Empiema pleural por Eikenella corrodens e Porphyromonas asaccharolytica numa doente diabética sob ventilação não invasiva por síndrome de apneia obstrutiva do sono

ResumoA Eikenella corrodens é um microrganismo habitualmente encontrado na mucosa oral, trato gastrointestinal e trato geniturinário de humanos. Os casos de infeção pleuropulmonar por este agente são raros em indivíduos imunocompetentes, sendo a aspiração um fator importante na sua patogenia. Apesar de apresentar geralmente um prognóstico favorável, o reconhecimento desta infeção é essencial dado o perfil de sensibilidades característico. Os autores apresentam um caso de empiema pleural por E. corrodens, em coinfeção com Porphyromonas asaccharolytica, numa doente diabética imunocompetente com síndrome de apneia obstrutiva do sono, discutindo o papel da ventilação não invasiva como fator predisponente da referida infeção.AbstractEikenella corrodens is a normal inhabitant of the human oral cavity and gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. Pleuropulmonary infections by this microorganism are uncommon. Pulmonary aspiration is a chief predisposing condition. Although the outcome is usually favorable, its distinctive antibiotic sensitivity pattern makes bacterial identification an important feature in dealing with this infection. The authors report a case of pleural empyema caused by co-infection with Eikenella corrodens and Porphyromonas asaccharolytica, in an immunocompetent diabetic patient with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, followed by a discussion on the role of noninvasive ventilation in the development of this infection

Transition to a Sustainable Circular Plastics Economy in The Netherlands: Discourse and Policy Analysis

The circular economy (CE) has become a key sustainability discourse in the last decade. The Netherlands seeks to become fully circular by 2050 and the EU has set ambitious circularity targets in its CE Action Plan of 2015. The plastics sector, in particular, has gained a lot of attention as it is a priority area of both the EU and Dutch CE policies. However, there has been little research on the different and often contested discourses, governance processes and policy mechanisms guiding the transition to a circular economy and society. This paper aims to fill these gaps by asking what circular discourses and policies are being promoted in the Netherlands and what sustainability implications and recommendations can be drawn from it. It does so through a mix of media analysis, policy analysis, semi-structured interviews, and surveys using Q-methodology. Results indicate a dominance of technocentric imaginaries, and a general lack of discussion on holistic, and transformative visions, which integrate the full social, political, and ecological implication of a circular future. To address those challenges, this research brings key policy insights and recommendations which can help both academics and practitioners better understand and implement the transition towards a sustainable circular plastics economy

An exact analytical solution for generalized growth models driven by a Markovian dichotomic noise

Logistic growth models are recurrent in biology, epidemiology, market models, and neural and social networks. They find important applications in many other fields including laser modelling. In numerous realistic cases the growth rate undergoes stochastic fluctuations and we consider a growth model with a stochastic growth rate modelled via an asymmetric Markovian dichotomic noise. We find an exact analytical solution for the probability distribution providing a powerful tool with applications ranging from biology to astrophysics and laser physics

Mean pulmonary arterial pressure after percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty predicts long-term adverse outcomes

