Progressive bilateral enophthalmos associated with cerebrospinal shunting

A 22-year-old woman was examined for a complaint of bilateral progressive enophthalmos that had begun after the cerebrospinal fluid shunting procedure 9 years ago. Photographs and CT scans taken before surgery proved that the position of her eyes was normal before surgery. The enophthalmos was so severe that it induced a poor eyelid-globe apposition with trichiasis and superficial keratopathy. CT of the orbits showed that both orbital roofs were arched and displaced toward the anterior cranial fossa. The placement of porous polyethylene sheets on the orbital roofs through a coronal approach corrected the eye position. A literature review indicated that cerebrospinal shuntings are plagued by a variety of complications including bone changes and craniosynostosis. We believe that enophthalmos associated with cerebrospinal fluid shunting results from a rare acquired bony orbital anomaly.

The ventriculoomental bursa shunt

Object The aim of this study is to access the efficacy of the omental bursa (lesser sac) as a receptacle of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and to use it as an alternative to the ventriculoatrial or ventriculopleural shunts when the peritoneum reduces or loses its CSF absorption capacity. Methods Three patients with hydrocephalus presented with malfunctioning of ventriculoperitoneal shunts, secondary to peritoneal blockage caused by previous episodes of shunt infections in two and peritonitis in one patient. All patients underwent previous shunt revisions due to ventriculitis and shunt obstruction ranging from three to eight times. In order to keep the peritoneal cavity as the main receptacle of CSF absorption site, the distal catheter was inserted in the omental bursa, through the foramen of Winslow, jointly by a pediatric surgeon. We denominated this new technique of CSF diversion as ventriculoomental bursa (VOB) shunting. The children have been followed at least for 1 year (range 12 to 28 months) with no recurrence of shunt. Conclusions VOB shunting may be considered an acceptable technique to CSF shunting when the anterior peritoneum loses or decreases its CSF absorption capacity.

The Cochaperone BAG2 Sweeps Paired Helical Filament-Insoluble Tau from the Microtubule

Tau inclusions are a prominent feature of many neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer`s disease. Their accumulation in neurons as ubiquitinated filaments suggests a failure in the degradation limb of the Tau pathway. The components of a Tau protein triage system consisting of CHIP/Hsp70 and other chaperones have begun to emerge. However, the site of triage and the master regulatory elements are unknown. Here, we report an elegant mechanism of Tau degradation involving the cochaperone BAG2. The BAG2/Hsp70 complex is tethered to the microtubule and this complex can capture and deliver Tau to the proteasome for ubiquitin-independent degradation. This complex preferentially degrades Sarkosyl insoluble Tau and phosphorylated Tau. BAG2 levels in cells are under the physiological control of the microRNA miR-128a, which can tune paired helical filament Tau levels in neurons. Thus, we propose that ubiquitinated Tau inclusions arise due to shunting of Tau degradation toward a less efficient ubiquitin-dependent pathway.

Optimal subdivision of land in agrarian reform projects: an analysis using genetic algorithms

J.A. Ferreira Neto, E.C. Santos Junior, U. Fra Paleo, D. Miranda Barros, and M.C.O. Moreira. 2011. Optimal subdivision of land in agrarian reform projects: an analysis using genetic algorithms. Cien. Inv. Agr. 38(2): 169-178. The objective of this manuscript is to develop a new procedure to achieve optimal land subdivision using genetic algorithms (GA). The genetic algorithm was tested in the rural settlement of Veredas, located in Minas Gerais, Brazil. This implementation was based on the land aptitude and its productivity index. The sequence of tests in the study was carried out in two areas with eight different agricultural aptitude classes, including one area of 391.88 ha subdivided into 12 lots and another of 404.1763 ha subdivided into 14 lots. The effectiveness of the method was measured using the shunting line standard value of a parceled area lot`s productivity index. To evaluate each parameter, a sequence of 15 calculations was performed to record the best individual fitness average (MMI) found for each parameter variation. The best parameter combination found in testing and used to generate the new parceling with the GA was the following: 320 as the generation number, a population of 40 individuals, 0.8 mutation tax, and a 0.3 renewal tax. The solution generated rather homogeneous lots in terms of productive capacity.