Individual and school correlates of body mass index and cardiorespiratory fitness in primary school children from the REACT project: A multivariate multilevel analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This paper examines the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) using a multivariate multilevel approach and investigates the links between individual and school-related correlates with children's BMI and CRF. METHODS: This cross-sectional sample included 1014 children (6-10 years) from 25 Portuguese primary schools. BMI was calculated, and CRF was assessed with the PACER test. Fundamental movement skills (FMS) included five object control tasks. Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), sleep, and sedentary time were assessed with the ActiGraph wGT3X-BT accelerometer. Socioeconomic status (SES) and school variables were also obtained. A multivariate multilevel model was used, and alpha was set at 5%. RESULTS: BMI and CRF systematically increased with age. Most of the joint variance (94.4%) was explained at the child level, and BMI and CRF were correlated at this level (ρ = -.37). More active children demonstrated higher CRF levels and had lower BMI levels; sedentary and sleep time were not significantly associated with BMI or CRF. FMS were positively associated with CRF but were not significantly associated with BMI. Children at higher SES were more fit and had lower BMI than their peers of lower SES. Finally, school-level variables were not significantly related to BMI and CRF. CONCLUSION: BMI and CRF had a low but statistically significant negative correlation in this sample of children. Most of the variation in BMI and CRF was explained by child-level characteristics.

Association between spirituality/religiousness and quality of life among healthy adults: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is determined by multiple factors that include components such as spirituality and religiousness (S/R). Even though various systematic reviews have investigated the association between S/R and improved health outcomes in the most different groups, healthy young individuals are seldom addressed. OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between S/R and HRQoL among young, healthy individuals. METHODS: Systematic review of papers published in the last ten years and indexed in four academic research databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus) and two gray literature databases. Inclusion criteria were studies assessing S/R and HRQoL using validated instruments and assessing healthy adults (i.e., non-clinical patients, not belonging to any specific group of chronic diseases), aged between 18 and 64 years old. RESULTS: Ten out of 1,952 studies met the inclusion criteria: nine cross-sectional and one longitudinal cohort study, in which 89% of the participants were college students. Nine studies report a positive association between S/R and HRQoL, while one study did not report any significant association. The main HRQoL domains associated with S/R were the psychological, social relationships, and environment domains, while the S/R most influent facets/components were optimism, inner strength, peace, high control, hope, and happiness. CONCLUSIONS: Higher S/R levels among healthy adult individuals were associated with higher HRQoL levels, suggesting the S/R can be an important strategy to deal with adverse environmental situations even among those without chronic diseases, enhancing the wellbeing of individuals. Registration of systematic review: PROSPERO-CRD42018104047.

Effect of body mass index and fat mass on balance force platform measurements during a one-legged stance in older adults.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of body mass index (BMI) and fat mass on balance force platform measurements in older adults. The sample consisted of 257 participants who were stratified into four groups by BMI: low weight, normal weight, pre-obesity and obesity. For fat mass variables, older individuals were classified into low and high-fat mass. All groups investigated performed three trials of one-legged stance balance on a force platform. Center of pressure (COP) domain parameters were computed from the mean across trials. Analysis of variance results revealed no significant interactions for groups and sexes for all COP parameters. Comparable balance results were found for BMI and fat groups for all COP parameters. A statistical effect (P < 0.05) was only reported for sex differences for COP parameters, regardless of BMI and fat mass variables. Overall, women presented better balance than men. In conclusion, BMI and fat mass do not seem to influence the balance of older adults during a one-leg stance task.

Perception of the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorder in females by using the ProTMDMulti protocol and the visual analog scale before and after acupuncture treatment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the perceptions of patients with TMD in relation to the signs and symptoms before and after acupuncture treatment, according to the ProTMDMulti and the VAS. METHOD: 68 patients were divided into groups: muscle TMD treated with acupuncture at local points (MUS-LP), muscle TMD with acupuncture at distant points (MUS-DP), joint and muscle treated with LP (JOI-LP) and joint and muscle treated with DP (JOI-DP). The evaluations were performed at four times: initial, control, final and follow-up. RESULTS: The best results were seen in the JOI-LP and the MUS-DP groups, in which the perceptions of the signs and symptoms were statistically lower in the final assessment than in the initial (P<0.05). In all groups, the final and the follow-up evaluations were similar. CONCLUSIONS: For TMDs with joint components, the best acupuncture treatment involves local points and for the TMDs with muscle components, points at a distance.

Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-ß1) expression in patients with adenomyosis.

Objective: To compare Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-ß1) expression in patients with and without adenomyosis. Methods: A prospective design was performed including 49 patients submitted to hysterectomy. Immunohistochemistry was performed on anatomopathological samples staged in paraffin blocks from patients with and without adenomyosis. The sample contained 28 adenomyosis cases and 21 controls. Student's t-test and multivariate logistic regression tests were used for statistical analysis. Associations were considered significant at p < 0.05. Results: We found no significant association between adenomyosis and: smoking (p = 0.75), miscarriage (p = 0.29), number of previous pregnancies (p = 0.85), curettage (p = 0.81), pelvic pain (p = 0.72) and myoma (p = 0.15). However, we did find a relationship between adenomyosis and abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) (p = 0.02) and previous cesarean section (p = 0.02). The mean TGF-ß1 intensity (mean ± SD) in the ectopic endometrium of women with adenomyosis showed no significant association (184.17 ± 9.4 vs.184.66 ± 16.08, p = 0.86) from the topic endometrium of women without adenomyosis. Conclusion: TGF-ß1 expression was not increased in the ectopic endometrium of women with adenomyosis.

Does low intensity laser therapy reduce pain and change orofacial myofunctional conditions?

Due to its multifactorial pain aspects, combined therapies are required for the the comprehensive management of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). Interdisciplinary forms of therapies, such as laser therapy, and health care or medical professionals, such as speech therapists, have been proposed for this comprehensive management. The aims of this study were the following: 1. verify whether low-intensity laser therapy would promote significant pain remission; 2. evaluate whether this changes orofacial myofunctional conditions in the sample, as tested, using the Orofacial Myofunctional Evaluation with Scores (OMES); and 3. evaluate whether or not the pain improvement would remain stable after a 30-day follow-up for pain conditions. The study included 12 female volunteers diagnosed with myofascial pain and ages ranging from 18 to 60 years old, with or without intra-articular TMD, according to axis I of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD). Participants were assessed for pain on palpation, using a visual analogue scale (VAS), before treatment (A1), immediately after 30 days of intervention, i.e, after eight sessions of Low Intensity Laser Therapy (LILT) (A2), and 30 days after the end of the treatment with LILT (A3) (follow-up). Comparing the three evaluation times, it was observed that there was a significant decrease in the values of subjective pain to palpation (p < 0.05). The initial pain (A1) differed significantly from the A2, but did not differ significantly from A3.

Cardiovascular fitness and cardiovascular risk factors among obese men and women aged 58 years and older, in Portugal.

BACKGROUND: A better physical fitness may have survival advantages in adults. AIM: To analyze the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiovascular risk factors among obese subjects aged 58 years and older. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cardiorespiratory fitness using the six-minute walk test, body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry and blood pressure were measured in a non-representative sample of 76 obese Portuguese subjects aged 58 to 87 years (55 women). Participants were stratified in tertiles of walking capacity according to the six-minute walk test. RESULTS: Six minutes walk test results were negatively correlated with percentage body fat (r = -0.28; p = 0.012) and systolic blood pressure (r = -0.23; p = 0.045). Participants located in the lowest tertile for the six minutes walk test had an odds ratio of 4.34 (95% confidence intervals: 1.02-18.43) for elevated blood pressure. CONCLUSIONS: A lower six minutes walk test result is associated with a higher risk for high blood pressure.

Sinonasal inverted papilloma: rate of recurrence and malignant transformation in 44 operated patients.

