Implementation of the 2014-2015 programme of work: subprogramme 13: subregional activities in the Caribbean

This report highlights the activities carried out by ECLAC in the Caribbean subregion between 1 January 2014 and 31 March 2015. Subprogramme 13 of the ECLAC programme of work 2014-2015 (“Subregional activities in the Caribbean”) covers the Commission’s work in Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Anguilla, Aruba, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Sint Maarten, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. Subprogramme 12 (“Subregional activities in Central America, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Mexico”) includes activities conducted in the Caribbean member States of Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In addition, countries of the Caribbean were included in activities organized under the 12 other substantive subprogrammes of the ECLAC programme of work 2014-2015, namely: (i) linkages with the global economy, integration and regional cooperation; (ii) production and innovation; (iii) macroeconomic policies and growth; (iv) financing for development; (v) social development and equality; (vi) mainstreaming the gender perspective in regional development; (vii) population and development; (viii) sustainable development and human settlements; (ix) natural resources and infrastructure; (x) planning of public administration; (xi) statistics; and (xii) support for regional and subregional integration and cooperation processes and organizations.

Vigilância nutricional em idosos: proposta para cuidadores sem específica

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Função cognitiva e capacidade funcional são preditoras de qualidade de vida em pacientes idosos com insuficiência cardíaca

Pós-graduação em Fisiopatologia em Clínica Médica - FMB

Anti-inflammatory and opioid-like activities in methanol extract of Mikania lindleyana, sucuriju

ABSTRACT: Mikania lindleyana DC., Asteraceae (sucuriju), grows in the Amazon region, where is frequently used to treat pain, inflammatory diseases and scarring. This study was carried out to investigate phytochemical profile accompanied by in vivo antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory screening of n-hexane (HE), dichloromethane (DME) and methanol (ME) extracts obtained from the aerial parts of the plant. The oral administration of ME (0.1, 0.3, 1 g/kg) caused a dose-related reduction (16.2, 42.1 e 70.2%) of acetic acid-induced abdominal writhing while HE and DME (1 g/kg, p.o.) were ineffective. In the hot plate test, ME (300 mg/kg, p.o.) increased the latency of heat stimulus between 30 and 120 min and inhibited the first (45%) and second (60%) phases of nociception in the formalin test. The antinociception induced by ME or positive control fentanyl (150 µg/kg, s.c.) in hot plate and formalin tests was prevented by naloxone (3 mg/kg, s.c.). When submitted to the carrageenan-induced peritonitis test, ME (0.5, 1.0, 2.0 g/kg, p.o.) impaired leukocyte migration into the peritoneal cavity by 46.8, 59.4 and 64.8% respectively, while positive control dexamethasone (2 mg/kg, s.c.), inhibited leukocyte migration by 71.1%. These results indicate that the antinociception obtained after oral administration of methanol extract of M. lindleyana involves anti-inflammatory mechanisms accompanied with opioid-like activity which could explain the use of the specie for pain and inflammatory diseases.

Mão em garra: uma proposta de intervenção terapêutica ocupacional para hansenianos

A hanseníase é uma doença infecciosa crônica, granulomatosa, de curso lento, causada pelo Mycobacterium Leprae. O bacilo acomete principalmente os nervos periféricos, causando lesões na face, mãos e pés, que podem gerar incapacidades físicas severas que contribuem para a instalação de padrões deformantes e incapacidades. A lesão do tipo mão em garra é uma sequela que pode ser observada em pacientes com lesões ao nível dos membros superiores sendo muito incapacitante, dificultando a realização das atividades de vida diária destes indivíduos e consequentemente prejudicando sua qualidade de vida e satisfação pessoal. Estas lesões geram repercussões no contexto de vida do indivíduo contribuindo para a instalação de alterações nos aspectos psicoemocionais, além do estigma próprio da doença. A intervenção terapêutica ocupacional utilizando a tecnologia assistiva de baixo custo para auxílio nas atividades de vida diária de pacientes com mão em garra objetiva a minimização dos déficits funcionais apresentados durante a utilização de adaptações funcionais utilizadas na realização de suas atividades cotidianas como alimentação, higiene pessoal e vestuário. A intervenção realizou-se através da aplicação de um protocolo de avaliação em Terapia Ocupacional conhecido como Medida Canadense de Desempenho Ocupacional (COPM) que mede o grau de desempenho e Satisfação do paciente ao realizar suas atividades de vida diária. O protocolo foi aplicado inicialmente junto aos pacientes coletando dados sobre a realização das suas atividades de vida diária sem a utilização de recursos de tecnologia assistiva. A aplicação do protocolo baseou-se na definição de cinco problemas comuns a todos os participantes, revelando graus muito baixos de desempenho e satisfação obtidos durante a realização das atividades avaliadas. Posteriormente realizou-se o processo de prescrição, confecção e treinamento das adaptações desenvolvidas para cada paciente, somando-se um total de cento e vinte aparelhos (120) desenvolvidos. Aplicou-se novamente o mesmo protocolo com os mesmos pacientes abordando os mesmos problemas após a realização de um período de treinamento das adaptações funcionais desenvolvidas, comparando-se os dados coletados no primeiro e segundo COPM. Comparando-se aos dados iniciais apresentados, os dados coletados na segunda avaliação do COPM apontaram um aumento significativo do grau de desempenho e satisfação dos pacientes além de ganho funcional. Concluí-se com esta pesquisa que a proposta de intervenção terapêutica ocupacional utilizando equipamentos de tecnologia assistiva de baixo custo (adaptações) é viável, possui resultados satisfatórios e favorece um grande alcance social devido à redução de custos dos dispositivos desenvolvidos.

