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BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to analyze the feasibility of a physiological coronary evaluation with the instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) of nonculprit lesions in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) successfully revascularized. METHODS A multicenter registry including patients of four high-volume PCI centers with ACS and underwent successful revascularization of the culprit vessel and had other nonculprit lesions that were physiologically evaluated with the iFR between January 2017 and December 2019. The primary endpoint was a composite of cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, probable or definitive stent thrombosis and new revascularization (MACEs). RESULTS A total of 356 patients with 472 nonculprit lesions were included. The mean age was 66 ± 11 years. The clinical presentation was ACS without persistent ST-segment elevation (NSTE-ACS) in 235 patients (66%) and ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in 121 patients (34%). After a median follow-up period of 21 (14-30) months, the primary endpoint occurred in 32 patients (9%). There were no differences in outcomes regarding clinical presentation (NSTEMI vs. NSTE-ACS, 9.1 vs. 8.9%, padj = 0.570) or iFR induced treatment strategy (patients with all lesions revascularized vs. patients with at least one lesion with an iFR > 0.89 deferred for revascularization, 10.5 vs. 8.4%, padj = 0.476). CONCLUSIONS The use of the iFR to guide percutaneous coronary intervention decision making in nonculprit lesions seems to be feasible, with an acceptable percentage of MACEs at the mid-term follow-up. Patients with deferred revascularization of lesions without physiological significance and patients undergoing complete revascularization had a similar risk of MACEs.

Central aortic blood pressure could be helpful in the evaluation of patients with aortic stenosis (AS). The SphygmoCor XCEL device estimates central blood pressure (BP) measurement with its easy-to-use, operator-independent procedure. However, this device has not been properly validated against invasive measurement in patients with severe AS. We evaluated the relationship between cuff-brachial BP, transfer function- estimated and invasively measured central aortic pressure in patients with severe AS before and after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Agreement between techniques was analyzed and, according to the ARTERY Society recommendations, the minimum acceptable error was a mean difference ± SD ≤5 ± ≤8 mm Hg. A total of 94 patients with AS undergoing TAVR had simultaneous non-invasive and invasive measurements of central BP before and after the procedure. Before TAVR central systolic BP was in average slightly underestimated, though with wide variability, when using the default calibration of brachial-cuff SBP (mean difference ± SD, −3 ± 15 mm Hg), and after TAVR the degree of underestimation increased (mean difference ± SD, −9 ± 13 mm Hg). The agreement tended to improve for those patients with low aor- tic gradient stenosis compared to those with high gradient at baseline (mean dif- ference ± SD, −2 ± 11 mm Hg vs. −4 ± 17, respectively, p = .3). The cuff-brachial systolic BP yielded numerically lower degree of agreement and weaker correlation with invasive measurements than SphygmoCor XCEL. In patients with severe AS the SphygmoCor XCEL cuff device, despite showing strong correlation, does not meet the ARTERY Society accuracy criteria for non-invasive measurement of central SBP.

