The evaluation of an instrument for pediatric oncology patient classification

The objectives of this study were to assess the interrater reproducibility of the instrument to classify pediatric patients with cancer; verify the adequacy of the patient classification instrument for pediatric patients with cancer; and make a proposal for changing the instrument, thus allowing for the necessary adjustments for pediatric oncology patients. A total of 34 pediatric inpatients of a Cancer Hospital were evaluated by the teams of physicians, nurses and nursing technicians. The Kappa coefficient was used to rate the agreement between the scores, which revealed a moderate to high value in the objective classifications, and a low value in the subjective. In conclusion, the instrument is reliable and reproducible, however, it is suggested that to classify pediatric oncology patients, some items should be complemented in order to reach an outcome that is more compatible with the reality of this specific population.

Sprawling and Urban transportation system: Impacts in the city of Londrina, Parana, Brazil

After nearly 80 years since the construction of its core, represented today by the city's central area, Londrina, located in the state of Parana, has the appearance of a new city but its features and trends of planning policies depict the bad examples of Brazilian cities. With a booming urban growth, from north to south of the county, the urban interstices represented by big voids in the middle of the city created speculation and the concept of an ideal city slowly disappeared. With a metropolitan appearance and, at the same time, with small town aspects, Londrina stands out as an automobile-oriented city, a fact that has impacted the livelihood of the population, generating environmental impacts for all social classes. This paper discusses how the form of occupation in Londrina, characterized by the sprawl phenomenon and its relation to car preference as a mode of transportation has generated urban environmental impacts. It was concluded that the choice of using cars in Londrina, as well in other medium-sized Brazilian cities studied by the comparative method, has increased and has generated bottlenecks in traffic. As a consequence, there is a constant expropriation of properties for widening roads and at the same time, the presence of various densities and urban voids that form an uneven urban space and an obstacle to efficient urban planning. © 2012 WIT Press.

Modelos macroeconómicos y planificación en un porvenir incierto: la experiencia francesa = Macroeconomic models and planning in the context of an uncertain future: the French experience

Incluye Bibliografía

The IPALCA Network: an answer to the problems of locating population information in Latin America and the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

The use of CPT to evaluate the effect of helical pile installation in tropical soils

The uplift capacity of helical piles depends on the shear resistance of the soil above the helical plates. During helical pile installation, the soil traversed by the plates are sheared and displaced laterally, and consequently the soil structure is disturbed. Considering this fact, the aim of this paper is presenting the effect of helical piles installation in the soil mass by means of CPT tests carried out close to the soil cylinder above the pile helices. The CPT tests were performed at the CRHEA site from the Sao Carlos School of Engineering, Sao Carlos city, inland of Sao Paulo State, Brazil. In addition, an interpretation of CPT tests data for stratigrafic logging are presented and compared to Standard Penetration Tests (SPT) carried out at this site. This study showed that the CPT sleeve friction fs data were affected by the installation of helical pile in this particular tropical soil site. © 2013 Taylor & Francis Group.

Macroeconomic models and planning in the context of an uncertain future: the French experience

Includes bibliography

Determination of the Real Influence of the Addition of Four Thickening Agents in Creams Using Rheological Measurements

This study aimed to characterize different emulsions obtained by the addition of four thickening agents, using rheological measurements, beyond analyzing the emulsions by polarized light microscopy looking for liquid crystals on them. The addition of these four thickening agents did not modify the base emulsion rheology, only an improvement in the sensory of the formulation was verified. The polarized light microscopy showed the formation of liquid crystalline structures in all the formulations, thus, the thickening agents did not influence in this parameter too. However, the emulsions could be considered appropriated for cosmetic purposes, probably being highly physically stable. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

Tracking the evolution of sex chromosome systems in Melanoplinae grasshoppers through chromosomal mapping of repetitive DNA sequences

