Search for neutrino oscillations at the palo verde nuclear reactors

We report on the initial results from a measurement of the antineutrino flux and spectrum at a distance of about 800 m from the three reactors of the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station using a segmented gadolinium-loaded scintillation detector. We find that the antineutrino flux agrees with that predicted in the absence of oscillations excluding at 90% C.L. nu;(e)-nu;(x) oscillations with Deltam(2)>1.12x10(-3) eV(2) for maximal mixing and sin (2)2straight theta>0.21 for large Deltam(2). Our results support the conclusion that the atmospheric neutrino oscillations observed by Super-Kamiokande do not involve nu(e).

Anaesthetics for general anaesthesia in growing pigs.

A comparison was made between different anaesthetics for general anaesthesia in growing pigs, with focus on minor surgery under field conditions and for experiments in clinical research. Healthy cross-breed pigs (Hampshire x Yorkshire x Swedish Landrace) weighing 20-45 kg were used. The anaesthetics combinations compared were 1) azaperone plus metomidate (AM), 2) Zoletil (zolazepam + tiletamine) plus xylazine (ZX), and 3) Zoletil plus xylazine plus ketamine (ZXK). Parameters measured were: heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and depth of analgesia (pin-prick). Minor surgery was performed to test the reliability of the "pin-prick" tests. It was clearly shown that AM produces anaesthesia with good cardiovascular stability and is a drug combination that is suitable for minor surgery. ZX also produces a good anaesthesia characterized by reliable and rapid induction. Good cardiovascular function is maintained, and the laryngeal relaxation makes intubation possible. These characteristics are very useful in a laboratory environment, as easy handling to avoid stress is necessary for research. Although it is difficult to evaluate the quality of analgesia from this study, it is concluded that ZX did not provide a superior anaesthesia and analgesia compared to AM in crossbreed pigs. However, these drugs are too expensive for regular use in ambulatory practice. The effects of ZXK resemble those of ZX, but the ZXK-drug combination has no anaesthetic advantages and is more laborious to work with.

Lithotripsy of urinary bladder stones with a mechanical lithotriptor inserted through a narrow introducer. An experimental study in pigs.

Mechanical lithotripsy of urinary bladder stones was performed with the RotoLith lithotriptor in 8 pigs with implanted human stones or artificial stones after open cystotomy. The effect of the treatment on the urinary bladder was investigated macro- and microscopically immediately after the lithotripsy in 4 animals and 4 weeks after the lithotripsy in the other 4 animals. The stones were fragmented into very small pieces which would have been possible to pass with the urine. The histopathologic examination immediately after the procedure showed slight mucosal edema, patches of erosions in the mucosa, and minor submucosal bleeding. Microscopic examination of the bladders removed 4 weeks after lithotripsy showed slight chronic inflammation. The experimental results have encouraged us to plan to use this lithotripsy procedure in selected patients with bladder stones.

Cytogenetic analysis of 57 primary prostatic adenocarcinomas.

Cytogenetic analysis after short-term culture in vitro of primary tumor samples was attempted in 82 patients with prostatic cancer. Tumor material was obtained by radical prostatectomy or transurethral resection. Successful cytogenetic studies were performed on 57 tumors of which five were well, 30 moderately, and 22 poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas. Only normal karyotypes were found in 24 tumors. Structural nonclonal aberrations were detected in 18 and clonal karyotypic abnormalities in 15 tumors. The most common clonal numerical aberration was loss of the Y chromosome; a missing Y was found in six tumors, in three of these as the sole anomaly. Clonal structural chromosomal rearrangements, usually accompanied by numerical changes, were detected in 12 tumors. The rearrangements involved 18 of the 22 autosomes and the X chromosome. Chromosomes 1, 7, and 10 were most frequently affected. Deletions, duplications, inversions, insertions, and balanced as well as unbalanced translocations were represented. The breakpoints in chromosome 1 were scattered along both the short and long arms with no obvious clustering, whereas those in chromosomes 7 and 10 were clustered at bands 7q22 (two deletions and two duplications in four different tumors) and 10q24 (two translocations, one deletion, and one inversion in four tumors). One additional tumor displayed a derivative chromosome 10 with a breakpoint in 10q23, and one had monosomy 10. Altogether, these abnormalities resulted in loss of 10q24----qter in five tumors. Monosomy 8 and rearrangements of the short arm of chromosome 8 leading to loss of 8p21----pter were seen in four tumors. Double minute chromosomes were found in two tumors.

