Publications by Year: 1997

Χρήση παραπομπής και βιβλιογραφίας/ When citing: Καμπερίδου, Ειρήνη (1997). 1827-1997. 170 Χρόνια από την Ναυμαχία του Ναυαρίνου. Φιλέλληνες αγωνιστές. ΓΡΑΜΜΑ- GRAMMA,  Griechische Zeitschrift fur Deutschland und Europa. Attika Press, Frankfurt. ΑΦΙΕΡΩΜΑ, τεύχος 48, 15 Σεπτ.-15 Οκτ. 1997, σελ. 74-77.

We report a systematic study of lattice relaxation effects around 3d and 4sp impurities in aluminum, using the full-potential Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green function method. Our results for the magnetic properties of the impurities seem to resolve the discrepancy between experiment and previous calculations. In addition, the calculated atomic displacements and total volume changes are in good agreement with the corresponding experimental data.

The dynamics of a case of cyclogenesis over the central Mediterranean associated with heavy precipitation, especially over the southeast Aegean Sea, have been investigated on the basis of the analyses of two meteorological parameters, namely, the isobaric absolute and relative vorticity and the isentropic potential vorticity. On the whole, the two approaches demonstrate the important role of the upper level dynamics in the initiation of the surface cyclogenesis and seem to identify the same features: interaction of a region of positive absolute vorticity advection ahead of a 500 hPa trough with a shallow frontal system, in the first approach, and an isentropic potential vorticity anomaly at the upper levels with a low level baroclinic zone in the second approach. Furthermore, the analysis of potential vorticity identified an intense low level potential vorticity anomaly, for which there are indications that this is associated with diabatic heating and is important for the deepening of the system. This makes potential vorticity analysis preferable for forecasters. Special emphasis is given to the upper-level circulation and the vorticity field over the major European region before the surface cyclogenesis commences, since it is considered to be crucial for the forecasting of the event.

Various methods, such as address-calculation sorts, distribution counting sorts, radix sorts, and bucket sorts, use the values of the numbers being sorted to increase efficiency but do so at the expense of requiring additional storage space. In this paper, a specific implementation of bucket sort is presented whose primary advantanges are that (i) linear average-time performance is achieved with an additional amount of storage equal to any fraction of the number of elements being sorted and (ii) no linked-list data structures are used (all sorting is done with arrays). Analytical and empirical results show the trade-off between the additional storage space used and the improved computational efficiency obtained. Computer simulations show that for lists containing 1,000 to 30,000 uniformly distributed positive integers, the sort developed here is faster than both Quicksort and a standard implementation of bucket sort. Furthermore, the running time increases with size at a slower rate.

The temperature dependence of the EPR spectra of Y0.5Sm0.5 Ba2Cu3O6+x ceramic in tetragonal phase has been investigated at low temperatures. The complicated EPR spectra resulted from different paramagnetic centers: isolated divalent copper ions, exchange coupled copper pairs of ions, and molecular oxygen ions. The observed temperature dependence of the linewidth of exchange coupled copper ions has been interpreted in frames of a model of the collective motion of magnetic moments. The intensity of EPR spectra of molecular oxygen ions has shown critical behaviour at 3.60 K, where the intensity increased considerably.

The diagnostic value of antimyosin scanning in 7 patients with biopsy- proven cardiac amyloidosis was examined in this study. Antimyosin imaging was positive in all amyloid patients, with more intense uptake in patients with heart failure.

Spectra of 480 blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars in ω Centauri have been obtained using the multiobject fiber spectroscopic facility, Autofib, at the 3.9 m AAT. Preliminary analysis in the temperature range 7500K - 8200K indicates that a large fraction of BHB stars are at lower metallicities compared to the RR Lyrae stars and the giants. This could possibly be used to elucidate how mass loss efficiency varies with metallicity. The data can also be used together with simulated HBs to derive the variation of HB luminosity with metallicity.

A case of Saharan cyclogenesis associated with the equatorward intrusion of a trough at the end of the Atlantic storm track is investigated. It is shown that a potential vorticity anomaly resulting from a baroclinic wave life cycle associated with the polar jet interacts with the low-level baroclinicity over subtropical Africa beneath the subtropical jet. It is suggested that low-latitude synoptic-scale cyclogenesis events of this type can be triggered only by upper-level potential vorticity anomalies if they have a sufficient depth scale and that the interaction may be aided by the presence of low static stability associated with a well-mixed boundary layer. A weak cold front also forms during the cyclogenesis event associated with the convergence of the baroclinicity of the polar trough front with the baroclinicity of the subtropical heat low.

The polypeptide angiogenin, a normal constituent of human plasma, might be involved in endothelium homeostasis, angiogenesis, and neovascularization accompanying various diseases. This study aimed at determining angiogenin serum concentrations in the perinatal period of healthy newborns and at forming a baseline for this protein, which in the future may serve as a diagnostic index in developmental errors of the placenta and/or newborn. One milliliter of blood was drawn on d 1 and 4 of life from 30 healthy full-term neonates, and angiogenin serum concentrations were measured by an enzyme immunoassay using a commercially available kit. In 10 cases angiogenin serum concentrations were also measured in the maternal serum before delivery and in the umbilical vein serum. Angiogenin serum concentrations (μg/L) were significantly higher in maternal serum (225.7 ± 49.6) compared with umbilical vein serum (119.0 ± 34.2) (p < 0.0002), as well as that compared with day 1 (166.4 ± 44.9) (p < 0.01) but not to d 4 neonatal serum (240.8 ± 52.6). Angiogenin serum concentrations showed a statistically significant increase from d 1 to 4 (p < 10-7), as well as from umbilical cord serum to d I neonatal serum (p < 0.0002). A statistically significant correlation existed between values in umbilical cord serum and d I neonatal serum (r = 0.84, n = 10, p < 0.002) and between those in d I and 4 neonatal serum (r = 0.37, n = 30, p < 0.04). Sex, birth weight, or mode of delivery did not influence angiogenin serum concentrations. We conclude that a rapid increase of angiogenin serum concentrations to maternal levels takes place during the first four postnatal days in healthy full-term neonates.

This paper narrates the way chemists have been using the electron to account for one of the most intriguing problems, namely the bonding of two neutral atoms to form a molecule. The chemists' attempts to account for the mechanism of the homopolar bond, first in the context of the old quantum theory and after 1926 in the context of wave mechanics, brought the specter of reductionism to physics. We argue that the chemists' successful appropriation of the electron strengthened, first, the autonomy of physical chemistry and, then, of quantum chemistry with respect to physics.

Purpose: We investigated the activity of combination chemotherapy consisting of cisplatin, ifosfamide, methotrexate and vinblastine in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 32 consecutive patients was treated with 30 mg./m.2 cisplatin on days 1 through 3, 1.5 gm./m.2 ifosfamide with mesna on days 1 through 3, 30 mg./m.2 methotrexate and 3 mg./m.2 vinblastine on day 1 plus 5 μg./kg. granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on days 7 through 11. Courses were repeated every 21 days for a maximum of 6 cycles. Results: Major toxicity was granulocytopenia in 56% of patients, including 11 episodes of granulocytopenic fever. Anemia and thrombocytopenia developed in a third of the cases. No other significant toxicity or treatment related death was noted. An objective response was achieved in 20 patients (62.5%, 95% confidence interval 44 to 79). Median time to progression was 7 months and median survival was 13 months. Conclusions: The cisplatin, ifosfamide, methotrexate and vinblastine regimen appeared active in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma. This regimen was associated with significant but manageable hematological toxicity and the incidence of mucositis or renal impairment was low. Prospective randomized studies are needed to assess whether the addition of ifosfamide to other active agents will improve the survival of patients with this disease.

Consider a finite state irreducible Markov reward chain. It is shown that there exist simulation estimates and confidence intervals for the expected first passage times and rewards as well as the expected average reward, with 100% coverage probability. The length of the confidence intervals converges to zero with probability one as the sample size increases; it also satisfies a large deviations property.

This study aims to investigate the day by day relationship between mesoscale circulation and air quality over the Metropolitan Athens for a period of thirteen years spatially and seasonally. Eleven distinct mesoscale patterns are remarkable based in a formulated methodology based on surface and upper air wind measurements. The air quality conditions were attributed into seven distinct classes for five main pollutants namely, O3, NO2, SO2, CO and Black Smoke (BS). It was found that the severe and bad air quality conditions over the Metropolitan Athens area are mainly associated with weak southerly flows. The most serious pollution problem in AMA is attributed to O3 in the warm period when is favoured even by intense northerly flow. Due to the complex topography and the distribution of industrial and anthropogenetic activities in the examined area, the relationship between the air pollutant’s concentration and mesoscale air circulation presents important spatial characteristics that are further investigated.

