[Modified EMJH medium for cultivation of Leptospira interrogans serogroup ballum]

Strains within the Ballum serogroup of spirochete Leptospira show fastidious growth with more exigent nutritional requirements than those of other Leptospira pathogenic strains. The influence of 37 nutritional compounds on the growth of Leptospira interrogans serogroup Ballum was investigated employing the synthetic EMJH medium as the base for the study. Microbial growth was estimated spectrophotometrically and direct counts were performed with a Petroff-Hausser counting chamber. Virulence stability was evaluated by calculating the mean lethal dose in hamsters. Antigenicity stability was evaluated by Western blotting using a specific antiserum. Cell yields commonly obtained in EMJH were triplicated without virulence or antigenicity depletions after culturing in a modified EMJH medium with an increased concentration of Tween 80, and the incorporation of sodium acetate and beef extract. Neither the increased concentration of at least 6 components of EMJH nor the incorporation of a variety of new nutrients stimulated cell yields or the growth rate of the microorganism. The results allow us to make use of an enriched culture medium that promotes high cell yields of this fastidious serogroup most prevalent in humans in Cuba.

Anaerobic treatment of sludge from a nitrification-denitrification landfill leachate plant

The viability of anaerobic digestion of sludge from a MSW landfill leachate treatment plant, with COD values ranging between 15,000 and 19,400mg O(2)dm(-3), in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor was studied. The reactor employed had a useful capacity of 9l, operating at mesophilic temperature. Start-up of the reactor was carried out in different steps, beginning with diluted sludge and progressively increasing the amount of sludge fed into the reactor. The study was carried out over a period of 7 months. Different amounts of methanol were added to the feed, ranging between 6.75 and 1cm(3)dm(-3) of feed in order to favour the growth of methanogenic flora. The achieved biodegradation of the sludge using an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket Reactor was very high for an HRT of 9 days, obtaining decreases in COD of 84-87% by the end of the process. Purging of the digested sludge represented approximately 16% of the volume of the treated sludge.

Removal of Cd and Zn from inorganic industrial waste leachate by ion exchange

This paper presents a study of the removal of Cd and Zn present in the leachate from an inorganic industrial waste landfill using cationic exchange resins (Amberlite 200, 252-C, IR-120, Duolite C-464), a chelating resin, Amberlite IRC 718, and an adsorbent resin, XAD-2. The chelating resin Amberlite IRC 718 presented the higher removal in batch experiments for both metals (93% for Zn and 50% for Cd). Five hundred ten bed volumes of leachate were treated in column experiments using this material, reducing the concentrations of Cd and Zn from 18 mg/dm3 to 0.1 and 1.0mg/dm3, respectively. Regeneration of the saturated bed was achieved with 11 BV of 2M HCl.

Outbreak of Pitch Canker Caused by Fusarium circinatum on Pinus spp. in Northern Spain

During the winter of 2003-2004, dieback symptoms were observed on Pinus radiata and P. pinaster in pine nurseries in Asturias (northern Spain). Small groups of affected seedlings appeared randomly distributed throughout the nurseries. The seedlings died rapidly, showing basal needle dieback, stem lesions, resin exudations, and wilting. Isolations from infected material onto potato dextrose agar (PDA) supplemented with 0.5 mg/ml of streptomycin sulfate and Komada's medium consistently yielded Fusarium sp. cultures. The isolates were transferred to PDA and Spezieller Nährstoffarmer agar and incubated at 25°C for 10 days with a 12-h photoperiod. The cultures were identified as Fusarium circinatum Nirenberg & O'Donnell (= Fusarium subglutinans Wollenweb. & Reinking), causal agent of pitch canker disease, on basis of the presence of polyphialides and characteristic sterile, coiled, hyphae (2). To further confirm their identity, a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) based on histone H3 gene sequences (4) and a test based on the F. circinatum-specific primers, CIRC1A-CIRC4A, which amplifies a 360-bp DNA fragment of the intergenic spacer region of the nuclear ribosomal operon (3), were used. Results obtained with both techniques confirmed the morphological identification of the cultures. A representative culture has been placed in the Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures (CBS 117843). The pathogen was isolated only from seedlings of P. radiata and P. pinaster. Other species such as P. nigra, P. sylvestris, and Pseudotsuga menziesii, which were also grown in these nurseries, did not show symptoms. Pathogenicity was confirmed by inoculating 6- to 9-month-old P. radiata and P. pinaster seedlings. Small strips of bark (10 × 1 mm) were cut from the stems and similar sized pieces of PDA colonized by F. circinatum were placed in contact with the open wounds and covered with parafilm. Basal needle dieback was observed 10 days after inoculation that resulted in wilting of the seedlings. F. circinatum was reisolated from the affected stems fulfilling Koch's postulates. Later in the year, symptoms of pitch canker were also observed on 20-year-old P. radiata in one forest plantation in Cantabria (northern Spain). Infected branches and shoots of the trees exudated abundant resin, resulting in resinous cankers. The needles, distal to branch tip infections, wilt, fade to yellow then red, and fall from the tree. Affected trees showed noticeable crown dieback. The isolations from the cankers also yielded F. circinatum cultures that were identified as described above. Although a nonrefereed report appeared in 1998 (1), to our knowledge, this is the first report of F. circinatum on P. radiata and P. pinaster in Spain and in Europe. References: (1) L. D. Dwinell et al. Int. Congr. Plant Pathol. 7th. 3:9, 1998. (2) H. I. Nirenberg and K. O'Donnell. Mycologia 90:434, 1998. (3) W. Schweigkofler et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 70:3512, 2004. (4) E. T. Steenkamp et al. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65:3401, 1999.

