Robotic-assisted right colectomy. Official expert recommendations delivered under the aegis of the French Association of Surgery (AFC).

Twenty-seven experts under the aegis of the French Association of Surgery (AFC) offer this reference system with formalized recommendations concerning the performance of right colectomy by robotic approach (RRC). For RRC, experts suggest patient installation in the so-called "classic" or "suprapubic" setup. For patients undergoing right colectomy for a benign pathology or cancer, RRC provides no significant benefit in terms of intra-operative blood loss, intra-operative complications or conversion rate to laparotomy compared to laparoscopy. At the same time, RRC is associated with significantly longer operating times. Data from the literature are insufficient to define whether the robot facilitates the performance of an intra-abdominal anastomosis, but the robotic approach is more frequently associated with an intra-abdominal anastomosis than the laparoscopic approach. Experts also suggest that RRC offers a benefit in terms of post-operative morbidity compared to right colectomy by laparotomy. No benefit is retained in terms of mortality, duration of hospital stay, histological results, overall survival or disease-free survival in RRC performed for cancer. In addition, RRC should not be performed based on the cost/benefit ratio, since RRC is associated with significantly higher costs than laparoscopy and laparotomy. Future research in the field of RRC should consider the evaluation of patient-targeted parameters such as pain or quality of life and the technical advantages of the robot for complex procedural steps, as well as surgical and oncological results.

A moiré deflectometer for antimatter.

The precise measurement of forces is one way to obtain deep insight into the fundamental interactions present in nature. In the context of neutral antimatter, the gravitational interaction is of high interest, potentially revealing new forces that violate the weak equivalence principle. Here we report on a successful extension of a tool from atom optics--the moiré deflectometer--for a measurement of the acceleration of slow antiprotons. The setup consists of two identical transmission gratings and a spatially resolving emulsion detector for antiproton annihilations. Absolute referencing of the observed antimatter pattern with a photon pattern experiencing no deflection allows the direct inference of forces present. The concept is also straightforwardly applicable to antihydrogen measurements as pursued by the AEgIS collaboration. The combination of these very different techniques from high energy and atomic physics opens a very promising route to the direct detection of the gravitational acceleration of neutral antimatter.

Evidence for heavy hyperhydrogen (Λ)(6)h.

Evidence for the neutron-rich hypernucleus (Λ)(6)H is presented from the FINUDA experiment at DAΦNE, Frascati, studying (π+,π-) pairs in coincidence from the K(stop)(-) + (6)Li →(Λ)(6)H + π+ production reaction followed by (Λ)(6)H → (6)He + π- weak decay. The production rate of (Λ)(6) undergoing this two-body π- decay is determined to be (2.9 ± 2.0) × 10(-6)/K(stop)(-). Its binding energy, evaluated jointly from production and decay, is BΛ((Λ)(6)H) = (4.0 ± 1.1) MeV with respect to (5)H+Λ. A systematic difference of (0.98 ± 0.74) MeV between BΛ values derived separately from decay and from production is tentatively assigned to the (Λ)(6)H 0(g.s.)(+) → 1+ excitation.

Temporally controlled modulation of antihydrogen production and the temperature scaling of antiproton-positron recombination.

We demonstrate temporally controlled modulation of cold antihydrogen production by periodic RF heating of a positron plasma during antiproton-positron mixing in a Penning trap. Our observations have established a pulsed source of atomic antimatter, with a rise time of about 1 s, and a pulse length ranging from 3 to 100 s. Time-sensitive antihydrogen detection and positron plasma diagnostics, both capabilities of the ATHENA apparatus, allowed detailed studies of the pulsing behavior, which in turn gave information on the dependence of the antihydrogen production process on the positron temperature T. Our data are consistent with power law scaling T (-1.1+/-0.5) for the production rate in the high temperature regime from approximately 100 meV up to 1.5 eV. This is not in accord with the behavior accepted for conventional three-body recombination.

Platinum(II) and palladium(II) complexes of pyridine-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone as alternative antiherpes simplex virus agents.

