Absence motivated by illness: A non-concurrent prospective study of physical education teachers in the municipal education system of the city of Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil

The object of this investigation was to identify and analize aspects of the health status related to absenteism in physical education teachers in the municipal education system of the city of Campinas, Brazil, as related to the medical leave program. The non-concurrent prospective study was accomplished by means of a comparison with teachers who work only in the classroom, refering to a three year period. In the variables of greatest interest, the Pearson non-parametric chi-square (X2) statistical test was adopted. Calculations of relative risk and level of confidence were made using the Epi-info computer program. Significant differences were observed in the following diagnostic groups favoring the not exposed group: i) Supplementary Classification of factors that exercise influence over the health status and access to health services and ii) Digestive system illness; while the physical education teachers showed a significant difference in: i) diseases of the musculoskeletal and connective tissue system and ii) Injuries and poisoing. Possible explications for some of the adverse effects as well as the protective ones that were observed include physical activity as a way of life along with being a physical education teacher and on the other side, peculiar behavior of epidemiological descriptive characteristics, like sex and age, within the socio-economic context of the country. © Copyright Moreira Jr. Editora.

Reductions in the Prevalence and Incidence of Geohelminth Infections following a City-wide Sanitation Program in a Brazilian Urban Centre

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A novel association between Rhodnius neglectus and the Livistona australis palm tree in an urban center foreshadowing the risk of Chagas disease transmission by vectorial invasions in Monte Alto City, Sao Paulo, Brazil

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Spatial Distribution of Seropositive Dogs to Leptospira spp. and Evaluation of Leptospirosis Risk Factors Using a Decision Tree

Background: Leptospirosis is an important zoonotic disease associated with poor areas of urban settings of developing countries and early diagnosis and prompt treatment may prevent disease. Although rodents are reportedly considered the main reservoirs of leptospirosis, dogs may develop the disease, may become asymptomatic carriers and may be used as sentinels for disease epidemiology. The use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) combined with spatial analysis techniques allows the mapping of the disease and the identification and assessment of health risk factors. Besides the use of GIS and spatial analysis, the technique of data mining, decision tree, can provide a great potential to find a pattern in the behavior of the variables that determine the occurrence of leptospirosis. The objective of the present study was to apply Geographical Information Systems and data prospection (decision tree) to evaluate the risk factors for canine leptospirosis in an area of Curitiba, PR.Materials, Methods & Results: The present study was performed on the Vila Pantanal, a urban poor community in the city of Curitiba. A total of 287 dog blood samples were randomly obtained house-by-house in a two-day sampling on January 2010. In addition, a questionnaire was applied to owners at the time of sampling. Geographical coordinates related to each household of tested dog were obtained using a Global Positioning System (GPS) for mapping the spatial distribution of reagent and non-reagent dogs to leptospirosis. For the decision tree, risk factors included results of microagglutination test (MAT) from the serum of dogs, previous disease on the household, contact with rats or other dogs, dog breed, outdoors access, feeding, trash around house or backyard, open sewer proximity and flooding. A total of 189 samples (about 2/3 of overall samples) were randomly selected for the training file and consequent decision rules. The remained 98 samples were used for the testing file. The seroprevalence showed a pattern of spatial distribution that involved all the Pantanal area, without agglomeration of reagent animals. In relation to data mining, from 189 samples used in decision tree, a total of 165 (87.3%) animal samples were correctly classified, generating a Kappa index of 0.413. A total of 154 out of 159 (96.8%) samples were considered non-reagent and were correctly classified and only 5/159 (3.2%) were wrongly identified. on the other hand, only 11 (36.7%) reagent samples were correctly classified, with 19 (63.3%) samples failing diagnosis.Discussion: The spatial distribution that involved all the Pantanal area showed that all the animals in the area are at risk of contamination by Leptospira spp. Although most samples had been classified correctly by the decision tree, a degree of difficulty of separability related to seropositive animals was observed, with only 36.7% of the samples classified correctly. This can occur due to the fact of seronegative animals number is superior to the number of seropositive ones, taking the differences in the pattern of variable behavior. The data mining helped to evaluate the most important risk factors for leptospirosis in an urban poor community of Curitiba. The variables selected by decision tree reflected the important factors about the existence of the disease (default of sewer, presence of rats and rubbish and dogs with free access to street). The analyses showed the multifactorial character of the epidemiology of canine leptospirosis.

