Chromosomal painting and ZW sex chromosomes differentiation in Characidium (Characiformes, Crenuchidae)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Phenology, sex ratio, and spatial distribution among dioecious species of Trichilia (Meliaceae)

The flowering, sex ratio, and spatial distribution of four dioecious species of Trichilia (Meliaceae) were studied in a semi-deciduous forest in southeastern Brazil. All reproductive trees (T. clausseni, T. pallida and T. catigua) with dbh greater than or equal to5 cm within a 1-ha plot were collected, sexed, mapped and, for individuals of each species, the distances to the nearest neighbour of the same and opposite sex were measured. For the shrub species T elegans (dbh <5 cm), all reproductive individuals were sampled randomly in 10 samples of 10 x 10 m. The reproductive phenology was observed at weekly to monthly intervals from May 1988 to January 1990. The species are strictly dioecious, did not present any sex-mixed trees or sex switching during the study, and sex ratio did not differ significantly from 1:1. The size distributions and the relative size variation were not significantly different. between sexes. There was no significant segregation or clumping between individuals of either sex and no fruit production without pollination. Onset of flowering and flowering peak were synchronous between male and female plants for all species studied. Flower synchrony was related to outcrossing and pollinator attraction rather than climatic factors.

Reliability and validity of self-reported burnout in college students: A cross randomized comparison of paper-and-pencil vs. online administration

Internet data collection is becoming increasingly popular in all research fields dealing with human perceptions, behaviors and opinions. Advantages of internet data collection, when compared to the traditional paper-and-pencil format, include reduced costs, automatic database creation, and the absence of researcher-related bias effects, such as availability and complete anonymity. However, the validity and reliability of internet gathered data must be established, in comparison to the usual paper-and-pencil accepted formats, before an inferential analysis can be done. In this study, we compared questionnaire data gathered from the internet with that from the traditional paper-and-pencil in a sample of college students. The questionnaires used were the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Student Survey (MBI-SS), the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OBI-SS) and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI-SS). Data was gathered through a within-subject cross randomized and counterbalanced design, on both internet and paper-and-pencil formats. The results showed no interference in the application order, and a good reliability for both formats. However, concordance between answers was generally higher in the paper-and-pencil format than on the internet. The factorial structure was invariant in the three burnout inventories. Data gathered in this study supports the Internet as a convenient, user-friendly, comfortable and secure data gathering method which does not affect the accepted factorial structures existent in the paper format of the three burnout inventories used. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Impact of breed and sex on porcine endocrine transcriptome: a bayesian biometrical analysis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Influence of environmental temperature, dietary energy level and sex on performance and carcass characteristics of pigs

Pigs are quite sensitive to high environmental temperatures and the thermoregulation mechanisms represent great expenses in energy for heating loss, reducing animal well-being and production performance, and altering carcass quality. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of sex and dietary energy level in growing-finishing pigs submitted to characteristic seasonal variation of temperature in subtropical humid climate, and to propose a mathematical model to predict growth performance and carcass characteristics. Twenty-eight crossbred growing-finishing pigs were randomly allotted to twelve treatments, in a 2x2x3 factorial trial (2 sex; 2 environmental conditions, and 3 energy levels). Heat stress condition (climatic chamber) showed temperatures of 31 oC at 7:00 and 22 oC at 17:00 (maximum of 33 °C) and thermal comfort condition (stall) showed temperatures of 18 °C at 7:00 and 24 °C (maximum of 27 °C). Pigs were fed ad libitum with diets containing 12.2 (low), 13.6 (medium) and 15.0 (high) MJ ME/ kg DM. Voluntary feed intake, daily weight gain, and final body weight were higher (P<0.01) at thermal comfort condition and were influenced by sex (P<0.01) in growing pigs. Feed to gain ratio decreased as the energy level increased (P<0.01), with values of 2.67, 2.59, and 2.32 (12.2, 13.6, and 15.0 MJ ME/kg DM, respectively). There was energy level and sex interaction only for daily weight gain. Regarding finishing pigs, environmental conditions also showed effects (P<0.01) on voluntary feed intake, daily weight gain, and final body weight. Performance of pigs was better at thermal comfort condition. Feed to gain ratio values were 3.55, 3.42, and 2.95 for low, medium, and high energy level, respectively. Interactions between energy level and sex were observed for voluntary feed intake, daily weight gain, and final body weight (P<0.05). Carcass yield and quality were affected by environmental condition and dietary energy level. Both hot and cold carcass weight increased as energy of ration increased. Cold carcass weight increased by 1.142 kg/MJ EM whereas backfat thickness was up to 252 mm/MJ EM. Longissimus thoracis muscle thickness was around 16 mm smaller in pigs under heat stress, but lean content was 2.68% higher in those animals. Regression equations were proposed to predict the performance values in the different situations studied.