Data Availability Statement All Mars 2020 MEDA data necessary to reproduce each figure shown in this manuscript are available via the Planetary Data System (PDS) Atmospheres node (Rodriguez-Manfredi & de la Torre Juarez, 2021). An exception to this are the LWd values in the 5–80 μm range (Figures 8, 9, and 10 top, Figure 11 top, and Figure 15), and the aerosol opacity values derived from TIRS (Figure 10, middle and Figure 11, top), which are publicly available via the USRA Houston Repository (Martinez et al., 2022). THEMIS retrievals of thermal inertia shown in Figure 7 and TES retrievals of albedo in Figure 14 can be queried and processed using the open-source JMARS (Christensen et al., 2009) and MARSTHERM (Putzig et al., 2013) software. The Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) on board Perseverance includes first-of-its-kind sensors measuring the incident and reflected solar flux, the downwelling atmospheric IR flux, and the upwelling IR flux emitted by the surface. We use these measurements for the first 350 sols of the Mars 2020 mission (Ls ∼ 6°–174° in Martian Year 36) to determine the surface radiative budget on Mars and to calculate the broadband albedo (0.3–3 μm) as a function of the illumination and viewing geometry. Together with MEDA measurements of ground temperature, we calculate the thermal inertia for homogeneous terrains without the need for numerical thermal models. We found that (a) the observed downwelling atmospheric IR flux is significantly lower than the model predictions. This is likely caused by the strong diurnal variation in aerosol opacity measured by MEDA, which is not accounted for by numerical models. (b) The albedo presents a marked non-Lambertian behavior, with lowest values near noon and highest values corresponding to low phase angles (i.e., Sun behind the observer). (c) Thermal inertia values ranged between 180 (sand dune) and 605 (bedrock-dominated material) SI units. (d) Averages of albedo and thermal inertia (spatial resolution of ∼3–4 m2) along Perseverance's traverse are in very good agreement with collocated retrievals of thermal inertia from Thermal Emission Imaging System (spatial resolution of 100 m per pixel) and of bolometric albedo in the 0.25–2.9 μm range from (spatial resolution of ∼300 km2). The results presented here are important to validate model predictions and provide ground-truth to orbital measurements. Germán Martínez wants to acknowledge JPL funding from USRA Contract Number 1638782. A. V. R. is supported by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) Project MDM-2017-0737, Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu”—Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), and by the Comunidad de Madrid Project S2018/NMT-4291 (TEC2SPACE-CM). J. J. acknowledges funding from Mastcam-Z ASU subcontract 15-707. R. H., A. S. L., and A. M. were supported by Grant PID2019-109467GB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ and by Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1742-22. F. G. acknowledges financial support from the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and the European Regional Development Fund “A way of making Europe” through project the Centre of Excellence “María de Maeztu” award to the Centro de Astrobiología (MDM-2017-0737), and from the Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial through Project S.IGS22001. L. M. was supported by CNES and IRIS-OCAV. J. P., M. H., and A.-M. H. are thankful for the Finnish Academy Grant 310509. M.-P. Z. was supported by Grant PID2019-104205GB-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033. M. de la T. J. acknowledges partial funding from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). The JPL co-authors acknowledge funding from NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Science Mission Directorate. Peerreview

We characterize vortex and dust devils (DDs) at Jezero from pressure and winds obtained with the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) instrument on Mars 2020 over 415 Martian days (sols) (Ls = 6°–213°). Vortices are abundant (4.9 per sol with pressure drops >0.5 Pa correcting from gaps in coverage) and they peak at noon. At least one in every five vortices carries dust, and 75% of all vortices with Δp > 2.0 Pa are dusty. Seasonal variability was small but DDs were abundant during a dust storm (Ls = 152°–156°). Vortices are more frequent and intense over terrains with lower thermal inertia favoring high daytime surface-to-air temperature gradients. We fit measurements of winds and pressure during DD encounters to models of vortices. We obtain vortex diameters that range from 5 to 135 m with a mean of 20 m, and from the frequency of close encounters we estimate a DD activity of 2.0–3.0 DDs km−2 sol−1. A comparison of MEDA observations with a Large Eddy Simulation of Jezero at Ls = 45° produces a similar result. Three 100-m size DDs passed within 30 m of the rover from what we estimate that the activity of DDs with diameters >100 m is 0.1 DDs km−2sol−1, implying that dust lifting is dominated by the largest vortices in Jezero. At least one vortex had a central pressure drop of 9.0 Pa and internal winds of 25 ms−1. The MEDA wind sensors were partially damaged during two DD encounters whose characteristics we elaborate in detail. The authors are very grateful to the entire Mars 2020 science operations team. The authors would also like to thank Lori Fenton and an anonymous reviewer for many suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. This work was supported by Grant PID2019-109467GB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/ and by Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1742-22 and by the Spanish National Research, Development and Innovation Program, through the Grants RTI2018-099825-B-C31, ESP2016-80320-C2-1-R, and ESP2014-54256-C4-3-R. Baptiste Chide is supported by the Director's Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. M. Lemmon is supported by contract 15-712 from Arizona State University and 1607215 from Caltech-JPL. R. Lorenz was supported by JPL contract 1655893. Germán Martínez acknowledges JPL funding from USRA Contract Number 1638782. A. Munguira was supported by Grant PRE2020-092562 funded by MCIN/AEI and by “ESF Investing in your future.” A. Vicente-Retortillo is supported by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) Project No. MDM-2017-0737 Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu”-Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC), and by the Comunidad de Madrid Project S2018/NMT-4291 (TEC2SPACE-CM). Part of the research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). Finnish researchers acknowledge the Academy of Finland Grant 328 310529. Researchers based in France acknowledge support from the CNES for their work on Perseverance.

