Conventional versus biological therapy for prevention of postoperative endoscopic recurrence in patients with Crohn's disease: an international, multicenter, and observational study

Postoperative endoscopic recurrence (PER) occurs in nearly 80% of patients 1 year after ileocecal resection in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Biological agents were more effective in reducing the rates of PER in comparison with conventional therapy, in prospective trials. The aim of this study was to compare the PER rates of biological versus conventional therapy after ileocecal resections in patients with CD in real-world practice. The MULTIPER (Multicenter International Postoperative Endoscopic Recurrence) database is a retrospective analysis of PER rates in CD patients after ileocecal resection, from 7 referral centers in 3 different countries. All consecutive patients who underwent ileocecal resections between 2008 and 2012 and in whom colonoscopies had been performed up to 12 months after surgery, were included. Recurrence was defined as Rutgeerts' score ≥i2. The patients were allocated to either biological or conventional therapy after surgery, and PER rates were compared between the groups. Initially, 231 patients were evaluated, and 63 were excluded. Of the 168 patients in the database, 96 received anti-tumor necrosis factor agents and 72 were treated with conventional therapy after resection. The groups were comparable regarding age, gender, and perianal disease. There was longer disease duration, more previous resections, and more open surgical procedures in patients on biologicals postoperatively. PER was identified in 25/96 (26%) patients on biological therapy and in 24/72 (33.3%) patients on conventional therapy (P=0.310). In this retrospective observational analysis from an international database, no difference was observed between biological and conventional therapy in preventing PER after ileocecal resections in CD patients.

Estudo do comportamento de discos abrasivos, em operações do tipo Cut-off por mergulho basculante, submetidos à diversas condições de corte sem lubrificação

O corte de aços por disco abrasivo é um dos processos que apresentam as melhores características de economia, eficiência e rapidez, e ainda hoje é muito utilizado no meio industrial se comparado a outros processos tradicionais de corte como o cisalhamento (tesourão), torneamento (sangramento), serragem com serras metálicas, serragem por atrito com lâminas circulares sem dentes e chama oxi-acetileno. Da literatura formal mais recente, nota-se que durante os últimos anos as máquinas para a realização dos cortes foram inovadas. Entretanto, esta atenção não foi dada à ferramenta de corte abrasiva. A falta de literatura técnica dificulta a escolha das condições de corte e da sua otimização no meio industrial. Este fato é agravado pela grande diversidade de discos abrasivos disponíveis no mercado, com diferentes qualidades e preço. As decisões sobre as condições de corte são baseadas em experiências pessoais, sem critério definido, e freqüentemente desprezam os aspectos de segurança inerentes ao processo. A concorrência estrangeira, através da globalização da economia, está obrigando as indústrias nacionais a atenderem os padrões internacionais de qualidade e desempenho. Uma forma das indústrias nacionais tornarem-se mais competitivas é através do conhecimento detalhado das operações de corte com discos abrasivos. Neste trabalho é apresentado um estudo sobre o comportamento de discos abrasivos, submetidos a diversas condições de corte. Os resultados são discutidos em função da análise da velocidade de corte, velocidade de mergulho do disco abrasivo na peça, força tangencial de corte média, tempo de corte e relação G.

Development of site-specific sediment quality guidelines for North and South Atlantic littoral zones: Comparison against national and international sediment quality benchmarks

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The Impact of Domestic Politics and International Changes on the Brazilian Perception of Regional Integration

This article aims to analyze the impact of domestic politics and international changes that influence Brazilian positions regarding regional integration processes in South America, particularly the Southern Common Market, Mercosur. The dynamics of the international system and their impact on the evolution of the elite's perception of the role the country should play in the world are important variables for understanding these positions. The state's postures in relation to integration were and are based on a real interest, but this interest is also linked with the objective of ensuring better conditions for participation in other international arenas. Starting with the hypothesis that transformations in the international setting have strongly influenced Brazil's positioning, the elements of continuity and change in the country's behavior toward Mercosur are identified, with domestic politics as the main explanation.

Architecture for publication and universal access to smart transducers

This paper proposes a simple and powerful architecture for publication and universal access to smart transducers, through existing and established open standards. Smart transducers are put to work on standards and styles already included in the Web, exploring resources in Cloud Computing and simplifying access to data. © 2012 IEEE.

Temperature charts of Hevea brasiliensis during log steaming and its effect on the board cracks

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)