In order to identify possible correlations between interleukin-6 (IL-6) and hormonal and biochemical parameters of bone metabolism, or bone density, 24 postmenopausal women were studied. Serum IL-6, estradiol, calcium, phosphorus, osteocalcin, alkaline phosphatase, the urinary secretion of calcium, phosphorus and hydroxyproline, and bone density of the lumbar spine, femur and radius were measured. No significant correlation was found between IL-6 and the biochemical parameters. A negative correlation was found between IL-6 and serum estradiol, as well as between IL-6 and bone density in 5 out of 6 sites studied. It is possible that women with high IL-6 levels, may develop lower bone mass.

The energy dependence of the magnetic Compton cross-section was measured with elliptically polarised synchrotron radiation at five energies from 245.2 to 1000.5 keV at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) using a recently installed superconducting wavelength shifter, the sample was ferromagnetic iron. These measurements more than double the highest photon energy previously used in synchrotron radiation studies. It was found that the integrated intensity of the spin-dependent scattering was well described by the formulae for the differential cross-section, dσ/dΩ, for free, stationary electrons. The optimisation of experiments designed to yield the spin-dependent Compton profile from the double differential cross-section, d2σ/dΩ dω is discussed.

Twenty-one women presenting with different diseases, with absolute or relative contraindications to hormonal contraception or the use of intrauterine devices, received 300-600 μg/day buserelin intranasally from the 1st to the 21st day, and 5 mg/day norethisterone acetate orally from the 16th to the 23rd day of the cycle for a total of 245 cycles. Serum luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol and testosterone were determined on days 3-5 and 13-15 of the cycle, while progesterone determinations and ovarian sonography were performed during the second half of the cycle. According to progesterone values, 92.7% of the treatment cycles were anovulatory, while in one cycle pregnancy was detected (0.4%). Values of serum LH, FSH and estradiol were low, and in most of the cycles ovarian follicular development was limited to follicles ≤ 11 mm. In 21 treatment cycles (9%), statistically significant increases in FSH (p < 0.0001) and LH (p < 0.02), as well as ovarian proliferation to preovulatory follicles or luteinized follicles, were found. It appears that in spite of the high cost of medication and monitoring of patients, this regimen could be useful as an alternative in cases where other forms of contraception are contraindicated or have failed.

Background: Cytokines are considered as part of host defence to infection or injury. Material and Methods: Pretreatment values of TNF and sIL-2R were measured in 132 women with a) ovarian carcinoma (n = 25), b) breast cancer (n = 20), c) endometrial cancer (n = 15), d) cervical squamous cell carcinoma (n = 19), e) cervical adenocarcinoma (n = 11) and f) benign gynecological diseases (n = 42) in order to evaluate whether these cytokines could be useful in the discrimination of malignant from benign gynecological diseases. Results: Both TNF and sIL-2R were significantly higher in all cancer groups together (mean ± SD:30 ± 11 pg/mL and 1293 ± 465 U/mL respectively), than those in the benign group (16.0 ± 6 pg/mL and 626 ± 233 U/mL, respectively; p < 0.001), while no significant differences were found for TNF and sIL-2R values in the five cancer groups. Significantly higher cytokine values were measured in the advanced stage diseases (33 ± 11 pg/mL and 1705 ± 192 U/mL), than those in the limited cancer (26 ± 12 pg/mL, p < 0.05 and 916 (521 U/mL, p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our results suggest that, cytokines may be useful in the discrimination of malignant from benign gynecological diseases and in monitoring tumor activity in patients early in the malignancy process.

Abstract - The study described in this paper investigates the knowledge andpreferences of 176 Greek children, aged between nine and eleven, with regard tofats and oils. The results show that the majority of children cannot classify oils.butter, and margarine in the correct nutritional category. The great majority wereof the opinion that it is healthier to use olive oil, rather than than seed oils, forsalads and cooked meals. However, they also answered that seed oils are healthierthan olive oil for fried meals. No statistically significant differences between thesexes was found in the answers, except for their preferences regarding the use ofolive oil in cooked meals and salads. The results indicate that Greek children lackthe information they need to make healthy food choices. In addition, there is aneed to develop teaching strategies thatfocus on lipids and their impact on health.

The effect of antineoplastic agents on non proliferating cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae was investigated. Non growing populations were obtained by suspending cells in saline or H2O and survival rates were determined after exposing the cells to various commercially available agents for five hours. The only agent found to be effective was Doxorubicin which reduced survival rates to less than 5% (p < 0.001). The action of this drug could be detected in only 4 minutes and was not concentration dependent, therefore it is probable that DNA damage is caused mostly by oxygen free drug radicals. Furthermore, our observations strongly imply the damage of cellular membranes is an alternative reason for cell death, with phosphatidyl-inositol being the most probable candidate target for the drug.

The scattering of a quasi two-dimensional electron gas by optical phonons in selectively doped AlxGa1−xAs/GaAs/AlxGa1−xAs quantum wells is systematically studied in order to determine the effect of phonon confinement. The electron states are calculated solving self-consistently Schrödinger and Poisson equations to obtain an accurate dependence upon the structure parameters and the temperature. We study the way the scattering is affected by the form of the phonons calculating the mobility using three models for the phonons. They are considered:m(a) as three dimensional (3D), (b) as a set of confined and interface phonons, and (c) as the normal modes of the heterostructure. The relaxation times for the electron energy subbands are calculated solving the system of Boltzmann equations. The effect of the temperature and the well width variation is also investigated. The results are in a good agreement with experimental measurements. The agreement is only slightly dependent on the model used for the phonons and becomes best when the effect of the heterostructure on the phonon modes is taken into account.

The current analysis of gastrointestinal absorption phenomena relies on the concept of homogeneity. However, drug dissolution, transit and uptake in the gastrointestinal tract are heterogeneous processes since they take place at interfaces of different phases under variable stirring conditions. Recent advances in physics and chemistry demonstrate that the geometry of the environment is of major importance for the treatment of heterogeneous processes. In this context, the heterogeneous character of in vivo drug dissolution, transit and uptake is discussed in terms of fractal concepts, Based on this analysis, drugs are classified in accordance with their gastrointestinal absorption characteristics into two broad categories i.e. homogeneous and heterogeneous. The former category includes drugs with satisfactory solubility and permeability which ensure the validity of the homogeneous hypothesis. Drugs with low solubility and permeability are termed heterogeneous since they traverse the entire gastrointestinal tract and therefore are more likely to exhibit heterogeneous dissolution, transit and uptake. The high variability of whole bowel transit and the unpredictability of conventional dissolution tests for heterogeneous drugs are interpreted on the basis of the fractal nature of these processes under in vivo conditions. The implications associated with the use of strict statistical criteria in bioequivalence studies for heterogeneous drugs are also pointed out.

{In this report, we studied the immunorestorative properties of subcutaneously administered granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in patients with refractory solid tumours receiving second-line chemotherapy. Such patients exhibit abnormal immune responses in vivo and in vitro and, therefore, it was of interest to examine the effect of GM-CSF-induced immunomodulation on clinical response. We examined patients with primary malignant carcinomas (head and neck

We present the results of a survey of neutral hydrogen emission in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The survey consists of a mosaic of 320 separate pointings of the 375-m array, resulting in a resolution of 1.6 arcmin (28 pc, for a distance of 60 kpc) over a field of 20 deg^2. The rms brightness temperature sensitivity is 1.4 K, corresponding to an Hi column density sensitivity of 4x10^18 cm^-2 for each velocity channel of width 1.6kms^-1. The Hi distribution is complex and, on scales <~1 kpc, appears to be dominated by the effects of expanding Hi shells, which are probably driven by the combined effects of supernovae and stellar winds from massive stars. The picture of the SMC that arises from the current data seems to challenge the earlier belief that the SMC consists of two or more spatially separate structures with different systemic velocities. We find that the observed multiple components are, in many cases, caused by the combined effects of the numerous shells and supershells. Altogether, we identify six supershells (defined here as those with radii greater than 300 pc) and 495 giant shells. For each of these, we measure positions, radii, velocities and expansion rates, and derive ages and kinetic energy requirements. The apparent age distribution of shells is remarkably narrow, with a mean age of 5.4Myr and an intrinsic dispersion of 2Myr. Southern shells appear to be older, on average, by 2.5Myr. The kinetic energy of the shells is a large fraction of the gravitational binding energy of the SMC, implying that further disintegration of the SMC will occur with time, and especially at the next close passage with the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) or the Galaxy, unless the SMC possesses a massive halo. Because of their interferometric nature, the images presented here are insensitive to structures of size >~0 deg.6, and should not be used for deriving total Hi column densities.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of the combination of ifosfamide (1.5 g/m2 i.v. on days 1, 2, 3) and paclitaxel (135 mg/m2 i.v. over 3 hours on day 3) with G-CSF (5 μg/kg/d subcutaneously, days 7-11) administered every 3 weeks on an outpatient basis in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients and methods: Thirty-five consecutive patients were treated, 12 of whom had previously received two regimens. Twelve of the 35 were defined as platinum-resistant and 23 as potentially platinum-sensitive. Results: Fifteen patients (43%; 95% CI: 26%-61%) achieved objective responses, five of them complete and ten partial. Objective responses occurred in 17% of the platinum-resistant patients and in 57% of those with potentially platinum-sensitive disease. The median duration of response was seven months and the median overall survival 11 months. The treatment was well tolerated and only 15% of the patients developed grade 3 or 4 neutropenia. With the exception of alopecia there were no other grade 3 or 4 toxicities. Conclusions: The combination of ifosfamide and paclitaxel was well tolerated and showed activity in patients with ovarian cancer who had previously undergone platinum-based chemotherapy.

