Chronic bilateral heel pain in a child with Sever disease: case report and review of literature

We are presenting a case report of a 10-year-old male with a 1 year history of bilateral heel pain. Sever disease is self limiting condition of calcaneal apophysis. It is the most common cause of heel pain in the growing child. There is no documented case of this condition in this region. This case highlights the clinical features of this self limiting disorder as seen in this patient and reviews the current literature

Temporal changes in ewe vaginal microbiota throughout gestation

Introduction: Numerous factors are known to influence reproductive efficiency in ewes, but few studies have investigated the potential role of vaginal microbiota in sheep reproductive success. The objective of this study was to thoroughly characterize the ewe vaginal microbiota throughout the course of pregnancy. Methods: Vaginal samples were collected from 31 pregnant Hampshire and Hampshire X Suffolk crossbred ewes on a weekly basis from pre-breeding to pregnancy testing and then biweekly until just after lambing. To characterize the vaginal microbial communities, DNA was extracted and 16S rRNA gene Illumina MiSeq amplicon sequencing was performed. Results and Discussion: Alpha diversity metrics indicated an increase in species richness, evenness, and overall diversity throughout gestation. Distinct shifts in the bacterial communities were observed during gestation and were segregated into three periods: early gestation, a transitional period and mid/late gestation. During early gestation, Actinobacillus, Histophilus, and unclassified Leptotrichiaceae were found in greater relative abundance. During the transitional period, a population shift occurred characterized by increasing relative abundance of Streptococcus and Staphylococcus. During mid/late gestation, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Ureaplasma had the greatest relative abundance. These shifts in the microbial population throughout the ewe’s gestation are likely related to hormonal changes triggered by the growing conceptus, specifically increasing blood concentration of progesterone. The transitional period shift in vaginal microbial communities potentially aligns with the placental take-over of progesterone production from the corpus luteum at approximately day 50 after conception (gestational week 7). Understanding the observed variability of the vaginal microbiota throughout pregnancy will allow for future comparison of ewes that did not become pregnant or had abnormal pregnancies, which could lead to the discovery of potential bacterial biomarkers for pregnancy outcome; this understanding could also lead to development of probiotics to improve sheep reproductive success.This article is published as Cassas MS, Jonas LC, Anderson CJ, Schmitz-Esser S and Youngs CR (2024) Temporal changes in ewe vaginal microbiota throughout gestation. Front. Microbiol. 15:1359678. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1359678.© 2024 Cassas, Jonas, Anderson, Schmitz-Esser and Youngs. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms

Canteiros de plantas medicinais, condimentares e tóxicas como ferramenta de promoção à saúde no Jardim Botânico de Diadema, SP, Brasil

Mediante a colaboração do Centro de Estudos Etnobotânicos e Etnofarmacológicos (CEE) da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP); do o Herbário da Prefeitura de São Paulo, pertencente à Secretaria do Verde de São Paulo, e do Jardim Botânico de Diadema, que faz parte da Secretaria do Meio Ambiente de Diadema, o presente projeto visou proporcionar atividades de educação ambiental relacionadas ao uso racional das Plantas Medicinais, Condimentares e Tóxicas no Jardim Botânico de Diadema. Para tanto, foram instalados e mantidos canteiros, incluindo ainda um material informativo (folders e cartilhas) para cada grupo delas. Esta estrutura de projeto foi destinada ao público em geral, sendo o principal foco, alunos da rede estadual, municipal e particular de Diadema.</p

JARDÍNES DE PLANTAS MEDICINALES, CONDIMENTOS Y TOXICAS COMO HERRAMIENTA DE PROMOCIÓN A LA SALUD EN JARDÍN BOTÁNICO DE DIADEMA, SP, BRASIL

