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Sample records for spontaneous activity sa

  1. Electrophysiological study in the infraorbital nerve of the rat: Spontaneous and evoked activity

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    AlbarracIn, A L [Catedra de Neurociencias, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional de Tucuman, Av. Roca 2200, PC 4000 (Argentina); Farfan, F D [Departamento de BioingenierIa, FACET, Universidad Nacional de Tucuman, INSIBIO - CONICET, CC 327, PC 4000 (Argentina); Felice, C J [Departamento de BioingenierIa, FACET, Universidad Nacional de Tucuman, INSIBIO - CONICET, CC 327, PC 4000 (Argentina)

    2007-11-15

    In this work we present some studies in the afferent nerve of the rat vibrissae. Studies on spontaneous activity (SA) in this sensorial system are of long data. Nevertheless, SA recordings in the nerve of a single vibrissa have not been made until present. In this work, we use an algorithm based on signal decomposition with Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) to analyse the discharges of two nerves. The action potentials of both nerves were detected and the firing rates were calculated. These results suggest that the firing rate of one vibrissa innervation is low considering that this nerve contains hundred of fibers. In addition, we present preliminary studies suggesting important effects of the hair shaft length in the afferent discharge during the vibrissae movements. The experiments consisted in recording the nerve activity after the vibrissae were sectioned at two different levels. The results showed important differences in the signal energy contents. It suggests that the hair shaft length would produce a differential activation of the mechanoreceptors located in the vibrissae follicle.

  2. Electrophysiological study in the infraorbital nerve of the rat: Spontaneous and evoked activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    AlbarracIn, A L; Farfan, F D; Felice, C J

    2007-01-01

    In this work we present some studies in the afferent nerve of the rat vibrissae. Studies on spontaneous activity (SA) in this sensorial system are of long data. Nevertheless, SA recordings in the nerve of a single vibrissa have not been made until present. In this work, we use an algorithm based on signal decomposition with Continuous Wavelet Transform (CWT) to analyse the discharges of two nerves. The action potentials of both nerves were detected and the firing rates were calculated. These results suggest that the firing rate of one vibrissa innervation is low considering that this nerve contains hundred of fibers. In addition, we present preliminary studies suggesting important effects of the hair shaft length in the afferent discharge during the vibrissae movements. The experiments consisted in recording the nerve activity after the vibrissae were sectioned at two different levels. The results showed important differences in the signal energy contents. It suggests that the hair shaft length would produce a differential activation of the mechanoreceptors located in the vibrissae follicle

  3. Spontaneous Plasticity of Multineuronal Activity Patterns in Activated Hippocampal Networks

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    Atsushi Usami

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Using functional multineuron imaging with single-cell resolution, we examined how hippocampal networks by themselves change the spatiotemporal patterns of spontaneous activity during the course of emitting spontaneous activity. When extracellular ionic concentrations were changed to those that mimicked in vivo conditions, spontaneous activity was increased in active cell number and activity frequency. When ionic compositions were restored to the control conditions, the activity level returned to baseline, but the weighted spatial dispersion of active cells, as assessed by entropy-based metrics, did not. Thus, the networks can modify themselves by altering the internal structure of their correlated activity, even though they as a whole maintained the same level of activity in space and time.

  4. Active hippocampal networks undergo spontaneous synaptic modification.

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    Masako Tsukamoto-Yasui

    Full Text Available The brain is self-writable; as the brain voluntarily adapts itself to a changing environment, the neural circuitry rearranges its functional connectivity by referring to its own activity. How the internal activity modifies synaptic weights is largely unknown, however. Here we report that spontaneous activity causes complex reorganization of synaptic connectivity without any external (or artificial stimuli. Under physiologically relevant ionic conditions, CA3 pyramidal cells in hippocampal slices displayed spontaneous spikes with bistable slow oscillations of membrane potential, alternating between the so-called UP and DOWN states. The generation of slow oscillations did not require fast synaptic transmission, but their patterns were coordinated by local circuit activity. In the course of generating spontaneous activity, individual neurons acquired bidirectional long-lasting synaptic modification. The spontaneous synaptic plasticity depended on a rise in intracellular calcium concentrations of postsynaptic cells, but not on NMDA receptor activity. The direction and amount of the plasticity varied depending on slow oscillation patterns and synapse locations, and thus, they were diverse in a network. Once this global synaptic refinement occurred, the same neurons now displayed different patterns of spontaneous activity, which in turn exhibited different levels of synaptic plasticity. Thus, active networks continuously update their internal states through ongoing synaptic plasticity. With computational simulations, we suggest that with this slow oscillation-induced plasticity, a recurrent network converges on a more specific state, compared to that with spike timing-dependent plasticity alone.

  5. Spatial diversity of spontaneous activity in the cortex

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    Andrew Yong-Yi Tan

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The neocortex is a layered sheet across which a basic organization is thought to widely apply. The variety of spontaneous activity patterns is similar throughout the cortex, consistent with the notion of a basic cortical organization. However, the basic organization is only an outline which needs adjustments and additions to account for the structural and functional diversity across cortical layers and areas. Such diversity suggests that spontaneous activity is spatially diverse in any particular behavioral state. Accordingly, this review summarizes the laminar and areal diversity in cortical activity during fixation and slow oscillations, and the effects of attention, anesthesia and plasticity on the cortical distribution of spontaneous activity. Among questions that remain open, characterizing the spatial diversity in spontaneous membrane potential may help elucidate how differences in circuitry among cortical regions supports their varied functions. More work is also needed to understand whether cortical spontaneous activity not only reflects cortical circuitry, but also contributes to determining the outcome of plasticity, so that it is itself a factor shaping the functional diversity of the cortex.

  6. Associative memory model with spontaneous neural activity

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    Kurikawa, Tomoki; Kaneko, Kunihiko

    2012-05-01

    We propose a novel associative memory model wherein the neural activity without an input (i.e., spontaneous activity) is modified by an input to generate a target response that is memorized for recall upon the same input. Suitable design of synaptic connections enables the model to memorize input/output (I/O) mappings equaling 70% of the total number of neurons, where the evoked activity distinguishes a target pattern from others. Spontaneous neural activity without an input shows chaotic dynamics but keeps some similarity with evoked activities, as reported in recent experimental studies.

  7. New Perspectives on Spontaneous Brain Activity: Dynamic Networks and Energy Matter.

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    Tozzi, Arturo; Zare, Marzieh; Benasich, April A

    2016-01-01

    Spontaneous brain activity has received increasing attention as demonstrated by the exponential rise in the number of published article on this topic over the last 30 years. Such "intrinsic" brain activity, generated in the absence of an explicit task, is frequently associated with resting-state or default-mode networks (DMN)s. The focus on characterizing spontaneous brain activity promises to shed new light on questions concerning the structural and functional architecture of the brain and how they are related to "mind". However, many critical questions have yet to be addressed. In this review, we focus on a scarcely explored area, specifically the energetic requirements and constraints of spontaneous activity, taking into account both thermodynamical and informational perspectives. We argue that the "classical" definitions of spontaneous activity do not take into account an important feature, that is, the critical thermodynamic energetic differences between spontaneous and evoked brain activity. Spontaneous brain activity is associated with slower oscillations compared with evoked, task-related activity, hence it exhibits lower levels of enthalpy and "free-energy" (i.e., the energy that can be converted to do work), thus supporting noteworthy thermodynamic energetic differences between spontaneous and evoked brain activity. Increased spike frequency during evoked activity has a significant metabolic cost, consequently, brain functions traditionally associated with spontaneous activity, such as mind wandering, require less energy that other nervous activities. We also review recent empirical observations in neuroscience, in order to capture how spontaneous brain dynamics and mental function can be embedded in a non-linear dynamical framework, which considers nervous activity in terms of phase spaces, particle trajectories, random walks, attractors and/or paths at the edge of the chaos. This takes us from the thermodynamic free-energy, to the realm of "variational

  8. Behavioral Modulation by Spontaneous Activity of Dopamine Neurons

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    Toshiharu Ichinose

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Dopamine modulates a variety of animal behaviors that range from sleep and learning to courtship and aggression. Besides its well-known phasic firing to natural reward, a substantial number of dopamine neurons (DANs are known to exhibit ongoing intrinsic activity in the absence of an external stimulus. While accumulating evidence points at functional implications for these intrinsic “spontaneous activities” of DANs in cognitive processes, a causal link to behavior and its underlying mechanisms has yet to be elucidated. Recent physiological studies in the model organism Drosophila melanogaster have uncovered that DANs in the fly brain are also spontaneously active, and that this activity reflects the behavioral/internal states of the animal. Strikingly, genetic manipulation of basal DAN activity resulted in behavioral alterations in the fly, providing critical evidence that links spontaneous DAN activity to behavioral states. Furthermore, circuit-level analyses have started to reveal cellular and molecular mechanisms that mediate or regulate spontaneous DAN activity. Through reviewing recent findings in different animals with the major focus on flies, we will discuss potential roles of this physiological phenomenon in directing animal behaviors.

  9. Vision drives correlated activity without patterned spontaneous activity in developing Xenopus retina.

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    Demas, James A; Payne, Hannah; Cline, Hollis T

    2012-04-01

    Developing amphibians need vision to avoid predators and locate food before visual system circuits fully mature. Xenopus tadpoles can respond to visual stimuli as soon as retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) innervate the brain, however, in mammals, chicks and turtles, RGCs reach their central targets many days, or even weeks, before their retinas are capable of vision. In the absence of vision, activity-dependent refinement in these amniote species is mediated by waves of spontaneous activity that periodically spread across the retina, correlating the firing of action potentials in neighboring RGCs. Theory suggests that retinorecipient neurons in the brain use patterned RGC activity to sharpen the retinotopy first established by genetic cues. We find that in both wild type and albino Xenopus tadpoles, RGCs are spontaneously active at all stages of tadpole development studied, but their population activity never coalesces into waves. Even at the earliest stages recorded, visual stimulation dominates over spontaneous activity and can generate patterns of RGC activity similar to the locally correlated spontaneous activity observed in amniotes. In addition, we show that blocking AMPA and NMDA type glutamate receptors significantly decreases spontaneous activity in young Xenopus retina, but that blocking GABA(A) receptor blockers does not. Our findings indicate that vision drives correlated activity required for topographic map formation. They further suggest that developing retinal circuits in the two major subdivisions of tetrapods, amphibians and amniotes, evolved different strategies to supply appropriately patterned RGC activity to drive visual circuit refinement. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Learning shapes spontaneous activity itinerating over memorized states.

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    Tomoki Kurikawa

    Full Text Available Learning is a process that helps create neural dynamical systems so that an appropriate output pattern is generated for a given input. Often, such a memory is considered to be included in one of the attractors in neural dynamical systems, depending on the initial neural state specified by an input. Neither neural activities observed in the absence of inputs nor changes caused in the neural activity when an input is provided were studied extensively in the past. However, recent experimental studies have reported existence of structured spontaneous neural activity and its changes when an input is provided. With this background, we propose that memory recall occurs when the spontaneous neural activity changes to an appropriate output activity upon the application of an input, and this phenomenon is known as bifurcation in the dynamical systems theory. We introduce a reinforcement-learning-based layered neural network model with two synaptic time scales; in this network, I/O relations are successively memorized when the difference between the time scales is appropriate. After the learning process is complete, the neural dynamics are shaped so that it changes appropriately with each input. As the number of memorized patterns is increased, the generated spontaneous neural activity after learning shows itineration over the previously learned output patterns. This theoretical finding also shows remarkable agreement with recent experimental reports, where spontaneous neural activity in the visual cortex without stimuli itinerate over evoked patterns by previously applied signals. Our results suggest that itinerant spontaneous activity can be a natural outcome of successive learning of several patterns, and it facilitates bifurcation of the network when an input is provided.

  11. Synaptic model for spontaneous activity in developing networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lerchner, Alexander; Rinzel, J.

    2005-01-01

    Spontaneous rhythmic activity occurs in many developing neural networks. The activity in these hyperexcitable networks is comprised of recurring "episodes" consisting of "cycles" of high activity that alternate with "silent phases" with little or no activity. We introduce a new model of synaptic...... dynamics that takes into account that only a fraction of the vesicles stored in a synaptic terminal is readily available for release. We show that our model can reproduce spontaneous rhythmic activity with the same general features as observed in experiments, including a positive correlation between...

  12. WRKY transcription factors involved in activation of SA biosynthesis genes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Verk, Marcel C; Bol, John F; Linthorst, Huub J M

    2011-01-01

    Increased defense against a variety of pathogens in plants is achieved through activation of a mechanism known as systemic acquired resistance (SAR). The broad-spectrum resistance brought about by SAR is mediated through salicylic acid (SA). An important step in SA biosynthesis in Arabidopsis is the

  13. The influence of spontaneous activity on stimulus processing in primary visual cortex.

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    Schölvinck, M L; Friston, K J; Rees, G

    2012-02-01

    Spontaneous activity in the resting human brain has been studied extensively; however, how such activity affects the local processing of a sensory stimulus is relatively unknown. Here, we examined the impact of spontaneous activity in primary visual cortex on neuronal and behavioural responses to a simple visual stimulus, using functional MRI. Stimulus-evoked responses remained essentially unchanged by spontaneous fluctuations, combining with them in a largely linear fashion (i.e., with little evidence for an interaction). However, interactions between spontaneous fluctuations and stimulus-evoked responses were evident behaviourally; high levels of spontaneous activity tended to be associated with increased stimulus detection at perceptual threshold. Our results extend those found in studies of spontaneous fluctuations in motor cortex and higher order visual areas, and suggest a fundamental role for spontaneous activity in stimulus processing. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  14. Spontaneous neutrophil activation in HTLV-1 infected patients

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    Jaqueline B. Guerreiro

    Full Text Available Human T cell lymphotropic Virus type-1 (HTLV-1 induces lymphocyte activation and proliferation, but little is known about the innate immune response due to HTLV-1 infection. We evaluated the percentage of neutrophils that metabolize Nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT to formazan in HTLV-1 infected subjects and the association between neutrophil activation and IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha levels. Blood was collected from 35 HTLV-1 carriers, from 8 patients with HAM/TSP (HTLV-1- associated myelopathy; 22 healthy individuals were evaluated for spontaneous and lipopolysaccharide (LPS-stimulated neutrophil activity (reduction of NBT to formazan. The production of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha by unstimulated mononuclear cells was determined by ELISA. Spontaneous NBT levels, as well as spontaneous IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha production, were significantly higher (p<0.001 in HTLV-1 infected subjects than in healthy individuals. A trend towards a positive correlation was noted, with increasing percentage of NBT positive neutrophils and levels of IFN-gamma. The high IFN-gamma producing HTLV-1 patient group had significantly greater NBT than healthy controls, 43±24% and 17±4.8% respectively (p< 0.001, while no significant difference was observed between healthy controls and the low IFN-gamma-producing HTLV-1 patient group (30±20%. Spontaneous neutrophil activation is another marker of immune perturbation resulting from HTLV-1 infection. In vivo activation of neutrophils observed in HTLV-1 infected subjects is likely to be the same process that causes spontaneous IFN-gamma production, or it may partially result from direct IFN-gamma stimulation.

  15. Mechanisms of morphine enhancement of spontaneous seizure activity.

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    Saboory, Ehsan; Derchansky, Miron; Ismaili, Mohammed; Jahromi, Shokrollah S; Brull, Richard; Carlen, Peter L; El Beheiry, Hossam

    2007-12-01

    High-dose opioid therapy can precipitate seizures; however, the mechanism of such a dangerous adverse effect remains poorly understood. The aim of our study was to determine whether the neuroexcitatory activity of high-dose morphine is mediated by selective stimulation of opioid receptors. Mice hippocampi were resected intact and bathed in low magnesium artificial cerebrospinal fluid to induce spontaneous seizure-like events recorded from CA1 neurons. Application of morphine had a biphasic effect on the recorded spontaneous seizure-like events. In a low concentration (10 microM), morphine depressed electrographic seizure activity. Higher morphine concentrations (30 and 100 microM) enhanced seizure activity in an apparent dose-dependent manner. Naloxone, a nonselective opiate antagonist blocked the proconvulsant action of morphine. Selective mu and kappa opiate receptor agonists and antagonists enhanced and suppressed the spontaneous seizure activity, respectively. On the contrary, delta opioid receptor ligands did not have an effect. The proseizure effect of morphine is mediated through selective stimulation of mu and kappa opiate receptors but not the activation of the delta receptor system. The observed dose-dependent mechanism of morphine neuroexcitation underscores careful adjustment and individualized opioid dosing in the clinical setting.

  16. Which nerve conduction parameters can predict spontaneous electromyographic activity in carpal tunnel syndrome?

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    Chang, Chia-Wei; Lee, Wei-Ju; Liao, Yi-Chu; Chang, Ming-Hong

    2013-11-01

    We investigate electrodiagnostic markers to determine which parameters are the best predictors of spontaneous electromyographic (EMG) activity in carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). We enrolled 229 patients with clinically proven and nerve conduction study (NCS)-proven CTS, as well as 100 normal control subjects. All subjects were evaluated using electrodiagnostic techniques, including median distal sensory latencies (DSLs), sensory nerve action potentials (SNAPs), distal motor latencies (DMLs), compound muscle action potentials (CMAPs), forearm median nerve conduction velocities (FMCVs) and wrist-palm motor conduction velocities (W-P MCVs). All CTS patients underwent EMG examination of the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle, and the presence or absence of spontaneous EMG activities was recorded. Normal limits were determined by calculating the means ± 2 standard deviations from the control data. Associations between parameters from the NCS and EMG findings were investigated. In patients with clinically diagnosed CTS, abnormal median CMAP amplitudes were the best predictors of spontaneous activity during EMG examination (p95% (positive predictive rate >95%). If the median CMAP amplitude was higher than the normal limit (>4.9 mV), the rate of no spontaneous EMG activity was >94% (negative predictive rate >94%). An abnormal SNAP amplitude was the second best predictor of spontaneous EMG activity (p<0.001; OR 4.13; 95% CI 2.16-7.90), and an abnormal FMCV was the third best predictor (p=0.01; OR 2.10; 95% CI 1.20-3.67). No other nerve conduction parameters had significant power to predict spontaneous activity upon EMG examination. The CMAP amplitudes of the APB are the most powerful predictors of the occurrence of spontaneous EMG activity. Low CMAP amplitudes are strongly associated with spontaneous activity, whereas high CMAP amplitude are less associated with spontaneous activity, implying that needle EMG examination should be recommended for the detection of

  17. Spontaneous emission from active dielectric microstructures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søndergaard, Thomas; Tromborg, Bjarne

    2001-01-01

    and engineered due to the dependence of the emission rate on the location and polarisation of the emitters in the structure. This paper addresses the methods of quantum electrodynamics of dielectric media which enable calculation of the local rate of spontaneous emission in active microstructures....

  18. Spontaneous Gamma Activity in Schizophrenia.

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    Hirano, Yoji; Oribe, Naoya; Kanba, Shigenobu; Onitsuka, Toshiaki; Nestor, Paul G; Spencer, Kevin M

    2015-08-01

    A major goal of translational neuroscience is to identify neural circuit abnormalities in neuropsychiatric disorders that can be studied in animal models to facilitate the development of new treatments. Oscillations in the gamma band (30-100 Hz) of the electroencephalogram have received considerable interest as the basic mechanisms underlying these oscillations are understood, and gamma abnormalities have been found in schizophrenia (SZ). Animal models of SZ based on hypofunction of the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) demonstrate increased spontaneous broadband gamma power, but this phenomenon has not been identified clearly in patients with SZ. To examine spontaneous gamma power and its relationship to evoked gamma oscillations in the auditory cortex of patients with SZ. We performed a cross-sectional study including 24 patients with chronic SZ and 24 matched healthy control participants at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2012. Electroencephalograms were obtained during auditory steady-state stimulation at multiple frequencies (20, 30, and 40 Hz) and during a resting state in 18 participants in each group. Electroencephalographic activity in the auditory cortex was estimated using dipole source localization. Auditory steady-state response (ASSR) measures included the phase-locking factor and evoked power. Spontaneous gamma power was measured as induced (non-phase-locked) gamma power in the ASSR data and as total gamma power in the resting-state data. The ASSR phase-locking factor was reduced significantly in patients with SZ compared with controls for the 40-Hz stimulation (mean [SD], 0.075 [0.028] vs 0.113 [0.065]; F1,46 = 6.79 [P = .012]) but not the 20- or the 30-Hz stimulation (0.042 [0.038] vs 0.043 [0.034]; F1,46 = 0.006 [P = .938] and 0.084 [0.040] vs 0.098 [0.050]; F1,46 = 1.605 [P = .212], respectively), repeating previous findings. The mean [SD] broadband-induced (30

  19. Safety of oral ibuprofen--analysis of data from the spontaneous reporting system in Poland.

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    Kuchari, Ernest; Han, Stanisław; Karłowicz-Bodalska, Katarzyna; Miśkiewicz, Katarzyna; Kutycka, Elzbieta

    2014-01-01

    Ibuprofen is a popular over-the-counter, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication, frequently used for the relief of fever, headaches, menstrual and other minor pains as well as a major active ingredient in numerous cold preparations. We analyzed sales volume and data obtained from the monitoring of spontaneous reports on the adverse effects of IBUM soft capsules, IBUM Forte soft capsules, and IBUM oral suspension 100 mg/5 mL collected by the manufacturer (PPF HASCO-LEK S.A. Wroclaw, Poland) and National Monitoring Center in Warszawa in the period between October 2002 and June 2012. A total of 19,644,797 units of IBUM soft capsules 200 mg, 5,678,164 units of IBUM Forte soft capsules 400 mg and 4,333,325 units of IBUM oral suspension 100 mg/5 mL (29,656,286 units altogether) produced by PPF HASCO-LEK S.A. Wrodcaw, P'oland were marketed during the period analyzed. There were 5 spontaneous reports regarding these medications registered in Poland in the period analyzed. Forms of oral ibuprofen are very safe medication rarely causing adverse effects; nevertheless, the existing spontaneous monitoring system of adverse effects in Poland is not sensitive enough to detect all adverse effects and needs improvement.

  20. WRKY Transcription Factors Involved in Activation of SA Biosynthesis Genes

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    Bol John F

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Increased defense against a variety of pathogens in plants is achieved through activation of a mechanism known as systemic acquired resistance (SAR. The broad-spectrum resistance brought about by SAR is mediated through salicylic acid (SA. An important step in SA biosynthesis in Arabidopsis is the conversion of chorismate to isochorismate through the action of isochorismate synthase, encoded by the ICS1 gene. Also AVRPPHB SUSCEPTIBLE 3 (PBS3 plays an important role in SA metabolism, as pbs3 mutants accumulate drastically reduced levels of SA-glucoside, a putative storage form of SA. Bioinformatics analysis previously performed by us identified WRKY28 and WRKY46 as possible regulators of ICS1 and PBS3. Results Expression studies with ICS1 promoter::β-glucuronidase (GUS genes in Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts cotransfected with 35S::WRKY28 showed that over expression of WRKY28 resulted in a strong increase in GUS expression. Moreover, qRT-PCR analyses indicated that the endogenous ICS1 and PBS3 genes were highly expressed in protoplasts overexpressing WRKY28 or WRKY46, respectively. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indentified potential WRKY28 binding sites in the ICS1 promoter, positioned -445 and -460 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site. Mutation of these sites in protoplast transactivation assays showed that these binding sites are functionally important for activation of the ICS1 promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assays with haemagglutinin-epitope-tagged WRKY28 showed that the region of the ICS1 promoter containing the binding sites at -445 and -460 was highly enriched in the immunoprecipitated DNA. Conclusions The results obtained here confirm results from our multiple microarray co-expression analyses indicating that WRKY28 and WRKY46 are transcriptional activators of ICS1 and PBS3, respectively, and support this in silico screening as a powerful tool for identifying new components of stress

  1. Tamsulosin modulates, but does not abolish the spontaneous activity in the guinea pig prostate gland.

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    Chakrabarty, Basu; Dey, Anupa; Lam, Michelle; Ventura, Sabatino; Exintaris, Betty

    2015-06-01

    To examine the effects of the α1A -adrenoceptor antagonist, tamsulosin, on spontaneous contractile and electrical activity in the guinea-pig prostate gland. The effects of tamsulosin (0.1 and 0.3 nM) were investigated in adult and ageing male guinea pig prostate glands using conventional tension recording and electrophysiological intracellular microelectrode recording techniques. Tamsulosin reduced spontaneous activity, and had different age-dependent effects on adult and ageing guinea pigs at different concentrations. 0.1 nM tamsulosin caused a significantly greater reduction of spontaneous contractile and electrical activity in ageing guinea pigs in comparison to adult guinea pigs. In contrast, 0.3 nM tamsulosin had a significantly greater reduction of spontaneous contractile and electrical activity in adult guinea pigs in comparison to ageing guinea pigs. This study demonstrates that tamsulosin can modulate spontaneous myogenic stromal contractility and the underlying spontaneous electrical activity; tamsulosin does not block spontaneous activity. This reduction in spontaneous activity suggests that downstream cellular mechanisms underlying smooth muscle tone are being targeted, and these may represent novel therapeutic targets to better treat benign prostatic hyperplasia. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  2. Noise-induced effects on multicellular biopacemaker spontaneous activity: Differences between weak and strong pacemaker cells

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    Aghighi, Alireza; Comtois, Philippe

    2017-09-01

    Self-organization of spontaneous activity of a network of active elements is important to the general theory of reaction-diffusion systems as well as for pacemaking activity to initiate beating of the heart. Monolayer cultures of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes, consisting of resting and pacemaker cells, exhibit spontaneous activation of their electrical activity. Similarly, one proposed approach to the development of biopacemakers as an alternative to electronic pacemakers for cardiac therapy is based on heterogeneous cardiac cells with resting and spontaneously beating phenotypes. However, the combined effect of pacemaker characteristics, density, and spatial distribution of the pacemaker cells on spontaneous activity is unknown. Using a simple stochastic pattern formation algorithm, we previously showed a clear nonlinear dependency of spontaneous activity (occurrence and amplitude of spontaneous period) on the spatial patterns of pacemaker cells. In this study, we show that this behavior is dependent on the pacemaker cell characteristics, with weaker pacemaker cells requiring higher density and larger clusters to sustain multicellular activity. These multicellular structures also demonstrated an increased sensitivity to voltage noise that favored spontaneous activity at lower density while increasing temporal variation in the period of activity. This information will help researchers overcome the current limitations of biopacemakers.

  3. Validation of spontaneous abortion diagnoses in the Danish National Registry of Patients

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    Lohse, Sarah Rytter; Farkas, Dóra Körmendiné; Lohse, Nicolai

    2010-01-01

    PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to validate the diagnosis of spontaneous abortion (SA) recorded in the Danish National Registry of Patients (DNRP). METHODS: We randomly selected patients registered in the DNRP with a diagnosis of SA between 1980 and 2008 from hospitals in the county of North...... the three patients with available data who did not fulfill the criteria for SA, one had an induced abortion and two had threatened abortion but did not miscarry. CONCLUSION: Registration of SA in the DNRP accurately reflects the diagnoses recorded in medical charts. The DNRP is a suitable source of data...

  4. Ongoing spontaneous activity controls access to consciousness: a neuronal model for inattentional blindness.

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    Stanislas Dehaene

    2005-05-01

    Full Text Available Even in the absence of sensory inputs, cortical and thalamic neurons can show structured patterns of ongoing spontaneous activity, whose origins and functional significance are not well understood. We use computer simulations to explore the conditions under which spontaneous activity emerges from a simplified model of multiple interconnected thalamocortical columns linked by long-range, top-down excitatory axons, and to examine its interactions with stimulus-induced activation. Simulations help characterize two main states of activity. First, spontaneous gamma-band oscillations emerge at a precise threshold controlled by ascending neuromodulator systems. Second, within a spontaneously active network, we observe the sudden "ignition" of one out of many possible coherent states of high-level activity amidst cortical neurons with long-distance projections. During such an ignited state, spontaneous activity can block external sensory processing. We relate those properties to experimental observations on the neural bases of endogenous states of consciousness, and particularly the blocking of access to consciousness that occurs in the psychophysical phenomenon of "inattentional blindness," in which normal subjects intensely engaged in mental activity fail to notice salient but irrelevant sensory stimuli. Although highly simplified, the generic properties of a minimal network may help clarify some of the basic cerebral phenomena underlying the autonomy of consciousness.

  5. Ongoing spontaneous activity controls access to consciousness: a neuronal model for inattentional blindness.

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    Dehaene, Stanislas; Changeux, Jean-Pierre

    2005-05-01

    Even in the absence of sensory inputs, cortical and thalamic neurons can show structured patterns of ongoing spontaneous activity, whose origins and functional significance are not well understood. We use computer simulations to explore the conditions under which spontaneous activity emerges from a simplified model of multiple interconnected thalamocortical columns linked by long-range, top-down excitatory axons, and to examine its interactions with stimulus-induced activation. Simulations help characterize two main states of activity. First, spontaneous gamma-band oscillations emerge at a precise threshold controlled by ascending neuromodulator systems. Second, within a spontaneously active network, we observe the sudden "ignition" of one out of many possible coherent states of high-level activity amidst cortical neurons with long-distance projections. During such an ignited state, spontaneous activity can block external sensory processing. We relate those properties to experimental observations on the neural bases of endogenous states of consciousness, and particularly the blocking of access to consciousness that occurs in the psychophysical phenomenon of "inattentional blindness," in which normal subjects intensely engaged in mental activity fail to notice salient but irrelevant sensory stimuli. Although highly simplified, the generic properties of a minimal network may help clarify some of the basic cerebral phenomena underlying the autonomy of consciousness.

  6. Uncovering intrinsic modular organization of spontaneous brain activity in humans.

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    Yong He

    Full Text Available The characterization of topological architecture of complex brain networks is one of the most challenging issues in neuroscience. Slow (<0.1 Hz, spontaneous fluctuations of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD signal in functional magnetic resonance imaging are thought to be potentially important for the reflection of spontaneous neuronal activity. Many studies have shown that these fluctuations are highly coherent within anatomically or functionally linked areas of the brain. However, the underlying topological mechanisms responsible for these coherent intrinsic or spontaneous fluctuations are still poorly understood. Here, we apply modern network analysis techniques to investigate how spontaneous neuronal activities in the human brain derived from the resting-state BOLD signals are topologically organized at both the temporal and spatial scales. We first show that the spontaneous brain functional networks have an intrinsically cohesive modular structure in which the connections between regions are much denser within modules than between them. These identified modules are found to be closely associated with several well known functionally interconnected subsystems such as the somatosensory/motor, auditory, attention, visual, subcortical, and the "default" system. Specifically, we demonstrate that the module-specific topological features can not be captured by means of computing the corresponding global network parameters, suggesting a unique organization within each module. Finally, we identify several pivotal network connectors and paths (predominantly associated with the association and limbic/paralimbic cortex regions that are vital for the global coordination of information flow over the whole network, and we find that their lesions (deletions critically affect the stability and robustness of the brain functional system. Together, our results demonstrate the highly organized modular architecture and associated topological properties in

  7. Embedding responses in spontaneous neural activity shaped through sequential learning.

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    Tomoki Kurikawa

    Full Text Available Recent experimental measurements have demonstrated that spontaneous neural activity in the absence of explicit external stimuli has remarkable spatiotemporal structure. This spontaneous activity has also been shown to play a key role in the response to external stimuli. To better understand this role, we proposed a viewpoint, "memories-as-bifurcations," that differs from the traditional "memories-as-attractors" viewpoint. Memory recall from the memories-as-bifurcations viewpoint occurs when the spontaneous neural activity is changed to an appropriate output activity upon application of an input, known as a bifurcation in dynamical systems theory, wherein the input modifies the flow structure of the neural dynamics. Learning, then, is a process that helps create neural dynamical systems such that a target output pattern is generated as an attractor upon a given input. Based on this novel viewpoint, we introduce in this paper an associative memory model with a sequential learning process. Using a simple hebbian-type learning, the model is able to memorize a large number of input/output mappings. The neural dynamics shaped through the learning exhibit different bifurcations to make the requested targets stable upon an increase in the input, and the neural activity in the absence of input shows chaotic dynamics with occasional approaches to the memorized target patterns. These results suggest that these dynamics facilitate the bifurcations to each target attractor upon application of the corresponding input, which thus increases the capacity for learning. This theoretical finding about the behavior of the spontaneous neural activity is consistent with recent experimental observations in which the neural activity without stimuli wanders among patterns evoked by previously applied signals. In addition, the neural networks shaped by learning properly reflect the correlations of input and target-output patterns in a similar manner to those designed in

  8. Presbycusis Disrupts Spontaneous Activity Revealed by Resting-State Functional MRI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Chen Chen

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Presbycusis, age-related hearing loss, is believed to involve neural changes in the central nervous system, which is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. The goal of this study was to determine if presbycusis disrupted spontaneous neural activity in specific brain areas involved in auditory processing, attention and cognitive function using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI approach.Methods: Hearing and resting-state fMRI measurements were obtained from 22 presbycusis patients and 23 age-, sex- and education-matched healthy controls. To identify changes in spontaneous neural activity associated with age-related hearing loss, we compared the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF and regional homogeneity (ReHo of fMRI signals in presbycusis patients vs. controls and then determined if these changes were linked to clinical measures of presbycusis.Results: Compared with healthy controls, presbycusis patients manifested decreased spontaneous activity mainly in the superior temporal gyrus (STG, parahippocampal gyrus (PHG, precuneus and inferior parietal lobule (IPL as well as increased neural activity in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG, cuneus and postcentral gyrus (PoCG. A significant negative correlation was observed between ALFF/ReHo activity in the STG and average hearing thresholds in presbycusis patients. Increased ALFF/ReHo activity in the MFG was positively correlated with impaired Trail-Making Test B (TMT-B scores, indicative of impaired cognitive function involving the frontal lobe.Conclusions: Presbycusis patients have disrupted spontaneous neural activity reflected by ALFF and ReHo measurements in several brain regions; these changes are associated with specific cognitive performance and speech/language processing. These findings mainly emphasize the crucial role of aberrant resting-state ALFF/ReHo patterns in presbycusis patients and will lead to a better understanding of the

  9. Presbycusis Disrupts Spontaneous Activity Revealed by Resting-State Functional MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Yu-Chen; Chen, Huiyou; Jiang, Liang; Bo, Fan; Xu, Jin-Jing; Mao, Cun-Nan; Salvi, Richard; Yin, Xindao; Lu, Guangming; Gu, Jian-Ping

    2018-01-01

    Purpose : Presbycusis, age-related hearing loss, is believed to involve neural changes in the central nervous system, which is associated with an increased risk of cognitive impairment. The goal of this study was to determine if presbycusis disrupted spontaneous neural activity in specific brain areas involved in auditory processing, attention and cognitive function using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) approach. Methods : Hearing and resting-state fMRI measurements were obtained from 22 presbycusis patients and 23 age-, sex- and education-matched healthy controls. To identify changes in spontaneous neural activity associated with age-related hearing loss, we compared the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) of fMRI signals in presbycusis patients vs. controls and then determined if these changes were linked to clinical measures of presbycusis. Results : Compared with healthy controls, presbycusis patients manifested decreased spontaneous activity mainly in the superior temporal gyrus (STG), parahippocampal gyrus (PHG), precuneus and inferior parietal lobule (IPL) as well as increased neural activity in the middle frontal gyrus (MFG), cuneus and postcentral gyrus (PoCG). A significant negative correlation was observed between ALFF/ReHo activity in the STG and average hearing thresholds in presbycusis patients. Increased ALFF/ReHo activity in the MFG was positively correlated with impaired Trail-Making Test B (TMT-B) scores, indicative of impaired cognitive function involving the frontal lobe. Conclusions : Presbycusis patients have disrupted spontaneous neural activity reflected by ALFF and ReHo measurements in several brain regions; these changes are associated with specific cognitive performance and speech/language processing. These findings mainly emphasize the crucial role of aberrant resting-state ALFF/ReHo patterns in presbycusis patients and will lead to a better understanding of the

  10. Endogenous activation of adenosine A(1) receptors accelerates ischemic suppression of spontaneous electrocortical activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ilie, Andrei; Ciocan, Dragos; Zagrean, Ana-Maria

    2006-01-01

    Cerebral ischemia induces a rapid suppression of spontaneous brain rhythms prior to major alterations in ionic homeostasis. It was found in vitro during ischemia that the rapidly formed adenosine, resulting from the intracellular breakdown of ATP, may inhibit synaptic transmission via the A(1......) receptor subtype. The link between endogenous A(1) receptor activation during ischemia and the suppression of spontaneous electrocortical activity has not yet been established in the intact brain. The aim of this study was to investigate in vivo the effects of A(1) receptor antagonism by 8-cyclopentyl-1...