INTRODUCTION: Although sinonasal inverted papillomas are benign lesions, they are locally aggressive and have a potential malignant transformation ranging from 5% to 15%, with a high recurrence rate. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article is to describe the rate of recurrence and malignant transformation in patients with a diagnosis of inverted papilloma who underwent surgery in a tertiary hospital in São Paulo. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with sinonasal papilloma who had undergone surgery in a tertiary hospital in São Paulo, between August 1998 and August 2017. A patient chart review was conducted to assess data of patients' demographics, tumors characteristics, follow-up appointments, recurrence and malignancy. Inverted papillomas were analyzed and classified under the Krouse staging system. RESULTS: A total of 69 surgeries were performed in patients with diagnosis of sinonasal papilloma. Inverted papilloma was the most prevalent subtype (49 cases ‒ 80.33%), followed by exophytic papilloma (6 cases ‒ 9.84%) and by oncocytic papilloma (6 cases - 9.84%). The recurrence rate was 34.09% for inverted papilloma (15/44) and the mean time of recurrence was 24.6 months. Malignant transformation occurred in 6 patients (13.64%). Three of these patients presented carcinoma in the first surgery and three patients developed carcinoma during the follow-up. CONCLUSION: The high recurrence rate and malignancy potential allow us to consider inverted papillomas as aggressive tumors. In a tertiary hospital in São Paulo the recurrence rate the mean time to recurrence is 24.6 months. The recurrence after 10 years implies was 34.09% and the need for long-term follow up. It is possible that the high recurrence rate and the high malignant transformation rate we found are due to the large number of tumors discovered at an advanced stage (most of them staged T3 and T4), secondary to poor access to health system, in developing countries.

Design Guidelines for Feedforward Cancellation of the Occlusion-Effect in Hearing Aids.

The occlusion-effect is described as an unsatisfactory quality of the hearing-aid user's own voice that sounds hollow or boomy. Some fixed and adaptive feedback controllers have been suggested in order to reduce the occlusion-effect. More recently, a feedforward adaptive active-noise-control based strategy for unvented hearing aids was proposed. This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the convergence conditions for this canceller. This allows explicit analytical determination of its stability limits, providing an adequate setup of the algorithm parameters to achieve a priori performance requirements, such as convergence speed and sound quality. Design examples are presented, which validate the theoretical analysis and illustrate its practical application.

Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1) expression in patients with adenomyosis

Abstract Objective: To compare Transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1) expression in patients with and without adenomyosis. Methods: A prospective design was performed including 49 patients submitted to hysterectomy. Immunohistochemistry was performed on anatomopathological samples staged in paraffin blocks from patients with and without adenomyosis. The sample contained 28 adenomyosis cases and 21 controls. Student's t-test and multivariate logistic regression tests were used for statistical analysis. Associations were considered significant at p < 0.05. Results: We found no significant association between adenomyosis and: smoking (p = 0.75), miscarriage (p = 0.29), number of previous pregnancies (p = 0.85), curettage (p = 0.81), pelvic pain (p = 0.72) and myoma (p = 0.15). However, we did find a relationship between adenomyosis and abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB) (p = 0.02) and previous cesarean section (p = 0.02). The mean TGF-β1 intensity (mean ± SD) in the ectopic endometrium of women with adenomyosis showed no significant association (184.17 ± 9.4 vs.184.66 ± 16.08, p = 0.86) from the topic endometrium of women without adenomyosis. Conclusion: TGF-β1 expression was not increased in the ectopic endometrium of women with adenomyosis.

A feed forward adaptive canceller to reduce the occlusion effect in hearing aids.

Hearing aids are essential devices for social integration of hearing impaired people in order to improve their auditory perception. Recent studies have reported significant dissatisfaction factors that tend to reduce their daily use. The occlusion effect is one important source of complaints. This phenomenon stems from the partial or complete closure of the ventilation opening of the ear-mould, usually performed to prevent feedback effects in high-gain devices. This work presents a new adaptive active-noise-control system to reduce the occlusion effect in small- or unvented hearing aids. In contrast to previously developed occlusion-effect cancellers, this system offers a feedforward cancelling structure that permits the analysis of its behaviour as a finite-impulse-response linear-filter identification problem. Deterministic recursive equations were derived with the aim to theoretically predict its mean square error and mean coefficient behaviour, both in transient and steady state conditions. Such models are of particular interest to hearing aid designers as guide tools for setting parameters to obtain a desired performance. Computational simulations accurately agree with theoretical predictions obtained by the derived equations, indicating a mean reduction of 5.4dB of the occlusion effect in the range of 200-500Hz. Subjective experiments with the use of a real prototype corroborate the functionality of the proposed architecture. No perceptual side effects regarding high-frequency amplifications of the original sounds were reported by volunteers.

