Psychometric evaluation of a motor control test battery of the craniofacial region.

The primary objective of this study was to determine the structural and known-group validity as well as the inter-rater reliability of a test battery to evaluate the motor control of the craniofacial region. Seventy volunteers without TMD and 25 subjects with TMD (Axes I) per the DC/TMD were asked to execute a test battery consisting of eight tests. The tests were video-taped in the same sequence in a standardised manner. Two experienced physical therapists participated in this study as blinded assessors. We used exploratory factor analysis to identify the underlying component structure of the eight tests. Internal consistency (Cronbach's α), inter-rater reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient) and construct validity (ie, hypothesis testing-known-group validity) (receiver operating curves) were also explored for the test battery. The structural validity showed the presence of one factor underlying the construct of the test battery. The internal consistency was excellent (0.90) as well as the inter-rater reliability. All values of reliability were close to 0.9 or above indicating very high inter-rater reliability. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.93 for rater 1 and 0.94 for rater two, respectively, indicating excellent discrimination between subjects with TMD and healthy controls. The results of the present study support the psychometric properties of test battery to measure motor control of the craniofacial region when evaluated through videotaping. This test battery could be used to differentiate between healthy subjects and subjects with musculoskeletal impairments in the cervical and oro-facial regions. In addition, this test battery could be used to assess the effectiveness of management strategies in the craniofacial region.

Atmospheric pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy apparatus: Bridging the pressure gap.

One of the main goals in catalysis is the characterization of solid/gas interfaces in a reaction environment. The electronic structure and chemical composition of surfaces become heavily influenced by the surrounding environment. However, the lack of surface sensitive techniques that are able to monitor these modifications under high pressure conditions hinders the understanding of such processes. This limitation is known throughout the community as the "pressure gap." We have developed a novel experimental setup that provides chemical information on a molecular level under atmospheric pressure and in presence of reactive gases and at elevated temperatures. This approach is based on separating the vacuum environment from the high-pressure environment by a silicon nitride grid-that contains an array of micrometer-sized holes-coated with a bilayer of graphene. Using this configuration, we have investigated the local electronic structure of catalysts by means of photoelectron spectroscopy and in presence of gases at 1 atm. The reaction products were monitored online by mass spectrometry and gas chromatography. The successful operation of this setup was demonstrated with three different examples: the oxidation/reduction reaction of iridium (noble metal) and copper (transition metal) nanoparticles and with the hydrogenation of propyne on Pd black catalyst (powder).

A educação popular na atenção básica à saúde no município: em busca da integralidade / Popular education in primary care: in search of comprehensive health care

Trata-se de um artigo de revisão bibliográfica e análise documental sobre as experiências de educação em saúde nos serviços, baseadas na educação popular em saúde e do seu potencial em desenvolver a integralidade das ações no âmbito da atenção básica. É discutida a forma como a educação em saúde vem sendo trabalhada pelos serviços e as dificuldades para que possa contribuir para a construção de uma atenção realmente integral à saúde. As ações de saúde são entendidas como ações educativas em que, tanto profissionais como usuários aprendem e ensinam, numa construção dialógica do conhecimento. Desta forma, a atenção ao individuo também faz parte das reflexões discutidas no texto, tanto no que se refere à postura dos profissionais quanto ao respeito ao saber popular e à busca da terapêutica mais eficaz pelos usuários. A partir da revisão, é proposta uma sistematização de programas de ação e atividades que podem compor uma proposta de educação popular em saúde para os municípios.

Studies on the striatal dopamine uptake system of weaver mutant mice and effects of ventral mesencephalic grafts.

The dopamine (DA) uptake system was investigated in the mesostriatal system of normal and weaver mutant mice, which lose mesencephalic DA neurons, as well as in weaver mutants with ventral mesencephalic grafts to the striatum. Assays of [3H]DA uptake in striatal synaptosomal fractions in vitro and autoradiography of [3H]mazindol binding in brain sections were carried out in wild-type mice (+/+) and in the two hemispheres of homozygous weaver mutants (wv/wv) that had received unilateral grafts of mesencephalic cell suspensions to the right side. Net [3H]DA uptake, expressed as pmol/mg-protein/2-min, was on the average 50.6 in the striatum of wild-type mice, 7.9 in the non-grafted, and 10.1 in the transplanted striatum of weaver mutants. [3H]DA uptake in wild-type mice differed significantly from both the grafted and non-grafted weaver striata (P < 0.001). Paired comparisons for [3H]DA uptake between right and left sides of recipient weaver mice showed a significant side effect (P < 0.02), the right side being 28-38% higher than the left side [mean of all individual (R-L)/L values]. The results of amphetamine-induced turning behavior tests were compared with the biochemical findings. Mice with grafts to the right side rotated an average of 22 turns to the left and 7 turns to the right during the five one-minute sessions; the mean value L/(L + R) was 64%. A plot of (L-R) rotations against (R-L) [3H]DA uptake gave a correlation coefficient of 0.552 (P < 0.05), indicating that animals with a strong rotational bias to the left tended to have higher [3H]DA on the right. Similarly, the animals that were used for [3H]mazindol binding autoradiographic studies displayed on the average 72% rotations to the left side. In the [3H]mazindol binding data, non-grafted weaver mutants showed the severest depletion relative to wild-type in the dorsomedial and dorsolateral caudate-putamen (86% and 87%, respectively). Mice with unilateral grafts to the right side showed an increase in [3H]mazindol binding signal in the transplanted side of 40-64% (depending on dorsoventral topography) over the contralateral, non-grafted side. These findings attest to the functional effects of the grafts at the anatomical, biochemical, and behavioral levels. The parallel measurements of motor performance and DA uptake in the same animals offers an index of behavioral recovery as a function of transmitter-related activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

