Relapsing bronchiolitis obliterans organising pneumonia and chronic sarcoidosis in an atopic asthmatic patient

Asthma is thought to be a Th2 disease while sarcoidosis is considered a Th1 granulomatous disorder. Organising pneumonia is a histologic pattern of lung injury. When it has no recognisable cause it is defined as cryptogenic organising pneumonia. We herein report the case of a patient with recurrent and steroid sensitive organising pneumonia associated with chronic sarcoidosis in an atopic, moderate persistent asthmatic patient. Each disease has been documented with transbronchial biopsies and recurrence of organising pneumonia was suggested by clinical features and by follow up HRCT which shows distinctive signs even in associated disease. Steroids are the mainstay of therapy for these disorders and especially for the consolidated processes typical of organising pneumonia but prognostic indices for relapse and progression are lacking

Population structures of Brazilian tall coconut ( Cocos nuciferaL.) by microsatellite markers.

In this study we investigated the genetic diversity of 10 populations of Brazilian Tall coconut trees, employing 13 SSR loci to characterize their genetic variability, population structure, and reproductive system

Botulinum-A toxin injections into the detrusor muscle decrease nerve growth factor bladder tissue levels in patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity

Purpose: We investigated the effects of BTX-A on visceral afferent nerve transmission by measuring bladder tissue NGF levels in patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity before and after intravesical treatment with BTX-A. We also compared the bladder tissue NGF content with clinical and urodynamic data. Materials and Methods: A total of 23 patients underwent clinical evaluation and urodynamics with detection of the UDC threshold, maximum pressure and maximum cystometric capacity before, and at the 1 and 3-month followups. Endoscopic bladder Wall biopsies were also obtained at the same time points. NGF levels were measured in tissue homogenate by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (Promega, Madison, Wisconsin). Results: At 1 and 3 months mean catheterization and incontinent episodes were significantly decreased (p < 0.05 and < 0.001, respectively). On urodynamics we detected a significant increase in the UDC threshold and maximum cystometric capacity, and a significant decrease in UDC maximum pressure at the 1 and 3-month followups compared to baseline (each p < 0.001). At the same time points we detected a significant decrease in NGF bladder tissue content (each p < 0.02). Conclusions: BTX-A intravesical treatment induces a state of NGF deprivation in bladder tissue that persists at least up to 4 months. As caused by BTX-A, the decrease in acetylcholine release at the presynaptic level may induce a decrease in detrusor contractility and in NGF production by the detrusor muscle. Alternatively BTX-A can decrease the bladder level of neurotransmitters that normally modulate NGF production and release

Genetic structure and molecular variability of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) collected in maize and cotton fields in Brazil

The purpose of this research was to evaluate the genetic similarity and structure of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), populations associated with maize and cotton crops in Brazil using amplified fragment length polymorphisms. Mean genetic similarity among populations was 0.45. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean analysis dendrograms did not separate populations of S. frugiperda into clusters related to the host plant in which the insects were collected. No genetic variation was observed among maize and cotton populations of S. frugiperda, suggesting that the same populations are injuring both crops in Brazil. This research validates the need for stewardship of crop-protection methods for managing S. frugiperda to reduce the incidence of pesticide resistance, due to the spatial and temporal overlapping of maize and cotton crops in some regions in Brazil

Variabilidade genética em populações de Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) nas regiões produtoras de soja no Brasil.

Com o uso de ferramentas moleculares é possível sequenciar genes e caracterizar populações de insetos. Assim, este trabalho teve por objetivo estudar a variabilidade genética entre subpopulações de Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) nas principais regiões produtoras de soja, utilizando sequências de genes mitocondriais. Foram coletadas populações de A. gemmatalis nas localidades de: Santa Helena de Goiás (GO), Luis Eduardo Magalhães (BA); Mauá da Serra (PR), Coxilha (RS) e Campo Verde (MT), seu DNA foi extraído para amplificação e sequenciamento. A Análise de Variância Molecular (AMOVA) foi aplicada para estimar a estrutura genética utilizando três fragmentos do mtDNA, o gene da subunidade de citocromo oxidase I (COI), citocromo oxidase II (COII) e citocromo B (CytB). A distribuição e frequência de haplótipos foi determinada pelo programa TCS. Foi sequenciado um total de 71 indivíduos de A. gemmatalis. A subpopulação de MT apresentou a menor variação na frequência dos haplótipos para todas as regiões estudadas. O haplótipo mais representativo foi o h2, sendo encontrado em indivíduos da Bahia (9), Paraná (1) e Rio Grande do Sul (1). A maior frequência haplotípica foi observada em MT, PR e RS. Na análise das sequencias de A. gemmatalis foi possível observar que há potencial para identificar possíveis haplótipos que possam caracterizar uma determinada subpopulação. Para isso seria necessário à utilização de outras ferramentas, como por exemplo, estudos de PCR-RFLP e análise de outras regiões gênicas, que possam contribuir na identificação de haplótipos nas subpopulações de A. gemmatalis no Brasil

Buccal mucosa is a promising graft in Peyronie's disease surgery. Our experience and a brief literature review on autologous grafting materials

AIM: Peyronie's Disease (PD) is an under reported acquired benign condition that, at the moment, is not curable with medical therapy. Surgery represent the gold standard of treatment. Surgical approaches are several and they consist in "plication techniques" or plaque incision/excision with grafting of resulting albuginea defect. Among grafting procedures, albuginea defect substitution with autologous materials demonstrated over the years not inferior results respect to heterologous grafts. Buccal mucosa graft (BMG) is not usually emphasized in many review articles and clinical series are yet limited. METHODS: We present our experience with seventeen plaque incision procedures and BMG in surgical correction of complex penile curvatures due to PD performed in a period of 30 months. Our analyses was focused on buccal mucosa graft characteristics as major determinant of the surgical success. We also conducted a brief literature review on autologous grafting materials used in reconstructive penile surgery for PD. RESULTS: Our cosmetics and functional results consists in a 100% of functional penile straightening with no relapses and 5,8% of de novo erectile dysfunction. Mean age was 56.4 years, mean follow-up of 22.5 (6-36) months. No complications graft related were observed. Operative time was 115.3 minutes in mean. Over 94% of patients referred they were "really much better" and "much better" satisfied based on PGI-I questionnaire administrated at the last follow- up visit. CONCLUSION: BMG is revealing as an optimal choice for reconstructive surgery in PD. Anatomical characteristics consisting in the great elasticity, the quick integration time and the easy harvesting technique lead to high cosmetics and functional success rate, without omitting economical and invasiveness aspects