Phenotypic Polymorphism Of Chrysomya Albiceps (wiedemann) (diptera: Calliphoridae) May Lead To Species Misidentification.

Species identification is an essential step in the progress and completion of work in several areas of biological knowledge, but it is not a simple process. Due to the close phylogenetic relationship of certain species, morphological characters are not always sufficiently distinguishable. As a result, it is necessary to combine several methods of analysis that contribute to a distinct categorization of taxa. This study aimed to raise diagnostic characters, both morphological and molecular, for the correct identification of species of the genus Chrysomya (Diptera: Calliphoridae) recorded in the New World, which has continuously generated discussion about its taxonomic position over the last century. A clear example of this situation was the first record of Chrysomya rufifacies in Brazilian territory in 2012. However, the morphological polymorphism and genetic variability of Chrysomya albiceps studied here show that both species (C. rufifacies and C. albiceps) share very similar character states, leading to misidentification and subsequent registration error of species present in our territory. This conclusion is demonstrated by the authors, based on a review of the material deposited in major scientific collections in Brazil and subsequent molecular and phylogenetic analysis of these samples. Additionally, we have proposed a new taxonomic key to separate the species of Chrysomya found on the American continent, taking into account a larger number of characters beyond those available in current literature.

Hemorrhagic Shock Secondary To Button Battery Ingestion.

Button battery ingestion is a frequent pediatric complaint. The serious complications resulting from accidental ingestion have increased significantly over the last two decades due to easy access to gadgets and electronic toys. Over recent years, the increasing use of lithium batteries of diameter 20 mm has brought new challenges, because these are more detrimental to the mucosa, compared with other types, with high morbidity and mortality. The clinical complaints, which are often nonspecific, may lead to delayed diagnosis, thereby increasing the risk of severe complications. A five-year-old boy who had been complaining of abdominal pain for ten days, was brought to the emergency service with a clinical condition of hematemesis that started two hours earlier. On admission, he presented pallor, tachycardia and hypotension. A plain abdominal x-ray produced an image suggestive of a button battery. Digestive endoscopy showed a deep ulcerated lesion in the esophagus without active bleeding. After this procedure, the patient presented profuse hematemesis and severe hypotension, followed by cardiorespiratory arrest, which was reversed. He then underwent emergency exploratory laparotomy and presented a new episode of cardiorespiratory arrest, which he did not survive. The battery was removed through rectal exploration. This case describes a fatal evolution of button battery ingestion with late diagnosis and severe associated injury of the digestive mucosa. A high level of clinical suspicion is essential for preventing this evolution. Preventive strategies are required, as well as health education, with warnings to parents, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

Advancing Bag-of-visual-words Representations For Lesion Classification In Retinal Images.

Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) is a complication of diabetes that can lead to blindness if not readily discovered. Automated screening algorithms have the potential to improve identification of patients who need further medical attention. However, the identification of lesions must be accurate to be useful for clinical application. The bag-of-visual-words (BoVW) algorithm employs a maximum-margin classifier in a flexible framework that is able to detect the most common DR-related lesions such as microaneurysms, cotton-wool spots and hard exudates. BoVW allows to bypass the need for pre- and post-processing of the retinographic images, as well as the need of specific ad hoc techniques for identification of each type of lesion. An extensive evaluation of the BoVW model, using three large retinograph datasets (DR1, DR2 and Messidor) with different resolution and collected by different healthcare personnel, was performed. The results demonstrate that the BoVW classification approach can identify different lesions within an image without having to utilize different algorithms for each lesion reducing processing time and providing a more flexible diagnostic system. Our BoVW scheme is based on sparse low-level feature detection with a Speeded-Up Robust Features (SURF) local descriptor, and mid-level features based on semi-soft coding with max pooling. The best BoVW representation for retinal image classification was an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) of 97.8% (exudates) and 93.5% (red lesions), applying a cross-dataset validation protocol. To assess the accuracy for detecting cases that require referral within one year, the sparse extraction technique associated with semi-soft coding and max pooling obtained an AUC of 94.2 ± 2.0%, outperforming current methods. Those results indicate that, for retinal image classification tasks in clinical practice, BoVW is equal and, in some instances, surpasses results obtained using dense detection (widely believed to be the best choice in many vision problems) for the low-level descriptors.

Aquatic Toxicity Of Dyes Before And After Photo-fenton Treatment.

