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J Casals

Publications and source records attributed to J Casals.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Effect of the M(s) transformation temperature on the wear behaviour of NiTi shape memory alloys for articular prosthesis.

The main objective of this work has been the characterisation and correlation of the wear behaviour of the NiTi shape memory alloys in their different phases. The weight losses for the different alloys in function of the present phase, and of the M(s) transformation temperature are studied. Adhesive wear tests, Pin-on-Disk, according to the ASTM-G99 standard have been carried out. The thermoelastic martensitic transformations that cause the super-elastic effect, the reorientation and coalescence of martensitic plates and the damping effect promotes a high ability to accommodate large deformations without generating permanent damages that causes the wear. The resulting plastic deformation may be accumulated during wear process without generating fracture. The results show that the wear resistance is mainly dependent of the M(s) transformation temperature for both alloys. For the NiTi alloys also the Ni atomic percentage and the hardness of the alloys are important parameters in the wear behavior.

Alloys↗
PubMed2004

In vitro antifungal activity of sertaconazole compared with nine other drugs against 250 clinical isolates of dermatophytes and Scopulariopsis brevicaulis.

We have tested 250 strains belonging to 15 species of clinically important dermatophytes and Scopulariopsis against ten antifungal drugs using an agar diffusion method (NeoSensitabstrade mark, Rosco, Taastrup, Denmark). Some of the experimental factors were adapted to dermatophyte development, such as temperature (28 vs. 35 degrees C) and time of incubation (2-5 days vs. 21-74 h). The antifungals used are itraconazole, ketoconazole, miconazole, clotrimazole, sertaconazole, terbinafine, tioconazole, fluconazole, isoconazole and econazole. Except for fluconazole, all the drugs tested have shown to be highly effective, especially sertaconazole and terbinafine. Percentages of susceptibility ranged between 94% for terbinafine, 87.6% for sertaconazole and 86.4% clotrimazole; 81.6% econazole; 42.8% fluconazole; 57.2% isoconazole; 78.4% itraconazole; 74.4% ketoconazole; 73.3% miconazole, and 85.2% for tioconazole. Percentages of resistance were similar between sertaconazole and terbinafine (4%) but in contrast to the 48% obtained for fluconazole.

Antifungal Agents↗
PubMed2003

Impact of peritoneal cytology on survival of endometrial cancer patients treated with surgery and radiotherapy.

Stage IIIA endometrial cancer includes patients with serosal or adnexal invasion and patients with positive peritoneal cytology only. In this study, we assessed the impact of peritoneal cytology on endometrial cancer survival. All endometrial cancer patients receiving surgery and radiotherapy at the Geneva University Hospitals between 1980 and 1993 were included. Stage IIIA cancers were categorised into 'cytological' stage IIIA (only positive peritoneal cytology) and 'histological' stage IIIA (serosal or adnexal infiltration). Survival rates were analysed by Kaplan-Meier method and compared using log-rank test. The prognostic importance of peritoneal cytology was analysed by multivariate regression analysis. This study included 170 endometrial cancers (112 stage I, 17 cytological stage IIIA, 18 histological stage IIIA, 9 stage IIIB+). Disease-specific survival of cytological stage IIIA was not different from stage I (94 vs 88% respectively, P=0.5) but better than histological stage IIIA (94 vs 51% respectively, P<0.01). Histological stage IIIA patients were at increased risk to die from cancer compared to stage I patients (HR 2.7, 95% CI 1.0-7.7), while cytological stage IIIA patients were not (HR 0.3, 95% CI 0.3-2.0). Cytological stage IIIA endometrial cancer has similar prognosis as stage l and better prognosis than histological stage IIIA. Additional research, definitively separating stage and cytology is warranted.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

[Prognostic factors in uterine sarcomas: a 21-year retrospective study at the Clinic and Provincial Hospital of Barcelona].

