Effect of Ni on Pt/C and PtSn/C prepared by the Pechini method

Different compositions of Pt, PtNi, PtSn, and PtSnNi electrocatalysts supported on carbon Vulcan XC-72 were prepared through thermal decomposition of polymeric precursors. The nanoparticles were characterized by morphological and structural analyses (XRD, TEM, and EDX). XRD results revealed a face-centered cubic structure for platinum, and there was evidence that Ni and Sn atoms are incorporated into the Pt structure. The electrochemical investigation was carried out in slightly acidic medium (H(2)SO(4) 0.05 mol L(-1)), in the absence and in the presence of ethanol. Addition of Ni to Pt/C and PtSn/C catalysts significantly shifted the onset of ethanol and CO oxidations toward lower potentials, thus enhancing the catalytic activity, especially in the case of the ternary PtSnNi/C composition. Electrolysis of ethanol solutions at 0.4 V us. RHE allowed for determination of acetaldehyde and acetic acid as the reaction products, as detected by HPLC analysis. Due to the high concentration of ethanol employed in the electrolysis experiments (1.0 mol L(-1)), no formation of CO(2) was observed. Copyright (C) 2010, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agonistic behavior and environmental enrichment of cats communally housed in a shelter

Objective-To evaluate the presence of a dominance rank in a group of cats and the relation between agonistic behavior and the use of resources, including environmental enrichment, in these cats. Design-Observational analytic study. Animals-27 neutered cats in a shelter in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Procedures-The cats were video recorded for 4 consecutive days to obtain baseline data. Subsequently, a puzzle feeder was added as an enrichment device every other day over 8 days, for a total of 4 days with enrichment. Cats were also video recorded on these days. All pretreatment and posttreatment agonistic behaviors and interactions with the puzzle feeder were recorded by reviewing the videotapes. Results-143 agonistic encounters were recorded, of which 44 were related to resources and 99 were not. There were insufficient agonistic interactions to determine a dominance rank. Presence or absence of the puzzle feeder did not affect the rate of aggression. There was no significant effect of weight, sex, or coat color on the rate of aggression, and aggressive behavior did not correlate with time spent with the puzzle feeder. Twenty-three of the 27 cats interacted with the puzzle feeder. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-In a stable group of communally housed cats, environmental enrichment did not cause increased aggression as a result of competition for the source of enrichment. Because environmental enrichment increases the opportunity to perform exploratory behaviors, it may improve the welfare of groups of cats maintained long-term in shelters, sanctuaries, or multicat households. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2011239:796-802)

On Reciprocal Illumination and Consilience in Biogeography

Biogeography deals with the combined analysis of the spatial and temporal components of the evolutionary process. To this purpose, biogeographical analysis should consider two extra steps: a reciprocal illumination step, and a consilience step. Even if the traditional challenges of biogeography were successfully handled, the obtained hypothesis is not necessarily meaningful in biogeographical terms--it needs continuous test in the light of external hypotheses. For this reason, a concept analogous to Hennig`s reciprocal illumination is valuable, as well as a sort of biogeographical consilience in Whewell`s sense. Firstly, through the search for different classes of evidence, information useful to improve the hypothesis can be accessed via reciprocal illumination. Following, a more general hypothesis would arise through a consilience process, when the hypothesis explains phenomena not contemplated during its construction, as the distribution of other taxa or the existence (or absence) of fossils. This procedure aims to evaluate the robustness of biogeographical hypotheses as scientific theories. Such theories are reliable descriptions of how life changes its form both in space and time, putting historical biogeography close to Croizat`s statement of evolution as a three dimensional phenomenon.

Prostatic Artery Embolization as a Primary Treatment for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Preliminary Results in Two Patients

Symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) typically occurs in the sixth and seventh decades, and the most frequent obstructive urinary symptoms are hesitancy, decreased urinary stream, sensation of incomplete emptying, nocturia, frequency, and urgency. Various medications, specifically 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors and selective alpha-blockers, can decrease the severity of the symptoms secondary to BPH, but prostatectomy is still considered to be the traditional method of management. We report the preliminary results for two patients with acute urinary retention due to BPH, successfully treated by prostate artery embolization (PAE). The patients were investigated using the International Prostate Symptom Score, by digital rectal examination, urodynamic testing, prostate biopsy, transrectal ultrasound (US), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Uroflowmetry and postvoid residual urine volume complemented the investigation at 30, 90, and 180 days after PAE. The procedure was performed under local anesthesia; embolization of the prostate arteries was performed with a microcatheter and 300- to 500-mu m microspheres using complete stasis as the end point. One patient was subjected to bilateral PAE and the other to unilateral PAE; they urinated spontaneously after removal of the urethral catheter, 15 and 10 days after the procedure, respectively. At 6-month follow-up, US and MRI revealed a prostate reduction of 39.7% and 47.8%, respectively, for the bilateral PAE and 25.5 and 27.8%, respectively, for the patient submitted to unilateral PAE. The early results, at 6-month follow-up, for the two patients with BPH show a promising potential alternative for treatment with PAE.

