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Biomedical subjects

M Guida

Publications and source records attributed to M Guida.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Tight linkage of glnA and a putative regulatory gene in Rhizobium leguminosarum.

Rhizobium leguminosarum, biovar viceae, strain RCC1001 contains two glutamine synthetase activities, GSI and GSII. We report here the identification of glnA, the structural gene for GSI. A 2 kb fragment of DNA was shown to complement the Gln- phenotype of Klebsiella pneumoniae glnA mutant strains. DNA sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame (ORF) of 469 codons specifying a polypeptide of 52,040 daltons. Its deduced amino acid sequence was found to be highly homologous to other glutamine synthetase sequences. This ORF was expressed in Escherichia coli minicells and the corresponding polypeptide reacted with an antiserum raised against GSI. Upstream of glnA we found an ORF of 111 codons (ORF111) preceded by the consensus sequence for an ntrA-dependent promoter. Minicells experiments showed a protein band, with a molecular weight in good agreement with that (10,469) deduced from the nucleotide sequence. On the basis of homology studies we discuss the possibility that the product of ORF111 is equivalent to the PII protein of E. coli and plays a similar role in regulation of nitrogen metabolism.

DNA Restriction Enzymes↗
PubMed1987

Ultrasonic visualization of the endometrial cycle.

The dynamic morphological aspects of the uterine mucosa during the various phases of the endometrial cycle were examined, by using ultrasonographic methods, in 148 patients having regular menstrual cycles and a biphasic basal body temperature. During the proliferative phase, ultrasonographic examinations permitted a visualization of the mucosa in 33%-45% of the cases, respectively in the initial and in the later part of the phase. During the secretory phase, the endometrium was identifiable in 81.4% (initial part) to 90% of the cases (later part of phase). During the menstrual phase, on the other hand, the median echo of the endometrial cavity could never be clearly identified.

Endometrium↗
PubMed1986

Characterization and cloning of two Rhizobium leguminosarum genes coding for glutamine synthetase activities.

We have demonstrated that Rhizobium leguminosarum strain LPR1105 contains a heat stable and a heat labile glutamine synthetase (EC 6.3.1.2) activity similar to those described for other Rhizobiaceae. Most of the activity is heat stable when this strain is grown on glutamine as sole nitrogen source, but most is heat labile when grown on nitrate. Using a gene bank of R. leguminosarum DNA we have isolated two clones, which code for heat stable (p7D9) and heat labile (p4F7) glutamine synthetase activity, by complementing the glutamine auxotrophy of Klebsiella pneumoniae glnA mutants. Cross-hybridization of p7D9 with a fragment of the glnA gene of K. pneumoniae was observed, but no cross-hybridization between p7D9 and p4F7 was found. Since these two regions hybridize to genomic DNA of R. leguminosarum they are probably the structural genes for GSI and GSII, and the availability of these genes will make it possible to test this hypothesis. Clone p4F7 complements an ntrC+ but not an ntrC K. pneumoniae glnA mutant, suggesting that the ntrC gene is required for the complementation of the glutamine auxotrophy by this plasmid.

Cloning, Molecular↗
PubMed1976

The occupational health nurse's role in the corporate alcoholism program.

The problem of alcohol abuse among the nation's employees takes its toll in countless ways -- in absenteeism, lost productivity, increased utilization of health benefits and eventual loss of the employee's services. In all cases both the employee and the employer lose. Like most other health professionals, nurses have received little education in the care and treatment of persons suffering with alcoholism or alcohol-related problems. But with the appropriate training and the total commitment of her company, she can be in a unique position to offer assistance to the alcoholic employee. The seriousness of this problem today demands that all effective means be utilized. We can no longer afford to mitigate or ignore the occupational health nurse's valuable role in contributing to the success of the corporate alcoholism program.

Alcoholism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Auditory brainstem implant in posttraumatic cochlear nerve avulsion.