AgNOR staining in benign hyperplasia and carcinoma of the prostate.

We have modified existing techniques for silver staining of nucleolar organizer regions of intact interphase cells by hypotonic swelling and by formic acid treatment to reduce background staining. This allowed the microscopic identification and counting of individual AgNORs in the nucleoli. The method was used on nine adenomatous prostatic samples (including one of normal prostate tissue outside a localized tumor) and on seven prostatic adenocarcinomas. In general, the adenomatous samples displayed fewer AgNORs (mean 13 dots/cell) than did the carcinomas (mean 24 dots/cell). Although no cells with very high AgNOR counts were found in specimens from nonmalignant tumors, two of the adenomatous prostates did have AgNOR profiles that to a large extent overlapped with those of carcinomas. A highly differentiated carcinoma (of which only very small amounts were present in the sample) had low AgNOR counts. The three moderately differentiated carcinomas had more silver-positive material than the nonmalignant prostates but less than the three poorly differentiated carcinomas. The latter tumors also had a substantial proportion of cells with greater than 60 AgNOR counts, something that was never seen in carcinomas with higher differentiation. The data indicate that analysis of silver staining-positive material in intact interphase cells may help distinguish between benign and malignant prostatic tumors and between highly malignant and low malignant carcinomas.

Prognostic factors in clinical stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testis: multivariate analysis of a prospective multicenter study. Swedish-Norwegian Testicular Cancer Group.

Between 1981 and 1986, 279 consecutive patients with clinical stage I (CS1) nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT) of the testis underwent pathological staging (PS) with retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy (RPLND). Patients with retroperitoneal metastases (PS2) received adjuvant chemotherapy. The median follow-up time after RPLND was 50 months (range, 30 to 90). Clinical and histopathologic features were registered prospectively and analyzed for association with risk of having PS2, relapse despite pathological stage 1 (PS1) or the combined risk of either event, metastatic disease (MET). Seventy-five (26.9%) of the patients had PS2 disease, and 30 (14.7%) of the 204 PS1 patients relapsed, indicating that at least 105 (37.6%) of this CS1 population had subclinical MET at the time of orchiectomy. Four (1.4%) of the 279 CS1 patients died of testicular cancer. Multivariate analyses showed several variables to be significantly associated with outcome for the CS1 patients; vascular invasion in primary tumor and normal preorchiectomy serum alpha-fetoprotein (Pre-AFP) level indicated PS2 disease. If Pre-AFP was excluded from the model, the absence of teratoma or yolk sac elements in the primary tumor became significant predictors of PS2. Vascular invasion, absence of teratoma, and a short interval between orchiectomy and RPLND indicated increased risk of relapse in PS1 patients. Vascular invasion, normal Pre-AFP, absence of teratoma elements, and a short orchiectomy to RPLND interval were predictive of MET. Our results indicate that prognostic factors useful for stratification of CS1 patients with NSGCT to different treatment options may be established.

Intravesical mitomycin C for carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder.

Mitomycin C was given intravesically over periods of 2-32 months to 34 patients with carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder. Initial complete response was obtained in 17 patients, 14 of whom remained without evidence of disease during follow-up averaging 28 months from cessation of mitomycin therapy. In three responding patients malignant cells reappeared in the urine during follow-up, although no recurrence of carcinoma could be proven in bladder biopsy specimens. In eight of the 17 non-responders, muscle invasion and/or metastatic disease developed during or after mitomycin treatment. The prostatic urethra was involved in five cases. Chemotherapy had to be discontinued because of chemical cystitis in three cases. Mitomycin C appears to be effective for intravesical treatment of carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder. Close surveillance of these patients is mandatory, however, and must include monitoring not only of the bladder, but also of the prostatic urethra and the upper urinary tract.

Malignant lymphoma of the testis.

Lymphoma presenting in the testis was evaluated in 24 patients. The tumours were classified according to both the Rappaport and the Kiel classification. The Rappaport classification yielded only two tumour types--15 diffuse histiocytic and 9 diffuse mixed histiocytic-lymphocytic, with no pure lymphocytic lymphoma. No difference in survival time was found between these two tumour types. According to the Kiel classification there were four histological tumour types--immunoblastic (11 cases), centroblastic (2), centroblastic/centrocytic (6) and polymorphic immunocytic (5). In comparison with the other tumour types, the centroblastic/centrocytic lymphomas seemed to be advantageous as regards survival. It is concluded that systemic treatment with chemotherapy in accordance with current principles for malignant lymphoma is indicated following orchiectomy in localised testicular lymphoma as well as in disseminated disease. The value of post-operative radiotherapy to regional nodes is questionable.

