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At least 955 records · Page 53Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

The open-mouth fronto-orbitotemporozygomatic approach for extensive benign tumors with coexisting splanchnocranial and neurocranial involvement.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the advantages of a modification of the standard fronto-orbitotemporozygomatic (FOTZ) approach, consisting of the forced opening of the patient's mouth (open-mouth FOTZ), for the treatment of benign tumors massively involving the splanchnocranium and neurocranium. METHODS: The modified FOTZ approach obtained by forced mouth opening is described. Such a procedure was introduced with the aim of obtaining a minimally invasive access to lesions involving both the infratemporal-parapharyngeal spaces and the anteromedial cranial fossae. The forced opening of the mouth allows the surgeon to keep the coronoid process of the mandible away from the operating field, producing a wide exposure of the infratemporal space like that of the posterior wall of the maxillary sinus, which can be penetrated from behind without adding destructive procedures on the mandibular bone. RESULTS: From a series of 45 patients affected by cranial base lesions operated on during an 8-year time period, three patients affected by juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibromas were selected for an open-mouth FOTZ approach. In all cases, a complete eradication of both the intracranial and extracranial components of the tumor was possible by this approach. The same procedure was then used in four patients affected by extensive meningiomas and two patients harboring Vth cranial nerve schwannomas, with complete tumor removal. CONCLUSION: In our experience, the open-mouth FOTZ approach seems particularly suited for extensive benign tumors (including juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibromas) with splanchnocranial and neurocranial involvement. No indication exists for the use of this approach in malignant tumors, in which total eradication with large tumor-free margins is required.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Use of multicomponent, domino, and other one-pot syntheses on solid phase: powerful tools for the generation of libraries of diverse and complex compounds.

The availability of small organic molecules covering as much chemical space as possible is seen as the only means that guarantees potential modulation of the many biological targets that are ultimately being unveiled by genomics. Therefore diversity oriented organic synthesis is rapidly becoming one of the paradigms in the process of modern drug discovery. This has spurred research in those fields of chemical investigation that lead to the rapid assembly of not only molecular diversity, but also molecular complexity. As a consequence multi-component as well as domino or related reactions are witnessing a new spring. Coupling these one-pot processes with solid-phase synthesis offers new perspectives for the preparation of both primary and thematic libraries. The progresses recently made in this field that perfectly suits the needs of modern drug discovery are the subject of the present review.

Chemistry, Organic↗
PubMed1999

Comparative evaluation of MR-based partial-volume correction schemes for PET.

UNLABELLED: Because of limitations of spatial resolution, quantitative PET measurements of cerebral blood flow, glucose metabolism and neuroreceptor binding are influenced by partial-volume averaging among neighboring tissues with differing tracer concentrations. METHODS: Two MR-based approaches to partial-volume correction of PET images were compared using simulations and a multicompartment phantom. The two-compartment method corrects PET data for the diluting effects of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces. The more complex three-compartment method also accounts for the effect of partial-volume averaging between gray and white matter. The effects of the most significant sources of error on MR-based partial-volume correction, including misregistration, resolution mismatch, segmentation errors and white matter heterogeneity, were evaluated. We also examined the relative usefulness of both approaches in PET studies of aging and neurodegenerative disease. RESULTS: Although the three-compartment method was highly accurate (with 100% gray matter recovery achieved in simulations), it was also more sensitive to all errors tested, particularly image segmentation and PET-MR registration. CONCLUSION: Based on these data, we conclude that the two-compartment approach is better suited for comparative PET studies, whereas the three-compartment algorithm is capable of greater accuracy for absolute quantitative measures.

Aging↗
PubMed2000

Stratum corneum barrier lipids in cholesteatoma.

Specimens from primary cholesteatomas were examined under the electron microscope using a lipid-retaining method that is best suited for intracellular lipids and a method that is best for intercellular lipids. In the stratum granulosum of the squamous epithelium, a large number of Odland bodies emerged. When the corneocyte reaches the transitional stage to the stratum corneum, the Odland bodies accumulate near the cell membrane and discharge their contents of lipid and enzymes. The lipids are reorganized into multiple long sheets of lamellar structures that embrace the keratinized corneocytes, as seen in the formation and maintenance of the cutaneous permeability barrier. In this study we draw the attention to the facts that the cholesteatoma epithelium is capable of producing not only cholesterol, but also several lipids, and that the lipid molecules are organized in multilamellar structures in the intercellular space. In theory, the failure to desquamate seen in cholesteatomas could be caused by partial or total failure of Odland body delivery to the intercellular region, or to local breakdown of the permeability barrier.

Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear↗
PubMed1994

Management of osteoporosis and Paget's disease. An appraisal of the risks and benefits of drug treatment.

Osteoporosis is a major public health problem occurring primarily among the postmenopausal population. Osteoporosis is a preventable disease, but despite several advances in its prevention, treatment of the established disease to date remains a major challenge to be managed by primary care physicians. Stabilisation of bone mass and prevention of falls are of paramount importance in any therapeutic programme for osteoporotic patients with established vertebral fractures. Drug therapy for osteoporosis can be divided operationally into 2 main categories: those that inhibit bone resorption, and thus reduce bone turnover, and those that stimulate bone formation, exerting an anabolic effect. Therapeutic agents that inhibit bone remodeling would appear to be best suited to those patients with high turnover osteoporosis (about 30%). Included in this category are calcium, vitamin D and its metabolites, gonadal steroids, calcitonin, ipriflavone and bisphosphonates. Although estrogen replacement therapy has been proven to be effective in older females, calcitonin appears to be the treatment of choice for this population since it stabilises or increases bone mass and also has reported analgesic properties. Drugs that stimulate bone remodeling or bone formation would be best suited to patients with low turnover osteoporosis (about 70%). The agent in this class that is widely used is sodium fluoride. New therapies include intermittent injections of synthetic parathyroid hormone, and cyclic bisphosphonates to activate then depress resorption and formation. Any attempts to stabilise the skeleton with any drug regimen must be accompanied by an adequate calcium supply, i.e. 1200 to 1500 mg/day). The theoretical basis of tailoring treatment for osteoporosis to the underlying histology has not yet been fully proven, but there is increasing experimental support to this approach. Drugs that inhibit bone turnover, such as calcitonin, appear to be effective in increasing bone mass for 1.5 to 2 years, about the time it would take to replenish the remodeling space in a patient with high turnover osteoporosis. In contrast, although bone mass appears to increase for as long as 5 years in patients treated with sodium fluoride, there has been no consistent reduction in occurrence of vertebral or hip fractures. Paget' disease of bone is a focal disorder of the skeleton characterised by excessive resorption and subsequently disorganised formation of bone. The aetiology of the disease is unknown. Paget's disease may be mono-ostotic or polyostotic; pain and bone deformities due to enlargement of skeletal segments represent the main clinical aspects. However, in many patients the disease may be asymptomatic.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Bone Development↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Spatio-temporal receptive-field structure of phasic W cells in the cat retina.

The spatio-temporal receptive-field structure of 54 phasic W cells in cat retinas has been examined using the reverse-correlation method of Jones and Palmer (1987). Within this sample, 12 cells had on-center, 16 off-center, and 26 on-off receptive fields. Three of the on-center and seven of the on-off cells were directionally selective. Forty percent of the cells in this sample had local receptive fields consisting of two or more distinct subregions. However, no correlation was observed between the number of subregions in the local receptive field and other response properties such as center sign or direction selectivity. In all cases, individual subregions, including those in on-off cells, appear to be produced by a half-wave rectification of the input signal. For 76% of the cells, these local receptive fields were contained within large suppressive fields which could be seen to extend for at least 10 deg in all directions with no apparent spatial structure. The mechanism producing the suppressive field also appears to involve a rectification of the input signal, and has a relatively high spatial resolution. Furthermore, the suppressive field itself is only responsive to moving or flickering stimuli; large, stationary gratings have no effect on the output of the local receptive-field mechanism. Thus, the overall receptive-field organization of these cells is particularly well suited for detecting local motion. The remaining 24% of cells in the sample lacked suppressive fields, and consequently responded well to large moving stimuli, but these cells were otherwise similar in their receptive-field properties to cells with suppressive fields. The significance of these properties is discussed in the context of the projections of phasic W cells to the superior colliculus and accessory optic system.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Clinical comparison of computed tomography and lymphangiography for detection of retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy.

