Fabaceae medicinal flora with therapeutic potential in Savanna areas in the Chapada do Araripe, Northeastern Brazil

ABSTRACT Fabaceae is one of the largest families of ethnopharmacological importance. From this botanical group, important chemical constituents that act in the treatment and/or healing of various bodily systems arise. The objective of this study was to evaluate the most versatile Fabaceae species and the agreement of use among the informants, in the Chapada do Araripe Savanna. The research included five rural communities located in the municipalities of Nova Olinda, Crato, Barbalha, Moreilândia and Exu, covering the states of Ceará and Pernambuco. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 126 informants, adopting the snowball technique and using a standardized form. The relative importance and the Informant Consensus Factor were analyzed for the selection of species with therapeutic potential. Twenty-six medicinal species, distributed across 22 genera, were associated with seventy therapeutic purposes. As for the habitat of the species, the arboreal habitat predominated (76.92%). In relation to the plant parts, the bark (28.57%) and stem inner bark (26.53%) were the most used structures. Among the species, four showed great versatility in relation to their uses, with relative importance (RI>1), these being: Copaifera langsdorffii Desf. (1.70), Stryphnodendron rotundifolium Mart. (1.52), Bowdichia virgiloides Kunth (1.10) and Amburana cearenses (Allemand) A. C. Sm. (1.02). These species had eight to thirty curative properties and ranged from five to twelve body systems. The therapeutic indications cited were grouped into sixteen categories of body systems, of which Sensory System Disorders and Mental and Behavioral Diseases presented maximum values for the Informant Consensus Factor. For the Sexual Impotence category there was no agreement, whereas for the remaining systems the Informant Consensus Factor ranged from 0.33 to 0.91. The study evidences that the information of use and/or knowledge are shared among the people within the community, proving the great importance of Fabaceae in the use of medicinal plants.

Evaluation of the Versatility of Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap in Reconstruction of Head and Neck Cancer: A Prospective Study.

Background and Objective: Myocutaneous flaps play a prominent role in the immediate reconstruction of surgical defects following ablative oncological procedures in head and neck. Pectoralis major myocutaneous flap is one such flap which is probably the most reliable and commonly used flap in orofacial reconstruction of tumour and trauma related defects of oral and maxillofacial region. The aim of the current study is to check the versatility of Pectoralis major myocutaneous flap in reconstruction of head and neck cancers. Methods: The prospective study was conducted among the patients, who were treated for ablative surgery of head and neck cancer in whom reconstruction was done using Pectoralis major myocutaneous flap in our department of oral and maxillofacial surgery, VS Dental College, Bengaluru between 2012 to 2015. A total of 8 patients were included in this study where primary reconstruction was carried out with Pectoralis major myocutaneous flap. Results: The results of this study clearly demonstrate that Pectoralis major myocutaneous flap can be used for orofacial defects with high degree of reliability and minimal complications. The test showed that the observed difference for partial necrosis and partial dehiscence at different time duration was statistically not significant. Conclusion: It appeared in this study that, functional and aesthetic results were consistently satisfactory with minimal complications. In the current era of microvascular surgeries this flap still remains a valuable tool in head and neck reconstruction.

A versatilidade do retalho anterolateral da coxa em reconstruções oncológicas: série de casos do serviço de cirurgia plástica reconstrutora e microcirurgia do hospital Erasto Gaertner / Versatility of the anterolateral thigh flap in oncology reconstructions: case reports of the reconstructive plastic surgery and microsurgery procedures in Erasto Gaertner Hospital

Introdução: Retalho anterolateral da coxa (ALT) foi descrito em 1984, baseado nos vasos perfurantes da artéria circunflexa femoral lateral. Trata-se de um retalho cutâneo, localizado no terço médio da coxa anterior, e lateral aos músculos reto femoral e vasto lateral. A baixa morbidade, relacionada à área doadora, e a possibilidade de utiliza-lo com diversas dimensões o tornam um retalho muito versátil. Objetivo: Apresentar sua versatilidade no serviço de Cirurgia Plástica Reconstrutora e Microcirurgia, do Hospital Erasto Gaertner, através do relato de três casos. Casos: Foram descritos dois casos com utilização do retalho ALT para reconstrução de cabeça e pescoço, e um caso com reconstrução do hemitórax direito.

Introduction: The anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap first described in 1984 is based on perforator vessels of the lateral femoral circumflex artery. It is a cutaneous flap located in the middle third of the anterior thigh and lateral to the rectus femoris and vastus lateralis. The low morbidity related to the donor site and its usefulness for different dimensions make it a versatile flap. Objective: This study aimed to present the versatility of the ALT flap in plastic and reconstructive surgeries at the Erasto Gaertner Hospital through a report of three cases. Cases: We describe three cases in which the ALT flap was used for the head and neck, and right hemithorax reconstructions.

Comparison of Exon-boundary Old and Young Domains during Metazoan Evolution

Domains are the building blocks of proteins. Exon shuffling is an important mechanism accounting for combination of a limited repertoire of protein domains in the evolution of multicellular species. A relative excess of domains encoded by symmetric exons in metazoan phyla has been presented as evidence of exon shuffling, and symmetric domains can be divided into old and new domains by determining the ages of the domains. In this report, we compare the spread, versatility, and subcellular localization of old and new domains by analyzing eight metazoan genomes and their respective annotated proteomes. We found that new domains have been expanding as multicellular organisms evolved, and this expansion was principally because of increases in class 1-1 domains amongst several classes of domain families. We also found that younger domains have been expanding in membranes and secreted proteins along with multi-cellular organism evolution. In contrast, old domains are located mainly in nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins. We conclude that the increasing mobility and versatility of new domains, in contrast to old domains, plays a significant role in metazoan evolution, facilitating the creation of secreted and transmembrane multidomain proteins unique to metazoa.