  11. Sensory memory for odors is encoded in spontaneous correlated activity between olfactory glomeruli.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galán, Roberto F; Weidert, Marcel; Menzel, Randolf; Herz, Andreas V M; Galizia, C Giovanni

    2006-01-01

    Sensory memory is a short-lived persistence of a sensory stimulus in the nervous system, such as iconic memory in the visual system. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying olfactory sensory memory. We have therefore analyzed the effect of odor stimuli on the first odor-processing network in the honeybee brain, the antennal lobe, which corresponds to the vertebrate olfactory bulb. We stained output neurons with a calcium-sensitive dye and measured across-glomerular patterns of spontaneous activity before and after a stimulus. Such a single-odor presentation changed the relative timing of spontaneous activity across glomeruli in accordance with Hebb's theory of learning. Moreover, during the first few minutes after odor presentation, correlations between the spontaneous activity fluctuations suffice to reconstruct the stimulus. As spontaneous activity is ubiquitous in the brain, modifiable fluctuations could provide an ideal substrate for Hebbian reverberations and sensory memory in other neural systems.

  12. Spontaneous Electrical Activity in the Nervous System and its ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The present study was carried out to examine the effects of biogenic amines on the spontaneous electrical activity of the nervous system in the silkworm Bombyx mori. The activity recorded from different segments of the ventral nerve cord differed in the frequency and number of spike categories firing. The activity was highest ...

  13. Patchwork-Type Spontaneous Activity in Neonatal Barrel Cortex Layer 4 Transmitted via Thalamocortical Projections

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hidenobu Mizuno

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Summary: Establishment of precise neuronal connectivity in the neocortex relies on activity-dependent circuit reorganization during postnatal development; however, the nature of cortical activity during this period remains largely unknown. Using two-photon calcium imaging of the barrel cortex in vivo during the first postnatal week, we reveal that layer 4 (L4 neurons within the same barrel fire synchronously in the absence of peripheral stimulation, creating a “patchwork” pattern of spontaneous activity corresponding to the barrel map. By generating transgenic mice expressing GCaMP6s in thalamocortical axons, we show that thalamocortical axons also demonstrate the spontaneous patchwork activity pattern. Patchwork activity is diminished by peripheral anesthesia but is mostly independent of self-generated whisker movements. The patchwork activity pattern largely disappeared during postnatal week 2, as even L4 neurons within the same barrel tended to fire asynchronously. This spontaneous L4 activity pattern has features suitable for thalamocortical (TC circuit refinement in the neonatal barrel cortex. : By two-photon calcium imaging of layer 4 neurons and thalamocortical axon terminals in neonatal mouse barrel cortex, Mizuno et al. find a patchwork-like spontaneous activity pattern corresponding to the barrel map, which may be important for thalamocortical circuit maturation. Keywords: activity-dependent development, spontaneous activity, synchronized activity, barrel cortex, thalamocortical axons, neonates, in vivo calcium imaging, awake, single-cell labeling, whisker monitoring

  14. A violência contra mulheres: demandas espontâneas e busca ativa em unidade básica de saúde Violence against women: spontaneous demands v. screening in healthcare centers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lilia B. Schraiber

    2000-12-01

    Full Text Available Acolher demandas e assistir mulheres que sofrem violência é parte dos direitos em saúde, embora a assistência não esteja estruturada e ocorra pouca detecção de casos. Buscou-se um diagnóstico de situação em serviços, avaliando-se a emergência de demandas referidas à violência por parte das usuárias de uma unidade básica da rede pública, contrastando-se a demanda espontânea com a busca ativa de casos. Realizou-se um primeiro estudo por técnicas de observação participante, seguida de estudo de prontuário, com 142 mulheres sendo acompanhadas; num segundo estudo, em uma amostra de 322 usuárias, aplicou-se entrevista. Em atividades grupais observou-se relatos espontâneos e nos prontuários médicos registros de demandas espontâneas; o mesmo não ocorreu em consultas individuais. A entrevista detectou uma prevalência de casos muito maior. Então, a possibilidade de detecção de casos, seu acolhimento e algumas respostas do serviço, requer especificidade de abordagem e cuidados próprios para que a violência contra mulheres possa emergir como parte da demanda usual na saúde.In spite of poorly structured assistance and the fact that only a few instances of abuse are detected, the response to women's demands and assisting those who have been victims of violence is part of their right to healthcare. This work attempts to diagnose the situation regarding health services through the assessment of the degree of emergency in violence-related demands coming from users of a healthcare facility of the public network through the comparison of results from spontaneous demands with results obtained when actively searching for cases. A first study was conducted with the utilization of participatory observation techniques, followed by the study of patient files, with the follow-up of 142 women; a second study, with a sample of 322 users, was based on an assessment screening. Spontaneous expression occurred during group activities and was

  15. Voluntary breath holding affects spontaneous brain activity measured by magnetoencephalography

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schellart, N. A.; Reits, D.

    1999-01-01

    Spontaneous brain activity was measured by multichannel magnetoencephalography (MEG) during voluntary breath holds. Significant changes in the activity are limited to the alpha rhythm: 0.25 Hz frequency increase and narrowing of the peak. The area of alpha activity shifts slightly toward (fronto-)

  16. Cortical Alpha Activity in Schizoaffective Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moeini, Mahdi; Khaleghi, Ali; Mohammadi, Mohammad Reza; Zarafshan, Hadi; Fazio, Rachel L; Majidi, Hamid

    2017-01-01

    Objective: Electrophysiological studies have identified abnormal oscillatory activities in the cerebral cortex in schizophrenia and mood disorders. Biological and pathophysiological evidence suggests specific deficits in serotonin (5-HT) receptor function in schizoaffective disorder (SA), a clinical syndrome with characteristics of both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. This study investigated alpha oscillations in patients with SA. Method: Electroencephalography was used to measure ongoing and evoked alpha oscillations in 38 adults meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria for SA, and in 39 healthy controls. Results: Spontaneous alpha power of the participants with SA was significantly lower than that of healthy participants [F (1, 75) = 8.81, P < 0.01]. Evoked alpha activity was also decreased in SA compared to controls [F (1, 75) = 5.67, P = 0.025]. Conclusion : A strong reduction of alpha power in the posterior regions may reflect abnormality in the thalamocortical circuits. It is shown that hypoxia and reduced cerebral blood flow is associated with reduced alpha activity among different regions of the brain. Therefore, it can be concluded that greatly decreased alpha activity, particularly in centro-parietal and occipital regions, is related to SA symptoms such as hallucinations.

  17. Recurrently connected and localized neuronal communities initiate coordinated spontaneous activity in neuronal networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amin, Hayder; Maccione, Alessandro; Nieus, Thierry

    2017-01-01

    Developing neuronal systems intrinsically generate coordinated spontaneous activity that propagates by involving a large number of synchronously firing neurons. In vivo, waves of spikes transiently characterize the activity of developing brain circuits and are fundamental for activity-dependent circuit formation. In vitro, coordinated spontaneous spiking activity, or network bursts (NBs), interleaved within periods of asynchronous spikes emerge during the development of 2D and 3D neuronal cultures. Several studies have investigated this type of activity and its dynamics, but how a neuronal system generates these coordinated events remains unclear. Here, we investigate at a cellular level the generation of network bursts in spontaneously active neuronal cultures by exploiting high-resolution multielectrode array recordings and computational network modelling. Our analysis reveals that NBs are generated in specialized regions of the network (functional neuronal communities) that feature neuronal links with high cross-correlation peak values, sub-millisecond lags and that share very similar structural connectivity motifs providing recurrent interactions. We show that the particular properties of these local structures enable locally amplifying spontaneous asynchronous spikes and that this mechanism can lead to the initiation of NBs. Through the analysis of simulated and experimental data, we also show that AMPA currents drive the coordinated activity, while NMDA and GABA currents are only involved in shaping the dynamics of NBs. Overall, our results suggest that the presence of functional neuronal communities with recurrent local connections allows a neuronal system to generate spontaneous coordinated spiking activity events. As suggested by the rules used for implementing our computational model, such functional communities might naturally emerge during network development by following simple constraints on distance-based connectivity. PMID:28749937

  18. Recurrently connected and localized neuronal communities initiate coordinated spontaneous activity in neuronal networks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davide Lonardoni

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Developing neuronal systems intrinsically generate coordinated spontaneous activity that propagates by involving a large number of synchronously firing neurons. In vivo, waves of spikes transiently characterize the activity of developing brain circuits and are fundamental for activity-dependent circuit formation. In vitro, coordinated spontaneous spiking activity, or network bursts (NBs, interleaved within periods of asynchronous spikes emerge during the development of 2D and 3D neuronal cultures. Several studies have investigated this type of activity and its dynamics, but how a neuronal system generates these coordinated events remains unclear. Here, we investigate at a cellular level the generation of network bursts in spontaneously active neuronal cultures by exploiting high-resolution multielectrode array recordings and computational network modelling. Our analysis reveals that NBs are generated in specialized regions of the network (functional neuronal communities that feature neuronal links with high cross-correlation peak values, sub-millisecond lags and that share very similar structural connectivity motifs providing recurrent interactions. We show that the particular properties of these local structures enable locally amplifying spontaneous asynchronous spikes and that this mechanism can lead to the initiation of NBs. Through the analysis of simulated and experimental data, we also show that AMPA currents drive the coordinated activity, while NMDA and GABA currents are only involved in shaping the dynamics of NBs. Overall, our results suggest that the presence of functional neuronal communities with recurrent local connections allows a neuronal system to generate spontaneous coordinated spiking activity events. As suggested by the rules used for implementing our computational model, such functional communities might naturally emerge during network development by following simple constraints on distance-based connectivity.

  19. Altered spontaneous activity in anisometropic amblyopia subjects: revealed by resting-state FMRI.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoming Lin

    Full Text Available Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, usually occurs during early childhood and results in poor or blurred vision. Recent neuroimaging studies have found cortical structural/functional abnormalities in amblyopia. However, until now, it was still not known whether the spontaneous activity of the brain changes in amblyopia subjects. In the present study, regional homogeneity (ReHo, a measure of the homogeneity of functional magnetic resonance imaging signals, was used for the first time to investigate changes in resting-state local spontaneous brain activity in individuals with anisometropic amblyopia. Compared with age- and gender-matched subjects with normal vision, the anisometropic amblyopia subjects showed decreased ReHo of spontaneous brain activity in the right precuneus, the left medial prefrontal cortex, the left inferior frontal gyrus, and the left cerebellum, and increased ReHo of spontaneous brain activity was found in the bilateral conjunction area of the postcentral and precentral gyri, the left paracentral lobule, the left superior temporal gyrus, the left fusiform gyrus, the conjunction area of the right insula, putamen and the right middle occipital gyrus. The observed decreases in ReHo may reflect decreased visuo-motor processing ability, and the increases in ReHo in the somatosensory cortices, the motor areas and the auditory area may indicate compensatory plasticity in amblyopia.

  20. Computational Account of Spontaneous Activity as a Signature of Predictive Coding.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veronika Koren

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Spontaneous activity is commonly observed in a variety of cortical states. Experimental evidence suggested that neural assemblies undergo slow oscillations with Up ad Down states even when the network is isolated from the rest of the brain. Here we show that these spontaneous events can be generated by the recurrent connections within the network and understood as signatures of neural circuits that are correcting their internal representation. A noiseless spiking neural network can represent its input signals most accurately when excitatory and inhibitory currents are as strong and as tightly balanced as possible. However, in the presence of realistic neural noise and synaptic delays, this may result in prohibitively large spike counts. An optimal working regime can be found by considering terms that control firing rates in the objective function from which the network is derived and then minimizing simultaneously the coding error and the cost of neural activity. In biological terms, this is equivalent to tuning neural thresholds and after-spike hyperpolarization. In suboptimal working regimes, we observe spontaneous activity even in the absence of feed-forward inputs. In an all-to-all randomly connected network, the entire population is involved in Up states. In spatially organized networks with local connectivity, Up states spread through local connections between neurons of similar selectivity and take the form of a traveling wave. Up states are observed for a wide range of parameters and have similar statistical properties in both active and quiescent state. In the optimal working regime, Up states are vanishing, leaving place to asynchronous activity, suggesting that this working regime is a signature of maximally efficient coding. Although they result in a massive increase in the firing activity, the read-out of spontaneous Up states is in fact orthogonal to the stimulus representation, therefore interfering minimally with the network

  1. Spontaneous calcium waves in Bergman glia increase with age and hypoxia and may reduce tissue oxygen

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mathiesen, Claus; Brazhe, Alexey; Thomsen, Kirsten Joan

    2013-01-01

    Glial calcium (Ca(2+)) waves constitute a means to spread signals between glial cells and to neighboring neurons and blood vessels. These waves occur spontaneously in Bergmann glia (BG) of the mouse cerebellar cortex in vivo. Here, we tested three hypotheses: (1) aging and reduced blood oxygen sa...... activity during aging, as well as low resting brain oxygen tension, suggests a relationship between glial waves, brain energy homeostasis, and pathology.......Glial calcium (Ca(2+)) waves constitute a means to spread signals between glial cells and to neighboring neurons and blood vessels. These waves occur spontaneously in Bergmann glia (BG) of the mouse cerebellar cortex in vivo. Here, we tested three hypotheses: (1) aging and reduced blood oxygen...... saturation alters wave activity; (2) glial Ca(2+) waves change cerebral oxygen metabolism; and (3) neuronal and glial wave activity is correlated. We used two-photon microscopy in the cerebellar cortexes of adult (8- to 15-week-old) and aging (48- to 80-week-old) ketamine-anesthetized mice after bolus...

  2. Sexual history and contraception among women with induced and spontaneous abortion in Dar es Salaam

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasch, V; Mary, V; Urassa, E

    2007-01-01

    The objective of this study was to create sexual history profiles of women with illegally induced abortion (IA) and women with spontaneous abortion (SA) and describe the women's knowledge of, attitude to, and practice of contraception. The study was carried out in two settings, Temeke District...... the rate of ever users of contraception was low in both groups, although significantly lower among IA women than among SA women. Outcome of first pregnancy had been an induced abortion in significantly higher proportion of IA than of SA women. In conclusion, sexual intercourse before marriage is common...

  3. The Lytic SA Phage Demonstrate Bactericidal Activity against Mastitis Causing Staphylococcus aureus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamza Ameer

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Staphylococcus aureus is the major causative agent of mastitis among dairy animals as it causes intramammary gland infection. Due to antibiotic resistance and contamination of antibiotics in the milk of diseased animals; alternative therapeutic agents are required to cure mastitis. Lytic bacteriophages and their gene products can be potential therapeutic agents against bacteria as they are host specific and less harmful than antibiotics. In this study, Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from milk samples of the infected animals and identified biochemically. SA phage was isolated from sewage water showing lytic activity against Staphylococcus aureus isolates. The highest lytic activity of bacteriophages was observed at 37°C and pH 7, and the most suitable storage condition was at 4°C. SA phage efficiently reduced bacterial growth in the bacterial reduction assay. The characterization and bacterial growth reduction activity of the bacteriophages against Staphylococcus aureus signifies their underlying potential of phage therapy against mastitis.

  4. Different responses of spontaneous and stimulus-related alpha activity to ambient luminance changes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benedetto, Alessandro; Lozano-Soldevilla, Diego; VanRullen, Rufin

    2017-12-04

    Alpha oscillations are particularly important in determining our percepts and have been implicated in fundamental brain functions. Oscillatory activity can be spontaneous or stimulus-related. Furthermore, stimulus-related responses can be phase- or non-phase-locked to the stimulus. Non-phase-locked (induced) activity can be identified as the average amplitude changes in response to a stimulation, while phase-locked activity can be measured via reverse-correlation techniques (echo function). However, the mechanisms and the functional roles of these oscillations are far from clear. Here, we investigated the effect of ambient luminance changes, known to dramatically modulate neural oscillations, on spontaneous and stimulus-related alpha. We investigated the effect of ambient luminance on EEG alpha during spontaneous human brain activity at rest (experiment 1) and during visual stimulation (experiment 2). Results show that spontaneous alpha amplitude increased by decreasing ambient luminance, while alpha frequency remained unaffected. In the second experiment, we found that under low-luminance viewing, the stimulus-related alpha amplitude was lower, and its frequency was slightly faster. These effects were evident in the phase-locked part of the alpha response (echo function), but weaker or absent in the induced (non-phase-locked) alpha responses. Finally, we explored the possible behavioural correlates of these modulations in a monocular critical flicker frequency task (experiment 3), finding that dark adaptation in the left eye decreased the temporal threshold of the right eye. Overall, we found that ambient luminance changes impact differently on spontaneous and stimulus-related alpha expression. We suggest that stimulus-related alpha activity is crucial in determining human temporal segmentation abilities. © 2017 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. Oscillatory brain activity in spontaneous and induced sleep stages in flies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yap, Melvyn H W; Grabowska, Martyna J; Rohrscheib, Chelsie; Jeans, Rhiannon; Troup, Michael; Paulk, Angelique C; van Alphen, Bart; Shaw, Paul J; van Swinderen, Bruno

    2017-11-28

    Sleep is a dynamic process comprising multiple stages, each associated with distinct electrophysiological properties and potentially serving different functions. While these phenomena are well described in vertebrates, it is unclear if invertebrates have distinct sleep stages. We perform local field potential (LFP) recordings on flies spontaneously sleeping, and compare their brain activity to flies induced to sleep using either genetic activation of sleep-promoting circuitry or the GABA A agonist Gaboxadol. We find a transitional sleep stage associated with a 7-10 Hz oscillation in the central brain during spontaneous sleep. Oscillatory activity is also evident when we acutely activate sleep-promoting neurons in the dorsal fan-shaped body (dFB) of Drosophila. In contrast, sleep following Gaboxadol exposure is characterized by low-amplitude LFPs, during which dFB-induced effects are suppressed. Sleep in flies thus appears to involve at least two distinct stages: increased oscillatory activity, particularly during sleep induction, followed by desynchronized or decreased brain activity.

  6. A gravimetric method for the measurement of total spontaneous activity in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biesiadecki, B J; Brand, P H; Koch, L G; Britton, S L

    1999-10-01

    Currently available methods for the measurement of spontaneous activity of laboratory animals require expensive, specialized equipment and may not be suitable for use in low light conditions with nocturnal species. We developed a gravimetric method that uses common laboratory equipment to quantify the total spontaneous activity of rats and is suitable for use in the dark. The rat in its home cage is placed on a top-loading electronic balance interfaced to a computer. Movements are recorded by the balance as changes in weight and transmitted to the computer at 10 Hz. Data are analyzed on-line to derive the absolute value of the difference in weight between consecutive samples, and the one-second average of the absolute values is calculated. The averages are written to file for off-line analysis and summed over the desired observation period to provide a measure of total spontaneous activity. The results of in vitro experiments demonstrated that: 1) recorded weight changes were not influenced by position of the weight on the bottom of the cage, 2) values recorded from a series of weight changes were not significantly different from the calculated values, 3) the constantly decreasing force exerted by a swinging pendulum placed on the balance was accurately recorded, 4) the measurement of activity was not influenced by the evaporation of a fluid such as urine, and 5) the method can detect differences in the activity of sleeping and waking rats over a 10-min period, as well as during 4-hr intervals recorded during active (night-time) and inactive (daytime) periods. These results demonstrate that this method provides an inexpensive, accurate, and noninvasive method to quantitate the spontaneous activity of small animals.

  7. Spontaneous high-gamma band activity reflects functional organization of auditory cortex in the awake macaque.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fukushima, Makoto; Saunders, Richard C; Leopold, David A; Mishkin, Mortimer; Averbeck, Bruno B

    2012-06-07

    In the absence of sensory stimuli, spontaneous activity in the brain has been shown to exhibit organization at multiple spatiotemporal scales. In the macaque auditory cortex, responses to acoustic stimuli are tonotopically organized within multiple, adjacent frequency maps aligned in a caudorostral direction on the supratemporal plane (STP) of the lateral sulcus. Here, we used chronic microelectrocorticography to investigate the correspondence between sensory maps and spontaneous neural fluctuations in the auditory cortex. We first mapped tonotopic organization across 96 electrodes spanning approximately two centimeters along the primary and higher auditory cortex. In separate sessions, we then observed that spontaneous activity at the same sites exhibited spatial covariation that reflected the tonotopic map of the STP. This observation demonstrates a close relationship between functional organization and spontaneous neural activity in the sensory cortex of the awake monkey. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. [Cellular mechanism of the generation of spontaneous activity in gastric muscle].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakamura, Eri; Kito, Yoshihiko; Fukuta, Hiroyasu; Yanai, Yoshimasa; Hashitani, Hikaru; Yamamoto, Yoshimichi; Suzuki, Hikaru

    2004-03-01

    In gastric smooth muscles, interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) might be the pacemaker cells of spontaneous activities since ICC are rich in mitochondria and are connected with smooth muscle cells via gap junctions. Several types of ICC are distributed widely in the stomach wall. A group of ICC distributed in the myenteric layer (ICC-MY) were the pacemaker cells of gastrointestinal smooth muscles. Pacemaker potentials were generated in ICC-MY, and the potentials were conducted to circular smooth muscles to trigger slow waves and also conducted to longitudinal muscles to form follower potentials. In circular muscle preparations, interstitial cells distributed within muscle bundles (ICC-IM) produced unitary potentials, which were conducted to circular muscles to form slow potentials by summation. In mutant mice lacking inositol trisphosphate (IP(3)) receptor, slow waves were absent in gastric smooth muscles. The generation of spontaneous activity was impaired by the inhibition of Ca(2+)-release from internal stores through IP(3) receptors, inhibition of mitochondrial Ca(2+)-handling with proton pump inhibitors, and inhibition of ATP-sensitive K(+)-channels at the mitochondrial inner membrane. These results suggested that mitochondrial Ca(2+)-handling causes the generation of spontaneous activity in pacemaker cells. Possible involvement of protein kinase C (PKC) in the Ca(2+) signaling system was also suggested.

  9. Efffects of vigabatrin on spontaneous locomotor activity of rats

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bouwman, B.M.; Rijn, C.M. van; Willems-van Bree, P.C.M.; Coenen, A.M.L.

    2003-01-01

    Effects of vigibatrin (saline, 125, 250, or 500 mg/kg i.p.) on spontaneous locomotor activity in Wistar rats were investigated. There was a dose dependent decrease in amount of locomotion for doses up to 250 mg/kg. This decrease was measurable 2-4 hours after injection and still became more

  10. Endosulfan induces changes in spontaneous swimming activity and acetylcholinesterase activity of Jenynsia multidentata (Anablepidae, Cyprinodontiformes)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ballesteros, M.L.; Durando, P.E.; Nores, M.L.; Diaz, M.P.; Bistoni, M.A.; Wunderlin, D.A.

    2009-01-01

    We assessed changes in spontaneous swimming activity and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity of Jenynsia multidentata exposed to Endosulfan (EDS). Females of J. multidentata were exposed to 0.072 and 1.4 μg L -1 EDS. Average speed and movement percentage were recorded during 48 h. We also exposed females to EDS at five concentrations between 0.072 and 1.4 μg L -1 during 24 h, and measured the AchE activity in brain and muscle. At 0.072 μg L -1 EDS swimming motility decreased relative to the control group after 45 h, while at 1.4 μg L -1 EDS swimming motility decreased after 24 h. AchE activity significantly decreased in muscle when J. multidentata were exposed to EDS above 0.072 μg L -1 , while no significant changes were observed in brain. Thus, changes in swimming activity and AchE activity in muscle are good biomarkers of exposure to EDS in J. multidentata. - This work reports changes observed in spontaneous swimming activity and AchE activity of Jenynsia multidentata exposed to sublethal concentrations of Endosulfan.

  11. Endosulfan induces changes in spontaneous swimming activity and acetylcholinesterase activity of Jenynsia multidentata (Anablepidae, Cyprinodontiformes)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ballesteros, M.L. [Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales, Catedra Diversidad Animal II, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Av. Velez Sarsfield 299, 5000 Cordoba (Argentina); Durando, P.E. [Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales, Departamento de Biologia, Catedra de Fisiologia Animal, Universidad Nacional de San Juan, Complejo ' Islas Malvinas' , Av. Jose I. de la Roza y Meglioli, Rivadavia, San Juan (Argentina); Nores, M.L. [Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba-CONICET, Ciudad Universitaria, Cordoba (Argentina); Diaz, M.P. [Facultad de Ciencias Medicas, Catedra de Estadistica y Bioestadistica, Escuela de Nutricion, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Pabellon Chile, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000 Cordoba (Argentina); Bistoni, M.A., E-mail: mbistoni@com.uncor.ed [Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Fisicas y Naturales, Catedra Diversidad Animal II, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Av. Velez Sarsfield 299, 5000 Cordoba (Argentina); Wunderlin, D.A. [Facultad de Ciencias Quimicas, Dto. Bioquimica Clinica-CIBICI, Universidad Nacional de Cordoba-CONICET, Haya de la Torre esq. Medina Allende, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000 Cordoba (Argentina)

    2009-05-15

    We assessed changes in spontaneous swimming activity and acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity of Jenynsia multidentata exposed to Endosulfan (EDS). Females of J. multidentata were exposed to 0.072 and 1.4 mug L{sup -1} EDS. Average speed and movement percentage were recorded during 48 h. We also exposed females to EDS at five concentrations between 0.072 and 1.4 mug L{sup -1} during 24 h, and measured the AchE activity in brain and muscle. At 0.072 mug L{sup -1} EDS swimming motility decreased relative to the control group after 45 h, while at 1.4 mug L{sup -1} EDS swimming motility decreased after 24 h. AchE activity significantly decreased in muscle when J. multidentata were exposed to EDS above 0.072 mug L{sup -1}, while no significant changes were observed in brain. Thus, changes in swimming activity and AchE activity in muscle are good biomarkers of exposure to EDS in J. multidentata. - This work reports changes observed in spontaneous swimming activity and AchE activity of Jenynsia multidentata exposed to sublethal concentrations of Endosulfan.

  12. Physics and operation oriented activities in preparation of the JT-60SA tokamak exploitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giruzzi, G.; Yoshida, M.; Artaud, J. F.; Asztalos, Ö.; Barbato, E.; Bettini, P.; Bierwage, A.; Boboc, A.; Bolzonella, T.; Clement-Lorenzo, S.; Coda, S.; Cruz, N.; Day, Chr.; De Tommasi, G.; Dibon, M.; Douai, D.; Dunai, D.; Enoeda, M.; Farina, D.; Figini, L.; Fukumoto, M.; Galazka, K.; Galdon, J.; Garcia, J.; Garcia-Muñoz, M.; Garzotti, L.; Gil, C.; Gleason-Gonzalez, C.; Goodman, T.; Granucci, G.; Hayashi, N.; Hoshino, K.; Ide, S.; Imazawa, R.; Innocente, P.; Isayama, A.; Itami, K.; Joffrin, E.; Kamada, Y.; Kamiya, K.; Kawano, Y.; Kawashima, H.; Kobayashi, T.; Kojima, A.; Kubo, H.; Lang, P.; Lauber, Ph.; de la Luna, E.; Maget, P.; Marchiori, G.; Mastrostefano, S.; Matsunaga, G.; Mattei, M.; McDonald, D. C.; Mele, A.; Miyata, Y.; Moriyama, S.; Moro, A.; Nakano, T.; Neu, R.; Nowak, S.; Orsitto, F. P.; Pautasso, G.; Pégourié, B.; Pigatto, L.; Pironti, A.; Platania, P.; Pokol, G. I.; Ricci, D.; Romanelli, M.; Saarelma, S.; Sakurai, S.; Sartori, F.; Sasao, H.; Scannapiego, M.; Shimizu, K.; Shinohara, K.; Shiraishi, J.; Soare, S.; Sozzi, C.; Stępniewski, W.; Suzuki, T.; Suzuki, Y.; Szepesi, T.; Takechi, M.; Tanaka, K.; Terranova, D.; Toma, M.; Urano, H.; Vega, J.; Villone, F.; Vitale, V.; Wakatsuki, T.; Wischmeier, M.; Zagórski, R.

    2017-08-01

    The JT-60SA tokamak, being built under the Broader Approach agreement jointly by Europe and Japan, is due to start operation in 2020 and is expected to give substantial contributions to both ITER and DEMO scenario optimisation. A broad set of preparation activities for an efficient start of the experiments on JT-60SA is being carried out, involving elaboration of the Research Plan, advanced modelling in various domains, feasibility and conception studies of diagnostics and other sub-systems in connection with the priorities of the scientific programme, development and validation of operation tools. The logic and coherence of this approach, as well as the most significant results of the main activities undertaken are presented and summarised.

  13. SA inhibits complex III activity to generate reactive oxygen species and thereby induces GA overproduction in Ganoderma lucidum

    OpenAIRE

    Rui Liu; Pengfei Cao; Ang Ren; Shengli Wang; Tao Yang; Ting Zhu; Liang Shi; Jing Zhu; Ai-Liang Jiang; Ming-Wen Zhao

    2018-01-01

    Ganoderma lucidum has high commercial value because it produces many active compounds, such as ganoderic acids (GAs). Salicylic acid (SA) was previously reported to induce the biosynthesis of GA in G. lucidum. In this study, we found that SA induces GA biosynthesis by increasing ROS production, and further research found that NADPH oxidase-silenced strains exhibited a partial reduction in the response to SA, resulting in the induction of increased ROS production. Furthermore, the localization...

  14. Changes in spontaneous brain activity in early Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hong; Zhou, Xiaohong Joe; Zhang, Min-Ming; Zheng, Xu-Ning; Zhao, Yi-Lei; Wang, Jue

    2013-08-09

    Resting state brain activity can provide valuable insights into the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease (PD). The purpose of the present study was (a) to investigate abnormal spontaneous neuronal activity in early PD patients using resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) with a regional homogeneity (ReHo) method and (b) to demonstrate the potential of using changes in abnormal spontaneous neuronal activity for monitoring the progression of PD during its early stages. Seventeen early PD patients were assessed with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), the Hoehn and Yahr disability scale and the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) were compared with seventeen gender- and age-matched healthy controls. All subjects underwent MRI scans using a 1.5T General Electric Signa Excite II scanner. The MRI scan protocol included whole-brain volumetric imaging using a 3D inversion recovery prepared (IR-Prep) fast spoiled gradient-echo pulse sequence and 2D multi-slice (22 axial slices covering the whole brain) resting-state fMRI using an echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence. Images were analyzed in SPM5 together with a ReHo algorithm using the in-house software program REST. A corrected threshold of pbrain regions, including the left cerebellum, left parietal lobe, right middle temporal lobe, right sub-thalamic nucleus areas, right superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus (MFG), right inferior parietal lobe (IPL), right precuneus lobe, left MFG and left IPL. Additionally, significantly reduced ReHo was also observed in the early PD patients in the following brain regions: the left putamen, left inferior frontal gyrus, right hippocampus, right anterior cingulum, and bilateral lingual gyrus. Moreover, in PD patients, ReHo in the left putamen was negatively correlated with the UPDRS scores (r=-0.69). These results indicate that the abnormal resting state spontaneous brain activity associated with patients with early PD can be revealed by Reho analysis. Copyright

  15. Partial activation of SA- and JA-defensive pathways in strawberry upon Colletotrichum acutatum interaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    FRANCISCO AMIL-RUIZ

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Understanding the nature of pathogen host interaction may help improve strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa cultivars. Plant resistance to pathogenic agents usually operates through a complex network of defense mechanisms mediated by a diverse array of signaling molecules. In strawberry, resistance to a variety of pathogens has been reported to be mostly polygenic and quantitatively inherited, making it difficult to associate molecular markers with disease resistance genes. Colletotrichum acutatum spp. is a major strawberry pathogen, and completely resistant cultivars have not been reported. Moreover, strawberry defense network components and mechanisms remain largely unknown and poorly understood. Assessment of the strawberry response to C. acutatum included a global transcript analysis, and acidic hormones SA and JA measurements were analyzed after challenge with the pathogen. Induction of transcripts corresponding to the SA and JA signaling pathways and key genes controlling major steps within these defense pathways was detected. Accordingly, SA and JA accumulated in strawberry after infection. Contrastingly, induction of several important SA, JA, and oxidative stress-responsive defense genes, including FaPR1-1, FaLOX2, FaJAR1, FaPDF1, and FaGST1, was not detected, which suggests that specific branches in these defense pathways (those leading to FaPR1-2, FaPR2-1, FaPR2-2, FaAOS, FaPR5 and FaPR10 were activated. Our results reveal that specific aspects in SA and JA dependent signaling pathways are activated in strawberry upon interaction with C. acutatum. Certain described defense-associated transcripts related to these two known signaling pathways do not increase in abundance following infection. This finding suggests new insight into a specific putative molecular strategy for defense against this pathogen.

