Comparative analysis of the dorsal chaetotaxy of Troglopedetes, Trogolaphysa, and Campylothorax supports the synonymization of tribes paronellini and troglopedetini (Collembola: Paronellidae)

Genera in subfamily Paronellinae have been grouped into five tribes, in part based on chaetotaxy. Tribes Bromacanthini, Paronellini, and Troglopedetini are characterized by having rounded scales and reduced or no macrochaetae, and although Bromacanthini harbors two well-differentiated genera, the core genera in tribes Paronellini and Troglopedetini form a homogeneous group where even generic diagnoses were, until recently, unclear. The genera assigned to Troglopedetini (Troglopedetes Absolon, Trogolaphysa Mills, and Cyphoderopsis Carpenter) harbor many species with reduced eyes number, whereas the tribe Paronellini (genera Paronella Schött, Dicranocentruga Wray and Campylothorax Schött) includes species with 6-8 eyes. Recent analyses of the chaetotaxy of Trogolaphysa and Cyphoderopsis suggest that these genera represent specialized forms related to species in Paronellini. The taxonomy of Troglopedetes, the type genus of Troglopedetini, is based almost exclusively on claw and mucro shape and dorsal macrochaetae pattern, and few details of the complete dorsal chaetotaxy of the species are known. This contribution presents a comparative analysis of the complete dorsal chaetotaxy of two species of Troglopedetes from Spain (one new to science), two new species of Trogolaphysa from the Dominican Republic and Martinique, and Campylothorax sabanus with the purpose of identifying aspects of the chaetotaxy that could provide diagnostic characters for the separation of Trogolaphysa and Troglopedetes, and a new diagnosis for tribe Troglopedetini. The analysis shows that neither the number of chaetae nor its organization or pattern of macrochaeta provides diagnostic differences between Trogolaphysa and Troglopedetes. It is also concluded that the separation of Paronellini and Troglopedetini is not justified. Troglopedetini is here synonymized with Paronellini, and a new diagnosis of Paronellini is provided

Machine learning application to improve the flow of radiotherapy treatment

O câncer é o principal problema de saúde pública no mundo. A radioterapia é uma das formas mais comuns e efetivas de tratamento de câncer. Porém, atualmente existe um desequilíbrio entre a demanda de tratamentos e a disponibilidade de equipamentos de radioterapia o que leva a atrasos no início de tratamento, esses atrasos produzem sofrimento psicológico e menor probabilidade de controle da doença. Como há uma grande pressão para a contenção de custos, muitas vezes não é possível resolver o problema da falta de equipamentos com a expansão de centros de tratamento. Por outro lado, existe uma ineficiência nos processos relacionados ao fluxo de trabalho e no agendamento de pacientes para início de tratamento. Neste trabalho buscou-se, através da análise de dados do setor de radioterapia do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, estudar meios de otimização do fluxo de trabalho para se obter uma gestão eficaz e eficiente do tempo de espera. Com intuito de fazer previsões do tempo de espera e do tempo de tratamento dos pacientes foram comparados quatro algoritmos de AM (Aprendizado de Máquina) com técnica de regressão (Support Vector Machine, Extreme Gradient Boosting , Random forest e Redes neurais) e para a otimização do agendamento de radioterapia foi proposto um modelo de programação linear inteiro misto. Com base no trabalho realizado, conclui-se que a utilização de AM ajuda entender os problemas encontrados no setor. Foram propostas mudanças na rotina, definidos tempo de espera e de tratamento mais adequados e conseguiu-se que o agendamento automático possibilitasse a diminuição do tempo de espera dos pacientes, com priorização dos pacientes com pior prognóstico.Cancer is the main public health problem in the world. Radiotherapy (RT) is an importante modality in the treatment of these patients. With this growing global burden, demand for RT has been increasing continuously and supply-demand imbalances have become a major concern, due to the negative impact of treatment delays. Evidence has been published of the negative impact of treatment delays on measures such as tumor progression, persistence of cancer symptoms, psychological distress and decreased cancer control and survival rates. The reason for delays in Radiotherapy is not only due to imbalance between capacity and demand, but also due to inefficiency of workflow, for instance, scheduling problems. Consequently, as there is pressure to contain costs, it is often not possible to solve the problem of the lack of equipment. However, the problem of inefficient processes can be attacked. This work, we analyze the data of electronic health records of radiotherapy department of Hospital das Clínicas de São Paulo to attempt to provide a better understanding of the problem and study ways of optimizing workflow and efficient management of waiting time. In order to make predictions of patient waiting time and treatment time, four machine learning algorithms were compared using regression technique (Support Vector Machine, Extreme Gradient Boosting , Random forest and Neural networks ) and for the optimization of radiotherapy scheduling, a mixed integer linear programming model was proposed.Based on this work, it is concluded that the use of AM helps to understand the problems of the departament. Changes in routine were proposed, more appropriate waiting and treatment times were defined and automatic scheduling made it possible to reduce patient waiting times, prioritizing patients with the worst prognosi

