Systemic and immune manifestations in myelodysplasia: a multicenter retrospective study

OBJECTIVE: The presence of systemic and/or immune manifestations in myelodysplasia has been currently reported. The influence of these manifestations on the natural outcome of myelodysplastic syndrome has to be considered. We present a multicenter retrospective study (2002-2009) of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome disclosing systemic and/or immune manifestations. METHODS: Forty-six patients with myelodysplasia presenting with systemic and/or immune manifestations were compared in terms of survival with 189 patients with myelodysplasia lacking these features. RESULTS: The clinical picture in these cases consisted of fever (13%), arthralgia or arthritis (13%), and cutaneous manifestations (67%). Four cases of systemic vasculitis have been reported in our series, and they have a worse prognosis. Immune anomalies were recorded in 29% of the cases, and the presence of cryoglobulins was also associated with a worse prognosis. CONCLUSION: A difference in survival between patients with myelodysplastic syndrome with systemic manifestations and patients lacking these manifestations has been observed in the presence of systemic vasculitis and/or cryoglobulins

New U–Pb Geochronology for the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province, Critical Reevaluation of High-Precision Ages and Their Impact on the End-Triassic Extinction Event

The end-Triassic extinction (ETE) event represents one of the ‘big five’ episodes of mass extinction. The leading hypothesis for the cause of the ETE is the intrusion of voluminous magmas of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP) into carbon-rich sediments of two South American sedimentary basins, around 201.5 Ma. The timing of dikes and sills emplacement, however, must be considered in light of age models from CAMP rocks occurring in North America. In this work, we present new high-precision ages for critical samples in NE Brazil (201.579 ± 0.057 Ma) and Canada (201.464 ± 0.017 Ma), in order to evaluate how the South and North American magmatic events compare at the 100-ka level, and to the ETE timing. We also discuss inter-laboratory reproducibility of high-precision CAMP ages, including the 230Th disequilibrium corrections that are made to zircon U–Pb dates. Our findings in this newly discovered extension of the CAMP large igneous province in NE Brazil support the hypothesis that the CAMP may be responsible for the ETE through the triggering of greenhouse gas release from magma-evaporite interactions (contact metamorphism) in the South American basins

The traditional knowledge on stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponina) used by the Enawene-Nawe tribe in western Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This paper presents the Enawene-Nawe Society's traditional knowledge about stingless bees. The Enawene-Nawe are an Aruak speaking people, indigenous to the Meridian Amazon. Specifically, they live in the Jurema River hydrological basin, located in the northwestern region of the Mato Grosso state.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The stingless bees were sampled from two ecologically similar regions in the interior of Enawene-Nawe Land. The first sampling took place around the village, i.e., adjacent to houses, by the edge of the Iquê River, next to food leftovers, around human excrement, and simply when the insects were found flying or reposing on a human body. The second round of sampling happened from 29/10 to 02/11/94, during an expedition for honey collection that took place throughout the ciliar bushes of the Papagaio River, an important tributary of Juruena River. We sampled bees adjacent to their nests following the beehive inspection or during the honey extraction.</p> <p>In this work, the main bee species of the sub tribe Meliponina, which were handled by the Enawene-Nawe, was identified, and a brief ethnographic description of the honey collection expeditions and its social-cosmologic meaning for the group was done.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>Similar to other indigenous people in Brazil, the Enawene-Nawe recognized 48 stingless bee species. They identified each bee species by name and specified each one's ecological niche. A brief ethnographic description of the honey collection expeditions and bees' social-cosmologic meaning for the group is included.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We concluded that, as an example of other indigenous people, the Enawene-Nawe classify and identify the bees based not only on their structure and morphological aspects but also on the ecological, etiological, and social characteristics of the species.</p

Lepton Flavor Violation and the Origin of the Seesaw Mechanism

The right--handed neutrino mass matrix that is central to the understanding of small neutrino masses via the seesaw mechanism can arise either (i) from renormalizable operators or (ii) from nonrenormalizable or super-renormalizable operators, depending on the symmetries and the Higgs content of the theory beyond the Standard Model. In this paper, we study lepton flavor violating (LFV) effects in the first class of seesaw models wherein the \nu_R Majorana masses arise from renormalizable Yukawa couplings involving a B-L = 2 Higgs field. We present detailed predictions for \tau -> \mu + \gamma and \mu -> e + \gamma branching ratios in these models taking the current neutrino oscillation data into account. Focusing on minimal supergravity models, we find that for a large range of MSSM parameters suggested by the relic abundance of neutralino dark matter and that is consistent with Higgs boson mass and other constraints, these radiative decays are in the range accessible to planned experiments. We compare these predictions with lepton flavor violation in the second class of models arising entirely from the Dirac Yukawa couplings. We study the dependence of the ratio r \equiv B(\mu -> e+\gamma)/B(\tau ->\mu +\gamma) on the MSSM parameters and show that measurement of r can provide crucial insight into the origin of the seesaw mechanism.Comment: 20 pages, Revtex, 7 figure

