Application of ultrasound in the evaluation of renal abscess in a dog

Renal abscesses are rare in dogs and, although its pathogenesis is uncertain, may occur in diabetic patients with pyelonephritis, nephrolithiasis, kidney injuries or after abdominal surgery or kidney biopsy. Because of nonspecific clinical signs, laboratory tests associated with ultrasonography are important to confirm the diagnosis and treatment. Generally, kidney abscesses have sonographic aspects with different degrees of echogenicity such as hypo or hyperechoic, homogeneous or heterogeneous, and may or may not have thickened and hyperechoic walls, depending on its chronicity. Our objective was to report the use of ultrasound as a complementary method in the evaluation of disorders of the urinary tract, focusing on a case of renal abscess in a dog.

Stability of a Lipase Extracted from Seeds of Pachira aquatica in Commercial Detergents and Application Tests in Poultry Wastewater Pretreatment and Fat Particle Hydrolysis

A protein extract containing a plant lipase from oleaginous seeds of Pachira aquatica was tested using soybean oil, wastewater from a poultry processing plant, and beef fat particles as substrate. The hydrolysis experiments were carried out at a temperature of 40°C, an incubation time of 90 minutes, and pH 8.0-9.0. The enzyme had the best stability at pH 9.0 and showed good stability in the alkaline range. It was found that P. aquatica lipase was stable in the presence of some commercial laundry detergent formulations, and it retained full activity up to 0.35% in hydrogen peroxide, despite losing activity at higher concentrations. Concerning wastewater, the lipase increased free fatty acids release by 7.4 times and promoted the hydrolysis of approximately 10% of the fats, suggesting that it could be included in a pretreatment stage, especially for vegetable oil degradation.

Application of Cymbopogon winterianus Jowitt and Azadirachta indica A. Juss in the control of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

Parasitism constitutes one of the main problems that affect livestock. Commercial acaricides have been used to control tick, but these chemicals have been responsible for the development of drug resistance and residues in the environment. Changes in the concept of production determined the search for natural measures, which guarantees animal sanity along with safety of the produced food. This assay had as objective to evaluate the citronella oil and neem oil in the control of bovine ticks. By the technique of adult ticks immersion, 280 ticks were evaluated, distributed in equal number throughout four treatments: negative control group, positive control (ivermectin), neem oil and citronella oil. It was analyzed the mortality index, estimated reproduction, product efficiency, index of eggs production and the hatchability rate. The efficiency of the product was verified by the mortality index just for the positive control group (100%) and citronella oil (97.14%). Also, the citronella oil inhibited the eclosion of eggs in 100%. The other treatments did not presented the minimum eclosion inhibition level of 95%. Under the conditions of the present assay citronella oil was efficient against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. This result was not observed in relation to the neem oil.

Application of Er:YAG and Er, Cr:YSGG lasers in cavity preparation for dental tissues: a literature review

The laser has been widely used in many specialties of dentistry and several wavelengths have been investigated as a substitute for high-speed handpiece. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature about the use of Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG lasers in cavity preparation for dental tissues. Despite the differences in wavelength, pulse duration and energy, the morphological characteristics of the irradiated dentin surface with these lasers are comparable, as well as its effects as methods of dental caries prevention. Thus, Er:YAG and Er,Cr:YSGG lasers prepared cavities with similar effects on the dental tissue, however, further investigations about ideal irradiation conditions are needed for both lasers.

Application of the finite element method in Dentistry

The finite element method (FEM) involves a series of computational procedures to calculate the stress in each element, which performs a model solution. Such a structural analysis allows the determination of stress resulting from external force, pressure, thermal change, and other factors. This method is extremely useful for indicating mechanical aspects of biomaterials and human tissues that can hardly be measured in vivo. The results obtained can then be studied using visualization software within the FEM environment to view a variety of parameters, and to fully identify implications of the analysis. Objective: An overview to show application of FEM in dentistry was undertaken. Literature review: This paper shows the basic concept, advances, advantages, limitations and applications of finite element method (FEM) in dentistry. Conclusion: It is extremely important to verify what the purpose of the study is in order to correctly apply FEM.

Application of hte finite element method in Dentistry

Introduction: The finite element method (FEM) involves a series of computational procedures to calculate the stress in each element, which performs a model solution. Such a structural analysis allows the determination of stress resulting from external force, pressure, thermal change, and other factors. This method is extremely useful for indicating mechanical aspects of biomaterials and human tissues that can hardly be measured in vivo. The results obtained can then be studied using visualization software within the FEM environment to view a variety of parameters, and to fully identify implications of the analysis. Objective: An overview to show application of FEM in dentistry was undertaken. Literature review: This paper shows the basic concept, advances, advantages, limitations and applications of finite element method (FEM) in dentistry. Conclusion: It is extremely important to verify what the purpose of the study is in order to correctly apply FEM.

Subconjunctival and topical application of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator in rabbits

To quantify fibrin degradation products after topical and subconjunctival administration of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator in rabbits. Methods: Fibrin formation was induced in the anterior chamber in 25 rabbits. Subsequently, five rabbits received an injection of r-TPA (positive control) in the anterior chamber, another 10 received a subconjunctival injection of r-TPA, and the remaining 10 received instillations of topical r-TPA. Afterwards, samples of aqueous humor were collected and semi-quantitative analysis of fibrin degradation products (FDP) was performed. Results: No statistical differences were noted between the treatment and control groups at any time point. Fibrin degradation products semi-quantification showed statistical improvement in the control group and the subconjunctival group. Conclusion: Fibrin degradation products were observed in the anterior chamber after subconjunctival administration of r-TPA. However, it was probably not sufficient to cause fibrin degradation. Topical r-TPA did not effectively absorb anterior chamber fibrin.

Effects of surface application of dolomitic limestone and calcium-magnesium silicate on soybean and maize in rotation with green manure in a tropical region

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

Characterization and application of nanostructured films containing Au and TiO2 nanoparticles supported in bacterial cellulose

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

The application of neural networks to the analysis of dissolved gases in insulating oil used in transformers

The state of insulating oils used in transformers is determined through the accomplishment of physical-chemical tests, which determine the state of the oil, as well as the chromatography test, which determines possible faults in the equipment. This article concentrate on determining, from a new methodology, a relationship among the variation of the indices obtained from the physical-chemical tests with those indices supplied by the chromatography tests.The determination of the relationship among the tests is accomplished through the application of neural networks. From the data obtained by physical-chemical tests, the network is capable to determine the relationship among the concentration of the main gases present in a certain sample, which were detected by the chromatography tests.More specifically, the proposed approach uses neural networks of perceptron type constituted of multiple layers. After the process of network training, it is possible to determine the existent relationship between the physical-chemical tests and the amount of gases present in the insulating oil.

Cutaneous healing after topical application of nebacetin and gingilone to infected wounds. Clinical and histological study in rats

It was performed a study to examine the cutaneous cicatrization of infected wound of skin after daily topic application of Nebacetin and Gingilone. Following clinical observations the animals were sacrificed after 4, 10 and 17 post-operative days. The pieces were treated, analyzed, in an optical microscope. The topic application of Nebacetin showed to be more efficient in the epithelial reparation comparatively to the Gingilone and control group.

Application of orange peel waste in the production of solid biofuels and biosorbents

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

Effect of home-bleaching gels modified by calcium and/or fluoride and the application of nano-hydroxyapatite paste on in vitro enamel erosion susceptibility

This in vitro study compared the effect of bleaching agents modified by the addition of calcium and/or fluoride and the application of a nano-hydroxyapatite paste after bleaching, on the susceptibility of enamel to erosion. Bovine enamel cylindrical samples (3 mm diameter) were assigned to six groups (n = 20 specimens/group) according to the bleaching agent: no bleaching (C-control), 7.5% hydrogen peroxide gel (HP), HP with 0.5% calcium gluconate (HP+Ca), HP with 0.2% sodium fluoride (HP+F), HP with calcium and fluoride (HP+Ca+F) and HP followed by the application of a nano-hydroxyapatite agent (HP+NanoP). The gels were applied on the enamel surface (1 h) followed by cyclic erosive challenges (Sprite Zero®-2 min), for 14 days. The paste was applied after bleaching for 5 min (HP+NanoP). The enamel surface alteration was measured by contact profilometry (µm) (after 7 and 14 days). C-control (mean ± SD: 2.29 ± 0.37 at 7 days/4.86 ± 0.72 at 14 days) showed significantly lower loss compared to the experimental groups. HP+Ca (3.34 ± 0.37/6.75 ± 1.09) and HP+F (4.49 ± 0.92/7.61 ± 0.90) presented significantly lower enamel loss than HP (4.18 ± 0.50/10.30 ± 1.58) only for 14 days and HP+Ca+F (4.92 ± 1.03/8.12 ± 1.52) showed values similar to the HP+F group. The HP+NanoP (5.51 ± 1.04/9.61 ± 1.21) resulted in enamel loss similar to the HP after 14 days. It was found that 7.5% hydrogen peroxide increased the susceptibility of enamel to erosion. The addition of calcium or fluoride to the bleaching gel reduced the erosion effect, while the nano-hydroxyapatite agent did not provide any protective effect.

Development, validation, and application of a method for the GC-MS analysis of fipronil and three of its degradation products in samples of water, soil, and sediment

A method for the identification and quantification of pesticide residues in water, soil, and sediment samples has been developed, validated, and applied for the analysis of real samples. The specificity was determined by the retention time and the confirmation and quantification of analyte ions. Linearity was demonstrated over the concentration range of 20 to 120 µg L(-1), and the correlation coefficients varied between 0.979 and 0.996, depending on the analytes. The recovery rates for all analytes in the studied matrix were between 86% and 112%. The intermediate precision and repeatability were determined at three concentration levels (40, 80, and 120 µg L(-1)), with the relative standard deviation for the intermediate precision between 1% and 5.3% and the repeatability varying between 2% and 13.4% for individual analytes. The limits of detection and quantification for fipronil, fipronil sulfide, fipronil-sulfone, and fipronil-desulfinyl were 6.2, 3.0, 6.6, and 4.0 ng L(-1) and 20.4, 9.0, 21.6, and 13.0 ng L(-1), respectively. The method developed was used in water, soil, and sediment samples containing 2.1 mg L(-1) and 1.2% and 5.3% of carbon, respectively. The recovery of pesticides in the environmental matrices varied from 88.26 to 109.63% for the lowest fortification level (40 and 100 µg kg(-1)), from 91.17 to 110.18% for the intermediate level (80 and 200 µg kg(-1)), and from 89.09 to 109.82% for the highest fortification level (120 and 300 µg kg(-1)). The relative standard deviation for the recovery of pesticides was under 15%.