Evaluation of pre-natal care from the perspective of different models in primary care

OBJETIVOS: avaliar a qualidade do cuidado pré-natal desenvolvido na atenção primária, comparando os modelos tradicional e Estratégia Saúde da Família. MÉTODO: estudo de avaliação de serviço, pautado nas políticas públicas de saúde. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de entrevista com gerentes, observação nas unidades de saúde e análise de prontuários de gestantes, selecionados aleatoriamente. Diferenças nos indicadores de estrutura e processo foram avaliadas pelo teste qui-quadrado, adotando-se p<0,05 como nível crítico, cálculo dos odds ratio e intervalos de confiança de 95%. RESULTADOS: foram evidenciadas estruturas semelhantes em ambos os modelos de atenção. Indicadores-síntese de processo, criados neste estudo, e os indicados pelas políticas públicas apontaram situação mais favorável nas Unidades de Saúde da Família. Para o conjunto de atividades preconizadas para o pré-natal, o desempenho foi deficiente em ambos os modelos, embora pouco melhor nas Unidades de Saúde da Família. CONCLUSÃO: os resultados indicam a necessidade de ações para melhoria da atenção pré-natal nos dois modelos de atenção básica no município avaliado.

Relation between quality and rheological properties of lactic beverages

The physicochemical (pH, fat and total solids content), sensory (appearance, consistency and taste), and rheological characteristics of five different commercial brands of lactic beverages were determined. Rheological measurements were obtained at 5 degreesC and 25 degreesC using a Brookfield rheometer. The experimental data were described by the power law and Herschel-Bulkley models. The ANOVA of the results were conducted using an incomplete block design, and using Tukey test. Samples showed a significant difference (P less than or equal to 0.05%) for fat content and pH. There was a significant difference in total solids content only among Nestle (A), Batavo (C), and Parmalat (D) samples. Sensory evaluation showed more global acceptability for Nestle; however, Nestle and Vigor (E) lactic beverages obtained better results for appearance than for consistency and taste. Batavo obtained the best score for taste. All test samples exhibited non-Newtonian behavior, with thixotropy. Upward curves showed pseudoplastic behavior, while downward curves showed dilatant behavior with the exception of the Nestle sample, at 25 degreesC. Lactic beverages from all brands analyzed showed similar rheological behavior. (C) 2001 Elsevier B.V. Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of the performance of pharmacists in terms of providing health assistance at a university hospital

OBJETIVE: This study aimed to assess the practices of pharmacists in Hospital Care. Method - we interviewed 20 pharmacists from the Pharmacy Division by applying a structured instrument, in September 2005. This instrument addressed aspects related to the main activities at the Hospital Pharmacy, which were assessed according to indicators organized into five areas: sector management, hospital pharmacotechniques, committee activities, information and pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, as well as teaching and research activities.RESULTS: the Pharmacy Division considered all structural aspects under analysis as essential for the good development and application of its services. We found that some essential services, such as the Medication Information Service and Pharmacotherapeutic Follow-up, were absent. Pharmacist professionals were dissatisfied about human resource and physical structure dimensioning, and they presented as not very active in terms of Pharmaceutical Care.CONCLUSION: Results indicate that care is still centered on the drug, with few clinical activities. We suggest reformulations in service management, particularly in the management of pharmacists.

Kinetic evaluation of the pyrolysis of high density polyethylene over H-AlMCM-41 material

The AlMCM-41 material with Si/Al=50 was synthesized by hydrothermal method, using cethyltrimethylammonium as template. The protonic H-AlMCM-41 acid form was obtained by ion exchange with ammonium chloride solution and subsequent calcination. The characterization of the material by several techniques showed that a good-quality MCM-41 material was obtained. High-density polyethylene (HDPE) has been submitted to thermal degradation alone, and in presence of the exchanged H-AlMCM-41 catalyst at a concentration of 1: 1 in mass (H-AlMCM-41/HDPE). The reactor was connected on line to a gas chromatograph connected to a mass spectrometer. This process was evaluated by thermogravimetry (TG), from 350 to 600degreesC, under helium dynamic atmosphere, with heating rates of 5.0; 10.0 and 20.0 degreesC/min. From TG curves, the activation energy, calculated using a multiple heating rate integral kinetic method, decreased from 225.5 KJ.mol(-1), for the pure polymer (HDPE), to 184.7 KJ.mol(-1), in the presence of the catalyst (H-AlMCM-41/HDPE).

