Systemic amyloidosis with bilateral conjunctival involvement: a case report

Conjunctival amyloidosis is a very rare condition, generally unilateral, and presents mostly as an isolated condition without systemic compromise. Our purpose is to present a new case of systemic amyloidosis with a bilateral conjunctival involvement.Fil: Correa, Leandro Javier. Universidad Catolica de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Clinica Universitaria Reina Fabiola; ArgentinaFil: Maccio, J. Pablo. Universidad Catolica de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Clinica Universitaria Reina Fabiola; ArgentinaFil: Esposito, Evangelina. Universidad Catolica de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Clinica Universitaria Reina Fabiola; ArgentinaFil: Monti, Jose Rodolfo. Universidad Catolica de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Clinica Universitaria Reina Fabiola; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez Castellanos, Maria Eugenia. Universidad Catolica de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Clinica Universitaria Reina Fabiola; ArgentinaFil: Paradelo, Martin. Centro Medico de Patologia y Citopatologia; ArgentinaFil: Serra, Horacio Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones en Bioquímica Clínica e Inmunología; ArgentinaFil: Urrets Zavalía, Julio Alberto. Universidad Catolica de Córdoba. Facultad de Medicina. Clinica Universitaria Reina Fabiola; Argentin

Effects of Past Copper Contamination and Soil Structure on Copper Leaching from Soil

Copper contamination affects biological, chemical, and physical soil properties and associated ecological functions. Changes in soil pore organization as a result of Cu contamination can dramatically affect flow and contaminant transport in polluted soils. This study assessed the influence of soil structure on the movement of water and Cu in a long-term polluted soil. Undisturbed soil cores collected along a Cu gradient (from about 20 to about 3800 mg Cu kg−1 soil) were scanned using X-ray computed tomography (CT). Leaching experiments were performed to analyze tracer transport, colloid leaching, and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and Cu losses. The 5% arrival time (t0.05) and apparent dispersivity (lapp) for tracer breakthrough were calculated by fitting the experimental data to a nonparametric, double-lognormal probability density function. Soil bulk density, which did not follow the Cu gradient, was the main driver of preferential flow, while macroporosity determined by X-ray CT (for pores >180 mm) proved the best predictor of solute transport. Higher preferential flow due to the presence of well-aligned pores and small cracks controlled water movement in compacted soil. Transport of Cu was rapid during the first flush (»1 pore volume) in association with the movement of colloid particles, followed by slower transport in association with the movement of DOC in the soil solution. The relative amount of Cu released was strongly correlated with macroporosity as determined by X-ray CT, indicating the promising potential of this visualization technique for predicting contaminant transport through soil

Neonatal sensitization to ethanol-induced breathing disruptions as a function of late prenatal exposure to the drug in the rat: Modulatory effects of ethanol's chemosensory cues

Preclinical and clinical studies have systematically demonstrated abrupt changes in fetal respiratory patterns when the unborn organism is exposed to the effects of maternal ethanol intoxication. In subprimates, chronic exposure to this drug during gestation and infancy results in marked alterations of the plasticity of the respiratory network. These alterations are manifested in terms of an early incapability to overcome deleterious effects of hypoxic events as well as in terms of sensitization to ethanol's depressant effects upon breathing patterns. It has also been demonstrated that near term rat fetuses process ethanol's chemosensory cues when the drug contaminates the amniotic fluid and that associative learning processes occur due to the temporal contiguity existing between these cues and different ethanol-related physiological effects. In the present study during the course of late gestation (gestational days 17-20), pregnant rats were intragastrically administered with either 0.0 or 2.0. g/kg ethanol. Seven-day-old pups derived of these dams were evaluated in terms of respiration rates (breaths/min) and apneas when subjected to different experimental conditions. These conditions were defined by postnatal exposure to the drug (intragastric administrations of either 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 or 2.0. g/kg ethanol), postadministration time of evaluation (5-10 or 30-35. min) and olfactory context at test (no explicit ambient odor or ethanol ambient odor). The results, obtained via whole body plethysmography, indicated that brief prenatal experience with the drug sensitized the organisms to ethanol's depressant effects particularly when employing the higher ethanol doses. In turn, presence of ethanol odor at test potentiated the above mentioned respiratory alterations. Prenatal treatment with ethanol was not found to alter pharmacokinetic profiles resulting from postnatal exposure to the drug or to affect different morphometric parameters related with lung development. These results indicate that even brief exposure to the drug during late gestation is sufficient to sensitize the organism to later disruptive effects of the drug upon breathing responsiveness. These deficits are potentiated through the re-exposure to the olfactory context perceived in utero which is known to be associated with ethanol's unconditioned effects. As a function of these observations it is possible to suggest a critical role of fetal sensory and learning capabilities in terms of modulating later ethanol-related breathing disruptions.Fil: Culleré, Marcela Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Macchione, Ana Fabiola. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Haymal, Olga Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; ArgentinaFil: Paradelo, Martin. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Unidad Hospitalaria "San Roque"; ArgentinaFil: Langer, Marcos Daniel. Fuerza Aérea Argentina. Hospital Aeronáutico Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Spear, Norman E.. University Of Binghamton; Estados UnidosFil: Molina, Juan Carlos. University Of Binghamton; Estados Unidos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigación Médica Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Psicología; Argentin