Phenotypic plasticity in adult worms of Schistosoma mansoni (Trematoda:Schistosomatidae) evidenced by brightfield and confocal laser scanning microscopies

A comparative morphometric study was performed to identify host-induced morphological alterations in Schistosoma mansoni adult worms. A wild parasite population was obtained from a naturally infected rodent (Nectomys squamipes)and then recovered from laboratory infected C3H/He mice. Furthermore, allopatric worm populations maintained for long-term under laboratory conditions in Swiss Webster mice were passed on to N. squamipes. Suckers and genital system (testicular lobes, uterine egg, and egg spine) were analyzed by a digital system for image analysis. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) showed details of the genital system (testicular lobes, vitelline glands, and ovary) and the tegument just below the ventral sucker. Significant morphological changes (p < 0.05) were detected in male worms in all experimental conditions, with no significant variability as assessed by CLSM. Significant changes (p < 0.05) were evident in females from the wild population related to their ovaries and vitelline glands, whereas allopatric females presented differences only in this last character. We conclude that S. mansoni worms present the phenotypic plasticity induced by modifications in the parasite's microenvironment, mainly during the first passage under laboratory conditions.

Laser therapy in pressure ulcers: evaluation by the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing and Nursing Outcomes Classification

AbstractOBJECTIVETo describe the pressure ulcer healing process in critically ill patients treated with conventional dressing therapy plus low-intensity laser therapy evaluated by the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing (PUSH) and the result of Wound Healing: Secondary Intention, according to the Nursing Outcomes Classification (NOC).METHODCase report study according to nursing process conducted with an Intensive Care Unit patient. Data were collected with an instrument containing the PUSH and the result of the NOC. In the analysis we used descriptive statistics, considering the scores obtained on the instrument.RESULTSA reduction in the size of lesions of 7cm to 1.5cm of length and 6cm to 1.1cm width, in addition to the increase of epithelial tissue and granulation, decreased secretion and odor.CONCLUSIONThere was improvement in the healing process of the lesion treated with adjuvant therapy and the use of NOC allowed a more detailed and accurate assessment than the PUSH.

Aggregation of subtropical soil under liming: a study using laser diffraction

Laser diffraction (LD) provides detailed analysis of particle size distribution. Its application to testing the stability of soil aggregates can assist studies on the aggregation of soils with contrasting electrochemical properties. The objectives of the present work were: (a) to propose a protocol for using LD to study soil aggregation, (b) to study the aggregation of an Acrisol under the influence of different doses and forms of lime. Samples were collected in 2005 from a Brazilian Acrisol that in 1994 had received 0.0; 2.0; 8.5 and 17.0 Mg ha-1 of lime, left on the soil surface or incorporated. Aggregates from 4.76 to 8.00 mm diameters were studied using the traditional method proposed by Kemper & Chepil (1965), with wet sieving, while aggregates from 1.00 to 2.00 mm were studied using a CILAS® laser diffractometer that distinguishes particles ranging from 0.04 to 2,500.00 μm. LD readings were made after six consecutive pre-treatments, using agitation times, a chemical dispersion agent and ultrasound. Mean Weighted Diameter (MWD) and the Aggregate Stability Index (ASI) calculated, using the traditional method does not discriminate the treatments. However, LD is able to produce detailed data on soil aggregation, resulting in indexes of stability of aggregates that are linearly related to the doses of lime applied (MWD: R² = 0.986 and ASI: R² = 0.876). It may be concluded that electrochemical changes in the Brazilian Acrisol resulting from incorporated lime affect the stability of aggregates, increasing stability with increased doses of lime.

Determinação do volume de madeira em povoamento de eucalipto por escâner a laser aerotransportado

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a possibilidade de se estimar o diâmetro à altura do peito (DAP) com os dados de altura e de número de árvores derivados do escâner a laser aerotransportado (LiDAR, "light detection and ranging"), e determinar o volume de madeira de talhão de Eucalyptus sp. a partir dessas variáveis. O número total de árvores detectadas foi obtido com uso da filtragem de máxima local. A altura de plantas estimada pelo LiDAR apresentou tendência não significativa à subestimativa. A estimativa do DAP foi coerente com os valores encontrados no inventário florestal; porém, também mostrou tendência à subestimativa, em razão do comportamento observado quanto à altura. A variável número de fustes apresentou valores próximos aos observados nas parcelas do inventário. O LiDAR subestimou o volume total de madeira do talhão em 11,4%, em comparação ao volume posto na fábrica. A tendência de subestimação da altura das árvores (em média, cerca de 5%) impactou a estimativa do volume individual de árvores e, consequentemente, a do volume do talhão. No entanto, é possível gerar equações de regressão que estimam o DAP com boa precisão, a partir de dados de altura de plantas obtidos pelo LiDAR. O modelo parabólico é o que possibilita as melhores estimativas da produção volumétrica dos talhões de eucalipto.

