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The Nirano Salse, known since the Roman Times, are one of the most beautiful and scenic mud volcanoes areas of Italy with thousands of visitors every year. In this work, we apply novel (for the context) hydrogeological techniques to characterize mud levels in the Salse by means of GPS-RTK positioning and continuous level logging within mud conduits. This is important to quantify the gas–liquid ratio in the conduits and evaluate the potential for dangerous abrupt mud eruptions. The results presented suggest that different mud levels in mud volcanoes clusters are due to the different gas–liquid ratio in the conduits and not necessarily exclude interconnection at depth, a hypothesis, on the other hand, that seems strengthened by mud level time series correlations. The presence of shallow aquifers at a depth of 5 to 30 m is also supported by our field data and allows us to delineate the boundaries of the shallow mud reservoir—pipes system and its overall shape. The shallow aquifers may provide a temporary storage for the ascending gas and when fluid pressure in these aquifers exceeds the tensional strength of the sedimentary rock, leakage of fluids to the surface would occur. In this case, if the gas–liquid ratio is high, mud volcanoes develop into tall gryphons and tend to have a discontinuous activity with sudden eruptions of mud after long periods of quiescence. This, together with the knowledge of shallow conduits localization has an important implication for site safety in proximity to the mud volcanoes. Our inferences based on mud level relationships to mud extrusion dynamics can be applied to lower risk in other mud volcanoes areas of the world with high geo-tourist visits, such as those of Trinidad, Azerbaijan, and Colombia.

'Tommy Atkins' has general characteristics of tall trees, fruit with red blush skin and fair taste. It has reasonable anthracnose resistance, but is highly susceptible to mango malformation. Indian cultivars Amrapali and Mallika are small trees with sweet fruits, but their yellow skin color has low market acceptance. Due to their good characteristics for mango breeding, these cultivars have been used in hybridization studies, but their general combining ability - GCA for fruit set is still unknown. To support future crosses, an experiment was carried out at Embrapa Cerrados, in Brasilia, to study fruit set success or compatibility among these three cultivars. A completely randomized design with six treatments or crosses ('Mallika' x 'Tommy Atkins'; 'Tommy Atkins' 'Mallika'; 'Mallika' x 'Amrapali'; 'Amrapali' x 'Mallika'; 'Tommy Atkins' x 'Amrapali'; 'Amrapali' x 'Tommy Atkins') and five replications (panicles) were used. Opened flowers were discarded from healthy panicles, which were protected by perforated polyethylene bags. In the morning, young and still closed buds were removed, opened flowers were selected, emasculated and hand pollinated using anther of male progenitor. The panicles were bagged and tagged. Fruit set was studied weekly for six weeks. 'Mallika' had the lowest compatibility rate and 'Amrapali' x 'Tommy Atkins' had the best fruit set with 16.1% success.

Polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (PVAN) has become an important cause of graft loss in the last few years. The typical course of PVAN is characterized by an asymptomatic period of viruria followed, within weeks, by the development of viremia in the context of stable renal function. The persistence of viral replication characterized by high viremia, leads to parenchymal injuries and causes the development, within months, of PVAN that could lead to deterioration in graft function and graft loss. We reported, in a patient who received a renal transplant, an unusual presentation of PVAN characterized by the development of acute renal failurte earlier than would be expected after transplantation, where the histological presentation alone could be confused with an acute rejection. We underline the importance of the association of histological findings with the viral load in urine and blood and with ancillary techniques such as immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in situ for virus detection. We also want to emphasize that decoy cells and PCR for BK virus DNA research could be considered among the diagnostic tools for possible acute renal failure in kidney transplant.

Childhood asymmetric labium majus enlargement (CALME) is a rare and distinctive soft tissue lesion which specifically arises in prepubertal years; CALME, whose nature is still debated, is a slow-growing lesion that in some cases may spontaneously regress; however, because of its unilaterality and lack of definable borders CALME can mimic more aggressive soft tissue vulvar tumors. Therefore CALME is commonly treated with surgery. Herein we describe a mass of the right labium majus presenting in a 12-years-old female in the absence of any significant endocrine unbalance and associated pathol- ogy; the clinical, histopathological and ultrastructural findings were consistent with the diagnoses of CALME. We discuss the differential diagnosis and review the complete literature on this subject. On the bases of clinical, histopathological and ultrastructural features it is believed that CALME should be considered a hyperplastic / reactive lesion derived from stromal fibroblasts.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the post-operative course and follow up of women who had undergone laparoscopic removal of intramural fibroids penetrating the uterine cavity.Retrospective study.Center for Reconstructive Pelvic Endosurgery, Italy.Thirty-four women with fibroids penetrating the uterine cavity.Laparoscopic myomectomy.Feasibility and safety of surgical technique, length of operation, blood loss, intra- or post-operative complications, length of hospital stay, resolution of symptoms and future obstetric outcome.The mean operative time was 79 (SD 30) minutes; the mean reduction in haemoglobin was 1.1 +/- 0.9 g/dL. No intra- or post-operative complications were observed. The average post-operative stay in hospital was 54 (SD 22) hours. Nineteen (73%) out of 26 patients who had experienced symptoms prior to surgery reported resolution of these symptoms post-operatively. All patients resumed work within a mean time of 20 (SD 8) days. Among 23 of the 32 patients attempting pregnancy during the follow up period, nine (39%) conceived within one year. Seven pregnancies went to term without complications.The clinical results of this study suggest that laparoscopic myomectomy for intramural fibroids penetrating the uterine cavity is a safe procedure, providing well known advantages of minimal access surgery.

