Obstrução nasolacrimal congênita - Diagnóstico e tratamento

Patients with congenital nasolacrimal obstruction (CNLO) were evaluated at the Lacrimal Apparatus Service of Botucatu Faculty of Medicine - UNESP from 1990 to 1993. 45 children were seen at this period with CNLO. The diagnosis was confirmed by dacryocystography (DCG). Obstruction was unilateral in 77,7% of the patients; 68,1% at Arlt Sinus and 43,6% had lacrimal sac grade 1. Probing was made in children older than 6 months, under general anaesthesia, after DCG was performed. Cure was greater in children age 6 to 12 months with obstruction at Hasner's Valve and without dilation of lacrimal sac.

Pore structure characterization of kaolin, metakaolin, and their acid-treated products using small-angle X-ray scattering

Pore structure of dealuminated kaolin and metakaolin was studied by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Both parent kaolin and metakaolin have about 10% of the total pore volume provided by globular pores with 105 Å mean pore size. Their surface area is about 14 m2/g. Acid dealumination of kaolin causes an increase of its globular pore volume without an appreciable change in the mean pore size, its surface area increasing up to about 90 m2/g. Acid dealumination of metakaolin enhances the globular pore volume, although there is generation of slit-shaped pores with a narrow thickness distribution whose mean value is 14 Å. This interlayer spacing causes an increase in surface area of about 190 m2/g by SAXS. © 1994.

Processo educativo: sociedade e natureza. As Geociencias como vetor no processo educativo

This paper presents methodological questions and new ideas related to the Geosciences concepts and its development in association to the Natural Sciences study for Elementary and Basic Schools. Special attention has been focused to the NIMEC', a project responsible for programs to the Natural Sciences progress and global information in the Environmental Education. The geologic environment relationships constitute the demarcator that includes some Environmental Education matter. Interdisciplinary focus seems to be the most adequate way to the necessary community participation. -English summary

Use of sorghum seed tissue as a biocatalyst in a stirred reactor for oxalic acid determination

The enzyme oxalate oxidase, E.C. 1.2.3.4 from Sorghum vulgare seeds (variety BR303) was used to develop a new sensor for oxalate determination without any purification. The sorghum seeds were conditioned in a 0.10 mol I-1 KCl solution. Then, these seeds were put in a stirring bar type enzymic reactor and coupled with an electrode for CO2. This device was introduced into a cell containing 10.0 ml of a 0.10 mol I-1 KCl solution saturated with oxygen. This sensor showed a linear response between 1.0 and 4.0 × 10-3 mol I-1 with a slope of 30 mV per decade of oxalate concentration at 25.0°C. The sensor was stable for one month or 200 determinations. The response time was about 60 s. The Michaelis-Menten constant determined for this enzyme was 1.5 × 10-3 mol I-1.

HPLC determination of flumethrin, deltamethrin, cypermethrin, and cyhalothrin residues in the milk and blood of lactating dairy cows

A procedure to determine residue concentrations of synthetic pyrethroid insecticides (flumethrin, deltamethrin, cypermethrin and cyhalothrin) in the milk and blood of lactating dairy cows was developed. Extraction was performed with acetonitrile, n-hexane partitioning, and silica gel column cleanup with n-hexane and diethyl ether. Analysis was carried out by high- performance liquid chromatography and ultraviolet detection. Recovery of the four pyrethroids averaged 78 to 91% with a minimum detectable concentration of 0.001 mg/kg. The method was reproducible and sensitive.

Allometry and morphological integration in the skull of Tupinambis merianae (Lacertilia: Teiidae)

The morphogenetic processes acting in the skull of the lizard Tupinambis merianae were investigated by geometric morphometric techniques. The observed ontogenetic shape change involved a widening of the anterior extremity, stretching and narrowing of the midface, narrowing of the braincase, orbital reduction and elongation of the temporal region (origin of jaw adductor muscles). This change occurred mostly in a localized way in certain cranial regions. The major components identified were: rostrum, midface, dermal elements of braincase (functionally influenced) and endochondral elements of braincase (embryologically influenced). The growth patterns lead to an increased robustness of the skull (particularly the anterior extremity) and a reduction of cranial kinesis. These changes, together with the ontogenetic variation in dentition aid in the ontogenetic variation observed in the diet of these animals, which shift from carnivory to omnivory.

Ethanol tolerance of thermotolerant yeasts cultivated on mixtures of sucrose and ethanol

The final levels of ethanol (levels of ethanol produced plus that added initially to the media) reached by the thermotolerant yeasts were highest (16.5-20.3%, v/v) at 8% initial ethanol. The thermotolerant yeasts were found to have the following characteristics: constant levels of ethanol formation (10.5-12.3%, v/v), fog additions of external ethanol within the range 2-8% (v/v) of initial ethanol; constant values of product coefficients when initial ethanol was in the range of 2-6%, which increased or decreased, depending on the strain, when initial ethanol exceeded 6%; growth activity was inhibited at different levels of addition of external ethanol when final biomass and specific rate of growth were compared; significant differences among the yeast strains in the amount of external ethanol capable of reducing biomass formation by one half. In addition, the viability of the strains (early stationary phase) varied with the amount of external ethanol, the lowest viabilities occurring at concentrations of initial ethanol ranging from 4 to 7% and the highest in the range of 7 to 8% (v/v). The relative levels of trehalose (with/without 7% ethanol added initially) in the yeast strains (the stationary phase) ranged from 1.03 to 1.75, suggesting that the effect of produced ethanol on trehalose accumulation was stronger than that of external ethanol. The levels of final ethanol shown by the yeast strains were also correlated with the cellular levels of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (increase in enzyme levels with decrease in final ethanol) for cells harvested at the stationary phase.

