Mini Nutritional Assessment predicts gait status and mortality 6 months after hip fracture.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), the Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS) 2002 and the American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status Score (ASA) as predictors of gait status and mortality 6 months after hip fracture. A total of eighty-eight consecutive patients over the age of 65 years with hip fracture admitted to an orthopaedic unit were prospectively evaluated. Within the first 72 h of admission, each patient's characteristics were recorded, and the MNA, the NRS 2002 and the ASA were performed. Gait status and mortality were evaluated 6 months after hip fracture. Of the total patients, two were excluded because of pathological fractures. The remaining eighty-six patients (aged 80·2 (sd 7·3) years) were studied. Among these patients 76·7 % were female, 69·8 % walked with or without support and 12·8 % died 6 months after the fracture. In a multivariate analysis, only the MNA was associated with gait status 6 months after hip fracture (OR 0·773, 95 % CI 0·663, 0·901; P= 0·001). In the Cox regression model, only the MNA was associated with mortality 6 months after hip fracture (hazard ratio 0·869, 95 % CI 0·757, 0·998; P= 0·04). In conclusion, the MNA best predicts gait status and mortality 6 months after hip fracture. These results suggest that the MNA should be included in the clinical stratification of patients with hip fracture to identify and treat malnutrition in order to improve the outcomes.

Heart failure-induced skeletal myopathy in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Background: Although skeletal muscle atrophy and changes in myosin heavy chain (MyHC) isoforms have often been observed during heart failure, their pathophysiological mechanisms are not completely defined. In this study we tested the hypothesis that skeletal muscle phenotype changes are related to myogenic regulatory factors and myostatin/follistatin expression in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) with heart failure. Methods: After developing tachypnea, SHR were subjected to transthoracic echocardiogram. Pathological evidence of heart failure was assessed during euthanasia. Age-matched Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats were used as controls. Soleus muscle morphometry was analyzed in histological sections, and MyHC isoforms evaluated by electrophoresis. Protein levels were assessed by Western blotting. Statistical analysis: Student's t test and Pearson correlation. Results: All SHR presented right ventricular hypertrophy and seven had pleuropericardial effusion. Echocardiographic evaluation showed dilation in the left chambers and left ventricular hypertrophy with systolic and diastolic dysfunction in SHR. Soleus weight and fiber cross sectional areas were lower (WKY 3615±412; SHR 2035±224 μm2; P < 0.001), and collagen fractional volume was higher in SHR. The relative amount of type I MyHC isoform was increased in SHR. Myogenin, myostatin, and follistatin expression was lower and MRF4 levels higher in SHR. Myogenin and follistatin expression positively correlated with fiber cross sectional areas and MRF4 levels positively correlated with I MyHC isoform. Conclusion: Reduced myogenin and follistatin expression seems to participate in muscle atrophy while increased MRF4 protein levels can modulate myosin heavy chain isoform shift in skeletal muscle of spontaneously hypertensive rats with heart failure. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Toxicidade aguda e risco ambiental do diflubenzuron para Daphnia magna, Poecilia reticulata e Lemna minor na ausência e presença de sedimento

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Sistema de auditoria no SUS: análise dos dados de produção e glosas no serviço odontológico na rede pública

Pós-graduação em Odontologia Preventiva e Social - FOA

Seletividade de herbicidas aplicados sobre espécies de gramas em relação às características morfo-anatômicas foliares

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Avaliação da dose letal 'DL IND.50' oral e efeitos metabólicos da linamarina extraída de mandioca, em ratos

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Energia na Agricultura) - FCA

Densidade mineral óssea de adolescentes do sexo feminino e suas relaçoes com biomarcadores ósseos

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

Os Mecanismos Coletivos de Controle Social da Educação nos Municípios Paulistas de Leme e Pirassununga (1998-2003)

O presente trabalho procedeu a uma análise do Conselho Municipal de Educação (CME) e do Conselho Municipal de Acompanhamento e Controle Social do FUNDEF (CACS), nos municípios paulistas de Leme e Pirassununga, no período compreendido entre 1998 e 2003, enquanto mecanismos de controle social da educação pública. Buscou tratar da estrutura e da dinâmica do funcionamento desses Conselhos, com base em entrevistas e aplicação de questionários, que foram acrescidos de informações a respeito do cenário educacional local, resultante dos balanços financeiros e de dados educacionais.

Influência do período de início do exercício físico na remodelação ventricular após o infarto do miocárdio

Pós-graduação em Fisiopatologia em Clínica Médica - FMB

Potência atada na máxima fase estável de lactato e índices do desempenho aeróbio de nado

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

Relationship between chronological and bone ages and pubertal stage of breasts with bone biomarkers and bone mineral density in adolescents

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

Os desafios da reforma da polícia no Brasil

Brazil’s transition from a political and legal system to a democracy was accompanied by numerous legal and institutional reforms. In a context of struggle towards a broad political participation in public policies and risen criticism towards state actions, the extent and effects of these reforms have not been sufficiently deep to impact the problems and redefine the agenda. The main goal of this academic research is to understand the resistance to change and new paradigms that define the broad agenda of public safety.

