Virtual libraries of tissue and clinical samples: potential role of a 3-D microscope.

Our international innovative teaching group from different European Universities (De Montfort University, DMU, UK; and the Spanish University of Alcalá, University Miguel Hernández and University of San Pablo CEU), in conjunction with practicing biomedical scientists in the National Health Service (UK) and biomedical researchers, are developing two complete e-learning packages for teaching and learning medical parasitology, named DMU e-Parasitology (accessible at: http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk), and biology and chemistry, named DMU e-Biology (accessible at: http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk/ebiology/index.htm), respectively. Both packages will include a virtual microscope with a complete library of digitised tissue images, clinical slides and cell culture slides/mini-videos for enhancing the teaching and learning of a myriad of techniques applicable to health science undergraduate and postgraduate students. Thus, these packages include detecting human parasites, by becoming familiar with their infective structures and/or organs (e.g. eggs, cysts) and/or explore pathogenic tissues stained with traditional (e.g. haematoxylin & eosin) or more modern (e.g. immunohistochemistry) techniques. The Virtual Microscope (VM) module in the DMU e-Parasitology package is almost completed (accessible at: http://parasitology.dmu.ac.uk/learn/microscope.htm) and contains a section for the three major groups of human-pathogenic parasites (Peña-Fernández et al., 2018) [1]. Digitised slides are provided with the functionality of a microscope by using the gadget Zoomify®, and we consider that they can enhance learning, as previous studies reported in the literature have reported similar sensitivity and specificity rates for identification of parasites for both digitised and real slides. The DMU e-Biology’s VM, currently in development, will provide healthy and pathological tissue samples from a range of mammalian tissues and organs. This communication will provide a description of both virtual libraries and the process of developing them. In conjunction, we will use a three-dimensional (3D) super-resolution microscopy, 3D Cell Explorer (Nanolive, Lausanne, Switzerland), to incorporate potential 3D microscopic photographs/short videos of cells to provide students with information about the spatial arrangement and morphologies of cells that are essential for life

Micromorphological evidences of pedogenetic changes due to anthropic action in Amazonian Dark Earth in the Central Amazon, Brazil.

This study aimed to use micromorphology to assess the formation processes of ADE in the municipality of Iranduba, Brazil

Micropedologia de um Argissolo amarelo com horizontes antrópicos (Terra Preta de Índio) na Amazônia Central.

Estudos micropedológicos foram carreados em Terra Preta de Índio (TPI) com o objetivo de elucidar os processos envolvidos em sua gênese, bem como suas formas de utilização pré-colombiana. Blocos indeformados de solo foram coletados por horizonte e em suas respectivas transições em um perfil de Argissolo Amarelo A Antrópico (TPI) localizado no município de Iranduba, AM. As lâminas delgadas confeccionadas a partir dos blocos foram descritas por meio de microscopia óptica. Os resultados mostraram que os processos envolvidos na gênese desse solo envolveram: i) condições pedoambientais diferentes das atuais (pedorrelíquias - nódulos ferruginosos); ii) argiluviação, indicada por revestimentos de ferri-argilãs orientados na parede de poros entre agregados e canais; iii) migração de ferro impregnando o fundo matricial (cutãs de difusão); iv) bioturbação, atestada por preenchimento de poros por pelotas fecais e microagregação zoogenética e v) antropismo, que contribuiu com a queima de resíduos (partículas de carvões) e descarte de artefatos cerâmicos. A análise dos fragmentos cerâmicos corroborou a utilização de cauixi (Tubella reticulata e Parnula betesil) e cariapé (Bignoniacea) como antiplástico para o seu fabrico

Posterior chamber phakic intraocular lenses for the correction of myopia: factors influencing the postoperative refraction

Posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation is a refractive technique for the correction of myopia. This study aimed to identify those factors contributing to variability in postoperative refraction. Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 73 eyes (one eye per patient) implanted with myopic implantable collamer lenses (ICL). Eyes were divided into two groups, the low myopic group (LMG) (ICL > −9.5 DS) and the high myopic group (HMG) (ICL ≤ −9.5 DS), to compare the predictability, efficacy index, and postoperative refraction between groups. The association of postoperative refraction with anatomical, demographic, and optical features was assessed through correlation analysis and investigated using ray-tracing. Results: Postoperative refraction at 3 months for the whole group was close to emmetropia at −0.02 ± 0.37 DS, the LMG tended toward myopia and the HMG, toward hyperopia. The results showed that 65% and 54% of the eyes had postoperative refraction of within ±0.25 DS, respectively, in the LMG and HMG, and in both groups, 100% were within ±1.00 DS. ICL implantation had a higher efficacy index in the HMG (1.13 ± 0.15) than in the LMG (1.04 ± 0.15). Postoperative refraction was positively associated with the vault (R = 0.408) and negatively correlated with ICL power (R = −0.382). Conclusion: The predictability and effectiveness of ICL implantation is high in a wide range of myopias. Considering the expected vault and including accurate vertex measurements would contribute to improving the predictability of the results

