Órtese de tornozelo: efeito sobre a razão de pico torque muscular eversor excêntrico/inversor concêntrico do tornozelo durante simulação do basquetebol

The ankle sprains represent the most common injuries in sports and basketball. In this sense, the use of ankle bracing and strength capacity analysis of the ankle evertor and invertor muscles, have been suggested as preventive measures and important tools for identifying risk factors associated with ankle sprains. However, questions still persist as to effect of the use ankle bracing on biomechanical variables related to the stability of the ankle. For this reason, this study aims to analyze the effect of the use of ankle bracing on peak torque (PT) of ankle evertor and invertor muscles and on eccentric evertor/concentric invertor torque ratio (EVEECC/INVCON), during the basketball match-play simulation. Ten healthy college basketball players, without mechanics or functional ankle instability performed a laboratory-based protocol representative of work rates observed during basketball match-play, in two different situations, with and without use of ankle bracing. The test was composed of a succession of intermittent physical effort equally distributed in four periods of 10 minutes each, considering the mechanical and physiological demands of a basketball match-play. Prior to the start of the trial (Evaluation 1) and after 2° (Evaluation 2) and 4° (Evaluation 3) periods, the subjects performed five maximal isokinetic concentric and eccentric contractions of ankle invertor and evertor muscles, separated by two minutes rest, at 60 °/s and 120 °/s. After testing for normality of data distribution with the Shapiro-Wilk test, was used the ANOVA repeated measures for two factors and post-hoc Bonferroni test for comparison of variables between assessments. Was adopted p < 0.05. There was no significant difference for PT and EVEECC/INVCON torque ratio between assessments. There was a decrease in PT EVEECC at 60º/s and 120º/s for the ...(Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Genetic analysis of feet and legs in Nelore cattle

Pós-graduação em Genética e Melhoramento Animal - FCAV

Elaboração de um Jogo Digital Educacional sobre Saúde Bucal Direcionado para a População Infantil

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop an educational oral health digital game for 5-to-7-year-old children. Method: The game, called “Dr. Trata Dente”, was based on the approach to three different oral health-related topics: a) bacterial plaque and the main diseases caused by it; b) oral hygiene methods for bacterial plaque control; c) dental caries and preventive measures for this disease. These topics were discussed in sequential order in three different stages of the game. Dr. Trata Dente is represented by the figure of a little super-hero dentist, who talks to the children about oral health during the game. The game is sub-divided according to its propositions to the children, into an association game, a memory game and a coloring game. After its development, the game was evaluated by three professionals of each of the following areas: Dentistry, Pedagogy and Psychology (n=9), who verified the suitability of the concepts presented in the game as regards oral health, linguistic abilities worked with the children, fulfillment of the intended didactic criteria, and the playful aspect of the game. Results: According to the dentists, the dental concepts presented in the game are adequate. According to the pedagogues, the choice of a super-hero was correct and the given explanations are well elaborated, organized and have accessible language, although long. For the psychologists, the game has a potential positive effect on the children’s learning, but there should be more interaction of the character with the children. After this evaluation, changes were made in the game according to the professionals’ suggestions. Conclusion: It was concluded that in spite of the suggested alterations, the game is suitable for teaching oral health by means of children’s play.

Is the internal connection more efficient than external connection in mechanical, biological, and esthetical point of views? A systematic review

This systematic review aimed to evaluate if the internal connection is more efficient than the external connection and its associated influencing factors. A specific question was formulated according to the Population, Intervention, Control, and Outcome (PICO): Is internal connection more efficient than external connection in mechanical, biological, and esthetical point of views? An electronic search of the MEDLINE and the Web of Knowledge databases was performed for relevant studies published in English up to November 2013 by two independent reviewers. The keywords used in the search included a combination of dental implant and internal connection or Morse connection or external connection. Selected studies were randomized clinical trials, prospective or retrospective studies, and in vitro studies with a clear aim of investigating the internal and/or external implant connection use. From an initial screening yield of 674 articles, 64 potentially relevant articles were selected after an evaluation of their titles and abstracts. Full texts of these articles were obtained with 29 articles fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Morse taper connection has the best sealing ability. Concerning crestal bone loss, internal connections presented better results than external connections. The limitation of the present study was the absence of randomized clinical trials that investigated if the internal connection was more efficient than the external connection. The external and internal connections have different mechanical, biological, and esthetical characteristics. Besides all systems that show proper success rates and effectiveness, crestal bone level maintenance is more important around internal connections than external connections. The Morse taper connection seems to be more efficient concerning biological aspects, allowing lower bacterial leakage and bone loss in single implants, including aesthetic regions. Additionally, this connection type can be successfully indicated for fixed partial prostheses and overdenture planning, since it exhibits high mechanical stability.