The cytotoxicity and the antivirus activity of Pd(II) and Pt(II) complexes with pyridine-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (HFoTsc) against HSV replication were evaluated on four HSV strains-two wt strains Victoria (HSV-1) and BJA (HSV-2) and two ACV(R) mutants with different tk gene mutations R-100 (TK(A), HSV-1) and PU (TK(N), HSV-2). The experiments were performed on continuous MDBK cells and four HSV 1 and HSV 2 strains were used, two sensitive to acyclovir and two resistant mutants. The five complexes of HFoTsc, [Pt(FoTsc)Cl], [Pt(FoTsc)(H(2)FoTsc)]Cl(2), [Pt(FoTsc)(2)], [Pd(FoTsc)(H(2)FoTsc)]Cl(2), and [Pd(FoTsc)(2)], were found to be effective inhibitors of HSV replication. The most promising, active, and selective anti-HSV agent was found to be complex [Pt(FoTsc)(H(2)FoTsc)]Cl(2). This complex could be useful in the treatment of HSV infections, since it is resistant to ACV mutants. PCR study of immediate early 300 bp ReIV Us1 region reveals that the complex [Pt(FoTsc)(H(2)FoTsc)]Cl(2) specifically suppressed wt HSV-1 genome 2 hours after the infection, not inducing apoptosis/necrosis on the 8 hours after virus infection. The target was found to be most probably the viral, instead of the host cell DNA.

Evidence for the production of slow antiprotonic hydrogen in vacuum.

We present evidence showing how antiprotonic hydrogen, the quasistable antiproton (p)-proton bound system, has been synthesized following the interaction of antiprotons with the molecular ion H2+ in a nested Penning trap environment. From a careful analysis of the spatial distributions of antiproton annihilation events, evidence is presented for antiprotonic hydrogen production with sub-eV kinetic energies in states around n=70, and with low angular momenta. The slow antiprotonic hydrogen may be studied using laser spectroscopic techniques.

Search for laser-induced formation of antihydrogen atoms.

Antihydrogen can be synthesized by mixing antiprotons and positrons in a Penning trap environment. Here an experiment to stimulate the formation of antihydrogen in the n = 11 quantum state by the introduction of light from a CO2 continuous wave laser is described. An overall upper limit of 0.8% with 90% C.L. on the laser-induced enhancement of the recombination has been found. This result strongly suggests that radiative recombination contributes negligibly to the antihydrogen formed in the experimental conditions used by the ATHENA Collaboration.

Inhaled insulin as adjunctive therapy in subjects with type 2 diabetes failing oral agents: a controlled proof-of-concept study.

AIM: This controlled proof-of-concept study investigated inhaled insulin (INH) as adjunctive therapy to existing oral antidiabetic agents in subjects with type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Twenty-four subjects with type 2 diabetes [19 men and 5 women, 56.1 +/- 6.6 years, body mass index 32.7 +/- 4.2 kg/m(2), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) 8.4 +/- 0.8% (mean +/- s.d.)] inadequately controlled by metformin and/or sulfonylureas were randomized to receive additional therapy with either INH administered preprandially using a metered-dose inhaler (MDI), or insulin glargine (GLA) injected subcutaneously at bedtime for 4 weeks. Both inhaled and injected insulin doses were titrated to predefined blood glucose (BG) targets. RESULTS: INH and GLA improved metabolic control to a similar extent. Mean daily BG decreased by 2.8 mmol/l in the INH group (p < 0.001) and by 2.4 mmol/l in the GLA group (p < 0.001). Accordingly, fasting BG (-2.7 vs. -3.6 mmol/l for INH vs. GLA), preprandial- and 2-h postprandial BG, HbA1c (-1.23 vs. -1.05%), body weight (-1.9 vs. -2.3 kg) and serum fructosamine were similarly and significantly reduced in both groups (p < 0.05). Triglycerides decreased significantly with INH (-1.15 micromol/l; p < 0.001) but not with GLA [-0.52 micromol/l; not significant (NS)]. Incidence rates of adverse events did not differ significantly, and there were no indications of respiratory tract irritation. CONCLUSIONS: In subjects with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled by oral agents, preprandial administration of INH delivered by a MDI provided a comparable metabolic control to bedtime GLA and did not show any safety concerns during a 4-week treatment. These results warrant a more extensive investigation of preprandial treatment with INH in longer term studies.

Structure-Activity Relationships of Synthetic Coumarins as HIV-1 Inhibitors.

HIV/AIDS pandemics is a serious threat to health and development of mankind, and searching for effective anti-HIV agents remains actual. Considerable progress has been made in recent years in the field of drug development against HIV. A lot of structurally different coumarins were found to display potent anti-HIV activity. The current review demonstrates the variety of synthetic coumarins having unique mechanism of action referring to the different stages of HIV replication. Recent studies based on the account of various synthetic coumarins seem to indicate that some of them serve as potent non-nucleoside RT-inhibitors, another as inhibitors of HIV-integrase or HIV-protease. The merits of selecting potential anti-HIV agents to be used in rational combination drugs design and structure-activity relationships are discussed.The scientific community is looking actively for new drugs and combinations for treatment of HIV infection effective for first-line treatment, as well as against resistant mutants. The investigation on chemical anti-HIV agents gives hope and optimism about it. This review article describes recent progress in the discovery, structure modification, and structure-activity relationship studies of potent anti-HIV coumarin derivatives.

