Molecular fossils and other organic markers as palaeoenvironmental indicators of the Messinian Calcare di Base Formation: normal versus stressed marine deposition (Rossano Basin, northern Calabria, Italy)

A multidisciplinary study has been carried out on the Late Miocene (Messinian) Calcare di Base Formation in northern Calabria, Italy, with the aim of understanding the depositional conditions of these enigmatic carbonate sediments that have been interpreted as evaporitic or diagenetic limestone. The research has been developed through sedimentological (microfacies), organic petrography and geochemical analyses (palynofacies, Rock-Eval pyrolysis and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry). The carbonates studied preserve their original mineralogy (aragonite) and microstructure. The prevailing microfacies consists of clotted peloidal micrite with antigravitative fabric. Larger and darker cylindrical–subcylindrical micritic grains, attributable to faecal pellets, are more or less randomly dispersed in the peloidal micrite. The faecal pellets have been ascribed to copepods because zooclasts of these arthropods were observed in the palynofacies. Bright epifluorescence characterizes the faecal pellets and peloidal micrite, indicating their high content of organic matter. Detrital and stromatolitic microfacies occur rarely (around a few percent). The detrital microfacies is characterized by silt-sized grains organized in thin, sometimes bioturbated, graded laminae. The stromatolitic microfacies shows planar to gently curved/wrinkled laminae organized in dark and light couplets. The associated sedimentary organic matter shows low maturity, and preserves the original signatures of the source organisms. Rock-Eval pyrolysis revealed a transitional composition between Type II and Type III kerogen, suggesting a mixture of marine and terrigenous organic matter input. The molecular biogeochemical data indicate three main biological signatures: algae, bacteria and higher plants. Organic markers together with sedimentary evidence indicate a marine depositional scenario influenced by freshwater input rather than evaporitic concentration. We conclude that the most probable bacterial process involved in carbonate precipitation of the Calcare di Base, considering the freshwater input and consequent probable enrichment in organic matter and Ca2+ ions, is ammonification of amino-acids in aerobic conditions

O GESTO É A ESCRITA NO AR: REPRESENTAÇÃO IDEATIVA DE PALAVRA E APROPRIAÇÃO DA ESCRITA EM VIGOTSKI

This theoretical text focuses on the development of written language as a higher mental function. It aims to highlight the ideational representation of the word as a minimum unit of analysis for understanding the development of written language. By affirming that writing is to write ideas, this analysis is supported by the historical-cultural perspective of human development. Throughout this essay, and taking as its axis the periodization of the formation of concepts in Vygotsky, we analyze the appropriation of writing from the concept of word. We point out that the psychic act embodied in writing is not based on the treatment or on the external use that the child makes of the word orally, but in its representation as a concept. We argue, therefore, that the formation of the concept of word, both in its semantic dimension and in its morphology and phonetics, is imposed as tasks of a developmental education from early childhood education, thus building the substrate for the appropriation of writing itself, in the subsequent school years.En este texto de naturaleza teórica se focaliza el desarrollo del lenguaje escrito como función psíquica superior. Su objetivo es apuntar la representación de idea de la palabra como unidad mínima de análisis a la comprensión del desarrollo del lenguaje escrito. Al afirmar que escribir es grafiar ideas, este análisis se ancla en la perspectiva histórico-cultural de desarrollo humano. A lo largo de la presente exposición y tomándose como eje la periodización de la formación de conceptos en Vygotsky, se busco analizar La apropiación de la escritura a partir del concepto de palabra. Apuntamos que el acto psíquico consubstanciado en la escritura no radica en el trato o uso externo que el niño hace de la palabra oralmente, pero sí, de su representación como concepto. Abogamos, pues, que la formación del concepto de palabra, en su dimensión semántica y en su morfología y fonética se imponen como tareas de una enseñanza desarrollada desde la educación infantil, construyéndose, así, el substrato a la adquisición de la escritura propiamente dicha, en los años de escolarización subsecuentes. Este texto de natureza teórica focaliza o desenvolvimento da linguagem escrita como função psíquica superior. Seu objetivo é apontar a representação ideativa da palavra como unidade mínima de análise para a compreensão do desenvolvimento da linguagem escrita. Ao afirmar que escrever é grafar ideias, esta análise ampara-se na perspectiva histórico-cultural de desenvolvimento humano. Ao longo da presente exposição e tomando como eixo a periodização da formação de conceitos em Vigotski, buscamos analisar a apropriação da escrita a partir do conceito de palavra. Apontamos que o ato psíquico consubstanciado na escrita não radica no trato ou no uso externo que a criança faz da palavra oralmente, mas sim de sua representação como conceito. Advogamos, pois, que a formação do conceito de palavra, tanto em sua dimensão semântica, quanto em sua morfologia e fonética, se impõe como tarefas de um ensino desenvolvente desde a educação infantil, construindo-se, assim, o substrato para a aquisição da escrita propriamente dita nos anos de escolarização subsequentes.

