Changes in root bacterial communities associated to two different development stages of canola (Brassica napus L. var oleifera) evaluated through next-generation sequencing technology.

Crop production may benefit from plant growth-promoting bacteria. The knowledge on bacterial communities is indispensable in agricultural systems that intend to apply beneficial bacteria to improve plant health and production of crops such as canola. In this work, the diversity of root bacterial communities associated to two different developmental phases of canola (Brassica napus L.) plants was assessed through the application of new generation sequencing technology. Total bacterial DNA was extracted from root samples from two different growth states of canola (rosette and flowering). It could be shown how bacterial communities inside the roots changed with the growing stage of the canola plants. There were differences in the abundance of the genera, family, and even the phyla identified for each sample. While in both root samples Proteobacteria was the most common phylum, at the rosette stage, the most common bacteria belonged to the family Pseudomonadaceae and the genus Pseudomonas, and in the flowering stage, the Xanthomonadaceae family and the genus Xanthomonas dominated the community. This implies in a switch in the predominant bacteria in the different developmental stages of the plant, suggesting that the plant itself interferes with the associated microbial community.

Development and in vivo testing of a Nitinol tracheal stent.

This article describes the development of a Nitinol tracheal stent (HCPA NiTi-stent) and its application in a feline animal model. Straight-annealed, bright-polished Nitinol wire (55.8%Ni-44.2%Ti) was weaved around a 40-mm-long metal fixture with 8-mm diameter. The prototypes were submitted to different times of shape-setting heat treatment (530 degrees C), which resulted in stents of different colors and caused some variation in length and diameter. The prototypes were then submitted to compression testing, and the most resistant pieces, requiring the greatest force to achieve a 25% reduction in diameter and presenting the least variation in length and diameter (dark blue, 9 min of heat treatment), were submitted to fatigue testing. After that, only dark blue stents were manufactured and implanted in felines. No migration, tracheal stenosis, or any other type of damage were observed after 40 weeks. The integrity of the tracheal wall in contact with the stent was confirmed by macro and microscopic analyses. The development and in vivo testing of the HCPA NiTi-stent were successful.

[Surgical treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy: a series of forty-three cases analysis]. / Tratamento cirúrgico da epilepsia do lobo temporal: análise de 43 casos consecutivos.

Forty-three patients with epilepsy resistant to drug therapy were submitted to temporal lobe epilepsy surgery at the Instituto de Neurologia de Curitiba, from 1998 to 2003. Thirty-nine patients (90.6%) had mesial temporal sclerosis, and four had brain tumors. According to Engel's rating, 83.7% from 37 patients with complete postoperative evaluation were classified as Class I (free of disabling seizure). Postoperative complications (18.6%) were evaluated, with one case of surgical wound infection, one case of hydrocephalus, one case of cerebrospinal fluid fistula, two cases of transient palsy of the trochlear nerve and one case of transient hemiparesis. No death related to epilepsy surgery was found in our study.

Tratamento cirúrgico da epilepsia do lobo temporal: análise de 43 casos consecutivos / Surgical treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy: a series of forty-three cases analysis

Quarenta e três pacientes com epilepsia refratária ao tratamento medicamentoso foram submetidos à cirurgia de epilepsia do lobo temporal no Instituto de Neurologia de Curitiba, entre os anos de 1998 a 2003. Trinta e nove (90,6 por cento) pacientes apresentavam esclerose mesial temporal, e quatro (9,4 por cento), tumores cerebrais. Dos trinta e sete pacientes que possuíam avaliação pós-operatória completa, 83,7 por cento apresentaram classificação I, segundo Engel (livres de crises incapacitantes). Complicações pós-operatórias ocorreram em 18,6 por cento: uma infecção da ferida operatória, um caso de hidrocefalia, um de fístula liquórica, dois casos de paralisia transitória do IV nervo craniano e um de hemiparesia transitória. Não houve nenhum óbito relacionado à cirurgia de epilepsia no presente estudo.