Recalled and recorded bowel habits confirm early onset and high frequency of constipation in day-care nursery children

CONTEXT: Mothers recall early-onset constipation in children attending gastroenterology clinics. OBJECTIVES: To study the bowel habit of young children in the community to determine, first, whether early-onset constipation is confirmed in this setting and, second, the agreement between recalled and recorded bowel habit. METHODS:Defecation data of 57 children aged 6.0-40.7 mo were obtained by maternal recall (questionnaire on predominant stool characteristics) and by record (1,934 defecations registered prospectively at home and in the nursery). The bowel habit was classified according to stool frequency and proportion of stool characteristics (soft, hard and/or runny). Two criteria were used to classify recorded data, since the cutoff point for hard stools to identify constipation is undefined in children: predominant criterion and adult criterion, respectively with >50% and >25% of stools with altered consistency. Bowel habit categories were: adequate, constipation, functional diarrhea and "other bowel habit". Nonparametric statistics, and the Kappa index for agreement between recalled and recorded bowel habit, were used. RESULTS: Constipation occurred in 17.5%, 10.5%, 19.3% of the children by recall, the predominant and the adult criteria, respectively. Constipation was the main recalled alteration, vs 12.3% "other bowel habit". Only one child classified as having functional diarrhea (by the adult criterion). Agreement between recalled and recorded bowel habit was fair for constipation, by the predominant and the adult criteria (K = 0.28 and 0.24, respectively), but only slight (K <0.16) for other bowel habit categories. Individual data, however, pointed to a better relationship between recalled constipation and the adult rather than the predominant criterion. CONCLUSIONS: Frequent early-onset constipation was confirmed. Fair agreement between recalled and recorded constipation by the two used criteria indicates that recalled data are quite reliable to detect constipation.

Inserção de graduados em fonoaudiologia de uma universidade pública em programas de pós-graduação

OBJETIVO: caracterizar a inserção de egressos do Curso de Fonoaudiologia da Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) - Marília, em Programas de Pós-Graduação (PPG) Stricto Sensu brasileiros. MÉTODO: foram utilizadas listas de graduados e Curriculum Vitae do egresso e do orientador. RESULTADOS: dos 537 formados, 16,57% cursaram/estavam cursando PPG e destes, 98,88% em mestrado e 37,08% também em doutorado. Na grande área de conhecimento, 50% dos egressos de mestrado vincularam-se predominantemente a programas em Ciências da Saúde, 31,80% em Ciências Humanas e 13,64% em Linguística, Letras e Artes. No doutorado, 33, 33% em Ciências Humanas, 30,30% em Ciências da Saúde e em Linguística, Letras e Artes. Quanto à área de conhecimento, predominou a vinculação, no mestrado, de 30,68% em Fonoaudiologia, 28,41% em Educação, 13,64% em Linguística e 9,09% em Medicina I; e, no doutorado, de 33,33% em Educação, 30,30% em Linguística e 9,09% em Fonoaudiologia; 55,68% dissertações e 51,52% teses focalizaram a linguagem. A UNESP predominou com 39,77% no mestrado e 48,48% no doutorado. Predominou a vinculação a Programas com conceito 4 para 52,27% dos egressos do mestrado e 45,45% do doutorado. Quando constou a informação (55,68%), todos receberam fomento. O Teste de Razão de Verossimilhança não indicou diferenças significativas dos percentuais obtidos entre o mestrado e o doutorado. CONCLUSÃO: os resultados superaram os apresentados para o mesmo Estado, mostraram a característica interdisciplinar da Ciência Fonoaudiológica e o predomínio de temática em linguagem.

Catalogue of " poneromorph" ant type specimens (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) deposited in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

The present catalogue lists the type specimes of 112 nominal " poneromorph" ant species housed in the Formicidae collection of the Hymenoptera laboratory, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZSP). The catalogue includes types of Amblyoponinae, Ectatomminae, Heteroponerinae, Ponerinae, and Proceratiinae, that is, all poneromorph (sensu Bolton, 2003) but for the monotypic Paraponerinae, of which the collection bears no type specimens. We present here information on type categories (holotype, paratype, syntype, lectotype, and paralectotype), label data, nomenclatural changes since the original description and type specimens conservation status. At last we present indexes for the taxa names presented.