Administration of an intravenous perfluorocarbon contrast agent improves echocardiographic determination of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction: comparison with cine magnetic resonance imaging

AbstractObjectives. The purpose of this study was to determine whether contrast-enhanced transthoracic echocardiography improves the evaluation of left ventricular (LV) volumes and ejection fraction (EF).Background. Echocardiographic assessment of LV volumes and EF is widely used but may be inaccurate when the endocardium is not completely visualized. Recently the intravenous (IV) administration of perfluorocarbon microbubbles has been shown to enhance opacification of the LV cavity, but the utility of these agents to improve the echocardiographic assessment of LV systolic function is unknown.Methods. In 40 subjects (29 men and 11 women, aged 24 to 81 years) an assessment of LV volumes and EF was performed with a magnetic resonance imaging examination, followed immediately by a transthoracic echocardiogram before and after the intravenous administration of 2% dodecafluoropentane emulsion (EchoGen; Sonus Pharmaceuticals, Bothell, Washington).Results. Contrast enhanced the echocardiographic assessment of LV end diastolic volume (p < 0.02), end systolic volume (p < 0.01) and LVEF (p < 0.03). The percentage of subjects in whom the correct echocardiographic classification EF was normal, mild to moderately depressed or severely reduced improved significantly after contrast enhancement (from 71% before contrast to 94% after, p < 0.03). These findings were most striking in the subjects with two or more adjacent endocardial segments not visualized at baseline.Conclusions. Administration of an intravenous contrast agent improves the ability to accurately assess LV volumes and EF in humans. Contrast enhancement is most useful in subjects with two or more adjacent endocardial segments not seen at baseline

Atividade antimicrobiana do australato de metila de Ganoderma australe

In addition to nine known steroidal compounds, australic acid and the new methyl australate have been isolated from the Brazilian fungus Ganoderma australe. Both methyl australate and its corresponding acid were shown to be active against fungi and Gram-positive bacteria, the methyl ester being also active against Gram-negative bacteria. Do fungo brasileiro Ganoderma australe foram isolados o ácido austrálico e o novo composto australado de metila, além de outros 9 compostos já conhecidos. Tanto o australado de metila quanto o ácido correpondente foram ativos contra fungos e bactérias Gram-positivas, sendo o éster metílico ainda ativo contra bactérias Gram-negativas

Medicalização: contribuições da educação musical para o desenvolvimento da atenção voluntária em crianças da educação infantil/ Medicalization: contributions of musical education to the development of voluntary care in children's education children

O objetivo deste texto é discutir as contribuições da educação musical para o desenvolvimento da atenção voluntária em crianças da educação infantil e suas implicações no processo de medicalização. Eleger-se-á como procedimentos de pesquisa uma investigação teórico-conceitual dos pressupostos da Psicologia Histórico-Cultural e do Materialismo Histórico Dialético como fundamento filosófico e metodológico para a compreensão do psiquismo. Nessa perspectiva, o desenvolvimento humano depende, principalmente, das apropriações de signos e instrumentos culturais, sob condições históricas, ou seja, forma-se pelas mediações consolidadas pela vida coletiva, pela prática social do conjunto dos homens e por processos educativos.      Pautamos na possibilidade de que a música como linguagem cultural contribui para o desenvolvimento da atenção voluntária por meio da organização do ensino com essa finalidade e apropriação de conceitos musicais. Dessa forma, acreditamos que influirá positivamente em condutas de medicalização para tratamentos de sintomas decorrentes de seu não desenvolvimento

