jose carlos

PURPOSE: Morphological study comparing castor oil polyurethane and autogenous bone graft to repair bone defect in zygomatic bone of rabbits. METHODS: Twenty-four adult, male New Zealand rabbits were randomly distributed between two groups of twelve. Bone defects of 5mm in diameter were cut through the zygomatic bone and filled with polyurethane discs in the experimental group or autogenous bone harvested from the tibia in the control group. Animals were sacrificed after 30, 60 or 90 days, and the zygomatic bones were macro- and microscopically analyzed. Student's, Fisher's, chi-squared and McNemar's tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Both the castor oil polyurethane and the autograft adapted well to the defect, with no need for fixation. Fibrous connective tissue encapsulated the polyurethane, but no inflammation or giant cell reaction was observed. Acidophilic and basophilic areas were observed inside the micropores of the polyurethane, suggesting cell n...

The ability to accurately define the prognosis for patients with soft tissue sarcoma is a continuing challenge. Classically, this has been accomplished through assessments of tumor size, histologic grade, location, and the presence of nodal or distant metastases. These criteria are the basis of the currently utilized American Joint Commission on Cancer (AJCC) staging system. However, several other markers have been identified which have prognostic value. These newer markers are useful additions to the AJCC system. Such markers may not only improve our ability to prognosticate at diagnosis, but may also prove useful in selecting high-risk soft tissue sarcoma patients who could benefit from adjuvant therapy. This review will focus upon prognostic factors for patients with soft tissue sarcomas (STS). First, the components of the current AJCC staging system will be discussed; second, a summary of clinical prognostic factors which are not part of the staging system; and third, a discussion of newer and potential prognostic factors for STS patients.

The present study was carried out to determine the contribution of main stems and tillers to the total yield of two wheat cultivars (Triticum aestivum L.), Cocoraque and BH-1146, under two water treatments: a) normal field conditions, and; b) irrigation, in Londrina, PR, Brazil. The experiment was an eight replication randomized complete block design with treatments arranged in split-plots. Data on total grain yield, main stem grain yield, tillers grain yield, the ratio between tiller and total grain yield, yield components and other 17 traits were collected. The cultivar BH-1146 had a higher total grain yield in relation to Cocoraque under normal field conditions; i, e., under water stress. Main stem grain yield responded positively and significantly to irrigation which was the main cause of increased yield in both cultivars. The tiller grain yield contributed little to the total yield.

Pine afforestations located on sand dunes, are among the most threatened coastal woodlands of semiarid western Mediter- ranean areas. In the recent time, dryness and land use changes seem to have caused a considerable degradation of these ecosystems. The marine spray affects their development as well. Our objective was to examine the possible effects of these ecological factors on tree-ring variation of Pinus pinea L. and Pinus halepensis Mill. We selected altogether 30 trees of both species from a sand dune stand located in the Guardamar Pine Woodland, Alicante, Spain. For both species we selected fi ve trees per each of three canopy damage levels and analysed four cores per tree. The results of dendrochrono- logical analysis show that there exists a correlation between tree-ring widths and September-June precipitation and it is an inverse relationship between the growth-climate correlation and the degree of canopy damage. Moreover, trees showed an increased number of missing-rings during the 1990's which was strongly related to severity of canopy damage due to marine spray. Synergistic effect of defoliation produced by the marine spray and dryer conditions due to limited water availability seem to have strong affect on variation of tree-ring widths.