Les Faits-divers illustrés : les événements les plus récents, les romans les plus célèbres

1908/12/03 (Numéro 163).

Puiden kuolinsyyt pohjoisen Fennoskandian luonnontilaisissa kuusimetsissä

Seloste artikkelista: Tree mortality agents in pristine Norway spruce forests in northern Fennoscandia. Silva Fennica 42 (2008) : 2, s. 151-163.

Remoção de compostos fenólicos de soluções aquosas utilizando carvão ativado preparado a partir do aguapé (Eichhornia crassipes): estudo cinético e de equilíbrio termodinâmico

Activated carbon was produced from the water hyacinth (CAA) by impregnation with ZnCl2 (1:2), followed by pyrolysis at 700 ºC, under N2. CAA was used for the adsorption of phenol, m-cresol and o-cresol from aqueous solutions, using batch adsorption. The effects of contact time, pH, temperature and concentration on sorption were investigated. Adsorption capacity, calculated using the Langmuir model proved to be dependent on temperature, reaching values of 163.7, 130.2 and 142.3 mg g-1 for phenol, m-cresol and o-cresol, respectively, at 45 ºC. Thermodynamic data at the solid-liquid interface suggests an endothermic, spontaneous and environmentally-friendly process.

Andentunja

Soitinnus: piano.

Resultados científicos do cruzeiro do Baependi e do Vega à Ilha da Trindade: oceanografia física - contribuição para o conhecimento das características físicas e químicas das águas

In May 1950 a trip was undertaken by the ships "Baependi" and "Vega" to the Trindade Island - 20º30'S and 29º20'W - Approximately 1200 km off the coast of Espirito Santo State. This scientific expedition was realized by the iniciative of the Minister J. A. Lins de Barros. In this expedition the supervisor of the oceanographic works was Prof. W. Besnard, the director of the São Paulo Oceanographic Institute. He brougth home 42 samples of water for study, collected upon the insular terrace of the island, referring to the 15 established stations - see table I - with depths varying between 0 m and 115 m. The physical and chemical properties of them are to be seen on table II. The results obtained were compared with those of the German Expedition to the South Atlantic, 1925/27 ("Meteor"), observed at the stations 157-158-159-163 of profile VI and 168-169-170 of profile VII. The mean results obtaneid by the boats "Baependi" and "Vega" are represented on table IV. We constructed vertical sections - I to VI - of each group of Stations, showing the slope of the insular shelves and, in a general manner, the distribution of salinity. We made also longitudinal section - E, M, I - involving the island and corresponding, respectively, to the groups of stations, the farthest, nearest and intermediary ones. As the number of samples received is reduced and consequently the data obtained are few, no conclusions could be deduced. We made only a commentary supposing that the predominating waters surrounding the island are the same as those coming from the mentioned stations on Profile VI, marked by the "Meteor". No indication authorizes the supposition that waters of the Brazil Current or those of Profile VII of the "Meteor" reach the Trindade Island. On the contrary, its waters must be warm and salted to which Albert Defant (Die Troposphaere, Wiss. Erg. D. Atl. Exp. "Meteor" Band VI, 1 Tel Lief. 3, Berlin, 1936) has referred, as the island is located very near to the limits of the perspective diagram of warm water circulation pointed out. (Kieler Meeresforschungen, Inst. Meereskunde, Universit. Kiel, Band VII, Heft 1, S 24, 1950).

Distributed ControlArchitecture of Power Electronics Building-Block-Based Frequency Converters

The increasing power demand and emerging applications drive the design of electrical power converters into modularization. Despite the wide use of modularized power stage structures, the control schemes that are used are often traditional, in other words, centralized. The flexibility and re-usability of these controllers are typically poor. With a dedicated distributed control scheme, the flexibility and re-usability of the system parts, building blocks, can be increased. Only a few distributed control schemes have been introduced for this purpose, but their breakthrough has not yet taken place. A demand for the further development offlexible control schemes for building-block-based applications clearly exists. The control topology, communication, synchronization, and functionality allocationaspects of building-block-based converters are studied in this doctoral thesis. A distributed control scheme that can be easily adapted to building-block-based power converter designs is developed. The example applications are a parallel and series connection of building blocks. The building block that is used in the implementations of both the applications is a commercial off-the-shelf two-level three-phase frequency converter with a custom-designed controller card. The major challenge with the parallel connection of power stages is the synchronization of the building blocks. The effect of synchronization accuracy on the system performance is studied. The functionality allocation and control scheme design are challenging in the seriesconnected multilevel converters, mainly because of the large number of modules. Various multilevel modulation schemes are analyzed with respect to the implementation, and this information is used to develop a flexible control scheme for modular multilevel inverters.

