Value of ultrasonographic contrast in duplex scanning of leg arteries - Comparison with conventional duplex scanning and arteriography

Aim. Duplex scanning has been used in the evaluation of the aorta and proximal arteries of the lower extremities, but has limitations in evaluating the arteries of the leg. The utilization of ultrasonographic contrast (USC) may be helpful in improving the quality of the image in these arteries. The objective of the present study was to verify whether the USC increases the diagnostic accuracy of patency of the leg arteries and if it diminishes the time needed to perform duplex scanning.Methods. Twenty patients with critical ischemia (20 lower extremities) were examined by standard duplex scanning, duplex scanning with contrast and digital subtraction arteriography (DSA). The 3 arteries of the leg were divided into 3 segments, for a total of 9 segments per limb. Each segment was evaluated for patency in order to compare the 3 diagnostic methods. Comparison was made between standard duplex scanning and duplex scanning with contrast in terms of quality of the color-coded Doppler signal and of the spectral curve, and also of the time to perform the exams.Results. Duplex scanning with contrast was similar to arteriography in relation to patency diagnosis (p>0.3) and even superior in some of the segments. Standard duplex scanning was inferior to arteriography and to duplex scanning with contrast (p<0.001). There were improvements of 70% in intensity of the color-coded Doppler signal and 76% in the spectral curve after the utilization of contrast. The time necessary to perform the examinations was 23.7 minutes for standard duplex scanning and 16.9 minutes for duplex scanning with contrast (p<0.001).Conclusion. The use of ultrasonographic contrast increased the accuracy of the diagnosis of patency of leg arteries and diminished the time necessary for the execution of duplex scanning.

Desenvolvimento morfo-anatômico do fruto de Dalbergia nigra (Vell.) Fr. All. (Leg. - Papilionoideae)

Detalhes morfológicos e anatômicos dos frutos de Dalbergia nigra (Veil.) Fr. All. foram descritos e ilustrados em vários estágios de desenvolvimento.

A new frog of the genus Hylodes (Amphibia : Leptodactylidae) from Minas Gerais, Brazil

A new species of leptodactylid frog is described from Parque das Mangabeiras, in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, south-eastern Brazil. The new species is a member of the Hylodes lateristrigatus group, and is characterized by medium size, snout rounded in dorsal view and protruding in lateral view, presence of vocal slits and sacs, upper surface of finger and toe discs with well-developed scutes, a weakly developed stripe on the upper lip, dorsum, arm, leg, and foot dark brown with small irregular brown and black dots, and absence of red and yellow spots in live specimens. The descriptions of the tadpoles and vocalizations, and information on natural history are provided. Hylodes perplicatus (Miranda-Ribeiro), previously considered a member of the H. nasus species group, is transferred to the H. lateristrigatus species group.

Survey of the leg exocrine glands in termites(Isoptera)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

THE LEG EXOCRINE SYSTEM IN SERRITERMES-SERRIFER (HAGEN, 1858), PHYLOGENETIC IMPLICATIONS (ISOPTERA, SERRITERMITIDAE

The leg exocrine gland was examined in two species of Neotropical termites. Scanning microscopy studies showed a set of pores on the ventral surface of the first and second tarsomeres in all legs of Serritermes serrifer. In Heterotermes tenuis these pores are present on a sunken plate in all castes. To date, this gland has been observed only in Rhinotermitid species. The presence of leg exocrine gland provides additional evidence supporting a close phylogenetic relationship between the Serritermitidae and Rhinotermitidae.

Absence of true long-range orbital order in a two-leg Kondo ladder

We investigate, through the density-matrix renormalization group and the Lanczos technique, the possibility of a two-leg Kondo ladder presenting an incommensurate orbital order. Our results indicate staggered short-range orbital order at half-filling. Away from half-filling our data are consistent with incommensurate quasi-long-range orbital order. We also observed that an interaction between the localized spins enhances the rung-rung current correlations.

Politics, press and military participation in the abdication of d. Pedro I

This work seeks to contribute to a better understanding of the Abdication, analyzing how and why sections of the army joined the liberal groups against the emperor, focusing on the period that immediately preceded this event. The argument is that the alliance between sections of the army and the liberal groups in 1831 was possible because the expansion of the "public space" in the city of Rio de Janeiro, a process in which newspapers such as "O Republico" played a key role as they became a privileged locus for political disputes. The article shows that that newspaper helped to build a political identity based on the defense of Brazilian interests against Portuguese despotism, giving momentum to internal conflicts around this subject that were already taking place among sections of the army and hence triggering the process that would lead to the Abdication.