O uso de videogames, jogos de computador e internet por uma amostra de universitários da Universidade de São Paulo

OBJETIVO: Avaliar uso de jogos eletrônicos (videogames, jogos de computador e internet) em uma amostra de universitários. MÉTODO: Um questionário a respeito de comportamentos relacionados ao uso de jogos eletrônicos, contendo a escala Problem Videogame Playing (PVP), foi aplicado em 100 alunos da Universidade de São Paulo (USP). RESULTADOS: A maioria (83%) relatou ter jogado no último ano, dentre a qual 81,9% eram homens, 51,8% jogavam de 1 a 2 horas por sessão; 74,4% afirmaram que jogar não interfere em seus relacionamentos sociais e 60,5%, que o uso de jogos violentos não influencia sua agressividade. Os estudantes dividiram-se entre jogadores ocasionais e frequentes, diferenciando-se por duração de cada sessão, jogo preferido, motivação para jogar, e influência do jogo na vida social. Cerca de 5% relataram só parar de jogar quando interrompidos, normalmente jogar mais de 4 horas por sessão e se relacionar mais com amigos virtuais, sugerindo maior envolvimento com a atividade. Na escala PVP, 15,8% da amostra preencheu mais da metade dos itens, indicando consequências adversas associadas ao uso dos jogos eletrônicos. CONCLUSÃO: Observou-se que o uso de jogos eletrônicos é comum entre os estudantes da USP e que uma parcela apresenta problemas relacionados ao excesso de jogo.

Alameda Glette, 463, sede do Curso de Química da Universidade de São Paulo no período 1939-1965

As the foundation of the University of São Paulo completes 75 years, this article describes the history of a mansion at 463 Glette Boulevard, in São Paulo city, where several undergraduate courses of the University's Philosophy, Sciences and Letters Faculty operated until 1969. The first building of the school of Chemistry was erected there, 70 years ago. A brief retrospective of the Department of Chemistry at that place is given. The mansion was torn down by the middle of the 1970s, but it remained as a symbol of the school identity in the memory of all those who studied there.

A catalogue of types of Conopoidea, Diopsoidea, Nerioidea and Tephritoidea (Diptera, Schizophora) in the collection of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo

A catalogue is provided with the type material of four superfamilies of "Acalyptrate" (Conopoidea, Diopsoidea, Nerioidea and Tephritoidea) held in the collection of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZUSP), São Paulo, Brazil. Concerning the taxa dealt with herein, the Diptera collection of MZUSP held 77 holotypes, 4 "allotypes" and 194 paratypes. In this paper, information about data labels, preservation and missing structures of the type specimens is given.

The type specimens of "dorylomorph" ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae: Aenictinae, Ecitoninae, Cerapachyinae, Leptanilloidinae) deposited in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

The present catalogue lists the "dorylomorph" ant types (Aenictinae: Aenictus; Cerapachyinae: Acanthostichus and Cerapachys; Ecitoninae: Eciton, Labidus, Neivamyrmex and Nomamyrmex; and Leptanilloidinae: Asphinctanilloides and Leptanilloides) housed in the Formicidae collection of the Hymenoptera laboratory, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZSP), Brazil. In total, the collection includes types of 141 nominal species, of which 56 are still valid. The majority of types of dorylomorph species in the MZSP collection are syntypes (67 species), but there are as well 13 species represented by holotypes only, 17 by holotypes and paratypes, 43 species by paratypes only, and one species by a paralectotype. We record the label information, condition of the specimens, nomenclatural changes, type status, and provide indexes of the listed taxa.

A catalogue of the Pseudomyrmecinae ants type specimens (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) deposited in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

This catalogue lists the type specimens of 37 species of Pseudomyrmecinae ants deposited in the Hymenoptera Formicidae collection of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, which holds types of the only two genera that occur in the Neotropics, Pseudomyrmex Lund and Myrcidris Ward. We record the label information, condition of the specimens, nomenclatural changes, type status, and provide an index of the listed taxa.

List of types of Erotylidae (Insecta, Coleoptera) of the Museu de Zoologia, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil

A list of 228 types of 79 species of erotylids (Insecta, Coleoptera, Erotylidae - including the Languriinae) of the collection of the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo and the data on their labels are presented.

Pesquisas em gestão ambiental: análise de sua evolução na Universidade de São Paulo

Aumento da produção de pesquisas em gestão ambiental ocorreu após conferências internacionais sobre ambiente e desenvolvimento, embora os primeiros grupos de pesquisa da USP tenham se formado na década de 1980. Elas são majoritariamente ligadas às Ciências Sociais Aplicadas e aos temas produção, planejamento e economia. A USP é reativa à inserção da temática em seus programas, mas gestão ambiental ainda é periférica.

Resgate histórico do controle do tabagismo na Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo: relato de uma experiência

A ação da Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo na luta contra o tabagismo teve início em 1975, quando a instituição participou da III Conferência Mundial de Fumo e Saúde, realizada em New York (EUA). Depois de três décadas de trabalho ininterrupto, ela recebeu, em 2008, da Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de São Paulo, o selo prata de certificação de ambiente livre do tabaco. Nesse espaço de tempo, ao lado de um trabalho educativo, realizado corpo a corpo com docentes, funcionários e alunos, foram realizadas pesquisas, treinamentos e desenvolvido toda uma programação orientada pelo Ministério da Saúde / Instituto Nacional do Câncer. Foram também produzidas inúmeras monografias de mestrado, teses de doutorado e de livre docência, tendo como tema o tabagismo do ponto de vista educativo, social, médico e sanitário. Este artigo pretendeu fazer o relato dessa trajetória

