Spatial changes in the water quality of Itajaí-Açú Fluvial-Estuarine System, Santa Catarina, Brazil

This study was carried out with the aim of evaluating the spatial variation of the water quality in the Itajaí-A?ú River estuary. Seven stations along the estuary were monitored on a weekly basis, from October 2003 to December 2004, plus two stations in tributaries (Itajaí-Mirim River, the main tributary, and one reference station). This monitoring included measurements of salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, nutrients(NH+4,NO3-2,NO-3,PO3-4,H4SiO4) Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), total phosphorous and dissolved organic phosphorus (TP and DOP), particulate organic carbon (POC), suspended particulate matter (SPM) and chlorophyll-a (Cla). Multivariate analyses demonstrated the compartmentalization of the system based on the deterioration in water quality and marine influence. Urban development was the main factor responsible for the spatial variation of the monitored variables, resulting in increases in the indicators for organic matter and a progressive decrease in O2. Despite the effect of dilution by marine influence, there was an increase in ammonium, attributed to the influence of the municipal districts of Itajaí and Navegantes, close to the river mouth.     

Quality of Life and Hormonal,Biochemical, and Anthropometric Profile Between Olanzapine and Risperidone Users

This cross-sectional study compared quality of life and side effects in 108 users of olanzapine or risperidone suffering schizophrenia and being attended at psychiatric ambulatory services in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Economic, socio-demographic, anthropometric, biochemical, and hormonal variables were compared. The EuroQoL Five-Dimension Scale (EQ-5D) was used to evaluate quality of life, and side effects were assessed using the Udvalg for Kliniske Undersøgelser (UKU) Side Effect Rating Scale and the Simpson–Angus Scale. Data were analysed using the χ² test and Student’s t test, with a significance level of 5 %.The household incomes of approximately 80 % of patients were <2.0 minimum wages ($678). Anthropometric variables (waist circumference, hip circumference, weight, waist-to-hip ratio) and systolic and diastolic blood pressure were noted among male olanzapine users (all p < 0.05). EQ-5D scores showed that olanzapine use significantly impacted self-help ability (p < 0.001). Risperidone users had a mean quality-adjusted life year value of 1. Mean total Simpson–Angus Scale scores was 0.38 for olanzapine users and 0.11 for risperidone users (p < 0.02). Significant differences in UKU were observed for the following items: asthenia/lassitude/fatigue (higher among olanzapine users, p = 0.02), dystonia (higher among olanzapine users, p = 0.01), tremors (higher among olanzapine users, p = 0.03), gynecomastia (higher among risperidone users, p < 0.02), and ejaculatory dysfunction (higher among risperidone users, p < 0.02). Olanzapine users had impaired quality of life, which can be explained in part by adverse motor, biochemical, and hormonal effects characteristic of metabolic syndrome.     

Dual-setting calcium phosphate cement modified with ammonium polyacrylate

alpha-Tricalcium phosphate bone cement, as formerly designed and developed by Driessens et al., consists of a powder composed by alpha-tricalcium phosphate (alpha-TCP) and hydroxyapatite (HA) seeds, and an aqueous solution of Na2HPO4 as mixing liquid. After mixing powder and liquid, alpha-TCP dissolves into the liquid and calcium deficient hydroxyapatite (CDHA), more insoluble than the former, precipitates as an entanglement of crystals, which causes the setting and hardening of the cement. alpha-TCP bone cement offers several advantages in comparison to calcium phosphate bioceramics and acrylic bone cements as bone graft and repairing material, like perfect adaptability to the defect size and shape, osteotransductibility, and absence of thermal effect during setting. The main handicap is its low mechanical strength. Therefore, approaching its mechanical strength to that of human bone could considerably extend its applications. In the present work, an in situ polymerization system based on acrylamide (AA) and ammonium polyacrylate (PA) as liquid reducer was added to alpha-TCP cement to increase its mechanical strength. The results showed that the addition of 20 wt% of acrylamide and 1 wt% AP to the liquid increased the compressive and tensile strength of alpha-TCP bone cement by 149 and 69% (55 and 21 MPa), respectively. The improvement in mechanical strength seems to be caused by a decrease of porosity and the reinforcing effect of a polyacrylamide network coexisting with the entanglement of CDHA crystals. The studied additives do not affect the nature of the final product of the setting reaction, CDHA, but promote the reduction of its crystal size.     

