Modeling upper eyelid kinematics during spontaneous and reflex blinks

To test a mathematical model for measuring blinking kinematics. Spontaneous and reflex blinks of 23 healthy subjects were recorded with two different temporal resolutions. A magnetic search coil was used to record 77 blinks sampled at 200 Hz and 2 kHz in 13 subjects. A video system with low temporal resolution (30 Hz) was employed to register 60 blinks of 10 other subjects. The experimental data points were fitted with a model that assumes that the upper eyelid movement can be divided into two parts: an impulsive accelerated motion followed by a damped harmonic oscillation. All spontaneous and reflex blinks, including those recorded with low resolution, were well fitted by the model with a median coefficient of determination of 0.990. No significant difference was observed when the parameters of the blinks were estimated with the under-damped or critically damped solutions of the harmonic oscillator. On the other hand, the over-damped solution was not applicable to fit any movement. There was good agreement between the model and numerical estimation of the amplitude but not of maximum velocity. Spontaneous and reflex blinks can be mathematically described as consisting of two different phases. The down-phase is mainly an accelerated movement followed by a short time that represents the initial part of the damped harmonic oscillation. The latter is entirely responsible for the up-phase of the movement. Depending on the instantaneous characteristics of each movement, the under-damped or critically damped oscillation is better suited to describe the second phase of the blink. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Audiological findings in pacients treated with radiotherapy for head and neck tumors

Radiotherapy has been widely used given its increase in the successful outcomes and cure of some cancers. Aim: To evaluate the functionality of the auditory system in patients who underwent radiotherapy treatment for head and neck tumors. Materials and Methods: From May 2007 to May 2008, otorhinolaryngological and audiological evaluation (Pure Tone Audiometry (air and bone conduction), Speech Audiometry, Tympanometry, Acoustic Reflex testing and Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions) were performed in 19 patients diagnosed with head and neck neoplasia and treated with radiotherapy. Prospective case series study. Results: 10.5% left ears and 26.3% right ears had bilateral hearing loss soon after radiotherapy according to ASHA criteria. Conclusions: Radiotherapy treatment for head and neck cancer has ototoxic effects. Early programs of auditory rehabilitation should be offered to these patients.

Auditory steady state response in pediatric audiology

The main issue regarding pediatric audiology diagnosis is determining procedures to configure reliable results which can be used to predict frequency-specific hearing thresholds. Aim: To investigate the correlation between auditory steady-state response (ASSR) with other tests in children with sensorineural hearing loss. Methods: Prospective cross-sectional contemporary cohort study. Twenty-three children (ages 1 to 7; mean, 3 years old) were submitted to ASSR, behavioral audiometry, click audiometry brain stem response (ABR), tone burst ABR, and predicting hearing level from the acoustic reflex. Results: the correlation between behavioral thresholds and ASSR was (0.70- 0.93), for the ABR tone burst it was (0.73 -0.93), for the ABR click it was (0.83-0.89) only at 2k and 4 kHz. The match between the ASSR and the hearing threshold prediction rule was considered moderate. Conclusion: there was a significant correlation between the ASSR and audiometry, as well as between ABR click (2k and 4 kHz) and for the ABR tone burst. The acoustic reflex can be used to add information to diagnosis in children.

Effects of Orthopedic Rapid Maxillary Expansion on Internal Nasal Dimensions in Children With Cleft Lip and Palate Assessed by Acoustic Rhinometry

The objective of the current study was to characterize the internal nasal dimensions of children with repaired cleft lip and palate and transverse maxillary deficiency, using acoustic rhinometry and analyze the changes caused by rapid maxillary expansion (RME). A convenience sampling of 19 cleft lip and palate individuals, aged 14 to 18 years, of both sexes, previously submitted to primary surgeries and referred for RME were analyzed prospectively at the Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies, University of Sao Paulo, Bauru, Sao Paulo, Brazil. All patients underwent acoustic rhinometry before installation of the expansor and at 30 and 180 days after the active expansion phase. Nasal cross-sectional areas and volumes corresponding to the nasal valve (CSA(1) and V(1)) and the turbinates (CSA(2), CSA(3), and V(2)) regions were determined before and after nasal decongestion. Rapid maxillary expansion led to a statistically significant increase (P < 0.05) in mean CSA(1), CSA(2), V(1), and V(2) (without nasal decongestion) and in CSA(1) and V(1) (with decongestion) in the group as a whole. Individual data analysis showed that 58% of the patients responded positively to RME, with an average increase in CSA(1) of 26% (with decongestion), whereas 37% of the patients had no significant change. Only 1 patient (5%) showed a decrease. The findings contribute toward the characterization of nasal deformities determined by the cleft and demonstrate the positive effect RME had on nasal morphophysiology in a significant number of the patients who underwent this procedure.

