Intraoperative radiation therapy for brain metastasis in a pregnant patient: a case report.

We present the rare case of a 42-year-old woman with oligometastatic lung adenocarcinoma in her first trimester of pregnancy who was treated for brain metastases with metastasectomy and intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) using the INTRABEAM® system (Zeiss AG, Jena, Germany). This case underscores the potential of IORT in optimizing cancer treatment while safeguarding fetal health in pregnant patients.

Tropical fruit trees as bioindicators of industrial air pollution in southeast Brazil.

Psidium guajava L., Psidium cattleyanum Sabine and Mangifera indica L. were tested under field conditions as possible tropical bioindicators of industrial air pollution. The study was performed around the industrial complex of Cubatão, SE Brazil, which comprises 23 industries, including fertilizer, cement, chemical, petrochemical, and steel plants, with 110 production units and 260 emission sources of pollutants. Saplings were exposed to environmental conditions during four periods of 16 weeks each (September 1994-September 1995), at four different sites in the coastal mountains near the industrial complex: the Valley of Pilões River (VP), the reference area; the Valley of Mogi River (VM), with high contamination of particulate matter, fluorides (F), sulfur (S) and nitrogen (N) compounds; Caminho do Mar (CM1, CM2), mainly affected by organic pollutants, S and N compounds, and secondary pollutants; and Paranapiacaba (PP), affected by secondary pollutants, such as ozone. M. indica did not adapt to the climatic conditions at the exposure sites. In the two Psidium species, the presence of visible symptoms, root/shoot ratio, foliar contents of F, S and N, amounts of ascorbate (AA) and water-soluble thiols (-SH), as well as peroxidase activity (POD) were determined. P. guajava showed higher foliar accumulation of F, S and N, more pronounced alterations of biochemical indicators, and less visible leaf injury than P. cattleyanum. P. guajava may be used as an accumulative indicator in tropical climates, while further studies will be needed before P. cattleyanum might be applied as a sensitive species in biomonitoring programs.

EuroBionet: a pan-European biomonitoring network for urban air quality assessment.

EuroBionet, the 'European Network for the Assessment of Air Quality by the Use of Bioindicator Plants', is an EU-funded cooperative project currently consisting of public authorities and scientific institutes from 12 cities in 8 countries. In 2000, the bioindicator plants tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum Bel W3), poplar (Populus nigra 'Brandaris'), spiderwort (Tradescantia sp. clone 4430), Italian rye grass (Lolium multiflorum italicum) and curly kale (Brassica oleracea acephala) were exposed to ambient air at 90 monitoring sites according to standardised methods. Visible injuries and growth parameters were assessed and the accumulation of toxic substances in leaves determined. The exposure of tobacco resulted in a gradient with low levels of ozone-induced foliar injury in N and NW Europe, and medium to high values in the southern and central regions. The results of heavy metal and sulphur analyses in rye grass samples generally showed low to very low sulphur and low to medium heavy metal concentrations in leaves. In some cities, however, local hot spots of heavy metal contamination were detected. Analyses of the PAH contents in curly kale leaves gave low to medium values, with locally elevated levels at traffic-exposed sites.

Response of stress indicators and growth parameters of Tibouchina pulchra Cogn. exposed to air and soil pollution near the industrial complex of Cubatão, Brazil.

The present study was performed in the vicinity of the industrial complex of Cubatão, São Paulo, Brazil, in order to evaluate the response of 'manaca da serra' Tibouchina pulchra Cogn. (Melastomataceae), a common species of secondary Atlantic Rain Forest vegetation, to the impact of complex air pollution. Emphasis was given to changes of biochemical parameters such as ascorbic acid concentration, peroxidase activity, contents of water-soluble thiols, pH of leaf extract and buffering capacity. These plant factors are often used as early indicators of air pollution stress. Field experiments included sampling of leaves from mature trees in areas with different air pollution load (passive monitoring), exposure of saplings cultivated in uniform soil at these areas (active monitoring) and a study on the combined effects of contaminated soil and air pollution. In general, metabolic response of saplings was more accentuated than that of mature trees. Leaf extract pH and buffering capacity showed no or only small alterations in plants exposed to industrial emissions. In contrast, air pollution resulted in a distinct decrease in ascorbic acid contents and an increase in peroxidase activity and thiol concentrations in leaves. Cultivation of saplings in soil types from contaminated regions frequently caused the same modifications or enhanced the effects produced by air pollution. Growth analysis of exposed saplings demonstrated that a change of the relationship between above-ground and below-ground plant parts was the most obvious effect of air pollution and soil contamination. The experiments showed that even T. pulchra, a species considered resistant to air pollution, suffers metabolic disturbances by the present ambient air and soil quality. Although biochemical and physiological alterations were not related to a certain air pollution type, they could be used to estimate the overall pollution load and to map zones with different air quality.