Age and Method-dependent Variability of Predicted Oxygen Consumption in Congenital Heart Disease

Background and Purpose. There has been a lot of debate about the use of predicted oxygen consumption to calculate pulmonary vascular resistance using the Fick principle. We therefore comparatively analyzed predicted oxygen consumption in infants and children in specific age groups, using different methods (formulas), as an attempt to better understand the usefulness and limitations of predictions. Methods and Results. Four models (LaFarge & Miettinen, Bergstra et al., Lindahl, and Lundell et al.) were used to predict oxygen consumption in 200 acyanotic patients with congenital cardiac defects aged 0-2.0, > 2.0-4.0, > 4.0-6.0, and > 6.0-8.75 years (median 2.04 years). Significant differences were observed between the age groups (P < .001) and between the methods (P < .001), not related to diagnoses. Differences between methods were more impressive in the first age group (P < .01). In patients aged 0-2.0 years, the lowest values of oxygen consumption (corresponding to the highest estimates of pulmonary vascular resistance) were obtained with the method of Lindahl; above this age, any method except that of Lundell et al. Conclusions. Although measuring oxygen consumption is always preferable, a rational use of predictions, using different methods, may be of help in situations where measurements are definitely not possible.

Is the ultrasound-estimated bladder weight a reliable method for evaluating bladder outlet obstruction?

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the correlation between ultrasound-estimated bladder weight (UEBW) in patients with different degrees of bladder outlet obstruction (BOO). METHODS We evaluated 50 consecutive non-neurogenic male patients with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) referred to urodynamic study (UDS). All patients self-answered the International Prostate Score Symptoms (IPSS) questionnaire. After the UDS, the bladder was filled with 150 mL to determine UEBW. Patients with a bladder capacity under 150 mL, a previous history of prostate surgery or pelvic irradiation, an IPSS score <8, a bladder stone or urinary tract infection were excluded. After a pressure-flow study, the Schafer linear passive urethral resistance relation nomogram was plotted to determine the grade of obstruction: Grades I-II/VI were defined as mild obstruction, Grades III-IV/VI as moderate obstruction, and Grades V-VI/VI as severe obstruction. RESULTS The UEBW was 51.7 +/- 26.9, 54.1 +/- 30.0 and 54.8 +/- 28.2 in patients with mild, moderate and severe BOO, respectively (P = 0.130). The UEBW allowed us to define four groups: (i) UEBW < 35 g; (ii) 35 g <= UEBW < 50 g; (iii) 50 g <= UEBW < 70 g; and (4) UEBW >= 70 g. We did not find any differences in age, prostate weight, IPSS, PVR, cystometric bladder capacity, presence of detrusor overactive and degree of obstruction in the aforementioned groups. CONCLUSION Despite the fact that some studies have emphasized the value of UEBW as an efficient non-invasive method for evaluating lower urinary tract obstruction, our study suggests that UEBW does not present any individual correlation with LUTS or objective measurements of BOO.

A computerized tomography scan method for calculating the hernia sac and abdominal cavity volume in complex large incisional hernia with loss of domain

