Preparation of activated carbons from heavy-oil fly ashes.

The use of heavy oil fly ash with high ash content (45 wt.%) as a precursor for the preparation of activated carbons has been investigated. The raw fly ash and the fly ash with lower ash content, obtained by a HCl/HF washing treatment, have been pyrolyzed at 900 degrees C and then activated with CO(2) in the temperature range of 800-900 degrees C for different times. The activated carbons have been characterised as regards the surface area and the pore volume. The evolution of the porosity has been related to the burn-off degree.

Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy type I and motor neuron disease. An unusual association.

A 34-year-old man experienced progressive muscle weakness and wasting in the shoulder girdle later spreading distally to the upper limbs. Neurological examination revealed signs of pyramidal and bulbar involvement as well as widespread fasciculations. Pes cavus and distal hypoesthesia were also observed. MCV and nerve biopsy findings were consistent with HMSN-I, while EMG pattern suggested a MND. The association of HMSN-I with MND has not been previously described in literature.

[Post-gastrectomy Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome: clinical study of 2 cases]. / Sindrome di Wernicke-Korsakoff post gastrectomia: studio clinico di due casi.

The Authors present two cases of Wernicke-Korsakoff Disease following gastric surgery. This clinical occurrence hasn't been previously described in Literature. The pathogenetical role of nutritional factors deficiency is discussed.

[Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and dementia: a rare association. Case report]. / Sclerosi laterale amiotrofica e demenza: una rara associazione. Osservazione clinica di un caso.

It has been reported a case of a young man with a rare syndrome: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with dementia. The case is discussed with reference to some pathogenetic ipothesis.

Sleep apnea syndrome in Thomsen's disease. A case report.

The authors describe the occurrence of a sleep-induced apnea syndrome with daytime hypersomnolence in a patient suffering from Thomsen's disease. Polysomnography showed, during the whole sleep, repetitive obstructive, and rarely mixed, apneas. The patient also had daytime alveolar hypoventilation, primarily obstructive, and waking chronic hypercapnia. Long-term diphenylhydantoin therapy relieved not only myotonia, but sleep-induced apneas, daytime sleepiness and waking breathing as well. This result, together with some EMG features recorded during sleep and with daytime obstructive hypoventilation, suggests that myotonia could be one of the pathogenic factors involved in nocturnal upper airway stenosis.

[Choreoathetosis. Uncommon manifestation during chronic liver disease with portocaval shunt]. / Coreoatetosi. Una manifestazione non comune in corso di epatopatie croniche con shunt porto-cavale.

"Acquired hepatocerebral degeneration" is a rare syndrome characterized by extrapiramidal symptomathology in patients affected by liver complaint with porta-cava shunt. Extrapiramidal symptomathology become chronical and progressive and its development is partially independent from the basic liver complaint. We report one case of "acquired hepatocerebral degeneration" whose clinical features lead us to advance a pathogenetic hypothesis on the role played by neurotransmitters in this syndrome.