Cerambycidae (Coleoptera) do estado do Maranhão, Brasil

São registradas 116 espécies de Cerambycidae para o Maranhão: Prioninae, seis, Cerambycinae, 61 e Lamiinae, 49. Do total, 97 espécies configuram-se como novo registro. A maioria das espécies ocorre em dois ou mais domínios morfoclimáticos do Brasil. Espécies novas descritas em Lamiinae: Punctozotroctes inhamum sp. nov. (Acanthoderini) e Oncideres coites sp. nov. de Caxias; Oncideres mirador sp. nov. (Onciderini) de Mirador.

Acupuntura: motivações de médicos para a procura de especialização

Este estudo quanti-qualitativo objetivou identificar concepções sobre Medicina Convencional e Acu puntura que contribuem para entender os motivos que levam médicos a procurarem conhecer ou se especializar em Acupuntura. Foram pesquisados 175 médicos do Curso de Desenvolvimento em Me dicina Chinesa − Acupuntura, do Center-AO − Centro de Pesquisa e Estudo da Medicina Chinesa e Universidade Federal de São Paulo − Escola Paulista de Medicina (Unifesp - EPM), com questio nário composto por perguntas abertas e fechadas. Os dados obtidos foram analisados estatisticamente, e as respostas foram analisadas com a técnica de análise de conteúdo, buscando desvelar unidades de significado. A partir disso, foram estabelecidas categorias gerais e específicas, que passaram a dar significado aos discursos. Dessa forma, foram obtidos três grupos categoriais: "aprimoramento profis sional", "ampliar seu próprio horizonte de vida" e "compreender o paciente em uma dimensão mais abrangente". Nossos dados revelaram que os médicos desejam exercer a Acupuntura de forma inte grada à Medicina Convencional, no bojo da qual a Acupuntura vem se firmando como especialidade médica.

Population-based multicentric survey of hepatitis B infection and risk factor differences among three regions in Brazil

This multicentric population-based study in Brazil is the first national effort to estimate the prevalence of hepatitis B (HBV) and risk factors in the capital cities of the Northeast, Central-West, and Federal Districts (2004-2005). Random multistage cluster sampling was used to select persons 13-69 years of age. Markers for HBV were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The HBV genotypes were determined by sequencing hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Multivariate analyses and simple catalytic model were performed. Overall, 7,881 persons were included; < 70 per cent were not vaccinated. Positivity for HBsAg was less than 1 per cent among non-vaccinated persons and genotypes A, D, and F co-circulated. The incidence of infection increased with age with similar force of infection in all regions. Males and persons having initiated sexual activity were associated with HBV infection in the two settings; healthcare jobs and prior hospitalization were risk factors in the Federal District. Our survey classified these regions as areas with HBV endemicity and highlighted the risk factors differences among the settings

Menopausa: principais sinais e sintomas à avaliação vestibular computadorizada

Objetivo: Identificar os principais sintomas e sinais ao exame vestibular computadorizado em pacientes na menopausa. Método: Foram examinadas 24 pacientes com idades entre 46 a 66 anos. Analisaram-se os dados relativos à sintomatologia e achados ao exame vestibular computadorizado com vectonistagmografia realizado no ambulatório de otoneurologia da Irmandade Santa Casa de Misericórdia de São Paulo, em 2004 e 2005. Resultados: Entre as pacientes, 54,1 por cento faziam reposição hormonal. Em relação aos sintomas relatados, observamos cefaléia (58,4 por cento), hipersensibilidade a sons intensos (58,4 por cento), tontura (54,2 por cento), zumbido (50 por cento), hipoacusia (50 por cento), ansiedade (50 por cento), distúrbio neurovegetativo (41,7 por cento), vertigem (37,5 por cento) e depressão (37,5 por cento). Ao exame vestibular encontramos alterações do nistagmo de posicionamento (12,5 por cento), e prova calórica (54,2 por cento). Na conclusão do exame tivemos prevalência de síndrome vestibular periférica irritativa (54,2 por cento). Conclusão: Por meio dos resultados desta pesquisa concluiu-se que pacientes no período da menopausa apresentam elevada prevalência de sintoma otoneurológicos e alterações à vectonistagmografia computadorizada, com predomínio de síndrome vestibular periférica do tipo irritativo

