Pseudoplagiostoma humilis sp. nov., a New Fungal Species Causing Shoot Blight and Dieback in Anacardium humile in Brazil.

The cajuzinho do cerrado (Anacardium humile-Anacardiaceae), a shrub species native to Brazil, is harvested for multiple uses in food and medicine. Members of a harvesting community, near the municipality of Bonito de Minas, Minas Gerais state, Brazil reported characteristic symptoms of shoot blight and dieback reducing pseudofruit and seed production by this plant. This study aimed to identify the etiological agent of this disease.

Physicochemical, Microbiological, and Toxicological Characterization of Pâté Prepared from the Meat and Liver of Bullfrog () Carcasses.

The development of balanced, healthy, ready-to-consume, and easy-to-prepare products has led to the development of new food technologies. Despite their high commercial value, bullfrog () carcasses result in low yields, with the thighs being the most marketed in comparison to other carcass portions. In this sense, liver pâté is a traditional food consumed worldwide, mainly in European countries, and may be prepared by incorporating bullfrog meat by-products and certain viscera.

Atrial Flutter in PRKAG2 Syndrome: Clinical and Electrophysiological Characteristics.

Background: PRKAG2 syndrome is a rare autosomal dominant disease, a phenocopy of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy characterized by intracellular glycogen accumulation. Clinical manifestations include ventricular preexcitation, cardiac conduction disorder, ventricular hypertrophy, and atrial arrhythmias.

Objective: To compare the clinical and electrophysiological characteristics observed in patients with atrial flutter, with and without PRKAG2 syndrome.

Longitudinal changes in brain volumetry and cognitive functions after moderate and severe diffuse axonal injury.

Background And Objective: Diffuse axonal injury (DAI) induces a long-term process of brain atrophy and cognitive deficits. The goal of this study was to determine whether there are correlations between brain volume loss, microhaemorrhage load (MHL) and neuropsychological performance during the first year after DAI.

Methods: Twenty-four patients with moderate or severe DAI were evaluated at 2, 6 and 12 months post-injury.

The golden age of Drosophila research at the Universidade de São Paulo (USP): A testimonial on the decades 1940-1950.

This article is a testimonial written by the first author regarding the research work performed with Drosophila between 1943 and 1959, at the Departamento de Biologia Geral of the Universidade de São Paulo (USP), which permitted the building of a nucleus of excellence. This research work, focused on the systematics and population genetics of the Neotropical species, began during the first of Dobzhansky's six visits to USP. Special attention was given to the multinational megaprojects conducted during his longer stays, from August 1948 to July 1949 and from June 1955 to July 1956.

Susceptibility of Argentinean Biomphalaria tenagophila and Biomphalaria straminea to infection by Schistosoma mansoni and the possibility of geographic expansion of mansoni schistosomiasis.

Introduction: Human migration and the presence of natural vectors (mollusks) of Schistosoma mansoni are the primary causes of the expansion of mansoni schistosomiasis into southern areas of South America. Water conditions are favorable for the expansion of this disease because of the extensive hydrographic network, which includes the basins of the Paraná and Uruguay rivers and favors mollusk reproduction. These rivers also aid agriculture and tourism in the area.

Liposomal-praziquantel: efficacy against Schistosoma mansoni in a preclinical assay.

Currently, schistosomiasis mansoni is treated clinically with praziquantel (PZQ). Nevertheless, cases of tolerance and resistance to this drug have been reported, creating the need to develop new drugs or to improve existing drugs. Considering the small number of new drugs against Schistosoma mansoni, the design of nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems is an important strategy in combating this disease.

Applications of RNA Interference in Schistosomiasis: Gene Function Identification and Development of New Therapies.

The study of Schistosoma species has undergone a dramatic change in recent years mainly due to transcriptome, proteome, and genome analyses. In order to better understand the biology of the parasite and to develop new and more efficient/specific drugs, scientists have now the task to translate genetic information into functional data. The present paper aims to review the use of RNA interference (RNAi), a versatile technique used in gene silencing, for the dissection of the cellular/molecular biology of Schistosoma spp.

Experimental Evaluation of the Pathogenicity of Different Strains of Schistosoma mansoni.

The pathogenesis of three different Schistosoma mansoni strains from the Brazilian states of Minas Gerais (BH strain) and São Paulo (SJ and SD strains) was evaluated in experimentally infected mice. Observations of the most severe clinical cases among local patients treated (SD strain) in the city of Campinas (São Paulo, Brazil) formed the basis of this study. Mice were used as definitive hosts and were infected with cercariae from Biomphalaria tenagophila (SJ and SD strains) and Biomphalaria glabrata (BH strains).

A Study of the Granulomatous Responses Induced by Different Strains of Schistosoma mansoni.

The increased pathogenesis of the Schistosoma mansoni BH strain compared with the SJ strain has been attributed to the number of granulomas formed in experimental infections, which increase the mortality in definitive hosts. The aim of the present study was to investigate the development of granulomas around the eggs of the S. mansoni BH and SJ strains and to determine whether this host reaction was strain specific.

Acute schistosomiasis in brazilian traveler: the importance of tourism in the epidemiology of neglected parasitic diseases.

Parasitic infectious diseases acquired in tourist areas may pose a challenge to physicians and to travel medicine practitioners. Acute schistosomiasis may be seen in returning travelers and migrants after primary infection. This form of schistosomiasis is frequently misdiagnosed due to its temporal delay and its nonspecific presentation and might occur even in countries where the disease is endemic, such as in Brazil.

Prevalence and prognostic value of ventricular dyssynchrony in Chagas cardiomyopathy.

