Recommendations on quality control and quality assurance in cervical cytology

Objective: We aimed to critically evaluate the importance of quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) strategies in the routine work of uterine cervix cytology. Study Design: We revised all the main principles of QC and QA that are already being implemented worldwide and then discussed the positive aspects and limitations of these as well as proposing alternatives when pertinent. Results: A literature review was introduced after highlighting the main historical revisions, and then a critical evaluation of the principal innovations in screening programmes was conducted, with recommendations being postulated. Conclusions: Based on the analysed data, QC and QA are two essential arms that support the quality of a screening programme.

Synthesis, antiangiogenesis evaluation and molecular docking studies of 1-Aryl-3-[(thieno[3,2-b]pyridin-7-ylthio)phenyl]ureas: Discovery of a new substitution pattern for type II VEGFR-2 Tyr kinase inhibitors

The synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 1-aryl-3-[2-, 3- or 4-(thieno[3,2-b]pyridin-7-ylthio)phenyl]ureas 3, 4 and 5 as VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors, are reported. The 1-aryl-3-[3-(thieno[3,2-b]pyridin-7-ylthio)phenyl]ureas 4a-4h, with the arylurea in the meta position to the thioether, showed the lowest IC50 values in enzymatic assays (10-206 nM), the most potent compounds 4d-4h (IC50 10-28 nM) bearing hydrophobic groups (Me, F, CF3 and Cl) in the terminal phenyl ring. A convincing rationalization was achieved for the highest potent compounds 4 as type II VEGFR-2 inhibitors, based on the simultaneous presence of: (1) the thioether linker and (2) the arylurea moiety in the meta position. For compounds 4, significant inhibition of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) proliferation (BrdU assay), migration (wound-healing assay) and tube formation were observed at low concentrations. These compounds have also shown to increase apoptosis using the TUNEL assay. Immunostaining for total and phosphorylated (active) VEGFR-2 was performed by Western blotting. The phosphorylation of the receptor was significantly inhibited at 1.0 and 2.5 microM for the most promising compounds. Altogether, these findings point to an antiangiogenic effect in HUVECs.

The impact of urban noise on primary schools: perceptive evaluation and objective assessment

This paper aims to assess the impact of environmental noise in the vicinity of primary schools and to analyze its influence in the workplace and in student performance through perceptions and objective evaluation. The subjective evaluation consisted of the application of questionnaires to students and teachers, and the objective assessment consisted of measuring in situ noise levels. The survey covered nine classes located in three primary schools. Statistical Package for Social Sciences was used for data processing and to draw conclusions. Additionally, the relationship of the difference between environmental and background noise levels of each classroom and students with difficulties in hearing the teacherâ s voice was examined. Noise levels in front of the school, the schoolyard, and the most noise-exposed classrooms (occupied and unoccupied) were measured. Indoor noise levels were much higher than World Health Organization (WHO) recommended values: LAeq,30min averaged 70.5 dB(A) in occupied classrooms, and 38.6 dB(A) in unoccupied ones. Measurements of indoor and outdoor noise suggest that noise from the outside (road, schoolyard) affects the background noise level in classrooms but in varying degrees. It was concluded that the façades most exposed to road traffic noise are subjected to values higher than 55.0 dB(A), and noise levels inside the classrooms are mainly due to the schoolyard, students, and the road traffic. The difference between background (LA95,30min) and the equivalent noise levels (LAeq,30min) in occupied classrooms was 19.2 dB(A), which shows that studentsâ activities are a significant source of classroom noise.

Reasons and benefits associated with ISO 9001 - Certification for sugar and ethanol companies

With increasing business competitiveness, companies have sought to adapt their processes and / or products to worldwide established quality standards in order to achieve a greater share of consumers having as favorable aspect the quality assurance of the products and/or services provided. It was observed that companies of different sizes have different challenges regarding the certification however, the degree of difficulty is the same for all of them. The objective of this paper is to verify the reasons for the implementation of ISO 9001, the obstacles encountered during the implementation, the benefits arising from the use of the quality management system and the degree of difficulty to implement this standard. This work was developed based on a survey involving companies certified with ISO 9001:2008 from the productive sector of sugar, ethanol and derivatives of sugarcane, located in all Brazilian states. It was observed that companies of different sizes have different challenges regarding the certification however the degree of difficulty is the same for all of them. Thus, we believe that expected results represent a very important contribution to examining the reasons, benefits and difficulties of the ISO 9001 to both, the companies and certification bodies, and to researchers.

Indoor biological agents: evaluation of primary schools environments

Dissertação de mestrado em Human Engineering

Monovarietal extra-virgin olive oil classification: a fusion of human sensory attributes and an electronic tongue

Olive oil quality grading is traditionally assessed by human sensory evaluation of positive and negative attributes (olfactory, gustatory, and final olfactorygustatory sensations). However, it is not guaranteed that trained panelist can correctly classify monovarietal extra-virgin olive oils according to olive cultivar. In this work, the potential application of human (sensory panelists) and artificial (electronic tongue) sensory evaluation of olive oils was studied aiming to discriminate eight single-cultivar extra-virgin olive oils. Linear discriminant, partial least square discriminant, and sparse partial least square discriminant analyses were evaluated. The best predictive classification was obtained using linear discriminant analysis with simulated annealing selection algorithm. A low-level data fusion approach (18 electronic tongue signals and nine sensory attributes) enabled 100 % leave-one-out cross-validation correct classification, improving the discrimination capability of the individual use of sensor profiles or sensory attributes (70 and 57 % leave-one-out correct classifications, respectively). So, human sensory evaluation and electronic tongue analysis may be used as complementary tools allowing successful monovarietal olive oil discrimination.