Acute Paracoccidioidomycosis Due to Paracoccidioides brasiliensis S1 Mimicking Hypereosinophilic Syndrome with Massive Splenomegaly: Diagnostic Challenge

Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Pesquisa Clínica em Dermatologia Infecciosa. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Micologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Pesquisa Clínica em Dermatologia Infecciosa. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Central Hospital of Military Police. Nosocomial Infection Surveillance and Control Program. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Department of Inpatient Health Care. Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brasil.Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Department of Internal Medicine. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Micologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Micologia. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Laboratório de Pesquisa Clínica em Dermatologia Infecciosa. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil

Profile of total IgG, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 levels in sera of patients with paracoccidioidomycosis: treatment follow-up using Mexo and rPb27 as antigens in an ELISA

The levels of total of IgG, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 were evaluated in 54 patients with chronic paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) before, during and after treatment using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with Mexo and recombinant Pb27 (rPb27) as the antigens. Mexo was effective in distinguishing PCM patients from individuals in the negative control group (NC) based on total IgG and rPb27 performed worse than Mexo when these two groups were compared. IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 could not be used to clearly distinguish PCM patients from those in the NC group using either antigen. There was no clear relationship between antibody levels and the period of treatment. The majority of patients presented with decreased antibody levels during treatment, with no statistically significant differences among the different periods of treatment. Only IgG4 presented a negative correlation between its levels and clinical improvement during treatment. In total, 65% of untreated PCM patients showed reactivity against IgG4 when the Mexo antigen was used and this reactivity decreased over the course of treatment. There was a tendency towards decreasing antibody levels during treatment, but these antibody levels did not necessarily clear after the treatment was stopped. Mexo was useful for PCM diagnosis using total IgG; however, more studies are necessary before this antigen can be used in measuring the levels of total IgG and its subclasses for monitoring patients during treatment

The influence of image salience on the artistic renditions of cave lions in the early Upper Paleolithic

Large felid predators have posed significant threats to various primate lineages since Miocene times. In the case of leopards (Panthera pardus), natural selection has fostered the ability to recognize these cats in a number of nonhuman primates. This perceptual ability is maintained in habitats where these predators are no longer present. In a similar domain, the hominin fossil record provides evidence of a long period of exposure to felid predators. Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that natural selection engendered some evolved felid-recognition abilities in human ancestors. As explorations of this potential, experimental studies show that children and adults are capable detectors of lion images embedded in arrays of non-dangerous antelope. In thischapter, the perceptual aspects of lions are investigated further by reviewing the neurobiological underpinnings of face recognition and shape and texture processing which include the contextualassociations that promote object recognition. Cave lions (Panthera spelaea) were an important component of cave drawings and mobiliary sculptures of Aurignacian hunter-gatherers in theearly Upper Paleolithic of Europe. Some features of cave lions, such as facial markings and body contours are portrayed in drawings and figurines with anatomical realism, suggesting a level of visual salience that might be indicative of an evolutionary influence