This paper repotts on the first phase of a comparative study in Greece and the United Kingdom which is investigating the knowledge and understand ing of children aged 10 and 11 years about dietary fat and health. It is intended to use the study to develop in-service programmes for teachers based on research. The findings indicate that perceptions about fat and health held by children in the two countries are very similar. The majority of the children were able to describe the relationship between fat and health in general terms, but had limited understanding about the function of fat in the body.

The authors investigated 125 patients suffering from primary Raynaud's phenomenon by the following laboratory hematologic parameters: (1) cryofibrinogen and cryoglobulins; (2) serum albumins and immunoglobulins IgG, IgA, and IgM, as well as complement factors C3 and C4; (3) clotting inhibitors, antithrombin III, protein C and protein S, as well as α1 antitrypsin. Results were as follows: 77 (62%) patients had cryofibrinogen in their blood plasma, 50 (40%) patients had precipitation of cryoglobulins, and 65 (52%) patients had an increase of α2 globulin in the serum electrophoresis. Of the immunoglobulins, IgM was found increased in 42 patients (34%). Of the clotting time inhibitors, antithrombin III (AT III) had a lower activity in 50 (40%) patients as compared with that of normal subjects. Protein C, protein S, and α1 antitrypsin levels were lower in 21 (16.8%), 13 (10.4%), and 10 (8%) of patients, respectively. Statistical analysis of the results showed that all the protein fractions except for γ- globulin presented a statistically significant difference as compared with those of the controls (P <0.0001). Immunoglobulins IgG and IgA of the patients were significantly lower than those of the normal controls (P <0.001). The C3 and C4 factors of the complement presented statistically significant lower values (P < 0.001 and P < 0.0001 respectively). Finally, AT III appeared in lower values than those of the normal controls, being statistically significant (P < 0.0001). These results suggest that patients with primary Raynaud's phenomenon present changes in the levels of certain hematologic parameters, a fact that is probably connected with etiology. Thus further study and assessment might contribute to the diagnosis, discovery of the subjective systemic etiology, and better therapeutic management of Raynaud's phenomenon.

We present a radial velocity survey of a sample of the field population of carbon stars in the outer parts of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). This first set of results includes radial velocities for 71 carbon stars, with an individual precision of +/- 2-5 km/s. The mean heliocentric velocity of the stars (excluding one very high velocity star) is 149.3+/-3.0 km/s with a velocity dispersion of 25.2 +/- 2.1 km/s. These values drop to 145.5+/-2.7 km/s and 20.6+/-1.9 km/s respectively, if we exclude the stars belonging to the Outer Wing. The velocity distribution does not show the multiple peaks seen in some samples of Population I objects. The mass of the SMC as inferred from the above velocity dispersion (without the outer Wing stars) is ~= 1.2~10^9M_{\odot}. Tables 1a and 1b are available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp 130.79.128.5 or http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/abstract.html

{The Kozani earthquake (Ms = 6.6) of 13 May 1995 is the strongest event of the decade in Greece and occurred in a region of low seismic activity. Using regional data and the strong-motion record at the Kozani station, we relocate the mainshock at 40.183° N and 21.660° E, beneath the Vourinos massif at a depth of 14.2 km. We also compute a focal mechanism by body-waveform modeling at teleseismic distance, which confirms a normal mechanism. The most likely plane strikes 240° ± 1° N and dips 40° ± 1° N with a centroid depth of 11 ± 1 km. Modeling of the strong-motion record at Kozani confirms that nucleation started at the eastern termination of the bottom of the fault.Six days after the mainshock, we installed a network of 40 portable seismological stations for one week around the epicentral region. Several thousand aftershocks were recorded, among which we locate 622 with a precision better than 1 km. We compute 181 focal mechanisms that mostly show normal faulting. The aftershock seismicity is restricted between 5 and 15 km depth and defines a plane dipping north at an angle of about 35°, consistent with the mainshock mechanism. Seismic activity with the same pattern of normal fault mechanisms is also seen on an antithetic fault connected to the main one at 12 km depth, which cuts the ground surface north of the Vourinos ophiolite massif in the Siatista valley. These results suggest two possibilities for the active fault plane; either it is the Deskati fault that is flat and dips with a constant angle, and therefore the surface breaks are secondary features, or, more likely, it is the Paleohori fault that is new, of listric shape, and located ahead of the Deskati fault, which was not active during the earthquake.}

Late relapses of nonseminomatous germ cell tumors of the testicle are unusual. In such cases, chemotherapy is reported to have only modest success and surgery may be the preferred treatment modality. We report a patient who experienced relapse 11 years after the initial diagnosis of advanced testicular cancer and who achieved a sustained complete remission with salvage chemotherapy alone.

The full-potential Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green function method is extended to treat the lattice distortion in the vicinity of a point defect. The method is applied to predict the atomic positions in the neighborhood of d and sp substitutional impurities in Cu. Both the total energy and the Hellmann-Feynman force are used for the calculation of the ground-state configuration, while the semicore states of the impurities are treated as valence states. Our results for the atomic displacements are in very good agreement with the experimental data from extended x-ray-absorption fine-structure and lattice-parameter measurements.

Design: Determine the frequency of t(2;5)(p23;q35) in anaplastic large- cell lymphoma (ALCL), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), Hodgkin's disease (HD), and lymphomatoid papulosis (LP). Patients and methods: The t(2;5) was detected with a long-range nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using 0,5 μg of DNA (60000-80000 cells), 5'-primers from the NPM gene, 3'primers from the ALK gene, agarose electrophoresis, hybridization, and autoradiography. Patients were evaluable if a 3016 base pair amplicon could be generated from tumor DNA with β-globin primers. Results: Amplicons were detected by PCR of genomic DNA from three ALCL cell lines and four primary ALCLs known to t(2;5) positive. DNA from t(2;5)-positive cell lines diluted 104-fold or 105-fold generated amplicons in 100% or 20% of reactions, respectively. Archival tumor DNA from 144 patients was amplifiable by β-globin amplicons in 126 (88%) who are considered evaluable for this study. Twenty-two had ALCL, 69 other NHLs, 30 HD, and five LP. Genomic DNA PCR detected the t(2;5) in 5 of 22 with ALCL (23%, 95% confidence intervals [95% CI] 8%-45%) but not in those with NHLs, HD, or LP. Among ALCLs the t(2;5) was confined to 5 of 20 with nodal presentations (25%, 95% CI 9%-49%), among whom it was seen in 5 of 15 with T- cell or null-cell phenotype (33%, 95% CI 12%62%), in 4 of 11 with age < 40 years (36%, 95% CI 11%-69%), and in 4 of 9 with nodal presentations, T-cell or null-cell phenotype, and age <40 years (44%, 95% CI 14%-79%). Amplicon sizes were different between cell lines and patients, reflecting unique genomic DNA breakpoints, as confirmed by DNA sequencing, and served as an internal control against specimen cross-contamination in the laboratory. Conclusions: Long-range PCR of genomic DNA detects t(2;5) only in ALCL but not in other NHLs, HD, or LP. Long-range PCR may be useful in establishing diagnosis, determining prognosis, and monitoring minimal residual disease in ALCL.

We report a systematic study of low-field galvanomagnetic properties of aluminium-based dilute alloys with 3d and 4sp impurities. The low-field magnetoresistivity tensor is determined by exactly solving the linearized Boltzmann equation for the anisotropic vector mean free path, without using any adjustable parameter. Our method of calculation is based on the on-Fermi-sphere approximation which allows us to combine the full anisotropy of the host Fermi surface, obtained by the four-orthogonal-plane-wave method, with the impurity scattering phase shifts, evaluated by self-consistent local-density-functional impurity-in-jellium calculations. Our results for the Hall coefficient and the magnetoresistance are in good agreement with the experimental data.

We report a systematic study of low-field galvanomagnetic properties of aluminium-based dilute alloys with 3d and 4sp impurities. The low-field magnetoresistivity tensor is determined by exactly solving the linearized Boltzmann equation for the anisotropic vector mean free path, without using any adjustable parameter. Our method of calculation is based on the on-Fermi-sphere approximation which allows us to combine the full anisotropy of the host Fermi surface, obtained by the four-orthogonal-plane-wave method, with the impurity scattering phase shifts, evaluated by self-consistent local-density-functional impurity-in-jellium calculations. Our results for the Hall coefficient and the magnetoresistance are in good agreement with the experimental data.

The natural radioactivity, mainly due to radium (226Ra), in phosphate fertilizers used in north-western Greece has been measured by [gamma]-spectroscopy. Also radioactivity measurements were performed in soil samples and were compared to samples from undisturbed soils. 226Ra belongs to the 238U chain and is the precursor of radon gas (222Rn). The radon concentrations in warehouses, where large quantities of fertilizers are kept, were measured with CR-39 SSNTDs. The radium concentrations in the fertilizers ranged from 0 to 4584 Bq kg-1 and the radon concentrations in warchouses were measured 540-3320 Bq m-3. The results are discussed from the radiation protection point of view.

