Estudo do comportamento da PIO de 24 horas e frequência de glaucoma em pacientes com síndrome da apnéia obstrutiva do sono

Purpose: To determine the frequency of glaucoma and evaluate the behavior of 24-hour intraocular pressure in patients with the obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Methods: Eleven consecutive patients with OSAS, diagnosed by polysonography, were avaliated in a cross-sectional study. Demographic data were analyzed: age, sex, race/color, weight, height and associated diseases. The patients were submitted to complete ophthalmologic examination, including the visual field, as well as to 24-hour intra-ocular pressure (IOP) evaluation by an applanation tonometer at 9h, 12h, 15h, 18h, 24h and 6h in the lying and sitting positions. The diagnostic criterion for glaucoma was alteration of the visual field (VF) compatible with glaucoma and one or more of the following alterations: cup-disc ratio >= 0.7, hemorrhage, wedge-shaped defect, bayonet-shaped vessels, Hoyt's sign, asymmetry > than 0.2 between cup/disc ratio of the eyes. The angle should be opened without alterations. Results: 9 (82%) of 11 patients showed glaucoma or were suspected to have glaucoma, 9% of which exhibited normal tension glaucoma and 73% were suspected to have glaucoma for presenting alterations in the optic nerve or ocular hypertension. The mean for the IOP values of the 11 patients was observed to be the highest at 6 o'clock, when they were lying down. Variations of IOP >= 5 mmHg occurred in 7 (64%) of the patients, and variations of up to 14 mmHg and IOP peaks of up to 32 mmHg were observed. Conclusion: OSAS may be an important risk factor for the development of glaucoma, particularly that of normal tension glaucoma. Patients with OSAS must be referred to an ophthalmologist and those professionals must be attentive to the association of sleep disorders in patients with open-angle glaucoma.

Maximum Phonation Time and s/z Ratio in a Large Child Cohort

Aim. The purpose of this study was to provide normal values for maximum phonation time (MPT) and the s/z ratio by examining 1660 children aged 4-12 years and without vocal signs or symptoms.Methods. The technique was based on the sustained emission of the /a/ vowel and fricatives /s/ and /z/.Results. The average of the MPT in children of the different age groups was as follows: 6.09 seconds for the age group 4-6 years (males, 5.97; female, 6.21 seconds), 7.94 seconds for the age group 7-9 years (males, 8.07; females, 7.79 seconds), and 8.98 for the age group 10-12 years (males, 9.05; females, 8.92 seconds). The overall average for males was 7.78 and females 7.64 seconds. The s/z ratio was near 1.0 in most children but above 1.2 in 133 children and below 0.8 in 133 children.Conclusion. These values of MPT and s/z ratio can be used as normative in further pediatric studies.

Epidemiological and Serological Aspects in Canine Toxoplasmosis in Animals with Nervous Symptoms

The presence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG antibodies was studied in samples of blood serum taken from eighty dogs with nervous symptoms at the Serviço de Enfermidades Infecciosas dos Animais, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Unesp, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. The frequency of IgG titers were 16 (13.7%), 64 (13.7%), and 256 (5%), and for IgM titers were 16 (7.5%), 64 (15%), and 256 (8.7%). Positive reactions were more frequent in the older animals, males, from a rural environment, in constant contact with small animals, principally birds and rodents. There was a higher frequency of a positive reaction in dogs fed with kitchen food, especially in those fed with raw ingredients. The most common neurological pictures were alterations in consciousness, in movement, and in the hand-cart test. The percentage of reagents with specific IgM antibodies was high, indicating active infections, but the possibility of co-infection with the distemper virus can not be discarded, and this may be a predisposing factor for toxoplasmosis infection, once the distemper virus has a potent immunosupressive action.

Sorologia Anti PGL-1 e risco de ocorrência de hanseníase em área de alta endemicidade do Estado de São Paulo: quatro anos de seguimento