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: Percutaneous mitral valvuloplasty (PMV) is an effective treatment option for mitral stenosis (MS), but its success is assessed on the basis of clinical and echocardiographic outcomes in studies with relatively short follow-up. We aimed to characterize a cohort of patients undergoing PMV with long-term follow-up and to determine independent predictors of post-PMV mitral re-intervention and event-free survival. METHODS: We studied 91 consecutive patients with MS who underwent PMV with a median clinical follow-up duration of 99 months. Two endpoints were considered: post-PMV mitral re-intervention (PMV or mitral surgery) and a composite clinical events endpoint including cardiovascular death, mitral valve re-intervention and hospital admission due to decompensated heart failure. We compared patients who required post-PMV mitral re-intervention with those who did not during follow-up. RESULTS: The study population included 83.5% females and mean age was 48.9±13.9 years. The 1-, 3-, 5-, 7- and 9-year rates of clinical event-free survival were 93.0±2.8%, 86.0±3.9%, 81.0±4.4%, 70.6±5.6%, and 68.4±5.8%, respectively. The 1-, 3-, 5-, 7- and 9-year rates of mitral re-intervention-free survival were 98.8±1.2%, 97.5±1.7%, 92.1±3.1%, 85.5±4.5%, and 85.5±4.5%, respectively. The median time to mitral re-intervention was 6.2 years. Patients who required mitral re-intervention during follow-up were younger (43.3 vs. 51.2 years, p=0.04) and had higher pre- and post-PMV mitral gradient (14.9 vs. 11.5mmHg, p=0.02 and 6.4 vs. 2.1mmHg, p<0.001) and higher post-PMV mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) (30.0 vs. 23.2mmHg, p=0.01). In a Cox proportional hazards model, mPAP ≥25mmHg was the sole predictor of both mitral re-intervention (HR 5.639 [1.246-25.528], p=0.025) and clinical events (HR 3.622 [1.070-12.260], p=0.039). CONCLUSION: In our population, immediate post-PMV mPAP was the sole predictor of post-PMV mitral intervention. These findings may help identify patients in need of closer post-PMV follow-up

1-D Harmonic Oscillator in Snyder Space, the Classic and the Quantum

The 1-D dimension harmonic oscillator in Snyder space is investigated in its classical and quantum versions. The classical trajectory is obtained and the semiclassical quantization from the phase space trajectories is discussed. In the meanwhile, an effective cutoff to high frequencies is found. The quantum version is developed and an equivalent usual harmonic oscillator is obtained through an effective mass and an effective frequency introduced in the model. This modified parameters give us an also modified energy spectra.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Upcycling spent brewery grains through the production of carbon adsorbents: application to the removal of carbamazepine from water

Spent brewery grains, a by-product of the brewing process, were used as precursor of biochars and activated carbons to be applied to the removal of pharmaceuticals from water. Biochars were obtained by pyrolysis of the raw materials, while activated carbons were produced by adding a previous chemical activation step. The influence of using different precursors (from distinct fermentation processes), activating agents (potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, and phosphoric acid), pyrolysis temperatures, and residence times was assessed. The adsorbents were physicochemically characterized and applied to the removal of the antiepileptic carbamazepine from water. Potassium hydroxide activation produced the materials with the most promising properties and adsorptive removals, with specific surface areas up to 1120 m2 g-1 and maximum adsorption capacities up to 190 ± 27 mg g-1 in ultrapure water. The adsorption capacity suffered a reduction of < 70% in wastewater, allowing to evaluate the impact of realistic matrices on the efficiency of the materials.publishe

Microsporogenesis in Brachiaria brizantha (Poaceae) as a selection tool for breeding.

The genus Brachiaria comprises more than 100 species and is the single most important genus of forage grass in the tropics. Brachiaria brizantha , widely used in Brazilian pastures for beef and dairy production, is native to tropical Africa. As a subsidy to the breeding program underway in Brazil, cytological studies were employed to determine the chromosome number and to evaluate microsporogenesis in 46 accessions of this species available at Embrapa Beef Cattle (Brazil)

Resultados da utilização rotineira de catéteres 4F no cateterismo diagnóstico num laboratório de hemodinâmica

