Recent technological advancements in radiofrequency- andmicrowave-mediated hyperthermia for enhancing drug delivery.

Hyperthermia therapy is a potent enhancer of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In particular, microwave (MW) and radiofrequency (RF) hyperthermia devices provide a variety of heating approaches that can treat most cancers regardless the size. This review introduces the physics of MW/RF hyperthermia, the current state-of-the-art systems for both localized and regional heating, and recent advancements in hyperthermia treatment guidance using real-time computational simulations and magnetic resonance thermometry. Clinical trials involving RF/MW hyperthermia as adjuvant for chemotherapy are also presented per anatomical site. These studies favor the use of adjuvant hyperthermia since it significantly improves curative and palliative clinical outcomes. The main challenge of hyperthermia is the distribution of state-of-the-art heating systems. Nevertheless, we anticipate that recent technology advances will expand the use of hyperthermia to chemotherapy centers for enhanced drug delivery. These new technologies hold great promise not only for (image-guided) perfusion modulation and sensitization for cytotoxic drugs, but also for local delivery of various compounds using thermosensitive liposomes.

Organochlorine pesticide residues in Italian citrus essential oils, 1991-1996.

Organochlorine pesticide contamination in 148 lemon essential oils, 123 sweet orange oils, 121 mandarin oils, and 147 bergamot oils produced in Italy in the years 1991-1996 was studied by HRGC-ECD. Confirmation analyses were carried out by GC-MS. Tetradifon, dicofol and its decomposition product 4,4'-dichlorobenzophenone were found. Over the course of the study dicofol and tetradifon residues steadily decreased; the percentage of contaminated samples reflects this course and decreases considerably from 1991 to 1996.

Was opium known in 18th dynasty ancient Egypt? An examination of materials from the tomb of the chief royal architect Kha.

Examination by microscopy, thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography alone and combined with mass spectrometry, and radioimmunoassay methods of materials from the tomb of the ancient Egyptian chief royal architect Kha, who is believed to have died about 1405 BC, has shown that there is no morphine--and hence no opium--present. This finding casts doubt on the results of an earlier analysis. Tropane alkaloids are likewise absent. The significance of the present findings for the history of the opium poppy, Papaver somniferum L., in the eastern Mediterranean region is discussed. Evidence (chemical, botanical, artefactual, and linguistic) for the supposed presence of the opium poppy and opium in Egypt in the Late Bronze Age is briefly reviewed. These considerations and the negative outcome of the present analyses mean that the earlier reported finding can no longer be accepted as evidence.