Bilateral sympathectomy improves postinfarction left ventricular remodeling and function

Objectives

To evaluate the influence of bilateral or left sympathectomy on left ventricular remodeling and function after myocardial infarction in rats.

Laser phototherapy improves early stage of cutaneous wound healing of rats under hyperlipidic diet

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of laser photobiomodulation in cutaneous healing of rats under a hyperlipidic diet. Forty-eight Wistar Albinus rats, weaned, received standard diet (SD) or hyperlipidic diet (HD) for 20 weeks. The groups were divided into SD rats and HD rats, SD-irradiated rats (LSD), and HD-irradiated rats (LHD). Standard cutaneous wound (1 cm²) was created on the dorsum of each rat. The irradiation started immediately after surgery and every 48 h for 7 or 14 days (λ660 nm, 40 mW, 6 J/cm², ? 0,04 cm², CW), when they were killed under deep anesthesia. The specimens were removed, routinely processed, stained with hematoxylin/eosin (H/E), and evaluated by light microscopy. Rats fed with hyperlipidic diet had greater intensity in the inflammatory process and prolonged hyperemia. At day 7, the intensity of inflammation was reduced in LSD and LHD groups when compared to their control groups, SD (p?=?0.002) and HD (p?=?0.02). There was an increase in fibroblast proliferation and collagen deposition, especially in the LHD group. At day 14, the HD group presented more intensive hyperemia than the SD group. It can be concluded that the hyperlipidic diet modified the inflammation pattern in wound healing and that laser light has a positive biomodulative effect on the healing process only in early stages.     

Neorickettsia helminthoeca associated lymphoid,enteric, and pulmonary lesions in dogs from Southern Brazil: An immunohistochemical study

Neorickettsia helminthoeca (NH), the agent of salmon poisoning disease or canine neorickettiosis (CN), is a bacterial endosymbiont of the nematode Nanophyetus salmincola, and infections are spreading among specific fish‐eating mammalians. This article describes the pathologic and immunohistochemical findings associated with spontaneous NH‐induced infections in dogs from Southern Brazil. The principal pathologic findings were hypertrophy of Peyer patches and lymphadenopathy with lymphocytic proliferation, chronic interstitial pneumonia, and chronic enteritis associated with positive intralesional immunoreactivity to antigens of NH within macrophages and histiocytes. Positive immunoreactivity against canine parvovirus‐2 (CPV‐2) or/and canine distemper virus was not detected in the evaluated intestinal segments or in the samples from the cerebellum and lungs, respectively, from the dogs evaluated. These findings demonstrated that NH was involved in the enteric, pulmonary, and lymphoid lesions herein described, and provide additional information to confirm the occurrence of this bacterial endosymbiont within this geographical location. It is proposed that chronic pneumonia should be considered as a pathologic manifestation of NH‐induced infections. Additionally, our results show that the occurrences of CN seem to be underdiagnosed in Southern Brazil due to the confusion with the incidence of CPV‐2.     

Postmenopausal intestinal obstructive endometriosis: case report and review of the literature

CONTEXT: Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterine cavity, which is commonly detected in gynecological practice but rarely reported as a coloproctological disorder. The objective of the present report was to discuss a rare case of postmenopausal intestinal endometriosis simulating a malignant lesion, following a review of the literature. CASE REPORT: A 74-year-old woman with complaints of hematochezia and tenesmus of two months' duration accompanied by liquid feces and pelvic pain, but with no other gastrointestinal or gynecological complaints, was referred to our service. She had been menopausal for 22 years, with no hormone replacement treatment, and had undergone panhysterectomy three years before the referral to us, due to endometrial thickening and a right adnexal cyst. Five months before this referral, she had undergone laparotomy due to acute obstructive abdomen, which revealed a tumor mass involving the small bowel. Anatomopathological examination of the enterectomy suggested a hypothesis of intestinal endometriosis. A proctological examination was normal. Computed tomography of the pelvis revealed thickening of the rectosigmoid transition and colonoscopy revealed friable tumor formation in the rectum. A biopsy of the lesion revealed mucosal fragments of endometrial type, which led to a review of the previous anatomopathological examination. The patient underwent rectosigmoidectomy with protective transversotomy, with a good postoperative course, and anatomical examination confirmed the intestinal endometriosis. The patient subsequently suffered a stenosing recurrence of the lesion and has undergone colostomy since then.