The advantages of CT scan over lymphangiography are numerous and significant. The accuracy of CT scan was virtually identical to lymphogram for the detection of para-aortic lymph node involvement; however, CT provides a better means of assessing the true extent of disease. In such cases it is possible to determine whether the neoplastic process involves retroperitoneal structures such as the kidneys, ureters, pancreatic region, hilum of the liver, or the major vessels. Moreover, this excellent definition permits accurate follow-up assessment of therapy. Finally, CT is a noninvasive examination and does not require significant technical expertise, and the examination is easily reproducible following any time period from the initial examination. Finally, although we have not specifically discussed biopsy procedures, the CT scan is an excellent means for guiding biopsy procedures even for retroperitoneal abnormalities, perhaps precluding the necessity for laparotomy in order to provide histologic diagnosis of disease (Fig. 11). The disadvantages of CT are several. Of course, the acquisition of CT equipment is expensive and the cost effectiveness has not yet been proven. The most significant disadvantage is its inability to resolve or detect neoplastic disease within normal-sized lymph nodes. This was not a significant problem in our series, because our series contained only a few cases of suspected metastatic disease as opposed to lymph node neoplasms. The advantages of lymphography have been discussed by other authors. Because of the better spatial resolution of lymphograms, it is possible by proper interpretation to distinguish between neoplastic disease and lipogranulomatous changes. In a few cases in our series, this did not prove to be true; however, this may have been due to deficiencies in our interpretations (two cases of lymphoma were called positive for neoplasm, but proved to be lipogranulomatous changes by biopsy). Secondly, surveillance films may be easily and cheaply obtained to detect recurrences of disease. In addition, lymphography also provides the opportunity for biopsy of lymphoma masses, but to date this has only been accomplished by skinny-needle biopsy aspirations and not by large core biopsy techniques. After reviewing the literature and evaluating our data, we believe that several recommendations are appropriate with respect to the roles of computed tomography and lymphography. We agree with the previously stated concept that CT should be used for screening for lymphoma; however, we disagree that lymphograms have a greater advantage over CT in the biopsy-proven cases of lymphoma. Rather we believe that CT is better suited than lymphography for those cases with biopsy proven lymphoma. CT is better able to accurately localize the lymph node masses for surgeons if the surgical approach is desired and better able to define the extent of the disease throughout the abdomen. As a result of this it is capable of providing a better follow-up for therapy...

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed2004

Enzyme/non-enzyme discrimination and prediction of enzyme active site location using charge-based methods.

Calculations of charge interactions complement analysis of a characterised active site, rationalising pH-dependence of activity and transition state stabilisation. Prediction of active site location through large DeltapK(a)s or electrostatic strain is relevant for structural genomics. We report a study of ionisable groups in a set of 20 enzymes, finding that false positives obscure predictive potential. In a larger set of 156 enzymes, peaks in solvent-space electrostatic properties are calculated. Both electric field and potential match well to active site location. The best correlation is found with electrostatic potential calculated from uniform charge density over enzyme volume, rather than from assignment of a standard atom-specific charge set. Studying a shell around each molecule, for 77% of enzymes the potential peak is within that 5% of the shell closest to the active site centre, and 86% within 10%. Active site identification by largest cleft, also with projection onto a shell, gives 58% of enzymes for which the centre of the largest cleft lies within 5% of the active site, and 70% within 10%. Dielectric boundary conditions emphasise clefts in the uniform charge density method, which is suited to recognition of binding pockets embedded within larger clefts. The variation of peak potential with distance from active site, and comparison between enzyme and non-enzyme sets, gives an optimal threshold distinguishing enzyme from non-enzyme. We find that 87% of the enzyme set exceeds the threshold as compared to 29% of the non-enzyme set. Enzyme/non-enzyme homologues, "structural genomics" annotated proteins and catalytic/non-catalytic RNAs are studied in this context.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed2001

A spatially and bioenergetically explicit terrestrial ecological exposure model.

