The spiny dogfish (‘cação-bagre’): description of an envenoming in a fisherman, with taxonomic and toxinologic comments on the Squalus gender

The authors report an injury caused by a spiny dogfish (Squalus sp) in a professional fisherman that was got hurt in the left hand for a spine in the dorsal fin of the fish and felt excruciating local pain for 6 h and manifested local edema and erythema. The sharks of the Squalus gender, in a similar way to the gender Heterodontus, present two spines in position previous to the dorsal fins, with channels presenting a whitish mass, composed of great and vacuolated cells that produce venom. The Squalus gender has a complex taxonomy, with five nominal species mentioned in Brazil: S. acanthias, S. blainvillei, S. cubensis, S. megalops and S. mitsukurii. The species associated to the injury belongs to the group ‘megalops/cubensis’. A detailed study on the taxonomy and toxinology of the Squalus gender in Brazil would be of vital importance in the resolution of those problems and it would serve as subsidy for any other works involving their representatives, besides with aspects of envenoming that this gender can cause and that has rare citations in the literature.     

Risiken und Prävention des Prostatakarzinoms

Acceptance of prostate cancer as an endemic disease was the basis for the decision reached by the guideline committee to devote a chapter to the topic of risks and prevention of prostate cancer. Analysis of the substantial data regarding these subjects, however, shows that a number of apparently accepted risk factors and recommendations for prevention do not withstand subtle assessment. For this reason, only information concerning the risk factors of age and genetic predisposition is obtained from men. While the role of nutrition in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer remains beyond dispute, data on individual food items are very contradictory. Positive results of interventional studies are not available. Thus, the committee issued general recommendations on nutrition and lifestyle which also include other malignant tumors and the risk for cardiovascular disease. New findings of prospective studies on chemoprevention were incorporated into a statement. Since 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors have not yet been approved for prevention of prostate cancer, no recommendation was given.     

Long-term cytokine-free expansion of cord blood mononuclear cells in three-dimensional scaffolds

Cord blood expansion ex vivo can be achieved in liquid suspension through the addition of cytokines at the expense of often undesirable cell differentiation. In order to derive a cytokine-free dynamic culture system, we hypothesised that a three-dimensional (3D) environment in the form of highly porous scaffolds made of poly (D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) or polyurethane (PU) for the biomimetic growth of cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMNCs), would facilitate expansion of hematopoietic cells without exogenous cytokines. Both scaffolds supported cellular expansion ex vivo. Cytokine-free, long-term culture was best in PU coated with collagen type I (54-fold expansion). In contrast, traditional 2D well-plate cultures collapsed within 4 days in the absence of cytokines. CBMNCs cultured in the scaffolds were visualised by scanning electron microscopy and immunophenotypic/immunostaining analysis and the studies validated the presence of a dynamic culture containing erythroid precursors (CD45(-)/CD71(+)/CD235a(+)), hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (CD38(-)CD34(+), CD117(+)), maturing myeloid cells (CD38(+), MPO(+)), CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-lymphocytes and megakaryocytes (FVIII(+)). Colony forming unit (CFU) assays indicated that BFU-E and CFU-GM increased (p < 0.05) whereas CFU-GEMM were maintained at week 4. In conclusion, this 3D culture system is capable of long-term, cytokine-free expansion of CBMNCs, enabling the study of hematopoiesis and providing a potential platform for drug discovery and therapeutic applications ex vivo.     

Factors associated with concurrent wasting and stunting among children 6–59 months in Karamoja,Uganda

