Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to F González.
The coexistence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and pregnancy is extraordinarily rare. A clinical case is presented and also the description of the epidemiology, the clinical features, the diagnostic methods and the staging. The current guidelines for its managements are analyzed.
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We studied the responses of 57 visual cells of the superior colliculus of the albino rat to bright sweeping and stationary flashing bright bars to determine the properties of their receptive fields. We observed that 9% (8% in superficial and 11% in deep layers) of the studied cells presented orientation preference and 16% showed direction selectivity (13% in superficial and 22% in deep layers). According to their responses to a flashed bright bar they were classified in OFF-type (19%) and ON-OFF-type (81%). No ON-type cells were found. All cells were driven by the contralateral eye, and only in three cases was single cell activation from the ipsilateral eye possible. Twenty-one per cent (22% in superficial and 18% in deep layers) showed end-stopping when they were tested with bright bars of several lengths.
The segment polarity gene wingless encodes a cysteine rich protein which is essential for pattern formation in Drosophila. Using polyclonal antibodies against the product of the wingless gene, we demonstrate that this protein is secreted in the embryo and that it is taken up by neighbouring cells. The protein can be found two or three cell diameters away from the cells in which it is synthesized. We discuss the possible mechanisms which are responsible for this spatial distribution and its regulation during embryogenesis.
The achaete-scute complex (AS-C) comprises five genetic regions: achaete, scute (sc) alpha, lethal of sc, sc beta and sc gamma. Each region promotes the determination and positional specification of different, but partially overlapping, subsets of neural elements of Drosophila. In this work, we report a molecular characterization of the sc gamma region. It comprises 22 kb of DNA and contains two transcription units, only one of which, named asense (ase), seems involved in neurogenesis. ase encodes a protein that shares with other three AS-C proteins a domain containing a helix--loop--helix motif characteristic of a group of DNA-binding proteins. In the embryo, ase is expressed in neural precursor cells, a pattern consistent with the known requirement of sc gamma for the development of the larval nervous system. In late third-instar larvae, the gene is expressed in developing structures of the central nervous system (CNS), namely the anlagen of the optic lobes and in many cells, including neuroblasts, of the central brain and ventral ganglia. Its removal leads to anatomical defects in the adult optic lobes. This is the first demonstration of a role for the AS-C in the development of the adult CNS.
We report a collective tuna fish poisoning which developed on June 10, 1988, in a staff dining room in Castellón. Twenty-one people were involved (attack rate 42.9%). The major symptoms were diarrhea, abdominal pain, headache, facial flushing and oral burning. The mean duration of the symptoms was 15 hours. The ingestion of tuna fish was significantly associated with the illness (p less than 0.001) when the other foodstuffs were controlled. Tuna fish had been defrosted at room air temperature during 14 hours. The analysis of several foodstuffs (there were no tuna fish remains available) and the food handling staff did not disclose pathogens. We discuss the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology and control of this type of food poisoning.
To validate the adequacy of saliva as a biological specimen for the study of glucocorticoid adrenal function, the concentrations of salivary cortisol (SC) and serum total cortisol (TC) were measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA) in several groups of individuals in baseline state and during stimulation tests. The study of diurnal variations of SC in the reference population (n = 29) showed a nyctohemeral rhythm similar to that of TC, with maximal concentrations at 08.00-09.00 h (18 +/- 9 nmol/L) and 61% and 80% decreases at 15.30 and 23.00 h, respectively. After the administration of 1 mg of dexamethasone, SC was reduced in a 95% of its baseline value (n = 18). In all patients with Cushing's syndrome (n = 8) SC was increased whereas TC was normal in 3. All patients with adrenal failure (n = 11) had subnormal SC levels, while TC was normal in 4. The SC response to stimulation with intravenous synthetic adrenocorticotropin (Nuvacthen) (with and without previous suppression with 1 mg dexamethasone), insulin hypoglycemia and glucagon were qualitatively similar to those of TC, although more marked in proportion. These results, together with the practical advantages of saliva as a biological sample (easy obtention of specimen, absence of stress during its collection, and stability of cortisol in it), indicate that SC represents a more reliable measurement than TC as a useful clinical test to detect glucocorticoid dysfunction.