Rovers and landers on Mars have experienced local, regional, and planetary-scale dust storms. However, in situ documentation of active lifting within storms has remained elusive. Over 5–11 January 2022 (LS 153°–156°), a dust storm passed over the Perseverance rover site. Peak visible optical depth was ∼2, and visibility across the crater was briefly reduced. Pressure amplitudes and temperatures responded to the storm. Winds up to 20 m s−1 rotated around the site before the wind sensor was damaged. The rover imaged 21 dust-lifting events—gusts and dust devils—in one 25-min period, and at least three events mobilized sediment near the rover. Rover tracks and drill cuttings were extensively modified, and debris was moved onto the rover deck. Migration of small ripples was seen, but there was no large-scale change in undisturbed areas. This work presents an overview of observations and initial results from the study of the storm. The authors acknowledge and thank the Mars 2020 team. The research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). ML is supported by contract 15–712 from Arizona State University and 1607215 from Caltech-JPL. Funding for some Spain-based co-authors was provided by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, through the projects No. ESP2014-54256-C4--4R and AYA2015-65041-P; Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, projects No. ESP2016-79612-C3-3R, ESP2016-80320-C2-1-R, RTI2018-098728-B- C33 and RTI2018-099825-B-C31; Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial; Ministry of Science and Innovation's Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology; Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1366-19; and European Research Council Consolidator Grant No. 818602. ASL, RH and AMR were supported by grant PID2019-109467GB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/and by Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT1366-19. A. V.-R. is supported by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) Project No. MDM-2017-0737 Unidad de Excelencia “María de Maeztu”- Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC). Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of funding agencies or the Space Science Institute. Peerreview

There is currently a gap in satellite observations of the moisture structure during heavy precipitation conditions, since infrared and microwave sounders cannot sense water‐vapour structure near the surface in the presence of intense precipitation. Conversely, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultations (RO) can profile the moisture structure with high precision and vertical resolution, but cannot indicate the presence of precipitation directly. Polarimetric RO (PRO) measurements have been proposed as a method to characterize heavy rain in GNSS RO, by measuring the polarimetric differential phase delay induced by large size hydrometeors. Previous studies have shown that the PRO polarimetric phase shift is sensitive to the path‐integrated rain rate under intense precipitation scenarios, but there is no current method to invert PRO measurements into quantitative estimates of the path‐averaged rain rate. In this manuscript, a probabilistic inversion approach to the GNSS PRO observables is proposed, where the GPM precipitation products are used for the construction of an a priori look‐up table (LUT) database. The performance of the LUTs is assessed for use in the inversion of satellite‐based GNSS PRO observations, based on synthetically generated PRO data of actual events, which correspond to co‐locations between GNSS RO profiles and the TRMM observations. The synthetic data include end‐to‐end propagation effects of the polarimetric observables and a simple separation algorithm to isolate the hydrometeor component of the observation. The assessment results in agreement better than ±1 mm/hr between the reference LUT and the actual rain statistics of the synthetic data, proving the suitability of the GPM‐based probabilistic inversion tool. These findings indicate that the GNSS PRO products are capable of extending the current GNSS RO ones by associating indications of rain‐rate probabilities at different altitudes, at ∼250 m vertical resolution and under intense precipitation scenarios with the standard vertical thermodynamic profiles.

