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Abstract Background Alternative patterns of secondary growth in stems of Nyctaginaceae is present in all growth habits of the family and have been known for a long time. However, the interpretation of types of cambial variants have been controversial, given that different authors have given them different developmental interpretations. The different growth habits coupled with an enormous stem anatomical diversity offers the unique opportunity to investigate the evolution of complex developments, to address how these anatomies shifted within habits, and how the acquisition of novel cambial variants and habit transitions impacted the diversification of the family. Methods We integrated developmental data with a phylogenetic framework to investigate the diversity and evolution of stem anatomy in Nyctaginaceae using phylogenetic comparative methods, reconstructing ancestral states, and examining whether anatomical shifts correspond to species diversification rate shifts in the family. Results Two types of cambial variants, interxylary phloem and successive cambia, were recorded in Nyctaginaceae, which result from four different ontogenies. These ontogenetic trajectories depart from two distinct primary vascular structures (regular or polycyclic eustele) yet, they contain shared developmental stages which generate stem morphologies with deconstructed boundaries of morphological categories (continuum morphology). Unlike our a priori hypotheses, interxylary phloem is reconstructed as the ancestral character for the family, with three ontogenies characterized as successive cambia evolving in few taxa. Cambial variants are not contingent on habits, and their transitions are independent from species diversification. Conclusions Our findings suggest that multiple developmental mechanisms, such as heterochrony and heterotopy, generate the transitions between interxylary phloem and successive cambia. Intermediate between these two extremes are present in Nyctaginaceae, suggesting a continuum morphology across the family as a generator of anatomical diversity.

ABSTRACT Introduction: The central giant cell granuloma (CGCG) is a bone alteration of unknown etiology that can affect the jaws and presents varied clinical behavior. Objective: To analyze radiographs from patients with CGCG submitted to intralesional corticosteroids, in order to quantify bone gain after treatment. Methods: Sixteen patients with the microscopic diagnosis of CGCG were selected from the Batista Memorial Hospital, in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. Thirty-two radiographs (16 initial and 16 final) were evaluated by the mean pixel values of the affected region before and after the complete corticosteroid intralesional application protocol (six applications in biweekly intervals of triamcinolone hexacetonide). Results: Of the patients submitted to the study, 14 (87.5%) presented a mean increase in the values of pixels, understood as bone gain, in the radiographs after treatment with intralesional injections, and two (12.5%) did not present it. The comparison of the mean pixel values between the initial and final test sides showed p = 0.0027, which was statistically significant, confirming the increase in density in the studied regions. Conclusion: The tools for analysis of pixel values were useful in the quantification of bone gain in patients submitted to intralesional corticosteroid therapy, and these tools should be further explored and used during treatment as auxiliary methods in the evaluation of its efficacy.

ABSTRACT Case report of central giant cell lesion (CGCL) in a 32-year-old female patient, who exhibited asymptomatic increase in mandible volume and integrity of the adjacent alveolar mucosa, she was submitted to conservative treatment. The imaging exams showed radiolucent and multilocular lesion with displacement and discrete root resorption of the teeth 34 and 35. An incisional biopsy was performed and the final diagnosis of CGCL was established. The patient was submitted to biweekly applications of triamcinolone hexacetonide, showing no recurrence and exhibiting bone reintegration. Treatment of extensive lesions with intralesional corticosteroid injections has shown satisfactory effects.

The Ontario Rabies Vaccine (ONRAB) is a human adenovirus rabies glycoprotein recombinant oral vaccine immunogenic for small Indian mongooses when delivered by direct instillation into the oral cavity. We offered Ultralite baits containing ~1.8 mL 109.5 TCID50 ONRAB oral rabies vaccine to 18 mongooses, while 6 mongooses were offered identical baits in placebo form. We collected sera from individual mongooses at days 0, 14 and 30 post vaccination (pv) and quantified rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (RVNA) using the rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test, with titers greater than or equal to 0.1 IU/mL considered positive. All study subjects were RVNA negative prior to bait offering. Bait consumption was variable: all 6 sham and 13 of 18 (72%) treatment animals consumed/punctured the baits offered. By day 30 pv, RVNA were detected among 11 of 13 (84.6%) of treatment mongooses that consumed/punctured baits, whereas sham-vaccinated mongooses remained RVNA negative throughout the study. We conclude ONRAB is immunogenic for mongooses by Ultralite bait delivery, although the bait design may need further optimization.

