Apreciações de alunos de inglês sobre sua produção oral: um estudo com base no sistema de avaliatividade

O vasto número de pesquisas sobre produção oral no ensino de Inglês como Língua Estrangeira (ILE) ao redor do mundo (p. ex. LITTLEWOOD, 1981; BROWN; YULE, 1983; BROWN, 1994; UR, 1996; CARTER; MCCARTHY, 1997; BROWN, 1994; 2004; ELLIS, 2008), assim como estudos sobre aspectos cognitivos e de aquisição da produção oral (SWAIN, 1985; 1995; LEVELT, 1989; SWAIN; LAPKIN, 1995; SKEHAN; FOSTER, 1997; 1999; ROBINSON, 2001; BYGATE, 2001; D‟ELY;WEISSHEIMER, 2004; GUARÁ-TAVARES, 2007; WEISSHEIMER, 2007; BERGSLEITHNER, 2009; dentre outros) têm revelado aspectos para um ensino de ILE mais eficaz e motivador. Com a proposta de contribuir para esse avanço, o presente estudo está inserido no paradigma qualiquantitativo de pesquisa no campo da Linguística Aplicada (LA), primordialmente com base nos estudos de Moita Lopes (1996; 2006), para quem a LA está centrada na resolução de problemas de uso da linguagem, cujo foco está na linguagem de natureza processual. O estudo tem como objetivo verificar as percepções de 34 alunos, de quatro turmas distintas de um curso de ILE, em uma escola privada de línguas, acerca de sua produção oral, ao participarem de atividades orais. O corpus da pesquisa foi gerado pelas respostas dos alunos a questionamentos sobre sua produção oral, em duas fases, no início e no meio do curso, além de uma entrevista semiestruturada realizada com dez dos alunos, ao final do curso, com o intuito de verificar suas percepções sobre sua produção oral. As discussões relacionadas à produção oral em sala de aula de ILE têm respaldo teórico nos trabalhos de Littlewood (1981), Brown e Yule (1983), Almeida Filho (1993), Brown (1994), Ur (1996), Carter e McCarthy (1997), Nunan (1999), Brown (2004) e Ellis (2008), que explicam fenômenos que exercem influência na produção oral, tais como afeto, interação, características de atividades orais, dentre outras variáveis em relação a aspectos cognitivos da produção oral analisadas pelos estudos de Swain (1985; 1995), Levelt (1989), Swain e Lapkin (1995), Skehan e Foster (1997; 1999), Robinson (2001) e Bygate (2001). A análise e discussão dos dados tem como base a Gramática Sistêmico-Funcional proposta por Halliday (1985; 1994) e posteriormente desenvolvida por Halliday e Hasan (1989), Halliday e Mathiessen (2004) e Eggins (2004), dentre outros. O foco desta pesquisa são os mecanismos de Apreciação, um dos domínios avaliativos do subsistema de Atitude, que por sua vez, é parte integrante do Sistema de Avaliatividade, desenvolvido por Martin (2000), Martin e Rose (2003) e Martin e White (2005). Para análise das escolhas linguísticas feitas pelos alunos, utilizamos a ferramenta computacional WordSmith Tools 6.0 (SCOTT, 2010), cuja função Wordlist (lista de palavras) foi utilizada na busca pelos tipos de processos, assim como epítetos, entre outras marcas linguísticas mais recorrentes que caracterizassem suas percepções. Os resultados revelam que nas percepções dos alunos acerca de sua produção oral, ao longo das três fases da geração dos dados para a pesquisa, eles gradativamente deixaram de mencionar aspectos afetivos quanto ao desenvolvimento de sua produção oral e passaram a perceber aspectos mais estruturais de composição da língua

Força muscular respiratória, qualidade de vida e modulação autonômica da frequência cardíaca na distrofia miotônica

