Search

Resumen: Escenario: La prevalencia de enfermedad renal crónica (ERC) aumenta en población mayor de 65 años y asocia morbilidad, dependencia y fragilidad. La diálisis peritoneal (DP) se ha considerado una técnica de paciente joven y vida activa. Hipótesis: La DP puede ser adecuada en pacientes de edad avanzada. Buscamos resultados desfavorables que contravengan esta hipótesis. Objetivo: Describir el tratamiento con DP en mayores de 65 años, evaluar su evolución clínica comparada con los menores de 65 e identificar áreas de mejora asistencial. Estudio: Prospectivo, observacional y multicéntrico en incidentes en DP, seguimiento hasta evento o fin del estudio (ene-2003 a ene-2018). Resultados: Se incluyen 2.435 pacientes; el 31,9% (777) eran mayores de 65 años. El tiempo medio de seguimiento fue de 2,1 años para ambos grupos. El grupo de edad avanzada era 25 años mayor, con más comorbilidad: diabetes (29,5% vs. 17,2%; p 65: 2,4 [1,9-3,0]; DM: 1,6 [1,3-2,1]; CV: 2,1 [1,7-2,7]. Y para el evento fallo de la técnica y paso a HD: Edad > 65: 1,5 [1,3-1,9]; DM: 1,6 [1,3-1,9]; trasplante renal previo: 1,5 [1,2-2,0]. Conclusión: Los pacientes mayores de 65 años cumplen los objetivos de calidad intermedios y se mantienen en DP el tiempo suficiente como para seguir ofertando esta técnica. Es necesario mejorar la prevención de infecciones y del agotamiento del paciente/cuidador con medidas de soporte para evitar la transferencia a HD por causas ajenas a las complicaciones de la técnica. Abstract: Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing in patients older than 65 years and is related to morbidity, frailty, and dependence. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) has classically been associated with young patients with an active life. Hypothesis: PD should be offered to patients over 65 years. We search for any unfavorable results that may advice not to recommend PD therapy for this group. Objective: To describe PD treatment and outcomes in patients > 65 years, to compare their results with patients 65 years. The main reason was caregiver or patient fatigue (20.2%), and not technique failure (7.3%).Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed a relation (HR [95%CI]) between mortality and age > 65 years 2.4 [1.9-3.0]; DM 1.6 [1.3-2.1]; CV events 2.1 [1.7-2.7]. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identify a relation between technique failure and age > 65 years 1.5 [1.3-1.9]; DM 1.6 [1.3-1.9] and previous transplant 1.5 [1.2-2.0]. Conclusion: Patients older than 65 years fulfilled PD adequacy criteria during the follow up. We believe PD is a valid option for patients older 65 years. It is necessary to try to prevent infections and patient/caregiver fatigue, to avoid HD transfer for reasons not related to technique failure.

