Collective transport of droplets through porous media

The flow of deformable particles, such as droplets, dragged by a fluid, through a network of narrow pores inside rocks or other porous media is key in a range of applications, from enhanced oil recovery and water filtration to lab on a chip sorting of cells. The collective dynamics and its impact on the flow are poorly understood. Here, using droplets as a prototype, we show that collective transport can occur for conditions under which a single particle would get trapped at a pore channel. When a series of droplets gets trapped, the fluids flow is affected significantly, leading to an increase of the pressure difference across the pore channels, which in turn squeezes the particles through the channels. We analyze the conditions for a single droplet to flow through one pore and derive the corresponding Bond number. We also obtain a rule for the collective flow of droplets in porous media

Central nervous system vasculitis in a patient with HIV infection: a diagnostic challenge

Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Neurol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Div Doencas Infecciosas, Rua Napoleao Barros,715, BR-04023900 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Radiol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Neurol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Div Doencas Infecciosas, Rua Napoleao Barros,715, BR-04023900 Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Radiol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Participation in the International Judo Federation World Tour competitions and performance in Tokyo Olympic Games

IntroductionThe International Judo Federation introduced a ranking system in 2009 that determines top athletes for the Olympic Games and seeds them in competitions. Previous research indicated that this ranking list and past performances predicted 19%–27% of performance in the Olympic Games and World Championships. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between Judo World Tour competitions and Olympic Games performance may have been affected. This study aimed to examine the relationship between athletes' performance in Judo World Tour competitions and their competitive performance at the Olympic Games.MethodsData from 393 athletes who participated in the Tokyo Olympics were analyzed considering both long and short-term performance measures. Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between variables and multiple linear regressions were used to predict performance for each sex and the entire sample.ResultsThe results revealed a range of magnitudes in the correlation between variables, varying from small to large. In terms of regression analyses, it was observed that, for females, the percentage of matches won during the classification period and competition in the year prior to the Olympic Games predicted 37% of their performance. For males, the percentage of matches won during the classification period and competition in the six months before the Olympic Games predicted 36% of their performance.DiscussionThus, athletes’ quality and reduced exposure to competition near the Olympic Games appear to be important factors in their performance at the event

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of fluconazole in plasma and its application to a bioequivalence study

A sensitive and accurate HPLC-UV method for the quantification of fluconazole (FNZ) in human plasma has been developed. The sample was prepared by liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) of FNZ from plasma using ethyl acetate. Nevirapine (NVP) was used as internal standard. The chromatographic retention times of FNZ and NVP were 3.4 and 5.7 min, respectively. The lower limit of quantitation (LLOQ) was 0.5 μg/mL, and no interferences were detected in the chromatograms. The HPLC-UV method was validated by evaluating its intra-day and inter-day precisions and accuracies in a linear concentration range between 0.5 and 8.0 μg/mL. The method was developed, validated and successfully applied to bioequivalence studies involving the oral administration of a single 150 mg FNZ capsules in healthy Brazilian male volunteers.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Low-Level Laser Application in the Early Myocardial Infarction Stage Has No Beneficial Role in Heart Failure

Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) has been targeted as a promising approach that can mitigate post infarction cardiac remodeling. There is some interesting evidence showing that the beneficial role of the LLLT could persist long-term even after the end of the application, but it remains to be systematically evaluated. Therefore, the present study aimed to test the hypothesis that LLLT beneficial effects in the early post-infarction cardiac remodeling could remain in overt heart failure even with the disruption of irradiations. Female Wistar rats were subjected to the coronary occlusion to induce myocardial infarction or Sham operation. A single LLLT application was carried out after 60 s and 3 days post-coronary occlusion, respectively. Echocardiography was performed 3 days and at the end of the experiment (5 weeks) to evaluate cardiac function. After the last echocardiographic examination. LV hemodynamic evaluation was performed at baseline and on sudden afterload increases. Compared with the Sham group, infarcted rats showed increased systolic and diastolic internal diameter as well as a depressed shortening fraction of LV. The only benefit of the LLLT was a higher shortening fraction after 3 days of infarction. However, treated-LLLT rats show a lower shortening fraction in the 5th week of study when compared with Sham and non-irradiated rats. A worsening of cardiac function was confirmed in the hemodynamic analysis as evidenced by the higher LV end-diastolic pressure and lower +dP/dt and dP/dt with five weeks of study. Cardiac functional reserve was also impaired by infarction as evidenced by an attenuated response of stroke work index and cardiac output to a sudden afterload stress, without LLLT repercussions. No significant differences were found in the myocardial expression of Akti NEGF pathway. Collectively, these findings illustrate that LLLT improves LV systolic function in the early post-infarction cardiac remodeling. However, this beneficial effect may be dependent on the maintenance of phototherapy. Long-term studies with LLLT application are needed to establish whether these effects ultimately translate into improved cardiac remodeling.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnologicoFAPESPNove de Julho Univ, Lab Biophoton, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Lab Cardiac Physiol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilNove de Julho Univ, Program Med, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Sao Judas Tadeu, Brazil Phys Educ & Aging Sci Program, Translat Physiol Lab, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Lab Cardiac Physiol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilCNPq: 4400851/2014-8FAPESP: 09-54225/8FAPESP: 15/11028-9Web of Scienc