Dielectric thermal analysis as a tool for quantitative-evaluation of the viscosity and the kinetics of epoxy resin cure

Dielectric thermal analysis has been proved as a valuable tool for monitoring the epoxy curing process and the related rheological properties in the fabrication of polymer-matrix composite materials. This technique also has the potential to be applied in the monitoring of magnet impregnation processes as well as in quality control. In this work we present the quantitative evaluation of the viscosity changing and the curing kinetics for a commercial Stycast epoxy resin system at different temperatures through the impedance analysis. The results showed correlation between the real component of the complex impedance and the isothermal reaction extent. Comparing the dielectric analysis result with the viscosity measured by rotational rheometer we observed a similar behavior reported for dynamic mechanic analysis. The results comparison have shown that the kinetics parameters obtained from DSC and DETA analysis showed different sensitivities related to the characteristics of curing stages. We concluded that the dielectric thermal analysis should be applied in quantitative evaluation of cure kinetics.

Prospective Evaluation of Laparoscopic Pancreatic Biopsies in 11 Healthy Cats

BackgroundDefinitive diagnosis of feline pancreatic disease is dependent on histologic examination of biopsies.HypothesisLaparoscopic punch biopsy of the pancreas does not significantly affect pancreatic health or clinical status of healthy cats, and provides an adequate biopsy sample for histopathology.AnimalsEleven healthy female domestic shorthair cats.MethodsEffects of laparoscopic pancreatic visualization alone in 5 cats compared with laparoscopic pancreatic visualization and punch biopsy in 6 cats were studied. Temperature, pulse, and respiratory rate, physical examination, and daily caloric intake were evaluated for 1 week before and 1 week after the procedure. Pain scores (simple descriptive score and dynamic interactive visual assessment score) were evaluated hourly during the 1st 6 hours postprocedure. Complete blood cell counts, serum biochemical profiles, serum feline pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity, and urine specific gravity were evaluated before the procedure and at 6, 24, and 72 hours postprocedure. One month postprocedure, during sterilization, the pancreas was reassessed visually in all cats, and microscopically in the biopsy group.ResultsFor all variables evaluated, there were no significant differences between biopsy and control cats. Re-evaluation of the pancreatic biopsy site 1 month later documented a normal tissue response to biopsy. The laparoscopic punch biopsy forceps provided high-quality pancreatic biopsy samples with an average size of 5 mm x 4 mm on 2-dimensional cut section.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceLaparoscopic pancreatic biopsy is a useful and safe technique in healthy cats.

Recommended Guidelines for the Conduct and Evaluation of Prognostic Studies in Veterinary Oncology

There is an increasing need for more accurate prognostic and predictive markers in veterinary oncology because of an increasing number of treatment options, the increased financial costs associated with treatment, and the emotional stress experienced by owners in association with the disease and its treatment. Numerous studies have evaluated potential prognostic and predictive markers for veterinary neoplastic diseases, but there are no established guidelines or standards for the conduct and reporting of prognostic studies in veterinary medicine. This lack of standardization has made the evaluation and comparison of studies difficult. Most important, translating these results to clinical applications is problematic. To address this issue, the American College of Veterinary Pathologists' Oncology Committee organized an initiative to establish guidelines for the conduct and reporting of prognostic studies in veterinary oncology. The goal of this initiative is to increase the quality and standardization of veterinary prognostic studies to facilitate independent evaluation, validation, comparison, and implementation of study results. This article represents a consensus statement on the conduct and reporting of prognostic studies in veterinary oncology from veterinary pathologists and oncologists from around the world. These guidelines should be considered a recommendation based on the current state of knowledge in the field, and they will need to be continually reevaluated and revised as the field of veterinary oncology continues to progress. As mentioned, these guidelines were developed through an initiative of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists' Oncology Committee, and they have been reviewed and endorsed by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association.

