Enhanced stabilization of aerosol-OT surfactant monolayer upon interaction with small amounts of bovine serum albumin at the air-water interface

An investigation is made of the influence from small amounts of the protein bovine serum albumin (BSA) on the lateral organization of low molecular weight surfactant sodium bis-2-ethylhexyl sulfosuccinate (AOT) at the air-water interface. Surface pressure (pi - A), surface potential (DeltaV - A) and Brewster angle microscopy (BAM) experiments were carried out, with particular emphasis on the monolayer stability under successive compression-expansion cycles. AOT monolayer is not stable at the air-water interface, which means that the majority of AOT molecules go into the aqueous subphase as monomers and/or normal micelles. When a waiting time elapses between spreading and compression, the surfactant monolayer tends to reorganize partially at the air-water interface, with a monolayer expansion being observed for waiting times as large as 12 h. The incorporation of very small amount of BSA (10(-9) M) at the interface, also inferred from BAM, increases the monolayer stability as revealed by pi - A and DeltaV - A results. For a waiting time of circa 3 h, the mixed monolayer reaches its maximum stability. This must be related to protein (and/or protein-surfactant complexes) adsorbed onto the AOT monolayer, thus altering the BSA conformation to accommodate its hydrophobic/hydrophilic residues. Furthermore, the effects from such small amounts of BSA in the monolayer formation and stabilization mean that the AOT monolayer responds cooperatively to BSA. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Esperando Ulisses: o mito de Penélope à luz da comparação diferencial e discursiva

From the many weavers known, the Queen of Ithaca is certainly among the most famous.Over the years,many writers have dedicated themselves to retell the myth of Penelope in their works by their own way. According to Ute Heidmann, the modern writers recurrence to the Greek myths in order to produce their texts is a renewing discursive practice, which gives new writing and relevance to the myth. (2003, p.47). This work deals with a differential and discursive comparative analysis on the myth of Penelope linking it with two short stories from Brazilian authors: Penélope by João do Rio (1919) and Penélope by Dalton Trevisan (1959). In order to do it, we are supported by: the works of Heidmann (2003, 2006, 2008) and Maingueneau (2006). We also concentrate ourselves on the temporal trace presented in both Penelope s myth and in its modern rewriting so that we can identify how each configuration of the classical myth develops into one of the most celebrated acts of this myth: the waiting. In order to so, we seek support on the studies by Paul Ricoeur (2006), Hans Meyerhoff (1976) and Benedito Nunes (1988)

Occupational exposure of physical therapists to electric and magnetic fields and the efficacy of Faraday cages

Objective. Measure physical therapists' exposure to the electric and magnetic fields produced by 17 shortwave diathermy devices in physical therapy clinics in the city of Presidente Prudente, São Paulo State, Brazil. Compare the observed values with the exposure levels recommended by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Observe the efficacy of Faraday cages as a means of protecting physical therapists from exposure to oscillating electric and magnetic fields.Methods. Electric and magnetic field measurements were taken at four points during actual physical therapy sessions: in proximity to the operator's pelvis and head, the devices' electrical cables, and the electrodes. The measuring equipment was a Wandel & Goltermann EMR-200.Results. The values obtained in proximity to the electrodes and cables were 10 to 30 times higher than ICNIRP's recommended occupational reference levels. In the shortwave diathermy treatment rooms with Faraday cages, the fields were even higher than in treatment rooms not so equipped-principally the magnetic field, where the values were more than 100 times higher than the ICNIRP exposure limit.Conclusions. The electric and magnetic field intensities obtained in this study are generally above the exposure levels recommend in ICNIRP standards. It was also observed that the Faraday cage offers physical therapists no protection, and instead, increases their level of exposure.