BACKGROUND: Uterine sarcomas show low incidence and poor outcome despite the treatment. The prognostic factors for the survival were determined in this study. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-nine females with sarcoma of the uterus have been studied retrospectively from January 1975 to December 1996. They were treated in the Gynecology and Radiation Oncology Departments at Hospital Clínic i Provincial of Barcelona. Thirty-seven patients had surgery, 22 radiotherapy and 4 chemotherapy. The influence on the disease-specific survival, disease-free survival, local relapse disease-free survival and metastasis disease-free survival from the following pronostic factors was studied: age, pathologic subtype, miometrial invasion, mitosis, vascular and lymphatic invasion, tumor size, stage, radiotherapy and local relapse. RESULTS: 1) The disease-specific survival at 2 and 5 years was 51.5% and 42.5% respectively, and the disease-free survival at 2 and 5 years was 39%; the incidence of local and distant relapses--was 28 and 33%. 2) The multivariate analysis showed that the overall survival and the disease free survival were affected by the vascular invasion (odds ratio [OR] 12 and 32.6, respectively) and the local failure (OR = 3 and 25.5, respectively); the only factor that affected the local relapse-free survival and metastasis free survival was the III and IV stages (OR = 5.6 in both cases). CONCLUSIONS: In uterine sarcomas, the vascular invasion and the local relapse were prognostic factors for overall survival and for disease-free survival. In stages III and IV there was a decrease in the local relapse-free survival and metastasis-free survival. A correlation between vascular invasion and advanced stages was found. The outcome of the uterine sarcomas is poor, local and distant failure being responsible for this bad prognosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Postencephalitic parkinsonism--a review.

The pandemic of von Economo's disease which began in January 1917 preceded that of influenza of 1918-1919 by more than a year. Though it has been customary to link the two it seems unlikely that the latter was responsible for the former as has been proposed. It has been assumed that von Economo's disease (ED) was caused by a virus; but in fact the etiology is in question as no virus has yet been transmitted to experimental animals or cells in culture. However, the presence of oligoclonal IgG bands in the CSF of suspected cases and the finding of chronic active lesions in the brain tissue at autopsy suggests a viral etiology. Occasional, sporadic presumed cases of the disease have been reported within the last 25 years. Encephalitides due to established neurotropic viruses or to other viruses that may on occasion invade the CNS only rarely produce parkinsonism, and when they do it differs from that seen in ED. The present report reviews the overall concept of a viral etiology of Parkinson's disease with particular reference to von Economo's disease.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus: a review of the literature with emphasis on therapy and prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Few studies of patients with esophageal small cell carcinoma (SCC) have been conducted. Choice of treatment remains controversial. METHODS: The authors analyzed data on 199 evaluable esophageal SCC patients, selected from among 230 patients found in the literature, and a data extraction form that recorded 11 features was completed. To allow for the evaluation of prognostic factors that influenced survival, the patients were grouped according to limited stage (LS), which was defined as disease confined to the esophagus, or extensive stage (ES), which was defined as disease that had spread beyond locoregional boundaries. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Treatment was categorized as either local or local with systemic; for the ES cases, the categories were defined as treatment versus no treatment. RESULTS: The tumor site was described in 178 cases (89%). Mean tumor size was 6.1. Pure SCC was found in 137 cases (68.8%), whereas 62 cases (31.2%) showed mixed SCC; 93 (46.7%) were LS, whereas 95 (47.7%) were ES. In 11 cases (5.5%), the stage was not determined. There was a significant difference in survival between patients with LS and those with ES (P < 0.0001). The median survival was 8 months for patients with LS and 3 months for those with ES. Univariate analysis of LS showed 3 significant prognostic factors: age (for patients age < or =60 years, the median survival was 11 months, whereas for those age >60 years, the median survival was 6 months), tumor size (for those with tumors < or =5 cm, the median survival was 12 months, whereas for those with tumors >5 cm, the median survival was 4 months), and type of treatment (with local plus systemic treatment, the median survival was 20 months, whereas with local it was 5 months). In multivariate analysis, tumor size (P = 0.007) and type of treatment (P < 0.001) were shown to be independent predictive variables. CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal SCC is an aggressive type of tumor. This study shows that there are significant differences between LS and ES and that in LS, both tumor size and type of treatment are possible prognostic factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

[Brachytherapy in the treatment of prostatic carcinoma].

Radiotheraphy of prostatic cancer began using brachitherapy. In 1910 Paschkis and in 1911 Pasteau reported treatment of prostatic carcinoma with radium needles. In 1952, Flocks began implanting a colloidaly radioactive gold-198 solution into the prostate after surgical exploration. This approach was optimized by Carlton in 1965 using solid gold-198 implants combined with external beam therapy. In 1972 Withmore et al reported the use of iodine-125 seeds for interstitial irradiation. In 1977 Court and Chassagne introduced after loading techniques using iridium-192. This technique has been developed further by Syed et al. In these settings interstitial radiotherapy is used as localized boost in combination with external beam therapy. Prostate brachytherapy can be divided into temporary implantation using high activity sources, or permanent brachytherapy using the interstitial implantation of iodine-125 or palladium-103 sources. We reported an overview.

