Economic design of (X)over-bar charts with variable parameters: the Markov chain approach

This paper presents an economic design of (X) over bar control charts with variable sample sizes, variable sampling intervals, and variable control limits. The sample size n, the sampling interval h, and the control limit coefficient k vary between minimum and maximum values, tightening or relaxing the control. The control is relaxed when an (X) over bar value falls close to the target and is tightened when an (X) over bar value falls far from the target. A cost model is constructed that involves the cost of false alarms, the cost of finding and eliminating the assignable cause, the cost associated with production in an out-of-control state, and the cost of sampling and testing. The assumption of an exponential distribution to describe the length of time the process remains in control allows the application of the Markov chain approach for developing the cost function. A comprehensive study is performed to examine the economic advantages of varying the (X) over bar chart parameters.

ANTS AS POTENTIAL VECTORS OF PATHOGENS IN HOSPITALS IN THE STATE OF SAO-PAULO, BRAZIL

Baiting studies performed in large, medium and small hospitals in Brazil revealed the presence of 14 ant species, with up to nine recorded in one hospital. Dominant species were exotic ants, and in the large hospital, Tapinoma melanocephalum was the most prevalent. Ants were not uniformly spread through the hospitals, but tended to be found in the more critical areas, particularly in nursery, intensive care, obstetrics, neurology and dermatology units. Bacteriological studies using specific media for bacteria associated with intra-hospital infections indicated the potential for the mechanical vectoring of species of Staphylococcus, Serratia, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Enterobacter, Candida and Enterococcus by ants. Although T. melanocephalum did not have the highest rate of association with these bacteria, its ubiquitous occurrences resulted in the highest overall potential as a vector of these bacteria. Because of a large number of ant species occurring in Brazilian hospitals, ants pose a potential problem to the spread of diseases in hospitals. Because of the number of associated ant species in hospitals, the control of this potential problem is much more difficult than in registered temperate areas.

Genetic Variation in an International Provenance-Progeny Test of Pinus caribaea Mor. var. bahamensis Bar. et Gol., in São Paulo, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A hierarchy of adaptive (X)over-bar control charts

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Molecular and parasitological survey of Hepatozoon canis (Apicomplexa : Hepatozoidae) in dogs from rural area of São Paulo state, Brazil

Hepatozoon canis is a protozoan that infects dogs and is transmitted by the ingestion of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Two distinct species of Hepatozoon genus can infect dogs, H. canis and H. americanum. Routine tests to detect the disease are based on direct examination of gametocytes on Giemsa-stained blood smears. The objectives of this study were the investigation of infection prevalence in rural area dogs, the comparison of diagnostics by blood smear examination and polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the association of infection with tick infestation. Blood smears, collected by puncture of the cephalic vein and ear margin capillary bed from 150 dogs, were examined. This technique detected 17 positive animals (11.3%), with 14 (9.3%) in peripheral blood and seven (4.7%) in cephalic vein blood. PCR tests detected 80 (53.3%) positive animals. R. sanguineus and Amblyomma spp. were found in 36 of the dogs (24%), in equal proportions. The identified species for Amblyomma genus were A. cajennense and A. ovale. Data analysis showed that PCR was much more sensitive when compared to blood smear examination. Hepatozoon species was previously identified as closely related to H. canis.

Occurrence of antibodies anti-Neospora caninum, anti-Toxoplasma gondii, and anti-Leishmania chagasi in serum of dogs from Para State, Amazon, Brazil

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Quenching of para-H-2 with an ultracold antihydrogen atom (H)over-bar(1s)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

THE IMAGINARY ABOUT THE SCHOOL and THE POSSIBILITIES of AN EQUALITARIAN SCHOOL: A STUDY on THE BRAZILIAN STATE SCHOOLS

The main objective of the article is to reflect on the imaginary that the teachers of two public schools have of their students and the school they work in and the ideal of an inclusive and democratic school. In this article, we reflect on the image that the teachers of two public schools in the city of Rio Claro, São Paulo State, Brazil, have of their students and their school as an institution. We use the studies of imaginary sociology as a theoretic reference base. Castoriadis (1986); Taylor (2006); Legros et al (2007) and Baczo (1984) are the referenced authors of this article. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer-review under responsibility of The Association of Science, Education and Technology

Spider assemblages in widely-separated patches of cerrado in São Paulo State, Brazil.