Reliability and failure modes of internal conical dental implant connections

Objective: Biological and mechanical implant-abutment connection complications and failures are still present in clinical practice, frequently compromising oral function. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and failure modes of anterior single-unit restorations in internal conical interface (ICI) implants using step-stress accelerated life testing (SSALT). Materials and methods: Forty-two ICI implants were distributed in two groups (n = 21 each): group AT-OsseoSpeed™ TX (Astra Tech, Waltham, MA, USA); group SV-Duocon System Line, Morse Taper (Signo Vinces Ltda., Campo Largo, PR, Brazil). The corresponding abutments were screwed to the implants and standardized maxillary central incisor metal crowns were cemented and subjected to SSALT in water. Use-level probability Weibull curves and reliability for a mission of 50,000 cycles at 200 N were calculated. Differences between groups were assessed by Kruskal-Wallis along with Bonferroni's post-hoc tests. Polarized-light and scanning electron microscopes were used for failure analyses. Results: The Beta (β) value derived from use level probability Weibull calculation was 1.62 (1.01-2.58) for group AT and 2.56 (1.76-3.74) for group SV, indicating that fatigue was an accelerating factor for failure of both groups. The reliability for group AT was 0.95 and for group SV was 0.88. Kruskal-Wallis along with Bonferroni's post-hoc tests showed no significant difference between the groups tested (P > 0.27). In all specimens of both groups, the chief failure mode was abutment fracture at the conical joint region and screw fracture at neck's region. Conclusions: Reliability was not different between investigated ICI connections supporting maxillary incisor crowns. Failure modes were similar. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Influence of abutment-to-fixture design on reliability and failure mode of all-ceramic crown systems

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

Retromolar canal associated with age, side, sex, bifid mandibular canal, and accessory mental foramen in panoramic radiographs of Brazilians

Background. The retromolar canal (RMC) is an anatomical variation that can cause complications in dental procedures. Method. The RMC was evaluated according to age, sex, and presence of accessory mandibular canal and accessory mental foramen, on both sides in 500 panoramic radiographs, belonging to individuals at the age of 7 to 20 years. The associations of interest were studied through Fisher's Exact Test and Pearson's Chi-Square Test, and the correlation was studied through Pearson's Correlation Coefficient (r). The significance level used was 5%. Results. The RMC was observed in 44 radiographs (8.8%), and out of those 24 were females. There was no statistically significant association between the RMC and age (p > 0.05; Fisher's Exact Test), sex (p = 0.787; Pearson's Chi-Square Test), amount of mandibular canals and mental foramina, on both sides (p > 0.05; Pearson's Chi-Square Test). There was a significant association between RMC and side, the higher frequency of the canal being on the right side (p < 0.05; Fisher's Exact Test). Conclusions. Despite the low occurrence of the RMC, its identification and the verification of its dimensions and path are relevant, mainly in cases when anesthetic and surgical procedures can present failures or difficulties.

Repetitive DNA sequences and evolution of ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes in characidium (teleostei: characiformes)

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

Cuticular Hydrocarbon Variation of Castes and Sex in the Weaver Ant Camponotus textor (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Cuticular hydrocarbons play important roles as chemical signatures of individuals, castes, sex and brood. They also can mediate the regulation of egg laying in ants, by informing directly or indirectly the reproductive status of queens. In this study we asked whether cuticular hydrocarbon profiles are correlated with castes and sex of Camponotus textor. Cuticular hydrocarbons were extracted from part of a mature colony (80 workers, 27 major workers, 27 queens, 27 virgin queens and 27 males). Results showed that cuticular hydrocarbons varied quantitatively and qualitatively among the groups and this variation was sufficiently strong to allow separation of castes and genders. We discuss the specificity of some compounds as possible regulatory compounds of worker tasks and reproduction in C. textor.

Reliability and discriminatory power of methods for dental plaque quantification

This in situ study evaluated the discriminatory power and reliability of methods of dental plaque quantification and the relationship between visual indices (VI) and fluorescence camera (FC) to detect plaque.

Mortality and morbidity in the city of Bern, Switzerland, 1805-1815 with special emphasis on infant, child and maternal deaths

This article contributes to the research on demographics and public health of urban populations of preindustrial Europe. The key source is a burial register that contains information on the deceased, such as age and sex, residence and cause of death. This register is one of the earliest compilations of data sets of individuals with this high degree of completeness and consistency. Critical assessment of the register's origin, formation and upkeep promises high validity and reliability. Between 1805 and 1815, 4,390 deceased inhabitants were registered. Information concerning these individuals provides the basis for this study. Life tables of Bern's population were created using different models. The causes of death were classified and their frequency calculated. Furthermore, the susceptibility of age groups to certain causes of death was established. Special attention was given to causes of death and mortality of newborns, infants and birth-giving women. In comparison to other cities and regions in Central Europe, Bern's mortality structure shows low rates for infants (q0=0.144) and children (q1-4=0.068). This could have simply indicated better living conditions. Life expectancy at birth was 43 years. Mortality was high in winter and spring, and decreased in summer to a low level with a short rise in August. The study of the causes of death was inhibited by difficulties in translating early 19th century nomenclature into the modern medical system. Nonetheless, death from metabolic disorders, illnesses of the respiratory system, and debilitation were the most prominent causes in Bern. Apparently, the worst killer of infants up to 12 months was the "gichteren", an obsolete German term for lethal spasmodic convulsions. The exact modern identification of this disease remains unclear. Possibilities such as infant tetanus or infant epilepsy are discussed. The maternal death rate of 0.72% is comparable with values calculated from contemporaneous sources. Relevance of childbed fever in the early 1800s was low. Bern's data indicate that the extent of deaths related to childbirth in this period is overrated. This research has an explicit interdisciplinary value for various fields including both the humanities and natural sciences, since information reported here represents the complete age and sex structure of a deceased population. Physical anthropologists can use these data as a true reference group for their palaeodemographic studies of preindustrial Central Europe of the late 18th and early 19th century. It is a call to both historians and anthropologists to use our resources to a better effect through combination of methods and exchange of knowledge.

