Fisioterapia orientada por Visão Computacional empregando Descritores de Fourier e RNA

The use of tools to assist in the recovery of people with special needs is very important. In this paper, the development of a system that provides support to physiotherapy by using computer vision is presented. In this system, images are captured by a depth sensor and then are processed to obtain a simplified description of the user's shape. The shape is then interpreted by an Artificial Neural Network in order to extract the user's pose, which is finally used to orient physical exercises. The achieved results have shown the effectiveness of the proposal on the orientation of physiotherapy through the computer

Colesteatoma e hidrocefalia associados a meningioma em terceiro ventrículo em um gato

Meningiomas are neoplasms that commonly involve the central nervous system of cats, while cholesteatomas are nodular granulomatous chronic lesions within the choroid plexus that are rarely reported in cats. This study described a case of cholesteatoma and non-communicating hydrocephalus associated to a third ventricle meningioma in a cat. Clinically, the cat had a 2-year history of behavioral changes, photophobia and motor incoordination. At the necropsy, a tan-brown mass totally occluded the third ventricle, causing a severe dilation of the lateral ventricles (non-communicating hydrocephalus). Microscopically, the mass was composed by a neoplastic proliferation of spindle cells arranged in bundles, containing in the center psammomatous bodies (meningioma), while in the adjacent areas a cholesteatoma was observed, which was characterized by multiple cholesterol cleft formation, hemosiderosis and associated granulomatous inflammation. At immunohistochemistry (IHC), neoplastic cells had a marked immunostaining for vimentin, while were negative for cytokeratin and S100. The diagnosis of transitional meningioma occurring in association to cholesteatoma and non-communicating hydrocephalus in a cat was obtained mainly by the histological and IHC features. These are important methods to distinguish this condition from other neurological disorders in cats.Meningiomas são neoplasias que comumente envolvem o sistema nervoso central de gatos, enquanto colesteatomas são formações nodulares granulomatosas raramente descritas nessa espécie e que resultam de lesões crônicas em plexo coroide. O objetivo desse trabalho é descrever um caso de meningioma em terceiro ventrículo culminando com a formação de colesteatoma e hidrocefalia não comunicante em um gato. Clinicamente, o gato apresentava alteração de comportamento, fotofobia e incoordenação motora durante dois anos. À necropsia apresentava uma massa acastanhada no terceiro ventrículo que provocava oclusão total do mesmo e acentuada dilatação de ventrículos laterais (hidrocefalia não comunicante). Microscopicamente, havia proliferação neoplásica de células fusiformes arranjadas em feixes com a formação de corpos psamomatosos (meningioma), e em área adjacente havia múltiplas fendas de colesterol e hemossiderose com infiltrado granulomatoso (colesteatoma). À imuno-histoquímica (IHQ), foi observada marcação positiva para vimentina e negativa para citoqueratina e S100 nas células neoplásicas. Os exames histológicos e de IHQ contribuíram para a confirmação do diagnóstico de meningioma transicional associado à formação de colesteatoma e hidrocefalia não comunicante, e são métodos importantes para diferenciar de outras afecções que cursam com quadro clínico neurológico em felinos

A Retrospective Evaluation of Equine Cutaneous Lesions Diagnosed in Southern Brazil