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing in patients older than 65 years and is related to morbidity, frailty, and dependence. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) has classically been associated with young patients with an active life. Hypothesis: PD should be offered to patients over 65 years. We search for any unfavorable results that may advice not to recommend PD therapy for this group. Objective: To describe PD treatment and outcomes in patients > 65 years, to compare their results with patients < 65 years and to identify areas with room for improvement in a real-life study. Study: Prospective, observational, and multicenter study performed in incident PD patients, from January 2003 until January 2018. Results: We included 2,435 PD patients, 31.9% were older than 65 years; there was a difference of 25 years between both groups. Median follow up was 2.1 years. Older than 65 years group had more comorbidity: Diabetes (29.5% vs 17.2%; p < 0.001), previous CV events 34.5% vs 14.0%; p < 0.001), Charlson index (3.8 vs 3.0; p < 0.001).We did not find differences in efficacy and PD adequacy objectives fulfillment, anaemia management or blood pressure during follow-up. Peritonitis rate was higher in older 65 years group (0.65 vs 0.45 episodes/patient/year; p < 0.001), but there was not differences in germs, admission rate and follow up. Mortality was higher in older 65 years group (28.4% vs 9.4%) as expected. PD permanence probability was similar (2.1 years). The main cause of PD withdrawal was transplant in group < 65 years (48.3%) and transfer to HD in group > 65 years. The main reason was caregiver or patient fatigue (20.2%), and not technique failure (7.3%).Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed a relation (HR [95%CI]) between mortality and age > 65 years 2.4 [1.9-3.0]; DM 1.6 [1.3-2.1]; CV events 2.1 [1.7-2.7]. Multivariate Cox regression analysis identify a relation between technique failure and age > 65 years 1.5 [1.3-1.9]; DM 1.6 [1.3-1.9] and previous transplant 1.5 [1.2-2.0]. Conclusion: Patients older than 65 years fulfilled PD adequacy criteria during the follow up. We believe PD is a valid option for patients older 65 years. It is necessary to try to prevent infections and patient/caregiver fatigue, to avoid HD transfer for reasons not related to technique failure. Resumen: Escenario: La prevalencia de enfermedad renal crónica (ERC) aumenta en población mayor de 65 años y asocia morbilidad, dependencia y fragilidad. La diálisis peritoneal (DP) se ha considerado una técnica de paciente joven y vida active. Hipótesis: La DP puede ser adecuada en pacientes de edad avanzada. Buscamos resultados desfavorables que contravengan esta hipótesis. Objetivo: Describir el tratamiento con DP en mayores de 65 años, evaluar su evolución clínica comparada con los menores de 65 e identificar áreas de mejora asistencial. Estudio: Prospectivo, observacional y multicéntrico en incidentes en DP, seguimiento hasta evento o fin del estudio (ene-2003 a ene-2018). Resultados: Se incluyen 2.435 pacientes; el 31,9% (777) eran mayores de 65 años. El tiempo medio de seguimiento fue de 2,1 años para ambos grupos. El grupo de edad avanzada era 25 años mayor, con más comorbilidad: diabetes (29,5% vs. 17,2%; p < 0,001), evento CV previo (34,5% vs. 14,0%; p < 0,001) e índice de Charlson sin edad (3,8 vs. 3,0; p < 0,001). No encontramos diferencias en cumplimiento de objetivos intermedios de eficacia de DP, control de anemia o hipertensión durante el seguimiento. La tasa de peritonitis fue mayor en la cohorte mayor de 65 años (0,65 vs. 0,45 episodios/paciente-año; p < 0,001), aunque la distribución gérmenes, tasa de ingreso y evolución final fue similar en ambos grupos. Lógicamente, registramos mayor mortalidad en el grupo mayor de 65 años (28,4% vs. 9,4%), aunque el tiempo de permanencia en DP fue similar (2,1 años). La principal causa de salida fue el trasplante renal en jóvenes (48,3%), mientras que en los pacientes de mayor edad fue el paso a hemodiálisis, principalmente por cansancio de cuidador/autocuidado (20,2%) y no por fallo de la técnica (7,3%). El análisis multivariante por regresión de Cox identifica los factores de riesgo para mortalidad con los siguientes HR [IC 95%]: Edad > 65: 2,4 [1,9-3,0]; DM: 1,6 [1,3–2,1]; CV: 2,1 [1,7–2,7]. Y para el evento fallo de la técnica y paso a HD: Edad > 65: 1,5 [1,3–1,9]; DM: 1,6 [1,3–1,9]; trasplante renal previo: 1,5 [1,2-2,0]. Conclusión: Los pacientes mayores de 65 años cumplen los objetivos de calidad intermedios y se mantienen en DP el tiempo suficiente como para seguir ofertando esta técnica. Es necesario mejorar la prevención de infecciones y del agotamiento del paciente/cuidador con medidas de soporte para evitar la transferencia a HD por causas ajenas a las complicaciones de la técnica.

