Amoebic Abscess of the Liver

Selective angiography of the coeliac axis usually with superior mesenteric arteriography and hepatic isotopic scanning, have proved helpful in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of amoebic liver abscess. In 16 patients who have had selective angiograms, arteriography showed tumours in 13, failed in 1 and was doubtful in 2. Isotopic scanning demonstrated tumours in 10, failed in 3 and was doubtful in 3. The results obtained with these 2 methods were confirmed by clinical, haematological, surgical, laparoscopic, postmortem, and therapeutic data. After treatment the selective arteriography was repeated in 12 patients and isotopic scanning in 9. Both methods showed agreement in demonstrating the disappearance of the abscess in all patients except one. In this one the isotopic scanning image persisted, whereas arteriography no longer showed the existence of a tumour. Arteriography and scintigraphy are complementary techniques for the diagnosis of tumours of the liver, the former being particularly useful for the aetiological diagnosis of the lesion

Sums of magnetic eigenvalues are maximal on rotationally symmetric domains

The sum of the first n energy levels of the planar Laplacian with constant magnetic field of given total flux is shown to be maximal among triangles for the equilateral triangle, under normalization of the ratio (moment of inertia)/(area)^3 on the domain. The result holds for both Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions, with an analogue for Robin (or de Gennes) boundary conditions too. The square similarly maximizes the eigenvalue sum among parallelograms, and the disk maximizes among ellipses. More generally, a domain with rotational symmetry will maximize the magnetic eigenvalue sum among all linear images of that domain. These results are new even for the ground state energy (n=1).Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur

The evolutionary implications of hemipenial morphology of rattlesnake crotalus durissus terrificus (Laurent, 1768) (Serpentes: Viperidae: Crotalinae)

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOMost amniotes vertebrates have an intromittent organ to deliver semen. The reptile Sphenodon and most birds lost the ancestral penis and developed a cloaca-cloaca mating. Known as hemipenises, the copulatory organ of Squamata shows unique features between the amniotes intromittent organ. They are the only paired intromittent organs across amniotes and are fully inverted and encapsulated in the tail when not in use. The histology and ultrastructure of the hemipenes of Crotalus durissus rattlesnake is described as the evolutionary implications of the main features discussed. The organization of hemipenis of Crotalus durissus terrificus in two concentric corpora cavernosa is similar to other Squamata but differ markedly from the organization of the penis found in crocodilians, testudinata, birds and mammals. Based on the available data, the penis of the ancestral amniotes was made of connective tissue and the incorporation of smooth muscle in the framework of the sinusoids occurred independently in mammals and Crotalus durissus. The propulsor action of the muscle retractor penis basalis was confirmed and therefore the named should be changed to musculus hemipenis propulsor. The retractor penis magnus found in Squamata has no homology to the retractor penis of mammals, although both are responsible for the retraction of the copulatory organ86FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCNPQ – CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICOFAPESP [2011/11828-4]sem informaçãosem informaçã

Histochemical aspects of wheat resistance to leaf blast mediated by silicon

Blast, caused by Pyricularia oryzae, has become a significant disease threat to wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) in Brazil. This study aimed to investigate at the histochemical level if silicon (Si) could enhance the production of flavonoids in the leaves of wheat plants in response to P. oryzae infection. Plants from the Aliança cultivar, which are susceptible to blast, were grown in hydroponic cultures containing 0 (-Si) or 2 mM of Si (+Si) and inoculated by spraying a conidial suspension of P. oryzae (1 × 105 conidia mL−1) on all adaxial leaf surfaces of plants at 60 days after emergence (growth stage 65). The fourth and fifth leaves of each plant were used to evaluate blast severity at 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 h after inoculation (hai). At 96 hai, leaves were collected from plants to determine the foliar Si concentration. For cytological observations, leaf samples were randomly collected from the fourth and fifth leaves of each plant at 72 hai. The foliar Si concentration was higher in +Si plants (36 g kg−1) in comparison to -Si plants (2.6 g kg−1). This increased Si concentration was correlated with reduced fungal growth inside the epidermal cells and the development of blast symptoms on leaves. Strong fluorescence, which is an indication of the presence of flavonoids, was detected in the leaf cells of +Si plants using Neu’s and Wilson's reagents. A novel item of evidence is that, at the histochemical level, Si is involved in the potentiation of the biosynthetic pathway of flavonoids that increases wheat resistance to blast