Intraventricular Mass Lesions At Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Iconographic Essay - Part 1.

The present essay is illustrated with magnetic resonance images obtained at the authors' institution over the past 15 years and discusses the main imaging findings of intraventricular tumor-like lesions (ependymoma, pilocytic astrocytoma, central neurocytoma, ganglioglioma, choroid plexus papilloma, primitive neuroectodermal tumors, meningioma, epidermoid tumor). Such lesions represent a subgroup of intracranial lesions with unique characteristics and some image patterns that may facilitate the differential diagnosis.

Intraventricular Mass Lesions At Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Iconographic Essay - Part 2.

The present essay is illustrated with magnetic resonance images obtained at the authors' institution over the past 15 years and discusses the main imaging findings of intraventricular tumor-like lesions (colloid cyst, oligodendroglioma, astroblastoma, lipoma, cavernoma) and of inflammatory/infectious lesions (neurocysticercosis and an atypical presentation of neurohistoplasmosis). Such lesions represent a subgroup of intracranial lesions with unique characteristics and some imaging patterns that may facilitate the differential diagnosis.

Audiogram Comparison Of Workers From Five Professional Categories.

Introduction. Noise is a major cause of health disorders in workers and has unique importance in the auditory analysis of people exposed to it. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the arithmetic mean of the auditory thresholds at frequencies of 3, 4, and 6 kHz of workers from five professional categories exposed to occupational noise. Methods. We propose a retrospective cross-sectional cohort study to analyze 2.140 audiograms from seven companies having five sectors of activity: one footwear company, one beverage company, two ceramics companies, two metallurgical companies, and two transport companies. Results. When we compared two categories, we noticed a significant difference only for cargo carriers in comparison to the remaining categories. In all activity sectors, the left ear presented the worst values, except for the footwear professionals (P > 0.05). We observed an association between the noise exposure time and the reduction of audiometric values for both ears. Significant differences existed for cargo carriers in relation to other groups. This evidence may be attributed to different forms of exposure. A slow and progressive deterioration appeared as the exposure time increased.

Transition From Glass To Digital Slide Microscopy In The Teaching Of Oral Pathology In A Brazilian Dental School.

Several medical and dental schools have described their experience in the transition from conventional to digital microscopy in the teaching of general pathology and histology disciplines; however, this transitional process has scarcely been reported in the teaching of oral pathology. Therefore, the objective of the current study is to report the transition from conventional glass slide to virtual microscopy in oral pathology teaching, a unique experience in Latin America. An Aperio ScanScope® scanner was used to digitalize histological slides used in practical lectures of oral pathology. The challenges and benefits observed by the group of Professors from the Piracicaba Dental School (Brazil) are described and a questionnaire to evaluate the students' compliance to this new methodology was applied. An improvement in the classes was described by the Professors who mainly dealt with questions related to pathological changes instead of technical problems; also, a higher interaction with the students was described. The simplicity of the software used and the high quality of the virtual slides, requiring a smaller time to identify microscopic structures, were considered important for a better teaching process. Virtual microscopy used to teach oral pathology represents a useful educational methodology, with an excellent compliance of the dental students.

Fish Biodiversity Of The Vitória-trindade Seamount Chain, Southwestern Atlantic: An Updated Database.

Despite a strong increase in research on seamounts and oceanic islands ecology and biogeography, many basic aspects of their biodiversity are still unknown. In the southwestern Atlantic, the Vitória-Trindade Seamount Chain (VTC) extends ca. 1,200 km offshore the Brazilian continental shelf, from the Vitória seamount to the oceanic islands of Trindade and Martin Vaz. For a long time, most of the biological information available regarded its islands. Our study presents and analyzes an extensive database on the VTC fish biodiversity, built on data compiled from literature and recent scientific expeditions that assessed both shallow to mesophotic environments. A total of 273 species were recorded, 211 of which occur on seamounts and 173 at the islands. New records for seamounts or islands include 191 reef fish species and 64 depth range extensions. The structure of fish assemblages was similar between islands and seamounts, not differing in species geographic distribution, trophic composition, or spawning strategies. Main differences were related to endemism, higher at the islands, and to the number of endangered species, higher at the seamounts. Since unregulated fishing activities are common in the region, and mining activities are expected to drastically increase in the near future (carbonates on seamount summits and metals on slopes), this unique biodiversity needs urgent attention and management.