Preoperative progressive pneumoperitoneum (PPP) is a safe and effective procedure in the treatment of large incisional hernia (size > 10 cm in width or length) with loss of domain (LIHLD). There is no consensus in the literature on the amount of gas that must be insufflated in a PPP program or even how long it should be maintained. We describe a technique for calculating the hernia sac volume (HSV) and abdominal cavity volume (ACV) based on abdominal computerized tomography (ACT) scanning that eliminates the need for subjective criteria for inclusion in a PPP program and shows the amount of gas that must be insufflated into the abdominal cavity in the PPP program. Our technique is indicated for all patients with large or recurrent incisional hernias evaluated by a senior surgeon with suspected LIHLD. We reviewed our experience from 2001 to 2008 of 23 consecutive hernia surgical procedures of LIHLD undergoing preoperative evaluation with CT scanning and PPP. An ACT was required in all patients with suspected LIHLD in order to determine HSV and ACV. The PPP was performed only if the volume ratio HSV/ACV (VR = HSV/ACV) was a parts per thousand yen25% (VR a parts per thousand yen 25%). We have performed this procedure on 23 patients, with a mean age of 55.6 years (range 31-83). There were 16 women and 7 men with an average age of 55.6 years (range 31-83), and a mean BMI of 38.5 kg/m(2) (range 23-55.2). Almost all patients (21 of 23 patients-91.30%) were overweight; 43.5% (10 patients) were severely obese (obese class III). The mean calculated volumes for ACV and HSV were 9,410 ml (range 6,060-19,230 ml) and 4,500 ml (range 1,850-6,600 ml), respectively. The PPP is performed by permanent catheter placed in a minor surgical procedure. The total amount of CO(2) insufflated ranged from 2,000 to 7,000 ml (mean 4,000 ml). Patients required a mean of 10 PPP sessions (range 4-18) to achieve the desired volume of gas (that is the same volume that was calculated for the hernia sac). Since PPP sessions were performed once a day, 4-18 days were needed for preoperative preparation with PPP. The mean VR was 36% (ranged from 26 to 73%). We conclude that ACT provides objective data for volume calculation of both hernia sac and abdominal cavity and also for estimation of the volume of gas that should be insufflated into the abdominal cavity in PPP.

The Role of Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen and Pepsinogen C Tissue Expression as an Adjunctive Method to Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Purpose: The diagnosis of prostate cancer in men with persistently increased prostate specific antigen after a negative prostate biopsy has become a great challenge for urologists and pathologists. We analyzed the diagnostic value of 6 genes in the tissue of patients with prostate cancer. Materials and Methods: The study was comprised of 50 patients with localized disease who underwent radical prostatectomy. Gene selection was based on a previous microarray analysis. Among 4,147 genes with different expressions between 2 pools of patients 6 genes (PSMA, TMEFF2, GREB1, TH1L, IgH3 and PGC) were selected. These genes were tested for diagnostic value using the quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method. Initially malignant tissue samples from 33 patients were analyzed and in the second part of the study we analyzed benign tissue samples from the other 17 patients with prostate cancer. The control group was comprised of tissue samples of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Results: Analysis of malignant prostatic tissue demonstrated that prostate specific membrane antigen was over expressed (mean 9 times) and pepsinogen C was under expressed (mean 1.3 X 10(-4) times) in all cases compared to benign prostatic hyperplasia. The other 4 tested genes showed a variable expression pattern not allowing for differentiation between benign and malignant cases. When we tested these results in the benign prostate tissues from patients with cancer, pepsinogen C maintained the expression pattern. In terms of prostate specific membrane antigen, despite over expression in most cases (mean 12 times), 2 cases (12%) presented with under expression. Conclusions: Pepsinogen C tissue expression may constitute a powerful adjunctive method to prostate biopsy in the diagnosis of prostate cancer cases.

Usefulness of a quick decalcification of bone sections embedded in methyl metacrylate: an improved method for immunohistochemistry

Immunohistochemistry of undecalcified bone sections embedded in methyl methacrylate (MMA) is not commonly employed because of potential destruction of tissue antigenicity by highly exothermic polymerization. The aim of the present study was to describe a new technique in which a quick decalcification of bone sections embedded in MMA improves the results for immunohistochemistry. The quality of interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) immunostaining according to the present method was better than the conventional one. Immunostaining for osteoprotegerin (OPG) and the receptor activator of NF-kappa B ligand (RANKL) in bone sections of chronic kidney disease patients with mineral bone disorders (CKD-MBD) was stronger than in controls (postmortem healthy subjects). The present study suggested that this method is easy, fast, and effective to perform both histomorphometry and immunohistochemistry in the same bone fragment, yielding new insights into pathophysiological aspects and therapeutic approaches in bone disease.

A quantitative chemiluminescent method for studying replicative and stress-induced premature senescence in cell cultures