Os testes sorológicos para diagnóstico de hanseníase, usando o glicolipídeo-fenólico-1 (PGL-1), considerado antígeno específico do M. leprae, têm aberto algumas possibilidades de estudo do comportamento epidemiológico desta doença. Algumas questões, como tempo de latência da doença, infecção subclínica e importância do contato intra-domiciliar (contatos) no controle da endemia, puderam ser melhor analisadas usando este instrumental. Este estudo teve por objetivo verificar a existência de associação entre a situação sorológica e a ocorrência de hanseníase. Foram seguidas, durante 4 anos, 6.520 pessoas com idade igual ou superior a 5 anos, submetidas no início do seguimento ao teste sorológico Anti PGL-1, pertencentes ao universo de 7.416 habitantes da área urbana de um município paulista caracterizado por elevada endemicidade de hanseníase. Foi identificado um grupo de 590 indivíduos soropositivos (9,0 %). Foram diagnosticados, no período, 82 casos novos de hanseníase, 26 no grupo de soropositivos (441 casos novos/10.000 indivíduos) e 48 no de soronegativos (81/10.000). Entre os que não fizeram sorologia, surgiram 8 casos novos (89/10.000). Procurou-se controlar, na análise, a condição de contato, dado que a taxa de soropositividade padronizada por idade e sexo era de 9,61% no grupo de contatos e 7,65% no de não-contatos. Tomando-se os não-contatos soronegativos como o grupo de não expostos, foram calculados os riscos relativos de adoecimento no período, a partir das taxas de detecção padronizadas por idade, resultando no seguinte: os contatos ID soropositivos apresentaram a taxa de 1.704/10.000, 27 vezes maior que a dos não-expostos, igual a 63/10.000; os não-contatos soropositivos e os contatos soronegativos apresentaram taxas, respectivamente, de 274 e 198/10.000, ambas maiores que as dos não-expostos e iguais entre si. A soropositividade associou-se à elevação de 8,6 vezes do risco de hanseníase entre os contatos e de 4,4 entre os não-contatos. Na situação epidemiológica estudada, caracterizada por elevada endemicidade de hanseníase, 50% dos casos novos surgiram entre os não-contatos soronegativos, ou seja, sem fonte de infecção conhecida. Portanto, o teste anti-PGL-1 usado revela-se, na prática, de pouca aplicabilidade. Resta estudar ainda o comportamento da sorologia anti-PGL-1 em áreas de média e baixa endemicidade para que se possa tirar conclusões mais consubstanciadas sobre sua utilidade no controle da endemia. Recomenda-se o aprofundamento das pesquisas sorológicas e de outras que aprimorem o diagnóstico precoce da infecção subclínica, inclusive para detecção de formas paucibacilares, para se ampliar as possibilidades de influir no controle endêmico.

REDUCTION OF URINE VOLUME AMELIORATES ADRIAMYCIN-INDUCED NEPHROPATHY

1. Adriamycin, a commonly used antineoplastic antibiotic, induces glomerular lesions in rats, resulting in persistent proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis.2. The effect of urine volume on the progression of adriamycin-induced nephropathy was studied in 70 male Wistar rats (180-200 g) observed for 30 weeks and separated into 4 groups: healthy control group (HCG, N = 10) inoculated iv with 1 ml of saline, and nephrotic groups inoculated iv with a single dose of adriamycin of 3 mg/kg body weight. The nephrotic rats were separated into 3 groups (N = 20): nephrotic control group (NCG) receiving only adriamycin; dehydrated nephrotic group (DNG) water deprived for 36 h within each 48-h period, and furosemide nephrotic group (FNG) treated with 12 mg/dl furosemide, and 0.9 g/dl NaCl in the drinking water.3. The 30-week survival rates of the DNG (100%) and HCG (100%) were significantly higher than those of the NCG (85%) and FNG (55%).4. The proteinuria observed in the HCG (range, 7.38 +/- 0.7 to 13.6 +/- 1.27 mg/24 h) was significantly lower than that observed for all the nephrotic groups throughout the experiment. The DNG presented significantly less proteinuria (range, 42.71 +/- 6.83 to 140.10 +/- 19.22 mg/24 h) than the NCG (range, 35.32 +/- 7.64 to 250.00 +/- 25.91 mg/24 h) from week 10 on. There was no significant difference between the mean 24-h proteinuria of the NCG (range, 35.32 +/- 7.64 to 250.00 +/- 25.91 mg/24 h) and the FNG (range, 35.82 +/- 7.91 to 221.54 +/- 26.74).5. The mean frequency of damaged glomeruli was 0.3% +/- 0.3 for HCG, 42% +/- 6% for CNG, 40.8% +/- 8% for DNG, and 47% +/- 14% for FNG. The median value of the tubulointerstitial lesion, evaluated by a semiquantitative method, was 0 in HCG, 10 in CNG, 8.5 in DNG and 9.5 in FNG(P<0.05 for all groups compared to HCG).6. The data indicate that reduction of urine volume has a protective effect on adriamycin-induced nephropathy.

