Human death caused by a giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) in Brazil

The fatal outcome of a defensive attack by a giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is reported. The attack occurred while the victim was hunting, and his dogs cornered the adult anteater, which assumed an erect, threatening position. The hunter did not fire his rifle because of concern about accidentally shooting his dogs. He approached the animal armed with a knife, but was grabbed by its forelimbs. When his sons freed him, he had puncture wounds and severe bleeding in the left inguinal region; he died at the scene. Necroscopic examination showed femoral artery lesions and a large hematoma in the left thigh, with death caused by hypovolemic shock. A similar case is cited, and recommendations are made that boundaries between wildlife and humans be respected, especially when they coinhabit a given area.

The hindlimb arterial vessels in lowland paca (Cuniculus paca, Linnaeus 1766)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Associations of vitamin D deficiency with postoperative gait and mortality among patients with fractures of the proximal femur

To assess whether serum vitamin D concentration is associated with gait status and mortality among patients with fractures of the proximal femur, six months after suffering the fracture. Consecutive patients aged ≥65 years with fractures of the proximal femur, who were admitted to the orthopedics and traumatology ward of our service between January and December 2011, were prospectively evaluated. Clinical, radiological, epidemiological and laboratory analyses were performed, including vitamin D. The patients underwent surgery and were followed up as outpatients, with return visits 15, 30, 60 and 180 days after discharge, at which the outcomes of gait and mortality were evaluated. Eighty-eight patients were evaluated. Two of them were excluded because they presented oncological fractures. Thus, 86 patients of mean age 80.2 ± 7.3 years were studied. In relation to serum vitamin D, the mean was 27.8 ± 14.5 ng/mL, and 33.7% of the patients presented deficiency of this vitamin. In relation to gait, univariate and multivariate logistic regression showed that vitamin D deficiency was not associated with gait recovery, even after adjustment for gender, age and type of fracture (OR: 1.463; 95% CI: 0.524-4.088; p = 0.469). Regarding mortality, Cox regression analysis showed that vitamin D deficiency was not related to its occurrence within six months, even in multivariate analysis (HR: 0.627; 95% CI: 0.180-2.191; p = 0.465). Serum vitamin D concentration was not related to gait status and/or mortality among patients with fractures of the proximal femur, six months after suffering the fracture.

Handgrip strength as a predictor of bone mineral density in cirrhotic outpatients

Osteoporosis is well recognized as a cirrhosis complication; however, most studies assessing this condition included only patients on liver transplantation lists with an elevated rate of bone diseases. While general population studies show that handgrip strength is clearly associated with bone mineral density, until now this tool has not been applied to cirrhotic patients in relation to their bone condition. This study aimed to evaluate whether handgrip strength, bone and liver tests may be useful as predictors of bone disease in cirrhotic outpatients. 129 subjects were included (77 men and 52 women). Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was applied to evaluate lumbar-spine and femoral-neck T scores. Osteoporosis/osteopenia rates were 26.3%/35.6% in the lumbar spine and 6.9%/41.8% in the femoral neck, respectively. Model selections were based on backward procedures to find the best predictors of low T scores. For lumbar spine, only low handgrip strength and high parathyroid hormone levels were clearly related to low T scores. For femoral neck, only age was associated with low T scores. Handgrip strength may serve as an effective predictor of low lumbar spine T score among cirrhotic outpatients. As cirrhosis affects the lumbar spine more than the femoral neck, these results suggest that handgrip strength should be tested in all cirrhotic patients as a first indicator of bone health. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the marsh deer stifle joint by imaging studies and gross anatomy

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Zirconia-based dental crown to support a removable partial denture: a three-dimensional finite element analysis using contact elements and micro-CT data

Veneer fracture is the most common complication in zirconia-based restorations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanical behavior of a zirconia-based crown in a lower canine tooth supporting removable partial denture (RPD) prosthesis, varying the bond quality of the veneer/coping interface. Microtomography (μCT) data of an extracted left lower canine were used to build the finite element model (M) varying the core material (gold core - MAu; zirconia core - MZi) and the quality of the veneer/core interface (complete bonded - MZi; incomplete bonded - MZi-NL). The incomplete bonding condition was only applied for zirconia coping by using contact elements (Target/Contact) with 0.3 frictional coefficients. Stress fields were obtained using Ansys Workbench 10.0. The loading condition (L = 1 N) was vertically applied at the base of the RPD prosthesis metallic support towards the dental apex. Maximum principal (σmax) and von Mises equivalent (σvM) stresses were obtained. The σmax (MPa) for the bonded condition was similar between gold and zirconia cores (MAu, 0.42; MZi, 0.40). The incomplete bonded condition (MZi-NL) raised σmax in the veneer up to 800% (3.23 MPa) in contrast to the bonded condition. The peak of σvM increased up to 270% in the MZi-NL. The incomplete bond condition increasing the stress in the veneer/zirconia interface.