La relacion entre la calidad de la ensenanza y mala prática odontológica: relato de un caso clínico

The activities developed in health area are of great importance, because they have the aim to preserve the life of the men, and therefore, must be performed by authorized persons. The increase of the number of dental schools, the decline at the education quality and a higher admission of students with low ability to exercise their profession, are facts that bring disastrous consequences for society. These facts are, also, reflected at the moral, ethical and technical-scientific performance of the professional. The purpose of this clinic case is to show that although there is a significant suplly of education institutions, there is a lack of scientific and adequate technical knowledgement from the graduated dentals surgeons. The patient MSL, 17 year old, female, went to a dental clinic presenting a tray type Vernis, attached to the lower arch. After clinical evaluation, it was showed that an incorrect material was used for the impression technique, being impossible to take out the tray by the conventional manner. The planning for the removal of the tray was through the divide of it. Thus, the consequence of the lack of knowledge in the use of impression materials had caused a great incovinience to the patient. It can be concluded that the rate of malpractice is directly related to the professional preparation, highlighting the importance of quality dental education for a responsible clinical practice.

Perfil socioeconômico e profissional de manipuladores de alimentos e o impacto positivo de um curso de capacitação em Boas Práticas de Fabricação

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Subtitling as a pedagogical tool for language teaching in journalism

This study was designed to present and discuss some results produced by a research involving the use of English subtitles of some news videos from the webiste Reuters.com (http://www.reuters.com) with pedagogical reasons in a Brazilian context (Academic English for Journalism). We have developed the research during two semesters at UNESP (Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho). The professor in charge of the study has chosen the students of Journalism as the audience to whom the videos were presented. The assumptions of many theorists and experts in Audiovisual Translation were adopted as our Theoretical Sources. The first step of the study was the assessment of the syllabus of each course. This was very helpful as a guidance in order to choose the most relevant and interesting videos for students. After the evaluation of academic and professional interests, we chose some videos to insert appropriate subtitles, according to some strategies suggested by Panayota Georgakopoulou and Henrik Gottlieb. Finally we presented the videos during the English classes. At the first time, they were presented without subtitles just to notice the comprehension level of the students. After that, the videos were presented with English subtitles. As we first assumed, the students haven’t had the whole comprehension of specific details during the first presentation, they have just used their previous knowledge and the visual aids to help them in a superficial understanding of the news. As the subtitles appear, the process of communication was finally accomplished.

Desenvolvimento de método de semeadura em sistema de plantio direto para agricultura familiar

Pós-graduação em Agronomia (Ciência do Solo) - FCAV

Métodos de previsão auto-regressivo aplicado a uma série de volume de produção de caminhões

The national truck fleet has expanded strongly in recent decades. However, due to fluctuations in the demand that the market is exposed, it needed up making more effective strategic decisions of automakers. These decisions are made after an evaluation of guaranteed sales forecasts. This work aims to generate an annual forecast of truck production by Box and Jenkins methodology. They used annual data for referring forecast modeling from the year 1957 to 2014, which were obtained by the National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea). The model used was Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and can choose the best model for the series under study, and the ARIMA (2,1,3) as representative for conducting truck production forecast

Métodos de previsão auto-regressivo aplicado a uma série de volume de produção de caminhões

The national truck fleet has expanded strongly in recent decades. However, due to fluctuations in the demand that the market is exposed, it needed up making more effective strategic decisions of automakers. These decisions are made after an evaluation of guaranteed sales forecasts. This work aims to generate an annual forecast of truck production by Box and Jenkins methodology. They used annual data for referring forecast modeling from the year 1957 to 2014, which were obtained by the National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea). The model used was Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and can choose the best model for the series under study, and the ARIMA (2,1,3) as representative for conducting truck production forecast

