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Epithelioid leiomyosarcoma (EL) is a rare malignant tumor of mesenchymal origin. The Authors review the literature and report a case of gingival epithelioid leiomyosarcoma in a 40-year-old patient. In this case the leiomyosarcoma was located in the lower front dental group and invaded the symphysis menti. A segmentary mandibolectomy was performed with reconstruction using a non-revascularized autologous iliac bone graft. The differential diagnosis of primary EL is quite complex and it is grouped with other sarcomas, sarcomatoid carcinoma, myoepithelioma, amelanotic melanoma and metastases from gastrointestinal EL. Anatomopathological examination and immunohistochemical study enabled a definitive diagnosis of primary EL of gingiva. The follow-up calls for clinical-radiological check-ups every three months for the first year and every six months thereafter. One year after surgery there were no signs of recurrence.

This study was undertaken to assess the prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a population of Italian adolescents.A sample of 2877 high-school students, 1463 males (51%) and 1414 females (49%), aged 16-21 years were assessed with the Leyton Obsessional Inventory--Child Version (LOI-CV). Two groups of subjects were defined as 'positive' on the screen: the high interference (HI) (i.e. all subjects who scored 25 or more in the interference score), and the supernormals (Sn).Females scored higher than males both on yes and interference scores. One hundred and nineteen (4.1%) and 87 (3.0%) constitute, respectively, the HI and the Sn groups. The most interfering symptoms were obsessions linked to dirt phobia, rumination and nail biting.The prevalence estimates of OCD symptoms confirmed the recent data of the literature that adolescent OCD symptoms are more frequent than was believed previously. Females showed more symptoms and more interference on personal functioning than males.

Estimated age-adjusted incidence rates for cancer during 1971--77 among Kaiser Foundation Health Plan (KFHP) members living in a portion of the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) characterized by a heavy concentration of petroleum and chemical industries were compared to estimated rates among KFHP members in the remainder of the SFBA. One hundred fifty-four comparisons were done for 41 selected cancer sites. The number of significant differences did not appear inconsistent with what might be expected by chance alone; furthermore, in most of these instances the so-called exposed area showed the lower rate. These findings provided some assurance that place of residence near petrochemical industries is not associated with increased cancer risk.

To identify a suitable test for mass detection of significant bacteriuria, urine specimens from apparently healthy women were studied by culture, species identification, and colony count with two microscopic stained urine-droplet techniques and with triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) in two forms—a commercially prepared powder and a fresh, homemade solution. Triphenyltetrazolium chloride testing in either form was simpler than microscopic methods and a more sensitive detector of pathogenic orgonisms in numbers exceeding 10 5 /ml. Commercial TTC was sensitive at times, but unreliable. Fresh preparation, incubated with urine for six hours at 37C, was highly sensitive, specific, and reliable, with desirably low contaminant detection rate. In duplicate studies, results with this technique were at least as reproducible as those of culture and colony count. This simple, inexpensive method appears to be the most useful one currently available for screening.