Brazilian cerrado is a biologically-rich, poorly understood, yet rapidly disappearing habitat. Composition of the spider assemblages from areas of cerrado from three separate sites in the State of São Paulo, Brazil were sampled by beating the canopies and adjacent shrubs of three Myrcia (Myrtaceae; "myrtle") tree species. These produced a total of 859 spiders 'belonging to 21 families and 75 species. The most undisturbed and densest cerrado habitat had the largest number and greatest diversity of spider species, encompassing stalkers, ambushers, space web-weavers, and foliage runners. The other two areas were dominated by foliage runners. Spider distribution in this natural and complex habitat was evaluated by classifying the samples into 12 habitat/microhabitat groups according to local of the patch, tree species, and microhabitat (target tree or adjacent shrub). Correspondence analysis was used for ordination of species and groups based on their abundance. Environmental factors such as patches type (p=0.027) and plant species (p=0.046) had significant effects in explaining the ordination. Canonical correspondence analysis was applied for relating the patterns in species richness and/or abundance to the significant environmental factors. A comparison of the results showed that the family composition among the patches is rather similar, and there is a tendency of spiders species overlap an interregional level (patches effect, p=0.027). However, the most similar spider assemblages living on woody vegetation occurred in Myrcia venulosa and Myrcia guianensis at São Carlos and Pirassununga, demonstrating an interregional similarity (plant species effect, p=0.046) that indicates an association between spiders and particular vegetation.

The relationship between onset of blood lactate accumulation, critical velocity, and maximal lactate steady state in soccer players

The objective of this study was to analyze the validity of the velocity corresponding to the onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA) and critical velocity (CV) to determine the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) in soccer players. Twelve male soccer players (21.5 ± 1.0 years) performed an incremental treadmill test for the determination of OBLA. The velocity corresponding to OBLA (3.5 mM of blood lactate) was determined through linear interpolation. The subjects returned to the laboratory on 7 occasions for the determination of MLSS and CV. The MLSS was determined from 5 treadmill runs of up to 30-minute duration and defined as the highest velocity at which blood lactate did not increase by more than 1 mM between minutes 10 and 30 of the constant velocity runs. The CV was determined by 2 maximal running efforts of 1,500 and 3,000 m performed on a 400-m running track. The CV was calculated as the slope of the linear regression of distance run versus time. Analysis of variance revealed no significant differences between OBLA (13.6 ± 1.4 km·h-1) and MLSS (13.1 ± 1.2 km·h-1) and between OBLA and CV (14.4 ± 1.1 km·h-1). The CV was significantly higher than the MLSS. There was a significant correlation between MLSS and OBLA (r = 0.80), MLSS and CV (r = 0.90), and OBLA and CV (r = 0.80). We can conclude that the OBLA can be utilized in soccer players to estimate the MLSS. In this group of athletes, however, CV does not represent a sustainable steady-state exercise intensity. © 2005 National Strength & Conditioning Association.

Air quality and emissions management in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

The São Paulo State has 36 million people, 25 million living in three metropolitan areas. Only the São Paulo Metropolitan Region (SPMR) includes the state capital (São Paulo City) plus 38 cities, where ≈ 18 million people live, affected by frequent episodes of ozone, NOx, and fine particulate matter. In 2003, it was estimated that 15.1% of the SPMR vehicles used ethanol and 70.2% used the local gasoline. Natural gas vehicles have witnessed a booming participation in the last years, mainly through conversion of gasoline cars, and the present fleet is almost one million vehicles. To face the problems generated by light vehicles emissions the Federal Government set a program called PROCONVE - Program of Air Pollution Control from Vehicles - in 1986 and since then until now a significant reduction was reached, but the growth of the fleet hides most of the emission cuts. A discussion covers the evolution of the air pollution management in São Paulo; and innovative tools for air pollution management - both for mobile and stationary sources. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 98th AWMA Annual Conference and Exhibition (Minneapolis, MN 6/21-24/2005).

