Description of an injury in a human caused by a false tocandira (Dinoponera gigantea, Perty, 1833) with a revision on folkloric, pharmacological and clinical aspects of the giant ants of the genera Paraponera and Dinoponera (sub-family Ponerinae)

A partir de um acidente causado pela picada de uma formiga falsa tocandira na mão de um pescador amador, os autores descrevem os achados clínicos locais observados, tais como edema, eritema e dor excruciante e a evolução do envenenamento, que cursou com fenômenos sistêmicos imediatos, como sudorese fria, náuseas, vômitos, mal estar, taquicardia e linfadenopatia axilar à esquerda. Após três horas, a dor intensa persistia e o paciente apresentou um episódio de hematoquesia, sem história anterior de enfermidades do trato digestivo, hematológicas ou vasculares. O uso de analgésicos (Tramal® 300 mg/dia), água quente e gelo não melhorou a dor, que arrefeceu em oito horas, tendo permanecido por cerca de 24 horas. São apresentados ainda os aspectos folclóricos, farmacológicos e clínicos relacionados às picadas de tocandiras.

Work and injuries in dancers: Survey of a professional dance company in Brazil

This study examined the daily life and most important physical injuries suffered and reported by the dancers of a professional (contemporary) dance company in S (a) over tilde $o Paulo, Brazil. Through an observational, cross,sectional, retrospective procedure using a questionnaire that collected qualitative and quantitative data, we were able to gather information on 30 dancers who collaborated with the survey. We determined that the injuries considered as most important by dancers were those that prevented dance activity during some months. These injuries occurred mainly during rehearsals (which is the activity occuppying, the most time on the schedule). Articular injuries were the most frequent and mainly involved the knee and ankle. They were related to classical technique, in which most of the company's artists started their dance careers. Medical care usually was sought within 1 day, and the prescribed treatment resolved the problem, but the injury cause was not identified in all cases.

Design of a fuzzy Takagi-Sugeno controller to vary the joint knee angle of paraplegic patients

The papers shows, through theoretical studies and simulations, that using the description of the plant by Takagi-Sugeno (T-S), it is possible to design a nonlinear controller to control the position of the leg of a paraplegic patient. The control system was designed to change the angle of the joint knee of 60 degrees. This is the first study that describes the application of Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) models in this kind of problem.

Localized lymphatic sporotrichosis after fish-induced injury (Tilapia sp.)

Localized lymphatic sporotrichosis generally develops after the fungus Sporothrix schenckii is traumatically introduced into skin or mucosa by contaminated plant material. An 18-year-old male fisherman was injured by spines of the dorsal fin of a fish on the left third finger. The lesion became ulcerated, edematous and suppurative and did not respond to tetracycline and cephalexin. Fifteen days after the accident, a nodular lymphangitic pattern of swelling was observed. Histopathological findings and an intradermal test were suggestive of sporotrichosis and mycological cultures confirmed the diagnosis. The lesions resolved after oral treatment with potassium iodide. Sporotrichosis is a common subcutaneous mycosis in Brazil, and there is a previous report in the literature of this disease being acquired via trauma involving fish spines.

Flavonoid increase in soybean as a response to Nezara viridula injury and its effect on insect-feeding preference

The ability of the stink bug (Nezara viridula) to induce and/or increase production of chemical defenses, i.e., flavonoids, in immature seeds of five genotypes of soybean (BR-16, IAC-100, PI 227687, PI 229358, and PI 274454) was investigated under greenhouse and laboratory conditions. Samples from pods of each genotype damaged by stink bug were analyzed for flavonoid content with high performance liquid chromatography. A dual-choice test was conducted to evaluate the feeding preference of N. viridula comparing BR-16 pods treated with extracts of PI 227687 seeds (with and without stink-bug injury), with water-treated pods. Seeds of PI 227687 damaged by N. viridula presented the highest concentration (352 mug/g) of daidzin (4'-hydroxyisoflavone-7-glucoside). The same trend was observed with genistin (4',5,7-trihydroxyisoflavone-7-glucoside): PI 227687 contained 142.4 mug/g, PI 274454, 31.6 mug/g, and PI 229358, 38.9 mug/g. Seeds damaged by stink bugs had higher isoflavone contents (daidzin and genistin), compared to controls. However, after being damaged, PI 274454 and PI 229358 produced less genistin than the other genotypes and no differences in concentration between damaged and nondamaged plants of this genotypes were observed. The numbers of observations of the insect feeding and the numbers of stylet sheaths left in water-treated BR-16 pods were greater than in those treated with PI 227687 extracts. The insects fed for longer periods on BR-16 pods treated with extract of PI 227687 without injury compared to those that were treated with extract of PI 227687 previously injured by stink bugs. Extracts of PI 227687 pods ( damaged or not) were deterrent to adults of N. viridula, and insect injury increased concentrations of daidzin and genistin in PI 227687 seeds. The deterrence seemed to be more pronounced after pods had suffered stink-bug injury.

FTY720 prevents renal T-Cell infiltration after ischemia/reperfusion injury

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury, a common early feature in renal transplantation, results from both free radical species generation and local inflammatory responses that attract different types of cells. The interaction with infiltrating leukocytes could promote damage and death of resident renal cells contributing to worsening of renal function. It has been shown that depletion of host T cells protects against kidney damage after I/R injury, although the mechanism is not fully understood. FTY720, a synthetic analog of a natural product extracted from Isaria sincclairii has shown modulatory properties in experimental models of autoimmune disease, transplantation, and I/R injury. FTY720 alters lymphocyte responses to chemokine homing signals, thereby decreasing the number of lymphocytes in inflammatory sites. We evaluated renal function in mice at 3, 5, and 7 days after I/R injury in the presence or absence of FTY720 treatment. FTY720 treatment promoted earlier recovery of renal function associated with a lower number of renal-infiltrating lymphocytes. These findings confirm previous results showing a protective effect of FTY720 in I/R injury models.