Background: The myotonic dystrophy (MD) is a multisystem neuromuscular disease that can affect the respiratory muscles and heart function, and cause impairment in quality of life. Objectives: Investigate the changes in respiratory muscle strength, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and autonomic modulation heart rate (HR) in patients with MD. Methods: Twenty-three patients performed assessment of pulmonary function, sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP), the maximal inspiratory (MIP) and expiratory (MEP) pressure, and of HRQoL (SF-36 questionnaire). Of these patients, 17 underwent assessment of heart rate variability (HRV) at rest, in the supine and seated positions. Results: The values of respiratory muscle strength were 64, 70 and 80% of predicted for MEP, MIP, and SNIP, respectively. Significant differences were found in the SF-36 domains of physical functioning (58.7 ± 31,4 vs. 84.5 ± 23, p<0.01) and physical problems (43.4 ± 35.2 vs. 81.2 ± 34, p<0.001) when patients were compared with the reference values. Single linear regression analysis demonstrated that MIP explains 29% of the variance in physical functioning, 18% of physical problems and 20% of vitality. The HRV showed that from supine position to seated, HF decreased (0.43 x 0.30), and LF (0.57 x 0.70) and the LF/HF ratio (1.28 x 2.22) increased (p< 0.05). Compared to healthy persons, LF was lower in both male patients (2.68 x 2.99) and women (2.31 x 2.79) (p< 0.05). LF / HF ratio and LF were higher in men (5.52 x 1.5 and 0.8 x 0.6, p <0.05) and AF in women (0.43 x 0.21) (p< 0.05). There was positive correlation between the time of diagnosis and LF / HF ratio (r = 0.7, p <0.01). Conclusions: The expiratory muscle strength was reduced. The HRQoL was more impaired on the physical aspects and partly influenced by changes in inspiratory muscle strength. The HRV showed that may be sympathetic dysfunction in autonomic modulation of HR, although with normal adjustment of autonomic modulation during the change of posture. The parasympathetic modulation is higher in female patients and sympathetic tends to increase in patients with longer diagnosis

Efeito imediato da estimulação elétrica neuromuscular seletiva do músculo VMO em pacientes com síndrome da dor femoropatelar

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is described as anterior or retropatellar pain knee in the absence of other pathologies and is frequently associated with dysfunction of the vastus medialis oblique (VMO). However, several studies have demonstrated the inability to selectively activate this muscle through exercise. To evaluate the effect of Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) selective VMO in women with syndrome. We evaluated thirty-eight women: twenty in the control group (24.15 ± 2.60 years) and eighteen diagnosed with PFPS (25.56 ± 3.55 years). Both groups were evaluated before and after a protocol of electro stimulation. To measure for comparing groups before and after treatment, we assessed the extensor torque concentric and eccentric knee through an isokinetic dynamometer, the intensity (Root Mean Square - RMS) and the onset of activation (onset) of VMO compared to the vastus lateralis (VL) in two types of exercise: open and closed kinetic chain. . Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 15.0, with a significance level of 5%. Results: Our data showed an increase in the intensity of activation (RMS) of the VMO muscle after NMES in both study groups. During concentric contraction the RMS of the VMO before the NMES was 105.69 ± 32.26 μV and after a single intervention was 122.10 ± 39.62 μV (p = 0.048) for the control group. In the group with PPS, we found a similar behavior, with RMS of the VMO before NMES of 96.25 ± 18.83 μV and 139.80 ± 65.88 μV after the intervention (p = 0.0001). However, there was no evidence in the RMS value of VL muscle. The onset was calculated by subtracting the onset of VL by the onset of VMO. For the group with PFPS, the onset before the intervention was -0.007 ± 0.14 ms, indicating a delay of the VMO relative to VL, and after NMES was 0.074 ± 0.09 ms (p = 0.016), showing an activation previous VMO to VL. The same occurred for the control group. We also observed that NMES increased knee extensor power during the concentric contraction in both groups. Before the intervention the mean power was 28.97 ± 9.01 W for the PPS group and after NMES was 34.38 ± 7.61 W (p = 0.0001). Conclusion: We observed an increase in electromyographic activity of the VMO and also an anticipatory effect of this muscle

Validation of the SenseWear armband in circuit resistance training with different loads

