Polycystic echinococcosis in the state of Acre, Brazil: contribution to patient diagnosis, treatment and prognosis

The lack of knowledge regarding polycystic hydatid disease results in delayed or even incorrect diagnosis. The lack of systematic information regarding treatment also makes it difficult to assess the results and prognosis in patients with peritoneal and hepatic lesions caused by Echinococcus vogeli. Here we describe the clinical features of patients, propose a radiological classification protocol and describe a therapeutic option for the treatment of hydatid disease that previously had only been used for cases of cystic echinococcosis (Echinococcus granulosus). A prospective cohort study was initiated in 1999 and by 2009 the study included 60 patients. These patients were classified according to the PNM classification (parasite lesion, neighbouring organ invasion and metastases) and placed in one of three therapeutic modalities: (i) chemotherapy with albendazole at a dose of 10 mg/kg/day, (ii) surgical removal of cysts or (iii) percutaneous puncture of the cysts via puncture, aspiration, injection and re-aspiration (PAIR). The results were stratified according to therapeutic outcome: "cure", "clinical improvement", "no improvement", "death" or "no information". The PNM classification was useful in indicating the appropriate therapy in cases of polycystic hydatid disease. In conclusion, surgical therapy produced the best clinical results of all the therapies studied based on "cure" and "clinical improvement" outcomes. The use of PAIR for treatment requires additional study.

Poland 's syndrome: radiologic findings

Poland's syndrome is a rare non-inherited congenital anomaly. The authors describe the classic radiologic findings of Poland's syndrome by reporting the case of a male four-year old patient with asymmetry of hands and chest, illustrating the fundamental imaging criteria for a conclusive diagnosis.

Estudo polarográfico sobre a determinação de Fe(III) utilizando-se a técnica da polarografia de pulso diferencial

A differential pulse polarographic study with the objective to determine iron (III) in presense of copper (II) in a supporting electrolyte based on citrate - EDTA was made. The best experimental conditions found were a supporting electrolyte of citrate 0.25 mol L-1, EDTA 0.050 mol L-1 and KNO3 0.50 mol L-1, pH 5.00. In this media iron (III) showed a polarographic peak in -0.08 V and the copper (II) in -0.34 V, both vs. Ag/AgCl (saturated KCl). Thus, a analytical method was developed and applied to determine iron (III) in brass alloy, a matrix were copper is in large excess over iron. The results obtained showed no interference of copper in the iron determination. The value of 0.21% of iron in the sample alloy composition was obtained and the method was validated by atomic absortion and recovery test, and the results exhibited a good agreement with the proposed method.

Óxido misto de ítrio-alumínio dopado com Eu(III)

In this work, we report the synthesis and the photoluminescence features of Eu(III)-doped yttrium-aluminium oxide obtained by non-hydrolytic sol-gel routes. After heating the powders above 600 ºC the XRD patterns show the presence of the Y4Al2O9 (YAM) and Y3Al5O12 (YAG) phases. At 800 and at 1500 ºC the PL spectra display the Eu(III) lines characteristic of the YAM monoclinic phase. The 5D0->7F2 transition is favored relatively to the 5D0->7F1 lines. However, at 1100 ºC the cubic YAG is the preferential phase and the 5D0->7F1 transition dominates the spectrum. The Eu(III) ions lie in a centrosymmetrical site. The different solvents used in the sol-gel synthesis also change the relative proportion between these two phases. This is monitored analyzing the modifications in the relative intensity between the 5D0->7F2 and the 5D0->7F1 transitions.

Fenilsilicato dopado com Eu III obtido pelo método sol-gel

In this work, we report the synthesis and the photoluminescence features of a Eu(III)-doped modified silica matrix obtained by the sol-gel method. The matrix was prepared by reaction between tetraethylorthosilicate and phenyltriethoxysilane alkoxide. The hydrolysis occurred using basic catalysis. The solids were treated at 100, 200 and 300 ºC during 4 h and the structure was determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR 29Si and 13C), infrared spectroscopy (IR) and photoluminescence (PL). The PL spectra display the Eu(III) lines characteristic of the ion, 5D0 -> 7F J (J=0, 1, 2, 3, 4), the blue emission as ascribed in the silica matrix. The NMR and TG showed the stability of hybrid silica.

