An automated methodology for whole-body, multimodality tracking of individual cancer lesions.

Objective. Manual analysis of individual cancer lesions to assess disease response is clinically impractical and requires automated lesion tracking methodologies. However, no methodology has been developed for whole-body individual lesion tracking, across an arbitrary number of scans, and acquired with various imaging modalities.Approach. This study introduces a lesion tracking methodology and benchmarked it using 2368Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT and PET/MR images of eight neuroendocrine tumor patients. The methodology consists of six steps: (1) alignment of multiple scans via image registration, (2) body-part labeling, (3) automatic lesion-wise dilation, (4) clustering of lesions based on local lesion shape metrics, (5) assignment of lesion tracks, and (6) output of a lesion graph. Registration performance was evaluated via landmark distance, lesion matching accuracy was evaluated between each image pair, and lesion tracking accuracy was evaluated via identical track ratio. Sensitivity studies were performed to evaluate the impact of lesion dilation (fixed versus automatic dilation), anatomic location, image modalities (inter- versus intra-modality), registration mode (direct versus indirect registration), and track size (number of time-points and lesions) on lesion matching and tracking performance.Main results. Manual contouring yielded 956 lesions, 1570 lesion-matching decisions, and 493 lesion tracks. The median residual registration error was 2.5 mm. The automatic lesion dilation led to 0.90 overall lesion matching accuracy, and an 88% identical track ratio. The methodology is robust regarding anatomic locations, image modalities, and registration modes. The number of scans had a moderate negative impact on the identical track ratio (94% for 2 scans, 91% for 3 scans, and 81% for 4 scans). The number of lesions substantially impacted the identical track ratio (93% for 2 nodes versus 54% for ≥5 nodes).Significance. The developed methodology resulted in high lesion-matching accuracy and enables automated lesion tracking in PET/CT and PET/MR.

Soft-tissue, non-osteogenic distraction of the mandible and lower face in bilateral hemifacial microsomia-technical report.

The aim of this study is to present a sequential strategy of soft-tissue, non-osteogenic distraction with a novel device, followed by microvascular bony reconstruction for severe cases of mandibular hypoplasia. The case of a 21-year-old woman with Goldenhar syndrome is presented, whose mandible remained severely hypoplastic despite previous attempts at distraction and was not suitable for further osteogenic distraction. Soft tissue deficiency and pin track scarring prevented free fibular transfers. A personalized distractor, anchored to the cranium and the mandibular symphysis, was designed to expand the soft tissues while allowing for physiological temporomandibular joint (TMJ) movement without compression forces. Internal distractors were placed along the osteotomies to prevent condylar luxation. After completion of the soft tissue distraction, the native mandible was resected except for the condyles and reconstructed with two free fibula flaps. This report represents the proof of concept of a sequential approach to severe lower face soft-tissue and bone deficiency, which preserves TMJ function and avoids the transfer of poorly matched skin to the face.

Speed Training Practices of Brazilian Olympic Sprint and Jump Coaches: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Their Choices and Insights (Part II).

This is the second article in a three-article collection regarding the plyometric, speed, and resistance training practices of Brazilian Olympic sprint and jump coaches. Here, we list and describe six out of the ten speed training methods most commonly employed by these experts to enhance the sprinting capabilities of their athletes. Maximum speed sprinting, form running, resisted sprinting, overspeed running, uphill and downhill running, and sport-specific movement methods are critically examined with reference to their potential application in different sport contexts. In an era when sprint speed is of critical importance across numerous sports, practitioners can employ the methods outlined here to design efficient training programs for their athletes.

Viability of Collagen Matrix Grafts Associated with Nanohydroxyapatite and Elastin in Bone Repair in the Experimental Condition of Ovariectomy.