The use of the SenseWear (TM) armband (SWA), an objective monitor of physical activity, is a relatively new device used by researchers to measure energy expenditure. These monitors are practical, relatively inexpensive and easy-to-use. The aim of the present study was to assess the validity of SWAs for the measurement of energy expenditure (EE) in circuit resistance training (CRT) at three different intensities in moderately active, healthy subjects. The study subjects (17 females, 12 males) undertook CRT at 30, 50 and 70% of the 15 repetition maximum for each exercise component wearing an SWA as well as an Oxycon Mobile (OM) portable metabolic system (a gold standard method for measuring EE). The EE rose as exercise intensity increased, but was underestimated by the SWAs. For women, Bland-Altman plots showed a bias of 1.13 +/- A 1.48 METs and 32.1 +/- A 34.0 kcal in favour of the OM system, while for men values of 2.33 +/- A 1.82 METs and 75.8 +/- A 50.8 kcal were recorded.

Expressão imuno-histoquimica da cicloxigenase-2 e p53 em cancinoma epidermóide oral

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignant neoplasm in the oral cavity, accounting for more than 90% of all malignancies in this location. Cyclooxygenases (COX s) are key enzymes on arachidonic acid metabolism and prostaglandin synthesis, being expressed basically in two forms: the constitutive (COX-1) and the inducible (COX-2). Increased levels on the expression of COX-2 have been implicated in the pathogenesis tumor progression of various forms of human cancer, including oral squamous cell carcinoma, some of what suggesting a possible interaction between COX-2 and the protein expressed by the tumor suppressor gene p53, mutated in more than 50% of all human cancers. The mean of the present research consisted in analyze the correlation between the expression of COX-2 and p53, at the protein level, as well as evaluate the difference on the expression of these two proteins with the histological grading of malignancy. 34 cases of oral squamous cell carcinoma were selected and graded according to the histological grading system proposed by Bryne (1998) and the labeling indexes (LI s) for COX-2 and p53 evaluated using immunohistochemistry method. The results revealed that COX-2 was expressed in increased levels in most of the specimens, although there was no statistic significant correlation between LI s from COX-2 and p53 (p>0.05), and there were no statistical differences on the expression of these proteins between tumors of high and low grade of malignancy (p>0.05). Interestingly, the expression of COX-2 and p53 was detected in fragments of dysplastic oral epithelium adjacent to tumor areas, on basal and suprabasal layers. The absence of statistical correlation between the expression of COX-2 and p53 proteins do not rule ot the existence of a relation between them, were it may reflect the diversity of regulatory pathways between both, different direct and indirect inhibitory effects of COX-2 over p53, as well as the wide range of activation macheenisms for COX-2 and mutational status of the p53 gene Another conclusion point that the increased expression of COX-2 observed in oral squamous cell carcinomas suggest a role for this protein in the processes of pathogenesis and tumoral evolution of this malignant neoplasm

Estudo da imunoexpressão de RANKL e OPG, do índice angiogênico (CD34) e da presença de miofibroblastos (α-SMA) em ceratocistos odontogênicos isolados e associados à síndrome de Gorlin

