Observing and modeling long-term persistence of P. noctiluca in coupled complementary marine systems (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea and Messina Strait).

In the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Messina (MS) is a very peculiar area, connecting highly different regions and representing a privileged observatory for an early comprehension and assessment of ecosystems shifts. It is hypothesized that the outbreaks observed near the coast of many sites in the Mediterranean Sea may be the result of transport of permanent populations of P. noctiluca in pelagic waters to the coast, caused by specific hydrodynamic conditions. By both visual observations and numerical experiments our objective is twofold: (A) to help clarify whether the basin of the Aeolian Islands Archipelago (AIA), in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea (STS), may be the site from which large populations of P. noctiluca are transported to the MS, and (B) to evaluate whether the upwelling turbulent system of the MS can be an energetic opportunity for this species. It should offer a rich habitat without jeopardizing the overall survival of the population, that is subject to stranding due to strong currents. Although very different, the two involved ecosystems (AIA and MS ) are complementary for the success of Pelagia noctiluca life cycle. Outputs obtained by coupling the 3D hydrodynamic model (SHYFEM) with a Lagrangian particle tracking model support the hypothesis of a connectivity between these two ecosystems, particularly in the first half of the year, indicating the coastal areas around the AIA as potential optimal source location for Pelagia larval stages. We support the very attractive hypothesis that two connected systems exist, the former one favours Pelagia's reproduction and acts as a nursery and the latter favours its growth due to higher productivity. We speculate that the reproductive population of the AIA is not permanent, but is renewed every year by individuals who have fed and quickly grown in the MS and who are passively transported by downwelling along canyon "corridors".

Assessment of Bradykinesia in Parkinson's disease patients through a multi-parametric system.

The aim of this paper is to describe and present the results of the automatic detection and assessment of bradykinesia in motor disease patients using wireless, wearable accelerometers. The current work is related to a module of the PERFORM system, a FP7 project from the European Commission, that aims at providing an innovative and reliable tool, able to evaluate, monitor and manage patients suffering from Parkinson's disease. The assessment procedure was carried out through a developed C# library that detects the activities of the patient using an activity recognition algorithm and classifies the data using a Support Vector Machine trained with data coming from previous test phases. The accuracy between the output of the automatic detection and the evaluation of the clinician both expressed with the Unified Parkinson's disease Rating Scale, presents an average value of [68.3 ± 8.9]%. A meta-analysis algorithm is used in order to improve the accuracy to an average value of [74.4 ± 14.9]%. Future work will include a personalized training of the classifiers in order to achieve a higher level of accuracy.

Gait assessment in Parkinson's disease patients through a network of wearable accelerometers in unsupervised environments.

Parkinson's disease (PD) predominantly alters the motor performance of the affected individuals. In particular, the loss of dopaminergic neurons compromises the speed, the automaticity and fluidity of movements. As the disease evolves, PD patient's motion becomes slower and tremoric and the response to medication fluctuates along the day. In addition, the presence of involuntary movements deteriorates voluntary movement in advanced state of the disease. These changes in the motion can be detected by studying the variation of the signals recorded by accelerometers attached in the limbs and belt of the patients. The analysis of the most significant changes in these signals make possible to build an individualized motor profile of the disease, allowing doctors to personalize the medication intakes and consequently improving the response of the patient to the treatment. Several works have been done in a laboratory and supervised environments providing solid results; this work focused on the design of unsupervised method for the assessment of gait in PD patients. The development of a reliable quantitative tool for long-term monitoring of PD symptoms would allow the accurate detection of the clinical status during the different PD stages and the evaluation of motor complications. Besides, it would be very useful both for routine clinical care as well as for novel therapies testing.

A comprehensive motor symptom monitoring and management system: the bradykinesia case.

The current work describes a methodology to automatically detect the severity of bradykinesia in motor disease patients using wireless, wearable accelerometers. This methodology was tested with cross validation through a sample of 20 Parkinson's disease patients. The assessment of methodology was carried out through some daily living activities which were detected using an activity recognition algorithm. The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) severity classification of the algorithm coincides between 70 and 86% from that of a trained neurologist depending on the classifier used. These severities were calculated for 5 second segments of the signal with 50% of overlap. A bradykinesia profiler is also presented in this work. This profiler removes the overlap of the segments and calculates the confidence of the resulting events. It also calculates average severity, duration and symmetry values for those events. The profiler has been tested with a bogus dataset. Future work includes better training for the severity classifier with a larger sample and testing the profiler with real, longterm patient data in a projected pilot phase in three European hospitals.

Estudo do óleo essencial de algumas espécies do gênero Baccharis (Asteraceae) do sul do Brasil / Studies on the essential oils from several Baccharis (Asteraceae) from Southern Brazil

Cerca de 15 por cento das espécies de Baccharis têm sido analisadas do ponto de vista fitoquímico, mas trabalhos envolvendo estudos de óleos essenciais têm sido pouco informados. Este trabalho teve como objetivo identificar espécies deste gênero, nativas do Rio Grande do Sul, e avaliar o potencial aromático de doze amostras coletadas em diferentes localidades do Estado. O óleo foi obtido por hidrodestilação em Clevenger por 1 hora a partir do material desidratado a 30°C por quatro dias. As análises em CG foram realizadas em equipamento HP6890 Series, equipado com processador de dados HP-Chemstation e coluna HP-Innowax, e, as análises em CG/EM foram realizadas em equipamento HP 6890/MSD5973, com software HP Chemstation e biblioteca Wiley 275 de espectros, com coluna de mesma polaridade. O melhor rendimento foi obtido em B. articulata com 0,5 por cento p/v. beta-Pineno foi identificado nas amostras de B. articulata (41,4 por cento a 52,8 por cento), e em B. cogata (27,2 por cento). Espatulenol esteve presente nas amostras de B. semiserrata (15,5 por cento e 25,5 por cento) e nas amostras de B. uncinella (47,7 por cento e 23,1 por cento). B. oxyodonta apresentou limoneno (24,3 por cento). Duas amostras de B. milleflora apresentaram espatulenol, enquanto que uma apresentou beta-pineno.

