The efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in the treatment of central retinal artery occlusion

Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) is an ophthalmological emergency. Various treatment modalities have been tried, but none have shown to alter natural history of the disease. Hyperoxia can restore retinal oxygenation, and favourable results were obtained with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). We report two patients with sudden visual loss due to CRAO treated with HBOT. Case 1: a 61-year-old female, presented with CRAO in her left eye(OS). She was submitted to eight sessions of HBOT(2.4atmosphere absolute (ATA)). BCVA(Best corrected visual acuity) improved from counting fingers (CF) to 1.0 and fluorescein angiography (FA) showed a normalisation. Vascular study showed a value of 8.8% for HbA1c and ventricular extrasystoles. Case 2: a 69-year-old male presented with CRAO in his OS. Nine sessions of HBOT(2.4 ATA) were performed. Best corrected visual acuity (BCVA)improved from CF to 0.8 and the FA was normalised. Vascular study revealed an atheromatous carotid disease, and cardiac pathology. HBOT seems to be beneficial on the recovery of vision following CRAO.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characteristics and outcomes of heart failure hospitalization before implementation of a heart failure clinic: The PRECIC study

Objective: This study aims to characterize patients hospitalized for acute heart failure (HF) in an internal medicine department and their one-year mortality and rate of rehospitalization for decompensated HF. Methods: This retrospective observational study enrolled all patients discharged in 2012 after hospitalization for acute HF. Discharge summaries, clinical records and telephone interviews were analysed. The data reports to the year before implementation of a heart failure clinic. Results: Four hundred and twenty-nine patients were enrolled, with a mean age of 79 years, 62.5% female. The most prevalent comorbidity and etiology was hypertension (86.7%) and the most frequent decompensation trigger was infection. HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) was present in 70.5%. In-hospital mortality was 7.9%. At discharge more than half of the patients were prescribed beta-blockers (52.8%) and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (52%). Women presented a significantly higher proportion of HFpEF than men (75.3% vs. 62.7%, p=0.01). Patients with diabetes and those with ischemic etiology had significantly higher pro-portions of HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) (34.8% vs. 24.3% in non-diabetic patients,p=0.027, and 56.2% vs. 15.6% for other etiologies, p<0.001). The HFrEF group were more fre-quently discharged under beta-blockers and spironolactone (75.2% vs. 46.4% in the HFpEF group,p<0.001 and 31.2% vs. 12.6% in the HFpEF group, p<0.001, respectively). Mortality was 34.3%and rehospitalization for HF was 30.5% in one-year follow-up.Conclusions: The population characterized is an elderly one, mainly female and with HFpEF.Nearly a third of patients died and/or were rehospitalized in the year following discharge

Pressure and chemical substitution effects in the local atomic structure of BaFe2As2

The effects of K and Co substitutions and quasi-hydrostatic applied pressure (P<9 GPa) in the local atomic structure of BaFe2As2, Ba(Fe{0.937}Co{0.063})2As2 and Ba{0.85}K{0.15}Fe2As2 superconductors were investigated by extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) measurements in the As K absorption edge. The As-Fe bond length is found to be slightly reduced (<~ 0.01 Angstroms) by both Co and K substitutions, without any observable increment in the corresponding Debye Waller factor. Also, this bond is shown to be compressible (k = 3.3(3)x10^{-3} GPa^{-1}). The observed contractions of As-Fe bond under pressure and chemical substitutions are likely related with a reduction of the local Fe magnetic moments, and should be an important tuning parameter in the phase diagrams of the Fe-based superconductors.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Caracterização de solos de quatro barragens subterrâneas: atributos físicos e químicos.

O Nordeste brasileiro enfrenta graves problemas com a escassez de água. Dentre várias tecnologias criadas para garantir a viabilidade agrícola da região, o uso de barragem subterrânea (BS) tem se destacado como uma das mais adaptadas a essa realidade. Esse trabalho visa levantar os impactos sofridos no solo no qual essa tecnologia foi implantada, por meio da caracterização física e química de quatro BS?s na Estação Experimental de Manejo da Caatinga da Embrapa Semi-Árido em Petrolina - PE. Os resultados da caracterização física apontam para solos bastante intemperizados com alta concentração de argila nos horizontes de maior profundidade o que, em conjunto com a ação de minerais primários nesses horizontes, acabam interferindo nos valores de saturação por bases. Os perfis de solo analisados apresentam ainda baixos teores de fósforo e carbono orgânico, baixa CTC, que juntamente com os atributos físicos caracterizam solos de baixa fertilidade que apresentam restrições físicas.Edição dos Resumos do V Congresso Brasileiro de Agroecologia, Guarapari, 2007

Barragem subterrânea: uma alternativa sustentável para a agricultura familiar no semi-árido brasileiro.

Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de caracterizar as condições estruturais e a diversificação de cultivos em vinte e uma Barragens subterrâneas (BS?s) e a produção em sete barragens, monitoradas no ano de 2006, em oito cidades dos estados de Pernambuco e Bahia. Os resultados demonstram que a estrutura da maioria das BS?s está em boas condições, e foi observado também o interesse dos agricultores por outros cultivos, estimulando um redesenho dos agroecossistemas, e o aprofundamento das interações do sistema, criando ambientes mais diversificados biologicamente e mais sustentáveis. Os resultados demonstraram que a diversidade de espécies frutíferas (41%) é maior que as outras espécies nas barragens estudadas, seguida das forragens (23%) e das oleráceas (14%). As culturas de subsistência e outros tipos de cultivos (plantas medicinais, corantes, entre outras) possuem menor diversidade (11%). Em relação à produção, a atividade que tem maior retorno é a forragicultura, seguida das culturas de subsistência. O material forrageiro é usado na produção de feno e silagem. Estes resultados refletem o interesse econômico da agricultura familiar do semi-árido destes dois estados que é baseada, principalmente, na caprino-ovinocultura.Edição dos Resumos do V Congresso Brasileiro de Agroecologia, Guarapari, out. 2007