Expectations and final evaluation of complete dentures by patients, dentist and dental technician

There is a poor association between the dentist's evaluation of denture quality and patients' satisfaction with their dentures. Possible differences between dental professionals and patients' expectations might help explain differences in outcome evaluations. This study compared scores given by a dentist, a dental technician and patients for their expectations before and their final evaluation after complete dentures treatment. Twenty completely edentulous patients, a prosthodontist and a dental technician provided scores for the expected aesthetic and functional results of their dentures based on a visual analogue scale at baseline. Post-treatment completion ratings were given after adjustments, by dentist and patients. The dental technician provided post-treatment completion ratings after completing the dentures. The patients had higher expectations than the dental technician and the dentist perceived for both aesthetic and function (P < 0.001). The patients also presented higher post-treatment completion ratings than the dental professionals perceived for final aesthetics (P = 0.016, Kendall's W = 0.207). and function (P = 0.002, Kendall's W = 0.303). Only the dentist presented a statistically significant difference between expectations (lower) and final (higher) outcomes for aesthetics (P = 0.017) and function (P = 0.003). There was no correlation between expectations and post-treatment completion ratings according to the patients' age. There was also no correlation between the patients' gender and expectation scores. Patients presented higher expectations regarding their dentures than dental professionals. The dentist believed that dentures would bring fewer benefits than patients did, but his perception of denture benefits post-treatment was significantly higher than his expectations.

Improving the Fluorescence Detectability of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons for Evaluation of Workplace Environments of Cement Industries Processing Organic Residues

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

Evaluation of developmental changes in bovine in vitro produced embryos following exposure to bovine Herpesvirus type 5

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

A comparative evaluation of open loop and closed loop drug administration strategies in the treatment of AIDS.

In recent years, many researchers in the field of biomedical sciences have made successful use of mathematical models to study, in a quantitative way, a multitude of phenomena such as those found in disease dynamics, control of physiological systems, optimization of drug therapy, economics of the preventive medicine and many other applications. The availability of good dynamic models have been providing means for simulation and design of novel control strategies in the context of biological events. This work concerns a particular model related to HIV infection dynamics which is used to allow a comparative evaluation of schemes for treatment of AIDS patients. The mathematical model adopted in this work was proposed by Nowak & Bangham, 1996 and describes the dynamics of viral concentration in terms of interaction with CD4 cells and the cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which are responsible for the defense of the organism. Two conceptually distinct techniques for drug therapy are analyzed: Open Loop Treatment, where a priori fixed dosage is prescribed and Closed Loop Treatment, where the doses are adjusted according to results obtained by laboratory analysis. Simulation results show that the Closed Loop Scheme can achieve improved quality of the treatment in terms of reduction in the viral load and quantity of administered drugs, but with the inconvenience related to the necessity of frequent and periodic laboratory analysis.

