Torque changes of anchorage units in preadolescent patients treated with a digitally designed tooth-borne expander anchored to deciduous vs. permanent molars.

AIM: To compare the effects on permanent or deciduous anchorage dental units in patients treated with a digitally designed palatal expander. METHODS: Inclusion criteria were the following: presence of maxillary transverse deficiency, no previous orthodontic treatment, no extractions, absence of agenesis, congenital pathologies and cranio-maxillofacial malformations. Twenty patients (11 males, 9 females, 11 ± 1.8 years) received a digitally designed and metal printed palatal expander anchored on first permanent molars and 1 activation per day for 30 days (Group 1). Twenty-one patients (12 males, 9 females, 8.6 ± 1.4 years) received a digitally designed and metal printed palatal expander anchored on second deciduous molars and 2 activations per day for 14 days (Group 2). Digital intraoral scans were taken before expansion and after device removal, and torque and the palatal transverse diameter were digitally measured. The FDI notation was used to indicate each tooth CONCLUSION: Less dental torque augmentation was produced in Group 2. RESULTS: Significant intragroup differences over time were found in Group 1 considering the torque of teeth 1.6, 1.4, 1.3, 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6. Significant differences between groups were found regarding the longitudinal change in torque of teeth 1.5, 2.4 and 2.5. Significant intragroup differences over time were found in both groups considering all transverse diameter parameters. No significant differences were found between groups in the transverse diameter modifications over time. CONCLUSION: Less dental torque augmentation was produced in Group 2.

New 3D printed polymers in orthodontics: a scoping review.

AIM: The aim of this scoping review is to assess the application of new 3D printed polymeric materials in orthodontics, including polyamide-12 (PA-12) and Shape Memory Polymers (SMPs). METHODS: A search for articles published until January 2023 was carried out using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Knowledge, Lilacs, Opengrey, Embase and Cochrane Library databases and by applying the search terms (orthodontic* OR paediatric* OR paedodontic*) AND ("3D printed" OR "three-dimensional printed") AND (polymer* OR material* OR resin* OR technopolymer*). Additional records were also screened through hand or electronic search. No restriction in terms of language or publication period was applied. CONCLUSION: Due to their mechanical, aesthetic and biocompatibility characteristics, PA12 and SMPs can be used in orthodontic practice. However, additional studies should be performed to evaluate the clinical efficiency of these recent materials.

Experimental acoustic modal analysis of a tenor saxophone.

This paper presents an application of the Experimental Acoustic Modal Analysis (AMA) on a vintage 10 M Conn tenor saxophone. This technique originates from the traditional Modal Analysis which is commonly adopted to determine the dynamic behaviour of solid structures. The methodology is based on the measurement of Frequency Response Functions (FRFs) as a ratio of the acoustic pressure, measured by means of a set of microphones positioned along the saxophone body, and the volume velocity produced by an acoustic source and measured at the instrument input. The microphones are housed on the stripped saxophone keys by means of tailored three-dimensional printed adapters. The AMA makes use of the FRFs to extract modal parameters, such as resonance frequencies, loss factors, and mode shapes. These parameters pertain to the cavity modes of the saxophone passive resonator. The analysis has been performed for three different notes (B ♭, B, and C) and for two registers of the instrument in order to show the potential of the technique. Moreover, the influence of the mouthpiece volume on the cavity modes has been shown. The information obtained by AMA can find useful application in the validation of analytical or numerical models of this kind of musical instruments.

Trabecular bone score in healthy ageing.