Population structure and genetic variability in the Murrah dairy breed of water buffalo in Brazil accessed via pedigree analysis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Valor nutritivo de macrófitas aquáticas flutuantes (Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes e Salvinia molesta) utilizadas no tratamento de efluentes de aqüicultura

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of free-floating aquatic macrophytes, Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms (Pontederiaceae), Pistia stratiotes (L.) (Araceae) and Salvinia molesta (Mitchell) (Salviniaceae) used in a Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) waste treatment, and these species biomass potential uses. The vegetal biomass samples were collected from 0.25 m 2 floating squares and divided in aerial and submerse parts, to determine the concentrations of cell wall fraction, soluble carbohydrates, polyphenols, lipids, crude protein and total phosphorus. The higher nutritive value was observed in E. crassipes and S. molesta aerial parts, and in P. stratiotes total biomass, due to their lower cell wall fraction mean rates (60.7; 64.2 and 56.9 % dry mass, respectively) and to the higher rates of: crude protein (10.1; 9.1 and 8.8 % dry mass, respectively), soluble carbohydrates (26.6; 18.7 and 12.4 mg.g -1 dry mass, respectively) and lipids (7.6; 4.5 and 4.4% dry mass, respectively). It may be concluded that P. stratiotes total biomass, and E. crassipes and S. molesta aerial biomass have nutritive values with potential use for ruminant feeding or as ration ingredients.

Efeito da fonte protéica e do tratamento físico do concentrado, no desempenho de bovinos em confinamento e impacto ambiental dos dejetos

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Estratégias para aumento da concentração de progesterona durante o desenvolvimento do folículo ovulatório em vacas holandesas em lactação submetidas à inseminação artificial em tempo fixo

Pós-graduação em Zootecnia - FMVZ

Maximum Phonation Time and s/z Ratio in a Large Child Cohort

Aim. The purpose of this study was to provide normal values for maximum phonation time (MPT) and the s/z ratio by examining 1660 children aged 4-12 years and without vocal signs or symptoms. Methods. The technique was based on the sustained emission of the /a/ vowel and fricatives /s/ and /z/. Results. The average of the MPT in children of the different age groups was as follows: 6.09 seconds for the age group 4-6 years (males, 5.97; female, 6.21 seconds), 7.94 seconds for the age group 7-9 years (males, 8.07; females, 7.79 seconds), and 8.98 for the age group 10-12 years (males, 9.05; females, 8.92 seconds). The overall average for males was 7.78 and females 7.64 seconds. The s/z ratio was near 1.0 in most children but above 1.2 in 133 children and below 0.8 in 133 children. Conclusion. These values of MPT and s/z ratio can be used as normative in further pediatric studies.

LITTER DEVOLUTION AND DECOMPOSITION IN A PERIODICALLY FLOODED FOREST IN RESTINGA DA MARAMBAIA, RIO DE JANEIRO

Restinga (sandbank) areas are fragile environments, which have been subjected to anthropogenic pressures since the country colonization. So that mitigate actions can be taken, it must be developed studies to better understand the ecological processes in these environments. Thus, this study aims to quantify litter and nutrients devolution and litter decomposition in a periodically flooded forest in 'Restinga da Marambaia', Rio de Janeiro. In the study area 10 conic collectors and 30 litter bags were installed. The annual litter devolution was 7.64 Mg.ha(-1), and September was the highest contribution month. Nitrogen was the element returned to the soil to a higher amount (71.9 kg ha(-1) yr(-1)), followed by potassium (41.1 kg ha(-1) yr(-1)). Litter decomposition rate 0.0015 g g(-1) day(-1) and the half-life were 462 days. Potassium was the element that showed the highest losses in comparison to the others. Cellulose appeared as a major participant in the structure of leaf litter, followed by lignin, the latter being associated with the leathery texture of the leaves in this formation.

