPA A- or B-chain to endothelial cells (EC) were studied in suspensions of cultured human umbilical vein EC (HUVEC) or immortalized microvascular EC (HMEC). By determinations of the concentration-dependent binding it was shown that both the A-chain and the B-chain, which were isolated after partial reduction of two-chain tPA, contain ligands for binding to EC. The affinity for the B-chain was much higher than for the A-chain according to Scatchard analysis (Kd 24 and 515 nM, respectively), whereas the number of binding sites was higher for the A-chain than for the B-chain (Bmax 8 x 10(5) and 1.2 x 10(5), respectively). There were no cross interactions between the A- and B-chains and their binding sites. The binding of tPA to EC induced an almost 100-fold increase of the activation rate when compared to the same amount of enzyme in free solution, which in contrast to the fibrin-induced stimulation was not inhibited by antibodies against fibrin. The enzymatic activity of the B-chain was much less affected by the association to the cells. Both tPA and the tPA B-chain were largely protected against inhibition by an excess plasminogen activator type-1 (PAI-1) when bound to EC, whereas the same amount of free tPA was totally inactivated. The competition studies strongly indicated that an N-terminal segment in the B-chain, AKHRRSPGER, may be the ligand part of the B-chain. It is interesting to note that this polypeptide segment also participates in a binding site for PAI-1, necessary for effective inhibition. This implies a possible competition between PAI-1 and a tPA-receptor for binding of tPA. High molecular weight urokinase had no quenching effect on the binding of the B-chain to EC.     

Survival of Yersinia enterocolitica and Escherichia coli in spring water

Survival of pure and mixed cultures of Yersinia enterocolitica and Escherichia coli in sterile spring water stored at 4 degrees C was evaluated. Y. enterocolitica increased two or three logs during the first 3 weeks of incubation, and at the end of 64 weeks viable cells in numbers corresponding to the initial inoculum level were still detectable. However, after 1 week of incubation, the number of E. coli in water started to decrease and in 13 weeks time no E. coli was detected. More rapid decrease of E. coli was observed in mixed cultures.