Nitric oxide synthase inhibitors improve prepulse inhibition responses of Wistar rats

Introduction: Cognitive and attentional deficits in schizophrenia include impairment of the sensorimotor filter as measured by prepulse inhibition (PPI). In this way, the study of animals that naturally present low PPI responses could be a useful approach for screening new antipsychotic drugs. Several pieces of evidence suggest that dopamine and nitric oxide (NO) can modulate PPI but their role in those animals is unknown. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the role of dopamine and NO in Wistar rats with naturally low PPI response. Methods: Male Wistar rats with low PPI responses received an i.p. injection of the antipsychotics haloperidol (0.1, 0.3 or 1 mg/kg) or clozapine (0.5, 1.5 or 5 mg/kg), the anxiolytic diazepam (1 or 3 mg/kg) or the NO synthase (NOS) inhibitors, N(G)- nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG; 40 mg/kg, acutely or sub-chronically) or 7-Nitroindazole (7-NI; 3, 10 or 30 mg/kg). All animals were submitted to the PPI test 1 h after injection. Striatal and cortical dopamine, DOPAC, and noradrenaline levels of rats with low PPI responses were compared to rats with normal PPI responses. Results: We found increased levels of catecholamines on the striatum and prefrontal cortex of Wistar rats with low PPI. In these animals, both antipsychotics, typical and atypical, and NOS inhibitors significantly increased PPI. Conclusion: Taken together, our findings suggest that the low PPI phenotype may be driven by an over-active catecholamine system. Additionally, our results corroborate the hypothesis of dopamine and NO interaction on PPI modulation and suggest that Wistar rats with low PPI may represent an interesting non-pharmacological model to evaluate new potential antipsychotics. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Attentional modulation of blink startle at long, short, and very short lead intervals

The present research investigated attentional blink startle modulation at lead intervals of 60, 240 and 3500 ms. Letters printed in Gothic or standard fonts, which differed in rated interest, but not valence, served as lead stimuli. Experiment I established that identifying letters as vowels/consonants took longer than reading the letters and that performance in both tasks was slower if letters were printed in Gothic font. In Experiment 2, acoustic blink eliciting stimuli were presented 60, 240 and 3500 ms after onset of the letters in Gothic and in standard font and during intertrial intervals. Half the participants (Group Task) were asked to identify the letters as vowels/consonants whereas the others (Group No-Task) did not perform a task. Relative to control responses, blinks during letters were facilitated at 60 and 3500 ms lead intervals and inhibited at the 240 ms lead interval for both conditions in Group Task. Differences in blink modulation across lead intervals were found in Group No-Task only during Gothic letters with blinks at the 3500 ms lead interval facilitated relative to control blinks. The present results confirm previous findings indicating that attentional processes can modulate startle at very short lead intervals. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Blink startle modulation during anticipation of pleasant and unpleasant stimuli

The present research investigated blink startle modulation during the anticipation of pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral pictures. In Experiment 1 (N = 18), participants were presented with three different tone-picture pairings. Tones differed in pitch and were followed by pleasant, neutral or unpleasant pictures. Acoustic blink reflexes were elicited during some tones and during stimulus free intervals. Blink facilitation during tones that preceded pleasant and unpleasant pictures was larger than during the tone that preceded neutral pictures. Experiment 2 (N = 10) assessed whether this difference was due to a difference in the presentation frequency of the three conditions. No difference in blink facilitation between the conditions was found when pictures of flowers and mushrooms replaced the pleasant and unpleasant pictures, indicating that picture content was instrumental in causing the differential blink facilitation in Experiment 1. The results from Experiment 1 seem to indicate that startle modulation during the anticipation of pictorial material reflects the interest in or the arousal associated with the pictures rather than picture valence.

