EFICIÊNCIA ENERGÉTICA NA GESTÃO DA CONTA DE ENERGIA ELÉTRICA DA UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE SERGIPE

A conservação e uso racional da energia elétrica são medidas que estão cada vez mais sendo tomadas pelas instituições que buscam menores gastos com o consumo de energia, o que pode ser conseguindo através de ações simples objetivando resultados a curto e logo prazo. Essas ações devem ter como premissa básica que o padrão de conforto seja mantido, a instituição deve adequar-se as novas medidas de modo a não alterar suas funções cotidianas. Numa época em que a devastação do meio ambiente é um dos principais problemas a ser combatido, a eficiência energética assume um importante papel, contribuído para que mais seja produzido com menos custo para o meio ambiente. Este artigo descreve as medidas tomadas pela Universidade Federal de Sergipe desde 2008, com o intuito de diminuir gastos com energia elétrica e os resultados obtidos até então

Long-term Results after CT-Guided Percutaneous Ethanol Ablation for the Treatment of Hyperfunctioning Adrenal Disorders

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the safety and long-term efficacy of computed tomography-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation for benign primary and secondary hyperfunctioning adrenal disorders. METHOD: We retrospectively evaluated the long-term results of nine patients treated with computed tomography-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation: eight subjects who presented with primary adrenal disorders, such as pheochromocytoma, primary macronodular adrenal hyperplasia and aldosterone-producing adenoma, and one subject with Cushing disease refractory to conventional treatment. Eleven sessions were performed for the nine patients. The patient data were reviewed for the clinical outcome and procedure-related complications over ten years. RESULTS: Patients with aldosterone-producing adenoma had clinical improvement: symptoms recurred in one case 96 months after ethanol ablation, and the other patient was still in remission 110 months later. All patients with pheochromocytoma had clinical improvement but were eventually submitted to surgery for complete remission. No significant clinical improvement was seen in patients with hypercortisolism due to primary macronodular adrenal hyperplasia or Cushing disease. Major complications were seen in five of the eleven procedures and included cardiovascular instability and myocardial infarction. Minor complications attributed to sedation were seen in two patients. CONCLUSION: Computed tomography-guided ethanol ablation does not appear to be suitable for the long-term treatment of hyperfunctioning adrenal disorders and is not without risks

Antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of Physalis peruviana calyx extract / Atividade antibacteriana e antibiofilme do extrato do cálice de Physalis peruviana

This study aimed to evaluate the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of a P. peruviana calyx extract. Goldenberry calyx extracts were prepared with 60% (v/v) ethanol. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) analyses were performed by the 96-well plate microdilution method together with the minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Biofilm inhibition and destruction was performed in microdilution plates. The P. peruviana calyx extract presented antibacterial activity against the pathogens analyzed (Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC 13048, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 1705, Staphylococcus epidermidis (clinical isolate), Streptococcus pneumoniae ATCC 99619, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PA01, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212, Escherichia coli (clinical isolate), Shigella sonnei (clinical isolate), Acinetobacter baumannii ATCC 19606, Streptococcus agalactie (clinical isolate), Acinetobacter baumannii (clinical isolate), Salmonella sp. (clinical isolate), Salmonella enteritidis (clinical isolate), and Staphylococcus aureus (clinical isolate)). MIC varied from 3.15 to 30 mg/mL extract and showed bacteriostatic activity against eight pathogens and bactericidal activity at 30 mg/mL concentration against six strains. Biofilm tests revealed biofilm formation inhibition, although there was no destruction. According to these results, the potential antibacterial activity of P. peruviana calyx extract was verified. This will enable further studies to be carried out to contribute to its use in the food industry as a preservative of natural origin and other clinical applications

Identificação de genótipos de tomateiro resistentes a tospovirus em progênies segregantes com marcador molecular

The SCAR (Sequence Characterized Amplified Region) 'Sw-421' molecular marker is located at 1.0 cM from the Sw-5 allele, originated from Lycopersicon peruvianum (L.), which confers resistance to the tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV). However, it had not been tested yet in advanced tomato populations. The goal of this study was to distinguish resistant homozygotes (Sw-5/Sw-5) and heterozygotes (Sw-5/Sw-5+) from susceptible (Sw-5+/Sw-5+) plants in crossing populations with the Stevens cultivar and advanced backcrossing populations by using 'Sw421' SCAR marker. The amplification of 940 bp and 900 bp bands characterized the resistant homozygotes and susceptible controls, respectively. A two band pattern (900 bp and 940 bp) was observed in heterozygote genotypes (Sw-5/Sw-5+), which confirmed the co-dominant inheritance mechanism of the marker. Fifty seven plants from the isogenic progenies were characterized based on bands pattern: 18 plants (31.6%) were identified as resistant homozygotes, 8 plants (14.0%) as resistant heterozygotes and 31 plants (54.4%) were characterized as susceptible. The SCAR 'Sw-421' marker is an important tool for selection and pyramid resistance alleles, mainly when other resistance sources to the TSWV are available, such as the Rey de los Tempranos source.O marcador molecular SCAR 'Sw-421' é localizado a 1,0 cM do alelo Sw-5, proveniente de Lycopersicon peruvianum (L.), que confere resistência ao vira-çabeça em tomateiro. Contudo, o mesmo ainda não havia sido testado em populações avançadas de tomateiro. O objetivo do trabalho foi distinguir plantas resistentes homozigotas (Sw-5/Sw-5), resistentes heterozigotas (Sw-5/Sw-5+) e suscetíveis (Sw-5+/Sw-5+) pelo marcador SCAR 'Sw-421'. As amplificações de bandas de 940 pb e 900 pb caracterizaram os genótipos resistentes homozigotos e suscetíveis, respectivamente. Duas bandas (900 pb e 940 pb) foram observadas nos genótipos heterozigotos, confirmando a herança codominante do marcador. De 57 plantas das progênies isogênicas avaliadas 18 (31,6%) plantas foram caracterizadas como resistentes, 8 (14,0%) como heterozigotas e 31 (54,4%) plantas suscetíveis. O marcador molecular SCAR 'Sw-421' constitui importante ferramenta para seleção e piramidação de alelos de resistência, especialmente quando se utilizam outras fontes de resistência ao vira-cabeça, como por exemplo, a fonte Rey de los Tempranos