Occlusion of renal arterial tumor supply with absolute ethanol. Experience with 20 cases.

Absolute ethanol was used for renal ablation in 20 patients with carcinoma of the kidney. The procedure was followed by nephrectomy in 6 patients without metastases, all of whom are alive without evidence of recurrence 4 to 20 months after treatment. Fourteen patients with metastatic or locally advanced disease were embolized to palliate pain or hematuria without subsequent nephrectomy. Of these only 2 are alive, 4 and 18 months following the procedure. The technique for ethanol embolization is described and the use of occluding balloon catheters is recommended. No complications were encountered and the 'postembolization syndrome' was less marked as compared with a previous material of equal size where other methods of renal artery occlusion were employed. Microscopic examination in 10 of the infarcted kidneys showed extensive tumor necroses, sometimes with no evidence of viable tumor cells at all. Natural killer cell activity was determined before and 48 hours after renal artery occlusion in 7 patients, showing somewhat increased activity in 4. It is concluded that absolute ethanol is a safe, effective and easily administered agent for the infarction of renal tumors.

Intravesical adriamycin therapy in carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder.

Intravesical Adriamycin treatment was given to 22 patients with carcinoma in situ of the urinary bladder. The treatment schedule consisted of monthly Adriamycin instillations in a dose related to bladder capacity. Endoscopic inspection with multiple bladder biopsies and cytoanalysis of urine was performed after every third instillation. In two patients there was lasting disappearance of the carcinoma in situ. Another 10 patients possibly had a beneficial effect of the treatment. The remaining 10 patients showed persistent malignancy and in 6 of these, progression of carcinoma in situ during Adriamycin treatment necessitated cystectomy or radiotherapy. The histologic and cytologic findings showed distinct variability in most patients, with atypia or even absence of malignant cells often followed by recurrence. Adriamycin was discontinued in four cases because of severe cystitis, and in one case because of an anaphylactoid reaction following instillation of the drug.

Staging of bladder carcinoma with computed tomography.

In a series of 24 patients with bladder carcinoma. 17 of whom underwent cystourethrectomy, the discriminatory power of computer tomography (CT) in staging of the tumours was compared with the clinical evaluation. In low-stage tumours the accuracy of staging was not increased by CT. In high-stage tumours CT was greatly superior to clinical examination for assessing neoplastic extension. CT is recommended in bladder carcinoma for which cystourethrectomy is planned, so as to achieve maximum accuracy of information concerning depth of infiltration.

Spontaneous hemothorax from bronchopulmonary sequestration. Unusual angiographic and pathologic-anatomic findings.

An eight year old girl with acute glomerulonephritis developed a massive hemothorax without previous trauma. Angiography demonstrated a bronchopulmonary sequestration with multiple arterial aneurysms. Surgical treatment was succussful. Pathologic-anatomic examination revealed arteritis of the type seen in the postcoarctectomy syndrome.

Histological grading and treatment failures in carcinoma of the uterine body.

In a material of 777 patients with carcinoma of the uterine body, Stages I and II, 115 (15%) had poorly differentiated tumours, and 662 (85%) moderately-to-well differentiated tumours. The five-year tumour death rate was 34% and 12%, respectively. No differences in local recurrences and metastases in the pelvis were recorded in the two tumour groups. On the other hand, distant metastases occurred in 23% of patients with poorly differentiated tumours, and only in 5% among patients with moderately-to-well differentiated tumours. Whether chemotherapy integrated in the treatment-scheme would reduce the frequency of distant metastases and improve the survival rate remains an open question.

Chlamydia trachomatis infection of the Fallopian tubes. Histological findings in two patients.

In two patients with acute salpingitis, C. trachomatis was isolated from the cervix. In one of the patients, the organism was also recovered from the Fallopian tubes, and in the other, chlamydial inclusions were found in Giemsa-stained tubal epithelial cells. A significant change in micro-immunofluorescence antibodies to C. trachomatis occurred in both patients during the course of the disease. The Fallopian tubes of both patients were removed and studied by conventional histological techniques and, in the case of one of them, by transmission electron microscopy.