To evaluate the role of ultrasound and color Doppler analyses in the diagnosis of precocious puberty.Gray-scale sonographic uterine and ovarian evaluation together with color Doppler analysis of the uterine artery were prospectively performed in 29 girls presenting with premature breast development and pubic hair growth. The values were compared with results obtained from the gonodotrophin releasing hormone stimulation test. Excluded from the study were patients with isolated thelarche or isolated pubarche and those patients with gonodotrophin releasing hormone-independent puberty and with polycystic ovaries.According to the Tanner scale, all the girls presented a breast stage of 2-3 and pubic hair stage 2-3. The uterine size was greater in those girls who presented a pubertal response to the gonodotrophin releasing hormone test (Group II; n = 20) (8.07 +/- 4.47 mL) than in those who did not (Group I; n = 9) (3.07 +/- 1.18 mL; P = 0.001). The ovarian volume and the number of small follicles was not significantly different between the groups. On Doppler analysis, more elevated impedances were observed in Group I (pulsatility index = 3.28 +/- 0.37) than in Group II (pulsatility index = 2.29 +/- 0.19; P = 0.001) girls. The presence of a low pulsatility index (2.5) at the level of the uterine arteries had a high diagnostic value for precocious puberty (sensitivity 86%, specificity 100%).Uterine artery Doppler analysis may assist the diagnosis of gonodotrophin releasing hormone-dependent precocious puberty, may be useful for the selection of those girls needing treatment, and may simplify the follow-up of girls treated for precocities.

In our study we describe the direct detection of parvovirus B19 capsid antigens in amniotic fluid samples for the rapid and simple prenatal diagnosis of B19 induced fetal hydrops. The assay was performed on amniotic fluid specimens from fetal hydrops dotted on nylon membranes. The two capsid antigens, VP1 and VP2, which represent four per cent and 96 per cent of the capsid, respectively, were detected using a pool of monoclonal antibodies directed against these two proteins and the complex was visualized by immunoperoxidase staining. The assay could be performed in about four hours and positive results were revealed at the end of the reaction as dark blue spots on the nylon membrane. We analysed 26 amniotic fluid samples from 26 selected cases of non-immune hydrops for the presence of B19 antigens. Out of these 26 samples, 13 had previously proved positive for B19 DNA, detected by dot blot hybridization and/or in situ hybridization and/or nested PCR, and 13 had proved negative. The results obtained with our assay were compared with results obtained for the presence of B19 DNA and a close agreement was found. The method is simple and rapid to perform, does not require costly instruments, and all the reagents used in the assay are commercially available. The assay described can thus be useful for a prompt counselling and management of B19 fetal infection.

Chemiluminescence is the light emission produced by a chemical reaction in which chemically excited molecules decay to the ground state. The phenomenon is utilized in various analytical techniques in which small amounts of analytes or enzymes can be detected and quantified by measurement of the light emitted by bio- or chemiluminescent reactions. Recently chemiluminescence has been proposed as a valid alternative to radioactive or colorimetric methods in in situ hybridization assays, in which target nucleic acids are localized by labeled probes inside individual cells with the preservation of cell morphology. Chemiluminescence in situ hybridization is performed using probes that are detected using enzymes with their appropriate chemiluminescent substrates. The luminescent signal from the hybrid formation is detected, analysed and measured with a high performance low light level imaging apparatus connected to an optical microscope and to a personal computer for quantitative image analysis. Generally, the instrumental system to detect positive signals after in situ hybridization operates in three steps: firstly tissue structures and cells are recorded in transmitted light then the luminescent signal is measured with an optimized photon accumulation; and then, after a computer elaboration of the luminescent signal with pseudocolors corresponding to the light intensity, an overlay of the two images on the screen provided by the transmitted light and by the luminescent signal allows the spatial distribution of the labeled probe to be localized and evaluated. The main advantages of chemiluminescence in situ hybridization are mainly the sensitivity, the quantification of the data, the objectivity of the evaluation and the digital imaging of the results. The chemiluminescence in situ hybridization assay, which can be applied to cell smears, archival frozen and paraffin embedded tissue samples, can be a useful tool for a sensitive and specific diagnosis of viral infections and for the detection and study of specific genic sequences inside the cells. The use of the chemiluminescent in situ hybridization assay is also promising for an estimation and quantification of nucleic acids present in tissue samples or cellular smears and for imaging gene expression in cells.

