Study of Toxoplasma infection in Brazilian wild mammals: Serological evidence in Dasypus novemcinctus Linnaeus, 1758 and Euphractus sexcinctus Wagler, 1830

Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide distributed zoonosis that affects man and most warm-blooded animals, with a great economic impact in animal and public health. Serum samples from nine 9-banded armadillos, three 6-banded armadillos, three coatimundis, two opossums and one nutria were submitted for anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody detection by means of a modified direct agglutination method. Encephalic tissue of three 6-banded armadillos, one 9-banded armadillo, one coatimundi and one nutria were digested in acid pepsin solution and inoculated into Swiss mice for parasite isolation. Only one serum sample from a nine-banded armadillo and two from six-banded armadillos reacted producing titers equal to 256, 512 and 512, respectively. T gondii was isolated in two 6-banded armadillos, one of which was not positive in the serological test. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Probiotics: the scientific evidence in the context of inflammatory bowel disease

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

The meaning of evidence-based management to brazilian senior nurse leaders

Purpose: The study objective was to understand the meaning of evidence-based management for senior nurse leaders in accredited, public hospitals in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Design and Method: A phenomenological approach was used to analyze interviews conducted with 10 senior nurse leaders between August 2011 and March 2012. The analytic method was developed by the Brazilian phenomenologist, Martins. Findings: Senior nurse leaders described how they critically appraise many sources of evidence when making managerial decisions. They emphasized the importance of working with their teams to locally adapt and evaluate best evidence associated with managerial decision making and organizational innovations. Their statements also demonstrated how they use evidence-based management to support the adoption of evidence-based practices. They did not, however, provide specific strategies for seeking out and obtaining evidence. Notable challenges were traditional cultures and rigid bureaucracies, while major facilitators included accreditation, teamwork, and shared decision making. Conclusions: Evidence-based management necessitates a continuous process of locating, implementing, and evaluating evidence. In this study leaders provided multiple, concrete examples of all these processes except seeking out and locating evidence. They also gave examples of other leadership skills associated with successful adoption of evidence-based practice and management, particularly interdisciplinary teamwork and shared decision making. Clinical Relevance: This study demonstrates senior nurse leaders' awareness and utilization of evidence-based management. The study also suggests what aspects of evidence-based management need further development, such as more active identification of potential, new organizational innovations. © 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Testing the ecomorphological hypothesis in a headwater riffles fish assemblage of the rio São Francisco, southeastern Brazil

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

Comparative analysis of electromyographic pattern in the forearm muscles of hemiplegic patients

It was purposed the use of electromyography (EMG) to evaluate the activation of the agonists and antagonists muscles of spastic patients, to test the viability in the development of an instrument that given quantitative data of the patient spasticity. 30 hemiplegic and 15 normal volunteers had been submitted to the EMG of flexor and extensor carpi ulnaris muscles during the flexion and extension movements of the wrist. The individuals with less severe spasticity (mAS (modified Ashworth Scale) ringing 0 to 3 degree), had presented deficit in the activation of the flexor muscles in plegic side in relation to the non plegic side and that the individuals seriously compromised by the spasticity (mAS = 4 degree) present deficit of reciprocal inhibition. One evidenced is that the non plegic member does not present a similar neuro-motor comportment when compared to the normal member. The surface electromyography is a practical clinical instrument to evaluate the patient with spasticity and the hemiplegic patient needs to be evaluated on both sides (deficient and no deficient) because the no compromised side do not show a normality standard.