Coronary artery aneurysm is defined as a coronary dilation that exceeds the diameter of adjacent segments or the diameter of the patient's largest normal coronary vessel by 1.5×. It is an uncommon disease that has been diagnosed with increasing frequency since the widespread appearance of coronary angiography. The published incidence varies from 1.5% to 5%, suggesting male dominance and a predilection for the right coronary artery. Although several causes have been described, atherosclerosis accounts for ≥50% of coronary aneurysms in adults. Reported complications include thrombosis and distal embolization, rupture, and vasospasm, causing ischemia, heart failure, or arrhythmias. The natural history and prognosis remain unknown, as definitive data are scarce. Controversies persist regarding the use of medical management (antithrombotic therapy) or interventional/surgical procedures. Only some case reports or small case series are available about this condition. The Coronary Artery Aneurysm Registry (CAAR; http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT02563626","term_id":"NCT02563626"}}NCT02563626) is a multicenter international ambispective registry that aims to provide insights on anatomic, epidemiologic, and clinical aspects of this substantially unknown entity. In addition, the registry will assess management strategies (conservative, interventional, or surgical) and their short‐ and long‐term results in a large cohort of patients. Clinical Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov. Unique identifier: {"type":"clinical-trial","attrs":{"text":"NCT02563626","term_id":"NCT02563626"}}NCT02563626.

BACKGROUND Second-generation drug eluting stents (DES) may reduce costs and improve clinical outcomes compared to first-generation DES with improved cost-effectiveness when compared to bare metal stents (BMS). We aimed to conduct an economic evaluation of a cobalt-chromium everolimus eluting stent (Co-Cr EES) compared with BMS in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). OBJECTIVE To conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) of a cobalt-chromium everolimus eluting stent (Co-Cr EES) versus BMS in PCI. METHODS A Markov state transition model with a 2-year time horizon was applied from a US Medicare setting with patients undergoing PCI with Co-Cr EES or BMS. Baseline characteristics, treatment effects, and safety measures were taken from a patient level meta-analysis of 5 RCTs (n = 4,896). The base-case analysis evaluated stent-related outcomes; a secondary analysis considered the broader set of outcomes reported in the meta-analysis. RESULTS The base-case and secondary analyses reported an additional 0.018 and 0.013 quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and cost savings of $236 and $288, respectively with Co-Cr EES versus BMS. Results were robust to sensitivity analyses and were most sensitive to the price of clopidogrel. In the probabilistic sensitivity analysis, Co-Cr EES was associated with a greater than 99% chance of being cost saving or cost effective (at a cost per QALY threshold of $50,000) versus BMS. CONCLUSIONS Using data from a recent patient level meta-analysis and contemporary cost data, this analysis found that PCI with Co-Cr EES is more effective and less costly than PCI with BMS. © 2016 The Authors. Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Objectives In this study we sought to evaluate coverage and apposition of Synergy™ stent at 3 and 6 months after implantation. Background The Pt-Cr everolimus-eluting stent with abluminal bioabsorbable polymer (Synergy™) is a new generation drug-eluting stent with features potentially favoring an early healing process which could make safe a shorter period of dual antiplatelet-therapy treatment. Methods Prospective, two-centers study enrolling patients with similar lesions treated with Synergy™ stents undergoing examination with OCT at 3 and 6 months in the respective centers. Blinded analysis was done at a core lab. Co-primary endpoints were proportion of struts with coverage and with apposition at 3 and 6 months. Results Finally, 22 patients (30 stents) in the 3 months group and 20 patients (30 stents) in the 6 months group were included. There were no significant differences between groups regarding clinical, angiographic measurements, and procedural data. The rate of strut coverage was 94.5% at 3 months and 96.6% at 6 months (P

The reaction of 6-aminopyrimidin-4-ones 1 with benzaldehydes 2 and β-aminocrotononitrile 3 or benzoylacetonitrile 4 under microwave irradiation in dry media yields the 6-cyano-5,8-dihydropyrido[2,3-d]-pyrimidinones 5a-t. The structure of the synthesized compounds was determined on the basis of nmr measurements, especially by 1H,1H−, 1H,13C COSY, DEPT and NOESY experiments. In contrast with other pyrido-[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives, these compounds did not show any antifungal in vitro activity up to 250 μg/mL.

