Late Onset Retinoblastoma Presenting with Vitreous Haemorrhage

Our work describes the management of young patients who presents with vitreous haemorrhage. It is important to note that the causes differ significantly from adults with vitreous haemorrhage

Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells' Proliferative Response to Human Parvovirus B19 Antigens in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Autore J.Pavlova Scopus datubāzē pie raksta nav norādīta, bet žurnāla "Proceedings of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, Section B: Natural, Exact, and Applied Sciences" PDF formāta publikācijā ir norādīta. Publisher Copyright: © 2016 by Svetlana Kozireva. Copyright: Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.This study aimed to determine peripheral blood mononuclear cells' (PBMC) proliferative response to parvovirus B19 (B19) antigens in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and possible changes in proliferative response due to chemotherapy. Serum and blood samples of 52 RA patients and 25 sex and age matched healthy individuals were examined for the presence of anti-B19 IgG and IgM class antibodies and virus specific DNA sequence by the recomLine B19 test and nested polymerase chain reaction, respectively. The PBMC proliferative activity was estimated on the 3rd and 6th day of PBMC cultivation in the presence of virus and B19 VP1/VP2 peptide, using thymidine incorporation assay. On the 3rd day, PBMC response to B19 antigens was detected in 74.1% RA patients with active, in 44.8%-with remote and in 40%-with latent stage of persistent B19 infection, while in the control group the response was observed only in two individuals with active viral infection. On the 6th day, the response was found in 50% RA patients with active, 68.9%-with remote and in 80%-with latent stage of latent persistent infection as well as in 41.1% remotely infected control individuals. The highest PBMC mean stimulation indices were detected in the RA patients and control persons with active infection as well as in RA patients with latent stage of persistent viral infection. On the 3rd and 6th day, strong proliferative response was significantly more frequently observed in RA patients not receiving methotrexate treatment, compared to the patients receiving methotrexate treatment in different combinations with other drugs. RA patients had more frequent and faster response to B19 antigens than apparently healthy persons.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Complete larval development of the crab Ilia nucleus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Decapoda, Brachyura, Leucosiidae) reared under laboratory conditions

The complete larval development of the crab Ilia nucleus (Linnaeus, 1758) reared under laboratory conditions was obtained. The four zoeal stages and the megalopa are described and illustrated in detail. The larval features observed in I. nucleus fit into the characteristics of the family proposed by Rice (1980) for the zoeal stages and by Quintana (1986) for the megalopa. The morphological characters of larval stages of I. nucleus are compared with previous descriptions, and with those of other known larvae of Leucosiidae (only for subfamilies Ebaliinae and Leucosiinae). The present work supports the hypothesis that the subfamily Ebaliinae is a heterogeneous group. For the correct identification of a zoeal stage of a leucosiid crab, besides counting the number of setae on maxilliped exopods, the antennule as well as the pereiopods development should be used as additional characters

Experimental Evaluation of Seed Limitation in Alpine Snowbed Plants

Background: The distribution and abundance of plants is controlled by the availability of seeds and of sites suitable for establishment. The relative importance of these two constraints is still contentious and possibly varies among species and ecosystems. In alpine landscapes, the role of seed limitation has traditionally been neglected, and the role of abiotic gradients emphasized. Methodology/Principal Findings: We evaluated the importance of seed limitation for the incidence of four alpine snowbed species (Achillea atrata L., Achillea clusiana Tausch, Arabis caerulea L., Gnaphalium hoppeanum W. D. J. Koch) in local plant communities by comparing seedling emergence, seedling, juvenile and adult survival, juvenile and adult growth, flowering frequency as well as population growth rates lambda of experimental plants transplanted into snowbed patches which were either occupied or unoccupied by the focal species. In addition, we accounted for possible effects of competition or facilitation on these rates by including a measure of neighbourhood biomass into the analysis. We found that only A. caerulea had significantly lower seedling and adult survival as well as a lower population growth rate in unoccupied sites whereas the vital rates of the other three species did not differ among occupied and unoccupied sites. By contrast, all species were sensitive to competitive effects of the surrounding vegetation in terms of at least one of the studied rates. Conclusions/Significance: We conclude that seed and site limitation jointly determine the species composition of these snowbed plant communities and that constraining site factors include both abiotic conditions and biotic interactions. The traditional focus on abiotic gradients for explaining alpine plant distribution hence appears lopsided. The influence of seed limitation on the current distribution of these plants casts doubt on their ability to readily track shifting habitats under climate change unless seed production is considerably enhanced under a warmer climate

Modeling of the condyle elements within a biomechanical knee model

The development of a computational multibody knee model able to capture some of the fundamental properties of the human knee articulation is presented. This desideratum is reached by including the kinetics of the real knee articulation. The research question is whether an accurate modeling of the condyle contact in the knee will lead to reproduction of the complex combination of flexion/extension, abduction/adduction and tibial rotation ob-served in the real knee? The model is composed by two anatomic segments, the tibia and the femur, whose characteristics are functions of the geometric and anatomic properties of the real bones. The biomechanical model characterization is developed under the framework of multibody systems methodologies using Cartesian coordinates. The type of approach used in the proposed knee model is the joint surface contact conditions between ellipsoids, represent-ing the two femoral condyles, and points, representing the tibial plateau and the menisci. These elements are closely fitted to the actual knee geometry. This task is undertaken by con-sidering a parameter optimization process to replicate experimental data published in the lit-erature, namely that by Lafortune and his co-workers in 1992. Then, kinematic data in the form of flexion/extension patterns are imposed on the model corresponding to the stance phase of the human gait. From the results obtained, by performing several computational simulations, it can be observed that the knee model approximates the average secondary mo-tion patterns observed in the literature. Because the literature reports considerable inter-individual differences in the secondary motion patterns, the knee model presented here is also used to check whether it is possible to reproduce the observed differences with reasonable variations of bone shape parameters. This task is accomplished by a parameter study, in which the main variables that define the geometry of condyles are taken into account. It was observed that the data reveal a difference in secondary kinematics of the knee in flexion ver-sus extension. The likely explanation for this fact is the elastic component of the secondary motions created by the combination of joint forces and soft tissue deformations. The proposed knee model is, therefore, used to investigate whether this observed behavior can be explained by reasonable elastic deformations of the points representing the menisci in the model.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - PROPAFE – Design and Development of a Patello-Femoral Prosthesis (PTDC/EME-PME/67687/2006), DACHOR - Multibody Dynamics and Control of Hybrid Active Orthoses MIT-Pt/BSHHMS/0042/2008, BIOJOINTS - Development of advanced biological joint models for human locomotion biomechanics (PTDC/EME-PME/099764/2008)