A model for phosphocreatine (PCr) resynthesis is proposed based on a simple electric circuit, where the PCr store in muscle is likened to the stored charge on the capacitor. The solution to the second-order differential equation that describes the potential around the circuit suggests the model for PCr resynthesis is given by PCr(t) = R - [d1 · exp(-k1·t) ± d2·exp(-k2·t)], where R is PCr concentration at rest, d1, d2, k1, and k2 are constants, and t is time. By using nonlinear least squares regression, this double-exponential model was shown to fit the PCr recovery data taken from two studies involving maximal exercise accurately. In study 1, when the muscle was electrically stimulated while occluded, PCr concentrations rose during the recovery phase to a level above that observed at rest. In study 2, after intensive dynamic exercise, PCr recovered monotonically to resting concentrations. The second exponential term in the double-exponential model was found to make a significant additional contribution to the quality of fit in both study 1 (P < 0.05) and study 2 (P < 0.01).

A model for phosphocreatine (PCr) resynthesis is proposed based on a simple electric circuit, where the PCr store in muscle is likened to the stored charge on the capacitor. The solution to the second-order differential equation that describes the potential around the circuit suggests the model for PCr resynthesis is given by PCr(t) = R - [d1 · exp(-k1·t) ± d2·exp(-k2·t)], where R is PCr concentration at rest, d1, d2, k1, and k2 are constants, and t is time. By using nonlinear least squares regression, this double-exponential model was shown to fit the PCr recovery data taken from two studies involving maximal exercise accurately. In study 1, when the muscle was electrically stimulated while occluded, PCr concentrations rose during the recovery phase to a level above that observed at rest. In study 2, after intensive dynamic exercise, PCr recovered monotonically to resting concentrations. The second exponential term in the double-exponential model was found to make a significant additional contribution to the quality of fit in both study 1 (P < 0.05) and study 2 (P < 0.01).

A model for phosphocreatine (PCr) resynthesis is proposed based on a simple electric circuit, where the PCr store in muscle is likened to the stored charge on the capacitor. The solution to the second-order differential equation that describes the potential around the circuit suggests the model for PCr resynthesis is given by PCr(t) = R - [d 1 · exp(-k 1·t) ± d 2·exp(-k 2·t)], where R is PCr concentration at rest, d 1, d 2, k 1, and k 2 are constants, and t is time. By using nonlinear least squares regression, this double-exponential model was shown to fit the PCr recovery data taken from two studies involving maximal exercise accurately. In study 1, when the muscle was electrically stimulated while occluded, PCr concentrations rose during the recovery phase to a level above that observed at rest. In study 2, after intensive dynamic exercise, PCr recovered monotonically to resting concentrations. The second exponential term in the double-exponential model was found to make a significant additional contribution to the quality of fit in both study 1 (P < 0.05) and study 2 (P < 0.01).

Methods. Twenty-four healthy subjects and 16 patients with lymphedema and lipedema were studied with MRI and ultratomography. Results. In chronic lymphedema, ultrasonography revealed a statistically significant increase of the subcutaneous fat without difference in skin thickness as compared to the healthy subjects. MRI revealed in lymphedema a statistically significant increase of skin thickness + subcutaneous tissue + muscular mass (p = 0.048); in lipedema, a statistically significant increase of skin thickness and subcutaneous tissue (p < 0.0001) as compared to the healthy controls. Conclusions. MRI offers strong qualitative and quantitative parameters in the diagnosis of lymphedema and lipolymphedema, while ultrasonography is expected to improve its diagnostic efficiency with the aid of high frequency echo with more sophisticated resolution apparatus. Age, weight and height of the patient as well as duration of the disease do not seem to affect the above-mentioned parameters.

We present the results of a multidisciplinary study of the Ms = 6.2, 1995, June 15, Aigion earthquake (Gulf of Corinth, Greece). In order to constrain the rupture geometry, we used all available data from seismology (local, regional and teleseismic records of the mainshock and of aftershocks), geodesy (GPS and SAR interferometry), and tectonics. Part of these data were obtained during a postseismic field study consisting of the surveying of 24 GPS points, the temporary installation of 20 digital seismometers, and a detailed field investigation for surface fault break. The Aigion fault was the only fault onland which showed detectable breaks (< 4 cm). We relocated the mainshock hypocenter at 10 km in depth, 38 ° 21.7 ′ N, 22 ° 12.0 ′ E, about 15 km NNE to the damaged city of Aigion. The modeling of teleseismic P and SH waves provides a seismic moment Mo = 3.4 1018 N.m, a well constrained focal mechanism (strike 277 °, dip 33 °, rake − 77°), at a centroidal depth of 7.2 km, consistent with the NEIC and the revised Harvard determinations. It thus involved almost pure normal faulting in agreement with the tectonics of the Gulf. The horizontal GPS displacements corrected for the opening of the gulf (1.5 cm/year) show a well-resolved 7 cm northward motion above the hypocenter, which eliminates the possibility of a steep, south-dipping fault plane. Fitting the S-wave polarization at SERG, 10 km from the epicenter, with a 33° northward dipping plane implies a hypocentral depth greater than 10 km. The north dipping fault plane provides a poor fit to the GPS data at the southern points when a homogeneous elastic half-space is considered: the best fit geodetic model is obtained for a fault shallower by 2 km, assuming the same dip. We show with a two-dimensional model that this depth difference is probably due to the distorting effect of the shallow, low-rigidity sediments of the gulf and of its edges. The best-fit fault model, with dimensions 9 km E–W and 15 km along dip, and a 0.87 m uniform slip, fits InSAR data covering the time of the earthquake. The fault is located about 10 km east-northeast to the Aigion fault, whose surface breaks thus appears as secondary features. The rupture lasted 4 to 5 s, propagating southward and upward on a fault probably outcropping offshore, near the southern edge of the gulf. In the shallowest 4 km, the slip – if any – has not exceeded about 30 cm. This geometry implies a large directivity effect in Aigion, in agreement with the accelerogram aig which shows a short duration (2 s) and a large amplitude (0.5 g) of the direct S acceleration. This unusual low-angle normal faulting may have been favoured by a low-friction, high pore pressure fault zone, or by a rotation of the stress directions due to the possible dip towards the south of the brittle-ductile transition zone. This fault cannot be responsible for the long term topography of the rift, which is controlled by larger normal faults with larger dip angles, implying either a seldom, or a more recently started activity of such low angle faults in the central part of the rift.

A 1,5-hydrogen migration of a conveniently situated alkoxyl radical affords spironucleosides which possess an unusual orthoamide structure at the anomeric position; X-ray crystallography establishes the configuration of the C-1' position.

In this paper we consider the problem of adaptive control for Markov Decision Processes. We give the explicit form for a class of adaptive policies that possess optimal increase rate properties for the total expected finite horizon reward, under sufficient assumptions of finite state-action spaces and irreducibility of the transition law. A main feature of the proposed policies is that the choice of actions, at each state and time period, is based on indices that are inflations of the right-hand side of the estimated average reward optimality equations.

Objectives. Estramustine and etoposide have been shown to inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells in experimental models. An in vivo synergism of the two agents, when administered to patients with metastatic prostate cancer refractory to hormone therapy, has been reported. To confirm these results, we administered this combination to a large number of patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). Methods. Fifty-six patients with metastatic HRPC were treated with oral estramustine 140 mg three times a day and oral etoposide 50 mg/m2/day for 21 days. Therapy was discontinued for 7 days and the cycle was then repeated. Therapy was continued until evidence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity occurred. To control for the possible interference of an antiandrogen withdrawal effect, all patients discontinued antiandrogen therapy and were not enrolled in the study unless there was evidence of disease progression. Results. Forty-five percent of 33 patients with measurable soft tissue disease demonstrated an objective response, which included five complete and ten partial responses. Among 52 patients with osseous disease, 17% showed improvement and 50% showed stability of bone scan. Thirty patients (58%) demonstrated a decrease of more than 50% in pretreatment prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels. The median survival of all patients was 13 months. Good pretreatment performance status, measurable disease response, improvement or stability of bone scan, and PSA response were important predictors of longer survival. Conclusions. We conclude that the combination of estramustine and etoposide is an active and well-tolerated oral regimen in HRPC.

