RESUMO

Exceptionally preserved sauropod eggshells discovered in Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) deposits in Patagonia, Argentina, contain skeletal remains and soft tissues of embryonic Titanosaurid dinosaurs. To preserve these labile embryonic remains, the rate of mineral precipitation must have superseded post-mortem degradative processes, resulting in virtually instantaneous mineralization of soft tissues. If so, mineralization may also have been rapid enough to retain fragments of original biomolecules in these specimens. To investigate preservation of biomolecular compounds in these well-preserved sauropod dinosaur eggshells, we applied multiple analytical techniques. Results demonstrate organic compounds and antigenic structures similar to those found in extant eggshells.

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RESUMO

The Orce skull fragment from southern Spain, dated at 1.6 Myr, has been a subject of heated controversy since it was first discovered in 1982. If it is hominid, as its discoverers contend, it is by far the oldest fossil hominid yet found in western Europe and implies that human populations settled this region much earlier than was previously realized. Numerous stone artifacts found at the Orce sites provide evidence that hominids were indeed present there in the Lower Pleistocene. Some paleontologists maintain that the 8 cm diameter occipital fragment is from a horse, not a hominid. Two independent investigations of the residual proteins in the skull were undertaken, one at the University of Granada in Spain, the other at the University of California, San Francisco. Two immunological methods of comparable sensitivity were employed for detection and species attribution of protein extracted from fossil bone: the Granada team used an enzyme-linked-immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the UCSF team used a radioimmunoassay (RIA). Both teams obtained reactions characteristic of human albumin in the Orce skull and horse albumin in some of the horse fossils. These results support the lithic evidence that hominids were living in Andalusia 1.6 million years ago.

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The histologic evidence of amiodarone pulmonary toxicity is interstitial pneumonia with foamy alveolar macrophages, which ultrastructurally show lamellar inclusion bodies due to lipid storage. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid findings include foamy macrophages, considered characteristic, and, in certain patients, differential cell counts suggestive of active alveolitis, giving rise to an immunologic explanation for its origin. The present study was undertaken in order to investigate the findings in BAL fluid in nontoxic patients taking amiodarone and to evaluate their clinical relevance. Eleven patients taking amiodarone chlorhydrate for severe ventricular arrhythmias (345 +/- 129 mg/day during 46 +/- 31 months and an accumulated dose of 440 +/- 337 g) and without clinical or radiological evidences of pulmonary toxicity, were clinically evaluated and studied by BAL. As shown in Table 1, cough and pulmonary rales were common findings (64% and 36% respectively), chest X-Rays were normal or indicative of cardiac failure and arterial blood gases showed slight hypoxemia (PaO2 83 +/- 10). As these are usual findings in advanced cardiac diseases, the patients were considered as having no amiodarone toxicity. BAL was done and the fluid obtained was processed for cytologic study. In every patient foamy macrophages were seen with light microscopy and lamellar bodies were detected by electron microscopy. In 5/10 evaluable patients BAL fluid cell count disclosed an increase in lymphocytes, leukocytes or both, indicative of alveolitis. This group of patient had lower PaO2 and PaO2/PAO2 than "non alveolitic" patients (76 +/- 9 mmHg vs 89 +/- 5 mmHg and 0.72 +/- 0.1 vs 0.85 +/- 0.08 - p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Once pacientes en trtamiento con amiodarona por presentar arritmias ventriculares severas fueron evaluados clínica y radiológicamente y considerados exentos de toxicidad pulmonar por la droga. Se efectuó fibrobroncoscopía y lavado broncoalveolar (BAL) realizando el estudio citológico del material obtenido y se continuó la administración de amiodarona independientemente de los resultados del mismo. Los hallazgos del BAL mostraron la presencia de depósitos lipídicos en los macrófagops alveolares, expresados como células espumosas en la microscopía óptica y como cuerpos de inclusión lamelares en la microscopía electrónica. En la mitad de los pacientes se detectó la existencia de alteraciones en el recuento celular diferencial del líquido de BAL, indicativas de alveolitis. En este grupo de pacientes la PaO2 y la relación PaO2/PAO2 fueron significativamente menores al resto (76 ñ 9 vs 89 ñ 5 mmHg y 0,72 ñ 0,1 vs 0,85 ñ 0,08, respectivamente; p < 0,05). Al cabo de un año 5 de los pacientes (2 pertenecientes al grupo com "alveolitis") continuaban tomando la droga sin presentar evidencias clínicas de toxicidad pulmonar. Estos resultados muestran que la presencia de macrófagos espumosos o cuerpos lamelares en el BAL de pacientes en tratamiento con amiodarona es un dato inespecífico que carece de valor para el diagnóstico de toxicidad pulmonar por la droga. Simismo se advierte que un alto porcentaje de pacientes puede presentar alveolitis detectable por hipoxemia y alteraciones citológicas en el BAL, que aparentemente no progresa hacia formas clínicamente manifiestas de toxicidad (AU)

