Common findings and pseudolesions at computed tomography colonography: pictorial essay

Computed tomography colonography is a minimally invasive method for screening for polyps and colorectal cancer, with extremely unusual complications, increasingly used in the clinical practice. In the last decade, developments in bowel preparation, imaging, and in the training of investigators have determined a significant increase in the method sensitivity. Images interpretation is accomplished through a combined analysis of two-dimensional source images and several types of three-dimensional renderings, with sensitivity around 96% in the detection of lesions with dimensions equal or greater than 10 mm in size, when analyzed by experienced radiologists. The present pictorial essay includes examples of diseases and pseudolesions most frequently observed in this type of imaging study. The authors present examples of flat and polypoid lesions, benign and malignant lesions, diverticular disease of the colon, among other conditions, as well as pseudolesions, including those related to inappropriate bowel preparation and misinterpretation.A colonografia por tomografia computadorizada é um método minimamente invasivo para rastreamento de pólipos e do câncer colorretal, com complicações extremamente incomuns, sendo cada vez mais utilizada na prática clínica. Na última década, a evolução no preparo intestinal, na aquisição das imagens e no treinamento dos examinadores determinou um aumento significativo na sensibilidade do método. A interpretação das imagens é realizada por meio da análise combinada das imagens fontes bidimensionais e de diversos tipos de reconstruções tridimensionais, com sensibilidade ao redor de 96% na detecção de lesões com dimensões iguais ou maiores que 10 mm, quando analisadas por radiologistas experientes. Neste ensaio pictórico selecionamos exemplos ilustrativos das doenças e pseudolesões mais frequentemente observadas neste tipo de exame. Apresentamos exemplos de lesões polipoides e planas, benignas e malignas, moléstia diverticular dos cólons, entre outras afecções, bem como pseudolesões, entre as quais aquelas relacionadas a preparo inadequado e interpretação equivocada.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de Diagnóstico por ImagemUNIFESP, Depto. de Diagnóstico por ImagemSciEL

Unripe Musa sapientum peel in the healing of surgical wounds in rats

PURPOSE: To assess the effects of unripe Musa sapientum peel on the healing of surgical wounds in rats. METHODS: One hundred and twenty Wistar rats were divided into two treatment groups of 60 animals each: the control group (gel without the active ingredient) and experimental group (4% Musa sapientum peel gel). A 4 x 4 cm surgical wound was created on the back of each animal. The wound was cleaned daily with 0.9% saline, treated with 4% gel or natrosol gel (control), and covered with gauze. Animals from both groups were sacrificed after seven, 14 and 21 days of treatment; the tissue from the wound site was removed together with a margin of normal skin for histological analysis. RESULTS: No significant differences in wound contraction rates (p=0.982) were found between time points (seven, 14 and 21 days of treatment) in both groups. However, a significantly higher wound contraction rate was observed in the control group on day 21 compared with the experimental group (p=0.029). There were no significant differences in histomorphological features between groups. The experimental group showed an increased number of polymorphonuclear cells on day 7, with a significant reduction on day 21 (p=0.026). CONCLUSION: The use of 4% unripe Musa sapientum peel gel on surgical wounds in rats resulted in an increased number of polymorphonuclear cells on day 7, reduced wound contraction, reduced vascular proliferation and increased concentration of collagen fibers on day 21.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)UNIFESP Postgraduate Program in Plastic SurgeryUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Department of Surgery Division of Plastic SurgeryUNIVAS School of MedicineUNIVAS Department of BiologyUNIFESP, Postgraduate Program in Plastic SurgeryUNIFESP, Department of Surgery Division of Plastic SurgerySciEL

