The utility of open-access biodiversity information in representing anurans in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Cerrado

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

Access of children to the oral health service

Dental caries still affect a considerable proportion of children, however the epidemiological profile of oral diseases is changing, social inequalities cause different disease patterns. The same problems occur for the use of services, which damage those who are more susceptible to oral diseases in numerous ways. To verify the association between the variables: socioeconomic condition, oral health and access to dental services providing oral health care for preschool children. The study population consisted of 2,759 children up to 6 years-old. The clinical exams followed the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria. The data were collected using a self-applied questionnaire, answered by the carers of children, with questions about socioeconomic variables and access to dental services. In terms of social class, a majority of the subjects came from the middle socioeconomic level (babies, 84.7%; children, 82.8%). Babies who had caries, 48.4% and 67.2% of the children that had decayed teeth had access to dental service. There was a association between the variables: the reason for the last dental appointment and the parent's perception of the treatment need of their children (babies p=0.0004 and children p < 0.0001); the parent's perception of the treatment need of their children and the oral health condition (babies p=0.0008 and children p < 0.0001); access to dental services and oral health condition (babies p=0.0021 and children p < 0.0001). The majority of the population studied sought care from public dental service and was from the middle class.

Unfavorable iliac artery anatomy causing access limitations during endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair: application of the endoconduit technique

Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) is already considered the first choice treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). Several different strategies have been used to address limitations to arterial access caused by unfavorable iliac artery anatomy. The aim of this report is to illustrate the advantages and limitations of each option and present the results of using the internal endoconduit technique and the difficulties involved.

Hierarchy-Based Access Control in Distributed Environments

Access control is a fundamental concern in any system that manages resources, e.g., operating systems, file systems, databases and communications systems. The problem we address is how to specify, enforce, and implement access control in distributed environments. This problem occurs in many applications such as management of distributed project resources, e-newspaper and payTV subscription services. Starting from an access relation between users and resources, we derive a user hierarchy, a resource hierarchy, and a unified hierarchy. The unified hierarchy is then used to specify the access relation in a way that is compact and that allows efficient queries. It is also used in cryptographic schemes that enforce the access relation. We introduce three specific cryptography based hierarchical schemes, which can effectively enforce and implement access control and are designed for distributed environments because they do not need the presence of a central authority (except perhaps for set- UP).

Information Access Patterns of Faculty in Arts and Sciences Colleges in Chidambaram

The term “user study” focuses on information use patterns, information needs, and information-seeking behaviour. Information- seeking behaviour and information access patterns are areas of active interest among librarians and information scientists. This article reports on a study of the information requirements, usefulness of library resources and services, and problems encountered by faculty members of two arts and science colleges, Government Arts & Science College and Sri Raghavendra Arts & Science College, Chidambaram.

African American Student Access To and Completion Of Higher Education, 1960-1992: A Correspondence Theory Analysis

“This presentation utilizes correspondence theory to analyze African American undergraduate student access to and completion of higher education in the United States. Findings from this research are presented and policy recommendations affecting Black student enrollment and graduation are discussed.”

A Systematic Mapping on the Role-Permission Relationship in Role Based Access Control Models

Access control is a key component of security in any computer system. In the last two decades, the research on Role Basead Access Control Models was intense. One of the most important components of a Role Based Model is the Role-Permission Relationship. In this paper, the technique of systematic mapping is used to identify, extract and analyze many approaches applied to establish the Role-Permission Relationship. The main goal of this mapping is pointing directions of significant research in the area of Role Based Access Control Models.

Direct Access to Oxidation-Resistant Nickel Catalysts through an Organometallic Precursor

The synthesis of nickel catalysts for industrial applications is relatively simple; however, nickel oxidation is usually difficult to avoid, which makes it challenging to optimize catalytic activities, metal loadings, and high-temperature activation steps. A robust, oxidation-resistant and very active nickel catalyst was prepared by controlled decomposition of the organometallic precursor [bis(1,5-cyclooctadiene)nickel(0)], Ni(COD)(2), over silica-coated magnetite (Fe3O4@SiO2). The sample is mostly Ni(0), and surface oxidized species formed after exposure to air are easily reduced in situ during hydrogenation of cyclohexene under mild conditions recovering the initial activity. This unique behavior may benefit several other reactions that are likely to proceed via Ni heterogeneous catalysis.