Abstract Background Mosquito larval control using chemicals and biological agents is of paramount importance in vector population and disease incidence reduction. A commercial synthetic disinfectant soap was evaluated against larvae of Anopheles gambiae s.s. in both laboratory and semi field conditions. Method Five concentrations of commercial synthetic disinfectant soap (0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 1%) were prepared and evaluated against third instar larvae in laboratory and semi field environments. Mortality was scored at 12, 24, 48, and 72 hrs. Each dosage had 6 replicates, having twenty 3rd instar larvae of An.gambiae s.s. Results In the laboratory phase, all dosages had significantly higher larval mortalities than in controls, while in semi field conditions, the dosages of 0.0001, 0.001 and 0.01% had lower mortalities than laboratory trials. In the comparison between semi field and laboratory trials, only 0.1 and 1% dosage had significant difference with more mortality in semifield conditions. Proportions of larvae that died during mortality monitoring intervals in laboratory and semi field had significant differences only at 12 hrs and 72 hrs. Conclusion The findings of this study have demonstrated that the mortality of larvae caused by commercial synthetic disinfectant soap is worth further studies in open water bodies. More studies are necessary to find out the effect of sunlight on the chemistry of the synthetic disinfectant and other variables in small scale full field trials.

Body condition scoring (BCS) is the management practice of assessing body reserves of individual animals by visual or tactile estimation of subcutaneous fat and muscle. Both high and low BCS can negatively impact milk production, disease, and reproduction. Visual or tactile estimation of subcutaneous fat reserves in dairy cattle relies on their body shape or thickness of fat layers and muscle on key areas of the body. Although manual BCS has proven beneficial, consistent qualitative scoring can be difficult to implement. The desirable BCS range for dairy cows varies within lactation and should be monitored at multiple time points throughout lactation for the most impact, a practice that can be hard to implement. However, a commercial automatic BCS camera is currently available for dairy cattle (DeLaval Body Condition Scoring, BCS DeLaval International AB, Tumba, Sweden). The objective of this study was to validate the implementation of an automated BCS system in a commercial setting and compare agreement of the automated body condition scores with conventional manual scoring. The study was conducted on a commercial farm in Indiana, USA, in April 2017. Three trained staff members scored 343 cows manually using a 1 to 5 BCS scale, with 0.25 increments. Pearson’s correlations (0.85, scorer 1 vs. 2; 0.87, scorer 2 vs. 3; and 0.86, scorer 1 vs. 3) and Cohen’s Kappa coefficients (0.62, scorer 1 vs. 2; 0.66, scorer 2 vs. 3; and 0.66, scorer 1 vs. 3) were calculated to assess interobserver reliability, with the correlations being 0.85, 0.87, and 0.86. The automated camera BCS scores were compared with the averaged manual scores. The mean BCS were 3.39 ± 0.32 and 3.27 ± 0.27 (mean ± SD) for manual and automatic camera scores, respectively. We found that the automated body condition scoring technology was strongly correlated with the manual scores, with a correlation of 0.78. The automated BCS camera system accuracy was equivalent to manual scoring, with a mean error of −0.1 BCS and within the acceptable manual error threshold of 0.25 BCS between BCS (3.00 to 3.75) but was less accurate for cows with high (>3.75) or low (

OBJECTIVE: Experimental studies on lung preservation have always been performed using animal models. We present ex vivo lung perfusion as a new model for the study of lung preservation. Using human lungs instead of animal models may bring the results of experimental studies closer to what could be expected in clinical practice. METHOD: Brain-dead donors whose lungs had been declined by transplantation teams were used. The cases were randomized into two groups. In Group 1, Perfadex®was used for pulmonary preservation, and in Group 2, LPDnac, a solution manufactured in Brazil, was used. An ex vivo lung perfusion system was used, and the lungs were ventilated and perfused after 10 hours of cold ischemia. The extent of ischemic-reperfusion injury was measured using functional and histological parameters. RESULTS: After reperfusion, the mean oxygenation capacity was 405.3 mmHg in Group 1 and 406.0 mmHg in Group 2 (p = 0.98). The mean pulmonary vascular resistance values were 697.6 and 378.3 dyn·s·cm-5, respectively (p =0.035). The mean pulmonary compliance was 46.8 cm H20 in Group 1 and 49.3 ml/cm H20 in Group 2 (p =0.816). The mean wet/dry weight ratios were 2.06 and 2.02, respectively (p=0.87). The mean Lung Injury Scores for the biopsy performed after reperfusion were 4.37 and 4.37 in Groups 1 and 2, respectively (p = 1.0), and the apoptotic cell counts were 118.75/mm² and 137.50/mm², respectively (p=0.71). CONCLUSION: The locally produced preservation solution proved to be as good as Perfadex®. The clinical use of LPDnac may reduce costs in our centers. Therefore, it is important to develop new models to study lung preservation.