DESCRIPTION OF THE LARVAE OF TAPINOMA MELANOCEPHALUM (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE)

Morphological descriptions of the 4 instars of the ghost-ant Tapinoma melanocephalum Fabricius are presented along with illustrations and comparisons with other species of the same genus. Instars were similar, differing only in body length. The analyzed larvae presented many characteristics in common with other Tapinoma Forster larvae, such as: dolichoderoid body and mandibles, 9 pairs of spiracles, the presence of a terminal boss, and scarce body and head setae, all simple and short. We observed the following differences from other previous descriptions: the presence of a subapical mandibular tooth, setaceous sensilla on the medial anterior surface of the labrum, and fewer sensilla on maxillary and labial palps.

Predictors of HBeAg status and hepatitis B viraemia in HIV-infected patients with chronic hepatitis B in the HAART era in Brazil

Background: HBV-HIV co-infection is associated with an increased liver-related morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the natural history of chronic hepatitis B in HIV-infected individuals under highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) receiving at least one of the two drugs that also affect HBV (TDF and LAM). Information about HBeAg status and HBV viremia in HIV/HBV co-infected patients is scarce. The objective of this study was to search for clinical and virological variables associated with HBeAg status and HBV viremia in patients of an HIV/HBV co-infected cohort. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed, of HBsAg-positive HIV-infected patients in treatment between 1994 and 2007 in two AIDS outpatient clinics located in the Sao Paulo metropolitan area, Brazil. The baseline data were age, sex, CD4 T+ cell count, ALT level, HIV and HBV viral load, HBV genotype, and duration of antiretroviral use. The variables associated to HBeAg status and HBV viremia were assessed using logistic regression. Results: A total of 86 HBsAg patients were included in the study. Of these, 48 (56%) were using combination therapy that included lamivudine (LAM) and tenofovir (TDF), 31 (36%) were using LAM monotherapy, and 7 patients had no previous use of either one. Duration of use of TDF and LAM varied from 4 to 21 and 7 to 144 months, respectively. A total of 42 (48. 9%) patients were HBeAg positive and 44 (51. 1%) were HBeAg negative. The multivariate analysis revealed that the use of TDF for longer than 12 months was associated with undetectable HBV DNA viral load (serum HBV DNA level < 60 UI/ml) (p = 0. 047). HBeAg positivity was associated with HBV DNA > 60 UI/ml (p = 0. 001) and ALT levels above normality (p = 0. 038). Conclusion: Prolonged use of TDF containing HAART is associated with undetectable HBV DNA viral load. HBeAg positivity is associated with HBV viremia and increased ALT levels.

Total carbon measurement in whole tropical soil sample

Soils are an important component in the biogeochemical cycle of carbon, storing about four times more carbon than biomass plants and nearly three times more than the atmosphere. Moreover, the carbon content is directly related on the capacity of water retention, fertility. among other properties. Thus, soil carbon quantification in field conditions is an important challenge related to carbon cycle and global climatic changes. Nowadays. Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) can be used for qualitative elemental analyses without previous treatment of samples and the results are obtained quickly. New optical technologies made possible the portable LIBS systems and now, the great expectation is the development of methods that make possible quantitative measurements with LIBS. The goal of this work is to calibrate a portable LIBS system to carry out quantitative measures of carbon in whole tropical soil sample. For this, six samples from the Brazilian Cerrado region (Argisoil) were used. Tropical soils have large amounts of iron in their compositions, so the carbon line at 247.86 nm presents strong interference of this element (iron lines at 247.86 and 247.95). For this reason, in this work the carbon line at 193.03 nm was used. Using methods of statistical analysis as a simple linear regression, multivariate linear regression and cross-validation were possible to obtain correlation coefficients higher than 0.91. These results show the great potential of using portable LIBS systems for quantitative carbon measurements in tropical soils. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Treatment of Obese Adolescents: The Influence of Periodization Models and ACE Genotype