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Extracellular unit recording studies in the pulvinar lateral posterior complex (Pul-LP) of behaving monkeys have shown a response property not previously reported. In monkeys performing aimed arm reaching movements towards frontally located targets some cells showed a change in activity beginning 495 +/- 84 ms before the onset of the reaching movement. This change in frequency precedes that observed in primary motor and parietal posterior cortex for reaching movements. These findings seem to indicate the involvement of the Pul-LP in motor functions and suggest its possible contribution to motor programming.
Acid and alkaline phosphatase of Myxococcus coralloides were examined during vegetative growth in a liquid medium. Two extracellular phosphatases and two cell-bound phosphatases, acid and alkaline in both cases, were produced. The phosphatase production was unaltered by the presence of high concentrations of inorganic phosphate. Both enzymes were produced constitutively. These two hydrolases were released into the growth medium during the exponential growth phase (approximately 10% of total activity). The production of these enzymes was modified by the presence of organic acids and metal ions in the medium.
Thirty-six patients with metastatic breast cancer, 23 with documented progression of the disease after first-line chemotherapy (CAF or CMF) and 13 without prior chemotherapy, were treated with a simultaneous 120-h infusion of cisplatin (CDDP) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). Objective response was demonstrated in 19 patients (52.7%), stable disease in 7 patients (19.4%) and progression of the disease in 10 patients (27.7%). Similar response rate was observed according to tumor site (soft tissues, 50%; bone, 52%; lung, 63%; liver, 55%; and pleura and peritoneum, 42%) and previous treatment (previous chemotherapy, 48%; previously untreated, 61%). Median duration of response was 8 months. Toxicity was characterized by stomatitis and myelodepression and required dose adjustments in 30% of patients. CDDP and 5-FU infusion deserve further investigation because it appeared to have substantial activity in this preliminary study in metastatic breast cancer.
We evaluated 2 new prognostic indices, APACHE II and SAPS, in 533 consecutive patients admitted to a general hospital clinical care unit. Mortality was 19.5% (13.1% in the ICU). Among non-survivors 80% had a greater than = 20 APACHE II score and 77% a greater than = 13 SAPS score. Only 2% of patients with APACHE score less than 10 or SAPS less than 7 died. A good correlation with previously used indices (APACHE I and TISS) was 0.6. Utilization of these prognostic indices allows comparison of reports from different centers, evaluation of early and long term prognosis and a help in making cost-benefit decisions.
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The maturation of fibrous astrocytes was studied in the archicortex (hippocampus) of rats rendered hypothyroid by perinatal administration of propylthiouracil (PTU). A decrease in the number of protoplasmic processes and end-feet in fibrous astrocytes from the cortical molecular layer was observed. The diameter of the perikaryon and length of the prolongations were also decreased. In animals rehabilitated after weaning, the diameter of the perikaryon and length of protoplasmic processes returned to normal while that of number of prolongations per astroglial cell remained unchanged. It is postulated that hypothyroidism induced immediately after birth impairs differentiation of astroglia in the archicortex of the rat brain, probably as a response secondary to altered neuronal and capillary development.
Two cases of complete remission plus one almost complete and another partial response of undifferentiated, invasive epithelial malignant thymoma using the combination of cisplatin, vinblastine, and bleomycin (PVB), are reported in four patients treated with this combination. Radiotherapy was instituted after completing the fourth course of chemotherapy in three patients. One patient died from intercurrent infection after the fourth cycle of combination chemotherapy. Three patients remain free of disease at the end of the treatment program. PVB appears to be highly active in this disease and deserves more extensive evaluation in multicenter clinical trials.
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The present experimental work was designed to study an abdominoanal pull-through technique, with conservation of rectal mucosa. Continence was evaluated from clinical, radiologic, and histopathologic standpoints. The animals defecated normally. A good retention of barium was seen in the radiologic enema. On the reexploration of the animals, we found a distal dehiscence with elevation of the intussuscepted stump towards the rectum in all. A reepithelization process of serosa of the intussuscepted segment was noted.
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