A non-toxic liquid fertility control bait for rats has recently become commercially available (ContraPest® from SenesTech, Inc.). This product contains two chemicals, both of which impair spermatogenesis in male and reduce ovulations in female rats. We tested the efficacy of this bait in wild-caught adult black rats from the island of Hawai’i in a short-term laboratory trial. A control group (n = 25) was offered placebo bait and the treatment group (n = 25) was offered fertility control bait, both ad libitum, during a 15-day introduction period and during the first of four breeding rounds, for a total of 58 days of exposure. After treatment, all rats were provided placebo bait for the remainder of the study and randomly paired with mates from within their treatment groups for two additional breeding cycles. Treatment and control groups comprised 10 breeding pairs each, with random re-pairings between breeding rounds. The treatment group produced no litters during the first and second breeding rounds, while 70% of the control females produced litters. In the third breeding round, 70 days after stopping treatment, the treatment group produced three litters (six pups) compared to seven litters (24 pups) in the control group. During a fourth and final breeding round, control rats were crossed with treated rats, producing six litters (27 pups) from treated dams and nine litters (40 pups) from control dams, indicating no apparent infertility effect 99 days after cessation of treatment. This study demonstrates that the reproduction rate of wild-caught black rats can be chemically suppressed if provided ad libitum access to the fertility control bait under laboratory conditions.

Rodent eradications have contributed to the recovery of many threatened species, but challenges often exist for campaigns that occur on tropical islands when compared to more temperate regions. A post-operational review of a rat eradication operation on Wake Atoll indicated that certain areas, such as those with high alternative food abundance, may have contributed to the failure to remove all Polynesian rats. We conducted a nontoxic bait uptake trial to evaluate whether the maximum prescribed bait application rate for Brodifacoum-25W rodenticide pellets was sufficient to expose all rats to a lethal dose at three sites on Wake Atoll, including around a solid waste aggregation area (SWAA), which was previously identified as “high risk.” We monitored bait persistence and condition throughout the treatment period as well as rat movement via radio tracking. Bait uptake by rats was also assessed by trapping and examination of rat orifices and gastrointestinal contents for pyranine biomarker incorporated into the bait pellets. The rate of bait disappearance differed by site, with bait disappearing the fastest in vicinity of the SWAA. Rat movement also varied by site, with rats observed traveling greater distances around the SWAA, sometimes exceeding 300 m. The SWAA was the only site at which we observed rats negative for biomarker exposure. We suggest that these negative observations resulted from lack of bait availability or movement of rats into the core trapping area from outside the treatment area. However, we cannot rule out preferential selection of alternative food sources over bait pellets and suggest that this possibility should receive further attention. Based on our results, we conclude that, of the three sites, the maximum bait application rate prescribed on the product label was not high enough to provide every rat an opportunity to encounter bait at and around the SWAA. Given the rapid disappearance of bait and the regular immigration of rats from distant habitat, we recommend that an even greater application rate be prescribed and that the heavier treatment be extended over a much larger area surrounding the SWAA.

Introducción: Las hernias de discos son un importante problema de salud que genera grandes gastos, son necesarios estudios de coste efectividad para una mejor optimización de los recursos y eficacia terapéutica. Material y Método: Se realizó un estudio económico de coste efectividad que incluyó en el estudio a 2.589 pacientes de ambos sexos, de más de 18 años de edad, con hernia de disco con o sin degeneración discal, diagnosticada por RMN con congruencia clínico radiológico, de más de 3 meses de evolución, resistente al tratamiento conservador. Se calcularon los costos de la aplicación de ozono por diferentes vías y se compararon con la microdiscectomía. El estudio estadístico se realizó mediante el programa SPSS 14.0 para Windows. Se consideró significativa una p < 0,05. Resultados: La relación coste efectividad más favorable fue entre las aplicaciones intradiscales de ozono, seguido de la peridural sacra, la más costosa fue la microdiscectomía muy superior a todas. Conclusión: Las aplicaciones de las diferentes vías de ozono tuvieron una relación coste- efectividad superior que la microdiscectomía para el tratamiento de las hernias de disco prolapsadas, protruidas y eximidas. Para las hernias migradas y secuestradas no se consideró la ozonoterapia. Palabras clave: Hernia de disco, dolor, coste, efectividad. Introduction: Herniated discs are an important health problem that generates large costs, studies of cost effectiveness are necessary for a better optimization of resources and therapeutic efficacy. Material and Method: A cost-effectiveness economic study was carried out that included 2,589 patients of both sexes, over 18 years of age, with a herniated disk with or without disc degeneration, diagnosed by MRI with radiological clinical congruence, of more than 3 months of evolution, resistant to conservative treatment. The costs of ozone application were calculated by different routes and compared with microdiscetomy. The statistical study was carried out using the SPSS 14.0 program for Windows. A p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The most favorable cost-effectiveness ratio was between the intradiscal applications of ozone, followed by the sacral epidural, the most expensive was the microdiscetomy far superior to all of them. Conclusion: The applications of the different ozone pathways had a higher cost-effectiveness ratio than the microdiscetomy for the treatment of prolapsed, protruded and extruded herniated discs. For the migrated and kidnapped hernias, ozone therapy was not considered. Key words: Herniated disk, pain, cost, effectiveness., Introducción Las hernias de disco intervertebral constituyen entidades que con gran frecuencia son motivo de consulta e ingreso en los servicios de neurocirugía y ortopedia. El costo del diagnóstico y [...]