Electromyographic validation of the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles in military press exercises with open grip.

It was studied the trapezius muscle and serratus anterior muscle in 24 male volunteers using a 2-channel TECA TE 4 electromyograph and Hewlett Packard surface electrodes, during the execution of four different modalities of military press exercises with open grip. The results showed that TS acted significantly in the modalities standing and sitting press behind neck, while SI acted in all the modalities, i.e., standing and sitting press behind neck and forward, justifying their inclusion as basic exercises for physical conditioning programmes.

Electromyographic validation of the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles in military press exercises with open and middle grip

Electromyographic activity of the trapezius muscle and serratus anterior muscle was analysed in 4 different modalities of military press exercises, each of them with 2 grips: open and middle. It was analyzed 24 male volunteers using a 2-channel TECA TE 4 electromyograph and Hewlett Packard surface electrodes. The TS and SI muscles acted with high and very high activity in all the modalities of military press exercises. Statistically, they did not show significative difference in the performance of the exercises with open and middle grip, justifying the inclusion of this group of exercises with both grips for the physical conditioning programmes.

Electromyographic validation of the trapezius and serratus anterior muscles in military press exercises with middle grip

Electromyographic activity of the trapezius muscle and serratus anterior muscle was analysed in 24 male volunteers using a 2-channel TECA TE 4 electromyograp, during the execution of four different modalities of military press exercises with middle grip. The trapezius acted preferentially in the modalities standing press behind neck; and sitting forward and press behind neck, while SI did not show any significative difference among the modalities. The high levels of action potentials with which TS and SI acted justify the inclusion of these exercises in physical programmes.

Use of skin graft punch graft type for the healing of leg ulcers in treated Hansen's disease patients

Hansen's disease is an infectious illness caused by Mycobacterium leprae. It affects preferentially the skin and the peripheral nervous system leading to incapacities, such as leg ulcers, which happens due to the direct action of the bacillus on the organs or its indirect action on the peripheral nervous system. Leg ulcers can occur by two physiopathologic processes. There are many treatments for general leg ulcers, which include the ones caused by Hansen's disease sequels. Among them, surgical treatment shows to be effective when using skin graft, which can be performed by several techniques. Considering the low number of techniques known for treating leg ulcers in Hansen's disease sequels, the aims of this work were to standardize alternative techniques, to detect the main bacteria found in ulcer secretion cultures, to analyze the patients profile and the ulcers, to describe the histophatologies found, and to correlate these data with those of literature from all over the world. Skin graft punch type was carried out and analyzed; males had a mean age of 59.4 years old and females, 54.2 years old. Patients were 73.6% male and 26.3% female. Lepromatous type was present in 89.4% patients and tuberculoid type was seen in 10.5% of them. Associated systemic diseases were observed in 26.3% patients. Mean time of ulcers evolution was 11.6 years in male and 12.8 years in women. The average diameter of ulcers in the pre-treatment period was 8.5 X 9.5 cm in male and 10.2 X 6.8 cm in women. After the graft, their average diameters were 3.2 X 2.7 cm in male and 5.1 X 5.6 cm in women. Statistical analysis showed that there was no significant correlation between the ulcer diameter and its reduction or not in the post-surgery period (p=0.269732). The mean age of patients whose ulcers diameter did not change or reduced by only 20% was 63.5 years. Using the Spearman's coefficient, it was possible to observe that there was no significant correlation between the patients' age and the ulcers diameter reduction after the skin graft (p=0.222531). Evolution time of ulcers that did not present any satisfactory result in the post-surgery period was 12.1 years. The Spearman's coefficient showed that there was no significant correlation between the ulcers evolution time and the ulcers diameter reduction in the post-surgery period (p=0.191655). Cultures presented 50% of cases with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Statistical analysis showed there is no correlation between the bacterial types found and the ulcer evolution in the post-surgery period (p=0.697531). The average of the ulcers diameter reduction was 42.4%, and in 26.3% of the patients the lesions disappeared after the skin graft.