Keypoint detectors and descriptors are essential for identifying points and their correspondences in overlapping images, being fundamental inputs for many subsequent processes, including Pose Estimation, Visual Odometry, vSLAM, Object Detection, Object Tracking, Augmented Reality, Image Mosaicking, and Panorama Stitching. Techniques like SIFT, SURF, KAZE, and ORB aim to identify repeatable, distinctive, efficient, and local features. Despite their robustness, some keypoints, especially those detected in fisheye cameras, do not contribute to the solution, and may introduce outliers or errors. Fisheye cameras capture a broader view, leading to more keypoints at infinity and potential errors. Filtering these keypoints is important to maintain consistent input observations. Various methods, including gradient-based sky region detection, adaptive algorithms, and K-means clustering, addressed this issue. Semantic segmentation could be an effective alternative, but it requires extensive computational resources. Machine learning provides a more flexible alternative, processing large data volumes with moderate computational power and enhancing solution robustness by filtering non-contributing keypoints already detected in these vision-based approaches. In this paper we present and assess a machine learning model to classify keypoints as sky or non-sky, achieving an accuracy of 82.1%.

In this article, the full description of a heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HF_REF) cohort of 192 patients is provided. Tables with the baseline demographic, prior history, ECG parameters, echocardiographic parameters, laboratory values and pharmacological treatment of these patients are included. Also, the quartile values of the analyzed circulating biomarkers: high sensitivity Troponin T (hs-TnT), galectin-3 (Gal-3), C-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen (CICP), soluble AXL (sAXL) and Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) are given. The main demographic and clinical features of the patients’ subgroups that have hs-TnT, Gal-3, CICP or BNP above the third quartile are described. Tables with Pearson correlation analysis of the HF_REF patients’ biomarker levels are included. And Pearson correlation analysis of the HF_REF patients’ hs-TnT, Gal-3, CICP levels with patients’ biochemical parameters, blood count and inflammation parameters are also described. These data are related to the research articles (AXL receptor tyrosine kinase is increased in patients with heart failure (M. Batlle, P. Recarte-Pelz, E. Roig, M.A. Castel, M. Cardona, M. Farrero, et al., 2014) [1] and Use of serum levels of high sensitivity troponin T, galectin-3 and C-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen at long term follow-up in Heart Failure patients with reduced ejection fraction: comparison with soluble AXL and BNP (M. Batlle, B. Campos, M. Farrero, M. Cardona, B. González, M.A. Castel, et al., 2016) [2].

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a multisystem disease with autosomal dominant inheritance and complete penetrance diagnosed by clinical findings. Cutaneous neurofibromas are present in almost all adult patients in the dermis, epidermis or along the peripheral nerves. Plexiform neurofibromas are subcutaneous or deep lesions involving nerve plexuses or roots. Neurofibromas can degenerate into malignant tumors, with important prognostic implications. NF1 shows a broad clinic variability even within a single family. Exceptions are cases reporting the in-frame microdeletion c.2970_2972delAAT, presenting with the typical pigmentary features of NF1, but no cutaneous or plexiform neurofibromas. We report a patient with a de novo c.2970_2972delAAT mutation who had few café-au-lait spots, only 2 of which measured >15 mm, axillary and submammary freckling, a flat angioma extending over the neck, arm and trunk, a high arched palate, micrognathia, macrocephaly, pes cavus and scoliosis. There was complete absence of observable cutaneous neurofibromas as well as external plexiform neurofibromas. She had had epileptic seizures since childhood; however, a diagnosis of NF1 had not been confirmed until she was 38, partly due to the paucity of characteristic cutaneous stigmata. We confirm the association of the c.2970_2972delAAT mutation in NF1 with a particular clinical phenotype, especially with lack of detectable neurofibromas. For an appropriate management of patients and family counseling, molecular study of the NF1 gene should be considered in patients not fulfilling NIH criteria when other features suggestive of NF1 are present. In the absence of neurofibromas, starting NF1 testing with the screening of exon 17 may be worthwhile.

Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) is widely acknowledged as a robust tool for monitoring forest structure, dynamics, and changes. To achieve a high-complete forest structural model, LiDAR data acquisition from both aerial (above-canopy) and terrestrial (below-canopy) platforms is commonplace. Consequently, in such multi-modal LiDAR cases, robust data registration is required for accurate forest analysis, such as biomass and canopy growth. Yet, multi-modal LiDAR registration remains a significant challenge due to differences in observation perspectives, deficient data overlap, and often inhomogeneity in point distributions and densities. The challenge increases in complex forest environments due to the abundance of unstable features (e.g., leaves) and occlusions. Thus, the dynamic nature of forest scenes needs to be considered when applying registration methods on forest point clouds. In this paper, we overview the latest advancements in registering forest point clouds from multi-modal data acquisitions, aiming to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the most used LiDAR registration methods for forest applications. To support our investigations, we benchmark two multi-modal registration methods especially designed for forest mapping against traditional global and feature-based approaches. Experiment assessments were conducted using two point clouds acquired from a permanent laser scanning and airborne laser scanning systems at a boreal forest plot.

Abstract The effect of adding different Y2O3 contents on the physical and mechanical properties of Ce-TZP/Al2O3 composites was investigated. Ce-TZP/Al2O3 powder blends containing 1~10 wt% Y2O3 were compacted at 100 MPa-30 s and sintered at 1500 °C-2 h or 1600 °C-2 h. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, relative density, and the mechanical properties of Vickers hardness and fracture toughness. After sintering, the relative density of the sintered samples varied between 92.7% and 96.3%. Furthermore, the addition of Y2O3 resulted in an increase in the amount of cubic zirconia (c-ZrO2) and an increase in grain size in relation to the sample without the addition of Y2O3. With the increase of Y2O3 in the composition and consequent increase in the cubic ZrO2 phase content, although the hardness values did not present statistically significant variations, indicating average value of 12 GPa, a decrease in fracture toughness values was observed (10.0~5.5 MPa.m1/2) as a direct function of the reduction in the population of tetragonal zirconia grains, responsible for the toughening mechanism by phase transformation in these composites.

The dynamics of a biparametric family for solving nonlinear equations is studied on quadratic polynomials. This biparametric family includes the c-iterative methods and the well-known Chebyshev-Halley family. We find the analytical expressions for the fixed and critical points by solving 6-degree polynomials. We use the free critical points to get the parameter planes and, by observing them, we specify some values of (α, c) with clear stable and unstable behaviors.

Silver birch (Betula pendula Roth) is a deciduous pioneer tree species with significant economic and ecological importance due to its rapid growth, high genetic variability and adaptability to diverse climates and environments. In this regard, understanding the factors that influence silver birch tree growth variability and its seasonal patterns has been a subject of research interests, which aim at effective forest management and ecological analyses. Tree size, competition, light availability, and topography has been considered significant factors affecting tree growth patterns. However, their relative contributions are not well understood. This is because, to study the interactions between neighbor trees and their competitive responses requires complex measurements. Accurately measuring tree attributes, such as 3D canopy shape and arrangement, is challenging but has been made possible through advancements in high-resolution 3D remote sensing, specifically laser scanning technology. This study shows the potential of high-spatial and temporal resolution LiDAR time-series from a permanent laser scanning setup to detect detailed structural changes and timing in individual tree canopies, focusing on assessment of the structural canopy growth characteristics of silver birch trees. We first investigate how silver birch trees respond to competition and neighboring species. Our results focusing on canopy height increment show that tree size, competition, neighboring species, and water availability affect the rate of vertical (height) growth of the studied silver birch trees. Further, we detect the timing in canopy vertical and horizontal growth using LiDAR time-series. Significant variations of up to one week were detected among trees, providing insights for future studies on growth dynamics of silver birch in coniferous-dominant forests.

