Lithium in M 67: From the main sequence to the red giant branch

Context. Lithium abundances in open clusters are a very effective probe of mixing processes, and their study can help us to understand the large depletion of lithium that occurs in the Sun. Owing to its age and metallicity, the open cluster M 67 is especially interesting on this respect. Many studies of lithium abundances in M 67 have been performed, but a homogeneous global analysis of lithium in stars from subsolar masses and extending to the most massive members, has yet to be accomplished for a large sample based on high-quality spectra. Aims. We test our non-standard models, which were calibrated using the Sun with observational data. Methods. We collect literature data to analyze, for the first time in a homogeneous way, the non-local thermal equilibrium lithium abundances of all observed single stars in M 67 more massive than similar to 0.9 M-circle dot. Our grid of evolutionary models is computed assuming a non-standard mixing at metallicity [Fe/H] = 0.01, using the Toulouse-Geneva evolution code. Our analysis starts from the entrance into the zero-age main-sequence. Results. Lithium in M 67 is a tight function of mass for stars more massive than the Sun, apart from a few outliers. A plateau in lithium abundances is observed for turn-off stars. Both less massive (M >= 1.10 M-circle dot) and more massive (M >= 1.28 M-circle dot) stars are more depleted than those in the plateau. There is a significant scatter in lithium abundances for any given mass M <= 1.1 M-circle dot. Conclusions. Our models qualitatively reproduce most of the features described above, although the predicted depletion of lithium is 0.45 dex smaller than observed for masses in the plateau region, i.e. between 1.1 and 1.28 solar masses. More work is clearly needed to accurately reproduce the observations. Despite hints that chromospheric activity and rotation play a role in lithium depletion, no firm conclusion can be drawn with the presently available data.

EQUIVALENCE OF REAL MILNOR FIBRATIONS FOR QUASI-HOMOGENEOUS SINGULARITIES

We show that for real quasi-homogeneous singularities f : (R-m, 0) -> (R-2, 0) with isolated singular point at the origin, the projection map of the Milnor fibration S-epsilon(m-1) \ K-epsilon -> S-1 is given by f/parallel to f parallel to. Moreover, for these singularities the two versions of the Milnor fibration, on the sphere and on a Milnor tube, are equivalent. In order to prove this, we show that the flow of the Euler vector field plays and important role. In addition, we present, in an easy way, a characterization of the critical points of the projection (f/parallel to f parallel to) : S-epsilon(m-1) \ K-epsilon -> S-1.

Effect of sample pre-cracking method and notch geometry in plane strain fracture toughness tests as applied to a PMMA resin

The influence of test method factors (notch shape, square or angular, and pre-cracking method, by tapping onto or pressing a razor blade) on the results obtained in plane strain fracture toughness test according to standard ASTM D5045 using SENB specimens made of a commercial PMMA resin were investigated. Results were analyzed quantitatively by comparing the obtained K-IC values and qualitatively by observing their effect on the Moire fringes observed using photoelasticity, showing that, at 95% significance level, the K-IC values are affected by the pre-cracking method, with the most conservative value being obtained when natural pre-cracks were introduced by tapping onto a razor blade (K-IC = 1.15 +/- 0.11 MPa.m(0.5)). This correlates with a perturbation in the stress field close to the pre-crack tip observed in the photoelasticity test sample when it was introduced by pressing the razor blade. Surprisingly, notch geometry only slightly affects the results. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The CUPID (Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability) Study: Methods of Data Collection and Characteristics of Study Sample

Background: The CUPID (Cultural and Psychosocial Influences on Disability) study was established to explore the hypothesis that common musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and associated disability are importantly influenced by culturally determined health beliefs and expectations. This paper describes the methods of data collection and various characteristics of the study sample. Methods/Principal Findings: A standardised questionnaire covering musculoskeletal symptoms, disability and potential risk factors, was used to collect information from 47 samples of nurses, office workers, and other (mostly manual) workers in 18 countries from six continents. In addition, local investigators provided data on economic aspects of employment for each occupational group. Participation exceeded 80% in 33 of the 47 occupational groups, and after pre-specified exclusions, analysis was based on 12,426 subjects (92 to 1018 per occupational group). As expected, there was high usage of computer keyboards by office workers, while nurses had the highest prevalence of heavy manual lifting in all but one country. There was substantial heterogeneity between occupational groups in economic and psychosocial aspects of work; three-to fivefold variation in awareness of someone outside work with musculoskeletal pain; and more than ten-fold variation in the prevalence of adverse health beliefs about back and arm pain, and in awareness of terms such as "repetitive strain injury" (RSI). Conclusions/Significance: The large differences in psychosocial risk factors (including knowledge and beliefs about MSDs) between occupational groups should allow the study hypothesis to be addressed effectively.