Cinema itinerante no Rio Grande do Norte: aspectos da recepção

In itinerant film projects made in Brazil, the unique experience of watching movies on the big screen is held in open spaces, through the establishment of a contemporary ritual, under which the presence of spectators is primordial. Considering this dynamic of the performance of itinerant cinema, the main objective of this research is to analyze the process of reception of the spectators of the sessions of Cine Sesi Cultural, conducted by the Social Service Industry - Sesi, in Rio Grande do Norte state. The body of research was composed by the audience of the movie sessions of the edition developed in 2010. Analyses were made from the look on the specific audience of open sessions of this cinema project throughout a case study. Theoretical authors of Latin American as Jesus Martin-Barbero, Guillermo Orozco, Eliseo Veron and Nestor Garcia Canclini, which have important theoretical basis for the analysis of research on the cinematographic reception of the spectators, were taken as a basis. In this discussion are associated with contributions from Brazilian authors as Roseli Paulino, Fernando Mascarello, Mauro Wilton Souza, Nilda Jacks and Carolina Escostesguy. Besides the reception study, the research focuses on aspects that relate to and explain the circumstances in which itinerant cinema emerges as an alternative exhibition, for example, the context of the exhibition of films in the country, lack of public policies in the audiovisual sector, and mainly the closing of movie theaters in the inner cities of the country and the consequent migration of these rooms to the malls. Seeking to reduce the existing gap in the studies of the reception of spectators to the cinema in the country, this research presents a deeper analysis of the reception of the public of the itinerant cinema as a contribution to an important database for the diagnosis of projects such as the Cine Sesi Cultural

Processos difusivos generalizados

We investigate several diffusion equations which extend the usual one by considering the presence of nonlinear terms or a memory effect on the diffusive term. We also considered a spatial time dependent diffusion coefficient. For these equations we have obtained a new classes of solutions and studied the connection of them with the anomalous diffusion process. We start by considering a nonlinear diffusion equation with a spatial time dependent diffusion coefficient. The solutions obtained for this case generalize the usual one and can be expressed in terms of the q-exponential and q-logarithm functions present in the generalized thermostatistics context (Tsallis formalism). After, a nonlinear external force is considered. For this case the solutions can be also expressed in terms of the q-exponential and q-logarithm functions. However, by a suitable choice of the nonlinear external force, we may have an exponential behavior, suggesting a connection with standard thermostatistics. This fact reveals that these solutions may present an anomalous relaxation process and then, reach an equilibrium state of the kind Boltzmann- Gibbs. Next, we investigate a nonmarkovian linear diffusion equation that presents a kernel leading to the anomalous diffusive process. Particularly, our first choice leads to both a the usual behavior and anomalous behavior obtained through a fractionalderivative equation. The results obtained, within this context, correspond to a change in the waiting-time distribution for jumps in the formalism of random walks. These modifications had direct influence in the solutions, that turned out to be expressed in terms of the Mittag-Leffler or H of Fox functions. In this way, the second moment associated to these distributions led to an anomalous spread of the distribution, in contrast to the usual situation where one finds a linear increase with time

Towards coherent optical control of a single hole spin: Rabi rotation of a trion conditional on the spin state of the hole

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Medo de dentista em cena: uma análise de produções cinematográficas

The fear related to dental procedures can be acquired through disturbing experiences and/or negative cultural influences related in experiences of previous generations. Such influences may be present in diverse forms of cultural expression: in the cinema, plastic arts, music, literature, and diverse vehicles of printed and visual media. This research aimed investigates the images of fear related to the dental service and dentist in motion pictures. The study has qualitative approach, which used the documentary analysis of movies. The data collection was accomplished through research in the Internet by means of the Google tool (http://www.google.com.br), using the describing words filme and dentista . A total of 44 films were found. Of these, after selective criterion for films with scenes showing interaction between dentist and patient in the execution of clinical procedure, only 24 films were enclosed. Then, these were registered in data base created for this research. After second selective criterion of inclusion (scenes with suggestion of dental anxiety), 15 films remained. As regards cinematographic gender, the films with scenes showing "dental anxiety" varied between comedy (8), horror (3), drama (2), thriller (1) and childish (1). Of these films, scenes with images of situations that suggest fear of the dentist and his job were selected and described. The images were categorized by the identification of negative characteristics that incite "dental anxiety". Then, the classification of the categories was proceeded detaching the most recurrent characteristics in the scenes: situation of fear in the waiting-room; pain; instrument coarse/rudimentary; coarseness of the dentist; torture; and low qualification technique. The waiting-room was observed as a place of great tension, due to the noises coming from the dental attendance. The pain related to the Dentistry was the predominant subject in the majority of films (14), associated to others negative characteristics. The rudimentary aspects of procedures and instruments, and the coarse attitudes of the professional could be observed too. The dentist was characterized as confused, sadist, violent, insensitive, incompetent person and disturbed. Such results suggest that, despite the technological advances of the profession, the image of the dentist and his job is still transmitted in a negative way aspect and reinforces the dental anxiety

