Prevalence and Serological Diagnosis of Relapse in Paracoccidioidomycosis Patients

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

Psychometric Properties of the Oral Health Impact Profile and New Methodological Approach

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

The use of diplopods in soil ecotoxicology - A review

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

Ultrastructure of Spermatogenesis in the Short-Tailed Fruit Bat, Carollia perspicillata ( Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae: Carollinae)

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

Exploratory analysis of differences in sperm morphology in Nelore and Gir (Bos indicus) bulls

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of breed and season on semen quality parameters of zebu bulls. Data (1,632 registers) of semen production from Gir (n = 4) and Nelore (n = 15) bulls were collected between October 2005 and November 2009. The ejaculates were collected twice a week during various seasons (summer, fall, winter, and spring) and evaluated for the following semen parameters: ejaculate volume, sperm concentration, sperm motility, forward progressive motility (FPM), and sperm morphology. Factor analysis was used to determine the relationship among variables. The effect of breed (Gir and Nelore) and season and their cross effect on each parameter and extracted factor were tested using ANOVA. A negative correlation (P < 0.05) was observed between FPM and proximal droplet, as well as with abnormal loose head, abnormal small head, pouch formation, abnormal mid-peace, and strongly folded tail. Gir bull sperm showed more major defects, detached acrosome, and minor FPM (P < 0.01), whereas Nelore bulls showed a higher number of sperm with normally loose head.

A New and Simple Visual Technique Based on Indigo Dye for Determination of Ozone in Ambient Air

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Risk factors that may signify a propensity to the use of drugs in students at a public university

Introduction: We sought to evaluate the risk factors that may increase the propensity to use licit and illicit drugs among students at a public university. Methods: The project involved students (n = 268) enrolled in the first and fourth years of courses in the areas of the social and biological sciences at a public university. Data collection was conducted by means of self-administered, semistructured questionnaires, based on such standardized assessment instruments as Audit, Assist, Cage and Duse. Collected data were analyzed quantitatively by calculating the percentages and evaluating the data in terms of categories of risk, classifying them by age, gender, religion, schooling, use (before or after entering university) and contexts of use. By means of this survey the researchers were able to correlate the use of drugs to the risk factors that might increase the students’ propensity to use these substances. Results: The results revealed a high proportion of current drug-using students, but showed no significant differences between the first and fourth year students as regards contexts of use. However, 67% of students regarded the university environment as encouraging the use of drugs. Students pointed to such major risk factors as friends’ and fellow-students’ influence, university parties, excessive curiosity and desire to experiment. Conclusion: Due to the high rate of drug use among university students, by the determination of the risk factors related to the university environment and also knowing that the process of addiction is one of growing chemical dependence, the importance of the development and implementation of public health policies at all levels, especially in terms of approaches and specific interventions addressing this population, should be noted.

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the Portuguese version of the DYMUS questionnaire for the assessment of dysphagia in multiple sclerosis

Translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the DYMUS questionnaire for the assessment of dysphagia in multiple sclerosis. The original English version of the DYMUS was translated using the forward-backward technique, cross-culturally adaptated, pilot-tested in 40 patients, and then applied to 100 multiple sclerosis patients to assess the reliability and construct validity. Construct validity was assessed by Mann–Whitney test and Spearman’s correlation coefficient (rs). The internal consistency of the questionnaire was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and inter-item correlation. DYMUS-BR internal consistency was high (Cronbach’s alpha= 0.72); Cronbach’s alpha was 0.65 for the ‘dysphagia for solids’ subscale and 0.67 for the ‘dysphagia for liquids’ subscale and positive inter-item correlations was found between all items, except for weight loss question. Significant association (p<0.001) and correlation (rs = 0,357; p = 0.01) was found between DYMUS-BR and dysphagia self-assessment. The DYMUS-BR questionnaire maintained the characteristics of that originally described, demonstrating to be a reliable, valid, easy and consistent tool to be used by health professionals for preliminary selection of Brazilian MS patients who need more specific instrumental analyses of swallowing.

The restructuring of labour in Brazil in the 2000s: flexible work and the precarisation of working life

This article argues that the precarisation of employment that has taken place in Brazil since the 1990s has been fundamentally different in kind from earlier forms of precariousness, which took place outside the formal economy. The new forms of precariousness are taking place within the sphere of the economy controlled by transnational corporations. Although they have only reached critical mass during the 2000s, the ground was prepared by ‘post neoliberal’ restructuring, including labour law reforms, that took place in Brazil during the 1990s and introduced new forms of flexible working. The article argues that the new condition of labour now emerging in Brazil, which is a structural feature of labour under global capitalism, is characterised by psychosocial dynamics that cause: first, class desubjectivation; second, a ‘seizure’ of the waged worker's subjectivity; and third, the reduction of living labour to the status of a workforce treated as goods. Comprehending these changes necessitates a related change in the theoretical and methodological framework in which the precariousness of work is studied, one that incorporates within its scope the issues of workers' health and the quality of working life.

Prebiotic Effect of Fructooligosaccharide in the Simulator of the Human Intestinal Microbial Ecosystem (SHIME (R) Model)

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

Correlation between sleep and quality of life in cerebral palsy

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

Phytotherapy in the control of helminthiasis in production animals

Parasitic diseases constitute one of the main problems affecting livestock; however the use of chemical medicaments provides drug resistance residues in animal and environmental contamination. Changes in production concepts require that food must be produced in hygienic conditions, per healthy animals and that are not eliminating antibiotic residues, pesticides or other drugs. This scenario has favored organic production and the use of medicinal plants. For the control of endoparasites, several studies have published the benefits of Azadirachta indica A. Juss., Punica granatum Linn., Musa sp., Operculina hamiltonii G. DON., propolis, among others. However, despite the existence in- vitro studies that demonstrate the pharmacological properties of phytotherapics, there is still need for clinical trials to determine dosage and its effects in- vivo. Investigations of new bioactive natural substances can be of great value for the control of animal health and food safety, which is particularly important for organic production systems in which the use of chemical drugs is a limiting factor for certification.

Case study of children of referrals to health services: an individualizing design?

Nowadays education for all is recommended as an international action. However in Brazil one can observe homogeneous practices for a heterogeneous public. When the student has learning difficulties, there seems to be an attempt to normalization and pathologization by the means of referral, many times being indiscriminate, to health services. This case study aimed to analyze records of pedagogical strategies to meet the students educational needs before sending them to health services. Two records sent to a multidisciplinary team of a Regional Specialty Clinic (ARE) in a city of the state of São Paulo/Brazil, were used. The results reflect that the records of the educators do not show the pedagogical strategies used with the students and that the education system still seeks homogeneous classes, devaluating the diversity present in its context.

Prevalence of dyslipidemia in adolescents: comparison between definitions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

beta-Lactamase-based biosensor for the electrochemical determination of benzylpenicillin in milk

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