Mediante a colaboração do Centro de Estudos Etnobotânicos e Etnofarmacológicos (CEE) da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP); do o Herbário da Prefeitura de São Paulo, pertencente à Secretaria do Verde de São Paulo, e do Jardim Botânico de Diadema, que faz parte da Secretaria do Meio Ambiente de Diadema, o presente projeto visou proporcionar atividades de educação ambiental relacionadas ao uso racional das Plantas Medicinais, Condimentares e Tóxicas no Jardim Botânico de Diadema. Para tanto, foram instalados e mantidos canteiros, incluindo ainda um material informativo (folders e cartilhas) para cada grupo delas. Esta estrutura de projeto foi destinada ao público em geral, sendo o principal foco, alunos da rede estadual, municipal e particular de Diadema.In order to provide environmental education related to the rational use of spices, toxic and medicinal plants, plant beds have been placed and maintained at Diadema Botanic Garden.  Also informative education material was distributed, such as folders and booklets. This project was developed through the collaboration between Center for Ethnobotanical and Ethopharmacological Studies (CEE) of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP); the Herbarium of the São Paulo city, which belongs to the Environment Secretary of São Paulo; and the Botanic Garden of Diadema, which belongs to the Environment Department of Diadema. The structure of this project was destined to the students from public and private schools of Diadema.A través de la colaboración entre el Centro de Estudios Etnobotánicos y Etnofarmacológicos (CEE) de la Universidad Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP); el Herbario del gobierno de la ciudad de São Paulo, que pertenece a la Secretaria del Verde de São Paulo, y el Jardín Botánico de Diadema, que pertenece a la Secretaria del Medio Ambiente de Diadema, este proyecto tuvo el objetivo  de proporcionar actividades de educación ambiental relacionadas a el uso racional de las Plantas Medicinales, Condimentos y Toxicas en el Jardín Botánico de Diadema. Con este fin, fueran instalados y mantenidos jardines en este espacio, además de la creación y distribución de materiales informativos (folletos y cartillas educativas) para cada grupo del jardín. Esta estructura fue destinada a las actividades de educación ambiental a el público en general, como alumnos de la red estadual de educación de Diadema, bien como alumnos de las redes municipal y privada de la ciudad

On Deformations of n-Lie algebras

The aim of this paper is to review the deformation theory of $n$-Lie algebras. We summarize the 1-parameter formal deformation theory and provide a generalized approach using any unital commutative associative algebra as a deformation base. Moreover, we discuss degenerations and quantization of $n$-Lie algebras.Comment: Proceeding of the conference Dakar's Workshop in honor of Pr Amin Kaidi. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:hep-th/9602016 by other author

The German Young Olympic Athletes' Lifestyle and Health Management Study (GOAL Study): design of a mixed-method study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In order to perform at top levels, elite athletes have to both protect and risk their health at the same time. Adolescent elite athletes have the additional challenge of coping with substantial physical, psychological and social transformations. The contradictory phenomenon of protecting and risking the adolescent athletes' health in sports challenges the development of health promotion and protection strategies. The GOAL Study (German Young Olympic Athletes' Lifestyle and Health Management Study) analyzes the individual and organizational management of health in adolescent elite sports.</p> <p>Methods/design</p> <p>We combine quantitative and qualitative approaches in a mixed-method study. This allows us to gather a broad range of representative information on squad athletes from all Olympic disciplines as well as in-depth information on four selected Olympic disciplines (artistic gymnastics, biathlon, handball and wrestling). Within the quantitative section we attempt to identify the young athletes' health and nutrition behavior, their subjective health state and their lay health representations, health-related social networks, and structures of medical attendance. 1138 national team level athletes born between 1992 and 1995 from 51 Olympic disciplines responded to the questionnaire (response rate: 61,75%). The qualitative section investigates the meaning and relevance of health and nutrition within the athletes' sports specific surroundings, the impact of biographic backgrounds on individual health behavior, and sports specific cultures of health, nutrition and risk. We interviewed 24 athletes and 28 coaching and medical experts, and carried out 14 multi-day participant observations at training sessions and competitions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The studies' results will serve as the basis for developing tailored health promotion strategies to be in cooperation with German elite sports associations.</p