Purpose: To determine the feasibility and toxicity of inducing autologous graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) with cyclosporine in patients with multiple myeloma undergoing autologous stem-cell transplantation. Patients and Methods: Fourteen multiple myeloma patients with a median age of 50 years (range, 41 to 63) were enrolled. The median time from diagnosis to transplant was 651 days (range, 229 to 3,353). Ten patients had primary refractory disease, two were in first remission, and two were responsive to salvage therapy. The preparative regimen consisted of thiotepa, busulfan, and cyclophosphamide. Cyclosporine was administered daily for 28 days after the stem-cell infusion, and the dose was adjusted to maintain whole-blood cyclosporine levels between 50 and 150 ng/dL in the first seven patients (low-level group) and between 150 and 300 ng/dL in the other seven patients (high-level group). Results: All patients achieved neutrophil engraftment a median of 11 days after transplant. Four patients developed ≤ grade 2 hepatic toxicity, six developed ≤ grade 2 nephrotoxicity, and four developed reversible cardiac toxicity. Only one treatment-related death occurred. Cyclosporine was withheld in seven patients for a median of 6 days because of renal and/or liver dysfunction. One patient developed clinical skin GVHD, which responded to corticosteroid therapy. Six patients developed histologic evidence of GVHD without clinical signs of GVHD (subclinical GVHD). The incidence of clinical and subclinical GVHD was similar in both cyclosporine groups. Three of 11 patients assessable for response achieved remissions. Three patients experienced disease progression 80, 160, and 354 days after transplant. Ten patients are alive without progression between 56 and 444 days after transplant. Conclusion: Induction of autologous GVHD by post- transplant cyclosporine is feasible and well tolerated in patients with multiple myeloma.

BACKGROUND. Patients with metastatic carcinoma of the uterine cervix have limited survival. Thus, new chemotherapeutic agents and combinations are needed to improve patient outcome. METHODS. Twenty-seven patients with Stage IV primary or recurrent carcinoma of the uterine cervix were assigned to chemotherapy treatment at 4-week intervals with methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (MVAC). The treatment was comprised of methotrexate, 30 mg/m2 administered intravenously (i.v.) on Days 1, 15, and 22; vinblastine, 3 mg/m2 i.v. on Days 2, 15, and 22; doxorubicin, 30 mg/m2 i.v. on Day 2; and cisplatin, 70 mg/m2 i.v. on Day 2. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) was given subcutaneously on Days 6-10 at a dose of 5 μg/kg. RESULTS. After a median of 4 cycles (a maximum of 6 in responders), the authors observed objective responses in 14 patients (52%), including 3 complete responses (11%) and 11 partial responses (41%). Median overall survival was 11 months (range, 4-15+ months), and median progression free survival of the responders was 8 months (range, 6-15+ months). Toxicity was acceptable and included neutropenia, alopecia, vomiting, and stomatitis. CONCLUSIONS. MVAC is an active regimen in the treatment of patients with advanced or recurrent carcinoma of the uterine cervix. It produced responses in one-half of the patients in this study, and it can be administered on an outpatient basis. The addition of G-CSF appears to reduce hematologic toxicity.

Purpose. To develop a new approach for describing drug dissolution which does not require the presuppositions of time continuity and Fick's law of diffusion and which can be applied to both homogeneous and heterogeneous media. Methods. The mass dissolved is considered to be a function of a discrete time index specifying successive `'generations'' (n). The recurrence equation: Phi(n+1) = Phi(n) + r(1 - Phi(n))(1 - Phi(n)X(0)/theta) was derived for the fractions of dose dissolved Phi(n) and Phi(n+1) between generations n and n + 1, where r is a dimensionless proportionality constant, X-0 is the dose and theta is the amount of drug corresponding to the drug's solubility in the dissolution medium. Results. The equation has two steady state solutions, Phi(ss) = 1 when (X-0/theta) less than or equal to 1 and Phi(ss) = theta/X-0 when (X-0/theta) > 1 and the usual behavior encountered in dissolution studies, i.e. a monotonic exponential increase of Phi(n) reaching asymptotically the steady state when either r < theta/X-0 < 1 or r < 1 < theta/X-0. Good fits were obtained when the model equation was applied to danazol data after appropriate transformation of the time scale to `'generations''. The dissolution process is controlled by the two dimensionless parameters theta/X-0 and r, which were found to be analogous to the fundamental parameters dose and dissolution number, respectively. The model was also used for the prediction of fraction of dose absorbed for highly permeable drugs. Conclusions. The model does not rely on diffusion principles and therefore it can be applied under both homogeneous and non-homogeneous conditions. This feature will facilitate the correlation of in vitro dissolution data obtained under homogeneous conditions and in vivo observations adhering to the heterogeneous milieu of the GI tract.

A postanginal Sepsis Syndrome with metastatic lung abscess caused by Fusobacterium necrophorumin a 25-year-old previously healthy man is described. The incomplete and ineffective antibiotic treatment at onset of angina ended progressively in septicaemia and metastatic infections in a 3-week time period. The early parenteral use of Metronidazole based only on the clinical picture, the Gram stain findings and the strict anaerobic feature of the blood isolate in parallel with the long-term antibiotic treatment were possibly the main reasons for the good outcome of this serious infection.

Because the outcome of patients with primary ovarian non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is controversial, we retrospectively analyzed experience with adults seen at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1974 to 1993. Patients were included if at least one ovary was pathologically involved, and if combination chemotherapy was used that must have included doxorubicin for intermediate grade histologies. We identified 15 patients who constituted 0.5% of all untreated NHL and 1.5% of untreated ovarian neoplasms that presented to our institution during this time. One patient refused therapy, leaving 14 assessable for response. Nine patients had intermediate- grade, 5 had highgrade, and none had low-grade NHL. One ovary was involved in 4 patients, and both in 10, in 7 of whom additional sites were involved, including supradiaphragmatic nodes in 2. Four patients had AAS I and 10 had AAS IV. Favorable (0 or 1) and unfavorable (> 1) IPI scores were seen in 5 and 9 patients, respectively. The complete remission rate for all patients was 64%, and 5-year survival and FFS for all assessable patients were 57 and 46%, respectively. We conclude that the complete remission rate and FFS of patients with ovarian NHL treated with appropriate chemotherapy appear to be similar to that of patients with other nodal NHLs. Further work is required to determine prognostic factors in ovarian NHL.

Approximately 20% of patients with multiple myeloma are recognized by chance without significant symptoms. In order to prevent morbidity with timely therapy, reliable criteria are needed that distinguish those likely to show early or late disease progression. Multiple clinical features were assessed in 101 consecutive, asymptomatic and previously untreated patients. Patients with one or more lytic bone lesions were excluded because this feature had been found previously to be associated with early progression. Multivariate analysis indicated that only serum myeloma globulin > 30 g/l. IgA protein type, and Bence Jones protein excretion > 50 mg/d remained as significant independent variables. The presence of two or more of these features signified high-risk disease with early progression (median 17 months) whereas the absence of any adverse variable was associated with prolonged stability (median 95 months) (P < 0.01). Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the spine was useful only in patients with one adverse feature and an intermediate time to progression (median 39 months). An abnormal pattern (40% of patients) helped to distinguish patients with an imminent complication from those with more stable disease. Because a serious complication (fracture, hypercalcaemia) occurred in 35% of patients with early disease progression, chemotherapy seems justified for selected patients with asymptomatic disease at diagnosis. The remaining patients were at such low risk for progression (median 6 years) that they may be followed safely at long intervals without treatment.

We show that relativistic bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton scattering of radio-emitting electrons can easily account for the observed γ-ray spectrum of 2EG J1857+0118 if the field strength in the shell is below ~30 μG. This source is located at the eastern border of the composite SNR W44, where the expanding radio shell is interacting with a dense molecular cloud. The nondetection of this remnant above 250 GeV implies a cutoff or steepening in the electron spectrum above ~100 GeV. The E-1.66 spectrum of this radio/γ-ray-emitting electron component is too flat to have its origin in standard first-order Fermi acceleration, but electron injection into the shell by the pulsar PSR B1853+01 over the 2 × 104 yr lifetime may explain why the Crab-like radio spectrum (Sν ~ ν-0.33) is about the hardest of all shell-type remnants. The injected energy would be sufficient to account for the required energy of 6 × 1049 ergs if the initial spin-down power of PSR B1853+01 was about 10 times larger than the present spin-down power of the Crab pulsar. A steeper Fermi electron component may be present, but the observational data are not constraining enough to provide a meaningful limit on the presence of an additional ~E-2 shell-type electron component. The predicted γ-ray contribution from high-energy proton-gas interactions is about 20% of the observed EGRET flux above 100 MeV, which confirms our conclusion that the γ-ray emission from W44 is dominated by a leptonic component.

An attempt is made to investigate the role of the jet streaks upstream an upper tropospheric diffluent trough in its evolution. A proof of the relationship that controls the rate of change of the mean absolute vorticity in the region of the diffluent trough is provided. It is demonstrated that for certain value of the rate of the increasing mean regional vorticity, a cut-off low can develop in the upper troposphere, which is likely to trigger the initiation of surface cyclogenesis, under favourable lower tropospheric conditions. Therefore, it seems that this approach offers to the operational meteorologists a simple tool to evaluate the numerical weather prediction of a cyclonic development in southern Europe and to decide for its uncritical accept or rejection when the initial atmospheric conditions in northwest Europe are similar to those described above. This diagnostic tool is then applied to the case of cyclogenesis that occurred on the 29th January 1994 in Greece, in order to demonstrate its practical significance.

