Rejection-mediated Regression of Melanocytic Naevi in an Immunosuppressed Organ Transplant Recipient

© 2014 The Authors. doi: 10.2340/00015555-1789 Journal Compilation © 2014 Acta Dermato-Venereologica. ISSN 0001-5555 Eruptive melanocytic naevi and/or excess of melanocytic naevi have been reported in several groups of immunosuppressed patients. The eruption of melanocytic naevi after immunosuppression is a peculiar phenomenon indicating that the immune system may play a major role in limitating proliferation of melanocytes (1). In this article we describe a patient with excess of post-transplant melanocytic naevi that spontaneously disappeared after graft rejection

Uso de técnicas de sensoriamento remoto aplicadas à estimativa da produção florestal.

EVINCI. Resumo 053

Total orthotopic small bowel transplantation in swine under FK 506

Previous experimental studies in rodents and in dogs have established the efficacy of FK 506 in controlling the immunologic events following small bowel or multivisceral transplantation.1–5 To complete the assessment of FK 506 in experimental small bowel transplantation, we present here our experience with the frequently used swine model

On the size of knots in ring polymers

We give two different, statistically consistent definitions of the length l of a prime knot tied into a polymer ring. In the good solvent regime the polymer is modelled by a self avoiding polygon of N steps on cubic lattice and l is the number of steps over which the knot ``spreads'' in a given configuration. An analysis of extensive Monte Carlo data in equilibrium shows that the probability distribution of l as a function of N obeys a scaling of the form p(l,N) ~ l^(-c) f(l/N^D), with c ~ 1.25 and D ~ 1. Both D and c could be independent of knot type. As a consequence, the knot is weakly localized, i.e. ~ N^t, with t=2-c ~ 0.75. For a ring with fixed knot type, weak localization implies the existence of a peculiar characteristic length l^(nu) ~ N^(t nu). In the scaling ~ N^(nu) (nu ~0.58) of the radius of gyration of the whole ring, this length determines a leading power law correction which is much stronger than that found in the case of unrestricted topology. The existence of such correction is confirmed by an analysis of extensive Monte Carlo data for the radius of gyration. The collapsed regime is studied by introducing in the model sufficiently strong attractive interactions for nearest neighbor sites visited by the self-avoiding polygon. In this regime knot length determinations can be based on the entropic competition between two knotted loops separated by a slip link. These measurements enable us to conclude that each knot is delocalized (t ~ 1).Comment: 29 pages, 14 figure

Canopy temperatures and accumulated degree days on cotton plants under water deficit.

Canopy temperature is one of the best integrators of plant health and has been successfully used for irrigation scheduling. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the canopy temperature of cotton plants under water stress at different stages of the crop cycle and to determine the accumulated degree days based on canopy temperature. It was applied water deficit periods of 15 days at the following phenological stages: First Square, First Flower, Peak Bloom and Opening Bolls and control treatment. Canopy temperature was obtained using SmartCrop® wireless infrared temperature sensors. The results showed higher canopy temperatures during water deficit periods. For water deficit periods, canopy temperature values were always above the optimum temperature for cotton metabolism. As a result of the stress caused by water deficit, cotton yield was significantly reduced, with the higher yield loses recorded when applied deficit occurred during flowering stages (beginning and peak). Accumulated degree days also varied according to water stress, with a shortened phenological cycle for treatments with water deficit in comparison to the control without stress. The period for fiber thickening was also influenced by the variation in canopy temperature due to water stress, which may reflect decline in fiber quality

Alterações morfológicas e qualidade fisiológica de sementes de mamão.

A análise de raios X é uma técnica importante na identificação de problemas associados à morfologia interna de sementes e ao seu potencial fisiológico. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar os padrões morfológicos e a qualidade fisiológica de sementes de mamão obtidas de diferentes estádios de maturação e locais dentro do fruto com o auxílio das análises de raios X. Foram utilizadas sementes de mamão Formosa colhidos no estádio 1 de maturação. As sementes foram extraídas dos frutos nos estádios 1, 3, 5 e final. Os frutos foram armazenados em condições de laboratório (25 °C) e ao atingirem cada estádio de maturação, foram seccionados transversalmente em três partes de tamanhos iguais, sendo as sementes das duas extremidades (proximal e distal) extraídas separadamente daquelas localizadas na região central. Depois de lavadas e secas, as sementes foram utilizadas nas seguintes avaliações: 1) teste de germinação em papel germitest umedecido com água destilada em temperatura alternada 20-30°C. Avaliou-se a velocidade de germinação, plântulas normais na primeira contagem e as porcentagens de germinação, sementes dormentes e sementes inviáveis aos 30 dias; e, 2) teste de raios X, determinando-se as porcentagens de sementes cujo embrião era facilmente visível, com radícula visível e sementes aparentemente vazias. O experimento foi conduzido em delineamento inteiramente casualizado, em fatorial (duas regiões do fruto e quatro estádios de maturação) em quatro repetições. As médias comparadas pelo teste de Tukey a 5% de probabilidade. Constatou-se que sementes localizadas na parte central dos frutos apresentaram desempenho superior às sementes das extremidades. O estádio 1 de maturação apresentou número de sementes vazias e dormentes superior aos demais estádios. O teste de raios X favoreceu a diferenciação entre sementes de mamão vazias e com embrião completamente desenvolvido.Resum