Patients aged over 12 years with neurofibromatosis type 2 are considered candidates for an auditory brainstem implant (ABI). This study extends the indication criteria of ABI to subjects with profound hearing loss due to damaged cochleas and/or cochlear nerves (CNs) following head injuries. In our department, over the period from April 1997 to November 2002, 32 patients, 23 adults and 9 children, were fitted with ABIs. Their ages ranged from 14 months to 70 years. These patients were suffering from a variety of tumor (13 subjects) and nontumor CN or cochlear diseases (19 subjects). Six patients, 5 adults and 1 child, had profound hearing loss following head injury. Their mean age was 25 years (range: 16-48 years). Five were male and 1 female. The retrosigmoid approach was used in all 6 patients. The electrode array was inserted into the lateral recess of the fourth ventricle and correct electrode positioning was monitored with the aid of electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses and neural response telemetry. Correct implantation was achieved in all patients. No complications were observed due to implantation surgery or related to ABI activation and stimulation of the cochlear nuclei. At activation, an average of 9.8 electrodes (range 5-13) were switched on without side effects. One to 6 electrodes were activated in the following sessions after time periods ranging from 2 to 16 months. All patients achieved auditory-alone-mode closed-set word recognition scores ranging from 40 to 100%; 3 had auditory-alone-mode open-set sentence recognition scores of 60-100%; 2 of these even had speech-tracking performance scores of 38 and 43 words, respectively, showing an ability to engage in normal conversation and converse over the phone. The present study demonstrates that the ABI is a useful rehabilitation instrument in subjects with damaged cochleas and/or CN avulsion following head injury who are unamenable or poorly responsive to auditory rehabilitation using cochlear implants.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Iatrogenic pneumocephalus in a man with undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma. A case report.

A case of pneumocephalus in a 45-year-old male with undifferentiated rhinopharyngeal carcinoma is described. The patient was initially subjected to radiotherapy and then to transmaxillary resection and a second course of stereotactic radiotherapy for recurrent disease. Lastly, the patient was treated with chemotherapy because of local-regional disease progression. After two cycles of cisplatin, adriablastine and bleomycin, the patient suddenly entered in coma. Cerebral CT scan evidenced the presence of air in the frontal and lateral cornua, in the subarachnoid space of the base cisternae extending to the 7th cervical vertebra. After 8 months of a clinical stationary condition, the patient died. The various treatments used are critically reviewed, and modern therapeutic approaches for the neoplasm and the toxicity involved are discussed. We conclude that in nasopharyngeal carcinoma, for patients who relapse after radiotherapy, successive local-regional therapies (surgery, re-irradiation) should be carefully evaluated to avoid demolishing treatments, which are burdened with severe side effects that might influence the quality of life with only slight improvement of overall survival. Furthermore, the presence of persistant aqueous rhinorrhea in these patients should be carefully evaluated, because it could be an early symptom of a cerebrospinal fluid leak.

Carcinoma↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Complete response to chemotherapy in intra-abdominal desmoplastic small round cell carcinoma. A case report.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The authors report the case of a 23-year-old woman affected by intra-abdominal desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) who obtained a complete response to multiagent chemotherapy. DSRCT is a rare, highly aggressive neoplasm generally arising in young people and seldom in females (about 20 cases described in the literature). METHODS: The patient underwent surgical resection of a large 15 x 15 cm mass located in the right lower abdominal quadrant, but after only 2 months later, two liver metastasis were noted. Thus, she was subjected to an aggressive antineoplastic treatment consisting of three groups of alternating non-cross resistant multiagent regimens administered every 21 days (cis-platin-etoposide-adriamycin-bleomicin; gemcitabine-ifosfamide-dacarbazine; methotrexate-5-fluorouracil-folinic acid) for a total of 9 administrations. RESULTS: After one cycle of treatment including the administration of all the three alternated schemes of chemotherapy, a complete disappearance of liver disease was noted. The treatment was relatively well-tolerated and the toxicity was acceptable. At present, after 15 months from diagnosis and 12 months after starting chemotherapy, the patient is disease-free and in good health. CONCLUSIONS: Even though this study regards only a single patient, it is noteworthy because of the rarity of this neoplasm and because of the infrequent complete responses reported in the literature. The efficacy and manageability of the treatment, suggests that both the timing and schedule used could constitute an important therapeutical option for this aggressive and poorly chemo-responsive tumor.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Mitoxantrone, L-leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil: an effective and well tolerated first-line treatment for advanced breast cancer.

