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Comment on "Retention of the Tetragonal to Orthorhombic Structural Transition in F-Substituted SmFeAsO: A New Phase Diagram for SmFeAs(O1-xFx)" Reply
No full textA Reply to the Comment by C. R. Rotundu
Progressively elevated levels of biologically active (free) cortisol during pregnancy by a direct radioimmunological assay of diffusible cortisol in an equilibrium dialysis system.
No full textThe measurement of free cortisol would be preferable with respect to the total hormone content, since it yields more reliable information about the plasma levels of the biologically active cortisol. We have developed a new method for the determination of the apparent free plasma cortisol concentration (AFCC) by means of direct radioimmunological measurement of dialyzed cortisol. The AFCC was measured in 23 plasma pools obtained from normal pregnant women at various gestational times and in 18 nonpregnant women. The mean AFCC was 19.5 +/- 7.1 ng/ml in pregnant women and 9.0 +/- 6.2 ng/ml in nonpregnant women (p less than 0.005). The percent of free cortisol (%FC) showed a progressive increase during pregnancy reaching the lower limits of the normal range at the third trimester. However, the mean of %FC was significantly lower (p less than 0.005) in pregnant women than in nonpregnant women. Our data show a progressive increase of biologically active cortisol during pregnancy
Fault tectonics of the Tuscan Nappe in the eastern sector of the Apuan Alps (Italy)
No full textWe present the geological-structural map of the Tuscan Nappe exposed on the eastern border of the Apuan Alps metamorphic dome (Tuscany, Italy). The 1:6,500 scaled Main Map covers an area of about 10 km(2). It contains the first detailed overview of the fault tectonics affecting the Tuscan Nappe during the exhumation and uplift of the Tuscan Metamorphic Units. We documented a polyphase fault tectonics that initially produced low-angle extensional faults and later high-angle faults. The latter started within a transtensional tectonic regime that produced left-lateral strike-slip faults. Lately a pure extensional tensor, indicating a switch of the maximum compression sigma 1 axis from sub-horizontal to sub-vertical, produced faults with a dominant dip-slip component. In our reconstruction the lateral thickness variations documented in several formations of the Tuscan Nappe is mainly controlled by tectonics and not by stratigraphy, as previously suggested
Non-thyroidal illness syndrome and short-term survival in a hospitalised older population
No full textBACKGROUND: non-thyroidal illness syndrome (NTIS) has been associated with an adverse clinical outcome. OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the prevalence of NTIS, its impact on patients' survival and the possible pathogenic role of systemic inflammation. DESIGN:observational cross-sectional analysis. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING:three hundred and one acutely ill older patients (156 women; median age 81 years, range 65-101) consecutively admitted to a primary care unit. METHODS: serum FT(3), FT(4) and thyrotropin levels as well as acute inflammation indexes were evaluated. RESULTS: the NTIS prevalence (specifically low T3 syndrome) was 31.9%. A significant association was found between NTIS and acute renal failure (P = 0.006), New York Heart Association classification (NYHA) IV heart failure (P = 0.003) and metastasised cancer disease (P = 0.0002). Serum FT(3) values correlated inversely with serum C-reactive protein (P < 0.0001), lactate dehydrogenase (P = 0.0004), fibrinogen (P = 0.03) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (P < 0.0001) values, and progressively decreased with increasing tertiles of age (P = 0.0004). The mortality rate was significantly higher (P = 0.0002) among patients with low T3 syndrome, which emerged as the sole predictive factor of death (odds ratio 4.3; 95% confidence interval 1.7-10.5). CONCLUSIONS: low T3 syndrome is very common in the hospitalised older population, emerging as the most sensitive independent predictor of short-term survival. Serum FT(3) determination should be included in the assessment of short-term prognosis of acutely ill older patients
[Growth factors and oncogenes in development and carcinogenesis. Role of the epidermal growth factor system]
No full textThe processes of cellular proliferation and progressive acquisition of a specialized phenotype show a remarkable degree of coordination that involves both intracellular programming and intercellular communication. One of the major incentives for studying factors that regulate the processes of cellular proliferation and differentiation is the recognition of their potential contribution to tumorigenesis. In normal cells, stimulatory and inhibitory events are believed to be under the control of growth factors and growth inhibitory factors, which are known to be protooncogene products. Growth regulatory mechanisms usually involve the binding of a growth factor to a specific receptor on the cell surface, which then through an intracellular biochemical cascade leads to cell division. The cell regulation pathways initiated by growth factors may be subverted at several distinct levels in cancer cells. Studies of oncogenes have shown that they may function as abnormal growth factors or abnormal receptors, induce expression of potential signal regulators or encode proteins which modulate gene transcription. The purpose of the present paper is to examine the role of growth factors, growth factor receptors and intracellular proteins involved in signal transduction (with particular regard to the epidermal growth factor receptor system) in the control of normal growth and differentiation, and their contribution to transformation and tumorigenesis. We also review the classical theories of neoplasia and various other models. Chemical carcinogenesis and Vogelstein-Lane model are presented
Evaluation of CEA, TPA, CA 15-3, CA 549 and TPS in the monitoring of metastatic breast cancer
No full textMonitoring the response to treatment in relapsed breast cancer patients is one of the chief uses of tumor markers. Thus far the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA)-breast cancer associated antigen 115 D8/DF3 (CA 15-3) association has been routinely used to follow-up breast cancer patients. We have found that TPA reflects the response to treatment much better than CEA and slightly better than CA 15-3. Recently carcinoma associated antigen 549 (CA 549) and tissue polypeptide specific antigen (TPS) have been reported to be highly sensitive tumor markers for breast cancer. TPS is claimed to be particularly suitable for monitoring the response to treatment because of its more specific assessment of proliferation activity. Therefore, in 13 relapsed patients with prolonged follow-up and detailed clinical-instrumental information, the mean percentage of samples with high CEA, TPA, and CA 15-3 values and their expressions were compared with those of CA 549 and TPS. All markers were also evaluated in terms of their correspondence with the evolution of disease. The correspondence with clinical-instrumental behaviour was scored absent (0), poor (1), good (2) and very good (3) by three different observers. Other more suitable associations than those already used were also investigated. It was found that CA 15-3 and CA 549 were expressed more often (92%) than TPS (85%), TPA (60%) and CEA (46%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS
Strength of the signal, analytical variability, and predictive value of test results [letter]
No full textIn vivo measurements of fibrin formation and degradation in nephrotic patients
No full textIntraglomerular fibrin deposition has been implicated as an important pathogenetic mechanism in patients with glomerular diseases and the nephrotic syndrome. To investigate fibrin formation and degradation in nephrosis, we measured fibrinopeptide A by radioimmunoassay and D-dimer by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the plasma of 30 consecutive adult patients with the nephrotic syndrome; in 10 the serum creatinine was more than 2 mg/dl. Both fibrinopeptide A and D-dimer were abnormally elevated in the majority of nephrotics (P < 0.001 vs. healthy controls), providing evidence of increased fibrin generation and lysis "in vivo." A positive correlation was found between fibrinopeptide A and D-dimer (correlation coefficient 0.64, P < 0.001), suggesting a close relationship between fibrin formation and degradation. Calcium heparin, administered to 12 nephrotics, caused a marked decrease in plasma fibrinopeptide A, due to a reduction of in vivo thrombin activity. As enhanced thrombin activity can favor fibrin deposition within the renal parenchyma, as well as vascular complications, it is reasonable to assume that an antithrombotic treatment aimed at controlling thrombin generation may ameliorate the natural history of nephrosis
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