From Data Snore, to Data Score: Communicating Library Assessment Data Visually through Infographics

This presentation was offered as part of the CUNY Library Assessment Conference, Reinventing Libraries: Reinventing Assessment, held at the City University of New York in June 2014.

Oral Hygiene Indirect Instruction and Periodic Reinforcements: Effects on Index Plaque in Schoolchildren

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the indirect instruction and the influence of the periodic reinforcement on the plaque index in schoolchildren. Forty schoolchildren aged from 7 to 9 years old were selected from a public school. After determining the initial O`Leary Plaque Index all schoolchildren were submitted to a program for oral hygiene through indirect instruction - ""The Smiling Robot"". The schoolchildren were divided into 2 groups: with and without motivation reinforcement. The index plaque exam was performed in both groups after 30, 60 and 90 days of the educational program. Comparing the groups, the plaque index decreasing could be observed in the group with reinforcement with statistically significant difference. For the group with reinforcement, statistically significant difference among the evaluations was found. For the group without reinforcement, significant decrease in the plaque index was found after 30 days when compared to the first, third and fourth evaluations. The indirect instruction with ""The Smiling Robot ""promoted a positive initial impact on the decrease of plaque index in the schoolchildren. The periodic reinforcements showed snore suitable results and significant reduction of the plaque index in the course of the evaluations.

Stay-green: A consequence of the balance between supply and demand for nitrogen during grain filling?

Retention of green leaf area in grain sorghum under post-anthesis drought, known as stay-green, is associated with greater biomass production, lodging resistance and yield. The stay-green phenomenon can be examined at a cell, leaf, or whole plant level. At a cell level, the retention of chloroplast proteins such as LHCP2, OEC33 and Rubisco until late in senescence has been reported in sorghum containing the KS19 source of stay-green, indicating that photosynthesis may be maintained for longer during senescence in these genotypes. At a leaf level, longevity of photosynthetic apparatus is intimately related to nitrogen (N) status. At a whole plant level, stay-green can be viewed as a consequence of the balance between N demand by the grain and N supply during grain filling. To examine some of these concepts, nine hybrids varying in the B35 and KS19 sources of stay-green were grown under a postanthesis water deficit. Genotypic variation in delayed onset and reduced rate of leaf senescence were explained by differences in specific leaf nitrogen (SLN) and N uptake during grain filling. Matching N supply from age-related senescence and N uptake during grain tilling with grain N demand found that the shortfall in N supply for grain filling was greater in the senescent than stay-green hybrids, resulting in more accelerated leaf senescence in the former. We hypothesise that increased N uptake by stay-green hybrids is a result of greater biomass accumulation during grain filling in response to increased sink demand (higher grain numbers) which, in turn, is the result of increased radiation use efficiency and transpiration efficiency due to higher SLN. Delayed leaf senescence resulting from higher SLN should, in turn, allow snore carbon and nitrogen to be allocated to the roots of stay-green hybrids during grain filling, thereby maintaining a greater capacity to extract N from the soil compared with senescent hybrids.

A comparison of public and private obstructive sleep apnea clinics

The aim of the present study was to compare the clinical findings and polysomnography results obtained at public and private clinics in Brazil, the follow-up after diagnosis, and the therapeutic aspects related to continuous positive airway pressure. Patients who snore and who have obstructive sleep apnea were retrospectively divided into two groups, i.e., public clinic (N = 307) and private clinic (N = 317). Data concerning age, sex, body mass index (BMI), neck circumference, medical history, sleepiness scale, follow-up after diagnosis, and acceptance of continuous positive airway pressure therapy were collected. Mean age was 50 ± 12 (range: 15-80) for public patients and 48 ± 12 years (range: 19-91) for private patients. Mean BMI was 30 ± 6 (range: 19-67) for public patients and 31 ± 6 kg/m² (range: 21-59) for private patients. The public clinic had a significantly higher frequency of women than the private clinic (M:F ratio of 2.0:1 and 6.9:1, respectively). The condition of private patients (apnea-hypopnea index = 31 ± 25) was more severe than that of public patients (apnea-hypopnea index = 25 ± 24 events/h; P = 0.0004). In the public and private clinics, 19 and 15% of patients were snorers, respectively, and 81 and 85% of them had sleep apnea. After diagnosis, follow-up was longer in the private group. The continuous positive airway pressure acceptance was similar for both groups (32 vs 35%), but patients from the public clinic abandoned treatment more than private ones (65 vs 13%). Social status was significant in terms of the severity of obstructive sleep apnea age and gender distribution. Private patients look for a diagnosis earlier in the course of the disease than public patients, adhere more to follow-up, and abandon continuous positive airway pressure treatment less than public patients do.

Systematic head and neck physical examination as a predictor of obstructive sleep apnea in class III obese patients

Our aim was to determine if anatomical abnormalities of the upper airway (UA) and facial skeleton of class III severely obese patients are related to the presence and severity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). Forty-five patients (69% females, mean age 46.5 ± 10.8 years) with a body mass index (BMI) over 40 kg/m² underwent UA and facial skeletal examinations as well as polysomnography. Mean BMI was 49 ± 7 kg/m² and mean neck circumference was 43.4 ± 5.1 cm. Polysomnographic findings showed that 22% had a normal apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and 78% had an AHI over 5. The presence of OSAS was associated with younger age (P = 0.02), larger neck circumference (P = 0.004), presence of a voluminous lateral wall (P = 0.0002), posteriorized soft palate (P = 0.0053), thick soft palate (P = 0.0014), long uvula (P = 0.04), thick uvula (P = 0.0052), and inferior turbinate hypertrophy (P = 0.04). A larger neck circumference (P = 0.02), presence of a voluminous lateral wall (P = 0.04), posteriorized soft palate (P = 0.03), and thick soft palate (P = 0.04) were all associated with OSAS severity. The prevalence of OSAS in this group was high. A larger neck circumference and soft tissue abnormalities of the UA were markers for both the presence and severity of OSAS. Conversely, no abnormalities in the facial skeleton were associated with OSAS in patients with morbid obesity.