Bone lesions have the capacity for regeneration under normal conditions of the bone metabolism process. However, due to the increasing incidence of major traumas and diseases that cause bone-mineral deficiency, such as osteoporosis, scaffolds are needed that can assist in the bone regeneration process. Currently, natural polymeric scaffolds and bioactive nanoparticles stand out. Therefore, the objective of the study was to evaluate the osteoregenerative potential in tibiae of healthy and ovariectomized rats using mineralized collagen and nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) scaffolds associated with elastin. The in-vivo experimental study was performed with 60 20-week-old Wistar rats, distributed into non-ovariectomized (NO) and ovariectomized (O) groups, as follows: Controls (G1-NO-C and G4-O-C); Collagen with nHA scaffold (G2-NO-MSH and G5-O-MSH); and Collagen with nHA and elastin scaffold (G3-NO-MSHC and G6-O-MSHC). The animals were euthanized 6 weeks after surgery and the samples were analyzed by macroscopy, radiology, and histomorphometry. ANOVA and Tukey tests were performed with a 95% CI and a significance index of p < 0.05. In the histological analyses, it was possible to observe new bone formed with an organized and compact morphology that was rich in osteocytes and with maturity characteristics. This is compatible with osteoconductivity in both matrices (MSH and MSHC) in rats with normal conditions of bone metabolism and with gonadal deficiency. Furthermore, they demonstrated superior osteogenic potential when compared to control groups. There was no significant difference in the rate of new bone formation between the scaffolds. Ovariectomy did not exacerbate the immune response but negatively influenced the bone-defect repair process.

Plyometric Training Practices of Brazilian Olympic Sprint and Jump Coaches: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Their Choices and Insights.

Plyometric training is extensively used by coaches to enhance neuromuscular performance in a wide variety of sports. Due to the high demands of sprint speed and power output in elite sprinters and jumpers, sprint and jump coaches are likely to have great knowledge on this topic. Undoubtedly, this expertise is even more pronounced for Olympic coaches, who work with some of the fastest and most powerful athletes in the world, and who are required to continually maintain these athletes at optimal performance levels. Describing and discussing the practices commonly adopted by these coaches in detail and extrapolating this experience to other sport coaching contexts and disciplines may be extremely relevant. The current article presents, explores, and illustrates the plyometric training practices of Brazilian Olympic sprint and jump coaches, with a special focus on training programming and exercise selection.

Performance of an automated registration-based method for longitudinal lesion matching and comparison to inter-reader variability.

Objective.Patients with metastatic disease are followed throughout treatment with medical imaging, and accurately assessing changes of individual lesions is critical to properly inform clinical decisions. The goal of this work was to assess the performance of an automated lesion-matching algorithm in comparison to inter-reader variability (IRV) of matching lesions between scans of metastatic cancer patients.Approach.Forty pairs of longitudinal PET/CT and CT scans were collected and organized into four cohorts: lung cancers, head and neck cancers, lymphomas, and advanced cancers. Cases were also divided by cancer burden: low-burden (<10 lesions), intermediate-burden (10-29), and high-burden (30+). Two nuclear medicine physicians conducted independent reviews of each scan-pair and manually matched lesions. Matching differences between readers were assessed to quantify the IRV of lesion matching. The two readers met to form a consensus, which was considered a gold standard and compared against the output of an automated lesion-matching algorithm. IRV and performance of the automated method were quantified using precision, recall, F1-score, and the number of differences.Main results.The performance of the automated method did not differ significantly from IRV for any metric in any cohort (p> 0.05, Wilcoxon paired test). In high-burden cases, the F1-score (median [range]) was 0.89 [0.63, 1.00] between the automated method and reader consensus and 0.93 [0.72, 1.00] between readers. In low-burden cases, F1-scores were 1.00 [0.40, 1.00] and 1.00 [0.40, 1.00], for the automated method and IRV, respectively. Automated matching was significantly more efficient than either reader (p< 0.001). In high-burden cases, median matching time for the readers was 60 and 30 min, respectively, while automated matching took a median of 3.9 minSignificance.The automated lesion-matching algorithm was successful in performing lesion matching, meeting the benchmark of IRV. Automated lesion matching can significantly expedite and improve the consistency of longitudinal lesion-matching.

SCS 5th Annual Conference. São Paulo, Brazil, 2022.