Emotional contagion in team sports and its impact on individual performance – an experimental study

In sport psychology research about emotional contagion in sport teams has been scarce (Reicherts & Horn, 2008). Emotional contagion is a process leading to a specific emotional state in an individual caused by the perception of another individual’s emotional expression (Hatfield, Cacioppo & Rapson, 1994). Apitzsch (2009) described emotional contagion as one reason for collapsing sport teams. The present study examined the occurrence of emotional contagion in dyads during a basketball task and the impact of a socially induced emotional state on performance. An experiment with between-subjects design was conducted. Participants (N=81, ♀=38, M=21.33 years, SD=1.45) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions, by joining a confederate to compose a same gender, ad hoc team. The team was instructed to perform a basketball task as quickly as possible. The between-factor of the experimental design was the confederate’s emotional expression (positive or negative valence). The within-factor was participants’ emotional state, measured pre- and post-experimentally using PANAS (Krohne, Egloff, Kohlmann & Tausch, 1996). The basketball task was video-taped and the number of frames participants needed to complete the task was used to determine the individual performance. The confederate’s emotional expression was appraised in a significantly different manner across both experimental conditions by participants and video raters (MC). Mixed between-within subjects ANOVAs were conducted to examine the impact of the two conditions on participants’ scores on the PANAS subscales across two time periods (pre- and post-experimental). No significant interaction effects but substantial main effects for time were found on both PANAS subscales. Both groups showed an increase in positive and a reduction in negative PANAS scores across these two time periods. Nevertheless, video raters assessment of the emotional states expressed by participants was significantly different between the positive (M=3.23, SD=0.45) and negative condition (M=2.39, SD=0.53; t=7.64, p<.001, eta squared=.43). An independent-samples t-test indicated no difference in performance between conditions. Furthermore, no significant correlation between the extent of positive or negative emotional contagion and the number of frames was observed. The basketball task lead to an improvement of the emotional state of participants, independently of the condition. Even though participants PANAS scores indicated a tendency to emotional contagion, it was not statistically significant. This could be explained by the low task duration of approximately three minutes. Moreover, the performance of participants was unaffected by the experimental condition or the extent of positive or negative emotional contagion. Apitzsch, E. (2009). A case study of a collapsing handball team. In S. Jern & J. Näslund (Eds.), Dynamics within and outside the lab. Proceedings from The 6th Nordic Conference on Group and Social Psychology, May 2008, Lund, pp. 35-52. Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T. & Rapson, R. L. (1994). Emotional contagion. Cambridge: University Press. Krohne, H. W., Egloff, B., Kohlmann, C.-W. & Tausch, A. (1996). Untersuchungen mit einer deutschen Version der „Positive und Negative Affect Schedule“ (PANAS). Diagnostica, 42 (2), 139-156. Reicherts, M. & Horn, A. B. (2008). Emotionen im Sport. In W. Schlicht & B. Strauss (Eds.), Enzyklopädie der Psychologie. Grundlagen der Sportpsychologie (Bd. 1) (S. 563-633). Göttingen: Hogrefe.

Aerobic exercise but not resistance exercise reduces intrahepatic lipid content and visceral fat and improves insulin sensitivity in obese adolescent girls: a randomized controlled trial

It is unclear whether regular exercise alone (no caloric restriction) is a useful strategy to reduce adiposity and obesity-related metabolic risk factors in obese girls. We examined the effects of aerobic (AE) vs. resistance exercise (RE) alone on visceral adipose tissue (VAT), intrahepatic lipid, and insulin sensitivity in obese girls. Forty-four obese adolescent girls (BMI ≥95th percentile, 12-18 yr) with abdominal obesity (waist circumference 106.5 ± 11.1 cm) were randomized to 3 mo of 180 min/wk AE (n = 16) or RE (n = 16) or a nonexercising control group (n = 12). Total fat and VAT were assessed by MRI and intrahepatic lipid by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Intermuscular AT (IMAT) was measured by CT. Insulin sensitivity was evaluated by a 3-h hyperinsulinemic (80 mU·m(2)·min(-1)) euglycemic clamp. Compared with controls (0.13 ± 1.10 kg), body weight did not change (P > 0.1) in the AE (-1.31 ± 1.43 kg) and RE (-0.31 ± 1.38 kg) groups. Despite the absence of weight loss, total body fat (%) and IMAT decreased (P < 0.05) in both exercise groups compared with control. Compared with control, significant (P < 0.05) reductions in VAT (Δ-15.68 ± 7.64 cm(2)) and intrahepatic lipid (Δ-1.70 ± 0.74%) and improvement in insulin sensitivity (Δ0.92 ± 0.27 mg·kg(-1)·min(-1) per μU/ml) were observed in the AE group but not the RE group. Improvements in insulin sensitivity in the AE group were associated with the reductions in total AT mass (r = -0.65, P = 0.02). In obese adolescent girls, AE but not RE is effective in reducing liver fat and visceral adiposity and improving insulin sensitivity independent of weight loss or calorie restriction.