Extradural hematoma: comparative radiological study between, comatous and noncomatous patients

A series of 129 patients harbouring extradural hematomas was analysed considering the neurological state immediately before operation as the most consistent variable. Seventy eight patients were considered to be comatous (Group I) and 51 were noncomatous. Among the comatous group, 30 were investigated with computerized tomography (23.3% mortality, 50% good results), 31 were submitted to angiography (48.3% mortality, 38.7% good results), and 17 were operated based on the neurological examination and skull radiography (47% mortality, 35.2% good results). The presence or absence of skull fracture and the density of hematoma did not change the final outcome. Associated intracranial lesions increased the mortality and lowered the good results in both groups. Frontal hematomas (10 cases) in the comatous group were associated with high mortality (52.6%) due to bad neurological state (Glasgow 3-5) and to isolated or multiple intracranial associated lesions (6 patients).Considerando o estado neurológico imediatamente antes da operação como a variável miais fidedigna para antecipação do prognóstico dos hematomas extradurais, os autores realizaram estudo radiológico comparativo de 129 pacientes operados por esta patologia. Desta amostra, 78 casos se encontravam em coma (Grupo I) e 51 eram não comatosos (Grupo II). No grupo I, os 30 casos investigados pré-operatoriamente com tomografia tiveram 23,3% de mortalidade e 50% de bons resultados; dos 31 casos submetidos a angiografia, 48,3% faleceram e 38,7% tiveram bons resultados; 17 casos foram operados pela radiografia simples de crânio e exame neurológico, com 47% de mortalidade e 35,2% de bons resultados. A presença de fratura de crânio e a densidade tomográfica do hematoma não interferiram nos resultados. A presença de lesão associada intracraniana aumentou a mortalidade e diminuiu a quantidade de bons resultados tanto no Grupo I quanto no Grupo II. A localização frontal do hematoma foi associada a elevada mortalidade (52,6%) no grupo comatoso, por estarem todos os pacientes entre 3 a 5 pontos na Escala de Glasgow e seis deles por apresentarem lesões associadas intracranianas únicas ou múltiplas.Hospital Santa IsabelEscola Paulista de MedicinaUNIFESP, EPMSciEL

Phase behaviour and miscibility studies of collagen/silk fibroin macromolecular system in dilute solutions and solid state

Miscibility is an important issue in biopolymer blends for analysis of the behavior of polymer pairs through the detection of phase separation and improvement of the mechanical and physical properties of the blend. This study presents the formulation of a stable and one-phase mixture of collagen and regenerated silk fibroin (RSF), with the highest miscibility ratio between these two macromolecules, through inducing electrostatic interactions, using salt ions. For this aim, a ternary phase diagram was experimentally built for the mixtures, based on observations of phase behavior of blend solutions with various ratios. The miscibility behavior of the blend solutions in the miscible zones of the phase diagram was confirmed quantitatively by viscosimetric measurements. Assessing the effects of biopolymer mixing ratio and salt ions, before and after dialysis of blend solutions, revealed the importance of ion-specific interactions in the formation of coacervate-based materials containing collagen and RSF blends that can be used in pharmaceutical, drug delivery, and biomedical applications. Moreover, the conformational change of silk fibroin from random coil to beta sheet, in solution and in the final solid films, was detected by circular dichroism (CD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) exhibited alterations of surface morphology for the biocomposite films with different ratios. Surface contact angle measurement illustrated different hydrophobic properties for the blended film surfaces. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed that the formation of the beta sheet structure of silk fibroin enhances the thermal stability of the final blend films. Therefore, the novel method presented in this study resulted in the formation of biocomposite films whose physico-chemical properties can be tuned by silk fibroin conformational changes by applying different component mixing ratios228sem informaçãosem informaçã

Reconciling biome-wide conservation of an apex carnivore with land-use economics in the increasingly threatened Pantanal wetlands

Conservation of carnivores involves finding solutions to minimize habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict. Understanding the nature of land-use economics can allow us to mitigate both threats. In the Pantanal, the two main economic activities are cattle ranching and ecotourism, each of which directly and indirectly affect the persistence of jaguars (Panthera onca). To understand how the geography of these economic activities is related to jaguar populations, we developed a jaguar distribution model (JDM), livestock density model, and ecotourism lodge density model for the Pantanal. Due to the recent wildfires within the Pantanal, we also assess the impact of burnt areas that are suitable for jaguars, cattle ranching, and tourism. Our JDM indicate that 64% of the Pantanal holds suitable habitat for jaguars. However, jaguar habitat suitability was positively correlated with ecotourism, but negatively correlated with areas most suitable for intensive cattle-ranching. This demonstrates a biome-wide scenario compatible with jaguar conservation. Of particular concern, recent wildfires overlap most suitable areas for jaguars. If wildfires become increasingly frequent, this would represent a serious threat to jaguars and many other wildlife populations. We emphasize the global importance of the Pantanal wetland ecoregion as a key stronghold for long-term jaguar conservation

Exploring glycoside hydrolases and accessory proteins from wood decay fungi to enhance sugarcane bagasse saccharification

