A simple intra-operative maneuver to decrease a duodenal ulcer hemorrhage temporarily: description and anatomical bases

Intraoperative hemostatic suture to treat a bleeding duodenal ulcer is sometimes difficult when there is massive hemorrhage. The aims of this paper are: (1) to describe a practical and easy intraoperative procedure which quickly decreases a massively bleeding duodenal ulcer, allowing the surgeon to identify the bleeding site clearly and obtain definitive hemostasis by suturing the involved vessels with a low risk of common bile duct lesion; and (2) to study in cadavers the anatomical basis of this surgical procedure already successfully performed on patients. Fourteen patients with massive duodenal ulcer bleeding, after unsuccessful endoscopic hemostasis, were operated on and included in this study. After surgical anterior gastroduodenotomy, the surgeon introduced a finger in a downward and forward direction in the bursa omentalis vestibule through the omental foramen. This simple and quick procedure decreased hemorrhage by compressing the gastroduodenal artery against the first part of the posterior surface of the duodenum. Twenty-four fresh blocks of normal tissue were removed from cadavers and were injected with silicone rubber through the common hepatic artery. The distance between the gastroduodenal artery and the omental foramen was measured. With this maneuver the surgeon can clearly see the exact bleeding site and perform an adequate suture with a minor risk of common bile duct lesion

All-optical XOR based on integrated MZI-SOA with Co and counter-propagation scheme

“Copyright © [2009] IEEE. Reprinted from ICTON-MW 3rd. ISBN:978-1-4244-5745-8. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to [email protected]. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.”In this work we present a review of all-optical XOR gates based on Mach-Zehnder Interferometer with Semiconductor Optical Amplifiers (MZI-SOA), using NRZ modulated signals driven at 10 Gbit/s. The performance of two alternative schemes for logical XOR gates implementation is demonstrated through numerical simulations and experimentally. The extinction ratio shows high operation performance with low degradation

Doença Meningocócica Invasiva: Aplicação do Base Excess and Platelets Score numa Unidade de Cuidados Intensivos Pediátricos Portuguesa

INTRODUCTION: Meningococcal infection has a high mortality and morbidity. Recently a new prognostic scoring system was developed for paediatric invasive meningococcal disease, based on platelet count and base excess â base excess and platelets score. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of base excess and platelets score to predict mortality in children admitted to intensive care due to invasive meningococcal disease. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Observational study, with retrospective data collection, during a 13.5 years period (01/2000 to 06/2013). Mortality by invasive meningococcal disease and related factors (organ dysfunction and multi-organ failure) were analysed. The base excess and platelets score was calculated retrospectively, to evaluate its accuracy in predicting mortality and compared with Paediatric Risk of Mortality and Paediatric Index of Mortality2. RESULTS: Were admitted 76 children with invasive meningococcal disease. The most frequent type of dysfunction was cardiovascular (92%), followed by hematologic (55%). Of the total, 47 patients (62%) had criteria for multi-organ failure. The global mortality was 16%. Neurologic and renal dysfunction showed the strongest association with mortality, adjusted odds ratio 315 (26 - 3 804) and 155 (20 - 1 299). After application of receiver operating characteristic curves, Base Excess and Platelets score had an area under curve of 0.81, Paediatric Index of Mortality2 of 0.91 and Paediatric Risk of Mortality of 0.96. DISCUSSION: The Base Excess and Platelets score showed good accuracy, although not as high as Paediatric Risk of Mortality or Paediatric Index of Mortality 2. CONCLUSIONS: The Base Excess and Platelets score may be useful tool in invasive meningococcal disease because is highly sensitive and specific and is objectively measurable and readily available at presentation

Enhanced optical gain clamping for upstream packet based traffic on hybrid WDM/TDM-PON using fiber bragg grating

In this paper, we propose a method to mitigate the temporal power transients arising from Erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) on packeted/bursty scenario. The technique, applicable on hybrid WDM/TDM-PON for extended reach, is based on a low power clamping provided by a distributed feedback (DFB) laser and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG). An mprovement in the data signal Q factor was achieved keeping the clamping control signal with a low power, accompanied by a maximum reduction in the gain excursion of 1.12 d

C+L band gain equalization for extended reach WDM-ring PON using hybrid Raman/in line EDFA amplification

“Copyright © [2010] IEEE. Reprinted from ICTON 2010. ISBN 978-1-4244-7798-2. This material is posted here with permission of the IEEE. Internal or personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution must be obtained from the IEEE by writing to [email protected]. By choosing to view this document, you agree to all provisions of the copyright laws protecting it.”In this paper, we investigate by simulation the feasibility of gain enlargement and equalization on extended reach WDM-ring PON by means of hybrid Raman/EDFA amplification. The system under analysis is composed by a bidirectional pump at 1480 nm and 16 channels (8 C band + 8 L band). The simulation describes an 80 km WDM ring with 8 nodes in which 2 channels are added/dropped. The results demonstrate gain equalization with a ripple of 2.54 dB over a bandwidth of 50 nm by using a 1480 nm bidirectional pump with 1 W and spans of EDF with a total length of 22 m