Referring to judo's sports injuries in São Paulo State Championship

Objective. - In a pioneer way, we investigated the morbidity of sports injuries referred by judo athletes from São Paulo State Championship.Material and methods. - Data collection from 93 senior judokas in State of São Paulo Judo Championship, through Referred Morbidity Inquiry about last year.Results. - One hundred and ten events were registered with a distribution frequency gradient of sprain > contusion > strain > ligament injury > partial and total dislocation. The most injured body areas were: knee (26.3%), shoulder (21.8%), fingers (17.3%), and ankle (10.0%). The most risky situation was when the athlete was training (standing, applying a blow) and it can be explained by the frequent and unprepared exposition of the athletes. Yearly lesion rate was 1.18 injuries per athlete/year.Conclusion. - Sprains constitute the most common judo injury, and athletes are more susceptible when they apply blows; discussion about the direction that the prevention should be applied remains opened. (c) 2006 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Immune regulatory effect of pHSP65 DNA therapy in pulmonary tuberculosis: activation of CD8(+) cells, interferon-gamma recovery and reduction of lung injury

A DNA vaccine based on the heat-shock protein 65 Mycobacterium leprae gene (pHSP65) presented a prophylactic and therapeutic effect in an experimental model of tuberculosis. In this paper, we addressed the question of which protective mechanisms are activated in Mycobacterium tuberculosis-infected mice after immune therapy with pHSP65. We evaluated activation of the cellular immune response in the lungs of infected mice 30 days after infection (initiation of immune therapy) and in those of uninfected mice. After 70 days (end of immune therapy), the immune responses of infected untreated mice, infected pHSP65-treated mice and infected pCDNA3-treated mice were also evaluated. Our results show that the most significant effect of pHSP65 was the stimulation of CD8(+) lung cell activation, interferon-gamma recovery and reduction of lung injury. There was also partial restoration of the production of tumour necrosis factor-alpha. Treatment with pcDNA3 vector also induced an immune stimulatory effect. However, only infected pHSP65-treated mice were able to produce significant levels of interferon-gamma and to restrict the growth of bacilli.

Effect of root canal filling material and level of surgical injury on periodontal healing in dogs

Some divergencies in the literature about periodontal healing after surgical injury stimulated the development of this experiment. The root canals of dogs' teeth were negotiated and filled by the lateral condensation technique with two kinds of sealers: Sealapex and zinc oxide-eugenol cement. In the second session, the bone tissue was exposed and one cavity was made at the apical third of the root and another at the border between the coronal and middle thirds, both penetrating into the root canal. Six months later the animals were sacrificed and the specimens prepared for histopathologic analysis. The results showed that the kind of filling material and the level of the periodontal wound exposing the root canal can influence the healing process (P<0.01).

Investigations on the new free radical scavenger polynitroxyl-albumin to prevent ischemia and reperfusion injury after orthotopic heart transplantation in the pig model

Objective: Nitroxides have strong antioxidant capacity but their effectiveness is limited by their rapid intracellular inactivation. Poly nitroxyl-Albumin (PNA) is capable of regenerating inactivated nitroxide. We tested the effect of PNA against reperfusion injury in heart transplantation. Methods: Pig hearts were transplanted orthotopically. In the control group (n = 9) reperfusion was performed without reperfusion modifications. In the experimental group (n = 10) 1 ml/kg PNA was given before cross-clamp release. Results: Hemodynamic performance was impaired after transplantation in both groups without significant intergroup differences. Plasma malonedialdehyde levels were significantly diminished in the PNA group as compared to the controls. CK-MB levels in both groups were increased within the first 2 h of reperfusion without significant intergroup differences. In contrast, there were found significant higher values of myocardial specific lactate dehydrogenase (LD1) in the controls versus PNA group. Conclusions: PNA was able to reduce lipid peroxidation and attenuate free radical activity. Contractile dysfunction could no be improved, indicating that (a) the radical scavenging effect was to weak or (b) other mechanisms than free oxygen radicals are responsible for myocardial damage in this experimental model. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Occurrence of severe and moderate traumatic brain injury in patients attended in a Brazilian teaching hospital - Epidemiology and dosage of alcoholemy

This study aimed at observing aspects of epidemiology in order to investigate the use of alcohol in patients older than 18 with severe and moderate traumatic brain injury, which were attended in the Clinics Hospital of the University of Uberlandia. Positive alcoholemy was found in 39.3% of the patients. of the 33 positive exams alcoholemy was found higher than 60 mg/dL in 28 (84.6%). There was not significant relation between alcoholemy levels and trauma severity. The major prevalence occurred on Saturdays nights. The most frequent types of external causes were transportation accidents (64.74) followed by accidental falls (17.27%) and physical aggression (16.55%). 93.9% of the patients with positive alcoholemy were men aged 20-29. 24.2% of the ones with positive alcoholemy died yet no significant difference was found in the study of the ones with negative alcoholemy (n=51) (p=0.93); RR= 0.9; IC95%=0.40-2.08.

Rapid hamstrings/quadriceps strength capacity in professional soccer players with different conventional isokinetic muscle strength ratios

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)