Feeling of insecurity: a metapsychological essay

O presente trabalho tem como objetivo situar, metapsicologicamente, a experiência afetiva do sentimento de insegurança, que tem surgido como uma demanda clínica por pacientes que se consideram excessivamente inseguros. Esse sentimento estaria relacionado com uma falta de confiança em si mesmo e nas suas capacidades, bem como a uma baixa autoestima, levando a quadros que podem, no limite, chegar a um estado de angústia paralisante. Dessa forma, é relevante examinar o sentimento de insegurança, do ponto de vista metapsicológico, no sentido de angariar subsídios teóricos para o exercício clínico. Dado que o sentimento de insegurança não foi objeto do estudo de Freud, foi feita sua articulação com o sentimento de inferioridade e com o autossentimento (Selbstgfühl), presentes na obra deste autor, mas pouco desenvolvido por ele. Estando no campo das experiências afetivas, foi abordada a dimensão polissêmica do termo afeto na obra de Freud, um ponto de parada essencial no estudo de um sentimento sob a perspectiva deste autor, o que rendeu desdobramentos conceituais referentes aos mecanismos de operação dos afetos, bem como das diferenças funcionais entre afetos distintos. Em seguida, o Eu e o narcisismo foram investigados, na medida em que a experiência afetiva da insegurança diz respeito, necessariamente, ao Eu que não se sente seguro. O narcisismo foi examinado como um complexo afetivo de matiz amoroso, ligado ao Eu, ou seja, seu amor próprio, sendo diferenciado da experiência mais geral do autossentimento, que seria o conjunto de todos os afetos referentes ao Eu, incluindo aqueles de valência negativa, como os sentimentos de insegurança e de inferioridade. Com esses elementos, o sentimento de insegurança pôde ser lido como um afeto produzido pela percepção de estar em perigo e não ter os recursos necessários para enfrentar essa ameaça, sendo levantados três tipos de sentimentos de insegurança: a realista, referente a um perigo vindo do mundo externo; a neurótica, referente a um perigo vindo do mundo interno, em particular da perda de amor do Super-eu; e a insegurança ontológica, referente a um perigo de desintegração do próprio Eu, que seria produzido em casos de maior comprometimento das funções do aparelho psíquicoThe objective of this study is to situate, metapsychologically, the affective experience of the feeling of insecurity that has emerged as a clinical demand for patients who consider themselves to be excessively insecure. This feeling would be related to a lack of confidence in oneself and their abilities, as well as to a low self-esteem, leading to cadres who may, in the limit, reach a state of paralyzing anxiety. Thus, it is relevant to examine the feeling of insecurity, from the metapsychological point of view, in order to obtain theoretical subsidies for clinical exercise. Since the feeling of insecurity was not the object of Freud\'s study, its articulation was made with the feeling of inferiority and self-feeling (Selbstgfühl), present in the work of this author, but undeveloped by him. Being in the field of affective experiences, the polysemic dimension of the term affection in the work of Freud, an essential stoppage in the study of a feeling from the perspective of this author, was approached, which yielded conceptual unfoldings referring to the mechanisms of the operation of affections, as well as functional differences between different affections. Then the ego and the narcissism were investigated, insofar as the affective experience of insecurity necessarily concerns the ego which does not feel secure. Narcissism was examined as an affective complex of a love hue, connected to the ego, that is, its self-love, being differentiated from the more general experience of self-feeling, which would be the set of all affections regarding the ego, including those of negative valence, such as feelings of insecurity and inferiority. With these elements, the feeling of insecurity could be read as an affection produced by the perception of being in danger and not having the necessary resources to face this threat, being raised three types of feelings of insecurity: the realistic one, referring to a danger coming from external world; the neurotic, referring to a danger coming from the inner world, in particular from the loss of love of the superego; and the ontological insecurity, referring to a danger of disintegration of the ego that would be produced in cases of greater impairment of the functions of the psychic apparatu

Investigation of the sheep vaginal microbiome and its implications on ewe reproductive function