Children with concurrent wasting and stunting (WaSt) and children with severe wasting have a similar risk of death. Existing evidence shows that wasting and stunting share similar causal pathways, but evidence on correlates of WaSt remains limited. Research on correlates of WaSt is needed to inform prevention strategies. We investigated the factors associated with WaSt in children 6–59 months in Karamoja Region, Uganda.We examined data for 33,054 children aged 6–59 months using June 2015 to July 2018 Food Security and Nutrition Assessment in Karamoja. We defined WaSt as being concurrently wasted (weight‐for‐height z‐scores <−2.0) and stunted (height‐for‐age z‐score <−2.0). We conducted multivariate mixed‐effect logistic regression to assess factors associated with WaSt. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.In multivariate analysis, being male (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.79; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.60–2.00]), aged 12–23 months (aOR = 2.25; 95% CI [1.85–2.74]), 36–47 months (aOR = 0.65; 95% CI [0.50–0.84]) and 48–59 months (aOR = 0.71; 95% CI [0.54–0.93]) were associated with WaSt. In addition, acute respiratory infection (aOR = 1.30; 95% CI [1.15–1.48]), diarrhoea (aOR = 1.25; 95% CI [1.06–1.48]) and malaria/fever (aOR = 0.83; 95% CI [0.73–0.96]) episodes were associated with WaSt. WaSt was significantly associated with maternal underweight (body mass index <18.5 kg/m²), short stature (height <160 cm), low mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC <23 cm) and having ≥4 live‐births. WaSt was prevalent in households without livestock (aOR = 1.30; 95% CI [1.13–1.59]).Preventing the occurrence of WaSt through pragmatic and joint approaches are recommended. Future prospective studies on risk factors of WaSt to inform effective prevention strategies are recommended.     

Reactive polyurethane carbon nanotube foams and their interactions with osteoblasts

The remarkable intrinsic properties of carbon nanotubes, including their high mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, and nanoscale 3D architecture, create promising opportunities for the use of nanotube composites in a number of fields, particularly for composites in which conventional fillers cannot be accommodated. In the current study, 3D polyurethane (PU) nanocomposite foams were developed, and their potential biomedical applications were investigated. Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were synthesized by chemical vapor deposition and, following suitable chemical modification, uniformly distributed within the walls of PU foams produced by direct reaction. Although the loading fraction was too low to observe significant mechanical effects, CNT incorporation improved the wettability of the nanocomposite surfaces in a concentration-dependent manner, supporting the claim that the nanotubes are active at the pore surface. Studies of bone cell interactions with the nanocomposite foams revealed that increasing CNT loading fraction did not cause osteoblast cytotoxicity nor have any detrimental effects on osteoblast differentiation or mineralization. The application of "fixed" or embedded CNTs in nondegradable scaffolds is likely advantageous over "loose" or unattached CNTs from a toxicological point of view.     

Should an infected Nuss bar be removed?

Background

The Nuss procedure is a minimally invasive procedure for correction of pectus excavatum. It involves insertion of a substernal metal bar. A feared complication of any implanted device is infection, which often necessitates removal. The purpose of this report is to describe the authors' experience with infectious complications after the Nuss procedure.

Methods

From February 2000 to July 2002, 102 patients underwent the Nuss procedure in 2 pediatric surgical centers. In a retrospective way, the files of those patients in whom a postoperative infection developed were studied.

Results

Seven patients suffered postoperative infectious complications. Only one bar needed to be removed.

Conclusion

The authors' experience indicates that there is no need for immediate removal of an infected Nuss bar. Most of these infections can be managed conservatively. However, early antibiotic treatment is warranted to ensure salvage of the bar.     

Acute effect of resistance training without recovery intervals on the blood pressure of comorbidity-free elderly women: a pilot study

Purpose

It is well documented that post-exercise hypotension (PEH) is found both in people with borderline hypertension and in hypertensive subjects. However, PEH in normotensive individuals remains poorly understood. This study aims at analyzing the potential acute effect of a resistance training session without recovery intervals between sets and exercises in the blood pressure (BP) in normotensive elderly. We evaluated 6 elderly women with a mean age of 65 ± 3 years who had no previous history of hypertension or any cardiovascular disease. They underwent a resistance training session consisting of 3 sets of 8 maximum repetitions without recovery intervals between the sets. We measured their BP before, right after and 20 min after resistance training.

Results

There was a significant difference (p value = 0.0464) between systolic BP before the training session (mean 126.50 ± 7.34 mmHg) and 20 min after it (mean 110.16 ± 10.90 mmHg). There was no significant difference between systolic BP before the training and right after the training (mean 126.50 ± 7.34 mmHg vs. mean 129.33 ± 10.17 mmHg, p value > 0.05). We observed a significant difference between diastolic BP right after the training (mean 66.66 ± 9.09 mmHg), p value = 0.0277 and 20 min after it (mean 66.66 ± 8.93 mmHg), p value = 0.0273 when compared to the initial values (mean 71.5 ± 10.70 mmHg).

Conclusions

These findings show that there was an acute reduction in BP in the population investigated after the resistance exercise without any recovery interval.