Background: Cutaneous lesions in horses are common, accounting for approximately 50% of all neoplasms of this species, and can cause irritability, pruritus and predispose to secondary infections. Studies have provided information of frequency of cutaneous neoplasms in horses, but few included non-neoplastic lesions. The aim of this study is to identify the frequency of cutaneous lesions in horses diagnosed in Southern Brazil, through a retrospective study and identification of the anatomic location of the lesion, the breed, gender and age of the animals affected.Materials, Methods & Results: A retrospective study on skin lesions in horses using the database of the Veterinary Pathology Laboratory located in Southern Brazil was carried out from January 2000 to February 2013. Cases were searched for and selected by diagnosis, considering age, breed, gender, location and time of occurrence. The most common lesions included sarcoid, exuberant granulation tissue, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), pythiosis, habronemiasis, melanoma, papillomatosis and Culicoides hypersensitivity. The most affected age range for sarcoid was animals from 1 to 5 years of age and for SCC was over 15 years of age. There was a positive association between sarcoid occurrence and being female and between SCC and habronemiasis and being male. Sarcoid, exuberant granulation tissue, pythiosis and habronemiasis most frequently involved the limbs, while SCC affected the urogenital and ocular systems and melanoma affected the tail. Pythiosis, habronemiasis, Culicoides hypersensitivity and nodular collagenolytic granuloma had seasonal occurrences. Sarcoid, exuberant granulation tissue and SCC were the most commonly diagnosed lesions. Sarcoid affected mostly younger animals, while SCC commonly affected older animals. Habronemiasis and Culicoides hypersensitivity occurred mostly during the spring and summer, while pythiosis most often presented during autumn and winter.Discussion: The frequency of neoplastic lesions in the present work was similar to other studies. Among horse skin neoplasms, sarcoid is the most common, as was observed in this study. Sarcoid primarily affects young animals and most of these have an age range between one and five years, which was also noted and supported by statistical analysis. EGT is the most common non-neoplastic lesion in the skin of horses, most commonly in the limbs. The high frequency described may be related to a higher genetic predisposition or due to the employment of these horses in intensive work. SCC is the second most common skin neoplasm and often affects older horses, as it was observed. Urogenital tract and males were the most affected location and gender. Due to their ventral location, smegma may be a more likely etiology. It was observed a lower frequency of pythiosis and this may be due to the geographical location of the laboratory, where economy it is not based on livestock or rice farming, which can predispose animals to stay in stagnant water. Cutaneous habronemiasis is often diagnosed during warm months that have high biting insect activity, as observed here, where 75% of the cases occurred during the spring-summer. Differential diagnoses of nodular collagenolytic granuloma and habronemiasis was based not only on the presence of the parasite but also on the morphologic features of the lesion. Culicoides hypersensitivity is the most common and severe allergic condition in horses distributed worldwide because of the favorable weather conditions for the reproduction of the insect. In this study, 75% of the cases occurred during the spring-summer. Lesions are usually multiple, as it was observed in 50% of the cases

Rhizopus microsporus segmental enteritis in a cow

A ten year-old Holstein cow had an intermittent bloody diarrhea, evolving to anorexia and recumbency, followed by death. Mycotic segmental enteritis was diagnosed based on the pathological and immunohistochemical findings. Rhizopus microsporus was identified as the causal agent through fungal culture and PCR analysis. Intestinal mucormycosis is poorly described in cattle and should, therefore, be included as a differential diagnosis in cases of diarrhea and death in ruminants, especially when there is disruption of the normal balance of the alimentary microbiota

Modulation of peptidases by 2,4-diamine-quinazoline derivative induces cell death in the amitochondriate parasite Trichomonas vaginalis

Trichomonas vaginalis is an amitochondriate protozoan and the agent of human trichomoniasis, the most prevalent non-viral sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world. In this study we showed that 2,4-diamine-quinazoline derivative compound (PH100) kills T. vaginalis. PH100 showed activity against fresh clinical and American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) T. vaginalis isolates with no cytotoxicity against cells (HMVI, 3T3-C1 and VERO) and erythrocytes. In addition, PH100 showed synergistic action with metronidazole, indicating that these compounds act by different mechanisms. When investigating the mechanism of action of PH100 to ATCC 30236, apoptosis-like characteristics were observed, such as phosphatidylserine exposure, membrane alterations, and modulation of gene expression and activity of peptidases related to apoptosis. The apoptosis-like cell death features were not observed for the fresh clinical isolate treated with PH100 revealing distinct profiles. Our data revealed the heterogeneity among T. vaginalis isolates and contribute with the understanding of mechanisms of cell death in pathogenic eukaryotic organisms without mitochondria

Vigilancia ambiental de calidad del aire en el área de influencia de la zona industrial Gran Trapecio, distrito Chimbote, provincia del Santa, departamento Áncash - noviembre 2019

