Conidial heads (Fruiting Bodies) as a hallmark for histopathological diagnosis of angioinvasive aspergillosis

Aspergillosis is a mycosis that afflicts immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts; among the former it exhibits different clinical pictures, and among the latter the infection renders an invasive form of the disease. The histologic diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis is somewhat challenging mostly because of some morphological similarities between other fungi. However, when present, the conidial heads are pathognomonic of aspergillosis. The authors present the case of a 68-year-old woman who was submitted to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the pursuit of multiple myeloma treatment. The post-transplantation period was troublesome with the development of severe neutropenia, human respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia, and disseminated aspergillosis, which was suspected because of a positive serum galactomannan antigen determination, and resulted in a fatal outcome. The autopsy findings showed diffuse alveolar damage associated with angioinvasive pulmonary aspergillosis with numerous hyphae and conidial heads in the lung parenchyma histology. The authors call attention to the aid of autopsy in confirming the diagnosis of this deep mycosis, since only the research of the galactomannan antigen may be insufficient and uncertain due to its specificity and of the possibility of false-positive result

Conidial heads (Fruiting Bodies) as a hallmark for histopathological diagnosis of angioinvasive aspergillosis

Aspergillosis is a mycosis that afflicts immunocompetent and immunocompromised hosts; among the former it exhibits different clinical pictures, and among the latter the infection renders an invasive form of the disease. The histologic diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis is somewhat challenging mostly because of some morphological similarities between other fungi. However, when present, the conidial heads are pathognomonic of aspergillosis. The authors present the case of a 68-year-old woman who was submitted to autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the pursuit of multiple myeloma treatment. The post-transplantation period was troublesome with the development of severe neutropenia, human respiratory syncytial virus pneumonia, and disseminated aspergillosis, which was suspected because of a positive serum galactomannan antigen determination, and resulted in a fatal outcome. The autopsy findings showed diffuse alveolar damage associated with angioinvasive pulmonary aspergillosis with numerous hyphae and conidial heads in the lung parenchyma histology. The authors call attention to the aid of autopsy in confirming the diagnosis of this deep mycosis, since only the research of the galactomannan antigen may be insufficient and uncertain due to its specificity and of the possibility of false-positive result

Potential of Medicinal Use of Essential Oils from Aromatic Plants

The use of medicinal plants rich in essential oils can represent a viable source for the control of some diseases, being able to constitute a possible therapeutic alternative due to its effectiveness. Essential oils are natural volatile fractions extracted from aromatic plants and formed by classes of substances such as esters of fatty acids, mono and sesquiterpenes, phenylpropanoids, aldehyde alcohols and, in some cases, aliphatic hydrocarbons, among others. Essential oils have been used by mankind for medicinal purposes for several centuries, with reports coming from Ancient Egypt. In this sense, the present work aims to approach the biological activities of essential oils such as antioxidant, anticancer, antiprotozoal, antifungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory activities of different plant matrices rich in essential oils

Riscos de nefropatia em pacientes submetidos ao procedimento de cateterismo cardíaco e os benefícios do protocolo de hidratação oral

De acordo com Guyton, no tratado de fisiologia médica, em geral a nefropatia crônica e a insuficiência renal aguda podem ocorrer a partir de distúrbios nos vasos sanguíneos. A nefropatia causada a partir do uso de contrastes gera complicações graves, seu uso se dá pela necessidade de procedimentos terapêuticos e diagnósticos que envolvem contrastes de administração parenteral. Mesmo com as distintas definições de nefropatia de contrastes entre os estudos, o consenso refere-se a um aumento relativo da creatinina basal igual ou superior a 25%, 48 horas após a administração intravascular. Procedimentos de cateterismo e angioplastia, dentro da cardiologia intervencionista precisam da utilização e administração do meio de contraste iodado (MCI) e raio-x, para que aconteça uma melhor visualização das artérias coronárias e câmaras cardíacas. Na cardiologia, o exame diagnóstico considerado padrão-ouro, é o cateterismo cardíaco, pois permite uma melhor visualização e avaliação das coronárias, podendo perceber obstruções presentes. A etiologia da nefropatia induzida por contraste (NIC) pode estar associada nas características do quadro clínico do paciente quanto às características do contraste utilizado. Portanto a hidratação via oral vem sendo utilizada como uma sugestão em comparação à infusão endovenosa por conta da sua fácil administração e diminuição de recursos hospitalares, além do conforto e praticidade para o paciente, este método vem sendo eficaz e utilizado

Fístula arteriovenosa dural intracraniana da junção craniocervical com drenagem venosa perimedular espinhal: um raro relato de caso

Fístulas arteriovenosas durais (FAVDs) são lesões adquiridas, que consistem em uma ou mais conexões fistulosas no interior dos folhetos da dura-máter, com envolvimento das paredes de um seio venoso dural ou então das veias leptomeníngeas adjacentes. Sua incidência é de difícil determinação, no entanto, segundo estudos, ela é estimada em 10% a 15% de todas as malformações cerebrovasculares diagnosticadas por angiografia. Os fatores predisponentes ao desenvolvimento das FAVDs são o traumatismo cranioencefálico, tromboflebite cerebral, neurocirurgia prévia e infecções. O objetivo deste estudo é apresentar um caso de Fístula Arteriovenosa Dural Intracraniana em um paciente de 58 anos, ressaltando os aspectos imagenológicos, etiológicos, fisiopatológicos e, sobretudo, os tipos de classificação da doença e a terapia utilizada. W.S.D., sexo masculino, 58 anos, natural e procedente de São Paulo – SP, deu entrada no pronto-socorro de um hospital de referência da capital paulista queixando-se de parestesia de membros superiores (MMSS) há 3 meses. Foi realizado exame físico e anamnese de forma minuciosa, na qual o paciente negou cefaleia e outros sintomas associados. Foi submetido à investigação com uma ressonância magnética (RNM) da região cerebral e medular em ponderações T1 e T2, as quais demonstraram efeito tumefativo que comprometia a transição bulbo-medular e a medula cervical de C2, as quais encontravam-se edemaciadas. Além disso, estavam proeminentes os vasos leptomeníngeos nos hemisférios cerebelares, estes patognomônicos da FAVD. Ademais, foi observado hipersinal em T2, com padrão estriado/tigroide, típico de degeneração mielínica progressiva. O paciente apresentava agressivo refluxo venoso cortical com drenagem perimedular espinhal na veia cortical e, dessa forma, enquadrou-se na Classificação de Cognard tipo V, sendo considerado um paciente portador de FAVD maligna. Foi então realizado tratamento endovascular com embolização transarterial, o qual proporcionou fechamento completo da fístula e, dessa forma, o paciente obteve um prognóstico favorável. As fístulas arteriovenosas durais, por serem uma condição rara e com variadas manifestações clínicas, podem passar despercebidas pelo profissional médico. Dessa forma, é de fundamental importância o conhecimento da doença, com o intuito de proporcionar ao paciente um diagnóstico precoce e uma terapia eficaz

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost