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Objective: Aim of this paper is to present the design, construction, and modalities of dissemination of the AutoInflammatory Disease Alliance (AIDA) International Registry for patients with systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) and adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD), which are the pediatric and adult forms of the same autoinflammatory disorder. Methods: This Registry is a clinical, physician-driven, population- and electronic-based instrument implemented for the retrospective and prospective collection of real-world data. The collection of data is based on the Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) tool and is intended to obtain evidence drawn from routine patients' management. The collection of standardized data is thought to bring knowledge about real-life clinical research and potentially communicate with other existing and future Registries dedicated to Still's disease. Moreover, it has been conceived to be flexible enough to easily change according to future scientific acquisitions. Results: Starting from June 30th to February 7th, 2022, 110 Centers from 23 Countries in 4 continents have been involved. Fifty-four of these have already obtained the approval from their local Ethics Committees. Currently, the platform counts 290 users (111 Principal Investigators, 175 Site Investigators, 2 Lead Investigators, and 2 data managers). The Registry collects baseline and follow-up data using 4449 fields organized into 14 instruments, including patient's demographics, history, clinical manifestations and symptoms, trigger/risk factors, therapies and healthcare access. Conclusions: This international Registry for patients with Still's disease will allow a robust clinical research through collection of standardized data, international consultation, dissemination of knowledge, and implementation of observational studies based on wide cohorts of patients followed-up for very long periods. Solid evidence drawn from “real-life” data represents the ultimate goal of this Registry, which has been implemented to significantly improve the overall management of patients with Still's disease. NCT 05200715 available at https://clinicaltrials.gov/. Copyright © 2022 Vitale, Della Casa, Lopalco, Pereira, Ruscitti, Giacomelli, Ragab, La Torre, Bartoloni, Del Giudice, Lomater, Emmi, Govoni, Maggio, Maier, Makowska, Ogunjimi, Sfikakis, Sfriso, Gaggiano, Iannone, Dagostin, Di Cola, Navarini, Ahmed Mahmoud, Cardinale, Riccucci, Paroli, Marucco, Mattioli, Sota, Abbruzzese, Antonelli, Cipriani, Tufan, Fabiani, Ramadan, Cattalini, Kardas, Sebastiani, Giardini, Hernández-Rodríguez, Mastrorilli, Więsik-Szewczyk, Frassi, Caggiano, Telesca, Giordano, Guadalupi, Giani, Renieri, Colella, Cataldi, Gentile, Fabbiani, Al-Maghlouth, Frediani, Balistreri, Rigante and Cantarini.

Central metatarsalgia is a disease of the second, third and fourth metatarsal heads, described as pain in the forefoot, which extends from the plantar to the heel and on the dorsum of the foot; in some cases, it may be associated to hyperkeratosis. It is often accompanied by other symptoms like hallux rigidus and hallux valgus and/or the claw-foot syndrome. Usually the surgeon is able to clinically diagnose it with a radiographic foot survey, which allows him to calculate the “metatarsal formula”. Surgical treatment is suggested in case conservative treatment fails. The operation consists of radical surgical techniques, such as resection and realignment of the bone, as well as conservative techniques like distal and proximal osteotomies.

The young stellar object MWC 297 has been observed with the VLT interferometer equipped with the AMBER instrument. MWC 297 has been spatially resolved in the continuum with a visibility of 0.50 as well as in the Br gamma emission line where the visibility decrease to a lower value of 0.33. This change in the visibility with the wavelength can be interpreted by the presence of an optically thick disk responsible for the visibility in the continuum and of a stellar wind traced by Br gamma and whose apparent size is 40% larger. We validate this interpretation by building a model of the stellar environment that combines a geometrically thin, optically thick accretion disk model consisting of gas and dust, and a latitude-dependent stellar wind outflowing above the disk surface. The continuum emission and visibilities obtained from this model are fully consistent with the interferometric AMBER data. They agree also with existing optical, near-infrared spectra and other broad-band near-infrared interferometric visibilities. A picture emerges in which MWC 297 is surrounded by an equatorial flat disk that is possibly still accreting and an outflowing wind which has a much higher velocity in the polar region than at the equator. [abridged]

Considering the involvement of the researchers at all levels of the didactic, it may be assumed that the transmissibility of the architectonic composition is a question of priority for them, at least for two areas of the relationship research/didactic: research about the didactic and research through the didactic experimentation. Didactic and research come closer when it is understood that nothing is transmissible except thought means not teaching something already worked out, or well know, but to transmit an attitude towards to search. Contemporary pedagogy, appropriating Derrida's deconstruction, indicates in the form of awakening the method for a discipline that eschews the evidence, the convention, which is not deaf to the contingent event and everything that can be generated but has not yet been revealed.

Aims. We study the geometry and kinematics of the circumstellar environment of the Be star Kappa CMa in the Br gamma emission line and its nearby continuum. Methods. We use the VLTI/AMBER instrument operating in the K band which provides a spatial resolution of about 6 mas with a spectral resolution of 1500 to study the kinematics within the disk and to infer its rotation law. In order to obtain more kinematical constraints we also use an high spectral resolution Pa beta line profile obtain in December 2005 at the Observatorio do Pico do Dios, Brazil and we compile V/R line profile variations and spectral energy distribution data points from the literature. Results. Using differential visibilities and differential phases across the Br gamma line we detect an asymmetry in the disk. Moreover, we found that kappa CMa seems difficult to fit within the classical scenario for Be stars, illustrated recently by alpha Arae observations, i.e. a fast rotating B star close to its breakup velocity surrounded by a Keplerian circumstellar disk with an enhanced polar wind. Finally we discuss the possibility for kappa CMa to be a critical rotator with a Keplerian rotating disk and try to see if the detected asymmetry can be interpreted within the "one-armed" viscous disk framework.

The Risk Map of Italian Cultural Heritage is a current research project of the Istituto Centrale del Restauro (ICR), with the aim of developing a more rational and economical means of undertaking the maintenance, conservation, and restoration of the architectural and archaeological monuments of Italy.The first step of the project has been to create a geographical information system (GIS), which collects, processes, and manages both cartographic and alphanumerical data coming from peripheral units based in many Italian towns by the ‘Soprintendenze’, being the territorial departments of the Ministry of Culture. The connection between environmental danger and risk to the monuments is highlighted through a mapping process, by overlapping computerized maps having a thematic content (such as air pollution, climate, and earthquakes) and the distribution of cultural assets. The second step has ensured that the above data were homogeneous through defining standardized schedules at different levels of detai...

Critical processing steps of COB manufacturing, as implemented at Epitek, are reported. They include testing of incoming boards, cleaning, bonding parameters, bonding defects and statistical process control.

To evaluate the long-lasting immunogenicity and safety of a pandemic vaccine co-administered with a seasonal influenza vaccine in young subjects with Type 1 diabetes.Eighty patients (mean age: 16.7 ± 5.5 years, disease duration: 10.2 ± 4.7 years) were randomly assigned to receive a single or a double dose (1 month apart) of MF59-adjuvanted influenza A(H1N1) vaccine, simultaneously with a single dose of a virosome-adjuvanted trivalent influenza vaccine for the 2009-2010 season.One month after immunization, the rate of seroconversion to 2009 pandemic A(H1N1) was 92.5% with an overall 100% proportion of vaccinees with protective antibody titres (≥ 1:40). No significant differences were observed between vaccinees who received the one-dose or the two-dose schedule. Seasonal vaccine induced a significant increase of both seroprotection rates and antibody levels. Local adverse events at the injection site of pandemic and seasonal vaccines were reported by 66.3% and 50% of subjects, respectively. Solicited systemic adverse events, mainly mild in intensity, were reported by 26.7% of vaccinees. No subjects had an influenza-like illness during the 6-month follow-up.One injection of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) MF59-adjuvanted vaccine is immunogenic and safe in young patients with Type 1 diabetes who are at increased risk of influenza morbidities. Pandemic vaccine can be safely co-administered with seasonal influenza vaccine.

Two physical non-invasive techniques bave been used to measure the moisture content in two frescoes in the Basilica of San Clemente in Rome: evanescent-field dielectrometry (EFD) and unilateral nuclear magnetic resonance (uNMR). Both techniques are portable and allow mapping the moisture content in frescoed walls and murai paintings. The integration of the two techniques results in a true synergistic effect, by exploiting their peculiar characteristics: uNMR is inherently independent on the materia!characteristics, as it is directly sensitive to the water content, and allows the obtainment of a 2D map of the water content relative to a depth of a few millimeters; EFD measures the sub-superficial moisture content (up to about 2 cm) and allows the detection of soluble salts in the wall, but its response slightly depends on the material density, as moisture and salt content are obtained from the dielectric properties of the wall. Moreover, uNMR operates without needing to contact the surface of the fresco, and thus allows the obtainment of information also about criticai regions where, for example, there is a risk of det chment of the painted layer. EFD, that needs a direct contact with the wall, is very fast (a few seconds per measureod point, with in-line elaboration), also allowing the study of the dynamics of water absorption after a consolidation treatment. The integration between the two techniques allows the full characterization of a fresco with regard to the water content and a screening of the locations where an invasive chemical analysis of the salts is in order.