Capacidade funcional como fator preditivo de sobrevivência em idosos

Pós-graduação em Saúde Coletiva - FMB

Influence of seasonal changes in daily activity and annual life cycle of Geotrigona mombuca (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in a Cerrado habitat, São Paulo, Brazil

The foraging activity of Geotrigona mombuca Smith, 1863 was studied under natural conditions aiming to verify the influence of seasonal changes on daily flight activity and annual cycle of the colony. Daily flight activity was monitored for a year based on the observation and counting of foragers leaving and entering the hive, as well as the kind of material transported and meteorological factors such as day time, temperature and relative humidity. The influence of seasonal changes was evidenced by alterations on daily rhythm of flight activity and by differences on transportation of food resources, building material and garbage. These data indicate that forager behavior is related to daily microclimate conditions and it is synchronized with the requirements of colony annual cycle, which determines an intense pollen collection in the summer. Thus, the recomposition of the intranidal population in spring and summer can be ensured, which is characterized both for a higher intensity of flight activity and increase in garbage and resin transport, as well as the swarming process in the spring. In this way, an action targeting the preservation or management of the species in a natural environment should consider that survival and reproduction of the colony depends greatly on the amount of available pollen in late winter.

Integrated analysis environment for the Movement Assessment Battery for Children

Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), a chronic and usually permanent condition found in children, is characterized by motor impairment that interferes with a child's activities of daily living and with academic achievement. One of the most popular tests for the quantitative diagnosis of DCD is the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC). Based on the Battery's standardized scores, it is possible to identify children with typical development, children at risk of developing DCD, and children with DCD. This article describes a computational system we developed to assist with the analysis of results obtained in the MABC test. The tool was developed for the web environment and its database provides integration of MABC data. Thus, researchers around the world can share data and develop collaborative work in the DCD field. In order to help analysis processes, our system provides services for filtering data to show more specific sets of information and present the results in textual, table, and graphic formats, allowing easier and more comprehensive evaluation of the results.

Using a threaded framework to enable practical activities in Operating Systems courses

Teaching Operating Systems (OS) is a rather hard task, since being an OS designer is not a desired goal for most students and the subject demands a large amount of knowledge over system's details. To reduce the difficulty many courses are planned with laboratory practices, differing in how the practices are designed. Some try to implement next-to-real kernels, others use simulators, and even others use synthetic kernels. In this paper an approach based on synthetic kernels is described. It uses thread programming in order to establish control over the operating system components. T his approach allows the kernel to grow following the materials presented in the course. It has been successfully applied in two different courses at our University, the first one being a basic OS course and the second one an upper level course. Results from these applications are presented.

Correlates of above-average cognitive performance among older adults: the SABE study

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

Equilíbrio funcional em indivíduos com doença de Parkinson e sua relação com a qualidade de vida

Introduction: Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is characterized by a set of four motor symptoms: tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability. These defi cits may predispose individuals to limitations resulting from falls and their secondary consequences. Objective: To evaluate the functional balance and quality of life (QoL) in individuals with PD and determine whether there is correlation between performance on tests of balance with the QoL. Method: The project was referred to the Ethics Committee in Research of Universidade Estadual Paulista “Julio de Mesquita Filho” Campus de Marília and was approved under protocol number 1806/09. Participated in this study with individuals diagnosed with PD between levels one and four in the Hoen and Yahr scale. The subjects were evaluated according to functional balance and QoL, respectively by the instruments: Functional Balance Scale Berg (EEFB), Time Up and Go test (TUG), and Parkinson’s Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). To perform the statistical analysis used the GraphPad Prism 5. To perform the correlation analysis for the variables passed normality by the Shapiro-Wilk. Since the variables were non-parametric test was used Spearman. During the analysis the statistical signifi cance level was considered p ≤ 0, 05. Results: We studied 25 individuals aged between 54 and 85 years (71.20 ± 8.50), time of diagnosis between one and 39 years (6.54 ± 7.71) disease. Moderate correlation was found between the EEFB with QoL (r =- 0.6), and TUG with QoL (r = 0.6836). Among the aspects of QoL balance showed a higher correlation with the domains “mobility” (TUG r = 0, 6768; EEFB r = -0.6155) and “Activities of daily living” (TUG r = 0, 7357, and EEFB r = -0.6521). Conclusion: Patients with Parkinson’s disease show defi cits in balance and QoL. The balance disorders have a high correlation among themselves and show how aspects of QoL.

Efeitos de estado nutricional, da capacidade funcional e do estresse oxidativo em idosos residentes na cidade de Botucatu, SP, Brasil: um estudo longitudinal

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)