Biologia e arte: encontros e desencontros

A Biologia e a arte compõem dois campos distintos, porém com pontos de contato: o corpo humano, a organicidade, a natureza, a criatividade presente tanto no campo artístico quanto no campo científico. Onde arte e Biologia se encontram e se desencontram? As articulações entre uma prática científica e a arte podem contribuir para melhor compreensão e maior produção dos sujeitos aí envolvidos? Esse trabalho tem como objetivo estudar possíveis relações entre a arte e a Biologia, em um esforço por explorar e entender os pontos de contato e de afastamento entre esses dois campos situados no plano de nossa formação realizada no curso de graduação. A partir do contato com objetos artísticos bem como o contato com alguns modos de expressão de sensibilidade por parte de alguns cientistas em suas práticas de ciência, exploramos as relações entre os dois campos mencionados. Fazemos o acompanhamento de percursos de sentidos pelos territórios da ciência e da arte, fazendo uma espécie de cartografia, de tal modo que desenhamos as paisagens emergentes no movimento dos sentidos

O professor de biologia e a possibilidade de uso de diferentes abordagens de ensino com materiais midiáticos a fim de desenvolver a criticidade do aluno do ensino médio

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Padrões evolutivos de famílias multigênicas de RNAs (RNAsn e RNAr) no genoma do gafanhoto Abracris flavolineata, com ênfase no cromossomo B

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Biologia e arte: encontros e desencontros

A Biologia e a arte compõem dois campos distintos, porém com pontos de contato: o corpo humano, a organicidade, a natureza, a criatividade presente tanto no campo artístico quanto no campo científico. Onde arte e Biologia se encontram e se desencontram? As articulações entre uma prática científica e a arte podem contribuir para melhor compreensão e maior produção dos sujeitos aí envolvidos? Esse trabalho tem como objetivo estudar possíveis relações entre a arte e a Biologia, em um esforço por explorar e entender os pontos de contato e de afastamento entre esses dois campos situados no plano de nossa formação realizada no curso de graduação. A partir do contato com objetos artísticos bem como o contato com alguns modos de expressão de sensibilidade por parte de alguns cientistas em suas práticas de ciência, exploramos as relações entre os dois campos mencionados. Fazemos o acompanhamento de percursos de sentidos pelos territórios da ciência e da arte, fazendo uma espécie de cartografia, de tal modo que desenhamos as paisagens emergentes no movimento dos sentidos

O professor de biologia e a possibilidade de uso de diferentes abordagens de ensino com materiais midiáticos a fim de desenvolver a criticidade do aluno do ensino médio

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Complexo Epidendrum secundum como modelo de estudo multidisciplinar na delimitação de espécies

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

Alocação eficiente de indicadores de faltas em um sistema de distribuição real usando computação evolutiva

Este trabalho propõe uma abordagem computacional evolutiva para a resolução do problema de alocação de dispositivos indicadores de faltas (IFs) em alimentadores primários de distribuição de energia elétrica. De forma mais específica, o problema de se obter o melhor local de instalação é solucionado por meio da técnica de Algoritmos Genéticos (AGs) que busca obter uma configuração eficiente de instalação de IFs no tronco principal de um alimentador de distribuição. Assim, faz-se a modelagem do mesmo na forma de um problema de otimização orientado à melhoria dos indicadores de qualidade do serviço e ao encontro de uma solução economicamente atraente. Os resultados com dados reais comprovam a eficiência da metodologia proposta.

Uma abordagem evolutiva para o problema de custo médio a longo prazo com saltos não-observados

Neste artigo propomos uma adaptação de um algoritmo baseado na evolução biológica para a obtenção do controle ótimo do problema do custo médio a longo prazo para sistemas lineares com saltos markovianos. Não há na literatura um método que forneça, comprovadamente, o controle ótimo do problema, nem estudos comparativos de diferentes métodos. O algoritmo empregado diferencia-se dos algoritmos genéticos básicos por substituir os operadores evolutivos por um sorteio de acordo com uma distribuição probabilística. Comparamos o algoritmo proposto com um método bastante utilizado para esta classe de problema, levando em consideração a relação entre os custos obtidos, o tempo de CPU e a quantidade de problemas em que o critério de parada estabelecido foi atingido.