Sinonasal inverted papilloma: rate of recurrence and malignant transformation in 44 operated patients / Papiloma invertido nasossinusal: taxa de recorrência e transformação maligna em 44 pacientes operados

Abstract Introduction: Although sinonasal inverted papillomas are benign lesions, they are locally aggressive and have a potential malignant transformation ranging from 5% to 15%, with a high recurrence rate. Objective: The aim of this article is to describe the rate of recurrence and malignant transformation in patients with a diagnosis of inverted papilloma who underwent surgery in a tertiary hospital in São Paulo. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with sinonasal papilloma who had undergone surgery in a tertiary hospital in São Paulo, between August 1998 and August 2017. A patient chart review was conducted to assess data of patients' demographics, tumors characteristics, follow-up appointments, recurrence and malignancy. Inverted papillomas were analyzed and classified under the Krouse staging system. Results: A total of 69 surgeries were performed in patients with diagnosis of sinonasal papilloma. Inverted papilloma was the most prevalent subtype (49 cases ‒ 80.33%), followed by exophytic papilloma (6 cases ‒ 9.84%) and by oncocytic papilloma (6 cases - 9.84%). The recurrence rate was 34.09% for inverted papilloma (15/44) and the mean time of recurrence was 24.6 months. Malignant transformation occurred in 6 patients (13.64%). Three of these patients presented carcinoma in the first surgery and three patients developed carcinoma during the follow-up. Conclusion: The high recurrence rate and malignancy potential allow us to consider inverted papillomas as aggressive tumors. In a tertiary hospital in São Paulo the recurrence rate the mean time to recurrence is 24.6 months. The recurrence after 10 years implies was 34.09% and the need for long-term follow up. It is possible that the high recurrence rate and the high malignant transformation rate we found are due to the large number of tumors discovered at an advanced stage (most of them staged T3 and T4), secondary to poor access to health system, in developing countries.

Resumo Introdução: Embora os papilomas invertidos nasossinusais sejam lesões benignas, eles são localmente agressivos e apresentam uma potencial transformação maligna que varia de 5% a 15%, com alta taxa de recorrência. Objetivo: Descrever a taxa de recorrência e transformação maligna em pacientes com diagnóstico de papiloma invertido submetidos à cirurgia em um hospital terciário em São Paulo. Método: Análise retrospectiva dos pacientes diagnosticados com papiloma nasossinusal submetidos a cirurgia em um hospital terciário em São Paulo, entre agosto de 1998 e agosto de 2017. Uma revisão de prontuários dos pacientes foi realizada para avaliar dados demográficos, características dos tumores, consultas de seguimento, recorrência e malignidade. Os papilomas invertidos foram analisados e classificados de acordo com o sistema de estadiamento de Krouse. Resultados: Foram realizadas 69 cirurgias em pacientes com diagnóstico de papiloma nasossinusal. O papiloma invertido foi o subtipo mais prevalente (49 casos - 80,33%), seguido pelo papiloma exofítico (6 casos - 9,84%) e pelo papiloma oncocítico (6 casos - 9,84%). A taxa de recidiva foi de 34,09% para o papiloma invertido (15/44) e o tempo médio de recorrência foi de 24,6 meses. Transformação maligna ocorreu em seis pacientes (13,64%); três desses pacientes apresentaram carcinoma na primeira cirurgia e três pacientes desenvolveram carcinoma durante o seguimento. Conclusão: A alta taxa de recorrência e o potencial de malignidade nos permitem considerar os papilomas invertidos como tumores agressivos. Em um hospital terciário de São Paulo, a taxa de recorrência foi de 34,09% e o tempo médio de recorrência de 24,6 meses. A recorrência após 10 anos implica na necessidade de acompanhamento a longo prazo. É possível que a alta taxa de recorrência e a alta taxa de transformação maligna que encontramos sejam devidas à grande extensão dos tumores (a maioria deles nos estágios T3 e T4), decorrente do acesso precário ao sistema de saúde nos países em desenvolvimento.