Constraints on electroweak contact interactions from LEP and tevatron data

A complete set of dimension-six effective contact interactions involving Higgs, gauge bosons and quarks is studied. Limits on the coefficients of these new operators are obtained from the experimental values of the Z and W gauge bosons widths.

Joint X̄ and R Charts with Variable Sample Sizes and Sampling Intervals

Recent studies have shown that the X̄ chart with variable sampling intervals (VSI) and/or with variable sample sizes (VSS) detects process shifts faster than the traditional X̄ chart. This article extends these studies for processes that are monitored by both the X̄ and R charts. A Markov chain model is used to determine the properties of the joint X and R charts with variable sample sizes and sampling intervals (VSSI). The VSSI scheme improves the joint X̄ and R control chart performance in terms of the speed with which shifts in the process mean and/or variance are detected.

Chaos in collapsing Bose-condensed gas

We reinvestigate the dynamics of the grow and collapse of Bose-Einstein condensates in a system of trapped ultracold atoms with negative scattering lengths, and found a new behavior in the long time scale evolution: the number of atoms can go far beyond the static stability limit. The condensed state is described by the solution of the time-dependent nonlinear Schrödinger equation, in a model that includes atomic feeding and three-body dissipation. Our results for the model show that, by changing the feeding parameter and when a substantial depletion of the ground-state exists, a chaotic behavior is found. We consider a criterion proposed by Deissler and Kaneko [Phys. Lett. A 119, 397 (1987)] to diagnose spatiotemporal chaos. ©2000 The American Physical Society.

Determination of a method for calculation of allometric condition factor of fish

There is no agreement among authors that study fish condition by the allometric method (K=W/Lb) with regard to the best procedure for b coefficient calculation. Some authors use a constant coefficient for all sub-samples (seasons of the year, for instance), whilst others calculate b value for each sub-sample. To demonstrate which of these methods fits better, this study verified that the use of one b value for each sub-sample leads to distortion of Condition Factor values. Comparing the two tested methods, it may be concluded that the method which calculates b coefficient from groupings of all individuals and uses b as a constant value for all sub-samples is the most convenient method to study fish condition.

Iridoid glucosides from Randia spinosa (Rubiaceae)

An iridoid glucoside: randinoside, along with five known iridoids: galioside, deacetylasperulosidic acid methyl ester, scandoside methyl ester, geniposide and gardenoside, were isolated from the stems of Randia spinosa. The structures were determined by spectroscopic analysis, including 2D NMR techniques. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Endophytic yeasts and filamentous fungi associated with southern Brazilian apple (Malus domestica) orchards subjected to conventional, integrated or organic cultivation

Endophytic fungi were isolated from leaves, flowers and fruit of healthy apple trees (Malus domestica, BORKH.) growing in southern Brazilian orchards under three different cultivation systems (conventional, integrated and organic), during two vegetative cycles. The greatest total number of endophytic isolates was obtained from the orchards under organic cultivation when compared to integrated and conventional cultivation systems. Filamentous fungi from the genera Colletotrichum, Xylaria and Botryosphaeria were the most frequent ones and the most representative yeast genera were Sporobolomyces, Rhodotorula, Debaryomyces and Cryptococcus. It is suggested that some isolates may be used as indicators of the different management systems. © 2005 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.

Comportamento de cultivares de cafeeiro em diferentes densidades de plantio

This experiment was developed at Adamantina, west region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, during May 1995 to June of 2000. The plant growth and productivity of two coffee cultivars Catuaí Amarelo IAC 47 and Obatã IAC 1669-20, were evaluated considering to plant densities of 2.500, 5.000, 7.519 and 10.000 plants ha-1. The density of 2500 also was studied with two plants in the same hole, spaced of 2,0 m in the plant line. The experimental design was the randomized completely blocks with three replications, using the split-plot system. The plots were the densities and the split-plots were the cultivars. Results showed that, with increasing of the planting density, the plant height also increased, while the stem and plant basis diameters were reduced, however the planting density did not affect the height of the first branch. The increase of the planting density also increased the field productivity and reduced the production of individual plant. The cultivation of two plants at the same hole reduced the stem diameter and the plant yield. The cultivar Catuaí Amarelo IAC 47 showed the higher plant height and the higher plant basis diameter while cv. Obatã IAC 1669-20 showed the higher stem diameter. The field productivity and individual plant productivity were not different between those cultivars in the period studied (1997-2000).