Aloenxertos ósseos granulados esponjosos criopreservados na revisão do componente acetabular de artroplastias da anca: protocolos de preparação, de processamento e técnica de impactação

Os defeitos ósseos acetabulares presentes numa falência de uma artroplastia total da anca podem ser reconstruídos com enxertos ósseos granulados impactados, quer se reimplante uma cúpula cimentada quer uma cúpula não cimentada. Na maioria das publicações ortopédicas, os enxertos ósseos são preparados a partir de cabeças femorais colhidas em dadores vivos submetidos a uma artroplastia da anca. O propósito deste trabalho é descrever os métodos de preparação e processamento e a técnica de impactação de aloenxertos esponjosos granulados congelados, usados na reconstrução acetabular de revisões de artroplastias da anca. O osso esponjoso colhido nos pratos da tíbia e nos côndilos femorais do dador de órgãos, é fragmentado com instrumentos manuais e não com um moinho de osso, é submetido a soluções de peróxido de hidrogénio e de etanol e conservado a -80ºC. O tamanho dos fragmentos (7-10 mm), a lavagem dos enxertos, a contenção dos defeitos ósseos, a técnica de impactação convencional e a vascularização do osso hospedeiro, são fatores críticos para o sucesso das reconstruções acetabulares biológicas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Case study on the efficacy of a lanthanum-enriched clay (Phoslock®) in controlling eutrophication in Lake Het Groene Eiland (The Netherlands)

Lake Het Groene Eiland was created in the beginning of 2008 by construction of dikes for isolating it from the surrounding 220-ha water body. This so-called claustrum of 5 ha was treated using lanthanum-modified clay (Phoslock®) to control eutrophication and mitigate cyanobacterial nuisance. Cyanobacteria chlorophyll-a were significantly lower in the claustrum than those in the reference water body, where a massive bloom developed in summer, 2008. However, PO4-P and TP did not statistically differ in these two waters. TN and NO3-N were significantly lower in the claustrum, where dense submerged macrophytes beds developed. Lanthanum concentrations were elevated after the applications of the modified clay in the claustrum, but filterable lanthanum dropped rapidly below the Dutch standard of 10.1 μg l−1. During winter, dozens of Canada geese resided at the claustrum. Geese droppings contained an average of 2 mg PO4-P g−1 dry weight and 12 mg NH3-N g−1 dry weight and might present a growing source of nutrients to the water. Constructing the claustrum enabled unrestricted bathing in subsequent three summers, as no swimming bans had to be issued due to cyanobacteria blooms. However, the role of the modified clay in this positive outcome remains unclear, and longevity of the measures questionable.

The importance of Portuguese Continental Shelf Waters to Balearic Shearwaters revealed by aerial census

The Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus is one of the most threatened seabirds in the world. To evaluate the abundance and distribution of Balearic Shearwaters in Portuguese Continental Shelf Waters, during the post-breeding period when migrating birds are outside the Mediterranean Sea, we conducted 5 aerial surveys between 2010 and 2014 (21 survey days covering 62,716 km2). Following a line transect method, observers recorded a total of 181 Balearic Shearwaters sightings. Using Distance sampling software, we estimated an overall species abundance (2010–2014) of 10,182, ranging between 2338 in 2010 and 23,221 individuals in 2012. During the 2012 post-breeding period, the Portuguese Continental Shelf Waters were used by up to 96.8% of the latest migratory population assessment. Considering Balearic Shearwater estimates per sampling block, there was a preference for the North and Center sectors of the Portuguese coast (respectively, 7058 and 1366 individuals) where several SPAs were already designated. We computed the annual and overall habitat predictive models for Balearic Shearwaters using a maximum entropy algorithm on MaxEnt software. In all models, the Balearic shearwater distribution was best predicted by mean chlorophyll concentration. Balearic Shearwaters are mostly present in shallow shelf and coastal waters particularly in the widest portions of the continental shelf. These areas are strongly influenced by upwelling, which concurs with the chlorophyll concentration being the most important predicting variable. Portuguese Continental Shelf Waters are one of the most important post-breeding grounds to the Balearic ShearwaterPortuguese Wildlife Society and projects SafeSea EEA-Grants, FAME (Proj. 2009-1/089) and European Commission’s Life Programme (MarPro NAT/PT/00038). This study was also partly supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) with Grants SFRH/ BD/30240/2006 to M. Ferreira and SFRH/BD/32841/2006 to P. C. Rodrigues. C. Eira is supported by FCT through CESAM UID/AMB/50017/2013 co-funded by FCT/MEC and FEDER, within PT2020 and Compete 2020 and S. Monteiro is financed by a Grant (BPD/0043/AMB/50017) from UID/AMB/50017/2013. This work was also partially supported by the strategic programme UID/BIA/04050/2013 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007569) funded by FCT and by ERDF (COMPETE2020). The authors thank observers and airplane pilots who contributed to this workinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

