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The discharge of inadequately treated domestic and tannery wastewater has a severe impact on the environment. Different legislations are seeking to reduce this impact by requiring full treatment prior to discharge. An environmentally friendly, non-invasive, and cost-effective alternative to achieve this is microbe-assisted phytoremediation with native macrophytes. In this work, a mixture of free-floating macrophytes was used to remove pollutants from domestic and tannery wastewater. The plants, identified as Lemna gibba, Lemna minuta, and Wolffia columbiana,were collected from a wetland that receives domestic wastewater. The mixture was tolerant to pure domestic wastewater and a 1/20 dilution of tannery wastewater. Different variables were determined at the start and at the end of the treatment to evaluate the remediating ability of the plant system. In domestic wastewater, significant removal efficiency was observed for organic matter and nutrients, with a total nitrogen reduction of 80%. Sulfates and chlorides decreased by around 71% and 20%, respectively. In tannery wastewater (1/20 dilution), the reduction values for organic matter, nutrients, and chlorides were lower, between 5 and 50%. A higher removal was detected for sulfates, total chromium and phenols. Total mesophilic aerobic bacteria and total coliforms were almost completely eliminated (> 95%) in both wastewaters. The treatment also improved turbidity, suspended solids, odor and color. The findings show that these plant species are highly able to eliminate or reduce contaminants, organic matter, and microorganisms that pose sanitary risks in wastewater, thus making it much more apt for discharge than before treatment.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease with worldwide presence and a major cause of death in several developing countries. Current diagnostic methodologies often lack specificity and sensitivity, whereas a long time is needed to obtain a conclusive result.

Depuis plusieurs années, nous constatons une intégration croissante des préparateurs en pharmacie hospitalière (PPH) aux côtés des pharmaciens cliniciens (PC) afin d’améliorer la sécurité et l’efficacité des soins pharmaceutiques. Dans cette dynamique, un PPH a été spécifiquement formé et habilité en tant que référent pharmacie clinique (RPC). La présente étude se focalise sur l’impact de cette intégration, via la conciliation médicamenteuse (CM), au sein des services d’ophtalmologie (OPH) et neuroradiologie interventionnelle (NRI).

Demonstrate the effectiveness of complex decongestive therapy (CDT) in patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI).

There are several phenolic compounds in rice grains providing benefits for human health. The concentration of phenolic compounds in rice is strongly affected by the polishing steps during rice production. A new sensitive ultraperformance liquid chromatography–ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy method with a photodiode array detection protocol has been developed and validated for the quantitation of phenolic compounds in rice grains. Several working variables and two different columns were evaluated. Finally, a less than 3 min analysis time was developed to achieve enough resolution for the simultaneous determination of the 20 most common phenolic compounds in rice. The analytical properties for the separation method produced an adequate sensitivity for all phenolic compounds in the regular range for phenolics in rice, 0.5–100 mg L–1(R2> 0.997), with high precisions for both repeatability and intermediate precisions (coefficients of variation less than 0.4 and 2.5% for the retention time and area of the peaks, respectively).

Thymol is a monoterpene present in plants of the families Lamiaceae, Verbenaceae and Apiaceae. Despite its proven acaricidal activity, little is known about the mechanism of action of thymol in ticks. Thus, the aim of this study was to perform a morpho-histochemical analysis of the synganglion and salivary glands of partially engorged females of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineussensu lato (s.l.), exposed to thymol at different concentrations. Five groups were established: Control Group I (distilled water), Control Group II (ethanol 30%), Group III (thymol 1.25 mg/mL), Group IV (thymol 2.5 mg/mL) and Group V (thymol 5.0 mg/mL). The females were exposed to the treatments by the immersion method and subsequently kept in a climatic chamber (27 ± 1 °C and relative humidity 80 ± 10%) for five days. After this period, the synganglion and salivary glands were removed, and the hematoxylin/eosin morphological technique was applied. The von Kossa staining method with counterstaining neutral red was performed on the salivary glands. The results showed that females exposed to thymol had damaged synganglia, with pyknotic nuclei and vacuoles in the cortex and subperineurial regions, as well as rupture of the neural lamellae. The salivary glands showed type I acini with a dilated lumen. Cells with extremely vacuolated cytoplasm and fragmented nuclei were observed in type II and III acini. Type II acini of the females exposed to thymol revealed different calcium staining when compared to the Control Groups I and II. We therefore conclude that the salivary glands and synganglion are subject to changes in morphology and calcium levels when exposed to thymol at concentrations of 1.25, 2.5 and 5.0 mg/mL, demonstrating that this monoterpene has acaricidal potential on partially engorged females of R. sanguineus(s.l.)

