Lipomatous hypertrophy of the interatrial septum

Authors describe a case of Lipomatous hypertrophy of the interatrial septum diagnosed by MR. A mass in right atrium with 18cm2 was detected by echocardiography, and later MR showed a homogeneous mass, with high intensity in T1 images and a decrease of signal with fat-suppression

Conformal Bulk Fields, Dark Energy and Brane Dynamics

In the Randall-Sundrum scenario we analyze the dynamics of a spherically symmetric 3-brane when the bulk is filled with matter fields. Considering a global conformal transformation whose factor is the $Z_2$ symmetric warp we find a new set of exact dynamical solutions for which gravity is bound to the brane. The set corresponds to a certain class of conformal bulk fields. We discuss the geometries which describe the dynamics on the brane of polytropic dark energy.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 2 figures. Talk given by Rui Neves at the Fourth International Conference on Physics Beyond the Standard Model, Beyond the Desert 03, Fundamental Experimental and Theoretical Developments in Particle Physics, Accelerator, Non-Accelerator and Space Approaches, Max Planck Institut f. Kernphysik/MPI Heidelberg, Castle Ringberg, Tegernsee, Germany, 9-14 June 2003. To be published in the Conference Proceedings, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, German

Modified Gravity on the Brane and Dark Energy

We analyze the dynamics of an AdS5 braneworld with matter fields when gravity is allowed to deviate from the Einstein form on the brane. We consider exact 5-dimensional warped solutions which are associated with conformal bulk fields of weight -4 and describe on the brane the following three dynamics: those of inhomogeneous dust, of generalized dark radiation, and of homogeneous polytropic dark energy. We show that, with modified gravity on the brane, the existence of such dynamical geometries requires the presence of non-conformal matter fields confined to the brane.Comment: Revised version published in Gen. Rel. Grav. Typos corrected, updated reference and some remarks added for clarity. 11 pages, latex, no figure

An annotated checklist of freshwater copepoda (crustacea, hexanauplia) from continental Ecuador and the Galapagos archipelago

An annotated checklist of the free-living freshwater Copepoda recorded in different regions in Ecuador (including the Amazon, the Andes, the coastal region, and the Galapagos Islands) is here provided. We revised all published records, critically evaluated the validity of each taxon and provided short taxonomic and biogeographical remarks for each one. A total of 27 taxa have been reported, including species and records at the generic level only. The species and taxa identified only up to the generic level belong to five families and 14 genera. The Cyclopoida is the most diverse group with 16 records belonging to species (or identified to the generic level only) and eight genera, followed by the Harpacticoida with six species, one identification to the generic level only, and four genera, and Calanoida with four species belonging to two genera. A total of 18 taxa are recorded for the Andes. Six have been recorded in the Amazon, two are recorded for the coastal region, and six for the Galapagos. One species is shared between the Amazon and the Andes. One species is shared between the coastal region and the Amazon. Seventeen are only reported from the Andes and four are only reported from the Amazon. At the current status of the knowledge, any attempt to analyze and generalize distributional patterns of copepods in Ecuador is premature due to the scarcity of available information, and evidently there is an urgent need for more extensive field collections. A few working hypothesis for future studies are identified

The use of birefringence for predicting the stiffness of injection moulded polycarbonate discs

Polycarbonate discs were injection molded with different sets of molding conditions. The parameters studied were the flow rate, melt- and mold-temperature. The discs were subjected to three point support flexural tests. Those tests are specially intended for injection molded discs because of their inherent non-flatness. The through-thickness molecular orientation was assessed by birefringence measurements along and across the flow direction using the wedge method. This method is ideal to measure the birefringence of materials that are difficult to cut with a microtome. The through-thickness stiffness of the discs was calculated from the measured birefringence distributions. A composite model of the disc was used in the Algor finite element method (FEW package to simulate the flexural tests

Fibers and 3D mesh scaffolds from biodegradable starch-based blends : production and characterization

