410 research outputs found
Trastuzumab-Induced Myocardiotoxicity Mimicking Acute Coronary Syndrome
Trastuzumab is an important biological agent in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer, with effects on response rates, progression-free survival, overall survival and quality of life. Although this drug is well tolerated in terms of adverse effects, trastuzumab-associated myocardiotoxicity has been described to have an incidence of 0.6–4.5% and in rare cases, the drug can trigger severe congestive heart failure with progression to death or even mimic acute coronary syndrome with complete left bundle branch blockade. In this paper is reported a case of trastuzumab-associated myocardiotoxicity manifesting as acute coronary syndrome in a 69-year-old female. The patient is currently undergoing a conservative clinical treatment that restricts overexertion
On Aharonov-Casher bound states
In this work bound states for the Aharonov-Casher problem are considered.
According to Hagen's work on the exact equivalence between spin-1/2
Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher effects, is known that the
term cannot be neglected in the
Hamiltonian if the spin of particle is considered. This term leads to the
existence of a singular potential at the origin. By modeling the problem by
boundary conditions at the origin which arises by the self-adjoint extension of
the Hamiltonian, we derive for the first time an expression for the bound state
energy of the Aharonov-Casher problem. As an application, we consider the
Aharonov-Casher plus a two-dimensional harmonic oscillator. We derive the
expression for the harmonic oscillator energies and compare it with the
expression obtained in the case without singularity. At the end, an approach
for determination of the self-adjoint extension parameter is given. In our
approach, the parameter is obtained essentially in terms of physics of the
problem.Comment: 11 pages, matches published versio
Mutually exclusive signaling signatures define the hepatic and pancreatic progenitor cell lineage divergence
Understanding how distinct cell types arise from multipotent progenitor cells is a major quest in stem cell biology. The liver and pancreas share many aspects of their early development and possibly originate from a common progenitor. However, how liver and pancreas cells diverge from a common endoderm progenitor population and adopt specific fates remains elusive. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we defined the molecular identity of liver and pancreas progenitors that were isolated from the mouse embryo at two time points, spanning the period when the lineage decision is made. The integration of temporal and spatial gene expression profiles unveiled mutually exclusive signaling signatures in hepatic and pancreatic progenitors. Importantly, we identified the noncanonical Wnt pathway as a potential developmental regulator of this fate decision and capable of inducing the pancreas program in endoderm and liver cells. Our study offers an unprecedented view of gene expression programs in liver and pancreas progenitors and forms the basis for formulating lineage-reprogramming strategies to convert adult hepatic cells into pancreatic cells
Association of apolipoprotein E polymorphism with plasma lipids and Alzheimer's disease in a Southern Brazilian population
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Future environmental and agricultural impacts of Brazil's Forest Code
The role of improving the enforcement of Brazil's Forest Code in reducing deforestation in the Amazon has been highlighted in many studies. However, in a context of strong political pressure for loosening environmental protections, the future impacts of a nationwide implementation of the Forest Code on both environment and agriculture remain poorly understood. Here, we present a spatially explicit assessment of Brazil's 2012 Forest Code through the year 2050; specifically, we use a partial equilibrium economic model that provides a globally consistent national modeling framework with detailed representation of the agricultural sector and spatially explicit land-use change. We test for the combined or isolated impacts of the different measures of the Forest Code, including deforestation control and obligatory forest restoration with or without environmental reserve quotas. Our results show that, if rigorously enforced, the Forest Code could prevent a net loss of 53.4 million hectares (Mha) of forest and native vegetation by 2050, 43.1 Mha (81%) of which are in the Amazon alone. The control of illegal deforestation promotes the largest environmental benefits, but the obligatory restoration of illegally deforested areas creates 12.9 Mha of new forested area. Environmental reserve quotas further protect 5.8 Mha of undisturbed natural vegetation. Compared to a scenario without the Forest Code, by 2050, cropland area is only reduced by 4% and the cattle herd by 8%. Our results show that compliance with the Forest Code requires an increase in cattle productivity of 56% over four decades, with a combination of a higher use of supplements and an adoption of semi-intensive pasture management. We estimate that the enforcement of the Forest Code could contribute up to 1.03 PgCO<sub>2</sub>e to the ambitious GHG emissions reduction target set by Brazil for 2030
TOPOGRAFIA DO CONE MEDULAR EM UM GATO MOURISCO, Herpailurus yagouaroundi (Severtzow, 1858)(FELIDAE)
A anestesia caudal foi proposta pela primeira vez em 1926 e diversas técnicas foram
desenvolvidas para anestesiar os nervos espinhais lombares e sacrais. Os métodos para anestesia
epidural exigem conhecimento da anatomia da região envolvida. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar
a topografia do cone medular do gato mourisco, tornando possÃvel a realização desta técnica
anestésica em um felino silvestre de nossa fauna. Uma gata mourisca, adulta, proveniente do
Zoológico Parque do Sabiá, Uberlândia-MG, foi encaminhado ao Laboratório de Pesquisa em Animais
Silvestres (LAPAS), com o objetivo de determinar a topografia do cone medular para tornar possÃvel
a realização desta técnica anestésica em um felino silvestre de nossa fauna. Este animal foi fixado
em solução de formol a 10%. Feita incisão de pele, os músculos da coluna vertebral foram retirados,
os arcos vertebrais foram seccionados para visualização da medula espinhal e seus envoltórios. O
cone medular neste animal iniciou-se na sexta vértebra lombar (L6) e terminou na segunda vértebra
sacral (S2), com comprimento total de 50mm. O comprimento corporal deste felino foi de 473mm.