  16. Dopamine Attenuates Ketamine-Induced Neuronal Apoptosis in the Developing Rat Retina Independent of Early Synchronized Spontaneous Network Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Jing; Gao, Lingqi; Han, Junde; Zhang, Junjie; Zheng, Jijian

    2017-07-01

    Deprivation of spontaneous rhythmic electrical activity in early development by anesthesia administration, among other interventions, induces neuronal apoptosis. However, it is unclear whether enhancement of neuronal electrical activity attenuates neuronal apoptosis in either normal development or after anesthesia exposure. The present study investigated the effects of dopamine, an enhancer of spontaneous rhythmic electrical activity, on ketamine-induced neuronal apoptosis in the developing rat retina. TUNEL and immunohistochemical assays indicated that ketamine time- and dose-dependently aggravated physiological and ketamine-induced apoptosis and inhibited early-synchronized spontaneous network activity. Dopamine administration reversed ketamine-induced neuronal apoptosis, but did not reverse the inhibitory effects of ketamine on early synchronized spontaneous network activity despite enhancing it in controls. Blockade of D1, D2, and A2A receptors and inhibition of cAMP/PKA signaling partially antagonized the protective effect of dopamine against ketamine-induced apoptosis. Together, these data indicate that dopamine attenuates ketamine-induced neuronal apoptosis in the developing rat retina by activating the D1, D2, and A2A receptors, and upregulating cAMP/PKA signaling, rather than through modulation of early synchronized spontaneous network activity.

  17. Spontaneous and Evoked Activity from Murine Ventral Horn Cultures on Microelectrode Arrays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bryan J. Black

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Motor neurons are the site of action for several neurological disorders and paralytic toxins, with cell bodies located in the ventral horn (VH of the spinal cord along with interneurons and support cells. Microelectrode arrays (MEAs have emerged as a high content assay platform for mechanistic studies and drug discovery. Here, we explored the spontaneous and evoked electrical activity of VH cultures derived from embryonic mouse spinal cord on multi-well plates of MEAs. Primary VH cultures from embryonic day 15–16 mice were characterized by expression of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT by immunocytochemistry. Well resolved, all-or-nothing spontaneous spikes with profiles consistent with extracellular action potentials were observed after 3 days in vitro, persisting with consistent firing rates until at least day in vitro 19. The majority of the spontaneous activity consisted of tonic firing interspersed with coordinated bursting across the network. After 5 days in vitro, spike activity was readily evoked by voltage pulses where a minimum amplitude and duration required for excitation was 300 mV and 100 μs/phase, respectively. We characterized the sensitivity of spontaneous and evoked activity to a host of pharmacological agents including AP5, CNQX, strychnine, ω-agatoxin IVA, and botulinum neurotoxin serotype A (BoNT/A. These experiments revealed sensitivity of the cultured VH to both agonist and antagonist compounds in a manner consistent with mature tissue derived from slices. In the case of BoNT/A, we also demonstrated intoxication persistence over an 18-day period, followed by partial intoxication recovery induced by N- and P/Q-type calcium channel agonist GV-58. In total, our findings suggest that VH cultures on multi-well MEA plates may represent a moderate throughput, high content assay for performing mechanistic studies and for screening potential therapeutics pertaining to paralytic toxins and neurological disorders.

  18. Intellectual Property and Strategic Agreements (IP/SA) | FNLCR

    Science.gov (United States)

    What does IP/SA handle? IP/SA handles all invention issues including patents and copyrights. All employee inventionreports are filed through the IP/SA office for all activities under the OTS contract.Additionally,&nbs

  19. Modifications of spontaneous oculomotor activity in microgravitational conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kornilova, L. N.; Goncharenko, A. M.; Polyakov, V. V.; Grigorova, V.; Manev, A.

    Investigations on spontaneous oculomotor activity were carried out prior to and after (five cosmonauts) and during space flight (two cosmonauts) on the 3rd, 5th and 164th days of the space flight. Recording of oculomotor activity was carried out by electrooculography on automated data acquisition and processing system "Zora" based on personal computers. During the space flight and after it all the cosmonauts with the eyes closed or open and dark-goggled showed an essential increase of the movements' amplitude when removing the eyes into the extreme positions especially in a vertical direction, occurrence of correcting saccadic movements (or nystagmus), an increase in time of fixing reactions.

  20. Tinnitus perception and distress is related to abnormal spontaneous brain activity as measured by magnetoencephalography.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying tinnitus perception are not well understood. Surprisingly, there have been no group studies comparing abnormalities in ongoing, spontaneous neuronal activity in individuals with and without tinnitus perception. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Here, we show that the spontaneous neuronal activity of a group of individuals with tinnitus (n = 17 is characterised by a marked reduction in alpha (8-12 Hz power together with an enhancement in delta (1.5-4 Hz as compared to a normal hearing control group (n = 16. This pattern was especially pronounced for temporal regions. Moreover, correlations with tinnitus-related distress revealed strong associations with this abnormal spontaneous activity pattern, particularly in right temporal and left frontal areas. Overall, effects were stronger for the alpha than for the delta frequency band. A data stream of 5 min, recorded with a whole-head neuromagnetometer under a resting condition, was sufficient to extract the marked differences. CONCLUSIONS: Despite some limitations, there are arguments that the regional pattern of abnormal spontaneous activity we found could reflect a tinnitus-related cortical network. This finding, which suggests that a neurofeedback approach could reduce the adverse effects of this disturbing condition, could have important implications for the treatment of tinnitus.

  1. Recruitment of Perisomatic Inhibition during Spontaneous Hippocampal Activity In Vitro.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Beyeler

    Full Text Available It was recently shown that perisomatic GABAergic inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs originating from basket and chandelier cells can be recorded as population IPSPs from the hippocampal pyramidal layer using extracellular electrodes (eIPSPs. Taking advantage of this approach, we have investigated the recruitment of perisomatic inhibition during spontaneous hippocampal activity in vitro. Combining intracellular and extracellular recordings from pyramidal cells and interneurons, we confirm that inhibitory signals generated by basket cells can be recorded extracellularly, but our results suggest that, during spontaneous activity, eIPSPs are mostly confined to the CA3 rather than CA1 region. CA3 eIPSPs produced the powerful time-locked inhibition of multi-unit activity expected from perisomatic inhibition. Analysis of the temporal dynamics of spike discharges relative to eIPSPs suggests significant but moderate recruitment of excitatory and inhibitory neurons within the CA3 network on a 10 ms time scale, within which neurons recruit each other through recurrent collaterals and trigger powerful feedback inhibition. Such quantified parameters of neuronal interactions in the hippocampal network may serve as a basis for future characterisation of pathological conditions potentially affecting the interactions between excitation and inhibition in this circuit.

  2. Where's the Noise? Key Features of Spontaneous Activity and Neural Variability Arise through Learning in a Deterministic Network.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Hartmann

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Even in the absence of sensory stimulation the brain is spontaneously active. This background "noise" seems to be the dominant cause of the notoriously high trial-to-trial variability of neural recordings. Recent experimental observations have extended our knowledge of trial-to-trial variability and spontaneous activity in several directions: 1. Trial-to-trial variability systematically decreases following the onset of a sensory stimulus or the start of a motor act. 2. Spontaneous activity states in sensory cortex outline the region of evoked sensory responses. 3. Across development, spontaneous activity aligns itself with typical evoked activity patterns. 4. The spontaneous brain activity prior to the presentation of an ambiguous stimulus predicts how the stimulus will be interpreted. At present it is unclear how these observations relate to each other and how they arise in cortical circuits. Here we demonstrate that all of these phenomena can be accounted for by a deterministic self-organizing recurrent neural network model (SORN, which learns a predictive model of its sensory environment. The SORN comprises recurrently coupled populations of excitatory and inhibitory threshold units and learns via a combination of spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP and homeostatic plasticity mechanisms. Similar to balanced network architectures, units in the network show irregular activity and variable responses to inputs. Additionally, however, the SORN exhibits sequence learning abilities matching recent findings from visual cortex and the network's spontaneous activity reproduces the experimental findings mentioned above. Intriguingly, the network's behaviour is reminiscent of sampling-based probabilistic inference, suggesting that correlates of sampling-based inference can develop from the interaction of STDP and homeostasis in deterministic networks. We conclude that key observations on spontaneous brain activity and the variability of neural

  3. The wiring of developing sensory circuits - from patterned spontaneous activity to mechanisms of synaptic plasticity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandra Helen Leighton

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In order to accurately process incoming sensory stimuli, neurons must be organized into functional networks, with both genetic and environmental factors influencing the precise arrangement of connections between cells. Teasing apart the relative contributions of molecular guidance cues, spontaneous activity and visual experience during this maturation is on-going. During development of the sensory system, the first, rough organization of connections is created by molecular factors. These connections are then modulated by the intrinsically generated activity of neurons, even before the senses have become operational. Spontaneous waves of depolarisations sweep across the nervous system, placing them in a prime position to strengthen correct connections and weaken others, shaping synapses into a useful network. A large body of work now supports the idea that, rather than being a mere side-effect of the system, spontaneous activity actually contains information which readies the nervous system so that, as soon as the senses become active, sensory information can be utilized by the animal. An example is the neonatal mouse. As soon as the eyelids first open, neurons in the cortex respond to visual information without the animal having previously encountered structured sensory input (Cang et al., 2005a; Ko et al., 2013; Rochefort et al., 2011; Zhang et al., 2012. In vivo imaging techniques have advanced considerably, allowing observation of the natural activity in the brain of living animals down to the level of the individual synapse. New (optogenetic methods make it possible to subtly modulate the spatio-temporal properties of activity, aiding our understanding of how these characteristics relate to the function of spontaneous activity. Such experiments have had a huge impact on our knowledge by permitting direct testing of ideas about the plasticity mechanisms at play in the intact system, opening up a provocative range of fresh questions. Here, we

  4. Copper is an endogenous modulator of neural circuit spontaneous activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dodani, Sheel C; Firl, Alana; Chan, Jefferson; Nam, Christine I; Aron, Allegra T; Onak, Carl S; Ramos-Torres, Karla M; Paek, Jaeho; Webster, Corey M; Feller, Marla B; Chang, Christopher J

    2014-11-18

    For reasons that remain insufficiently understood, the brain requires among the highest levels of metals in the body for normal function. The traditional paradigm for this organ and others is that fluxes of alkali and alkaline earth metals are required for signaling, but transition metals are maintained in static, tightly bound reservoirs for metabolism and protection against oxidative stress. Here we show that copper is an endogenous modulator of spontaneous activity, a property of functional neural circuitry. Using Copper Fluor-3 (CF3), a new fluorescent Cu(+) sensor for one- and two-photon imaging, we show that neurons and neural tissue maintain basal stores of loosely bound copper that can be attenuated by chelation, which define a labile copper pool. Targeted disruption of these labile copper stores by acute chelation or genetic knockdown of the CTR1 (copper transporter 1) copper channel alters the spatiotemporal properties of spontaneous activity in developing hippocampal and retinal circuits. The data identify an essential role for copper neuronal function and suggest broader contributions of this transition metal to cell signaling.

  5. Altered spontaneous brain activity in patients with hemifacial spasm: a resting-state functional MRI study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ye Tu

    Full Text Available Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI has been used to detect the alterations of spontaneous neuronal activity in various neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, but rarely in hemifacial spasm (HFS, a nervous system disorder. We used resting-state fMRI with regional homogeneity (ReHo analysis to investigate changes in spontaneous brain activity of patients with HFS and to determine the relationship of these functional changes with clinical features. Thirty patients with HFS and 33 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls were included in this study. Compared with controls, HFS patients had significantly decreased ReHo values in left middle frontal gyrus (MFG, left medial cingulate cortex (MCC, left lingual gyrus, right superior temporal gyrus (STG and right precuneus; and increased ReHo values in left precentral gyrus, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC, right brainstem, and right cerebellum. Furthermore, the mean ReHo value in brainstem showed a positive correlation with the spasm severity (r = 0.404, p = 0.027, and the mean ReHo value in MFG was inversely related with spasm severity in HFS group (r = -0.398, p = 0.028. This study reveals that HFS is associated with abnormal spontaneous brain activity in brain regions most involved in motor control and blinking movement. The disturbances of spontaneous brain activity reflected by ReHo measurements may provide insights into the neurological pathophysiology of HFS.

  6. Spontaneous cortical activity reveals hallmarks of an optimal internal model of the environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berkes, Pietro; Orbán, Gergo; Lengyel, Máté; Fiser, József

    2011-01-07

    The brain maintains internal models of its environment to interpret sensory inputs and to prepare actions. Although behavioral studies have demonstrated that these internal models are optimally adapted to the statistics of the environment, the neural underpinning of this adaptation is unknown. Using a Bayesian model of sensory cortical processing, we related stimulus-evoked and spontaneous neural activities to inferences and prior expectations in an internal model and predicted that they should match if the model is statistically optimal. To test this prediction, we analyzed visual cortical activity of awake ferrets during development. Similarity between spontaneous and evoked activities increased with age and was specific to responses evoked by natural scenes. This demonstrates the progressive adaptation of internal models to the statistics of natural stimuli at the neural level.

  7. Spatiotemporal stability of neonatal rat cardiomyocyte monolayers spontaneous activity is dependent on the culture substrate.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jonathan Boudreau-Béland

    Full Text Available In native conditions, cardiac cells must continuously comply with diverse stimuli necessitating a perpetual adaptation. Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS is commonly used in cell culture to study cellular response to changes in the mechanical environment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of using PDMS substrates on the properties of spontaneous activity of cardiomyocyte monolayer cultures. We compared PDMS to the gold standard normally used in culture: a glass substrate. Although mean frequency of spontaneous activity remained unaltered, incidence of reentrant activity was significantly higher in samples cultured on glass compared to PDMS substrates. Higher spatial and temporal instability of the spontaneous rate activation was found when cardiomyocytes were cultured on PDMS, and correlated with decreased connexin-43 and increased CaV3.1 and HCN2 mRNA levels. Compared to cultures on glass, cultures on PDMS were associated with the strongest response to isoproterenol and acetylcholine. These results reveal the importance of carefully selecting the culture substrate for studies involving mechanical stimulation, especially for tissue engineering or pharmacological high-throughput screening of cardiac tissue analog.

  8. Suppression or knockout of SaF/SaM overcomes the Sa-mediated hybrid male sterility in rice

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yongyao Xie; Baixiao Niu; Yunming Long; Gousi Li; Jintao Tang; Yaling Zhang; Ding Ren; Yao-Guang Liu; Letian Chen

    2017-01-01

    Hybrids between the indica and japonica subspecies of rice (Oryza sativa) are usually sterile, which hinders utilization of heterosis in the inter-subspecific hybrid breeding. The complex locus Sa comprises two adjacently located genes, SaF and SaM, which interact to cause abortion of pollen grains carrying the japonica allele in japonica-indica hybrids. Here we showed that silencing of SaF or SaM by RNA interference restored male fertility in indica-japonica hybrids with heterozygous Sa. We further used clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9-based genome editing to knockout the SaF and SaM alleles, respectively, of an indica rice line to create hybrid-compatible lines. The resultant artificial neutral alleles did not affect pollen viability and other agricultural traits, but did break down the reproductive barrier in the hybrids. We found that some rice lines have natural neutral allele Sa-n, which was compatible with the typical japonica or indica Sa alleles in hybrids. Our results demonstrate that SaF and SaM are required for hybrid male sterility, but are not essential for pollen development. This study provides effective approaches for the generation of hybrid-compatible lines by knocking out the Sa locus or using the natural Sa-n allele to overcome hybrid male sterility in rice breeding.

  9. Search for spontaneous fission activity in Salton Sea and Atlantis II hot brines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ter-Akopian, G.M.; Sokol, E.A.; Fam Ngoc Chuong; Ivanov, M.P.; Popeko, G.S.; Molzahn, D.; Lund, T.; Feige, G.; Brandt, R.

    1984-01-01

    A search for an unknown spontaneously fissioning activity, possibly due to SHE, was carried out with the Dubna 3 He-counter system. In the investigation of Salton Sea samples and Atlantis II samples no such activity could be detected with limits -12 g/g. (orig.)

  10. Reproduction of overall spontaneous pain pattern by manual stimulation of active myofascial trigger points in fibromyalgia patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ge, Hong-You; Wang, Ying; Fernandez-de-las-Penas, Cesar

    2011-01-01

    It has previously been reported that local and referred pain from active myofascial trigger points (MTPs) in the neck and shoulder region contribute to fibromyalgia (FM) pain and that the pain pattern induced from active MTPs can reproduce parts of the spontaneous clinical FM pain pattern....... The current study investigated whether the overall spontaneous FM pain pattern can be reproduced by local and referred pain from active MTPs located in different muscles....

  11. Oscillatory brain activity in spontaneous and induced sleep stages in flies

    OpenAIRE

    Yap, Melvyn H. W.; Grabowska, Martyna J.; Rohrscheib, Chelsie; Jeans, Rhiannon; Troup, Michael; Paulk, Angelique C.; van Alphen, Bart; Shaw, Paul J.; van Swinderen, Bruno

    2017-01-01

    Sleep is a dynamic process comprising multiple stages, each associated with distinct electrophysiological properties and potentially serving different functions. While these phenomena are well described in vertebrates, it is unclear if invertebrates have distinct sleep stages. We perform local field potential (LFP) recordings on flies spontaneously sleeping, and compare their brain activity to flies induced to sleep using either genetic activation of sleep-promoting circuitry or the GABAA ago...

  12. Suppression or knockout of SaF/SaM overcomes the Sa-mediated hybrid male sterility in rice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Yongyao; Niu, Baixiao; Long, Yunming; Li, Gousi; Tang, Jintao; Zhang, Yaling; Ren, Ding; Liu, Yao-Guang; Chen, Letian

    2017-09-01

    Hybrids between the indica and japonica subspecies of rice (Oryza sativa) are usually sterile, which hinders utilization of heterosis in the inter-subspecific hybrid breeding. The complex locus Sa comprises two adjacently located genes, SaF and SaM, which interact to cause abortion of pollen grains carrying the japonica allele in japonica-indica hybrids. Here we showed that silencing of SaF or SaM by RNA interference restored male fertility in indica-japonica hybrids with heterozygous Sa. We further used clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9-based genome editing to knockout the SaF and SaM alleles, respectively, of an indica rice line to create hybrid-compatible lines. The resultant artificial neutral alleles did not affect pollen viability and other agricultural traits, but did break down the reproductive barrier in the hybrids. We found that some rice lines have natural neutral allele Sa-n, which was compatible with the typical japonica or indica Sa alleles in hybrids. Our results demonstrate that SaF and SaM are required for hybrid male sterility, but are not essential for pollen development. This study provides effective approaches for the generation of hybrid-compatible lines by knocking out the Sa locus or using the natural Sa-n allele to overcome hybrid male sterility in rice breeding. © 2017 The Authors. Bioelectromagnetics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

  13. Qualification and preparatory activities for the manufacturing of 9 TF coils of the JT-60SA magnet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cucchiaro, Antonio; Polli, Gian Mario; Cocilovo, Valter; Drago, Giovanni; Cuneo, Stefano; Terzi, Franco; Peyrot, Marc; Phillips, Guy; Tomarchio, Valerio

    2013-01-01

    In the framework of the Broader Approach Agreement for the construction of the JT-60SA tokamak, ENEA is in charge to provide 9 of the 18 Toroidal Field (TF) coils. The 9 coils are being manufactured by ASG superconductors in Genoa under the supervision of ENEA in collaboration with the JT-60SA European home team. Prior the manufacturing, a preparatory activity has been carried out aimed at designing, constructing and setting-up the relevant components to be realized. In order to get confidence of some special manufacturing process, several qualification activities have been performed. In this paper an overview of the principal milestones reached during the preparatory phase and a description of the qualification activities with relevant test results are presented

  14. Endo- and exocytic rate constants for spontaneous and protein kinase C-activated T cell receptor cycling

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Menné, Charlotte; Møller Sørensen, Tine; Siersma, Volkert

    2002-01-01

    To determine the rate constants of spontaneous and activated TCR cycling, we examined TCR endo- and exocytosis in the human T cell line Jurkat by three different methods. Using a simple kinetic model for TCR cycling and non-linear regression analyses, we found that the spontaneous endocytic rate...... constant of the TCR was low (approximately 0.012 min(-1)) whereas the spontaneous exocytic rate constant was similar to that of other cycling receptors (approximately 0.055 min(-1)). Following protein kinase C activation (PKC) the endocytic rate constant was increased tenfold (to approximately 0.128 min(-1......)) whereas the exocytic rate constant was unaffected. Thus, the TCR becomes a rapidly cycling receptor with kinetics similar to classical cycling receptors subsequent to PKC activation. This results in a reduction of the half-life of cell surface expressed TCR from approximately 58 to 6 min and allows rapid...

  15. Nitric oxide signaling pathways involved in the inhibition of spontaneous activity in the guinea pig prostate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dey, Anupa; Lang, Richard J; Exintaris, Betty

    2012-06-01

    We investigated nitric oxide mediated inhibition of spontaneous activity recorded in young and aging guinea pig prostates. Conventional intracellular microelectrode and tension recording techniques were used. The nitric oxide donor sodium nitroprusside (10 μM) abolished spontaneous contractions and slow wave activity in 5 young and 5 aging prostates. Upon adding the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor L-NAME (10 μM) the frequency of spontaneous contractile and electrical activity was significantly increased in each age group. This increase was significantly larger in 4 to 8 preparations of younger vs aging prostates (about 40% to 50% vs about 10% to 20%, 2-way ANOVA pguinea pig prostates (Student paired t test pproduction. This may further explain the increase in prostatic smooth muscle tone observed in age related prostate specific conditions, such as benign prostatic hyperplasia. Copyright © 2012 American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Maternal MTHFR polymorphisms and risk of spontaneous abortion Polimorfismos maternos MTHFR y riesgo de aborto espontáneo

    OpenAIRE

    María del Rosario Rodríguez-Guillén; Luisa Torres-Sánchez; Jia Chen; Marcia Galván-Portillo; Julia Blanco-Muñoz; Miriam Aracely Anaya; Irma Silva-Zolezzi; María A Hernández-Valero; Lizbeth López-Carrillo

    2009-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To asses the association between intake of folate and B vitamins and the incidence of spontaneous abortion (SA) according to the maternal methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphisms (677 C>T and 1298 A>C). MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study within a perinatal cohort of women recruited in the state of Morelos, Mexico. Twenty-three women with SA were compared to 74 women whose pregnancy survived beyond week 20th. Intake of folate and B vitami...

  17. Neurofeedback Tunes Scale-Free Dynamics in Spontaneous Brain Activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ros, T; Frewen, P; Théberge, J; Michela, A; Kluetsch, R; Mueller, A; Candrian, G; Jetly, R; Vuilleumier, P; Lanius, R A

    2017-10-01

    Brain oscillations exhibit long-range temporal correlations (LRTCs), which reflect the regularity of their fluctuations: low values representing more random (decorrelated) while high values more persistent (correlated) dynamics. LRTCs constitute supporting evidence that the brain operates near criticality, a state where neuronal activities are balanced between order and randomness. Here, healthy adults used closed-loop brain training (neurofeedback, NFB) to reduce the amplitude of alpha oscillations, producing a significant increase in spontaneous LRTCs post-training. This effect was reproduced in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, where abnormally random dynamics were reversed by NFB, correlating with significant improvements in hyperarousal. Notably, regions manifesting abnormally low LRTCs (i.e., excessive randomness) normalized toward healthy population levels, consistent with theoretical predictions about self-organized criticality. Hence, when exposed to appropriate training, spontaneous cortical activity reveals a residual capacity for "self-tuning" its own temporal complexity, despite manifesting the abnormal dynamics seen in individuals with psychiatric disorder. Lastly, we observed an inverse-U relationship between strength of LRTC and oscillation amplitude, suggesting a breakdown of long-range dependence at high/low synchronization extremes, in line with recent computational models. Together, our findings offer a broader mechanistic framework for motivating research and clinical applications of NFB, encompassing disorders with perturbed LRTCs. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. Spontaneous brain activity predicts learning ability of foreign sounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ventura-Campos, Noelia; Sanjuán, Ana; González, Julio; Palomar-García, María-Ángeles; Rodríguez-Pujadas, Aina; Sebastián-Gallés, Núria; Deco, Gustavo; Ávila, César

    2013-05-29

    Can learning capacity of the human brain be predicted from initial spontaneous functional connectivity (FC) between brain areas involved in a task? We combined task-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) before and after training with a Hindi dental-retroflex nonnative contrast. Previous fMRI results were replicated, demonstrating that this learning recruited the left insula/frontal operculum and the left superior parietal lobe, among other areas of the brain. Crucially, resting-state FC (rs-FC) between these two areas at pretraining predicted individual differences in learning outcomes after distributed (Experiment 1) and intensive training (Experiment 2). Furthermore, this rs-FC was reduced at posttraining, a change that may also account for learning. Finally, resting-state network analyses showed that the mechanism underlying this reduction of rs-FC was mainly a transfer in intrinsic activity of the left frontal operculum/anterior insula from the left frontoparietal network to the salience network. Thus, rs-FC may contribute to predict learning ability and to understand how learning modifies the functioning of the brain. The discovery of this correspondence between initial spontaneous brain activity in task-related areas and posttraining performance opens new avenues to find predictors of learning capacities in the brain using task-related fMRI and rs-fMRI combined.

  19. Paternal smoking and spontaneous abortion: a population-based retrospective cohort study among non-smoking women aged 20-49 years in rural China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Long; Yang, Ying; Liu, Fangchao; Yang, Aimin; Xu, Qin; Wang, Qiaomei; Shen, Haiping; Zhang, Yiping; Yan, Donghai; Peng, Zuoqi; He, Yuan; Wang, Yuanyuan; Xu, Jihong; Zhao, Jun; Zhang, Hongguang; Zhang, Ya; Dai, Qiaoyun; Ma, Xu

    2018-06-11

    To comprehensively evaluate the association of paternal smoking and spontaneous abortion. We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study among 5 770 691 non-smoking rural Chinese women, along with their husbands, participating in the National Free Pre-Pregnancy Checkups Project, regarding outcome events that occurred in 2010-2016. The main outcome was spontaneous abortion (SA). Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate OR and 95% CI, and restricted cubic spline was used to estimate the non-linear relationship. The multivariable-adjusted OR of exposure to paternal smoking for SA was 1.17 (95% CI 1.16 to 1.19), compared with women without exposure to paternal smoking; and corresponding OR of exposure to preconception paternal smoking for SA was 1.11 (95% CI 1.08 to 1.14), compared with women without exposure to preconception paternal smoking. The ORs of preconception paternal smoking also increased with increases in paternal smoking (p nonlinear 0.05). In addition, periconception paternal smoking cessation was associated with an 18% (15%-22%) lower risk of SA. Paternal smoking was associated with SA. The importance of tobacco control, specifically pertaining to paternal smoking, should be emphasised during preconception and pregnancy counselling. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  20. Bidirectional global spontaneous network activity precedes the canonical unidirectional circuit organization in the developing hippocampus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yulin; Ikrar, Taruna; Olivas, Nicholas D; Xu, Xiangmin

    2014-06-15

    Spontaneous network activity is believed to sculpt developing neural circuits. Spontaneous giant depolarizing potentials (GDPs) were first identified with single-cell recordings from rat CA3 pyramidal neurons, but here we identify and characterize a large-scale spontaneous network activity we term global network activation (GNA) in the developing mouse hippocampal slices, which is measured macroscopically by fast voltage-sensitive dye imaging. The initiation and propagation of GNA in the mouse is largely GABA-independent and dominated by glutamatergic transmission via AMPA receptors. Despite the fact that signal propagation in the adult hippocampus is strongly unidirectional through the canonical trisynaptic circuit (dentate gyrus [DG] to CA3 to CA1), spontaneous GNA in the developing hippocampus originates in distal CA3 and propagates both forward to CA1 and backward to DG. Photostimulation-evoked GNA also shows prominent backward propagation in the developing hippocampus from CA3 to DG. Mouse GNA is strongly correlated to electrophysiological recordings of highly localized single-cell and local field potential events. Photostimulation mapping of neural circuitry demonstrates that the enhancement of local circuit connections to excitatory pyramidal neurons occurs over the same time course as GNA and reveals the underlying pathways accounting for GNA backward propagation from CA3 to DG. The disappearance of GNA coincides with a transition to the adult-like unidirectional circuit organization at about 2 weeks of age. Taken together, our findings strongly suggest a critical link between GNA activity and maturation of functional circuit connections in the developing hippocampus. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. Outcomes of Nulliparous Women with Spontaneous Labor Onset Admitted to Hospitals in Pre-active versus Active Labor

    Science.gov (United States)

    NEAL, Jeremy L.; LAMP, Jane M.; BUCK, Jacalyn S.; LOWE, Nancy K.; GILLESPIE, Shannon L.; RYAN, Sharon L.

    2014-01-01

    Introduction The timing of when a woman is admitted to the hospital for labor care following spontaneous contraction onset may be among the most important decisions that labor attendants make as it can influence care patterns and birth outcomes. The aims of this study were to estimate the percentage of low-risk, nulliparous women at term who are admitted to labor units prior to active labor and to evaluate the effects of the timing of admission (i.e., pre-active versus active labor) on labor interventions and mode of birth. Methods Obstetrics data from low-risk, nulliparous women with spontaneous labor onset at term gestation (N = 216) were merged from two prospective studies conducted at three large, Midwestern hospitals. Baseline characteristics, labor interventions, and outcomes were compared between groups using Fisher’s exact and Mann-Whitney U tests, as appropriate. Likelihoods for oxytocin augmentation, amniotomy, and cesarean delivery were assessed by logistic regression. Results Of the sample of 216 low-risk nulliparous women, 114 (52.8%) were admitted in pre-active labor and 102 (47.2%) were admitted in active labor. Women admitted in pre-active labor were more likely to undergo oxytocin augmentation (84.2% and 45.1%, respectively; odds ratio (OR) 6.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.43–12.27) but not amniotomy (55.3% and 61.8%, respectively; OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.44–1.32) when compared to women admitted in active labor. The likelihood of cesarean delivery was higher for women admitted before active labor onset (15.8% and 6.9%, respectively; OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.02–6.37). Discussion Many low-risk nulliparous women with regular, spontaneous uterine contractions are admitted to labor units before active labor onset, which increases their likelihood of receiving oxytocin and being delivered via cesarean section. An evidence-based, standardized approach for labor admission decision-making is recommended to decrease inadvertent admissions of women in pre-active

  2. Altered spontaneous brain activity in patients with acute spinal cord injury revealed by resting-state functional MRI.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ling Zhu

    Full Text Available Previous neuroimaging studies have provided evidence of structural and functional reorganization of brain in patients with chronic spinal cord injury (SCI. However, it remains unknown whether the spontaneous brain activity changes in acute SCI. In this study, we investigated intrinsic brain activity in acute SCI patients using a regional homogeneity (ReHo analysis based on resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging.A total of 15 patients with acute SCI and 16 healthy controls participated in the study. The ReHo value was used to evaluate spontaneous brain activity, and voxel-wise comparisons of ReHo were performed to identify brain regions with altered spontaneous brain activity between groups. We also assessed the associations between ReHo and the clinical scores in brain regions showing changed spontaneous brain activity.Compared with the controls, the acute SCI patients showed decreased ReHo in the bilateral primary motor cortex/primary somatosensory cortex, bilateral supplementary motor area/dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex, right inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral caudate; and increased ReHo in bilateral precuneus, the left inferior parietal lobe, the left brainstem/hippocampus, the left cingulate motor area, bilateral insula, bilateral thalamus and bilateral cerebellum. The average ReHo values of the left thalamus and right insula were negatively correlated with the international standards for the neurological classification of spinal cord injury motor scores.Our findings indicate that acute distant neuronal damage has an immediate impact on spontaneous brain activity. In acute SCI patients, the ReHo was prominently altered in brain regions involved in motor execution and cognitive control, default mode network, and which are associated with sensorimotor compensatory reorganization. Abnormal ReHo values in the left thalamus and right insula could serve as potential biomarkers for

  3. Effects of DISC1 Polymorphisms on Resting-State Spontaneous Neuronal Activity in the Early-Stage of Schizophrenia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ningzhi Gou

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: Localized abnormalities in the synchrony of spontaneous neuronal activity, measured with regional homogeneity (ReHo, has been consistently reported in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ and their unaffected siblings. To date, little is known about the genetic influences affecting the spontaneous neuronal activity in SCZ. DISC1, a strong susceptible gene for SCZ, has been implicated in neuronal excitability and synaptic function possibly associated with regional spontaneous neuronal activity. This study aimed to examine the effects of DISC1 variations on the regional spontaneous neuronal activity in SCZ.Methods: Resting-state fMRI data were obtained from 28 SCZ patients and 21 healthy controls (HC for ReHo analysis. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs of DISC1 gene were genotyped using the PCR and direct sequencing.Results: Significant diagnosis × genotype interactions were noted for three SNPs (rs821616, rs821617, and rs2738880. For rs821617, the interactions were localized to the precuneus, basal ganglia and pre-/post-central regions. Significant interactive effects were identified at the temporal and post-central gyri for rs821616 (Ser704Cys and the inferior temporal gyrus for rs2738880. Furthermore, post-hoc analysis revealed that the DISC1 variations on these SNPs exerted different influences on ReHo between SCZ patients and HC.Conclusion: To our knowledge this is the first study to unpick the influence of DISC1 variations on spontaneous neuronal activity in SCZ; Given the emerging evidence that ReHo is a stable inheritable phenotype for schizophrenia, our findings suggest the DISC1 variations are possibly an inheritable source for the altered ReHo in this disorder.

