Using selected scenes from Brazilian films to teach about substance use disorders, within medical education

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVES: Themes like alcohol and drug abuse, relationship difficulties, psychoses, autism and personality dissociation disorders have been widely used in films. Psychiatry and psychiatric conditions in various cultural settings are increasingly taught using films. Many articles on cinema and psychiatry have been published but none have presented any methodology on how to select material. Here, the authors look at the portrayal of abusive use of alcohol and drugs during the Brazilian cinema revival period (1994 to 2008). DESIGN AND SETTING: Qualitative study at two universities in the state of São Paulo. METHODS: Scenes were selected from films available at rental stores and were analyzed using a specifically designed protocol. We assessed how realistic these scenes were and their applicability for teaching. One author selected 70 scenes from 50 films (graded for realism and teaching applicability > 8). These were then rated by another two judges. Rating differences among the three judges were assessed using nonparametric tests (P < 0.001). Scenes with high scores (> 8) were defined as "quality scenes". RESULTS: Thirty-nine scenes from 27 films were identified as "quality scenes". Alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, hallucinogens and inhalants were included in these. Signs and symptoms of intoxication, abusive/harmful use and dependence were shown. CONCLUSIONS: We have produced rich teaching material for discussing psychopathology relating to alcohol and drug use that can be used both at undergraduate and at postgraduate level. Moreover, it could be seen that certain drug use behavioral patterns are deeply rooted in some Brazilian films and groups.

Experimental comparative study on vortex-induced motion (VIM) of a monocolumn platform

An analysis methodology is presented as well as a comparison of results obtained from vortex-induced motion (VIM) model tests of the MonoGoM platform, a monocolumn floating unit designed for the Gulf of Mexico. The choice of scale between the model and the platform in which the tests took place was a very important issue that took into account the basin dimensions and mooring design. The tests were performed in three different basins: the IPT Towing Tank in Brazil (Sept. 2005), the NMRI Model Ship Experimental Towing Tank in Japan (Mar. 2007), and the NMRI Experimental Tank in Japan (Jun. 2008). The purpose is to discuss the most relevant issues regarding the concept, execution, and procedures to comparatively analyze the results obtained from VIM model tests, such as characteristic motion amplitudes, motion periods, and forces. The results pointed out the importance of considering the 2DOF in the model tests, i.e., the coexistence of the motions in both in-line and transverse directions. The approach employed in the tests was designed to build a reliable data set for comparison with theoretical and numerical models for VIM prediction, especially that of monocolumn platforms. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4003494]

Application of H-infinity Theory to a 6 DOF Flight Simulator Motion Base

The purpose of this study is to apply inverse dynamics control for a six degree of freedom flight simulator motion system. Imperfect compensation of the inverse dynamic control is intentionally introduced in order to simplify the implementation of this approach. The control strategy is applied in the outer loop of the inverse dynamic control to counteract the effects of imperfect compensation. The control strategy is designed using H-infinity theory. Forward and inverse kinematics and full dynamic model of a six degrees of freedom motion base driven by electromechanical actuators are briefly presented. Describing function, acceleration step response and some maneuvers computed from the washout filter were used to evaluate the performance of the controllers.

Frailty criteria and cognitive performance are related: data from the fibra study in Ermelino Matarazzo, São Paulo, Brazil

Objectives: To assess the relationship between the CHS frailty criteria (Fried et al., 2001) and cognitive performance. Design: Cross sectional and population-based. Setting: Ermelino Matarazzo, a poor sub district of the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Participants: 384 community dwelling older adults, 65 and older. Measurements: Assessment of the CHS frailty criteria, the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (memorization of 10 black and white pictures, verbal fluency animal category, and the Clock Drawing Test) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results: Frail older adults performed significantly lower than non-frail and pre frail elderly in most cognitive variables. Grip strength and age were associated to MMSE performance, age was associated to delayed memory recall, gait speed was associated to verbal fluency and CDT performance, and education was associated to CDT performance. Conclusion: Being frail may be associated with cognitive decline, thus, gerontological assessments and interventions should consider that these forms of vulnerability may occur simultaneously.