Methodological contributions towards the study of health care production: lessons from a research study on barriers and access in mental health

This article presents methodological contributions and a conceptual innovation for thinking about the production of health care, stemming from a study on access and barriers in mental health carried out in the municipality of Campinas (Sao Paulo, Brazil). The study used a cartographic approach and, after an initial identification of the most complex cases (on the part of the teams of workers), adopted the users as guides to explore the different levels of production of their lives and to evaluate the possibility of forming a network of existential connections that produce life as a fundamental analyzer of access or barriers to care.

A novel approach for the treatment of pelvic abscess: transrectal endoscopic drainage facilitated by transanal endoscopic microsurgery access

Postoperative pelvic abscesses in patients submitted to colorectal surgery are challenging. The surgical approach may be too risky, and image-guided drainage often is difficult due to the complex anatomy of the pelvis. This article describes novel access for drainage of a pelvic collection using a minimally invasive natural orifice approach. A 37 year-old man presented with sepsis due to a pelvic abscess during the second postoperative week after a Hartmann procedure due to perforated rectal cancer. Percutaneous drainage was determined by computed tomography to be unsuccessful, and another operation was considered to be hazardous. Because the pelvic fluid was very close to the rectal stump, transrectal drainage was planned. The rectal stump was opened using transanal endoscopic microsurgery (TEM) instruments. The endoscope was advanced through the TEM working channel and the rectal stump opening, accessing the abdominal cavity and pelvic collection. The pelvic collection was endoscopically drained and the local cavity washed with saline through the scope channel. A Foley catheter was placed in the rectal stump. The patient's recovery after the procedure was successful, without the need for further intervention. Transrectal endoscopic drainage may be an option for selected cases of pelvic fluid collection in patients submitted to Hartmann's procedure. The technique allows not only fluid drainage but also visualization of the local cavity, cleavage of multiloculated abscesses, and saline irrigation if necessary. The use of TEM instrumentation allows safe access to the peritoneal cavity.

Regionalization and access to healthcare in Brazilian states: historical and political-institutional conditioning factors

This article examines the healthcare regionalization process in the Brazilian states in the period from 2007 to 2010, seeking to identify the conditions that favor or impede this process. Referential analysis of public policies and especially of historical institutionalism was used. Three dimensions sum up the conditioning factors of regionalization: context (historical-structural, political-institutional and conjunctural), directionality (ideology, object, actors, strategies and instruments) and regionalization features (institutionality and governance). The empirical research relied mainly on the analysis of official documents and interviews with key actors in 24 states. Distinct patterns of influence in the states were observed, with regionalization being marked by important gains in institutionality and governance in the period. Nevertheless, inherent difficulties of the contexts prejudice greater advances. There is a pressing need to broaden the territorial focus in government planning and to integrate sectorial policies for medium and long-term regional development in order to empower regionalization and to overcome obstacles to the access to healthcare services in Brazil.

Evolution in access to fluoridated water in Sao Paulo State, Brazil, from the 1950s to the early 21st century

Access to fluoridated water is a known protective factor against dental caries. In 1974, fluoridation of the public water supply became mandatory by law in Brazil, resulting in improved coverage, especially in more developed regions of the country. Coverage increased across the country as a priority under the national oral health policy. This article systematizes information on the implementation and expansion of fluoridation in Sao Paulo State from 1956 to 2009, using secondary data from technical reports, official documents, and the Information System for Surveillance of Water Quality for Human Consumption (SISAGUA). In 2009, fluoridation covered 546 of 645 counties in Sao Paulo State (84.7%), reaching 85.1% of the total population and 93.5% of the population with access to the public water supply. The results indicate that fluoridation has been consolidated as part of State health policy. However, the challenge remains to implement and maintain fluoridation in 99 counties, benefiting 6.2 million inhabitants that are still excluded from this service.