The Conformational Analysis Of 2-halocyclooctanones.

The establishment of the most stable structures of eight membered rings is a challenging task to the field of conformational analysis. In this work, a series of 2-halocyclooctanones were synthesized (including fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine derivatives) and submitted to conformational studies using a combination of theoretical calculation and infrared spectroscopy. For each compound, four conformations were identified as the most important ones. These conformations are derived from the chair-boat conformation of cyclooctanone. The pseudo-equatorial (with respect to the halogen) conformer is preferred in vacuum and in low polarity solvents for chlorine, bromine and iodine derivatives. For 2-fluorocyclooctanone, the preferred conformation in vacuum is pseudo-axial. In acetonitrile, the pseudo-axial conformer becomes the most stable for the chlorine derivative. According to NBO calculations, the conformational preference is not dictated by electron delocalization, but by classical electrostatic repulsions.

Fases estacionárias monolíticas para separações cromatográficas

Monolithic stationary phases represent a new generation of chromatographic separation media. These phases consist of a continuous separation bed prepared by in situ polymerization or consolidation inside the column tubing. In recent years, their simple preparation procedure, unique properties and excellent performance have attracted quite remarkable attention in liquid chromatography and capillary electrochromatography. This review summarizes the preparation, characterization and applications of monolithic stationary phases. The analytical potential of these columns is demonstrated with separations involving various families of compounds in different separation modes.

Cutinases fúngicas: propriedades e aplicações industriais

Cutinases (EC 3.1.1.74) are also known as cutin hidrolases. These enzymes share catalytic properties of lipases and esterases, presenting a unique feature of being active regardless the presence of an oil-water interface, making them interesting as biocatalysts in several industrial processes involving hydrolysis, esterification and trans-esterification reactions. They are also active in different reaction media, allowing their applications in different areas such as food industry, cosmetics, fine chemicals, pesticide and insecticide degradation, treatment and laundry of fiber textiles and polymer chemistry. The present review describes the characteristics, potential applications and new perspectives for these enzymes.

Emprego da fluorescência de raios X por dispersão de energia para o mapeamento de troncos de árvores em Campinas, São Paulo

Dendrochemistry is based on the determination of elements retained in tree rings, which can be useful to characterize environmental occurrences. This work shows elemental mappings obtained by EDXRF of the cross section of a tree stem. The tree is originated from a polluted area in Campinas, São Paulo. Some profiles, as the sulfur one, show variations that can be attributed to external contributions, whereas the silicon one can be inferred to a protection defense natural mechanism. Besides being simultaneous and multielementar, the main advantages here are its performance through a non-destructive sample treatment and the ease of operation of XRF equipments.

Acetatos homo e heterotrinucleares de ferro: um experimento para o laboratório de química de coordenação

Homo and heterotrinuclear acetates are unique compounds having μ3-oxo bridge and many interesting properties of such compounds are derived from this structure. Some undergraduate inorganic textbooks discuss several aspects of these compounds and we present here an undergraduate experiment for the high-yield synthesis of [Fe2MO(CH3CO2)6(H 2O)3], with M = Fe3+, Co2+ and Ni2+, as well as their characterization using infrared spectroscopy and cyclic voltametry. The proposed experiment gives the opportunity to discuss several concepts of coordination chemistry that follow the characterization techniques, such as: types of acetate coordination, reversibility of electrochemical processes, quelate and trans effects and lability.