A new probabilistic canopy dynamics model (SLCD) that is suitable for evergreen and deciduous forest ecosystems

There are strong uncertainties regarding LAI dynamics in forest ecosystems in response to climate change. While empirical growth & yield models (G&YMs) provide good estimations of tree growth at the stand level on a yearly to decennial scale, process-based models (PBMs) use LAI dynamics as a key variable for enabling the accurate prediction of tree growth over short time scales. Bridging the gap between PBMs and G&YMs could improve the prediction of forest growth and, therefore, carbon, water and nutrient fluxes by combining modeling approaches at the stand level.Our study aimed to estimate monthly changes of leaf area in response to climate variations from sparse measurements of foliage area and biomass. A leaf population probabilistic model (SLCD) was designed to simulate foliage renewal. The leaf population was distributed in monthly cohorts, and the total population size was limited depending on forest age and productivity. Foliage dynamics were driven by a foliation function and the probabilities ruling leaf aging or fall. Their formulation depends on the forest environment.The model was applied to three tree species growing under contrasting climates and soil types. In tropical Brazilian evergreen broadleaf eucalypt plantations, the phenology was described using 8 parameters. A multi-objective evolutionary algorithm method (MOEA) was used to fit the model parameters on litterfall and LAI data over an entire stand rotation. Field measurements from a second eucalypt stand were used to validate the model. Seasonal LAI changes were accurately rendered for both sites (R-2 = 0.898 adjustment, R-2 = 0.698 validation). Litterfall production was correctly simulated (R-2 = 0.562, R-2 = 0.4018 validation) and may be improved by using additional validation data in future work. In two French temperate deciduous forests (beech and oak), we adapted phenological sub-modules of the CASTANEA model to simulate canopy dynamics, and SLCD was validated using LAI measurements. The phenological patterns were simulated with good accuracy in the two cases studied. However, IA/max was not accurately simulated in the beech forest, and further improvement is required.Our probabilistic approach is expected to contribute to improving predictions of LAI dynamics. The model formalism is general and suitable to broadleaf forests for a large range of ecological conditions. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Treatment of osteochondral injuries with platelet gel

OBJECTIVES: Treatments for injured articular cartilage have not advanced to the point that efficient regeneration is possible. However, there has been an increase in the use of platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of several orthopedic disorders, including chondral injuries. Our hypothesis is that the treatment of chondral injuries with platelet gel results in higher-quality repair tissue after 180 days compared with chondral injuries not treated with gel.METHODS: A controlled experimental laboratory study was performed on 30 male rabbits to evaluate osteochondral injury repair after treatment with or without platelet gel. Osteochondral injuries were surgically induced in both knees of each rabbit at the medial femoral condyle. The left knee injury was filled with the platelet gel, and the right knee was not treated. Microscopic analysis of both knee samples was performed after 180 days using a histological grading scale.RESULTS: The only histological evaluation criterion that was not significantly different between treatments was metachromasia. The group that was treated with platelet gel exhibited superior results in all other criteria (cell morphology, surface regularity, chondral thickness and repair tissue integration) and in the total score.CONCLUSION: The repair tissue was histologically superior after 180 days in the study group treated with platelet gel compared with the group of untreated injuries.

NDVI and vegetation phenology dynamics under the influence of sunshine duration on the Tibetan plateau

Climate change has significantly influenced vegetation dynamics on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). Past research mainly focused on vegetation responses to temperature variation and water stress, but the influence of sunshine duration on NDVI and vegetation phenology on the TP is not well understood. In this study, NDVI time series from 1982-2008 were used to retrieve spatiotemporal vegetation dynamics on the TP. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis was conducted to understand the spatiotemporal variations of NDVI. The Start of Season (SOS) was estimated from NDVI time series with a local threshold method. The first EOF, accounting for 35.1% of NDVI variations on the TP, indicates that NDVI variations are larger in areas with shorter sunshine duration. The needle-leaved forest and shrub in the southeastern TP are more sensitive to sunshine duration anomalies (p < 0.01) than broad-leaved forest, steppe, and meadow due to spatial and altitudinal distribution of sunshine duration and vegetation types. The decrease in sunshine duration for the growing season on the TP has resulted in a decreased NDVI trend in some areas of southeastern TP (p ranging from 0.32-0.05 with threshold ranging from 0.05 to 0.25) in spite of the overall NDVI increase. SOS dynamics in most parts of the TP were mainly related to temperature variability, with precipitation and sunshine duration playing a role in a few regions. This study enhances our understanding of vegetation responses to climatic change on the TP.