Background: Chagas cardiomyopathy is one important cause of heart failure in Latin America. Ventricular dyssynchrony may be a factor of decompensation in the course of this disease, but there are no data on its prevalence and its main prognostic implications yet.

Objective: Describe prevalence and prognostic value of ventricular dyssynchrony in Chagas cardiomyopathy.

Delayed right ventricular perforation in patient with implantable cardioverter - defibrillator.

We describe the case of a 62-year-old patient who returned for evaluation nine months after receiving an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) with signs of delayed right ventricular (RV) perforation. The clinical signs that allowed the diagnosis of this late presentation to be achieved are discussed herein, as well as the conduct and the frequency of this complication in the literature.

Clinical, electrocardiographic, and electrophysiologic characteristics of patients with a fasciculoventricular pathway: the role of PRKAG2 mutation.

Background: The ECG, clinical, and electrophysiologic profiles of patients with a fasciculoventricular pathway are well described. Fasciculoventricular pathways occurring in the setting of glycogen storage cardiomyopathy possess unique features.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical, ECG, and electrophysiologic characteristics of patients with a fasciculoventricular pathway, with or without glycogen storage cardiomyopathy.

Ectopic positioning of pacemaker electrode.

The present case reports on a patient presenting the cardiac form of Chagas disease, with left ventricular dysfunction and second-degree atrioventricular block Mobitz type II, associated with several syncope episodes. The patient underwent a double-chamber definitive artificial pacemaker implant. One year after the implant, the displacement of the atrial electrode was diagnosed and the patient was submitted to re-implantation of the atrial electrode.

Pharmacological treatment of electrical storm in cathecolaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia.

We present a case of a young boy who had an implantable cadrioverter defibrillator implanted for refractory syncope and cathecolaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). The patient underwent an electrical storm with multiple shocks and serious compromise of quality of life and risk. The pharmacological options are discussed as well as the strategies of managing ventricular arrhythmias in CPVT.

Improvement of the oral praziquantel anthelmintic effect by cyclodextrin complexation.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease which kills a half million people per year, all over the world. Praziquantel (PZQ) is the drug-of-choice for schistosomiasis because of its effectiveness, ease of administration, and low cost. However, poor solubility restricts its delivery, especially via the oral route.

Atrial fibrillation ablation in Brazil: results of the registry of the Brazilian Society of Cardiac Arrhythmias.

Background: Aiming to define the profile of curative atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation in Brazil, the Brazilian Cardiac Arrhythmia Society [Sociedade Brasileira de Arritmias Cardíacas] (SOBRAC) created the Brazilian Registry of AF Ablation [Registro Brasileiro de Ablação da FA].

Objective: To describe the results of this registry.

Methods: A questionnaire was sent to SOBRAC members asking about data on patients submitted to AF ablation between September 2005 and November, 2006.

Familial pseudo-Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

Introduction: PRKAG2 plays a role in regulating metabolic pathways, and mutations in this gene are associated with familial ventricular preexcitation, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and atrioventricular conduction disturbances. Clinico-pathologic and experimental data suggest the hypothesis of a glycogen storage disease.

Objective: To report a unique pattern of clinical features observed in individuals with a mutant PRKAG2 from two unrelated families.

Origin and diversification of the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni.

Schistosoma mansoni is the most widespread of the human-infecting schistosomes, present in 54 countries, predominantly in Africa, but also in Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Neotropics. Adult-stage parasites that infect humans are also occasionally recovered from baboons, rodents, and other mammals. Larval stages of the parasite are dependent upon certain species of freshwater snails in the genus Biomphalaria, which largely determine the parasite's geographical range.

Behavior in Mus musculus of Schistosoma mansoni from mollusks treated with hydrocortisone.

Twenty mice were exposed to cercariae from mollusks treated with hydrocortisone and another 20 mice received cercariae from non-treated mollusks. The behavior of the parasites from the two groups of mollusks was compared based on the ability of cercariae to penetrate mice, on the total number of worms recovered after eight weeks of infection, on the relationship between the number of penetrating cercariae and the number of recovered worms and on the number of eggs in the feces. Treating the mollusks with hydrocortisone did not alter the ability of cercariae to penetrate mice nor did it affect the total number of worms recovered.

[Genetic selection of Biomphalaria glabrata and Biomphalaria tenagophila seeking the alteration of the susceptibility and resistance to Schistosoma mansoni].

Generations of Biomphalaria glabrata and Biomphalaria tenagophila selected genetically for resistance and susceptibility to Schistosoma mansoni of strains BH and SJ were used in a study of the trematode adaptation to the intermediate host. Descendants of the planorbids were obtained by self-fertilization of the mollusks that became susceptible or resistant after exposure to the miracidia of Schistosoma mansoni. For Biomphalaria glabrata they were obtained from the following generations: Parental, F1S (Susceptible), F1R (Resistant), F2S and F2R.

Decrease of plasma triglycerides during the acute phase of unstable angina or non-ST elevation myocardial infarction is a marker of recurrent ischemia.

Both increase and decrease of plasma triglycerides during acute coronary syndromes (ACS) are reported, however, a clinical relevance for these distinct metabolic responses is unclear. To test the association between distinct responses of lipid metabolism and cardiovascular risk, 39 subjects admitted with non-ST elevation ACS within 48 h of presentation had plasma lipids measured on the first and sixth days of hospitalization, and continuous electrocardiogram was performed during the first 2 days to quantify recurrent ischemia and heart rate variability. No lipid-lowering therapy was offered to the patients.