Forests play a fundamental role in carbon stocking since about a third of the carbon dioxide produced by activities of human origin is absorbed by forests. Forest biomass is an essential indicator of carbon dioxide absorption, enabling an understanding the interaction between forest dynamics and climate change effects. However, biomass and wood material changes are challenging to quantify in forest stands. Nowadays, recent 3D remote sensing technologies, such as laser scanning systems, have allowed accurate measures of single trees. This study evaluates three approaches to classify wood and non-wood materials and quantify biomass based on LiDAR data, aiming at biomass change detection. Specifically, we propose an automated methodology for estimating the single tree-level biomass of a portion of forest monitored through a LiDAR oblique acquisition. The classification of wood and foliage points was performed with machine learning algorithms, while the tree modelling was conducted rigorously through a Quantitative Structure Model (QSM). The purpose of this study is to evaluate (1) two different unsupervised and one semi-supervised classification approaches for wood and foliage separation and (2) the accuracy of the biomass assessment performed on a QSM-based approach on innovative LiDAR acquisitions. The results are promising; the wood-leaf classification performs effectively in all 20 silver birches considered; as regards the biomass, when the noise is limited, it is estimated in a manner consistent with the reference values calculated using an appropriate allometric equation. Higher values are found mainly in dense undergrowth, which negatively affects the modelling of the tree. The research is ongoing, and further tests will be performed to generalize the methodology on different tree species, deepen the multitemporal variability, and improve the accuracy of the assessment.

Accurately classifying foliage and non-leaf components in point clouds is essential for remote sensing forest applications. Existing methods rely on radiometric attributes or local geometric features, often requiring time-consuming manual labelling. In this paper, we propose a statistical approach using flexible thresholds determined based on tree-level geometric features. Selected features (local anisotropy, curvature, linearity, first principal component, verticality, and sphericity) have shown robustness in earlier studies. Threshold values are identified as points of inflection in the fitted distributions for each tree. Our method requires only two parameters and was tested with manually labelled Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) data and non-labeled data from an oblique and above canopy setup (Permanent LiDAR scanner setup). We tested two boreal tree species, Scots Pine, and silver birch, with 28 trees in total (14 trees for each species) using two data sources. Compared to two alternative methods (namely, fixed thresholding and CANUPO), our approach consistently outperforms in terms of recall. We achieved an average overall accuracy of 85%, recall of 88.5%, precision of 83%, and f1 score of 85%. Visually assessing oblique and above canopy results, our algorithm effectively captures tree structures. Our statistical approach provides an effective solution for foliage and non-leaf separation, with processing times of less than five minutes for individual tree point clouds containing up to 2 million points and no need for extensive manual labelling or parameter adjustments.

Abstract Background A cohort study for 2 years period analysed the prevalence, incidence and clinical–immunological features of canine Leishmania (L.) chagasi‐infection in 316 mongrel dogs in a visceral leishmaniasis‐endemic area in Pará State, Brazil. Objective/Methods Diagnosis of infection was performed by the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT‐IgG), the leishmanin skin test (LST) and a parasite search (from the popliteal lymph node aspiration) at the beginning of the study and at 6, 12 and 24 months intervals. Results IFAT/LST revealed three immune profiles of infection: (I) IFAT(+)/LST(−) (81), (II) IFAT(−)/LST(+) (17) and (III) IFAT(+)/LST(+) (13). Prevalence of profiles I, II and III were 25.6, 5.4 and 4.1%, and an overall prevalence 35.1%. Incidence of profiles I, II and III were 5.4, 0.3 and 0.0%, and an overall incidence 5.7% dogs per month. Incidence at the age ranges

