Pneumatosis Coli Treated with Metronidazole and Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy: A Successful Case

A pneumatose intestinal, caracterizada pela presença de gás na parede do cólon, é uma condição incomum com um espectro de apresentação variável. Pode ser idiopática ou secundária a outras doenças. A tomografia computorizada é o método de diagnóstico com maior sensibilidade. Na ausência de sinais e sintomas sugestivos de complicações, como a perfuração e a peritonite, a pneumatose intestinal pode ser tratada de forma conservadora. Apresenta-se o caso de uma mulher de 59 anos com pneumatose cólica secundária a teratoma ovárico benigno. Após a cirurgia, manteve-se sintomática e foi tratada com sucesso com metronidazol e oxigenoterapia hiperbárica

Avaliação física e físico-química de 25 genótipos de maracujázeiro-azedo cultivados no Distrito Federal.

O trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o desempenho agronômico de 25 genótipos de maracujazeiro azedo no Distrito Federal, bem como estimar parâmetros genéticos para serem utilizados em programas de melhoramento genético dessa cultura

Generalised Space-time and Gauge Transformations

We consider the generalised space-time introduced by the author in 2003 in the context of the non-linear realisation of the semi-direct product of E11 and its first fundamental representation. For all the fields we propose gauge transformations which are compatible with the underlying E11 structure. A crucial role is played by the generalised vielbein that the generalised space-time possess. We work out the explicit form of the gauge transformations, at low levels, in four, five and eleven dimensions.Comment: 33 page

Generalised geometry, eleven dimensions and E11

We construct the non-linear realisation of E11 and its first fundamental representation in eleven dimensions at low levels. The fields depend on the usual coordinates of space-time as well as two form and five form coordinates. We derive the terms in the dynamics that contain the three form and six form fields and show that when we restricted their field dependence to be only on the usual space-time we recover the correct self-duality relation. Should this result generalise to the gravity fields then the non-linear realisation is an extension of the maximal supergravity theory, as previously conjectured. We also comment on the connections between the different approaches to generalised geometry.Comment: 17 pages, Trivial typos corrected in version one and a substantial note added which gives the equation of motion relating the gravity field to its dua

He II λ\lambda4686 emission from the massive binary system in η\eta Car: constraints to the orbital elements and the nature of the periodic minima

{\eta} Carinae is an extremely massive binary system in which rapid spectrum variations occur near periastron. Most notably, near periastron the He II $\lambda 4686$ line increases rapidly in strength, drops to a minimum value, then increases briefly before fading away. To understand this behavior, we conducted an intense spectroscopic monitoring of the He II $\lambda 4686$ emission line across the 2014.6 periastron passage using ground- and space-based telescopes. Comparison with previous data confirmed the overall repeatability of EW(He II $\lambda 4686$), the line radial velocities, and the timing of the minimum, though the strongest peak was systematically larger in 2014 than in 2009 by 26%. The EW(He II $\lambda 4686$) variations, combined with other measurements, yield an orbital period $2022.7\pm0.3$ d. The observed variability of the EW(He II $\lambda 4686$) was reproduced by a model in which the line flux primarily arises at the apex of the wind-wind collision and scales inversely with the square of the stellar separation, if we account for the excess emission as the companion star plunges into the hot inner layers of the primary's atmosphere, and including absorption from the disturbed primary wind between the source and the observer. This model constrains the orbital inclination to $135^\circ$-$153^\circ$, and the longitude of periastron to $234^\circ$-$252^\circ$. It also suggests that periastron passage occurred on $T_0 = 2456874.4\pm1.3$ d. Our model also reproduced EW(He II $\lambda 4686$) variations from a polar view of the primary star as determined from the observed He II $\lambda 4686$ emission scattered off the Homunculus nebula.Comment: The article contains 23 pages and 17 figures. It has been accepted for publication in Ap

Identification of cell-surface mannans in a virulent Helicobacter pylori strain

With the intent of contributing to a carbohydrate-based vaccine against the gastroduodenal pathogen, Helicobacter pylori, we report here the structure of cell-surface mannans obtained from a virulent strain. Unlike other wild-type strains, this strain was found to express in good quantities this polysaccharide in vitro. Structural analysis revealed a branched mannan formed by a backbone of α-(1→6)-linked mannopyranosyl residues with approximately 80% branching at the O-2 position. The branches were composed of O-2-linked Man residues in both α- and β-configurations: (image) In addition, this strain also expressed cell-surface emblematic H. pylori lipopolysaccharides (LPS) containing partially fucosylated polyLacNAc O-chains. Affinity assays with polymyxin-B and concanavalin A revealed no association between the mannan and the LPS. The described mannans may be implicated in the mediation of host–microbial interactions and immunological modulation.This work was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) through project Pylori E&LPS POCI/QUI/56393/2004, PhD grant SFRH/BD/19929/2004, by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and by the European Network of Research Infrastructures within the 6th Framework Programme of the EC (Contract # RII3-026145, EU-NMR). The authors further thank Dr. Adrien Favier (RALF-NMR facility, Grenoble - France) for conducting NMR experiments