O dilema extensão universitária

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Limites e possibilidades de uma proposta de gestão coletiva: cursinho popular da UNESP-Franca

Pós-graduação em Educação Escolar - FCLAR

O ensino de informática para crianças: um estímulo à aprendizagem

The use of computers in childhood education makes it possible for them to acquire knowledge in a fun way through games. This paper describes the experience of implementing the course “Computers for Children”, which is part of a University Extension Program at the School of Dentistry at UNESP - Araraquara. This course is offered to children aged 5-7 years old and it aims, not only, to offer children, via computer, a direct contact with new teaching technologies, but also, to help them develop both their motor and logical thinking abilities through educational games. The children that participated in this course are from the Children’s Center “Casinha de Abelha” at the UNESP -Araraquara and also from the Municipal Recreation and Educational Centers also in Araraquara, SP, Brazil. The software resources used in this course to teach computer skills are the educational games “Coelho Sabido Maternal”, “A Estrela Cintilante” and “Festa dos Dentinhos”. The children’s learning and the level of difficulty in using the computer as a tool were evaluated. It was possible to conclude that the course has been contributing to the digital inclusion of children aged 5-7 years old, in addition to training their visual and audio perception, their motor coordination and memorization, hence developing skills that are essential to the children’s literacy process.

Projeto Sempre Sorrindo: 10 anos de atenção ao idoso institucionalizado

Introduction: To correctly attend the health needs of the elderly population, it is necessary to invest in training of human resources. Thus, it becomes indispensable to insert the geriatric dentistry content into graduation courses. Objective: To describe the experiences and the results obtained during 10 years of an university extension project focused on oral health care of institutionalized elderly. Methodology: This is a documental and descriptive work, which was analyzed the institutional process of ten years of the University Extension Program, “Always Smiling - Dental Care for the Elderly Institutionalized of Araçatuba, “ developed at the Araçatuba Dental School, FOA/ UNESP. It were collected quantitative and qualitative data, and these were classified and interpreted according to the technique of categorizing the content. Results: In ten years of implementation, the project “Always Smiling” involved undergraduate students, professors and post-graduate students, who together have developed practical activities such as health education, hygiene supervision, recreational and educational activities, epidemiological surveys of oral health conditions and consequently, dental care according to the need of the treatment. Conclusion: The project “Always Smiling” serves as a working model for elderly health care, because it acts involves many aspects, from the prevention of diseases, even to the training of elderly caregivers, benefiting the institutionalized elderly and health professionals.

Electromyographic behaviour of the gastrocnemius muscle during knee extension and flexion performed on the leg press

The gastrocnemius was analysed in 10 male volunteers during knee flexion and extension with the foot in normal, plantar flexion and dorsal flexion positions. Hewlett-Packard surface electrodes, an electromyographic signal amplifier, a computer equipped with an AID conversion plaque (Model CAD 10/26), a software specially designed to record and analyse the signals, a horizontal leg press, and electrogoniometers were used. The gastrocnemius muscle showed strong potentials at the end of knee extension and beginning of knee flexion. The muscle presented a similar activity both in the zipper and lower platforms. As to bilateral action, the right gastrocnemius presented stronger potentials on the upper platforms, whereas the potentials were bilaterally similar on the lower platforms. As for foot position, the gastrocnemius presented strong potentials when the foot was in plantar flexion. The remaining positions had no effect on the work of the muscle.

Dynamic and isometric protocols of knee extension: Effect of fatigue on the EMG signal

The objective of this study was to analyze the electromyographic (EMG) signal behavior of rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM), vastus lateralis (VL) and biceps femoris (caput longum) (BFCL) from nine women during fatiguing dynamic and isometric knee extensions tests and to determine their EMGFT (Electromyographic Fatigue Threshold). Surface electrodes, biological signal acquisition module, analogical-digital converter board and specific software were used. The RMS (Root Mean Square) values obtained from concentric phase (80 to 30 degrees) of the dynamic knee extension andfrom isometric contraction were correlated with time on each load by linear regression analysis. The respective slopes were correlated with the correspondent load to determine the EMGFT. Force (Kgf) and median frequency - MF (Hz) obtained during MIVC (Maximal Isometric Voluntary Contraction) performed before and after the fatiguing tests were calculated in Matlab environment. The results demonstrated that the endurance time decreases with higher loads the EMG amplitude increase with time and was greater at higher loads, between muscles in dynamic exercise the RF and VL showed higher slopes, and in isometric exercise the VL showed the same behavior The EMGFT values were similar in both exercises; the force values predominantly decreased after fatiguing tests; however the MF only decreased after some loads. The protocols proposed allowed standardizing protocols at least to induce the fatigue process and to determine the EMGFT as an endurance indicative, which may be used to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitative or training interventions indicated to reduce muscle weakness and fatigue.

Influence of the ICDAS e-learning program for occlusal caries detection on dental students

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of ICDAS training in a group of dental students for occlusal caries detection in permanent teeth. Premolars and molars (N=104) with occlusal surfaces varying from ICDAS scores 0 to 6 were cleaned, one occlusal site per tooth was selected, and a photograph taken to identify the site. Eight senior dental students examined the teeth twice with a one-week interval between examinations during each of two phases: before and after the ICDAS e-learning program. Teeth were histologically assessed for caries extension. Intraclass correlation coefficients for intra- and interexaminer repeatability were high, both before (0.75 and 0.72, respectively) and after e-learning (0.82 and 0.78, respectively). The ICDAS scores decreased significantly from before to after e-learning (p=0.0001). Correlation between ICDAS scores and histology scores was moderate (0.57 before e-learning and 0.61 after). Although the ROC curve shows an improvement in the use of the ICDAS scoring after e-learning, the difference was not significant (p=0.10). Specificity of the ICDAS scores significantly improved after e-learning (77 percent vs. 36 percent), and sensitivity was reduced slightly after e-learning (87 percent vs. 92 percent). The ICDAS e-learning program improved the performance of the diagnostic skills of the investigated students for the detection of occlusal caries lesions.

Muscular strength, bone density and body composition of a woman with systemic lupus erythematosus submitted to a resistance training program: A case report

Introduction. Physical activity can provide long-term benefits for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Objective. This study sought to demonstrate the effects of progressive resistance training on the muscular strength, bone mineral density (BMD) and body composition of pre-menopausal women with SLE undergoing glucocorticoid (GC) treatment. Materials and Methods. This is the case report of a 43-year-old African-South American premenopausal woman with non-extensive SLE and low bone density. A six-month program with three bimonthly cycles of 70%, 80%, and 90% intensity according to the 10 maximum-repetition test was used. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to measure the BMD, T-scores and body composition, and indirect fluorescence was used to measure the levels of antinuclear antibodies. Student's t-test was used. Results. Statistical improvement was noted in all strength exercises, including the 45° leg press (Δ%=+50%, p<0.001) and knee extension (Δ%=+15%, p=0.003) to maintain the BMD of the L2-L4 lumbar (Δ%=+0.031%; p=0.46) as well as the trochanter (Δ%=+0.037%; p=0.31) and BMI (Δ%=-0.8, p=0.54). Conclusion. In this case study, the presented methodology had a positive effect on strength and contributed to the maintenance of BMD and body composition in a woman with SLE undergoing GC treatment. © 2012 Revista Andaluza de Medicina del Deporte.