Haemophilus Influenzae Serotype A Septic Arthritis – A Rare Aetiology

Descreve-se um caso raro de artrite séptca por Haemophilus Influenzae (Hi) serotipo a (Hia)numa criança com o programa nacional de vacinação atualizado e antecendentes pessoais e familiares irrelevantes. A doente não apresentava fatores de risco e o estudo imunológico realizado não revelou alterações. Existem poucos casos relatados a nível mundial de infecção Hia e, de acordo com a revisão bibliográfica realizada. este é o primeiro caso de infecção osteoarticular por Hia descrito na Europa. No contexto deste caso, salienta-se a importância da determinação da estirpe na era pós-vacinal, bem como a exclusão de fatores predisponentes de doença invasiva por Hi não-b em idade pediátrica

Paralisia do plexo braquial – uma manifestação rara de infeção osteo-articular

Introdução: A paralisia do plexo braquial é uma entidade rara após o período neonatal. Resulta habitualmente de mecanismos físicos, mas pode estar relacionada com infeções osteo- articulares. Há poucos casos descritos de associação entre estas infeções e a paralisia secundária a neuropatia. Na maioria dos casos a manifestação mais frequente é a pseudo-paralisia ou fraqueza aparente do membro afetado. Casos Clínicos: Descrevem-se três casos de infeção osteo- articular manifestada por provável paralisia braquial sem os sinais sistémicos típicos de infeção. O tempo decorrido do início da doença ao estabelecimento do diagnóstico diferiu entre os casos, bem como as intervenções terapêuticas e o resultado. Discussão: A infeção osteo-articular pode passar despercebida na infância. Alerta-se para esta manifestação rara de infecção osteo-articular, de forma a evitar o atraso no diagnóstico e as respetivas sequelas

Screening \u3ci\u3eBrachiaria\u3c/i\u3e Introductions for Resistance to Spittlebugs (Homoptera: Cercopidae)

Spittlebugs are the most evident and damaging pests of Signal grasses (Brachiaria) in tropical America. Damage caused by these insects can result in the complete loss of available forage, thereby reducing the carrying capacity of infested pastures. Host plant resistance is a low-cost method of controlling insects. High level of spittlebug resistance is found in the cultivar Marandu (B. brizantha), but it requires more fertile soils. Brachiaria germplasm provided by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is available at National Beef Cattle Research Center of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa Beef Cattle) and it is being screened for spittlebug resistance. In the present study, 23 introductions of Brachiaria were evaluated for resistance to the spittlebug Deois flavopicta, based on the parameters: nymphal survival and nymphal period. The introductions CIAT 16125 and CIAT 16309, both B. brizantha, were selected as resistant in this test. Given the great number of available introductions and hybrids, tests like this have been conducted routinely at Embrapa Beef Cattle. A total of 551 introductions and hybrids have already been screened in the past few years. As a result 40 introductions and 11 hybrids were found resistant. The aim of continuing evaluations is to release new spittlebug resistant Brachiaria cultivars

Genetic variation among pathogens causing "Helminthosporium" diseases of rice, maize and wheat.

Vinte amostras de espécies de fungos, agentes da helmintosporiose em cereais, foram obtidas de diferentes regiões geográficas, sendo nove constituídas de Bipolaris oryzae, isoladas de cultura do arroz (Oryza sativa), sete de B. sorokiniana coletadas de trigo (Triticum aestivum), duas de B. maydis e duas de Exserohilum turcicum provenientes de milho (Zea mays). As amostras foram analisadas através das técnicas de PCR-RFLP e RAPD. O polimorfismo de tamanho observado entre as amostras na região ITS1-ITS2 e o espaço compreendido da região 5,8S do rDNA indicou diferenças genéticas entre as amostras, enquanto o fenograma construído através do método de UPGMA após a digestão com as enzimas de restrição, indicaram polimorfismo inter e intraespecífico. Os perfis de RAPD indicaram um expressivo grau de polimorfismo entre as diferentes espécies. Entre as amostras da mesma espécie ocorreu um baixo índice de polimorfismo. O fenograma, obtido pelo método de UPGMA, permitiu diferenciar as quatro espécies analisadas e agrupou as mesmas conforme a espécie hospedeira. Os perfis de RAPD obtidos revelaram ausência de correlação entre os fatores climáticos e a origem geográfica dos isolados de B. sorokiniana e B. oryzae. Espécies teleomórficas revelaram alto nível de similaridade com seus correspondentes anamorfos