The occurrence of balloon slippage (“watermelon seeding”; WMS) during treatment of patients with in-stent restenosis (ISR) has been described, but predisposing factors and the potential implications of this phenomenon remain unknown. In the Restenosis Intrastent: Balloon Angioplasty vs. Elective Stenting (RIBS) randomized study, 450 patients with ISR were included. Of these, 42 patients (9%) presented WMS during the procedure. WMS was detected in 26 patients (12%) in the balloon arm and 16 (7%) in the stent arm (P = 0.11). In the stent arm, WMS was only noticed during balloon predilation, never during stent implantation. As compared with 408 patients without WMS, patients with WMS had more severe (TIMI flow 1; 21% vs. 8%; P = 0.01) and diffuse (length > 15 mm: 45% vs. 28%; P = 0.02) ISR lesions. Patients with WMS required more balloon inflations, longer total inflation time, had more frequent crossover to stenting or ended the procedure with residual dissections, and eventually obtained poorer acute results (minimal lumen diameter, 2.35 ± 0.5 vs. 2.53 ± 0.5 mm; P = 0.03). In addition, at 6-month follow-up, patients with WMS had a smaller minimal lumen diameter (1.26 ± 0.7 vs. 1.61 ± 0.7 mm; P = 0.007) and a higher restenosis rate (56% vs. 37%; P = 0.017). On logistic regression analysis, the WMS phenomenon emerged as an independent predictor of recurrent restenosis (adjusted RR = 2.1; 95% CI = 1.1–4.1; P = 0.04). The WMS phenomenon may complicate treatment of patients with ISR. Long and severe lesions appear to predispose to this technical problem that never occurs during stent deployment. In patients with ISR, WMS is associated with cumbersome procedures and poorer acute and long-term angiographic results. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

We report a not previously described complication in a retrograde transcatheter aortic valve implantation procedure: A fatal rupture of a papillary muscle producing massive regurgitation. We found papillary muscle head calcification as an anatomical substrate that could facilitate this complication.© 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

This work illustrates the practical use of combined microbore reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) in protein identification. The approach consisted of the detection of the abnormal β-globin chain by ESI-MS analysis of mixtures of intact globins, which simultaneously provided their molecular masses. Separation of the polypeptide globin chains was carried out using microbore C4 RP-HPLC on-line with ESI-MS. Direct peptide-mapping ESI-MS without previous chromatographic separation was performed in order to identify tryptic peptides from whole blood. For the sequence confirmation of the abnormal peptide containing the mutation point, C18 RP-HPLC tryptic separation of the globin mixture on-line with collision-induced dissociation (CID) fragmentation was done. The y series ions allowed the identification of the hemoglobin (Hb) variant as [β134(H12) Val > Ala]. This new Hb was named Hb Mataro, after the city where it was detected. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The fluorometric microculture cytotoxicity assay (FMCA), a short-term in vitro assay based on the concept of total tumor cell kill, was used for testing the cytotoxic drug sensitivity of tumor cells from patients with ovarian carcinoma. A total of 125 fresh specimens was obtained, 98 (78%) of which were analyzed successfully. Data from 45 patients were available for clinical correlations. The FMCA appeared to yield clinically relevant cytotoxic drug sensitivity data for ovarian carcinoma as indicated by a comparison with tumor samples obtained from patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or kidney carcinoma. Considering the most active single agent in vitro actually given in vivo, and using the median drug activity among all ovarian carcinoma samples as a cut-off, the sensitivity of the assay and its specificity were 75 and 52%, respectively. Cross-resistance in vitro was frequently observed between standard drugs but not between standard drugs and Taxol. Ten percent of the specimens showed an extreme resistance for at least 4 of 6 of the drugs investigated.