Seasonal variability and the spatial distribution of sea surface temperatures (SST) and salinities (SSS) are reviewed, in relation to the prevailing climatological conditions, heat fluxes, water budget and general water circulation patterns. Within this context, consideration is given to: sea surface temperatures; air temperatures; precipitation; evaporation; wind speeds and directions; freshwater (mainly riverine) discharges throughout the Aegean; and the exchange of water masses with the Black Sea and eastern Mediterranean Sea. The investigation of satellite images, covering a 6-yr period (1988–1994), has enabled a synthesis of the monthly sea surface thermal distribution to be established. The climate of the Aegean Sea is characterised by annual air temperatures of 16–19.5°C, precipitation of about 500 mm yr−1 and evaporation of some 4 mm d−1. The Aegean has a negative heat budget (approximately −25 W m−2) and positive water balance (+ 1.0 m yr−1), when inflow from the Black Sea is considered. During the summer, the (northerly) Etesians are the dominant winds over the Sea. Mean monthly sea surface temperatures (SST) vary from 8°C in the north during winter, up to 26°C in the south during summer. SST depends mainly upon air temperature; there is a month's delay between the former and latter maxima. The sea surface salinity (SSS) varies also spatially and seasonally, ranging from less than 31 psu, in the north, to more than 39 psu, in the southeast; lower values (< 25 psu) occur adjacent to the river mouths. SSSs present their maximum differences during summer, whilst during winter and autumn the distribution of SSS is more uniform. The overall spatial SST and SSS distribution pattern is controlled by: distribution of the (colder) Black Sea Waters; advection of the (warmer) Levantine Waters, from the southeastern part of the Aegean; upwelling and downwelling; and, to a lesser extent, but locally important, freshwater riverine inflows.

A phase II study of combination paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ)/gemcitabine was conducted in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had failed first, line docetaxel- or cisplatin- based chemotherapy. Eligibility criteria included histologically confirmed measurable stage IIIB or IV NSCLC and previous exposure to docetaxel, or cisplatin-based regimens. World Health Organization performance status between 0 and 2, adequate hematologic parameters, and adequate hepatic, renal, and cardiac function. Gemcitabine (900 mg/m2) was given on days 1 and 8 as a 30-minute infusion; paclitaxel (175 mg/m2) was administered on day 8 as a 3-hour infusion after appropriate premedication. Granulocyte colony- stimulating factor (150 μg/m2 subcutaneously) was given on days 9 to 15. Treatment was repeated every 3 weeks until patients experienced disease progression. From October 1995 to December 1996, 26 patients with advanced NSCLC were enrolled (three stage IIIB, 23 stage IV). All 26 patients were assessable for toxicity, and 24 were evaluable for response. Two complete (8%) and five partial (21%) responses were observed, for an overall response rate of 29% (95% confidence interval, 11% to 47%). The median duration of response was 2.5 months and the median survival was 8 months. A median of three courses per patient was administered, and the median interval between courses was 21 days. The median delivered dose was 579 mg/m2/wk gemcitabine and 54.5 mg/m2/wk paclitaxel, corresponding to a relative dose intensity of 0.97 and 0.96, respectively. Grade 314 neutropenia occurred in two patients (8%). Grade 3 conjunctivitis occurred in one (4%) patient and grade 213 neurotoxicity in eight (31%) patients. Grade 314 and grade 2 fatigue occurred in four (15%) and eight (31%) patients, respectively. Other toxicities were mild to moderate. These preliminary results suggest that the paclitaxel/gemcitabine combination is an active and well-tolerated salvage regimen in patients with NSCLC previously treated with docetaxel, or cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The paclitaxel/gemcitabine combination merits further evaluation as first-line treatment.

A phase II study of combination paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ)/gemcitabine was conducted in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had failed first-line docetaxel- or cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Eligibility criteria included histologically confirmed measurable stage IIIB or IV NSCLC and previous exposure to docetaxel- or cisplatin-based regimens, World Health Organization performance status between 0 and 2, adequate hematologic parameters, and adequate hepatic, renal, and cardiac function. Gemcitabine (900 mg/m2) was given on days 1 and 8 as a 30-minute infusion; paclitaxel (175 mg/m2) was administered on day 8 as a 3-hour infusion after appropriate premedication. Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (150 microg/m2 subcutaneously) was given on days 9 to 15. Treatment was repeated every 3 weeks until patients experienced disease progression. From October 1995 to December 1996, 26 patients with advanced NSCLC were enrolled (three stage IIIB, 23 stage IV). All 26 patients were assessable for toxicity, and 24 were evaluable for response. Two complete (8%) and five partial (21%) responses were observed, for an overall response rate of 29% (95% confidence interval, 11% to 47%). The median duration of response was 2.5 months and the median survival was 8 months. A median of three courses per patient was administered, and the median interval between courses was 21 days. The median delivered dose was 579 mg/m2/wk gemcitabine and 54.5 mg/m2/wk paclitaxel, corresponding to a relative dose intensity of 0.97 and 0.96, respectively. Grade 3/4 neutropenia occurred in two patients (8%). Grade 3 conjunctivitis occurred in one (4%) patient and grade 2/3 neurotoxicity in eight (31%) patients. Grade 3/4 and grade 2 fatigue occurred in four (15%) and eight (31%) patients, respectively. Other toxicities were mild to moderate. These preliminary results suggest that the paclitaxel/gemcitabine combination is an active and well-tolerated salvage regimen in patients with NSCLC previously treated with docetaxel- or cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The paclitaxel/gemcitabine combination merits further evaluation as first-line treatment.

AIM: To investigate the significance of IgM antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen (IgM anti-HCV core) in chronic hepatitis C. METHODS: In a group of 112 patients with histologically proven chronic hepatitis C positive for HCV RNA, IgM anti-HCV core level was studied by a sensitive semi-quantitative enzyme immunoassay. Quantitation of serum HCV RNA was done by a second generation bDNA assay and determination of HCV genotype by RT-PCR and reverse hybridization. RESULTS: IgM anti-HCV core was detected in 72 (64.3%) of the 112 patients. ALT levels were significantly higher in IgM anti-HCV core positive than negative patients. No other significant difference was observed in any of the patients' characteristics between IgM anti-HCV core positive and negative groups. On the contrary, IgM anti-HCV core level was found to be significantly higher in females than in males, in patients with moderate or severe chronic hepatitis, in patients with high HCV RNA levels and in patients infected with HCV genotype 1b. Moreover, IgM anti-HCV core level was significantly correlated with age and ALT level. Multiple regression analysis showed that IgM anti-HCV core level was significantly related only to the HCV genotype (p=0.001), histological grade (p=0.017) and ALT level (p=0.038). CONCLUSIONS: Our data support the hypothesis that IgM anti-HCV core level is associated mainly with HCV genotype and secondly with liver disease necroinflammatory activity. These associations may have implications in the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C.

The spin density in the Heusler alloy Cu2MnAl, has been studied in a Compton scattering experiment with 92 keV circularly polarized synchrotron radiation on the high-energy beamline at ESRF. The conduction electrons were found to have a negative spin polarization of 0.4 μB which is at variance with the deduction of a positive moment from earlier neutron data; neither was any evidence found for a 3d spin moment on the copper site. The spin moment on the Mn site at room temperature was determined as 3.25 μB, which is in agreement with neutron data. The spin-dependent Compton profiles for the [100], [110] and [111] directions, reported here, show anisotropy in the momentum density which is in good agreement with new KKR calculations based on a ferromagnetic ground state. By combining charge- and spin-dependent Compton data the momentum space anisotropies in the majority and minority bands have been analysed. Both the majority and minority spin densities are anisotropic.

Irregular galaxies are generally less massive and less evolved systems than spirals. They constitute a different sort of system in which to study the processes of star formation and galactic evolution. The star formation history of Irregular Galaxies may be affected by several different factors. However, detailed knowledge of the star-formation history of a significant number of objects is necessary before it becomes possible to determine which parameters are important. In the last few years, there has been significant progress on this front. For the first time, we begin to probe in some detail the star-formation history of a fair number of resolved Irregulars in the Local Group. In the present, these results are summarized.

General theorems and various analytical self-similar solutions have recently shown that magnetized and rotating astrophysical outflows may become asymptotically cylindrical, in agreement with observations of cosmical jets. A notable common feature in all such self-consistent, self-similar MHD solutions is that before final cylindrical collimation is achieved, the jet passes from a stage of oscillations in its radius, Mach number and other physical parameters. It is shown that under rather general assumptions this oscillatory behavior of collimated outflows is not restricted to the few specific models examined so far, but instead it seems to be a rather general physical property of an MHD outflow which starts noncylindrically before it reaches collimation. It is concluded thence that astrophysical jets are structurally stable to small amplitude, time-independent perturbations in their asymptotically cylindrical shape.

We present a theoretical analysis of the photonic band structure of fcc colloidal crystals in relation to experimentally available transmission spectra of finite slabs of such crystals.