The aims of the present study were to compare the effects of two periodization models on metabolic syndrome risk factors in obese adolescents and verify whether the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) genotype is important in establishing these effects. A total of 32 postpuberty obese adolescents were submitted to aerobic training (AT) and resistance training (RT) for 14 weeks. The subjects were divided into linear periodization (LP, n = 16) or daily undulating periodization (DUP, n = 16). Body composition, visceral and subcutaneous fat, glycemia, insulinemia, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), lipid profiles, blood pressure, maximal oxygen consumption (VO(2max)), resting metabolic rate (RMR), muscular endurance were analyzed at baseline and after intervention. Both groups demonstrated a significant reduction in body mass, BMI, body fat, visceral and subcutaneous fat, total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, blood pressure and an increase in fat-free mass, VO(2max), and muscular endurance. However, only DUP promoted a reduction in insulin concentrations and HOMA-IR. It is important to emphasize that there was no statics difference between LP and DUP groups; however, it appears that there may be bigger changes in the DUP than LP group in some of the metabolic syndrome risk factors in obese adolescents with regard to the effect size (ES). Both periodization models presented a large effect on muscular endurance. Despite the limitation of sample size, our results suggested that the ACE genotype may influence the functional and metabolic characteristics of obese adolescents and may be considered in the future strategies for massive obesity control.

New perspectives on the processing and release of public information

This article discusses issues related to the organization and reception of information in the context of services and public information systems driven by technology. It stems from the assumption that in a ""technologized"" society, the distance between users and information is almost always of cognitive and socio-cultural nature, a product of our effort to design communication. In this context, we favor the approach of the information sign, seeking to answer how a documentary message turns into information, i.e. a structure recognized as socially useful. Observing the structural, cognitive and communicative aspects of the documentary message, based on Documentary Linguistics, Terminology, as well as on Textual Linguistics, the policy of knowledge management and innovation of the Government of the State of Sao Paulo is analyzed, which authorizes the use of Web 2.0, also questioning to what extent this initiative represents innovation in the environment of libraries.

Atenolol blunts blood pressure increase during dynamic resistance exercise in hypertensives

center dot Dynamic resistance exercise promotes a sizeable increase in blood pressure during its execution in non medicated hypertensives. WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS center dot Atenolol not only decreases blood pressure level but also mitigates the increase of blood pressure during dynamic resistance exercise in hypertensive patients. An increase in blood pressure during resistance exercise might be at least in part attributed to an increase in cardiac output. AIMS This study was conducted to determine whether atenolol was able to decrease BP level and mitigate BP increase during dynamic resistance exercise performed at three different intensities in hypertensives. METHODS Ten essential hypertensives (systolic/diastolic BP between 140/90 and 160/105 mmHg) were blindly studied after 6 weeks of placebo and atenolol. In each phase, volunteers executed, in a random order, three protocols of knee-extension exercises to fatigue: (i) one set at 100% of 1 RM; (ii) three sets at 80% of 1 RM; and (iii) three sets at 40% of 1 RM. Intra-arterial radial blood pressure was measured throughout the protocols. RESULTS Atenolol decreased systolic BP maximum values achieved during the three exercise protocols (100% = 186 +/- 4 vs. 215 +/- 7, 80% = 224 +/- 7 vs. 247 +/- 9 and 40% = 223 +/- 7 vs. 252 +/- 16 mmHg, P < 0.05). Atenolol also mitigated an increase in systolic BP in the first set of exercises (100% = +38 +/- 5 vs. +54 +/- 9; 80% = +68 +/- 11 vs. +84 +/- 13 and 40% = +69 +/- 7 vs. +84 +/- 14, mmHg, P < 0.05). Atenolol decreased diastolic BP values and mitigated its increase during exercise performed at 100% of 1 RM (126 +/- 6 vs. 145 +/- 6 and +41 +/- 6 vs. +52 +/- 6, mmHg, P < 0.05), but not at the other exercise intensities. CONCLUSIONS Atenolol was effective in both reducing systolic BP maximum values and mitigating BP increase during resistance exercise performed at different intensities in hypertensive subjects.