Alteraciones respiratorias durante el sueño en niños con Síndrome Down a la altura de Bogotá

Objetivo: determinar la frecuencia de las diferentes alteraciones respiratorias durante el sueño (ARS) e hipertensión pulmonar (HTP) y establecer la saturación de oxígeno (SpO2) en vigilia, sueño y durante los eventos en niños con Síndrome Down (SD) a la altura de Bogotá (2640m) de acuerdo a grupos de edad e IMC. Métodos: estudio descriptivo de corte transversal, se incluyeron todos los niños con SD con sospecha de ARS remitidos a polisonograma (PSG) de octubre de 2011 a enero de 2013 a la Fundación Neumológica Colombina (FNC). Se dividieron en 3 grupos: apnea obstructiva, apnea obstructiva y central, sin apneas. Resultados: 74 niños, el 36,5% mujeres, edad media 4 años. 47,3% presento apnea obstructiva, más frecuente en >2 años, 35,1% apnea obstructiva y central, más frecuente en < 2 años y 17,6 % sin apnea. SpO2 promedio en apnea obstructiva 84,63%, apnea obstructiva y central: 81,8% y sin apnea: 86,85% (p 0,058). 23% presento obesidad, 16% con apnea obstructiva. 53 pacientes tenían ecocardiograma: 28% HTP, 53,3% tuvo apnea obstructiva y 26,7 apnea obstructiva y central, no diferencias significativas. SpO2 promedio en HTP 88,3% vigilia, 86,2% sueño REM, 85,7 % sueño no REM, no diferencia significativa comparada con pacientes sin HTP. Conclusiones: Las ARS son frecuentes en los niños con SD, La desaturación está presente en los niños con SD independiente del tipo de apnea. A todos los niños SD se les debe practicar un PSG en el primer año de vida.

Oral Hygiene Indirect Instruction and Periodic Reinforcements: Effects on Index Plaque in Schoolchildren

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the indirect instruction and the influence of the periodic reinforcement on the plaque index in schoolchildren. Forty schoolchildren aged from 7 to 9 years old were selected from a public school. After determining the initial O'Leary Plaque Index all schoolchildren were submitted to a program for oral hygiene through indirect instruction - "The Smiling Robot". The schoolchildren were divided into 2 groups: with and without motivation reinforcement. The index plaque exam was performed in both groups after 30, 60 and 90 days of the educational program. Comparing the groups, the plaque index decreasing could be observed in the group with reinforcement with statistically significant difference. For the group with reinforcement, statistically significant difference among the evaluations was found. For the group without reinforcement, significant decrease in the plaque index was found after 30 days when compared to the first, third and fourth evaluations. The indirect instruction with "The Smiling Robot "promoted a positive initial impact on the decrease of plaque index in the schoolchildren. The periodic reinforcements showed snore suitable results and significant reduction of the plaque index in the course of the evaluations.

Correlation between sleep and quality of life in cerebral palsy

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

Inserção de conceitos de química verde nos componentes curriculares de laboratório de química geral

Purpose of this monograph is a critical review of articles and publications worldwide. The insertion of green chemistry concepts in the curriculum components of general chemistry lab, plays a fundamental role in the early years of a Chemistry course towards early embed the philosophy of green chemistry. The fundamental concepts of green chemistry are highlighted in order to present the huge number of challenges in developing new chemistry l in research, industry and education. The practice of a chemical that takes into account ethical environmental attitudes thought since the formation of professionals, may lead to adoption of technical microscale, replacement of toxic agents, reduction of waste generation, etc. who snore a lot with the concept of sustainability

Pitch jump probability measures for the analysis of snoring sounds in apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a highly prevalent disease in which upper airways are collapsed during sleep, leading to serious consequences. The gold standard of diagnosis, called polysomnography (PSG), requires a full-night hospital stay connected to over ten channels of measurements requiring physical contact with sensors. PSG is inconvenient, expensive and unsuited for community screening. Snoring is the earliest symptom of OSA, but its potential in clinical diagnosis is not fully recognized yet. Diagnostic systems intent on using snore-related sounds (SRS) face the tough problem of how to define a snore. In this paper, we present a working definition of a snore, and propose algorithms to segment SRS into classes of pure breathing, silence and voiced/unvoiced snores. We propose a novel feature termed the 'intra-snore-pitch-jump' (ISPJ) to diagnose OSA. Working on clinical data, we show that ISPJ delivers OSA detection sensitivities of 86-100% while holding specificity at 50-80%. These numbers indicate that snore sounds and the ISPJ have the potential to be good candidates for a take-home device for OSA screening. Snore sounds have the significant advantage in that they can be conveniently acquired with low-cost non-contact equipment. The segmentation results presented in this paper have been derived using data from eight patients as the training set and another eight patients as the testing set. ISPJ-based OSA detection results have been derived using training data from 16 subjects and testing data from 29 subjects.