CT colonography: the value of this method in the view of specialists

Objective: To map the view of surgeons on the role played by computed tomography colonography (CTC). Materials and Methods: An electronic questionnaire was sent to members of the Brazilian College of Surgeons. The questionnaire consisted of 16 multiple-choice questions about demographics and general knowledge about CTC. Results: The authors obtained 144 responses; 90.3% of the specialists were men, 60% with less than 30 years from graduation, 77.1% were gastrointestinal surgeons, 22.9% were general surgeons, 53.5% were involved in academic activity, and 59.7% had their professional activity in cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants. As regards the knowledge about CTC, 84.7% of the respondents knew the method, 70.8% knew how it is performed, 56.9% reported knowing the bowel preparation used for the procedure, 31.3% used the method, and 53.5% knew some CTC service in their city. About half of the respondents did not know the precise indication of the method. The method is most frequently known and used by professionals working in cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants (p < 0.005). There was a tendency of a more frequent use of the method by the professionals pursuing an academic career. Conclusion: Despite its infrequent use in Brazil, CTC is a well known method, particularly in large urban centers and in the academic environment.Objetivo: Mapear a visão dos cirurgiões sobre o papel da colonografia por tomografia computadorizada (CTC). Materiais e Métodos: Envio de questionário eletrônico aos membros do Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões. O questionário constou de 16 questões de múltipla escolha que abordaram dados demográficos e conhecimentos gerais sobre a CTC. Resultados: Foram obtidas 144 respostas; 90,3% dos especialistas eram homens, 60% com menos de 30 anos de formado, 77,1% eram gastrocirurgiões, 22,9% eram cirurgiões gerais, 53,5% encontravam-se na vida acadêmica e 59,7% exerciam sua atividade profissional em cidades com mais de 500.000 habitantes. Em relação ao conhecimento da CTC, 84,7% conheciam o método, 70,8% sabiam como é realizado, 56,9% relataram conhecer o preparo intestinal utilizado, 31,3% utilizavam o método e 53,5% conheciam algum serviço de CTC na cidade em que atuam. Cerca de metade dos profissionais não conhecia a precisa indicação do método. Profissionais que atuam em cidades com mais de 500.000 habitantes conhecem e utilizam mais o método (p < 0,005). Houve uma tendência de os profissionais com carreira acadêmica utilizarem mais o método. Conclusão: A CTC, embora ainda pouco utilizada em nosso meio, é bastante conhecida, principalmente em grandes centros urbanos e no ambiente acadêmico.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de Diagnóstico por ImagemLaboratório FleuryUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de MedicinaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Diagnóstico por ImagemUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Detection of news written by the ChatGPT through authorship attribution performed by a Bidirectional LSTM model

The large language based-model chatbot ChatGPT gained a lot of popularity since its launch and has been used in a wide range of situations. This research centers around a particular situation, when the ChatGPT is used to produce news that will be consumed by the population, causing the facilitation in the production of fake news, spread of misinformation and lack of trust in news sources. Aware of these problems, this research aims to build an artificial intelligence model capable of performing authorship attribution on news articles, identifying the ones written by the ChatGPT. To achieve this goal, a dataset containing equal amounts of human and ChatGPT written news was assembled and different natural processing language techniques were used to extract features from it that were used to train, validate and test three models built with different techniques. The best performance was produced by the Bidirectional Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) Neural Network model, achiving 91.57\% accuracy when tested against the data from the testing set

An automated method to detect and quantify fungiform papillae in the human tongue: validation and relationship to phenotypical differences in taste perception

Determination of the number of fungiform papillae (FP) on the human tongue is an important measure that has frequently been associated with individual differences in oral perception, including taste sensitivity. At present, there is no standardised method consistently used to identify the number of FP, and primarily scientists manually count papillae over a small region(s) of the anterior tip of a stained tongue. In this study, a rapid automated method was developed to quantify the number of FP across the anterior 2 cm of an unstained tongue from high resolution digital images. In 60 participants, the automated method was validated against traditional manual counting, and then used to assess the relationship between the number of FP and taste phenotype (both 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) and Thermal Taster Status). FP count on the anterior 2 cm of the tongue was found to correlate significantly with PROP taster status. PROP supertasters (PSTs) had a significantly higher FP count compared with PROP non-tasters (PNTs). Conversely, the common approach used to determine the number of FP in a small 6 mm diameter circle on the anterior tongue tip, did not show a significant correlation irrespective of whether it was determined via automated or manual counting. The regional distribution of FP was assessed across PROP taster status groups. PSTs had a significantly higher FP count within the first centimetre of the anterior tongue compared with the PNT and PROP medium-tasters (PMT), with no significant difference in the second centimetre. No significant relationship was found with Thermal Taster Status and FP count, or interaction with PROP taster status groups, supporting previous evidence suggesting these phenomena are independent. The automated method is a valuable tool, enabling reliable quantification of FP over the anterior 2 cm surface of the tongue, and overcomes subjective discrepancies in manual counting