New source of dense, cryogenic positron plasmas.

We have developed a new method, based on the ballistic transfer of preaccumulated plasmas, to obtain large and dense positron plasmas in a cryogenic environment. The method involves transferring plasmas emanating from a region with a low magnetic field (0.14 T) and relatively high pressure (10(-9) mbar) into a 15 K Penning-Malmberg trap immersed in a 3 T magnetic field with a base pressure better than 10(-13) mbar. The achieved positron accumulation rate in the high field cryogenic trap is more than one and a half orders of magnitude higher than the previous most efficient UHV compatible scheme. Subsequent stacking resulted in a plasma containing more than 1.2 x 10(9) positrons, which is a factor 4 higher than previously reported. Using a rotating wall electric field, plasmas containing about 20 x 10(6) positrons were compressed to a density of 2.6 x 10(10) cm(-3). This is a factor of 6 improvement over earlier measurements.

Spatial distribution of cold antihydrogen formation.

Antihydrogen is formed when antiprotons are mixed with cold positrons in a nested Penning trap. We present experimental evidence, obtained using our antihydrogen annihilation detector, that the spatial distribution of the emerging antihydrogen atoms is independent of the positron temperature and axially enhanced. This indicates that antihydrogen is formed before the antiprotons are in thermal equilibrium with the positron plasma. This result has important implications for the trapping and spectroscopy of antihydrogen.

Effect of metal complexes of acyclovir and its acetylated derivative on Herpes simplex virus 1 and Herpes simplex virus 2 replication.

The effect of zinc, nickel, cobalt and cadmium complexes of acyclovir (ACV) and its omicron-acetylated derivative (Ac-ACV) on the replication of wild type (wt) and ACV-resistant (ACV(R)) strains of Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and Herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) was examined. According to cytotoxicity, these compounds followed the order Ni-ACV chloride > Cd-ACV 3 Ni-ACV nitrate > ACV = Zn-ACV nitrate = Ac-ACV = Zn-Ac-ACV > Zn-ACV chloride > Co-ACV. Besides Ac-ACV, the only active complexes in inhibiting virus replication were Zn-ACV nitrate and Zn-Ac-ACV, which effectively suppressed the growth of both wt and ACVR strains of HSV-1 and HSV-2. The most active and most selective inhibitor of the growth of ACVR strains of HSV-1 and HSV-2 was Ac-ACV; its EC50 and SI were 100 and 10 times higher than those of ACV, respectively. Zn-Ac-ACV was less active than Ac-ACV, obviously due to the stability of the complex. Zn-ACV nitrate was active against both wt and ACVR strains of HSV-1; its activity and selectivity were 100 and 75 times higher than those of ACV, respectively. Ac-ACV and Zn-Ac-ACV suppressed the pre-mitotic arrest caused by HSV-1 infection during the first 2 hrs of infection and later on restored the cell division.

Three-dimensional annihilation imaging of trapped antiprotons.

We demonstrate three-dimensional imaging of antiprotons in a Penning trap, by reconstructing annihilation vertices from the trajectories of the charged annihilation products. The unique capability of antiparticle imaging has allowed, for the first time, the observation of the spatial distribution of the particle loss in a Penning trap. The radial loss of antiprotons on the trap wall is localized to small spots, strongly breaking the azimuthal symmetry expected for an ideal trap. Our observations have important implications for detection of antihydrogen annihilations.

Positron plasma diagnostics and temperature control for antihydrogen production.

Production of antihydrogen atoms by mixing antiprotons with a cold, confined, positron plasma depends critically on parameters such as the plasma density and temperature. We discuss nondestructive measurements, based on a novel, real-time analysis of excited, low-order plasma modes, that provide comprehensive characterization of the positron plasma in the ATHENA antihydrogen apparatus. The plasma length, radius, density, and total particle number are obtained. Measurement and control of plasma temperature variations, and the application to antihydrogen production experiments are discussed.

Production and detection of cold antihydrogen atoms.

A theoretical underpinning of the standard model of fundamental particles and interactions is CPT invariance, which requires that the laws of physics be invariant under the combined discrete operations of charge conjugation, parity and time reversal. Antimatter, the existence of which was predicted by Dirac, can be used to test the CPT theorem-experimental investigations involving comparisons of particles with antiparticles are numerous. Cold atoms and anti-atoms, such as hydrogen and antihydrogen, could form the basis of a new precise test, as CPT invariance implies that they must have the same spectrum. Observations of antihydrogen in small quantities and at high energies have been reported at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and at Fermilab, but these experiments were not suited to precision comparison measurements. Here we demonstrate the production of antihydrogen atoms at very low energy by mixing trapped antiprotons and positrons in a cryogenic environment. The neutral anti-atoms have been detected directly when they escape the trap and annihilate, producing a characteristic signature in an imaging particle detector.

