Síndrome da Veia Cava Superior Idiopática: Relato de Caso

The Superior Vena Cava Syndrome(SVCS) is a set of signs and symptoms resulting from venous stasis caused by the obstruction of the superior vena cava(VCS) due to thrombosis, extrinsic compression or direct invasion of the vein. The most common causes of SVCS are malignant, lung cancer being the leading cause. There are few reports in the literature on SVCS of benign etiology. We describe a case of SVCS of idiopathic origin, where the author studied and excluded all benign etiologies of SVCS, until arriving at etiological diagnosis.A Síndrome da Veia Cava Superior(SVCS) é um conjunto de sinais e sintomas decorrentes da estase venosa gerada pela obstrução da veia cava superior(VCS), seja por trombose, compressão extrínseca ou invasão direta da veia. As causas mais comuns de SVCS são malignas, sendo o câncer de pulmão a principal causa. Existem poucos relatos na literatura sobre SVCS de etiologia benigna. Descrevemos um caso de SVCS de origem Idiopática, onde o autor estudou e excluiu todas as etiologias benignas de SVCS, até chegar ao diagnóstico etiológico

Adsorption and ion exchange processes for Cephamycin C purification

Cephamycin C (cepC) is a beta-lactam antibiotic produced by the actinomycetes Streptomyces clavuligerus and Nocardia lactamdurans. It is an important compound for the pharmaceutical industry because it is a raw material for some commercial antibiotics, named as cefoxitin and cefotetan. There are few studies in the literature about purification processes of this antibiotic, and most of the information available is described in patents. It has already been demonstrated that the use of the anionic resin Q Sepharose XL (QXL) in a fixed-bed column was effective in extracting cepC from the broth during column loading. However, the study did not show the separation of any contaminants during elution step, as separated peaks were not observed. Therefore, the method of column operation should be optimized and a deeper study should be carried out. In this study, three operations in sequence for cepC purification were evaluated, including a different operational method of the fixed-bed column using the resin QXL. The operations consisted of adsorption onto the neutral resin Amberlite XAD4 in a stirred reactor; fixed-bed column process using the resin QXL; and adsorption onto a C18 SPE cartridge. Ultrafiltered broth obtained after fermentation with S. clavuligerus was used. Contaminants were monitored during all steps, by different techniques: absorbance measurements between 310 to 400 nm, which are wavelengths that cepC does not absorb; biological assays using Escherichia coli ESS, that is a bacteria sensitive to cepC; mass spectrometry analyses. During adsorption in the stirred reactor with XAD4 resin, 27% of cepC and 44% of contaminants were adsorbed onto the resin. The purification factor obtained was of 1.5.The resulting broth of this step (clarified broth) was used in the fixed-bed column process. Breakthrough curves of the column process showed that cepC and contaminants competed for the biding sites on the resin. Two separated peaks with antibacterial activity were obtained during bed elution, by using 0.1 and 0.5% NaCl solution. CepC was present only in the first fraction. The compounds present in the second peak were not known. Fractions from the center of the peak containing cepC were collected and used in the next step, adsorption in the SPE cartridge. CepC completely adsorbed onto the SPE cartridge, and was eluted using 50% methanol solution. Mass spectrometry analyses of a sample collected in the elution fraction and of the clarified broth showed a reduction in the peaks corresponding to the m/z ratios of contaminants that are difficult to separate, because of the similarity between their molecular structures and that of cepC. The contaminants monitored were penicillin N, deacetylcephalosporin C, deacetoxycephalosporin C and lysine. At this final operation, a partially purified fraction of cepC was obtained. This result is of great relevance since the establishment of a suitable process for cepC purification from fermentation broth has been strongly desired

A Conceptual Image-Based Data Glove for Computer-Human Interaction

Data gloves are devices equipped with sensors that capture the movements of the hand of the user in order to select or manipulate objects in a virtual world. Data gloves were introduced three decades ago and since then have been used in many 3D interaction techniques. However, good data gloves are too expensive and only a few of them can perceive the full set of hand movements. In this paper we describe the design of an image-based data glove (IBDG) prototype suitable for finger sensible applications, like virtual objects manipulation and interaction approaches. The proposed device uses a camera to track visual markers at finger tips, and a software module tocompute the position of each finger tip and its joints in real-time. To evaluate our concept, we have built a prototype and tested it with 15 volunteers. We also discuss how to improve the engineering of the prototype, how to turn it into a low cost interaction device, as well as other relevant issues about this original concept

Phloroglucinol is Effective for in vitro Growth and Multiplication of Musa accuminata Cv. Grand Naine Shoots and Roots