Formação de professores da educação básica para a captação de doadores de sangue do futuro / Training of basic education teachers for the capture of blood donors of the future

Objetivo: relatar uma experiência sobre a realização de ações para a formação de professores para a captação de doadores do futuro em escolas públicas do município de Tucuruí, Pará. Método: Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, do tipo relato de experiência oriundo da realização de um projeto de extensão universitária interdisciplinar e intersetorial desenvolvido pela Universidade do Estado do Pará em parceria com o serviço de saúde de média complexidade Fundação Centro de Hemoterapia e Hematologia do Pará, o qual consistiu na realização de ações alusivas a formação de professores para a captação de doadores do futuro em escolas públicas da educação básica. Resultados: a experiência aconteceu emetapas: 1) revisão de literatura para aprofundamento acerca da problemática e aquisição de conhecimentos sobre soluções; 2) planejamento e organização de materiais e atividadese 3) execução das ações. As temáticas abordadas durante as formações foram: contexto histórico da doação sanguínea, conceituação e importância da transfusão sanguínea, dados estatísticos sobre doação, funcionamento de um hemocentro e etapas de uma doação, mitose verdades sobre a doação. Considerações Finais: a experiência conseguiu despertar interesse nos professores pelo tema, portanto, conclui-se que os alunos também serão agraciados com o conhecimento, vindo a tornarem-se possíveisdoadores.

Objective: to report an experience on the performance of actions for teacher training to raise future donors in public schools in the city of Tucuruí, Pará. Method:This is a descriptive study, of the type of experience report derived from the realization of an interdisciplinary and intersectoral university extension project developed by the State University of Pará in partnership with themedium complexity health service Foundation of Hemotherapy and Hematology Center of Pará, which consisted of actions alusive to the training of teachers to capture donors of the future in public schools of basic education. Results:the experience took place in stages: 1) literature review to deepen the problem and acquisition of knowledge about solutions; 2) planning and organization of materials and activities and 3) execution of actions. The themes addressed during the training were: historical context of blood donation, conceptualization and importance of blood transfusion, statistical data on donation, functioning of a hemocenterand stages of a donation, myths and truths about donation. Final Considerations:the experience managed to arouse interest inteachers by the theme, therefore, it is concluded that students will also be awarded with knowledge, becoming possible donors.

[Clinical and demographic characteristics of 99 episodes of rheumatic fever in Acre, the Brazilian Amazon]. / Características clínicas demográficas em 99 episódios de febre reumática no Acre, Amazônia Brasileira.

OBJECTIVE: To report clinical manifestations and demographic characteristics of patients with rheumatic fever treated in a public hospital in the state of Acre. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted of patients consecutively seen in the Cardiology Ward at FUNDHACRE Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were assessed through a questionnaire. The diagnosis of rheumatic fever was made based on Jones' criteria, associated with laboratory data, electrocardiography, chest X-ray, and bi-dimensional echocardiography. Patients with other heart diseases, diabetes, obesity, inflammatory disease, and infections were excluded. Those who smoked, were pregnant, or used anti-inflammatory medication or hormone therapy were also excluded. RESULTS: From July 2003 to February 2004, 99 patients with rheumatic fever were assessed (mean age, 11 years, SD= +/- 10.18) with a predominance of females (59.6%), and a racial phenotype of a mixture of Caucasian and Indian (60.6%). Three individuals were excluded because they did not meet the diagnostic criteria. Mean age was 9.1 years old, and in 30.4% of the patients, the disease was diagnosed at the first episode of rheumatic fever. The most frequent clinical manifestations were carditis (69.7%), arthritis (21.4%), and chorea (6.1%). Mitral regurgitation was the most common lesion (36.4%) followed by the association of mitral regurgitation and aortic regurgitation (9.1%). CONCLUSION: Rheumatic carditis was the most common manifestation of rheumatic fever, predominant in the group with a racial mixture of Caucasian and Indian (60.6%). Low compliance with antibiotic therapy contributed to the recurrence of the disease and to cardiac sequelae.