Antiviral activity of platinum (II) and palladium (II) complexes of pyridine-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone.

A heterocyclic compound, pyridine-2-carbaldehyde thiosemicarbazone (HFoTsc), and its six metal coordinated bound complexes, three with platinum (II) and three with palladium (II), were studied for their activity against herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection in cultured cells. According to their cytotoxicity the compounds were divided into two groups. Group I (cytotoxic compounds) included all three palladium complexes and [Pt(HFoTsc)2] Cl2, with maximum non-toxic concentration (MNC) of 1-10 micromol/l and a 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC50) of 20-100 micromol/l. Group 2 (low cytotoxic compounds) with MNC of 100 micromol/l and CC50 of 548-5820 micromol/l included compounds in the following order: [Pt(HFoTsc)2] Cl2

Cytotoxicity of Co(III) Complexes of Arginine.

The cytotoxicity of four Co(III) complexes of arginine on nontumour MDBK cells and on two cell lines derived from transplantable tumors, LSCC-SF(Mc29) and LSR-SF (SR), was evaluated comparative!y. Based on the cytotoxic concentration required to inhibit cell surveillance by 50% cc(nabla') it was found that: (i) the cytotoxicity of complexes tested increases when the concentration decreased; (ii) the cell surveillance depends on both complex and cell specificities. The complex specificity was illustrated by the order 1 > 4 > 2 >/= 3 . The cell specific response was demonstrated by the fact that LSCC-SG (Mc29) cells were up to 60 times more sensitive to 1 while LSR-SF (SR) cells were up to 1000 times more sensitive to 2 as compared to MDBK cells. Furthermore, with the prolongation of action on nontumour cells the cytotoxicity of 4 decreased up to 300 times while for both tumour cells it was independent on the duration of action.

Simultaneous palpation of the craniosacral rate at the head and feet: intrarater and interrater reliability and rate comparisons.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The main purpose of this study was to determine the interrater and intrarater reliability of measurements obtained during palpation of the craniosacral rate at the head and feet. Palpated craniosacral rates of head and feet measured simultaneously were also compared. Subjects. Twenty-eight adult subjects and 2 craniosacral examiners participated in the study. METHODS: A within-subjects repeated-measures design was used. A standard cubicle privacy curtain, hung over the subject's waist, was used to prevent the examiners from seeing each other. RESULTS: Interrater intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were .08 at the head and .19 at the feet. Intrarater ICCs ranged from .18 to .30. Craniosacral rates simultaneously palpated at the head and feet were different. CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION: The results did not support the theories that underlie craniosacral therapy or claims that craniosacral motion can be palpated reliably.

Impairments in arm control in subjects with left and right hemisphere stroke.

OBJECTIVES: Our purpose was to identify impairments in movement control for subjects with left and right brain lesions using a kinematic analysis of the trajectory of a stylus during an upper limb tapping task. We hypothesized that subjects with left cerebrovascular accident (LCVA) would have bilateral deficits in programming while subjects with right cerebrovascular accident (RCVA) would only have deficits in the limb contralateral to the lesion. STUDY DESIGN: Data were collected from 11 subjects with LCVA, 11 with RCVA, and 22 non-disabled subjects who were age and gender-matched to subjects with left or RCVA. Subjects were videotaped performing a Fitts tapping task on a single 3-inch target with each hand. The stylus movement was digitized at 60 Hz and data were calculated for each tap cycle and averaged across each 10-s trial. We examined differences in the kinematic variables of cycle frequency, amplitude, symmetry in up and down velocity, symmetry in timing of up and down velocity, and temporal phases of acceleration and deceleration for up and down directions of the tap cycle. Multivariate analyses were performed on four dependent kinematic variables, and univariate ANOVAs were conducted for the differences in phases between stroke and non-disabled limbs. RESULTS: Subject with LCVA showed lower frequencies, and asymmetrical velocity and timing ratio in both 'uninvolved' and 'involved' limbs compared to non-disabled subjects. Subjects with RCVA showed similar impairments for the 'involved' limb only. CONCLUSIONS: Left hemisphere lesions create bilateral impairments in programming movement reversals. Right hemisphere lesions produced deficits only for the limb contralateral to the lesion. Strategies used by the subjects with LCVA may be-related to the need for subjects to use feedback to perform this rapid continuous sequencing task. Suggestions for rehabilitation are presented.