Qualidade dos cuidados de enfermagem e satisfação do paciente atendido em um hospital de ensino

OBJECTIVES: assess the quality of nursing care, the patients' satisfaction and the correlation between both. METHOD: cross-sectional study, involving 275 patients hospitalized at a teaching hospital in the Central-West of Brazil. The data were collected through the simultaneous application of three instruments. Next, they were included in an electronic database and analyzed in function of the positivity, median value and Spearman's correlation coefficients. RESULTS: among the nursing care assessed, only two were considered safe - hygiene and physical comfort; nutrition and hydration - while the remainder were classified as poor. Nevertheless, the patients were satisfied with the care received in the domains assessed: technical-professional, confidence and educational. This can be justified by the weak to moderate correlation that was observed among these variables. CONCLUSION: Despite the quality deficit, the patients' satisfaction level with the nursing care received was high. These results indicate that the institution needs to center its objectives on a continuing evaluation system of the care quality, aiming to attend to the patients' expectations.OBJETIVOS: evaluar la calidad de los cuidados de enfermería, la satisfacción del paciente y la correlación entre ambos. MÉTODO: estudio trasversal con 275 pacientes internados en un hospital de enseñanza de la región Centro-Oeste de Brasil. Los datos fueron recolectados mediante la aplicación simultánea de tres instrumentos. A seguir, fueron digitalizados en un banco de datos electrónico y analizados en función de la positividad, valor de mediana y coeficientes de correlación de Spearman. RESULTADOS: entre los cuidados de enfermería evaluados, solamente dos fueron considerados seguros - higiene y conforto físico; nutrición e hidratación - y los demás clasificados como pobres. Sin embargo, los pacientes se mostraron satisfechos con los cuidados recibidos en los dominios evaluados: técnico-profesional, confianza y educacional. Eso puede ser justificado por la correlación débil a moderada observada entre esas variables. CONCLUSIÓN: A pesar del déficit de cualidad, fue encontrado alto nivel de satisfacción de los pacientes con los cuidados de enfermería recibidos. Tales resultados indican la necesidad de que la institución centre sus objetivos en un sistema de evaluación permanente de la cualidad del cuidado, visando atender a las expectativas de los pacientes.OBJETIVOS: avaliar a qualidade dos cuidados de enfermagem, a satisfação do paciente e a correlação entre ambos. MÉTODO: estudo transversal, realizado com 275 pacientes internados em um hospital de ensino da Região Centro-Oeste do Brasil. Os dados foram obtidos por meio da aplicação simultânea de três instrumentos. A seguir, foram digitados em banco de dados eletrônico e analisados em função da positividade, valor de mediana e coeficientes de correlação de Spearman. RESULTADOS: dentre os cuidados de enfermagem avaliados, apenas dois foram considerados seguros - higiene e conforto físico; nutrição e hidratação - e os demais foram classificados como pobres. Todavia, os pacientes mostraram-se satisfeitos com os cuidados recebidos nos domínios avaliados: técnico-profissional, confiança e educacional. Isso pode ser justificado pela correlação fraca a moderada observada entre essas variáveis. CONCLUSÃO: apesar do déficit de qualidade, houve alto nível de satisfação dos pacientes com os cuidados de enfermagem recebidos. Tais resultados apontam a necessidade de a instituição centrar seus objetivos num sistema de avaliação permanente da qualidade do cuidado, visando o atendimento das expectativas dos pacientes

Encantamento do rosto: poses e retratos de cinema

The purpose of this article is to describe a set of photographs of Eliane Lage (1928-), a movie actress featured in Caiçara, Ângela, Sinhá Moça and Ravina - the first three produced by Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz (1950-1954), and the fourth by Cinematográfica Brasil Filmes. Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz aspired to be one of the largest film producers in Brazil and, accordingly, its Advertising Department set out to establish Eliane Lage as a great movie star, like those in the world's dominant movie industries. This paper brings to light some photographs which, coupled with information published in the press, were intended to tell the public at large who Eliane Lage was by exploring extensively certain aspects of her "biography", such as her privileged background, her denial of stardom, her detachment, her passion for her husband, and her love of nature. The picture selection includes: a photo essay by the architect Gregori Warcharchik; studio marketing photographs; snapshots taken by photographers at the time; and pictures that are part of the actress's personal collection