On behalf of the Strength and Conditioning Society (SCS) and the Nucleus of High Performance in Sport (NAR), we are pleased to present the abstracts of the SCS 5th Annual Conference, which, for the first time, took place outside of Europe. The event was held at NAR's state-of-the-art facilities in São Paulo, Brazil, on 3-5 November 2022, and comprised several invited sessions from international and national speakers on a variety of topics related to strength and conditioning practices and their application to health, injury prevention and sports performance. These included strength training in high-performance sports and older adults, sleep and recovery in elite athletes, performance optimization of the female athlete, high-intensity interval training, velocity-based resistance training, and running and cycling biomechanics, among others. The Conference also included different practical workshops conducted by renowned academics and practitioners on post-competition recovery strategies, plyometric training, hamstring strain injuries in soccer, and resisted sprint training. Finally, the event disseminated up-to-date strength and conditioning research by providing practitioners and researchers with the opportunity to present their most recent findings. In this regard, all abstracts of the communications presented at the SCS 5th Annual Conference can be found in this Conference Report.

Variations in Physical and Competitive Performance of Highly Trained Sprinters Across an Annual Training Season.

ABSTRACT: Loturco, I, Fernandes, V, Bishop, C, Mercer, VP, Siqueira, F, Nakaya, K, Pereira, LA, and Haugen, T. Variations in physical and competitive performance of highly trained sprinters across an annual training season. J Strength Cond Res 37(5): 1104-1110, 2023-We assessed the changes in sprint, jump, and power parameters across the annual training cycle and tested the longitudinal correlations among these variables in top-level sprinters. Thirteen sprinters training with 4 different Olympic sprint coaches were sequentially assessed over 14 months, from January 2019 to March 2020, within 4 consecutive training camps. Performance tests were conducted as follows: standing long jump, squat and countermovement jumps, 10-m and 60-m sprint time, and maximum power output in the half-squat, jump-squat, and hip-thrust exercises. The competitive results of the sprinters throughout the study period were also recorded and analyzed. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the physical measurements between different testing sessions. A Pearson product-moment correlation was applied to examine the longitudinal relationships between changes in speed-related and power-related parameters. Percentage change was computed and compared with coefficient of variation values to determine whether changes in performance metrics were higher than the test variance, thus providing an indication of whether true changes occurred on an individual basis. Overall, sprinters did not exhibit significant changes in sprint speed, jumping ability, and power output. In addition, variations in competitive times (i.e., 100 m races) followed a similar pattern, within an average range of ±1.36%, for both male and female sprinters. As expected, top-level sprinters presented only small variations in physical and competitive performance over time. Nevertheless, the use of an individual statistical technique (i.e., true changes calculation) revealed that these nonsignificant increases or decreases may represent meaningful changes in their competitive potential.

Post-Activation Performance Enhancement in Sprinters: Effects of Hard Versus Sand Surfaces.

This study aimed to compare the post-activation performance enhancement induced by successive drop-jumps performed on hard and sand surfaces in sprint and jump performance of top-level sprinters. Athletes were tested on two occasions. On each visit they were allocated to one of the experimental protocols, which consisted of performing 2x5 drop-jumps from a box with the height of 60-cm on hard or sand surfaces in randomized order, seven days apart. Prior to and 7 and 15-min after executing drop-jumps, sprinters performed countermovement jumps and 60-m sprint tests. Differences between sprinting splits and surfaces were assessed using a two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures. No significant differences in jump height or sprint time were observed (p>0.05), regardless of the surface used (i.e., hard or sand) during the conditioning activity (effect sizes [95% confidence intervals] ranging from 0.01 [-0.84;0.84] to 0.44 [-0.42;1.27]). Performing drop-jumps on sand or hard surfaces immediately before maximum sprinting bouts does not provide any advantage or disadvantage to top-level sprinters. Sprint coaches may prescribe short-plyometric training activities on sand surfaces even close to competitions, bearing in mind that this strategy will not compromise sprint-specific performance.