OBJECTIVE: The main aim of this work was to report on trabecular bone score (TBS) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) of healthy Italian subjects to be used as a reference standard for future study in clinical and research settings. The secondary aim was to investigate the link between TBS and conventional parameters of bone and body composition by DXA. METHODS: 250 individuals of 5 age bands (spanning from 18 to 70 years of age, equally distributed for both age and sex) were prospectively recruited. A lumbar spine (LS) DXA scan (Lunar iDXA™; GE Healthcare, Madison, WI) was acquired for each subject and then analysed with the latest version of TBS iNsight v. 2.1 (Med-Imaps, Pessac, France) software. LS bone mineral density (LS BMD), Z-score, T-score and TBS values were collected. Pearson's test was used to investigate the correlations between TBS and LS BMD and the influence of age, body mass index (BMI) and body composition on these parameters. RESULTS: A significant decrease of TBS and LS BMD was observed with ageing in both males (TBS mean values from 1.486 to 1.374; LS BMD mean values from 1.219 to 1.187) and females (TBS mean values from 1.464 to 1.306; LS BMD mean values from 1.154 to 1.116). No statistically significant difference was achieved among males and females of the same age group for both TBS and LS BMD, with the exception of the fifth age group. A significant correlation was found between LS BMD and TBS values in both sexes (r = 0.555-0.655, p < 0.0001). BMI influenced LS BMD but not TBS. TBS values were inversely correlated with some fat mass parameters, in particular with visceral adipose tissue (in males: r = -0.332, p < 0.001; in females: r = -0.348, p < 0.0001). No significant correlation was found between TBS and total lean mass, opposite to LS BMD (in males: r = 0.418; p < 0.0001; in females: r = -0.235; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This report is an attempt to start building a database for healthy Italian people providing age- and sex-specific reference curves for TBS. This could help clinicians to improve patient management in the detection of impaired bone mineral status and to monitor bone changes. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: The study reports TBS values of a selectively enrolled Italian healthy population, ranging from younger to older ages and including males as a reference standard. Moreover, links between body composition and TBS are explored.

Multiple Sclerosis State of the Art (SMART): A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Therapy's Adherence, Hospital Reliability's Perception, and Services Provided Quality.

The purpose of this study was to assess the adherence to therapy in patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (RR-MS) and to analyze the possible influence of factors such as hospital care and patients socioeconomic status. Two hundred eighty-five patients with RR-MS according to Mc Donald's criteria and naïve disease-modifying drugs (DMDs) naïve were enrolled. Two self-administered questionnaires addressing the management of patients at therapy prescription and the personal perception of the daily life changes caused by DMDs were administered at months 3 and 12. Full adherence, considered as correct use of the therapy prescribed, was observed in a very high percentage of subjects (97.3% and 93.9% at 3 and 12 months). The main cause for reduced adherence was single dose forgetfulness, followed by anxiety, pain at the injection site, and tiredness of "doing all injections." Nurses and neurologists of MS Center were identified as the major resource in coping with the disease at 3 and 12 months by patients. The neurologist was the health professional involved in MS management in 95% of cases and the nurse appeared to play a central role in patient training and drug administration management (50.3%).

Liver in the analysis of body composition by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the predictive value for hepatic steatosis of a new software for the quantification of visceral fat by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and to design new regions of interest (ROIs). METHODS: Adult volunteers were prospectively screened for hepatic steatosis by ultrasonography to obtain a well-balanced population according to the presence/absence of the disease. 90 adult patients without steatosis and 90 with steatosis (mild, 53.3%; moderate, 37.7%; and severe, 10.0%) were recruited. On the same day, all subjects were submitted to blood testing and to anthropometric and whole-body DXA for body composition evaluation. A new software for android visceral fat assessment was employed, and six new "liver-suited" ROIs as well as two modified android ROIs were designed. Their association with steatosis grade was tested by correlation analysis. RESULTS: Fat mass (FM) of the new ROIs showed the highest correlation coefficients with steatosis grade (ρ = 0.610-0.619; p < 0.001), which was also confirmed by multivariate analysis. On the whole population, the new ROIs maintained the highest predictive role for liver steatosis, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve up to 0.820 ± 0.032. Inter- and intra-operator agreement for the new ROIs was excellent (k = 0.915-1.000 and k = 0.927-1.000). CONCLUSION: New ROIs could be designed, standardized and implemented in DXA whole-body scan to provide more specific and predictive values of hepatic lipid content. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: This is the first study to investigate the predictive value for hepatic steatosis of visceral and regional FM assessed on the hepatic site by DXA in comparison with ultrasonography, anthropometry and surrogate markers derived by previously validated algorithms (fatty liver index).

