[Evaluation of the respiratory function by lung scintigraphy in patients candidates for pulmonary resection]. / Valutazione della funzione respiratoria mediante scintigrafia polmonare nei pazienti candidati a resezione polmonare.

Sixty-one patients undergoing pulmonary resection were studied pre- and post-operatively by spirometry, arterial gas determination, and quantitative ventilation/perfusion lung scanning. Our results showed that ventilation and/or perfusional scintigraphic scanning is currently the most reliable method in identifying patients at risk for postoperative respiratory insufficiency. Specifically, this technique was successful in detecting pulmonary areas other than those to be resected presenting ventilation or perfusional abnormalities. Therefore, the technique is particularly useful in predicting residual pulmonary function.

[Fibrin-glue in the treatment of a bronchocutaneous fistula]. / Trattamento di una fistola bronco-cutanea con colla di fibrina.

The treatment of postoperative chronic thoracic fistulas with fibrin glue can be the non-operative ideal solution for the relative simplicity of the execution technique.

[Malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Two case reports and review of the literature]. / L'istiocitoma fibroso maligno. Presentazione di due casi e revisione della letteratura.

The authors report two cases of malignant fibrous histiocytoma localised in the gluteus maximus and re-evaluate some clinical and biological aspects of the neoplasia. Although its histiogenesis is still unsure, the tumour can be classified into various isotopes: the vorticoid-polymorphous variety (70%), and the myxoid, giant cell, angiomatous and inflammatory varieties. It is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in adults and onset is most frequently observed on the trunk and limbs. Biological behaviour shows a marked tendency to local recidivation, with metastatic diffusion occurring mainly late. The choice of therapy consists of more or less radical surgical removal with or without ratio- and immunotherapy. The results of surgery are influenced by the technique used, and the biological and clinical behaviour of the tumour; in view of the numerous case reports of anomalous behaviour, these factors are only indicative. Therapeutic efficacy is on the whole greater in cases of tumours with diameters of less than 5 cm and more superficial localisations compared to the deep muscular fascia.

Renal cell carcinoma in adolescents. A case report and review of the literature.

Renal cell carcinoma is rare in adolescents. Observation of a 16-year-old girl with a clear-cell carcinoma prompted us to review 372 published cases in adolescents. The tumor affects the sexes indifferently and has no side predominance. The incidence is higher in white races. The most frequent presenting sign is a palpable mass (52.7%). X-ray films typically show renal calcifications (25%). The most common histotype is the clear cell carcinoma (76.8%) and at diagnosis 59.5% of these tumors already extended beyond the kidney. The overall 5-year actuarial survival rate is 60.4%.

[Poland syndrome. Problems of reconstructive and aesthetic surgery--a clinical case]. / La sindrome di Poland. Problematiche di chirurgia ricostruttiva ed estetica e presentazione di un caso clinico.

The Authors report a case of Poland's syndrome formerly undergone reconstructive surgery with unsatisfactory results. Therefore, a new surgical reconstructive strategy having aesthetic purposes is illustrated.

Energy flux and membrane synthesis in photosynthetic bacteria.

Synthesis of the energy-converting membrane complex of the photosynthetic purple bacterium Rhodopseudomonas capsulata during growth under different conditions of energy flux was studied by examining the disorganizing effects of polymyxin B, with or without lysozyme, on integrity of the cell envelope. Cells growing with a limited supply of energy show an elevated bacteriochlorophyll content and increased resistance to breakdown of the "permeability barrier" by these agents. It seems that purple bacteria respond to energy restriction by preferentially synthesizing excess bacteriochlorophyll-membrane which, in effect, toughens the cell integument.

Selective Inhibition by Actinomycin D of the Synthesis in Photosynthetic and Non-photosynthetic Enzymes During the Greening of Etiolated Bean Leaves.

The effect of actinomycin D on the synthesis of the photosynthetic apparatus during illumination of etiolated leaves of Phaseolus vulgaris was studied. The increase of chlorophyll content and of the activities of some photosynthetic enzymes (NADPH diaphorase, ferredoxin, NADP(+) glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase) was compared with simultaneous measurements of the level of other enzymes not considered associated with photosynthesis (ornithine transcarbamylase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, NAD(+) glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase).The effect of the inhibitor on the synthesis of the components of the photosynthetic apparatus is much larger than its effect on the synthesis of non-photosynthetic enzymes when the antibiotic is supplied 2 hr before illumination. The same selective action is also obtained if actinomycin D is added after 20 hr of exposure of the leaves to light.The markedly different sensitivity to the inhibitor of the synthesis of photosynthetic enzymes, as compared to non-photosynthetic ones, is interpreted as a selective inhibition at the level of DNA-directed synthesis of RNA molecules.This RNA may be involved either in the regulation of chloroplast differentiation or in the specification of some component essential for the formation of the plastidial structure or for the activity of plastidial ribosomes.