Background: The accumulation of repetitive DNA during sex chromosome differentiation is a common feature of many eukaryotes and becomes more evident after recombination has been restricted or abolished. The accumulated repetitive sequences include multigene families, microsatellites, satellite DNAs and mobile elements, all of which are important for the structural remodeling of heterochromatin. In grasshoppers, derived sex chromosome systems, such as neo-XY♂/XX♀ and neo-X1X2Y♂/X 1X1X2X2♀, are frequently observed in the Melanoplinae subfamily. However, no studies concerning the evolution of sex chromosomes in Melanoplinae have addressed the role of the repetitive DNA sequences. To further investigate the evolution of sex chromosomes in grasshoppers, we used classical cytogenetic and FISH analyses to examine the repetitive DNA sequences in six phylogenetically related Melanoplinae species with X0♂/XX♀, neo-XY♂/XX♀ and neo-X1X2Y♂/X1X1X 2X2♀ sex chromosome systems. Results: Our data indicate a non-spreading of heterochromatic blocks and pool of repetitive DNAs (C 0 t-1 DNA) in the sex chromosomes; however, the spreading of multigene families among the neo-sex chromosomes of Eurotettix and Dichromatos was remarkable, particularly for 5S rDNA. In autosomes, FISH mapping of multigene families revealed distinct patterns of chromosomal organization at the intra- and intergenomic levels. Conclusions: These results suggest a common origin and subsequent differential accumulation of repetitive DNAs in the sex chromosomes of Dichromatos and an independent origin of the sex chromosomes of the neo-XY and neo-X1X2Y systems. Our data indicate a possible role for repetitive DNAs in the diversification of sex chromosome systems in grasshoppers. © 2013Palacios-Gimenez et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

On a model for the growth of an invasive avascular tumor

This paper is devoted to study the 1D model of invasive avascular tumor growth, which takes into account cell division, death, and motility, proposed by Kolobov and collaborators in 2009. First, we examine the existence and uniqueness of the solution to this model. Second, we studied qualitatively and numerically the traveling wave solutions. Finally, we show some numerical simulations for the cell density and nutrient concentration. © 2013 NSP Natural Sciences Publishing Cor.

Longitudinal analysis of serological tests officially adopted by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis in dogs vaccinated with Leishmune®

Development of vaccines against canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) may provide a prophylactic barrier, but antibody response detected by standard diagnostic techniques may not separate vaccinated from naturally infected dogs. Moreover, anti-Leishmania antibody levels in vaccinated dogs may be detectable for months. Accordingly, the aim of the present study was to comparatively evaluate an in-house ELISA with three serological tests officially adopted by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for the diagnosis of CVL in dogs vaccinated with Leishmune®. A total of 18 mongrel dogs were submitted to a complete protocol of the vaccine, monitored and evaluated in 5 times (T0-T4) up to 180 days after T0. Twenty-one days after the first dose (T1), 50% of the dogs were seropositive by the in-house ELISA and 5.5% by IFAT, while by the official ELISA and DPP® CVL rapid test all dogs tested negative. At time T2, 42 days after of the first dose, 100%, 83.3%, 11.1%, and 5.5% of the dogs were seropositive by the in-house ELISA, IFAT, official ELISA kit and the DPP® CVL rapid test, respectively. Ninety days after the first dose (T3), 100%, 83.3%, 72.2% and 33.3% of the dogs were seropositive by the in-house ELISA, official ELISA kit, IFAT, and the DPP® CVL rapid test, respectively. Finally, at time T4, 88.8%, 33.3%, 11.1% and 5.5% of the dogs were seropositive by the in-house ELISA, official ELISA kit, DPP® CVL rapid test and IFAT, respectively. In conclusion, dogs vaccinated with Leishmune® cross-react by an in-house ELISA and by the three official Brazilian serological tests for the diagnosis of canine visceral leishmaniasis up to six months after the first vaccine dose, and may be mistakenly diagnosed and removed. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

Guidelines for the integration of certifiable management systems in industrial companies

Organizations often operate in turbulent environments characterized by intense competitiveness, constant technological progress, new market requirements, and scarce natural resources. This scenario imposes the constant need for change in the operation and companies' management. The integration of certifiable management systems is an effective alternative in this sense. The objective of the present study is to propose guidelines for the integration of the ISO 9001 Quality Management System (QMS), ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) and OHSAS 18001 Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS) in industrial companies. These guidelines were developed based on a theoretical framework and on the results from fourteen case studies performed in Brazilian industrial companies. The proposed guidelines were divided into three phases: A) integration planning, b) integration development, and c) integration control and improvement.

Transnational corporations and the manufacturing sector in Brazil: technological backwardness in the eighties and signs of an important restructuring in the nineties

Includes bibliography