Contribution of headed studs to the composite behavior of the partially encased beams

The use of mechanical shear connectors, mainly headed stud bolts, is the most common way to achieve steel-concrete composite action. The encasement of the steel beam in the depth slab results in increase of strength and stiffness, reducing the total height of the floor. In this investigation, three partially encased composite beams were tested under flexural conditions and the main objective was to investigate some alternative positions for the headed studs. To provide longitudinal shear resistance between the I-shaped beam and the concrete, two positions of the,studs were investigated: vertically welded on the bottom flange and horizontally welded on the faces of the web. The experimental results have shown that the headed studs are effective to provide the composite action and increase the bending strength. Furthermore, the headed studs welded vertically on the bottom flange proved to be the most reliable position.

Lifecycle assessment of fuel ethanol from sugarcane in Brazil

This paper presents the lifecycle assessment (LCA) of fuel ethanol, as 100% of the vehicle fuel, from sugarcane in Brazil. The functional unit is 10,000 km run in an urban area by a car with a 1,600-cm(3) engine running on fuel hydrated ethanol, and the resulting reference flow is 1,000 kg of ethanol. The product system includes agricultural and industrial activities, distribution, cogeneration of electricity and steam, ethanol use during car driving, and industrial by-products recycling to irrigate sugarcane fields. The use of sugarcane by the ethanol agribusiness is one of the foremost financial resources for the economy of the Brazilian rural area, which occupies extensive areas and provides far-reaching potentials for renewable fuel production. But, there are environmental impacts during the fuel ethanol lifecycle, which this paper intents to analyze, including addressing the main activities responsible for such impacts and indicating some suggestions to minimize the impacts. This study is classified as an applied quantitative research, and the technical procedure to achieve the exploratory goal is based on bibliographic revision, documental research, primary data collection, and study cases at sugarcane farms and fuel ethanol industries in the northeast of SA o pound Paulo State, Brazil. The methodological structure for this LCA study is in agreement with the International Standardization Organization, and the method used is the Environmental Design of Industrial Products. The lifecycle impact assessment (LCIA) covers the following emission-related impact categories: global warming, ozone formation, acidification, nutrient enrichment, ecotoxicity, and human toxicity. The results of the fuel ethanol LCI demonstrate that even though alcohol is considered a renewable fuel because it comes from biomass (sugarcane), it uses a high quantity and diversity of nonrenewable resources over its lifecycle. The input of renewable resources is also high mainly because of the water consumption in the industrial phases, due to the sugarcane washing process. During the lifecycle of alcohol, there is a surplus of electric energy due to the cogeneration activity. Another focus point is the quantity of emissions to the atmosphere and the diversity of the substances emitted. Harvesting is the unit process that contributes most to global warming. For photochemical ozone formation, harvesting is also the activity with the strongest contributions due to the burning in harvesting and the emissions from using diesel fuel. The acidification impact potential is mostly due to the NOx emitted by the combustion of ethanol during use, on account of the sulfuric acid use in the industrial process and because of the NOx emitted by the burning in harvesting. The main consequence of the intensive use of fertilizers to the field is the high nutrient enrichment impact potential associated with this activity. The main contributions to the ecotoxicity impact potential come from chemical applications during crop growth. The activity that presents the highest impact potential for human toxicity (HT) via air and via soil is harvesting. Via water, HT potential is high in harvesting due to lubricant use on the machines. The normalization results indicate that nutrient enrichment, acidification, and human toxicity via air and via water are the most significant impact potentials for the lifecycle of fuel ethanol. The fuel ethanol lifecycle contributes negatively to all the impact potentials analyzed: global warming, ozone formation, acidification, nutrient enrichment, ecotoxicity, and human toxicity. Concerning energy consumption, it consumes less energy than its own production largely because of the electricity cogeneration system, but this process is highly dependent on water. The main causes for the biggest impact potential indicated by the normalization is the nutrient application, the burning in harvesting and the use of diesel fuel. The recommendations for the ethanol lifecycle are: harvesting the sugarcane without burning; more environmentally benign agricultural practices; renewable fuel rather than diesel; not washing sugarcane and implementing water recycling systems during the industrial processing; and improving the system of gases emissions control during the use of ethanol in cars, mainly for NOx. Other studies on the fuel ethanol from sugarcane may analyze in more details the social aspects, the biodiversity, and the land use impact.

