Correlação entre os níveis de Ca-125 séricos e os achados cirúrgicos em mulheres com sintomas sugestivos de endometriose

OBJETIVO: Correlacionar os níveis séricos pré-operatórios do antígeno do câncer 125 (Ca-125) e os achados laparoscópicos em mulheres com sintomas dolorosos sugestivos de endometriose. MÉTODOS:Um estudo retrospectivo foi realizado incluindo todas as mulheres com sintomas de dor pélvica suspeitos para endometriose operadas por laparoscopia no período de janeiro de 2010 a março de 2013. As pacientes foram divididas em 2 grupos de acordo com a dosagem de Ca-125 (<35 U/mL e >35 U/mL). Subsequentemente, as pacientes com endometrioma ovariano foram excluídas e uma análise adicional foi conduzida novamente de acordo com os níveis do Ca-125. Os seguintes parâmetros foram comparados entre os grupos: presença de endometrioma, presença e número de lesões de endometriose profunda infiltrativa (EPI) e escore da American Society for Reproductive Medicine. A análise estatística foi realizada com o programa Statistica versão 8.0, usando o teste exato de Fisher, o teste t de Student e o teste Mann-Whitney, quando necessário. Os valores p<0,05 foram considerados estatisticamente significativos. RESULTADOS: Durante o período de estudo, um total de 350 mulheres foram submetidas a tratamento laparoscópico de endometriose. Cento e trinta pacientes (37,1%) apresentaram Ca-125 >35 U mL e 220 (62,9%) apresentaram Ca-125 <35 U/mL. A presença de endometrioma ovariano (47,7 versus 15,9%), lesões de EPI (99,6 versus 78,6%) e lesões de EPI intestinal (60 versus 30,9%) foi mais frequente, e o escore da AFSr foi maior (34 versus 6) no primeiro grupo. Na segunda análise, excluindo as pacientes com endometrioma ovariano (>35 U/mL=68 pacientes e <35 U/mL=185 pacientes), resultados semelhantes foram obtidos. A presença de lesões de EPI (91,2 versus 76,2%), lesões de EPI intestinal (63,2 versus 25,4%), lesões de EPI de bexiga (20,6 versus 4,8%) e lesões de EPI ureteral (7,3 versus 1,6%) foi mais frequente, e o escore da AFSr foi maior (10 versus 6) no grupo Ca-125>35 U/mL. CONCLUSÕES: Em mulheres com sintomas dolorosos pélvicos suspeitos para endometriose com dosagem pré-operatória de Ca-125 >35 U/mL, a investigação de EPI é mandatória, especialmente quando não se identifica endometrioma ovariano em exames de imagem.

Influência dos Íons Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu e Zn sobre a tensão superficial estática de soluções contendo surfatante

O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a influência da presença de cinco íons em uma calda de pulverização contendo o surfatante Aterbane. A tensão superficial foi analisada por meio da medição da massa de um conjunto de 25 gotas, com quatro repetições constituindo um tratamento. O trabalho foi dividido em duas etapas. Na primeira, os tratamentos foram combinados em esquema fatorial 9x5x2, sendo nove concentrações do surfatante Aterbane (0,01; 0,025; 0,05; 0,1; 0,2; 0,5; 1; 2; e 3%), cinco íons (Mg++, Ca++, Fe+++, Cu+++ e Zn+++) e duas concentrações desses elementos (10 e 100 ppm). Na segunda etapa, os tratamentos foram combinados em esquema fatorial 5x5x1, utilizandose os mesmos cinco elementos (Mg++, Ca++, Fe+++, Cu+++ e Zn+++), em cinco concentrações (1, 5, 20, 50 e 200 ppm), com apenas uma concentração do surfatante Aterbane (0,025%). Outros nove tratamentos permitiram avaliar as tensões superficiais das concentrações do surfatante (0,01; 0,025; 0,05; 0,1; 0,2; 0,5; 1; 2; e 3%) sem a adição dos íons. Os resultados mostraram que houve interferência dos íons sobre as soluções, já que, com exceção do Fe+++ (na concentração de 10 e 100 ppm) e do Cu+++ (na concentração de 100 ppm), todos os íons reduziram a tensão mínima alcançada e aumentaram a eficiência do surfatante, implicando benefícios à ação do surfatante e sobre as características de possíveis soluções de aplicação. Todos os íons avaliados promoveram reduções nas tensões superficiais de soluções do surfatante na concentração de 0,025%.