Localizer sequences of magnetic resonance imaging accurately identify osteoporotic vertebral fractures.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of sagittal MR localizer (MR-loc), in terms of diagnostic accuracy and intra- and inter-observer agreement in the detection of vertebral fractures (VFs). Three-hundred MR examinations of the thoracic and/or lumbar spine were randomly collected. A semi-quantitative approach was used and morphometric analysis was performed when a VF was suspected. MR-loc images were evaluated blindly by three radiologists in two different sessions. A full diagnostic sagittal T1-weighted fast spin echo MR sequence was used as standard of reference (RS). Degenerative arthritis was also scored on RS. Only vertebral bodies which were assessable by both MR-loc and RS were considered for the analysis. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), Cohen kappa statistic, and linear-by-linear association were used for statistical analysis. Kappa values were compared by means of the z distribution. A total of 2186 vertebrae were analysed in 300 MRI exams (147 males, 153 females, 59.4±16.4y.o.). Sixty-seven out of 2136 (3.1%) VFs were identified in 23/300 (7.7%) patients submitted to MRI. In the detection of VFs, sensitivity and specificity of MR-loc were both 100% (accuracy AUROC=1.000). Inter-observer agreement was excellent (k=0.938±0.013), while intra-observer agreement was perfect (k=1.000). The diagnostic performance was independent from degenerative arthritis, vertebral level, type and grade of VFs. MR-loc is a simple but accurate tool in the detection of VFs. It should be introduced for systematic evaluation in the detection of VFs in MR examinations performed in daily clinical practice.

Follow-up of bone mineral density and body composition in adolescents with restrictive anorexia nervosa: role of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Restrictive Anorexia nervosa (ANR) is an eating disorder (ED) characterized by a low bone mineral content (BMC) and by an alteration in body composition (reduction and abnormal distribution of fat mass-FM and lean mass-LM). The aim of our study was to address whether bone and body composition changes could be influenced by hormonal status and sport in female adolescents with restrictive anorexia nervosa-ANR. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Prospective study on 79 adolescents with ANR submitted to Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry-DXA at baseline-T0 and after 12 months-T12. Among the 46/79-58.2% patients that completed the study, we evaluated total and regional FM and LM%, as well as lumbar bone mineral density (BMD) and Z-score, linking them to clinical variables: menarche/amenorrhea/hormonal therapy and physical activity. RESULTS: At T0: body mass index (BMI)=16.4±1.4 kg/m2 with low levels of FM% (21.7±5.7) low BMC in 12/46-26.0% (mean Z-score: -1.21±1.27, with higher values related to physical activity-P=0.001). At T12: a significant increase in BMI-P=0.001, with LM reduction and FM increase (more evident in the trunk-P<0.001); regarding bone, no significant changes were observed, though a tendency in terms of improvement associated with resumption of menses. CONCLUSIONS: After 1 year, weight recovery was not associated with a reestablishment of bone values; by contrast, it was associated with an increase and a distortion in FM distribution, more evident in trunk region (potential and adjunctive risk factor for the relapse of the psychiatric condition). The complexity of these clinical findings suggested DXA, a low-dose and low-cost technique, in long-term monitoring of ANR patients.

Reliability and accuracy of scout CT in the detection of vertebral fractures.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reliability of scout CT (sCT) lateral radiograph, in terms of diagnostic accuracy and intra- and interobserver agreement in the detection of vertebral fractures (VFs). METHODS: 300 CT examinations of the thoracic and/or lumbar spine were collected and independently analysed by 3 musculoskeletal radiologists in 2 different sessions. A semi-quantitative approach was used for VF assessment on sCT, and morphometric analysis was performed when a VF was suspected. Results of multiplanar sagittal CT reconstructions interpreted by the most expert radiologist were considered as gold standard. Arthrosis was also scored. Only vertebral bodies assessable by both sCT and gold standard were considered for the analysis. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), Cohen's kappa statistic and linear-by-linear association were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: 1522 vertebrae were considered (130 males and 170 females; ages, 73.0±2.8 years). 73 of 1522 (4.8%) VFs were identified in 34/300 patients (11.3%). In the detection of VFs, the sensitivity and specificity of sCT were 98.7% and 99.7%, respectively. Accuracy (AUROC=0.992±0.008), as well as interobserver agreement (k=0.968±0.008), was excellent. Intra-observer agreement was perfect (k=1.000). Performance of this method was independent of arthrosis, vertebral level and type and grade of VFs. CONCLUSION: sCT is a simple but very accurate method for the detection of VFs. It should be introduced as a spine evaluation tool for the detection of VFs in examinations that are performed for other diagnostic purposes. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: sCT lateral radiograph is an accurate tool for the detection of VFs. This technique may be used with several advantages in clinical practice.