In typical exposure models, dose is a function of ingestion rate, which is a function of field metabolic rate and food energy availability. It is implicitly assumed that neither food energy nor ingestion rate is limited. This is unlikely to be true in the field. Poor habitat quality (expressed as limited or lacking food energy) or a physiologically limited maximum ingestion rate may collectively limit energy intake. A receptor may thus be as much at risk from lack of energy as from toxicant effects. To explore this possibility, an existing spatially explicit exposure model (SE3M) was enhanced to: 1) express 'habitat quality' in terms of gross energy available from a suite of habitat-specific food types, 2) track fulfillment of a receptor's daily energy needs as it traverses habitat patches with varying gross energy levels, 3) link intake of contaminants to food consumed to meet daily energy needs, and 4) track contaminant doses and resulting tissue residue levels as a receptor moves through habitat patches with differing levels of contamination. A feedback term through which chemical stressors affect a receptor's ability to intake and process energy was not considered at this time. The now spatially and energetically explicit exposure model, SE(4)M, provides a platform for exploring spatial and bioenergetic factors that may influence a receptor's acquisition of energy and contaminant tissue residues as it moves through space and time. An application of this model would be to provide predictions of tissue residue levels that are accessible to calibration or validation with empirical field data.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

On the importance of being aromatic at an antibody-protein antigen interface: mutagenesis of the extracellular interferon gamma receptor and recognition by the neutralizing antibody A6.

A complex formed between the extracellular human interferon gamma receptor alpha-chain (hIFNgammaR) and the Fab fragment of the neutralizing antibody A6 has been studied by site-directed mutagenesis. Five complementarity determining regions of the A6 antibody interact primarily with the CC' surface loop of the receptor, from Lys47 to Trp56, although contact is also made with residues in the neighbouring F strand, in particular with Trp82. The relative contribution that individual side-chains make to complex stabilization was assessed with 21 receptors mutants, whose affinity for A6 was monitored using a surface plasmon resonance biosensor, as well as by solution-phase competition ELISA. The results reveal two lysine side-chains (Lys47 and Lys52), an asparagine side-chain (Asn53), and two aromatic side-chains (Tyr49 and Trp82) in the receptor that are important for recognition by A6. The role of aromatic side-chains in antibody-antigen recognition is of particular interest, not least in this case because 13 aromatic groups (six Tyr, six Trp and one His) are present at the interface (four in VL, six in VH and three in the receptor), and several are proximal to the charged and polar side-chains of Lys47, Lys52 and Asn53 in the receptor. The results highlight the possibility for aromatic rings to participate in networks of co-operative interactions with not only hydrophobic, but also charged and hydrogen bond donor and acceptor groups, properties that are well suited for creating binding sites for protein epitopes, regardless of the distribution of polar and non-polar surface residues. These findings may contribute, therefore, to an understanding of how surface groups on proteins are captured by the often aromatic-rich hypervariable loops of antibodies, and may be of value for the design of molecules with novel recognition properties.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed2004

Nocturnal vision and landmark orientation in a tropical halictid bee.

BACKGROUND: Some bees and wasps have evolved nocturnal behavior, presumably to exploit night-flowering plants or avoid predators. Like their day-active relatives, they have apposition compound eyes, a design usually found in diurnal insects. The insensitive optics of apposition eyes are not well suited for nocturnal vision. How well then do nocturnal bees and wasps see? What optical and neural adaptations have they evolved for nocturnal vision? RESULTS: We studied female tropical nocturnal sweat bees (Megalopta genalis) and discovered that they are able to learn landmarks around their nest entrance prior to nocturnal foraging trips and to use them to locate the nest upon return. The morphology and optics of the eye, and the physiological properties of the photoreceptors, have evolved to give Megalopta's eyes almost 30 times greater sensitivity to light than the eyes of diurnal worker honeybees, but this alone does not explain their nocturnal visual behavior. This implies that sensitivity is improved by a strategy of photon summation in time and in space, the latter of which requires the presence of specialized cells that laterally connect ommatidia into groups. First-order interneurons, with significantly wider lateral branching than those found in diurnal bees, have been identified in the first optic ganglion (the lamina ganglionaris) of Megalopta's optic lobe. We believe that these cells have the potential to mediate spatial summation. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the scarcity of photons, Megalopta is able to visually orient to landmarks at night in a dark forest understory, an ability permitted by unusually sensitive apposition eyes and neural photon summation.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Patient-specific planning for prevention of mechanical collisions during radiotherapy.