Brachytherapy↗
PubMed1991

Astrogliosis in von Economo's and postencephalitic Parkinson's diseases supports probable viral etiology.

A marked generalized astrogliosis was observed in the frontal and temporal white matter from a case of von Economo's disease and another of postencephalitic Parkinson's disease, which areas were otherwise devoid of any other demonstrable microscopic lesions. No similar astrocytic reaction of any severity was observed in the same areas in a number of other brain diseases or controls, except when other kinds of lesions were present in the same section, with reactive astrocytes being present within the primary or defining lesion or immediately close by. The marked astrogliosis in von Economo's and postencephalitic Parkinson's diseases in areas "distant" from the primary lesions seeming to indicate extensive pathological involvement, added to the strong qualitative and quantitative similarity of this reaction to that observed in concurrently studied cases of encephalitides caused by the human immunodeficiency virus, lend further factual support to the hypothesis of a viral etiology, albeit unspecified, in both von Economo's and postencephalitic Parkinson's diseases.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

A study of viral genomes and antigens in brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

The presence of viral nucleic acid sequences and antigens from a variety of conventional viruses in selected brain regions of cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD), diagnosed pathologically, was investigated using molecular hybridization and immunocytochemical techniques. Seven DNA and 4 RNA viruses were used as probes in 18 AD and 5 control brains. With Southern blot hybridization, no viral DNA sequences could be detected in the cerebral cortex. With dot blot hybridization, results were also negative, except for 2 cases, 1 a control brain, the other an AD brain, which gave a positive signal in the RNA extracted from the substantia innominata when c-DNA from measles virus was used as a probe. Four specific brain areas from each of 8 AD brains and 5 controls tested with viral probes (3 DNA and 5 RNA viruses), using immunocytochemical techniques for viral antigens, showed no positive reproducible specific reactions. These results, although negative, do not totally exclude the possibility that conventional viruses may play a role in the aetiology and pathogenesis of AD.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1986

Kasokero virus: a new human pathogen from bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) in Uganda.

Two virus strains were isolated by mouse inoculation from blood of Rousettus aegyptiacus fruit-eating bats collected from Kasokero Cave in Uganda. Shortly after these strains were introduced in the laboratory, four additional strains were recovered from laboratory workers who had developed mild to severe illnesses presumably as a result of laboratory infection. Serological studies established that these six isolates are strains of the same virus. Serological tests showed also that this virus is related to Yogue, an unclassified virus.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The isolation of arboviruses including a new flavivirus and a new Bunyavirus from Ixodes (Ceratixodes) uriae (Ixodoidea: Ixodidae) collected at Macquarie Island, Australia, 1975-1979.

Pools of ticks, Ixodes (Ceratixodes) uriae collected between 1975 and 1979 at Macquarie Island, yielded 33 strains of at least 4 different viruses: Nugget virus (Kemerovo group), 1 strain; Taggert virus (Sakhalin group) 9 strains; a previously undescribed flavivirus, related to Central European Tickborne encephalitis virus, for which the name "Gadgets Gully" is proposed, 9 strains; a virus serologically related to the Uukuniemi serogroup, family Bunyaviridae, for which the name "Precarious Point" is proposed, 10 strains. Three isolates were mixtures of Nugget and Gadgets Gully viruses; the remaining virus strain remains unidentified.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

Antineurofilament antibodies in postencephalitic and idiopathic Parkinson's disease.

Autoantibodies to neurofilaments were found by the immunofluorescence technique in serum of patients with postencephalitic (von Economo's) and idiopathic Parkinson's disease in the same proportion as in age-matched neurological and non-neurological controls. In addition, similar neurofibrillary staining was detected in age groups of 29 years and younger, but rarely in the first year of life. Persons over 70, with or without disease, showed a prevalence of antibodies significantly higher than in persons under 70. Serum from 1 case of Alzheimer's disease out of 4 tested, was positive for neurofilament antibodies; serum from the only case of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease tested was negative. A total of 298 serum specimens, each from a different person, was tested. The use of cryostat-frozen longitudinal sections of normal rat spinal cord as a substrate has been confirmed to be an effective, reproducible and simple procedure for the detection of antineurofilament antibodies in human sera by indirect immunofluorescence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Antigenic characterization of Tettnang virus: complications caused by passage of the virus in mice from a colony enzootically infected with mouse hepatitis virus.