The large field of view and compact structure make fisheye lens cameras an attractive technology for mobile mapping systems and visual navigation. Fisheye cameras usually have a field of view equal to or higher than 180°. Lenses that can capture light rays coming from angles larger than 180° are known as hyper hemispherical lenses. Some of the existing mathematical models can be unsuitable for those points beyond the 180° field of view when performing photogrammetric processes based on these equations, underexploring the full potential of fisheye lens cameras. In this case, depending on the selected projection model, points appearing in the hyper hemispherical (HH) field can produce blunders in the bundle adjustment. Nevertheless, most of the available solutions for camera calibration and bundle adjustment were implemented using the equidistant model. Therefore, the points located in the hyper hemispherical field are often removed from the bundle adjustment either during keypoint detection or by applying a mask to remove the entire HH field from the images. In this paper, we assessed experimentally the hypothesis that using the original HH full-field image introduces blunders, deteriorating the bundle adjustment. The experiments were performed with a Ricoh Theta S 360° camera which was mounted on a backpack platform. The camera was set in video mode, and frames were captured at a rate of 1 fps, while traversing an urban street, generating 307 frames. Experiments were performed, including or removing HH points in the bundle adjustment. The results show that the errors in the dataset with the hyper hemispherical field were larger than the ones using cropped images.

Mobile laser systems have been used for close-range applications, such as agricultural management, due to the high penetrability of the laser beam enabling a unique 3D representation of the plant structure. However, some challenges remain in generating 3D mapping in agricultural environments. For instance, orange orchards are composed of trees with dense canopies which the laser scanner cannot penetrate for stem mapping. Therefore, most of the laser point clouds are pulses reflected from leaves and ground. This paper analyses approaches to detect keypoints, extract features and register the point clouds acquired with a laser scanner in an orange orchard. Three keypoints extraction methods (Uniform Sampling – US, 3D Harris and 3D Intrinsic Shape Signatures – 3D ISS), SHOT feature extraction and global registration methods (ICP and CPD) were evaluated. The results showed that improvements are still necessary for point cloud registration for orange orchards. In feature-based matching methods, an approach to filter the mismatches is needed to improve the estimation of the translation and rotation parameters. In the global registration methods, initial values of the trajectory are needed for ICP. CPD achieved good results for five sequence scans without initial values.

Fisheye lens cameras are becoming increasingly popular for vSLAM applications due to their wide field of view (FoV), providing more features to be tracked in a single image shot. However, the complex lens geometry involved in the image formation process still limits their full potential, especially when points in the hyperhemispherical field are unmodeled. In this paper, we compare two adaptations of ORB-SLAM for fisheye lens cameras, considering the use of the rigorous projection model (equisolid-angle) versus the use of the generic projection model (EUCM). The ORB-SLAM versions were adapted for real-time processing on the Nvidia Jetson TX2 board. The experiment was conducted using hyperhemispherical images obtained with a Ricoh Theta S camera. Our results showed that the trajectory estimated with the equisolid-angle ORB-SLAM had smaller discrepancies, compared to the reference trajectory, than the EUCM ORB-SLAM. This suggests that a rigorous photogrammetric model with a suitable treatment of hyperhemispherical points is beneficial for trajectory estimation.

Bacterial infections after implant surgical procedures are a complication observed in many surgeries to treat bone injuries or diseases. Bacteria can attach to the surface of the implant producing biofilms, and if treatment with antibiotics does not work, further surgery is necessary to remove the infected implant. Among the biomaterials for bone implants, bioceramics based on calcium phosphates (CaPs) such as β-TCP stand out, due to their chemical similarity with bone and high bioresorbability. β-TCP has the characteristic of easily accommodating in its crystalline structure reasonable amounts of doping elements, such as monovalent and trivalent ions, which makes it an efficient transporter of drugs, molecules, and therapeutic ions The objective of this work was the incorporation of bioactive glass (BG 45S5) via sol-gel and silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) in β-TCP scaffolds, aiming to confer antimicrobial activity to the scaffolds, without prejudice to biocompatibility. XRD and FT-IR analysis indicated structural changes after the incorporation of BG 45S5 and Ag-NPs in β-TCP scaffolds, and these compounds induced the partial transformation of the β-TCP phase into α-TCP phase and the formation of sodium-calcium silicates and silver silicates. The FT-IR spectra showed characteristic bands of α-TCP after incorporation, in addition to the predominant bands of β-TCP. Biocompatibility after incorporation of BG 45S5 was improved, with a significant increase in cell viability. After the incorporation of Ag-NPs, cell viability was maintained at an acceptable level, no cytotoxic behavior was observed, and the scaffolds showed antibacterial and antifungal activity. The results indicate that BG 45S5 and the Ag-NPs incorporated showed a synergistic behavior, conferring antimicrobial activity to the scaffolds without compromising biocompatibility, showing great potential for applicability in tissue engineering.