This paper describes the design goals and engineering efforts that led to the realization of AMBER (Astronomical Multi BEam combineR) and to the achievement of its present performance. On the basis of the general instrumental concept, AMBER was decomposed into modules whose functions and detailed characteristics are given. Emphasis is put on the spatial filtering system, a key element of the instrument. We established a budget for transmission and contrast degradation through the different modules, and made the detailed optical design. The latter confirmed the overall performance of the instrument and defined the exact implementation of the AMBER optics. The performance was assessed with laboratory measurements and commissionings at the VLTI, in terms of spectral coverage and resolution, instrumental contrast higher than 0.80, minimum magnitude of 11 in K, absolute visibility accuracy of 1%, and differential phase stability of 1E-3 rad over one minute., Comment: 14 pages

Aims. We present the first NIR spectro-interferometry of the LBV ? Carinae. The observations were performed with the AMBER instrument of the ESO Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) using baselines from 42 to 89 m. The aim of this work is to study the wavelength dependence of ? Car's optically thick wind region with a high spatial resolution of 5 mas (11 AU) and high spectral resolution. Methods: The observations were carried out with three 8.2 m Unit Telescopes in the K-band. The raw data are spectrally dispersed interferograms obtained with spectral resolutions of 1500 (MR-K mode) and 12 000 (HR-K mode). The MR-K observations were performed in the wavelength range around both the He I 2.059 ?m and the Br? 2.166 ?m emission lines, the HR-K observations only in the Br? line region. Results: The spectrally dispersed AMBER interferograms allow the investigation of the wavelength dependence of the visibility, differential phase, and closure phase of ? Car. In the K-band continuum, a diameter of 4.0±0.2 mas (Gaussian FWHM, fit range 28-89 m baseline length) was measured for ? Car's optically thick wind region. If we fit Hillier et al. (2001, ApJ, 553, 837) model visibilities to the observed AMBER visibilities, we obtain 50% encircled-energy diameters of 4.2, 6.5 and 9.6 mas in the 2.17 ?m continuum, the He I, and the Br? emission lines, respectively. In the continuum near the Br? line, an elongation along a position angle of 120°±15° was found, consistent with previous VINCI/VLTI measurements by van Boekel et al. (2003, A&A, 410, L37). We compare the measured visibilities with predictions of the radiative transfer model of Hillier et al. (2001), finding good agreement. Furthermore, we discuss the detectability of the hypothetical hot binary companion. For the interpretation of the non-zero differential and closure phases measured within the Br? line, we present a simple geometric model of an inclined, latitude-dependent wind zone. Our observations support theoretical models of anisotropic winds from fast-rotating, luminous hot stars with enhanced high-velocity mass loss near the polar regions. Based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, Paranal, Chile, within the AMBER guaranteed time programme 074.A-9025 and the VLTI science demonstration programme 074.A-9024.

International audience; In this work, we present the first AMBER observations, of the Wolf-Rayet and O (WR+O) star binary system y² Velorum. The AMBER instrument was used with the telescopes UT2, UT3, and UT4 on baselines ranging from 46m to 85m. It delivered spectrally dispersed visibilities, as well as differential and closure phases, with a resolution R = 1500 in the spectral band 1.95-2.17 micron. We interpret these data in the context of a binary system with unresolved components, neglecting in a first approximation the wind-wind collision zone flux contribution. We show that the AMBER observables result primarily from the contribution of the individual components of the WR+O binary system. We discuss several interpretations of the residuals, and speculate on the detection of an additional continuum component, originating from the free-free emission associated with the wind-wind collision zone (WWCZ), and contributing at most to the observed K-band flux at the 5% level. The expected absolute separation and position angle at the time of observations were 5.1±0.9mas and 66±15° respectively. However, we infer a separation of 3.62+0.11-0.30 mas and a position angle of 73+9-11°. Our analysis thus implies that the binary system lies at a distance of 368+38-13 pc, in agreement with recent spectrophotometric estimates, but significantly larger than the Hipparcos value of 258+41-31 pc.

