Analysis of Semi-solid Processing for Metal Matrix Composite Synthesis Using Factorial Design

The main goal in this work is to conduct a quantitative analysis of the mechanical stir casting process for obtaining particulate metal matrix composites. A combined route of stirring at semi-solid state followed by stirring at liquid state is proposed. A fractional factorial design was developed to investigate the influence and interactions of factors as: time, rotation, initial fraction and particle size, on the incorporated fraction. The best incorporations were obtained with all factors at high levels, as well as that very long stirring periods have no strong influence being particle size and rotation the most important factors on the incorporated fraction. Particle wetting occurs during stirring at semisolid state, highlighting the importance of the interactions between particles and the alloy globularized phase. The role of the alloying element Mg as a wettability-promoting agent is discussed. The shear forces resulting from the stirring system is emphasized and understood as the effect of rotation itself added to the propeller blade geometry.

Dental caries and the nutritional status of preschool children: a spatial analysis

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

Radiographic and histomorphometric analysis of bone healing using autogenous graft associated with platelet-rich plasma obtained by 2 different methods

The aim of this study was to conduct radiographic and histomorphometric analysis of bone healing in the calvaria of rabbits, using an autogenous graft associated with PRP obtained by 2 different methods. Thirty rabbits were divided into control and experimental groups. Lesions were produced in the calvaria and filled with autogenous graft ( control) or autogenous graft and PRP obtained by the Anitua or modified Sonnleitner methods. The animals were humanely killed 15 days after surgery and the calvarias were radiographed. The radiographs were digitized to assess the radiographic density. By histologic images of the lesion, the bone matrix was quantified. There were no significant differences in the radiographic density and the bone matrix area between the groups. The association of PRP with autogenous bone did not improve the healing process, irrespective of the method used early during healing.

Longitudinal behavioral analysis during dental care of children aged 0 to 3 years

Abstract: When and how the dentist intervenes have repercussions on children's physical and emotional patterns. The objective of the present study was to conduct a longitudinal behavioral analysis during dental care of babies aged 0 to 3 years. A total of 216 patients seen at the Baby Clinic of the School of Dentistry at Araçatuba, São Paulo State University (UNESP), were selected. The selection criterion was attendance at ten dental care sessions at bimonthly intervals for routine procedures such as clinical examination and oral hygiene. There was a predominance of cooperative behavior compared to uncooperative behavior when each visit was analyzed separately. The behavior of the patients must have been directly influenced by their psychomotor development. Constant attendance and exposure of the baby to non-stressful dental stimuli are factors that favor a cooperative behavior.

Analysis of the effects of trade opening on household welfare: an application to Chile, 1999-2006

Incluye bibliografía

Analysis of the effects of trade opening on household welfare: an application to Chile, 1999-2006

Includes bibliography

A methodological approach to gender analysis in natural disaster assessment: a guide for the Caribbean

Includes bibliography

Module for the Analysis of Growth of International Commerce (MAGIC PLUS)

On 12 September 2006, on the occasion of the launching of the report Latin America and the Caribbean in the World Economy, 2005-2006, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC, José Luis Machinea, presented a new version of the software program Module for the Analysis of Growth of International Commerce (MAGIC).  The first version of MAGIC was created by ECLAC Subregional Headquarters in Mexico , to conduct ex post analysis of the competitiveness of countries' exports to the United States market. The new application architecture was made possible thanks to financial support from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Division of Production, Productivity and Management of ECLAC headquarters in Santiago , Chile .  This issue of the FAL Bulletin reviews the progress of MAGIC in the ten years it has been functioning, and the evolution which has made it one of ECLAC's most popular, versatile, and technologically advanced applications.  

Use of Stress Analysis Methods to Evaluate the Biomechanics of Oral Rehabilitation With Implants

Because the biomechanical behavior of dental implants is different from that of natural tooth, clinical problems may occur. The mechanism of stress distribution and load transfer to the implant/bone interface is a critical issue affecting the success rate of implants. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a brief literature review of the available stress analysis methods to study implant-supported prosthesis loading and to discuss their contributions in the biomechanical evaluation of oral rehabilitation with implants. Several studies have used experimental, analytical, and computational models by means of finite element models (FEM), photoelasticity, strain gauges and associations of these methods to evaluate the biomechanical behavior of dental implants. The FEM has been used to evaluate new components, configurations, materials, and shapes of implants. The greatest advantage of the photoelastic method is the ability to visualize the stresses in complex structures, such as oral structures, and to observe the stress patterns in the whole model, allowing the researcher to localize and quantify the stress magnitude. Strain gauges can be used to assess in vivo and in vitro stress in prostheses, implants, and teeth. Some authors use the strain gauge technique with photoelasticity or FEM techniques. These methodologies can be widely applied in dentistry, mainly in the research field. Therefore, they can guide further research and clinical studies by predicting some disadvantages and streamlining clinical time.