Comportamento do camarão de água doce macrobrachium rosenbergii (De Man, 1879) em cultivos misto e monossexo

Understanding the behavioral activities of freshwater shrimp in captivity is of paramount importance for the appropriate management of the species. In Brazil, the shrimp Macrobrachium rosenbergii is currently the most widely used species in the freshwater shrimp culture due to its high potential for cultivation and good market acceptance. Thus, the present study aimed to describe and characterize the behavioral activities of M. rosenbergii in monosex and in mixed (male and female) (manuscript 1, 2 and 3) populations and the growth performance of this species in restrictive feeding conditions and in different feeding management (manuscript 4 and 5, respectively) . Juvenile and adult shrimps were collected from ponds of the Aquaculture Station - Unidade Especializada em Ciências Agrárias - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), Macaíba/RN and then transferred to the Laboratório de Estudos do Comportamento do Camarão LECC (Laboratory for Shrimp Behavioral Studies) of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). For each treatment , eight aquaria of 250 L (50 cm x 50 cm x 100 cm) were used in a closed recirculating water system with artificial lighting, constant aeration , continuous filtration through a biochemical and biological filter (canister filter), and fine sand as substrate . The water quality was monitored daily. The lab consisted of two rooms with artificial lighting system , controlled by a timer with dark / light cycle of 12:12 h . In manuscript 1, the behavioral categories of the species were presented through an ethogram, which described 31 behaviors, subdivided into general and agonistic behaviors. Manuscript 2 compared the behavioral profile of shrimps in male and in female monosex and mixed populations over 24 hours in laboratory. In three types (mixed, male monosex and female monosex) of populations during the light and dark phases of the 24 hour cycle, the shrimps showed higher occurrence of cleaning behavior. Manuscript 3 examined the influence of the color of the shelter on the frequency of its use and behavioral activities of shrimp in mixed, in male monosex and in female monosex populations over 24 hours. We observed that the shrimp M. rosenbergii burrow more frequently during the light phase in male monosex and mixed populations; they also tend to choose the black shelters. Female monosex populations tend to use red and orange shelters. In manuscript 4, we evaluated in laboratory the behavioral activities and growth performance of juvenile shrimps under food restriction. We observed that a mild food restriction may be used since there is no loss concerning the growth of the animals; feeding management on alternate days , compared to daily management can be financially productive both reducing labor costs and reducing the amount of feed used . Manuscript 5 evaluated the behavior of shrimps in monosex and in mixed populations, as well as the latency of reach the food according to feed offer (tray or food dispersal) . Our results indicate that animals adjust to both types of feed offer food dispersal as much as tray, but they spend more time to reach the feed when it is offered in trays (feeders). Comparing culture types (mixed, male monosex and female monosex), the latency to reach the food was lower for female monosex population. The data obtained in this study demonstrate the importance of identifying different pressures and environmental stimuli on the behavioral responses of this species. This knowledge would support management improvement to optimize the levels of animals‟ welfare, resulting in a better zootecnical performance

Sentidos e perspectivas atribuídos por crianças à sua condição de estar para adoção

Considering the Brazilian current context, where many children are in institutional shelter waiting for adoption, the aim of this study was to know the meaning that sheltered children (whose families had already lost their custody or were in the process of losing it, at the moment of the field work) gave to their adoption condition. The research was carried out with three children in the shelter where they lived, in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The field work took six months approximately. In order to meet the objective of this research, individual procedures were structuralized using figures and drawing material. With these procedures the children could speak directly or indirectly about the application of the legal measure of institutional shelter, about their lives before the application of this legal measure and what happened since then, and their original families and future perspectives. The content of the procedures was tape recorded and registered in the field work diary. The analysis of the corpus occurred with the Thematic Content Analysis, considering the theoretical methodological perspective of the Net of Meanings approach. The analysis of the corpus showed the ambiguity of the children, who consider good to live in the institution where they are, recognizing the responsibility of the original caregivers for their sheltered condition and, at the same time, they miss their relatives and wish to be with them. The subjects recognize the perspective of adoption and imagine it in a positive way. However, when the children were questioned about what could happen to them in the future, they said that they did not know, expressing uncertainty concerning their destinations