beta-Galactosidase (beta-Gal) activity is a widely accepted biomarker to detect senescence both in situ and in vitro. A cytochemical assay based on production of a blue-dyed precipitate that results from the cleavage of the chromogenic substrate X-Gal is commonly used. Blue and nonblue cells are counted under the microscope and a semiquantitative percentage of senescent cells can be obtained. Here, we present a quantitative, fast, and easy to use chemiluminescent assay to detect senescence. The Galacton chemiluminescent method used to detect the prokaryotic beta-Gal reporter enzyme in transfection studies was adapted to assay mammalian beta-Gal. The assay showed linear production of luminescence in a time- and cell-number-dependent manner. The chemiluminescent assay showed significant correlation with the cytochemical assay in detecting replicative senescence (Pearson r = 0.8486, p < 0.005). Moreover, the chemiluminescent method (Galacton) also detected stress-induced senescence in cells treated with H2O2 similar to the cytochemical assay (X-Gal) (Galacton: control 25.207.3 +/- 6548.6. H2O, 52,487.4 +/- 16,284.9, p < 0.05; X-Gal: control 41.31 +/- 7.0%, H2O2 92.97 +/- 2.8%, p < 0.01). Thus, our method is well suited to the detection of replicative and stress-induced senescence in cell culture. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Hyperplane navigation: A method to set individual scores in fMRI group datasets

Recent studies have demonstrated that spatial patterns of fMRI BOLD activity distribution over the brain may be used to classify different groups or mental states. These studies are based on the application of advanced pattern recognition approaches and multivariate statistical classifiers. Most published articles in this field are focused on improving the accuracy rates and many approaches have been proposed to accomplish this task. Nevertheless, a point inherent to most machine learning methods (and still relatively unexplored in neuroimaging) is how the discriminative information can be used to characterize groups and their differences. In this work, we introduce the Maximum Uncertainty Linear Discrimination Analysis (MLDA) and show how it can be applied to infer groups` patterns by discriminant hyperplane navigation. In addition, we show that it naturally defines a behavioral score, i.e., an index quantifying the distance between the states of a subject from predefined groups. We validate and illustrate this approach using a motor block design fMRI experiment data with 35 subjects. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Validation of a Spectrophotometric Method for Quantification of Carboxyhemoglobin

Universidade de São Paulo - LIM[40/HC-FM-USP]

Scanning electron microscopy as an auxiliary method in the study of exhumed bones

Scanning electronmicroscopy (SEM) has been used in forensic science in many ways. The reports of cases in which SEM has been used as an auxiliary method in the investigation of exhumed bones are rare. In this article, we report an exhumation that was made to determine if a seized weapon could have been used in a homicide. We used SEM to analyze a fracture in the interior of the skull of the victim. The findings described in this article showed us that it is possible to develop new researches in this field. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

A method to immunolabel rodent spinal cord neurons and glia for molecular study in specific laser microdissected cells involved in neurodegenerative disorders

Neuron-glia interaction is involved in physiological function of neurons, however, recent evidences have suggested glial cells as participants in neurotoxic and neurotrophic mechanisms of neurodegenerative/neuroregenerative processes. Laser microdissection offers a unique opportunity to study molecular regulation in specific immunolabeled cell types. However, an adequate protocol to allow morphological and molecular analysis of rodent spinal cord astrocyte, microglia and motoneurons remains a big challenge. In this paper we present a quick method to immunolabel those cells in flash frozen sections to be used in molecular biology analyses after laser microdissection and pressure catapulting.

Incidence of stroke subtypes, prognosis and prevalence of risk factors in Joinville, Brazil: a 2 year community based study

Background: There have been few population based studies on stroke risk factors and prognosis conducted in Brazil. The objective of this study was to evaluate, over a 2 year period, the incidence of the subtypes of first ever stroke, the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and functional prognosis in a city located in the south of Brazil. Methods: The period from January 2005 to December 2006 was evaluated prospectively by compiling data on first ever stroke cases, medications used prior to the morbidity and the incidence of traditional risk factors. The annual incidence was adjusted for age using the direct method. Patients were monitored for at least 6 months following the event. Results: Of 1323 stroke cases, 759 were first ever stroke cases. Of these, 610 were classified as infarctions, 94 as intracerebral haemorrhage and 55 as subarachnoid haemorrhage. The crude incidence rate per 100 000 inhabitants was 61.8 for infarction (95% CI 57.0 to 66.9), 9.5 for intracerebral haemorrhage (95% CI 7.7 to 11.6) and 5.6 for subarachnoid haemorrhage (95% CI 4.2 to 7.3). The 30 day case fatality was 19.1%. The most prevalent cardiovascular risk factor was arterial hypertension. By post-stroke month 6, 25% had died (95% CI 21.4 to 29.1) whereas 61.5% had regained their independence (95% CI 56.2 to 68.3). Conclusions: Case fatality rate, prognosis and incidence adjusted for stroke subtypes were similar to those found in other population based studies. The prevalence rates of ischaemic heart disease, dyslipidaemia, arterial hypertension and diabetes suggest that Joinville presents a mixed pattern of cardiovascular risk, a pattern seen in developed and developing countries alike.