Entre formas e cores: contribuições da arte na clínica psicopedagógica

O presente trabalho discorre sobre a criação de recurso psicopedagógico baseado em imagens de obras de arte, relacionadas a temas diversos que possam ser abordados em situações de diagnóstico e intervenção, com o fim de tornar lúdico e ao mesmo tempo enriquecedor o diálogo paciente-terapeuta, facilitando a emergência de conteúdos internos do aprendiz. Pretendeu-se investigar se o recurso com imagens de obras de arte pode auxiliar na comunicação, exploração, compreensão e resolução dos problemas de aprendizagem e questões emocionais, cognitivas e sociais do aprendiz, partindo do trabalho de diferenciação dos estilos cognitivo-afetivos, de acordo com as pesquisas psicopedagógicas de Fagali (2010), fundamentadas nos tipos psicológicos identificados nas reflexões de Carl JungThis paper discusses the creation of feature-based psychology images of artworks, related to various topics that might be addressed in situations of diagnosis and intervention in order to make entertaining and at the same time enriching the dialogue patient-therapist facilitating the emergence of internal contents of the learner. It was intended to investigate whether the resource with images of works of art can assist in communication, exploration, understanding and solving the problems of learning and emotional issues, cognitive and social skills of the learner, building on the work of differentiation of cognitive-affective styles, according with the Fagali research of psychopedagogical (2010), based on psychological types identified in the reflections of Carl Jun

The Cross-Talk between Spirochetal Lipoproteins and Immunity

Spirochetal diseases such as syphilis, Lyme disease and leptospirosis are major threats to public health. However the immunopathogenesis of these diseases has not been fully elucidated. Spirochetes interact with the host through various structural components such as lipopolysaccharides (LPS), surface lipoproteins and glycolipids. Although spirochetal antigens such as LPS and glycolipids may contribute to the inflammatory response during spirochetal infections, spirochetes such as Treponema pallidum and Borrelia burgdorferi lack LPS. Lipoproteins are most abundant proteins that are expressed in all spirochetes and often determine how spirochetes interact with their environment. Lipoproteins are proinflammatory, may regulate responses from both innate and adaptive immunity and enable the spirochetes to adhere to the host or the tick midgut or to evade the immune system. However, most of the spirochetal lipoproteins have unknown function. Herein, the immunomodulatory effects of spirochetal lipoproteins are reviewed and are grouped into two main categories: effects related to immune evasion and effects related to immune activation. Understanding lipoprotein-induced immunomodulation will aid in elucidating innate immunopathogenesis processes and subsequent adaptive mechanisms potentially relevant to spirochetal disease vaccine development and to inflammatory events associated with spirochetal diseases

Description Of Rhodnius Marabaensis Sp. N. (hemiptera, Reduviidade, Triatominae) From Pará State, Brazil

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Rhodnius marabaensis sp. n. was collected on 12 May 2014 in the Murumurú Environmental Reserve in the city of Marabá, Pará State, Brazil. This study was based on previous consultation of morphological descriptions of 19 Rhodnius species and compared to the identification key for the genus Rhodnius. The examination included specimens from 18 Rhodnius species held in the Brazilian National and International Triatomine Taxonomy Reference Laboratory in the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The morphological characteristics of the head, thorax, abdomen, genitalia, and eggs have been determined. Rhodnius prolixus and R. robustus were examined in more detail because the BLAST analysis of a cyt-b sequence shows they are closely related to the new species, which also occurs in the northern region of Brazil. The most notable morphological features that distinguish R. marabaensis sp. n. are the keel-shaped apex of the head, the length of the second segment of the antennae, the shapes of the prosternum, mesosternum and metasternum, the set of spots on the abdomen, the male genitalia, the posterior and ventral surfaces of the external female genitalia, and the morphological characteristics of the eggs. Rhodnius jacundaensis Serra, Serra and Von Atzingen (1980) nomen nudum specimens deposited at the Maraba Cultural Center Foundation - MCCF were examined and considered as a synonym of R. marabaensis sp. n. © Eder dos Santos Souza et al.201662145622010/15386-3, FAPESP, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo23038-005285/2011-2012, CAPES, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível SuperiorCNPq, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e TecnológicoFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Reflexões sobre a inserção da informática na profissão de enfermagem

The paper is an analysis about the impact of introducting informatic tecnology and its consequences in the society, in general professions and mainly, in nursing practice. The authors emphasize the need of major discussions about the insertion of this new technology in nursing profession.O estudo tece algumas considerações reflexivas sobre a inserção da informática na sociedade, nas profissões em geral e na enfermagem, analisando seu impacto e conseqüências, particularmente na prática do enfermeiro. Os autores enfatizam a necessidade de maiores discussões, acerca da incorporação dessa nova tecnologia na profissão