Frontal assessment battery in a Brazilian sample of healthy controls: normative data

Objective: To show data on the performance of healthy subjects in the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), correlating with gender, age, education, and scores in the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Methods: Two hundred and seventy-five healthy individuals with mean age of 66.4 +/- 10.6 years-old were evaluated. Mean total FAB scores were established according to the educational level. Results: Mean total FAB scores according to the educational level were 10.9 +/- 2.3, for one to three years; 12.8 +/- 2.7, for four to seven years; 13.8 +/- 2.2, for eight to 11 years; and 15.3 +/- 2.3, for 12 or more years. Total FAB scores correlated significantly with education (r=0.47; p<0.0001) and MMSE scores (r=0.39; p<0.0001). No correlation emerged between FAB scores, age, and gender. Conclusion: In this group of healthy subjects, the Brazilian version of the FAB proved to be influenced by the education level, but not by age and gender.

Evaluation of Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for Determining Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se and Zn in Bovine Semen Samples using a Simple Sample Dilution Method

A simple and fast method for the determination of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se and Zn in bovine semen by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (q-ICP-MS) is described. Prior to analysis, samples (200 mu L) were diluted 1:50 in a solution containing 0.01% v/v Triton (R) X-100 and 0.5% v/v nitric acid and directly analyzed by ICP-MS. The limits of detection of the method are 0.3, 0.03, 0.2, 0.04, 0.04, 0.03 and 0.03 mu g L-1 for Ca-44, Cu-63, Fe-57, Mg-24, Zn-64, Se-82 and Mn-55, respectively. For purposes of comparison and method validation, four ordinary bovine semen samples were directly analyzed by ICP-MS and by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) or graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS), with no statistical difference between the techniques at the 95% level when applying the t-test. Then, the proposed method was applied in the determinations of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se and Zn in collected samples of bovine semen from different breeds, which are used in reproduction programs and artificial insemination.

Risk factors for hepatitis C virus infection in Inland Brazil: An analysis of pooled epidemiological sectional studies

In order to assess the contribution of different parenteral routes as risk exposure to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), samples from nine surveys or cross-sectional studies conducted in two Brazilian inland regions were pooled, including a total of 3,910 subjects. Heterogeneity among the study results for different risk factors was tested and the results were shown to be homogeneous. Anti-HCV antibodies were observed in 241 individuals, of which 146 (3.7%, 95% CI?=?3.24.4) had HCV exposure confirmed by immunoblot analysis or PCR test. After adjustment for relevant variables, a correlation between confirmed HCV exposure and injection drug use, tattooing, and advance age was observed. In a second logistic model that included exposures not searched in all nine studies, a smaller sample was analyzed, revealing an independent HCV association with past history of surgery and males who have sex with other males, in addition to repeated injection drug use. Overall, these analyses corroborate the finding that injection drug use is the main risk factor for HCV exposure and spread, in addition to other parenteral routes. J. Med. Virol. 84:756762, 2012. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Clinical and sociodemographic factors in a sample of older subjects experiencing depressive symptoms

Objectives This study aims to determine the frequency of clinically significant depressive symptoms (CSDS) in a community sample of older Brazilians and to examine their relationship with sociodemographic factors, cognitive and functional impairment (CFI), and medical illness. Methods A total of 1145 subjects aged 60?years or older living in the City of Ribeirao Preto, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, were interviewed. The following instruments were used: a 10-item scale for screening of depressive symptoms in older people, the mini mental state examination, the Fuld Object Memory Evaluation, the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly, the Bayer Activities of Daily Living Scale, and a sociodemographic and clinical questionnaire. Results The frequency of CSDS was 15.7%. Logistic regression analysis indicated that being previously depressed, having CFI, having lower level of education, using psychotropics, and not engaging in physical exercise were related to CSDS. On the other hand, being a woman, older, medically ill, employed, or married was not associated with CSDS. Conclusions Consistent with previous reports, lower education, lack of physical activity, and CFI were significantly associated with higher frequencies of CSDS. Further investigations are necessary to clarify the occurrence of depression and possible modifiable factors in developing countries such as Brazil. Copyright (C) 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Orthorexia nervosa behavior in a sample of Brazilian dietitians assessed by the Portuguese version of ORTO-15

BACKGROUND: Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is described as an obsessive pathological behavior characterized by a strong preoccupation with healthy eating and the avoidance of foods or ingredients considered unhealthy by the subject. Although it is still not officially recognized as an eating disorder, previous studies have discussed its frequency in some groups and a fifteen-question test (ORTO-15) was developed elsewhere to assess ON behavior. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to evaluate ON behavior in a sample of Brazilian dietitians after testing the psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of ORTO-15. METHODS: A total of 392 dietitians answered an online version of the test. The answers were analyzed regarding ON tendency, according with the scoring grid proposed by its authors. Exploratory factor analysis was performed and internal consistency was assessed. RESULTS: It was found that three questions of the test presented loadings lower than 0.5. The 12 remaining question formed 3 factors with internal consistency of -0.51, 0.63 and 0.47. The answers of the participants to these questions revealed a tendency to orthorexic behavior, mainly regarding aspects such as: making food choices conditioned by worry about health status, evaluating food rather from nutritional quality than from its taste, believing that consuming healthy food may improve appearance, discrediting the influence of mood on eating behavior and banning food choices considered by them as eating transgressions. CONCLUSION: There is no evidence of the validity and reliability of the ORTO-15 with the initial psychometric evaluation performed. Further analyses are needed. Nevertheless, it was possible to observe a high frequency of orthorexic behavior among the studied Brazilian dietitians. However, additional studies are needed to completely understand dietitians behavior toward ON. (Eat. Weight Disord. 17: e29-c35, 2012). (C) 2012, Editrice Kurtis

Coping Style and Depressive Symptomatology during Pregnancy in a Private Setting Sample

Aim: to evaluate the association of antenatal depressive symptomatology (AD) with life events and coping styles, the hypothesis was that certain coping strategies are associated to depressive symptomatology. Methods: we performed a cross sectional study of 312 women attending a private clinic in the city of Osasco, Sao Paulo from 27/05/1998 to 13/05/2002. The following instruments were used: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Holmes and Rahe Schedule of Recent Events (SSRS), Folkman and Lazarus Ways of Coping Questionnaire and questionnaire with social-demographic and obstetric data. Inclusion criteria: women with 110 past history of depression, psychiatric treatment, alcohol or drug abuse and no clinical-obstetrical complications. Odds ratios and 95% CI were used to examine the association between AD (according to BDI) and exposures variables. Hypothesis testing was done with chi(2) tests and a p value < .05. Results: AD occurred in 21.1% of pregnant women. By the univariate analyses, education, number of pregnancies, previous abortion, husband income, situation of marriage and score of SSRS were associated with AD. All coping styles were associated with AD, except seeking support and positive reappraisal. By the multivariate analyses, four coping styles were kept in the final model: confront (p = .039), accepting responsibility (p < .001), escape-avoidance (p = .002), problem-solving (p = .005). Conclusions: AD was highly prevalent and was associated with maladaptive coping styles.

Stigma toward schizophrenia: do all psychiatrists behave the same? Latent profile analysis of a national sample of psychiatrists in Brazil

Background: An important issue concerning the worldwide fight against stigma is the evaluation of psychiatrists’ beliefs and attitudes toward schizophrenia and mental illness in general. However, there is as yet no consensus on this matter in the literature, and results vary according to the stigma dimension assessed and to the cultural background of the sample. The aim of this investigation was to search for profiles of stigmatizing beliefs related to schizophrenia in a national sample of psychiatrists in Brazil. Methods: A sample of 1414 psychiatrists were recruited from among those attending the 2009 Brazilian Congress of Psychiatry. A questionnaire was applied in face-to-face interviews. The questionnaire addressed four stigma dimensions, all in reference to individuals with schizophrenia: stereotypes, restrictions, perceived prejudice and social distance. Stigma item scores were included in latent profile analyses; the resulting profiles were entered into multinomial logistic regression models with sociodemographics, in order to identify significant correlates. Results: Three profiles were identified. The “no stigma” subjects (n = 337) characterized individuals with schizophrenia in a positive light, disagreed with restrictions, and displayed a low level of social distance. The “unobtrusive stigma” subjects (n = 471) were significantly younger and displayed the lowest level of social distance, although most of them agreed with involuntary admission and demonstrated a high level of perceived prejudice. The “great stigma” subjects (n = 606) negatively stereotyped individuals with schizophrenia, agreed with restrictions and scored the highest on the perceived prejudice and social distance dimensions. In comparison with the first two profiles, this last profile comprised a significantly larger number of individuals who were in frequent contact with a family member suffering from a psychiatric disorder, as well as comprising more individuals who had no such family member. Conclusions: Our study not only provides additional data related to an under-researched area but also reveals that psychiatrists are a heterogeneous group regarding stigma toward schizophrenia. The presence of different stigma profiles should be evaluated in further studies; this could enable anti-stigma initiatives to be specifically designed to effectively target the stigmatizing group.

