Impairment of postnatal epididymal development and immune microenvironment following administration of low doses of malathion during juvenile and peripubertal periods of rats.

Malathion is an organophosphate pesticide widely used for agricultural crops and for vector control of Aedes aegypti. Humans are exposed to this environmental contaminant by ingesting contaminated food. The juvenile and peripubertal periods are critical for the postnatal development of the epididymis and are when animals are most vulnerable to toxic agents. Since juveniles and adolescents are developing under exposure to the insecticide malathion, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of exposure to low doses of malathion on postnatal epididymal development in rats. Male Wistar rats were exposed to malathion daily via gavage at doses of 10 mg kg-1 (M10 group) or 50 mg kg-1 (M50 group) for 40 days (postnatal days (PNDs) 25-65). The control group received the vehicle (0.9% saline) under the same conditions. On PND 40, the epididymides were removed, weighed and used for histological analysis and determination of the inflammatory profile and sperm count. Sperm from the vas deferens were subjected to sperm motility analysis. The M50 group showed tissue remodelling in the caput and cauda epididymides and increased neutrophil and macrophage migration in the caput epididymis. The M10 group showed decreased motile spermatozoa and IL-6 levels in the caput epididymis. Both doses decreased the IL-1ß level and altered the morphology of the same region. These results show that malathion exposure may impair postnatal epididymal development. Furthermore, alterations of the immune system in the epididymal environment are presented as new findings regarding the action of malathion on the epididymis.

A communicating branch between the dorsal and superficial ramus of the ulnar nerve (Kaplan's anastomosis): clinical and surgery discussion / Ramo comunicante entre los ramos dorsal y superficial del nervio ulnar (anastomosis de Kaplan): discusión clínica y quirúrgica

The Kaplan´s anastomosis represents the communication between the dorsal and superficial branch of the ulnar nerve distal to ulnar canal. In the present study, a case about this nerve communication, found in a male adult cadaver, is reported. Information about brachial plexus distal anastomosis is fundamental for interpretation of clinical and electrophysiological findings, in order to establish the precise diagnosis of neurological lesions at this level. Its relations with flexor carpi ulnaris muscle's tendon and with pisiform bone exposes it to iatrogenic lesions during surgery.

La anastomosis de Kaplan representa la comunicación entre la rama dorsal y superficial del nervio ulnar distal al canal ulnar. En el presente estudio se informa de un caso de esta comunicación nerviosa, encontrado en un cadáver adulto de sexo masculino. Información sobre el plexo braquial y sus anastomosis distales son fundamentales para la interpretación de los hallazgos clínicos y electrofisiológicos, a fin de establecer el diagnóstico preciso de las lesiones neurológicas a este nivel. Sus relaciones con el tendón del músculo flexor ulnar del carpo, como con el hueso pisiforme, pueden facilitar la ocurrencia de lesiones iatrogénicas durante la cirugía.

[Suicide among the Tikúna on the Upper Solimões River: an expression of conflicts]. / O suicídio Tikúna no Alto Solimões: uma expressão de conflitos.

This study focuses on suicide among the Tikúna Indians on the Upper Solimões River in the Brazilian Amazonia. The very nature of the object requires an interdisciplinary approach. The ethnography is concerned with capturing links among suicides occurring over the last decade, in the process of confrontation between different factions or groups that express, in the present, an older historical context, the mechanisms of conflict characterizing the ancient malocas, or indigenous lodges. At the very base of such confrontations lies the abandonment inflicted on this population, especially the bankruptcy of the health care model proposed for the Upper Solimões area.