Despite being a major staple food in the world, banana production in the United States is still limited, with about 500 acres under cultivation. Micropropagation has been an effective method for the large-scale production of bananas to meet both domestic and international markets. However, the efficiency of micropropagation protocols depends on several factors, particularly on the types, combinations, and levels of plant growth regulators used in the culture media. Phloroglucinol is a growth regulator that acts synergistically with auxins and cytokinins. The use of phloroglucinol for the production and development of in vitro plantlets of Musa spp. cv. Grande Naine were investigated. Multiplication and elongation of shoots and roots in vitro was enhanced by the addition of 200 μM phloroglucinol to MS medium, as compared to the control with 13.2 μM BA. Higher concentrations (400 to 1000 μM phloroglucinol) resulted in reduced growth and development of shoots and roots in vitro

Hábitos alimentares e risco de doenças cardiovasculares em universitários

Modelo de estudo: Pesquisa descritiva, observacional, transversal. Objetivo: Descrever qualitativamente a frequência de ingestão de determinados alimentos, considerados de risco e de proteção para doenças cardiovasculares (DCV), além de determinar o Escore de Risco de Framingham (ERF) em indivíduos supostamente saudáveis, estudantes de graduação de uma universidade pública brasileira. Metodologia: Participaram 97 estudantes, 45 homens e 52 mulheres, na faixa etária de 18 a 25 anos. Após assinatura do Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido (TCLE), aprovado pelo Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa, os estudantes preencheram um questionário com os dados da pesquisa. Foram estudados alimentos classificados como de risco e de proteção, conforme sua composição química avaliada por tabelas de alimentos. O teste Qui-quadrado fui utilizado quando as frequências esperadas foram iguais ou superiores a 5. Para os demais parâmetros foi utilizado o teste exato de Fischer. Resultados: Entre os alimentos protetores destacou-se a ingestão diária de legumes (33%), verduras (22%) e frutas (17%) e entre os de risco estão a ingestão diária de café/chás com açúcar (39%), maionese/ margarina/manteiga (34%) e doces (14%). Houve variação de consumo conforme o sexo, para as frequências de 0,1, 2 e 4 vezes por semana para os alimentos: farinha de milho/mandioca, biscoito maisena/caseiro/água e sal, aveia, frango com pele. Houve variação significativa de consumo diário entre os sexos para os alimentos: frutas, doces, maionese/margarina/manteiga, biscoito maisena/caseiro/ água e sal. Conclusões: Este estudo demonstrou que os estudantes universitários apresentaram uma maior frequência diária de ingestão de alimentos considerados de proteção para DCV do que alimentos de risco. Em adição, o ERF calculado demonstrou baixo risco de desenvolvimento de DCV nos indivíduos avaliados.Study Design: Descriptive, observational, cross-sectional. Aims: The aims of this study were to qualitatively describe the frequency of eating certain foods, as risk and protective for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and determine the Framingham Risk Score (FRS) in supposedly healthy individuals, graduate students from a Brazilian public university. Methodology: Participants were 97 students, 45 males and 52 females, 18-25 years. After signing the consent form, approved by the Ethics Committee on Research, students completed a questionnaire survey data. We studied food classified as risk and protection, as assessed by its chemical composition tables. The Chi-square test was used when the expected frequencies greater than or equal to 5. For other parameters we used the Fisher exact test. Results: Among the foods considered protective stood out the daily intake of vegetables (33%), greens (22%) and fruit (17%). Among the foods considered at risk are the daily intake of coffee / tea with sugar (39%), mayonnaise / margarine / butter (34%) and sweets (14%). There was variation in consumption according to sex, for the frequencies of 0, 1, 2 and 4 times a week for food: corn flour / cassava, cornstarch cookie /homemade cookie / water and salt cookie, oats, chicken with skin. There was significant variation in daily consumption between the sexes for food: fruit, sweets, mayonnaise / margarine / butter, cornstarch cookie / homemade cookie / water and salt cookie. Conclusion: This study showed that college students presented higher frequency of daily intake of foods considered protective for CVD than risk food. In addition, the calculated FRS demonstrated low risk of developing CVD in studied individuals

Fixed-bed column process as a strategy for separation and purification of Cephamycin C from fermented broth