Conclui-se que o melhor local para a anestesia epidural do membro pélvico no gato mourisco está
entre as vértebras L6 e S2.
Topographycal study on the medullar cone in jaguarundi, Herpailurus yagouaroundi
(Severtzow,1858)(FELIDAE
Abstract
Since the caudal anesthesia was first proposed in 1926 many techniques were
developed to anesthethize the lumbar and sacral nerves. Such methods for epidural anesthesia
require knowledge of the relative anatomical regions. The objetive of the present study was to determine
the topographic anatomy of the jaguarundi medullar cone as a morphological basis for application of
anesthesis techniques. One adult female jaguarondi that perished by natural death has been obtained
form the Sabiá Zoo Park, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil and conducted to tha Wild Animals Laboratory. The
animal was fixes in 10% formalin solution. Following skin incision, muscles of the vertebral column
were removed and the vertebral arcs sectioned for the visualization of hte spinal cord and its wrappers.
Epidural anesthesic drug in the medullar cone. The medullar cone in this jaguarundi startet in the
sixth lumbar vertebra (L6) and ended in the second sacral vertebra (S2); the spinal cord length was
50mm. The corporal length of this feline measured 473mm. The best region to perform the pelvic
anesthesia in a jaguarundi is between the vertebra L6 and S2
Expanding the Soy Moratorium to Brazil’s Cerrado
The Cerrado biome in Brazil is a tropical savanna and an important global biodiversity hot spot. Today, only a fraction of its original area remains undisturbed, and this habitat is at risk of conversion to agriculture, especially to soybeans. Here, we present the first quantitative analysis of expanding the Soy Moratorium (SoyM) from the Brazilian Amazon to the Cerrado biome. The SoyM expansion to the Cerrado would prevent the direct conversion of 3.6 million ha of native vegetation to soybeans by 2050. Nationally, this would require a reduction in soybean area of approximately 2%. Relative risk of future native vegetation conversion for soybeans would be driven by the Brazilian domestic market, China, and the European Union. We conclude that, to preserve the Cerrado’s biodiversity and ecosystem services, urgent action is required, including a zero native vegetation conversion agreement such as the SoyM
Cellulose nanofibers produced from banana peel by chemical and mechanical treatments: characterization and cytotoxicity assessment
Cellulose nanoparticles from a vegetable source (cellulose fiber) have been evaluated for future use as reinforcement of polymeric matrixes (e.g., biodegradable films). Cellulose nanoparticles have numerous advantages: they are inexpensive and biodegradable, and they originate from renewable sources. Here, cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) were isolated from banana peel by chemical (alkaline treatment and bleaching followed by acid hydrolysis with 0.1, 1, or 10% (v/v) H2SO4) and mechanical (high pressure homogenizer) treatments. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analysis showed all treatments effectively isolated banana fibers at the nanometer scale (average diameter of 3.72 nm). CNFs displayed -potential values ranging from -37.60 to -67.37 mV, which prevented their aggregation. CNFs had high crystallinity values, from 63.1 to 66.4%, which indicated they could be good reinforcing agents. FTIR results confirmed that the chemical and mechanical treatments removed the amorphous fractions. Regarding cytotoxicity, low CNF concentrations (50-500 g/mL) did not cause cell death, but CNFs at concentrations above 1000 g/mL significantly decreased cell viability. The use of different sulfuric acid concentrations provided more detailed knowledge of the treatment methods and CNF features, which could help to improve the CNF production process. The combination of chemical and mechanical treatments proved to be an efficient strategy to prepare CNFs from banana peels as a potential reinforcing agent of polymeric matrixes (e.g., food packaging).The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support
provided by Coordenaçao de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel ~
Superior (2952/2011), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e Tecnologico (150523/2013-0 and 140274/2014-6), and
CAPES/FCT 349/13 for the PhD exchange program. Joana T. Martins
acknowledges the Foundation for Science and Technology for her
fellowship (SFRH/BPD/89992/2012). This study was supported by
FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/
2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and
BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by
the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of
Norte2020 - Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. This study
was also supported by FCT under the scope of the Project RECI/BBBEBI/0179/2012
(FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462). The authors
would also like to acknowledge the Brazilian Nanotechnology National
Laboratory (LNNano) for allocation of the TEM and AFM
apparatus.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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