Using the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale to Predict Dysphagia in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background and Purpose: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common manifestation in acute stroke. Aspiration resulting from difficulties in swallowing is a symptom that should be considered due to the frequent occurrence of aspiration pneumonia that could influence the patient's recovery as it causes clinical complications and could even lead to the patient's death. The early clinical evaluation of swallowing disorders can help define approaches and avoid oral feeding, which may be detrimental to the patient. This study aimed to create an algorithm to identify patients at risk of developing dysphagia following acute ischemic stroke in order to be able to decide on the safest way of feeding and minimize the complications of stroke using the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NHISS). Methods: Clinical assessment of swallowing was performed in 50 patients admitted to the emergency unit of the University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a diagnosis of ischemic stroke, within 48 h after the beginning of symptoms. Patients, 25 females and 25 males with a mean age of 64.90 years (range 26-91 years), were evaluated consecutively. An anamnesis was taken before the patient's participation in the study in order to exclude a prior history of deglutition difficulties. For the functional assessment of swallowing, three food consistencies were used, i.e. pasty, liquid and solid. After clinical evaluation, we concluded whether there was dysphagia. For statistical analysis we used the Fisher exact test, verifying the association between the variables. To assess whether the NIHSS score characterizes a risk factor for dysphagia, a receiver operational characteristics curve was constructed to obtain characteristics for sensitivity and specificity. Results: Dysphagia was present in 32% of the patients. The clinical evaluation is a reliable method of detection of swallowing difficulties. However, the predictors of risk for the swallowing function must be balanced, and the level of consciousness and the presence of preexisting comorbidities should be considered. Gender, age and cerebral hemisphere involved were not significantly associated with the presence of dysphagia. NIHSS, Glasgow Coma Scale, and speech and language changes had a statistically significant predictive value for the presence of dysphagia. Conclusions: The NIHSS is highly sensitive (88%) and specific (85%) in detecting dysphagia; a score of 12 may be considered as the cutoff value. The creation of an algorithm to detect dysphagia in acute ischemic stroke appears to be useful in selecting the optimal feeding route while awaiting a specialized evaluation. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel

Synthesis and Antiplasmodial Activity of Betulinic Acid and Ursolic Acid Analogues

More than 40% of the World population is at risk of contracting malaria, which affects primarily poor populations in tropical and subtropical areas. Antimalarial pharmacotherapy has utilised plant-derived products such as quinine and artemisinin as well as their derivatives. However, worldwide use of these antimalarials has caused the spread of resistant parasites, resulting in increased malaria morbidity and mortality. Considering that the literature has demonstrated the antimalarial potential of triterpenes, specially betulinic acid (1) and ursolic acid (2), this study investigated the antimalarial activity against P. falciparum chloroquine-sensitive 3D7 strain of some new derivatives of 1 and 2 with modifications at C-3 and C-28. The antiplasmodial study employed flow cytometry and spectrofluorimetric analyses using YOYO-1, dihydroethidium and Fluo4/AM for staining. Among the six analogues obtained, compounds 1c and 2c showed excellent activity (IC50 = 220 and 175 nM, respectively) while 1a and b demonstrated good activity ( IC50 = 4 and 5 mu M, respectively). After cytotoxicity evaluation against HEK293T cells, 1a was not toxic, while 1c and 2c showed IC50 of 4 mu M and a selectivity index (SI) value of 18 and 23, respectively. Moreover, compound 2c, which presents the best antiplasmodial activity, is involved in the calcium-regulated pathway(s).