We investigate the origin of the $\mathrm{Br}\gamma$ emission of the Herbig Ae star HD104237 on Astronomical Unit (AU) scales. Using AMBER/VLTI at a spectral resolution R=1500 spatially resolve the emission in both the BrGamma line and the adjacent continuum. The visibility does not vary between the continuum and the BrGamma line, even though the line is strongly detected in the spectrum, with a peak intensity 35% above the continuum. This demonstrates that the line and continuum emission have similar size scales. We assume that the K-band continuum excess originates in a ``puffed-up'' inner rim of the circumstellar disk, and discuss the likely origin of BrGamma. We conclude that this emission most likely arises from a compact disk wind, launched from a region 0.2-0.5 AU from the star, with a spatial extent similar to that of the near infrared continuum emission region, i.e, very close to the inner rim location., Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, accepted in A&A

We present a near-infrared cooled grating spectrometer that has been developed at the Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory for the 1.5 m Infrared Telescope at Gornergrat (TIRGO). The spectrometer is equipped with cooled reflective optics and a grating in Littrow configuration. The detector is an engineering grade Rockwell NICMOS3 array (256x256 pixels of 40 $\mu$m). The scale on the focal plane is 1.73 arcsec/pixel and the field of view along the slit is 70 arcsec. The accessible spectral range is 0.95-2.5 $\mu$m with a dispersion, at first order, of about 11.5 angstroms/pixel. This paper presents a complete description of the instrument, including its optics and cryo-mechanical system, along with astronomical results from test observations, started in 1994. Since January 1996, LonGSp is offered to TIRGO users and employed in several Galactic and extragalactic programs., Comment: 5 pages LaTeX with 5 eps figures (included). To appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Supp. Require LaTeX style l-aa (from A&A)

New Zealand male rabbits, on a moderate dietary fat intake (10.2% w/w) received, as the major dietary lipid, butter, olive oil and corn oil, respectively, for a period of 8 weeks. At the end of the dietary treatment, plasma total cholesterol was significantly decreased in the corn oil group, compared to butter, whereas the olive-oil-consuming rabbits had an intermediate cholesterolemia; the corn oil and olive oil groups had significantly elevated high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterolemia, compared to the butter group. Maximal platelet aggregability, with collagen and arachidonic acid, did not appear to differ in the three treatment groups. Thromboxane B2 release in the sera of treated rabbits was slightly higher after corn oil administration. The arterial release of prostacyclin (PGI2), tested by perfusing platelet-rich plasma through the aorta of donor rabbits, was lowest in the corn oil group. Corn oil is the most effective dietary fat in reducing cholesterolemia, but it may also reduce PGI2 release from arteries. Butter has the most unfavorable effect on lipidemia and HDL-cholesterol, whereas dietary olive oil shows an intermediate lipid-lowering activity but preserves arterial PGI2 production.

The effects of the acute (250 mg/kg) and chronic (250 mg/kg for two weeks) treatments with CDP-choline on platelet aggregation and thromboxane formation and on the platelet antiaggregatory activity of thoracic aorta, have been studied in the rat. The acute administration resulted mainly in reduced platelet reactivity to aggregating agents, with no change of platelet thromboxane formation. The antiaggregatory activity of aortic walls was also concomitantly reduced. After chronic treatment, the major effect was a greater antiaggregatory activity of the vessel wall in respect of the control values, whereas platelet function was not affected. CDP-choline treatment, thus exerts favourable effects especially in the acute treatment, by reducing platelet reactivity.