Reproductive success or failure is a primary determinant of profitability of commercial sheep production enterprises that generate farm revenue through the production and sale of lambs for meat. Since the reproductive success of ewes is vitally important to those producers, it is crucial to investigate any factor that could potentially influence establishment and maintenance of sheep pregnancy. The population of microbes that inhabit the vagina, also known as the vaginal microbiome, is one sparsely studied factor that might influence sheep pregnancy outcome. To characterize the vaginal microbiome of the ewe and its effect on sheep reproductive outcome, samples were collected from the vagina of Hampshire and Hampshire X Suffolk crossbred mature ewes (n=32) and ewe lambs (n=11). Samples were collected weekly from pre-breeding until pregnancy testing (mature ewes and ewe lambs) and then bi-weekly from pregnant mature ewes until immediately after lambing. At pregnancy testing, 96.9% (31/32) of mature ewes and 36.4% (4/11) of ewe lambs were pregnant. The 31 pregnant mature ewes were used to characterize the vaginal microbiome starting pre-breeding, continuing throughout gestation, and ceasing immediately after lambing (thesis chapter 3). The 11 ewe lambs were utilized to compare the vaginal microbial communities between ewe lambs that did (n=4) or did not (n=7) become pregnant with the hope of identifying a biomarker for pregnancy outcome (thesis chapter 4). DNA was extracted from the harvested samples, and 16S rRNA gene Illumina MiSeq amplicon sequencing was performed to identify the bacterial communities present. A shift in the bacterial communities present over the course of gestation was observed in pregnant ewes and was best described in three distinct time periods: Period 1 (Pre-breeding through sampling Week 7), Period 2 (sampling Weeks 8 and 9), and Period 3 (sampling Week 10 through post-lambing). Actinobacillus seminis, Histophilus, and Unclassified Leptotrichiaceae were found in greater relative abundance during period 1 when compared with later periods. During Period 2, a shift in the bacterial community was evident; Chloroplast, Streptococcus, and Unclassified Rhodobacteraceae had greater relative abundance during those two weeks. During Period 3, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Ureaplasma had the greatest relative abundance. The shift in the microbial population throughout the ewe's gestation is most likely related to (and perhaps caused by) the drastic hormonal changes triggered by the growing conceptus, specifically the increased concentration of progesterone in the blood. The Period 2 shift in the vaginal microbial communities aligns with the placental take-over of progesterone production from the ovary at approximately day 50 after conception. Further investigation is needed, however, to confirm progesterone’s role in the vaginal microbiome changes throughout pregnancy. The vaginal microbial communities of ewe lambs that established a pregnancy (n=4) or did not (n=7) were fundamentally different at the genus level. Unclassified Pasteurella and Unclassified Leptotrichiaceae were more prevalent in the non-pregnant ewe lambs from sampling Week 1 through Week 9. At Week 6, the vaginal microbiome of the pregnant ewe lambs underwent a distinct shift that was not observed in the non-pregnant ewes. Thereafter, the microbial communities in pregnant ewe lambs were composed primarily of the genera Histophilus, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, and Ureaplasma. Five operational taxonomic units (OTUs) differed (P<0.05) between pregnant and non-pregnant ewe lambs without an interaction effect with sampling week. The OTUs that were more common in non-pregnant ewe lambs than in pregnant ewe lambs (irrespective of sampling time point) were Aerococcus urinaehiminis, Parvimonas parva, and Fusobacterium. The two species that were more abundant in pregnant ewe lambs than in non-pregnant ewe lambs were Lysinibacillus boronitolerans and Campylobacter upsaliensis. We sought to identify a bacterial biomarker for pregnancy outcome in the present study, but we were unable to do so (likely due to the low number of animals available for comparison). Conducting another experiment with a greater number of animals may be useful to confirm or refute this study’s results

Social Justice and ethnic diverse population : contribution of local policies in Leipzig, Germany