General theoretical arguments and various analytic self-similar solutions have recently shown that magnetized and rotating astrophysical outflows may become asymptotically cylindrical, in agreement with observations of cosmical jets. A notable common feature in all such self-consistent, self-similar MHD solutions is that before final cylindrical collimation is achieved, the jet passes from a stage of oscillations in its radius, Mach number and other physical parameters. It is shown that under rather general assumptions this oscillatory behaviour of collimated outflows is not restricted to the few specific models examined so far, but instead seems to be a rather general physical property of an MHD outflow that starts non-cylindrically before it reaches collimation. It is concluded thence that astrophysical jets are topologically stable to small-amplitude, time-independent perturbations in their asymptotically cylindrical shape. Also, similarly to the familiar fluid instabilities, these oscillations may give rise to brightness enhancements along jets.

General theoretical arguments and various analytic self-similar solutions have recently shown that magnetized and rotating astrophysical outflows may become asymptotically cylindrical, in agreement with observations of cosmical jets. A notable common feature in all such self-consistent, self-similar MHD solutions is that before final cylindrical collimation is achieved, the jet passes from a stage of oscillations in its radius, Mach number and other physical parameters. It is shown that under rather general assumptions this oscillatory behaviour of collimated outflows is not restricted to the few specific models examined so far, but instead seems to be a rather general physical property of an MHD outflow that starts non-cylindrically before it reaches collimation. It is concluded thence that astrophysical jets are topologically stable to small-amplitude, time-independent perturbations in their asymptotically cylindrical shape. Also, similarly to the familiar fluid instabilities, these oscillations may give rise to brightness enhancements along jets.

The Internet was born in December of 1969 and has grown phenomenally since. Its graphically interactive, user-friendly modality, the World Wide Web (WWW), is younger and growing even more explosively. By its nature, the WWW is a tool ideally and uniquely suited for the advancement education. This paper describes the design, development and the implementation of a Web Site for supporting the education of the students in the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Athens.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), CA125, and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC) were evaluated in paired vaginal fluid and serum samples from 69 women, mean age 40.6 (20-78) years. Fifteen of the subjects were normal females (controls), 12 were pregnant, 20 had benign gynecological diseases, 5 presented severe cervical dysplasias and 17 suffered from cancer of the genital tract. Highly elevated CEA, CA125 and SCC concentrations (median, range) were found in vaginal fluid: 186 ng/ml (12-5 420); 890 U/ml (54-65 000); 1 600 ng/ml (27-13 000) respectively, compared with those in the paired serum samples: 1 ng/ml (0.5-8.6); 12 U/ml (3.0-1 590); 1 ng/ml (0.3-19). Vaginal fluid CEA, CA125 and SCC values were significantly different among the five studied groups (p < 0.0002; p < 0.02; p < 0.002 respectively), being significantly higher in the patients with benign gynecological diseases, compared with those in the patients with malignancies of the genital tract (p < 0.0001; p < 0.02; p < 0.005), and those in controls (p < 0.02; p < 0.007; p < 0.02 respectively). The results of this study suggest that: 1) CEA, CA125 and SCC seem to be normal constituents of vaginal fluid. 2) The distribution of CEA, CA125 and SCC between vaginal fluid and the circulation is affected by pregnancy, inflammation and cancer of the genital tract.

We present a model of the spectra of gamma-ray emitting blazars in which a single homogeneous emission region both emits synchrotron photons directly and scatters them to high (gamma-ray) energy before emission (a `synchrotron self-Compton' or SSC model). In contrast to previous work, we follow the full time dependent evolution of the electron and photon spectra, assuming a power-law form of the electron injection and examine the predictions of the model with regard to variability of the source. We apply these computations to the object Mkn 421, which displayed rapid variability in its X-ray and TeV emission during a multiwavelength campaign in 1994. This observation strongly implies that the same population of electrons produces the radiation in both energy bands. By fitting first the observed quiescent spectrum over all 18 orders of magnitude in frequency, we show that the time dependence of the keV/TeV flare could have been the result of a sudden increase in the maximum energy of the injected electrons. We show also that different types of flare may occur in this object and others, and that the energy band most sensitive to the properties of the acceleration mechanism is the X-ray band.

With current treatment modalities, most patients with early stage Hodgkin's disease (HD) can be cured. Patients destined to relapse, usually do so within 3 years after treatment completion. Late relapses do occur but disease recurrence beyond 15 years is extremely rare. We report a patient with clinical stage IIA nodular sclerosis HD, originally treated with radiotherapy alone, who relapsed 24 years after the initial diagnosis. Our patient's case indicates the possible need for lifelong surveillance of patients with Hodgkin's disease.

We present the results of a survey of neutral hydrogen emission in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The survey consists of a mosaic of 320 separate pointings of the 375-m array, resulting in a resolution of 1.6arcmin (28pc, for a distance of 60kpc) over a field of 20deg2. The rms brightness temperature sensitivity is 1.4K, corresponding to an H I column density sensitivity of 4x18cm-2 for each velocity channel of width 1.6km/s. The HI distribution is complex and, on scales <=1kpc, appears to be dominated by the effects of expanding H I shells, which are probably driven by the combined effects of supernovae and stellar winds from massive stars. The picture of the SMC that arises from the current data seems to challenge the earlier belief that the SMC consists of two or more spatially separate structures with different systemic velocities. We find that the observed multiple components are, in many cases, caused by the combined effects of the numerous shells and supershells. Altogether, we identify six supershells (defined here as those with radii greater than 300pc) and 495 giant shells. For each of these, we measure positions. radii, velocities and expansion rates, and derive ages and kinetic energy requirements. The apparent age distribution of shells is remarkably narrow, with a mean age of 5.4Myr and an intrinsic dispersion of 2Myr. Southern shells appear to be older, on average, by 2.5Myr. The kinetic energy of the shells is a large fraction of the gravitational binding energy of the SMC, implying that further disintegration of the SMC will occur with time, and especially at the next close passage with the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) or the Galaxy, unless the SMC possesses a massive halo. Because of their interferometric nature, the images presented here are insensitive to structures of size >=0.6°, and should not be used for deriving total H I column densities (1 data file).

The European Union retained the WISECARE project "Work flow Information Systems for European nursing CARE" for funding. The project focuses on the use of telematics technology for clinical and resource management in oncology care in hospitals. This paper outlines the impact of introducing this kind of advanced nursing informatics application on the management of nursing knowledge. Three shift in knowledge management that will get high attention in WISECARE, are identified. The first is the shift from knowledge dissemination to knowledge sharing. The second is the shift from individual knowledge to organisational knowledge. The third is the shift from deductive, prescriptive knowledge as seen in guidelines, protocols to more inductive, experience based knowledge. The paper emphasizes that the real impact of information technology is not in the automation of existing processes but on the discovery of new ways of organisation and living.

Oxidised porous silicon emits luminescence in two distinct bands in the visible region. The fast blue (τ ∼ ns) and slow red (τ ∼ μs at 300K) bands are studied via the separate methods of time-resolved XEOL in single-bunch mode and wavelength-selective and total XEOL in multi-bunch mode. Measurements have been conducted at the silicon K-edge (1840eV) and L2,3-edge for freshly prepared and oxidised porous silicon and related samples. Both methods give conclusive evidence that the fast, blue luminescent site is defects in silica or suboxide formed near to the Si/ SiO2 interface, whereas the slower, red band originates from smaller silicon particles of diameter 14Å or less found in porous silicon. The XEOL process is discussed and range estimates of the spatial separation between the photoionisation event and radiative recombination are made.

We study Compton upscattering of low-frequency photons in a converging flow of thermal plasma. The photons escape diffusively, and electron scattering is the dominant source of opacity. We solve the equation of radiative transfer in the case of spherical, steady state accretion into black holes numerically and approximately analytically. Unlike previous work on this subject, we consider the inner boundary at a finite radius, and this has a significant effect on the emergent spectrum. It is shown that the bulk motion of the converging flow is more efficient in upscattering photons than thermal Comptonization, provided that the electron temperature in the flow is of order a few keV or less. In this case, the spectrum observed at infinity consists of a soft component coming from input photons that escaped after a few scatterings without any significant energy change and of a power law that extends to high energies and is made of those photons that underwent significant upscattering. The luminosity of the power law is relatively small compared to that of the soft component. The more reflective the inner boundary is, the flatter the power-law spectrum becomes. The spectral energy power-law index for black hole accretion is always higher than 1, and it is approximately 1.5 for high accretion rates. This result tempts us to say that bulk motion Comptonization might be the mechanism behind the power-law spectra seen in black hole X-ray sources.

In this article, we present ways of applying a well-known systemic technique, reframing and paradox, in the management of problematic situations in the school. The rationale, the utility, and the advantages of this technique are described. We discuss notions such as the many different interpretations of the same behavior, the vicious cycle of the interactions and the circular causality, the cooperative perspective, the therapeutic double bind, the self-fulfilling prophecy, the reframing of relapses, etc. We also present two case studies that illustrate the use of the reframing technique in the school context.