Evalúa el comportamiento y la calidad ambiental del componente aire en el área de influencia de la zona industrial Gran Trapecio, distrito Chimbote, provincia del Santa, departamento Áncash del 1 al 30 de noviembre de 2019, ante la afectación al aire por las emisiones provenientes de la industria pesquera en la zona poblada (Asentamiento Humano 15 de Abril) que colinda con la zona industrial de Gran Trapecio. Entre sus conclusiones menciona que las concentraciones de 24 horas de sulfuro de hidrógeno no excedieron los Estándares de Calidad Ambiental para aire del Decreto Supremo N.º 003-2017-MINAM de 150 µg/m3 en el punto de vigilancia ambiental, ubicado en el A.H. 15 de Abril (sotavento). Contiene los siguientes anexos: Anexo 1. Mapa de ubicación de los puntos de monitoreo de calidad del aire.-- Anexo 2. Ficha fotográfica.-- Anexo 3. Resultados de gases comparados con los ECA y meteorología.-- Anexo 4. Certificados de calibración de los equipos

Un portal en la UTP con competencias para mejorar la accesibilidad Web de las personas con discapacidad en Colombia

En este trabajo Se presentan detalles del Sistema de Información “VerWeb” (SIVW), un portal en línea en la Universidad tecnológica de Pereira (UTP),  que clasifica, en tiempo real, mediante una métrica percentil particular el Top 21 de los sitios Web más accesibles para personas con discapacidad del universo de sitios Web “URL” que voluntariamente se vayan registrando. Dicha clasificación se obtiene a partir de los resultados evaluativos del software libre “AChecker” con base a los estándares de la WCAG 2.0. Se inicia con la formulación del problema: Falta de condiciones para que las personas con limitaciones visuales accedan a la información Web. Se Justifica y define el objetivo específico de desarrollar un Centro de recursos en línea sobre accesibilidad Web para personas con limitaciones visuales, ahora llamado “VerWeb”. Se muestra la métrica percentil con los niveles de competencia para alcanzar el máximo en accesibilidad 100% con la palabra “ACCESIBLE”. Se describe brevemente la plataforma y los recursos software utilizados por el (SIVW), que ya puede ser utilizado como un buen referente en investigaciones para mejorar la accesibilidad para personas en condiciones de discapacidad en los diseños Web, esto   en la URL: http://accesibilidad.utp.edu.c

Verminotic pneumonia in South American fur seal (Arctocephalus australis) in Southern Brazil

Verminotic pneumonia caused by Parafilaroides spp. nematodes is an underreported disease in beached South American fur seals, with scant literature available on the characteristics of parafilaroidiasis, the nematode itself, as well as its occurrence in pinnipeds in Brazil. The present work aims to identify, describe and detail the histological features of the infection and molecular characteristics of verminotic pneumonia in the South American fur seal. Twenty-six specimens of Arctocephalus australis, found dead on the northern coast of Rio Grande do Sul in 2021, were analysed. These animals were identified and submitted to necropsy and histology. For the molecular identification of metastrongylids, lung fragments were subjected to DNA extraction, polymerase chain reaction targeting the Internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS-2) gene and subsequent sequencing. In total, 12 animals presented with parasites in the lung parenchyma on histological evaluation, and only 1 showed a granulomatous lung lesion at necropsy. Microscopically, the nematodes were found mainly in the alveoli, associated with little or no inflammatory response, and they had morphological characteristics compatible with metastrongylids. Six ITS-2 gene quality sequences were obtained; after comparative analysis via BLAST, they showed similarity with sequences obtained from Parafilaroides sp. Therefore, verminotic pneumonia caused by Parafilaroides represents an important differential diagnosis of lung disease in South American fur seals found on the northern coast of Rio Grande do Sul