Renal, hepatic and muscle effects of creatine supplementation in an older adults experimental model.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Creatine is a dietary supplement with potential capacity to stimulate the phosphocreatine pathway and protein synthesis, through the stimulation of the PI3-K/AKT and mTOR cascade, its use in populations with reduced muscle preservation capacity (such as the older adults) can be an interesting and low-cost alternative. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the morphological, stereological and morphometric effects of the use of creatine monohydrate for 8 weeks on the renal, hepatic and muscular tissues of 26-month-old Wistar rats. METHODS: Twelve Wistar rats were divided into two groups of six animals each. Group 1 was not supplemented with creatine and received a standard diet consisting of water and chow. Group 2 received the same diet, but was supplemented with creatine monohydrate at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg of body weight diluted in 200 ml of drinking water for 8 weeks. RESULTS: Supplementation reduced muscle mass loss as indicated by the perimeter of the perimysium (group 1: 114.6 µm; group 2: 65.2 µm) and endomysium (group 1: 41,239.3 µm; group 2: 12,437.6 µm) compared to the non-supplemented group. In addition, a larger cross-sectional area was observed in group 2. No significant kidney or liver damage was observed in the supplemented group. CONCLUSIONS: The use of creatine is considered safe in the animal model used, as this amine does not cause glomerular reductions or hepatic degeneration.

In Vivo Study of Nasal Bone Reconstruction with Collagen, Elastin and Chitosan Membranes in Abstainer and Alcoholic Rats.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the use of collagen, elastin, or chitosan biomaterial for bone reconstruction in rats submitted or not to experimental alcoholism. Wistar male rats were divided into eight groups, submitted to chronic alcohol ingestion (G5 to G8) or not (G1 to G4). Nasal bone defects were filled with clot in animals of G1 and G5 and with collagen, elastin, and chitosan grafts in G2/G6, G3/G7, and G4/G8, respectively. Six weeks after, all specimens underwent radiographic, tomographic, and microscopic evaluations. Bone mineral density was lower in the defect area in alcoholic animals compared to the abstainer animals. Bone neoformation was greater in the abstainer groups receiving the elastin membrane and in abstainer and alcoholic rats receiving the chitosan membrane (15.78 ± 1.19, 27.81 ± 0.91, 47.29 ± 0.97, 42.69 ± 1.52, 13.81 ± 1.60, 18.59 ± 1.37, 16.54 ± 0.89, and 37.06 ± 1.17 in G1 to G8, respectively). In conclusion, osteogenesis and bone density were more expressive after the application of the elastin matrix in abstainer animals and of the chitosan matrix in both abstainer and alcoholic animals. Chronic alcohol ingestion resulted in lower bone formation and greater formation of fibrous connective tissue.

Impact of Sled Loads on Performance and Kinematics of Elite Sprinters and Rugby Players.

PURPOSE: To examine the changes in resisted sprint performance and kinematics provoked by different sled loads in elite sprinters and rugby players. METHODS: Eight elite male sprinters and 10 rugby union players performed 20-m sprints under 3 loading conditions (0%, 20%, and 60% body mass [BM]). Sprint time was measured in 0 to 5, 5 to 10, and 10 to 20 m, while stride length and hip, knee, and ankle angles were measured using an 8-sensor motion analysis system at the same distances. RESULTS: Sprinters were significantly faster than rugby players in unresisted and resisted sprints using 20% BM (effect size, "ES" [90% confidence limit, CL] range: 0.65 [0.03 to 1.27]; 3.95 [3.10 to 4.81]), but these differences were not significant at 60% BM. Compared to rugby players, sprinters showed lower velocity decrement in resisted sprints using 20% BM (ES [90% CL] range: 0.75 [0.06 to 1.44]; 2.43 [0.83 to 4.02], but higher velocity decrement using 60% BM (ES [90% CL] range: 1.13 [0.43 to 1.82]; 1.46 [0.81 to 2.11]). No significant differences were detected in stride length between sprinters and rugby players for any sprint condition (ES [90% CL] range: 0.02 [-0.72 to 0.76]; 0.84 [0.13 to 1.54]). Rugby players showed higher hip flexion in resisted sprints (ES [90% CL] range: 0.30 [-0.54 to 1.14]; 1.17 [0.20 to 2.15]) and lower plantar flexion in both unresisted and resisted sprints (ES [90% CL] range: 0.78 [0.18 to 1.38]; 1.69 [1.00 to 2.38] than sprinters. CONCLUSIONS: The alterations induced by resisted sprints in sprint velocity and running technique differed between sprinters and rugby players. Some caution should be taken with general sled loads prescriptions, especially when relative loads are based on distinct percentages of BM, as training responses vary among sports and individuals.