  4. Dorsomedial prefontal cortex supports spontaneous thinking per se.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raij, T T; Riekki, T J J

    2017-06-01

    Spontaneous thinking, an action to produce, consider, integrate, and reason through mental representations, is central to our daily experience and has been suggested to serve crucial adaptive purposes. Such thinking occurs among other experiences during mind wandering that is associated with activation of the default mode network among other brain circuitries. Whether and how such brain activation is linked to the experience of spontaneous thinking per se remains poorly known. We studied 51 healthy subjects using a comprehensive experience-sampling paradigm during 3T functional magnetic resonance imaging. In comparison with fixation, the experiences of spontaneous thinking and spontaneous perception were related to activation of wide-spread brain circuitries, including the cortical midline structures, the anterior cingulate cortex and the visual cortex. In direct comparison of the spontaneous thinking versus spontaneous perception, activation was observed in the anterior dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Modality congruence of spontaneous-experience-related brain activation was suggested by several findings, including association of the lingual gyrus with visual in comparison with non-verbal-non-visual thinking. In the context of current literature, these findings suggest that the cortical midline structures are involved in the integrative core substrate of spontaneous thinking that is coupled with other brain systems depending on the characteristics of thinking. Furthermore, involvement of the anterior dorsomedial prefrontal cortex suggests the control of high-order abstract functions to characterize spontaneous thinking per se. Hum Brain Mapp 38:3277-3288, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  5. The interdisciplinarity experienced in the PET- Saúde program A interdisciplinaridade vivenciada no PET-Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sueli Moreira Pirolo

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: The incorporation of the oral health team in the Family Health Strategy (ESF, in 2000, enabled the adoption of a more active attitude of Primary Health Care in this field, in as much as oral health consists of an inseparable and integral part of the individual’s health. The interaction of health professionals becomes possible through policies like “PET-Saúde” which promotes the professional formation articulated with the ESF professionals as well as the process of integration of teaching, service and community in the perspective of interdisciplinarity. Objective: To report the experience of students during an interdisciplinary research. Description of the experience: This report was experienced in “PET-Saúde” of the Faculty of Medicine of Marília, at the “Man’s Health” subproject aiming at elaborating and validating a data collection instrument through Delphi Technique in order to help the health care team to detect early dental problems because of the damaged oral health pattern of the age group between 35 and 44 in Brazil. The members of this study are: medical and nursing students, a dentist preceptor and a nursing tutor. For the educational activities, the active methodology of teaching-learning was used. Conclusion: The reflexive actions, the moments for discussions provided the development of scientific investigation. The approximation of the process of validation through Delphi Technique also allowed the expansion of multidisciplinary knowledge on oral health. This experience made it possible to qualify the academic-professional formation on the interdisciplinary approach, and it’s important to strengthen the interaction among professionals and the articulation of health actions.Introdução: A incorporação da equipe de saúde bucal na Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF, em 2000, possibilitou a adoção de uma postura mais ativa de atenção primária nesta área, visto que a saúde bucal consiste

  6. Spontaneous Brain Activity Did Not Show the Effect of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Resting-State fMRI Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Wei; Gao, Xuemei; Shi, Shuo; Liu, Fuqu; Li, Chao

    2018-01-01

    A great many of empirical researches have proved that longtime exposure to violent video game can lead to a series of negative effects. Although research has focused on the neural basis of the correlation between violent video game and aggression, little is known whether the spontaneous brain activity is associated with violent video game exposure. To address this question, we measured the spontaneous brain activity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) to quantify spontaneous brain activity. The results showed there is no significant difference in ALFF, or fALFF, between violent video game group and the control part, indicating that long time exposure to violent video games won’t significantly influence spontaneous brain activity, especially the core brain regions such as execution control, moral judgment and short-term memory. This implies the adverse impact of violent video games is exaggerated. PMID:29375416

  7. Spontaneous Brain Activity Did Not Show the Effect of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Wei; Gao, Xuemei; Shi, Shuo; Liu, Fuqu; Li, Chao

    2017-01-01

    A great many of empirical researches have proved that longtime exposure to violent video game can lead to a series of negative effects. Although research has focused on the neural basis of the correlation between violent video game and aggression, little is known whether the spontaneous brain activity is associated with violent video game exposure. To address this question, we measured the spontaneous brain activity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and fractional ALFF (fALFF) to quantify spontaneous brain activity. The results showed there is no significant difference in ALFF, or fALFF, between violent video game group and the control part, indicating that long time exposure to violent video games won't significantly influence spontaneous brain activity, especially the core brain regions such as execution control, moral judgment and short-term memory. This implies the adverse impact of violent video games is exaggerated.

  8. Spontaneous Brain Activity Did Not Show the Effect of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Resting-State fMRI Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei Pan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A great many of empirical researches have proved that longtime exposure to violent video game can lead to a series of negative effects. Although research has focused on the neural basis of the correlation between violent video game and aggression, little is known whether the spontaneous brain activity is associated with violent video game exposure. To address this question, we measured the spontaneous brain activity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI. We used the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF and fractional ALFF (fALFF to quantify spontaneous brain activity. The results showed there is no significant difference in ALFF, or fALFF, between violent video game group and the control part, indicating that long time exposure to violent video games won’t significantly influence spontaneous brain activity, especially the core brain regions such as execution control, moral judgment and short-term memory. This implies the adverse impact of violent video games is exaggerated.

  9. Slow-light enhancement of spontaneous emission in active photonic crystal waveguides

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ek, Sara; Chen, Yaohui; Semenova, Elizaveta

    2012-01-01

    Photonic crystal defect waveguides with embedded active layers containing single or multiple quantum wells or quantum dots have been fabricated. Spontaneous emission spectra are enhanced close to the bandedge, consistently with the enhancement of gain by slow light effects. These are promising...... results for future compact devices for terabit/s communication, such as miniaturised semiconductor optical amplifiers and mode-locked lasers....

  10. Prophage spontaneous activation promotes DNA release enhancing biofilm formation in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margarida Carrolo

    Full Text Available Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus is able to form biofilms in vivo and previous studies propose that pneumococcal biofilms play a relevant role both in colonization and infection. Additionally, pneumococci recovered from human infections are characterized by a high prevalence of lysogenic bacteriophages (phages residing quiescently in their host chromosome. We investigated a possible link between lysogeny and biofilm formation. Considering that extracellular DNA (eDNA is a key factor in the biofilm matrix, we reasoned that prophage spontaneous activation with the consequent bacterial host lysis could provide a source of eDNA, enhancing pneumococcal biofilm development. Monitoring biofilm growth of lysogenic and non-lysogenic pneumococcal strains indicated that phage-infected bacteria are more proficient at forming biofilms, that is their biofilms are characterized by a higher biomass and cell viability. The presence of phage particles throughout the lysogenic strains biofilm development implicated prophage spontaneous induction in this effect. Analysis of lysogens deficient for phage lysin and the bacterial major autolysin revealed that the absence of either lytic activity impaired biofilm development and the addition of DNA restored the ability of mutant strains to form robust biofilms. These findings establish that limited phage-mediated host lysis of a fraction of the bacterial population, due to spontaneous phage induction, constitutes an important source of eDNA for the S. pneumoniae biofilm matrix and that this localized release of eDNA favors biofilm formation by the remaining bacterial population.

  11. Brain modularity controls the critical behavior of spontaneous activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Russo, R; Herrmann, H J; de Arcangelis, L

    2014-03-13

    The human brain exhibits a complex structure made of scale-free highly connected modules loosely interconnected by weaker links to form a small-world network. These features appear in healthy patients whereas neurological diseases often modify this structure. An important open question concerns the role of brain modularity in sustaining the critical behaviour of spontaneous activity. Here we analyse the neuronal activity of a model, successful in reproducing on non-modular networks the scaling behaviour observed in experimental data, on a modular network implementing the main statistical features measured in human brain. We show that on a modular network, regardless the strength of the synaptic connections or the modular size and number, activity is never fully scale-free. Neuronal avalanches can invade different modules which results in an activity depression, hindering further avalanche propagation. Critical behaviour is solely recovered if inter-module connections are added, modifying the modular into a more random structure.

  12. Spontaneous recombinase activity of Cre-ERT2 in vivo.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kristianto, Jasmin; Johnson, Michael G; Zastrow, Ryley K; Radcliff, Abigail B; Blank, Robert D

    2017-06-01

    Inducible Cre-ERT recombinase technology is widely used for gene targeting studies. The second generation of inducible Cre-ERT recombinase, hemizygous B6.129S-Tg(UBC-cre/ERT2)1Ejb/J (hereafter abbreviated as Cre-ERT2), a fusion of a mutated estrogen receptor and Cre recombinase, was engineered to be more efficient and specific than the original Cre-ERT. The putative mechanism of selective Cre-mediated recombination is Cre sequestration in the cytoplasm in the basal state with translocation to the nucleus only in the presence of tamoxifen. We utilized both a reporter mouse (B6.129 (Cg)-Gt(ROSA)26Sor tm4(ACTB-tdTomato,-EGFP)Luo /J) and endothelin converting enzyme-1 floxed transgenic mouse line to evaluate Cre-ERT2 activity. We observed spontaneous Cre activity in both settings. Unintended Cre activity is a confounding factor that has a potentially large impact on data interpretation. Thus, it is important to consider background Cre activity in experimental design.

  13. Neural activation and memory for natural scenes: Explicit and spontaneous retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weymar, Mathias; Bradley, Margaret M; Sege, Christopher T; Lang, Peter J

    2018-05-06

    Stimulus repetition elicits either enhancement or suppression in neural activity, and a recent fMRI meta-analysis of repetition effects for visual stimuli (Kim, 2017) reported cross-stimulus repetition enhancement in medial and lateral parietal cortex, as well as regions of prefrontal, temporal, and posterior cingulate cortex. Repetition enhancement was assessed here for repeated and novel scenes presented in the context of either an explicit episodic recognition task or an implicit judgment task, in order to study the role of spontaneous retrieval of episodic memories. Regardless of whether episodic memory was explicitly probed or not, repetition enhancement was found in medial posterior parietal (precuneus/cuneus), lateral parietal cortex (angular gyrus), as well as in medial prefrontal cortex (frontopolar), which did not differ by task. Enhancement effects in the posterior cingulate cortex were significantly larger during explicit compared to implicit task, primarily due to a lack of functional activity for new scenes. Taken together, the data are consistent with an interpretation that medial and (ventral) lateral parietal cortex are associated with spontaneous episodic retrieval, whereas posterior cingulate cortical regions may reflect task or decision processes. © 2018 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

  14. Intellectual Property and Strategic Agreements (IP/SA) | FNLCR Staging

    Science.gov (United States)

    IP/SA handles all invention issues including patents and copyrights. All employee inventionreports are filed through the IP/SA office for all activities under the OTS contract.Additionally,request for assignment ofcopyri

  15. On nature of spontaneous elongation of polymers preliminarily stretched in adsorption-active media under irradiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sinevich, E.A.; Prazdnichnyj, A.M.; Tikhomirov, V.S.; Bakeev, N.F.

    1989-01-01

    The nature of the spontaneous elongation under irradiation with fast electrons of polymers preliminary stretched in adsorption-active media has been studied. This effect is related with radiation-induced heating of microporous polymer samples. Its manifestation in amorphous PETP requires the presence of crazes having well developed microfibrillar structure. The spontaneous elongation effect is shown to be a result of crystallization of partially oriented material in transitional regions relating the oriented material of microfibrils inside crazes with nonstrained polymer between them

  16. DeSa News. No. 2, February 2006

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-02-01

    The international project on Evaluation and Demonstration of Safety during Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities (DeSa Project) was launched in November 2004 with the aim of developing a harmonized methodology for the safety assessment of decommissioning activities, providing recommendations on a systematic regulatory review procedure and applying the graded approach in the development and review of safety assessments for decommissioning. Significant work has been accomplished since the first project meeting (1-5 November 2004) in the following main areas: a. Development of a draft Safety Report on Safety Assessment Methodologies for Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities; b. Development of first draft documents on the Regulatory Review and Application of the Graded Approach to Safety Assessments for Decommissioning; c. Six nuclear facilities volunteered by Member States as candidates for the preparation of a selected number of test cases during Phase 2 of the DeSa Project; d. Presentation of the Project at three international events in Canada and USA; e. Promotion of the Project through the first DeSa newsletter and the Project website (http://wwwns.iaea.org/tech-areas/waste-safety/desa). The second DeSa Project meeting (17-21 October 2005) attracted forty-two experts from twenty-six countries with the aim to: - Review progress on the five DeSa Project working groups (WGs) [Assessment Framework and System Description, Hazard Analysis, Analysis of Results and Confidence Building, Regulatory Review and Graded Approach] activities; - Review the draft Safety Report on Safety Assessment Methodologies for Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities, as revised by the Coordinating Group of the DeSa Project in June 2005; - Review progress and further develop recommendations on the regulatory review of safety assessments for decommissioning and the application of a graded approach to be used during the development and review of such assessments; - Develop the DeSa work plan

  17. Efficient simultaneous removal of U(VI) and Cu(II) from aqueous solution using core-shell nZVI@SA/CMC-Ca beads

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shuhong Hu; Xiaoyan Lin; Wenhui Zhao; Ministry of Education, Sichuan; Xuegang Luo

    2018-01-01

    Core-shell nanoscale zero-valent iron@alginate/carboxymethyl cellulose sodium composite loaded with calcium (nZVI@SA/CMC-Ca) beads were synthesized in this study using coaxial electronic injection method. The adsorbent structure was characterized via FT-IR, SEM, EDX and XPS. The adsorption behavior of U(VI) and Cu(II) on core-shell nZVI@SA/CMC-Ca beads was studied under various experimental parameters like pH, contact time and temperature. The isotherm and the kinetic data, pertaining to the adsorption of U(VI) and Cu(II) by core-shell nZVI@SA/CMC-Ca beads obeyed both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms model and the pseudo-second-order kinetics model, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters revealed the spontaneous and endothermic nature of the adsorption. The experiment of regeneration and reusability suggested core-shell nZVI@SA/CMC-Ca bead was a regenerated material. (author)

  18. To Take the Stairs or Not to Take the Stairs? Employing the Reflective–Impulsive Model to Predict Spontaneous Physical Activity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcos Daou

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The reflective–impulsive model (RIM has been employed to explain various health behaviors. The present study used RIM to predict a spontaneous physical activity behavior. Specifically, 107 participants (75 females; Mage = 20.6 years, SD = 1.92 years completed measures of (1 reflections about spontaneous physical activity, as indexed by self-report questionnaire; (2 impulse toward physical activity, as indexed by the manikin task; and (3 (state self-control, as indexed by the Stroop task. The dependent variable was whether participants took the stairs or the elevator to the study laboratory. Results revealed reflections toward spontaneous physical activity positively predicted stair-taking. Further, a significant impulse toward physical activity × self-control interaction was observed. This interaction revealed that participants with high self-control who had a high impulse toward PA were more likely to take the stairs than their counterparts with a low impulse toward PA, whereas the opposite was the case for participants with low self-control. However, the impulse × self-control interaction was not significant when employing a self-report measure of trait self-control. Thus, RIM may be a good framework with which to consider spontaneous physical activity, but careful consideration must be given when examining variables within RIM (e.g., the boundary condition of self-control.

  19. [Effects of reversing the feeding cycle and the light period on the spontaneous activity of the rat (author's transl)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ticca, M

    1976-01-01

    The amount and the circadian distribution of spontaneous activity in the rat are influenced by a number of factors, whose importance and interrelationships are still deeply discussed. In order to check the reliability of previous studies about the effects of meal-eating on the spontaneous activity (wheel running) of rats of our Sprague-Dawley strain, the adjustment to the modifications of the normal day-night cycle and of the normal nocturnal feeding rhythm have been controlled. Reversing the normal light and dark periods caused the rats, after a 24 hours period, to lower and to irregularly distribute their spontaneous activity. Rats shifted their pattern of maximal activity by 12 hours in the new period of darkness in about five days, and showed to have completely fixed the new reversed running habit. Also feeding habits changed in a similar way, but more slowly. The levels of mean daily activity did not change. In a second experiment, rats, received food during light hours, and were deprived during dark hours. Their activity increased considerably and irregularly during dark hours, while a very slight rise of wheel running was shown during light hours. Body weight gain and food consumption were similar to those of the control group. These results slightly differ from those obtained using other rat strains, and are an interesting example of reinforcement of a spontaneous behavior resulting more from the light-dark cycle than from cues provided by food deprivation.

  20. Lingon sa Iskolarsyip sa Dulaan (1948-2007 Looking Back on Theater Scholarship (1948-2007

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Apolonio B. Chua

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available From 1948 to 2007, the academic community produced about a hundred titles of theses and dissertations on drama and theater, or made use of data from drama and theater for larger spheres of studies. The current article looked into identifying trends and points of emphasis, as the researches and studies progressed through roughly half a century of research production in the academic setting. Inductive in approach and tentative and exploratory in its analysis, the study identified four trends and points of emphasis in research production. In the fifties and sixties, the emphasis was more on studying the play text or drama; studies veered towards a literary reading and orientation. Eventually, this trend gave way to studying the larger phenomenon of mounting, and the mise en scéne and the spectator became additional units of concern for research. Studies began to have sections on props, costumes, and staging techniques. In the eighties, a larger concern for looking at theater as social production followed. Participant observation, field work and ethnography gave equal emphasis on the social context of theater. Marxism and other perspectives from the social sciences framed theater studies then; correlations between theater and society became useful. Towards the last decade of the century, theater studies aimed at a more conceptual approach, emphasizing core concepts like panata and other related or equivalent terms, elevating and defining the study of theater as a study of culture itself. Gamit ang mahigit sa sandaang tesis at disertasyon hinggil sa dula at dulaan o sinasangkot ang mga ito na lumabas sa akademya mula 1948 hanggang 2007, kapwa sa Unibersidad ng Pilipinas at sa iba pa, nilayon ng “Lingon sa Iskolarsyip sa Dulaan (1948-2007” na pulsuhan ang pangkalahatang daloy, tutok, tunguhin o kalakaran sa pagdadala ng mga pag-aaral. Panimula at exploratory sa inductive nitong lapat, nakatukoy ang pag-aaral ng apat na sapit o tutok sa daloy ng

  1. Spontaneous membrane formation and self-encapsulation of active rods in an inhomogeneous motility field

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grauer, J.; Löwen, H.; Janssen, L.M.C.

    2018-01-01

    We study the collective dynamics of self-propelled rods in an inhomogeneous motility field. At the interface between two regions of constant but different motility, a smectic rod layer is spontaneously created through aligning interactions between the active rods, reminiscent of an artificial,

  2. General theory for spontaneous emission in active dielectric microstructures: Example of a fiber amplifier

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søndergaard, Thomas; Tromborg, Bjarne

    2001-01-01

    A model for spontaneous emission in active dielectric microstructures is given in terms of the classical electric field Green's tensor and the quantum-mechanical operators for the generating currents. A formalism is given for calculating the Green's tensor, which does not rely on the existence...

  3. La dissection spontanée des artères coronaires: à propos de 2 cas ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    La dissection spontanée des artères coronaires (DSAC) est une cause rare du syndrome coronarien aigu (SAC); sa prévalence est de moins de 3%. Elle se définit par une séparation au sein de la paroi artérielle coronaire secondaire à une hémorragie intra murale, avec ou sans déchirure de l'intima, créant un faux chenal.

  4. Saúde Ambiental: uma Análise dos Resultados das Conferências Nacionais de Meio Ambiente, Saúde e Saúde Ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Beatriz Maury de Carvalho

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available A representação nas políticas públicas do conceito de saúde ambiental, como expressão do equilíbrio da rede de conexões entre a sociedade humana e a natureza é discutida neste trabalho, no intuito de demonstrar o status quo da saúde ambiental nas políticas públicas no país. Primeiro foi traçado o histórico da “ambientalização na saúde”, do conceito de saúde ambiental e da institucionalização das políticas ambientais e de saúde ambiental no âmbito dos Ministérios do Meio Ambiente e da Saúde. As interações entre as políticas de Saúde e de Meio Ambiente para a efetivação de uma Política Nacional de Saúde Ambiental e as intersecções dos resultados das Conferências Nacionais de Saúde, Meio Ambiente e Saúde Ambiental foram analisadas; concluindo- se com os avanços conseguidos pelos dois setores, os desafios para a articulação intersetorial e a participação social para a construção de políticas públicas de saúde ambiental.

  5. Brain activity for spontaneous and explicit mentalizing in adults with autism spectrum disorder: An fMRI study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annabel D. Nijhof

    Full Text Available The socio-communicative difficulties of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD are hypothesized to be caused by a specific deficit in the ability to represent one's own and others' mental states, referred to as Theory of Mind or mentalizing. However, many individuals with ASD show successful performance on explicit measures of mentalizing, and for this reason, the deficit is thought to be better captured by measures of spontaneous mentalizing. While there is initial behavioral support for this hypothesis, spontaneous mentalizing in ASD has not yet been studied at the neural level. Recent findings indicate involvement of the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ in both explicit and spontaneous mentalizing (Bardi et al., 2016. In the current study, we investigated brain activation during explicit and spontaneous mentalizing in adults with ASD by means of fMRI. Based on our hypothesis of a core mentalizing deficit in ASD, decreased rTPJ activity was expected for both forms of mentalizing. A group of 24 adults with ASD and 21 neurotypical controls carried out a spontaneous and an explicit version of the same mentalizing task. They watched videos in which both they themselves and another agent formed a belief about the location of an object (belief formation phase. Only in the explicit task version participants were instructed to report the agent's belief on some trials. At the behavioral level, no group differences were revealed in either of the task versions. A planned region-of-interest analysis of the rTPJ showed that this region was more active for false- than for true-belief formation, independent of task version, especially when the agent's belief had a positive content (when the agent was expecting the object. This effect of belief was absent in adults with ASD. A whole-brain analysis revealed reduced activation in the anterior middle temporal pole in ASD for false - versus true-belief trials, independent of task version. Our findings

  6. Spontaneous Activity Associated with Delusions of Schizophrenia in the Left Medial Superior Frontal Gyrus: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bin Gao

    Full Text Available Delusions of schizophrenia have been found to be associated with alterations of some brain regions in structure and task-induced activation. However, the relationship between spontaneously occurring symptoms and spontaneous brain activity remains unclear. In the current study, 14 schizophrenic patients with delusions and 14 healthy controls underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI scan. Patients with delusions of schizophrenia patients were rated with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS and Characteristics of Delusional Rating Scale (CDRS. Regional homogeneity (ReHo was calculated to measure the local synchronization of the spontaneous activity in a voxel-wise way. A two-sample t-test showed that ReHo of the right anterior cingulate gyrus and left medial superior frontal gyrus were higher in patients, and ReHo of the left superior occipital gyrus was lower, compared to healthy controls. Further, among patients, correlation analysis showed a significant difference between delusion scores of CRDS and ReHo of brain regions. ReHo of the left medial superior frontal gyrus was negatively correlated with patients' CDRS scores but not with delusional PANSS scores. These results suggested that altered local synchronization of spontaneous brain activity may be related to the pathophysiology of delusion in schizophrenia.

  7. Spontaneous Activity Associated with Delusions of Schizophrenia in the Left Medial Superior Frontal Gyrus: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Bin; Wang, Yiquan; Liu, Weibo; Chen, Zhiyu; Zhou, Heshan; Yang, Jinyu; Cohen, Zachary; Zhu, Yihong; Zang, Yufeng

    2015-01-01

    Delusions of schizophrenia have been found to be associated with alterations of some brain regions in structure and task-induced activation. However, the relationship between spontaneously occurring symptoms and spontaneous brain activity remains unclear. In the current study, 14 schizophrenic patients with delusions and 14 healthy controls underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) scan. Patients with delusions of schizophrenia patients were rated with Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and Characteristics of Delusional Rating Scale (CDRS). Regional homogeneity (ReHo) was calculated to measure the local synchronization of the spontaneous activity in a voxel-wise way. A two-sample t-test showed that ReHo of the right anterior cingulate gyrus and left medial superior frontal gyrus were higher in patients, and ReHo of the left superior occipital gyrus was lower, compared to healthy controls. Further, among patients, correlation analysis showed a significant difference between delusion scores of CRDS and ReHo of brain regions. ReHo of the left medial superior frontal gyrus was negatively correlated with patients' CDRS scores but not with delusional PANSS scores. These results suggested that altered local synchronization of spontaneous brain activity may be related to the pathophysiology of delusion in schizophrenia.

  8. Auditory Tones and Foot-Shock Recapitulate Spontaneous Sub-Threshold Activity in Basolateral Amygdala Principal Neurons and Interneurons.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    François Windels

    Full Text Available In quiescent states such as anesthesia and slow wave sleep, cortical networks show slow rhythmic synchronized activity. In sensory cortices this rhythmic activity shows a stereotypical pattern that is recapitulated by stimulation of the appropriate sensory modality. The amygdala receives sensory input from a variety of sources, and in anesthetized animals, neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA show slow rhythmic synchronized activity. Extracellular field potential recordings show that these oscillations are synchronized with sensory cortex and the thalamus, with both the thalamus and cortex leading the BLA. Using whole-cell recording in vivo we show that the membrane potential of principal neurons spontaneously oscillates between up- and down-states. Footshock and auditory stimulation delivered during down-states evokes an up-state that fully recapitulates those occurring spontaneously. These results suggest that neurons in the BLA receive convergent input from networks of cortical neurons with slow oscillatory activity and that somatosensory and auditory stimulation can trigger activity in these same networks.

  9. 76 FR 13063 - Airworthiness Directives; EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model SA330F, SA330G, and SA330J Helicopters

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-10

    ... Airworthiness Directives; EUROCOPTER FRANCE Model SA330F, SA330G, and SA330J Helicopters AGENCY: Federal... system and the pedals rocking forward. After investigation, it was determined that the Loctite bond on the ``tall pilot'' stop nut was damaged, most likely due to aging of the adhesive. The nut came loose...

  10. Spontaneous Brain Activity Did Not Show the Effect of Violent Video Games on Aggression: A Resting-State fMRI Study

    OpenAIRE

    Wei Pan; Wei Pan; Wei Pan; Xuemei Gao; Shuo Shi; Fuqu Liu; Chao Li

    2018-01-01

    A great many of empirical researches have proved that longtime exposure to violent video game can lead to a series of negative effects. Although research has focused on the neural basis of the correlation between violent video game and aggression, little is known whether the spontaneous brain activity is associated with violent video game exposure. To address this question, we measured the spontaneous brain activity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We used the...

  11. Canonical-ensemble state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) strategy for problems with more diabatic than adiabatic states: Charge-bond resonance in monomethine cyanines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Olsen, Seth, E-mail: seth.olsen@uq.edu.au [School of Mathematics and Physics, The University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD 4072 (Australia)

    2015-01-28

    This paper reviews basic results from a theory of the a priori classical probabilities (weights) in state-averaged complete active space self-consistent field (SA-CASSCF) models. It addresses how the classical probabilities limit the invariance of the self-consistency condition to transformations of the complete active space configuration interaction (CAS-CI) problem. Such transformations are of interest for choosing representations of the SA-CASSCF solution that are diabatic with respect to some interaction. I achieve the known result that a SA-CASSCF can be self-consistently transformed only within degenerate subspaces of the CAS-CI ensemble density matrix. For uniformly distributed (“microcanonical”) SA-CASSCF ensembles, self-consistency is invariant to any unitary CAS-CI transformation that acts locally on the ensemble support. Most SA-CASSCF applications in current literature are microcanonical. A problem with microcanonical SA-CASSCF models for problems with “more diabatic than adiabatic” states is described. The problem is that not all diabatic energies and couplings are self-consistently resolvable. A canonical-ensemble SA-CASSCF strategy is proposed to solve the problem. For canonical-ensemble SA-CASSCF, the equilibrated ensemble is a Boltzmann density matrix parametrized by its own CAS-CI Hamiltonian and a Lagrange multiplier acting as an inverse “temperature,” unrelated to the physical temperature. Like the convergence criterion for microcanonical-ensemble SA-CASSCF, the equilibration condition for canonical-ensemble SA-CASSCF is invariant to transformations that act locally on the ensemble CAS-CI density matrix. The advantage of a canonical-ensemble description is that more adiabatic states can be included in the support of the ensemble without running into convergence problems. The constraint on the dimensionality of the problem is relieved by the introduction of an energy constraint. The method is illustrated with a complete active space

  12. Effect of a non lethal whole-body gamma irradiation on the spontaneous and evoked electroencephalographic activities of the adult rabbit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Court, L.

    1969-01-01

    The whole of the experimental methods described (animal preparation, achievement of a precise physiological technique, dosimetry, biological information processing) allowed us to follow the changes for 15 days in the spontaneous and evoked electroencephalogram activities of rabbits submitted to a non-lethal 400 rads whole-body gamma-irradiation. Behavioural troubles, changes in the arousal state and the spontaneous electrical activity of the neo-cortex and hippocampus were noticed constantly together with an enhanced cortical excitability, and the appearance of elements of the paroxystic series sometimes in contrast with a general decrease in amplitude. After a visual stimulus the general morphology of evoked activities at the level of the primary visual areas and hippocampus was unchanged, but enhanced latencies and delays, less systematic modifications in amplitudes seemed to show out a direct effect of radiations on the nervous system and sensorial activities; these troubles seemed to occur independently from the basic electrical activity. As a whole, the changes observed were usually transitory and varied with each individual. Finally an assumption is made to explain the mechanism of arousal troubles and the general evolution of spontaneous electrical activity in the brain. (author) [fr

  13. Reconstruction of human brain spontaneous activity based on frequency-pattern analysis of magnetoencephalography data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodolfo R Llinas

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available A new method for the analysis and localization of brain activity has been developed, based on multichannel magnetic field recordings, over minutes, superimposed on the MRI of the individual. Here, a high resolution Fourier Transform is obtained over the entire recording period, leading to a detailed multi-frequency spectrum. Further analysis implements a total decomposition of the frequency components into functionally invariant entities, each having an invariant field pattern localizable in recording space. The method, addressed as functional tomography, makes it possible to find the distribution of magnetic field sources in space. Here, the method is applied to the analysis of simulated data, to oscillating signals activating a physical current dipoles phantom, and to recordings of spontaneous brain activity in ten healthy adults. In the analysis of simulated data, 61 dipoles are localized with 0.7 mm precision. Concerning the physical phantom the method is able to localize three simultaneously activated current dipoles with 1 mm precision. Spatial resolution 3 mm was attained when localizing spontaneous alpha rhythm activity in ten healthy adults, where the alpha peak was specified for each subject individually. Co-registration of the functional tomograms with each subject’s head MRI localized alpha range activity to the occipital and/or posterior parietal brain region. This is the first application of this new functional tomography to human brain activity. The method successfully provides an overall view of brain electrical activity, a detailed spectral description and, combined with MRI, the localization of sources in anatomical brain space.

  14. Reconstruction of human brain spontaneous activity based on frequency-pattern analysis of magnetoencephalography data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llinás, Rodolfo R.; Ustinin, Mikhail N.; Rykunov, Stanislav D.; Boyko, Anna I.; Sychev, Vyacheslav V.; Walton, Kerry D.; Rabello, Guilherme M.; Garcia, John

    2015-01-01

    A new method for the analysis and localization of brain activity has been developed, based on multichannel magnetic field recordings, over minutes, superimposed on the MRI of the individual. Here, a high resolution Fourier Transform is obtained over the entire recording period, leading to a detailed multi-frequency spectrum. Further analysis implements a total decomposition of the frequency components into functionally invariant entities, each having an invariant field pattern localizable in recording space. The method, addressed as functional tomography, makes it possible to find the distribution of magnetic field sources in space. Here, the method is applied to the analysis of simulated data, to oscillating signals activating a physical current dipoles phantom, and to recordings of spontaneous brain activity in 10 healthy adults. In the analysis of simulated data, 61 dipoles are localized with 0.7 mm precision. Concerning the physical phantom the method is able to localize three simultaneously activated current dipoles with 1 mm precision. Spatial resolution 3 mm was attained when localizing spontaneous alpha rhythm activity in 10 healthy adults, where the alpha peak was specified for each subject individually. Co-registration of the functional tomograms with each subject's head MRI localized alpha range activity to the occipital and/or posterior parietal brain region. This is the first application of this new functional tomography to human brain activity. The method successfully provides an overall view of brain electrical activity, a detailed spectral description and, combined with MRI, the localization of sources in anatomical brain space. PMID:26528119

  15. The activity of spontaneous action potentials in developing hair cells is regulated by Ca(2+-dependence of a transient K+ current.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Snezana Levic

    Full Text Available Spontaneous action potentials have been described in developing sensory systems. These rhythmic activities may have instructional roles for the functional development of synaptic connections. The importance of spontaneous action potentials in the developing auditory system is underpinned by the stark correlation between the time of auditory system functional maturity, and the cessation of spontaneous action potentials. A prominent K(+ current that regulates patterning of action potentials is I(A. This current undergoes marked changes in expression during chicken hair cell development. Although the properties of I(A are not normally classified as Ca(2+-dependent, we demonstrate that throughout the development of chicken hair cells, I(A is greatly reduced by acute alterations of intracellular Ca(2+. As determinants of spike timing and firing frequency, intracellular Ca(2+ buffers shift the activation and inactivation properties of the current to more positive potentials. Our findings provide evidence to demonstrate that the kinetics and functional expression of I(A are tightly regulated by intracellular Ca(2+. Such feedback mechanism between the functional expression of I(A and intracellular Ca(2+ may shape the activity of spontaneous action potentials, thus potentially sculpting synaptic connections in an activity-dependent manner in the developing cochlea.