This study evaluated the ecotoxicity of five dyes to freshwater organisms before and during their photo-Fenton degradation. EC50 (48h) of the five tested dyes ranged from of 6.9 to >1000mgL(-1) for Daphnia similis. In the chronic tests IC50 (72h) varied from 65 to >100mgL(-1) for Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and IC50 (8 days) from 0.5 to 410mgL(-1) for Ceriodaphnia dubia. Toxicity tests revealed that although the applied treatment was effective for decolorization of the dye, the partial mineralization may be responsible for the presence of degradation products which can be either more toxic than the original dye, as is the case of Vat Green 3 and Reactive Black 5, lead to initially toxic products which may be further degraded to non toxic products (acid Orange 7 and Food Red 17), or generate non toxic products as in the case of Food Yellow 3. The results highlighted the importance of assessing both acute and chronic toxicity tests of treated sample before effluent discharge.

Compartment Syndrome After South American Rattlesnake (crotalus Durissus Terrificus) Envenomation.

In order to report the outcome of a patient who developed compartment syndrome after South American rattlesnake (Crotalus durissus terrificus) envenomation, confirmed by subfascial pressure measurement and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A 63-year-old male was admitted 1 h after being bitten on the right elbow by a large snake, which was not brought for identification. Physical and laboratory features upon admission revealed two fang marks, local tense swelling, paresthesia, intense local pain, hypertension, coagulopathy, and CK = 1530 U/L (RV < 170 U/L). The case was initially treated with bothropic antivenom (80 mL, intravenously), with no improvement. Evolution within 13-14 h post-bite revealed generalized myalgia, muscle weakness, palpebral ptosis, and severe rhabdomyolysis (CK = 126,160 U/L) compatible with envenoming by C. d. terrificus. The patient was then treated with crotalic antivenom (200 mL, intravenously), fluid replacement, and urine alkalinization. Twenty-four-hour post-bite MRI showed marked muscular edema in the anterior compartment of the right forearm, with a high subfascial pressure (40 mmHg) being detected 1 h later. ELISA of a blood sample obtained upon admission, before antivenom infusion, revealed a high serum concentration of C. d. terrificus venom. No fasciotomy was performed and the patient was discharged seven days later without sequelae. Snakebite by C. d. terrificus with subfascial venom injection may lead to increased intracompartmental pressure.

Crosstalk Between Kinases, Phosphatases And Mirnas In Cancer.

Reversible phosphorylation of proteins, performed by kinases and phosphatases, is the major post translational protein modification in eukaryotic cells. This intracellular event represents a critical regulatory mechanism of several signaling pathways and can be related to a vast array of diseases, including cancer. Cancer research has produced increasing evidence that kinase and phosphatase activity can be compromised by mutations and also by miRNA silencing, performed by small non-coding and endogenously produced RNA molecules that lead to translational repression. miRNAs are believed to target about one-third of human mRNAs while a single miRNA may target about 200 transcripts simultaneously. Regulation of the phosphorylation balance by miRNAs has been a topic of intense research over the last years, spanning topics going as far as cancer aggressiveness and chemotherapy resistance. By addressing recent studies that have shown miRNA expression patterns as phenotypic signatures of cancers and how miRNA influence cellular processes such as apoptosis, cell cycle control, angiogenesis, inflammation and DNA repair, we discuss how kinases, phosphatases and miRNAs cooperatively act in cancer biology.

Long-term Prospects For The Environmental Profile Of Advanced Sugar Cane Ethanol.

This work assessed the environmental impacts of the production and use of 1 MJ of hydrous ethanol (E100) in Brazil in prospective scenarios (2020-2030), considering the deployment of technologies currently under development and better agricultural practices. The life cycle assessment technique was employed using the CML method for the life cycle impact assessment and the Monte Carlo method for the uncertainty analysis. Abiotic depletion, global warming, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidation, acidification, and eutrophication were the environmental impacts categories analyzed. Results indicate that the proposed improvements (especially no-til farming-scenarios s2 and s4) would lead to environmental benefits in prospective scenarios compared to the current ethanol production (scenario s0). Combined first and second generation ethanol production (scenarios s3 and s4) would require less agricultural land but would not perform better than the projected first generation ethanol, although the uncertainties are relatively high. The best use of 1 ha of sugar cane was also assessed, considering the displacement of the conventional products by ethanol and electricity. No-til practices combined with the production of first generation ethanol and electricity (scenario s2) would lead to the largest mitigation effects for global warming and abiotic depletion. For the remaining categories, emissions would not be mitigated with the utilization of the sugar cane products. However, this conclusion is sensitive to the displaced electricity sources.

Crystal Structure Of (3e)-3-[(4-nitro-phen-oxy)-meth-yl]-4-phenyl-but-3-en-2-one.