Lipase-catalyzed ethanolysis of Jatropha curcas L. oil assisted by ultrasonication

ABSTRACT Transesterification of non-edible oils using immobilized lipase is a promising process for biodiesel production. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the enzymatic transesterification of the non-edible Jatropha curcas oil for FAEE production under ultrasound irradiation in a solvent-free system. The effects of enzyme concentration, water concentration, molar ratio of ethanol to oil and ultrasound power on the FAEE conversion have been evaluated. The results show that enzyme concentration and irradiation power have a positive significant effect on FAEE conversion, where an increase in these variables leads to higher conversions. Conversion above 54% of FAEE was achieved with 1.5 hours of reaction time using ultrasound irradiation, reducing reaction time by at least 3 times, when compared with the same experimental conditions without ultrasound irradiation. Results showed that ultrasound can improve reaction conversion mainly by enhancing the mass transfer between the constituents of the reactions

Ordovician and Silurian geological heritage of the Arouca region (Portugal)

4 páginas, 3 figuras.-- Trabajo presentado en la 44ª Sesión Científica, Jaén, 2008.The studied region is situated in the Aveiro district, about 50 km SW of Oporto (northern Portugal) and has a rich geological, biological and cultural heritage. The Arouca Geopark was formally established there in late 2007, under the auspices of Arouca’s Municipal Chamber, to reunite 36 geosites from which some of them involve remarkable Ordovician and Silurian rocks and fossils. Outcrops of both periods belong to the Valongo- Tamames syncline of the Central Iberian Zone. Lower Palaeozoic rocks around the Canelas Slate Quarry are of special interest, leading to the creation of a geotouristic route visiting three Ordovician units (Santa Justa quartzites, Valongo shales and Sobrido quartzite plus glaciomarine diamictites) and one Silurian (graptolitic black shales), as well as a Roman gold mine dug in the Lower Ordovician quartzites. However, the most outstanding geosite is the quarry itself, where Middle Ordovician giant trilobites (up to 70 cm in size) and trilobite clusters (up to thousands of specimens) occur in large slabs of slate and are recovered during the exploitation. The Geological Interpretation Centre of Canelas, located near the quarry and open since 2006, is one of the main tourist attractions of the Arouca Geopark, created to preserve and disseminate knowledge about trilobites and the Ordovician world, and having received more than 10,000 visitors in its first 17 months.La empresa Ardósias Valério & Figueiredo Lda., por su apoyo continuado al trabajo paleontológico en la cantera de Canelas. A la Câmara Municipal de Arouca, por su sensibilidad en la gestión del patrimonio geológico y la financiación (a D.R.) para su inventario. Este trabajo es una contribución a los proyectos CGL2006-07628/BTE y PTDC/CTE-GEX/64966/2006, financiados por el Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia español y la Fundación de Ciencia y Tecnología de Portugal, respectivamente.Peer reviewe

Successful treatment of feline leishmaniosis using an association of allopurinol and N-methyl-glucamine antimoniate

This work describes the diagnosis and successful treatment of a 2-year-old domestic cat infected with Leishmania species and presenting fever, and ulcerative and nodular skin lesions after being treated for pyodermatitis for 1 year without clinical improvement. After anamnesis the cat was submitted to a complete clinical examination. Blood was collected for determination of haematological and biochemical parameters, detection of feline leukaemia virus (FeLV), feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), feline coronavirus (FCoV) and Leishmania amastigotes. Fine-needle aspiration puncture from the skin nodules was also performed. After definitive diagnosis the animal was treated and followed up over a 2 year period. The animal tested negative for FIV-specific antibodies, FeLV antigen and feline coronavirus RNA. Leishmania amastigotes in the skin nodules were confirmed by cytology and molecular diagnosis. Treatment was initiated with allopurinol, resulting in a slight clinical improvement. Thus, N-methyl-glucamine antimoniate was added and administered for 30 days, with complete closure of the ulcerative lesions in the hindlimbs requiring a surgical approach. Close monitoring of the patient in the following 24 months indicated that combined therapy was safe and clinical cure was achieved without further relapses or side effects.publishersversionpublishe