The muscular organization of the stomach of Capybaira (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris): an architectural view

Twenty-two stomachs from adult capybaras were used in this study, and an acid digestion mesoscopic technique was pursued using different concentrations of nitric acid to observe the muscular organization of the stomach. The capybara's stomach possessed a muscular coat composed of four layers or strata: external longitudinal, external oblique, circular and internal oblique. Also, the cardiac and pyloric sphincter muscles were comprised of three or two different layers, respectively. Furthermore, the internal oblique fibres were observed extending from the cardiac portion of the stomach to the smaller curvature, where they participated in the formation of the Ansa cardiaca together with the external. longitudinal fibres. This muscular architectural arrangement was compared to that in small rodents (rat, hamster, guinea pig), as well as in rabbits and pigs. In conclusion, the stomach of the capybara has a very particular, complex and defined muscular organization that differs from that in other rodents, or domestic animals, in particular, pigs. (c) 2005 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

The Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization American-College-of-Rheumatology provisional criteria for the evaluation of response to therapy in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus: Prospective validation of the definition of improvement

Objective. To use the Pediatric Rheumatology International Trials Organization (PRINTO) core set of outcome measures to develop a validated definition of improvement for the evaluation of response to therapy in juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).Methods. Thirty-seven experienced pediatric rheumatologists from 27 countries, each of whom had specific experience in the assessment of juvenile SLE patients, achieved consensus on 128 patient profiles as being clinically improved or not improved. Using the physicians' consensus ratings as the gold standard measure, the chi-square, sensitivity, specificity, false-positive and false-negative rates, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, and kappa level of agreement for 597 candidate definitions of improvement were calculated. Only definitions with a kappa value greater than 0.7 were retained. The top definitions were selected based on the product of the content validity score multiplied by its kappa statistic.Results. The definition of improvement with the highest final score was at least 50% improvement from baseline in any 2 of the 5 core set measures, with no more than 1 of the remaining worsening by more than 30%.Conclusion. PRINTO proposes a valid and reproducible definition of improvement that reflects well the consensus rating of experienced clinicians and that incorporates clinically meaningful change in core set measures in a composite end point for the evaluation of global response to therapy in patients with juvenile SLE. The definition is now proposed for use in juvenile SLE clinical trials and may help physicians to decide whether a child with SLE responded adequately to therapy.

Photo luminescence: A probe for short, medium and long-range self-organization order in ZrTiO4 oxide

Photoluminescent disordered ZrTiO4 powders were obtained by the polymeric precursor soft-chemical method. This oxide system (ordered and disordered) was characterized by photoluminescence, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and UV vis absorption experiments. The UV absorption tail formation in the disordered oxides was related to the diminution of optical band gap. In the disordered phase, this oxide displayed broad band photoluminescence caused by change in coordination number of titanium and zirconium with oxygen atoms. The gap decreased from 3.09 eV in crystalline oxide to 2.16 eV in disordered oxide. The crystalline oxide presented an orthorhombic alpha-PbO2-type structure in which Zr4+ and Ti4+ were randomly distributed in octahedral coordination polyhedra with oxygen atoms. The amorphous-crystalline transition occurred at almost 700 degrees C, at which point the photoluminescence vanished. The Raman peak at close to 80-200 cm(-1) indicated the presence of locally ordered Ti-O-n and Zr-O-n polyhedra in disordered photoluminescent oxides. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Structural organization in leaf blade and sheath of elephant-grass cultivars (Pennisetum purpureum Schum. - POACEAE).

Elephant-grass is known as a great feed to dairy and beef cattle at tropical regions. Its agricultural aspects have been very observed. However, its botanical, mainly anatomical characteristics, are few studied. The objective of this work was to investigate the anatomical changes occurred in leaves (leaf blades and sheaths) of three elephant-grass cultivars (Pennisetum purpureum Schum. cultivar Roxo, EMPASC 307 Testo and EMPASC 309 Areia) at three stages of physiological maturity (4, 8 and 16 weeks after sprouting). In general, the three cultivars presented similar anatomy. A unique feature, the presence of aerenchyma was found in the leaf sheath of all three cultivars, at the second harvest (a weeks).

Structural organization of cetyltrimethylammonium sulfate in aqueous solution: the effect of Na2SO4

We used dynamic light scattering (DLS), a steady-state fluorescence, time resolved fluorescence quenching (TRFQ), tensiometry, conductimetry, and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to investigate the self-assembly of the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium sulfate (CTAS) in aqueous solution, which has SO42- as divalent counterion. We obtained the critical micelled concentration (cmc), aggregation number (N-agg), area per monomer (a(0)), hydrodynamic radius (R-H), and degree of counterion dissociation (alpha) of CTAS micelles in the absence and presence of up to 1 M Na2SO4 and at temperatures of 25 and 40 degrees C. Between 0.01 and 0.3 M salt the hydrodynamic radius of CTAS micelle R-H approximate to 16 angstrom is roughly independent on Na2SO4 concentration; below and above this concentration range R-H increases steeply with the salt concentration, indicating micelle structure transition, from spherical to rod-like structures. R-H increases only slightly as temperature increases from 25 to 40 degrees C, and the cmc decreases initially very steeply with Na2SO4 concentration up to about 10 mM, and thereafter it is constant. The area per surfactant at the water/air interface, a(0), initially increases steeply with Na2SO4 concentration, and then decrases above ca. 10 mM. Conductimetry gives alpha = 0.18 for the degree of counterion dissociation, and N-agg obtained by fluorescence methods increases with surfactant concentration but it is roughly independent of up to 80 mM salt. The ITC data yield cmc of 0.22 mM in water, and the calculated enthalpy change of micelle formation, Delta H-mic = 3.8 kJ mol(-1), Gibbs free energy of micellization of surfactant molecules, Delta G(mic) = -38.0 kJ mol(-1) and entropy T Delta S-mic = 41.7 kJ mol(-1) indicate that the formation of CTAS micelles is entropy-driven. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cytoarchitecture and musculotopic organization of the facial motor nucleus in Cebus apella monkey