Agronomic characterization of banana mutants obtained by gamma radiation

Banana is one of the most economically important fruit, explored almost exclusively by small producers as a continuous source of food and income. Although Brazil is one of the main banana producers, the national banana production is undergoing serious problems especially in the phases of production and post-harvest limiting its participation in the international market. One of the main factors leading to great production losses is the toppling over due to the tall height of plants of main commercial cultivars. A strategy to solve this problem is reducing height by inducing mutation. The objective of the present work was to characterize irradiated Prata type banana mutants (cvs. Pacovan and Preciosa) during two production cycles in order to select short plants in height with good agronomic characteristics. In vitro plants of both cultivars were irradiated with gamma rays in the doses of 20 Gy ('Pacovan', 200 plants) and 30 Gy ( 'Preciosa', 200 plants) subcultivated four times and afterwards evaluated in the field during two production cycles. Four possible mutants were selected from each cultivar with height smaller than the average height of the controls after two evaluation cycles. It was observed that some of these mutants presented greater precocity and bunch weight compared to the controls. From the results obtained it is possible to select mutant plants with superior agronomic characteristics for 'Pacovan' as well as 'Preciosa' submitted to gamma radiation.

Influence of moisture and plaque on the performance of a laser fluorescence device in detecting caries lesions in primary teeth

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of dental plaque and moisture on performance of a laser fluorescence device in detecting occlusal and proximal caries lesions in primary teeth. Fifty-five occlusal and 58 proximal sites on primary molars were evaluated using a DIAGNOdent pen (LFpen) device. For the drying time study, the evaluations were performed in: (I) moist teeth; (II) teeth dried for 3 s, or (III) dried for 15 s. For the plaque study, the evaluations were done in sites: (I) without plaque; (II) with plaque, and (III) after cleaning. Evaluation of the teeth sections in stereomicroscope was the reference standard method. LF pen values, sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were compared. The values obtained after 15 s of drying were higher than those obtained with moist teeth or dried for 3 s at both occlusal and proximal surfaces. However, there was no change in the performance in detecting caries lesions. With regard to the presence of plaque, there was no significant change in the readings of the device, but specificity was decreased in occlusal surfaces with plaque. At proximal surfaces, however, no significant differences were observed. In conclusion, the moisture conditions do not influence significantly the performance of the LFpen, but the presence of plaque can affect its performance in detecting occlusal caries lesions in primary teeth.

Electronic energy transfer processes in pi-conjugated polymers

Currently pi-conjugated polymers are considered as technologically interesting materials to be used as functional building elements for the development of the new generation of optoelectronic devices. More specifically during the last few years, poly-p-phenylene materials have attracted considerable attention for their blue photoluminescence properties. This Thesis deals with the optical properties of the most representative blue light poly-p-phenylene emitters such as poly(fluorene), oligo(fluorene), poly(indenofluorene) and ladder-type penta(phenylene) derivatives. In the present work, laser induced photoluminescence spectroscopy is used as a major tool for the study of the interdependence between the dynamics of the probed photoluminescence, the molecular structures of the prepared polymeric films and the presence of chemical defects. Complementary results obtained by two-dimensional wide-angle X-ray diffraction are reported. These findings show that the different optical properties observed are influenced by the intermolecular solid-state interactions that in turn are controlled by the pendant groups of the polymer backbone. A significant feedback is delivered regarding the positive impact of a new synthetic route for the preparation of a poly(indenofluorene) derivative on the spectral purity of the compound. The energy transfer mechanisms that operate in the studied systems are addressed by doping experiments. After the evaluation of the structure/property interdependence, a new optical excitation pathway is presented. An efficient photon low-energy up-conversion that sensitises the blue emission of poly(fluorene) is demonstrated. The observed phenomenon takes place in poly(fluorene) derivatives hosts doped with metallated octaethyl porphyrins, after quasi-CW photoexcitation of intensities in the order of kW/cm2. The up-conversion process is parameterised in terms of temperature, wavelength excitation and central metal cation in the porphyrin ring. Additionally the observation of the up-conversion is extended in a broad range of poly-p-phenylene blue light emitting hosts. The dependence of the detected up-conversion intensity on the excitation intensity and doping concentration is reported. Furthermore the dynamics of the up-conversion intensity are monitored as a function of the doping concentration. These experimental results strongly suggest the existence of triplet-triplet annihilation events into the porphyrin molecules that are subsequently followed by energy transfer to the host. After confirming the occurrence of the up-conversion in solutions, cyclic voltammetry is used in order to show that the up-conversion efficiency is partially determined from the energetic alignment between the HOMO levels of the host and the dopant.