A clínica que se vive: reflexões sobre a prática da Psicologia clínica na contemporaneidade

The increasing search for the psychological attendance, express in the waiting list in the clinics, clinic-school and in the private clinics, beyond the increase of the choice of psychology as professional career among the pre-college students, allows us to reflect about the place that is occupied by the Psychology, nowadays. The main focus of this study is the clinical Psychology, an area of psychology. The interest in to deepen the reflection regarding of the place that the psychologist and his acting had been assumed in our society, emerged from our own actuation as clinical psychologist. Reflections concerning the suffering of man of our time, accompanying our inquietude while researcher and made us question about the actuation of clinical psychology, nowadays. This research aimed to understand how the clinical psychologists perceive their practice, attempting to get appointments regarding of what is to be clinical psychologist in contemporaneity, more specifically, in the face of the psychic suffering. Based on a phenomenological perspective of research were accomplished semi-structured interviews and a discussion group with clinical psychologists. From the obtained results, we arrived to the following conclusions: a) the most of participants considered the academic formation of the psychologist insufficient and far from social reality; b) the speeches revealed that there is still a relation between the practice of clinical psychologist and the medical model of attendance. Nevertheless, was observed a change in the new psychologists conception of clinic, but is still in development; c) in the most of speeches, we founded consensus about the idea of that the social context which the contemporaneous world lives, had generated new demands of suffering; d) the clinical listening is considered the specificity of the clinical psychologist. We believe that this study had been contributed to fomenting the discussion about the academic formation of clinical psychologist and, the concepts and models of clinic that now base the actuation of the professionals that are inserted on the work market

Geração procedural de cenários orientada a objetivos

The game industry has been experiencing a consistent increase in production costs of games lately. Part of this increase refers to the current trend of having bigger, more interactive and replayable environments. This trend translates to an increase in both team size and development time, which makes game development a even more risky investment and may reduce innovation in the area. As a possible solution to this problem, the scientific community is focusing on the generation of procedural content and, more specifically, on procedurally generated levels. Given the great diversity and complexity of games, most works choose to deal with a specific genre, platform games being one of the most studied. This work aims at proposing a procedural level generation method for platform/adventure games, a fairly more complex genre than most classic platformers which so far has not been the subject of study from other works. The level generation process was divided in two steps, planning and viusal generation, respectively responsible for generating a compact representation of the level and determining its view. The planning stage was divided in game design and level design, and uses a goaloriented process to output a set of rooms. The visual generation step receives a set of rooms and fills its interior with the appropriate parts of previously authored geometry

Meningeal tumor: A rare extrahepatic association in patients with polycystic liver disease enrolled for liver transplantation

In the present study, we described a rare association of polycystic liver disease (PCLD) with intracranial meningiomas in patients included on a liver transplant list, focusing on the diagnosis, treatment and possible association with any genetic alterations. Two female patients, aged 39 and 49 years were included on a liver transplant list due to extensive PCLD, with symptoms related to an abdominal compartmental syndrome. Screening for extrahepatic manifestation revealed a right frontal meningioma in the first patient, and a parietal posterior calcified meningioma in the second patient, measuring 1 and 7x3x2 cm in diameter, respectively. Following tumor removal, the histological pattern was compatible with fibrous and transitional meningioma, respectively. Cytogenetic studies conducted following surgery did not reveal any changes in metaphase chromosomes. The postoperative follow-up for the two patients was uneventful, without complications, with the patients remaining on a liver transplant waiting list. We conclude that screening for extrahepatic manifestations of PCLD is mandatory, as certain lesions require treatment prior to liver transplantation. The lack of a genetic or familial association between these two cases show they are likely to have occurred by chance, rather than representing a previously unrecognized association between polycystic liver disease and cranial meningioma.