Neutralization assays were undertaken for the purpose of antigenically characterizing three strains of Tettnang virus from two geographic regions. The previously reported relationship of Tettnang virus strains to mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) was confirmed. However, the precise relationship of the Tettnang strains to prototype MHV strains was obscured in our study by the finding that the isolates had been passaged in mice from a colony subclinically infected with MHV. An Egyptian strain of Tettnang which had not been passaged in that colony was reciprocally related to the neurotropic JHM strain of MHV. Our data stress the importance of microbiological monitoring of apparently healthy laboratory animals used for virologic research.

Animals↗
PubMed1983

The viral hypothesis in parkinsonism.

The most crucial unanswered question in Parkinson's disease is its fundamental cause. Since Carlsson's original suggestion that dopamine may be a transmitter in the central nervous system involved in the control of motor function and that it may be involved in the Parkinsonian syndrome (Carlsson, 1959), and the now-classic paper by Ehringer and Hornykiewicz (1960) which definitively showed the significant reduction of dopamine concentration in the neostriatum of cases of idiopathic Parkinson and postencephalitic parkinsonism, the vast amount of work on the subject has focused on the biochemical and pharmacologic correlates of this dopaminergic system failure involving particularly the nigrostriatal pathways. The concept of a specific neurotransmitter deficiency associated with a specific neurological syndrome potentially amenable to replacement therapy, has appropriately generated a considerable degree of clinical and research interest for over 20 years, but, with few exceptions, there has been hardly any focused or concerted research effort on looking at direct causal factors or primary initiating events in this disease process. As in Alzheimer's disease, another of the degenerative diseases of the brain of unknown origin with a specific biochemical substrate, any etiologic hypothesis for Parkinson's disease--whether a virus, an age-related immune system dysfunction, a genetic factor, a "trophic" substance, or a toxin--would have to explain the selective involvement of specific transmitter-defined neuronal pathways, the non-specificity of the brain lesions that define the disease, and the clinical involvement of a sizeable segment of the aging population. Of the several plausible hypotheses mentioned earlier, which are not necessarily mutually exclusive, we would like to critically consider the possibility of a viral cause.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1982

Virus inoculation in mice bearing Ehrlich ascitic tumors: antigen production and tumor regression.

Ehrlich ascitic carcinoma, as developed in albino mice, has been used as a source of hemagglutinating and complement-fixing antigens, and it proved to be suitable for one type of antigen, or both, for at least 12 viruses of 16 tested. Hemagglutinins were obtained with members of arbovirus groups A, B, and C; complement-fixing antigens were obtained for at least one member of each antigenic group tested. Ehrlich ascitic tumor was compared with sarcoma 180 as a source of antigens; although sarcoma 180 showed many advantages over Ehrlich tumor, the latter gave, in general, better results for complement-fixing antigens. Oncolytic effect with complete recovery of the mice was observed in some instances. The highest recovery rate resulted with Congo and UNA viruses (40%), and the second highest rate resulted with dengue 2, St. Louis, Hazara, and Uukuniemi viruses (20%). The best survival was observed, in decreasing order, with Congo, St. Louis, dengue 2, Tacaribe, Sindbis, Junin, and Amapari viruses.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Indirect fluorescent-antibody technique for serological diagnosis of La Crosse (California) virus infections.

A clinically relevant indirect fluorescent-antibody technique (IFA) was developed for the serological diagnosis of La Crosse virus infections. The IFA (67%) was as sensitive as the hemagglutination inhibition (58%) and neutralization (58%) tests in the detection of antibodies in acute-phase specimens. Immunoglobulin M antibodies were detected by the IFA test in 48% (11 of 23) of these specimens. Diagnostically significant increases in IFA titer were detected in 86% (19 of 22) of the paired samples. Antibodies were detectable in some patients 7 years after infection; however, the IFA test was not as sensitive as the other two tests in the detection of previous infections.

Child↗