Functioning and Disability in Leprosy.

This study has been carried out to investigate the frequency of musculoskeletal symptoms in people affected by leprosy and correlate this to their functional capacity to perform daily living and working activities and to their degree of disability. This cross-sectional study was performed on 100 clients who answered a questionnaire on personal and clinical data, the Nordic Musculoskeletal (QNSO), and the shoulder, arm and hand dysfunction (DASH) questionnaires. The mean age was 53.63 years and there was a predominance of men (67%), low education (53%), and multibacillary disease (84%). Physical impairment affected 95% of respondents and 92% indicated pain and/or paresthesia in the arms that interfered in functional capacity.Respondents with musculoskeletal symptoms have more difficulty to perform daily living and working activities compared to those without musculoskeletal symptoms (p-value<0.05). The presence of physical disabilities was not associated with difficulties to perform daily living (p-value=0.29) and labor activities (p-value=0.87). The majority of patients experienced pain and/or paresthesia of the arms, and this was associated with difficulties to perform daily living and working activities. However, the presence of physical disability does not seem to cause major impediments or limitations to perform these activities.

Modeling pollution potential input from the drainage basin into Barra Bonita reservoir, São Paulo - Brazil.

In this study multi-criteria modeling tools are applied to map the spatial distribution of drainage basin potential to pollute Barra Bonita Reservoir, São Paulo State, Brasil. Barra Bonita Reservoir Basin had undergone intense land use/land cover changes in the last decades, including the fast conversion from pasture into sugarcane. In this respect, this study answers to the lack of information about the variables (criteria) which affect the pollution potential of the drainage basin by building a Geographic Information System which provides their spatial distribution at sub-basin level. The GIS was fed by several data (geomorphology, pedology, geology, drainage network and rainfall) provided by public agencies. Landsat satellite images provided land use/land cover map for 2002. Ratings and weights of each criterion defined by specialists supported the modeling process. The results showed a wide variability in the pollution potential of different sub-basins according to the application of different criterion. If only land use is analyzed, for instance, less than 50% of the basin is classified as highly threatening to water quality and include sub basins located near the reservoir, indicating the importance of protection areas at the margins. Despite the subjectivity involved in the weighing processes, the multi-criteria analysis model allowed the simulation of scenarios which support rational land use polices at sub-basin level regarding the protection of water resources.

Efeito da utilização de diferentes diluidores para a produção in vitro de embriões bovinos / Effect of different bovine semen extenders on in vitro development of bovine embryos

Objetivou-se avaliar as características morfológica e funcional do sêmen bovino congelado comparando-se a eficácia de dois diferentes diluidores. O ejaculado de quatro touros foi dividido em duas partes iguais, uma submetida ao diluidor Tris e gema de ovo (A) e outra ao diluidor à base de lecitina de soja (Andromed®) (B). No experimento I, cinco palhetas dos diluidores A e B de cada touro foram descongeladas e avaliadas quanto à motilidade, vigor, concentração, morfologia espermática e teste de termor-resistência lento. Foram feitas, ainda, avaliação da integridade de membranas, por meio da associação das sondas iodeto de propídio, isotiocionato de fluoresceína - Pisum sativum e carbocianina catiônica lipofílica, e avaliação funcional da membrana plasmática com teste hiposmótico. A avaliação da integridade da cromatina foi realizada pelo método de coloração com laranja de acridina. No experimento II, o sêmen com os diferentes diluidores foi utilizado na fecundação in vitro, sendo observadas taxas de clivagem e desenvolvimento embrionário in vitro. Em relação aos resultados obtidos, apenas a porcentagem de espermatozoides no sêmen congelado foi discretamente maior com o diluidor A, concluindo-se que o diluidor composto por lecitina de soja pode substituir o composto por Tris e gema de ovo, respeitando-se as variações individuais de cada touro utilizado no presente experimento.

The goal of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of egg yolk compared with a soybean lecithin-based extender on morphologic and functional characteristics of frozen bovine semen. The ejaculate of four bulls was divided into two equal parts, one diluted with egg-yolk-Tris extender (A) and the other with a soy-lecithin based extender (Andromed®) (B). In experiment I, five straws of extender A and B from each bull were thawed and assessed regarding motility (subjective and computerized analysis), vigor, concentration, sperm morphology and slow thermoresistance (STR), evaluation of membrane integrity through association of propidium iodite probes (PI), fluorescein isotiocianate - Pisum sativum (FITC-PSA) and lipophilic cationic carbocyanine (JC-1) and functional evaluation of the plasmatic membrane through Hyposmotic Swelling Test (HOST). An evaluation of chromatin integrity was performed with the acridine orange staining procedure. In experiment II, the frozen semen with different extenders was used for in vitro fertilization (IVF), analyzing cleavage rates and in vitro embryo development. No statistical difference between extenders was identified, suggesting that the soy lecithin extender may substitute egg-yolk-Tris extender, considering the individual variations of each bull used in this experiment.