The architecture and musculotopic organization of the facial motor nucleus in the Cebus apella monkey (a New World primate) were investigated using histological techniques and a multiple labelling strategy, in which horseradish peroxidase-conjugated neuroanatomical tracers (CTB-HRP and WGA-HRP) and fluorescent tracers were injected into individual facial muscles. The facial motor nucleus was formed by multipolar motoneurons and had an ovoid shape, with its rostrocaudal axis measuring on average 1875 mum. We divided the nucleus into four different subnuclei: medial, intermediate, dorsal and lateral. Retrograde labelling patterns revealed that individual muscles were innervated by longitudinal functional columns of motoneurons. The columns of the orbicularis oculi, zygomaticus, orbicularis oris, auricularis superior, buccinator and platysma muscles were located in the dorsal, intermediate, lateral, medial, lateral and intermediate subnuclei, respectively. However, the motoneuron columns of the levator labii superioris alaeque nasi muscle and frontalis muscle could not be associated with a specific subnucleus. The present results confirm previous studies regarding the musculotopic organization of the facial motor nucleus. However, we observed some particularities in terms of the relative size of each column in C. apella, which might be related to the functional and behavioral importance of each muscle in the particular context of this primate.

Use of topical mitomycin C in myoplasty of the medial rectus muscle of rabbits

To possibly reduce postoperative adhesions that occur after ocular myoplasties, we investigated the topical effects of 0.04% mitomycin C on the repaired areas of the medial rectus muscle using an equine renal capsule preserved in 98% glycerin for reinforcement of the sutures. Twenty-four rabbits, divided into two groups of 12 animals each [untreated (control) and treated group (MMC)], were submitted to surgical rupture of the medial rectus muscle of one eye and repair of the defect 24 h later with sutures and an equine renal capsule. Post-operative prophylactic treatment of the two groups consisted of the administration of eye drops containing neomycin, polymyxin B and dexamethasone at regular 6-h intervals for eight consecutive days and daily rinsing with physiological saline. MMC animals received additional treatment with topical 0.04% mitomycin C every 6 h for 14 consecutive days. Slit lamp biomicroscopy showed greater irritation of the ocular surface in MMC animals during the first days post operatively. Adhesions were observed at 15 and 30 days of assessment in the two groups, but were more extensive in control animals at 60 days. Histopathology revealed inflammatory exudation in both groups, which was greater in MMC animals. Mitomycin C (0.04%) instilled at 6-h intervals for 14 consecutive days reduced the occurrence of fibrosis in the myoplastic areas. However, the equine renal capsule was found to be of little benefit for the reinforcement of myoplasties.

In vitro susceptibility testing of Microsporum gypseum isolated from healthy cattle and soil samples against itraconazole, terbinafine, fluconazole and topical veterinarian drugs

The present study evaluated in vitro susceptibility testing of dermatophytes isolates from healthy cattle and soil samples against three antifungal agents and three topical veterinarian drugs. Itraconazole and terbinafine showed a higher in vitro fungicidal activity than fluconazole. The veterinarian drugs LEPECID (R) and iodine 5% were more active in vitro than the UNGUENTO (R) spray. All drugs showed fungicidal activity against Microsporum gypseum, and they may be considered as efficient agents for the topical treatment of dermatophytoses in cattle.

Surface morphology and molecular organization of lignins in Langmuir-Blodgett films

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) are used to investigate molecular organization in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of two kinds of lignins. The lignins were extracted from sugar cane bagasse using distinct extraction processes and are referred to here as ethanol lignin (EL) and saccharification lignin (SAC). AFM images show that LB films from EL have a flat surface in comparison with those from SAC. For the latter, ellipsoidal aggregates are seen oriented perpendicularly to the substrate. This result is confirmed by a combination of transmission and reflection FTIR measurements, which also point to lignin aggregates preferentially oriented perpendicularly to the substrate. For LB films from EL, on the other hand, aggregates are preferentially oriented parallel to the substrate, again consistent with the flat surface observed in AFM data. The vibrational spectroscopy data for cast films from both lignins show random molecular organization, as one should expect.

Structural organization and thermal properties of the Sb2O3-SbPO4 glass system

The structural organization of Sb2O3-SbPO4 glasses has been studied by FTIR, Raman, P-31 MAS and spin echo NMR, Mossbauer and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (EXAFS and XANES at K and L-3,L-1-Sb edges). The combined results can be explained in terms of two potential mechanisms describing the change of the Sb(m) local environment upon incorporation of Q((4))-type phosphate. The formation of the latter species requires anionic compensation that may be adjusted by (a) formation of non bridging oxygen or (b) formation of SbO4E- groups (E = non-bonding electron pair). The second model is favored.

SPATIAL-ORGANIZATION OF FORAGING ACTIVITY AND COLONIZATION BY COLONY EMIGRATION IN THE PHARAOH ANT, MONOMORIUM-PHARAONIS

Using food bait stations and colony trap nests, the spatial relation between the foraging activity of established colonies of the polygynous and unicolonial exotic pharaoh's ant, Monomorium pharaonis, and colonization by colony fragments was studied over an 8 month period in a large institutional setting in Brazil. Both foraging activity and colonizations demonstrated significant spatial clumping. However, colonizations were significantly negatively clumped spatially with respect to foraging activity. This suggests that the colonization strategy of this species under the studied conditions was that of complete habitat domination.