L'Univers

1867/09/29 (Numéro 163).

Val av species och bestämdhetsform i ett test för finska grundskolelever

Artikel i konferensrapport.

Social capital and health : variations, associations and challenges

Although social capital and health have been extensively studied during the last decade, there are still open issues in current empirical research. These concern for instance the measurement of the concept in different contexts, as well as the association between different types of social capital and different dimensions of health. The present thesis addressed these questions. The general aim was to promote the understanding of social capital and health by investigating the oldest old and the two major language groups in Finland, Swedish- and Finnish-speakers. Another aim was to contribute to the discussion on methodological issues in social capital and health research. The present thesis investigated two empirical data sets, Umeå 85+ and Health 2000. The Umeå 85+ study was a cross-sectional study of 163 individuals aged 85, 90, and 95 or older, living in the municipality of Umeå, Sweden, in the year of 2000. The Health 2000 survey was a national study of 8,028 persons aged 30 or above carried out in Finland in 2000-2001. Different indicators of structural (e.g. social contacts) and cognitive (e.g. trust) social capital, as well as health indicators were used as variables in the analyses. The Umeå 85+ data set was analyzed with factor analysis, as well as univariate and multivariate analysis of variance. The Health 2000 data was analyzed with logistic regression techniques. The results showed that the Swedish-speakers in the Finnish data set Health 2000 had consistently higher prevalence of social capital compared to the Finnish-speakers even after controlling for central sociodemographic variables. The results further showed that even if the language group differences in health were small, the Swedishspeakers experienced in general better self-reported health compared with the Finnish-speakers. Common sociodemographic variables could not explain these observed differences in health. The results imply that social capital is often, but not always, associated with health. This was clearly seen in the Umeå 85+ data set where only one health indicator (depressive symptoms) was associated with structural social capital among the oldest old. The results based on the analysis of the Health 2000 survey demonstrated that the cognitive component of social capital was associated with self-rated health and psychological health rather than with participation in social activities and social contacts. In addition, social capital statistically reduced the health advantage especially for Swedish-speaking men, indicating that high prevalence of social capital may promote health. Finally, the present thesis also discussed the issue of methodological challenges faced with when analyzing social capital and health. It was suggested that certain components of social capital such as bonding and bridging social capital may be more relevant than structural and cognitive components when investigating social capital among the two language groups in Finland. The results concerning the oldest old indicated that the structural aspects of social capital probably reflect current living conditions, whereas cognitive social capital reflects attitudes and traits often acquired decades earlier. This is interpreted as an indication of the fact that structural and cognitive social capital are closely related yet empirically two distinctive concepts. Taken together, some components of social capital may be more relevant to study than others depending on which population group and age group is under study. The results also implied that the choice of cut-off point of dichotomization of selfrated health has an impact on the estimated effects of the explanatory variables. When the whole age interval, 35-64 years, was analyzed with logistic regression techniques the choice of cut-off point did not matter for the estimated effects of marital status and educational level. The results changed, however, when the age interval was divided into three shorter intervals. If self-rated health is explored using wide age intervals that do not account for age-dependent covariates there is a risk of drawing misleading conclusions. In conclusion, the results presented in the thesis suggest that the uneven distribution of social capital observed between the two language groups in Finland are of importance when trying to further understand health inequalities that exist between Swedish- and Finnish-speakers in Finland. Although social capital seemed to be relevant to the understanding of health among the oldest old, the meaning of social capital is probably different compared to a less vulnerable age group. This should be noticed in future empirical research. In the present thesis, it was shown that the relationship between social capital and health is complex and multidimensional. Different aspects of social capital seem to be important for different aspects of health. This reduces the possibility to generalize the results and to recommend general policy implementations in this area. An increased methodological awareness regarding social capital as well as health are called for in order to further understand the cfomplex association between them. However, based on the present data and findings social capital is associated with health. To understand individual health one must also consider social aspects of the individuals’ environment such as social capital.

Macrophomina phaseolina: density and longevity of microsclerotia in soybean root tissues and free on the soil, and competitive saprophytic ability