Short report: Application of an alternative Aedes species (Diptera : Culicidae) surveillance method in Botucatu City, São Paulo, Brazil

One of the main problems with dengue is the control of Aedes aegypti, its major vector. In Brazil, the current control program for Ae. aegypti and Aedes albopictus populations includes larval density surveys. An interesting alternative is the use of a distinct index, the Premise Condition Index (PCI). This tool relates conditions of property, such as houses and yards, and the degree of shade with the occurrence of Aedes sp. oviposition, and is calculated as scores from 3 to 9. The lowest score indicates property in good condition and an unfavorable breeding environment, while the highest score indicates property at high risk for infestation by Aedes sp. The present study is based on the application of the PCI in an urban area of Botucatu, Brazil to confirm its effectiveness.

Rubber tree early selection for yield stability in time and among locations

Rubber production in the rubber tree [Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex Adr. de Juss.) Muell. Arg.] can be expressed differently in different environments. Thus the objective of the present study was to select productive progenies, stable and responsive in time and among locations. Thirty progenies were assessed by early yield tests at three ages and in three locations. A randomized block design was used with three replications and ten plants per plot, in 3 × 3 m spacing. The procedure of the mixed linear Reml/Blup model-restricted maximum likelihood/best non-biased linear prediction was used in the genetic statistical analyses. In all the individual analyses, the values observed for the progeny average heritability (ĥpa 2) were greater than those of the additive effect based on single individuals (ĥa 2) and within plot additive (ĥad 2). In the joint analyses in time, there was genotype × test interaction in the three locations. When 20 % of the best progenies were selected the predicted genetic gains were: Colina GG = 24.63 %, Selvíria GG = 13.63 %, and Votuporanga GG = 25.39 %. Two progenies were among the best in the analyses in the time and between locations. In the joint analysis among locations there was only genotype × location interaction in the first early test. In this test, selecting 20 %, the general predicted genetic gain was GG = 25.10 %. Identifying progenies with high and stable yield over time and among locations contributes to the efficiency of the genetic breeding program. The relative performance of the progenies varies depending of the age of early selection test. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.

Análise morfométrica e biodiversidade da vegetação na microbacia hidrográfica da Fazenda Experimental Edgárdia

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Caracterização fisiográfica e de alguns atributos físicos e químicos dos solos da microbacia Jardim Novo Horizonte, em Ilha Solteira, SP

Pós-graduação em Agronomia - FEIS

Intervention program efficacy for spelling difficulties

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

Políticas de apoio a gestão da arborização urbana: uma análise do programa município verde azul

Pós-graduação em Agronomia - FEIS

Water use of Juniperus virginiana trees encroached into mesic prairies in Oklahoma, USA