The odontogenic keratocysts are distinguished from other odontogenic cystic lesions by their potentially aggressive clinical behavior and association, in some cases, with Gorlin syndrome. Studies have suggested that syndrome keratocysts, in comparison with sporadic lesions, have higher growth and infiltration capacity and higher recurrence tendency. The aim of this study was to analyze, by means of immunohistochemistry, the expressions of receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin (OPG), the angiogenic index (CD34) and the presence of myofibroblasts (α-SMA) in primary and recurrent sporadic keratocysts and in keratocysts associated with Gorlin syndrome. The sample was composed by 30 sporadic keratocysts (22 primary and 8 recurrent) and 22 syndrome keratocysts. In the epithelium and in the fibrous capsule of the lesions, the immunoexpression of RANKL and OPG was evaluated by determination of the percentage of positive cells, according to the following scores: 0 (less than 10% of positive cells), 1 (11% - 50% of positive cells), 2 (51% - 75% of positive cells) and 3 (more than 76% of positive cells). In addition, cases were classified according to the RANKL score/ OPG score ratio, as follows: RANKL > OPG, RANKL < OPG, and RANKL = OPG. The angiogenic index was analyzed by counting the microvessels immunoreactive to anti-CD34 antibody in 5 fields (200). The analysis of myofibroblasts was performed by counting the cells immunoreactive to anti-α-SMA antibody in 10 fields (400). The analysis of the expressions of RANKL and OPG in the epithelial lining and in the fibrous capsule did not reveal significant differences between groups (p > 0.05). Regarding the RANKL/ OPG ratio in the epithelial lining, most sporadic primary (54.5%) and syndrome lesions (59.1%) showed RANKL < OPG ratio and RANKL = OPG ratio, respectively (p > 0.05). With respect to the RANKL/ OPG ratio in the fibrous capsule, the majority of sporadic primary (81.8%) and sporadic recurrent lesions (75.0%) and most syndrome lesions (45.5%) showed RANKL = OPG ratio (p > 0.05). The mean number of microvessels was 69.2 in sporadic primary lesions, 67.6 in recurrent lesions, and 71.6 in syndrome lesions, with no significant differences between groups (p > 0.05). The mean number of myofibroblasts was 34.4 in sporadic primary lesions, 29.3 in recurrent lesions, and 33.7 in syndrome lesions, with no significant differences between groups (p > 0.05). In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest that the differences in the biological behavior between sporadic keratocysts and keratocysts associated with Gorlin syndrome may not be related to the expressions of RANKL and OPG, the RANKL/ OPG ratio, the angiogenic index or the number of myofibroblasts in these lesions

Caracterização genética de vacas leiteiras por meio de marcadores moleculares e suas implicações na composição e qualidade do leite

The objective of this study was to identify DNA polymorphisms at the genes leptin, β-lactoglobulin and pituitary-specific transcription factor in three genetic groups of Holstein x Guzerat dairy cows and investigate the relationship between their genotypes and the composition and quality of milk of dairy cows. Samples were collected in August 2009, being 113 blood samples from lactating crossbred cows and 58 milk samples. For analysis of DNA polymorphisms blood samples were collected, analyzed later in the Genetic Laboratory affiliated to the Zootechny Institute of São Paulo and individual milk samples were collected according to standards established by the laboratory of Management Program of Northeast Dairy Herds (PROGEN), at Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE) for analysis of milk composition and quality. The characterization of genotypes was performed by PCR-RFLP, for which were designed specific primers for each studied gene and restriction enzymes Kpn2I, HaeIII and HinfI that cut the DNA of the following genes: leptin, β-lactoglobulin and a PIT, respectively. The leptin estimate genotypic frequence were CC 0.112, TT 0.225 and CT 0.661, for β-lactoglobulin were AA 0.136, AB 0.323 and BB 0.539, and for PIT were ++ 0.655, -- 0.311 and +- 0.032. The results show that the population is in Hardy-Weinberg disequilibrium for leptin, β-lactoglobulin and a PIT due to excess of heterozygotes in the population, however, as these genes are associated with the milk production it is considered that the animals have genetic potential for milk production in the Brazilian semi-arid conditions. Through the characterization of the studied herd there were not found implications of the polymorphism of leptin, β-lactoglobulin and PIT in the composition and quality of milk from cows in the different genetic groups 1/2, 3/4 and 7/8 Holstein x Guzerat. Key words: β-lactoglobulin, crossbred cows, leptin, PCR-RFLP, PIT1, semi-arid.