Interactive Correlation Environment (ICE) - A Statistical Web Tool for Data Collinearity Analysis

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

Analysis of Structural Integrity Using an ARTMAP-Fuzzy Artificial Neural Network

This paper presents the application of artificial neural networks in the analysis of the structural integrity of a building. The main objective is to apply an artificial neural network based on adaptive resonance theory, called ARTMAP-Fuzzy neural network and apply it to the identification and characterization of structural failure. This methodology can help professionals in the inspection of structures, to identify and characterize flaws in order to conduct preventative maintenance to ensure the integrity of the structure and decision-making. In order to validate the methodology was modeled a building of two walk, and from this model were simulated various situations (base-line condition and improper conditions), resulting in a database of signs, which were used as input data for ARTMAP-Fuzzy network. The results show efficiency, robustness and accuracy.

Effect of Er:YAG laser and diamond drill on hybrid layer morphology obtained with self-etch adhesive: analysis by SEM and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM)

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Er:YAG (L) and diamond drills (DD) on: 1) the microshear bond strength (MPa); 2) the adhesive interface of two-step (TS) – Adper Scotchbond Multipurpose and one-step (OS) adhesives – Adper EasyOne, both from 3M ESPE. Material and methods: According to the preparation condition and adhesives, the samples were divided into four groups: DD_TS (control); DD_OS; L_TS and L_OS. 60 bovine incisors were randomly divided into experimental and groups: 40 for microshear bond strength (n = 10) and 20 for the adhesive interface morphology [6 to measure the thickness of the hybrid layer (HL) and length of tags (t) by CLSM (n = 3); 12 to the adhesive interface morphology by SEM (n = 3) and 2 to illustrate the effect of the instruments on dentine by SEM (n = 1)]. To conduct the microshear bond strength test, four cylinders (0.7 mm in diameter and 1 mm in height with area of adhesion of 0.38 mm) were constructed with resin composite (Filtek Z350 XT – 3M ESPE) on each dentin surface treated by either L or DD and after adhesives application. Microshear bond strength was performed in universal testing machine (EMIC 2000) with load cell of 500 kgf and a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm / min. Adhesive interface was characterized by thickness of hybrid layer (HL) and length of tags (t) in nm, with the aid of UTHSCSA ImageTool software. Results: Microshear bond strength values were: L_TS 34.10 ± 19.07, DD_TS 24.26 ± 9.35, L_OS 33.18 ± 12.46, DD_OS 21.24 ± 13.96. Two-way ANOVA resulted in statistically significant differences only for instruments (p = 0.047). Mann-Whitney identified the instruments which determined significant differences for HL thickness and tag length (t). Concerning to the adhesive types, these differences were only observed for (t). Conclusion: It can be concluded that 1) laser Er:YAG results in higher microshear bond strength values regardless of the adhesive system (TS and OS); 2) the tags did not significant affect the microshear bond strength; 3) the adhesive interface was affected by both the instruments for cavity preparation and the type of adhesive system used.

Analysis of the feasibility of early hospital discharge after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and the implications to nursing care

Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a conduct used to treat some hematologic diseases and to consolidate the treatment of others. In the field of nursing, the few published scientific studies on nursing care and early hospital discharge of transplant patients are deficient. Knowledge about the diseases treated using hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, providing guidance to patients and caregivers and patient monitoring are important nursing activities in this process. Guidance may contribute to long-term goals through patients' short-term needs. To analyze the results of early hospital discharge on the treatment of patients submitted to autologous transplantation and the influence of nursing care on this conduct. A retrospective, quantitative, descriptive and transversal study was conducted. The hospital records of 112 consecutive patients submitted to autologous transplantation in the period from January to December 2009 were revisited. Of these, 12 patients, who remained in hospital for more than ten days after transplantation, were excluded from the study. The medical records of 100 patients with a median age of 48.5 years (19-69 years) were analyzed. All patients were mobilized and hematopoietic stem cells were collected by leukapheresis. The most common conditioning regimes were BU12Mel100 and BEAM 400. Toxicity during conditioning was easily managed in the outpatient clinic. Gastrointestinal toxicity, mostly Grades I and II, was seen in 69% of the patients, 62% of patients had diarrhea, 61% of the patients had nausea and vomiting and 58% had Grade I and II mucositis. Ten patients required hospitalization due to the conditioning regimen. Febrile neutropenia was seen in 58% of patients. Two patients died before Day +60 due to infections, one with aplasia. The median times to granulocyte and platelet engraftment were 12 days and 15 days, respectively, with median red blood cell and platelet transfusions until discharge of three and four units, respectively. Twenty-three patients required rehospitalization before being discharged from the outpatient clinic. The median time to granulocyte engraftment was 12 days and during the aplasia phase few patients were hospitalized or suffered infections. The toxicity of the conditioning was the leading cause of rehospitalization. The nursing staff participated by providing guidance to patients and during the mobilization, transplant and outpatient follow-up phases, thus helping to successfully manage toxicity.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of universal childhood hepatitis A vaccination in Brazil: Regional analyses according to the endemic context

Objective: To To conduct a cost-effectiveness analysis of a universal childhood hepatitis A vaccination program in Brazil. Methods: An age and time-dependent dynamic model was developed to estimate the incidence of hepatitis A for 24 years. The analysis was run separately according to the pattern of regional endemicity, one for South + Southeast (low endemicity) and one for the North + Northeast + Midwest (intermediate endemicity). The decision analysis model compared universal childhood vaccination with current program of vaccinating high risk individuals. Epidemiologic and cost estimates were based on data from a nationwide seroprevalence survey of viral hepatitis, primary data collection, National Health Information Systems and literature. The analysis was conducted from both the health system and societal perspectives. Costs are expressed in 2008 Brazilian currency (Real). Results: A universal immunization program would have a significant impact on disease epidemiology in all regions, resulting in 64% reduction in the number of cases of icteric hepatitis, 59% reduction in deaths for the disease and a 62% decrease of life years lost, in a national perspective. With a vaccine price of R$16.89 (US$7.23) per dose, vaccination against hepatitis A was a cost-saving strategy in the low and intermediate endemicity regions and in Brazil as a whole from both health system and society perspective. Results were most sensitive to the frequency of icteric hepatitis, ambulatory care and vaccine costs. Conclusions: Universal childhood vaccination program against hepatitis A could be a cost-saving strategy in all regions of Brazil. These results are useful for the Brazilian government for vaccine related decisions and for monitoring population impact if the vaccine is included in the National Immunization Program. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Oral health profile in patients infected with HTLV-1: Clinical findings, proviral load, and molecular analysis from HTLV-1 in saliva

Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is associated with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) and HTLV-1 associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) and has also been implicated in several disorders, including periodontal disease. The proviral load is an important biological marker for understanding HTLV-1 pathogenesis and elucidating whether or not the virus is related to the clinical manifestation of the disease. This study describes the oral health profile of HTLV-1 carriers and HAM/TSP patients in order to investigate the association between the proviral load in saliva and the severity of the periodontal disease and to examine virus intra-host variations from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and saliva cells. It is a cross-sectional analytical study of 90 individuals carried out from November 2006 to May 2008. Of the patients, 60 were HTLV-1 positive and 30 were negative. Individuals from the HTLV-1 positive and negative groups had similar mean age and social-economic status. Data were analyzed using two available statistical software packages, STATA 8.0 and SPSS 11.0 to conduct frequency analysis. Differences of P?<?0.05 were considered statistically significant. HTLV-1 patients had poorer oral health status when compared to seronegative individuals. A weak positive correlation between blood and saliva proviral loads was observed. The mean values of proviral load in blood and saliva in patients with HAM/TSP was greater than those in HTLV-1 carriers. The HTLV-1 molecular analysis from PBMC and saliva specimens suggests that HTLV-1 in saliva is due to lymphocyte infiltration from peripheral blood. A direct relationship between the proviral load in saliva and oral manifestations was observed. J. Med. Virol. 84:1428-1436, 2012. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.