Effect of a video on developing skills in undergraduate nursing students for the management of totally implantable central venous access ports

Background: Handling Totally Implantable Access Ports (TIAP) is a nursing procedure that requires skill and knowledge to avoid adverse events. No studies addressing this procedure with undergraduate students were identified prior to this study. Communication technologies, such as videos, have been increasingly adopted in the teaching of nursing and have contributed to the acquisition of competencies for clinical performance. Objective: To evaluate the effect of a video on the puncture and heparinization of TIAP in the development of cognitive and technical competencies of undergraduate nursing students. Method: Quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest design. Results: 24 individuals participated in the study. Anxiety scores were kept at levels 1 and 2 in the pretest and posttest. In relation to cognitive knowledge concerning the procedure, the proportion of correct answers in the pretest was 0.14 (SD=0.12) and 0.90 in the posttest (SD=0.05). After watching the video, the average score obtained by the participants in the mock session was 27.20. Conclusion: The use of an educational video with a simulation of puncture and heparinization of TIAP proved to be a strategy that increased both cognitive and technical knowledge. This strategy is viable in the teaching-learning process and is useful as a support tool for professors and for the development of undergraduate nursing students. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biochemical Aspects of a Serine Protease from Caesalpinia echinata Lam. (Brazilwood) Seeds: A Potential Tool to Access the Mobilization of Seed Storage Proteins

Several proteins have been isolated from seeds of leguminous, but this is the first report that a protease was obtained from seeds of Caesalpinia echinata Lam., a tree belonging to the Fabaceae family. This enzyme was purified to homogeneity by hydrophobic interaction and anion exchange chromatographies and gel filtration. This 61-kDa serine protease (CeSP) hydrolyses H-D-prolyl-L-phenylalanyl-L-arginine-p-nitroanilide (K-m 55.7 mu M) in an optimum pH of 7.1, and this activity is effectively retained until 50 degrees C. CeSP remained stable in the presence of kosmotropic anions (PO43-, SO42-, and CH3COO-) or chaotropic cations (K+ and Na+). It is strongly inhibited by TLCK, a serine protease inhibitor, but not by E-64, EDTA or pepstatin A. The characteristics of the purified enzyme allowed us to classify it as a serine protease. The role of CeSP in the seeds cannot be assigned yet but is possible to infer that it is involved in the mobilization of seed storage proteins.

Post-trial access to study medication: a Brazilian e-survey with major stakeholders in clinical research

Objectives To analyse the perspective of clinical research stakeholders concerning post-trial access to study medication. Methods Questionnaires and informed consents were sent through e-mail to 599 ethics committee (EC) members, 290 clinical investigators (HIV/AIDS and Diabetes) and 53 sponsors in Brazil. Investigators were also asked to submit the questionnaire to their research patients. Two reminders were sent to participants. Results The response rate was 21%, 20% and 45% in EC, investigators and sponsors' groups, respectively. 54 patients answered the questionnaire through their doctors. The least informative item in the consent form was how to obtain the study medication after trial. If a benefit were demonstrated in the study, 60% of research participants and 35% of EC answered that all patients should continue receiving study medication after trial; 43% of investigators believed the medication should be given to participants, and 40% to subjects who participated and benefited from treatment. For 50% of the sponsors, study medication should be assured to participants who had benefited from treatment. The majority of responders answered that medication should be provided free by sponsors; investigators and sponsors believed the medication should be kept until available in the public health sector; EC members said that the patient should keep the benefit; patients answered that benefits should be assured for life. Conclusions Due to the study limitations, the results cannot be generalised; however, the data can contribute to discussion of this complex topic through analysing the views of stakeholders in clinical research in Brazil.