Objetivo: Evaluar la efectividad y seguridad de la administración de ozono médico por diferentes vías y de la microdiscectomía para el tratamiento del dolor por hernia de disco. Material y Método: Se realizó un estudio retrospectivo en 2.589 pacientes de ambos sexos, de más de 18 años de edad, con hernia de disco con o sin degeneración discal, diagnosticada por RMN con congruencia clínico radiológico, de más de 3 meses de evolución, resistente al tratamiento conservador, con signos de afectación radicular o no. La eficacia analgésica se valoró después y a los tres meses de aplicada la técnica, mediante escala visual análoga del dolor y el índice de Discapacidad de Oswestry. El estudio estadístico se realizó mediante el programa SPSS 14.0 para Windows. Se consideró significativa una p < 0,05. Resultados: La infiltración intradiscal con ozono y la microdiscectomía fue igual de efectiva en las hernias lumbares eximidas. Para las hernias prolapsadas lumbares la infiltración intradiscal fue superior que la microdiscectomía y a todas las demás terapias y localizaciones, con un porciento de certeza de un 100% (p = 0,00). La paravertebral superficial más rectal fue muy efectiva para las hernias prolapsadas lumbares y para las hernias protruidas lumbares y cervicales, y la infiltración peridural sacra fue muy efectiva para las hernias lumbares prolapsadas y protruidas que cursaban con estenosis multisegmentaria del canal lumbar y en algunas con fibrosis post quirúrgica en el Síndrome de Espalda Fallida. Conclusión: La ozonoterapia aplicada por vía intradiscal, peridural sacra, paravertebral superficial combinada con vía rectal, son tan efectivas como la microdiscectomía, para el tratamiento del dolor por hernias discales, pero más seguras. Palabras clave: Hernia de disco, dolor, efectividad. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the administration of medical ozone in different ways and microdiscetomy for the treatment of pain due to herniated disc. Material and Method: A retrospective study was carried out in 2589 patients of both sexes, over 18 years of age, with a herniated disk with or without disc degeneration, diagnosed by MRI with radiological clinical congruence, of more than 3 months of evolution, resistant to conservative treatment, with signs of radicular involvement or not. Analgesic efficacy was assessed after three months of applying the technique, using a visual analog scale of pain and the Oswestry Disability Index. The statistical study was carried out using the SPSS 14.0 program for Windows. A p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Intradiscal infiltration with ozone and microdiscetomy was equally effective in extruded lumbar hernias. For the lumbar prolapsed hernias, the Intradiscal infiltration was higher than the microdiscetomy and all the other therapies and locations, with a certainty percentage of 100% (p = 0.00). The more rectal superficial paravertebral was very effective for lumbar prolapsed hernias and for lumbar and cervical protruding hernias, and sacral peridural infiltration was very effective for protruding and protruding lumbar hernias that presented with multiple segmental stenosis of the lumbar canal and in some with fibrosis, surgical post in Failed Back Syndrome. Conclusion: Ozone therapy applied intradiscally, sacral peridural, superficial paravertebral combined with rectal route, are as effective as microdiscetomy, for the treatment of pain by herniated discs, but safer. Key words: Herniated disk, pain, effectiveness., Introducción La espondilosis espinal u osteoartrosis (cervical, dorsal y lumbosacra) es una de las enfermedades más incapacitantes en la tercera edad. La espondilosis es una enfermedad de naturaleza degenerativa que [...]