[Risk factors for toxoplasmosis in pregnant women in central Italy].

Between 2005 and 2007 we examined 2356 pregnant women. We interviewed the patients concerning their dietary behaviour and lifestyles during pregnancy in correlation with the possibility of contracting toxoplasmosis. Our purpose was to ascertain the importance of different risk factors in a group of Italian patients and assess the level of knowledge on this matter.

Screening and prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis: an effectiveness study in a population with a high infection rate.

Objectives: Secondary prevention of congenital toxoplasmosis has been attempted by screening pregnant women or by screening neonates. We compared the results of these two approaches, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies and of the antibiotic treatment of infected women.

Methods: A prenatal serological screening program for toxoplasmosis enrolled 8061 pregnant women; 9730 neonates were screened during the same period.

A method for the quantification of the size of liver metastases.

A method for the quantification of the size of liver metastases based on stereologic principles is presented. This evaluation procedure was applied retrospectively to routine computerized tomography (CT) scans of the liver and allowed reliable estimation of the volume of liver metastases. Furthermore, the data were used to create three-dimensional (3D) representations of the examined organ by computer reconstruction.

An approach to a synopsis of EEG parameters, morphology of brain convolutions and mental activities.

A method for the projection of EEG data on the brain surface is proposed. The EEG data are obtained during the performance of mental tasks and represented as probability maps of power and coherence changes with respect to the averaged EEG at rest. The morphological data are obtained from 3D reconstructions of the brain by means of serial slices provided by an MRI scanner.

A Kluyvera cryocrescens strain from a gall-bladder infection.

The isolation and the identification of a pure-culture Kluyvera cryocrescens strain in a gall-bladder pus specimen from a 76-year-old woman with acute cholecystitis is described. This is the first reported recovery of a K. cryocrescens strain from such a sample.

Potential use of radiolabelled porphyrins for tumor scanning.

Fe-TMPI, Fe-TCP and protohemins showed high initial uptake using tissue culture techniques with mouse tumor cells (P815). However, the tumor uptake in the in vivo model was poor. Of the radionuclides investigated, iron labelled to TMPI demonstrated the best uptake by tumor in vitro.