Polysonographic changes in obese patients with indication of bariatric surgery.

INTRODUCTION: obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) is a serious confition that compromises the quality of life and survival of patients. Its main risk fator in adults is obesity and the gold standard test for diagnosis is polysomnography (PSG), mainly through the apneia-hypopnea index (AHI). Objective: to analyze the sleep pattern of obese patients with indication for bariatric surgery, determining the main polisomnographic parameters compromised by obesity. METHODS: This work is a cross-sectional study with analysis of polysomnography perfomed in patients with obesity in the peroperative period of bariatric surgery at a clinic in Vitória da Conquista/BA during 2017. The Epi Info 7 platform was used for analysis of the data. RESULTS: 58 polysomnographic reports were analyzed, with 56,9% morbdly obese and 43,1% non-morbid. The prevalence of OSAS was 70,68% and de AHI ranged from zero to 84,6 with a mean of 19,47±22,89 e/h. morbidly obese, compared to "non-morbid", had a longer saturation time below 80% and 90% (0,4±0,93 vs. 0,12±0,45 e 4,87±7,38 vs. 1,36±2,87 respectively; p-value=0,02 in both), worse index respiratory disorders ((29,24±25,36 vs. 16,88±16,21; p-value=0,02), higher AHI (24,71±25,68 vs. 12,56±16,67; p-value=0,02), higher hypopnea index values (16,41±17,10 vs. 6,99±8,52; p-value=0,006) and lower minimum saturation (78,24±9,80 vs. 85,24±6,33; p-value=0,004). CONCLUSIONS: the high prevalence of OSAS found confirms its indication in the preoperative period of bariatric surgery. The main respiratory event involved in most individuals with OSAS was the hypopnea index.

Correlations between jump measures and competitive performance remain stable over time in top-level sprinters.

BACKGROUND: We examined the relationships between jump performance measures, sprint tests, and 100-m competition times in 11 top-level sprinters during two successive competitive 4-week mesocycles. METHODS: Physical tests were performed 7-12 days before 3 sequential competitions. Sprinters completed standing long jump, squat and countermovement jumps, and 60-m sprint tests on each occasion. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the physical assessments and actual competition results among the three moments. A Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationships between the multiple variables over the consecutive mesocycles. Significance level was set at P<0.05. RESULTS: No significant differences were observed among the periods for any jump or sprint performance measure (ES ranging from 0.02 to 0.33; P>0.05). Very large to nearly perfect correlations were observed for all sprint and jump variables and 100-m dash times in the three moments analyzed (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our data indicate that simple jump measures can be prospectively used to monitor sprint performance. Notably, the standing long jump test was the most consistently related to 100-m time. This simple strategy may help track and field coaches to better adjust the competitive approach of their sprinters, thus optimizing their peak performance.

Development and validation of a longitudinal soft-tissue metastatic lesion matching algorithm.

Metastatic cancer presents with many, sometimes hundreds of metastatic lesions through the body, which often respond heterogeneously to treatment. Therefore, lesion-level assessment is necessary for a complete understanding of disease response. Lesion-level assessment typically requires manual matching of corresponding lesions, which is a tedious, subjective, and error-prone task. This study introduces a fully automated algorithm for matching of metastatic lesions in longitudinal medical images. The algorithm entails four steps: (1) image registration, (2) lesion dilation, (3) lesion clustering, and (4) linear assignment. In step (1), 3D deformable registration is used to register the scans. In step (2), lesion contours are conformally dilated. In step (3), lesion clustering is evaluated based on local metrics. In step (4), matching is assigned based on non-greedy cost minimization. The algorithm was optimized (e.g. choice of deformable registration algorithm, dilatation size) and validated on 140 scan-pairs of 32 metastatic cancer patients from two independent clinical trials, who received longitudinal PET/CT scans as part of their treatment response assessment. Registration error was evaluated using landmark distance. A sensitivity study was performed to evaluate the optimal lesion dilation magnitude. Lesion matching performance accuracy was evaluated for all patients and for a subset with high disease burden. Two investigated deformable registration approaches (whole body deformable and articulated deformable registrations) led to similar performance with the overall registration accuracy between 2.3 and 2.6 mm. The optimal dilation magnitude of 25 mm yielded almost a perfect matching accuracy of 0.98. No significant matching accuracy decrease was observed in the subset of patients with high lesion disease burden. In summary, lesion matching using our new algorithm was highly accurate and a significant improvement, when compared to previously established methods. The proposed method enables accurate automated metastatic lesion matching in whole-body longitudinal scans.