Fixed-bed column processes using the anionic resin Q Sepharose XL were evaluated for Cephamycin C (CepC) purification from fermentation broth. Breakthrough and desorption curves were obtained for different flow rates (2.5, 5.0 and 7.5 mL/min). The elution method consisted of a stepwise gradient using NaCl solutions (0.1, 0.3 and 0.5%), which resulted in the separation of CepC from others antibiotics. The flow rate did not interfere on adsorption during loading of the column, but band broadening was observed during elution as the flow rate increased. After the ion exchange process, the fractions containing CepC were submitted to solid phase extraction using a C18 cartridge to remove salts. Analyses of the broth used to feed the column and of the salt-free fractions by LC-MS showed a reduction in the concentration of some contaminants (possibly penicillin N, deacetylcephalosporin C, and deacetoxycephalosporin C) compared to the concentration of CepC. In conclusion, ion exchange process followed by adsorption on a C18 adsorbent was demonstrated to be a selective and efficient procedure to purify CepC from fermentation broth.The authors acknowledge CAPES, CNPq, and FAPESP for the financial support

Vaccination of Mice with Salmonella Expressing VapA: Mucosal and Systemic Th1 Responses Provide Protection against Rhodococcus equi Infection

Conventional vaccines to prevent the pneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi have not been successful. We have recently demonstrated that immunization with Salmonella enterica Typhimurium expressing the VapA antigen protects mice against R. equi infection. We now report that oral vaccination of mice with this recombinant strain results in high and persistent fecal levels of antigen-specific IgA, and specific proliferation of the spleen cells of immunized mice in response to the in vitro stimulation with R. equi antigen. After in vitro stimulation, spleen cells of immunized mice produce high levels of Th1 cytokines and show a prominent mRNA expression of the Th1 transcription factor T-bet, in detriment of the Th2 transcription factor GATA-3. Following R. equi challenge, a high H2O2, NO, IL-12, and IFN-γ content is detected in the organs of immunized mice. On the other hand, TNF-α and IL-4 levels are markedly lower in the organs of vaccinated mice, compared with the non-vaccinated ones. The IL-10 content and the mRNA transcription level of TGF-β are also higher in the organs of immunized mice. A greater incidence of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and B lymphocytes is verified in vaccinated mice. However, there is no difference between vaccinated and non-vaccinated mice in terms of the frequency of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ T cells. Finally, we show that the vaccination confers a long-term protection against R. equi infection. Altogether, these data indicate that the oral vaccination of mice with S. enterica Typhimurium expressing VapA induces specific and long-lasting humoral and cellular responses against the pathogen, which are appropriately regulated and allow tissue integrity after challenge

Heterologous expression of Brucella abortus GroEL heat-shock protein in Lactococcus lactis

BACKGROUND: Brucella abortus is a facultative intracellular pathogen that mainly infects cattle and humans. Current vaccines rely on live attenuated strains of B. abortus, which can revert to their pathogenic status and thus are not totally safe for use in humans. Therefore, the development of mucosal live vaccines using the food-grade lactic acid bacterium, Lactococcus lactis, as an antigen delivery vector, is an attractive alternative and a safer vaccination strategy against B. abortus. Here, we report the construction of L. lactis strains genetically modified to produce B. abortus GroEL heat-shock protein, a candidate antigen, in two cellular locations, intracellular or secreted. RESULTS: Only the secreted form of GroEL was stably produced in L. lactis, suggesting a detrimental effect of GroEL protein when intracellularly produced in this bacterium. Only trace amounts of mature GroEL were detected in the supernatant fraction of induced lactococcal cultures, and the GroEL precursor remained stacked in the cell fraction. Attempts to raise the secretion yields were made, but even when GroEL was fused to a synthetic propeptide, secretion of this antigen was not improved. CONCLUSION: We found that L. lactis is able to produce, and to secrete, a stable form of GroEL into the extracellular medium. Despite the low secretion efficiency of GroEL, which suggest that this antigen interacts with the cell envelope of L. lactis, secretion seems to be the best way to achieve both production and protein yields, regardless of cellular location. The L. lactis strain secreting GroEL has potential for in vivo immunization

Potential Exposure and Risk Associated with Metal Contamination in Foods

Humans require several trace elements as components of the diet. Some of these elements are required in extremely small quantities (only micrograms per day). On the other hand, in higher concentrations, some elements may also have deleterious, even lethal, effects. Metals such as arsenic, chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) are naturally occurring chemical compounds. The contamination of food with these metals occurs mainly through human activities, such as farming and industry, or from contamination during food processing and storage. People can be exposed to these metals by ingesting contaminated food or water, and their accumulation in the body can lead to harmful effects over time. The main objective of this chapter is to provide a literature review on the various types of foodborne poisoning caused by the contamination of food with arsenic, Cr, Pb, and Hg and on food safety issues associated with the presence of these metals in food. Research findings from various studies carried out to examine the relationship between metal exposure and the adverse health effects of metals are addressed