Pulmonary tuberculosis followed by sarcoidosis in an HIV-infected patient: a case report and a simplified diagnostic flowchart for diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis

The diagnosis of sarcoidosis in a patient living with HIV infection is an uncommon event and a challenge for clinicians. Clinical manifestations are variable and fluctuating depending to adherence to ARV therapy and to the level of CD4 count. We analyze here one chronic case in which sarcoidosis appeared clinically two years after pulmonary tuberculosis. The course of the disease was influenced and prolonged by frequent interruptions of antiretroviral therapy. Moreover the diagnosis and the decision to treat have been delayed by the need of exclusion of other pathologies, principally tuberculosis reactivation/reinfection, other mycobacterial diseases, hematologic malignancies. We propose a simplified flowchart for diagnosis and follow up of sarcoidosis, which may also be applied to patients with HIV infection. Diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) may be difficult in these patients, because the immunological paradox of sarcoidosis. For this reason, following exclusion of active tuberculosis, we advise to submit all sarcoidosis patients to IPT (isoniazid preventive therapy), when immunosuppressive therapy is started

Developing strategies to toughen bio-inspired adhesives

Mussels and other marine creatures adhere very well in underwater environments, having the ability to withstand the force of the sea. These animals have inspired synthetic biomimetic adhesives for wet systems, presenting potential for biomedical applications. However, most current commercial adhesives tend to be brittle, not resisting repetitive movements. This study assesses toughening strategies to improve the mussel-inspired adhesives’ ductility while maintaining its strength. The strategies included altering the polymer’s chemical structure by changing the percentage of polyethylene glycol (PEG) in the molecule and by adding fillers, such as calcium carbonate, silica and nacre - a calcium carbonate compound found in shells. The dry adhesion of the glues was tested by shear lap tests on standard aluminum samples. The addition of PEG increased the ductility of the polymer considerably, creating a viscous paste rather than a solid. Future advances include analyzing the tensile strength and adhesion of the systems, as well as their resistance in wet environments. Furthermore, the toxicity of both the polymer and potential fillers should be investigated

Tetanus. A Review of 54 Cases

O tétano continua a ser uma doença frequente e de mortalidade elevada que envolve particularmente os doentes mais idosos. Em face desta realidade, estudaram-se 54 casos tratados em cuidados intensivos entre 1983 e 1991. Concluí-se ter sido fundamental para a redução da mortalidade verificada neste período, além do uso de medidas de suporte ventilatório, a utilização de novos fármacos que permitiram uma sedação e um relaxamento muscular mais eficaz e também um melhor controlo da hiperactividade do sistema nervoso autónomo

Sistema de apoio a decisão para cálculo de índices de avaliação de pastagens.

Este artigo se refere a um sistema de apoio a decisão para cálculo de índice de valor forrageiro e índice de conservação de pastagem, indicadores usados no programa Fazenda Pantaneira Sustentável em implementação pela Embrapa Pantanal, em parceria com a Embrapa Informática Agropecuária e Embrapa Arroz e Feijão, a partir de variáveis disponíveis no banco de dados sobre pastagens

Sistema de apoio a decisão para cálculo de índices de avaliação de pastagens.

Este artigo se refere a um sistema de apoio a decisão para cálculo de índice de valor forrageiro e índice de conservação de pastagem, indicadores usados no programa Fazenda Pantaneira Sustentável em implementação pela Embrapa Pantanal, em parceria com a Embrapa Informática Agropecuária e Embrapa Arroz e Feijão, a partir de variáveis disponíveis no banco de dados sobre pastagens. O Sistema de informação e apoio a decisão foi modelado e implementado no SGBD MYSQL e a interface de navegação para consulta aos dados pela Internet foi feita usando-se apenas a linguagem PHP em conjunto com HTML e JavaScript. Este sistema facilita e agiliza a obtenção desses índices de pastagens que serão usados para alimentar a ferramenta FPS, como também para outras finalidades.SIMPAN 2010

Reproduction of Patella depressa Pennant, 1777 on the central Portuguese coast

The reproductive cycle and the sex ratio of the limpet Patella depressa Pennant, 1777 were studied on two rocky shores of the central coast of the Portugal, over a period of one year. The gonads were examined and their stage of development was assessed. The gonads of P. depressa were found to develop mainly from September/October to December, and between February and April. The spawning peaks occurred in January and between May and August. From June to August the gonads seem to go into a resting phase. In P. depressa the sex proportions seem to be approximately equal, suggesting the absence of sex reversal in these limpets. High wind speed under optimum conditions of air temperatures appears to induce spawning in this species.Estudiamos el ciclo reproductor y la proporción de sexos de la lapa Patella depressa Pennant, 1777 en dos litorales rocosos de la costa central de Portugal. Examinamos las gónadas y valoramos su fase de desarrollo. Encontramos gónadas de P. depressa desarrollándose principalmente desde septiembre/octubre hasta diciembre y entre febrero y abril. Los picos de puesta aparecieron en enero y entre mayo y agosto. Las gónadas parecen permanecer en una fase de reposo desde junio hasta agosto. En P. depressa la proporción de sexos parece ser aproximadamente uno, lo que sugiere la ausencia de inversión sexual en estas lapas. Bajo condiciones óptimas de temperatura del aire, la alta velocidad del viento parece inducir la puesta en esta especie.Instituto Español de Oceanografí

Unified formalism for higher-order non-autonomous dynamical systems

This work is devoted to giving a geometric framework for describing higher-order non-autonomous mechanical systems. The starting point is to extend the Lagrangian-Hamiltonian unified formalism of Skinner and Rusk for these kinds of systems, generalizing previous developments for higher-order autonomous mechanical systems and first-order non-autonomous mechanical systems. Then, we use this unified formulation to derive the standard Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms, including the Legendre-Ostrogradsky map and the Euler-Lagrange and the Hamilton equations, both for regular and singular systems. As applications of our model, two examples of regular and singular physical systems are studied.Comment: 43 pp. We have corrected and clarified the statement of Propositions 2 and 3. A remark is added after Proposition

Geochronology and petrogenesis of late-Variscan plutonism (NW Portugal) : synthesis and inferences on crustal recycling and growth

In NW Portugal large volumes of granitoids were emplaced during the post-collisional stage of the Variscan orogeny. This was the main period of successive granite generation, which exhibit different chemical and isotopic signatures. Geochronological and petrogenetic results are presented and inferences on the geodynamic evolution of the Iberian Variscides are discussed

Symmetries and conservation laws in the Gunther k-symplectic formalism of field theory

This paper is devoted to studying symmetries of k-symplectic Hamiltonian and Lagrangian first-order classical field theories. In particular, we define symmetries and Cartan symmetries and study the problem of associating conservation laws to these symmetries, stating and proving Noether's theorem in different situations for the Hamiltonian and Lagrangian cases. We also characterize equivalent Lagrangians, which lead to an introduction of Lagrangian gauge symmetries, as well as analyzing their relation with Cartan symmetries.Comment: 29 page