PTA e stenting carotideo: valutazione morfologica ed evolutiva, a breve e medio termine

In un periodo di tre anni è stato svolto un lavoro mirato alla valutazione delle complicanze correlate all’utilizzo dello stenting carotideo. Dopo la preparazione di un protocollo con definizione di tutti i fattori di rischio sono stati individuati i criteri di inclusione ed esclusione attraverso i quali arruolare i pazienti. Da Luglio 2004 a Marzo 2007 sono stati inclusi 298 pazienti e sono state valutate le caratteristiche della placca carotidea, con particolare riferimento alla presenza di ulcerazione e/o di stenosi serrata, la tortuosità dei vasi e il tipo di arco aortico oltre a tutti i fattori di rischio demografici e metabolici. E’ stato valutato quanto e se questi fattori di rischio incrementino la percentuale di complicanze della procedura di stenting carotideo. I pazienti arruolati sono stati suddivisi in due gruppi a seconda della morfologia della placca: placca complicata (placca con ulcera del diametro > di 2 mm e placca con stenosi sub occlusiva 99%) e placca non complicata. I due gruppi sono stati comparati in termini di epidemiologia, sintomatologia neurologica preoperatoria, tipo di arco, presenza di stenosi o ostruzione della carotide controlaterale, tipo di stent e di protezione cerebrale utilizzati, evoluzione clinica e risultati tecnici. I dati sono stati valutati mediante analisi statistica di regressione logistica multipla per evidenziare le variabili correlate con l’insuccesso. Dei 298 pazienti consecutivi sottoposti a stenting, 77 hanno mostrato una placca complicata (25,8%) e 221 una placca non complicata (74,2%). I due gruppi non hanno avuto sostanziali differenze epidemiologiche o di sintomatologia preoperatoria. Il successo tecnico si è avuto in 272 casi (91,2%) e sintomi neurologici post-operatosi si sono verificati in 23 casi (23.3%). Tutti i sintomi sono stati temporanei. Non si sono avute differenze statisticamente significative tra i due gruppi in relazione alle complicanze neurologiche e ai fallimenti tecnici. L’età avanzata è correlata ad un incremento dei fallimenti tecnici. I risultati dello studio portano alla conclusione che la morfologia della placca non porta ad un incremento significativo dei rischi correlati alla procedura di stenting carotideo e che l’indicazione alla CAS può essere posta indipendentemente dalla caratteristica della placca.

Effetto crowding e dislessia evolutiva: un confronto inter e intra-linguistico

Crowding is defined as the negative effect obtained by adding visual distractors around a central target which has to be identified. Some studies have suggested the presence of a marked crowding effect in developmental dyslexia (e.g. Atkinson, 1991; Spinelli et al., 2002). Inspired by Spinelli’s (2002) experimental design, we explored the hypothesis that the crowding effect may affect dyslexics’ response times (RTs) and accuracy in identification tasks dealing with words, pseudowords, illegal non-words and symbolstrings. Moreover, our study aimed to clarify the relationship between the crowding phenomenon and the word-reading process, in an inter-language comparison perspective. For this purpose we studied twenty-two French dyslexics and twenty-two Italian dyslexics (total forty-four dyslexics), compared to forty-four subjects matched for reading level (22 French and 22 Italians) and forty-four chronological age-matched subjects (22 French and 22 Italians). Children were all tested on reading and cognitive abilities. Results showed no differences between French and Italian participants suggesting that performances were homogenous. Dyslexic children were all significantly impaired in words and pseudowords reading compared to their normal reading controls. Regarding the identification task with which we assessed crowding effect, both accuracy and RTs showed a lexicality effect which meant that the recognition of words was more accurate and faster in words than pseudowords, non-words and symbolstrings. Moreover, compared to normal readers, dyslexics’ RTs and accuracy were impaired only for verbal materials but not for non-verbal material; these results are in line with the phonological hypothesis (Griffiths & Snowling, 2002; Snowling, 2000; 2006) . RTs revealed a general crowding effect (RTs in the crowding condition were slower than those recorded in the isolated condition) affecting all the subjects’ performances. This effect, however, emerged to be not specific for dyslexics. Data didn’t reveal a significant effect of language, allowing the generalization of the obtained results. We also analyzed the performance of two subgroups of dyslexics, categorized according to their reading abilities. The two subgroups produced different results regarding the crowding effect and type of material, suggesting that it is meaningful to take into account also the heterogeneity of the dyslexia disorder. Finally, we also analyzed the relationship of the identification task with both reading and cognitive abilities. In conclusion, this study points out the importance of comparing visual tasks performances of dyslexic participants with those of their reading level-matched controls. This approach may improve our comprehension of the potential causal link between crowding and reading (Goswami, 2003).