Rejeito de mineração de carvão como adsorvente para remoção da acidez, Fe (III), Al (III) e Mn (II) em drenagem ácida

This study aimed the use of coal mining waste as a new adsorbent for H3O+ and removal of Al (III), Fe (III) and Mn (II) from acid mine drainage. Data from kinetic and equilibrium of the adsorption of H3O+ followed the pseudo second-order and Langmuir isotherm models. The maximum adsorption capacity of H3O+ was 316 mmol kg-1. The adsorbent removed 100% of Al (III), 100% of Fe (III) and 89% of Mn (II), suggesting its use as an alternative for the treatment of acid mine drainage.

Highly improved chromium (III) uptake capacity in modified sugarcane bagasse using different chemical treatments

The present paper focuses on improving chromium (III) uptake capacity of sugarcane bagasse through its chemical modification with citric acid and/or sodium hydroxide. The chemical modifications were confirmed by infrared spectroscopy, with an evident peak observed at 1730 cm-1, attributed to carbonyl groups. Equilibrium was reached after 24 h, and the kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order model. The highest chromium (III) maximum adsorption capacity (MAC) value was found when using sugarcane bagasse modified with sodium hydroxide and citric acid (58.00 mg g-1) giving a MAC value about three times greater (20.34 mg g-1) than for raw sugarcane bagasse.

Arsenic trioxide reduces the invasive and metastatic properties of nasopharyngeal carcinoma cells in vitro

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is notorious for the metastases, which are in close association with Epstein-Barr virus-encoded latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1). Arsenic trioxide (As2O3) has been shown to induce apoptosis and differentiation in NPC xenografts. Then, can it repress the cancer cells' metastasis potential? To elucidate this issue, the present study was performed. LMP1-negative cell line HNE1 and LMP1-positive cell line HNE1-LMP1 were used as in vitro model. Cells (1 x 10(5)/mL) were cultured with or without 3 µM As2O3 for 48 h. Then the survival cells were collected to investigate their potential of colony formation, attachment, invasion, and migration. Both confocal immunofluorescence staining and Western blot were used to detect the changes of LMP1 expression. The changes of MMP-9 were examined by RT-PCR assay and Western blot. The results were as follow: i) the colony formation inhibition rate (75.41 ± 3.9% in HNE1-LMP1 cells vs 37.89 ± 4.9% in HNE1 cells), the rate of attachment (HNE1-LMP1 vs HNE1: 56.40 ± 3.5 vs 65.87 ± 5.9%), the invasion inhibitory rate (HNE1-LMP1 vs HNE1: 56.50 ± 3.7 and 27.91 ± 2.1%), and the migration inhibitory rate (HNE1-LMP1 vs HNE1: 48.70 ± 3.9 vs 29.19 ± 6.27%) were all significantly different between the two cell lines (P < 0.01). ii) LMP1 was down-regulated in As2O3-treated HNE1-LMP1 cells. iii) The reduction of MMP-9 was found in As2O3-treated groups, more evident in HNE1-LMP1 cells. Thus, we conclude that As2O3 can reduce metastasis potential of NPC cells, involving inhibition of MMP-9 expression. LMP1 were also reduced in this process and seemed to enhance anti-metastasis activity of As2O3.

Noninvasive prognostic markers for cardiac death and ventricular arrhythmia in long-term follow-up of subjects with chronic Chagas' disease

The objective of the present study was to investigate clinical, echocardiographic and electrocardiographic (12-lead resting ECG, 24-h ambulatory ECG monitoring and signal-averaged ECG (SAECG)) parameters in subjects with chronic Chagas' disease in a long-term follow-up as prognostic markers for adverse outcomes. Fifty adult outpatients (34 to 74 years old, 31 females) staged according to Los Andes class I, II or III and complaining of palpitation were enrolled in a longitudinal study. SAECG was analyzed in time and frequency domains and the endpoint was a composite of cardiac death and ventricular tachycardia. During a follow-up of 84.2 ± 39.0 months, 34.0% of the patients developed adverse outcomes (9 cardiac deaths and 11 episodes of ventricular tachycardia). After optimal dichotomization, in a stepwise multivariate Cox-hazard regression model, apical aneurysm (HR = 3.7; 95% CI = 1.2-1.3; P = 0.02), left ventricular ejection fraction <62% (HR = 4.60; 95% CI = 1.39-15.24; P = 0.01) and incidence of ventricular premature contractions >614 per 24 h (hazard ratio = 6.1; 95% CI = 1.7-22.6; P = 0.006) were independent predictors of the composite endpoint. Although a high frequency content in SAECG demonstrated association with the presence of left ventricular dysfunction and myocardial fibrosis, its predictive value for the composite endpoint was not significant. Apical aneurysms, reduced left ventricular function and a high incidence of ventricular ectopic beats over a 24-h period have a strong predictive value for a composite endpoint of cardiac death and ventricular tachycardia in subjects with chronic Chagas' disease.