Oral tuberculosis: a tongue case report.

The authors report a case of oral tuberculosis in a 38-year-old heavy cigarette smoker man. He showed a painful, non-healing ulcer with indurated borders of the lateral surface of the tongue. No tonsil or lymph node enlargement was also noted. The medical history was not significant for systemic disease. Histopathological examination showed granulomas exhibiting a central caseinating necrotic focus, surrounded by mononuclear cells, epithelioid histiocytes and multi nucleated Langhans giant cells. A mantle of lympocytes and fibrous tissue surrounded the granulomas. Since the morphologic picture oriented for tubercoloid granulomata, a Ziehl-Neelsen staining of the tissue was performed. Chest radiography did not detect any pulmonary or nodal disease. On the bases of these results a diagnosis of oral tuberculosis was established.

Relationships between total and regional adiposity and epicardial fat in obese women: how can dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry be associated with echocardiographic epicardial fat measurements?

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ABOUT THIS SUBJECT: Obesity is an increasingly prevalent metabolic disorder and it is associated with a large number of comorbidities, including cardiovascular diseases. Adipose tissue is an active endocrine organ and its ectopic depots and distribution have different metabolic meanings on risks for health; as a matter of fact, epicardial fat seems to play a specific role in cardiovascular diseases. The use of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to evaluate and follow-up patients affected by obesity is becoming a very important point in the management of the disease. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS: An investigation of the association between epicardial fat and regional adiposity by DXA in female obese patients. The total amount of central (trunk) fat mass is more strongly correlated than android visceral fat mass to epicardial thickness in obese women. In the interpretation of whole-body DXA data, physician should consider trunk fat mass for good and independent predictivity on epicardial fat depots. Our aim was to analyse in a population of obese women the relationship between the amount of epicardial fat as measured by transthoracic echocardiography (US) and the parameters of regional adiposity by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), with particular reference to a new software for visceral fat assessment and to a new 'heart-suited' regions of interests (ROIs). Sixty patients who satisfied technical inclusion criteria underwent whole-body DXA scan and US on the same day. Total and android fat mass (FM) and FM percentage (FM%) were considered as well as visceral fat (VAT) subcompartment in the android region; moreover, six new ROIs were designed on whole-body DXA images for the investigation of adiposity parameters at heart level. US provided epicardial fat thickness (EPI-thickness) and area (EPI-area), as measured following previously validated methods. Body mass index (BMI), gynoid and lower limbs (FM and FM%) were found not statistically correlated with EPI-thickness. The highest correlation was achieved by trunk FM (and FM%, with r = 0.544 and 0.480 respectively, P < 0.001), followed by ROI-1 FM (ROI-1 was drawn following thoroughly the cardiac profile), and android FM. Multivariate analysis including age, weight, BMI, trunk FM and the new ROIs (added one by one), retained in the final model trunk FM. Correlations of DXA with EPI-area were superimposable. In obese women, VAT or other new-designed ROIs are not better correlated than traditional ROIs (i.e. trunk) with epicardial fat amount.

Contrast enhanced MRI and ¹8F-FDG PET-CT in the assessment of multiple myeloma: a comparison of results in different phases of the disease.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to compare the accuracy of contrast enhanced MRI and FDG PET-CT in the staging, treatment evaluation and follow-up of multiple myeloma. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 210 PET-CT and 210 MRI studies of patients affected by multiple myeloma. MRI was always performed within 15 days of PET-CT. All the images have been evaluated by two expert oncologic radiologists. RESULTS: Patient population included 81 females and 110 males (age 61.9 ± 9.9 years-old). Sixty-two patients have been evaluated at diagnosis, 58 at the end of therapies and 90 during follow-up. In 12/62 patients (19.4%) at diagnosis, differences between MRI and PET-CT findings determined changes in the staging: PET-CT was responsible for 11 down-staging (17.7%) and MRI only for one (1.6%). In 27/40 patients (67.5%) with good or complete clinical response to therapies the normalization of findings was faster for PET-CT than MRI. Ten out of 90 patients (10/90 - 11.1%) in follow-up protocol presented clinical recurrence of the disease: MRI detected active lesions in 8 of them (80.0%) and PET-CT in 5 patients (50.0%, all detected by MRI too). CONCLUSIONS: MRI achieved better results than PET-CT in the staging and in patients with multiple myeloma recurrence. PET-CT, showed prompt change of imaging findings, faster than MRI, in patients with positive response to therapy.

