Brazilian adaptation of the Woodcock-Johnson III cognitive tests

An adaptation of the standard battery of Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities (WJ-III) for Brazilian children and youth was investigated. The sample was composed of 1094 students (54 percent girls), ages 7-17, living in Sao Paulo state (91 percent). Items from Brazilian school books as well as from the WJ-III Spanish version (Bateria-R) were added to comprehension-knowledge tests. Brazilian words were adapted to the auditory tests according to syllabic division and stressed syllables. Items were examined through IRT and age differences through analysis of variance. Results indicated the need to remove items from all WJ-III subtests with the exception of the visual learning test. Analysis of Variance indicated significant age differences (p <= 0.001) for all tests. Thus, the importance of a Brazilian adaptation for the WJ-III was confirmed.

First Baseline of Circulating Genotypic Lineages of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Patients from the Brazilian Borders with Argentina and Paraguay

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Differential environmental impacts on small and medium size rivers from center of São Paulo State, Brazil, and regional management perspectives

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Instrumentos e atividades realizadas para a coleta de um corpus de aprendizes em língua inglesa para integrar o Br-ICLE (The Brazilian Portuguese Sub-corpus of ICLE)

This paper presents and discusses initiatives taken in a public university in the state of São Paulo in order to collect and organize a corpus composed of argumentative texts to be part of Br-ICLE – a subcorpus of ICLE1 – which is composed of texts produced by Brazilian students enrolled in the courses of Arts and Languages and Translation. The discussion is based on a three-year project in which we could observe underuse and overuse features in the texts produced by Brazilian undergraduate students.

Genetic variability of inflammatory genes in the brazilian population

Inflammatory gene variants have been associated with several diseases, including cancer, diabetes, vascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, arthritis, and others. Therefore, determining the population genetic composition of inflammation-related genes can be useful for the determination of general risk, prognostic and therapeutic strategies to prevent or cure specific diseases. We have aimed to identify polymorphism genotype frequencies in genes related to the inflammatory response in the Brazilian population, namely, IjBL - 62AT, IjBL - 262CT, tumor necrosis factors alpha (TNFa) - 238GA, TNFa - 308GA, lymphotoxin-alpha (LTa) + 80AC, LTa + 252AG, FAS - 670AG, and FASL - 844TC, considering the white, black, and Pardo ethnicities of the Sa˜o Paulo State. Our results suggest that the Brazilian population is under a miscegenation process at the current time, since some genotypes are not in the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. In addition, we conclude that the Pardo ethnicity is derived from a complex mixture of ethnicities, including the native Indian population.

Brazilian identities: compositions and recompositions

The Contemporary Challenges series - originally sponsored by the Research Deanship of the State University of São Paulo (Unesp) - aims at providing access to essays on crucial issues concerning the Brazilian society as a whole. With the publication of those titles, which systematically avoid unnecessary academic jargon though preserving scientific rigour, the university fulfills one of its essential tasks: that of disseminating the skills and knowledge reared within its quarters. In the present volume, focused upon sociological questions, the authors face the difficult job of grasping the intricate horizon of complexities of Brazilian identity and their presence in the current national dilemmas.

Violence against children and adolescents: awareness and attitudes of Brazilian dentists

Violence against children and adolescents, ranging from negligence to sexual abuse, is an imperative public health problem. The ill treatments are considered as nonaccidental traumas, actions or omissions against children, who suffer physical or emotional violence. The main perpetrators are fathers, mothers, guardians, family, friends or the children‘s primary caretaker. It is very important to identify abuse cases, because this allows proper medical and legal intervention. In Brazil, the law n. 8.069, of July 13, 1990, known as the ECA -Statute for Children and Adolescents (SCA), stipulates the obligation to report suspected or confirmed cases of ill treatment against a child or adolescent to the Guardianship Council of the respective locality. The health professionals play a crucial role with regard to identifying cases of violence, collecting information, making early diagnosis of suspect cases and reporting such cases to the authorities. The dentists can contribute significantly, as most injuries occur in the orofacial region. Bite marks, burns, bruising, among others, are easily identified during a dental consultation. The aim of this work was to verify the awareness and attitudes of Brazilian dentists concerning violence against children and adolescents. This research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Dentistry of Araraquara – São Paulo State University (FOAr – UNESP). Sixty-three dentists answered an open and closed questionnaire concerning their formation, knowledge, experience and attitudes towards ill-treated children and adolescents. Among other results, thirty-nine dentists (61.9%) affirmed to have the means to identify illtreatment cases, 13 (20.6%) reported having some experience on this matter, but only 8 reported the cases to the Council of Guardianship, as determined by Brazilian law. Twenty percent of the reasons presented for not notifying the Council were fear of reprisal, and 60.0% were uncertain concerning the ethical and legal implications. Physical violence was the most reported form of identified violence (76.9%), followed by negligence (38.5%). Among the 13 professionals that had experience with violence cases, in 10 cases the perpetrators were identified – in 70.0% of the cases, the parents were the originators of such violence. It was concluded that further formation and orientation are necessary, in order to prepare dentists to act correctly when, during their professional activities, they encounter cases of violence against children and adolescents.

Individual and contextual factors related to dental caries in underprivileged Brazilian adolescents

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

Quality of life and socio-dental impact among underprivileged brazilian adolescents

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

Helminth fauna of Astyanax fasciatus Cuvier, 1819, in two distinct sites of the Taquari River, São Paulo State, Brazil

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

Refractive errors in a Brazilian population: age and sex distribution

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

Antibodies to Neospora caninum in sheep from slaughterhouses in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Neosporosis is an emergent disease responsible for considerable economic impact due to reproductive losses. Its zoonotic potential remains unknown. This study involved a survey of antibodies to Neospora caninum in slaughtered sheep and their association with epidemiological variables. Serum samples from 596 sheep from the states of Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, were collected in two slaughterhouses located in Sao Paulo and evaluated by indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT), using cut-off titers of 25. Among these samples, 353/596 (59.23%; 95%CI 55.23-63.10) were positive and 263/353 (74.50%; 95%CI 69.71-78.77%) were from Rio Grande do Sul. Statistical associations were determined in the univariate analysis between the serological results and sex, breed and municipality of origin. Sheep that came from extensive breeding system showed higher chance (OR=2.09) of presenting antibodies to N. caninum in relation to those from semi-intensive system. Higher chance was also observed for the different studied breeds, except Bergamacia, in relation to Hampshire Down. The results revealed the presence of infection by N. caninum in sheep from slaughterhouses.

Occurrence of periodontal pathogens in ethnic groups from a native Brazilian reservation

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

Individual and contextual factors related to dental caries in underprivileged Brazilian adolescents

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

Molecular characterization of intestinal protozoa in two poor communities in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

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