Evapotranspiration and crop coefficients of seedless watermelon

The research was developed in Fortaleza, CE (latitude 3 degrees 43`S, longitude of 38 degrees 32`W and altitude of 19.5 m). It aimed to determine the Evapotranspiration and the crop coefficients for the different stadiums of seedless watermelon (Citrullus lanatus, Schrad), using the water balance method in drainage lysimeter. The experimental unit consisted of four located drainage lysimeter in an area of 600 m(2). The culture Evapotranspiration (ETc) was determined by the method of the water balance, in a volume of soil control with depth of 0.45 m, whose humidity was monitored by tensiometers. The reference Evapotranspiration (ETo) was estimated by the method of the class A pan. The crop coefficients were obtained from the rate between ETc and ETo in the different stages. The ETc presented growing values from the vegetative stage to the fruiting stage, dropping straight away in the mature stage. The maximum value of kc was observed in the fruiting stage.

Validity of the self reporting questionnaire-20 in epidemiological studies with older adults

This study examined the validity of the self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20) in a population-based survey with older adults in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The study sample consisted of 2,008 individuals aged 65 years or more who were living in an economically disadvantaged area of the city. The geriatric mental state (GMS) was used as the gold standard for the assessment of common mental disorders (CMD). The optimal SRQ-20 threshold for case definition was 4/5 (sensitivity = 76.1%, specificity = 74.6%, area under ROC curve = 0.82). Women, older participants and those with lower income were more likely to be misclassified by the questionnaire. The inclusion of older persons with dementia or psychosis did not change the ability of the SRQ-20 to identify cases of CMD. The SRQ-20 may be a useful instrument to be used in large epidemiological studies in resource-poor settings for the identification of cases of depression and anxiety in later life. The performance of the SRQ-20 among older adults was similar to that observed with the adult population in Brazil.

Screening for serious mental illness in the general population with the K6 screening scale: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) survey initiative

Data are reported on the background and performance of the K6 screening scale for serious mental illness (SMI) in the World Health Organization (WHO) World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. The K6 is a six-item scale developed to provide a brief valid screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM-IV) SMI based on the criteria in the US ADAMHA Reorganization Act. Although methodological studies have documented good K6 validity in a number of countries, optimal scoring rules have never been proposed. Such rules are presented here based on analysis of K6 data in nationally or regionally representative WMH surveys in 14 countries (combined N = 41,770 respondents). Twelve-month prevalence of DSM-IV SMI was assessed with the fully-structured WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Nested logistic regression analysis was used to generate estimates of the predicted probability of SMI for each respondent from K6 scores, taking into consideration the possibility of variable concordance as a function of respondent age, gender, education, and country. Concordance, assessed by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, was generally substantial (median 0.83; range 0.76-0.89; inter-quartile range 0.81-0.85). Based on this result, optimal scaling rules are presented for use by investigators working with the K6 scale in the countries studied. Copyright (c) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

AGE DIFFERENCES IN THE PREVALENCE AND CO-MORBIDITY OF DSM-IV MAJOR DEPRESSIVE EPISODES: RESULTS FROM THE WHO WORLD MENTAL HEALTH SURVEY INITIATIVE

Background: Although depression appears to decrease in late life, this could be due to misattribution of depressive symptoms to physical disorders that increase in late we. Methods: We investigated this issue by studying age differences in co-morbidity of DSM-IV major depressive episodes (MDE) with chronic physical conditions in the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys, a series of community epidemiological surveys of respondents in 10 developed countries (n = 52,485) and 8 developing countries (n = 37,265). MDE and other mental disorders were assessed with the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Organic exclusion rules were not used to avoid inappropriate exclusion of cases with physical co-morbidity. Physical conditions were assessed with a standard chronic conditions checklist. Results: Twelve-month DSM-IV/CIDI MDE was significantly less prevalent among respondents ages 65+ than younger respondents in developed but not developing countries. Prevalence of co-morbid mental disorders generally either decreased or remained stable with age, while co-morbidity of MDE with mental disorders generally increased with age. Prevalence of physical conditions, in comparison, generally increased with age, while co-morbidity of MDE with physical conditions generally decreased with age. Depression treatment was lowest among the elderly in developed and developing countries. Conclusions: The weakening associations between MDE and physical conditions with increasing age argue against the suggestion that the low estimated prevalence of MDE among the elderly is due to increased confounding with physical disorders. Future study is needed to investigate processes that might lead to a decreasing impact of physical illness on depression among the elderly. Depression and Anxiety 27:351-364, 2010. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Pentafecta: A New Concept for Reporting Outcomes of Robot-Assisted Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy

Background: Widespread use of prostate-specific antigen screening has resulted in younger and healthier men being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Their demands and expectations of surgical intervention are much higher and cannot be adequately addressed with the classic trifecta outcome measures. Objective: A new and more comprehensive method for reporting outcomes after radical prostatectomy, the pentafecta, is proposed. Design, setting, and participants: From January 2008 through September 2009, details of 1111 consecutive patients who underwent robot-assisted radical prostatectomy performed by a single surgeon were retrospectively analyzed. Of 626 potent men, 332 who underwent bilateral nerve sparing and who had 1 yr of follow-up were included in the study group. Measurements: In addition to the traditional trifecta outcomes, two perioperative variables were included in the pentafecta: no postoperative complications and negative surgical margins. Patients who attained the trifecta and concurrently the two additional outcomes were considered as having achieved the pentafecta. A logistic regression model was created to evaluate independent factors for achieving the pentafecta. Results and limitations: Continence, potency, biochemical recurrence-free survival, and trifecta rates at 12 mo were 96.4%, 89.8%, 96.4%, and 83.1%, respectively. With regard to the perioperative outcomes, 93.4% had no postoperative complication and 90.7% had negative surgical margins. The pentafecta rate at 12 mo was 70.8%. On multivariable analysis, patient age (p = 0.001) was confirmed as the only factor independently associated with the pentafecta. Conclusions: A more comprehensive approach for reporting prostate surgery outcomes, the pentafecta, is being proposed. We believe that pentafecta outcomes more accurately represent patients` expectations after minimally invasive surgery for prostate cancer. This approach may be beneficial and may be used when counseling patients with clinically localized disease. (C) 2011 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.

Under-reporting of food intake is frequent among Brazilian free-living older persons: a doubly labelled water study

The assessment of food intake is essential for the development of dietetic interventions. Accuracy is low when intake is assessed by questionnaires, the under-reporting of food intake being frequent. Most such studies, however, were performed in developed countries and there is little data about the older population of developing nations. This study aimed to verify the total energy expenditure (TEE) of independent older Brazilians living in an urban area, through the doubly labelled water (DLW) method and to compare it with the reported energy intake obtained through the application of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Initially, 100 volunteers aged from 60 to 75 years had their body composition determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Five volunteers of each quartile of body fat percentage had their energy expenditure determined by DLW. The mean age of the subjects included in this phase of the study was 66.4 +/- 3.5 years, and ten of the subjects were men. The mean TEE was 2565 +/- 614 and 2154 +/- 339 kcal.day(-1) for men and women, respectively. The Physical Activity Level (PAL) was 1.58 +/- 0.31 and 1.52 +/- 0.22, respectively. Under-reporting of food intake was highly prevalent, with a mean percentage of reported intake in relation to measured TEE of -17.7%. Thus, under-reporting of food intake is highly prevalent among Brazilian independent older persons. The DLW method is an important tool in nutritional studies and its use is to be recommended in developing countries. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.