Cyanobacteria vs green algae:which group has the edge?

The dogma surrounding carbon assimilation has it that, due to their highly effective CO2-concentrating mechanisms, cyanobacteria will always out-perform, for example, green algae where inorganic carbon is in short supply. Working on the cyanobacterial genus Microcystis, Ji et al. (2017) now suggest this might not always be true, with possible improved performance with rises in atmospheric (and hence dissolved) CO2. Many cyanobacteria form extensive toxic blooms that present significant health risks and economic costs: how they will react in a future world with elevated CO2 and temperature is thus of intense interest for water management

Caracterização espectrorradiométrica de minerais e rochas sedimentares.

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Incremental peritoneal dialysis: a 10 year single-centre experience

INTRODUCTION: Incremental dialysis consists in prescribing a dialysis dose aimed towards maintaining total solute clearance (renal + dialysis) near the targets set by guidelines. Incremental peritoneal dialysis (incrPD) is defined as one or two dwell-times per day on CAPD, whereas standard peritoneal dialysis (stPD) consists in three-four dwell-times per day. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Single-centre cohort study. Enrollement period: January 2002-December 2007; end of follow up (FU): December 2012. INCLUSION CRITERIA: incident patients with FU ≥6 months, initial residual renal function (RRF) 3-10 ml/min/1.73 sqm BSA, renal indication for PD. RESULTS: Median incrPD duration was 17 months (I-III Q: 10; 30). There were no statistically significant differences between 29 patients on incrPD and 76 on stPD regarding: clinical, demographic and anthropometric characteristics at the beginning of treatment, adequacy indices, peritonitis-free survival (peritonitis incidence: 1/135 months-patients in incrPD vs. 1/52 months-patients in stPD) and patient survival. During the first 6 months, RRF remained stable in incrPD (6.20 ± 2.02 vs. 6.08 ± 1.47 ml/min/1.73 sqm BSA; p = 0.792) whereas it decreased in stPD (4.48 ± 2.12 vs. 5.61 ± 1.49; p < 0.001). Patient survival was affected negatively by ischemic cardiopathy (HR: 4.269; p < 0.001), peripheral and cerebral vascular disease (H2.842; p = 0.006) and cirrhosis (2.982; p = 0.032) and positively by urine output (0.392; p = 0.034). Hospitalization rates were significantly lower in incrPD (p = 0.021). Eight of 29 incrPD patients were transplanted before reaching full dose treatment. CONCLUSIONS: IncrPD is a safe modality to start PD; compared to stPD, it shows similar survival rates, significantly less hospitalization, a trend towards lower peritonitis incidence and slower reduction of renal function

TRANSCRANIAL DIRECT CURRENT STIMULATION ENHANCES SUCKING OF A LIQUID BOLUS IN HEALTHY HUMANS

BACKGROUND: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive technique used for modulating cortical excitability in vivo in humans. Here we evaluated the effect of tDCS on behavioral and electrophysiological aspects of physiological sucking and swallowing. METHODS: Twelve healthy subjects underwent three tDCS sessions (anodal, cathodal and sham stimulation) on separate days in a double-blind randomized order. The active electrode was placed over the right swallowing motor cortex. Repeated sucking and swallowing acts were performed at baseline and at 15 and 60 min after each tDCS session and the mean liquid bolus volume ingested at each time point was measured. We also calculated average values of the following electrophysiological parameters: 1) area and 2) duration of the rectified EMG signal from the suprahyoid/submental muscles related to the sucking and swallowing phases; 3) EMG peak amplitude for the sucking and swallowing phases; 4) area and peak amplitude of the laryngeal-pharyngeal mechanogram; 5) oropharyngeal delay. RESULTS: The volume of the ingested bolus significantly increased (by an average of about 30% compared with the baseline value) both at 15 and at 60 min after the end of anodal tDCS. The electrophysiological evaluation after anodal tDCS showed a significant increase in area and duration of the sucking phase-related EMG signal. CONCLUSIONS: Anodal tDCS leads to stronger sucking of a liquid bolus in healthy subjects, likely by increasing recruitment of cortical areas of the swallowing network. This finding might open up interesting perspectives for the treatment of patients suffering from dysphagia due to various pathological conditions

Avaliação da qualidade física e da matéria orgânica de um argissolo vermelho derivado de arenito da fronteira Oeste do Rio Grande do Sul.

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Vertical distribution of aerosol optical properties in the Po Valley during the 2012 summer campaigns

Studying the vertical distribution of aerosol particle physical and chemical properties in the troposphere is essential to understand the relative importance of local emission processes vs. long-range transport for column-integrated aerosol properties (e.g. the aerosol optical depth, AOD, affecting regional climate) as well as for the aerosol burden and its impacts on air quality at the ground. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the transport of desert dust in the middle troposphere and its intrusion into the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over the Po Valley (Italy), a region considered one of the greatest European pollution hotspots for the frequency that particulate matter (PM) limit values are exceeded. Events of mineral aerosol uplift from local (soil) sources and phenomena of hygroscopic growth at the ground are also investigated, possibly affecting the PM concentration in the region as well. During the PEGASOS 2012 field campaign, an integrated observing–modelling system was set up based on near-surface measurements (particle concentration and chemistry), vertical profiling (backscatter coefficient profiles from lidar and radiosoundings) and Lagrangian air mass transport simulations by FLEXPART model. Measurements were taken at the San Pietro Capofiume supersite (44°39′ N, 11°37′ E; 11 m a.s.l.), located in a rural area relatively close to some major urban and industrial emissive areas in the Po Valley. Mt. Cimone (44°12′ N, 10°42′ E; 2165 m a.s.l.) WMO/GAW station observations are also included in the study to characterize regional-scale variability. Results show that, in the Po Valley, aerosol is detected mainly below 2000 m a.s.l. with a prevalent occurrence of non-depolarizing particles ( > 50 % throughout the campaign) and a vertical distribution modulated by the PBL daily evolution. Two intense events of mineral dust transport from northern Africa (19–21 and 29 June to 2 July) are observed, with layers advected mainly above 2000 m, but subsequently sinking and mixing in the PBL. As a consequence, a non-negligible occurrence of mineral dust is observed close to the ground (  ~7 % of occurrence during a 1-month campaign). The observations unambiguously show Saharan dust layers intruding the Po Valley mixing layer and directly affecting the aerosol concentrations near the surface. Finally, lidar observations also indicate strong variability in aerosol on shorter timescales (hourly). Firstly, these highlight events of hygroscopic growth of anthropogenic aerosol, visible as shallow layers of low depolarization near the ground. Such events are identified during early morning hours at high relative humidity (RH) conditions (RH  > 80 %). The process is observed concurrently with high PM1 nitrate concentration (up to 15 µg cm−3) and hence mainly explicable by deliquescence of fine anthropogenic particles, and during mineral dust intrusion episodes, when water condensation on dust particles could instead represent the dominant contribution. Secondly, lidar images show frequent events (mean daily occurrence of  ~ 22 % during the whole campaign) of rapid uplift of mineral depolarizing particles in afternoon–evening hours up to 2000 m a.s.l. height. The origin of such particles cannot be directly related to long-range transport events, being instead likely linked to processes of soil particle resuspension from agricultural lands

Zoneamento para a fruticultura em Mato Grosso do Sul.

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Botulinum Toxin Is Effective in the Management of Neurogenic Dysphagia. Clinical-Electrophysiological Findings and Tips on Safety in Different Neurological Disorders

Background and Aims: Neurogenic dysphagia linked to failed relaxation of the upper esophageal sphincter (UES) can be treated by injecting botulinum toxin (BTX) into the cricopharyngeal (CP) muscle. We compared the effects of this treatment in different neurological disorders with dysphagia, to evaluate its efficacy over time including the response to a second injection. Materials and Methods: Sixty-seven patients with neurogenic dysphagia associated with incomplete or absent opening of the UES (24 with brainstem or hemispheric stroke, 21 with parkinsonian syndromes, 12 with multiple sclerosis, and 10 with spastic-dystonic syndromes secondary to post-traumatic encephalopathy) were treated with the injection of IncobotulinumtoxinA (dose 15–20 U) into the CP muscle under electromyographic guidance. The patients were assessed at baseline and after the first and second treatment through clinical evaluation and fiberoptic endoscopy of swallowing, while their dysphagia was quantified using the Dysphagia Outcome and Severity Scale (DOSS). An electrokinesiographic/electromyographic study of swallowing was performed at baseline. Results: Most patients responded to the first BTX treatment: 35 patients (52.2%) were classified as high responders (DOSS score increase >2 levels), while other 19 patients (28.4%) were low responders (DOSS score increase of ≤2 levels). The effect of the first treatment usually lasted longer than 4 months (67%), and in some cases up to a year. The treatment efficacy remained high also after the second injection: 31 patients (46.3%) qualified as high responders and other 22 patients (32.8%) showed a low response. Only in the parkinsonian syndromes group we observed a reduction in the percentage of high responders as compared with the first treatment. Side effects were mostly mild and reported in non-responders following the first injection. A severe side effect, consisting of ingestion pneumonia, was observed following the second BTX injection in two patients who had both been non-responders to the first. Non-responders were characterized electromyographically by higher values of the oropharyngeal interval. Conclusion: These findings confirm the effectiveness of IncobotulinumtoxinA injection in the treatment of neurogenic dysphagia due to hyperactivity and relaxation failure of the UES. Caution should be used as regards, the re-injection in non-responders to the first treatment

Kidney, kidney-pancreas and liver-kidney transplantation in HIV infected individuals: the Italian experience

Until a few years ago, HIV infection was considered an exclusion criteria for organ transplantation. However, more recently, because of the significant increase in life expectancy of HIV-infected persons with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), kidney, kidney-pancreas, heart, lung and liver transplantation have been introduced in this patients population in several centers around the world. To evaluate the possible extension of the indications of kidney transplantation to HIV-infected individuals, the Italian National Centre for Transplantation has designed a protocol to be applied on a national basis. Inclusion criteria required a CD4 count ≥200/mm3 and undetectable HIV viral load for at least 3 months for patients on HAART.The program was voluntarily adopted by 4 transplant centres. From January 2006 through November 2007 a total of 13 HIV infected patients (9 male and 4 female, mean age 46.4 years, range 35-56) underwent cadaveric kidney transplantation (including two kidney-pancreas and two liver-kidney) after a median waiting time of 142 days (range 58-650). Median CD4 cells count at the time of transplantation was 449 (range 210-782) and the HIV-RNA was undetectable in all recipients. HAART was started in all recipients after transplantation and HIV-RNA remain undetectable in all patients. Five patients (38.4%) experienced an episode of biopsy proven acute rejection (steroid resistant in one). Drug-drug interactions between antiretrovirals and immunosuppressive agents required frequent dosage modifications. Graft and patient survival was 100% at a median follow-up of 161 days after transplantation (range 8-669). Despite the limited number of patients and the shortness of the follow-up, our study confirms excellent short term results of kidney transplantation in HIV-infected individuals