La prototecosis es una enfermedad causada por algas saprófitas, no clorofílicas, unicelulares y oportunistas del género Prototheca, que afecta, principalmente, a animales con inmunodeficiencias. En caninos, con la forma intestinal, se puede presentar inicialmente como diarrea sanguinolenta, pudiendo progresar a un cuadro sistémico; mientras que en felinos, generalmente, genera lesiones cutáneas. En Costa Rica, P. zopfii es la especie que se ha identificado con mayor frecuencia, y P. wickerhamii, una vez. El diagnóstico de esta enfermedad se puede realizar mediante distintas técnicas como: citología, histopatología, endoscopía, cultivo, reacción en cadena de polimerasa (PCR), método bioquímico, entre otros. El tratamiento recomendado es anfotericina B e itraconazol, los cuales son efectivos, principalmente, en felinos. Sin embargo, en caninos, con presentación sistémica, no existe un tratamiento efectivo. En caso de lesiones cutáneas, se recomienda la resección quirúrgica.

Sulfur amino acids are essential for the proper development of broilers and are required throughout the bird's life to perform important physiological functions. Studies that seek to understand the actions of sulfur amino acids in the body of birds are essential. The present study evaluated the influence of sulfur amino acid supplementation using DL-Methionine (DL-Met) and DL-Methionine hydroxy analogue (DL-HMTBA), on the performance and expression of genes related to methionine metabolism, in the jejunum of broilers. Four hundred and fifty male broilers (Cobb-700 slow feathering) were distributed in a completely randomized design, in a factorial scheme (2x3), with two sources of methionine (DL-Met and DL-HMTBA) and three levels of methionine (deficiency, requirement and excess). The mRNA expression of the MAT1, MTR, BHMT, MTRR, CBG and GSS genes, and performance data such as feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion were evaluated. DL-HMTBA increased the expression of BHMT (p = 0.0072) and MTRR (p = 0.0003) in the jejunum of the birds. Methionine deficiency increased the expression of BHMT (p = 0.0805) and MTRR (p = 0.0018). Higher expression of GSS was observed in birds that were supplemented with DL-HMTBA (p = 0.0672). Analyzing our results, it is preferable to supplement sulfur amino acids with DL-Met at the requirement level. Birds fed with DL-HMTBA showed worse weight gain (p = 0.0117) and higher feed conversion (p = 0.0170); methionine deficiency resulted in higher feed intake (p = 0.0214), lower weight gain (p

To assess the reliability and failure modes of Ti-base abutments supported by narrow and wide-diameter implant systems. Narrow (Ø3.5 × 10 mm) and wide (Ø5 × 10 mm) implant systems of two different manufacturers with internal conical connections (16°) and their respective Ti-base abutments (3.5 and 4.5 mm) were evaluated. Ti-base abutments were torqued to the implants, standardized metallic maxillary incisor crowns were cemented, and step stress accelerated life testing of eighteen assemblies per group was performed in three loading profiles: mild, moderate, and aggressive until fracture or suspension. Reliability for missions of 100,000 cycles at 100 and 150 N was calculated, and fractographic analysis was performed. For missions at 100 N for 100,000 cycles, both narrow and wide implant systems exhibited a high probability of survival (≥99%, CI: 94–100%) without significant differences. At 150 N, wide-diameter implants presented higher reliability (≥99%, CI: 99–100%) compared to narrow implants (86%, CI: 61–95%), with no significant differences among manufacturers. Failure mode predominantly involved Ti-base abutment fractures at the abutment platform. Ti-base abutments supported by narrow and wide implant systems presented high reliability for physiologic masticatory forces, whereas for high load-bearing applications, wide-diameter implants presented increased reliability. Failures were confined to abutment fractures.

