Spectral analysis of thioacetamide-induced electroencephalographic changes in rats.

Thioacetamide (TAA) is widely used as a model of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of TAA on electroencephalographic (EEG) changes in rats and to compare them with human HE. Male Wistar rats were divided into groups: (1) saline-treated group and (2) TAA-treated groups: TAA(300) (300 mg/kg), TAA(600) (600 mg/kg), and TAA(900) (900 mg/kg).

Dose enhancement effect of anticaner drugs associated with increased temperature in vitro.

Aim: To evaluate in vitro the influence of elevated temperature (42 degrees C for 60 min) on the action of anticancer drugs doxorubicin, vinorelbine, carboplatin, ifosfamide, etoposide, oxaliplatin, docetaxel and gemcitabine.

Methods: HeLa tumor cell cultures, 24h after seeding, were incubated for 60 min with different concentrations of chemotherapeutical drugs at a temperature of 37 degrees C or 42 degrees C. 48 h later the number of viable cells in the flasks were counted using trypan-blue exclusion on a hemacytometer.

Childhood central nervous system tumours--incidence and survival in Europe (1978-1997): report from Automated Childhood Cancer Information System project.

This paper describes the incidence and survival of childhood central nervous system (CNS) tumours in Europe for the period 1978-1997. A total of 19,531 cases, aged 0-14 years, from the ACCIS database were analysed by five regions: the British Isles, East, North, South, and West. Overall age-standardised incidence rate (ASR) of CNS tumours in Europe (1988-1997) was 29.

[Role of adjuvant chemotherapy in the treatment of medulloblastoma in children].

A retrospective review was carried out to evaluate the results of treatment (1989-1998) of 81 children, aged under 15, with primary medulloblastoma. Thirty-three patients received surgery and postoperative craniospinal radiotherapy; 48--adjuvant chemotherapy (VCR 1.5 mg/m2, i.

[Osteosynthesis by the Ender method].

The authors report on results of using osteosynthesis by the Ender method in 513 patients with fractures of the femoral and tibial bones. The method of osteosynthesis is thought by the authors to be most effective in elderly patients with fractures.

A response to Nicholas F. Skinner's "The Hess, et al. study of pupillary activity in heterosexual and homosexual males: a re-evaluation".

Specific aspects of the original study, its replicability and the soundness of the methodology in appreciating individual differences are commented on.

Induction of parental behavior in Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).

The Japanese quail is a precocial species, and because of its relatively rapid development, sexual maturation in about 40 days after hatching, and prolific breeding capacity, it promises to become an organism well suited for avian research. One stumbling block has been the inability to induce, with any consistency, parental behavior in laboratory stocks. The study reported herein demonstrates a method for establishing a self-perpetuating population under seminaturalistic conditions.