Tumores abdominais raros com crescimento intracardíaco. A propósito de dois casos operados com sucesso

Abdominal tumors that can grow through vascular lumen and spread to the right heart are rare. Although these tumors have different histologic aspects, they may cause similar abdominal and cardiac symptoms and are a serious risk factor for pulmonary embolism and sudden death when they reach the right atrium and tricuspid valve. The best treatment is radical surgical resection of the entire tumor using cardiopulmonary bypass with or without deep hypothermia and total circulatory arrest. We report the cases of two patients, the first with leiomyosarcoma of the inferior vena cava and the other with intravenous leiomyomatosis of the uterus that showed intravascular growth up to right atrium and ventricle, who underwent successful radical resection in a one-stage procedure with the use of cardiopulmonary bypass. We discuss the clinical and histologic aspects and imaging diagnosis and review the literature.Tumores abdominais que crescem pela luz dos vasos e atingem o coração são raros. Estes tumores possuem características histológicas distintas porém causam sintomas abdominais e cardíacos semelhantes e apresentam elevado risco de embolia pulmonar e morte súbita quando atingem o átrio direito e a valva tricúspide. O tratamento mais eficaz é a ressecção cirúrgica radical de todo o tumor usando-se circulação extracorpórea com ou sem hipotermia profunda e parada circulatória total. Relatamos os casos de dois pacientes, o primeiro portador de leiomiossarcoma primário da veia cava inferior e o segundo com leiomiomatose intravascular uterina com crescimento pela veia cava inferior alcançando o átrio e ventrículo direitos, que foram operados com sucesso para ressecção concomitante do tumor primário e de sua extensão intra-cardíaca, com auxílio da circulação extracorpórea. Os aspectos clínicos, laboratoriais e histopatológicos são discutidos e é feita revisão da literatura

Estimativa da pegada hídrica cinza de fertilizante nitrogenado no polo de produção de grãos, Paragominas - Pará, Amazônia.

Estimativas apontam que até o ano de 2050 o planeta irá presenciar uma crise em quantidade e qualidade hídrica, decorrente principalmente do crescimento populacional nos grandes centros urbanos e do incremento econômico. No Brasil segundo dados da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), em 2030 a população nacional chegará a 232 milhões de habitantes, indicando comprometimentos em qualidade e disponibilidade de água às populações. Na Amazônia, a partir de 2004 houve uma mudança no perfil agrícola com a expansão da fronteira, principalmente nos estados de Mato Grosso, Maranhão e Pará. Na microrregião nordeste paraense, onde está inserido o município de Paragominas, a agricultura é a atividade mais expressiva, onde a soja (Glycine max) e o milho (Zea may) são as principais culturas. No ano 2000 a área plantada era de 24.440 hectares, em 2012 passou para 104.924 hectares cultivados com soja e milho. Todavia, o desafio na Amazônia é produzir apontando indicadores de sustentabilidade (econômicos, sociais e ambientais). Assim, objetivou-se neste trabalho estimar a pegada hídrica cinza de composto nitrogenado utilizado na adubação de culturas, para subsidiar ações de planejamento agrícola. No cálculo foram consideradas dosagens recomendadas nas literaturas técnicas e os parâmetros da legislação naciona

Mapping landscape features related to soil carbon using ASTER thermal infrared images.

Climatic change derived from greenhouse gases (GHG) anthropogenic emissions consists in one of the main concerns of public policy makers. In Brazil, agricultural activities and livestock are responsible for 23% of gross GHG emissions, and land use and soil management are the main factors that drive these emissions levels. Soil carbon is mainly stocked as soil organic matter (SOM), and SOM stocks are related to clay content in soil and soil management. In order to improve the monitoring of these factors, we propose the use of ASTER TIR images data to map quartz, phyllosilicated clays, and non-photosynthetically active vegetation (NPAV) in order to assess remote sensing techniques to large-scale mapping of environments with greater or less soil carbon accumulation. We used thermal bands ratios to get quartz, phyllosilicated clays, and NPAV image fractions, that were compared to ASTER VNIR images and to the soil classes map of the study area. Results show that areas with higher values in quartz image fraction are related to bare soils areas in quartz-enriched soils. Higher values in phyllosilicates image fraction are related to bare soils areas with clay soils and higher values in NPAV image fraction are consistent to the vegetation activity throughout the study area, including crop residues areas detected in large-scale farms