Fisionomia e organização da vegetação do carrasco no planalto da Ibiapaba, estado do Ceará

Is the carrasco on the Ibiapaba plateau a unique plant formation? To answer this question the vertical height (except of climbers) and the stem basal diameter (from 3cm on) of woody plants were measured, and soil extracts (0-50 and 50-100cm depth) were taken from 100 random plots (10x10m) at Jaburuna (3º54'34S and 40º59'24W, altitudes near 830m), municipality of Ubajara, Ceará State. Data on climate, soil, diameter height, density, basal area, and physiognomy were compared with those surveyed by other researchers from the carrasco, caatinga, and cerrado in Northeastern Brazil. The carrasco occurs under an annual rainfall of between 668 and 1,289mm and temperatures from 22 to 24ºC, on alic Quartz Sand soils, at altitudes between 700 and 900m: it has a larger density and a smaller basal area than the caatinga and the cerrado, small and similar diameters, and an average vertical height between 3,7 and 5,4m. It differs from the caatinga, cerrado (and cerradão) and secondary forest in many items of lhe ecotope, organization and physiognomy, thus being a unique plain formation, which can be characterized as a deciduous, high, closed, and unistratified shrubland intermingled by lianas, with an irregular canopy and sparse, emergent trees.

Resonancias discursivas y cortesía en prácticas de lecto-escritura

In this paper we present a study of reading comprehension based on a contrastive argumentative-discursive approach. We examine the relationship between linguistic materiality and discursive processes, observing the connection between reading in a foreign language, writing production and textual memories in the mother tongue. In addition to an interest in practical language teaching and learning processes (in this case of Spanish and Portuguese), we investigate the question of politeness and the theoretical relationship between subjectivity, language, and textuality. The latter, being understood as the result of discourse regularities, is unique for each and every production, yet is also conditioned by plural discursive memories resulting from contradictory social relationships in a specific historical context (Foucault, 1986; Pêcheux, 1990). In the experiment presented here, we follow some of the procedures of the methodology applied in the European Galatea Project developed for the study of reading strategies in the inter-comprehension between Romance languages (Dabène, 1996). We use the procedure of simulation and the subjective projection of participants as well as the notion of discursive resonance in the analysis. The results, having to do with directness and indirectness in speech and the question of politeness in two typologically close languages, lead to the conclusion that the concept of politeness goes beyond a pragmatic strategy used to avoid conflicts to be approached as a marker of cultural identity constitution. The relevance of discursive awareness and its theoretical and practical consequences are then emphasized.

Apedunculata discoidea gen. n., sp. n. (Monogenea: Dactylogyridae) parasitic on Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes, 1837) (Characiformes: Prochilodontidae) from southeastern Brazil

A new species of dactylogyrid monogenean, Apedunculata discoidea gen. n., sp. n. is described and illustrated from the gills of the freshwater fish Prochilodus lineatus (Valenciennes, 1837) in pisciculture ponds from Pirassununga, São Paulo, Brazil. Diagnostic characters of the new genus and species are: 1) vagina dextrolateral slightly sclerotised, opening anteriorly at level of copulatory complex; 2) copulatory organ coiled with two counterclockwise rings; 3) Accessory piece distal and not articulated; 4) body disk-shaped, lacking a peduncle.

Neuronal Ceroid-lipofuscinosis with prominent chorea and without visual manifestations: a case report

A case of neuronal ceroid-lipofuscinosis (NCL) is reported in a 11-year-old girl, whose main symptoms were progressive dementia since the age of 4 years and choreic movements since age 10. Seizures, myoclonus and visual deterioration were absent and optic fundi were normal. A cerebral biopsy disclosed two basic types of stored substance in the cytoplasm of neurons: a) severely balloned nerve cells in cortical layers HI and V contained a non-autofluorescent material, which stained with PAS and Sudan Black B in frozen, but not in paraffin sections; ultrastructurally, these neurons showed abundant corpuscles similar to the membranous cytoplasmic bodies of Tay-Sachs disease and, in smaller amounts, also zebra bodies; b) slightly distended or non-distended neurons in all layers contained lipopigment granules, which were autofluorescent, PAS-positive and sudanophil in both frozen and paraffin sections; their ultrastructure was closely comparable to that of lipofuscin. Similar bodies were found in the swollen segments of axons and in a few astrocytes and endothelial cells. The histochemical and ultrastructural demonstration of large amounts of lipopigments allows a presumptive classification of the case as NCL. However, the presence of involuntary movements, the absence of visual disturbances and the unusual ultrastructural features place the patient into a small heterogeneous group within the NCL. A better classification of such unique instances of the disease must await elucidation of the basic enzymatic defects.

Auto-eficácia docente e motivação para a realização do(a) professor(a) de Educação Física Adaptada

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física