[Social movements and health: notes for a debate]. / Movimentos sociais e saúde: notas para uma discussão.

This text is a contribution to the debate about the participation of social scientists in the field of health. The difficulties and perspectives involved in the incorporation of a specific theme such as social movements are treated. When criticizing the heavy emphasis traditionally given to "politics" in Brazilian social analysis, in reality attention is being called to the problem of the decrease in reflective power on a theoretically and politically relevant issue, the constitution of collective subjects in a specific period of time. This article represents an effort at overcoming the dilemma.

Alterations in dopamine and serotonin uptake systems in the striatum of the weaver mutant mouse.

In the striatum of the homozygous weaver mutant mouse (wv/wv), dopamine content, uptake and tyrosine hydroxylase activity are decreased compared to wild-type (+/+) mice. In mice heterozygous for the weaver gene (wv/+), these dopaminergic parameters exhibit only minor reductions compared to +/+ mice. The wv/wv striatum has recently been shown to have an increase in serotonin content. In the present study, the serotonin uptake system of the weaver striatum was investigated. Synaptosomal uptake of [3H] serotonin was determined in the dorsal portion of wv/wv and +/+ striatum, and serotonin uptake sites were examined by the binding of [3H] citalopram in the striatum of wv/wv, wv/+ and +/+ mice. The dopamine uptake system was also investigated in all three genotypes via the binding of [3H] mazindol. Synaptosomal uptake of [3H] serotonin was increased by 79% in the dorsal portion of the wv/wv striatum compared to that seen in the +/+ striatum. The binding of [3H] citalopram was increased by 62% in the dorsolateral and by 111% in the dorsomedial portions of the wv/wv striatum compared to +/+. [3H] Citalopram binding in the wv/+ striatum was also higher than +/+, but this increase did not reach statistical significance. Within the wv/wv striatum, [3H] mazindol binding was almost completely absent (88-89% reduction) in the dorsal portion and severely reduced in the other striatal areas. These data support the notion that the dorsal portion of the wv/wv striatum, which has the severest reduction in dopamine uptake, is hyperinnervated by serotonin fibers.

Serotonin content is elevated in the dopamine deficient striatum of the weaver mutant mouse.

In the present study, we measured the striatal serotonin content of weaver and control mice at different ages. Overall, weaver mutant mice exhibited 50% more striatal serotonin than controls. Neither a rostrocaudal gradient nor an age effect was found for either genotype. An analysis of serotonin content across the dorsoventral extent of the striatum revealed that in the dorsal striatum of the weaver, serotonin content was increased 200%, and in the ventral striatum, the increase amounted to 50% relative to control mice. Serotonin immunocytochemistry also revealed an increase in the dorsal striata of weaver mice. The major increase in striatal serotonin content seen in the weaver striatum occurs in the same region that exhibits the severest dopamine depletion. This observation is consistent with the notion that the increase in serotonin levels may be secondary to the decrease in dopamine content and may play an adaptive or compensatory role.

Comparison of alterations in tyrosine hydroxylase, dopamine levels, and dopamine uptake in the striatum of the weaver mutant mouse.

Previous reports have shown that among the markers for the nigro-striatal dopamine (DA) system measured in the striatum, dopamine uptake seems to be more severely affected than the others in the weaver mutant mouse. In the present study we examined DA levels, tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) activity, and high-affinity DA uptake to determine if the DA uptake is most affected when all the measurements are made in the same striatal homogenate in the same laboratory. We found that the DA uptake activity was most altered (93% lower) compared to DA levels (68% lower) and TH activity (64% lower). The DA uptake was so low in the weaver that we could not obtain reliable kinetic parameters. For TH activity we found that the Vmax was 36% lower while the Km for L-tyrosine was 92% higher in the weaver striatum. This lower affinity for substrate suggests that the TH enzyme itself may be altered in the nigro-striatal system of the weaver mutant mouse.