Two episodes of meningitis due to penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae occurring in two patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) are reported. Both patients were treated with ...ceftazidime. The first patient died, unresponsive to therapy. The second patient showed clinical improvement, reverting to her baseline mental status. This report draws attention to the fact that in chronic GVHD patients: (1) bacterial prophylaxis does not ensure protection against encapsulated bacteria; (2) rapid microbiological investigation is recommended with any upper respiratory tract infections.
During a virus survey, carried out in garlic crops in Emilia-Romagna, a carlavirus was detected and studied to establish any relationships to garlic carlaviruses reported elsewhere.
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of nonthermal extremely high-frequency microwave radiations in a plant-based bioassay, represented by tobacco plants reacting to tobacco ...mosaic virus with a hypersensitive response leading to the appearance of necrotic lesions at the infection sites.
This study was performed blind and different experimental protocols on tobacco plants inoculated with tobacco mosaic virus were used. BIO-OBJECTS: Tobacco plants (Nicotiana tabacum L. cultivar Samsun) carrying the resistance gene N against tobacco mosaic virus.
Tobacco plants or leaf disks were either directly or indirectly (water-mediated) irradiated using a medical device, designed for microwave resonance therapy. It produces nonthermal weak-intensity extremely high-frequency radiations, either modulated at extremely low frequency or in continuous flux of waves, coupled with a nonthermal red/near-infrared radiation.
The working variable was the number of hypersensitive lesions per leaf disk.
Both direct and indirect nonthermal microwave radiations led to significant effects on the hypersensitive response of tobacco plants: modulated radiations generally induced a resistance increase, whereas a continuous flux of waves induced a resistance decrease with direct treatments only.
Nonthermal microwave radiations are effective on the hypersensitive response of tobacco to tobacco mosaic virus and their low-frequency modulation seems to be more bioactive than the continuous-flux of waves, particularly in the indirect water-mediated treatments.
This panel was set up by the U.S. Department of Energy's Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee in response to a request from the department to prepare a strategy for the study of burning fusion ...plasmas. Experimental study of a burning plasma has long been a goal of the U.S. science-based fusion energy program. There is an overwhelming consensus among fusion scientists that we are now ready scientifically, and have the full technical capability, to embark on this step. The fusion community is prepared to construct a facility that will allow us to produce this new plasma state in the laboratory, uncover the new physics associated with the fusion burn, and develop and test new technology essential for fusion power. Given this background, the panel has produced a strategy to enable the United States to proceed with this crucial next step in fusion energy science. The strategy was constructed with awareness that the burning plasma program is only one major component in a comprehensive development plan for fusion energy. A strong core science and technology program focused on fundamental understanding, confinement configuration optimization, and the development of plasma and fusion technologies essential to the realization of fusion energy. The core program will also be essential to the successful guidance and exploitation of the burning plasma program, providing the necessary knowledge base and scientific workforce.
This is the report of a panel set up by the U.S. Department of Energy Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee (FESAC) in response to a charge letter on October 5, 2000, from Dr. Mildred ...Dresselhaus, then Director of the DOE's Office of Science. In that letter, Dr. Dresselhaus asked the FESAC to investigate the subject of burning plasma science. The report addresses several topics, including the scientific issues to be addressed by a burning plasma experiment and its major supporting elements, identification of issues that are generic to toroidal confinement, and the role of the Next-Step Options (NSO) Program.
Seventeen multiple myeloma (2, S.IIA, 1, S.IIB; and 14, S.IIIA) and 1 loco-regional advanced extramedullary myeloma patients were treated with ICOMP chemotherapy (Idarubicin, I 10
mg/m
2 day 1; ...Cyclophosphamide, CTX 1.2
g/m
2 days 1 and 3; Vincristine, O 1.2
mg/m
2 day 1 and methylprednisolone, MP 250
mg days I and 3, 125
mg days 2 and 4). All drugs were given IV. G-CSF (5 J.μg/kg) was administered SC from day 5 to recovery from neutropenia. All patients, but one, had received prior chemotherapy (median 3 types combmations, range 1–7). Nine had relapsing and 9 resistant disease to previous treatment. Five patients discontinued therapy, 1 after the 1
st
cycle because of herpes zoster, 3 because of disease progression (l after the 2
nd
, 1 after the 3
rd
and 1 after the 5
th
cycle). The last developed a non-therapy related myocardial infarction 5 days after the 3
rd
cycle. Nine PR, 4 SD and 1 PD were observed in the 13 patients who completed at least 6 cycles. In the first 6 cycles, 18/18, 16/17, 14/16, 12/14, 12/14 and 11/13 patients respectively received between 75% and 100% of the planned I dose and 18/18, 16/17, 14/16, 14/14, 13/14 and 12/13 patients 75%–100% of the projected CTX dose. A WBC <1000/cmm was documented in 10/18 (median 3.5 days, range 2–11), 9/17 (4, 2–15), 8/16 (3, 2– 6), 7/14 (3, 1–5), 7(14 (3, 1–5) and 5/13 (3, 2–6) from the 1st to the 6th cycle and a platelet count < 100,000/cmm in 7/18 (9, 5–28), 9/17 (8, 1–31),7/16 (10, 3–28), 7/l4 (6, 2–28), 8/14 (7, 2–34), 5/13 (2, 1–20). Our results indicate that the therapeutic regimen adopted is reasonably well tolerated as well as active against advanced MM.
A new strain of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV-P), able to overcome in tomato both Tm-2 and Tm-2² resistance alíeles of Tm-2 locus, is described. This is the first report of a strain virulent against both ...Tm-2 and Tm-2² alleles, whereas different isolates overcoming Tm-1 and either Tm-2 or Tm-2² are known. The biological, morphological and serological features of TMV-P have been compared with those of Tm-2 and Tm-2² resistance breaking strains. Some of the mechanisms possibly involved in the overcoming of both Tm-2 and Tm-2² genes are indicated.
