Search

This case report presents the use of intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) in a 68-year-old woman with disabling bilateral claudication owing to a heavily calcified subocclusive stenosis of the infrarenal aorta. The patient had a history of tobacco use, dyslipidemia, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with absent femoral pulses and severe arterial calcification. A 12-mm Shockwave L6 lithotripsy catheter was employed to treat the aortic lesion, resulting in a significant decrease in the aortic pressure gradient without the need for stenting. The patient experienced complete symptom resolution postoperatively, and at 1 month, follow-up imaging confirmed vessel patency with no sign of restenosis. IVL, used here as a standalone treatment, demonstrated effectiveness in modifying calcified plaques and restoring vessel compliance, offering a less complex and potentially more cost-effective alternative to stent grafting in calcified aortic lesions. This case highlights the potential of IVL as a safe and effective treatment option in select patients with calcified infrarenal aortic stenosis.

The work evaluated the nucleating effect of nanometric zirconia (Zr-NP), obtained by the green sol-gel synthesis route using Euclea natalensis root extract as a reductant, in the low-density polyethylene (LDPE). The Zr-NP was characterized with x-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) which confirmed the presence of Zr-NP in the cubic crystalline phase with an average particle size of 6.73 nm. The Zr-NP was incorporated into the polymeric matrix by solubilization in concentrations ranging between 0 wt% and 6 wt%. Non-isothermal DSC analyzes demonstrated that a small addition of 1 wt% changes the degree of crystallinity from ~23% to ~56%, an increase of ~137%. The addition of Zr-NP also caused a small increase in crystallization and melting temperatures, and a large increase in the total crystallization time of LDPE.

A eficiência dos biofiltros depende da comunidade microbiana, portanto é crucial conhecer a dinâmica estrutural/funcional e identificar os principais gêneros microbianos ligados ao tratamento de gases tóxicos, como o sulfeto de hidrogênio (H2S). Este trabalho investigou a dinâmica estrutural ligada à predição funcional das comunidades microbianas de um biofiltro em escala real instalado próximo a uma estação elevatória de esgoto. A amostragem e a análise foram conduzidas por 720 dias. O sequenciamento Illumina 16S rRNA foi usado para avaliar o perfil taxonômico, seguido pela avaliação putativa de genes funcionais. A eficiência de remoção de H2S atingiu 90% da concentração do composto na entrada já na metade da altura do leito filtrante. A variável espacial teve maior efeito sobre a comunidade microbiana. Estudos focados no comportamento e estrutura bacteriana em sistemas de biofiltração ainda são escassos, e somente com mais pesquisas poderemos entender a dinâmica comportamental.

Birds of prey can be parasitised by several endoparasites that can coexist without clinical signs of disease or occur in conjunction with stressful events. Because the number of birds of prey kept in captivity is copiously increasing due to their use for bird control, breeding programs, exhibition and falconry, the main endoparasites of 81 apparently healthy captive birds of prey from northern Italy were investigated by examining faecal and blood samples. Faeces were analysed by a quali-quantitative technique, i.e., the FLOTAC® basic technique, employing potassium iodomercurate flotation solution, while blood smears were stained to detect haemoparasites. Risk factors were further assessed. Considering gastrointestinal parasites, an overall prevalence of 41.7% was recorded, and 50% of Accipitriformes, 43% of Falconiformes and 33.3% of Strigiformes tested positive for at least one parasite taxon. Moreover, age and diet were associated with an increased risk of infection. As for haemoparasites, a prevalence of 18.2% was evidenced, and none of the risk factors were associated with prevalence. The results of this study highlighted the importance of monitoring the endoparasites of captive birds of prey with a highly sensitive copromicroscopic technique to target medical treatments, improve housing conditions and conduct epidemiological studies aimed at wildlife conservation and management.

Abstract The S‐layer or surface layer protein (SLP) is the most ancient biological envelope, highly conserved in several Bacteria and Archaea. In lactic acid bacteria (LAB), SLP is only found in species belonging to the Lactobacillaceae family, many of them considered probiotic microorganisms. New reclassification of members within the Lactobacillaceae family (International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, 2020, 70, 2782) and newly sequenced genomes demands an updated revision on SLP genes and domain organization. There is growing information concerning SLP occurrence, molecular biology, biophysical properties, and applications. Here, we focus on the prediction of slp genes within the Lactobacillaceae family, and specifically, on the neat interconnection between the two different modular SLP domain organizations and the new reclassified genera. We summarize the results in a concise tabulated manner to review the present knowledge on SLPs and discuss the most relevant and updated concepts regarding SLP sequence clustering. Our assessment is based on sequence alignments considering the new genera classification and protein domain definition with post‐translational modifications. We analyse the difficulties encountered to resolve the SLPs 3D structure, describing the need for structure prediction approaches and the relation between protein structure and its anchorage mechanism to the cell wall. Finally, we enumerate new SLP applications regarding heterologous display, pathogen exclusion, immunostimulation, and metal binding.