Juniperus virginiana (eastern redcedar) is encroaching into mesic prairies of the southern Great Plains, USA, and is altering the hydrologic cycle. We used the thermal dissipation technique to quantify daily water use of J. virginiana into a mesic prairie by measuring 19 trees of different sizes from different density stands located in north-central Oklahoma during 2011. We took the additional step to calibrate our measurements by comparing thermal dissipation technique estimates to volumetric water use for a subset of trees. Except for days with maximum air temperature below -3 degrees C, J. virginiana trees used water year round, reached a peak in late May, and exhibited reduced water use in summer when soil water availability was low. Overall daily average water use was 24 l (+/- 21.81 s.d.) per tree. Trees in low density stands used more water than trees with similar diameters from denser stands. However, there was no difference in water use between trees in different density stands when expressed on a canopy area basis. Approximately 50% of variation in water use that remained after accounting for the factors site, tree, and day was explained using a physiologically-based model that included daily potential evapotranspiration, maximum vapour pressure deficit, maximum temperature, solar radiation, and soil water storage between 0 and 10 cm. Our model suggested that a J. virginiana woodland with a closed canopy is capable of transpiring almost all precipitation reaching the soil in years with normal precipitation, indicating the potential for encroachment to reduce water yield for streamflow and groundwater recharge. Copyright (C) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Effect of a Community-Based, Primary Health Care Exercise Program on Inflammatory Biomarkers and Hormone Levels

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Conhecimento odontológico de adultos atendidos em uma unidade de saúde da família do município de São Carlos, Brasil

The Family Health Strategy is a primary care public policy that is becoming a decisive step towards the transformation of the Brazilian healthcare model. This study evaluated the dental knowledge among individuals who attended a Family-Health Unit (FHU) in the city of São Carlos, SP, Brazil. Methods: The evaluation was based on a questionnaire with 20 questions about oral health, prevention and development of dental caries and periodontal disease. The questionnaire was given to 168 individuals, over 18 years of age and both sexes, to fill out under the supervision of a trained dentist. After data collection, the answers contained in the original questionnaires were entered into a database built using the program Excel® (Microsoft Corporation, USA) and a descriptive statistical analysis was done. Results: 66.67% of the subjects reported having received information about dental caries and periodontal disease before attending the FHU, and dentists were cited as the main source of such information (60.71%). With regard to dental caries, 70.24% of the individuals stated that they knew about the subject, but the majority of answers revealed incorrect explanation of it. The multifactorial etiology (bacteria/sugar/poor hygiene) was not mentioned. A low percentage of subjects (24.40%) claimed to know what periodontal disease is, and of these, the highest percentage of responses was related to gingivitis (26.83%) and gingival bleeding (12.20%). Out of all subjects, 80.36% affirmed that oral hygiene is important, and among them, the main reasons cited were the maintenance of oral health (29.63%), to avoid diseases (16.30%) and to preserve and prevent disease (14.81%). Conclusion: Responses from the questionnaires revealed deficient dental knowledge among the individuals. To improve the understanding about this issue, the information obtained through the questionnaire can be used to develop educational programs that will focus specifically on the major deficiencies found.

Prevalence of low back pain and associated factors in adults from a middle-size Brazilian city

Objective: To determine the prevalence of low back pain and some related variables among adults of both genders. Methods: Was conduct a cross-sectional study of population-based in the urban area of Presidente Prudente, São Paulo. The sample consisted of 743 adult residents for over two years in this city. Low back pain, quality of sleep and physical activity were collected through face to face interview at the residence of respondents. Was used the chi-square test to analyze the association between variables, later was created tree multivariate models with hierarchical inclusion of confounding factors. Results: The prevalence of low back pain reported last year was 50.2% (95% CI: 46.6, 53.8), and the last week 32.3% (95% CI: 28.9, 35.6). Was association among low back pain and females (p-value = 0.031), older age, lower education, altered sleep and overweight, the adjusted model found that people over the age of 45 years (45 to 59.9 years, OR = 13.1 [1.72-98.5] and ≥ 60 years, OR = 9.10 [1.15-71.7]), with some alteration of sleep (OR = 3.21 [1.84-5.61]) and obese (OR = 2.33 [1:26 to 4:33]) seems to be a risk group for low back pain. Conclusion: The prevalence of low back pain is high and obese people aged over 45 years, with any sleep disturbance are a group at higher risk for low back pain.

Boas práticas para produção de ovos e legislação de bem-estar animal: cenário do município de Bastos/SP

Pós-graduação em Agronegócio e Desenvolvimento - Tupã