Unpaved road conservation planning at the catchment scale.

In addition to soil losses on hillslopes, unpaved rural roads, especially when poorly designed and maintained, can be a significant contributor to the erosive processes seen at the catchment scale. In areas with deep soils, the solutions primarily focus on channeling excess surface runoff into settling ponds or terraces. However, few studies have addressed runoff control from roads on steep slopes in areas of shallow soil. Modeling hydrological processes at the catchment scale is a useful strategy for choosing the most effective and least costly conservation practices to control surface runoff. This study applies a mathematical model to a monitored catchment in southern Brazil to better understand the effects of conservation practices on unpaved roads and their impact on the hydrological and erosive dynamics of a small rural catchment. We calibrated the LISEM model using data from eight stormwater events and evaluated how three different road conservation scenarios-low (LI), medium (MI), and high intensity (HI)-contributed to sediment yield (SY), surface runoff volume (Qe), and peak flow (Qp) reduction. The LI and MI scenarios involved installation of hydraulic structures to control the road surface runoff (i.e. road ditch graveling, diversion weirs and grass waterways) while the HI scenario added surface runoff control practices (grass strips) to surrounding crop fields, in addition to the practices included in the MI scenario. Based on these scenarios, the results showed a Qe reduction at the catchment outlet from - 3.5% (LI) to - 22.5% (HI). The Qp and SY varied from + 6.0% (LI) to - 292.5% (HI) and from + 20.0% (LI) to - 963.9% (HI), respectively. These results show that the low- and medium-intensity practices were not effective in controlling surface runoff from roads, based on the Qe, Qb, and SY observed at the catchment's outlet. On the other hand, when MI scenarios were complemented with practices to control surface runoff in the cultivated areas, a significant reduction in surface runoff (Qe and Qp) and SY was verified.

Cross-cultural adaptation and assessment of the reliability and validity of the Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) for the Brazilian-Portuguese language.

PURPOSE: The use of patient-orientated questionnaires is of utmost importance in assessing the outcome of spine surgery. Standardisation, using a common set of outcome measures, is essential to aid comparisons across studies/in registries. The Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) is a short, multidimensional outcome instrument validated for patients with spinal disorders. This study aimed to produce a Brazilian-Portuguese version of the COMI. METHODS: A cross-cultural adaptation of the COMI into Brazilian-Portuguese was carried out using established guidelines. 104 outpatients with chronic LBP (>3 months) were recruited from a Public Health Spine Medical Care Centre. They completed a questionnaire booklet containing the newly translated COMI, and other validated symptom-specific questionnaires: Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Roland Morris disability scale (RM), and a pain visual analogue scale. All patients completed a second questionnaire within 7-10 days to assess reproducibility. RESULTS: The COMI summary score displayed minimal floor and ceiling effects. On re-test, the responses for each individual domain of the COMI were within 1 category in 98% patients for the domain 'function', 96% for 'symptom-specific well-being', 97% for 'general quality of life', 99% for 'social disability' and 100% for 'work disability'. The intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC(2,1)) for COMI pain and COMI summary scores were 0.91-0.96, which compared favourably with the corresponding values for the RM (ICC, 0.99) and ODI (ICC, 0.98). The standard error of measurement for the COMI was 0.6, giving a "minimum detectable change" (MDC95%) of approximately 1.7 points i.e., the minimum change to be considered "real change" beyond measurement error. The COMI scores correlated as hypothesised (Rho, 0.4-0.8) with the other symptom-specific questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS: The reproducibility of the Brazilian-Portuguese version of the COMI was comparable to that of other language versions. The COMI scores correlated in the expected manner with existing but longer symptom-specific questionnaires suggesting good convergent validity for the COMI. The Brazilian-Portuguese COMI represents a valuable tool for Brazilian study-centres in future multicentre clinical studies and surgical registries.

[Varioliform gastritis: frequency and relationship with lymphocytic gastritis]. / Gastrite varioliforme: freqüência e relação com a gastrite linfocítica.

Varioliform gastritis is currently recognized as a special kind of chronic gastritis characterized by nodules, thickened fugal folds and erosions. These features appear to be unusual and different from those seen in chronic gastritis. The frequency of varioliform gastritis rarely exceeds 3% and the diagnosis can be easily made by endoscopic examination. Very little is known about the etiopathogeny, clinical significance and evolution of this disease. The role of Helicobacter pylori still remains unknown, although a close relationship between this gastritis and lymphocytic gastritis was suggested to exist over the last few years. The aim of the present study was to investigate the frequency of varioliform gastritis and its possible correlation with lymphocytic gastritis. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic study of varioliform gastritis in South America. We studied endoscopically 200 consecutive patients and found only one case of varioliform gastritis (0.5%). In a second part of the study, we examined histopathologically mucosa biopsies from 24 patients with varioliform gastritis and studied the presence of intraepithelial lymphocytes to verify the presence of lymphocytic gastritis. No case was found. We conclude that there was no correlation between varioliform gastritis and lymphocytic gastritis in our patients.

Combined cyclophosphamide vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (COPP) therapy of malignant lymphoma. Evaluation of 190 patients.

One hundred ninety patients who had advanced active Hodgkin's disease, lymphosarcoma, or reticulum cell sarcoma were treated with a combination of cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (COPP) given in a cyclical fashion every month. Complete remission was produced in 91 of 138 (66%) patients with Hodgkin's disease and in 39 of 52 (75%) patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (lymphosarcoma and reticulum cell sarcoma). The response rate was higher in patients who completed six cycles of therapy compared to those who completed only three to five cycles: 77% vs. 45%, respectively, in Hodgkin's disease, and 85% vs. 46%, respectively, in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The median duration of remission was longer for Hodgkin's disease patients who completed six cycles (30 months vs. 10 months). The median duration of complete remission of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was 14 months. The response to treatment correlated positively with survival. The median survival time start of COPP treatment for patients with Hodgkin's disease was 7 months for nonresponders, 14 months for those who attained partial remission, and more than 48 months for those who attained complete remission. For patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, the median survival time from start of COPP treatment was 24 months for nonresponders and those who had partial remission, and more than 32 months for those who attained complete remission. Of complete remission responders with Hodgkin's disease, 70% are still alive 84 months after diagnosis, and 63% of the patients witn non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are still alive 48 months after diagnosis.