Χρήση παραπομπής και βιβλιογραφίας/ When citing: Καμπερίδου, Ειρήνη (1997). «Θαυμάζοντες και Θαυμαζόμενοι»: «Οι Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες στην Αθήνα το 1875» (Mahaffy 1875). ΓΡΑΜΜΑ-GRAMMA,  Griechische Zeitschrift fur Deutschland und Europa. Attika Press, Frankfurt,  τεύχος 47, 15 Ιουν.-15 Ιουλ. 1997, σελ.  63-66.

(1997). Γογγάκη, Κωνσταντίνα. Ο Μυθολογικός Κύκλος των Πυθίων αγώνων. Καταγωγή, τελετουργία, ερμηνεία, Διδακτορική διατριβή, Αθήνα.   Η εργασία επιχειρεί την ανίχνευση της καταγωγής, της αρχής, της γένεσης των Πυθίων αγώνων μέσα από τη συμβολική ερμηνεία των μύθων των Δελφών. Οι αθλητικοί αγώνες, τα Πύθια, αποτελούν το κέντρο προς το οποίο εστιάζεται η έρευνα, καθώς η μουσική τους αφετηρία τους συνδέει με παλαιότατες μαγικές τελετές και με θρησκευτικές τελετουργίες. Ο αρχικός χαρακτήρας των αγώνων των Δελφών, σημαντικού Δωρικού κέντρου της πολιτιστικής και θρησκευτικής ζωής των αρχαίων Ελλήνων, έχει στοιχεία που τον συνδέουν με πανάρχαιες τελετουργίες έκστασης και μέθεξης, όπως λόγου χάριν των Υπερβόρειων παρθένων. Καθώς ο δωρικός θεός Απόλλων αποτελεί τον θεό της εφηβείας, του φωτός, της μουσικής και του ηθικού εξαγνισμού, τα τελετουργικά στοιχεία των Πυθίων αγώνων προσλαμβάνουν απαραίτητα τον ιερό τελετουργικό χαρακτήρα των εκδηλώσεων που λάμβαναν μέρος στον «ομφαλό της γης». Η επίδραση και η συμβολή του Μαντείου των Δελφών και της ιέρειάς του Πυθίας υπήρξε επί δώδεκα αιώνες καταλυτική για την πολιτική και κοινωνική ζωή και τη φιλοσοφική σκέψη των Ελλήνων. Η σύγχρονη έρευνα έχει δείξει γενικά ότι οι Ινδοευρωπαίοι-Έλληνες μετανάστες βρήκαν και αποδέχθηκαν λατρείες πλήρως διαμορφωμένες, και πως τα μυθολογικά κέντρα αφορούν σε τοπικές συναντήσεις, οι οποίες αποτελούν την πηγή των εξελίξεων. Οι συναντήσεις αυτές έχουν διάφορο χαρακτήρα. Λαμβάνουν, δηλαδή χώρα είτε βίαια, είτε ειρηνικά, είτε με υποταγές, είτε με διάλογο, και οι διάφορες μορφές συναντήσεων κατόπιν αποτυπώνονται σε μύθους. Όποτε και όπου υπήρξαν τέτοιες συναντήσεις παρατηρήθηκε υποταγή μύθων και έξαρση άλλων μύθων ή δημιουργία νέων μύθων, ή περιγραφή του ίδιου μύθου με άλλες εκδοχές. Επίσης σημειώθηκε καταφυγή σε μυστήρια ή σε μυστηριακές τελετές και σε τοπικές λατρείες, ενώ ταυτόχρονα επιτελέστηκαν και επιτάφιοι αγώνες-όπως είναι και οι αγώνες των Δελφών. Η ελληνική μυθολογία, η μυθολογία του Ολυμπικού πανθέου, είναι ακριβώς το καταστάλαγμα αυτής της μεγάλης μυθολογικής διαδικασίας. Προηγούνται, επομένως, της μυθολογίας αυτής άλλοι μύθοι, προελλήνων, πρωτοελλήνων, Πελασγών, Μινύων ή άλλων, οι οποίοι μύθοι εμφανίζουν μια μεγάλη, απέραντη εξέλιξη και μια κρυφή σημειολογία. Και επειδή παρουσιάζουν τοπικά χαρακτηριστικά, γι’ αυτό και αναφέρεται η εργασία σε «κύκλους μυθολογικούς», όπως ο Δελφικός. Τα μυθολογικά κέντρα, επομένως, αφορούν σε συναντήσεις, οι οποίες αποτυπώνονται μέσα σε τοπικούς – γενικούς ή σε πανελλήνιους μύθους. Ενώ έχουν, κατά συνέπεια, τοπικά χαρακτηριστικά, διαθέτουν, ωστόσο, γενική, πανελλήνια σημασία.    

Χρήση παραπομπής και βιβλιογραφίας/ When citing: Καμπερίδου, Ειρήνη (1997).  Όσο και αν Ταξιδέψεις στο Αιγαίο, παντού είναι Ελλάδα: Ταξιδιωτικά ημερολόγια περιηγητών. ΓΡΑΜΜΑ- GRAMMA,  Griechische Zeitschrift fur Deutschland und Europa. Attika Press, Frankfurt, τεύχος 49, Δεκ. 1997: 60-61.  

Ο συγγραφέας είχε γράψει είκοσι έτη πριν από το παρόν άρθρο ότι: "τὰ οἰκονομικὰ θεμέλια τοῦ κεμαλικοῦ κράτους ὑπονομεύονται συστηματικῶς ἀπὸ τὴν διείσδηση ἰσλαμικῶν κεφαλαίων. Ἂν ἡ κατάκτησις μιᾶς χώρας ἀρχίζει ἀπὸ τὴν οἰκονομία της, ἡ κεμαλικὴ κοσμικὴΤουρκία ἔχει ἤδη χάσει τὸ παιγνίδι μὲ τὴν ἰσλαμικὴν ταὐτότητά της". Το παρόν άρθρο, γράφεται το 1999 και αναφέρεται στα ισλαμικά κεφάλαια, τα οποία κατακτούν την τουρκική οικονομία.

Ἡ ἀνάλυσις τοῦ φαινομένου τοῦ ἰσλαμισμοῦ, ὁ ρόλος τοῦ Ἰσλὰμ στὴν σημερινὴ καὶ τὴν μελλοντικὴ Τουρκία, οἱ κίνδυνοι ποὺ προκύπτουν γιὰ τὴν Εὐρώπη ἀπὸ τὴν ἄνοδο τοῦ ἰσλαμικοῦ φονταμενταλισμοῦ καὶ οἱ σχέσεις τῆς Ἑλλάδος μὲ τὸν μουσουλμανικὸν κόσμο ἀποτελοῦν θέματα ποὺ συνεχίζουν νὰ προκαλοῦν πονοκεφάλους σὲ ὅσους προσπαθοῦν νὰ ὁρίσουν τὸ νέο διεθνὲς περιβάλλον τοῦ ΚΑ΄ αἰῶνος. Το παρόν κείμενο αποτελέι συνέντευξη του Καθηγητή Ιωάννη Μάζη, τὸ συγγραφικὸ ἔργο τοῦ ὁποίου κατὰ μέγα μέρος ἐπικεντρώνεται σὲ θέματα ἀναλύσεως τοῦ Ἰσλάμ. Εἰδικώτερα, τὸ βιβλίο του "Ἡ γεωγραφία τοῦ Ἰσλαμικοῦ κινήματος στὴν Μέση Ἀνατολὴ" ήταν τότε τὸ μοναδικὸ πόνημα στὴν ἑλληνικὴ βιβλιογραφία ποὺ ασχολούνταν μὲ τὸ Ισλάμ, μιᾶς καὶ ἡ πανεπιστημιακὴ κοινότης, το θεωρούσε, μάλλον, ως θέμα ἥσσονος σημασίας.

Στο άρθρο αυτό παρουσιάζονται οι κυριότερες μέχρι σήμερα θεωρητικές απόψεις, καθώς και τα ερευ­νητικά ευρήματα για το συναίσθημα της μοναξιάς του παιδιού σχολικής ηλικίας. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, περιγράφονται τα ευρήματα για τον τρόπο με τον οποίο το παιδί αντιλαμβάνεται, βιώνει και αντιμετω­πίζει το συναίσθημα αυτό και συζητούνται οι προσπάθειες για την ψυχομετρική αξιολόγηση του φαινο­μένου. Στη συνέχεια, ανασκοπούνται τα ευρήματα για τη σχέση της μοναξιάς με διάφορες κρίσιμες παραμέτρους, όπως: η ηλικία, το φύλο, η θέση του παιδιού στην ομάδα των συνομηλίκων του, οι φιλίες, η αντίληψη του παιδιού για τις κοινωνικές του δεξιότητες, τα χαρακτηριστικά της συμπεριφοράς του, η απόδοση αιτίων για τις κοινωνικές επιτυχίες και αποτυχίες και η κατάθλιψη. Τέλος, διατυπώνονται συμπεράσματα για το επίπεδο στο οποίο βρίσκεται η κατανόηση της μοναξιάς των παιδιών και για πι­θανά κενά στη σχετική θεωρητική και ερευνητική ενασχόληση.