Validity and reliability of a trigonometry-based method for the measurement of tooth movement on digital models.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives of the present study were to develop a method for longitudinally measuring tooth rotation, inclination and angulation on digital models, and to test the method validity and reliability. METHODS: The initial and final planned models of 14 patients treated with Invisalign® (386 teeth) were exported from ClinCheck®. The rotation, inclination and angulation values were assessed for the incisors, canines, premolars and molars, in both models, using trigonometry. An application was developed in Python 2.7 to automate the measurements. The ∆planned (variation in the position between the initial and final planned models) was obtained for each tooth and each type of movement. To test the validity, the degree of agreement between the ∆planned and the values available in the Invisalign® Table of Movements was assessed using the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman analysis. For intra and inter-rater reliabilities, the ∆planned was obtained again. RESULTS: Excellent ICCs (> 0.9) and limits of agreement with narrow and clinically acceptable discrepancies were obtained for the rotation of all teeth (except maxillary canines, which had broader limits: -3.47 - 5.43) and for the inclination of premolars and molars. The inclination of anterior teeth and angulation of all teeth had ICCs and limits that were not indicative of great agreement. The reliability was high for the three movements (discrepancy <2°). CONCLUSIONS: The method developed is reliable and suitable for longitudinally measuring inclination (posterior teeth) and rotation (except maxillary canines). It has limited value for the other movements measurements.

Nonanatomic and Suture-Based Coracoclavicular Joint Stabilization Techniques Provide Adequate Stability at a Lower Cost of Implants in Biomechanical Studies When Compared With Anatomic Techniques: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE: To compare the stability and cost of the used implants in nonanatomic and anatomic acromioclavicular joint repair/reconstruction (ACCR) techniques tested in cadaveric shoulder biomechanical studies during the last decade. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines and prospectively registered in PROSPERO. Two independent reviewers searched PubMed, Embase, and Virtual Health Library databases. Studies evaluating 3-direction stability under 70-N loads and load-to-failure protocols with servohydraulic testing systems were included. A meta-analysis of the mean differences of anterior, posterior, and superior direction; relative stability value in 3 directions; superior direction load-to-failure; stability/cost index; and load-to-failure/cost index was performed using a continuous random-effects model and 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Eighteen articles were included. Both non-ACCR and ACCR techniques exceeded the minimum acceptable threshold of stability and load-to-failure. ACCR techniques were biomechanically better in terms of anterior stability (P = .04) and relative stability value (mean difference 64.08%, P = .015). However, supraphysiological stability and failure loads were achieved with non-ACCR techniques at a lower cost of implants. Techniques combining 2 clavicular tunnels separated by at least 10 mm, a mean of 2 sutures, and/or suture tapes had the greatest stability/cost index and load-to-failure/cost index among the included techniques (confidence interval 99%). CONCLUSIONS: Non-ACCR and ACCR techniques exceeded the minimum acceptable threshold of stability and failure loads in controlled biomechanical testing. However, non-ACCR and techniques combining 2 clavicular tunnels separated by at least 10 mm, a mean of 2 sutures, and/or suture tapes provide supraphysiologic stability and failure loads at a lower cost of implants. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Non-ACCR and suture-based techniques may provide more cost-effective and greater value treatment for acromioclavicular joint injury and could be considered in the surgical management of normal activity individuals and cost-sensitive populations.

The artificialization in the sediment profiles of the streams in the Água Branca basin - Itirapina, São Paulo, Brazil.

