Frontal penetrating arrow injury: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Penetrating arrow injuries of the head and neck are exceedingly rare in pediatric patients. This pathology has high morbidity and mortality because of the presence of vital organs, the airway, and large vessels. Therefore, the treatment and removal of an arrow is a challenge that requires multidisciplinary management. CASE SUMMARY: A 13-year-old boy was brought to the emergency room after an arrow injury to the frontal region. The arrowhead was lodged in the oropharynx. Imaging studies showed a lesion of the paranasal sinuses without compromising vital structures. The arrow was successfully removed by retrograde nasoendoscopy without complications, and the patient was discharged. CONCLUSION: Although rare, maxillofacial arrow injuries have high morbidity and mortality and require multidisciplinary management to preserve function and aesthetics.

Aislamiento enzimático de protoplastos a partir del mesófilo de vitroplantas de Gynerium sagittatum Aubl. Beauv. cv. "Criolla"

Gynerium sagittatum es una gramínea ampliamente utilizada en la costa Caribe colombiana como fuente de fibra natural para la elaboración de artesanías, particularmente por la comunidad Zenú. En la presente investigación se evaluó el efecto de diferentes concentraciones de enzimas: celulasa y macerozima a diferentes tiempos de incubación y sus interacciones en el aislamiento de protoplastos. Los protoplastos se obtuvieron del mesófilo foliar de vitroplantas de G. sagittatum expuesto a combinaciones enzimáticas de celulasa (1.5 y 2.0%), con macerozima (0.3, 0.6 y 0.9%), durante 3, 6 y 9 horas de incubación, para un total de 18 tratamientos con 5 réplicas cada uno. Los mayores números de protoplastos aislados correspondieron a T18 (2.0% celulasa, 0.9% macerozima), T12 (2.0% de celulasa, 0.3% macerozima), T3 (1.5% de celulasa, 0.3% de macerozima) y T6 (1.5% de celulasa, 0.6% de macerozima) por 9 horas de incubación cada uno, con valores de 88.625, 83.000, 75.000 y 53.375 protoplastos/mL respectivamente. El tiempo de incubación fue significativo en el aislamiento de los protoplastos (p<0.05). Las predicciones entre factores mostraron que una interacción de 2.0% de celulasa y 0.9% de macerozima permite obtener 44.302 protoplastos/mL, mientras que las interaciciones tiempo de incubación-celulasa y tiempo de incubación-macerozima mostraron que es posible obtener 72.073 y 71.212 protoplastos/mL con 2.0% de celulasa y 0.9% macerozima por 9 horas de incubación cada una respectivamente. Los resultados indican que la aplicación de estas enzimas permite obtener cantidades considerables de protoplastos de G. sagittatum a partir de explantes cultivados in vitro.

Gynerium sagittatum is a graminaceous plant widely used in the Caribbean coast of Colombia as a natural fiber source for the elaboration of handicrafts, particularly by the Zenú community. In the present investigation, the effect of different concentrations of cellulase and macerozyme enzymes at different incubation times and their interaction in the isolation of protoplasts was evaluated. Protoplasts were obtained from leaf mesophyll of G. sagittatum vitroplants exposed to enzymatic combinations of cellulase (1.5 and 2.0%), with macerozyme (0.3, 0.6 and 0.9%), for 3, 6 and 9 hours of incubation, for a total of 18 treatments with 5 replicates each. The highest numbers of isolated protoplasts corresponded to T18 (2.0% cellulase, 0.9% macerozyme), T12 (2.0% cellulase, 0.3% macerozyme), T3 (1.5% cellulase, 0.3% macerozyme) and T6 (1.5% cellulase, 0.6% macerozyme); at 9 hours incubation. The protoplast number for these treatments were: 88.625, 83.000, 75.000 and 53.375 protoplasts/mL respectively. Incubation time was significant in the isolation of protoplasts (p<0.05). The predictions between the factors showed that with an interaction of 2.0% cellulase and 0.9% macerozyme it is possible to obtain 44.302 protoplasts/mL, likewise, the incubation time-cellulase and incubation time-macerozyme interactions showed that it is possible to obtain 72.073 and 71.212 protoplasts/mL with 2.0% cellulase and 0.9% macerozyme for 9 hours of incubation respectively. The results indicate that the use of these enzymes and time, allows the isolation of of protoplasts from G. sagittatum in vitro plants.

Temporal irreversibility of neural dynamics as a signature of consciousness.

Dissipative systems evolve in the preferred temporal direction indicated by the thermodynamic arrow of time. The fundamental nature of this temporal asymmetry led us to hypothesize its presence in the neural activity evoked by conscious perception of the physical world, and thus its covariance with the level of conscious awareness. We implemented a data-driven deep learning framework to decode the temporal inversion of electrocorticography signals acquired from non-human primates. Brain activity time series recorded during conscious wakefulness could be distinguished from their inverted counterparts with high accuracy, both using frequency and phase information. However, classification accuracy was reduced for data acquired during deep sleep and under ketamine-induced anesthesia; moreover, the predictions obtained from multiple independent neural networks were less consistent for sleep and anesthesia than for conscious wakefulness. Finally, the analysis of feature importance scores highlighted transitions between slow ($\approx$20 Hz) and fast frequencies (>40 Hz) as the main contributors to the temporal asymmetry observed during conscious wakefulness. Our results show that a preferred temporal direction is manifest in the neural activity evoked by conscious mentation and in the phenomenology of the passage of time, establishing common ground to tackle the relationship between brain and subjective experience.

Sensitivity Enhancement of Curvature Fiber Sensor Based on Polymer-Coated Capillary Hollow-Core Fiber.

In this paper, we propose and experimentally demonstrate a simple technique to enhance the curvature sensitivity of a bending fiber optic sensor based on anti-resonant reflecting optical waveguide (ARROW) guidance. The sensing structure is assembled by splicing a segment of capillary hollow-core fiber (CHCF) between two single-mode fibers (SMF), and the device is set on a steel sheet for measuring different curvatures. Without any surface treatment, the ARROW sensor exhibits a curvature sensitivity of 1.6 dB/m-1 in a curvature range from 0 to 2.14 m-1. By carefully coating half of the CHCF length with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), the curvature sensitivity of the ARROW sensor is enhanced to -5.62 dB/m-1, as well as an increment in the curvature range (from 0 to 2.68 m-1). Moreover, the covered device exhibits a low-temperature sensitivity (0.038 dB/°C), meaning that temperature fluctuations do not compromise the bending fiber optic sensor operation. The ARROW sensor fabricated with this technique has high sensitivity and a wide range for curvature measurements, with the advantage that the technique is cost-effective and easy to implement. All these features make this technique appealing for real sensing applications, such as structural health monitoring.

Poor alkaloid sequestration by arrow poison frogs of the genus Phyllobates from Costa Rica.

Frogs of the genus Phyllobates from Colombia are known to contain the highly toxic alkaloid batrachotoxin, but species from Central America exhibit only very low levels or are entirely free of this toxin. In the present study alcohol extracts from 101 specimens of Phyllobates lugubris and Phyllobates vittatus and 21 of three sympatric species (Dendrobates pumilio, Dendrobates auratus, Dendrobates granuliferus) from Costa Rica were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Whereas the extracts of the Dendrobates species exhibited typical profiles of toxic alkaloids, those of the two Phyllobates species contained low levels of few alkaloids only, batrachotoxin was not detected. Although the feeding pattern of the Dendrobates and Phyllobates species are similar as revealed by examination of their stomach content (mainly ants and mites), the Phyllobates species are poorly sequestering alkaloids from their food source in contrast to the Dendrobates frogs.

Nitrogen affects the production and botanical composition in a grass/legume intercropped pasture / O Nitrogênio afeta a produção e a composição botânica em pastagem de gramíneas consorciadas com leguminosas

Nitrogen affects directly pasture production in grasses. However, there is lack of information about nitrogen effect on the performance of cool season grass/legumes intercropped pastures. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of two levels of nitrogen fertilization on the production and botanical composition of a pasture constituted by black oat + ryegrass + vetch + arrow leaf clover. The work was conducted in three sites, one in Canoinhas and two in Major Vieira, Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, during 2006. Treatments were arranged in a randomized block design, with three replicates on each site. Two levels of nitrogen fertilization were evaluated: 0 and 100 kg ha-1. Nitrogen was applied when black had two tillers. The nitrogen rate of 100 kg ha-1 in pasture of black oat + ryegrass + vetch + arrow leaf clover increased forage production and grass participation in the botanical composition. There was an increase of vetch and arrow leaf clover contribution with the evolution of forage cycle.

O nitrogênio é um nutriente que afeta diretamente a produção forrageira em gramíneas. Contudo, há falta de informações sobre seu efeito no desempenho de pastagens anuais de inverno formadas pelo consórcio de gramíneas e leguminosas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de dois níveis de nitrogênio sobre a produção e a composição botânica de pastagem formada pelo consórcio de aveia preta + azevém + ervilhaca + trevo vesiculoso. O trabalho foi conduzido em três locais, um no município de Canoinhas e dois em Major Vieira, SC, no ano de 2006. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados, com três repetições por local. Foram avaliados dois níveis de nitrogênio na pastagem anual de inverno: 0 e 100 kg ha-1, aplicados quando a aveia preta apresentava dois afilhos. A aplicação de 100 kg ha-1 de N em pastagem de aveia preta + azevém + ervilhaca + trevo vesiculoso aumentou a produção de forragem e a participação das gramíneas na composição botânica. Houve aumento da participação da ervilhaca e do trevo vesiculoso na composição forrageira com a evolução do ciclo da pastagem.

Nitrogen affects the production and botanical composition in a grass/legume intercropped pasture / O Nitrogênio afeta a produção e a composição botânica em pastagem de gramíneas consorciadas com leguminosas

Nitrogen affects directly pasture production in grasses. However, there is lack of information about nitrogen effect on the performance of cool season grass/legumes intercropped pastures. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of two levels of nitrogen fertilization on the production and botanical composition of a pasture constituted by black oat + ryegrass + vetch + arrow leaf clover. The work was conducted in three sites, one in Canoinhas and two in Major Vieira, Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, during 2006. Treatments were arranged in a randomized block design, with three replicates on each site. Two levels of nitrogen fertilization were evaluated: 0 and 100 kg ha-1. Nitrogen was applied when black had two tillers. The nitrogen rate of 100 kg ha-1 in pasture of black oat + ryegrass + vetch + arrow leaf clover increased forage production and grass participation in the botanical composition. There was an increase of vetch and arrow leaf clover contribution with the evolution of forage cycle.

O nitrogênio é um nutriente que afeta diretamente a produção forrageira em gramíneas. Contudo, há falta de informações sobre seu efeito no desempenho de pastagens anuais de inverno formadas pelo consórcio de gramíneas e leguminosas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito de dois níveis de nitrogênio sobre a produção e a composição botânica de pastagem formada pelo consórcio de aveia preta + azevém + ervilhaca + trevo vesiculoso. O trabalho foi conduzido em três locais, um no município de Canoinhas e dois em Major Vieira, SC, no ano de 2006. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados, com três repetições por local. Foram avaliados dois níveis de nitrogênio na pastagem anual de inverno: 0 e 100 kg ha-1, aplicados quando a aveia preta apresentava dois afilhos. A aplicação de 100 kg ha-1 de N em pastagem de aveia preta + azevém + ervilhaca + trevo vesiculoso aumentou a produção de forragem e a participação das gramíneas na composição botânica. Houve aumento da participação da ervilhaca e do trevo vesiculoso na composição forrageira com a evolução do ciclo da pastagem.