Safety in road crossing of children with cerebral palsy

Aim: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are regularly confronted with physical constraints during locomotion. Because abnormalities in motor control are often related to perceptual deficits, the aim of this study was to find out whether children with CP were able to walk across a road as safely as their non-handicapped peers. Method: Ten children with CP and 10 non-handicapped children aged 4-14 y were asked to cross a simulated road if they felt the situation was safe. Results: With respect to safety and accuracy of crossings, the behaviour of children with CP was comparable with that of non-handicapped children. However, a closer examination of children's individual crossing behaviour showed considerable differences within the CP group. In contrast to children with damage to the left hemisphere, children with damage to the right hemisphere made unsafe decisions and did not compensate for them by increasing walking speed.Conclusion: the differences in unsafe behaviour and in the ability to compensate for it within the group of children with CP might be related to damage to specific regions of the brain that are involved in the processing of spatial or temporal information.

First report of coenurosis in sheep in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

Este trabalho relata o primeiro caso de cenurose no Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil. Essa doença é causada por estágios larvais de Taenia multiceps (Leske, 1780). O animal no qual foi diagnosticado, tinha cerca de 18 meses de idade, oriundo de uma área endêmica no Sul do Brasil, integrante de um grupo de 30 ovinos importados para o Estado de Mato Grosso do Sul. O quadro clínico-patológico apresentado é aquele comumente descrito para herbívoros, infectados com o agente, especialmente ovinos. Os sinais clínicos relatados foram: apatia, nistagmo, cegueira intermitente, andar em círculos e pressão da cabeça contra obstáculos. Na necropsia foi observada uma lesão, no subcórtex do hemisfério cerebral direito, caracterizada por um cisto em forma de vesícula, medindo 4 cm de diâmetro, e seu interior preenchido por líquido translúcido com grande número de pequenas esferas brancas, identificadas como protoscolices. Os protoscolices foram identificados como Coenurus cerebralis, e os tecidos do cérebro submetidos complementarmente a exames histopatológicos para descrição da lesão.

Alterações de fluxos sanguíneos cerebrais regionais (FSCr) avaliados através de SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) em pacientes com câncer de mama submetidas à quimioterapia adjuvante

Pós-graduação em Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento (Biotecnologia Médica) - FMB

Correlation Between Laryngeal Sensitivity and Penetration/Aspiration After Stroke

Stroke is the most common neurological disease in adults that is associated with deglutition disorders. The presence of laryngeal sensitivity is very important in developing safe swallowing without risk of pulmonary complications. The aim of this study was to correlate laryngeal sensitivity with laryngeal penetration and tracheal aspiration after swallows of three food consistencies (puree, thickened liquid, and liquid) in poststroke individuals in the late phase. A cross-sectional clinical study was performed with 91 post-ischemic stroke individuals, with oropharyngeal dysphagia, who were in rehabilitation center treatment from 2009 to 2011. They had a mean age of 68.1 years and average time since injury was 22.6 months; 39 had injury to the right hemisphere and 52 had injury to the left hemisphere. All underwent fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing and evaluation of laryngeal sensitivity by touching the tip of the endoscope to the arytenoids and aryepiglottic folds. The linear correlation coefficient of Spearman was applied to evaluate the correlation between laryngeal penetration and tracheal aspiration and the presence/absence of laryngeal sensitivity. There was a negative correlation between the observation of penetration and tracheal aspiration and laryngeal sensitivity, with all bolus consistencies (p < 0.001 for aspiration and p a parts per thousand currency sign 0.01 for penetration). The absence of laryngeal sensitivity determines the more frequent findings of penetration and tracheal aspiration. This sensory stimulus in the mucosa of the pharynx and larynx is an essential element for safe swallowing and its deficiency associated with altered motor activity can cause laryngeal penetration and aspiration in poststroke individuals regardless of food consistency.

Study on the bone mineral density of broiler suffering femoral joint degenerative lesions

An experiment was carried out with male and females broilers of two different commercial breeds to evaluate bone mineral density of the right femur head. A number of 600 one-day-old broilers were raised in an experimental poultry house up to 42 days of age at the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of UNESP, Botucatu, Brazil. After slaughter, three males and three females in each breed in each of the established gross scores were selected. Their femora heads were submitted to gross examination, and subsequently the thighs were submitted to the Veterinary Hospital for radiographic analysis. Femora were also submitted to bone resistance, Seedor index, and dry matter content analyses. All these bone quality characteristics were different between males and females, independent of breed. Breeds presented similar behavior. It was possible to establish correlations between bone quality parameters, and confidence intervals for bone mineral density values, correlating them to femoral degeneration score, which allows characterizing femoral head lesions by radiographic optical densitometry.