Companion: a web server for annotation and analysis of parasite genomes

Currently available sequencing technologies enable quick and economical sequencing of many new eukaryotic parasite (apicomplexan or kinetoplastid) species or strains. Compared to SNP calling approaches, de novo assembly of these genomes enables researchers to additionally determine insertion, deletion and recombination events as well as to detect complex sequence diversity, such as that seen in variable multigene families. However, there currently are no automated eukaryotic annotation pipelines offering the required range of results to facilitate such analyses. A suitable pipeline needs to perform evidence-supported gene finding as well as functional annotation and pseudogene detection up to the generation of output ready to be submitted to a public database. Moreover, no current tool includes quick yet informative comparative analyses and a first pass visualization of both annotation and analysis results. To overcome those needs we have developed the Companion web server (http://companion.sanger.ac.uk) providing parasite genome annotation as a service using a reference-based approach. We demonstrate the use and performance of Companion by annotating two Leishmania and Plasmodium genomes as typical parasite cases and evaluate the results compared to manually annotated references

Evaluation of the renal function in patients in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery: does AKIN classification predict acute kidney dysfunction?

OBJETIVOS: Identificar a freqüência de lesão renal aguda e comparar a aplicação da classificação AKIN com o uso isolado da creatinina sérica no pós-operatório de cirurgia cardíaca. MÉTODOS: Este estudo foi desenvolvido prospectivamente em um hospital de ensino e pesquisa especializado em cardiologia da rede pública do estado de São Paulo. Foram acompanhados 44 pacientes submetidos à cirurgia cardíaca eletiva, desde o pós-operatório imediato até o 2º pós-operatório. RESULTADOS: Constatou-se que dos 44 pacientes, 75% eram hipertensos, 27% diabéticos e eram majoritariamente do sexo masculino (64%), com média de idade de 55±16 anos. Observou-se que a idade avançada e o índice de massa corpórea elevado apresentaram correlação significativa para disfunção renal (p<0,05). De acordo com a classificação AKIN, o critério fluxo urinário identificou mais disfunção renal do que o critério creatinina. Foi verificado que a disfunção renal ocorreu com maior freqüência no 1º pós-operatório e na maioria (82%) dos 63,6% dos pacientes que foram submetidos à cirurgia de revascularização do miocárdio. CONCLUSÃO: A maioria dos pacientes (75%) evoluiu inicialmente com disfunção renal sinalizada principalmente pelo critério fluxo urinário da classificação AKIN, número bem superior ao revelado pela creatinina isoladamente. Tal fato confirma que a associação da creatinina sérica com o fluxo urinário tem um desempenho discriminatório superior para a identificação precoce dessa síndrome comparativamente com o rotineiro uso isolado da creatinina.OBJECTIVES: To identify the frequency of the Acute Kidney Injury and to compare the application of the AKIN classification with the separate use of the serum creatinine in the postoperative period of cardiac surgery. METHODS: This study was prospectively developed in a teaching and specialized research hospital in cardiology of the public health system of the state of São Paulo. Forty-four patients submitted to the elective cardiac surgery since the immediate post-surgical period up to the 2nd post-surgical period were followed. RESULTS: It was possible to verify that from the forty-four patients, 75% were hypertensive, 27% were diabetic and mostly were male (64%), with an average age of 55+16 years old. It was observed that advanced age and the elevated body mass index shows a significant correlation to renal dysfunction (p<0, 05). According to the AKIN classification, the urinary flow criterion identified more renal dysfunction than creatinine criterion. It was verified that the renal dysfunction occurred more frequently in the postsurgery period and the majority (82%) from the 63,6% of the patients which were submitted to the revascularization of the myocardium surgery. CONCLUSION: The majority of patients (75%) evolved initially with renal dysfunction signaled it mainly by the urinary flow criterion from the AKIN classification, a higher number compared to the separated creatinine. This fact confirms that the serum creatinine association with the urinary flow has a higher discriminatory performance for the early identification of this syndrome comparatively with the routinely use of the isolated creatinine

Human Inborn Errors of Immunity: 2019 Update of the IUIS Phenotypical Classification.

Since 2013, the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) expert committee (EC) on Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI) has published an updated phenotypic classification of IEI, which accompanies and complements their genotypic classification into ten tables. This phenotypic classification is user-friendly and serves as a resource for clinicians at the bedside. There are now 430 single-gene IEI underlying phenotypes as diverse as infection, malignancy, allergy, autoimmunity, and autoinflammation. We herein report the 2019 phenotypic classification, including the 65 new conditions. The diagnostic algorithms are based on clinical and laboratory phenotypes for each of the ten broad categories of IEI

Improvement of physical capacity and quality of life after liver transplantation: a longitudinal study

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