Undersøkelser av effekter på bunnfauna etter aluminiumsbehandlingen mot Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg i Lærdalselva, 2005– 2006

Aluminiumsbehandlingene i Lærdalselva i 2005 og 2006 førte til en kraftig bestandsnedgang av den dominerende arten i elva, døgnfluen Baetis rhodani (Pictet), umiddelbart etter hver behandling. Denne arten er svært følsom for forsuring, og den viktigste indikatorarten på uforsurete forhold i klartvannselver i Norge. Analysene viste også at døgnfluene Ephemerella aurivilli (Bengtsson) og Heptagenia dalecarlica Bengtsson, og steinfluen Diura nanseni (Kempny) ble redusert etter behandlingene. Den førstnevnte er regnet som svært følsom for forsuring, mens de to andre er regnet som moderat følsomme. Alle disse artene opptrådte imidlertid spredt og relativt fåtallig, slik at det er usikkert hvor stor effekt behandlingene hadde på disse. B. rhodani hadde rekolonisert alle de behandlede lokalitetene ca. seks måneder etter siste behandling som foregikk om våren 2006, men den relative abundansen var fremdeles signifikant lavere på de behandlede lokalitetene enn på de ubehandlede. Før aluminiumsbehandlingene startet var det ingen forskjell i relativ abundans mellom de to lokalitetstypene. Denne langvarige effekten av behandling med surt aluminium har ikke blitt rapportert i de to andre studiene av metoden i Norge. Den seine rekoloniseringen av B. rhodani kan skyldes at Lærdalselva er regulert, og dermed ikke så utsatt for så sterke flommer som et uregulert vassdrag er. Effekten på bunnfaunaen ser også ut til å være sterkere etter aluminiumsbehandlingene i 2005– 2006, enn etter de to behandlingene med rotenon i Lærdalselva i 1997. Dette kan skyldes at hovedbehandlingen med rotenon forgikk mens store deler av bunndyrene hadde klekket og var ute av elva. Alle behandlingene med aluminium foregikk på tidspunkt da det var lite eller ingen klekking i elva. Vårbehandlingen med rotenon i 1997 indikerer imidlertid at 14 dagers aluminiums-behandling er en kraftigere belastning på bunndyrsamfunnet enn en behandling med rotenon.Fylkesmannen i Sogn og Fjordane & Direktoratet for Naturforvaltnin

Undersøkelser av effekter på bunnfauna etter aluminiumsbehandlingen mot Gyrodactylus salaris Malmberg i Lærdalselva, 2005– 2006

Aluminiumsbehandlingene i Lærdalselva i 2005 og 2006 førte til en kraftig bestandsnedgang av den dominerende arten i elva, døgnfluen Baetis rhodani (Pictet), umiddelbart etter hver behandling. Denne arten er svært følsom for forsuring, og den viktigste indikatorarten på uforsurete forhold i klartvannselver i Norge. Analysene viste også at døgnfluene Ephemerella aurivilli (Bengtsson) og Heptagenia dalecarlica Bengtsson, og steinfluen Diura nanseni (Kempny) ble redusert etter behandlingene. Den førstnevnte er regnet som svært følsom for forsuring, mens de to andre er regnet som moderat følsomme. Alle disse artene opptrådte imidlertid spredt og relativt fåtallig, slik at det er usikkert hvor stor effekt behandlingene hadde på disse. B. rhodani hadde rekolonisert alle de behandlede lokalitetene ca. seks måneder etter siste behandling som foregikk om våren 2006, men den relative abundansen var fremdeles signifikant lavere på de behandlede lokalitetene enn på de ubehandlede. Før aluminiumsbehandlingene startet var det ingen forskjell i relativ abundans mellom de to lokalitetstypene. Denne langvarige effekten av behandling med surt aluminium har ikke blitt rapportert i de to andre studiene av metoden i Norge. Den seine rekoloniseringen av B. rhodani kan skyldes at Lærdalselva er regulert, og dermed ikke så utsatt for så sterke flommer som et uregulert vassdrag er. Effekten på bunnfaunaen ser også ut til å være sterkere etter aluminiumsbehandlingene i 2005– 2006, enn etter de to behandlingene med rotenon i Lærdalselva i 1997. Dette kan skyldes at hovedbehandlingen med rotenon forgikk mens store deler av bunndyrene hadde klekket og var ute av elva. Alle behandlingene med aluminium foregikk på tidspunkt da det var lite eller ingen klekking i elva. Vårbehandlingen med rotenon i 1997 indikerer imidlertid at 14 dagers aluminiums-behandling er en kraftigere belastning på bunndyrsamfunnet enn en behandling med rotenon