AIMS AND BACKGROUND: The combination of mitoxantrone plus leucovorin/fluorouracil in heavily pretreated patients with advanced breast cancer has shown significant activity and extremely good tolerability. The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity of this combination in patients not previously submitted to chemotherapy. METHODS: From May 1993 to December 1995 we treated 80 patients with advanced breast cancer with a combination of mitoxantrone, l-leucovorin and 5-fluorouracil. All patients had histologically or cytologically proven breast cancer, WHO performance status 0-3, normal hematological parameters and normal serum bilirubin. Prior chemotherapy for metastatic disease was not allowed, whereas adjuvant CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5-fluorouracil) or adjuvant anthracycline (doxorubicin or epirubicin) therapy was allowed; a single prior hormone treatment was permitted. Chemotherapy consisted of mitoxantrone 12 mg/m2 i.v. day 1, l-leucovorin 150 mg/m2 i.v. days 1, 2 and 3 and 5-fluorouracil 350 mg/m2 i.v. days 1, 2 and 3. The courses were repeated every 3 weeks. RESULTS: Objective response (CR + PR) was observed in 46/80 (57%) patients (95% CI, 46%-68%). Complete response (CR) was observed in 21/80 cases (26%). Response was observed in 14/24 (58%) patients with soft tissues as the dominant site of disease, in 22/34 (65%) patients with visceral involvement and in 10/22 (45%) of those with bone as the dominant site of disease. The median duration of response and survival was 9 months (range, 3-16) and 22 months (range, 2-48+), respectively. Toxicity was very manageable, with grade 4 leukopenia and thrombocytopenia in 6/80 (7.5%) and 1/80 (1.25%) patients, respectively, and negligible non-hematological toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of mitoxantrone, 5-fluorouracil and high-dose l-leucovorin is a safe and effective regimen for first-line treatment of advanced breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Modification of soluble immunological parameters during treatment with interleukin-2.

In the present study we tested numerous soluble immunological parameters (soluble Interleukin 2 receptor, Beta 2 microglobulin, Neopterin, soluble CD8 antigen, gamma Interferon and alpha Tumor Necrosis Factor) in sera obtained from 18 advanced cancer patients during subcutaneous treatment with recombinant Interleukin 2. The treatment cycles consisted of a dose of 9 x 10(6) IU/m2 twice daily for 2 days followed by 1.8 x 10(6) IU/m2 twice daily for 5 days/week during 6 weeks. Even before therapy, neoplastic patients had higher levels of soluble Interleukin 2 receptor than a group of healthy subjects. Moreover, basal soluble CD8 antigen levels showed significant differences (p < 0.01) in patients with different clinical responses (responders and non-responders). During treatment we observed a fast increase (in the first or second week) of all parameters considered; soluble Interleukin 2 receptor and soluble CD8 antigen were the markers that were best related to the course of immunotherapy. In conclusion, monitoring recombinant Interleukin 2 immunotherapy with immunological parameters in serum seems to be of interest. However, more data are necessary to confirm the real value of the single markers.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Preliminary report on antimicrobial activity of Helichrysum litoreum Guss.

The authors present the preliminary results regarding the antibacterial action of extracts of Helichrysum litoreum Guss. The leaves and the young stems of this species, gathered on the slopes of Mt Vesuvius, in the Campania region, were ground and four extracts were made as follows: with dichloromethane, ethanol and water (70:30 v/v), water and methanol. The antibacterial activity of each of the samples was tested in order to determine which of the extracts was more antibacterial. The results of the test showed that the extract with the ethanol/water (70/30 v/v) was the most active one. This will allow us to advance in the research, purifying the extract and hopefully identifying the active principles.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Microbiological study of soft cheese purchased in small and middle-sized distribution networks].

The aim of the work is the evaluation of the microbial content of soft cheese when it comes on the table of the consumer. To reach this purpose we have bought, as simple clients, the product in the small and average distributions that apply the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plain and in the small distributions which don't apply it, the collecting and the microbiological analysis of the product has been performed on the different pieces that belong to the whole form of cheese during the days of the week, observing a progressive increase of the bacterial number; besides we have found in the bought cheese that when the form of cheese was at the end, values overcame the limits of law. The increase of the bacterial numbers was greater in the products purchased in the average distributions in order with the application of the self-control, and in the small ones that don't effect this type of selling. The deduction was that the HACCP system has not been correctly applied in all the shops tested and in the exercises without the HACCP plain the contamination levels are higher. The health risk connected with not correct manipulation by the employees still results very elevated.

Cheese↗