  16. Urokinase vs Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator for Thrombolytic Evacuation of Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Basal Ganglia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuqian Li

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH is a devastating form of stroke, which leads to a high rate of mortality and poor neurological outcomes worldwide. Thrombolytic evacuation with urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA or tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA has been showed to be a hopeful treatment for ICH. However, to the best of our knowledge, no clinical trials were reported to compare the efficacy and safety of these two fibrinolytics administrated following minimally invasive stereotactic puncture (MISP in patients with spontaneous basal ganglia ICH. Therefore, the authors intended here to evaluate the differential impact of uPA and tPA in a retrospective study. In the present study, a total of 86 patients with spontaneous ICH in basal ganglia using MISP received either uPA (uPA group, n = 45 or tPA (tPA group, n = 41, respectively. The clinical baseline characteristics prior to the operation were collected. In addition, therapeutic responses were assessed by the short-term outcomes within 30 days postoperation, as well as long-term outcomes at 1 year postoperation. Our findings showed that, in comparison with tPA, uPA was able to better promote hematoma evacuation and ameliorate perihematomal edema, but the differences were not statistically significant. Moreover, the long-term functional outcomes of both groups were similar, with no statistical difference. In conclusion, these results provide evidence supporting that uPA and tPA are similar in the efficacy and safety for thrombolytic evacuation in combination with MISP in patients with spontaneous basal ganglia ICH.

  17. Circadian and individual variations in duration of spontaneous activity among ankle muscles of the cat

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hensbergen, E; Kernell, D

    This article concerns the spontaneous motor behavior of cat hindlimb muscles and muscle regions using 24-h electromyographic (EMG) recordings. Previously, we found marked differences in average daily "duty time" (i.e., the percentage of total sampling time filled with EMG activity) between different

  18. Alpha-Band Activity Reveals Spontaneous Representations of Spatial Position in Visual Working Memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Joshua J; Bsales, Emma M; Jaffe, Russell J; Awh, Edward

    2017-10-23

    An emerging view suggests that spatial position is an integral component of working memory (WM), such that non-spatial features are bound to locations regardless of whether space is relevant [1, 2]. For instance, past work has shown that stimulus position is spontaneously remembered when non-spatial features are stored. Item recognition is enhanced when memoranda appear at the same location where they were encoded [3-5], and accessing non-spatial information elicits shifts of spatial attention to the original position of the stimulus [6, 7]. However, these findings do not establish that a persistent, active representation of stimulus position is maintained in WM because similar effects have also been documented following storage in long-term memory [8, 9]. Here we show that the spatial position of the memorandum is actively coded by persistent neural activity during a non-spatial WM task. We used a spatial encoding model in conjunction with electroencephalogram (EEG) measurements of oscillatory alpha-band (8-12 Hz) activity to track active representations of spatial position. The position of the stimulus varied trial to trial but was wholly irrelevant to the tasks. We nevertheless observed active neural representations of the original stimulus position that persisted throughout the retention interval. Further experiments established that these spatial representations are dependent on the volitional storage of non-spatial features rather than being a lingering effect of sensory energy or initial encoding demands. These findings provide strong evidence that online spatial representations are spontaneously maintained in WM-regardless of task relevance-during the storage of non-spatial features. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Promoção da saúde, qualidade de vida e iniquidade em saúde: reflexões para a saúde pública.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aline Rodrigues de ALMEIDA

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available A ideia de promover saúde tem se tornado uma energia fundamental no movimento de saúde coletiva, no qual saúde é um fenômeno social e marcado por iniquidades. Este trabalho teve como objetivo compreender as relações entre promoção da saúde e iniquidades de acesso e assistência em saúde, identificandoos entraves para uma prática equânime da saúde pública com ênfase à qualidade de vida. Os diferentes perfis de doença e suas mediações sociais ultrapassam os estudos de variação biológica e incorpora o foco na dimensão social das vulnerabilidades. Para promover saúde no Brasil, é indissociável do enfrentamento de uma realidade de iniquidades históricas de grandes proporções que impõem desafios cotidianos não apenas ao setor de saúde, mas a todos aqueles que constroem políticas públicas. A qualidade de vida depende da satisfação das necessidades básicas de todos os cidadãos, propondo uma gestão baseada na solidariedade social, uma visão holística dos problemas e a redução das iniquidades. A promoção da saúde em um país tão desigual como o Brasil propõe um desafio constante aos atores envolvidos no sistema de saúde. A compreensão das iniquidades em saúde para estabelecer uma assistência holística é um processo difícil, mas extremamente relevante para a saúde pública.

  20. Reproduction of overall spontaneous pain pattern by manual stimulation of active myofascial trigger points in fibromyalgia patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ge, Hong-You; Wang, Ying; Fernández-de-las-Peñas, César

    2011-01-01

    It has previously been reported that local and referred pain from active myofascial trigger points (MTPs) in the neck and shoulder region contribute to fibromyalgia (FM) pain and that the pain pattern induced from active MTPs can reproduce parts of the spontaneous clinical FM pain pattern. The cu...

  1. Varyasyong Leksikal sa mga Dayalektong Mandaya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. Raymund M. Pasion

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Layuning panlahat sa pag-aaral na ito na tuklasin ang varyasyong leksikalsa Wikang Mandaya na matatagpuan sa Probinsyang Davao Oriental. Bilang lunsaran sa paglilikom ng mga datos, ginamit ang mga terminong kultural na pangkabuhayan tulad ng pagsasaka, pangangaso, pangingisda at paghahayupan nanababatay sa Indigenous Knowledge System and Practices (IKSP.Sinikap sagutin sa pagaaral ang suliraning ano-anong varyasyong liksikal ang makikita sa mga terminong kultural na pangkabuhayan ng Mandaya na makikita sa munisipalidad ng Caraga, Manay, Bagangaat Cateel? Disenyong kwalitatibo ginamit.Metodong indehinusat deskriptibo naman ang ginamit mula sa paglilikom hanggang sa pag-aanalisa ng mga datos. Samantalang, ang mga impormante ay pinilisa pamamagitan ng kombinasyong purposive at snow-ball sampling. Natuklasan, na ang wikang Mandaya ay nakitaan ng varyasyong lekisikal ayon sa magkakaiba ang anyo, may pagkakatulad ang anyo, at magkakatulad ang anyo subalit magkakaiba ang bigkas. Gayunpaman, pinaniniwalaang dahil sa paktor na heograpikal, sikolohikal at sosyolohikal na nagaganap sa kanilang kultura ay hindi rin maipagkailang nagyari ang varyasyong leksikal na aspekto nito.

  2. Bilateral Changes of Spontaneous Activity Within the Central Auditory Pathway Upon Chronic Unilateral Intracochlear Electrical Stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basta, Dietmar; Götze, Romy; Gröschel, Moritz; Jansen, Sebastian; Janke, Oliver; Tzschentke, Barbara; Boyle, Patrick; Ernst, Arne

    2015-12-01

    In recent years, cochlear implants have been applied successfully for the treatment of unilateral hearing loss with quite surprising benefit. One reason for this successful treatment, including the relief from tinnitus, could be the normalization of spontaneous activity in the central auditory pathway because of the electrical stimulation. The present study, therefore, investigated at a cellular level, the effect of a unilateral chronic intracochlear stimulation on key structures of the central auditory pathway. Normal-hearing guinea pigs were mechanically single-sided deafened through a standard HiFocus1j electrode array (on a HiRes 90k cochlear implant) being inserted into the first turn of the cochlea. Four to five electrode contacts could be used for the stimulation. Six weeks after surgery, the speech processor (Auria) was fitted, based on tNRI values and mounted on the animal's back. The two experimental groups were stimulated 16 hours per day for 90 days, using a HiRes strategy based on different stimulation rates (low rate (275 pps/ch), high rate (5000 pps/ch)). The results were compared with those of unilateral deafened controls (implanted but not stimulated), as well as between the treatment groups. All animals experienced a standardized free field auditory environment. The low-rate group showed a significantly lower average spontaneous activity bilaterally in the dorsal cochlear nucleus and the medial geniculate body than the controls. However, there was no difference in the inferior colliculus and the primary auditory cortex. Spontaneous activity of the high-rate group was also reduced bilaterally in the dorsal cochlear nucleus and in the primary auditory cortex. No differences could be observed between the high-rate group and the controls in the contra-lateral inferior colliculus and medial geniculate body. The high-rate group showed bilaterally a higher activity in the CN and the MGB compared with the low-rate group, whereas in the IC and in the

  3. Spontaneously emerging cortical representations of visual attributes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kenet, Tal; Bibitchkov, Dmitri; Tsodyks, Misha; Grinvald, Amiram; Arieli, Amos

    2003-10-01

    Spontaneous cortical activity-ongoing activity in the absence of intentional sensory input-has been studied extensively, using methods ranging from EEG (electroencephalography), through voltage sensitive dye imaging, down to recordings from single neurons. Ongoing cortical activity has been shown to play a critical role in development, and must also be essential for processing sensory perception, because it modulates stimulus-evoked activity, and is correlated with behaviour. Yet its role in the processing of external information and its relationship to internal representations of sensory attributes remains unknown. Using voltage sensitive dye imaging, we previously established a close link between ongoing activity in the visual cortex of anaesthetized cats and the spontaneous firing of a single neuron. Here we report that such activity encompasses a set of dynamically switching cortical states, many of which correspond closely to orientation maps. When such an orientation state emerged spontaneously, it spanned several hypercolumns and was often followed by a state corresponding to a proximal orientation. We suggest that dynamically switching cortical states could represent the brain's internal context, and therefore reflect or influence memory, perception and behaviour.

  4. Abnormal regional spontaneous neuronal activity associated with symptom severity in treatment-naive patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder revealed by resting-state functional MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Linlin; Fu, Xiangshuai; Wang, Shuai; Tang, Qunfeng; Chen, Xingui; Cheng, Lin; Zhang, Fuquan; Zhou, Zhenhe; Tian, Lin

    2017-02-15

    A large number of neuroimaging studies have revealed the dysfunction of brain activities in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) during various tasks. However, regional spontaneous activity abnormalities in OCD are gradually being revealed. In this current study, we aimed to investigate cerebral regions with abnormal spontaneous activity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and further explored the relationship between the spontaneous neuronal activity and symptom severity of patients with OCD. Thirty-one patients with OCD and 32 age-and sex-matched normal controls received the fMRI scans and fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) approach was applied to identify the abnormal brain activity. We found that patients with OCD showed decreased fALFF not only in the cortical-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) circuits like the thalamus, but also in other cerebral systems like the cerebellum, the parietal cortex and the temporal cortex. Additionally, OCD patients demonstrated significant associations between decreased fALFF and obsessive-compulsive symptom severity in the thalamus, the paracentral lobule and the cerebellum. Our results provide evidence for abnormal spontaneous neuronal activity in distributed cerebral areas and support the notion that brain areas outside the CSTC circuits may also play an important role in the pathophysiology of OCD. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Biologically active polymers from spontaneous carotenoid oxidation: a new frontier in carotenoid activity.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James B Johnston

    Full Text Available In animals carotenoids show biological activity unrelated to vitamin A that has been considered to arise directly from the behavior of the parent compound, particularly as an antioxidant. However, the very property that confers antioxidant activity on some carotenoids in plants also confers susceptibility to oxidative transformation. As an alternative, it has been suggested that carotenoid oxidative breakdown or metabolic products could be the actual agents of activity in animals. However, an important and neglected aspect of the behavior of the highly unsaturated carotenoids is their potential to undergo addition of oxygen to form copolymers. Recently we reported that spontaneous oxidation of ß-carotene transforms it into a product dominated by ß-carotene-oxygen copolymers. We now report that the polymeric product is biologically active. Results suggest an overall ability to prime innate immune function to more rapidly respond to subsequent microbial challenges. An underlying structural resemblance to sporopollenin, found in the outer shell of spores and pollen, may allow the polymer to modulate innate immune responses through interactions with the pattern recognition receptor system. Oxygen copolymer formation appears common to all carotenoids, is anticipated to be widespread, and the products may contribute to the health benefits of carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables.

  6. Participação das atividades de saúde na economia brasileira: informações da Conta de Saúde de 2000 a 2007 Share of health care ­activities in the Brazilian ­economy: information on Health Accounts from 2000 to 2007

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Angelica Borges dos Santos

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Descrever a participação das atividades de saúde na economia brasileira entre 2000 e 2007 em termos de valor adicionado e geração de postos de trabalho. MÉTODOS: Foram utilizados dados secundários do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística para os anos de 2000 a 2007. Foram analisadas as seguintes atividades: saúde pública, produção de serviços de saúde e serviços sociais privados, planos de saúde, indústria farmacêutica, indústria de equipamentos médicos e comércio de produtos farmacêuticos. Foi calculada a participação de cada atividade no total da economia e no setor saúde, a participação percentual dos componentes do valor adicionado na ótica da renda para as atividades de saúde e o crescimento real do valor adicionado por atividade de saúde. Para complementar as análises, foram levantados os rendimentos médios do trabalho e o número de postos de trabalho por atividade. RESULTADOS: A participação do setor saúde na economia variou de 5,2 a 5,8%. Cresceu a participação da saúde pública (de 1,7 para 2,0% e caiu a dos serviços de saúde privados (de 2,4 para 2,2%. O crescimento médio anual do setor (3,5% foi próximo ao da economia (3,4%. A participação do comércio de produtos farmacêuticos no setor aumentou de 9,1 para 13,2%. As atividades com maior crescimento acumulado foram: fabricação de aparelhos médico-hospitalares (42,7%, saúde pública (39,4% e planos e seguros de saúde (35,8%. A saúde representou 4,1% dos postos de trabalho da economia em 2000 e 4,4% em 2007, com 1 milhão de novos postos. Os rendimentos do trabalho representaram 6,7% do total da economia em 2000 e 7,5% em 2007. CONCLUSÕES: O setor saúde tem uma participação importante na economia brasileira, embora essa participação ainda seja inferior àquela observada em países de alta renda. O aumento da participação dos serviços públicos no valor adicionado setorial, o crescimento das margens de

  7. Combining task-evoked and spontaneous activity to improve pre-operative brain mapping with fMRI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Michael D.; Qian, Tianyi; Madsen, Joseph R.; Wang, Danhong; Li, Meiling; Ge, Manling; Zuo, Huan-cong; Groppe, David M.; Mehta, Ashesh D.; Hong, Bo; Liu, Hesheng

    2016-01-01

    Noninvasive localization of brain function is used to understand and treat neurological disease, exemplified by pre-operative fMRI mapping prior to neurosurgical intervention. The principal approach for generating these maps relies on brain responses evoked by a task and, despite known limitations, has dominated clinical practice for over 20 years. Recently, pre-operative fMRI mapping based on correlations in spontaneous brain activity has been demonstrated, however this approach has its own limitations and has not seen widespread clinical use. Here we show that spontaneous and task-based mapping can be performed together using the same pre-operative fMRI data, provide complimentary information relevant for functional localization, and can be combined to improve identification of eloquent motor cortex. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of our approach are quantified through comparison with electrical cortical stimulation mapping in eight patients with intractable epilepsy. Broad applicability and reproducibility of our approach is demonstrated through prospective replication in an independent dataset of six patients from a different center. In both cohorts and every individual patient, we see a significant improvement in signal to noise and mapping accuracy independent of threshold, quantified using receiver operating characteristic curves. Collectively, our results suggest that modifying the processing of fMRI data to incorporate both task-based and spontaneous activity significantly improves functional localization in pre-operative patients. Because this method requires no additional scan time or modification to conventional pre-operative data acquisition protocols it could have widespread utility. PMID:26408860

  8. Kakaibang Halimuyak: Iba't Ibang Imahe ng Pangangapital sa Balintawak

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariah Amour C. Miranda

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Ginagalugad ng sanaysay na ito ang isang pangunahing lugar na nadaraanan mula Norte patungong Maynila—ang Balintawak. Nagsisilbing manibela ng pagsusuri ang kontemporaneong pananaw sa lunan bilang pugad ng mga anyong may magkakasalungat na kahulugan. Binibigyang-pansin ng sanaysay ang iba't ibang imahe ng pagbebenta na matatagpuan sa Balintawak: ang billboard ng kumpanyang Bench na siyang pinakamalaki, ang mismong palengke, at ang mga lakong paninda sa tabing-kalsada. Sa pamamagitan nito, maipapakita ng sanaysay kung paano madadalumat ang Balintawak bilang isang panlipunang texto na sumasalamin sa mga magkakaibang pangangapital sa naturang lunan. This essay explores the space of Balintawak—a focal point of urban travel from northern Luzon to Manila. Using the contemporary view on space as a site of structures with contradictory meanings, the study seeks to understand how various images of market activities in Balintawak create meaningful representations. These images include the gigantic billboard of Bench, the central market itself, and flea markets in the area. The essay shows how Balintawak as a social text serves as a trading center of different forms of capital.

  9. On-off intermittency in time series of spontaneous paroxysmal activity in rats with genetic absence epilepsy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hramov, Alexander; Koronovskii, Alexey A.; Midzyanovskaya, I.S.; Sitnikova, E.; Rijn, C.M. van

    2006-01-01

    In the present paper we consider the on-off intermittency phenomena observed in time series of spontaneous paroxysmal activity in rats with genetic absence epilepsy. The method to register and analyze the electroencephalogram with the help of continuous wavelet transform is also suggested

  10. Sources of variation and genetic profile of spontaneous, out-of-season ovulatory activity in the Chios sheep

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kouttos Athanasios

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Organising the breeding plan of a seasonally breeding species, such as sheep, presents a challenge to farmers and the industry as a whole, since both economical and biological considerations need to be carefully balanced. Understanding the breeding activity of individual animals becomes a prerequisite for a successful breeding program. This study set out to investigate the sources of variation and the genetic profile of the spontaneous, out-of-season ovulatory activity of ewes of the Chios dairy sheep breed in Greece. The definition of the trait was based on blood progesterone levels, measured before exposing the ewes to rams, which marks the onset of the usual breeding season. Data were 707 records, taken over two consecutive years, of 435 ewes kept at the Agricultural Research Station of Chalkidiki in northern Greece. When all available pedigree was included, the total number of animals involved was 1068. On average, 29% of all ewes exhibited spontaneous, out-of-season ovulatory activity, with no substantial variation between the years. Significant sources of systematic variation were the ewe age and live weight, and the month of previous lambing. Older, heavier ewes, that had lambed early the previous autumn, exhibited more frequent activity. Heritability estimates were 0.216 (± 0.084 with a linear and 0.291 with a threshold model. The latter better accounts for the categorical nature of the trait. The linear model repeatability was 0.230 (± 0.095. The results obtained in this study support the notion that spontaneous out-of-season ovulatory activity can be considered in the development of a breeding plan for the Chios sheep breed.

  11. Validation of special processes for the integration activities of the JT-60SA TF coils manufactured in Italy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Polli, Gian Mario, E-mail: gianmario.polli@enea.it [ENEA, UT-FUS, Via E. Fermi 45, Frascati (Italy); Cucchiaro, Antonio; Cocilovo, Valter [ENEA, UT-FUS, Via E. Fermi 45, Frascati (Italy); Drago, Giovanni; Pesenti, Paolo; Cuneo, Stefano; Terzi, Franco [ASG Superconductors, Corso Perrone 73 r, Genova (Italy); Phillips, Guy; Tomarchio, Valerio [JT-60SA European Home Team, 85748 Garching bei Munchen (Germany)

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • Insertion. • Casing welding. • Casing embedding. - Abstract: In the framework of the Broader Approach Agreement for the construction of the JT-60SA tokamak, ENEA provides 9 of the 18 toroidal field (TF) coils of the JT-60SA magnet system. The 9 coils are being manufactured by ASG superconductors in Genoa under the supervision of ENEA in collaboration with the JT-60SA European home team. The manufacturing is composed of two main steps: one concerning winding pack assembly and impregnation, and the other devoted to the integration into the casing structure and associated final coil preparation. This paper describes the results of the validation activities set-up for the integration phase. Specifically, welding of casing components has been retained particularly critical for at least three reasons: (i) during welding the WP may be damaged by the intense heating; (ii) distortion caused by heating may determine incorrect coil geometry and then field errors; and (iii) flaws may reduce structural strength and then the overall lifetime of the machine. Similarly, final embedding has been demonstrated on a 1 m long mock-up of the coil. Main results and lessons learned are here described.

  12. Two types of mental fatigue affect spontaneous oscillatory brain activities in different ways

    OpenAIRE

    Shigihara, Yoshihito; Tanaka, Masaaki; Ishii, Akira; Kanai, Etsuko; Funakura, Masami; Watanabe, Yasuyoshi

    2013-01-01

    Abstract Background Fatigue has a multi-factorial nature. We examined the effects of two types of mental fatigue on spontaneous oscillatory brain activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG). Methods Participants were randomly assigned to two groups in a single-blinded, crossover fashion to perform two types of mental fatigue-inducing experiments. Each experiment consisted of a 30-min fatigue-inducing 0- or 2-back test session and two evaluation sessions performed just before and after the fat...

  13. Research on spontaneous activity in adult anisometropic amblyopia with regional homogeneity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Yufeng; Zhou, Yifeng

    2017-06-01

    Amblyopia usually occurs in early childhood and results in monocular visual impairment. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have reflected functional anomaly in amblyopia. In resting-state fMRI study, spontaneous activity changes abnormally in anisometropic amblyopia could be revealed by the regional homogeneity (ReHo). Twenty two adult anisometropic amblyopes and Twenty one normal controls participated in this fMRI study. Two sample T test was carried out to analysis ReHo within the whole brain for the inter groups. Compare with normal group, our study found that the amblyopia’s ReHo mainly increased in the left frontal lobe, while decreased in the left cerebellum, the temporal lobe (left and right), and the left parietal lobe. And the ReHo values in middle and inferior temporal lobe, the prefrontal lobe, frontal lobe (positive) and parietal lobe and medial frontal gyrus (negative) could be correlated with the acuity deficit of amblyopia. The results increased in ReHo may indicate compensatory plasticity in higher vision information process, while the decreased in ReHo may reflect decreased ability in eye movement, spatial sense and visuo-motor coordination. The correlation revealed that the vision deficit may correspond to the spontaneous in certain brain area.

  14. Spaced sessions of avoidance extinction reduce spontaneous recovery and promote infralimbic cortex activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tapias-Espinosa, Carles; Kádár, Elisabet; Segura-Torres, Pilar

    2018-01-15

    Extinction-based therapies (EBT) are the psychological treatments of choice for certain anxiety disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. However, some patients relapse and suffer spontaneous recovery (SR) of anxiety symptoms and persistence of avoidance behaviour, which underlines the need for improving EBT. In rats, recent evidence has highlighted the relevance of the temporal distribution of extinction sessions in reducing SR of auditory fear conditioning, although it has seldom been studied in procedures involving proactive avoidance responses, such as two-way active avoidance conditioning (TWAA). We examined whether the temporal distribution of two extinction sessions separated by 24h or 7days (contiguous versus spaced extinction paradigms, respectively), influences SR after 28days of a TWAA task. c-Fos expression, as a marker of neuronal activation, was also measured by immunohistochemistry 90min after the SR test in the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex. The temporal distribution of extinction sessions did not affect the degree of extinction learning. However, only the rats that underwent the 7-day spaced extinction paradigm maintained the level of extinction in the long term, showing no SR in TWAA. This behavioural finding was consistent with a greater number of c-Fos-labelled neurons in the infralimbic cortex in the 7-day group, and in the Lateral and Central nuclei of the amygdala in the 24-hour group. These findings show that a time-spaced extinction paradigm reduces the spontaneous recovery of active avoidance behaviour, and that this behavioural advantage appears to be related to the activation of the infralimbic cortex. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Accuracy of rate coding: When shorter time window and higher spontaneous activity help

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Leváková, Marie; Tamborrino, M.; Košťál, Lubomír; Lánský, Petr

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 95, č. 2 (2017), č. článku 022310. ISSN 2470-0045 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA15-08066S; GA MŠk(CZ) 7AMB17AT048 Institutional support: RVO:67985823 Keywords : rate coding * observation window * spontaneous activity * Fisher information * perfect integrate- and -fire model * Wiener process Subject RIV: BB - Applied Statistics, Operational Research OBOR OECD: Biology (theoretical, mathematical, thermal, cryobiology, biological rhythm), Evolutionary biology Impact factor: 2.366, year: 2016

  16. Cadeia de valor da saúde: um modelo para o sistema de saúde brasileiro Healthcare value chain: a model for the Brazilian healthcare system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelo Caldeira Pedroso

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo apresenta um modelo de cadeia de valor da saúde que representa, de maneira esquemática, o sistema de saúde do Brasil. O modelo proposto tem como intuito apresentar uma adequação à realidade brasileira, bem como abrangência e flexibilidade para utilização em atividades acadêmicas e análises do setor de saúde do Brasil. O modelo coloca ênfase em três componentes: principais atividades dessa cadeia, agrupadas em elos verticais e horizontais; missão de cada um desses elos; e principais fluxos da cadeia. A cadeia proposta é formada por seis elos verticais e três horizontais, perfazendo um total de nove: desenvolvimento de conhecimento em saúde; fornecimento de produtos e tecnologias; serviços de saúde; intermediação financeira; financiamento da saúde; consumo de saúde; regulação; distribuição de produtos de saúde; e serviços de apoio e complementares. A análise da cadeia proposta pode ser realizada por meio de quatro fluxos: inovação e conhecimento; produtos e serviços; financeiro; e de informação.This article presents a model of the healthcare value chain which consists of a schematic representation of the Brazilian healthcare system. The proposed model is adapted for the Brazilian reality and has the scope and flexibility for use in academic activities and analysis of the healthcare sector in Brazil. It places emphasis on three components: the main activities of the value chain, grouped in vertical and horizontal links; the mission of each link and the main value chain flows. The proposed model consists of six vertical and three horizontal links, amounting to nine. These are: knowledge development; supply of products and technologies; healthcare services; financial intermediation; healthcare financing; healthcare consumption; regulation; distribution of healthcare products; and complementary and support services. Four flows can be used to analyze the value chain: knowledge and innovation; products and

  17. Combining task-evoked and spontaneous activity to improve pre-operative brain mapping with fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Michael D; Qian, Tianyi; Madsen, Joseph R; Wang, Danhong; Li, Meiling; Ge, Manling; Zuo, Huan-Cong; Groppe, David M; Mehta, Ashesh D; Hong, Bo; Liu, Hesheng

    2016-01-01

    Noninvasive localization of brain function is used to understand and treat neurological disease, exemplified by pre-operative fMRI mapping prior to neurosurgical intervention. The principal approach for generating these maps relies on brain responses evoked by a task and, despite known limitations, has dominated clinical practice for over 20years. Recently, pre-operative fMRI mapping based on correlations in spontaneous brain activity has been demonstrated, however this approach has its own limitations and has not seen widespread clinical use. Here we show that spontaneous and task-based mapping can be performed together using the same pre-operative fMRI data, provide complimentary information relevant for functional localization, and can be combined to improve identification of eloquent motor cortex. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of our approach are quantified through comparison with electrical cortical stimulation mapping in eight patients with intractable epilepsy. Broad applicability and reproducibility of our approach are demonstrated through prospective replication in an independent dataset of six patients from a different center. In both cohorts and every individual patient, we see a significant improvement in signal to noise and mapping accuracy independent of threshold, quantified using receiver operating characteristic curves. Collectively, our results suggest that modifying the processing of fMRI data to incorporate both task-based and spontaneous activity significantly improves functional localization in pre-operative patients. Because this method requires no additional scan time or modification to conventional pre-operative data acquisition protocols it could have widespread utility. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  18. Émission spontanée amplifiée (ÉSA) dans une structure à double cavité verticale (Bi-VCSEL)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boucher, Y.; Gayraud, L.

    2004-11-01

    Nous présentons une étude théorique de l'Émission Spontanée Amplifiée dans une structure verticale à double cavité, décrite en termes de couplage d'ondes. Chaque cavité y est représentée par un saut de phase, tandis que les puits quantiques sont assimilés à des singularités de Dirac de la permittivité. Les sources sont prises en compte dans le cadre du formalisme des matrices de transfert étendues (3 × 3), qui inclut la saturation des zones actives sous l'effet du champ interne. Dans le plan spectral, celui-ci apparaît, au même titre que le champ émis, filtré par la fonction de transfert bimode de la structure.

  19. Spontaneous mutation by mutagenic repair of spontaneous lesions in DNA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hastings, P.J.; Quah, S.-K.; Borstel, R.C. von

    1976-01-01

    It is stated that strains of yeast carrying mutations in many of the steps in pathways repairing radiation-induced damage to DNA have enhanced spontaneous mutation rates. Most strains isolated because they have enhanced spontaneous mutation carry mutations in DNA repair systems. This suggests that much spontaneous mutation arises by mutagenic repair of spontaneous lesions. (author)

  20. Salicylate-induced changes in spontaneous activity of single units in the inferior colliculus of the guinea pig.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jastreboff, P J; Sasaki, C T

    1986-11-01

    Changes in spontaneous neuronal activity of the inferior colliculus in albino guinea pigs before and after administration of sodium salicylate were analyzed. Animals were anesthetized with pentobarbital, and two microelectrodes separated by a few hundred microns were driven through the inferior colliculus. After collecting a sufficiently large sample of cells, sodium salicylate (450 mg/kg) was injected i.p. and recordings again made 2 h after the injection. Comparison of spontaneous activity recorded before and after salicylate administration revealed highly statistically significant differences (p less than 0.001). After salicylate, the mean rate of the cell population increased from 29 to 83 Hz and the median from 26 to 74 Hz. Control experiments in which sodium salicylate was replaced by saline injection revealed no statistically significant differences in cell discharges. Recordings made during the same experiments from lobulus V of the cerebellar vermis revealed no changes in response to salicylate. The observed changes in single-unit activity due to salicylate administration may represent the first systematic evidence of a tinnituslike phenomenon in animals.

  1. Distinct Temporal Coordination of Spontaneous Population Activity between Basal Forebrain and Auditory Cortex

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josue G. Yague

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The basal forebrain (BF has long been implicated in attention, learning and memory, and recent studies have established a causal relationship between artificial BF activation and arousal. However, neural ensemble dynamics in the BF still remains unclear. Here, recording neural population activity in the BF and comparing it with simultaneously recorded cortical population under both anesthetized and unanesthetized conditions, we investigate the difference in the structure of spontaneous population activity between the BF and the auditory cortex (AC in mice. The AC neuronal population show a skewed spike rate distribution, a higher proportion of short (≤80 ms inter-spike intervals (ISIs and a rich repertoire of rhythmic firing across frequencies. Although the distribution of spontaneous firing rate in the BF is also skewed, a proportion of short ISIs can be explained by a Poisson model at short time scales (≤20 ms and spike count correlations are lower compared to AC cells, with optogenetically identified cholinergic cell pairs showing exceptionally higher correlations. Furthermore, a smaller fraction of BF neurons shows spike-field entrainment across frequencies: a subset of BF neurons fire rhythmically at slow (≤6 Hz frequencies, with varied phase preferences to ongoing field potentials, in contrast to a consistent phase preference of AC populations. Firing of these slow rhythmic BF cells is correlated to a greater degree than other rhythmic BF cell pairs. Overall, the fundamental difference in the structure of population activity between the AC and BF is their temporal coordination, in particular their operational timescales. These results suggest that BF neurons slowly modulate downstream populations whereas cortical circuits transmit signals on multiple timescales. Thus, the characterization of the neural ensemble dynamics in the BF provides further insight into the neural mechanisms, by which brain states are regulated.

  2. saRNA-guided Ago2 targets the RITA complex to promoters to stimulate transcription.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Portnoy, Victoria; Lin, Szu Hua Sharon; Li, Kathy H; Burlingame, Alma; Hu, Zheng-Hui; Li, Hao; Li, Long-Cheng

    2016-03-01

    Small activating RNAs (saRNAs) targeting specific promoter regions are able to stimulate gene expression at the transcriptional level, a phenomenon known as RNA activation (RNAa). It is known that RNAa depends on Ago2 and is associated with epigenetic changes at the target promoters. However, the precise molecular mechanism of RNAa remains elusive. Using human CDKN1A (p21) as a model gene, we characterized the molecular nature of RNAa. We show that saRNAs guide Ago2 to and associate with target promoters. saRNA-loaded Ago2 facilitates the assembly of an RNA-induced transcriptional activation (RITA) complex, which, in addition to saRNA-Ago2 complex, includes RHA and CTR9, the latter being a component of the PAF1 complex. RITA interacts with RNA polymerase II to stimulate transcription initiation and productive elongation, accompanied by monoubiquitination of histone 2B. Our results establish the existence of a cellular RNA-guided genome-targeting and transcriptional activation mechanism and provide important new mechanistic insights into the RNAa process.