Biometric and ICL-related risk factors associated to sub-optimal vaults in eyes implanted with implantable collamer lenses

The data used in this study can be requested by contacting the corresponding author.Background: To identify biometric and implantable collamer lens (ICL)-related risk factors associated with sub-optimal postoperative vault in eyes implanted with phakic ICL. Methods: This study reports a retrospective case series of the first operated eye in 360 patients implanted with myopic spherical or toric ICL. Preoperatively, white-to-white (WTW), central keratometry (Kc) and central corneal thickness (CCT) were measured using the Pentacam. Anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT, Visante) was applied preoperatively for measuring the horizontal anterior-chamber angle-to-angle distance (ATA), internal anterior chamber depth (ACD), crystalline lens rise (CLR), anterior-chamber angle (ACA) and postoperatively the vault. Eyes were divided into three vault groups: low (LVG: ≤ 250 μm), optimal (OVG: > 250 and < 1000 μm) and high (HVG: ≥ 1000 μm). Multinomial logistic regression (MLR) was used to find the sub-optimal vault predictors. Results: MLR showed that CLR, ICL size minus the ATA (ICL size-ATA), age, ICL spherical equivalent (ICLSE) and ICL size as contributing factors for sub-optimal vaults (pseudo-R2 = 0.40). Increased CLR (OR: 1.01, CI: 1.00–1.01) and less myopic ICLSE (OR: 1.22, CI: 1.07–1.40) were risk factors for low vaults. Larger ICL size-ATA (OR: 41.29, CI: 10.57–161.22) and the 13.7 mm ICL (OR: 7.08, CI: 3.16–15.89) were risk factors for high vaults, whereas less myopic ICLSE (OR: 0.85, CI: 0.76–0.95) and older age (OR: 0.92, CI: 0.88–0.98) were protective factors. Conclusion: High CLR and low ICLSE were the major risk factors in eyes presenting low vaults. In the opposite direction, ICL size-ATA was the major contributor for high vaults. This relationship was more critical in higher myopic ICLSE, younger eyes and when 13.7 mm ICL were used. The findings show that factors influencing the vault have differentiated weight of influence depending on the type of vault (low, optimal or high)

Vault differences in eyes implanted with spherical and toric implantable collamer lenses: an inter-eye analysis

Purpose To determine the influence of implantable collamer lenses (ICL) geometry, i.e. spherical and toric on the vault, and report the refractive and visual outcomes of patients bilaterally implanted with the two ICL geometries. Methods: This retrospective case series analysed 41 patients implanted with a spherical ICL (sICL) in one eye and an equal sized toric ICL (tICL) in the fellow eye. The anatomical and ICL-related parameters were assessed using anterior-segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT Visante, Zeiss Meditec AG) and optical tomography (Pentacam, OCULUS). The influence of the anatomical and ICL-related parameters on the vault was determined using generalised estimating equations (GEE) to incorporate inter-eye correlations. Results: Postoperative spherical equivalent was within ± 0.50D in 66% and 83% of the eyes, respectively implanted with sICL and tICL. The efficacy index in the sICL group was 1.06 and 1.14 in the tICL group. The mean inter-eye vault difference was -1.46 µm, anatomical and ICL-related parameters showed similar associations with the vault for sICL and tICL. The GEE identified the ICL size minus the anterior chamber width, the ICL spherical power and ICL central thickness as significant factors influencing the vault. Conclusions: Spherical and toric ICL showed good efficacy for the correction of myopia and astigmatism. Patients implanted bilaterally with sICL and tICL tend to present similar vaults. The vault produced by both types of ICL was mainly regulated by the oversizing of the ICL. This suggests that the ICL geometry (spherical vs toric) is a factor with limited influence on the vault, thus the sizing method of a sICL and tICL should be similar

Immune-evasion strategies of mycobacteria and their implications for the protective immune response

Mycobacteria are intracellular pathogens that have macrophages as their main host cells. However, macrophages are also the primary line of defense against invading microorganisms. To survive in the intracellular compartment, virulent mycobacteria have developed several strategies to modulate the activation and the effector functions of macrophages. Despite this, antigen-specific T cells develop during infection. While T cell responses are critical for protection they can also contribute to the success of mycobacteria as human pathogens, as immunopathology associated with these responses facilitates transmission. Here, we provide a brief overview of different immune-evasion strategies of mycobacteria and their impact on the protective immune response. This understanding will further our knowledge in host-pathogen interactions and may provide critical insights for the development of novel host-specific therapies.Our work is funded by the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER); Infect-ERA grant BU_SPONT_HEAL; and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through the FCT investigator grant IF/01390/2014 to E.T. and the postdoctoral grant SFRH/BPD/112903/2015 to A.G.F.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bioethanol production from globe artichoke residues: From the field to the fermenter

The suitability of globe artichoke crop residues to be transformed into bioethanol was assessed in this paper from the field to the fermenter. A 2-year field trial on “Opera F1” (OF1), a hybrid variety of globe artichoke, resulted in an average annual production of residues of 14 t/ha. The residual biomass of OF1 is made up of 24% glucan and 17% hemicelluloses and is rich in soluble sugars. Water extraction (WE) (100 °C, 15 min) was initially applied to remove simple sugars that can be transformed into saccharification and fermentation inhibitors during the pretreatments. Subsequent dilute acid hydrolysis (DAH) (H2SO4 2%, 121 °C, 1 h) produced a slurry with 17.7, 4.2, and 0.5% (dry matter: DM) of soluble sugars, acetic acid, and total furanic compounds, respectively, and a solid fraction with 52% glucan and 14% xylan, with practically 100% digestibility. Slurry enzymatic hydrolysis (45 FPU/g DM, 7 CBU/g DM, 24 h) had a 69% glucan yield, showing an inhibition of the saccharification process due to the presence of simple sugars and inhibitors. Co-fermentation of the enzymatic slurry with Escherichia coli MS04 produced 12.5 g/L ethanol with a volumetric productivity of 0.52 g/L/h and 76.0% fermentation efficiency after 24 h of fermentation. Considering all sugars generated during DAH, the applied strategy allowed a production of 283 kg/t DM and 2399 kg/ha of bioethanol, against the theoretical value of 2806 kg/ha

Los depósitos de ceniza volcánica del Pleistoceno Superior-Holoceno de la región de Tafí del Valle-Cafayate, noroeste de Argentina

[EN]We identified volcanic ash deposits, whose thickness can exceed sometimes the 4 m, in the southeastern margin of La Puna and neighbouring areas (Provinces of Tucuman and Salta, Argentina). These Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits show the existence of a highly explosive volcanism only some few thousand years ago, without comparison with any historical volcanic episode in northwestern Argentina. We have characterized the size distribution of ash (laser diffraction), morphology of particles (SEM), mineralogy (XRD) and the geochemistry of major and trace elements in bulk sample using mass spectrometry (HR-ICP-MS). The information provided by these deposits is of great interest to size adequately the geochemical impact models of ashfall in future volcanic eruptions in the Central Volcanic Zone of the Andes, quantifying the contribution of volcanic ash to the regional geochemical balances, both with respect to nutrients (e.g., Ca and Fe) and potentially toxic elements (e.g., As and F), among other elements of interest.[ES] Se han localizado diversos depósitos de ceniza volcánica, cuyos espesores llegan a superar en ocasiones los 4 m al suroeste de La Puna y áreas limítrofes (Provincias de Tucumán y Salta, Argentina). Estos depósitos son de edad Pleistoceno Superior y Holoceno y muestran la existencia hace pocos miles de años de volcanismo altamente explosivo, sin comparación con ningún episodio volcánico histórico en el noroeste de Argentina. Se han caracterizado la distribución granulométrica de la ceniza (difracción laser), la morfología de las partículas (microscopía electrónica de barrido), mineralogía (difracción de rayos X) y la geoquímica de elementos mayores y trazas en muestra total mediante espectrometría de masas (HR-ICP-MS). La información suministrada por estos depósitos tiene gran interés a la hora de dimensionar los modelos de impacto geoquímico de la caída de ceniza de futuras erupciones volcánicas en la Zona Volcánica Central de los Andes, cuantificando la contribución de la ceniza volcánica a los balances geoquímicos regionales, tanto por lo que respecta a nutrientes (p. ej., Ca y Fe), como de elementos potencialmente tóxicos (p. ej., As y F), entre otros elementos de interés.Agradecemos el apoyo técnico del labGEOTOP (infraestructura cofinanciada por FEDER, CSIC08-4E-001) del ICTJA-CSIC; de los Grupos PEGEFA (2009-SGR-972) y GEOVOL y fue financiado por el Proyecto QUECA (CGL2011-23307).Peer reviewe