INTRODUCTION: Complications at the site of vascular access are the most common adverse events in cardiac catheterization. The use of small gauge catheters may reduce this risk and allow earlier ambulation, the main disadvantage according to some authors being inferior image quality. The aim of our study was to evaluate the safety and image quality of 4 French diagnostic catheters. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study of 1656 patients who underwent diagnostic cardiac catheterization with 4F catheters via the femoral artery between January 2006 and December 2007, and analyzed the complications during and immediately after the procedure. The quality of the films was assessed in 125 consecutive patients from this group, who were also followed up on average one month after hospital discharge. RESULTS: Cardiac catheterization with 4F catheters was technically possible in all cases. Patients were able to ambulate and were discharged from hospital on average four and six hours respectively after the procedure. Complications during or immediately after the procedure occurred in 5.8% of cases. In the subgroup with clinical follow-up, there was minor bleeding at the access site in 16.4% and hematoma in 14.4%; in the latter group, only one patient had major hematoma requiring therapeutic intervention. No other major complications were recorded and the patients resumed their daily activities on average 7 days after discharge. Image analysis revealed that most of the films were of good quality. Conclusion: The use of 4F catheters for diagnostic cardiac catheterization via the femoral approach enables rapid hemostasis and early ambulation, with a low incidence of complications at the access site. This type of catheter provides good quality images and there were no problems in their handling. 4F catheters are therefore a good option to consider for cardiac catheterization, especially when no therapeutic procedures are expected

Can ocean warming alter sub-lethal effects of antiepileptic and antihistaminic pharmaceuticals in marine bivalves?

The negative effects induced in marine organisms by Climate Change related abiotic factors consequences, namely ocean warming, are well-known. However, few works studied the combined impacts of ocean warming and contaminants, as pharmaceutical drugs. Carbamazepine (CBZ) and cetirizine (CTZ) occur in the marine environment, showing negative effects in marine organisms. This study aimed to evaluate the impacts of ocean warming on the effects of CBZ and CTZ, when acting individually and combined (drug vs drug), in the edible clam Ruditapes philippinarum. For that, drugs concentration, bioconcentration factors and biochemical parameters, related with clam's metabolic capacity and oxidative stress, were evaluated after 28 days exposure to environmentally relevant scenarios of these stressors. The results showed limited impacts of the drugs (single and combined) at control and warming condition. Indeed, it appeared that warming improved the oxidative status of contaminated clams (higher reduced to oxidized glutathione ratio, lower lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation levels), especially when both drugs were combined. This may result from clam's defence mechanisms activation and reduced metabolic capacity that, respectively, increased elimination and limited production of reactive oxygen species. At low stress levels, defence mechanisms were not activated which resulted into oxidative stress. The present findings highlighted that under higher stress levels clams may be able to activate defence strategies that were sufficient to avoid cellular damages and loss of redox homeostasis. Nevertheless, low concentrations were tested in the present study and the observed responses may greatly change under increased pollution levels or temperatures. Further research on this topic is needed since marine heat waves are increasing in frequency and intensity and pollution levels of some pharmaceuticals are also increasing in coastal systems.publishe

Current screening methodologies in drug discovery for selected human diseases

The increase of many deadly diseases like infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria implies re-inventing the wheel on drug discovery. A better comprehension of the metabolisms and regulation of diseases, the increase in knowledge based on the study of disease-born microorganisms’ genomes, the development of more representative disease models and improvement of techniques, technologies, and computation applied to biology are advances that will foster drug discovery in upcoming years. In this paper, several aspects of current methodologies for drug discovery of antibacterial and antifungals, anti-tropical diseases, antibiofilm and antiquorum sensing, anticancer and neuroprotectors are considered. For drug discovery, two different complementary approaches can be applied: classical pharmacology, also known as phenotypic drug discovery, which is the historical basis of drug discovery, and reverse pharmacology, also designated target-based drug discovery. Screening methods based on phenotypic drug discovery have been used to discover new natural products mainly from terrestrial origin. Examples of the discovery of marine natural products are provided. A section on future trends provides a comprehensive overview on recent advances that will foster the pharmaceutical industry. © 2018 by the authors.Acknowledgments: This work was funded by the H2020-TWINN-2015 project BLUEandGREEN (grant 692419). We acknowledge the FCT Project UID/Multi/04423/2013 and the Interreg Atlantic Area project BLUEHUMAN (EAPA_151/2016) funded by the European Regional Development Fund