Termoablação a laser de tumores hepáticos: atualização

A termoablação por raio laser de tumores hepáticos tem despontado como alternativa válida de tratamento em pacientes que não são candidatos a ressecção cirúrgica. O procedimento pode ser realizado por via percutânea, laparoscópica ou por laparotomia, e orientado por métodos de imagem. O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar o mecanismo de ação deste método, bem como as suas indicações, contra-indicações, complicações e resultados clínicos, baseados em revisão bibliográfica.

Prevenção da xerostomia e da mucosite oral induzidas por radioterapia com uso do laser de baixa potência

OBJETIVO: Verificar se o uso do laser de InGaAlP com comprimento de onda de 685 nm pode reduzir a incidência de xerostomia, gravidade da mucosite oral e da dor associada à mucosite em pacientes portadores de câncer de cabeça e pescoço submetidos a radioterapia. MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Sessenta pacientes portadores de carcinoma de cabeça e pescoço foram submetidos a radioterapia com dose diária de 1,8 a 2,0 Gy e dose final de 45 a 72 Gy. O volume salivar foi medido nos dias um, 15, ao final do tratamento e após 15 e 30 dias, e a mucosite oral em avaliações semanais. Vinte e nove pacientes se submeteram a radioterapia sem laser e 31 foram submetidos a radioterapia e laser com dose diária de 2 joules/cm² em pontos pré-determinados da mucosa oral e glândulas parótida e submandibular. RESULTADOS: No grupo submetido a radioterapia e laser, a incidência de mucosite (p < 0,001) e dor (p < 0,016) foram significativamente menores e o volume salivar se manteve maior (p < 0,001) durante e após o tratamento. CONCLUSÃO: Os pacientes submetidos à associação de radioterapia e laser tiveram menor incidência de xerostomia, mucosite oral e dor quando comparados ao grupo de radioterapia sem laser, com resultados com significância estatística.

Low-level laser therapy for the prevention of low salivary flow rate after radiotherapy and chemotherapy in patients with head and neck cancer

Abstract Objective: To determine whether low-level laser therapy can prevent salivary hypofunction after radiotherapy and chemotherapy in head and neck cancer patients. Materials and Methods: We evaluated 23 head and neck cancer patients, of whom 13 received laser therapy and 10 received clinical care only. An InGaAlP laser was used intra-orally (at 660 nm and 40 mW) at a mean dose of 10.0 J/cm2 and extra-orally (at 780 nm and 15 mW) at a mean dose of 3.7 J/cm2, three times per week, on alternate days. Stimulated and unstimulated sialometry tests were performed before the first radiotherapy and chemotherapy sessions (N0) and at 30 days after the end of treatment (N30). Results: At N30, the mean salivary flow rates were significantly higher among the laser therapy patients than among the patients who received clinical care only, in the stimulated and unstimulated sialometry tests (p = 0.0131 and p = 0.0143, respectively). Conclusion: Low-level laser therapy, administered concomitantly with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, appears to mitigate treatment-induced salivary hypofunction in patients with head and neck cancer.

Fotólise no estado estacionário e com pulso de laser de 1-benzociclanonas e de seus derivados a,a -dimetilados

Laser excitation of 0.01 M solutions of 1-indanone (Ia), 1-tetralone (Ib), 1-benzosuberone (Ic), and their a,a -dimethyl derivatives IIa-c, respectively, in benzene, produced transients with maximum absorption at 425 nm, and lifetimes ranging from 62 ns (IIa) to 5.5ms (Ic). Quenching studies using well known triplet quenchers such as 1,3-cyclohexadiene and oxygen demonstrated the triplet nature of these transients. In the presence of hydrogen donors, such as 2-propanol, the triplet state decay of the ketones Ia-c leads to the formation of the corresponding ketyl radicals, i.e. IIIa-c, which show absorption spectra very similar to the parent ketone, with lmax at 430 nm and lifetime in excess of 20 ms. Steady state irradiations show that the a,a -dimethyl ketones IIa and IIc form ortho-alkyl benzaldehydes probably derived from an initial a-cleavage of the corresponding triplet excited states.

Implementação de um sistema de eletroforese capilar com detecção de fluorescência induzida por laser

A capillary electrophoresis system using laser induced fluorescence detection is described. A Raman system equipped with a microscope has been used to focus the laser beam on the capillary giving a lateral resolution of 1.5 mm. The fluorescence signal of the analyte (ZnPcTS - tetrasulfonated zinc-phthalocyanine) was collected by the microscope objectives and analysed by a monochromator with confocal characteristics equipped with a CCD detector. Electropherograms obtained with this system were compared to those obtained on a commercial instrument, showing that the described system presents a lower detection limit and better resolution.