River sediments have the capability to accumulate and absorb traces of anthropic environmental degradation. In this work, we investigated the effects of urban land use on the composition of physical sediment. For this purpose, sediment profiles were collected in the wet and dry seasons and in locations with mixed land-use. For the sediment analysis, particle size separation, organic matter degradation, visual analysis of the thickest fraction using a magnifying glass and stereomicroscope analysis of the particle size material corresponding to the sands were performed. It was observed that the sedimentation of synthetic materials and plastics (fragments and fibres) were the most frequently found materials. More intense urban occupation areas and with less riparian vegetation suffer more from this degradation than rural areas or areas with preserved riparian vegetation. The dam in the basin accumulates more materials (macro and microplastics) and has the role of containing and preventing these residues from being transported downstream. The importance of investing in environmental management measures is emphasized, and based on the sampled sites assessed, the restoration of riparian vegetation, greater inspection of inadequate waste disposal and public cleaning actions are suggested, including actions in the Tibiriçá dam.

In Vivo Biological Behavior of Polymer Scaffolds of Natural Origin in the Bone Repair Process.

Autologous bone grafts, used mainly in extensive bone loss, are considered the gold standard treatment in regenerative medicine, but still have limitations mainly in relation to the amount of bone available, donor area, morbidity and creation of additional surgical area. This fact encourages tissue engineering in relation to the need to develop new biomaterials, from sources other than the individual himself. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of an elastin and collagen matrix on the bone repair process in critical size defects in rat calvaria. The animals (Wistar rats, n = 30) were submitted to a surgical procedure to create the bone defect and were divided into three groups: Control Group (CG, n = 10), defects filled with blood clot; E24/37 Group (E24/37, n = 10), defects filled with bovine elastin matrix hydrolyzed for 24 h at 37 °C and C24/25 Group (C24/25, n = 10), defects filled with porcine collagen matrix hydrolyzed for 24 h at 25 °C. Macroscopic and radiographic analyses demonstrated the absence of inflammatory signs and infection. Microtomographical 2D and 3D images showed centripetal bone growth and restricted margins of the bone defect. Histologically, the images confirmed the pattern of bone deposition at the margins of the remaining bone and without complete closure by bone tissue. In the morphometric analysis, the groups E24/37 and C24/25 (13.68 ± 1.44; 53.20 ± 4.47, respectively) showed statistically significant differences in relation to the CG (5.86 ± 2.87). It was concluded that the matrices used as scaffolds are biocompatible and increase the formation of new bone in a critical size defect, with greater formation in the polymer derived from the intestinal serous layer of porcine origin (C24/25).

Minimally invasive supratentorial neurosurgical approaches guided by Smartphone app and compass.

The precise location in the scalp of specifically planned points can help to achieve less invasive approaches. This study aims to develop a smartphone app, evaluate the precision and accuracy of the developed tool, and describe a series of cases using the referred technique. The application was developed with the React Native framework for Android and iOS. A phantom was printed based on the patient's CT scan, which was used for the calculation of accuracy and precision of the method. The points of interest were marked with an "x" on the patient's head, with the aid of the app and a compass attached to a skin marker pen. Then, two experienced neurosurgeons checked the plausibility of the demarcations based on the anatomical references. Both evaluators marked the frontal, temporal and parietal targets with a difference of less than 5 mm from the corresponding intended point, in all cases. The overall average accuracy observed was 1.6 ± 1.0 mm. The app was used in the surgical planning of trepanations for ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts and for drainage of abscesses, and in the definition of craniotomies for meningiomas, gliomas, brain metastases, intracranial hematomas, cavernomas, and arteriovenous malformation. The sample consisted of 88 volunteers who exhibited the following pathologies: 41 (46.6%) had brain tumors, 17 (19.3%) had traumatic brain injuries, 16 (18.2%) had spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhages, 2 (2.3%) had cavernomas, 1 (1.1%) had arteriovenous malformation (AVM), 4 (4.5%) had brain abscesses, and 7 (7.9%) had a VP shunt placement. In cases approached by craniotomy, with the exception of AVM, straight incisions and minicraniotomy were performed. Surgical planning with the aid of the NeuroKeypoint app is feasible and reliable. It has enabled neurological surgeries by craniotomy and trepanation in an accurate, precise, and less invasive manner.