A common unwanted difficulty in treatment planning, especially in non-coplanar radiotherapy set-ups, is the potential collision of the rotating gantry with the couch and/or the patient's body. A technique and computer program that detects these and signals avoidance of such beam directions is presented. The problem was approached using analytical geometry. The separate components within the treatment room have either been measured and modelled for an Elekta linear accelerator, or read out from a Pinnacle3 treatment planning system and are represented as an integer grid of points in three-dimensional (3D) space. The module is attached to the treatment planning system and can provide rejection or acceptance of unwanted beam directions in a plan. In contrast to previous work that has only used patient models, each individual patient's outlines are considered here in their actual treatment position inclusive of any immobilization device. The extremities of the patient superiorly and inferiorly to the scanned region are simulated by an expanded version of the RANDO phantom. In this way, 'potential' collisions can be detected in addition to the certain ones. Patient position is not a limiting factor for the accuracy of the collision detection anymore, as each set-up is always created around the isocentre. Maps of allowed and forbidden zones within the treatment suite have been created by running the code for all possible gantry and couch angles for three commonly arising cases: a head and neck plan utilizing a small stereotactic collimator, a prostate plan with multileaf collimators and an abdominal plan with the lead tray attached. In the last case, the 3D map permitted significantly fewer set-up combinations. Good agreement between prediction and experiment confirmed the capability of the program and introduces a promising add-on for treatment planning.

Humans↗
PubMed2002

INDISIM, an individual-based discrete simulation model to study bacterial cultures.

An individual-based model has been developed and designed to simulate the growth and behaviour of bacterial colonies. The simulator is called INDISIM, which stands for INDividual DIScrete SIMulations. INDISIM is discrete in space and time, and controls a group of bacterial cells at each time step, using a set of random, time-dependent variables for each bacterium. These variables are used to characterize its position in space, biomass, state in the cellular reproduction cycle as well as other individual properties. The space where the bacterial colony evolves is also discrete. A physical lattice is introduced, subject to the appropriate boundary conditions. The lattice is subdivided into spatial cells, also defined by a set of random, time-dependent variables. These variables may include concentrations of different types of particles, nutrients, reaction products and residual products. Random variables are used to characterize the individual bacterium and the individual particle, as well as the updating of individual rules. Thus, the simulations are stochastic rather than deterministic. The whole set of variables, those that characterize the bacterial population and the environment where they evolve, enables the simulator to study the behaviour of each microorganism-such as its motion, uptake, metabolism, and viability-according to given rules suited for the system under study. These rules require the input of only a few parameters. Once this information is inputted, INDISIM simulates the behaviour of the system providing insights into the global properties of the system from the assumptions made on the properties of the individual bacteria. The relation between microscopic and global properties of the bacterial colony is obtained by using statistical averaging. In this work INDISIM has been used to study (a) biomass distributions, (b) the relationship between the rate of growth of a bacterial colony and the nutrient concentration and temperature, and (c) metabolic oscillations in batch bacterial colonies. The simulation results are found to be in very good qualitative agreement with available experimental data, and provide useful insights into the mechanisms involved in each case.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1994

Integrins as dynamic regulators of vascular function.

The vascular endothelium lines the entire cardiovascular system and serves as a nonthrombogenic and selectively permeable boundary between the blood-stream and extravascular space. Endothelial cells are polar cells that are continuously subjected to fluid-generated forces on their luminal surface whereas their abluminal surface resides on basement membranes/extracellular matrix. The integrin family of cell-surface heterodimeric glycoproteins is located along both of these surfaces and participates in maintaining the normal endothelium and in the dynamic changes associated with the pathophysiology of the endothelium. Endothelial cell beta 1 and beta 3 integrins function together with other families of adhesion molecules during vasculogenesis, angiogenesis, inflammation, and wound healing. Leukocyte beta 1 and beta 2 integrins, in conjunction with members of the Ig and selectin gene families expressed on endothelium, mediate leukocyte recruitment to sites of inflammation. The structural and functional properties of integrins make them uniquely suited to mediate these essential and complex processes in the vasculature.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of tetra-heme cytochrome c3 from sulfate- and nitrate-reducing Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774.