Consumption of bottled water by children in the city of Bauru, State of São Paulo, Brazil - A brief communication

Objectives: To determine the consumption of bottled water by children in the city of Bauru, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Methods: A stratified sample of the 17 areas established by the city plan was used to identify a total of 1,000 homes for visitation. Information was collected using a questionnaire concerning the type of water consumed and population demographics. Results: Overall, around 30 percent of all residences used bottled water. Among all households where bottled water was consumed, about 26 percent had children residing. For those with children and bottled water, 81 percent reported to use bottled water for the preparation of the children's foods and beverages. Conclusions: An important percentage of children consume bottled water in the city of Bauru, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Considering previous studies showing that fluoride concentrations vary in bottled water, public health measures should be implemented in order to guarantee adequate levels of fluoride in commercialized water. © 2007, American Association of Public Health Dentistry.

Comparative Analysis of 2 Techniques of Double-Gloving Protection During Arch Bar Placement for Intermaxillary Fixation

Purpose: This study was conducted to comparatively evaluate, in a prospective and randomized manner, 2 techniques for providing double-gloving protection during arch bar placement for intermaxillary fixation. Materials and Methods: A total of 42 consecutive patients in whom application of an Erich bar was indicated for intermaxillary fixation were equally divided into 2 groups. In group 1, 2 sterile surgical gloves were used; in group 2, a nonsterile disposable inner glove was used under a sterile surgical glove. Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and binomial statistical tests were used to analyze the findings. Results: A total of 103 perforations were found in the outer gloves (47 in group 1 and 56 in group 2), along with 5 perforations in inner gloves in both groups (α = .01). No significant statistical difference was found between groups in terms of inner glove perforations (α = .05). The nondominant hand presented with 70.9% of the perforations, statistically significant to 1%. Conclusions: Both double-gloving techniques were found to provide effective clinician protection. The use of a nonsterile disposable glove under the surgical glove is possible for less-invasive procedures, offering the same safety as using 2 sterile surgical gloves while decreasing operational costs. This method does not eliminate the need to change gloves when a perforation is suspected or noted during the surgery, however. © 2007 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.

Search for scalar neutrino superpartners in e+mu final states in p(p)over-bar collisions at root s=1.96 TeV

We report a search for R-parity-violating production and decay of sneutrino particles in the eμ final state with 1.04±0.06fb-1 of data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider in 2002-2006. Good agreement between the data and the standard model prediction is observed. With no evidence for new physics, we set limits on the R-parity-violating couplings λ311′ and λ312 as a function of the sneutrino mass. © 2008 The American Physical Society.

Risk factors for low birth weight in Botucatu city, SP state, Brazil: A study conducted in the public health system from 2004 to 2008

Background: Low birth weight (LBW), defined as birth weight less than 2500 g, has a complex etiology and may be a result of premature interruption of pregnancy or intrauterine growth restriction. The objective of this study was to provide information on determinants of LBW and contribute to the understanding of the problem in Brazil. Methods. A case-control study was conducted in Botucatu city, SP state, Brazil. The study population consisted of 2 groups with 860 newborns in each group as follows: low weight newborns (LWNB) and a control group (weight ≤ 2500 g). Secondary data from 2004 to 2008 were collected using the Live Birth Certificate (LBC) and records from medical charts of pregnant women in Basic Health Units (BHU) and in the Public University Hospital (UH). Variables were as follows: maternal socio-demographic characteristics, pregnancy and birth conditions including quality of prenatal care according to 3 criteria. They were based on parameters established by the Ministry of Health (MH), one of them, the modified Kessner Index. The multivariable analysis by logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between variables and LBW. Results: According to the analysis, the factors associated with LBW were as follows: prematurity (OR = 56.98, 95% CI 29.52-109.95), twin pregnancy (OR = 20.00, 95% CI 6.25-100.00), maternal smoking (OR = 2.12, 95% CI 1.33-3.45), maternal malnourishment (OR = 2.30, 95% CI 1.08-5.00), maternal obesity (OR = 2.30, 95% IC 1.18-4.48), weight gain during pregnancy less than 5 kg (OR = 2.63, 95% CI 1.35-5.00) and weight gain during pregnancy more than 15 kg (OR = 2.26, 95% CI 1.16-4.41). Adequacy of prenatal care visits adjusted to gestational age was less frequent in the LBW group than in the control group (68.7% vs. 80.5%, x 2 p < 0.001). According to the modified Kessner Index, 64.4% of prenatal visits in the LWNB group were adequate. Conclusion: LWNB are a quite heterogeneous group of infants concerning their determinants and prevention actions against LBW and the follow-up of these infants have also been very complex. Therefore, improvement in the quality of care provided should be given priority through concrete actions for prevention of LBW. © 2012 Fonseca et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.