No abstract

The authors analyze the presence of active myocarditis in endomyocardial biopsies from 38 patients with chronic Chagas' disease diagnosed serologically. The patients were divided into three clinical groups of increasing severity. Group I: 13 patients with normal electrocardiograms, normal chest x-rays, and no symptoms; Group II: 13 patients with abnormal electrocardiograms and no cardiomegaly; and Group III: 12 patients with abnormal electrocardiograms, cardiomegaly and heart failure. In order to diagnose myocarditis activity, two sets of criteria were used: one mainly observing histopathologic aspects of inflammatory cells aggressing cardiac fibers; and the other counting the mean number of lymphocytes per high power microscopic field. The results of both methods showed a higher incidence of active myocarditis in the clinical group with heart failure. The present report clearly shows the important role played by activity of myocarditis in the development of heart failure in chronic Chagas' disease. Therefore, the possibility of using drugs to control early stages of the activity of the inflammatory process is suggested. On the other hand, endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) seems to be an adequate method to evaluate the intensity of the cardiac inflammatory process in Chagas' heart disease.

RESUMO -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a fitomassa de calopogônio, mucuna-preta, mucunarajada, feijão-de-porco, guandu de porte alto, Crotalaria spectabilis e C. breviflora sob diferentes densidades de semeadura (10, 20, 40, 80 e 160 sementes viáveis m -2), e o crescimento de plantas daninhas nessas densidades, em área de tabuleiros costeiros. O experimento foi desenvolvido de maio a agosto de 1996, no Campo Experimental "Antônio Martins" (EMDAGRO/Embrapa-CPATC), em Lagarto, SE. O número de plantas vivas na floração (NPVF) e a matéria seca da parte aérea das leguminosas (MSPA) foram determinados quando, em cada espécie, cerca de 50% das plantas floresceram. Maiores incrementos de MSPA, em resposta ao adensamento populacional, foram observados em C. spectabilis e C. breviflora, seguidas pelo calopogônio, mucuna-preta e mucuna-rajada. Em relação ao feijão-de-porco, a resposta foi negativa, enquanto com o guandu não houve influência. Quanto ao NPVF, as respostas ao adensamento foram lineares e positivas em C. spectabilis, C. breviflora e calopogônio, e quadráticas com ponto de máxima em feijão-de-porco, guandu e mucuna-rajada. Embora nenhum modelo tenha sido ajustado para expressar a relação entre NPVF e adensamento na semeadura de mucuna-preta, a sobrevivência dessa espécie foi reduzida em todas as densidades. Maiores inibições de plantas daninhas ocorreram nas parcelas de mucuna-preta e feijão-de-porco.Termos para indexação: culturas de cobertura, manejo do solo, competição, agricultura sustentável. DRY MATTER OF GREEN MANURE AND CONTROL OF WEEDSAT DIFFERENT SOWING LEGUME DENSITIES ABSTRACT -The objective of this study was to evaluate the dry matter yields of Calopogonium mucunoides, Stizolobium aterrimum, Stizolobium deeringeanum variety "rajada", Canavalia ensiformis, Cajanus cajan, Crotalaria breviflora and C. spectabilis in relation to the sowing densities of 10, 20, 40, 80 and 160 seeds m -2, and the yield of weeds grown in these legume densities. This study was carried out from May to August 1996, in a coastal tableland area of the Antonio Martins Experimental Station (EMDAGRO/Embrapa-CPATC), at Lagarto, State of Sergipe, Brazil. The number of survival plants and the dry matter yields were determined when each species reached the flowering stage. The highest increments of dry matter yield in response to increasing levels of sowing density were observed in plants of Crotalaria spectabilis and C. breviflora followed by C. mucunoides, S. aterrimum and S. deeringeanum. A negative response to the increasing sowing densities was observed in Canavalia ensiformis and sowing densities did not affect the dry matter yield of Cajanus cajan plants. Linear and positive responses of C. spectabilis, C. breviflora and C. mucunoides, and quadratic responses of C. ensiformis, C. cajan and S. deeringeanum were obtained for number of plants in response to increasing sowing density. No equations were found to express the relation between the number of survival plants and sowing densities of S. aterrimum, but the survival ...

Functional electrical stimulation improves muscle sympathetic nerve activity and vasoconstriction and increases exercise tolerance, muscle strength and quality of life in hospitalised heart failure patients. These findings suggest that functional electrical stimulation may be useful to hospitalised patients with decompensated chronic heart failure.

Endomyocardial fibrosis has been treated surgically for many years. For complete removal of fibrosis from both ventricles by the classic technique, each atrioventricular (AV) valve was removed and replaced with a prosthesis. Relapse of endomyocardial fibrosis has not been observed after surgical correction. Reoperations have been carried out because of complications of valve prostheses. A new surgical technique for removal of ventricular fibrous tissue with preservation of the mitral and tricuspid valves was used in nine consecutive patients with endomyocardial fibrosis. Initial results show a reduction of pulmonary hypertension, mean right and left atrial pressures and end-diastolic pressures in both ventricles. Tricuspid annuloplasty was performed in seven patients and mitral annuloplasty in five. No valve prosthesis was used. There was no death and New York Heart Association functional class improved from class III or IV in the preoperative period to class I or II in the postoperative period. These data suggest that resection of endocardial fibrous tissue can be indicated early in the clinical course and performed with preservation of the AV valves.