Impact of diabetes mellitus on arterial stiffness in a representative sample of an urban Brazilian population

Background Independent of other cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, increased arterial stiffness has been established as a predictor of morbidity and mortality. The main aim of this study was to investigate the impact of diabetes on arterial stiffness in a representative sample of an urban Brazilian population plus Amerindians. Methods A total of 1,415 individuals from the general population were randomly selected plus 588 Amerindians from a native community in Brazil. In addition, a sub-sample of 380 individuals from the general population had 5-year follow-up data. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured with a non-invasive automatic device (Complior, Colson; Garges les Gonesses, France) and increased arterial stiffness was defined as PWV ≥ 12 m/s. Results In the overall group, diabetic individuals had higher frequencies of increased arterial stiffness and hypertension. They also had higher values of PWV, body mass index, total cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic blood pressures compared to non-diabetic individuals (p < 0.01). In an analysis stratified by hypertension, PWV values and increased arterial stiffness frequency were higher in diabetic individuals in both groups (hypertensive and non-hypertensive) (p < 0.05). Furthermore, higher risk for increased arterial stiffness was observed in the diabetic individuals from the overall group (OR = 2.27; CI = 1.47-3.52, p < 0.001) and from the hypertensive group (OR = 2.70; CI = 1.58-4.75, p < 0.001), adjusted for covariates. Regarding the ethnic stratification, diabetic individuals from Amerindian, White, and Mulatto (mixed-race) groups had higher PWV values and a greater frequency of increased arterial stiffness compared to non-diabetic individuals. Both diabetic and non-diabetic individuals had higher PWV values after 5 years. There was no significant difference in the 5-year PWV progression in diabetic compared to non-diabetic individuals. Conclusions These results confirm, in a sample of Brazilian population, that the presence of diabetes is associated with increased arterial stiffness and it may contribute in part to increased cardiovascular risk in diabetic patients.

Taxonomical study on a sample of pulmonates from Santa Maria da Vitória, Bahia, Brazil, with description of a new genus and four new species (Mollusca: Orthalicidae and Megalobulimidae)

A sample of Pulmonata collected in Santa Maria da Vitória, interior of Bahia, Brazil, in Caatinga semi-arid environment, is studied taxonomically. From the five species, four are revealed as new, including a new genus. The new taxa are the Bulimulidae (1) Kora corallina gen. et sp. n. characterized by the elongated shell with aperture somewhat dislocated from the shell axis, and an oblique tooth in middle level of inner lip; (2) Spixia coltrorum, mainly characterized by an uneven spire, delicate sculpture and peristome with 4 equidistant teeth; (3) Anostoma tessa, mainly characterized by a broad spire and well-developed anal canal; and the Megalobulimidae (4) Megalobulimus amandus, mainly characterized by pointed protoconch sculptured by dense quantity of axial cords. Rhinus suturalis is the only previously known species, but its geographic distribution is expanded southwards to Bahia state. A discussion with respect to necessity for improving the study on the malacofauna from the interior region of the Brazilian Northeast and the importance for preservation of the Caatinga biome is also provided.

Evaluation of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for determining Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se and Zn in bovine semen samples using a simple sample dilution method

A simple and fast method for the determination of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se and Zn in bovine semen by quadrupole inductively coupled plasma spectrometry (q-ICP-MS) is described. Prior to analysis, samples (200 µL) were diluted 1:50 in a solution containing 0.01% v/v Triton® X-100 and 0.5% v/v nitric acid and directly analyzed by ICP-MS. The limits of detection of the method are 0.3, 0.03, 0.2, 0.04, 0.04, 0.03 and 0.03 µg L-1 for 44Ca, 63Cu, 57Fe, 24Mg, 64Zn, 82Se and 55Mn, respectively. For purposes of comparison and method validation, four ordinary bovine semen samples were directly analyzed by ICP-MS and by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) or graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF AAS), with no statistical difference between the techniques at the 95% level when applying the t-test. Then, the proposed method was applied in the determinations of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Se and Zn in collected samples of bovine semen from different breeds, which are used in reproduction programs and artificial insemination.

BDNF gene polymorphism, cognition and symptom severity in a Brazilian population-based sample of first-episode psychosis subjects

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene variations on cognitive performance and clinical symptomatology in first-episode psychosis (FEP). METHODS: We performed BDNF val66met variant genotyping, cognitive testing (verbal fluency and digit spans) and assessments of symptom severity (as assessed with the PANSS) in a population-based sample of FEP patients (77 with schizophreniform psychosis and 53 with affective psychoses) and 191 neighboring healthy controls. RESULTS: There was no difference in the proportion of Met allele carriers between FEP patients and controls, and no significant influence of BDNF genotype on cognitive test scores in either of the psychosis groups. A decreased severity of negative symptoms was found in FEP subjects that carried a Met allele, and this finding reached significance for the subgroup with affective psychoses (p < 0.01, ANOVA). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that, in FEP, the BDNF gene Val66Met polymorphism does not exert a pervasive influence on cognitive functioning but may modulate the severity of negative symptoms.