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Background: The study evaluates the frequency of and indications for bone-metastases (BM)-related surgery and/or radiotherapy in the palliative breast cancer (BC) situation and analyzes in which phase of the palliative disease course surgery and/or radiotherapy was applied. Methods: 340 patients who developed distant metastatic disease (DMD) and died (i.e. patients with completed disease courses) were analyzed. Results: From the entire study cohort, 237 patients (69.7%) were diagnosed with BM. Out of these, 116 patients (48.9%) received BM-related radiotherapy and/or surgery during the palliative situation. Radiotherapy: 108 patients (45.6%) received 161 series (range: 1–5) with 217 volumina (range: 1–8) on 300 osseous sites. At 75.3% of the radiated sites, the spine was the most frequent radiated location. Eighty-eight series (54.7%) were performed in the first third of the metastatic disease survival (MDS) period. The median survival after radiotherapy was 14 months (range: 0.2–121 months). Surgery: In 37 patients (15.6%), 50 procedures (range: 1–4) were necessary to stabilize BM. The femur predominated with 56.0% of the procedures. Twenty procedures (40.0%) were performed in the first third of survival follow-up. The median survival after surgery was 13.5 months (range: 0.5–49 months). BC patients with BM had a significantly improved MDS when radiotherapy and/or surgery for skeletal metastases was embedded in the palliative approach (27.5 months vs. 19.5 months, p

Background and Objectives A closed-system technology (ACP-215, Haemonetics, Braintree, MA) enables automated washing and extended storage of frozen red blood cells (RBC). This technology was applied to wash banked RBC for removal of undesirable protein and metabolites before transfusion. We studied protein and metabolite depletion as well as RBC metabolism and viability up to 14 days postwash with regard to various pre-storage times. Materials and Methods Thirty RBC units were collected by means of apheresis and subdivided into three arms based on prewash storage time period (6 days/group 1, 14 days/group 2, 21 days/group 3). Wash efficacy (protein depletion, IgA), RBC metabolism (pH, lactate, potassium, haemolysis) and cell viability (ATP) were analysed immediately and 14 days after washing. Results Total protein and IgA postwash were lowered by automated wash in all groups and uniformly met EC guidelines. Potassium (mmol/l) was below 1·2 mmol/l postwash and significantly below prewash values in all groups, even after 14 days of storage (prewash vs. postwash; P

Over the course of the 1988–97 period, the Brazilian steel sector was subject to an unprecedented programme of trade liberalisation and privatisation while becoming far more open towards foreign investment and technology inflows. Using various indicators of competitive performance, it is established that the impact of this drive towards globalisation was broadly favourable. Productivity and the technological level of production processes improved while import penetration remained minimal despite the scale of trade liberalisation. However, these improvements have to be set beside the fact that the competitive performance of the sector still lagged behind that of major international producers and technological weaknesses persisted. The evolution of the sector's competitive behaviour can only be fully understood when pre‐existent internal factors, as well as the externally imposed forces of globalisation are taken into account.

A genetically-engineered strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae employed for the industrial production of the human coagulation Factor XIIIa (rhFXIIIa) was used for a survival study under simulated environmental conditions. The homologous strain devoid of the recombinant plasmid and the homologous strain bearing the 2 microns-based vector plasmid without the rhFXIIIa-encoding DNA insert were compared. The strains were introduced into natural soil/water suspension, into soil/medium suspension and into waste water. After intervals, samples of cell suspensions were taken and viable cell numbers were determined by plating on antibiotic-containing medium. In addition, a non-radioactive technique involving enhanced chemiluminescence was employed to detect plasmid-bearing yeast cells. The rhFXIIIa expression plasmid showed a high stability during the simulated environmental condition. No differences in survival rates, however, could be detected for the plasmid-bearing and plasmid-less strains under the three conditions tested, suggesting that the presence of plasmid does not confer selective advantages on the survival of the yeast cells. It is concluded that, even after accidental release of the engineered yeast cells into the environment, elimination rates would be comparable to those for non-recombinant yeast strains.