Synthesis and crystal phase evaluation of hydroxylapatite using the rietveld-maximum entropy method

Bioceramic systems based on hydroxylapatite (HAP) are an important class of bioactive materials that may promote bone regeneration. The aim of this research was to evaluate how the stoichiometry of HAP influences its microstructural properties when diagnosed using the combined Rietveld method and Maximum entropy method (MEM). The Rietveld Method (RM) is recognizably a powerful tool used to obtain structural and microstructural information of polycrystalline samples analyzed by x-ray diffraction. Latterly have combined the RM with the maximum entropy method (MEM), with the goal of improve structural refinement results. The MEM provides high resolution maps of electron density and their analysis leave the accurate localization of atoms inside of unit cell. Like that, cycles Rietveld-MEM allow an excellent structural refinement In this work, a hydroxylapatite sample obtained by emulsion method had its structure refined using one cycle Rietveld-MEM with x-ray diffraction data. The indices obtained in initial refinement was Rwp = 7.50%, Re = 6.56%, S - 1.14% e RB = 1.03%. After MEM refinement and electron densities maps analysis to correction of atomics positions, the news indicators of Rietveld refinement quality was Rwp = 7.35%, Re = 6.56%, S = 1.12% and RB = 0.75%. The excellent result obtained to RB shows the efficiency of MEM as auxiliary in the refinement of structure of hydroxylapatite by RM.

Evaluation of a multiobjective performance index for distribution systems with distributed generation

Here a multiobjective performance index for distribution systems with distributed generation based on a steady-state analysis of the network is proposed. This index quantifies the distributed generation impact on total losses, voltage profile and short circuit currents, and will be used as objective function in an evolutionary algorithm aimed at searching the best points for connecting distributed generators. Moreover, a loss allocation technique, based on the Zbus method, is applied on the original configuration of the network to obtain a good quality initial population. An IEEE medium voltage distribution network is analysed and results are presented and discussed.

Evaluating quality of life in mercury intoxicated people in urban-industrial environments through short-form 36 application

Context and objective: Records of contact with mercury (Hg) exist for more than 3500 years and several problems related to the use of this element can be noticed. Considering inexistence of current reports about it, quality of life perception evaluation was studied in people chronically intoxicated by mercury in an industrial environment. Design and setting: This is a cross-sectional descriptive observational study. Information from 47 urban-industrial workers from lamps manufacturing in São Paulo, clinically diagnosed as intoxicated by mercury and currently followed by the Occupational Health Service of Faculdade de Medicine da Universidade de São Paulo, with average age of 41.7 years old, was considered. Methods: SF36 questionnaire application was performed, with inferences tested by χ-square proof, by Spearman linear correlation and Mann-Whitney non-parametric test, adopting p < 0.05 as significant level. Results: In the eight domains, observed medians are 40% for physical functioning; 0 for physical function; 30% for body pain; 30% for general health; 22.2% for vitality; 50% for social functioning; 0 for emotional role and 36% for mental health. Correlation between age and SF36 domains does not reveal statistical significance, except for physical functioning, indicating that lower scores presented by older people in this domain are not followed by changes on other ones. Conclusions: Values obtained in people chronically intoxicated by mercury are actually lower, in the motor and mental scope components. Some instruments domains are higher for men than for women. Older ages are inversely associated to good performance in physical function domain. © Copyright Moreira Jr. Editora. Todos os direitos reservados.

Evaluation of tropospheric and ionospheric effects on the geographic localization of data collection platforms

The Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) is operating the Brazilian Environmental Data Collection System that currently amounts to a user community of around 100 organizations and more than 700 data collection platforms installed in Brazil. This system uses the SCD-1, SCD-2, and CBERS-2 low Earth orbit satellites to accomplish the data collection services. The main system applications are hydrology, meteorology, oceanography, water quality, and others. One of the functionalities offered by this system is the geographic localization of the data collection platforms by using Doppler shifts and a batch estimator based on least-squares technique. There is a growing demand to improve the quality of the geographical location of data collection platforms for animal tracking. This work presents an evaluation of the ionospheric and tropospheric effects on the Brazilian Environmental Data Collection System transmitter geographic location. Some models of the ionosphere and troposphere are presented to simulate their impacts and to evaluate performance of the platform location algorithm. The results of the Doppler shift measurements, using the SCD-2 satellite and the data collection platform (DCP) located in Cuiabá town, are presented and discussed.