Conoscenza e consapevolezza sugli effetti biologici degli ultrasuoni nella pratica clinica in Italia: risultati di una inchiesta con questionario tra ecografisti della socetà italiana di ultrasonologia in medicina e biologia (S.I.U.M.B.)

Background New potential hazards in the use of ultrasound (US) are implied in new diagnostic applications of US, such as contrast enhanced US. Aim To assess the level of awareness and knowledge on safety issues of clinical use of US among physicians who are members of the Italian National Society for Ultrasound (SIUMB) Materials and methods A questionnaire including 11 multiple choice quiz was sent by e-mail to members of SIUMB, who preliminarly agreed to participate in this initiative. The answers were received anonimously and statistically analyzed. Results The number of returned valid questionnaires was 97 (8 were considered not valid for less than 10 answers filled). Mean age of the responders was 44 years old, and the average time the physician has been performing ultrasound examinations was 13 years. The principal workplace (70%) was a public Hospital. Physicians seemed to know the general definitions of principal safety-parameters, but few of them knew the definition of specific indexes. There was a general knowledge about the safe use of ultrasound in obstetrics, but there was a poor knowledge of biological effects of US: only about 37% answered correctly to questions about damage of vasculature of lung by high Mechanical Index US investigation and about the increase of temperature under the probe, according to the thermal indexes. Conclusion In conclusion the present findings indicate that greater efforts of National Ultrasound Societies are warranted in disseminating knowledge about the bio-effects of diagnostic ultrasound modalities among their members to prevent possible hazards.

Salute orale del figlio disabile in età evolutiva e sintomatologia depressiva della madre

Relationships between oral health status in children with disability and their mothers’ depressive symptoms Aim. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the relationships between oral health status in children with chronic medical conditions and their mothers’ depressive symptoms. Methods. Fifty-one children (25 male and 26 female, ranging from 2 to 18 years) affected by chronic systemic diseases followed at the Sant’Orsola-Malpighi Hospital in Bologna, ,and, were referred with their mothers at the Dental Department of Bologna. Children were subclassified in 3 groups according to the ASA classification and orally examined for hygiene status, gingival condition and dental caries. The indexes used were O’Leary plaque Index (PI), bleeding on probing index (BOP), dmft/DMFT. Mothers were interviewed on knowledge about oral diseases prevention for their children and daily management (hygiene habits, sugared aliments consumption). Statistical analysis was performed through the use of linear regression. Results. The relationships between ASA and IP as well as between ASA and BOP are statistically significant (α = 0,01). Seventy percent of patients and their relatives in ASA groups 3 and 4 never received information on oral health and prevention of oral diseases by paediatricians and/or dentists. The 53% of mothers present depressive symptoms. The relationships between degree of depressive symptoms and dmft/DMFt as well as between degree of depressive symptoms and sugared aliments daily consumption are statistically significant (α = 0,05). Conclusion. Our results give support to the hypothesis of an association between degree of systemic disease and oral hygiene status. The psychological mothers condition seams to play a role on the oral conditions of their sons. Our analysis shows the needs for an interdisciplinar approach in order to promote the oral health of children with disability.