Anticipation of a non-aversive reaction time task facilitates the blink startle reflex

The conditions under which blink startle facilitation can be found in anticipation of a reaction time task were investigated to resolve inconsistent findings across previous studies. Four groups of participants (n = 64) were presented with two visual stimuli, one predicting a reaction time task (S+) and the second presented alone (S-). Participants were asked to make a speeded response to the offset of the S+ (S1 paradigm) or were asked to respond to a tactile stimulus presented at the offset of the S+ (S1-S2 paradigm). Half of the participants in each paradigm condition received performance feedback. Overall, blink latency shortening and magnitude facilitation were larger during S+ than during S-. More detailed analyses, however, found these differences to be reliable only in the Feedback conditions. Ratings of S+ pleasantness did not change across the experiment. Electrodermal responses to S+ were larger than to S- in all groups with differential electrodermal responding emerging earlier in the S1 paradigm. Taken together, the data support the notion that startle facilitation can occur during non-aversive Pavlovian conditioning. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Acoustic signature of the normal swallow: Characterization by age, gender, and bolus volume

Despite growing clinical use, cervical auscultation suffers from a lack of research-based data. One of the strongest criticisms of cervical auscultation is that there has been little research to demonstrate how dysphagic swallowing sounds are different from normal swallowing sounds, In order to answer this question, however, one first needs to document the acoustic characteristics of normal, nondysphagic swallowing sounds, This article provides the first normative database of normal swallowing sounds for the adult population. The current investigation documents the acoustic characteristics of normal swallowing sounds for individuals from 18 to more than 60 years of age over a range of thin liquid volumes. Previous research has shown the normal swallow to be a dynamic event. The normal swallow is sensitive to aging of the oropharyngeal system, and also to the volume of bolus swallowed. The current investigation found that the acoustic signals generated during swallowing were sensitive to an individual's age and to the volume of the bolus swallowed. There were also some gender-specific differences in the acoustic profile of the swallowing sound, It is anticipated that the results will provide a catalyst for further research into cervical auscultation.

Acoustic analysis of speech through a hearing aid: perceptual effects of changes with two-channel compression

Compression amplification significantly alters the acoustic speech signal in comparison to linear amplification. The central hypothesis of the present study was that the compression settings of a two-channel aid that best preserved the acoustic properties of speech compared to linear amplification would yield the best perceptual results, and that the compression settings that most altered the acoustic properties of speech compared to linear would yield significantly poorer speech perception. On the basis of initial acoustic analysis of the test stimuli recorded through a hearing aid, two different compression amplification settings were chosen for the perceptual study. Participants were 74 adults with mild to moderate sensorineural hearing impairment. Overall, the speech perception results supported the hypothesis. A further aim of the study was to determine if variation in participants' speech perception with compression amplification (compared to linear amplification) could be explained by the individual characteristics of age, degree of loss, dynamic range, temporal resolution, and frequency selectivity; however, no significant relationships were found.

Projeto b??sico: oficina de reflex??o e alinhamento das pol??ticas de promo????o e incentivo ?? leitura em nosso pa??s

Contrata????o de servi??os t??cnicos profissionais especializados de doc??ncia para modera????o na Oficina, sob medida, de reflex??o e alinhamento das pol??ticas de promo????o e incentivo ?? leitura em nosso Pa??s, sendo a execu????o da Oficina norteada pelas diretrizes expressas no inciso I do art. 2?? da Resolu????o n?? 01 de 31 de janeiro de 2013 e nos incisos I do art. 2?? do Decreto n?? 8.091, de 03 de setembro de 2013

Texto para discuss??o 3: Reflex??es sobre a proposta de reforma do Estado brasileiro