In field experiments, the density of Macrophomina phaseolina microsclerotia in root tissues of naturally colonized soybean cultivars was quantified. The density of free sclerotia on the soil was determined for plots of crop rotation (soybean-corn) and soybean monoculture soon after soybean harvest. M. phaseolina natural infection was also determined for the roots of weeds grown in the experimental area. To verify the ability of M. phaseolina to colonize dead substrates, senesced stem segments from the main plant species representing the agricultural system of southern Brazil were exposed on naturally infested soil for 30 and 60 days. To quantify the sclerotia, the methodology of Cloud and Rupe (1991) and Mengistu et al. (2007) was employed. Sclerotium density, assessed based on colony forming units (CFU), ranged from 156 to 1,108/g root tissue. Sclerotium longevity, also assessed according to CFU, was 157 days for the rotation and 163 days for the monoculture system. M. phaseolina did not colonize saprophytically any dead stem segment of Avena strigosa,Avena sativa,Hordeum vulgare,Brassica napus,Gossypium hirsutum,Secale cereale,Helianthus annus,Triticosecalerimpaui, and Triticum aestivum. Mp was isolated from infected root tissues of Amaranthus viridis,Bidens pilosa,Cardiospermum halicacabum,Euphorbia heterophylla,Ipomoea sp., and Richardia brasiliensis. The survival mechanisms of M. phaseolina studied in this paper met the microsclerotium longevity in soybean root tissues, free on the soil, as well as asymptomatic colonization of weeds.

Médicos recém-formados: sólida formação geral ou sólida formação especializada?

OBJETIVO: Investigar os efeitos da especialização precoce - dedicação seletiva a uma especialidade médica no período de graduação - sobre a formação geral dos médicos recém-formados. CASUÍSTICA E MÉTODOS: Candidatos ao processo seletivo a Programas de Residência Médica 2008 (PSPRM), formados na FMUSP em 2007 (universo = 163), destacados e agrupados por carreira pretendida (CP). Este estudo foca o desempenho no PSPRM e no histórico escolar. Análise intergrupos - candidatos a determinada CP x demais candidatos FMUSP e intragrupos - desempenho em diferentes áreas de conhecimento (AC) x média nas demais áreas. Coeficientes de correlação - entre fases do PSPRM e histórico. P < 0,05. RESULTADOS E CONCLUSÕES: Existe correlação entre histórico e PSPRM. De acordo com os dados investigados, houve tendência de especialização precoce em GO (obstetrícia e ginecologia), PQ (psiquiatria) e PED (pediatria), com prejuízo em áreas de conhecimento não diretamente relacionadas à carreira pretendida. Candidatos à CM (clínica médica) apresentaram desempenho globalmente superior ao dos demais nas provas e no histórico, possivelmente devido ao interesse mais abrangente por toda a Medicina, que levaria a uma formação mais ampla e sólida.

Perfil acadêmico dos professores de bioética nos cursos de pós-graduação no Brasil

Este trabalho apresenta a síntese dos resultados de uma pesquisa documental sobre o ensino de Bioética na pós-graduação da área da saúde. Seu objetivo principal é caracterizar o perfil acadêmico dos professores desse curso. Para tanto, foi mapeado o perfil acadêmico de professores das disciplinas relacionadas com a Bioética de 163 cursos reconhecidos pela CAPES. Por meio da identificação dos docentes nos programas das disciplinas, efetuou-se uma pesquisa nos currículos disponíveis na Plataforma Lattes do CNPq. Devido à ausência de registros e tendo-se excluído aqueles que aparecem mais de uma vez em outras disciplinas, só foi possível analisar os currículos de 96 professores. Desses, 58 (60,4%) eram do sexo masculino, sendo 45 (46,9%) da área médica; 51 (53,1%) de outras 12 áreas acadêmicas; 36 (37,5%) têm duas ou mais pós-graduações; 2 (2,08%) são graduados em Filosofia; 1 (1,04%) em Linguística; 83 (86,47%) dos currículos não registram formação específica em cursos lato ou stricto sensu em Filosofia, Ética e Bioética; 16 (n = 16,7%) integram Comitês de Ética e em apenas 5 (5,2%) constam que já participaram desse tipo de comitê. O estudo evidenciou que o maior desafio é vencer a carência de profissionais qualificados para o ensino da Bioética em pós-graduação no País.

Caracterização hidroambiental da bacia hidrográfica do rio Debossan, Nova Friburgo, RJ

O objetivo deste trabalho foi caracterizar o comportamento hidrológico, o volume de entrada e saída de água da bacia hidrográfica do rio Debossan, onde se localiza uma importante estação de captação de água, administrada pela Concessionária de Águas e Esgotos de Nova Friburgo LTDA. (CAENF), inserida na Reserva Ecológica de Macaé de Cima, Município de Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro. Para isso, foram obtidos dados de vazão e precipitação diários do período de janeiro de 2002 a dezembro de 2004. A partir desses dados, foram calculados alguns parâmetros hidrológicos, como vazão específica e deflúvio. A precipitação média observada nos três anos foi de 2.163 mm, sendo que os meses de dezembro/2002 e janeiro/2003 apresentaram os máximos valores. A vazão média anual no período foi de 0,86 m³/s, apresentando o mês de dezembro de 2002 com maior índice e setembro de 2004 com o menor. O balanço hídrico, em termos médios anuais nos três anos de medições, apresentou uma evapotranspiração de 1.923,04 mm, equivalendo a 88% da precipitação convencional. Pode-se dizer que o ecossistema florestal exerce efeito tamponante sobre a quantidade de água da bacia hidrográfica, mantendo uma grande vazão nos meses de menor pluviosidade. Ao analisar a relação entre a entrada de água na bacia, o uso atual do solo e a quantidade de água produzida, concluiu-se que uma bacia hidrográfica bem preservada tem fundamental importância na manutenção constante da vazão ao longo do ano, além da visível participação na qualidade da água.