The Development, Reliability, and Validity of the OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire

This report outlines the development, validity, and reliability of Part A of the OARS Multidimensional Functional Assessment Questionnaire. Part A permits assessment of individuals' functioning on each of five dimensions (social, economic, mental health, physical health and self-care capacity), the detailed information in each area being summarized on a 6-point rating scale by a rater. Content and consensual validity were ensured by the manner of construction. Information on criterion validity was obtained for all dimensions except social. The criterion used and their associated Kendall's Tau values were: an objective economic scale (.62); ratings based on personal interviews by geropsychiatrists (.60); physician's associates (.82); and physical therapists (.89). For 11 geographically dispersed raters from research and clinic settings, intraclass correlational coefficients, based on 30 subjects, ranged from .66 on physical health to .87 in self-care capacity; 74% of the ratings were in complete agreement, 24% differed by one point.

Recanalization and outcome after intra-arterial thrombolysis in middle cerebral artery and internal carotid artery occlusion: does sex matter?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Recent studies have reported sex differences in recanalization and outcome after intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) in acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: We analyzed sex differences in outcome in consecutive patients with middle cerebral artery (MCA) M1 or M2 and internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion treated with intra-arterial thrombolysis (IAT). Recanalization immediately after thrombolysis and outcome after 3 months were assessed. RESULTS: Two hundred five patients (111 men) with MCA and 43 (22 men) with ICA occlusion were identified. Baseline variables did not differ between the sexes except for a higher prevalence of smokers among men in the MCA group (31% vs 12%; P=0.001). Partial or complete recanalization (TIMI flow 2 or 3) of the MCA was observed in 71 (75%) women and 80 (72%) men (P=0.488). In the ICA group, 14 (67%) women and 11 men (50%) showed TIMI 2 or 3 recanalization (P=0.425). Favorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale score 0 to 2) was seen in 57 women (61%) and 63 men (57%) with MCA occlusion (P=0.512) and in 6 women (28%) and 4 men (18%) with ICA occlusion (P=0.656). After multiple-regression analyses, there was still no association between sex and outcome (P=0.763 for MCA and P=0.813 for ICA occlusion) or recanalization (P=0.488 for MCA and P=0.104 for ICA occlusion). CONCLUSIONS: There was no association between sex and recanalization or outcome after IAT. These findings are in contrast to previous studies reporting better recanalization and outcome after IVT in women and might have implications in the selection of patients for IAT or IVT.

New anthropometry-based age- and sex-specific reference values for urinary 24-hour creatinine excretion based on the adult Swiss population.

BACKGROUND Urinary creatinine excretion is used as a marker of completeness of timed urine collections, which are a keystone of several metabolic evaluations in clinical investigations and epidemiological surveys. The current reference values for 24-hour urinary creatinine excretion rely on observations performed in the 1960s and 1970s in relatively small and mostly selected groups, and may thus poorly fit to the present-day general European population. The aim of this study was to establish and validate anthropometry-based age- and sex-specific reference values of the 24-hour urinary creatinine excretion on adult populations with preserved renal function. METHODS We used data from two independent Swiss cross-sectional population-based studies with standardised 24-hour urinary collection and measured anthropometric variables. Only data from adults of European descent, with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥60 ml/min/1.73 m(2) and reported completeness of the urinary collection were retained. A linear regression model was developed to predict centiles of the 24-hour urinary creatinine excretion in 1,137 participants from the Swiss Survey on Salt and validated in 994 participants from the Swiss Kidney Project on Genes in Hypertension. RESULTS The mean urinary creatinine excretion was 193 ± 41 μmol/kg/24 hours in men and 151 ± 38 μmol/kg/24 hours in women in the Swiss Survey on Salt. The values were inversely correlated with age and body mass index (BMI). Based on current reference values (177 to 221 μmol/kg/24 hours in men and 133 to 177 μmol/kg/24 hours in women), 56% of the urinary collections in the whole population and 67% in people >60 years old would have been considered as inaccurate. A linear regression model with sex, BMI and age as predictor variables was found to provide the best prediction of the observed values and showed a good fit when applied to the validation population. CONCLUSIONS We propose a validated prediction equation for 24-hour urinary creatinine excretion in the general European population, based on readily available variables such as age, sex and BMI, and a few derived normograms to ease its clinical application. This should help healthcare providers to interpret the completeness of a 24-hour urine collection in daily clinical practice and in epidemiological population studies.