Avaliação das propriedades físico-químicas de sistemas a base de carboximetilcelulose e poli (N-isopropilacrilamida) em soluções aquosas para aplicação na indústria do petróleo

Sustainable development is a major challenge in the oil industry and has aroused growing interest in research to obtain materials from renewable sources. Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) is a polysaccharide derived from cellulose and becomes attractive because it is water-soluble, renewable, biodegradable and inexpensive, as well as may be chemically modified to gain new properties. Among the derivatives of carboxymethylcellulose, systems have been developed to induce stimuli-responsive properties and extend the applicability of multiple-responsive materials. Although these new materials have been the subject of study, understanding of their physicochemical properties, such as viscosity, solubility and particle size as a function of pH and temperature, is still very limited. This study describes systems of physical blends and copolymers based on carboxymethylcellulose and poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM), with different feed percentage compositions of the reaction (25CMC, 50CMC e 75CMC), in aqueous solution. The chemical structure of the polymers was investigated by infrared and CHN elementary analysis. The physical blends were analyzed by rheology and the copolymers by UV-visible spectroscopy, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), dynamic light scattering (DLS) and zeta potential. CMC and copolymer were assessed as scale inhibitors of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) using dynamic tube blocking tests and chemical compatibility tests, as well as scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Thermothickening behavior was observed for the 50 % CMC_50 % PNIPAM and 25 % CMC_75 % PNIPAM physical blends in aqueous solution at concentrations of 6 and 2 g/L, respectively, depending on polymer concentration and composition. For the copolymers, the increase in temperature and amount of PNIPAM favored polymer-polymer interactions through hydrophobic groups, resulting in increased turbidity of polymer solutions. Particle size decreased with the rise in copolymer PNIPAM content as a function of pH (3-12), at 25 °C. Larger amounts of CMC result in a stronger effect of pH on particle size, indicating pH-responsive behavior. Thus, 25CMC was not affected by the change in pH, exhibiting similar behavior to PNIPAM. In addition, the presence of acidic or basic additives influenced particle size, which was smaller in the presence of the additives than in distilled water. The results of zeta potential also showed greater variation for polymers in distilled water than in the presence of acids and bases. The lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of PNIPAM determined by DLS corroborated the value obtained by UV-visible spectroscopy. SAXS data for PNIPAM and 50CMC indicated phase transition when the temperature increased from 32 to 34 °C. A reduction in or absence of electrostatic properties was observed as a function of increased PNIPAM in copolymer composition. Assessment of samples as scale inhibitors showed that CMC performed better than the copolymers. This was attributed to the higher charge density present in CMC. The SEM micrographs confirmed morphological changes in the CaCO3 crystals, demonstrating the scale inhibiting potential of these polymers

Periódicos de bioética. ¿Hay muchos? ¿Hay pocos? ¿Cuál es la situación?

This work presents a bibliometric profile of Bioethics Journal according to the following journal databases: MEDLINE, LILACS, The Philosopher' s Index, Ulrich's, SciELO and Qualis classification system (Brazil). We found that: from 38 titles indexed in MEDLINE, 25 (66%) still exist; the country with the highest number is the U. S. A (36%); most Bioethics journals appeared in the 1990's (47%), and 36% have less than 10 years of existence. From those that disappeared (34%), the average survival time was about 4 years. There are only 12 countries with indexed journals. In Brazil, from 3 Bioethics journals, only one is (partially) indexed. English is the preponderant language (45%). Only 3% of journals are monthly. LILACS has two additional publications (Acta Bioethica, Chile, and Revista Latino Americana, Colombia). SciELO has only Acta Bioethica. In Ulrich's database, there are eight additional publications. In "Qualis" classification system there are four journals.

Diagnóstico da degradação ambiental no município de Areia Branca-RN por geotecnologias