Modelo discreto para o ciclo eritrocitário da Malária

In this work, some aspects of the erythrocyte cycle of the malaria parasite was incorporated into a cellular automata model to simulated the major factors leading to disruption of the erythrocyte cycle and consequent appearance of gametocytes, which infected the mosquitoes. Furthermore, the time seies of parasitaemia of infected patients was analyzed and compared to simulated data. The results suggested that differences in the temporal patterns of the asexual parasitaemia are associated with different effectiveness of the immune system in controlling the infectionNesse trabalho, estudou-se alguns aspectos da dinâmica do ciclo eritrocitário do parasita da malária P. falciparum e através das informações obtidas propôs-se um modelo de autômatos celulares, com ênfase no estudo dos fatores decisivos que levam a interrupção do ciclo eritrocitario pelos merozoítos e consequente aparecimento dos gametócitos, forma infectante dos mosquitos. Também foi feita uma análise da série temporal da parasitemia de pacientes infectados. A partir da compração entre os resultados de simulação e os dados experimentais mostrou-se que diferença no comportamento das séries temporais de parasitemia está relacionada com diferentes efetividades dos sistema imune no controle da infecçã

Da onipotência ao desamparo: sobre a relação entre memória filogenética e envelhescência

Este artigo dedica-se, com base em fragmentos de um caso clínico, a discutir a contribuição dos traços mnêmicos filo e ontogenéticos para a formação de compromissos que acontecem diante do terror suscitado pela velhice. Concomitantemente, apresenta a viabilidade do amparo clínico como alternativa à ameaça de desamparo que emerge da consciência de finitude e salienta a complexidade e a importância do trabalho psíquico de envelhescência como condição fundamental à escuta na transferência

INTESTINAL HISTOPATHOLOGY DUE TO AN ACANTHOCEPHALAN IN TWO CORVIDS SPECIES FROM NORTH ITALY

In the control program of wild fauna the competent authority of Emilia Romagna region has identified as indicator animals wild boar (Sus scrofa), fox (Vulpes vulpes) and corvid species and regular monitoring should be done by Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute to assess changes in infectious and parasitic diseases. The Corvidae (order Passeriformes) belong to the most developed avian group. These birds live in very close contact with human residential areas as well as poultry farm and, being migratory species especially in search of the food, they can act as vector for a wide range of pathogens and parasites. There is no previous information on occurrence of endoparasitic helminths in corvids in Italy nor on their histopathological effects on hosts. During this investigation, we studied the histopathology due to an enteric helminth, namely Sphaerirostris picae (Acanthocephala) in 80 corvids belonging to two species, β9 hooded crow (Corvus corone cornix) and 51 magpie (Pica pica). The prevalence of S. picae was 10% in both bird species. The intensity of infection was β-1β worms for hooded crow and 1-9 for magpie. Intestinal helminths often induce changes in the morphology of the host tissues, which can lead to alterations in the digestive physiology of the host. The histopathology induced by S. picae in the intestines of birds was carried out by light and transmission electron microscopy. Both male and female acanthocephalans penetrated deeply through all the layer of the hosts intestine by means of their neck and proboscis, in some instances the proboscis emerged in the peritoneal (abdominal) cavity. At the site of attachment, S. picae provoked a complete loss of intestinal architecture and a catarrhal enteritis. The main cellular immune response was an intense eosinophil granulocytes infiltration. S. picae is not a parasite species that may pose a public health risk

Regorafenib in metastatic colorectal cancer

Regorafenib is an oral multikinase inhibitor that blocks the activity of protein kinases involved in the regulation of tumor angiogenesis (VEGFR1, 2, 3; angiopoietin-1 receptor), oncogenesis (stem cell growth factor receptor; RET; BRAF including BRAFV600E), and tumor microenvironment (PDGFR-\u3b2 and FGFR). Based on data from the Phase III CORRECT study, regorafenib stands as a further option for patient affected by metastatic colorectal cancer who have exhausted previous available therapies. Its multi-targeted effect might explain activity in advanced lines of treatment, when cancer cells have been heavily challenged with previous lines of therapy and potentially developed multiple mechanisms of resistance, but also makes difficult to identify predictive biomarkers. In this article we examine preclinical as well as clinical data of regorafenib in the therapy of metastatic colorectal cancer, challenges for potential markers of efficacy and its role in the treatment algorithm