Immunoblotting techniques were used to characterize the reactivity of human sperm antigens with sperm antibodies from an infertile population. Sperm antigens of each individual were tested with autologous sperm antibodies present in serum and seminal plasma in order to construct a preliminary map of the antigens of the infertile spermatozoon and to compare the qualitative differences in the antigenic profile between fertile and infertile subjects. A total of 61 infertile males, comprising 51 subjects having poor semen quality and 10 subjects with no abnormalities in semen analysis, entered the study; 55 subjects with proven fertility served as controls. Infertile subjects often showed specific immunoreactivity to 50-, 55-, 57-, 62-, and 72-kDa proteins in serum and to 57- and 62-kDa proteins in seminal plasma. As to comparison of immunoreactivities between fertile and infertile individuals, the sperm antigens may be divided into three groups. Group 1 antigens (50-, 69-, and 72-kDa proteins) were recognized by sperm antibodies present in both populations; group 2 antigens (57- and 62-kDa proteins), by sperm antibodies typical of the infertile population; group 3 antigens (45-, 55-, and 85-kDa proteins), by sperm antibodies typical of the fertile population. This classification shows that the infertile spermatozoon differs substantially at the immunogenic level from the fertile spermatozoon. The group 2 antigens seem to be involved in a relevant step in the reproductive process and hence have been termed "fertility-related antigens."

A chemiluminescent in situ hybridization assay that could combine the sensitivity of chemiluminescent substrates, the specificity of digoxigenin-labeled probes, and the spatial morphological resolution and localization of the signal of the in situ hybridization was developed for the detection of cytomegalovirus (CMV) DNA. CMV DNA in cultured CMV-infected cells and in different clinical samples (tissue sections and cellular smears) was detected using digoxigenin-labeled probes constructed in our laboratory that were immunoenzymatically visualized employing anti-digoxigenin Fab fragments labeled with alkaline phosphatase and the chemiluminescent adamantil-1,2-dioxetane phenyl phosphate substrate for alkaline phosphatase. The luminescent signal from the hybrid formation was detected, analyzed, and measured with a high performance, low light level imaging luminograph apparatus connected to an optical microscope and to a personal computer for quantitative image analysis. Increasing values of emitted photons per second per infected cell, corresponding to the presence of hybridized CMV DNA, could be found in infected cells fixed at various times after infection, following the CMV replication cycle. When the assay was performed on different clinical samples from patients with acute CMV infections, CMV DNA was detected in all positive samples tested, both in cellular samples and in frozen and paraffin-embedded tissue sections, proving specific and sensitive. The chemiluminescent in situ hybridization assay developed in this work can be a useful tool for a sensitive and specific diagnosis of viral infection and can be easily adapted to detect and study any specific gene sequence inside the cells. The assay may also be promising for an estimation and quantification of nucleic acids present in tissue samples or cellular smears and for imaging gene expression in cells.

Our investigation includes two groups of subjects in which the relationships between ovarian growth, steroidogenesis and gonadotropin secretion were studied. The first group consists of premenarchal girls studied in a cross-sectional program; the second group includes girls after menarche with irregular cycles who were investigated with a long term follow up. In the first group an increase in ovarian volume and in the number of developing follicles were seen with increasing chronological age and pubertal stages. With advancing pubertal development, a progressive increase of LH pulse frequency and amplitude can be observed. These variables appear strongly linked to the ovarian morphological and functional development as the significant correlation between LH mean levels and pulsatile characteristics on the one hand, and ovarian volume and steroid production on the other hand demonstrate. In the maturational stage just before menarche, the ovaries may show increased volume and a very dishomogeneous structure; ovarian steroidogenesis may be often mainly directed towards the androgen synthesis. After menarche ovarian volume and structure continue to change and normal or enlarged ovaries, with homogeneous, multifollicular or polycystic structure can be frequently observed. However normal and homogeneous ovaries prevail in adolescents with regular and ovulatory cycles, while enlarged and dishomogeneous ovaries prevail in irregular anovulatory cycles. A trend towards normal adult ovarian morphology and structure is present in ovulatory subjects with normal gonadotropin pulsatile release and steroid synthesis. On the other hand, deranged gonadotropin profiles imply irregular cycles anovolation, hyperandrogenemia and enlarged polycystic ovaries during adolescence.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

We studied two groups of obese patients, 16 affected by polycystic ovaries (OB-PCO) and 16 with simple obesity (OB), matched for age, relative weight and glucose values during oral glucose tolerance test. OB-PCO patients showed higher basal IRI levels and highere glucose stimulated IRI and CPR sezum levels. According to these results, hyperinsulism appears to be a common feature of PCO patients, relatively independent of the presence of obesity. Possible mechanisms are discussed.

The plasma concentration of delta4-androstenedione has been assayed by a radioimmunological method, preceded by chromatographic purfication, in 11 normal adult and 4 adult castrated males at various times of day. The circadian variations observed are critically evaluated.