The municipality of Areia Branca is within the mesoregion of West Potiguar and within the microregion of Mossoró, covering an area of 357,58 km2. Covering an area of weakness in terms of environmental, housing, together with the municipality of Grossos-RN, the estuary of River Apodi-Mossoró. The municipality of Areia Branca has historically suffered from a lack of planning regarding the use and occupation of land as some economic activities, attracted by the extremely favorable natural conditions, have exploited their natural resources improperly. The aim of this study is to quantify and analyze the environmental degradation in the municipality. Thus initially was performed a characterization of land use using remote sensing, geoprocessing and geographic information system GIS in order to generate data and information on the municipal scale, which may serve as input to the environmental planning and land use planning in the region. From this perspective, were used a Landsat 5 image TM sensor for the year 2010. In the processing of this image was used SPRING 5.2 and applied a supervised classification using the classifier regions, which was employed Bhattacharya Distance method with a threshold at 30%. Thus was obtained the land use map that was analyzed the spatial distribution of different types of the use that is occurring in the city, identifying areas that are being used incorrectly and the main types of environmental degradation. And further, were applied the methodology proposed by Beltrame (1994), Physical Diagnosis Conservationist under some adaptations for quantifying the level of degradation or conservation study area. As results, the indexes were obtained for the parameters in the proposed methodology, allowing quantitatively analyze the degradation potential of each sector. From this perspective, considering a scale of 0 to 100, sector A and sector B had value 31.20 units of risk of physical deterioration. And the C sector, has shown its value - 34.64 units degradation risk and should be considered a priority in relation to the achievement of conservation actions

Ecocardiografia de pacientes talassêmicos sem insuficiência cardíaca em tratamento com transfusões sanguíneas e quelação

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Fatores de riscos cardiovasculares em adolescentes da cidade do Natal-RN

Estudos têm demonstrado elevada prevalência de fatores de risco cardiovascular em adolescentes a redor do mundo, entretanto, é possível que esses fatores de risco se comportem de modo diferente em diferentes localidades. Objetivos: Examinar a prevalência do sobrepeso/obesidade e sua associação com outros fatores de risco cardiovasculares, em adolescentes, da cidade do Natal-Brasil. Métodos: Estudo observacional de delineamento transversal, realizado em 626 adolescentes (10 a 19 anos) de ambos os sexos. Foram estudadas as variáveis: peso, idade, gênero, cor, escolaridade, renda familiar, hábitos de vida, história familiar, peso, estatura, índice de massa corporal, relação cintura/quadril, pressão arterial, perfil lipídico, Glicose e Insulina de jejum e pós Dextrosol. Resultados: Foram avaliados 273 (43,6%) adolescentes do sexo masculino e 353 (56,4%) feminino. 26,4% dos adolescentes apresentaram sobrepeso/obesidade. A presença de obesidade familiar foi relatada por mais de 30 % da nossa amostra. Na análise de regressão logística múltipla; Idade, renda familiar, percentil de pressão sistólica, história familiar de hipertensão e obesidade, triglicerídeos, HDL colesterol, e HOMA RI mostraram-se associados com sobrepeso/obesidade. A relação cintura quadril apresentou-se mais elevada nas mulheres, e encontramos 10,9 % dos adolescentes com percentil de pressão sistólica (PAS) 95, e 7,4 % com percentil de pressão diastólica (PAD) 95. As dosagens de triglicerídeos, colesterol HDL e HOMA-RI alterados foram mais prevalentes nos que apresentavam IMC aumentado. As alterações do xi colesterol total, triglicerídios, glicemia pós dextrosol e HOMA teste, tiveram maior prevalência no gênero feminino. Na regressão logística binária, foram observadas associações do sobrepeso / obesidade com idade; OR 0,85, IC de 95% (0,78-0,92); p<0,001, pressão arterial sistólica; OR 2,65, IC de 95% (1,18- 5,94); p< 0,020, renda familiar; OR 2,34, IC de 95% (1,53-3,58); p< 0,001, história familiar de hipertensão arterial; OR 1,76, IC de 95% (1,15-2,71); p< 0,009, história familiar de obesidade; OR 1,50, IC de 95% (1,09-2,27); p< 0,04, aumento dos trigliceridios; OR 2,74, IC de 95% (1,69-4,43); p< 0,001, redução do colesterol; HDL OR 0,58, IC de 95% (0,38-0,87); p< 0,009 e o aumento do HOMA OR 3,16, IC de 95% (1,64 - 6,02); p<0,001. Conclusão: A prevalência de fatores de risco cardiovascular em Natal – Brasil se constitui em grave problema de saúde pública, atingindo níveis que se igualam ou até superam os de outras cidades tanto no Brasil, como em outros países

Avaliação de parâmetros métricos oculares pela fotografia digital da face: uso do diâmetro da íris como unidade de referência