Abstract\ud \ud Background\ud Glycoside hydrolases (GHs) and accessory proteins are key components for efficient and cost-effective enzymatic hydrolysis of polysaccharides in modern, biochemically based biorefineries. Currently, commercialized GHs and accessory proteins are produced by ascomycetes. However, the role of wood decay basidiomycetes proteins in biomass saccharification has not been extensively pursued. Wood decay fungi degrade polysaccharides in highly lignified tissues in natural environments, and are a promising enzyme source for improving enzymatic cocktails that are designed for in vitro lignocellulose conversion.\ud \ud \ud Results\ud GHs and accessory proteins were produced by representative brown- and white-rot fungi, Laetiporus sulphureus and Pleurotus ostreatus, respectively. Concentrated protein extracts were then used to amend commercial enzymatic cocktails for saccharification of alkaline-sulfite pretreated sugarcane bagasse. The main enzymatic activities found in the wood decay fungal protein extracts were attributed to endoglucanases, xylanases and β-glucosidases. Cellobiohydrolase (CBH) activities in the L. sulphureus and P. ostreatus extracts were low and nonexistent, respectively. The initial glucan conversion rates were boosted when the wood decay fungal proteins were used to replace half of the enzymes from the commercial cocktails. L. sulphureus proteins increased the glucan conversion levels, with values above those observed for the full load of commercial enzymes. Wood decay fungal proteins also enhanced the xylan conversion efficiency due to their high xylanase activities. Proteomic studies revealed 104 and 45 different proteins in the P. ostreatus and L. sulphureus extracts, respectively. The enhancement of the saccharification of alkaline-pretreated substrates by the modified enzymatic cocktails was attributed to the following protein families: GH5- and GH45-endoglucanases, GH3-β-glucosidases, and GH10-xylanases.\ud \ud \ud Conclusions\ud The extracellular proteins produced by wood decay fungi provide useful tools to improve commercial enzyme cocktails that are currently used for the saccharification of alkaline-pretreated lignocellulosic substrates. The relevant proteins encompass multiple glycoside hydrolase families, including the GH5- and GH45-endoglucanases, GH3-β-glucosidases, and GH10-xylanases.The authors thank J.M. Silva and J.C. Tavares for technical assistance. This work\ud was supported by FAPESP (contract numbers 08/56256-5 and 2014/06923-6),\ud CNPq (contract numbers 442333/2014-5; 310186/2014-5 and 140796/2013-\ud 4), and CAPES. We gratefully acknowledge the provision of time on the MAS\ud and NGS facilities (LNBio and CTBE, respectively) at the National Center for\ud Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM).\ud The work was supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de\ud São Paulo (FAPESP), contract numbers 08/56256-5 and 2014/06923-6, and by\ud Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa (CNPq), contract numbers 442333/2014-5;\ud 310186/2014-5, 140796/2013-4

Sensitive and specific serodiagnosis of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs by using peptides selected from hypothetical proteins identified by an immunoproteomic approach

In Brazil, the percentage of infected dogs living in areas where canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) is endemic ranges from 10 to 62%; however, the prevalence of infection in dogs is probably higher than figures reported from serological studies. In addition, problems with the occurrence of false-positive or false-negative results in the serodiagnosis of CVL have been reported. The present work analyzed the potential of synthetic peptides mapped from hypothetical proteins for improvement of the serodiagnosis of Leishmania infantum infection in dogs. From 26 identified leishmanial proteins, eight were selected, considering that no homologies between these proteins and others from trypanosomatide sequence databases were encountered. The sequences of these proteins were mapped to identify linear B-cell epitopes, and 17 peptides were synthesized and tested in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for the serodiagnosis of L. infantum infection in dogs. Of these, three exhibited sensitivity and specificity values higher than 75% and 90%, respectively, to differentiate L. infantum-infected animals from Trypanosoma cruziinfected animals and healthy animals. Soluble Leishmania antigen (SLA) showed poor sensitivity (4%) and specificity (36%) to differentiate L. infantum-infected dogs from healthy and T. cruzi-infected dogs. Lastly, the three selected peptides were combined in different mixtures and higher sensitivity and specificity values were obtained, even when sera from T. cruzi-infected dogs were used. The study’s findings suggest that these three peptides can constitute a potential tool for more sensitive and specific serodiagnosis of L. infantum infection in dogsThis work was supported by grants from the Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa from UFMG (Edital 07/2012), Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Nano-biofarmacêutica (INCT-NANOBIOFAR, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG) (CBB-APQ-02364-08, CBB-APQ-00356-10, CBB-APQ-00496-11, and CBB-APQ-00819-12), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (APQ-472090/2011-9), and the Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia em Vacinas (INCT-V). E.A.F.C. and A.P.F. are CNPq grant recipients. M.A.C.-F. is a FAPEMIG/CAPES grant recipient. This study was supported in Spain, in part, by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (FIS/PI1100095)

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19-free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a COVID-19-free surgical pathway (complete segregation of the operating theater, critical care, and inpatient ward areas) or no defined pathway (incomplete or no segregation, areas shared with patients with COVID-19). The primary outcome was 30-day postoperative pulmonary complications (pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, unexpected ventilation). RESULTS: Of 9,171 patients from 447 hospitals in 55 countries, 2,481 were operated on in COVID-19-free surgical pathways. Patients who underwent surgery within COVID-19-free surgical pathways were younger with fewer comorbidities than those in hospitals with no defined pathway but with similar proportions of major surgery. After adjustment, pulmonary complication rates were lower with COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.2% v 4.9%; adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.62; 95% CI, 0.44 to 0.86). This was consistent in sensitivity analyses for low-risk patients (American Society of Anesthesiologists grade 1/2), propensity score-matched models, and patients with negative SARS-CoV-2 preoperative tests. The postoperative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was also lower in COVID-19-free surgical pathways (2.1% v 3.6%; aOR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36 to 0.76). CONCLUSION: Within available resources, dedicated COVID-19-free surgical pathways should be established to provide safe elective cancer surgery during current and before future SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks