SAFIIRA: A heavy-ion multi-purpose irradiation facility in Brazil.

This work describes the new facility for applied nuclear physics at the University of Sao Paulo, mainly for irradiation of electronic devices. It is a setup composed of a quadrupole doublet for beam focusing/defocusing plus multiple scattering through gold foils to produce low intensity, large-area, and high-uniformity heavy-ion beams from 1H to 107Ag. Beam intensities can be easily adjusted from 102 particles cm2/s to hundreds of nA for an area as large as 2.0 cm2 and uniformity better than 90%. Its irradiation chamber has a high-precision motorized stage, and the system is controlled by a LabViewTM environment, allowing measurement automation. Design considerations and examples of use are presented.

A low-cost portable system for elemental mapping by XRF aiming in situ analyses.

This work presents the development of a portable system that allows 2D elemental mapping of large areas (maximum of 35.0 × 35.0 cm2) by XRF. A measuring head, composed of an x-ray source and a detector, is mounted on a 3-axis stage with movement reproducibility better that 0.03 mm. The final elemental map resolution of 1.4 mm was experimentally determined in the best condition of collimation, and the same experiments indicate that the resolution is fully dominated by the x-ray beam spot size. The main goal of this new setup is to perform analyses of historical, archaeological and geological objects. Because it's lightweight, our setup has the potential to be of great utility for in situ analyses, given the great difficulty and high costs transporting the artifacts from the museum to a laboratory. The importance of this instrumentation is related to the need to identify the distribution of the chemical elements in large surface areas of cultural heritage objects by a nondestructive method.

HPV infection-associated anogenital cyto-colpo-histological findings and molecular typing in HIV-positive women.

HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV) coinfection is increasing, especially in the anal canal (AC) and cervico-vaginal regions. We identified anal epithelium abnormalities related to high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) lesions in the lower genital tracts (LGTs) of HIV-positive women, described the HPV genotypes identified, and assessed the expression of E6/E7 oncogenes in coinfected patients. Ninety-eight women were enrolled in groups combining HIV status and presence or absence of HPV in the LGT. Anal and cervical smears were collected for cytology and HR-HPV assays using Cobas(®) and/or PapilloCheck(®). Samples with highly oncogenic HPV genotypes were confirmed by NucliSENS EasyQ(®). Forty-two HIV-positive (25-52; mean age 39.5) and 56 HIV-negative (18-58; mean age 35.7) patients were included. E2 and C1 groups presented AC alterations (P = 0.002); altered images for high-resolution anoscopy were higher in E1 and C2 (P < 0.001). Of the 29 women with alterations, 41.38% were HIV-negative and 58.62% were HIV-positive (P < 0.001). HIV-positive patients accounted for 29% of the anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (P = 0.015). The Cobas(®) positive result frequency was higher in three AC groups than in the other groups. There was variation in the number of HPV types in the cervico-vaginal samples among the study groups (P < 0.001). Anal cytology and anoscopy showed more altered findings in HIV-positive patients with HPV in the LGT. HR-HPV anal infections by various genotypes are common and are associated with cervical infections in HIV-positive patients. E6/E7 expression is apparently more common in the AC of HIV-positive women.

Spectrum of cognitive impairment in neurocysticercosis: differences according to disease phase.

OBJECTIVES: Cognitive decline related to neurocysticercosis (NC) remains poorly characterized and underdiagnosed. In a cross-sectional study with a prospective phase, we evaluated cognitive decline in patients with strictly calcified form (C-NC), the epidemiologically largest subgroup of NC, and investigated whether there is a spectrum of cognitive abnormalities in the disease. METHODS: Forty treatment-naive patients with C-NC aged 37.6 ± 11.3 years and fulfilling criteria for definitive C-NC were submitted to a comprehensive cognitive and functional evaluation and were compared with 40 patients with active NC (A-NC) and 40 healthy controls (HC) matched for age and education. Patients with dementia were reassessed after 24 months. RESULTS: Patients with C-NC presented 9.4 ± 3.1 altered test scores out of the 30 from the cognitive battery when compared to HC. No patient with C-NC had dementia and 10 patients (25%) presented cognitive impairment-no dementia (CIND). The A-NC group had 5 patients (12.5%) with dementia and 11 patients (27.5%) with CIND. On follow-up, 3 out of 5 patients with A-NC with dementia previously still presented cystic lesions with scolex on MRI and still had dementia. One patient died and the remaining patient no longer fulfilled criteria for either dementia or CIND, presenting exclusively calcified lesions on neuroimaging. CONCLUSIONS: Independently of its phase, NC leads to a spectrum of cognitive abnormalities, ranging from impairment in a single domain, to CIND and, occasionally, to dementia. These findings are more conspicuous during active vesicular phase and less prominent in calcified stages.

Chemical components of bleached eucalypt kraft pulp effluent COD and treatment removal efficiency during normal mill operation and maintenance shutdowns.

In order to meet increasingly strict Brazilian COD emissions limits, mills must understand the components that contribute to effluent COD, how these vary between normal mill operation and maintenance shutdowns, and how this variation affects treatment efficiency. To this end, primary and secondary effluents from a Brazilian bleached eucalypt kraft pulp mill activated sludge system were analyzed for COD, lignin, extractives, carbohydrates and AOX over a sixth month period that included two general maintenance shutdowns and four months of normal operation. Primary effluent presented significantly different compositions during periods of normal operation and mill shutdowns. During normal operation, the main components of effluent COD (909 mg/l average) were carbohydrates, followed by lignin. However, the lignin fraction was the main component of secondary effluent COD during both normal operation and mill shutdowns. Higher removal efficiencies for COD carbohydrates and AOX were observed during normal operation compared to shutdowns, while no difference in removal efficiencies of lignin and extractives was observed. Carbohydrate removal efficiency was significantly lower in one of the parallel treatment lines. The different removal efficiencies reflect not only variations in effluent composition, but possibly differences in system operational control which should be explored in greater detail.

Cognitive impairment and dementia in neurocysticercosis: a cross-sectional controlled study.

OBJECTIVES: Neurocysticercosis (NCYST) is the most frequent CNS parasitic disease worldwide, affecting more than 50 million people. However, some of its clinical findings, such as cognitive impairment and dementia, remain poorly characterized, with no controlled studies conducted so far. We investigated the frequency and the clinical profile of cognitive impairment and dementia in a sample of patients with NCYST in comparison with cognitively healthy controls (HC) and patients with cryptogenic epilepsy (CE). METHODS: Forty treatment-naive patients with NCYST, aged 39.25 +/- 10.50 years and fulfilling absolute criteria for definitive active NCYST on MRI, were submitted to a comprehensive cognitive and functional evaluation and were compared with 49 HC and 28 patients with CE of similar age, educational level, and seizure frequency. RESULTS: Patients with NCYST displayed significant impairment in executive functions, verbal and nonverbal memory, constructive praxis, and verbal fluency when compared with HC (p < 0.05). Dementia was diagnosed in 12.5% patients with NCYST according to DSM-IV criteria. When compared with patients with CE, patients with NCYST presented altered working and episodic verbal memory, executive functions, naming, verbal fluency, constructive praxis, and visual-spatial orientation. No correlation emerged between cognitive scores and number, localization, or type of NCYST lesions on MRI. CONCLUSIONS: Cognitive impairment was ubiquitous in this sample of patients with active neurocysticercosis (NCYST). Antiepileptic drug use and seizure frequency could not account for these features. Dementia was present in a significant proportion of patients. These data broaden our knowledge on the clinical presentations of NCYST and its impact in world public health.

Beyond neuropathy in hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy type V: cognitive evaluation.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN) type V is a very rare disorder. It is characterized by the absence of thermal and mechanical pain perception caused by decreased number of small diameter neurons in peripheral nerves. Recent genetic studies have pointed out the aetiological role of nerve growth factor beta, which is also involved in the development of the autonomic nervous system and cholinergic pathways in the brain. HSAN type V is usually reported not to cause mental retardation or cognitive decline. However, a structured assessment of the cognitive profile of these patients has never been made. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed a throughout evaluation of four HSAN type V patients and compared their performance with 37 normal individuals. Our patients showed no cognitive deficits, not even mild ones. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Although newer mutations on this and related disorders are continuously described, their clinical characterization has been restricted to the peripheral aspects of these conditions. A broader characterization of this rare disorder may contribute to better understand the mechanisms of the nociceptive and cognitive aspects of pain.

Cardiovascular control after spinal cord injury.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) leads to profound haemodynamic changes. Constant outflows from the central autonomic pattern generators modulate the activity of the spinal sympathetic neurons. Sudden loss of communication between these centers and the sympathetic neurons in the intermediolateral thoracic and lumbar spinal cord leads to spinal shock. After high SCI, experimental data demonstrated a brief hypertensive peak followed by bradycardia with escape arrhythmias and marked hypotension. Total peripheral resistance and cardiac output decrease, while central venous pressure remains unchanged. The initial hypertensive peak is thought to result from direct sympathetic stimulation during SCI and its presence is anaesthetic agent dependent. Hypotension improves within days in most animal species because of reasons not totally understood, which may include synaptic reorganization or hyper responsiveness of alpha receptors. No convincing data has demonstrated that the deafferented spinal cord can generate significant basal sympathetic activity. However, with the spinal shock resolution, the deafferented spinal cord (in lesions above T6) will generate life-threatening hypertensive bouts with compensatory bradycardia, known as autonomic hyperreflexia (AH) after stimuli such as pain or bladder/colonic distension. AH results from the lack of supraspinal control of the sympathetic neurons and altered neurotransmission (e.g. glutamatergic) within the spinal cord. Despite significant progress in recent years, further research is necessary to fully understand the spectrum of haemodynamic changes after SCI.

Effect of preinjury large bowel emptying on the inhibition of upper gastrointestinal motility after spinal cord injury in rats.

Spinal cord transection (SCT) inhibits gastrointestinal motility in rats. We evaluated the effect of preinjury large bowel emptying on this phenomenon. Male Wistar rats (N = 52) were fasted for 24 or 48 hr with water ad libitum and pretreated with lactose (0.8 g) or saline. Next, laminectomy followed or not by complete SCT between T4 and T5 vertebrae was performed. Phenol red recovery in the stomach and proximal, medial, and distal small intestine was determined 1 day later. In animals submitted to 24 hr fasting + saline, SCT increased gastric recovery by 42.8% and decreased medial small intestine recovery by 56.2%, while 48 hr fasting + saline or 24 hr fasting + lactose prevented the inhibition of gastric emptying (GE) in SCT animals. The 48 hr fasting + lactose prevented the inhibition of both GE and gastrointestinal transit. SCT-induced inhibition of upper gastrointestinal motility may involve enhancement of inhibitory reflexes, which can be prevented by large bowel emptying.

Gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit of liquid throughout the first month after thoracic spinal cord transection in awake rats.

Spinal cord transection (SCT) inhibits gastrointestinal motility in awake rats. We studied the gastric emptying (GE) and gastrointestinal transit of liquid throughout the first month after thoracic SCT. Male Wistar rats (N = 66) were submitted to laminectomy followed or not by complete SCT between T4 and T5 vertebrae. Phenol red recovery in the stomach, proximal, mid-and distal small intestine was determined 1, 7, 10, 15, and 30 days thereafter. Gastric recovery increased by 51.2 and 38.9% and mid-intestinal recovery decreased by 45.5 and 66.6% at one and seven days after SCT (P < 0.05). Proximal small intestine recovery increased by 45.9% 10 days after SCT but no inhibition of gastrointestinal motility was observed thereafter. Stool output significantly decreased in the first seven days after SCT (P < 0.05). In summary, gastrointestinal motility in awake rats is inhibited throughout the first 10 days after thoracic SCT but not thereafter.

Neural mechanisms involved in the delay of gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit of liquid after thoracic spinal cord transection in awake rats.

Spinal cord transection (SCT) delays gastric emptying (GE), and intestinal and gastrointestinal (GI) transit of liquid in awake rats. This study evaluates the neural mechanisms involved in this phenomenon. Male Wistar rats (N = 147) were fasted for 16 h and had the left jugular vein cannulated followed by laminectomy or laminectomy + complete SCT between T4 and T5 vertebrae. The next day, a test meal (1.5 ml of a phenol red solution, 0.5 mg/ml in 5% glucose) was administered by gavage feeding and 10 min later cervical dislocation was performed. Dye recovery in the stomach, and proximal, mid and distal small intestine was determined by spectrophotometry. SCT inhibited GE and GI transit since it increased gastric recovery by 71.3% and decreased mid small intestine recovery by 100% (P < 0.05). Subdiaphragmatic vagotomy, celiac ganglionectomy + section of the splanchnic nerves, i.v. hexamethonium (20 mg/kg) or yohimbine (3 mg/kg) prevented the development of the SCT effect on GE and GI transit. Pretreatment with i.v. naloxone (2 mg/kg), L-NAME (3 mg/kg) or propranolol (2 mg/kg) was ineffective. Bilateral adrenalectomy or guanethidine (10 mg/kg) increased the magnitude of the GE inhibition, while i.v. prazosin (1 mg/kg) or atropine (0.5 mg/kg) decreased the magnitude but did not abolish the GE inhibition. In summary, the inhibition of GI motility observed 1 day after thoracic SCT in awake rats seems to involve vagal and possibly splanchnic pathways.

Endogenous opiate analgesia induced by tonic immobility in guinea pigs.

A function of the endogenous analgesic system is to prevent recuperative behaviors generated by tissue damage, thus preventing the emission of species-specific defensive behaviors. Activation of intrinsic nociception is fundamental for the maintenance of the behavioral strategy adopted. Tonic immobility (TI) is an inborn defensive behavior characterized by a temporary state of profound and reversible motor inhibition elicited by some forms of physical restraint. We studied the effect of TI behavior on nociception produced by the formalin and hot-plate tests in guinea pigs. The induction of TI produced a significant decrease in the number of flinches (18 +/- 6 and 2 +/- 1 in phases 1 and 2) and lickings (6 +/- 2 and 1 +/- 1 in phases 1 and 2) in the formalin test when compared with control (75 +/- 13 and 22 +/- 6 flinches in phases 1 and 2; 28 +/- 7 and 17 +/- 7 lickings in phases 1 and 2). In the hot-plate test our results also showed antinociceptive effects of TI, with an increase in the index of analgesia 30 and 45 min after the induction of TI (0.67 +/- 0.1 and 0.53 +/- 0.13, respectively) when compared with control (-0.10 +/- 0.08 at 30 min and -0.09 +/- 0.09 at 45 min). These effects were reversed by pretreatment with naloxone (1 mg/kg, ip), suggesting that the hypoalgesia observed after induction of TI behavior, as evaluated by the algesimetric formalin and hot-plate tests, is due to activation of endogenous analgesic mechanisms involving opioid synapses.

Endogenous opiate analgesia induced by tonic immobility in guinea pigs

A function of the endogenous analgesic system is to prevent recuperative behaviors generated by tissue damage, thus preventing the emission of species-specific defensive behaviors. Activation of intrinsic nociception is fundamental for the maintenance of the behavioral strategy adopted. Tonic immobility (TI) is an inborn defensive behavior characterized by a temporary state of profound and reversible motor inhibition elicited by some forms of physical restraint. We studied the effect of TI behavior on nociception produced by the formalin and hot-plate tests in guinea pigs. The induction of TI produced a significant decrease in the number of flinches (18 + or - 6 and 2 + or - 1 in phases 1 and 2) and lickings (6 + or - 2 and 1 + or - 1 in phases 1 and 2) in the formalin test when compared with control (75 + or - 13 and 22 + or - 6 flinches in phases 1 and 2; 28 + or - 7 and 17 + or - 7 lickings in phases 1 and 2). In the hot-plate test our results also showed antinociceptive effects of TI, with an increase in the index of analgesia 30 and 45 min after the induction of TI (0.67 0.1 and 0.53 + or - 0.13, respectively) when compared with control (-0.10 + or - 0.08 at 30 min and -0.09 0.09 at 45 min). These effects were reversed by pretreatment with naloxone (1 mg/kg, ip), suggesting that the hypoalgesia observed after induction of TI behavior, as evaluated by the algesimetric formalin and hot-plate tests, is due to activation of endogenous analgesic mechanisms involving opioid synapses

Complete cervical or thoracic spinal cord transections delay gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit of liquid in awake rats.

STUDY DESIGN: To determine the changes on gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit of liquid throughout the first week after spinal cord transection (SCT) in rats. METHODS: Male Wistar rats (n=121) were fasted for 16 h and a complete SCT or laminectomy was performed between C7 and T1 (cervical group) or between T4 and T5 (thoracic group). Dye recovery in the stomach, proximal, mid and distal small intestine was determined 30 min, 6 h, 1, 3 or 7 days after surgery. The test meal (1.5 ml of a phenol red solution, 0.5 mg/ml in 5% glucose) was intragastrically administered and the animals sacrificed by cervical dislocation 10 min later. RESULTS: Cervical SCT increased dye recovery in the stomach (P<0.05) by 70.1, 78.7, 34.2, 41.3 and 50.9% while it decreased recovery in the mid small intestine (P<0.05) by 87.1, 85.1, 74.8, 59.5 and 80.1%, respectively 30 min, 6 h, 1, 3 and 7 days after SCT. Thoracic SCT increased gastric recovery (P<0.05) by 43.5, 67.6, 51.2, 75.4 and 38. 9% while it decreased recovery in the mid small intestine (P<0.05) by 100, 100, 45.6, 100 and 66.6%, respectively 30 min, 6 h, 1, 3 and 7 days after SCT. A separate group was submitted to laminectomy+bilateral sciatic nerve transection (paraplegic sham). Gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit were not inhibited in this group. CONCLUSION: In summary, gastric emptying and gastrointestinal transit of liquid are inhibited throughout the first week after high SCT in awake rats.