A reforma do Estado ?? uma preocupa????o comum a quase todos os pa??ses do mundo. No ??mbito nacional, ap??s um per??odo mais exacerbado de radicaliza????es e polariza????es, o debate sobre o assunto vem adquirindo maior serenidade, profundidade e rigor. Seu foco tem se deslocado de uma defini????o aprior??stica e descontextualizada do tamanho ideal do Estado (e, com isso, vem conseguindo, paulatinamente, ultrapassar os manique??smos iniciais), para se centrar em quest??es realmente estrat??gicas: que tipo de Estado se deseja construir? Como dever?? se relacionar com a sociedade e o mercado? Quais ser??o sua miss??o, objetivos, papel, formas e meios de interven????o e fun????es? Que caracter??sticas organizacionais e gerenciais necessitar?? adquirir para lograr ??xito? O primeiro volume desta s??rie ?? um exemplo dessa mudan??a oportuna de enfoque, partindo do Estado necess??rio e conseguindo avan??ar em rela????o a, pelo menos, algumas das quest??es estrat??gicas j?? mencionadas

Texto para discuss??o 6: a tecnologia da informa????o na reforma do Estado: uma reflex??o sobre os dilemas e perspectivas para as grandes empresas de processamento de dados da ??rea p??blica

O presente texto procura focalizar mais especificamente a quest??o dos modelos organizacionais adotados pelas empresas p??blicas de processamento de dados, e sua poss??vel reestrutura????o para fazer frente ??s novas necessidades de seus usu??rios, em meio a mudan??as profundas nas plataformas tecnol??gicas tradicionalmente adotadas. A inten????o ?? contribuir para que o debate iniciado tenha prosseguimento, pela relev??ncia desse tema para a reforma do aparelho estatal ora em andamento no pa??s, tanto em n??vel federal quanto no ??mbito de Estados e munic??pios

Reflex??es para Ibero-Am??rica: avalia????o de programas sociais

A ENAP Escola Nacional de Administra????o P??blica, com o apoio do Minist??rio do Planejamento, Or??amento e Gest??o, da Ag??ncia Brasileira de Coopera????o do Minist??rio das Rela????es Exteriores, do Centro Latino-americano de Administra????o para o Desenvolvimento (Clad) e da Caixa Econ??mica Federal, construiu uma s??rie de atividades de aprendizagem direcionadas a dirigentes e t??cnicos que atuam nas ??reas de planejamento estrat??gico e avalia????o de programas. Esses eventos de aprendizagem permitiram uma intensa troca de experi??ncias entre os 60 dirigentes e t??cnicos representantes de organismos governamentais de 16 pa??ses ibero-americanos ??? Argentina, Bol??via, Brasil, Chile, Col??mbia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, M??xico, Panam??, Paraguai, Peru, Portugal, Rep??blica Dominicana, Uruguai e Venezuela. A consolida????o desse per??odo de rica troca de experi??ncias est?? retratada nesta publica????o, que mostra o avan??o na constru????o de um conhecimento coletivo referente a desafios contempor??neos de nossos governos nas ??reas de planejamento e de avalia????o de programas sociais

Reflex??es para Ibero-Am??rica: planejamento estrat??gico

A ENAP Escola Nacional de Administra????o P??blica, com o apoio do Minist??rio do Planejamento, Or??amento e Gest??o, da Ag??ncia Brasileira de Coopera????o do Minist??rio das Rela????es Exteriores, do Centro Latino-americano de Administra????o para o Desenvolvimento (Clad) e da Caixa Econ??mica Federal, construiu uma s??rie de atividades de aprendizagem direcionadas a dirigentes e t??cnicos que atuam nas ??reas de planejamento estrat??gico e avalia????o de programas. Esses eventos de aprendizagem permitiram uma intensa troca de experi??ncias entre os 60 dirigentes e t??cnicos representantes de organismos governamentais de 16 pa??ses ibero-americanos ??? Argentina, Bol??via, Brasil, Chile, Col??mbia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, M??xico, Panam??, Paraguai, Peru, Portugal, Rep??blica Dominicana, Uruguai e Venezuela. A consolida????o desse per??odo de rica troca de experi??ncias est?? retratada nesta publica????o, que mostra o avan??o na constru????o de um conhecimento coletivo referente a desafios contempor??neos de nossos governos nas ??reas de planejamento e de avalia????o de programas sociais