Durability assessment of external thermal insulation composite systems in urban and maritime environments

External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS) are multilayer solutions which provide an enhanced thermal performance to the building envelope. However, significant anomalies can be detected on ETICS facades, in some cases shortly after the application of these systems. This study intends to evaluate and compare the durability of six commercially available ETICS after two years of outdoor exposure at both urban and maritime conditions in Portugal. The systems were characterized by means of non-destructive testing (i.e., visual and microscopic assessment, water transport properties, thermal conductivity, surface roughness), thus allowing to evaluate the performance loss throughout natural aging. The bio-susceptibility and aesthetic properties (color and gloss) were also investigated. Results showed that the performance and durability of the complete system is significantly affected by the rendering system formulation. The lime-based specimens obtained the highest rate of mold development after one year of aging in a maritime environment, becoming considerably darker and with lower surface gloss. Fungal analysis of this darkish stained area indicated the presence of mold species of the genera Alternaria, Didymella, Cladosporium and Epicoccum, and yeasts of the genera Vishniacozyma and Cystobasidium. An increase of both capillary water absorption and water vapor permeability was also registered for the aged lime-based specimens. Acrylic-based systems obtained lower capillary water absorption after aging and greater dirt deposition on their surfaces, especially in urban conditions. These systems had also higher color variation and surface gloss decrease and slightly higher mold growth, when compared with those aged in a maritime environment. Finally, no mold growth was detected on the silicate-based specimens after two years of aging. However, these specimens obtained higher capillary water absorption and lower vapor permeability after aging, possibly leading to moisture accumulation within the system. Results contribute towards the development of ETICS with enhanced performance and durability.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Durability assessment of external thermal insulation composite systems in urban and maritime environments

Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for funding the research project PTDC/ECI-EGC/30681/2017 (WGB_Shield – Shielding building facades for cities revitalization. Triple resistance to water, graffiti and biocolonization of external thermal insulation systems), the research units CERIS ( UIDB/04625/2020 ), CERENA ( UIDB/04028/2020 ) and iBB ( UIDP/04565/2020 ), the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy – i4HB ( LA/P/0140/2020 ), and the Ph.D. scholarship 2020.05180.BD (J. L. Parracha). The authors also acknowledge CIN, Saint-Gobain and Secil for the material supply and the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) for the meteorological data. Funding Information: The authors acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for funding the research project PTDC/ECI-EGC/30681/2017 (WGB_Shield – Shielding building facades for cities revitalization. Triple resistance to water, graffiti and biocolonization of external thermal insulation systems), the research units CERIS (UIDB/04625/2020), CERENA (UIDB/04028/2020) and iBB (UIDP/04565/2020), the Associate Laboratory Institute for Health and Bioeconomy – i4HB (LA/P/0140/2020), and the Ph.D. scholarship 2020.05180.BD (J. L. Parracha). The authors also acknowledge CIN, Saint-Gobain and Secil for the material supply and the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) for the meteorological data. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Elsevier B.V.External Thermal Insulation Composite Systems (ETICS) are multilayer solutions which provide an enhanced thermal performance to the building envelope. However, significant anomalies can be detected on ETICS facades, in some cases shortly after the application of these systems. This study intends to evaluate and compare the durability of six commercially available ETICS after two years of outdoor exposure at both urban and maritime conditions in Portugal. The systems were characterized by means of non-destructive testing (i.e., visual and microscopic assessment, water transport properties, thermal conductivity, surface roughness), thus allowing to evaluate the performance loss throughout natural aging. The bio-susceptibility and aesthetic properties (color and gloss) were also investigated. Results showed that the performance and durability of the complete system is significantly affected by the rendering system formulation. The lime-based specimens obtained the highest rate of mold development after one year of aging in a maritime environment, becoming considerably darker and with lower surface gloss. Fungal analysis of this darkish stained area indicated the presence of mold species of the genera Alternaria, Didymella, Cladosporium and Epicoccum, and yeasts of the genera Vishniacozyma and Cystobasidium. An increase of both capillary water absorption and water vapor permeability was also registered for the aged lime-based specimens. Acrylic-based systems obtained lower capillary water absorption after aging and greater dirt deposition on their surfaces, especially in urban conditions. These systems had also higher color variation and surface gloss decrease and slightly higher mold growth, when compared with those aged in a maritime environment. Finally, no mold growth was detected on the silicate-based specimens after two years of aging. However, these specimens obtained higher capillary water absorption and lower vapor permeability after aging, possibly leading to moisture accumulation within the system. Results contribute towards the development of ETICS with enhanced performance and durability.publishersversionpublishe