Refractory Angina Cell Therapy (ReACT) Involving Autologous Bone Marrow Cells in Patients Without Left Ventricular Dysfunction: A Possible Role for Monocytes

Autologous bone marrow mononuclear cell (BMMC) transplantation has emerged as a potential therapeutic option for refractory angina patients. Previous studies have shown conflicting myocardium reperfusion results. the present study evaluated safety and efficacy of CellPraxis Refractory Angina Cell Therapy Protocol (ReACT). in which a specific BMMC formulation was administered as the sole therapy for these patients. the phase I/IIa noncontrolled, open label. clinical trial, involved eight patients with refractory angina and viable ischemic myocardium, without left ventricular dysfunction and who were not suitable for conventional myocardial revascularization. ReACT is a surgical procedure involving a single series of multiple injections (40-90 injections, 0.2 ml each) into ischemic areas of the left ventricle. Primary endpoints were Canadian Cardiovascular Society Angina Classification (CCSAC) improvement at 18 months follow-up and myocardium ischemic area reduction (assessed by scintigraphic analysis) at 12 months follow-up, in correlation with a specific BMMC formulation. Almost all patients presented progressive improvement in angina classification beginning 3 months (p = 0.008) postprocedure which was sustained at 18 months follow-up (p = 0.004), as well as objective myocardium ischemic area reduction at 12 months (decrease of 84.4%, p < 0.004). A positive correlation was found between monocyte concentration and CCSAC improvement (r = -0.759, p < 0.05). Improvement in CCSAC, followed by correlated reduction in scintigraphic myocardium ischemic area, strongly suggests neoangiogenesis as the main stem cell action mechanism. the significant correlation between number of monocytes and improvement strongly supports a cell-related effect of ReACT. ReACT appeared safe and effective.Cryopraxis Crobiologia Ltda.Cellpraxis BiogenhariaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, Dept Surg, Div Cardiovasc Surg, São Paulo, BrazilCryopraxis Criobiol Ltda, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilCellpraxis Bioengn, Rio de Janeiro, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, Div Hematol, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Coll Med, Inst Heart, São Paulo, BrazilUniv S Florida, Coll Med, Dept Neurosurg & Brain Repair, Ctr Excellence Aging & Brain Repair, Tampa, FL USAUniv S Florida, Off Res & Innovat, Tampa, FL USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, Dept Surg, Div Cardiovasc Surg, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Paulista Sch Med, Div Hematol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Surgical Myocardial Revascularization of Patients with Ischemic Cardiomyopathy and Severe Left Ventricular Disfunction

OBJECTIVE: To determine long-term survival, identify preoperative factors predictive of a favorable outcome, and assess functional improvement after coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with advanced left ventricular dysfunction. METHODS: Between 1995 and 2001, 244 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting and had a preoperative left ventricular ejection fraction less than or equal to 35% were included. left ventricular ejection fraction was determined by uniplanar or biplanar ventriculography during left heart catheterization. Indication for surgery was predominance of tissue viability. Functional improvement was evaluated through echocardiography and gated scintigraphy at exercise/ rest. Survival was determined by Kaplan-Meier analysis. RESULTS: Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 29±4% (ranged from 9% to 35%). An average of 3.01 coronary bypass grafts per patient were performed. In-hospital mortality was 3.7% (9 patients). The 4-year survival rate was 89.7%. Multivariate correlates of favorable short- and long-term outcome were preoperative New York Heart Association Funcional classification for congestive heart failure class I/II, lower PAsP, higher left ventricular ejection fraction and gated left ventricular ejection fraction Ex/Rest ratio >5%. Left ventricular ejection fraction rise from 32±5% to 39±5%, p <0.001. Gated left ventricular ejection fraction at exercise/ rest increased markedly after surgery: from 27±8%/ 23±7% to 37±5%/ 31±6%, p <0.001. CONCLUSIONS: In selected patients with severe ischemic left ventricular dysfunction and predominance of tissue viability, coronary artery bypass grafting may be capable of implement preoperative clinical/ functional parameters in predicting outcome as left ventricular ejection fraction and gated left ventricular ejection fraction at exercise/ rest

Transcription factors expressed in soybean roots under drought stress.