Unilateral posterior crossbite in adolescents: surface electromyographic evaluation.

AIM: Unilateral posterior crossbite (UPCB) is characterised by an inverse relationship of the upper and lower buccal dental cusps and may involve one or several teeth. The aim of this study was to compare the electromyographic outcomes of patients with UPCB and those of healthy controls. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients (mean age 11.5 years) with UPCB and fifteen healthy controls (mean age 12 years) were examined at the Department of Orthodontics, Second University of Naples. Surface electromyography was performed on patients and controls. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Patients with UPCB had less muscle activation than healthy subjects (p<0.0001) and an asymmetric muscle activation with 89.23% muscle balancing for temporals and 83.21% for masseters. The control group showed a 99.32% of muscle balancing for temporals and 97.77% for masseters. These findings suggest that asymmetric muscle activation may influence maxillary and mandibular growth in adolescents with UPCB.

Three-dimensional analysis of pulmonary nodules: variability of semiautomated volume measurements between different versions of the same software.

PURPOSE: This study was done to evaluate the variability of semiautomated volume measurements of solid pulmonary nodules between two different versions of the same volumetric software. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The volumes of 100 solid intraparenchymal nodules (mean volume 88.10 mm(3); range 7.36-595.25 mm(3)) studied with the same multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) protocol were determined using two different versions of the same volumetric software (LungCARE 2006G and LungCARE 2007S). The 2006G version is based on a single-segmentation algorithm, whereas the newer version features two algorithms: SmallSizeNodule and AllSizeNodule. The results obtained with the 2006G version were compared with those of the 2007S version with the SmallSizeNodule algorithm, as recommended by the user manual. In addition, we compared the volumetric measurements obtained by the two different algorithms of the 2007S version. RESULTS: The 2006G version and the 2007S version with the SmallSizeNodule algorithm agreed in only two of 100 cases and showed a mean variability of 1.66% (range 0%-8.78%). A more significant volumetric discrepancy was observed between the two different algorithms of the 2007S version, with the AllSizeNodule algorithm providing on average larger volumes (mean variability 71.08%; range 6.02%-218.80%) than SmallSizeNodule. Volume discrepancies were more pronounced in the subgroups of smaller nodules in all comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: There is variability also in the results provided by different versions of the same volumetric software, and this may affect the calculation of the nodule-doubling time. Computer-aided assessment of the growth of lung nodules should always be performed using the same version of volumetric software and the same segmentation algorithm.

[Mortality in a cohort of sugar refinery workers in Arezzo Province, Italy]. / Mortalità negli addetti di uno zuccherificio nell'aretino.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate mortality of a cohort of 1,767 male workers employed in a sugar refinery plant located in the Province of Arezzo, Italy, where asbestos had been used from the 1960's for the insulation of thermohydraulic systems and for furnaces. In 1987-88 workers removed the asbestos-cement insulation from the plant. METHODS: The cohort was composed by male workers who were employed in the plant between 1 March 1962 and 1 February 1996, and had worked for at least 2 months. Follow-up started on 1 March 1962, and ended on 31 May, 2003. The population mortality for Tuscany Region was used as the reference. The relative risk was estimated by Standardized Mortality Ratio (SMR) and the confidence intervals were calculated at a 95% level (95% CI). RESULTS: The majority of workers were employed during the summer only. Significant decreases in mortality were observed for overall mortality (SMR = 78; 95% CI = 69-88), all cancers (SMR = 80; 95% CI = 65-97), cardiovascular diseases (SMR = 64; 95% CI = 50-81), lung cancer (SMR = 66; 95% CI = 43-98), and gastrointestinal diseases (SMR = 53; 95% CI = 26-98). Non-significant increases were observed for kidney cancer (SMR = 229; 95% CI = 92-472), and diseases of the nervous system (SMR = 155; 95% CI = 71-294). Kidney cancer mortality for workers employed for > = 5 years was significantly higher (SMR = 508; 95% CI = 105-1485). CONCLUSIONS: Mortality for asbestos-related diseases did not show any increase. The higher kidney cancer mortality for workers employed for > = 5 years could be due to exposures to various carcinogens, that occurred not only in the sugar refinery plant, given that the workers were seasonal and did other jobs during the rest of the year. Asbestos-related deaths could occur in the future among some workers who in 1987-88 were employed on the removal of asbestos-cement insulation from the plant.