Objective: Little is known about the cardiovascular changes after TEVAR and regarding the impact on aortic stiffness for different stent graft generations specifically, following changes in device design. The present study evaluated the stent graft induced aortic stiffening of two generations of the Valiant thoracic aortic stent graft. Methods: This was an ex vivo porcine investigation using an experimental mock circulatory loop. Thoracic aortas of young healthy pigs were harvested and connected to the mock circulatory loop. At a 60 bpm heart rate and stable mean arterial pressure, baseline aortic characteristics were obtained. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was calculated before and after stent graft deployment. Paired and independent sample t tests or their non-parametric alternatives were performed to test for differences where appropriate. Results: Twenty porcine thoracic aortas were divided into two equal subgroups, in which a Valiant Captivia or a Valiant Navion stent graft was deployed. Both stent grafts were similar in diameter and length. Baseline aortic characteristics did not differ between the subgroups. Mean arterial pressure values did not change after either stent graft, while pulse pressures increased statistically significantly after Captivia (mean 44 ± 10 mmHg to 51 ± 13 mmHg, p = .002) but not after Navion. Mean baseline PWV increased after both Captivia (4.4 ± 0.6 m/s to 4.8 ± 0.7 m/s, p = .007) and Navion (4.6 ± 0.7 m/s to 4.9 ± 0.7 m/s, p = .002). There was no statistically significant difference in the mean percentage increase in PWV for either subgroup (8 ± 4% vs. 6 ± 4%, p = .25). Conclusion: These experimental findings showed no statistically significant difference in the percentage increase of aortic PWV after either stent graft generation and confirm that TEVAR increases aortic PWV. As a surrogate for aortic stiffness, this calls for further improvements in future thoracic aortic stent graft designs regarding device compliance.

Regeneration is a post-embryonic developmental process common in Metazoa, which, despite obvious taxa-specific differences, can often share common principles and patterns. Among these, the distalization and (proximal) intercalation model successfully describes most animal regeneration phenomena. Stellate echinoderms (Crinoidea, Asteroidea, and Ophiuroidea) are particularly practical models for regeneration studies as the proximo-distal regrowth of their “segmental” arms, including the inner “continuous” yet homologous structures, i.e. radial water canal, radial nerve cord, and somatocoel, provide a unique opportunity to investigate the existence of evolutionarily shared regenerative patterns. In the present work, we comparatively examined the anatomy of arm regeneration in four stellate echinoderm species – the crinoid Antedon mediterranea, the asteroids Echinaster sepositus and Coscinasterias tenuispina, and the ophiuroid Amphipholis squamata. We observed that in all the models the distal elements, i.e. the apical blastema of crinoids, and terminal ossicle and tube foot of asteroids and ophiuroids, form in an early stage, followed by the proximal region, which develops in the proximal-to-distal direction. In all arms, the continuous structures develop before discrete lateral structures (e.g. ossicles and tube feet), and appear to provide materials that make the subsequent development possible. Overall, the model inferred from our study is compatible with those previously proposed for other animal models that involve processes of distalization and intercalation. The evidence of shared patterns suggests that at least some overall regeneration mechanisms have ancient origins and are well conserved throughout echinoderm and animal evolution. This study could help shed light on those evolutionarily conserved principles (patterns) among metazoan regeneration.

A fruit leather (apple and acáchul berry) oriented toward women of reproductive age was developed. The snack was supplemented with an ingredient composed of folic acid (FA) and whey proteins (WPI) to ensure the required vitamin intake to prevent fetal neural tube defects. In order to generate a low-calorie snack, alternative sweeteners were used (stevia and maltitol). The fruit leather composition was determined. Also, an in vitro digestion process was carried out to evaluate the bioaccessibility of compounds with antioxidant capacity (AC), total polyphenols (TPCs), total monomeric anthocyanins (ACY), and FA. The quantification of FA was conducted by a microbiological method and by HPLC. The leather contained carbohydrates (70%) and antioxidant compounds, mainly from fruits. Bioaccessibility was high for AC (50%) and TPCs (90%), and low for ACY (17%). Regarding FA, bioaccessibility was higher for WPI-FA (50%) than for FA alone (37%), suggesting that WPI effectively protected the vitamin from processing and digestion. Furthermore, the product was shown to be non-cytotoxic in a Caco-2 cell model. The developed snack is an interesting option due to its low energy intake, no added sugar, and high content of bioactive compounds. Also, the supplementation with WPI-FA improved the conservation and bioaccessibility of FA.