BACKGROUND. Fifty-five patients who had received radical external beam radiotherapy (RRT) for clinically staged, localized prostatic adenocarcinoma were examined with systematic sextant mapping with the help of transrectal ultrasound-guided core biopsies. The average follow-up after RRT was 6.8 years. Residual cancer was found histopathologically in 67% (37/55) of the patients investigated. METHODS. In the present report, the viability of these tumor cells was studied using immunohistochemical staining methods with the monoclonal antibodies MIB1 and PC10, which are specific for the proliferation-associated antigens Ki-67 and PCNA. RESULTS. Available data concerning proliferating activity in the pretreatment situation in 12 of these patients revealed that proliferating activity was substantially reduced in the majority of cases after RRT. Post-RRT, Ki-67, and PCNA activity was nonetheless found to varying degrees in 64% and 94% of the 36 evaluable tumor-harboring specimens, respectively. In the majority of cases, the proportion of proliferating cells, designated score, was low. However, Ki-67 scores of up to 8% and PCNA scores of up to 50% were obtained in 35% (8/23) and 97% (33/34) of the specimens, respectively, with proliferative activity. There was no significant correlation between tumor grade and proliferative score in the follow-up biopsies. In the 36 cases investigated, endocrine treatment did not influence the proliferation results. CONCLUSIONS. The present study demonstrates a proliferative capacity in residual tumor cells in a long-term follow-up after RRT, suggesting that these cancer cells might have a biological significance.

Carcinosarcoma or true malignant mixed tumor of salivary glands is a very rare neoplasm which shows malignant features of the epithelial and mesenchymal components. We hereby present cytological, pathological, and immunohistochemical findings of one such case, first examined by fine-needle aspiration cytology. The aspirate was cell-rich and consisted of large cell clusters which at low magnification showed an arrangement reminiscent of a jigsaw puzzle. An amorphous substance was observed in the middle of some of these clusters. There were also numerous dissociated cells which often displayed marked atypia. Histology showed a tumor with malignant epithelial and mesenchymal components. The carcinomatous areas consisted of cells arranged in solid nests or glandular structures. The sarcomatous areas showed osteosarcoma, low-grade chondrosarcoma, and undifferentiated components. On immunohistochemistry, the tumor coexpressed epithelial and mesenchymal markers. Cytokeratin, keratin, and epithelial membrane antigen were mainly localized to the carcinomatous portion, whereas vimentin and neuron-specific enolase were restricted to the sarcomatous areas. S-100 protein was positive in both. Our findings support previous views that this tumor may be related to pleomorphic adenoma.

The preoperative biopsy specimens of 49 men who underwent radical prostatectomy were compared with serially step-sectioned operative specimens, in order to evaluate diagnostic accuracy as regards the presence of cancer, its grade and its DNA ploidy. Both the FNAB and TRUS-GCB undergraded the cancer by one WHO grade in about 35-40% of cases. In cases where both biopsy types were available, the degree of undergrading was the same. Determination of DNA ploidy by the single-cell technique from FNAB had a sensitivity for detecting non-diploid DNA patterns of 59% whereas flow cytometric measurement of core biopsies had a sensitivity of 44.4% as regards non-diploid DNA, when compared with operative specimens. A comparison of ploidy in core biopsies versus ploidy in fine-needle aspirates revealed that more non-diploid DNA patterns were diagnosed in the fine-needle aspirates. These aneuploid patterns were not all confirmed by flow cytometric evaluation of the operative specimens, in which, however, more aneuploid patterns were diagnosed compared with the single-cell technique from FNAB. We conclude that the standard technique with 1-3 fine-needle aspirates or 1-3 TRUS-GCB has a pronounced tendency by both biopsy methods to underestimate the tumour grade. DNA ploidy analysis by FNAB and the single-cell cytometric method reveals aneuploid cell lines not found in the flow cytometric evaluation. In order to determine whether this reflects a methodological problem or a true discrimination between the ability of the two methods to find non-diploid cell lines further studies are needed. However, for a more correct preoperative assessment of tumour grade and DNA ploidy, more extensive sampling is required.