Association of HDL cholesterol and triglycerides with mortality in patients with heart failure

It has been demonstrated that there is an association between serum lipoproteins and survival rate in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy, as well as in patients with non-ischemic causes of heart failure. We tested the hypothesis of an association between serum lipoprotein levels and prognosis in a cohort of outpatients with heart failure, including Chagas' heart disease. The lipid profile of 833 outpatients with heart failure in functional classes III and IV of the New York Heart Association, with a mean age of 46.9 ± 10.6 years, 655 (78.6%) men and 178 (21.4%) women, was studied from April 1991 to June 2003. The survival rate was estimated by the Kaplan-Meyer's method and the Cox proportional hazards models. Etiology of heart failure was ischemic cardiomyopathy in 171 (21%) patients, Chagas' heart disease in 144 (17%), hypertensive cardiomyopathy in 136 (16%), and other etiologies in 83 (10%). In 299 (36%) patients, heart failure was ascribed to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Variables significantly associated with mortality were age (hazard ratio, HR = 1.02; 95%CI = 1.01-1.03; P = 0.0074), male gender (HR = 1.77; 95%CI = 1.2-2.62; P = 0.004), idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (HR = 1.81; 95%CI = 1.16-2.82; P = 0.0085), serum triglycerides (HR = 0.97; 95%CI = 0.96-0.98; P < 0.0001), and HDL cholesterol (HR = 0.99; 95%CI = 0.99-1.0; P = 0.0280). Therefore, higher serum HDL cholesterol and higher serum triglycerides were associated with lower mortality in this cohort of outpatients with heart failure.

Hypothyroidism decreases proinsulin gene expression and the attachment of its mRNA and eEF1A protein to the actin cytoskeleton of INS-1E cells

The actions of thyroid hormone (TH) on pancreatic beta cells have not been thoroughly explored, with current knowledge being limited to the modulation of insulin secretion in response to glucose, and beta cell viability by regulation of pro-mitotic and pro-apoptotic factors. Therefore, the effects of TH on proinsulin gene expression are not known. This led us to measure: a) proinsulin mRNA expression, b) proinsulin transcripts and eEF1A protein binding to the actin cytoskeleton, c) actin cytoskeleton arrangement, and d) proinsulin mRNA poly(A) tail length modulation in INS-1E cells cultured in different media containing: i) normal fetal bovine serum - FBS (control); ii) normal FBS plus 1 µM or 10 nM T3, for 12 h, and iii) FBS depleted of TH for 24 h (Tx). A decrease in proinsulin mRNA content and attachment to the cytoskeleton were observed in hypothyroid (Tx) beta cells. The amount of eEF1A protein anchored to the cytoskeleton was also reduced in hypothyroidism, and it is worth mentioning that eEF1A is essential to attach transcripts to the cytoskeleton, which might modulate their stability and rate of translation. Proinsulin poly(A) tail length and cytoskeleton arrangement remained unchanged in hypothyroidism. T3 treatment of control cells for 12 h did not induce any changes in the parameters studied. The data indicate that TH is important for proinsulin mRNA expression and translation, since its total amount and attachment to the cytoskeleton are decreased in hypothyroid beta cells, providing evidence that effects of TH on carbohydrate metabolism also include the control of proinsulin gene expression.

Study of adsorption isotherms of green coconut pulp

Brazil is considered one of the largest producers and consumers of tropical fruits. Green coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) stands out not only for its production and consumption, but also for the high amount of waste produced by coconut water industry and in natura consumption. Therefore, there is a need for utilization of this by-product. This study aims to study the adsorption isotherms of green coconut pulp and determine its isosteric heat of sorption. The adsorption isotherms at temperatures of 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 °C were analyzed, and they exhibit type III behavior, typical of sugar rich foods. The experimental results of equilibrium moisture content were correlated by models present in the literature. The Guggenheim, Anderson and De Boer (GAB) model proved particularly good overall agreement with the experimental data. The heat of sorption determined from the adsorption isotherms increased with the decrease in moisture content. The heat of sorption is considered as indicative of intermolecular attractive forces between the sorption sites and water vapor, which is an important factor to predict the shelf life of dried products.