Sports practice is related to parasympathetic activity in adolescents

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Phenotypic, genetic and environmental parameters for traits related to femur bone integrity and body weight at 42 days of age in a broiler population

Intense selection among broilers, especially for performance and carcass traits, currently favors locomotion problems and bone resistance. Conducting studies relating to development and growth of bone tissue in broilers is necessary to minimize losses. Thus, genetic parameters were estimated for a broiler population's phenotypic traits such as BW at 42 d of age (BW42), chilled femur weight (CFW) and its yield (CFY), and femur measurements: calcium, DM, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc content; breaking strength; rigidity; length; and thickness. Variance components were estimated through multitrait analyses using the restricted maximum likelihood method. The model included a fixed group effect (sex and hatch) and additive and residual genetic random effects. The heritability estimates we obtained ranged from 0.10 ± 0.05 to 0.50 ± 0.08 for chilled femur yield and BW42, respectively, and indicated that the traits can respond to the selection process, except for CFY, which presented low-magnitude heritability coefficients. Genetic correlation estimates between breaking strength, rigidity, and traits related to mineral content indicated that selection that aims to improve the breaking strength resistance of the femur is highly correlated with mineral content. Given the genetic correlation estimates between BW42 and minerals, it is suggested that in this population, selection for BW42 can be performed with greater intensity without affecting femoral integrity.

Análise da pevalência da osteoporose e dos principais fatores associados á perda óssea em portadores de cirrose

Pós-graduação em Fisiopatologia em Clínica Médica - FMB

Efeito da suplementação com boro no metabolismo ósseo de camundongos diabéticos não obesos

Pós-graduação em Alimentos e Nutrição - FCFAR

Mesenchymal stem cell enhances chondral defects healing in horses

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Evaluation of femur of orchiectomized guinea pigs by bone densitometry using dual-energy x-ray absortiometry (DXA) and mechanical testing

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Anestesia peribulbar para enucleação em um felino: relato de caso

Foi atendido no Hospital Veterinário “Luiz Quintiliano de Oliveira”, o felino Nick, SRD, de quatro meses de idade, pesando 700 gramas, com histórico de trauma por arranhadura em bulbo ocular esquerdo. Ao exame físico específico, evidenciou-se úlcera profunda e prolapso de íris, sendo então indicada a enucleação. Ao exame físico geral, observou-se freqüência cardíaca (FC) de 160 batimentos.min-1, frequência respiratória (f) de 80 movimentos.min-1, tempo de preenchimento capilar menor do que dois segundos, temperatura retal (TR) de 39,2oC e mucosas normocoradas. Como medicação pré-anestésica, empregou-se acepromazina (0,04 mg.kg-1) e metadona (0,3 mg.kg-1), administradas pela via intramuscular. A veia femoral esquerda foi cateterizada com cateter 24G para administração de Ringer com Lactato de sódio (10 mL.kg-1.h- 1 ). A indução foi realizada por máscara facial tendo-se como agente o isofluorano em fluxo diluente de 100 mL.kg-1.min-1 de oxigênio a 100%, seguida de intubação orotraqueal com sonda n o 2,5 sem cuff. Seguiu-se a manutenção anestésica com a mesma mistura da indução, administrada por meio de circuito anestésico sem reinalação de gases, do tipo Baraka, mantendose o paciente sob ventilação assistida. Ato contínuo, realizou-se a técnica anestésica peribulbar de punção única inferior, utilizando-se lidocaína 2% com vasoconstritor (3mg.kg-1) associada a bupivacaína 0,5% sem vasoconstritor (0,8mg.kg-1), perfazendo um volume total de 0,3ml.kg-1 . Uma agulha 13x4,5 foi introduzida em todo o seu comprimento com o bisel voltado para a órbita, no terço lateral do fórnice conjuntival inferior da órbita esquerda, administrando-se a associação dos agentes anestésicos locais, seguida de compressão manual da área para facilitar a difusão dos mesmos. Durante o procedimento anestésico, realizou-se a monitoração da FC, f, pressão arterial sistólica (PAS), TR e saturação periférica da hemoglobina (SpO2). O tempo total de anestesia e cirurgia foi de 30 e 20 minutos, respectivamente, e a SpO2, concentração de isofluorano e TR mantiveram-se em 99±1%, 1,7±0,8% e 37,4±1,5oC, respectivamente. O plano anestésico manteve-se estável, sem a necessidade de resgate analgésico. Não houve a ocorrência de reflexo óculo-cardíaco (ROC) frente à manipulação do nervo óptico, o que pode ser atribuída provavelmente ao bloqueio peribulbar. A anestesia regional é frequentemente empregada para cirurgias oftálmicas em humanos, como a facoemulsificação, sendo que o manejo anestésico pode contribuir para o sucesso do procedimento. Pode-se concluir que, também na espécie felina, o bloqueio peribulbar pode ser uma boa alternativa para a realização de protocolos de anestesia balanceada para procedimentos oftálmicos.

Efeitos do desuso e da deficiência de estrógeno sobre a microarquitetura óssea e suas propriedades biomecânicas

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Efeito da inibição dos receptores canabinóides CB₁ ou CB₂ durante o período neonatal sobre o dimorfismo sexual esquelético ao longo do desenvolvimento

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)