Purpose: To evaluate reproducibility and precision of ocular measurements by digital photograph analysis, in addition to the transformation of the measures according to the individual iris diameter as an oculometric reference. Methods: Twenty-four eyes have been digitally photographed in a standardized way at two distances. Two researchers have analyzed these printed images using a caliper and these digital forms by ImageJ 1.37 (TM). Several external ocular parameters were estimated (mm and as iris diameter) and methods of measurement compared regarding their precision, agreement and correlation. Results: Caliper and digital analysis of oculometric measures provided significant agreement and correlation, nevertheless the precision of digital measures was higher. The estimates of numeric transformation from oculometric measures according to individual iris diameter resulted in great correlation to caliper measures and high agreement when compared to different distances of taking the photographs. Conclusions: Facial digital photographs allowed oculometric precise and reproducible estimates, endorsing clinical research usefulness. Using iris diameter as individual oculometric reference disclosed high reproducibility when facial photographs were taken at different distances.

Abordagem de pacientes com úlcera da perna de etiologia venosa

Úlceras venosas são comuns na população adulta, causando significante impacto social e econômico devido a sua natureza recorrente e ao longo tempo decorrido entre sua abertura e cicatrização. Quando não manejadas adequadamente, as úlceras venosas têm altas taxas de falha de cicatrização e recorrência. Apesar da elevada prevalência e da importância da úlcera venosa, ela é freqüentemente negligenciada e abordada de maneira inadequada. Esta revisão discute abordagem diagnóstica e terapêutica das úlceras venosas. O diagnóstico clínico baseia-se em história e exame físico, com ênfase nos sinais e sintomas associados e palpação dos pulsos dos membros inferiores. A ultra-sonografia Doppler deve ser utilizada para determinar o índice pressórico entre o tornozelo e o braço, e exames não invasivos, como o duplex scan, devem ser realizados para avaliar o sistema venoso superficial, profundo e perfurante. Para abordagem terapêutica são fundamentais os diagnósticos clínico e laboratorial corretos, além do diagnóstico e tratamento adequados das complicações das úlceras crônicas. Os esforços devem ser direcionados para a cicatrização da úlcera e, posteriormente, para evitar as recidivas. O grande avanço no conhecimento da fisiopatogenia das úlceras venosas tem permitido o desenvolvimento de novas modalidades de tratamento clínico e cirúrgico.

Comparative study of the topical effectiveness of the andiroba oil (Carapa guianensis) and DEET 50% as repellent for Aedes sp

O DEET (N, N-dietil-3-metilbenzamida) é hoje o repelente mais efetivo disponível, porém, seu uso pode apresentar importantes efeitos colaterais tópicos e sistêmicos. Alguns compostos botânicos, como a Andiroba (Carapa guianensis), têm demonstrado propriedades repelentes a um baixo custo e baixa toxicidade. Quatro voluntários hígidos submeteram seus antebraços recobertos com óleo de Andiroba a 100%, DEET 50% (controle positivo), óleo de soja refinado, óleo de Andiroba 15% e na ausência de produtos (controles negativos), diretamente a picadas de fêmeas saudáveis de Aedes sp. Foram aferidos os tempos da primeira e terceira picadas. Os resultados mostraram que a mediana da primeira picada nos antebraços sem produto foi 17.5s e a terceira picada, 40.0s. No óleo de soja, as picadas ocorreram em 60.0s e 101.5s. No óleo de Andiroba 100%, em 56.0s e 142.5s. Com Andiroba 15%, em 63.0s e 97.5s. Usando DEET 50% não houve picadas após 3600s na maioria dos experimentos (p < 0.001 Wilcoxon). O óleo de Andiroba 100% comparado ao óleo de soja, antebraço sem produto e óleo de Andiroba 15%, mostrou discreta superioridade (p < 0.001 Wilcoxon). Concluímos que o óleo puro de Andiroba apresenta efeito repelente discreto contra picada de Aedes sp., sendo significativamente inferior ao DEET 50%.