Rare manifestation of pulmonary benign metastasizing leiomyoma: Respiratory failure.

We report a case of a 42-year-old woman diagnosed with pulmonary benign metastasizing leiomyomatosis with a random nodular pattern on image and with a rare clinical condition progressing with respiratory failure and severe hypoxemia. This study is relevant due to the rarity of the tomographic pattern and the patient's clinical presentation. There is no treatment guideline for this comorbidity, which further increases the importance of publishing case reports in the literature.

Cycling using functional electrical stimulation therapy to improve motor function and activity in post-stroke individuals in early subacute phase: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Stroke necessitates interventions to rehabilitate individuals with disabilities, and the application of functional electrical stimulation therapy (FEST) has demonstrated potential in this regard. This study aimed to analyze the efficacy and effectiveness of cycling using FEST to improve motor function and lower limb activity in post-stroke individuals. METHODS: We performed a systematic review according to the recommendations of the PRISMA checklist, searching MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE, LILACS, and PEDro databases by July 2022, without any date or language limitations. Studies were selected using the following terms: stroke, electrical stimulation therapy, cycling, and clinical trials. Randomized or quasi-randomized clinical trials that investigated the effectiveness of cycling using FEST combined with exercise programs and cycling using FEST alone for motor function and activity in subacute post-stroke individuals were included. The quality of included trials was assessed using the PEDro scores. Outcome data were extracted from eligible studies and combined in random-effects meta-analyses. The quality of evidence was determined according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation system. RESULTS: Five randomized clinical trials involving 187 participants were included. Moderate-quality evidence indicates that cycling using FEST combined with exercise programs promotes relevant benefits in trunk control (MD 9 points, 95% CI 0.36-17.64) and walking distance (MD 94.84 m, 95% CI 39.63-150.05, I = 0%), the other outcomes had similar benefits. Cycling using FEST alone compared to exercise programs promotes similar benefits in strength, balance, walking speed, walking distance, and activities of daily living. CONCLUSION: This systematic review provides low- to moderate-quality evidence that cycling using FEST may be an effective strategy to consider in improving motor function and activity outcomes for post-stroke individuals in the early subacute phase. REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO (CRD42022345282).

Uniaxial Partitioning Strategy for Efficient Point Cloud Registration.

In 3D reconstruction applications, an important issue is the matching of point clouds corresponding to different perspectives of a particular object or scene, which is addressed by the use of variants of the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm. In this work, we introduce a cloud-partitioning strategy for improved registration and compare it to other relevant approaches by using both time and quality of pose correction. Quality is assessed from a rotation metric and also by the root mean square error (RMSE) computed over the points of the source cloud and the corresponding closest ones in the corrected target point cloud. A wide and plural set of experimentation scenarios was used to test the algorithm and assess its generalization, revealing that our cloud-partitioning approach can provide a very good match in both indoor and outdoor scenes, even when the data suffer from noisy measurements or when the data size of the source and target models differ significantly. Furthermore, in most of the scenarios analyzed, registration with the proposed technique was achieved in shorter time than those from the literature.

Avaliação neurofuncional em pacientes com hanseníase / Neurofunctional evaluation in patients affected by leprosy / Evaluación neurofuncional de pacientes con hanseniasis

Investigar as alterações neurofuncionais apresentadas pelos pacientes com hanseníase, buscando também identificar seu perfil socioeconômico e clínico. Métodos: Estudo transversal com 51 pacientes adultos diagnosticados com hanseníase, independentemente do sexo, realizado em centro de referência, em 2010, no qual se aplicou a ficha de ?avaliação neurológica simplificada? e um questionário (dados socioeconômicos e clínicos). Achados apresentados de forma descritiva. Resultados: Encontrou-se média de idade de 46,4 ± 14,9 anos, 32 (62,7%) pacientes do sexo masculino, 32 (62,7%) com ensino fundamental incompleto e 37 (72,5%) com renda familiar de 1 a 3 salários mínimos. O tempo médio em tratamento era de 14,4 ± 15,63 meses. Dominou a hanseníase do tipo multibacilar (n=18/35,3%) e a forma tuberculoide (n=11/21,6%). Articulações interfalangeanas em membros superiores e inferiores comprometidas em 5 (9,8%) e 6 (11,7%) pacientes, respectivamente. Nervos mais acometidos: tibial posterior em 19 (37,3%), ulnar em 17 (33,3%) e fibular comum em 13 (25,5%) pacientes. Músculos com déficits: extensor do hálux (n=8/15,7%), extensor dos artelhos (n=6/11,8%) e abdutor do 5º dedo (n=6;11,8%). Observou-se que 35 (68,6%) pacientes tinham alterações sensitivas em membros inferiores e 14 (27,5%) apresentavam incapacidade funcional grau 1. Conclusão: O estudo evidenciou o perfil socioeconômico dos pacientes com hanseníase como sendo homens, de baixa escolaridade e renda, com classificação operacional multibacilar apresentando a forma clínica tuberculoide. Na avaliação neurofuncional, houve maior ocorrência de alteraçõessensitivas sobre as motoras, como também discreta presença de deformidades e elevado grau de incapacidade funcional...

