Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

The first step in quality control of herbal drugs is ensuring the correct identification of the plant intended for use. The required analytical procedures (macroscopic characterization of the entire or fragmentized material, microscopic characterization after pulverization of the plant material and chemical characterization), are usually described on quality monographs reported in authoritarian texts such as the European 6th Pharmacopoeia. Further information related to the name of the each herbal drug, the herbal drug definition, purity tests and assay are also provided.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

Hakea sericeae Schrader and H. salicifolia (Vent.) B. L. Burtt. are perennials, which belong to the Proteaceae family. Native to dry tropical zones from South Australia, they became aggressive species, particulary in damaged, dried and windy areas and are now considered invaders in some places of mainland Portugal. With no natural predators, the use of chemical control is the main way to manage these plants but they both show a small foliar area, therefore usually little success has been achieved.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of proteolytic enzymes that together with their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) are important modulators of normal lung development and harmful mediators of lung damage. Several studies support the role for an imbalance of MMPs and TIMPs homeostasis in the pathogenesis of paediatric lung failure. It was verified that MMP-9 and MMP-9/TIMP-1 ratio increases in the broncho-alveolar lavage of patients with bronchopulmonary dyspasia (BPD). Maternal administration of vitamin A, once the period of retinoid-induced teratogenesis is over, results in an enhancement of lung foetal organogenesis, an increase in the lung's elastic fibres, and an increase in VEGF pulmonary and plasma levels.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

In mammals it is well known the role of the elastic fibres in the lung development and its fundamental importance in the process of distending and recoil of the organ as a whole. The bird's lungs are compact and virtually non-expansible.

After morphological studies on elastic fibres distribution and quantification by image analysis we carried out a study on biochemical methods to quantify elastin in the avian lung, using domestic fowl (Gallus gallus) as an experimental model. We made use of two analytical methods for the elastin determination in these animal lungs from the 14th day of hatching until the 42nd day after hatchling.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

Nowadays, environmental moulds are often being referred as also being the cause of superficial mycosis. Keratinophilic activity is one of the characteristics involved in the infectious process of some fungal species. With these findings some problems appear: 1) Do these species really act on keratinized tissues?; 2) How do these fungi perform their keratinophilic activity?; 3) Should we validate the results as positives in the case of isolating from the lesions only species considered as environmental? To answer to these questions, the in vitro hair perforation test was performed in 60 different species, including dermatophytes and environmental isolates. In vitro perforation capability, believed to be one of the characteristics involved in some fungal infectious processes, was assessed with aid of optic-, fluorescence-, electron scanning- and transmission-microscopy, followed by calculation of keratinophilic activity. According to Ali-Shtayeh et al., each hair degradation factor has a specific weight in a keratinolytic activity intensity index called “IKA”, which ranges between 0 and 100%. Changes in the hair structure may occur in the two following different ways: (a) Superficial Erosion, where there is an even hair degradation from the outside to the inside (b) Radial Penetration where there is a localized degradation of hair surface, often in a pocket-like structure. Different types of hyphæ are observed: of narrow diameter called boring hyphæ, of larger diameter called wider boring hyphæ) and swollen boring hyphæ (with dilated tips). Hyphæ may also produce highly specialized perforation organs.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

The vesicouretral reflux is an important pathology that has an incidence of about 1% in children, and may be associated with renal scarring and hypertension due to kidney failure. The reason for this insufficient ureterovesical valve is based on congenital dysplasia, atrophy and architectural derangement of smooth muscle fibers of the distal ureteral muscle wall. The ureterovesical junction is a way of avoiding the reflux from the bladder to the higher urinary system (ureters and kidneys). This junction has a valve-like action. One important factor on the prevention of the reflux is the length of the intravesical ureter. These conditions (ureterovesical junction and length of the intravesical ureter) are, respectively, an active and a passive way of preventing reflux.

Some hematological neoplasms share features of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and myeloproliferative disorders (MPD), the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of hematopoietic neoplasms introduced a new separate category: myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases (MDS/MPD). Some patients may present diagnostic features of refractory anaemia with ringed sideroblasts (RARS) together with a markedly elevated platelet count (>600x109/L). Provided that these patients do not have del(5q) nor abnormalities of chromosome 3 (3q21q26) and because features of both myelodysplastic and myeloproliferative processes are present, the WHO classification considers this a provisional entity belonging to the MDS/MPD, unclassifiable category. The so-called provisional entity acquired sideroblastic anaemia associated with thrombocytosis/refractory anaemia with ringed sideroblasts (figure 1) associated with marked thrombocytosis (RARS-T) represents a heterogeneous disease, not only in terms of clinical and morphologic features, but also in terms of cytogenetic and molecular findings.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex are among the most successful pathogens. Their success resides in the ability to interfere with intracellular traffic avoiding natural pathways of the phagosome maturation. Recently, mycobacteria escape from the phagosome to the cytosol was investigated as an alternative survival strategy. In this context we decided to determine the exact intracellular location of Mycobacterium bovis in different host macrophages and characterize the pathogen intracellular niche for survival. The main goal here was to characterize live vs dead M. bovis spp phagosome in different host macrophages. Macrophages infection, fluorescence and EM procedures were carried out as described previously.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008

The main cause of erectile dysfunction (ED) is organic in nature, with vasculogenic etiology being predominant. Several epidemiological studies report the relationship between ED and several well-recognized cardiovascular risk factors, including atherosclerosis, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension, as well as lifestyle factors, such as obesity and sedentarism. Recent findings also indicate that high-fat (HF) regular intake induces endothelial dysfunction and increases ED prevalence. Due to their interconnection, ED is considered equivalent to endothelial dysfunction, and it is nowadays seen as a predictive factor of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease (CVD). It is well established that the expression of some vascular growth factors is frequently diminished in corpus cavernosum (CC) of ED patients, and that its levels are particularly modified in metabolic syndrome (MetS). This syndrome combines more than three of the illnesses that prompt to vasculogenic ED: elevated blood pressure, high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, elevated waist circumference, and insulin resistance. Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic factor with potent mitogenic and angiogenic properties, previously employed in the treatment of ischaemic members. Interestingly, it was demonstrated that its serum levels were particularly increased in obesity and in MetS. HGF is expressed by several organs, but as far as we know, it has never been detected in CC. In this way, we present an immunohistochemical (IH) characterization of HGF expression in HF-diet fed rat CC.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, August 3 – August 7, 2008