  3. Hydrogen Storage Activities at HySA from (Nano)materials to Systems

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Langmi, Henrietta W

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available One of HySA’s missions is to deliver technologies for hydrogen storage infrastructure that meet the set cost targets and provide the best balance of safety, reliability, robustness, quality and functionality. HySA aims to develop storage...

  4. Activation of Akt/FKHR in the medulla oblongata contributes to spontaneous respiratory recovery after incomplete spinal cord injury in adult rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Felix, M S; Bauer, S; Darlot, F; Muscatelli, F; Kastner, A; Gauthier, P; Matarazzo, V

    2014-09-01

    After incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI), patients and animals may exhibit some spontaneous functional recovery which can be partly attributed to remodeling of injured neural circuitry. This post-lesion plasticity implies spinal remodeling but increasing evidences suggest that supraspinal structures contribute also to the functional recovery. Here we tested the hypothesis that partial SCI may activate cell-signaling pathway(s) at the supraspinal level and that this molecular response may contribute to spontaneous recovery. With this aim, we used a rat model of partial cervical hemisection which injures the bulbospinal respiratory tract originating from the medulla oblongata of the brainstem but leads to a time-dependent spontaneous functional recovery of the paralyzed hemidiaphragm. We first demonstrate that after SCI the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway is activated in the medulla oblongata of the brainstem, resulting in an inactivation of its pro-apoptotic downstream target, forkhead transcription factor (FKHR/FOXO1A). Retrograde labeling of medullary premotoneurons including respiratory ones which project to phrenic motoneurons reveals an increased FKHR phosphorylation in their cell bodies together with an unchanged cell number. Medulla infusion of the PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, prevents the SCI-induced Akt and FKHR phosphorylations and activates one of its death-promoting downstream targets, Fas ligand. Quantitative EMG analyses of diaphragmatic contractility demonstrate that the inhibition of medulla PI3K/Akt signaling prevents spontaneous respiratory recovery normally observed after partial cervical SCI. Such inhibition does not however affect either baseline contractile frequency or the ventilatory reactivity under acute respiratory challenge. Together, these findings provide novel evidence of supraspinal cellular contribution to the spontaneous respiratory recovery after partial SCI. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Archives: Water SA

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 50 of 71 ... Archives: Water SA. Journal Home > Archives: Water SA. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives. 1 - 50 of 71 Items, 1 2 > >>. 2018. Vol 44, No 1 (2018) ...

  6. Hydrodynamic interaction induced spontaneous rotation of coupled active filaments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Huijun; Hou, Zhonghuai

    2014-12-14

    We investigate the coupled dynamics of active filaments with long range hydrodynamic interactions (HI). Remarkably, we find that filaments can rotate spontaneously under the same conditions in which a single filament alone can only move in translation. Detailed analysis reveals that the emergence of coupled rotation originates from an asymmetric flow field associated with HI which breaks the symmetry of translational motion when filaments approach. The breaking is then further stabilized by HI to form self-sustained coupled rotation. Intensive simulations show that coupled rotation forms easily when one filament tends to collide with the front-half of the other. For head-to-tail approaching, we observe another interesting HI-induced coupled motion, where filaments move together in the form of one following the other. Moreover, the radius of coupled rotation increases exponentially as the rigidity of the filament increases, which suggests that HI are also important for the alignment of rigid-rod-like filaments which has been assumed to be solely a consequence of direct collisions.

  7. Neuronal activity in the isolated mouse spinal cord during spontaneous deletions in fictive locomotion: insights into locomotor central pattern generator organization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Guisheng; Shevtsova, Natalia A; Rybak, Ilya A; Harris-Warrick, Ronald M

    2012-01-01

    We explored the organization of the spinal central pattern generator (CPG) for locomotion by analysing the activity of spinal interneurons and motoneurons during spontaneous deletions occurring during fictive locomotion in the isolated neonatal mouse spinal cord, following earlier work on locomotor deletions in the cat. In the isolated mouse spinal cord, most spontaneous deletions were non-resetting, with rhythmic activity resuming after an integer number of cycles. Flexor and extensor deletions showed marked asymmetry: flexor deletions were accompanied by sustained ipsilateral extensor activity, whereas rhythmic flexor bursting was not perturbed during extensor deletions. Rhythmic activity on one side of the cord was not perturbed during non-resetting spontaneous deletions on the other side, and these deletions could occur with no input from the other side of the cord. These results suggest that the locomotor CPG has a two-level organization with rhythm-generating (RG) and pattern-forming (PF) networks, in which only the flexor RG network is intrinsically rhythmic. To further explore the neuronal organization of the CPG, we monitored activity of motoneurons and selected identified interneurons during spontaneous non-resetting deletions. Motoneurons lost rhythmic synaptic drive during ipsilateral deletions. Flexor-related commissural interneurons continued to fire rhythmically during non-resetting ipsilateral flexor deletions. Deletion analysis revealed two classes of rhythmic V2a interneurons. Type I V2a interneurons retained rhythmic synaptic drive and firing during ipsilateral motor deletions, while type II V2a interneurons lost rhythmic synaptic input and fell silent during deletions. This suggests that the type I neurons are components of the RG, whereas the type II neurons are components of the PF network. We propose a computational model of the spinal locomotor CPG that reproduces our experimental results. The results may provide novel insights into the

  8. Multichannel detrended fluctuation analysis reveals synchronized patterns of spontaneous spinal activity in anesthetized cats.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erika E Rodríguez

    Full Text Available The analysis of the interaction and synchronization of relatively large ensembles of neurons is fundamental for the understanding of complex functions of the nervous system. It is known that the temporal synchronization of neural ensembles is involved in the generation of specific motor, sensory or cognitive processes. Also, the intersegmental coherence of spinal spontaneous activity may indicate the existence of synaptic neural pathways between different pairs of lumbar segments. In this study we present a multichannel version of the detrended fluctuation analysis method (mDFA to analyze the correlation dynamics of spontaneous spinal activity (SSA from time series analysis. This method together with the classical detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA were used to find out whether the SSA recorded in one or several segments in the spinal cord of the anesthetized cat occurs either in a random or in an organized manner. Our results are consistent with a non-random organization of the sets of neurons involved in the generation of spontaneous cord dorsum potentials (CDPs recorded either from one lumbar segment (DFA-α mean = 1.04[Formula: see text]0.09 or simultaneously from several lumbar segments (mDFA-α mean = 1.01[Formula: see text]0.06, where α = 0.5 indicates randomness while α = 0.5 indicates long-term correlations. To test the sensitivity of the mDFA method we also examined the effects of small spinal lesions aimed to partially interrupt connectivity between neighboring lumbosacral segments. We found that the synchronization and correlation between the CDPs recorded from the L5 and L6 segments in both sides of the spinal cord were reduced when a lesion comprising the left dorsal quadrant was performed between the segments L5 and L6 (mDFA-[Formula: see text] = 0.992 as compared to initial conditions mDFA-α = 1.186. The synchronization and correlation were reduced even further after a similar additional right spinal lesion (mDFA-α = 0

  9. Preictal activity of subicular, CA1, and dentate gyrus principal neurons in the dorsal hippocampus before spontaneous seizures in a rat model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujita, Satoshi; Toyoda, Izumi; Thamattoor, Ajoy K; Buckmaster, Paul S

    2014-12-10

    Previous studies suggest that spontaneous seizures in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy might be preceded by increased action potential firing of hippocampal neurons. Preictal activity is potentially important because it might provide new opportunities for predicting when a seizure is about to occur and insight into how spontaneous seizures are generated. We evaluated local field potentials and unit activity of single, putative excitatory neurons in the subiculum, CA1, CA3, and dentate gyrus of the dorsal hippocampus in epileptic pilocarpine-treated rats as they experienced spontaneous seizures. Average action potential firing rates of neurons in the subiculum, CA1, and dentate gyrus, but not CA3, increased significantly and progressively beginning 2-4 min before locally recorded spontaneous seizures. In the subiculum, CA1, and dentate gyrus, but not CA3, 41-57% of neurons displayed increased preictal activity with significant consistency across multiple seizures. Much of the increased preictal firing of neurons in the subiculum and CA1 correlated with preictal theta activity, whereas preictal firing of neurons in the dentate gyrus was independent of theta. In addition, some CA1 and dentate gyrus neurons displayed reduced firing rates preictally. These results reveal that different hippocampal subregions exhibit differences in the extent and potential underlying mechanisms of preictal activity. The finding of robust and significantly consistent preictal activity of subicular, CA1, and dentate neurons in the dorsal hippocampus, despite the likelihood that many seizures initiated in other brain regions, suggests the existence of a broader neuronal network whose activity changes minutes before spontaneous seizures initiate. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3416671-17$15.00/0.

  10. A interdisciplinaridade vivenciada no PET-Saúde = The interdisciplinarity experienced in the PET- Saúde program

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Assega, Mariana Lieka

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Introdução: A incorporação da equipe de saúde bucal na Estratégia de Saúde da Família (ESF, em 2000, possibilitou a adoção de uma postura mais ativa de atenção primária nesta área, visto que a saúde bucal consiste em parte integrante e inseparável da saúde do indivíduo. A interação dos profissionais da saúde torna-se possível por meio de iniciativas como o PET-Saúde, o qual fomenta a formação profissional articulada com os profissionais da ESF, bem como, o processo de integração ensino-serviço-comunidade na perspectiva da interdisciplinaridade. Objetivo: Relatar a vivência de estudantes ao realizar uma pesquisa interdisciplinar. Descrição da experiência: Esse relato foi vivenciado no projeto PET-Saúde da Faculdade de Medicina de Marília, no sub projeto Saúde do Homem, visando construir e validar um instrumento de coleta de dados por meio da Técnica Delphi, para auxiliar a equipe de saúde detectar precocemente agravos odontológicos, visto que no Brasil, o perfil de saúde bucal, na faixa etária de 35 a 44 anos, está comprometido. Os participantes, deste estudo, são discentes de enfermagem e medicina, preceptora cirurgiã-dentista e tutora docente enfermeira. Para as atividades educacionais utilizou-se a metodologia ativa de ensino-aprendizagem. Conclusão: Os movimentos reflexivos, os espaços de diálogos propiciaram o desenvolvimento da investigação científica. Além disso, a aproximação do processo de validação pela Técnica Delphi, também permitiu ampliação do conhecimento multidisciplinar sobre saúde bucal. Esta vivência possibilitou qualificar a formação acadêmico-profissional na linha da interdisciplinaridade, sendo importante sua multiplicação para o fortalecimento da interação entre os profissionais e a articulação das ações de saúde

  11. Active caspase-3 and ultrastructural evidence of apoptosis in spontaneous and induced cell death in bovine in vitro produced pre-implantation embryos

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gjørret, Jakob O.; Fabian, Dusan; Avery, Birthe

    2007-01-01

    In this study we investigated chronological onset and involvement of active caspase-3, apoptotic nuclear morphology, and TUNEL-labeling, as well as ultrastructural evidence of apoptosis, in both spontaneous and induced cell death during pre-implantation development of bovine in vitro produced...... microscopy in both treated and untreated blastocysts. Activation of caspase-3 is likely involved in both spontaneous and induced apoptosis in bovine pre-implantation embryos, and immunohistochemical staining of active caspase-3 may be used in combination with other markers to identify apoptosis in pre...... embryos. Pre-implantation embryos (2-cell to Day 8 blastocysts) were cultured with either no supplementation (untreated) or with 10 µM staurosporine for 24 hr (treated). Embryos were subjected to immunohistochemical staining of active caspase-3, TUNEL-reaction for detection of DNA degradation and DAPI...

  12. Modulation by endothelin-1 of spontaneous activity and membrane currents of atrioventricular node myocytes from the rabbit heart.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stéphanie C Choisy

    Full Text Available The atrioventricular node (AVN is a key component of the cardiac pacemaker-conduction system. Although it is known that receptors for the peptide hormone endothelin-1 (ET-1 are expressed in the AVN, there is very little information available on the modulatory effects of ET-1 on AVN electrophysiology. This study characterises for the first time acute modulatory effects of ET-1 on AVN cellular electrophysiology.Electrophysiological experiments were conducted in which recordings were made from rabbit isolated AVN cells at 35-37°C using the whole-cell patch clamp recording technique.Application of ET-1 (10 nM to spontaneously active AVN cells led rapidly (within ~13 s to membrane potential hyperpolarisation and cessation of spontaneous action potentials (APs. This effect was prevented by pre-application of the ET(A receptor inhibitor BQ-123 (1 µM and was not mimicked by the ET(B receptor agonist IRL-1620 (300 nM. In whole-cell voltage-clamp experiments, ET-1 partially inhibited L-type calcium current (I(Ca,L and rapid delayed rectifier K(+ current (I(Kr, whilst it transiently activated the hyperpolarisation-activated current (I(f at voltages negative to the pacemaking range, and activated an inwardly rectifying current that was inhibited by both tertiapin-Q (300 nM and Ba(2+ ions (2 mM; each of these effects was sensitive to ET(A receptor inhibition. In cells exposed to tertiapin-Q, ET-1 application did not produce membrane potential hyperpolarisation or immediate cessation of spontaneous activity; instead, there was a progressive decline in AP amplitude and depolarisation of maximum diastolic potential.Acutely applied ET-1 exerts a direct modulatory effect on AVN cell electrophysiology. The dominant effect of ET-1 in this study was activation of a tertiapin-Q sensitive inwardly rectifying K(+ current via ET(A receptors, which led rapidly to cell quiescence.

  13. Activation of KCNQ Channels Suppresses Spontaneous Activity in Dorsal Root Ganglion Neurons and Reduces Chronic Pain after Spinal Cord Injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Zizhen; Li, Lin; Xie, Fuhua; Du, Junhui; Zuo, Yan; Frost, Jeffrey A; Carlton, Susan M; Walters, Edgar T; Yang, Qing

    2017-03-15

    A majority of people who have sustained spinal cord injury (SCI) experience chronic pain after injury, and this pain is highly resistant to available treatments. Contusive SCI in rats at T10 results in hyperexcitability of primary sensory neurons, which contributes to chronic pain. KCNQ channels are widely expressed in nociceptive dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, are important for controlling their excitability, and their activation has proven effective in reducing pain in peripheral nerve injury and inflammation models. The possibility that activators of KCNQ channels could be useful for treating SCI-induced chronic pain is strongly supported by the following findings. First, SCI, unlike peripheral nerve injury, failed to decrease the functional or biochemical expression of KCNQ channels in DRG as revealed by electrophysiology, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and Western blot; therefore, these channels remain available for pharmacological targeting of SCI pain. Second, treatment with retigabine, a specific KCNQ channel opener, profoundly decreased spontaneous activity in primary sensory neurons of SCI animals both in vitro and in vivo without changing the peripheral mechanical threshold. Third, retigabine reversed SCI-induced reflex hypersensitivity, adding to our previous demonstration that retigabine supports the conditioning of place preference after SCI (an operant measure of spontaneous pain). In contrast to SCI animals, naïve animals showed no effects of retigabine on reflex sensitivity or conditioned place preference by pairing with retigabine, indicating that a dose that blocks chronic pain-related behavior has no effect on normal pain sensitivity or motivational state. These results encourage the further exploration of U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved KCNQ activators for treating SCI pain, as well as efforts to develop a new generation of KCNQ activators that lack central side effects.

  14. Spontaneous, local diastolic subsarcolemmal calcium releases in single, isolated guinea-pig sinoatrial nodal cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirenko, Syevda G; Yang, Dongmei; Maltseva, Larissa A; Kim, Mary S; Lakatta, Edward G; Maltsev, Victor A

    2017-01-01

    Uptake and release calcium from the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) (dubbed "calcium clock"), in the form of spontaneous, rhythmic, local diastolic calcium releases (LCRs), together with voltage-sensitive ion channels (membrane clock) form a coupled system that regulates the action potential (AP) firing rate. LCRs activate Sodium/Calcium exchanger (NCX) that accelerates diastolic depolarization and thus participating in regulation of the time at which the next AP will occur. Previous studies in rabbit SA node cells (SANC) demonstrated that the basal AP cycle length (APCL) is tightly coupled to the basal LCR period (time from the prior AP-induced Ca2+ transient to the diastolic LCR occurrence), and that this coupling is further modulated by autonomic receptor stimulation. Although spontaneous LCRs during diastolic depolarization have been reported in SANC of various species (rabbit, cat, mouse, toad), prior studies have failed to detect LCRs in spontaneously beating SANC of guinea-pig, a species that has been traditionally used in studies of cardiac pacemaker cell function. We performed a detailed investigation of whether guinea-pig SANC generate LCRs and whether they play a similar key role in regulation of the AP firing rate. We used two different approaches, 2D high-speed camera and classical line-scan confocal imaging. Positioning the scan-line beneath sarcolemma, parallel to the long axis of the cell, we found that rhythmically beating guinea-pig SANC do, indeed, generate spontaneous, diastolic LCRs beneath the surface membrane. The average key LCR characteristics measured in confocal images in guinea-pig SANC were comparable to rabbit SANC, both in the basal state and in the presence of β-adrenergic receptor stimulation. Moreover, the relationship between the LCR period and APCL was subtended by the same linear function. Thus, LCRs in guinea-pig SANC contribute to the diastolic depolarization and APCL regulation. Our findings indicate that coupled-clock system

  15. Cavity enhanced rephased amplified spontaneous emission

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    A Williamson, Lewis; J Longdell, Jevon

    2014-01-01

    Amplified spontaneous emission is usually treated as an incoherent noise process. Recent theoretical and experimental work using rephasing optical pulses has shown that rephased amplified spontaneous emission (RASE) is a potential source of wide bandwidth time-delayed entanglement. Due to poor echo efficiency the plain RASE protocol does not in theory achieve perfect entanglement. Experiments done to date show a very small amount of entanglement at best. Here we show that RASE can, in principle, produce perfect multimode time-delayed two mode squeezing when the active medium is placed inside a Q-switched cavity. (paper)

  16. Spontaneous and evoked cerebral activity modifications on whole-body γ irradiated adult rabbit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Court, L.; Dufour, R.; Bassant, M.H.; Fatome, M.

    1976-01-01

    Whole-body γ-exposure from 150 to 850 rads (dose-rate: 14 rads.min -1 ) delivered to adult rabbits chronically implanted with electrodes resulted in prompt and delayed changes of behavior, arousal and spontaneous and evoked electrical activities. Electrophysiological techniques of polygraphic recording and signal processing showed that the alterations were related to the absorbed dose. The threshold dose accompanied with transient changes of arousal should be in the range of 50-100 rads; below this range, to the exclusion of some possible behavior changes, exposure should act as a stimulation that would become nociceptive at higher doses only [fr

  17. Preliminary treatment of bovine mastitis caused by Staphylococcus aureus, with trx-SA1, recombinant endolysin of S. aureus bacteriophage IME-SA1.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jindai; Zeng, Zhiliang; Mai, Kaijie; Yang, Yu; Feng, Jiaqi; Bai, Yang; Sun, Baoli; Xie, Qingmei; Tong, Yigang; Ma, Jingyun

    2016-08-15

    Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become a great threat to human and animal health and there is an urgent need to develop novel antibacterial agents to control this pathogen. The objective of this study was to obtain an active recombinant endolysin from the novel bacteriophage (IME-SA1), and conduct an efficacy trial of its effectiveness against bovine mastitis. We isolated a phage that was virulent and specific for S. aureus with an optimal multiplicity of infection of 0.01. Electron microscopy revealed that IME-SA1 was a member of the family Myoviridae, with an isometric head (98nm) and a long contractile tail (200nm). Experimental lysis experiments indicated the phage had an incubation period of 20min with a burst size of 80. When host bacteria were in early exponential growth stages, a multiplicity of infection of 0.01 resulted in a complete bacterial lysis after 9h. The endolysin gene (804bp) was cloned into the pET-32a bacterial expression vector and recombinant endolysin Trx-SA1 was successfully obtained with molecular size of about 47kDa. Preliminary results of therapeutic trials in cow udders showed that Trx-SA1 could effectively control mild clinical mastitis caused by S. aureus. The endolysin Trx-SA1 might be an alternative treatment strategy for infections caused by S. aureus, including MRSA. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Early spontaneous intermittent myocardial reperfusion during acute myocardial infarction is associated with augmented thrombogenic activity and less myocardial damage

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Haider, A.W.; Andreotti, F.; Hackett, D.R.; Tousoulis, D.; Kluft, C.; Maseri, A.; Davies, G.J.

    1995-01-01

    Objectives. This study investigated the influence of early spontaneous intermittent reperfusion on the extent of myocardial damage and its relation to endogenous hemostatic activity, Background. In the early phase of acute myocardial infarction coronary occlusion is often intermittent, even before

  19. Reinforcing effects of methamphetamine in an animal model of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ryu Jong

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Substrains of the Spontaneously Hypertensive rat (SHR, a putative animal model of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, have demonstrated increased sensitivity to many drugs of abuse, including psychostimulants. Therefore, it was suggested that studies in SHR may help elucidate ADHD and comorbidity with substance use disorder (SUD. However, the drug intake profile of the SHR in the most relevant animal model of drug addiction, the self-administration (SA test, and its response on the conditioned place preference (CPP paradigm are not yet determined. In the present study, we employed SA and CPP tests to investigate the reinforcing effects of the psychostimulant methamphetamine in an SHR substrain obtained from Charles River, Japan (SHR/NCrlCrlj. Concurrent tests were also performed in Wistar rats, the strain representing "normal" heterogeneous population. To address if the presence of ADHD behaviors further increases sensitivity to the rewarding effect of methamphetamine during adolescence, a critical period for the onset of drug abuse, CPP tests were especially conducted in adolescent Wistar and SHR/NCrlCrlj. We found that the SHR/NCrlCrlj also acquired methamphetamine SA and CPP, indicating reinforcing effects of methamphetamine in this ADHD animal model. However, we did not observe increased responsiveness of the SHR/NCrlCrlj to methamphetamine in both SA and CPP assays. This indicates that the reinforcing effects of methamphetamine may be similar in strains and that the SHR/NCrlCrlj may not adequately model ADHD and increased sensitivity to methamphetamine.

  20. Does Spontaneous Favorability to Power (vs. Universalism) Values Predict Spontaneous Prejudice and Discrimination?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Souchon, Nicolas; Maio, Gregory R; Hanel, Paul H P; Bardin, Brigitte

    2017-10-01

    We conducted five studies testing whether an implicit measure of favorability toward power over universalism values predicts spontaneous prejudice and discrimination. Studies 1 (N = 192) and 2 (N = 86) examined correlations between spontaneous favorability toward power (vs. universalism) values, achievement (vs. benevolence) values, and a spontaneous measure of prejudice toward ethnic minorities. Study 3 (N = 159) tested whether conditioning participants to associate power values with positive adjectives and universalism values with negative adjectives (or inversely) affects spontaneous prejudice. Study 4 (N = 95) tested whether decision bias toward female handball players could be predicted by spontaneous attitude toward power (vs. universalism) values. Study 5 (N = 123) examined correlations between spontaneous attitude toward power (vs. universalism) values, spontaneous importance toward power (vs. universalism) values, and spontaneous prejudice toward Black African people. Spontaneous positivity toward power (vs. universalism) values was associated with spontaneous negativity toward minorities and predicted gender bias in a decision task, whereas the explicit measures did not. These results indicate that the implicit assessment of evaluative responses attached to human values helps to model value-attitude-behavior relations. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Personality Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  1. SA and ROS are involved in methyl salicylate-induced programmed cell death in Arabidopsis thaliana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yun, Li Juan; Chen, Wen Li

    2011-07-01

    Programmed cell death (PCD) is a genetically encoded, active process that results in the death of individual cells, tissues, or whole organs, which plays an important role in the life cycles of plants and animals. Previous studies show that methyl salicylate (MeSA) is a defense signal molecular associated with systemic acquired resistance and hypersensitive reaction; however, whether MeSA can induce PCD in plant is still unknown. The morphological changes of Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts exposed to MeSA were observed under fluorescence microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, and the induction of PCD was clearly distinguished by intense perinuclear chromatin margination, condensation of nuclear chromatin and DNA laddering after 3-h exposure of 100 μM MeSA. Our results also showed that salicylic acid (SA) was involved in MeSA-induced PCD by using a transgenic nahG Arabidopsis thaliana line, and the process was mediated by reactive oxygen species, which functioned with SA by making an amplification loop. Our study showed that MeSA could induce PCD in plant cell for the first time.

  2. Arginine vasopressin antagonizes the effects of prostaglandin E2 on the spontaneous activity of warm-sensitive and temperature-insensitive neurons in the medial preoptic area in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jian-Hui; Hou, Xiao-Yu; Tang, Yu; Luo, Rong; Zhang, Jie; Liu, Chang; Yang, Yong-Lu

    2018-01-01

    Arginine vasopressin (AVP) plays an important role in thermoregulation and antipyresis. We have demonstrated that AVP could change the spontaneous activity of thermosensitive and temperature insensitive neurons in the preoptic area. However, whether AVP influences the effects of prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) on the spontaneous activity of neurons in the medial preoptic area (MPO) remains unclear. Our experiment showed that PGE 2 decreased the spontaneous activity of warm-sensitive neurons, and increased that of low-slope temperature-insensitive neurons in the MPO. AVP attenuated the inhibitory effect of PGE 2 on warm-sensitive neurons, and reversed the excitatory effect of PGE 2 on low-slope temperature-insensitive neurons, demonstrating that AVP antagonized the effects of PGE 2 on the spontaneous activity of these neurons. The effect of AVP was suppressed by an AVP V 1a receptor antagonist, suggesting that V 1a receptor mediated the action of AVP. We also demonstrated that AVP attenuated the PGE 2 -induced decrease in the prepotential's rate of rise in warm-sensitive neurons and the PGE 2 -induced increase in that in low-slope temperature-insensitive neurons through the V 1a receptor. Together, these data indicated that AVP antagonized the PGE 2 -induced change in the spontaneous activity of warm-sensitive and low-slope temperature-insensitive neurons in the MPO partly by reducing the PGE 2 -induced change in the prepotential of these neurons in a V 1a receptor-dependent manner. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Nuclear import and export signals of human cohesins SA1/STAG1 and SA2/STAG2 expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leszek J Tarnowski

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Human SA/STAG proteins, homologues of the yeast Irr1/Scc3 cohesin, are the least studied constituents of the sister chromatid cohesion complex crucial for proper chromosome segregation. The two SA paralogues, SA1 and SA2, show some specificity towards the chromosome region they stabilize, and SA2, but not SA1, has been shown to participate in transcriptional regulation as well. The molecular basis of this functional divergence is unknown. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In silico analysis indicates numerous putative nuclear localization (NLS and export (NES signals in the SA proteins, suggesting the possibility of their nucleocytoplasmic shuttling. We studied the functionality of those putative signals by expressing fluorescently tagged SA1 and SA2 in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Only the N-terminal NLS turned out to be functional in SA1. In contrast, the SA2 protein has at least two functional NLS and also two functional NES. Depending on the balance between these opposing signals, SA2 resides in the nucleus or is distributed throughout the cell. Validation of the above conclusions in HeLa cells confirmed that the same N-terminal NLS of SA1 is functional in those cells. In contrast, in SA2 the principal NLS functioning in HeLa cells is different from that identified in yeast and is localized to the C-terminus. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first demonstration of the possibility of non-nuclear localization of an SA protein. The reported difference in the organization between the two SA homologues may also be relevant to their partially divergent functions. The mechanisms determining subcellular localization of cohesins are only partially conserved between yeast and human cells.

  4. Altered regional homogeneity of spontaneous brain activity in idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yanping; Zhang, Xiaoling; Guan, Qiaobing; Wan, Lihong; Yi, Yahui; Liu, Chun-Feng

    2015-01-01

    The pathophysiology of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN) has conventionally been thought to be induced by neurovascular compression theory. Recent structural brain imaging evidence has suggested an additional central component for ITN pathophysiology. However, far less attention has been given to investigations of the basis of abnormal resting-state brain activity in these patients. The objective of this study was to investigate local brain activity in patients with ITN and its correlation with clinical variables of pain. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 17 patients with ITN and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were analyzed using regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis, which is a data-driven approach used to measure the regional synchronization of spontaneous brain activity. Patients with ITN had decreased ReHo in the left amygdala, right parahippocampal gyrus, and left cerebellum and increased ReHo in the right inferior temporal gyrus, right thalamus, right inferior parietal lobule, and left postcentral gyrus (corrected). Furthermore, the increase in ReHo in the left precentral gyrus was positively correlated with visual analog scale (r=0.54; P=0.002). Our study found abnormal functional homogeneity of intrinsic brain activity in several regions in ITN, suggesting the maladaptivity of the process of daily pain attacks and a central role for the pathophysiology of ITN.

  5. Archives: Health SA Gesondheid

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Items 1 - 42 of 42 ... Archives: Health SA Gesondheid. Journal Home > Archives: Health SA Gesondheid. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register · Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives. 1 - 42 of 42 Items. 2018 ...

  6. Grupo PET-Saúde/Vigilância em Saúde do Trabalhador Portuário: vivência compartilhada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria de Fátima Ferreira Queiróz

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Trata-se de um relato de vivência compartilhada do Grupo PET-Saúde/ Vigilância em Saúde do Trabalhador Portuário, da Universidade Federal de São Paulo – Unifesp e o Centro de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador – CEREST, de Santos, SP. O objetivo é descrever a experiência desse grupo tutorial e sua contribuição para o fortalecimento de ações de vigilância em saúde do trabalhador de Santos. O trabalho portuário é a temática do PET-Saúde por sua importância no cenário nacional e por sofrer transformações que geram fatores de agravos à saúde dos trabalhadores. As ações são desenvolvidas englobando o CEREST, os serviços da rede de saúde de Santos e a comunidade portuária santista. Observa-se que os participantes têm compartilhado conhecimento teórico e prático profissional, contribuindo nas ações dos trabalhadores do CEREST e apontando na direção de aproximação com a rede básica de atenção à saúde.

  7. Constitutively active Arabidopsis MAP Kinase 3 triggers defense responses involving salicylic acid and SUMM2 resistance protein

    KAUST Repository

    Genot, Baptiste

    2017-04-12

    Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are important regulators of plant immunity. Most of the knowledge about the function of these pathways is derived from loss-of-function approaches. Using a gain-of-function approach, we investigated the responses controlled by a constitutively active (CA) MPK3 in Arabidopsis thaliana. CA-MPK3 plants are dwarfed and display a massive de-repression of defense genes associated with spontaneous cell death as well as accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), phytoalexins and the stress-related hormones ethylene and salicylic acid (SA). Remarkably CA-MPK3/sid2 and CA-MPK3/ein2-50 lines which are impaired in SA synthesis and ethylene signaling, respectively, retain most of the CA-MPK3-associated phenotypes, indicating that constitutive activity of MPK3 can bypass SA and ethylene signaling to activate defense responses. A comparative analysis of the molecular phenotypes of CA-MPK3 and mpk4 autoimmunity suggested convergence between the MPK3 and MPK4-guarding modules. In support of this model, CA-MPK3 crosses with summ1 and summ2, two known suppressors of mpk4, resulted in a partial reversion of the CA-MPK3 phenotypes. Overall, our data unravel a novel mechanism by which the MAPK signaling network contributes to a robust defense response system.

  8. L’habitat spontané comme un outil de développement urbain. Le cas de Bangkok Spontaneous Housing as a Tool for Urban Development, the Case of Bangkok

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fanny Gerbeaud

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available En Thaïlande, les ensembles d’habitat spontané s’étendent à toute la capitale, malgré des politiques publiques qui visent à les contrer. Ce sont aujourd’hui de véritables morceaux de ville qui dynamisent l’espace urbain, car étroitement liés à l’identité et à l’histoire de la ville. L’opposition entre habitat spontané et « logement formel », fréquente tant dans les productions scientifiques que dans les représentations, mérite donc d���être interrogée à Bangkok. À partir d’une analyse spatiale et architecturale, nous avons abordé l’habitat spontané comme une manière de fabriquer la ville centrée sur l’appropriation : au moins sous trois formes (habitat spontané pur, ancien, greffé, il assure par sa flexibilité la continuité du tissu urbain et s’y assimile progressivement. Si pour les autorités locales les communautés de bidonvilles demeurent un signe de sous-développement, certains architectes et acteurs y voient une source d’inspiration ainsi qu’un patrimoine populaire à préserver. Une métropolisation accrue et la mondialisation des échanges économiques, culturels, politiques, amènent de nouvelles modalités de négociation de l’espace urbain qui redéfinissent le statut de l’habitat spontané. Avec l’apparition de nouvelles professions (architecte des communautés et orientations dans la manière de concevoir des projets urbains (processus participatif notamment, l’habitat spontané s’affirme peu à peu comme un outil de développement de la capitale.In Thailand, despite some public policies, spontaneous settlements spread all over the city. Closely related to the city’s history and identity they are nowadays real dynamic neighbourhoods. The opposition between spontaneous housing and “formal housing”, common in both the scientific publications and representations, is yet to be questioned in Bangkok. Through an architectural and spatial analysis, we

  9. Sistemas de serviços de saúde: principais tipologias e suas relações com os sistema de saúde brasileiro

    OpenAIRE

    José Patrício Bispo Júnior; Kelly Leite Maia de Messias

    2005-01-01

    O presente artigo discute as principais características dos Sistemas de Serviços de Saúde e relaciona o Sistema de Saúde Brasileiro com os três principais tipos de Sistemas de Serviços de Saúde. Conceitua e diferencia Sistema de Saúde de Sistemas de Serviços de Saúde. Apresenta a conformação, objetivos, componentes, características e funções dos Sistemas de Serviços de Saúde. Apresenta e discute os três principais tipos de Sistemas de Serviços de Saúde: Sistema de Saúde de Dominância de Me...