The standard technology to fabricate thin film resistors is to deposit a layer of resistive material, usually by evaporation or sputtering, followed by thin layers of nickel and gold. Gold plating is then used to augment the thickness of the gold layer, typically to 1 μm. The three-layer structure is then selectively etched to yield resistors with terminations suitable for wire bonding and soldering. We have used a somewhat unconventional approach in which a film 1–2 μm thick of aluminum is first sputtered onto 99.5% Al2O3 substrates, then etched to produce the desired conductor pattern. Isotropic (wet) etching is used to produce sloping edges to contact better the Ni-Cr based resistor material which is sputter deposited and patterned using a lift-off technique. We have also combined the thin and thick film technologies by terminating our thin film resistors on Pt-Ag conductors which are screen printed onto the substrate prior to sputter deposition of the resistors. Aluminum terminations can be wire bonded, or, when soldering is required, coated with sputtered or plated nickel. When a layer of suitable adhesion promoter is sputtered between aluminum and nickel, adhesion of aluminum to nickel is greatly improved. The use of a sputtering target made of an Ni-Cr-based alloy has enabled us to obtain resistors in the 50 Ω/□ range which can be mass produced with near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). Such resistors show stability within better than 0.02% after 1000 h at 398 K under load. Also reported are resistance spread and shift, due to annealing, as a function of aspect ratio (ratio between length and width of resistor) for both aluminum and Pt-Ag terminations, as well as TCR as a function of annealing temperature.

Flash-evaporated films of Ag 19 I 15 P 2 O 7 were employed in thin film coulometers (Ag/Ag 19 I 15 P 2 O 7 /Au) and batteries (Ag/Ag 19 I 15 P 2 O 7 /Te). When large current densities, exceeding about 1 mA cm -2 , are employed in transporting silver through the electrolyte films, dendritic growth of the silver deposit occurs and shorting problems arise within a few cycles. At low current densities (not more than 100 μA cm -2 ) the coulometers can be charged and discharged over several hundred cycles without any undesirable effects. When these coulometers are given a “conditioning treatment” their charge recovery behavior is greatly improved. Thin film batteries employing tellurium as the cathode material yielded energy densities of about 0.01–0.02 W h cm -3 . All the electrolytic cells showed good stability when stored over long periods of time in ambient atmosphere.

Stimulated growth of F -centres was observed by irradiating alkali-halide single crystals during uniaxial deformation at controlled rates. Quantitative monitoring of the phenomena was performed for pure KCl at L.N.T. as well as in the range from R.T. to 106°C. Distinct forms for the kinetics of growth were obtained in the two regions. A correlation was also established between the growth of excess colouration and the evolution of stress, in the higher temperature range. The data on the kinetics, stress dependence and temperature dependence suggest that the production of excess F -centres arises from the radiolysis of vacancy-producing debris (possibly, dislocation dipoles) that are also effective agents of hardening. The process is limited by thermally activated annealing, with an activation energy appropriate for free-vacancy migrations. It is suggested that the limiting reaction is a recombination of the excess negative-ion vacancies with an antimorph defect, contained in a complementary type of dislocation debris.

A set of rules is presented for printing thick film resistors, whose implementation minimises losses due to resistors firing too high or too low, and also results in the shortest possible set‐up times. To the best of the authors' knowledge, some of the concepts and relations reported here are nowhere to be found spelled out in the published literature, let alone presented in quantitative form. One example is the relationship between sheet resistance vs resistor length curves and the mesh/emulsion of the screen used to obtain such curves. Another example is the relationship between the choice (or lack of it) of resistors used to set up thickness at the beginning of a print, and the spread in resistance values. Then there are better known relationships, like the dependence of thickness on resistor width or print direction—still no quantitative data are available and the potential relevance of these effects is generally not appreciated. Long set‐up times and yield losses need not exist, as they arise from non‐rigorous printing rules which call for a standard dry thickness (usually 25±3 µm) regardless of resistor dimensions, print direction and ink jar value, and which only call for a range of screen mesh/emulsion values, rather than for specific ones. In fact, for any given sheet resistance vs resistor length curve, only one choice of screen mesh/emulsion and resistor thickness is logically possible. Also reported are experimental data relating resistor thickness to resistor length as a function of screen mesh/emulsion, resistor width and print direction as well as data on sheet resistance as a function of resistor dry thickness. Finally, results from thirty‐eight production runs are reported and discussed.

Patients with sports injuries were treated with pirprofen, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, in two separate studies. In the single centre study, 39 athletes were treated with 1000 mg/day pirprofen for 2 weeks. In the multicentre study, a further 80 athletes were treated with a variable dosage (600 − 1200 mg/day) until the disappearance of symptoms, but for no longer than 2 weeks. Efficacy was considered excellent or good in 99/119 (83%) of the patients treated. The clinical variables of pain and mobility significantly ( P