Cardiac hemangioma of the right atrium

Primary cardiac tumors are rare, with an incidence range between 0.001% and 0.030% at autopsy. Recent technical advances have facilitated diagnosis and surgical treatment of such lesions. Patients with a resectable tumor usually have a good prognosis, but patients with an unresectable tumor may have a poor prognosis. This report shows a case of right atrial hemangioma growing like an extracardiac mass, with cardiac tamponade the only clinical presentation.

Noncarious Cervical Lesions and Their Association With Toothbrushing Practices: In Vivo Evaluation

Objectives: This pilot study aims to investigate the prevalence of noncarious cervical lesions (NCCLs) in a student population at the Faculty of Dentistry of Aracatuba-UNESP and to assess the potential relation between buccal hygiene habits and the presence and number of NCCLs.Methods: This study was conducted with a sample of 58 young volunteers (15 men and 43 women; mean age, 23.6 +/- 1.8 years and 22.3 +/- 2.4 years, respectively). The research was divided into three steps: 1) clinical assessment; 2) oral-hygiene practices self-report questionnaire; and 3) analysis of toothbrush filament deformations. After the clinical exam the participants were divided into two groups, a control group (without NCCLs) and a test group (NCCLs), according to NCCL presence. The data were statistically analyzed with SPSS 16.0 software, using t-test, chi(2), Fisher exact test, and Spearman correlation.Results: NCCLs were present in 53% of the subjects. The presence of NCCLs was marginally statistically associated with age (p=0.15) and proportionally more prevalent in male (80%) subjects (p=0.01). NCCLs were more concentrated in the posterior-superior quadrant (93%) in both the right (90%) and left (55%) sides of the mouth. The direct rank correlation was presented between presence of NCCLs and toothbrush firmness; and between number of NCCLs and age and force applied during toothbrushing.Conclusion: Within the limitations of this pilot study, the use of medium and hard toothbrushes and greater force applied during toothbrushing might contribute to the development and/or aggravation of NCCLs.

Long-term nitric oxide inhibition and chronotropic responses in rat isolated right atria

The long-term administration of nitric oxide synthesis inhibitors induces arterial hypertension accompanied by left ventricular hypertrophy and myocardial ischemic lesions. Because the enhancement of sympathetic drive has been implicated in these phenomena, the current study was performed to determine the potency of β-adrenoceptor agonists and muscarinic agonists on the spontaneous rate of isolated right atria from rats given long-term treatment with the nitric oxide inhibitor N(ω)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME). Atrial lesions induced by long-term treatment with L-NAME were also evaluated. Long-term L-NAME treatment caused a time-dependent, significant (P<0.05) increase in tail-cuff pressure compared with control animals. Our results showed that the potency of isoproterenol, norepinephrine, carbachol, and pilocarpine in isolated right atria from rats given long-term treatment with L-NAME for 7, 15, 30, and 60 days was not affected as compared with control animals. Addition of L-NAME in vitro (100 μmol/L) affected neither basal rate nor chronotropic response for isoproterenol and norepinephrine in rat heart. Stereological analysis of the right atria at 15 and 30 days revealed a significant increase on amount of fibrous tissues in L-NAME- treated groups (27±2.3% and 28±1.3% for 15 and 30 days, respectively; P<0.05) as compared with the control group (22±1.1%). Our results indicate that nitric oxide does not to interfere with β-adrenoceptor-mediated and muscarinic receptor-mediated chronotropic responses.

Evaluation of a radiographic method to detect tibial dyschondroplasia lesions in broilers

This study aimed at developing radiographic techniques for the early detection of dyschondroplastic lesions in the tibia of broilers. The experiment was carried out at the facilities of UNIFOR/MG and Formiga and UNIFENAS/ Alfenas with 420 one-day-old male Cobb broilers. At 20 days of age, all birds were radiographed and identified with an alpha-numeric metal ring in the right leg. At 40 days of age, 42 broilers previously selected as a function of bone mineral density and lesion thickness scores were again radiographed and scored, and then sacrificed. Their right tibia was removed for gross and histological examination of the growth plate. The results showed that radiographic techniques are correlated with gross and histological examination and that there was no significant differences among techniques (P>0.05). it was concluded that the use of radiographic examination to identify tibial dyschondroplasia in broilers precludes the use of bone mineral density to diagnose this condition. The non-parametric statistical Chi-square test at 5% significance level was used to analyze the results.

O efeito do sabor azedo e da temperatura fria no tempo de trânsito faríngeo da deglutição em indivíduos após acidente vascular encefálico hemisférico isquêmico

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