  10. Spontaneous food allergy in Was-/- mice occurs independent of FcεRI-mediated mast cell activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lexmond, W S; Goettel, J A; Sallis, B F; McCann, K; Rings, E H H M; Jensen-Jarolim, E; Nurko, S; Snapper, S B; Fiebiger, E

    2017-12-01

    Food allergies are a growing health problem, and the development of therapies that prevent disease onset is limited by the lack of adjuvant-free experimental animal models. We compared allergic sensitization in patients with food allergy or Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) and defined whether spontaneous disease in Was -/- mice recapitulates the pathology of a conventional disease model and/or human food allergy. Comparative ImmunoCAP ISAC microarray was performed in patients with food allergy or WAS. Spontaneous food allergy in Was -/- mice was compared to an adjuvant-based model in wild-type mice (WT-OVA/alum). Intestinal and systemic anaphylaxis was assessed, and the role of the high-affinity IgE Fc receptor (FcεRI) in allergic sensitization was evaluated using Was -/- Fcer1a -/- mice. Polysensitization to food was detected in both WAS and food-allergic patients which was recapitulated in the Was -/- model. Oral administration of ovalbumin (OVA) in Was -/- mice induced low titers of OVA-specific IgE compared to the WT-OVA/alum model. Irrespectively, 79% of Was -/- mice developed allergic diarrhea following oral OVA challenge. Systemic anaphylaxis occurred in Was -/- mice (95%) with a mortality rate >50%. Spontaneous sensitization and intestinal allergy occurred independent of FcεRI expression on mast cells (MCs) and basophils. Was -/- mice provide a model of food allergy with the advantage of mimicking polysensitization and low food-antigen IgE titers as observed in humans with clinical food allergy. This model will facilitate studies on aberrant immune responses during spontaneous disease development. Our results imply that therapeutic targeting of the IgE/FcεRI activation cascade will not affect sensitization to food. © 2017 EAACI and John Wiley and Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

  11. Severe accident training simulator APROS SA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raiko, Eerikki; Salminen, Kai; Lundstroem, Petra; Harti, Mika; Routamo, Tomi

    2003-01-01

    APROS SA is a severe accident training simulator based on the APROS simulation environment. APROS SA has been developed in Fortum Nuclear Services Ltd to serve as a training tool for the personnel of the Loviisa NPP. Training with APROS SA gives the personnel a deeper understanding of the severe accident phenomena and thus it is an important part of the implementation of the severe accident management strategy. APROS SA consists of two parts, a comprehensive Loviisa plant model and an external severe accident model. The external model is an extension to the Loviisa plant model, which allows the simulation to proceed into the severe accident phase. The severe accident model has three submodels: the core melting and relocation model, corium pool model and fission product model. In addition to these, a new thermal-hydraulic solver is introduced to the core region of the Loviisa plant model to replace the more limited APROS thermal-hydraulic solver. The full APROS SA training simulator has a graphical user interface with visualizations of both severe accident management panels at the operator room and the important physical phenomena during the accident. This paper describes the background of the APROS SA training simulator, the severe accident submodels and the graphical user interface. A short description how APROS SA will be used as a training tool at the Loviisa NPP is also given

  12. Åsa portreed / Åsa Johannesson ; intervjueerinud Kaisa Eiche

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Johannesson, Åsa

    2009-01-01

    Rootsi fotograafist Åsa Johannessonist, kelle portreefotode seeriat "Portraits of Her" eksponeeriti Riias toimunud kunstiüritusel "MOMENT". Tema õpingutest ja elust Londonis. Naiselikkusest ja mehelikkusest

  13. Altered spontaneous activity of posterior cingulate cortex and superior temporal gyrus are associated with a smoking cessation treatment outcome using varenicline revealed by regional homogeneity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Chao; Shen, Zhujing; Huang, Peiyu; Qian, Wei; Yu, Xinfeng; Sun, Jianzhong; Yu, Hualiang; Yang, Yihong; Zhang, Minming

    2017-06-01

    Compared to nonsmokers, smokers exhibit a number of potentially important differences in regional brain function. However, little is known about the associations between the local spontaneous brain activity and smoking cessation treatment outcomes. In the present analysis, we aimed to evaluate whether the local features of spontaneous brain activity prior to the target quit date was associated with the smoking cessation outcomes. All the participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging scans and smoking-related behavioral assessments. After a 12-week treatment with varenicline, 23 smokers succeeded in quitting smoking and 32 failed. Smokers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning prior to an open label smoking cessation treatment trial. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) was used to measure spontaneous brain activity, and whole-brain voxel-wise comparisons of ReHo were performed to detect brain regions with altered spontaneous brain activity between relapser and quitter groups. After controlling for potentially confounding factors including years of education, years smoked, cigarettes smoked per day and FTND score as covariates, compared to quitters, relapsers displayed significantly decreased ReHo in bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), as well as increased ReHo in left superior temporal gyrus (STG). These preliminary results suggest that regional brain function variables may be promising predictors of smoking relapse. This study provided novel insights into the neurobiological mechanisms underlying smoking relapse. A deeper understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms associated with relapse may result in novel pharmacological and behavioral interventions.

  14. Spontaneous distal rupture of the plantar fascia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gitto, Salvatore; Draghi, Ferdinando

    2018-07-01

    Spontaneous ruptures of the plantar fascia are uncommon injuries. They typically occur at its calcaneal insertion and usually represent a complication of plantar fasciitis and local treatment with steroid injections. In contrast, distal ruptures commonly result from traumatic injuries. We describe the case of a spontaneous distal rupture of the plantar fascia in a 48-year-old woman with a low level of physical activity and no history of direct injury to the foot, plantar fasciitis, or steroid injections. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  15. Saúde do Trabalhador: necessidades desconsideradas pela gestão do Sistema Único de Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Carlos Fadel de Vasconcellos

    Full Text Available RESUMO O texto, enquanto ensaio reflexivo, tem como objetivo analisar as normas operacionais e de pactuação do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS, no sentido de observar se o enunciado normativo decorrente dos pactos em saúde é coerente com a determinação constitucional de promoção, proteção e reabilitação da saúde dos trabalhadores e com o enfrentamento dos alarmantes indicadores epidemiológicos dos agravos decorrentes do trabalho. Utiliza, como método, a análise documental e bibliográfica referente ao tema e conclui que, a partir das necessidades em saúde, aquelas que dizem respeito à saúde do trabalhador são desconsideradas pelos mecanismos de pactuação e gestão do SUS.

  16. Annual statistic report - Furnas Centrais Eletricas S.A. - 1995

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1995-01-01

    In this report, extensive statistical data concerning the 1994 activities of the electric utility Furnas Centrais Eletricas S.A. are presented. They include the consumer's market, the generation and supply of electricity and economic and personal information. 106 figs., 71 tabs

  17. Comparative Analysis of Human and Rodent Brain Primary Neuronal Culture Spontaneous Activity Using Micro-Electrode Array Technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Napoli, Alessandro; Obeid, Iyad

    2016-03-01

    Electrical activity in embryonic brain tissue has typically been studied using Micro Electrode Array (MEA) technology to make dozens of simultaneous recordings from dissociated neuronal cultures, brain stem cell progenitors, or brain slices from fetal rodents. Although these rodent neuronal primary culture electrical properties are mostly investigated, it has not been yet established to what extent the electrical characteristics of rodent brain neuronal cultures can be generalized to those of humans. A direct comparison of spontaneous spiking activity between rodent and human primary neurons grown under the same in vitro conditions using MEA technology has never been carried out before and will be described in the present study. Human and rodent dissociated fetal brain neuronal cultures were established in-vitro by culturing on a glass grid of 60 planar microelectrodes neurons under identical conditions. Three different cultures of human neurons were produced from tissue sourced from a single aborted fetus (at 16-18 gestational weeks) and these were compared with seven different cultures of embryonic rat neurons (at 18 gestational days) originally isolated from a single rat. The results show that the human and rodent cultures behaved significantly differently. Whereas the rodent cultures demonstrated robust spontaneous activation and network activity after only 10 days, the human cultures required nearly 40 days to achieve a substantially weaker level of electrical function. These results suggest that rat neuron preparations may yield inferences that do not necessarily transfer to humans. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  18. Spontaneous Generation of Chirality in Simple Diaryl Ethers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lennartson, Anders; Hedström, Anna; Håkansson, Mikael

    2015-07-01

    We studied the spontaneous formation of chiral crystals of four diaryl ethers, 3-phenoxybenzaldehyde, 1; 1,3-dimethyl-2-phenoxybenzene, 2; di(4-aminophenyl) ether, 3; and di(p-tolyl) ether, 4. Compounds 1, 3, and 4 form conformationally chiral molecules in the solid state, while the chirality of 2 arises from the formation of supramolecular helices. Compound 1 is a liquid at ambient temperature, but 2-4 are crystalline, and solid-state CD-spectroscopy showed that they could be obtained as optically active bulk samples. It should be noted that the optical activity arise upon crystallization, and no optically active precursors were used. Indeed, even commercial samples of 3 and 4 were found to be optically active, giving evidence for the ease at which total spontaneous resolution may occur in certain systems. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  19. Saúde e desenvolvimento

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Luiza D'Ávila Viana

    Full Text Available Considerando que os modernos sistemas de saúde são o resultado da complexa interação de processos econômicos, políticos e sociais, o objetivo do trabalho é discutir a relação entre saúde e desenvolvimento no Brasil, mostrando que o esgotamento do modelo liberal de política econômica abre nova perspectiva para a retomada do desenvolvimento, entendido como combinação entre crescimento da economia, mudanças na estrutura produtiva e melhora das condições de vida da população. O complexo produtivo da saúde joga papel decisivo nesse processo, pois constitui um campo em que inovação tecnológica e acumulação de capital geram oportunidades de investimento, trabalho e renda, além de produzir avanços importantes para melhorar o estado de saúde das pessoas. A recente adoção de políticas públicas voltadas para articular, de forma positiva, aspectos da política econômica e da política social revela que a questão do desenvolvimento nacional ganhou nova centralidade na agenda governamental, o que abre a perspectiva de maior integração entre a lógica econômica e a lógica sanitária. Entretanto, é preciso reconhecer que o Brasil ainda não logrou alcançar uma associação virtuosa entre saúde e desenvolvimento.

  20. Condições de saúde, incidência de quedas e nível de atividade física dos idosos Health conditions, incidence of falls and physical activity levels among the elderly

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    GZ Mazo

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Relacionar o nível de atividade física e a incidência de quedas com as condições de saúde dos idosos de grupos de convivência. MÉTODO: Pesquisa descritiva transversal. Amostra de 256 idosos, 219 do sexo feminino e 37 do masculino, com média de idade de 70,85 anos. Para coleta dos dados foram utilizados um formulário com perguntas sobre as condições de saúde, quedas e o Questionário Internacional de Atividade Física (IPAQ. A análise se deu por meio de estatística descritiva e de teste não-paramétrico (qui-quadrado, adotando-se um nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS: 201 idosos (79,13% foram classificados como muito ativos. Desses, apenas 38 idosos haviam sofrido quedas nos últimos três meses. Houve relação estatisticamente significativa entre o nível de atividade física pouco ativo com o número de quedas e com a condição de saúde atual (p= 0,011. A condição de saúde se associou negativamente com a prática de atividade física (p= 0,016 e com a satisfação com a saúde (p= 0,05. Dos idosos pouco ativos que tiveram queda, 50% relataram que sua saúde atual é ruim. Todos os idosos pouco ativos que sofreram quedas disseram que sua condição de saúde atual dificulta a prática de atividade física, e apenas 20% deles estão satisfeitos com sua saúde. CONCLUSÃO: A prática regular de atividade física parece estar associada a uma melhor condição de saúde dos idosos e uma menor incidência de quedas.OBJECTIVE: To relate the physical activity levels and incidence of falls among elderly people in social groups, to their health conditions. METHOD: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study on a sample of 256 elderly people (219 females and 37 males of mean age 70.85 years. A form containing questions about health conditions, falls and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ were used for data collection. The analysis consisted of descriptive statistics and a non-parametric test

  1. Draft Genome Sequence of Ochrobactrum intermedium Strain SA148, a Plant Growth-Promoting Desert Rhizobacterium

    KAUST Repository

    Lafi, Feras Fawzi

    2017-03-03

    Ochrobactrum intermedium strain SA148 is a plant growth-promoting bacterium isolated from sandy soil in the Jizan area of Saudi Arabia. Here, we report the 4.9-Mb draft genome sequence of this strain, highlighting different pathways characteristic of plant growth promotion activity and environmental adaptation of SA148.

  2. Factors affecting the spontaneous mutational spectra in somatic mammalian cells

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    О.А. Ковальова

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available  In our survey of references we are discussed the influence of factors biological origin on the spontaneous mutation specters in mammalian. Seasonal and age components influence on the frequence of cytogenetic anomalies. The immune and endocrinous systems are take part in control of the alteration of the spontaneous mutation specters. Genetical difference of sensibility in animal and human at the alteration of factors enviroment as and  genetical differences of repair systems activity are may influence on individual variation of spontaneous destabilization characters of chromosomal apparatus.

  3. Desigualdade social e saúde no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neri Marcelo

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Esse artigo estuda a relação entre desigualdade social e saúde no Brasil. A estratégia usada foi avaliar as necessidades e o consumo dos serviços de saúde, bem como o acesso a seguro saúde ao longo da distribuição de renda. Adicionalmente, por meio da estimação de uma regressão logística, foram avaliados outros determinantes do consumo dos serviços de saúde, com o intuito de se conhecer aonde e quem utiliza esses serviços no país. Os dados foram extraídos da Pesquisas Nacional de Amostra por Domicilio da Fundação Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística levada a campo em 1998. Em geral, observou-se que os indivíduos nos primeiros décimos da distribuição de renda têm pior acesso a seguro saúde, necessitam de maiores cuidados médicos, mas consomem menos os serviços de saúde. As outras características extra rendimento indicam que os principais determinantes para o consumo dos serviços de saúde estariam fortemente associados aos grupos sociais mais privilegiados (de maior escolaridade, acesso a seguro saúde, água, esgoto, luz, coleta de lixo e a fatores que apontam para capacidade de geração de oferta desses serviços no país.

  4. Spontaneous acute spinal subdural hematoma: spontaneous recovery from severe paraparesis--case report and review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payer, Michael; Agosti, Reto

    2010-11-01

    Spontaneous idiopathic acute spinal subdural hematomas are highly exceptional. Neurological symptoms are usually severe, and rapid diagnosis with MRI is mandatory. Surgical evacuation has frequently been used therapeutically; however, spontaneous recovery in mild cases has also been reported. We present a case of spontaneous recovery from severe paraparesis after spontaneous acute SSDH, and review the English-speaking literature.

  5. Nas Trilhas (desconhecidas da saúde: a política pública de saúde para os homens no Brasil.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marlene Neves Strey

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Neste estudo abordamos as diferentes formas de masculinidades e sua relação com a saúde, contempladas na Política de Atenção Integral à saúde do Homem (PNAISH implementada no Brasil no ano de 2009. Através de uma análise documental dessa política, pretendemos compreender os discursos masculinos que nela estão, bem como analisar a relação entre o discurso da política e as diferentes formas de produção de saúde. Devido a não estarem acostumados a se expor a um profissional de saúde, os homens sentem-se envergonhados, e além disso, atribuem sua baixa procura aos serviços de saúde, à falta de cuidados e escuta adequadas com um olhar de gênero que possa dar conta de suas demandas. Essa nova política de saúde para os homens criada no Brasil pretende atuar de maneira a atingir uma mudança cultural, que possibilite aos homens maior cuidado com sua saúde. Além disso, olhar para os modos de produção de masculinidades nos dias atuais e seus discursos sobre saúde é estar atento aos comportamentos que, devido à herança pautada nas diferenças entre os sexos, contribui para obstaculizar o acesso dos homens aos serviços de saúde.

  6. Functional structure of spontaneous sleep slow oscillation activity in humans.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danilo Menicucci

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: During non-rapid eye movement (NREM sleep synchronous neural oscillations between neural silence (down state and neural activity (up state occur. Sleep Slow Oscillations (SSOs events are their EEG correlates. Each event has an origin site and propagates sweeping the scalp. While recent findings suggest a SSO key role in memory consolidation processes, the structure and the propagation of individual SSO events, as well as their modulation by sleep stages and cortical areas have not been well characterized so far. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We detected SSO events in EEG recordings and we defined and measured a set of features corresponding to both wave shapes and event propagations. We found that a typical SSO shape has a transition to down state, which is steeper than the following transition from down to up state. We show that during SWS SSOs are larger and more locally synchronized, but less likely to propagate across the cortex, compared to NREM stage 2. Also, the detection number of SSOs as well as their amplitudes and slopes, are greatest in the frontal regions. Although derived from a small sample, this characterization provides a preliminary reference about SSO activity in healthy subjects for 32-channel sleep recordings. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This work gives a quantitative picture of spontaneous SSO activity during NREM sleep: we unveil how SSO features are modulated by sleep stage, site of origin and detection location of the waves. Our measures on SSOs shape indicate that, as in animal models, onsets of silent states are more synchronized than those of neural firing. The differences between sleep stages could be related to the reduction of arousal system activity and to the breakdown of functional connectivity. The frontal SSO prevalence could be related to a greater homeostatic need of the heteromodal association cortices.

  7. Interprofessional learning, impression management, and spontaneity in the acute healthcare setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Elaine; McAllister, Sue; Ward, Paul R; Russell, Alison

    2016-09-01

    Spontaneous learning is integral to definitions of interprofessional learning (IPL) because it has been suggested that spontaneous learning can be deeply connected with the work that people do in collaboration with colleagues via their professional networks. However, its nature and the processes involved are not well understood. Goffman's theory of impression management offers a useful theoretical framework to consider the way in which interaction in the workplace connects to spontaneous learning. This article explores the current literature to investigate the usefulness of this framework to better understand and identify spontaneous learning in the workplace. Aspects such as the connections between spontaneous learning occurring in formal and informal work activities, the spaces in which it occurs, and the influence of professional networking are considered. It is proposed that research directed to developing a better understanding of the nature of spontaneous learning in IPL will assist in connecting this learning to formal IPL curricula, enhancing IPL and patient outcomes.

  8. Different Proteomics of Ca2+ on SA-induced Resistance to Botrytis cinerea in Tomato

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linlin Li

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to comprehensively study the effects of Ca2+ on the SA-induced resistance Botrytis cinerea in tomato through proteomics analysis. A proteomic approach was used to uncover the inducible proteins of tomato in the susceptible tomato cultivars ‘L402’ against Botrytis cinerea after salicylic acid (SA and a combination treatment of CaCl2 and SA. The results showed that the use of combination treatment of CaCl2 and SA significantly enhanced tomato resistance against Botrytis cinerea. In total, 46 differentially expressed protein spots from 2-DE gel maps were detected, of which 41 were identified by mass spectrometry. All the identified proteins were categorized into eight groups according to their putative functions: defense response (14.00%, antioxidative protein (9.75%, photosynthesis (24.39%, molecular chaperone (4.88%, energy (17.01%, metabolism (21.95%, protein synthesis (4.88% and signal transduction (0.2%. Of the proteins in the eight function groups, the effect of stress/defense and reactive oxygen species on Ca2+-regulated SA-induced resistance may be the most important one in induced resistance by RT-PCR. The expression level of pathogenesis-related proteins (PRs and chitinase was upregulated by a combination treatment of CaCl2 and SA. The characterization of these proteins greatly helped to reveal the induced proteins involved in the regulation of Ca2+ on SA-induced resistance to Botrytis cinerea. In the combination treatment of CaCl2 and SA, the defense response and antioxidative protein were clearly upregulated much more than SA alone or the control treatment by the method of proteomics and RT-PCR. The present findings suggest that susceptible tomato cultivars treated by the combination treatment of CaCl2 and SA might possess a more sensitive SA signaling system or effective pathway than SA treatment alone. In addition, results indicated that SA could coordinate other cellular activities linked with photosynthesis and

  9. Ultrafast table-top dynamic radiography of spontaneous or stimulated events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smilowitz, Laura; Henson, Bryan

    2018-01-16

    Disclosed herein are representative embodiments of methods, apparatus, and systems for performing radiography. For example, certain embodiments concern X-ray radiography of spontaneous events. Particular embodiments of the disclosed technology provide continuous high-speed x-ray imaging of spontaneous dynamic events, such as explosions, reaction-front propagation, and even material failure. Further, in certain embodiments, x-ray activation and data collection activation are triggered by the object itself that is under observation (e.g., triggered by a change of state detected by one or more sensors monitoring the object itself).

  10. Partially purified polygalacturonase from Aspergillus niger (SA6 ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Polygalacturonase (PG) was isolated from Aspergillus niger (A. niger) (SA6), partially purified and characterized. The PG showed two bands on SDS-PAGE suggesting an “endo and exo PG with apparent molecular weights of 35 and 40 KDa, respectively. It was purified 9-fold with a yield of 0.18% and specific activity of 246 ...

  11. Análise das atividades de educação em saúde realizadas pelas equipes de saúde bucal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janice Dávila Rodrigues Mendes

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Objetivo: Analisar as atividades de Educação em Saúde realizadas pelas equipes de saúde bucal que estão inseridas na Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF. Métodos: A pesquisa classificou-se em exploratória e descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa. O referencial teórico de Educação em Saúde utilizado foi a Educação Popular. O estudo foi realizado em Centros de Saúde da Família, Centro de Referência em Assistência Social (CRAS e escolas no município de Sobral, Ceará, Brasil, entre os meses de novembro de 2013 e janeiro de 2014. Participaram do estudo 17 profissionais das equipes de saúde bucal. Os dados foram coletados por meio de entrevista contendo questões norteadoras e observação simples, sendo processados por meio da Análise do Discurso. Resultados: A concepção de Educação em Saúde referida majoritariamente pelos profissionais relaciona-se com o modelo tradicional. As atividades educativas realizadas não são sistematizadas para todo o município e estão condicionadas a programas ministeriais. A integração entre as equipes de saúde bucal e as equipes de saúde da família, no que diz respeito às atividades para escolares, é um processo ainda em construção, não estando consolidado na ESF. Conclusão: É necessário o desenvolvimento de políticas mais intensivas de formação de profissionais de saúde, que considerem a Educação Popular e o uso de metodologias ativas de ensino como método nas suas formações. Este estudo poderá contribuir para uma reflexão a respeito do tema na prática, podendo, assim, possibilitar a construção de um novo olhar sobre a Educação em Saúde.

  12. A saúde da Physis e a saúde do Dasein em Heidegger Physis's health and Dasein's health according to Heidegger

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Passos Nogueira

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Ao investigar o significado do conceito de physis em Aristóteles, Heidegger parece defender a idéia de que o corpo físico guarda em si um poder espontâneo de cura, correspondendo à conhecida noção da natura medicatrix. Contudo, em suas exposições nos seminários de Zollikon, ele deixa claro que a saúde e a enfermidade são apenas modos existenciais do Dasein como ser-no-mundo. Por isso, o corpo, com sua fisiologia e sua patologia, estão sempre submetidos ao domínio da essência ex-tática do Dasein; o homem jamais é natureza, como pressupõe a ontologia cartesiana. O artigo realiza um confronto entre essas duas abordagens de Heidegger. Mostra também as conseqüências de três determinações da saúde que são as únicas coerentes com a ontologia fundamental de Heidegger: a enfermidade é uma privação ontológica; a saúde é a potencialidade de ser do Dasein em sua essência ex-tática; o estresse e a enfermidade relacionam-se com o círculo hermenêutico de interpelações e respostas que o Dasein mantém em seu vínculo essencial com o mundo.In his study about the meaning of the Aristotle's concept of physis, Heidegger seems to espouse the idea that human physical body keeps inside itself a spontaneous power of healing, that responds to the well-known notion of natura medicatrix. However, at the Zollikon seminars, he made clear that health and disease are nothing else than modes of Dasein's existential ways of being-in-the-world. Thus the body, its physiology and pathology are always submitted to the sway of the unfolding essence of Dasein; man never is nature as thinks the Cartesian ontology. This article carries through a confrontation between these two Heidegger's approaches to health. It also shows the consequences of three determinations of health in Heidegger's thought that are coherent with his fundamental ontology: a disease is a an ontological privation; b health is a potentiality of the being of Dasein in its

  13. Iniquidades raciais e saúde: o ciclo da política de saúde da população negra

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luís Eduardo Batista

    Full Text Available Este artigo descreve o ciclo da Política Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde da População Negra na Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de São Paulo nos anos de 2003 a 2010. Os estudos epidemiológicos evidenciaram as desigualdades raciais e seu impacto na saúde. A solução encontrada pela SES-SP foi formular e implementar uma política para garantir a atenção à saúde da população negra, inserindo-a no Plano Estadual de Saúde, Planos Operativos Anuais, Termos de Compromisso e Relatório de Gestão. O artigo relata as estratégias, desafios e erros cometidos e sugere caminhos para os gestores que têm interesse em propor ações para redução das iniquidades raciais em saúde.

  14. Electrical responses and spontaneous activity of human iPS-derived neuronal networks characterized for three-month culture with 4096-electrode arrays

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hayder eAmin

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The recent availability of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs holds great promise as a novel source of human-derived neurons for cell and tissue therapies as well as for in vitro drug screenings that might replace the use of animal models. However, there is still a considerable lack of knowledge on the functional properties of hiPSC-derived neuronal networks, thus limiting their application. Here, upon optimization of cell culture protocols, we demonstrate that both spontaneous and evoked electrical spiking activities of these networks can be characterized on-chip by taking advantage of the resolution provided by CMOS multielectrode arrays (CMOS-MEAs. These devices feature a large and closely-spaced array of 4096 simultaneously recording electrodes and multi-site on-chip electrical stimulation. Our results show that networks of human-derived neurons can respond to electrical stimulation with a physiological repertoire of spike waveforms after three months of cell culture, a period of time during which the network undergoes the expression of developing patterns of spontaneous spiking activity. To achieve this, we have investigated the impact on the network formation and on the emerging network-wide functional properties induced by different biochemical substrates, i.e. poly-dl-ornithine (PDLO, poly-l-ornithine (PLO, and polyethylenimine (PEI, that were used as adhesion promoters for the cell culture. Interestingly, we found that neuronal networks grown on PDLO coated substrates show significantly higher spontaneous firing activity, reliable responses to low-frequency electrical stimuli, and an appropriate level of PSD-95 that may denote a physiological neuronal maturation profile and synapse stabilization. However, our results also suggest that even three-month culture might not be sufficient for human-derived neuronal network maturation. Taken together, our results highlight the tight relationship existing between substrate coatings

  15. Intimidade e saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lígia Maria Moreira Ferreira de Almeida

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available A intimidade é antecedida de processos ativos, transversais ao ciclo de vida. O vínculo afetivo estabelece-se primariamente na relação de vinculação mãe-bebê, e os padrões comportamentais e estilos de vinculação tendem a repercutir-se nas relações adultas. O objetivo exploratório desta investigação pretende apurar a transcrição física (consequências na saúde de vivências insatisfatórias de intimidade. Sessenta universitários (30 do sexo feminino; 30 do sexo masculino, com idades entre 22 e 27 anos, envolvidos numa relação amorosa fixa (duração mínima: 6 meses foram contactados para responder a uma bateria de instrumentos (variáveis de interesse: intimidade, identidade, autoconceito e vinculação. Um bom estado de saúde parece associar-se a valores elevados de interdependência e baixos valores de dependência na relação amorosa. Nestes jovens a intimidade baseada na dependência compromete 14% da saúde mental. O impacto de uma intimidade pouco saudável limita em quase 9% a saúde física de jovens adultos saudáveis.

  16. SA Rugby

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Kathryn van Boom

    (SA Rugby) Youth Week players: a pilot study. J Brown,1,2 ... management guidelines, to which all rugby-playing nations need to ... Consensus Statement for Concussion in Sport [1] and World. Rugby's ... Players with a “time-loss” injury (an ...

  17. Strategicheskiy analiz predpriyatiy Nestle S.A

    OpenAIRE

    Nazarova, Daria

    2017-01-01

    The subject of the research of the bachelor's thesis is the organization and the application of individual tools of strategic analysis. The object of the research is the Nestle SA enterprise in Russia. The aim of the work is to study the tools of strategic analysis of the enterprise Nestle SA in Russia to develop proposals for improving the strategy. "Nestle SA" is the world's largest concern for food production. The company was founded in distant 1866, by the Swiss pharmacist Henri-Henry Nes...

  18. Spontaneous calcium waves in Bergman glia increase with age and hypoxia and may reduce tissue oxygen.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathiesen, Claus; Brazhe, Alexey; Thomsen, Kirsten; Lauritzen, Martin

    2013-02-01

    Glial calcium (Ca(2+)) waves constitute a means to spread signals between glial cells and to neighboring neurons and blood vessels. These waves occur spontaneously in Bergmann glia (BG) of the mouse cerebellar cortex in vivo. Here, we tested three hypotheses: (1) aging and reduced blood oxygen saturation alters wave activity; (2) glial Ca(2+) waves change cerebral oxygen metabolism; and (3) neuronal and glial wave activity is correlated. We used two-photon microscopy in the cerebellar cortexes of adult (8- to 15-week-old) and aging (48- to 80-week-old) ketamine-anesthetized mice after bolus loading with OGB-1/AM and SR101. We report that the occurrence of spontaneous waves is 20 times more frequent in the cerebellar cortex of aging as compared with adult mice, which correlated with a reduction in resting brain oxygen tension. In adult mice, spontaneous glial wave activity increased on reducing resting brain oxygen tension, and ATP-evoked glial waves reduced the tissue O(2) tension. Finally, although spontaneous Purkinje cell (PC) activity was not associated with increased glia wave activity, spontaneous glial waves did affect intracellular Ca(2+) activity in PCs. The increased wave activity during aging, as well as low resting brain oxygen tension, suggests a relationship between glial waves, brain energy homeostasis, and pathology.

  19. Starting and Stopping Spontaneous Family Conflicts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vuchinich, Samuel

    1987-01-01

    Examined how 52 nondistressed families managed spontaneous verbal conflicts during family dinners. Found conflict initiation to be evenly distributed across family roles. Extension of conflict was constrained by constant probability of a next conflict move occurring. Most conflicts ended with no resolution. Mothers were most active in closing…

  20. Radionuclide cisternographic findings in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jung, Dong Jin; Kim, Jae Seung; Ryu, Jin Sook; Shin, Jung Woo; Im, Joo Hyuk; Lee, Myoung Chong; Jung, Sung Joo; Moon, Dae Hyuk; Lee, Hee Kyung

    1998-01-01

    Radionuclide cisternography may be helpful in understanding pathophysiology of postural headache and low CSF pressure in patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension. The purpose of this study was to characterize radionuclide cisternogrpahic findings of spontaneous intracranial hypotension. The study population consists of 15 patients with spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Diagnosis was based on their clinical symptoms and results of lumbar puncture. All patients underwent radionuclide cisternography following injection of 111 to 222 MBq of Tc-99m DTPA into the lumbar subarachnoid space. Sequential images were obtained between 1/2 hour and 24 hour after the injection of Tc-99m DTPA. Radioactivity of the bladder, soft tissue uptake, migration of radionuclide in the subarachnoid space, and extradural leakage of radionuclide were evaluated according to the scan time. Radionuclide cisternogram showed delayed migration of radionuclide into the cerebral convexity (14/15), increased soft tissue uptake (11/15), and early visualization of bladder activity at 30 min (6/10) and 2 hr (13/13). Cisternography also demonstrated leakage site of CSF in 4 cases and 2 of these were depicted at 30min. Epidural blood patch was done in 11 patients and headache was improved in all cases. The characteristics findings of spontaneous intracranial hypotension were delayed migration of radionuclide and early visualization of the soft tissue and bladder activity. These scintigraphic findings suggest that CSF leakage rather than increased CSF absorption or decreased production may be the main pathophysiology of spontaneous intracranial hypotension. Early and multiple imaging including the bladder and soft tissue is required to observe the entire dynamics of radionuclide migration

  1. Programa Saúde da Família: viabilizando a saúde pública universalizada no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fuhrmann, Nadia Lucia

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available O tema exposto neste artigo aborda a implantação do Programa Saúde da Família como estratégia de conversão do Sistema de Saúde no Brasil. No campo da saúde pública, o PSF configura-se, atualmente, na mais ampla política assistencial do setor. Está disseminado por todo o território nacional, tendo como meta principal reorganizar os serviços e ações em saúde ao nível da atenção primária. Elegemos três aspectos que nos parecem centrais para o entendimento do processo de implantação do PSF nos municípios brasileiros, a saber: a origem e os antecedentes do Programa, a implantação e o impacto desse Projeto no nível local e, finalmente, a especificidade da formação das equipes multiprofissionais que constituem as unidades de saúde. Buscamos, assim, socializar parte dos estudos que temos realizado sobre o PSF, desde 1997, no Núcleo de Pesquisas em Demandas e Políticas Sociais no Programa de Pós-Graduação em Serviço Social da PUCRS

  2. Experimental investigation on spontaneously active hippocampal cultures recorded by means of high-density MEAs: analysis of the spatial resolution effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alessandro Maccione

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Based on experiments performed with high-resolution Active Pixel Sensor microelectrode arrays (APS-MEAs coupled with spontaneously active hippocampal cultures, this work investigates the spatial resolution effects of the neuroelectronic interface on the analysis of the recorded electrophysiological signals. The adopted methodology consists, first, in recording the spontaneous activity at the highest spatial resolution (inter-electrode separation of 21 µm from the whole array of 4096 microelectrodes. Then, the full resolution dataset is spatially down sampled in order to evaluate the effects on raster plot representation, array-wide spike rate (AWSR, mean firing rate (MFR and mean bursting rate (MBR. Furthermore, the effects of the array-to-network relative position are evaluated by shifting a subset of equally spaced electrodes on the entire recorded area. Results highlight that MFR and MBR are particularly influenced by the spatial resolution provided by the neuroelectronic interface. On high-resolution large MEAs, such analysis better represent the time-based parameterization of the network dynamics. Finally, this work suggest interesting capabilities of high-resolution MEAs for spatial-based analysis in dense and low-dense neuronal preparation for investigating signalling at both local and global neuronal circuitries.