The aim of this work is the production of fibers from biodegradable polymers to obtain 3D scaffolds for tissue engineering of hard tissues. The scaffolds required for this highly demanding application need to have, as well as the biological and mechanical characteristics, a high degree of porosity with suitable dimensions for cell seeding and proliferation. Furthermore, the open cell porosity should have adequate interconnectivity for a continuous flow of nutrients and outflow of cell metabolic residues as well as to allow cell growth into confluent layers. Blends of corn starch, a natural biodegradable polymer, with other synthetic polymers (poly- (ethylene vinyl alcohol), poly(e-caprolactone), poly(lactic acid)) were selected for this work because of their good balance of properties, namely biocompatibility, processability andmechanical properties. Melt spinning was used to produce fibers fromall the blends and 3Dmeshes fromone of the starchpoly( lactic acid) blends. The experimental characterization includedthe evaluationof the tensilemechanicalpropertiesand thermal properties of the fibers and the compression stiffness, porosity and degradation behavior of the 3Dmeshes

Gauging the SU(2) Skyrme model

In this paper the SU(2) Skyrme model will be reformulated as a gauge theory and the hidden symmetry will be investigated and explored in the energy spectrum computation. To this end we purpose a new constraint conversion scheme, based on the symplectic framework with the introduction of Wess-Zumino (WZ) terms in an unambiguous way. It is a positive feature not present on the BFFT constraint conversion. The Dirac's procedure for the first-class constraints is employed to quantize this gauge invariant nonlinear system and the energy spectrum is computed. The finding out shows the power of the symplectic gauge-invariant formalism when compared with another constraint conversion procedures present on the literature.Comment: revised version, to appear in Phys.Rev.

Mononeuritis multiplex: an uncommon neurological manifestation of cytomegalovirus reactivation in an HIV-infected patient

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation with neurological involvement in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is increasingly rare since the introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Manifestations include encephalitis, myelitis, polyradiculopathy and, less commonly, mononeuritis multiplex (MNM). We report a case of disseminated CMV disease with gastrointestinal and peripheral and central nervous system involvement in a patient with AIDS, manifesting primarily as MNM. CASE PRESENTATION: A 31-year old woman with AIDS presented with a clinical picture of MNM. Electromyography confirmed the clinical findings. CMV DNA was detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and blood. Gastrointestinal involvement was histologically documented. HIV RNA was also detected in CSF and brain MRI was consistent with HIV encephalopathy. A diagnosis of disseminated CMV disease (with esophagitis, colitis, encephalitis and MNM) and HIV encephalopathy was made. Treatment consisted of ganciclovir and foscarnet, followed by maintenance therapy with valganciclovir. Evolution was favorable and valganciclovir was stopped after sustained immune recovery following ART initiation. CONCLUSION: We discuss the diagnostic approach to CMV neurological disease, with a focus on MNM and CMV encephalitis. Combination therapy with ganciclovir and foscarnet should be considered for all forms of neurological involvement, although available data are scarce. Since there is significant overlap between CMV encephalitis and HIV encephalopathy, ART drugs with higher CSF penetration may have to be considered. ART and immune recovery are essential to improve outcomes

Levantamento de rizóbios isolados de nódulos de caupi cultivado em amostras de solos do cerrado do Estado do Piauí.

Cultivo de plantas iscas. Isolamento de nódulos, carcterização dos isolados. Resultados e discussão. Referências bibliográficas. Anexo 1. Anexo 2.bitstream/CNPAB-2010/27392/1/doc125.pd

Avaliação fenológica da espécie Morinda citrifolia Linn.

A espécie Morinda citrifolia Linn, conhecida popularmente como Noni, é uma pequena árvore de origem asiática cujo uso é bastante difundido. Existe um grande interesse na sua utilização na medicina popular devido às ?supostas propriedades farmacológicas? que possui, chega-se a afirmar que mais de 120 problemas de saúde que podem ser tratados, e até curados, com a planta e seus extratos. O conhecimento da floração e frutificação possibilita determinar estratégias de coleta de sementes, além de auxiliar no período de coleta de folhas e disponibilidade de frutos, o que pode influenciar a qualidade e quantidade da dispersão das sementes. O trabalho consistiu em avaliar, no período de janeiro de 2010 á dezembro de 2012, as épocas de floração e frutificação do Noni. Nos meses de maio, outubro e novembro foram registrados as maiores médias de dias de floração, respectivamente, 16, 19 e 21 dias e nos meses de junho, julho e agosto ás menores médias, respectivamente, 8, 5 e dias. Quanto a frutificação os meses de maio e novembro registraram, respectivamente, as maiores médias com 16 e 20 dias e as menor média foi registrada no mês de junho com 4 dias