Contaminant effect on cellular metabolic differential pressure curves.

The possibility of a pressure monitoring system by differential pressure sensors to detect contaminant effects on cellular cultures metabolic activity is discussed using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, lymphocyte, and AHH1 cell cultures. Metabolic (aerobic and anaerobic) processes in cells are accompanied by CO(2) production that induces changes in pressure values when cells are cultured in sealed vessels. These values are subsequently converted in voltage units and plotted pressure dynamics versus time. This procedure leads to a standard curve, typical of the cellular line, which characterizes cellular metabolism when all parameters are controlled, such as temperature and nutrients. Different phases appear in the S. cerevisiae differential pressure curve: an initial growth up to a maximum, followed by a decrement that leads to a typical "depression" (pressure values inside the test-tubes are lower than the initial one) after about 35 h from the beginning. The S. cerevisiae differential pressure curve is successfully used to test the effects of chemical (Amuchina, trieline) and physical (UV radiation, blue light, magnetic fields) contaminants. The same technique is applied to lymphocytes and AHH1 cultures to investigate the effects generated by a 72-h exposure to a 50-Hz, 60-microT electromagnetic field. Lymphocyte samples, cultured in a PHA medium, grow less than control ones, but exhibit a greater metabolic activity: changes in the exposure system configuration influence neither sample growth differences nor metabolic response variations between control and irradiated samples, while all the other irradiation parameters remain constant. Control and irradiated lymphocyte samples, without PHA in culture medium, show the same behavior both during irradiation and metabolic test. AHH1 control and irradiated samples show no difference both in growth percentage during irradiation and in metabolic activity. Different cell cultures respond to the same stimulus in different manners.

[Human IgG and adjuvant therapy in patients with colon-rectal cancer]. / IgG umane e terapia adiuvante in pazienti con carcinoma del colon-retto.

UNLABELLED: It is well known that, in patients with carcinoma, chemotherapy produces an increase of the incidence of infections and changes the immune defences of the patient. Since 1952 human immunoglobulins have been used for pathologies with immune deficiency. This study aims to evaluate the immunologic efficacy of purified human immunoglobulins in patients with colon-rectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 60 patients of both sexes, with colon-rectal cancer after surgical operation and who underwent chemotherapy with 5-FU and folinic acid, about thirty of them were treated with purified human IgG. In particular, the hemochrome and the microbiologic parameters were evaluated. RESULTS: The percentage of infections in patients treated with purified human immunoglobulins was less in comparison to patients treated only with chemotherapy and in this sphere, a prevalence of sepsis sustained by Gram-, was observed in the control group in respect to patients treated with purified human IgG. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: The authors have observed a positive qualitative variation in the functional state of the immunocompetent cells; the IgG would play the role of functional stimulation of immediate immunity, pointed out by an inferior number of infections in patients treated with IgG. Therefore, it is evident that the use of such therapeutic factors that can help in the reintegration of a slackened control of immunity represented by neutropenic leucocytes, might contribute to rendering the diffusion of the tumour more difficult.

[Anatomopathological and clinical aspects of primary gastric lymphoma]. / Aspetti anatomopatologici e clinici del linfoma gastrico primitivo.

The authors utilised several reviews of the literature and own experience based on 6 cases of non Hodgkin's primary gastric lymphoma. They refer about the importance and the difficulties to make differential diagnosis and on the staging. The authors believe that the treatment of choice is a surgical therapy but the role of radiotherapy and chemotherapy is very interesting in several cases.

[Carcinoma of the gallbladder. State of the art]. / Il carcinoma della colecisti. Stato dell'arte.

The authors examine the most interesting data about gallbladder cancer. They emphasize the difficulties of an useful approach to this pathology: an early diagnosis is quite impossible and the surgical treatment very disappointing.

[Purified human IgG administration, after chemotherapy, to patients with colorectal carcinoma]. / La somministrazione, dopo chemioterapia, di IgG umane purificate in pazienti affetti da carcinoma del colon-retto.

The authors, in the present study try to test the prophylactic effect of human IgG on surgical patients affected by colorectal cancer and undergoing chemotherapy in order to prevent microbial infections, supporting immunological host defences.

[The immunohistochemical demonstration of intracytoplasmic estradiol in colorectal neoplasms]. / Evidenziazione immunoistochimica dell'estradiolo intracitoplasmatico nelle neoplasie del colon-retto.

Intracytoplasmic estradiol content was studied retrospectively using immunohistochemical procedures in tissue samples from subjects suffering from colorectal cancer. The results obtained reveal the presence of intracytoplasmic estradiol in cancer tissue. In precancerous lesions this presence is rarer and inconstant. Estradiol was not detected in the healthy tissue examined. These data suggest that such tumours may depend to some degree on endocrine factors.

[Prostaglandins and gastric cancer: a preliminary study]. / Prostaglandine e cancro gastrico: studio preliminare.

As high levels of Prostaglandins E2 were observed in several gastric diseases, the Authors determined the PGE2 levels in gastric cancer patients without recurrences, in pre and post-operative period. PGE levels were correlated with cancer progression and their significance as tumoral markers was also assessed.

Lack of effects of thallium on GABAergic mechanisms in discrete areas of the rat brain.

The effects of intramuscular treatment for 3 and 5 consecutive days with thallium sulphate (2.5, 5 and 10 mg/Kg) on GABA content, glutamate - decarboxylase (GAD) and GABA-transaminase (GABA-T) activity in different areas of the rat brain were studied. Thallium at the dose levels used did not produce significant changes in GABA content, GAD and GABA-T activity in the brain hemispheres, brainstem, hypothalamus, diencephalon and caudate nucleus.

Effects of apomorphine on glutamate decarboxylase activity in chick paleostriatum augmentatum.

In young chicks the effects of two different doses of apomorphine, a small dose, producing behavioural and electrocortical sleep and a larger one producing arousal, on GABA content, GAD and GABA-T activities in the paleostriatum augmentatum were studied. The small dose of apomorphine did not affect GABAergic mechanisms in this area, whereas the dose producing behavioural and electrocortical arousal significantly increased GAD activity and GABA content. The results of the present experiments are in favour of an interaction between dopaminergic and GABAergic mechanisms in the avian paleostriatum augmentatum.