Influence of the occlusion effect over the prediction-error feedback cancellation system in hearing aids.

This work presents a theoretical analysis of the prediction-error method-based adaptive feedback canceller in hearing aid applications. The studied scene takes into account the occlusion effect caused by the partial or complete closing of the ventilation opening. Such a situation may occur in high gain applications to avoid undesired whistling. Deterministic recursive equations and steady-state conditions were derived for the mean weight behaviour of the predictor and the adaptive filter. The expected theoretical predictions were compared to Monte Carlo simulations, showing very accurate agreement. The simulation results suggest the steady-state performance of this feedback canceller is not affected by the occlusion effect, however the occlusion is still perceived, being annoying to the user.

Granular cell tumor in female neonate: a case report / Tumor de células granulares em neonato do sexo feminino: relato de caso

ABSTRACT The granular cell tumor (GCT) is a neoplasm of connective tissue which rarely occurs in children. This case report aims to describe and discuss the presentation of this tumor in a female neonate. Compared to previous literature, the case report demonstrated a rare form of presentation of this tumor in an unusual age group.

RESUMEN O tumor de células granulares (TCG) é uma neoplasia de tecido conjuntivo que ocorre raramente em crianças. Este relato de caso descreve e discute a apresentação desse tumor em um neonato do sexo feminino. Em comparação com estudos anteriores, o caso reportado demonstrou uma forma rara de apresentação em uma faixa etária não usual.

RESUMO O tumor de células granulares (TCG) é uma neoplasia de tecido conjuntivo que ocorre raramente em crianças. Este relato de caso descreve e discute a apresentação desse tumor em um neonato do sexo feminino. Em comparação com estudos anteriores, o caso reportado demonstrou uma forma rara de apresentação em uma faixa etária não usual.

Ação inibitória de dentifrícios sobre Streptococcus mutans e Candida albicans: estudo in vitro / Inhibitory effect of dentifrices on Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans: in vitro study

Introdução: este estudo avaliou a ação antimicrobiana de sete dentifrícios nacionais com ação antiplaca ou antimicrobiana, conforme os fabricantes, sobre os patógenos orais Streptococcus mutans e Candida albicans. Métodos: a avaliação dos dentifrícios foi realizada pelo teste de difusão em ágar. Placas de Petri com meios de cultura ágar cérebro coração e ágar Sabourad foram semeadas com suspensão microbiana padronizada de S. mutans e C. albicans. Poços foram confeccionados no ágar semeado e preenchidos com as soluções dos dentifrícios diluídas em 1:1, 1:2, 1:4 e 1:8, além dos controles positivo (solução de clorexidina 2%) e negativo (dentifrício sem princípios ativos). Após incubação por 48h/37°C, os halos de inibição do crescimento microbiano foram medidos com paquímetro e régua milimetrada, e os resultados finais dos halos obtidos em milímetros. Resultados e conclusão: verificou-se que todos os dentifrícios, na diluição de 1:1, foram efetivos sobre C. albicans e S. mutans, exceto o composto de bicarbonato de sódio e extratos vegetais, o qual não inibiu S. mutans. Na diluição de 1:2, somente o dentifrício contendo triclosan inibiu C. albicans, enquanto todos mostraram algum potencial de inibição ao S. mutans. Nas demais diluições, não foram observados halos de inibição de ambos os microrganismos. A C. albicans demonstrou ser mais resistente à ação inibitória dos antimicrobianos dos dentifrícios testados neste estudo. S. mutans demonstrou ser mais sensível à ação dos dentifrícios, no entanto, a diluição durante a escovação dentária reduz a ação inibitória esperada, indicando a importância da remoção mecânica do biofilme.(AU)