Total parathyroidectomy in a large cohort of cases with hyperparathyroidism associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1: experience from a single academic center

Most cases of sporadic primary hyperparathyroidism present disturbances in a single parathyroid gland and the surgery of choice is adenomectomy. Conversely, hyperparathyroidism associated with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (hyperparathyroidism/multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1) is an asynchronic, asymmetrical multiglandular disease and it is surgically approached by either subtotal parathyroidectomy or total parathyroidectomy followed by parathyroid auto-implant to the forearm. In skilful hands, the efficacy of both approaches is similar and both should be complemented by prophylactic thymectomy

Radiomic analysis of MRI to Predict Sustained Complete Response after Radiofrequency Ablation in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma - A Pilot Study

OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether quantitative textural features, extracted from pretreatment MRI, can predict sustained complete response to radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: In this IRB-approved study, patients were selected from a maintained six-year database of consecutive patients who underwent both pretreatment MRI imaging with a probable or definitive imaging diagnosis of HCC (LI-RADS 4 or 5) and loco-regional treatment with RFA. An experienced radiologist manually segmented the hepatic nodules in MRI arterial and equilibrium phases to obtain the volume of interest (VOI) for extraction of 107 quantitative textural features, including shape and first- and second-order features. Statistical analysis was performed to evaluate associations between textural features and complete response. RESULTS: The study consisted of 34 patients with 51 treated hepatic nodules. Sustained complete response was achieved by 6 patients (4 with single nodule and 2 with multiple nodules). Of the 107 features from the arterial and equilibrium phases, 20 (18%) and 25 (23%) achieved AUC >0.7, respectively. The three best performing features were found in the equilibrium phase: Dependence Non-Uniformity Normalized and Dependence Variance (both GLDM class, with AUC of 0.78 and 0.76, respectively) and Maximum Probability (GLCM class, AUC of 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrates that a radiomic analysis of pre-treatment MRI might be useful in identifying patients with HCC who are most likely to have a sustained complete response to RFA. Second-order features (GLDM and GLCM) extracted from equilibrium phase obtained highest discriminatory performance

Mutantes rin, norA, ogc e hp em diferentes backgrounds genotípicos de tomateiro

The objective of this work was to assess the viability of single and simultaneous use of rin, norA, ogc and hp as heterozygotes in tomato genotypes in order to improve post-harvest fruit quality. Eighteen genotypes differing in combinations among these loci in two backgrounds (Floradade and experimental background) were evaluated. Contrasts were used to quantify the effects of single and simultaneous application of mutant loci, in two different backgrounds, on the total and early fruit yield, fruit mean mass, fruit firmness, development of external fruit color, lycopene and beta-carotene fruit contents. The norA and the rin alleles, used as heterozygotes in the FloraDade background, delayed the fruit softening and reduced lycopene and beta-carotene contents of mature fruit. All heterozygous combinations between rin and the mutants norA, ogc and hp increased fruit firmness. The effect of the rin+/rin nor+/norA genotypes on fruit firmness was roughly the sum of the individual effects of each locus. The rin allele was more efficient than norA to keep fruit firmness. The ogc+/ogc and hp+/hp genotypes, singly or in combination, improved colour of rin fruits. The combination rin+/rin and nor+/norA can be used in breeding for long shelf life tomatoes; however, genotypic backgrounds where fruit colour is less adversely affected should be sought or, alternatively, the colour mutant heterozygotes ogc+/ogc and hp+/hp should be used.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a viabilidade do emprego isolado e simultâneo dos mutantes rin, norA, ogc e hp em heterozigose, em genótipos de tomateiro, visando à melhoria da qualidade pós-colheita dos frutos. Foram avaliados 18 genótipos que diferem quanto às combinações entre estes locos em dois diferentes backgrounds (FloraDade e background experimental). Contrastes não ortogonais foram estabelecidos para quantificar os efeitos dos alelos mutantes, isoladamente ou combinados em um mesmo genótipo, em dois backgrounds, sobre a produção total e produção precoce de frutos, massa média, firmeza, coloração externa, teores de licopeno e betacaroteno dos frutos. Os alelos norA e rin em heterozigose, no background FloraDade, desaceleraram a taxa de perda de firmeza e reduziram os teores de licopeno e betacaroteno nos frutos maduros. As combinações heterozigotas entre o mutante rin e os mutantes norA, ogc e hp aumentaram a firmeza dos frutos. O efeito do genótipo rin+/rin nor+/norA sobre a firmeza dos frutos foi o somatório dos efeitos individuais dos locos. O alelo rin mostrou-se, individualmente, mais eficiente do que norA, em prolongar a firmeza dos frutos. Os genótipos ogc+/ogc e hp+/hp, juntos ou isolados, aumentaram a coloração dos frutos rin+/rin. Recomenda-se a utilização dos genótipos rin+/rin nor+/norA no desenvolvimento de híbridos longa vida, buscando-se, contudo, backgrounds que sofram prejuízo menor sobre a coloração dos frutos e adicionando-se mutantes ogc+/ogc e hp+/hp