Biweekly paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in advanced breast cancer: phase II trial and predictive value of HER2 extracellular domain

BACKGROUND

We wanted to assess the toxicity and efficacy of paclitaxel plus gemcitabine in advanced breast cancer and to confirm whether circulating HER2 extracellular domain (ECD) correlates with treatment response.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Forty-three patients received paclitaxel 150 mg/m2 followed by gemcitabine 2500 mg/m2, both on day 1 of 14-day cycles, with a maximum of eight cycles. Serum levels of HER2 ECD were assessed by ELISA.

RESULTS

All patients were evaluable for toxicity and 42 for efficacy. Overall toxicity was low. Grade 3 neutropenia occurred in 12% of patients and grade 4 in 17%, and other grade 3 toxicities in <5%. One patient had an allergic infusion reaction. Overall response rate was 71% [95% confidence interval (CI) 62% to 81%], with 11 patients achieving a complete response (26%). With a median follow-up of 26 months, the median time to progression was 16.6 months. Response rate correlated significantly with HER2 ECD, with 42% of HER2 ECD-positive patients responding versus 83% of HER2 ECD-negative patients (P = 0.02). Furthermore, response duration was shorter in patients with positive HER2 ECD levels (7.9 versus 14.4 months; P = 0.04).

CONCLUSIONS

Paclitaxel plus gemcitabine given as an every 2-weeks schedule is a well tolerated and active regimen in advanced breast carcinoma. This is an attractive combination to use when anthracyclines are not indicated, such as in HER2 positive cases that receive trastuzumab. In addition, elevated levels of HER2 ECD adversely affect the efficacy of treatment.

Prospective randomised phase II study of docetaxel versus paclitaxel administered weekly in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy

BACKGROUND

Docetaxel and paclitaxel have activity in the second-line treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and can be administered as weekly schedules. This phase II randomised study was designed to test the efficacy and toxicity of both taxanes in patients with NSCLC previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Patients (n = 71) with documented NSCLC were randomised to receive docetaxel (n = 35 patients; 36 mg/m(2)) or paclitaxel (n = 36 patients; 80 mg/m(2)) as a 1 h weekly infusion for 6 weeks followed by a 2-week rest. The cycles were repeated until disease progression or non-acceptable toxicities occurred.

RESULTS

Treatment achieved partial response of one versus five patients, median time-to-progression of 74 versus 68 days, and overall survival of 184 versus 105 days, with docetaxel and paclitaxel, respectively. The most common non-haematological toxicities were (docetaxel versus paclitaxel): grade 3/4 pulmonary toxicity in seven versus one patient; grade 2/3 diarrhoea in nine versus five; and grade 3/4 haematological toxicities occurred in two versus four patients. There were no treatment-related deaths.

CONCLUSIONS

Docetaxel and paclitaxel administered weekly have discrete efficacy in patients with NSCLC previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. The higher non-haematological toxicity of docetaxel, particularly pulmonary toxicity and diarrhoea, is of concern and warrants further investigation.

Metastatic behavior of human breast carcinomas overexpressing the Bcl-x(L) gene: a role in dormancy and organospecificity

The ability of metastatic cells to survive antiapoptotic signals may contribute to the organospecific-spread patterns of clinical metastasis and dormancy. MDA-MB-435 breast cancer cells (435/Bcl-x(L)), which overexpress the Bcl-x(L) gene, were labeled with the luciferase gene and injected orthotopically into homozygous athymic Balb/c (nude) mice to study the metastatic behavior of the breast cancer cells. The overexpression of Bcl-x(L) in tumors increased the overall metastatic burden in mice (bones, liver, kidneys, brain, lungs, and lymph nodes) in comparison with control tumors (435/NEO:luc) during the same time interval (ANOVA, p = 0.005). The principal differences after 110 days were found in bones, which had 1.5 x 10(5) +/- 1.2 x 10(5) tumor cell equivalents (p = 0.03), and lymph nodes, which had 7.0 x 10(6) +/- 6.0 x 10(6) tumor cell equivalents (p = 0.08). The analyses of light production by tissues at different times showed that cells from 435/NEO:luc and 435/Bcl-x(L).luc tumors were detectable in several organs by the second day after intramammary fat pad implantation. Although initially arriving at the target organs in similar numbers, 435/Bcl-x(L) cells developed more metastases than 435/Neo cells, indicating that the Bcl-x(L) gene might have a role in breast cancer dormancy, promoting survival of cells in metastatic foci. Thus, we suggest that overexpression of Bcl-x(L) could counteract the proapoptotic signals in the microenvironment and favor the successful development of metastasis in specific organs.

[The headache in general neruological practice]

INTRODUCTION

Headache is one of the most frequent causes of consultation in a neurology clinic. We present a descriptive, epidemiological study about such a pathology in a general neurology clinic. We evaluated as the most relevant points the frequency of different types of headaches, the reasons for remission and diagnosis concordance with the remitting doctor, normally the General Practitioner.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The collection of data was carried out by means of structured interviews over a three month period. Apart from the epidemiological data of the subjects, the characteristics of the headache, the medication and its possible overuse, were also collected. A systematic neurological examination of all patients was carried out.

RESULTS

286 patients were included. The frequency of different diagnosis (the most frequent chronic daily headache, 39.2%), the number of patients who abused of analgesics (31.8%) and the diagnosis concordance with the referring doctor (20%) was analyzed among other variables.

CONCLUSIONS

The study highlights the high number of patients suffering from daily chronic headache and the fundamental role that the abuse of analgesics plays in this diagnostic entity. The diagnosis concordance is too low. A correct initial diagnosis as a result of a better neurological training in primary care would prevent in greater numbers the abuse of analgesics and would offer a better quality of care.

Bcl-xL promotes metastasis of breast cancer cells by induction of cytokines resistance

Metastasis is a highly complex process involving the survival of tumor cells, both in the blood stream and within specific organs. Cell-death and survival are determined by a number of gene products from an expanding family of the Bcl-2 gene, either promoting or preventing apoptosis. Furthermore, the survival of tumor cells may favor the accumulation of additional genetic alterations causing further growth and invasive opportunities which may lead to metastasis. To examine whether the prevention of cell-death influences the metastatic behavior, we transfected a human breast cancer cell line MDA-MB-435 with the Bcl-xL cDNA and then studied metastatic ability of the selected clones in vivo. Our results show that Bcl-xL-clones had a decreased tumor growth latency and an increased metastatic ability. Apoptosis-resistance to cytokines was induced in 435 cells by Bcl-xL-expression with minor modifications in their proliferation rates. These cells also showed diminished adhesion to extracellular matrix proteins and a survival advantage in suspension over 435/Neo cells. Moreover, to determine survival in blood stream and in cells lodged in the lungs, we injected 435/Bcl-xL and 435/Neo cells at 1:3 proportion i.v., and animals were killed at intervals of 15' to 16 h after injection. Tumor cells were recovered from the lungs and Southern-blot analysis revealed the presence of exogenous Bcl-xL cDNA. These results showed that 435/Bcl-xL cells had a survival advantage in circulation over 435/Neo cells. This advantage in vivo was attributable to Bcl-xL expression. We conclude that Bcl-xL expression in breast cancer cells can increase metastatic activity. This advantage could be created by inducing resistance to apoptosis against cytokines, increasing cell survival in circulation, and enhancing anchorage-independent growth.