[Stress and work. Result of an epidemiological investigation among the voluntary postal and telecommunications personnel of the Calabria region]. / Stress e lavoro: risultati di un'indagine epidemiologica tra il personale volontario delle poste e telecomunicazioni della regione Calabria.

The Stress, in consequence of the alterations neuroendocryne to it correlated, as cause of pathology is often suitable, professional and not, among the various. But the circumstance that it can recognize causal moments in the different existential situations makes difficult to bring back the cause of a lot of pathologies to the only working stress somehow in relationship with the working activity. To overcome this "enpasse" I diagnose the authors they apply, in one epidemiological job of theirs, with methodological iter that considers, above all, the efficient and conclusive role of the working factor.

18F-FDG PET/CT in the assessment of carcinoma of unknown primary origin.

PURPOSE: Metastatic cancers of unknown primary origin are characterised by a poor prognosis, with a survival rate from diagnosis of approximately 12 months. Conventional radiological imaging allows detection of 20%-27% of primary cancers, whereas the detection rate with positron emission tomography (PET) is 24%-40%. The aim of this study was to assess the role of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/computed tomography (CT) in the identification of occult primary cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 38 consecutive patients with histologically proven metastatic disease and negative or nonconclusive conventional diagnostic procedures. All patients were studied by 18F-FDG PET performed according to the standard procedure (6 h of fasting, intravenous injection of 370 MBq 18F-FDG, and image acquisition with a PET/CT scanner for 4 min per bed position). RESULTS: 18F-FDG-PET/CT detected the occult primary cancer in 20 cases (53%), showing higher sensitivity than that reported for any other imaging modality, including PET. CONCLUSIONS: The encouraging results, if validated by larger series, support the use of PET/CT in patients with carcinoma of unknown primary origin and negative conventional imaging results.

Predictive role of positron emission tomography (PET) in the outcome of lymphoma patients.

An extensive analysis of the reliability of positron emission tomography (PET) after induction treatment in patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) or aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). In all, 75 untreated patients with HD (n=41) or aggressive NHL (n=34) were studied with both PET and CT scans following standard chemotherapy induction therapy (ABVD or MACOP-B) with/without radiotherapy. Histopathological analysis was performed when considered necessary. After treatment, four out of five (80%) patients who were PET(+)/CT(-) relapsed, as compared with zero out of 29 patients in the PET(-)/CT(-) subset. Among the 41 CT(+) patients, 10 out of 11 (91%) who were PET(+) relapsed, as compared with 0 out of 30 who were PET(-). The actuarial relapse-free survival (RFS) rates were 9 and 100% in the PET(+) and PET(-) subsets, respectively (P=0.00001). All five patients who were PET(+)/CT(-) underwent a lymph node biopsy: in four (80%) cases, persistent lymphoma and was confirmed at histopathological examination. Two HD patients who were PET(-)/CT(+) (with large residual masses in the mediastinum or lung) were submitted to biopsy, which in both cases revealed only fibrosis. In HD and aggressive NHL patients, PET positivity after induction treatment is highly predictive for the presence of residual disease, with significant differences being observable in terms of RFS. PET negativity at restaging strongly suggests the absence of active disease; histopathological verification is important in patients who show PET positivity.

Actividad antibacteriana de alcaloides deTabernaemontana catharinensis A.DC / The antibacterial activity of alkaloids obtained from Tabernaemontana catharinensis A.DC

Se estudió la actividad antibacteriana de extractos secos metanólicos y fracción alcaloidea obtenidos de la corteza del tronco de Tabernaemontana catharinensis A. DC., por el método de difusión de Kirby-Bauer.Se detectó actividad frente a Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus meticilino resistentes, Streptococcus faecalis, Salmonella enteritidis, Shigella flexneri, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Acynetobacter lwoffii (AU)