To investigate neurofunctional alterations in patients affected by leprosy, also searching to identify their socioeconomic and clinical profile. Methods: Cross-sectional study with 51 adult patients diagnosed with leprosy, regardless of gender, conducted in a reference center in 2010, in which the simplified neurofunctional evaluation form and a questionnaire (socioeconomic and clinical data) were applied. Findings were presented in a descriptive approach. Results: The study found a mean age of 46.4 ± 14.9 years, 32 (62.7%) patients of male sex, 32 (62.7%) with incomplete elementary school and 37 (72.5%) with family income between 1 and 3 minimum wages. The mean time of treatment was 14.4 ± 15.63 months. The multibacillary type of leprosy predominated (n=18/35.3%) with tuberculoid form (n=11/21.6%). The interphalangeal joints of upper and lower limbs were compromised in 5 (9.8%) and 6 (11.7%) patients, respectively. The most affected nerves were the posterior tibial in 19 (37.3%), the ulnar in 17 (33.3%), and the common fibular in 13 (25.5%) patients. The muscles with deficit were the extensor hallucis (n=8/15.7%), the toe extensors (n=6/11.8%) and the 5º finger abductor (n=6/11.8%). It was observed that 35 patients (68.6%) presented sensitive alterations in lower limbs and 14 (27.5%) presented functional incapacity degree 1. Conclusion: The study highlighted the socioeconomic profile of leprosy patients as men, low educational level and income, with multibacillary operational classification showing tuberculoid clinical form. In the neurofunctional assessment, there were sensory changes with higher incidence than the motor alterations, as well as discreet presence of deformities and high degree of functional disability...

Investigar las alteraciones neurofuncionales presentadas por los pacientes con hanseniasis e identificar su perfil socioeconómico y clínico. Métodos: Estudio transversal con 51 pacientes adultos con el diagnóstico de hanseniasis independiente del sexo realizado en un centro de referencia em el 2010 en el cual se aplico la ficha de?evaluación neurológica simplificada? y un cuestionario (datos socioeconómicos y clínicos). Los hallazgos fueron presentados de forma descriptiva. Resultados: Se encontró una media de edad de 46,4 ± 14,9 años, 32 (62,7%) pacientes del sexo masculino, 32 (62,7%) con enseñanza fundamental incompleta y 37 (72,5%) con renta familiar de 1 a 3 ingresos mínimos. El tiempo medio de tratamiento fue de 14,4 ± 15,63 meses. Hubo predominio de la hanseniasis del tipo multibacilar (n=18/35,3%) y la forma tuberculoide (n=11/21,6%). Las articulaciones interfalángicas en los miembrossuperiores e inferiores estaban comprometidas en 5 (9,8%) y 6 (11,7%) pacientes, respectivamente. Los nervios más acometidos: tibial posterior en 19 (37,3%), cubital en 17 (33,3%) y fibular común en 13 (25,5%) pacientes. Los muslos con déficits: extensordel halux (n=8/15,7%), extensor de los artellos (n=6/11,8%) y El abductor del 5º dedo (n=6;11,8%). Se observó que 35 (68,6%) tenían alteraciones sensitivas en los miembros inferiores y 14 (27,5%) presentaban incapacidad funcional de grado 1. Conclusión: El estudio evidencio el perfil socioeconómico de los pacientes con hanseniasis de hombres, con baja escolaridad y renta, de clasificación operacional multibacilar presentando la forma clínica tuberculoide. En la evaluación neurofuncional hubo más ocurrencia de alteraciones sensitivas que motoras y también discreta presencia de deformidades y elevado grado de incapacidad funcional...

Compatibility between Clonostachys isolates with a view to mixed inocula for biocontrol.