Sex differences in eicosanoid production in platelets and vessel walls have been studied in control and n-6 fatty acid supplemented rats. In platelet rich plasma (PRP) of control female rats, arachidonic acid (AA) levels in phospholipids (PL), thromboxane B2 (TxB2) formation following collagen stimulation and aggregatory responses to collagen were higher than in PRP of male rats. 6 keto PGF1 alpha release from PRP-perfused isolated aortas were the same for both sexes, but the antiaggregatory activity of the wall was higher in males than in females, in association with a greater sensitivity of male platelets to prostacyclin. The administration of n-6 fatty acid supplements increased AA level in PL, TxB2 production and aggregation only in male platelets. Production of 6 keto PGF1 alpha and the antiaggregatory activity of aortic walls were reduced after dietary treatment in males, but biochemical and functional parameters were not correlated in females. The results indicate complex sex-related differences in fatty acid metabolism and eicosanoid production, and in responses to n-6 dietary fatty acids in platelets and the vascular system in the rat.

After an examination of the three operational stages in the modern concept of preventive medicine, the main pathogenetic cofactors in secondary arthrosis following chronic microtraumatisation are identified, described and evaluated in order to establish the correct preventive approach to the condition in helicopter pilots.

A semisynthetic diet containing adequate amounts of vitamin E and 10% (w/w) of a mixture of polyunsaturated oils subjected to heating and characterized by elevated indexes of thermal alteration (polar component, dimer triglyceride, altered triglyceride contents and reduced alpha-tocopherol levels) was fed to growing male rats for a period of eight weeks. It resulted in a selective alteration of the production of vascular eicosanoids (elevation of platelet thromboxane formation and decrease of vascular prostacyclin release) compared to the values found in rats fed a diet containing a fresh mixture of polyunsaturated oils. Major nutritional parameters, plasma lipids and the fatty acid profiles of plasma, liver and heart lipids were not different in the two groups of animals. Supplementation of an excess vitamin E (300 mg/kg) to the diet containing heated fat neutralized the adverse effects of heated fat on vascular eicosanoid production.

The balance between vascular eicosanoids has been explored in young (1 month of age) and aged (11 month of age) rats. PRP from mature rats was more reactive to collagen (lower threshold, greater amplitude of aggregation curve and higher TxB2 formation) than PRP from young animals. Release of 6-keto-PGF1α from PRP-perfused isolated aortas (pg/ul) was higher and the inhibition of PRP aggregation after perfusion correspondingly greater, in mature rats. Platelets from aged rats were more sensitive to exogenous prostacyclin (higher inhibition of aggregation and greater accumulation of cAMP). The fatty acid compositions of plasma and platelet lipids were not different in the two age groups. Compensatory mechanisms were operating in the aged rats, counteracting the greater platelet aggregability with higher vascular prostacyclin production and greater sensitivity of platelets to this eicosanoid.

The effects of orally administered polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholine (PPC) on plasma lipids, lipoproteins and platelet function and composition were studied in seven healthy male volunteers. PPC (Nattermann & Cie, GmbH, Cologne, Federal Republic of Germany), 10 g/day, was given for a 6-week period after a 4-week wash out; laboratory tests were repeated after a further 4-week period after the end of treatment. PPC did not appear, during treatment, to modify the levels of plasma total cholesterol and triglycerides. High density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels were, however, increased after six weeks of PPC. The most dramatic changes occurred in platelet membrane composition: the total lipid/total protein and the cholesterol/protein ratios were reduced significantly, whereas increases of the phospholipid/total lipid ratio and of the linoleic acid membrane content were observed. Platelet function tests, both in whole blood and in platelet rich plasma, were not modified. Similarly, the thromboxane B2 formation after standard stimuli and the sensitivity to exogenous prostaglandin I2 also were unchanged. During the final wash out period following treatment, a reduction of plasma total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels also was recorded. PPC appears to be capable of modulating lipid exchanges between cell membranes and the plasma compartment.

The metabolic relationship between the long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), arachidonic acid (AA), and the prostaglandin system was discovered two decades ago. Although information on the eicosanoid family has considerably grown since then, our understanding of the complex relationships between the intake of the fatty acid precursors with the diet and the balance in the formation of various eicosanoids in a given tissue or district is still quite limited.

The observation of an enhanced platelet reactivity after infusion of prostacyclin in clinical studies [1] suggests the possibility that the administration of this compound might inhibit the endogenous release of prostacyclin and, consequently, result in hyperactive platelets. In order to explore this possibility, we have studied the effects of acute and chronic administration of Iloprost in the rat, on the release of 6-keto-PGF1α from in vitro perfused aortas.