Introduction: this study analyzed the antimicrobial activity in seven national dentifrices with antiplaque or antimicrobial substances in their composition, according the manufacturer, on the oral pathogens Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans. Methods: the dentifrices antimicrobial effect evaluation was carried out by agar diffusion test. S. mutans and C. albicans. Padronized microbial suspension was cultured on Petri dishes containing Brain Hearth Agar and Sabourad Agar, respectively. Wells were prepared in the cultured agar and filled with 1:1, 1:2, 1:4 and 1:8 dilutions of dentifrice solutions, and besides positive (2% chlorhexidine solutions) and negative controls (dentifrices without active ingredients). After 48h/37°C incubation, the microbial growing inhibition zones were measured with a paquimeter and a millimeter rule, being the final zone results obtained in millimeters. Results and conclusion: on 1:1 dilution, all dentifrices were effective on C. albicans and S. mutans, except one with vegetal extract and sodium bicarbonate composition, which did not inhibit S. mutans. In 1:2 dilution, only tricolsan-containing dentifrice inhibited C. albicans, while all dentifrices presented some inhibition potential on S. mutans. There were no inhibition zones for both microorganims in other dilutions. We concluded that C. albicans showed to be more resistant to antimicrobial agents tested in the dentifrices, in this study. S. mutans showed to be more sensitive to tested dentifrices, however, the product dilution during toothbrushing reduces the expected inhibitory action, strengthening the importance of the mechanical removal of dental biofilm.(AU)

[Archival documents produced by scientific work: an analysis of laboratory notebooks from the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz]. / Documentos de arquivo produzidos pela atividade científica: uma análise dos cadernos de laboratório do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz.

Analisa o caderno de laboratório, espécie documental produzida a partir dos registros da atividade científica, e seus diferentes tipos, bem como seu uso e seus formatos na pesquisa biomédica. A reflexão se apoia na pesquisa em andamento sobre os documentos dos laboratórios do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz e na relação destes com os conceitos, métodos, técnicas e práticas da arquivologia. A metodologia compreendeu, além de pesquisa bibliográfica, a aplicação de questionário, entrevistas e diagnóstico dos arquivos, nos quais se buscou identificar a gênese documental, as espécies/tipologias presentes e as práticas de manutenção e uso dos registros provenientes de 15 laboratórios. Discute ainda o caderno aberto de laboratório, formato disseminado no âmbito do debate contemporâneo da ciência aberta.

Use of GIS for the evaluation of heavy metal contamination in the Cunha Canal watershed and west of the Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, RJ.

The Cunha Canal watershed, which is located in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, suffered severe environmental degradation in recent decades due to rapid urban population growth. However, this substantial growth did not result in social development; instead, it exacerbated existing environmental and social problems. This study aimed to evaluate the pollution of the Canal do Cunha and Guanabara Bay, using GIS for mapping based on the result of the heavy metal concentrations obtained by spectrometry (ICP-OES). The analyzed data were monitored at five collection points. Five heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni and Zn) were evaluated. The results showed that the waters of the Cunha Canal watershed and the west side of Guanabara Bay have been altered and degraded. The concentration of heavy metals in the water was lower than the concentration in the sediments. The behaviors of the studied metals differed during the rainy and dry periods.

Radioactive characterization of phosphogypsum from Imbituba, Brazil.

This research aims to characterize the content of natural occurring radionuclides in phosphogypsum stacks at Imbituba, Santa Catarina state, Brazil. (226)Ra, (228)Ra, (40)K, (238)U and (232)Th were determined in PG, soils and sediment samples by gamma spectrometry using the hyper pure germanium detector and neutron activation. The migration of radionuclides in the phosphogypsum profile did not show the same behavior for all sampling sites. The mean activity concentration of (226)Ra was 95 Bq kg(-1), which is far below the limit recommended by the U.S. Environmental Agency (USEPA) for its application in agriculture (370 Bq kg(-1)) and the Brazilian Commission of Nuclear Energy Resolution 113 that established a reference level of 1000 Bq kg(-1) of (226)Ra or (228)Ra for the use of PG in agriculture as well as building materials.