SARS-CoV-2 antibody dynamics in blood donors and COVID-19 epidemiology in eight Brazilian state capitals: A serial cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 situation in Brazil is complex due to large differences in the shape and size of regional epidemics. Understanding these patterns is crucial to understand future outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 or other respiratory pathogens in the country. METHODS: We tested 97,950 blood donation samples for IgG antibodies from March 2020 to March 2021 in 8 of Brazil's most populous cities. Residential postal codes were used to obtain representative samples. Weekly age- and sex-specific seroprevalence were estimated by correcting the crude seroprevalence by test sensitivity, specificity, and antibody waning. RESULTS: The inferred attack rate of SARS-CoV-2 in December 2020, before the Gamma variant of concern (VOC) was dominant, ranged from 19.3% (95% credible interval [CrI] 17.5-21.2%) in Curitiba to 75.0% (95% CrI 70.8-80.3%) in Manaus. Seroprevalence was consistently smaller in women and donors older than 55 years. The age-specific infection fatality rate (IFR) differed between cities and consistently increased with age. The infection hospitalisation rate increased significantly during the Gamma-dominated second wave in Manaus, suggesting increased morbidity of the Gamma VOC compared to previous variants circulating in Manaus. The higher disease penetrance associated with the health system's collapse increased the overall IFR by a minimum factor of 2.91 (95% CrI 2.43-3.53). CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight the utility of blood donor serosurveillance to track epidemic maturity and demonstrate demographic and spatial heterogeneity in SARS-CoV-2 spread. FUNDING: This work was supported by Itaú Unibanco 'Todos pela Saude' program; FAPESP (grants 18/14389-0, 2019/21585-0); Wellcome Trust and Royal Society Sir Henry Dale Fellowship 204311/Z/16/Z; the Gates Foundation (INV- 034540 and INV-034652); REDS-IV-P (grant HHSN268201100007I); the UK Medical Research Council (MR/S0195/1, MR/V038109/1); CAPES; CNPq (304714/2018-6); Fundação Faculdade de Medicina; Programa Inova Fiocruz-CE/Funcap - Edital 01/2020 Number: FIO-0167-00065.01.00/20 SPU N°06531047/2020; JBS - Fazer o bem faz bem

Isolation and Characterization of Bacteria from the Gut of Bombyx mori that Degrade Cellulose, Xylan, Pectin and Starch and Their Impact on Digestion

Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) have been domesticated and widely used for silk production. It feeds on mulberry leaves. Mulberry leaves are mainly composed of pectin, xylan, cellulose and starch. Some of the digestive enzymes that degrade these carbohydrates might be produced by gut bacteria. Eleven isolates were obtained from the digestive tract of B. mori, including the Gram positive Bacillus circulans and Gram negative Proteus vulgaris, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Citrobacter freundii, Serratia liquefaciens, Enterobacter sp., Pseudomonas fluorescens, P. aeruginosa, Aeromonas sp., and Erwinia sp.. Three of these isolates, P. vulgaris, K. pneumoniae, C. freundii, were cellulolytic and xylanolytic, P. fluorescens and Erwinia sp., were pectinolytic and K. pneumoniae degraded starch. Aeromonas sp. was able to utilize the CMcellulose and xylan. S. liquefaciens was able to utilize three polysaccharides including CMcellulose, xylan and pectin. B. circulans was able to utilize all four polysaccharides with different efficacy. The gut of B. mori has an alkaline pH and all of the isolated bacterial strains were found to grow and degrade polysaccharides at alkaline pH. The number of cellulolytic bacteria increases with each instar