To aid the development of compatible biocontrol inocula, a prescreening method for the prediction of compatibility of fungal antagonists was developed. Compatibility between 18 Clonostachys isolates with known antagonistic capabilities against Phytophthora palmivora was tested using intra- or interisolate pairings (dual cultures) on water agar plates, a hyphal interaction experiment and a modified double host-range experiment. Almost all inter- or intraisolate pairings of Clonostachys isolates showed growth inhibition zones and did not show free hyphal intermingling. A hyphal interaction experiment on water agar demonstrated that the aggressiveness of a Clonostachys isolate and its susceptibility to mycoparasitism were unrelated phenomena. However the level of aggressiveness and/or susceptibility of an isolate were largely dependant on the isolate with which it was challenged. The degree of growth-inhibition caused by an isolate was unrelated to the hyphal damaged it caused or received. In the double host-range experiment all possible pairs from four Clonostachys isolates were inoculated in different ratios (10 000-fold range) on plates precolonized with one of two P. palmivora isolates. The results showed that antagonistic capabilities of certain combinations were affected by the Clonostachys isolates. The primary host, P. palmivora, did not affect antagonistic capabilities; whereas inoculum ratio did. Of note, it was not possible to predict the outcome of the double host range on the basis of the results of the hyphal interaction experiment. In conclusion the competitive abilities of Clonostachys isolates depend on the partner with which they are applied and less on resource availability. The double host-range test as developed here might provide the most representative tool to date to test compatibility of fungal antagonists to be used in biocontrol inocula. However the link between the results of the double host-range test and field efficacy of biocontrol inocula remains to be investigated.

Zinc and glutamine improve brain development in suckling mice subjected to early postnatal malnutrition.

OBJECTIVE: The effect of zinc and glutamine on brain development was investigated during the lactation period in Swiss mice. METHODS: Malnutrition was induced by clustering the litter size from 6-7 pups/dam (nourished control) to 12-14 pups/dam (undernourished control) following birth. Undernourished groups received daily supplementation with glutamine by subcutaneous injections starting at day 2 and continuing until day 14. Glutamine (100 mM, 40-80 microL) was used for morphological and behavioral studies. Zinc acetate was added in the drinking water (500 mg/L) to the lactating dams. Synaptophysin and myelin basic protein brain expressions were evaluated by immunoblot. Zinc serum and brain levels and hippocampal neurotransmitters were also evaluated. RESULTS: Zinc with or without glutamine improved weight gain as compared to untreated, undernourished controls. In addition, zinc supplementation improved cliff avoidance and head position during swim behaviors especially on days 9 and 10. Using design-based stereological methods, we found a significant increase in the volume of CA1 neuronal cells in undernourished control mice, which was not seen in mice receiving zinc or glutamine alone or in combination. Undernourished mice given glutamine showed increased CA1 layer volume as compared with the other groups, consistent with the trend toward increased number of neurons. Brain zinc levels were increased in the nourished and undernourished-glutamine treated mice as compared to the undernourished controls on day 7. Undernourished glutamine-treated mice showed increased hippocampal gamma-aminobutyric acid and synaptophysin levels on day 14. CONCLUSION: We conclude that glutamine or zinc protects against malnutrition-induced brain developmental impairments.

Experience of liver transplantation for incurable alveolar echinococcosis: a 45-case European collaborative report.

BACKGROUND: Alveolar echinococcosis (AE) of the liver is a rare and severe parasitic disease. It behaves like a slow-growing liver cancer, and liver transplantation (LT) has been proposed in advanced cases since 1985. The aim of this retrospective study was to collect all AE transplant cases in Europe, analyze the results, and specify the usefulness of LT for this unusual indication. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent to 83 LT centers from July 1996 to December 1999. RESULTS: Sixty-five centers responded: 45 AE patients (mean age, 45.8 years) underwent an LT procedure at 16 LT centers. The mean interval between diagnosis and LT was 5 years. One patient died during the hepatectomy phase. Five-year survival was 71%. Five-year survival without recurrence was 58%. The nine early deaths were mostly related to bacterial or fungal infections, or both, in patients in bad condition when LT was performed. Six patients had a graft AE reinfection. Five late deaths were related directly to ongoing AE. In the other cases, benzimidazole (BZM) therapy seemed to stabilize AE residues. CONCLUSIONS: This unique experience indicates that LT is feasible for life-threatening AE. Specific management is needed to optimize the results: earlier decision for LT in incurable symptomatic biliary AE, pre- and post-LT BZM therapy, meticulous pre-LT evaluation to identify extrahepatic extension, and an immunosuppressive regimen kept to a minimum.