Hemorrhagic Stroke in a Dog with Anaplastic Carcinoma of the Mammary Gland

Background: anaplastic carcinoma of the mammary gland is considered a highly invasive and malignant neoplasia, which usually leads to neoplastic thrombosis and epidermal ulceration due to invasiveness of lymphatic vessels by tumor emboli. Loss of epidermal barrier predisposes to secondary bacterial infection, mainly by commensal bacteria of the skin, and septicemia can be observed in cases of systemic dissemination. Neoplastic emboli and septic thrombi can lead to vascular obstruction, which can predispose to infarction in multiple organs. The aim of this case report is to describe a case of hemorrhagic stroke in a dog with anaplastic carcinoma of the mammary gland.Case: a 12-year-old, mixed breed, female spayed canine presented with mammary tumor with plaque formation, associated with skin ulceration which extended to the medial region of pelvic limbs. The animal also displayed neurologic clinical signs characterized by stupor, opisthotonos and apathy. Due to poor prognosis, the canine was euthanized and submitted to necropsy. During external examination, the animal was in a good body condition, had moderately pale mucosae, and it was noted a nodular plaque in the abdominal ventral area extending from thoracic to inguinal mammary gland. The mass was firm and white, extensively ulcerated, and extending from the thoracic to inguinal mammary gland. There was a well circumscribed area of infarction in the spleen and kidney. In the cerebral cortex it was observed an extensive area of hemorrhage with adhered blood clot from frontal to temporal lobe. There were multiple well circumscribed, firm, and white areas in the myocardium. Histologically, the neoplastic proliferation was composed by epithelial cells with high pleomorphism, features of malignancy, and no delimitations, leading to the diagnosis of anaplastic carcinoma of the mammary gland. Admixed with tumor cells there were multiple areas of hemorrhage, necrosis and thrombosis. In the cerebral cortex there was a focally extensive area of hemorrhage, multifocal thrombosis, abundant amount of gitter cells, and moderate perivascular inflammatory infiltrate of lymphocytes. There was neoplastic infiltrate in the bladder, adrenal glands, and lungs. There were multiple areas of necrosis and thrombosis in spleen and heart. Bacterial examination was performed in fragments of cerebral cortex and kidney, and Staphylococcus pseudintermedius was isolated.Discussion: anaplastic carcinoma of the mammary gland has an epithelial origin and is considered the most malignant neoplasm with worst prognosis due to its characteristic of high cellular pleomorphism and the ability of invasiveness of vessels and adjacent tissues. Therapeutic options are scarce and palliative, and surgical removal is not indicated. Dermal ulceration usually is infected by opportunistic bacteria that can lead to inflammation and pain, and treatment in these cases is focused on pain management with analgesics. The bacterial infection can evolve to septicemia with decrease of endogenous anticoagulants and consequent blood hypercoagulability. Moreover, studies demonstrate the higher risk of clotting abnormalities when associated to progression of mammary carcinomas, which includes anaplastic carcinoma of the mammary gland. In this study, two causes which may have led to thromboembolism and cerebral hemorrhage are discussed: septicemia after invasion of lymphatic vessels by the anaplastic carcinoma or hypercoagulability caused by the systemic neoplasia, which could have reduce the blood flow to vessels of the cerebral cortex

DESENVOLVIMENTO DE UM SISTEMA PARA CONTAGEM AUTOMÁTICA DE MICRO-CRUSTÁCEOS DA ESPÉCIE ARTEMIA SALINA EMPREGANDO VISÃO COMPUTACIONAL

A contagem de micro-crustáceos da espécie Artemia Salina em testes de toxicidade corresponde a uma atividade essencial para a verificação dos efeitos tóxicos de certas substâncias. A contagem manual normalmente empregada nos testes, porém, mostra-se uma tarefa demorada e propensa a erros. Sistemas computacionais empregados na contagem automática de objetos estão sendo cada vez mais utilizados, e se mostram uma excelente ferramenta para auxiliar laboratoristas e pesquisadores em contagens de partículas e micro-organismos. Porém, grande número destes sistemas pode apenas ser empregado na contagem de micro-organismos ou partículas estáticas, não podendo ser utilizados nos testes de toxicidade visto que estes empregam micro-organismos vivos. Neste trabalho é apresentado o desenvolvimento de um sistema para contagem automática de micro-crustáceos da espécie Artemia Salina. Para isso foram implementadas técnicas de visão computacional com o objetivo de contar os micro-organismos vivos que se movimentam ao longo do tempo nas amostras adquiridas por uma câmera. A partir de uma avaliação estatística, constatou-se que a contagem realizada pelo sistema desenvolvido não difere significativamente da contagem realizada pelo laboratorista, o que comprova a eficiência do sistema automático de contage