Compton suppression instrumental neutron activation analysis performance in determining trace- and minor-element contents in foodstuff

In 2003-2004, several food items were purchased from large commercial outlets in Coimbra, Portugal. Such items included meats (chicken, pork, beef), eggs, rice, beans and vegetables (tomato, carrot, potato, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce). Elemental analysis was carried out through INAA at the Technological and Nuclear Institute (ITN, Portugal), the Nuclear Energy Centre for Agriculture (CENA, Brazil), and the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Lab of the University of Texas at Austin (NETL, USA). At the latter two, INAA was also associated to Compton suppression. It can be concluded that by applying Compton suppression (1) the detection limits for arsenic, copper and potassium improved; (2) the counting-statistics error for molybdenum diminished; and (3) the long-lived zinc had its 1115-keV photopeak better defined. In general, the improvement sought by introducing Compton suppression in foodstuff analysis was not significant. Lettuce, cabbage and chicken (liver, stomach, heart) are the richest diets in terms of human nutrients.

Reconciliação pró-ativa em empreendimentos mineiros

The common practice of reconciliation is based on definition of the mine call factor (MCF) and its application to resource or grade control estimates. The MCF expresses the difference, a ratio or percentage, between the predicted grade and the grade reported by the plant. Therefore, its application allows to correct future estimates. This practice is named reactive reconciliation. However the use of generic factors that are applied across differing time scales and material types often disguises the causes of the error responsible for the discrepancy. The root causes of any given variance can only be identified by analyzing the information behind any variance and, then, making changes to methodologies and processes. This practice is named prognostication, or proactive reconciliation, an iterative process resulting in constant recalibration of the inputs and the calculations. The prognostication allows personnel to adjust processes so that results align within acceptable tolerance ranges, and not only to correct model estimates. This study analyses the reconciliation practices performed at a gold mine in Brazil and suggests a new sampling protocol, based on prognostication concepts.

Glutamatergic neurotransmission mediated by NMDA receptors in the inferior colliculus can modulate haloperidol-induced catalepsy

The inferior colliculus (IC) is primarily involved in the processing of auditory information, but it is distinguished from other auditory nuclei in the brainstem by its connections with structures of the motor system. Functional evidence relating the IC to motor behavior derives from experiments showing that activation of the IC by electrical stimulation or excitatory amino acid microinjection causes freezing, escape-like behavior, and immobility. However, the nature of this immobility is still unclear. The present study examined the influence of excitatory amino acid-mediated mechanisms in the IC on the catalepsy induced by the dopamine receptor blocker haloperidol administered systemically (1 or 0.5 mg/kg) in rats. Haloperidol-induced catalepsy was challenged with prior intracollicular microinjections of glutamate NMDA receptor antagonists, MK-801 (15 or 30 mmol/0.5 mu l) and AP7 (10 or 20 nmol/0.5 mu l), or of the NMDA receptor agonist N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA, 20 or 30 nmol/0.5 mu l). The results showed that intracollicular microinjection of MK-801 and AP7 previous to systemic injections of haloperidol significantly attenuated the catalepsy, as indicated by a reduced latency to step down from a horizontal bar. Accordingly, intracollicular microinjection of NMDA increased the latency to step down the bar. These findings suggest that glutamate-mediated mechanisms in the neural circuits at the IC level influence haloperidol-induced catalepsy and participate in the regulation of motor activity. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Effects of microinjections of apomorphine and haloperidol into the inferior colliculus on the latent inhibition of the conditioned emotional response

Electrical or chemical stimulation of the inferior colliculus (IC) induces fear-like behaviors. More recently, consistent evidence has shown that electrical stimulation of the central nucleus of the IC supports Pavlovian conditioning and latent inhibition (Li). LI is characterized by retardation in conditioning and also by an impaired ability to ignore irrelevant stimuli, after a non-reinforced pre-exposure to the conditioned stimulus. LI has been proposed as a behavioral model of cognitive abnormalities seen in schizophrenia. The aim of the present study was to determine whether dopaminergic mechanisms in the IC are involved in LI of the conditioned emotional response (CER). To induce LI, a group of rats was pre-exposed (PE) to six tones in two sessions, while rats that were not pre-exposed (NPE) had two sessions without tone presentations. The conditioning consisted of two tone presentations to the animal, followed immediately by a foot shock. PE and NPE rats received IC microinjections of physiological saline, the dopaminergic agonist apomorphine (9.0 mu g/0.5 mu L/side), or the dopaminergic antagonist haloperidol (0.5 mu g/0.5 mu L/side) before both pre-exposure and conditioning. During the test, the PE rats that received saline or haloperidol had a lower suppression of the licking response compared to NPE rats that received vehicle or haloperidol, indicating that latent inhibition was induced. There was no significant difference in the suppression ratio in rats that received apomorphine injections into the IC, indicating reduced latent inhibition. These results suggest that dopamine-mediated mechanisms of the IC are involved in the development of LI. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.