Astrobiology in Brazil: early history and perspectives

This review reports the Brazilian history in astrobiology, as well as the first delineation of a vision of the future development of the field in the country, exploring its abundant biodiversity, highly capable human resources and state-of-the-art facilities, reflecting the last few years of stable governmental investments in science, technology and education, all conditions providing good perspectives on continued and steadily growing funding for astrobiology-related research. Brazil is growing steadily and fast in terms of its worldwide economic power, an effect being reflected in different areas of the Brazilian society, including industry, technology, education, social care and scientific production. In the field of astrobiology, the country has had some important landmarks, more intensely after the First Brazilian Workshop on Astrobiology in 2006. The history of astrobiology in Brazil, however, is not so recent and had its first occurrence in 1958. Since then, researchers carried out many individual initiatives across the country in astrobiology-related fields, resulting in an ever growing and expressive scientific production. The number of publications, including articles and theses, has particularly increased in the last decade, but still counting with the effort of researchers working individually. That scenario started to change in 2009, when a formal group of Brazilian researchers working with astrobiology was organized, aiming at congregating the scientific community interested in the subject and to promote the necessary interactions to achieve a multidisciplinary work, receiving facilities and funding from the University de Sao Paulo and other funding agencies. Received 29 February 2012, accepted 17 May 2012, first published online 18 July 2012

Determinants of cognitive performance among community dwelling older adults in an impoverished sub-district of Sao Paulo in Brazil

Determinants of cognitive performance in old age have received limited attention in Latin America. We investigated the association of socio-demographic and health-related variables with cognitive performance in a sample of older adults with limited educational experience living in a poor subdistrict of the city of Sao Paulo. This was a cross-sectional population-based study which included a sample of 384 seniors 65 years and older. Cognition was assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Brief Cognitive Screening Battery (BCSB) (episodic memory test with 10 pictures, verbal fluency (VF), Clock Drawing Test (CDT)). Results indicated that age, sex, schooling, depressive symptoms, and systolic blood pressure (SBP) level had a significant impact on the cognitive performance of the sample. Therefore, pharmacological and psychosocial interventions with a focus on improving mood and controlling hypertension may have beneficial effects on cognition among seniors with similar socio-demographic characteristics. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Crenicichla chicha, a new species of pike cichlid (Teleostei: Cichlidae) from the rio Papagaio, upper rio Tapajós basin, Mato Grosso, Brazil

Crenicichla chicha, new species, occurs in clear, fast-running waters with rocky substrates in the rio Papagaio and tributaries. It is distinguished from all other Crenicichla species by the combination of two character states: infraorbitals 3 and 4 co-ossified (vs. separated) and 66-75 scales in the row immediately above to that containing the lower lateral line (E1 row scales). Crenicichla chicha shares a smooth preopercular margin, co-ossification of infraorbitals 3 and 4, and some color features with C. hemera from the adjacent rio Aripuanã drainage, rio Madeira basin. It differs from Crenicichla hemera in more E1 scales (66-75 vs. 58-65) and presence of a conspicuous black narrow stripe running from infraorbital 3 obliquely caudoventrad toward the preopercular margin vs. a rounded and faint suborbital marking present on infraorbitals 3-4. Examination of the type series and additional material from the rio Aripuanã confirms that Crenicichla guentheri Ploeg, 1991 is a junior subjective synonym of C. hemera Kullander, 1990.

Three new species of Lebiasina (Characiformes: Lebiasinidae) from the Brazilian shield border at Serra do Cachimbo, Pará, Brazil

Lebiasina marilynae n. sp., L. melanoguttata n. sp., and L. minuta n. sp. are described from the headwaters of the rio Curuá, in Serra do Cachimbo, Pará, Brazil, and represent the only members of the Lebiasininae in the Brazilian Shied, so far. A close relationship among these species is proposed based on: 1) the presence of a pair of foramina through which the ramus palatinus of the facial nerve passes, a modification unique in Lebiasinidae and apparently in the Characiformes, 2) the enlargement of the extrascapular bone, 3) the absence of the secondary stripe, and 4) the nearly equal length of caudal-fin lobes. Lebiasina marilynae additionally differs from all congeners in having the primary stripe extending from the tip of the snout to the distal border of the caudal-fin peduncle, the possession of two series of dark blotches parallel to the primary stripe, and a rounded dorsal surface of the mesethmoid. Lebiasina melanoguttata and Lebiasina minuta additionally differ from all congeners in the absence of the primary stripe and the caudal blotch, and the presence of three longitudinal series of dark blotches at the base of the scales of series 3-5. Lebiasina melanoguttata differs from Lebiasina minuta in the absence of a dark blotch at the base of the median rays of the dorsal fin, second infrapharyngobranchial bearing conical teeth, the reddish overall coloration of the eye and fins, and the dark blotches never coalescing (vs. dark dorsal-fin blotch present; the second infrapharyngobranchial being edentulous; dark, olive green eyes, and the yellowish overall color of body and fins; and the dark blotches of longitudinal series 3 and 4 coalescing where scales of adjacent longitudinal series overlap). The occurrence of species of the Lebiasininae on the Brazilian Shield is discussed, and the distribution pattern of the species described herein is compared to that of other endemic species of the Serra do Cachimbo, a highly biodiverse area isolated from the rest of the Amazon basin.