Paclitaxel/gemcitabine administered every two weeks in advanced breast cancer: preliminary results of a phase II trial

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of paclitaxel/gemcitabine administered every 2 weeks in the first-line treatment of advanced breast cancer. Forty-three chemonaive patients with histologically confirmed metastatic breast carcinoma were enrolled. Patients received paclitaxel 150 mg/m2 followed by gemcitabine 2,500 mg/m2, both on day I of a 14-day cycle, for a maximum of eight cycles. Thirty-four patients were evaluable for toxicity; 38 were evaluable for efficacy. The median age at the time of diagnosis was 54 years, the median performance status was 90, and the median number of lesions was three. Most patients (71%) had received prior adjuvant therapy. Grade 3 and 4 toxicity was limited to leukocytes (14% and 18%, respectively). Grade 3 toxicities (5% each) were thrombocytopenia, nausea and vomiting, elevation of aspartate transaminase, neurosensory, and constipation. One patient had neutropenia and fever. The objective response rate was 68% (21% complete response and 47% partial response); 18% had stable disease and 13% had partial disease. The preliminary evaluation of paclitaxel/gemcitabine given as a 2-week schedule to patients with untreated advanced breast carcinoma shows encouraging activity and a favorable toxicity profile.

Uracil and tegafur modulated with leucovorin: an effective regimen with low toxicity for the treatment of colorectal carcinoma in the elderly. Oncopaz Cooperative Group

BACKGROUND

In spite of the high prevalence of cancer in the elderly, little information is available about the efficacy and toxicity of chemotherapy in elderly patients. In a previous study, the authors demonstrated that the combination of uracil and tegafur (UFT) with leucovorin (LV) was active and well tolerated in patients with advanced colorectal carcinoma (ACC). The objective of the current study was to determine the efficacy and toxicity of this regimen in elderly patients with ACC.

METHODS

Thirty-eight unselected patients older than 70 years (median age, 74 years) with measurable ACC were included. All patients were evaluable for toxicity and response. The regimen consisted of intravenous LV 500 mg/m2 on Day 1, oral LV 15 mg every 12 hours on Days 2-14, and oral UFT 390 mg/m2 on Days 1-14. Treatment was repeated every 28 days for a minimum of 4 courses per patient.

RESULTS

Two hundred eighty-eight cycles of chemotherapy were delivered (median, 7 per patient). Two patients (5%) achieved a complete response and 9 (24%) a partial response, for an overall response rate of 29%. Toxicity was mild, without dose-limiting myelosuppression. Four patients (10%) experienced Grade 3-4 diarrhea, 1 patient had Grade 3-4 nausea/vomiting, and 1 had Grade 3-4 mucositis. Grade 3-4 toxicity was more frequent among women than men (38% vs. 4%, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Treatment with oral UFT modulated with LV is effective, well tolerated, and feasible on an outpatient basis for elderly patients with ACC. However, elderly women should be followed closely for the early detection of toxicity.

[Evaluation of biological fish silage in broiler chicken]

Biological fish silage was produced from the mixture of three low price fish species. After mixing it with molasse, papaya and pineapple wastes, and Lactobacillus plantarum incoculation, the product was stored for seven days, dehydrated and added to several diets of formulated poultry feed as a substitute of fish meal. Physical-chemical and microbiological analyses were done to the raw materials and final products. Biological tests of acceptability indicated that chicken preferred diets up to 50% of fish silage. Chicken's weigh increased and food consumption tests, in addition to the sensory evaluation tests in the chickens white meat, showed the advantages of inclusion of 5-20% fish silage in the diets of experimental animals.

Transcranial oblique lateral radiography to verify the position of the mandibular condyles with the use of functional appliances

By means of standardized transcranial oblique lateral (TOL) radiographs, the position of the mandibular condyles in the glenoid fossae of 14 patients with Class II division 1 malocclusion was studied at the beginning of treatment with or without functional appliances placed in position, and also at the end of treatment. A significant increase in the distance between the upper point of the condyle and the glenoid fossa was found when the appliance was worn for the first time. This displacement was found to disappear at the end of the treatment even when the appliance was placed in position.