To gain insight into stress-responsive gene regulation in soybean plants, we identified consensus sequences that could categorize the transcription factors MYBJ7, BZIP50, C2H2, and NAC2 as members of the gene families myb, bzip, c2h2, and nac, respectively. We also investigated the evolutionary relationship of these transcription factors and analyzed their expression levels under drought stress. The NCBI software was used to find the predicted amino acid sequences of the transcription factors, and the Clustal X software was used to align soybean and other plant species sequences. Phylogenetic trees were built using the Mega 4.1 software by neighbor joining and the degree of confidence test by Bootstrap. Expression level studies were carried out using hydroponic culture; the experiments were designed in completely randomized blocks with three repetitions. The blocks consisted of two genotypes, MG/BR46 Conquista (drought-tolerant) and BR16 (drought-sensitive) and the treatments consisted of increasingly long dehydration periods (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 min). The transcription factors presented domains and/or conserved regions that characterized them as belonging to the bzip, c2h2, myb, and nac families. Based on the phylogenetic trees, it was found that the myb, bzip and nac genes are closely related to myb78, bzip48 and nac2 of soybean and that c2h2 is closely related to c2h2 of Brassica napus. Expression of all genes was in general increased under drought stress in both genotypes. Major differences between genotypes were due to the lowering of the expression of the mybj7 and c2h2 genes in the drought-tolerant variety at some times. Over-expression or silencing of some of these genes has the potential to increase stress tolerance

The role of high-pressure coolant in the wear characteristics of WC-Co tools during the cutting of Ti-6Al-4V

Aeronautic applications have been making use of titanium alloys for decades. Ti–6Al–4V is one of the most commonly applied alloys, and although its mechanical properties warrant its acceptance for many applications, the machinability of this alloy remains a challenge. So far, the most successful technique in facilitating this alloy's machining has been the application of High-Pressure Coolant Supply (HPC) on account of its influence on the tribological aspects of the cutting operation. On that premise, this work employs experimental and computational resources to advance the current understanding of the wear mechanism in terms of the tool-chip contact conditions and establish a correlation between coolant pressure, cutting speed, tool life, cutting forces, and chip formation when machining Ti–6Al–4V with HPC supply. Results showed that HPC plays a role in the reduction of tool-chip temperature profiles and contact stresses, positively impacting tool flank wear, oxidation levels and chip formation, also improving chip breakability

Elaboração de biblioteca espectral para campo experimental da Embrapa Soja, Londrina, PR.

Neste trabalho, descrevemos os métodos utilizados na elaboração de biblioteca espectral de soja, assim como a análise espectral dos dados levantados em campo. Foram coletados espectros foliares de soja do experimento ?sistemas de preparo de solo?, da Embrapa Soja (Londrina, PR), dos quais foram selecionadas duas parcelas de dois dos tipos de preparo de solo, preparo reduzido com uma escarificação (ESC) e preparo convencional com uma aração (AD), para análise neste trabalho. Visando obter assinaturas espectrais de dois estágios fenológicos distintos da soja, os dados foram coletados em novembro de 2012 e janeiro de 2013. Em seguida, foram realizados o pré-processamento e a correção dos dados para análise. A análise das curvas de reflectância espectrais médias e de diferenças de reflectância evidencia o aumento da reflectância das medições de novembro para as de janeiro, principalmente nas bandas do visível (400 nm ? 700 nm) e infravermelho próximo (NIR, 700 nm ? 1.300 nm). Observou-se, ainda, a ocorrência do ?blue-shift? do ?red edge? para ambas as parcelas. Uma vez que o experimento foi controlado e isolado de contaminantes, essas mudanças espectrais de novembro para janeiro são atribuídas à mudança no estágio fenológico da soja. Já as diferenças espectrais entre as duas parcelas podem ser atribuídas às diferentes técnicas de preparo de solo, o que deve ser estudado com mais detalhes em pesquisas futuras. Conclui-se, assim, que a biblioteca espectral de soja a ser construída apresenta grande potencial no auxílio da caracterização remota das culturas de soja do país