miR-335 targets LRRK2 and mitigates inflammation in Parkinson’s disease

Copyright © 2021 Oliveira, Dionísio, Gaspar, Correia Guedes, Coelho, Rosa, Ferreira, Amaral and Rodrigues. 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.Parkinson's disease (PD) is mainly driven by dopaminergic neuronal degeneration in the substantia nigra pars compacta accompanied by chronic neuroinflammation. Despite being mainly sporadic, approximately 10% of all cases are defined as heritable forms of PD, with mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase (LRRK2) gene being the most frequent known cause of familial PD. MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs), including miR-335, are frequently deregulated in neurodegenerative diseases, such as PD. Here, we aimed to dissect the protective role of miR-335 during inflammation and/or neurodegenerative events in experimental models of PD. Our results showed that miR-335 is significantly downregulated in different PD-mimicking conditions, including BV2 microglia cells stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and/or overexpressing wild-type LRRK2. Importantly, these results were confirmed in serum of mice injected with 1-methyl-1-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydripyridine hydrochloride (MPTP), and further validated in patients with idiopathic PD (iPD) and those harboring mutations in LRRK2 (LRRK2-PD), thus corroborating potential clinical relevance. Mechanistically, miR-335 directly targeted LRRK2 mRNA. In the BV2 and N9 microglia cell lines, miR-335 strongly counteracted LPS-induced proinflammatory gene expression, and downregulated receptor interacting protein 1 (RIP1) and RIP3, two important players of necroptotic and inflammatory signaling pathways. Further, miR-335 inhibited LPS-mediated ERK1/2 activation. LRRK2-Wt-induced proinflammatory gene expression was also significantly reduced by miR-335 overexpression. Finally, in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells, miR-335 decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory genes triggered by α-synuclein. In conclusion, we revealed novel roles for miR-335 in both microglia and neuronal cells that strongly halt the effects of classical inflammatory stimuli or LRRK2-Wt overexpression, thus attenuating chronic neuroinflammation.This research was funded in part by UIDB/04138/2020 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal. SO received a Ph.D. fellowship (PD/BD/128332/2017) from FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Indicadores de qualidade de solos em área de mineração e metalurgia de chumbo. I - Microrganismos.

Os microrganismos são os mais numerosos da fração biológica do solo e estão sujeitos a alterações em sua abundância e nas relações metabólicas em função de mudanças ambientais, como o aporte de poluentes ao solo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a atividade microbiana de solos da área de mineração e metalurgia de chumbo (Pb), no município de Adrianópolis (PR), a fim de gerar indicadores biológicos da qualidade desses solos. Os solos foram amostrados (0 a 5 e 5 a 10 cm) em cinco locais e em quatro épocas do ano (maio, setembro, novembro e janeiro). Os teores totais de Pb e Zn do solo foram determinados por espectroscopia de emissão atômica com plasma acoplado indutivamente, após digestão das amostras com HF e HNO3 concentrados e H2O2 30 % (v/v) em forno de micro-ondas. Para extração de formas mais disponíveis de Pb e Zn foi empregada a solução de HNO3 0,5 mol L-1 fervente. Foram estimados os seguintes atributos microbiológicos dos solos: contagem de bactérias totais (BT); contagem de bactérias esporuláveis (BESP); percentagem de bactérias esporuláveis em relação à BT; contagem de fungos; relação entre fungos e bactérias totais; respiração microbiana; biomassa microbiana; percentagem do carbono microbiano em relação ao C orgânico total do solo; e quociente metabólico. Utilizaram-se três métodos para o tratamento estatístico dos dados: diferenciação dos solos por meio da análise de componentes principais (ACP); obtenção de índice de qualidade ambiental relativo aos atributos microbiológicos (IQAMi); e análise de correlação simples. A elevada fertilidade dos solos tornou menos expressivo o efeito prejudicial dos metais pesados sobre os microrganismos. Contudo, no mês de maior estresse climático para os organismos (maio - menor temperatura), solos com maiores teores de Pb apresentaram menor população e atividade microbiana, ou seja, nessas condições as bactérias e fungos foram bons indicadores de qualidade do solo. A maior proporção de BESP nos solos mais contaminados por Pb no mês mais frio (correlação de 0,95* para maio) pode ser interpretada como mecanismo de resistência desses organismos. O IQAMi na camada de 0 a 5 cm foi mais eficiente que a ACP na separação dos solos contaminados com metais pesados: os valores decresceram em sentido oposto ao aumento nos teores de Pb dos solos. Já na profundidade de 5 a 10 cm a ACP foi mais eficiente para esse propósito