Summary— Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) has been postulated to be the main precursor of invasive carcinoma of the prostate (IC). The occurrence, distribution and volumes of PIN and IC in addition to grade were studied in 54 patients who underwent total prostatectomy because of localised IC (T0d–T2 NO MO). PIN always occurred multifocally, localised generally in the peripheral zone (PZ) and was found in all cases. PIN 1 was the most common grade, PIN 3 the least. PIN 3 occurred exclusively in the PZ, in the vicinity of or intermingled with high grade IC. PIN and IC grades were usually concordant. The relative volumes of IC and PIN showed an inverse relationship, i.e. at small IC + PIN volumes PIN dominated, whereas at large IC + PIN volumes both relative and absolute PIN volumes were lower. Furthermore, with increasing PIN grade a tendency towards an increase in tumour volume, Gleason score and frequency of disruption of the basal cell layer was observed. These findings indicate progression from PIN to IC. DNA ploidy of PIN areas was determined by means of flow cytometry. Areas containing PIN 1, 2 or 3 were sampled (1 plug/ml of PIN). All foci displayed only diploid DNA profiles regardless of PIN volume and grade, even with coexistent IC displaying heterogeneous DNA patterns. Our results support the claim that low and medium grade prostatic carcinoma arises from near-diploid PIN stemlines and may progress into heterogeneous tumours containing non-diploid stemlines.

[1] We use global positioning system radio occultation (GPSRO) data from the Challenging Mini-Satellite Payload for Geophysical Research and Application (CHAMP) and Satelite de Applicaciones Cientificas-C (SAC-C) low Earth orbiting satellites to investigate the occurrence of air with temperatures cold enough to allow the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) during four successive Arctic winters spanning 2001 to 2005. The GPSRO data are validated and compared with analysis data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts using a series of criteria designed to eliminate faulty soundings but retain profiles which do not differ too strongly from the model data. We find that GPSRO is able to detect more PSC-prone temperature profiles during winters with disturbed conditions (in particular during December 2001 and 2003) than the analysis, but that the model fully captures the extent of PSC-prone air in winters with strong, cold vortices (in particular December 2002 and January 2005). Examination of detailed profiles for December 2001 shows that this difference is due to the ability of GPSRO to detect short-vertical wavelength features which may represent either localized gravity or global-scale planetary waves. Since the GPSRO data are now being directly assimilated into operational analysis systems, the benefits of the higher vertical resolution retrievals it provides should become evident in future observational studies of PSC formation and ozone loss, particularly under the disturbed conditions noted in several recent winters.

The reaction of 6-aminopyrimidin-4-ones 1 with benzaldehydes 2 and β-aminocrotononitrile 3 or benzoylacetonitrile 4 under microwave irradiation in dry media yields the 6-cyano-5,8-dihydropyrido[2,3-d]-pyrimidinones 5a-t. The structure of the synthesized compounds was determined on the basis of nmr measurements, especially by 1H,1H−, 1H,13C COSY, DEPT and NOESY experiments. In contrast with other pyrido-[2,3-d]pyrimidine derivatives, these compounds did not show any antifungal in vitro activity up to 250 μg/mL.

The ferritic steel AISI 430 has been exposed up to 6000 hours at 500 and 570 °C in the ML-1 sodium loop. The specimens were examined to evaluate the corrosion and mass transfer phenomena. Additional to weight change measurements and metallographic techniques surface layer analyses by Glow Discharge Optical Spectrometry and AUGER Electron Spectrometry and also scanning electron microscopy with Xray analysis were applied. Corrosion and deposition influenced about 0.01 mm thin layers, weight losses were comparable to those of austenitic steels. The steel was not decarburized by the sodium. On the surfaces oxygen containing compounds have formed. In the down-stream area also metallic deposits rich in nickel were observed.