In the title compound, C17H15NO4, the conformation about the C=C double bond [1.348 (2) Å] is E with the ketone group almost co-planar [C-C-C-C torsion angle = 7.2 (2)°] but the phenyl group twisted away [C-C-C-C = 160.93 (17)°]. The terminal aromatic rings are almost perpendicular to each other [dihedral angle = 81.61 (9)°] giving the mol-ecule an overall U-shape. The crystal packing feature benzene-C-H⋯O(ketone) contacts that lead to supra-molecular helical chains along the b axis. These are connected by π-π inter-actions between benzene and phenyl rings [inter-centroid distance = 3.6648 (14) Å], resulting in the formation of a supra-molecular layer in the bc plane.

Augmented β-cell Function And Mass In Glucocorticoid-treated Rodents Are Associated With Increased Islet Ir-β /akt/mtor And Decreased Ampk/acc And As160 Signaling.

Glucocorticoid (GC) therapies may adversely cause insulin resistance (IR) that lead to a compensatory hyperinsulinemia due to insulin hypersecretion. The increased β-cell function is associated with increased insulin signaling that has the protein kinase B (AKT) substrate with 160 kDa (AS160) as an important downstream AKT effector. In muscle, both insulin and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling phosphorylate and inactivate AS160, which favors the glucose transporter (GLUT)-4 translocation to plasma membrane. Whether AS160 phosphorylation is modulated in islets from GC-treated subjects is unknown. For this, two animal models, Swiss mice and Wistar rats, were treated with dexamethasone (DEX) (1 mg/kg body weight) for 5 consecutive days. DEX treatment induced IR, hyperinsulinemia, and dyslipidemia in both species, but glucose intolerance and hyperglycemia only in rats. DEX treatment caused increased insulin secretion in response to glucose and augmented β-cell mass in both species that were associated with increased islet content and increased phosphorylation of the AS160 protein. Protein AKT phosphorylation, but not AMPK phosphorylation, was found significantly enhanced in islets from DEX-treated animals. We conclude that the augmented β-cell function developed in response to the GC-induced IR involves inhibition of the islet AS160 protein activity.

A Brazilian Original Pedagogical Approach To The Teaching Of Neurology.

The two-arm Clinical Decisions/Diagnostic Workshop (CD/DW) approach to undergraduate medical education has been successfully used in Brazil. Present the CD/DW approach to the teaching of stroke, with the results of its pre-experimental application and of a comparative study with the traditional lecture-case discussion approach. Application of two questionnaires (opinion and Knowledge-Attitudes-Perceptions-KAP) to investigate the non-inferiority of the CD/DW approach. The method was well accepted by teachers and students alike, the main drawback being the necessarily long time for its completion by the students, a feature that may better cater for different educational needs. The comparative test showed the CD/DW approach to lead to slightly higher cognitive acquisition as opposed to the traditional method, clearly showing its non-inferiority status. The CD/DW approach seems to be another option for teaching neurology in undergraduate medical education, with the bonus of respecting each learner`s time.

Comparative Metagenomic Analysis Of Coral Microbial Communities Using A Reference-independent Approach.

By comparing the SEED and Pfam functional profiles of metagenomes of two Brazilian coral species with 29 datasets that are publicly available, we were able to identify some functions, such as protein secretion systems, that are overrepresented in the metagenomes of corals and may play a role in the establishment and maintenance of bacteria-coral associations. However, only a small percentage of the reads of these metagenomes could be annotated by these reference databases, which may lead to a strong bias in the comparative studies. For this reason, we have searched for identical sequences (99% of nucleotide identity) among these metagenomes in order to perform a reference-independent comparative analysis, and we were able to identify groups of microbial communities that may be under similar selective pressures. The identification of sequences shared among the metagenomes was found to be even better for the identification of groups of communities with similar niche requirements than the traditional analysis of functional profiles. This approach is not only helpful for the investigation of similarities between microbial communities with high proportion of unknown reads, but also enables an indirect overview of gene exchange between communities.

Triboelectricity In Insulating Polymers: Evidence For A Mechanochemical Mechanism.

Transfer of reaction products formed on the surfaces of two mutually rubbed dielectric solids makes an important if not dominating contribution to triboelectricity. New evidence in support of this statement is presented in this report, based on analytical electron microscopy coupled to electrostatic potential mapping techniques. Mechanical action on contacting surface asperities transforms them into hot-spots for free-radical formation, followed by electron transfer producing cationic and anionic polymer fragments, according to their electronegativity. Polymer ions accumulate creating domains with excess charge because they are formed at fracture surfaces of pulled-out asperities. Another factor for charge segregation is the low polymer mixing entropy, following Flory and Huggins. The formation of fractal charge patterns that was previously described is thus the result of polymer fragment fractal scatter on both contacting surfaces. The present results contribute to the explanation of the centuries-old difficulties for understanding the triboelectric series and triboelectricity in general, as well as the dissipative nature of friction, and they may lead to better control of friction and its consequences.