Planning and operation of large-scale water distribution systems with preemptive priorities

This paper describes the development of an optimization model for the management and operation of a large-scale, multireservoir water supply distribution system with preemptive priorities. The model considers multiobjectives and hedging rules. During periods of drought, when water supply is insufficient to meet the planned demand, appropriate rationing factors are applied to reduce water supply. In this paper, a water distribution system is formulated as a network and solved by the GAMS modeling system for mathematical programming and optimization. A user-friendly interface is developed to facilitate the manipulation of data and to generate graphs and tables for decision makers. The optimization model and its interface form a decision support system (DSS), which can be used to configure a water distribution system to facilitate capacity expansion and reliability studies. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the utility and versatility of the developed DSS under different supply and demand scenarios, including applications to one of the largest water supply systems in the world, the Sao Paulo Metropolitan Area Water Supply Distribution System in Brazil.

Avaliação do desempenho ambiental de obras de recuperação de rodovias

This paper features a tool to carry out environmental performance evaluation in highway rehabilitation works, as a component of environmental supervision activities. The procedure involves (i) evidence gathering by conducting technical inspections and reviewing environmental compliance reports, (ii) ranking nonconformities according to a proposed weighting framework, and (iii) calculation of an environmental conformity index. For the sake of testing and calibration, the procedure was applied to five road segments that were submitted to rehabilitation works in Sao Paulo State and the results were treated qualitatively.

Tocopherols, tocotrienols, and gamma-oryzanol contents in Japonica and Indica subspecies of rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivated in Brazil

Whole rice contains several fat-soluble phytochemicals such. as tocopherols, tocotrienols, and gamma-oryzanol which have been reported to possess beneficial health properties. This study was conducted to determine whether brown rice belonging to indica and japonica subspecies were distinguishable from each other regarding the concentration of these compounds by analyzing 32 genotypes. The fat-soluble compounds were analyzed by normal-phase HPLC in a single run. The variability of the compounds analyzed was high, but the mean content of gamma-oryzanol across all samples was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in japonica (246.3 mg/kg) than in indica rice (190.1 mg/kg). Similar differences were found for total vitamin E contents which were 24.2 mg/kg injaponica and 17.1 mg/kg in indica rice, respectively. In japonica rice, alpha-tocopherol, alpha-tocotrienol, and gamma-tocotrienol were the most abundant homologs, while in indica rice the most abundant were gamma-tocotrienol, alpha-tocopherol, and alpha-tocotrienol. A significant Pearson coefficient (0.80, P < 0.001) between alpha-tocopherol and alpha-tocotrienol levels was found, independent of the subspecies. Both compounds were positively correlated to total tocols and gamma-oryzanol contents. Although more studies are needed to evaluate the interference of growing rice in different environments and multiple years, the present study provided information on natural variations of the vitamin E isomers and the gamma-oryzanol contents in different rice genotypes.