About 15 percent of the known Baccharis species have been phytochemically studied, but few studies regarding their essential oils have been reported. The present work aims to identify native species of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, and to evaluate their aromatic potential. Twelve samples were collected in different sites within the State. The essential oils were obtained by an one hour hydrodistillation in a Clevenger apparatus, using plant materials dried for four days at 30°C. The GC analyses were carried out with a HP6890 Series apparatus, equiped with a HP-Chemstation data processor and an HP-Innowax column. The GC/MS analyses were carried out with an HP 6890/MSD5973, equiped with an HP Chemstation and a Wiley 275 spectra library, using the same column as above. The best yield was those of B. articulata (0.5 percent v/w). beta-Pinene was identified as the main component in the samples from B. articulata (41.4 percent to 52.8 percent) and from B. cogata (27.2 percent). Spathulenol was present in the samples from B. semiserrata (15.5 percent and 25.5 percent) and those from B. uncinella (47.7 percent and 23.1 percent). B. oxyodonta showed limonene (24.3 percent). Two samples of B. milleflora had spathulenol as main component, but a third one had beta-pinene as main constituent.

Análise de taninos totais em plantas aromáticas e medicinais cultivadas no Nordeste do Rio Grande do Sul / Determination of tannin total content in aromatic and medicinal plants cultivated in Northern Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil

Os taninos são componentes polifenólicos encontrados em plantas, alimentos e bebidas, sendo utilizados como fonte de matéria-prima para várias indústrias, como por exemplo a farmacêutica e a alimentícia, no curtimento do couro, na produção de borrachas, no tratamento de água em barragens, entre outras. Em vista da importância deste grupo de compostos, algumas plantas aromáticas e medicinais cultivadas no Núcleo Agronômico do Instituto de Biotecnologia da Universidade de Caxias dos Sul foram avaliadas quanto ao teor de taninos totais: Angelica archangelica , Cinnamomun camphora var. linaloolifera fugita , Cymbopogon citratus, Lavandula dentata , Lippia alba, Rosmarinus officinalis e Thymus vulgaris, e esses foram comparados com o teor de taninos totais da Acacia mearnsii (acácia negra), planta utilizada para a extração de taninos. O processo de extração empregado foi a maceração com metanol e a quantificação foi realizada por espectrofotometria, utilizando-se o reagente de Folin Denis. A partir da curva de calibração ( por cento equivalente ao ácido tânico) foram obtidos os teores de taninos totais, que variaram de 0,01 por cento para Cymbopogom citratus a 18,9 por cento para Lippia alba.

Tannins are polyphenolic compounds present in plants which are also found in foods and beverages. They are specially used by pharmaceutical, food, leather and rubber industries, and also for water treatment. Considering the significance of this group of compounds, several of aromatic and medicinal plants cultivated in Northern Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, were tested for their total tannin content. Angelica archangelica , Cinnamomun camphora var. linaloolifera fugita , Cymbopogon citratus, Lavandula dentata , Lippia alba, Rosmarinus officinalis and Thymus vulgaris were analysed and compared with Acacia mearnsii (black wattle) which is industrially used for tannin extraction. The extraction procedure was made by macerating the plants in methanol, and the quantification was done using Folin Denis reagent and spectrophotometry. By using a calibration curve ( percent tannic acid equivalent) the total tannin contents range from 0.01 percent ( Cymbopogom citratus ) to 18.9 percent ( Lippia alba ).

Thoracoscopic treatment of a pericardial diverticulum.

A 35-year-old female patient presented with a history of recurrent chest pain. On chest x-ray, a regularly shaped lesion at the right cardiophrenic angle was observed. The lesion appeared smaller on a subsequent x-ray. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a cystic lesion that could be differentiated from the pericardium only in its lower part. Thoracoscopy revealed a pericardial diverticulum. Resection of the lesion was performed thoracoscopically, with complete remission of the symptoms.

[Congenital lobar emphysema in adults]. / Enfisema lobare congenito nell'adulto.

Due to the severity of respiratory symptoms, congenital lobar emphysema often requires surgical treatment in the early stages of life. Diagnosis of congenital lobar emphysema in adult life is therefore unusual, often presenting with mild symptoms. Diagnostic assessment is therefore of great importance in the treatment of these patients. A case of congenital lobar emphysema in an adult is reported and the diagnostic and therapeutical approach are discussed. The use of new diagnostic techniques such as dynamic RMN and SPET V/Q lung scan may improve the accuracy of the diagnostic evaluation. Pulmonary lobectomy led to marked improvement in respiratory function. Accurate diagnosis and appropriate management of congenital lobar emphysema in adult patients can lead to favourable results.