Riabilitazione protesica ed implanto-protesica di pazienti in età evolutiva affetti da Displasia Ectodermica

Introduction. Ectodermal Dysplasias are a heterogeneous group of inherited disorders characterized by dysplasia of tissues of ectodermal origin (hair, nails, teeth, skins and glands). Clinically, it may be divided into two broad categories: the X-linked hypoidrotic form and the hidrotic form. Hypohidrotic Ectodermal Dysplasia (H.E.D) is characterized by the triad oligo-anodontia, hypotricosis, hypo-anhydrosis (Christ-Siemens-Tourane syndrome). The incidence of HED is about 1/100,000. Mutation in the actodysplasin-A (EDA) and ectodysplasin-A receptor (EDAR) genes are responsible for X-linked and autosomal HED. The clinical features include sparse, fine hair, missing or conical-shaped teeth, decreased sweat and mucous glands, hypoplastic skin, and heat intolerance with exercise or increased ambient temperature. Complete or partial anodontia and malformation of teeth are the most frequent dental findings. Incisors and canines are often conical-shaped while primarily second molars, if present, are mostly affected by taurodontism. Treatment is supportive and includes protection from heat exposure, early prosthetic rehabilitation, skin, hair ear, nose and nail care, and genetic counseling for family planning. The diagnosis of HED in the neonatal and early infancy period may be difficult since sparse hair and absent teeth are normal finding at this age. In childhood the diagnosis is more easily made on the basis of history and clinical examination. Dental abnormalities are the most common complaint. Prosthetic rehabilitation has been recommended as an essential part of the management of HED because is important from functional, esthetic, and psychological standpoint. A team approach that includes input from a pediatric dentist, an orthodontist, a prosthodontist, and an oral and maxillofacial surgeon is necessary for a successful outcome. Conventional prosthodontic rehabilitation in young patient is often difficult because of the anatomical abnormalities of existing teeth and alveolar ridges. The conical shaped teeth and “knife-edge” alveolar ridges result in poor retention and instability of dentures. Moreover, denture must permit jaws expansion and a correct pattern of growth. Materials and Methods. Complete removable dentures were provided to allow for normal physiological development and a corrected masticatory function. Initial maxillary and mandibular impressions were made with smallest stock trays and irreversible hydrocolloid and then final impressions ware made with light-bodied polysulfide rubber base impression material. A base of autopolymerizing resin was constructed and a wax rim was added to the base. The patient’s vertical dimension of occlusion was established by assessing phonetic and esthetic criteria. Preliminary occlusal relations were recorded, and the mandibular cast was mounted on the articulator. Acrylic resin teeth specific for children dentures were selected and mounted. The dentures were tried in and, after proper adjustments, were inserted. The patients were monitored clinically every month to fit prostheses. Cephalometric radiographs were taken every 6 month with the prostheses in place in order to evaluate correct pattern of growth. Cephalometric measurements were realized and used to evaluate the effect of rehabilitation on craniofacial growth. Cephalometric measurements of sound patients were compared with ED patients. After two month expander screws (three-way screw in the upper denture and two-way the lower one)were inserted in each denture in order to permit the expansion of the denture and the jaws growth. Where conical teeth were present, composite crown were realized and luted to improve the esthetic and phonesis. In order to improve retention the placement of endosseous implants was carried out. TC 3D Accuitomo was performed and a resin model of mandibular bone of the patient was realized. At the age of 11 years two implants were inserted into anterior mandible in a child with anodontia. Despite a remarkable multi-dimensional atrophy of the mandibular alveolar process, the insertion of two tapered screw implants (SAMO Smiler, diameter 3.8, length 10 mm). After a submerged healing period of two-three month, the implants were exposed. Implants were connected with an expansion guide that permits mandibular growth and prosthetic retention. The amount of mandibular growth was also evaluate dusing the expansion guide. Results. Early oral rehabilitation improve oral function, phonesis and esthetic, reducing social impairment. Treated patients showed normal cephalometric measurement. Early rehabilitation is able to prevent the prognatissm of the mandibula . The number of teeth was significantly related to several changes in craniofacial morphology. Discussion. In the present study the 5,3% of ED patients showed hypodontia, the l’89,4% di oligodontia, and the 5,3% di anodontia. The cephalometric analysis supports that ED patients showed midface hypoplasia. ED groups showed an increased pogonion to nasion measurement than sound patients, indicative of class III tendency. The present study demonstrated that number of teeth was significantly correlated with deviation of cephalometric measurements from normality. Oligoanodontia is responsible for changing of cephalometric measuraments also on sagittal plane with a class III tendency. Maxillary jaw showed a retrused position related to the presence of hypodontia.