Uso do Rad7 para a caracterização do torônio em águas de estâncias hidrominerais

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Integrated analysis environment for the Movement Assessment Battery for Children

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), a chronic and usually permanent condition found in children, is characterized by motor impairment that interferes with a child's activities of daily living and with academic achievement. One of the most popular tests for the quantitative diagnosis of DCD is the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Based on the Battery's standardized scores, it is possible to identify children with typical development, children at risk of developing DCD, and children with DCD. This article describes a computational system we developed to assist with the analysis of results obtained in the MABC test. The tool was developed for the web environment and its database provides integration of MABC data. Thus, researchers around the world can share data and develop collaborative work in the DCD field. In order to help analysis processes, our system provides services for filtering data to show more specific sets of information and present the results in textual, table, and graphic formats, allowing easier and more comprehensive evaluation of the results.

The movement of involucral bracts of Syngonanthus elegans (Eriocaulaceae-Poales): Anatomical and ecological aspects

Syngonanthus elegans flowers are distributed in capitula whose involucral bracts open and close in a diurnal rhythm. The anatomy of these bracts was studied to understand how such movements occur and how it influences reproductive ecology of the species. The involucral bracts have a single layered epidermis composed of thick-walled cells on the abaxial surface, which are responsible for the movement. Since they are hygroscopic, these cells swell when they absorb water from the surrounding environment, causing the bracts to bend and the capitula to close. In natural conditions, the capitula open by day, when temperature increases and the relative air humidity decreases, and close at night, when temperature decreases and the relative air humidity increases. The involucral bracts may thus protect the flowers from abiotic factors, exposing them only at the time of the day when temperature is higher and insects are more active, favoring pollination by small insects. The closed capitula do not only protect the flowers, but they also function as a shelter for floral visitors as Brachiacantha australe (Coccinellidae) and Eumolpini sp. (Chrysomelidae). These small Coleoptera pollinate the flowers of S. elegans during the day and remain within the closed capitula during the night, in a possible mutualistic relationship. (C) 2008 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Influence of Orthodontic Dental Movement on the Healing Process of Teeth With Periapical Lesions

The purpose of this study was to histomorphologically evaluate (in dog's teeth) the influence of tooth movement in the healing of chronic periapical lesions. Thirty roots of incisors and premolars of two dogs (1-year-old) were used in this research. After pulpectomy, the root canals remained exposed to the oral environment for 6 months for achievement of periapical lesions. Twenty root canals were biomechanically prepared and received a calcium hydroxide dressing for 14 days before being filled with gutta-percha points and Sealapex sealer. After root canal treatment, some incisors were submitted to orthodontic movement, whereas the other roots remained without orthodontic movement. The orthodontic appliance was removed at 5 months and 15 days after treatment, the dogs were killed 15 days later and the specimens were prepared for histomorphological analysis. The results showed that the orthodontic movement delayed, but did not hinder, the periapical healing process. (J Endod 2006;32:115-119)

Simulation of free surface flows in a distributed memory environment

A parallel technique, for a distributed memory machine, based on domain decomposition for solving the Navier-Stokes equations in cartesian and cylindrical coordinates in two dimensions with free surfaces is described. It is based on the code by Tome and McKee (J. Comp. Phys. 110 (1994) 171-186) and Tome (Ph.D. Thesis, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 1993) which in turn is based on the SMAC method by Amsden and Harlow (Report LA-4370, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, 1971), which solves the Navier-Stokes equations in three steps: the momentum and Poisson equations and particle movement, These equations are discretized by explicit and 5-point finite differences. The parallelization is performed by splitting the computation domain into vertical panels and assigning each of these panels to a processor. All the computation can then be performed using nearest neighbour communication. Test runs comparing the performance of the parallel with the serial code, and a discussion of the load balancing question are presented. PVM is used for communication between processes. (C) 1999 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Explicit and implicit knowledge of environment states induce adaptation in postural control

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of explicit and implicit knowledge about visual surrounding manipulation on postural responses. Twenty participants divided into two groups, implicit and explicit, remained in upright stance inside a moving room. In the fourth trial participants in the explicit group were informed about the movement of the room while participants in the implicit group performed the trial with the room moving at a larger amplitude and higher velocity. Results showed that postural responses to visual manipulation decreased after participants were told that the room was moving as well as after increasing amplitude and velocity of the room, indicating decreased coupling (down-weighting) of the visual influences. Moreover, this decrease was even greater for the implicit group compared to the explicit group. The results demonstrated that conscious knowledge about environmental state changes the coupling to visual information, suggesting a cognitive component related to sensory re-weighting. Re-weighting processes were also triggered without awareness of subjects and were even more pronounced compared to the first case. Adaptive re-weighting was shown when knowledge about environmental state was gathered explicitly and implicitly, but through different adaptive processes. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The importance of sensing one's movement in the world for the sense of personal identity

Within philosophy and cognitive science, the focus in relation to the problem of personal identity has been almost exclusively on the brain. We submit that the resulting neglect of the body and of bodily movements in the world has been detrimental in understanding how organisms develop a sense of identity. We examine the importance of sensing one’s own movements for the development of a basic, nonconceptual sense of self. More specifically, we argue that the origin of the sense of self stems from the sensitivity to spontaneous movements. Based on this, the organism develops a sense of “I move” and, finally, a sense of “I can move”. Proprioception and kinesthesis are essential in this development. At the same time, we argue against the traditional dichotomy between so-called external and internal senses, agreeing with Gibson that perception of the self and of the environment invariably go together. We discuss a traditional distinction between two aspects of bodily self: the body sense and the body image. We suggest that they capture different aspects of the sense of self. We argue that especially the body sense is of great importance to our nonconceptual sense of self. Finally, we attempt to draw some consequences for research in cognitive science, specifically in the area of robotics, by examining a case of missing proprioception. We make a plea for robots to be equipped not just with external perceptual and motor abilities but also with a sense of proprioception. This, we submit, would constitute one further step towards understanding creatures acting in the world with a sense of themselves.