[temporomandibular Disorders In Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Short-communication.]

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a chronic painful syndrome and the coexistence of a painful condition caused by Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) and FMS has been frequently raised for several studies, however, more likely hypothesis is that a set of FMS characteristics may lead to the onset of TMD symptoms and they are not merely coexisting conditions. Therefore, our aim is presenting a review of literature about the relation between fibromyalgia and the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders. For this purpose, a bibliographic search was performed of the period of 1990-2013, in the Medline, Pubmed, Lilacs and Scielo databases, using the keywords fibromyalgia, temporomandibular disorders and facial pain. Here we present a set of findings in the literature showing that fibromyalgia can lead to TMD symptoms. These studies demonstrated greater involvement of the stomatognathic system in FMS and myogenic disorders of masticatory system are the most commonly found in those patients. FMS appears to have a series of characteristics that constitute predisposing and triggering factors for TMD.

Icam-1 Expression On Immune Cells In Chronic Villitis.

ICAM-1 expression on the villous syncytiotrophoblast (ST) is believed to participate in migration of maternal cells into the inflamed villi regardless of villitis etiology. However, its expression on immune cells in chronic villitis (CV) has yet to be analyzed. ICAM-1 induces cell-cell adhesion allowing intercellular communication, T cell-mediated defense mechanism, and inflammatory response. 21 cases of CV (all without an identifiable etiologic agent) and 3 control placentas were analyzed using ICAM-1, and for immune cells CD45, CD3 and CD68. These cells were subdivided according to their location in inflamed villi: a) within the inflamed villi and b) outside forming perivillous aggregates. Large amounts of CD45, CD3 and CD68 were found within the inflamed villi and forming perivillous aggregates attached to areas of trophoblastic loss. Inflamed villi usually showed ICAM-1+ ST. The majority of immune cells surrounding areas of trophoblastic rupture presented marked expression of ICAM-1. In contrast, a small number of immune cells within the inflamed villi exhibited ICAM-1 expression. Only some (<5%) inflamed villi without trophoblastic rupture and with ICAM-1+ ST presented adherence of immune cells. In inflamed villi of chronic villitis, the level of ICAM-1 expression on immune cells depends on their location: high in number of cells in the perivillous region and low within the villi. The strongest expression of ICAM-1 on immune cells attached to areas of trophoblastic rupture suggests that the loss of trophoblast can lead to an amplification of the inflammatory response.

On The Consistency Of Monte Carlo Track Structure Dna Damage Simulations.

Monte Carlo track structures (MCTS) simulations have been recognized as useful tools for radiobiological modeling. However, the authors noticed several issues regarding the consistency of reported data. Therefore, in this work, they analyze the impact of various user defined parameters on simulated direct DNA damage yields. In addition, they draw attention to discrepancies in published literature in DNA strand break (SB) yields and selected methodologies. The MCTS code Geant4-DNA was used to compare radial dose profiles in a nanometer-scale region of interest (ROI) for photon sources of varying sizes and energies. Then, electron tracks of 0.28 keV-220 keV were superimposed on a geometric DNA model composed of 2.7 × 10(6) nucleosomes, and SBs were simulated according to four definitions based on energy deposits or energy transfers in DNA strand targets compared to a threshold energy ETH. The SB frequencies and complexities in nucleosomes as a function of incident electron energies were obtained. SBs were classified into higher order clusters such as single and double strand breaks (SSBs and DSBs) based on inter-SB distances and on the number of affected strands. Comparisons of different nonuniform dose distributions lacking charged particle equilibrium may lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the effect of energy on relative biological effectiveness. The energy transfer-based SB definitions give similar SB yields as the one based on energy deposit when ETH ≈ 10.79 eV, but deviate significantly for higher ETH values. Between 30 and 40 nucleosomes/Gy show at least one SB in the ROI. The number of nucleosomes that present a complex damage pattern of more than 2 SBs and the degree of complexity of the damage in these nucleosomes diminish as the incident electron energy increases. DNA damage classification into SSB and DSB is highly dependent on the definitions of these higher order structures and their implementations. The authors' show that, for the four studied models, different yields are expected by up to 54% for SSBs and by up to 32% for DSBs, as a function of the incident electrons energy and of the models being compared. MCTS simulations allow to compare direct DNA damage types and complexities induced by ionizing radiation. However, simulation results depend to a large degree on user-defined parameters, definitions, and algorithms such as: DNA model, dose distribution, SB definition, and the DNA damage clustering algorithm. These interdependencies should be well controlled during the simulations and explicitly reported when comparing results to experiments or calculations.