Atrial natriuretic peptide has frequently been detected in the cardiac conduction system and has been shown to regulate some intracellular effects in Purkinje fibers. To determine if atrial natriuretic peptide works as an autocrine and/or paracrine hormone on cardiac Purkinje fibers, we examined the different parts of the conduction system in the bovine heart by use of in vitro receptor autoradiography. In no parts of the bovine conduction system were specific binding sites for [¹²⁵I] atrial natriuretic peptide observed, whereas the ventricular myocardium exhibited a large number of [¹²⁵I] atrial natriuretic peptide binding sites. This is the first morphologic study showing the presence of [¹²⁵I] atrial natriuretic peptide binding sites in the ventricular myocardium and their absence in the conduction system. The present observations together with results obtained in studies using other methods strongly suggest that natriuretic peptide receptors are localized on ventricular myocytes.

We analyzed the errors occurring in the preparation circuit of cytotoxic mixtures of the Centralized Cytotoxic Preparation Unit during one year. Analysis of their evolution meant the investigation of twenty parameters susceptible to error. Each parameter was considered one error opportunity. Error has been defined either by the lack of data or mistake in the controlled parameter. In 4,734 preparations (94,680 parameters) there were 314 errors. The percentage of error per parameter in the first month of study was 0.74; at sixth was 0.34 and the last month was 0.26. Only in four months the day of maximum number of preparations coincided with the day of maximum number of errors. We conclude that the percentage of errors in the preparation process is low with a tendency to decrease and that the number of daily preparations is not the single factor that influences the production of errors.

An HPLC gradient elution procedure which allows the separation of the great majority of phenolic acids (derived from benzoic and cinnamic acids) in wine is proposed. The method has been applied to the separation and identification of the phenolic acids of “Fino” sherry wine, as well as to establishing the generation of such substances during the browning processes typically undergone by such wines, as a function of the winemaking conditions.

An analysis of the meiotic chromosomes of Cebus apella (Cebidae, Platyrrhini) has allowed for the visualization of constitutive heterochromatic regions throughout the meiotic cycle and has permitted the identification of four chromosomes in the first and the second divisions. In pachytene nuclei, and in pachytene spreads where synaptonemal complexes were visible, one heterochromatic region was frequently unpaired. No chiasmata were found in heterochromatic regions, and there was no evidence of chiasma terminalization. The role of heterochromatin in homologous pairing and its relationship to chiasma position and number in meiotic configurations were discussed. A comparison was made between bivalent 9 in C. apella and bivalent 21 in man, based on the interspecific homologies between these chromosomes. A similar comparison was made between the Algerian and Asian hedgehogs, where marked differences in the content of constitutive heterochromatin occur in two chromosome pairs.

The distribution of immunoreactivity for histamine was studied in the brain of the urodele Triturus carnifex using the indirect immunofluorescence method. Histamine-immunoreactive cell bodies were localized in the caudal hypothalamus within the dorsolateral walls of the infundibular recesses. These immunoreactive cell bodies were pear-shaped, bipolar and frequently of the cerebrospinal-fluid-contacting type. Histaminergic nerve fibers were detected in almost all parts of the brain. Dense innervation was seen in the telencephalic medial pallium and ventral striatum, the neuropil of the preoptic area, the septum, the paraventricular organ, the posterior commissure, the caudal hypothalamus, the ventral and lateral mesencephalic tegmentum. Medium density innervation was observed in the lateral mesencephalic tegmentum and optic tectum. Poor innervation was present in the telencephalic dorsal pallium and in the central gray of the medulla oblongata. Few fibers occurred in the olfactory bulbs and in the telencephalic lateral pallium. Double immunofluorescence staining, using an antibody against tyrosine hydroxylase, showed that histamine-immunostained somata and those containing tyrosine-hydroxylase-like immunoreactivity were co-distributed in the tuberal hypothalamus. No co-occurrence of histamine-like and tyrosine hydroxylase-like immunostaining was seen in the same neuron. The pattern of histamine-immunoreactive neurons in the newt was similar to that described in other vertebrates. Our observations, carried out on the apparently simplified brain of the newt confirm that the basic histaminergic system is well conserved throughout vertebrates.

Abstract: An analysis of seven loci inCebus apella paraguayanus showed that Glyoxalase I was polymorphic due the appearance of two alleles (GLO*2 andGLO*3) with frequencies of 0.955 and 0.045, respectively. Of the two alleles,GLO*2 was electrophoretically similar to the most common allele found in the human andAotus. These results confirmed our previous findings in the same population sample showing that this subspecies has a very low genetic variation among New World primates.

We report a patient with proximal right upper limb tremor, secondary to direct peripheral nerve lesion caused by prior thoracic surgery. Electromyography demonstrated neurogenic abnormalities and tremor in muscles innervated by the thoracodorsal and long thoracic nerves. Somatosensory evoked potentials, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and MRI of the cervical and thoracic spine were normal. Tremor persisted in REM and non-REM sleep. These findings suggest a peripheral generator.