Identificação de indivíduos vulneráveis no entorno de um hospital universitário: conectando vulnerabilidade, solidariedade e saúde

No entorno de um hospital universitário do interior do estado de São Paulo há pessoas dormindo, se alimentando ou descansando nos gramados e arredores, permanecendo nestes locais durante horas. Este estudo objetivou identificar e caracterizar indivíduos vulneráveis em área externa deste hospital, oferecendo ajuda. A coleta dos dados foi realizada no período de novembro de 2007 a outubro de 2008, semanalmente, em dias e horários sorteados. Identificaram-se pessoas que permaneciam nesses locais, sendo entrevistados 52 sujeitos. Esses indivíduos são, predominantemente, do sexo feminino (67,3%), brancos (51,9%), casados (59,6%), com escolaridade de até quatro anos de estudo (44,2%) e sem profissão definida (84,6%). A maioria aguardava o horário do ônibus da prefeitura de seu município de origem; o tempo médio de espera foi de aproximadamente 90 minutos e grande parte dos sujeitos apresentou necessidades durante os períodos de espera. Foi oferecida ajuda a 15 pessoas que referiram necessidades no momento da entrevista. Concluiu-se que esses indivíduos se encontram em situação de vulnerabilidade individual, social e programática, destacando-se a vulnerabilidade sócio-econômica, apresentam capacidade de autodeterminação reduzida, submetendo-se a condições desfavoráveis por dependerem dos serviços públicos.

Avaliação da assistência ao parto em maternidade terciária do interior do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil

OBJETIVOS: avaliar a estrutura e o processo de assistência ao parto e ao recém-nascido desenvolvidos na maternidade e na unidade de neonatologia de uma instituição hospitalar de nível terciário do interior do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil. MÉTODOS: estudo descritivo, transversal, voltado para a análise da adesão às normas preconizadas pelo Ministério da Saúde e Organização Mundial da Saúde em relação ao parto, avaliando-se os recursos existentes e as atividades desenvolvidas durante a assistência. Os dados foram colhidos nos anos de 2004 e 2005, a partir de entrevista com o gestor da maternidade, análise de 293 prontuários amostradose observação de 29 partos realizados. RESULTADOS: a avaliação da estrutura evidenciou a disponibilidade de equipamentos, instrumentais e medicamentos, de obstetra, pediatra e anestesista eausência de quartos de pré-parto, parto e puerpério.Na análise do processo observouse, entre outras,frequências regulares relacionadas à verificação de pressão arterial e ausculta dos batimentos cardíacos fetais; o preenchimento do partograma foi satisfatório; na assistência ao recém-nascido, foram insatisfatórios o aleitamento na primeira hora de vida e ocontato pele a pele. CONCLUSÕES: algumas práticas úteis no partonormal foram pouco utilizadas. Percebese uma tendência à incorporação de práticas baseadas em evidências científicas, quando se considerou a realização de procedimentos como tricotomia, enteroclisma e episiotomia, demonstrando uma mudançapositiva na assistência ao parto.

Checklist de cirurgia segura: análise da segurança e comunicação das equipes de um hospital escola

Este estudo teve como objetivo aplicar o checklist de cirurgia segura, da Organização Mundial de Saúde, nas especialidades cirúrgicas de um hospital escola, e verificar a opinião das equipes sobre a influência da aplicação do checklist na segurança do processo cirúrgico e da comunicação interpessoal da equipe. Trata-se de um estudo de campo, descritivo, analítico, com abordagem qualitativa, realizado no centro cirúrgico de um hospital-escola. Para a coleta de dados, foi aplicado o checklist num total de 30 cirurgias, conduzido pela pesquisadora, em três etapas, e, a seguir, um componente da equipe cirúrgica foi convidado a participar do estudo, assinando o TCLE e respondendo a questões norteadoras. Para organização e análise dos dados, recorremos ao Método de Análise de Conteúdo de Bardin. Os sujeitos não perceberam mudanças na comunicação interpessoal com o uso do checklist, porém, indicaram que o uso proporcionou mais segurança ao procedimento. Adaptações ao checklist foram sugeridas.