Infestation maps and spatial stability of main weed species in maize culture

A study on the spatial distribution of the major weeds in maize was carried out in 2007 and 2008 in a field located in Golegã (Ribatejo region, Portugal). The geo-referenced sampling focused on 150 points of a 10 x 10 m mesh covering an area of 1.5 ha, before herbicide application and before harvest. In the first year, 40 species (21 botanical families) were identified at seedling stage and only 22 during the last observation. The difference in species richness can be attributed to maize monoculture favouring reduction in species number. Three of the most representative species were selected for the spatial distribution analysis: Solanum nigrum, Chenopodium album and Echinochloa crus-galli. The three species showed an aggregated spatial pattern and spatial stability over both years, although the herbicide effect is evident in the distribution of some of them in the space. These results could be taken into account when planning site-specific treatments in maize.

The brain decade in debate: VI. Sensory and motor maps: dynamics and plasticity

This article is an edited transcription of a virtual symposium promoted by the Brazilian Society of Neuroscience and Behavior (SBNeC). Although the dynamics of sensory and motor representations have been one of the most studied features of the central nervous system, the actual mechanisms of brain plasticity that underlie the dynamic nature of sensory and motor maps are not entirely unraveled. Our discussion began with the notion that the processing of sensory information depends on many different cortical areas. Some of them are arranged topographically and others have non-topographic (analytical) properties. Besides a sensory component, every cortical area has an efferent output that can be mapped and can influence motor behavior. Although new behaviors might be related to modifications of the sensory or motor representations in a given cortical area, they can also be the result of the acquired ability to make new associations between specific sensory cues and certain movements, a type of learning known as conditioning motor learning. Many types of learning are directly related to the emotional or cognitive context in which a new behavior is acquired. This has been demonstrated by paradigms in which the receptive field properties of cortical neurons are modified when an animal is engaged in a given discrimination task or when a triggering feature is paired with an aversive stimulus. The role of the cholinergic input from the nucleus basalis to the neocortex was also highlighted as one important component of the circuits responsible for the context-dependent changes that can be induced in cortical maps.

Visual maps in the adult primate cerebral cortex: some implications for brain development and evolution

In this paper, the topology of cortical visuotopic maps in adult primates is reviewed, with emphasis on recent studies. The observed visuotopic organisation can be summarised with reference to two basic rules. First, adjacent radial columns in the cortex represent partially overlapping regions of the visual field, irrespective of whether these columns are part of the same or different cortical areas. This primary rule is seldom, if ever, violated. Second, adjacent regions of the visual field tend to be represented in adjacent radial columns of a same area. This rule is not as rigid as the first, as many cortical areas form discontinuous, second-order representations of the visual field. A developmental model based on these physiological observations, and on comparative studies of cortical organisation, is then proposed, in order to explain how a combination of molecular specification steps and activity-driven processes can generate the variety of visuotopic organisations observed in adult cortex.

Hereditary motor and autonomic neuronopathy 1 maps to chromosome 20q13.2-13.3

The spinal muscular atrophies (SMA) or hereditary motor neuronopathies result from the continuous degeneration and death of spinal cord lower motor neurons, leading to progressive muscular weakness and atrophy. We describe a large Brazilian family exhibiting an extremely rare, late-onset, dominant, proximal, and progressive SMA accompanied by very unusual manifestations, such as an abnormal sweating pattern, and gastrointestinal and sexual dysfunctions, suggesting concomitant involvement of the autonomic nervous system. We propose a new disease category for this disorder, `hereditary motor and autonomic neuronopathy', and attribute the term, `survival of motor and autonomic neurons 1' (SMAN1) to the respective locus that was mapped to a 14.5 cM region on chromosome 20q13.2-13.3 by genetic linkage analysis and haplotype studies using microsatellite polymorphic markers. This locus lies between markers D20S120 and D20S173 showing a maximum LOD score of 4.6 at D20S171, defining a region with 33 known genes, including several potential candidates. Identifying the SMAN1 gene should not only improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying lower motor neuron diseases but also help to clarify the relationship between motor and autonomic neurons.