Reactivity of ether- and amine-complexed dimers and tetramers of alkyllithiums towards triphenylmethane.

Kinetics of Lewis base (LB) complexed primary and secondary sigma-alkyllithiums (RLi) with triphenylmethane (TPMH) are reported. RLis in which one or two LB groups (-OMe, -NMe, -NMeR) are part of the molecule form, in benzene, intramolecularly complexed tetramers, for example, 2(4), or dimers, for example, 4(2). They are used as models for their intermolecular congeners R4Li4 x 4LB and R2Li2 x 4LB (LB = NR'3, OR'2). Nonunity reaction orders in [RLi] are in line with reactions via as yet unidentified 1:1 complexes formed in an equilibrium (K(stat. corr.) approximately = 1) between aggregated RLi and TPMH. In some cases, a tetramer/dimer equilibrium mixture undergoes complexation/reaction. Reaction rates correlate linearly with calculated concentrations of the complexes. Relative rates of complexes range from 1 [prim-R4Li4 x 3LB x TPMH (presumed)] to 4250 [sec-R2Li2 x 3LB x TPMH (presumed)]. A major role in the reactivity enhancement owing to LB-induced conversion of tetramers into dimers is ascribed to increased LB participation in LB-richer dimer transition states. Amine and ether complexes have practically equal reactivities. Lithiation of TPMH by dimeric RCH2Li is retarded by a factor of 24000 if a silyl group is linked to the alpha-carbon.

Hemerocallis as bioindicator of fluoride pollution in tropical countries.

In the frame of an active monitoring study at the Serra do Mar near the industrial pool of Cubatão, Brazil,Hemerocallis was tested for its suitability as bioindicator of airborne fluoride pollution. In a screening experiment with various cultivars comparison of susceptibility, correlation of visible injury and foliar fluoride concentration as well as comparison with exposure ofGladiolus gave best results for theHemerocallis cultivar 'Red Moon'. When exposed simultaneously foliar fluoride accumulation ofHemerocallis showed a highly significant linear correlation with fluoride content ofLolium multiflorum, the 'standardized grass culture' andGladiolus, well-known bioindicator species for fluoride impact. With respect to the extent of foliar injuryHemerocallis was less sensitive thanGladiolus, in terms of accumulation capacity it ranged betweenLolium andGladiolus. In general, the results of the biomonitoring study proved that the Atlantic Forest vegetation in a valley downwind from the Cubatão fertilizer industries is still suffering from severe fluoride pollution.

Plants as bioindicators of air pollution at the Serra do Mar near the industrial complex of Cubatão, Brazil.

As a result of air pollutant emissions from the industrial complex of Cubatão, Brazil, the Atlantic Forest vegetation of the Serra do Mar shows severe and widespread damage. In order to obtain information on the type, intensity and causes of the vegetation damage, bioindicator plants were exposed at different distances from the emission sources. Air-pollution-induced effects were evaluated by estimation of visible injury symptoms and chemical analyses of leaves. The results prove the occurrence of phytotoxic levels of photochemical oxidants in wide parts of the research area. Intense fluoride-induced damage and high leaf fluoride concentrations were found in a valley downwind of fertiliser industries. The study showed that some of the traditional standardised bioindication methods from temperate climates may be successfully employed in biomonitoring programmes in tropical and subtropical regions.