Propriedades espectroscópicas e parâmetros ópticos-eletrônicos dos complexos Ln(NO3)3.2DTPO.4H2O (Ln = Nd e Er)

Complexes with the composition Ln(NO3)3.2DTPO.4H2O (Ln = Nd and Er) were synthesized and characterized by infrared and visible absorption spectra (solid state and solution). The results of the absorption spectra in the solid state suggest that metal-ligand bonds are essentially electrostatic in all complexes. The absorption spectra of the nitrate salt solution presented smaller values of the oscillator strength when compared to the spectra of the complexes in the same solvent.

Photomultiplier nonlinear response in time-domain laser-induced luminescence spectroscopy

A new procedure to find the limiting range of the photomultiplier linear response of a low-cost, digital oscilloscope-based time-resolved laser-induced luminescence spectrometer (TRLS), is presented. A systematic investigation on the instrument response function with different signal input terminations, and the relationship between the luminescence intensity reaching the photomultiplier and the measured decay time are described. These investigations establish that setting the maximum intensity of the luminescence signal below 0.3V guarantees, for signal input terminations equal or higher than 99.7 ohm, a linear photomultiplier response.

Líquido iônico [bmim.PF6] como solvente: um meio conveniente para estudos por fotólise por pulso de laser

The spectroscopic behavior of thioxanthone and benzil (diphenylethanedione or dibenzoyl) in the ionic liquid [bmim.PF6] has been investigated employing the laser flash photolysis technique. Triplet-triplet absorption spectra for these carbonyl compounds in [bmim.PF6] are similar to those observed in organic solvents. The triplet lifetime for thioxanthone in desogygenated samples is very long (71 μs), whereas in oxygen-saturated solution is 500 ns, which indicates the low oxygen solubility in this solvent. For benzil, lifetimes of 10 μs in [bmim.PF6] and 3.8 μs in acetonitrile were obtained. The decay for triplet thioxanthone and benzil follows a clear first order kinetics in [bmim.PF6], from which one can conclude that triplet-triplet annihilation is not an important decay process in this solvent.

Medidor de energia para laser pulsado

Neste trabalho descreve-se a tecnologia envolvida na fabricação de um detector piroelétrico para aplicações na determinação da energia de feixe de lasers pulsados ou CW (onda contínua) modulados, utilizando-se do polímero Polifluoreto de Vinilideno PVDF. Os dados experimentais revelam que o detector tem resposta linear com a energia aplicada para o intervalo compreendido entre 0,4 a 6,8 mili-Joule/pulse para pulsos com largura temporal de 8,3 milissegundos.

Microestrutura e resistência à corrosão do Ti c.p. soldado a laser utilizando em prótese sobre implantes

Foram realizados estudos para avaliar a microestrutura, a dureza e a resistência à corrosão do titânio comercialmente puro-Ti c.p. soldado por laser e utilizado na confecção de prótese sobre implantes. Verificou-se que na soldagem a laser a microestrutura apresentou três regiões distintas: o cordão de solda, a zona afetada pelo calor - ZAC e o metal base. O Ti c.p. possui microestrutura granular, a microestrutura do cordão de solda é mais refinada e de maior dureza do que o metal base. A ZAC obtida por este processo de soldagem foi relativamente pequena quando comparada com o processo de soldagem por brasagem. Os ensaios eletroquímicos mostraram que a região da solda apresentou menor resistência à corrosão em meio de NaCl 0,15 molL-1 à temperatura ambiente.

Avaliação dos parâmetros ópticos-eletrônicos do íon Nd3+nos compostos Nd(TMS)3.9H2O e Nd(TMS)(3)5BPMU.2H2O em solução

A polarizabilidade representa a facilidade de distorção da configuração eletrônica de uma espécie, quando condicionada a interação de um campo elétrico. A diversidade de aplicações tem motivado experimentos sistemáticos para a obtenção dos valores de polarizabilidade dipolo. Neste trabalho foram avaliados os parâmetros ópticos e polarizabilidades eletrônicas dos compostos Nd(TMS)3.9H2O e Nd(TMS)(3)5BPMU.2H2O, onde TMS = trifluorometanossulfonato e BPMU = bis(pentametileno)uréia, na presença dos solventes acetonitrila e metanol. Foram registrados os espectros nas regiões referente as transições hipersensitivas 4I9/2 -> 4G7/2, ²G9/2 e 4I9/2 -> 4G5/2, ²G7/2. Em ambas as transições, quando o meio é acetonitrila, os compostos apresentam valores de polarizabilidades mais elevados, resultantes de uma maior interação do ambiente químico em torno do íon central, favorecido por este solvente.