The first report in Brazil of severe infection caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA)

Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) is an emergent pathogen in Brazil. However, there are no data on the prevalence of CA-MRSA. We report here the first well-characterized case of severe life-threatening CA-MRSA infection in a child living in Rio de Janeiro city. The patient had many complications including hematogenous osteomyelitis and involvement of multiple sites requiring drainage of soft-tissue abscess, and pleural and pericardial empyema. The MRSA isolates recovered were genotyped using PFGE, SCCmec typing and multilocus sequence typing. Disk diffusion tests were performed following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute recommendations. In addition, the presence of Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) was assessed by PCR amplification, using specific primers for lukF-pv (encoding for the F subunit of the PVL). The bacterial isolates were related to the ST30-SCCmecIV lineage (Oceania Southwest Pacific clone), a PVL producer CA-MRSA previously detected in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Also, the isolates analyzed were susceptible to all non-β-lactam antibiotics tested. The present report demonstrates that disseminated CA-MRSA disease is also occurring in Rio de Janeiro. Thus, the empirical treatment of moderate or severe infections suspected of being associated with CA-MRSA needs to be reviewed in order to allow prompt initiation of an effective therapy that also covers these microorganisms.

Influência da adição de íons Ca++ e Mg++ na dureza de géis de concentrado proteíco de soro de leite bovino

Inúmeros estudos vêm sendo realizados com o objetivo de compreender o comportamento das proteínas do Concentrado Protéico de Soro (CPS). A capacidade destas proteínas em formar géis estáveis a temperaturas entre 70ºC e 90ºC, é uma propriedade funcional importante para a confecção de vários produtos alimentícios, tais como: produtos de padaria, cárneos, texturizados e lácteos. A concentração protéica, pH, composição iônica e temperatura podem ser controladas para obter um gel com as características desejadas. Neste trabalho foi investigado o efeito dos íons metálicos bivalentes Ca++ e Mg++, na propriedade de dureza de géis de CPS induzidos termicamente. Dispersões protéicas a 6; 7 e 8% de proteína do CPS a pH 6,3 com 0; 7,5; 15; 30 e 75mm de CaCl2 ou MgCl2 foram aquecidas a 75ºC por 45 min, resfriadas a 4ºC por 12 horas, e os géis avaliados em um texturômetro TA-XT2. Os géis formados com maiores concentrações do sal adicionado obtiveram maiores valores de dureza na faixa estudada. Nas concentrações de 15 a 75mM os valores de dureza dos géis com a adição de CaCl2 foram significativamente maiores (p<0,05) do que com adição de MgCl2. Na concentração de 8% de proteínas do CPS ambos os tratamentos atingem o maior valor de dureza (p<0,05) a 30mM do sal adicionado. O cálcio iônico mostrou ter um importante papel na formação do gel de proteínas do soro.

Spatial variability of soil fertility and its relationship with seed physiological potential in a soybean production area

The correlation of soil fertility x seed physiological potential is very important in the area of seed technology but results published with that theme are contradictory. For this reason, this study to evaluate the correlations between soil chemical properties and physiological potential of soybean seeds. On georeferenced points, both soil and seeds were sampled for analysis of soil fertility and seed physiological potential. Data were assessed by the following analyses: descriptive statistics; Pearson's linear correlation; and geostatistics. The adjusted parameters of the semivariograms were used to produce maps of spatial distribution for each variable. Organic matter content, Mn and Cu showed significant effects on seed germination. Most variables studied presented moderate to high spatial dependence. Germination and accelerated aging of seeds, and P, Ca, Mg, Mn, Cu and Zn showed a better fit to spherical semivariogram: organic matter, pH and K had a better fit to Gaussian model; and V% and Fe showed a better fit to the linear model. The values for range of spatial dependence varied from 89.9 m for P until 651.4 m for Fe. These values should be considered when new samples are collected for assessing soil fertility in this production area.