Maturação e morfometria dos frutos de miconia Albicans (Swartz) triana (melastomataceae) em um remanescente de floresta estacional semidecídua montana em Lavras, MG

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram analisar a dinâmica da maturação dos frutos e avaliar quantitativamente algumas características físicas dos frutos de Miconia albicans (Swartz) Triana em um remanescente de Floresta Estacional Semidecídua Montana. A atividade, intensidade e sincronia de 20 indivíduos foram analisadas em relação aos eventos de frutificação, correlacionando-os com as variáveis climáticas. Analisou-se a morfometria (comprimento, largura e massa) de 130 frutos de 10 indivíduos. A intensidade da fenofase de frutos maduros nas plantas correlacionou-se significativamente com a precipitação média do período (rS = 0,611; P < 0,05). A espécie possui número elevado de pequenas sementes por fruto ( = 28,05 ± 1,45 d.p.). O coeficiente de correlação entre a massa fresca do fruto e a da polpa foi de rS = 0,988 (P < 0,001), ou seja, a massa fresca do fruto é linearmente proporcional à quantidade de polpa. Esta contribui, em média, com 94% da massa fresca total do fruto, demonstrando a importância da espécie para os frugívoros. Os resultados indicaram o período de alta sincronia intrapopulacional das fenofases analisadas, o que pode ser útil na orientação da coleta de sementes visando à criação de bancos de germoplasma e produção de mudas para a recuperação de áreas degradadas.

Morphometric Study of Cerebral Arterioles in CADASIL

Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy(CADASIL) is the most common hereditary small vessel disease (SVD) leading to vascular dementia. The cause of the disease is mutations in NOTCH3 gene located at chromosome 19p13.1. The gene defect results in accumulation of granular osmiophilic material and extracellular domain of NOTCH3 at vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) with subsequent degeneration of VSMCs. This arteriopathy leads to white matter (WM) rarefaction and multiple lacunar infarctions in both WM and deep grey matter (GM) visible in magnetic resonance imaging. This thesis is focused on the quantitative morphometric analysis of the stenosis and fibrosis in arterioles of the frontal cerebral WM, cortical GM and deep GM (lenticular nucleus (LN), i.e. putamen and globus pallidus). It was performed by assessing four indicators of arteriolar stenosis and fibrosis: (1) diameter of arteriolar lumen, (2) thickness of arteriolar wall, (3) external diameter of arterioles and (4) sclerotic index. These parameters were assessed (a) in 5 elderly CADASIL patients with the mean age of onset 47 years and of death 63 years, (b) in a 32-year-old young CADASIL patient with the first ischemic episode at the age of 29 years and (c) a very old CADASIL patient aged 95 years, who suffered the first stroke at the age of 71 years. These measurements were compared with age-matched controls without stroke, dementia, hypertension, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Morphometric analyses disclosed that in all age groups of CADASIL patients compared to corresponding controls there was significant narrowing of arteriolar lumen (stenosis) and fibrotic thickening of the walls (fibrosis) in the WM arterioles, although the significance of stenosis in the very old patient was marginal. In the LN arterioles there was only significant fibrosis without stenosis. These results suggest that the ischemic lesions and lacunar infarcts in the cerebral WM are mainly attributable to the stenosis of arterioles, whereas those in the LN are probably mainly due to hemodynamic changes of the cerebral blood flow. In conclusion: The SVD of CADASIL is characterized by narrowing of lumina and fibrotic thickening of walls predominantly in the cerebral WM arterioles. On the other hand, in the LN the ischemic lesions and lacunar infarcts are most probably hemodynamic due to impaired autoregulation caused by the rigidity of fibrotic arterioles. The pathological cerebral arteriolar alterations begin to develop already at a relatively young age but the onset may be delayed to a remarkably old age. This underlines the well known great variability in the clinical picture of CADASIL. The very late onset of CADASIL may cause its underdiagnosis, because the strokes are common in the elderly and are attributed to common risk factors.