Individuals infected with Leishmania (L.) chagasi may present different asymptomatic and symptomatic stages of infection, which vary in the clinical–immunological profiles that can be classified as asymptomatic infection (AI), subclinical resistant infection (SRI), indeterminate initial infection (III), subclinical oligosymptomatic infection (SOI), and symptomatic infection (SI) (=American visceral leishmaniasis, AVL). However, little is known about the molecular differences between individuals having each profile. Here, we performed whole-blood transcriptomic analyses of 56 infected individuals from Pará State (Brazilian Amazon), covering all five profiles. We then identified the gene signatures of each profile by comparing their transcriptome with those of 11 healthy individuals from the same area. Symptomatic individuals with SI (=AVL) and SOI profiles showed higher transcriptome perturbation when compared to those asymptomatic III, AI and SRI profiles, suggesting that disease severity may be associated with greater transcriptomic changes. Although the expression of many genes was altered on each profile, very few genes were shared among the profiles. This indicated that each profile has a unique gene signature. The innate immune system pathway was strongly activated only in asymptomatic AI and SRI profiles, suggesting the control of infection. In turn, pathways such as MHC Class II antigen presentation and NF-kB activation in B cells seemed to be specifically induced in symptomatic SI (=AVL) and SOI profiles. Moreover, cellular response to starvation was down-regulated in those symptomatic profiles. Overall, this study revealed five distinct transcriptional patterns associated to the clinical–immunological (symptomatic and asymptomatic) profiles of human L. (L.) chagasi-infection in the Brazilian Amazon.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) consists of a constellation of satellites that transmit radio frequency signals to many users with varied applications. For meteorological purposes, the based-ground GPS receivers can provide high-quality column or precipitable water vapor (PWV), as obtained by radiosondes, but with high temporal resolution and low cost. A dense GPS network containing 16 ground-based receivers was installed in Belém city, Brazil, during the period 2–29 June 2011. This network provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the sensitivityof rapid increases in GPS PWV (GPS PWV jumps to the intense precipitation often associated with tropical organized convective systems. Results reveal a characteristic timescale of water vapor convergence before GPS-PWV maximum, which can be used for indicating the occurrence of precipitation associated with organized convective systems. A PWV increase of 4 mm h−1 in a period of an hour or 30 min before the maximum peak GPS-PWV (a peak of at least 57 mm) was observed during organized convection events. The contingency table obtained indicates a probability of detection of 84% and a false alarm ratio of 25% to forecast precipitation events. These results obtained suggest that GPS-PWV jumps can be employed to predict the events associated with organized convection.

For calibration of eddy current testing, artificial defects are commonly used by virtue of its simple production and ease control of geometric parameters. However, such defects are significantly different in terms of geometric aspects from real ones, even with a precise control of the manufacturing process. To ensure reliable calibration results, it is mandatory to establish a relationship between the signals from artificial (machined) and real defects. This work exposes a detailed study correlating eddy current signals from electrical discharge machine notch (EDM notch) and fatigue cracks. To perform the tests an absolute pencil probe was used. Although there is a significant difference between the signals of EDM notch and fatigue cracks, the results show that it is possible to use artificial defects to represent fatigue cracks reliably if a proper correction is implemented. Keywords: Eddy current testing, EDM notches, Fatigue cracks