Crystals of the tetra-heme cytochrome c(3) (M(r) = 13 kDa, 107 residues, four heme groups) from sulfate- and nitrate-reducing Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774 have been obtained and crystallographically characterized. They belong to space group P6(1)22 with cell dimensions a = b = 61.84 (4) and c = 109.7 (2) A, and Z = 12. Intensity data were initially collected on a FAST system with a rotating-anode X-ray source leading to a total of 22 592 observations, from which only 4930 were unique, in the resolution range 20.0-2.4 A with an R(merge)(I) of 7.0%. Higher resolution data were measured on a FAST system at station 9.6 of the SRS (Daresbury, England), leading to 19 328 intensities, of which 11 179 were unique, in the resolution range 20.0-1.75 A and an R(merge)(I) of 5.5%. Cross-rotation and translation functions were performed with ALMN and TFSGEN programs from the CCP4 suite. The packing of the molecules in the unit cell was checked with TOM/FRODO. Rigid-body refinement of the model and subsequent refinement using molecular dynamics were performed with X-PLOR, leading to a current R factor of 25.9%, for data up to 2.3 A.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Automatic determination of synergies by radial basis function artificial neural networks for the control of a neural prosthesis.

This paper describes an automatic method for synthesizing the control for a neural prosthesis (NP) that could augment elbow flexion/extension and forearm pronation/supination in persons with hemiplegia. The basis for the control was a synergistic model of reaching and grasping that uses temporal and spatial synergies between the arm and body segments. The synergies were determined from the movement data measured in nondisabled persons during the performance of functional tasks. The work space was divided into six zones: distance (two attributes) and laterality (three attributes). Radial basis function artificial neural networks (RBF ANN) were used to determine synergies. Sets of RBF ANN characterized with good generalization were selected as control laws for elbow flexion/extension and forearm pronation/supination. The validation was performed for three categories: inter-subject, distance, and laterality generalization. For all of the defined spatial synergies, the correlation was high for inter-subject and distance, yet low for the laterality scenario. This suggests the necessity for implementing different maps for different directions, but the same maps for different distances. The natural movements of the upper arm then drive the lower arm (elbow flexion/extension and forearm pronation/supination) in a way that is very well suited for the administration of functional electrical therapy (FET) in persons with hemiplegia soon after the onset of impairment.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1991

Distribution of collagens type V and VI in the normal human alveolar mucosa: an immunoelectronmicroscopic study using ultrathin frozen sections.

The ultrastructural localization of collagens type V and VI in normal human gingival mucosa was investigated by immunoelectron microscopy. Twenty biopsies were fixed in dimethylsuberimidate and shock-frozen in slush nitrogen. Collagen type V was mainly located to meshworks of uniform nonstriated microfibrils of 12 to 20 nm width, which preferentially appeared in larger spaces between cross-striated major collagen fibrils. Occasionally single microfibrils of collagen type V fanned out from the ends of major collagen fibrils, which may indicate a role as a core fibril. Collagen type V was not found in the subepithelial basement membrane and the immediately adjacent stroma. Collagen type VI was detected in a loose reticular network of unbanded microfilaments that were morphologically distinguishable by knoblike protrusions every 100-110 nm. These microfilaments were found in the vicinity, but not as an intrinsic component, of the subepithelial basement membrane. Single filaments of collagen type VI filaments appeared to form bridges between neighboring cross-striated major collagen fibrils, suggesting an interconnecting role for this collagen type. The method presented appears to be excellently suited to study the normal and pathological supramolecular organization of the oral extracellular matrix.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Applications of a universal thermal index: physiological equivalent temperature.

The physiological equivalent temperature, PET, is a thermal index derived from the human energy balance. It is well suited to the evaluation of the thermal component of different climates. As well as having a detailed physiological basis, PET is preferable to other thermal indexes like the predicted mean vote because of its unit ( degrees C), which makes results more comprehensible to urban or regional planners, for example, who are not so familiar with modern human-biometeorological terminology. PET results can be presented graphically or as bioclimatic maps. Graphs mostly display the temporal behaviour of PET, whereas spatial distribution is specified in bioclimatic maps. In this article, some applications of PET are discussed. They relate to the evaluation of the urban heat island in cities in both temperate climates and warm climates at high altitude. The thermal component of the microclimate in the trunk space of a deciduous forest is also evaluated by PET. As an example of the spatial distribution of PET, a bioclimatic map for Greece in July (Mediterranean climate) is presented.

Altitude↗