Assuntos

RESUMO

The histologic evidence of amiodarone pulmonary toxicity is interstitial pneumonia with foamy alveolar macrophages, which ultrastructurally show lamellar inclusion bodies due to lipid storage. Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid findings include foamy macrophages, considered characteristic, and, in certain patients, differential cell counts suggestive of active alveolitis, giving rise to an immunologic explanation for its origin. The present study was undertaken in order to investigate the findings in BAL fluid in nontoxic patients taking amiodarone and to evaluate their clinical relevance. Eleven patients taking amiodarone chlorhydrate for severe ventricular arrhythmias (345 +/- 129 mg/day during 46 +/- 31 months and an accumulated dose of 440 +/- 337 g) and without clinical or radiological evidences of pulmonary toxicity, were clinically evaluated and studied by BAL. As shown in Table 1, cough and pulmonary rales were common findings (64

and 36

respectively), chest X-Rays were normal or indicative of cardiac failure and arterial blood gases showed slight hypoxemia (PaO2 83 +/- 10). As these are usual findings in advanced cardiac diseases, the patients were considered as having no amiodarone toxicity. BAL was done and the fluid obtained was processed for cytologic study. In every patient foamy macrophages were seen with light microscopy and lamellar bodies were detected by electron microscopy. In 5/10 evaluable patients BAL fluid cell count disclosed an increase in lymphocytes, leukocytes or both, indicative of alveolitis. This group of patient had lower PaO2 and PaO2/PAO2 than [quot ]non alveolitic[quot ] patients (76 +/- 9 mmHg vs 89 +/- 5 mmHg and 0.72 +/- 0.1 vs 0.85 +/- 0.08 - p less than 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

RESUMO

Once pacientes en trtamiento con amiodarona por presentar arritmias ventriculares severas fueron evaluados clínica y radiológicamente y considerados exentos de toxicidad pulmonar por la droga. Se efectuó fibrobroncoscopía y lavado broncoalveolar (BAL) realizando el estudio citológico del material obtenido y se continuó la administración de amiodarona independientemente de los resultados del mismo. Los hallazgos del BAL mostraron la presencia de depósitos lipídicos en los macrófagops alveolares, expresados como células espumosas en la microscopía óptica y como cuerpos de inclusión lamelares en la microscopía electrónica. En la mitad de los pacientes se detectó la existencia de alteraciones en el recuento celular diferencial del líquido de BAL, indicativas de alveolitis. En este grupo de pacientes la PaO2 y la relación PaO2/PAO2 fueron significativamente menores al resto (76 ñ 9 vs 89 ñ 5 mmHg y 0,72 ñ 0,1 vs 0,85 ñ 0,08, respectivamente; p < 0,05). Al cabo de un año 5 de los pacientes (2 pertenecientes al grupo com "alveolitis") continuaban tomando la droga sin presentar evidencias clínicas de toxicidad pulmonar. Estos resultados muestran que la presencia de macrófagos espumosos o cuerpos lamelares en el BAL de pacientes en tratamiento con amiodarona es un dato inespecífico que carece de valor para el diagnóstico de toxicidad pulmonar por la droga. Simismo se advierte que un alto porcentaje de pacientes puede presentar alveolitis detectable por hipoxemia y alteraciones citológicas en el BAL, que aparentemente no progresa hacia formas clínicamente manifiestas de toxicidad

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RESUMO

Along with the kiwis (Apteryx), tuatara (Sphenodon) and leiopelmatid frogs, the now rare lesser short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata), one of only two species in the endemic family Mystacinidae, has long been viewed as one of New Zealand's archaic, mystery vertebrates, and has presented taxonomists with a major puzzle since its first description in 1843 (ref. 3). We report here the results of immunological comparisons involving the albumin and transferrin of Mystacina which indicate that its closest phylogenetic affinities are with the New World phyllostomoids--noctilionids, mormoopids and phyllostomoids. We estimate the separation between the Noctilio and Mystacina lineages to have occurred about 35 Myr ago.

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