Cities and countries are increasingly becoming more ethnic diverse. In the European context there have been several waves of immigration since the end of the Second World War. From guest-workers invited to work at the economic development of Europe in the 1960’s and on until new fluxes of immigration nowadays, national policies have also been transforming accordingly. Policies went from being assimilationist to multiculturalist and now they are again in transformation. However, despite most laws concerning immigration and integration being national, cities and neighborhoods are the places in which newcomers influence the most. Moreover, immigrants are a diverse group and will settle under different socioeconomic conditions. While some immigrants are able to achieve more easily the same standards of the host society, others are more likely to live in deprivation. Thus, claims for greater social justice are raised. Following the Young’s (1990) concept of social justice, in this thesis I propose to analyze whether local and national policies concerning immigration and integration are able to promote social justice for the ethnic diverse population. In order to answer this question, the case of neighborhoods of Neustadt- Neuschönefeld and Volkmarsdorf in Leipzig were chosen. This area concentrates high proportions of immigrant population and at the same time it is one the most deprived areas in Leipzig. Thus, most immigrants that are located in this area are living in more vulnerable situations. Three local policies were analyzed to better understand how the municipality approaches such situation. The four documents are: “Overall concept for immigrant integration”, the “Integrated Development Concept for Leipzig”, the “Integrated Development Concept for the district of Leipzig-East” and finally the “Municipal overall strategy for democracy and diversity”. Moreover, to understand how those policies are put into practice, investments done in this area were also brought up. Three main conclusions were drawn in this respect. The first concerns the importance of the local context that shapes relations between locals and immigrants and that can limit the response of the municipality when tackling such subject. The second result concerned a possible mismatch between the reality and the policies, given that most policies were developed in a top-down approach and the few indicators in which the policies were built. Lastly, it concerns the incompatibility of assimilationist policies and social justice.Les villes et les pays sont de plus en plus multiethniques. L’Europe a connu un certain nombre de changements sociétaux depuis l’immigration : des travailleurs de l’après Seconde Guerre Mondiale jusqu’aux flux d’immigration actuels. Aussi, l’augmentation de l’immigration a eu un impact direct sur les politiques nationales des pays d’accueil. Cependant, bien que de la majorité des lois relatives à l'immigration et à l'intégration soient pensées à une échelle nationale, les migrants influent directement sur l'environnement urbain, où conflits entre population locale et étrangers peuvent être directement ressentis. Ainsi, les ressortissants de nationalités diverses s’installent dans les villes de façon différente selon leurs ressources économiques et leur accointances personnelles. Tandis que certains migrants peuvent plus facilement atteindre un niveau socio-économique similaire à celui de la population locale, d'autres se retrouvent dans des situations plus précaires, nécessitant ainsi une plus forte prise en charge, selon le principe de justice sociale. Suite à la définition de la justice sociale élaborée par Young (1990), cette thèse se propose d'examiner si les politiques nationales et locales relatives à l'immigration et à l'intégration peuvent promouvoir la justice sociale à une population ethniquement diversifiée. Pour répondre à cette question, nous utiliserons le cas des quartiers Neustadt-Neuschönefeld et Volkmarsdorf à Leipzig. Ces zones concentrent une grande partie de la population immigrée, la plus socialement vulnérable de Leipzig. Nous avons donc analysé un certain nombre de politiques publiques pour comprendre le traitement que font les municipalités de cette question. En outre, nous avons listé les investissements dans la région afin de mieux comprendre de quelle manière les plans et les politiques publiques sont mis en pratique. Une des premières conclusions qui se dégage concerne l’influence du contexte local sur les relations entre les migrants et les natifs, qui peuvent avoir un impact restrictif direct sur les actions de la municipalité. Une deuxième conclusion se rapporte au décalage entre la réalité du terrain et les politiques développées. Alors que plusieurs indicateurs sociaux manquent déjà dans l’architecture des politiques, leur processus d’élaboration n’a eu que peu recours à la participation de la population immigrée pour laquelle, pourtant, ces politiques sont destinées. Enfin, nous verrons que notre dernière conclusion se réfère directement à l’incompatibilité entre justice sociale et politiques d’assimilation