  3. Gasto privado com saúde por classes de renda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    KILSZTAJN SAMUEL

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: O artigo analisa a participação do gasto privado com saúde das famílias no PIB e no total da renda familiar per capita e a distribuição do gasto privado com saúde das famílias por classes de renda. MÉTODOS: A pesquisa utilizou os microdados da Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios de 1998, com a divisão da população em quatro classes de renda familiar per capita e a distribuição dos gastos em planos de saúde, consultas médicas, consultas com outros profissionais de saúde, exames, medicamentos, artigos ortopédicos e aparelhos médicos, óculos e lentes, odontologia, hospitais, enfermagem domiciliar e outros gastos com saúde. RESULTADOS: Apenas 7,2% da população com renda familiar per capita até 1 salário mínimo em 1998 tinha direito a algum plano de saúde, e o gasto privado com saúde das famílias desta classe, que representava 52,5% da população, era em média de R$ 5,36 por pessoa. Para as pessoas com renda familiar per capita acima de 9 salários mínimos, os planos de saúde atingiam 83,2% da população e o gasto privado com saúde das famílias R$ 133,04. CONCLUSÕES: A implantação do Sistema Único de Saúde foi acompanhada pelo crescimento expressivo dos planos de saúde nos anos 90. Mesmo se todo o gasto público com saúde fosse destinado à população sem planos de saúde, ainda assim o gasto destas pessoas em 1998 só alcançaria R$ 352,62, ou seja, 43% do gasto com saúde das pessoas com planos, R$ 819,08.

  4. Cobertura de Planos de Saúde na população brasileira, segundo a Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde, 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deborah Carvalho Malta

    Full Text Available Resumo O objetivo do estudo é descrever as coberturas de planos de saúde no Brasil, conforme características sociodemográficas, a partir dos dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde, realizada em 2013, e comparar com dados administrativos da Agencia Nacional de Saúde Suplementar para este mesmo ano. Foram utilizados dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde e do Sistema de Informações de Beneficiários da Agência Nacional de Saúde para o ano de 2013. Foi descrita a cobertura dos planos de saúde segundo estratificação para Brasil, urbano/rural, Grandes Regiões, Unidades da Federação e Capitais, sexo, faixa etária, nível de instrução, posição na força de trabalho, cor/raça e estado de saúde. Como resultado, a proporção de pessoas que referiu ter algum plano de saúde no Brasil foi de 27,9% (IC95%: 27,1-28,8. Foi observada diferença significativa com relação a nível de instrução, sendo maior para os que referiram ter educação superior completa (68,8% IC95%: 67,2-70,4 e para aqueles que referiram ter ocupação (32,5% IC95%: 31,5-33,5. O aumento da cobertura de planos de saúde na população brasileira reflete a melhora da oferta de empregos e do crescimento da economia do país na época.

  5. Changes in Brain Activation Associated with Spontaneous Improvization and Figural Creativity After Design-Thinking-Based Training: A Longitudinal fMRI Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saggar, Manish; Quintin, Eve-Marie; Bott, Nicholas T; Kienitz, Eliza; Chien, Yin-Hsuan; Hong, Daniel W-C; Liu, Ning; Royalty, Adam; Hawthorne, Grace; Reiss, Allan L

    2017-07-01

    Creativity is widely recognized as an essential skill for entrepreneurial success and adaptation to daily-life demands. However, we know little about the neural changes associated with creative capacity enhancement. For the first time, using a prospective, randomized control design, we examined longitudinal changes in brain activity associated with participating in a five-week design-thinking-based Creative Capacity Building Program (CCBP), when compared with Language Capacity Building Program (LCBP). Creativity, an elusive and multifaceted construct, is loosely defined as an ability to produce useful/appropriate and novel outcomes. Here, we focus on one of the facets of creative thinking-spontaneous improvization. Participants were assessed pre- and post-intervention for spontaneous improvization skills using a game-like figural Pictionary-based fMRI task. Whole-brain group-by-time interaction revealed reduced task-related activity in CCBP participants (compared with LCBP participants) after training in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, anterior/paracingulate gyrus, supplementary motor area, and parietal regions. Further, greater cerebellar-cerebral connectivity was observed in CCBP participants at post-intervention when compared with LCBP participants. In sum, our results suggest that improvization-based creative capacity enhancement is associated with reduced engagement of executive functioning regions and increased involvement of spontaneous implicit processing. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  6. Homossexualidade e o direito à saúde: um desafio para as políticas públicas de saúde no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grayce Alencar Albuquerque

    Full Text Available Objetivou-se evidenciar a atuação das políticas públicas direcionadas à saúde da população homossexual brasileira. Trata-se de uma revisão integrativa da literatura, realizada na Scientific Eletronic Library Online (SciELO e na Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde (Lilacs, utilizando os Decs: políticas públicas, assistência integral à saúde e homossexualidade. A saúde LGBT é apontada como vulnerável mesmo após a publicação de importantes documentos que garantem o acesso e a inclusão do grupo na saúde. A fragilidade na efetivação das propostas preconizadas vão ao encontro ao atendimento discriminatório e heteronormativo prestado pelos profissionais de saúde.

  7. Intervenções em saúde pública e seu impacto nas desigualdades sociais em saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Leopoldo Ferreira Antunes

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo resume a avaliação de três programas de saúde pública em relação à sua eficácia e impacto sobre as desigualdades sociais na saúde. Foram examinadas a fluoração da água de abastecimento público no contexto brasileiro, a provisão de terapêutica antirretroviral para pacientes com Aids e a vacinação de idosos contra a gripe na cidade de São Paulo. As três intervenções foram consideradas efetivas, na medida em que propiciaram uma redução na carga de doença na população. No entanto, elas tiveram resultados conflitantes quanto ao impacto sobre as desigualdades em saúde. Concluiu-se, por fim, que os programas de saúde pública devem ser implementados com um alcance imediata e efetivamente universal, direcionando recursos adicionais aos grupos com mais necessidades de saúde. Essa estratégia reduziria, ao mesmo tempo, o nível geral de doença na população e as desigualdades na experiência de doenças entre os estratos sociais.

  8. Neural substrates of spontaneous musical performance: an FMRI study of jazz improvisation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limb, Charles J; Braun, Allen R

    2008-02-27

    To investigate the neural substrates that underlie spontaneous musical performance, we examined improvisation in professional jazz pianists using functional MRI. By employing two paradigms that differed widely in musical complexity, we found that improvisation (compared to production of over-learned musical sequences) was consistently characterized by a dissociated pattern of activity in the prefrontal cortex: extensive deactivation of dorsolateral prefrontal and lateral orbital regions with focal activation of the medial prefrontal (frontal polar) cortex. Such a pattern may reflect a combination of psychological processes required for spontaneous improvisation, in which internally motivated, stimulus-independent behaviors unfold in the absence of central processes that typically mediate self-monitoring and conscious volitional control of ongoing performance. Changes in prefrontal activity during improvisation were accompanied by widespread activation of neocortical sensorimotor areas (that mediate the organization and execution of musical performance) as well as deactivation of limbic structures (that regulate motivation and emotional tone). This distributed neural pattern may provide a cognitive context that enables the emergence of spontaneous creative activity.

  9. Neural substrates of spontaneous musical performance: an FMRI study of jazz improvisation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles J Limb

    Full Text Available To investigate the neural substrates that underlie spontaneous musical performance, we examined improvisation in professional jazz pianists using functional MRI. By employing two paradigms that differed widely in musical complexity, we found that improvisation (compared to production of over-learned musical sequences was consistently characterized by a dissociated pattern of activity in the prefrontal cortex: extensive deactivation of dorsolateral prefrontal and lateral orbital regions with focal activation of the medial prefrontal (frontal polar cortex. Such a pattern may reflect a combination of psychological processes required for spontaneous improvisation, in which internally motivated, stimulus-independent behaviors unfold in the absence of central processes that typically mediate self-monitoring and conscious volitional control of ongoing performance. Changes in prefrontal activity during improvisation were accompanied by widespread activation of neocortical sensorimotor areas (that mediate the organization and execution of musical performance as well as deactivation of limbic structures (that regulate motivation and emotional tone. This distributed neural pattern may provide a cognitive context that enables the emergence of spontaneous creative activity.

  10. A inserção da vigilância em saúde ambiental no sistema único de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edenilo Baltazar Barreira Filho

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available A inserção das atividades de vigilância ambiental no SUS apresenta algumas características que se diferenciam das práticas de vigilância epidemiológica. Isto ocorre principalmente em decorrência de que muitos dados sobre a exposição aos fatores ambientais são obtidos fora do setor saúde e a adoção de ações que busquem controlar e/ou prevenir exigem, na grande maioria dos casos, uma compreensãoe articulação intra e intersetorial, pois o setor saúde não é capaz de, sozinho, dar respostas as questões de saúde ambiental.Nos últimos anos vem consolidando-se cada vez mais o campo da saúdeambiental, que compreende a área da saúde pública, afeita ao conhecimento científico, à formulação de políticas públicas e às correspondentes intervenções (ações relacionadas à interação entre a saúde humana e os fatores do meio ambiente natural e antrópico que a determinam, condicionam e influenciam, com vistas a melhorar a qualidade de vida do ser humano sob o ponto de vista dasustentabilidade(1.Conforme entendimento acordado no I Seminário da Política Nacional de Saúde Ambiental, realizado em outubro de 2005, e consolidado na primeira Conferência Nacional de Saúde Ambiental, realizada em dezembro de 2009, compreende-se como uma área de práticas intersetoriais e transdisciplinares voltadas aos reflexos, na saúde humana, das relações ecogeossociais do homem com o ambiente(1.Nesse sentido, o Ministério da Saúde vem implementando em todo o território nacional um Sistema de Vigilância em Saúde Ambiental (SINVISA, buscando o aprimoramento deste “modelo” de atuação e estabelecendo competências nas três esferas de gestão, com o objetivo de consolidar a prática da Saúde Ambiental dentro do SUS.A Instrução Normativa nº 1, de 7 de março de 2005, cria o SINVISA, estabelece a área de atuação, as competências para as três esferas de Gestão do SUS e define a Vigilância em Saúde Ambiental como sendo

  11. Agente Comunitário de Saúde: um novo ator no cenário da saúde do Brasil Community Health Agent: a new actor in the Brazilian health scenario

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andréa Sabino Filgueiras

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available O Programa de Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (PACS foi introduzido no Brasil em 1991 como uma tática para o desenvolvimento de atividades relacionadas à prevenção de doenças e educação em saúde. Em 1994, o Ministério da Saúde propôs o Programa de Saúde da Família (PSF como estratégia de reestruturação da atenção à saúde. Essas propostas introduzem, no cenário da saúde, um novo ator, o Agente Comunitário de Saúde (ACS, desempenhando importante papel na atenção básica, ao agir como um elo entre famílias, usuários e serviço de saúde. O estudo toma como objeto o trabalho desenvolvido pelos ACS em uma unidade do PSF do município de Volta Redonda-RJ. Tem como objetivo discutir os aspectos facilitadores e limitantes das atividades designadas aos ACS. Trata-se de uma pesquisa do tipo descritiva, com abordagem qualitativa. A análise de dados se deu por categorias analíticas, que emergiram a partir dos dados encontrados nas entrevistas. Após a apreciação dos dados, pôde-se constatar que os ACS do PSF de Volta Redonda ainda não recebem formação destinada à execução de suas atividades e que consideram a experiência prática como o principal motor para o desempenho delas. O trabalho em equipe é reconhecido como espaço de circulação de saberes científicos e o saber popular como mediador entre a equipe e a população. Os ACS têm como eixo de trabalho a visita domiciliar, focada principalmente na doença.The Community Health Agents Program (PACS was created in 1991 as a strategy to implement the SUS, developing activities related to prevention and health education. In 1994, the Health Ministry proposed the Family Health Program (PSF as a strategy for restructuring the dominant care model. With the emergence of these two programs, there is the emergence of a new actor in the health scenario, the Community Health Agent (ACS. This actor plays an important role in basic care, acting as a link between families

  12. Percepção do processo saúde-doença: significados e valores da educação em saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Maria Chagas Sette Câmara

    Full Text Available A relevância sociológica do estudo das representações sociais do processo saúde-doença está no fato de que elas fundamentam práticas e atitudes dos seus atores, assim como as relações que eles estabelecem com o seu contexto social e com aquilo que lhes acontece. O problema dessa pesquisa consiste em conhecer as representações sociais do processo saúde-doença dos profissionais do PSF, considerando que esse conhecimento pode ser fundamental para o desenvolvimento de práticas educativas em saúde. A abordagem metodológica desta pesquisa foi qualitativa, tendo por base as representações sociais dos profissionais de apoio e das equipes de saúde da família do Centro de Saúde Milionários, em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. Para a coleta de dados, foi utilizada entrevista individual semi-estruturada abordando os seguintes aspectos: processo saúde-doença; educação em saúde; e barreiras ou dificuldades para prescrição/adoção de hábitos saudáveis. Os dados foram analisados pela técnica de análise de conteúdo, a partir das categorias: dimensões do processo saúde-doença; barreiras ou dificuldades para adoção de hábitos saudáveis; e significados e valores da educação em saúde. Os dados apontam que há necessidade de modificações conceituais na formação permanente desses profissionais e da inclusão do enfoque coletivo, abordando o conceito ampliado de saúde com seus determinantes sociais e contextuais. Faz-se necessária também a busca de novas metodologias de educação em saúde, para que os profissionais do PSF possam ir além da informação e consigam a ressignificação dos conceitos do processo saúde-doença, podendo de fato estabelecer novas práticas e novos processos de trabalho em saúde.

  13. Contribuições do PET-Saúde/Redes de Atenção Psicossocial à Saúde da Família

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Larissa de Almeida Rézio

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available O estudo objetivou analisar as contribuições do Programa de Educação pelo Trabalho para a Saúde – PET-Saúde/Redes de Atenção Psicossocial à Saúde - a uma unidade de Estratégia de Saúde da Família em Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brasil. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, com abordagem qualitativa, utilizando entrevista com cinco profissionais de saúde e dois acadêmicos bolsistas e registros de atividades realizadas no serviço. À luz da análise de conteúdo temática, sistematizamos quatro subtemas: “articulação da rede”; “qualificação da assistência à saúde mental”, “melhora do conhecimento dos profissionais” e “superação de estigmas sobre o paciente em sofrimento psíquico”. Houve sensibilização dos profissionais e bolsistas sobre a importância do acompanhamento das pessoas com sofrimento mental na atenção básica, em articulação com serviços de saúde mental.

  14. Draft Genome Sequence of the Phosphate-Solubilizing Bacterium Pseudomonas argentinensis Strain SA190 Isolated from the Desert Plant Indigofera argentea

    KAUST Repository

    Lafi, Feras Fawzi

    2016-12-23

    Pseudomonas argentinensis strain SA190 is a plant endophytic-inhabiting bacterium that was isolated from root nodules of the desert plant Indigofera argentea collected from the Jizan region of Saudi Arabia. Here, we report the genome sequence of SA190, highlighting several functional genes related to plant growth-promoting activity, environment adaption, and antifungal activity.

  15. Transformation quantum optics: designing spontaneous emission using coordinate transformations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Jingjing; Wubs, Martijn; Ginzburg, Pavel

    2016-01-01

    Spontaneous decay is a fundamental quantum property of emitters that can be controlled in a material environment via modification of the local density of optical states (LDOS). Here we use transformation optics methods in order to design required density of states and thus spontaneous emission (S......, affect the LDOS in complex materials. Tailoring SE properties using transformation optics approach provides an innovative way for designing emission properties in a complex material environment needed for the development of active nanophotonic devices....

  16. Drug-induced modification of the system properties associated with spontaneous human electroencephalographic activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liley, David T.; Cadusch, Peter J.; Gray, Marcus; Nathan, Pradeep J.

    2003-11-01

    The benzodiazepine (BZ) class of minor tranquilizers are important modulators of the γ-amino butyric acid (GABAA)/BZ receptor complex that are well known to affect the spectral properties of spontaneous electroencephalographic activity. While it is experimentally well established that the BZs reduce total alpha band (8 13 Hz) power and increase total beta band (13 30 Hz) power, it is unclear what the physiological basis for this effect is. Based on a detailed theory of cortical electrorhythmogenesis it is conjectured that such an effect is explicable in terms of the modulation of GABAergic neurotransmission within locally connected populations of excitatory and inhibitory cortical neurons. Motivated by this theory, fixed order autoregressive moving average (ARMA) models were fitted to spontaneous eyes-closed electroencephalograms recorded from subjects before and approximately 2 h after the oral administration of a single 1 mg dose of the BZ alprazolam. Subsequent pole-zero analysis revealed that BZs significantly transform the dominant system pole such that its frequency and damping increase. Comparisons of ARMA derived power spectra with fast Fourier transform derived spectra indicate an enhanced ability to identify benzodiazepine induced electroencephalographic changes. This experimental result is in accord with the theoretical predictions implying that alprazolam enhances inhibition acting on inhibitory neurons more than inhibition acting on excitatory neurons. Further such a result is consistent with reported cortical neuronal distributions of the various GABAA receptor pharmacological subtypes. Therefore physiologically specified fixed order ARMA modeling is expected to become an important tool for the systematic investigation and modeling of a wide range of cortically acting compounds.

  17. Planejamento, gestão e ações à saúde do homem na estratégia de saúde da família

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo Peixoto Pereira

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Objetivo: Analisar a situação do planejamento, da gestão e das ações de saúde diante da perspectiva de implantação da Política de Atenção à Saúde do Homem na Estratégia de Saúde da Família no município de Jequié. Métodos: Tratou-se de um estudo qualitativo. Entrevistaram-se gestores municipais dos serviços de saúde, profissionais de saúde da Estratégia de Saúde da Família e homens com 25 a 59 anos residentes nas áreas adscritas das unidades de saúde estudadas; realizou-se análise documental do Plano de Saúde e Relatórios de Gestão na Secretaria Municipal de Saúde e análise de conteúdo, modalidade temática. Resultados: Não há atividades assistenciais; de prevenção e promoção à saúde masculina desenvolvidas e os processos de implantação da atenção à saúde do homem encontram-se incipientes. Conclusão: É preciso ampliar o diálogo e reorganizar as estratégias de planejamento e gestão para compreender as reais necessidades masculina e articular com os atores envolvidos a implantação das ações de atenção à saúde do homem.

  18. ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITY OF EXTRACTS OF WILD GARLIC (Allium ursinum FROM ROMANIAN SPONTANEOUS FLORA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MARIANA LUPOAE

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Wild Romanian spontaneous garlic’s (Allium ursinum antimicrobial activity was tested in order to establish the inhibition potential of growth of some microorganisms. As test microorganisms were used pure cultures of fungs (Aspergillus glaucus, Geotrichum candidum, Mucor mucedo, Saccharomyces cerevisiae and bacteria (Bacillus subtilis isolated from food microbiota. There were also, used microbial strains isolated from different pathological products: wound secretions (Staphylococcus aureus, throat swab (Streptococcus pyogenes, urine (Escherichia coli and oral mucosa (Candida albicans. The antimicrobial potential of used extracts is highlighted depending on the type of the vegetal tissue (leaves, roots, bulbs and the nature of the solvent used for extraction. Extracts used in these experiments are recommended to use in food industry to preserve the stability and to improve the organoleptic quality of products.

  19. Spontaneous external gallbladder perforation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noeldge, G.; Wimmer, B.; Kirchner, R.

    1981-01-01

    Spontaneous perforation of the gallbladder is one complication of cholelithiasis. There is a greater occurence of free perforation in the peritoneal cavity with bilary pertonitis, followed by the perforation into the stomach, small intestine and colon. A single case of the nowadays rare spontaneous perforation in and through the abdominal wall will be reported. Spontaneous gallbladder perforation appears nearly asymptomatic in its clinical course because of absent biliary peritonitis. (orig.) [de

  20. Use of scripts and script-fading procedures and activity schedules to develop spontaneous social interaction in a three-year-old girl with autism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Budzińska

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Autism entails serious deficiencies in communication and social behaviors. Individuals with autism, even those who have received intensive language intervention, are often viewed as lacking spontaneous language. In addition, some children with autism lack the ability of spontaneously seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g., a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people. The aim of the study was to use ABA teaching techniques such as script and script fading procedure and activity schedule to teach three-year-old girl with autism spontaneous social interaction and shape joint attention skills. The result shows that ABA techniques were very effective in teaching many verbal skills such as answering questions, making requests, initiating conversation and asking question. Comparison made after implemented teaching procedure shows her initiating of joint attention skill (IJA is at the appropriate level for her age.

  1. Ergonomics SA

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal Homepage Image. Ergonomics SA (esa) provides a medium for publication of material relevant to occupational conditions and needs in Southern Africa at a time of change unparalleled in history. To this end the journal accepts articles in the following categories: research papers, review articles, conceptual theories, ...

  2. Spontaneous and posed facial expression in Parkinson's disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, M C; Smith, M K; Ellgring, H

    1996-09-01

    Spontaneous and posed emotional facial expressions in individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD, n = 12) were compared with those of healthy age-matched controls (n = 12). The intensity and amount of facial expression in PD patients were expected to be reduced for spontaneous but not posed expressions. Emotional stimuli were video clips selected from films, 2-5 min in duration, designed to elicit feelings of happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, or anger. Facial movements were coded using Ekman and Friesen's (1978) Facial Action Coding System (FACS). In addition, participants rated their emotional experience on 9-point Likert scales. The PD group showed significantly less overall facial reactivity than did controls when viewing the films. The predicted Group X Condition (spontaneous vs. posed) interaction effect on smile intensity was found when PD participants with more severe disease were compared with those with milder disease and with controls. In contrast, ratings of emotional experience were similar for both groups. Depression was positively associated with emotion rating but not with measures of facial activity. Spontaneous facial expression appears to be selectively affected in PD, whereas posed expression and emotional experience remain relatively intact.

  3. Definition of spontaneous reconnection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schindler, K.

    1984-01-01

    The author discusses his view of driven versus spontaneous. There is a close link between ''spontaneous'' and ''instability.'' One of the prominent examples for instability is the thermal convection instability. Just to remind you, if you heat a fluid layer from below, it takes a certain Rayleigh number to make it unstable. Beyond the onset point you find qualitatively new features. That is called ''spontaneous,'' and this is a bit more than semantics. It's a new qualitative property that appears and it is spontaneous although we have an energy flux through the system. It's a misconception, to call this ''driven'' pointing at the energy flux through it. Of course, the convection would not exist without this energy flux. But what makes it ''spontaneous'' is that without any particular external signal, a new qualitative feature appears. And this is what is called an ''instability'' and ''spontaneous.'' From these considerations the author got a little reassured of what distinction should be made in the field of the magnetosphere. If we have a smooth energy transport into the magnetosphere and suddenly we have this qualitatively new feature (change of B-topology) coming up; then, using this terminology we don't have a choice other than calling this spontaneous or unstable, if you like. If we ''tell'' the system where it should make its neutral line and where it should make its plasmoids, then, it is driven. And this provides a very clear-cut observational distinction. The author emphasizes the difference he sees is a qualitative difference, not only a quantitative one

  4. Draft genome sequence of Enterobacter sp. Sa187, an endophytic bacterium isolated from the desert plant Indigofera argentea

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lafi, Feras F.; Alam, Intikhab; Geurts, Rene; Bisseling, Ton; Bajic, Vladimir B.; Hirt, Heribert; Saad, Maged M.

    2017-01-01

    Enterobacter sp. Sa187 is a plant endophytic bacterium, isolated from root nodules of the desert plant Indigofera argentea, collected from the Jizan region of Saudi Arabia. Here, we report the genome sequence of Sa187, highlighting several genes involved in plant growth-promoting activity and

  5. Apoio social e saúde entre idosos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramos Marília P.

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available O presente artigo trata da relação entre a saúde dos idosos e relacionamentos sociais, bem como na interpretação e entendimento desta problemática sob a luz de dois enfoques teóricos: um macro, centrado na Teoria da Integração Social de Emile Durkheim e outro micro, centrado na Teoria das Trocas, de Peter Blau, com ênfase na Teoria da Eqüidade. A integração social (freqüência de contatos pode ter efeitos negativos na saúde, mas isto tem de ser medido pela qualidade dos contatos. Algumas conclusões apresentadas indicam que as relações sociais têm um efeito na saúde, no sentido de que as pessoas, nas sociedades modernas, esperam a reciprocidade, e, quando isto não é possível, principalmente na fase do envelhecimento, as pessoas sentem-se dependentes, e isso pode afetar a saúde de diferentes maneiras. Por outro lado, quando as pessoas têm problemas de saúde, elas experienciam uma falta de relações sociais balanceadas devido à incapacidade para trocar em bases iguais. Sendo assim, conclui-se que a relação entre relações sociais e saúde na população idosa pode ser uma relação recíproca.

  6. Atividade física e estado de saúde mental de idosos Physical activity and mental health status among elderly people

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tânia R Bertoldo Benedetti

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Avaliar a associação entre nível de atividade física e o estado de saúde mental de pessoas idosas. MÉTODOS: Inquérito de base populacional com amostragem probabilística, incluindo 875 idosos da cidade de Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, em 2002. Foram aplicados os questionários: Internacional de Atividades Físicas e Brazil Old Age Schedule. Os problemas de saúde mental avaliados foram depressão e demência, além da prática de atividade física total (lazer, ocupação, deslocamentos e serviços domésticos. Após análises descritivas e bivariadas, realizou-se análise ajustada por meio de regressão logística, com ajuste para os fatores de atividade física total, atividade de lazer, escores de depressão e demência. RESULTADOS: Verificou-se associação estatisticamente significativa e inversa de demência e depressão com atividade física total e atividade física no lazer. A odds ratio ajustada para demência entre os sujeitos sedentários para atividade física total comparada à dos ativos foi de 2,74 (IC 95%: 1,85; 4,08, enquanto o respectivo valor para depressão foi de 2,38 (IC 95%: 1,70; 3,33. CONCLUSÕES: Os resultados reforçam a importância de estilo de vida ativo para prevenção de problemas de saúde mental de idosos. Infere-se que a atividade física tem conseguido reduzir e/ou atrasar os riscos de demência, embora não se possa afirmar que a atividade física evita a demência.OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between physical activity level and mental health status among elderly people. METHODS: This was a population-based survey with a probabilistic sample of 875 elderly people from a city of Southern Brazil, in 2002. The International Physical Activity Questionnaire and the Brazil Old Age Schedule questionnaire were applied. The mental health problems evaluated were depressions and dementia. Total physical activity (leisure-time, occupation, transportation and housework. After descriptive and

  7. Spontaneous ad hoc mobile cloud computing network.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lacuesta, Raquel; Lloret, Jaime; Sendra, Sandra; Peñalver, Lourdes

    2014-01-01

    Cloud computing helps users and companies to share computing resources instead of having local servers or personal devices to handle the applications. Smart devices are becoming one of the main information processing devices. Their computing features are reaching levels that let them create a mobile cloud computing network. But sometimes they are not able to create it and collaborate actively in the cloud because it is difficult for them to build easily a spontaneous network and configure its parameters. For this reason, in this paper, we are going to present the design and deployment of a spontaneous ad hoc mobile cloud computing network. In order to perform it, we have developed a trusted algorithm that is able to manage the activity of the nodes when they join and leave the network. The paper shows the network procedures and classes that have been designed. Our simulation results using Castalia show that our proposal presents a good efficiency and network performance even by using high number of nodes.

  8. Electromyographic activity associated with spontaneous functional recovery after spinal cord injury in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaegi, Sibille; Schwab, Martin E; Dietz, Volker; Fouad, Karim

    2002-07-01

    This investigation was designed to study the spontaneous functional recovery of adult rats with incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI) at thoracic level during a time course of 2 weeks. Daily testing sessions included open field locomotor examination and electromyographic (EMG) recordings from a knee extensor (vastus lateralis, VL) and an ankle flexor muscle (tibialis anterior, TA) in the hindlimbs of treadmill walking rats. The BBB score (a locomotor score named after Basso et al., 1995, J. Neurotrauma, 12, 1-21) and various measures from EMG recordings were analysed (i.e. step cycle duration, rhythmicity of limb movements, flexor and extensor burst duration, EMG amplitude, root-mean-square, activity overlap between flexor and extensor muscles and hindlimb coupling). Directly after SCI, a marked drop in locomotor ability occurred in all rats with subsequent partial recovery over 14 days. The recovery was most pronounced during the first week. Significant changes were noted in the recovery of almost all analysed EMG measures. Within the 14 days of recovery, many of these measures approached control levels. Persistent abnormalities included a prolonged flexor burst and increased activity overlap between flexor and extensor muscles. Activity overlap between flexor and extensor muscles might be directly caused by altered descending input or by maladaptation of central pattern generating networks and/or sensory feedback.

  9. Inductors of change in the training of health personnel: pró-saúde and pet-saúde (pro-health and pet-health strategies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Cristina Luck Coelho de Holanda

    2012-12-01

    moving to focus on the attention to the individual. Its purpose is to train professionals whose profiles have become suitable to the local systems, and that implies promoting the abilities of learning, team work, communication, agility in the face of the situations, proactive and critical ability(9.Pro-Health provided financial inducements linked to partnerships between the State educational institutions and municipal health services. This partnership has led to adaptation of the facilities and provision of new equipments for Health Units that receive students and the teaching and learning activities, as well as to the promotion of spaces for permanent education shared by the academy and thehealthcare establishments.Being contemplated by recent announcements of Pro-Health and PETHealth, the University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR has instituted a set of changes in undergraduate courses in the health area, starting from the expansion of the practice scenarios into the municipal facilities, the interdisciplinary practices and the adoption of active methodologies in the teaching-learning process, aiming for the determinants of health (promotion, prevention, recovery and rehabilitation.These are covered in all areas of learners’ training, in order to enable interventions and integrated actions in which they are considered the subject of the teaching-learning process and seeking knowledge production and provision of services anchored in the principles of the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde- SUS.In partnership with the Municipal System of School Health (Sistema Municipal de Saúde Escola - SMSE of Fortaleza, UNIFOR has been pointing out the need for investments into the Family Health Strategy and in popular health education to be developed by health teams, as recommended by the MS(8. With the support of its ten undergraduate programmes in the health area, UNIFOR has contributed to the inclusion of the extended health team at the Centers for Family Health (Centro de

  10. Altered regional homogeneity of spontaneous brain activity in idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Y

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Yanping Wang,1,2 Xiaoling Zhang,2 Qiaobing Guan,2 Lihong Wan,2 Yahui Yi,2 Chun-Feng Liu1 1Department of Neurology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, 2Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital of Jiaxing City, Jiaxing, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China Abstract: The pathophysiology of idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN has conventionally been thought to be induced by neurovascular compression theory. Recent structural brain imaging evidence has suggested an additional central component for ITN pathophysiology. However, far less attention has been given to investigations of the basis of abnormal resting-state brain activity in these patients. The objective of this study was to investigate local brain activity in patients with ITN and its correlation with clinical variables of pain. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data from 17 patients with ITN and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were analyzed using regional homogeneity (ReHo analysis, which is a data-driven approach used to measure the regional synchronization of spontaneous brain activity. Patients with ITN had decreased ReHo in the left amygdala, right parahippocampal gyrus, and left cerebellum and increased ReHo in the right inferior temporal gyrus, right thalamus, right inferior parietal lobule, and left postcentral gyrus (corrected. Furthermore, the increase in ReHo in the left precentral gyrus was positively correlated with visual analog scale (r=0.54; P=0.002. Our study found abnormal functional homogeneity of intrinsic brain activity in several regions in ITN, suggesting the maladaptivity of the process of daily pain attacks and a central role for the pathophysiology of ITN. Keywords: trigeminal neuralgia, resting fMRI, brain, chronic pain, local connectivity

  11. Comunicação entre usuários e trabalhadores de saúde em colegiados de Saúde da Família

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marcelen Palu Longhi

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Atualmente, têm sido observados problemas relativos à comunicação nos fóruns de participação social da saúde. O presente estudo tem o objetivo de analisar a comunicação entre usuários e trabalhadores de saúde, em colegiados da Saúde da Família. O referencial teórico utilizado foi a Teoria da Ação Comunicativa de Habermas. Realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa. Os dados coletados revelaram duas dimensões que se entrelaçavam: distanciamentos e aproximações entre usuários e trabalhadores de saúde. Quanto aos distanciamentos, destacaram-se a presença de relações assimétricas, de coerção e de manipulação por parte dos trabalhadores de saúde, processos que prejudicam a participação dos usuários. Por outro lado, estiveram presentes momentos de interação e lutas por direitos, abordados nas aproximações entre usuários e trabalhadores de saúde. Por fim, consideramos que a comunicação nos colegiados da Saúde da Família apresenta potencialidades e limites, sendo que estes devem ser problematizados, especialmente, por meio da educação permanente em saúde.

  12. Vigilância ambiental em saúde e sua implantação no Sistema Único de Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barcellos Christovam

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available A incorporação da vigilância ambiental no campo das políticas públicas de saúde é uma demanda relativamente recente no Brasil. Um dos principais desafios da vigilância ambiental em saúde é a definição do seu objeto e a especificidade de suas ações. O conceito ampliado de exposição, tratado não como um atributo da pessoa, mas do conjunto de relações complexas entre a sociedade e o ambiente, é central para a definição de indicadores e para a orientação da prática de vigilância ambiental. Entre as dificuldades encontradas para sua efetivação no Sistema Único de Saúde estão a necessidade de reestruturação das ações de vigilância em saúde e a formação de equipes multidisciplinares, com capacidade de diálogo com outros setores, além da construção de sistemas de informação capazes de auxiliar a análise de situações de saúde e a tomada de decisões. Nesse sentido, foi realizada uma revisão do objeto e conceitos da vigilância ambiental em saúde, bem como identificados os desafios para a sua implantação no Sistema Único de Saúde.

  13. Vigilância ambiental em saúde e sua implantação no Sistema Único de Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christovam Barcellos

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available A incorporação da vigilância ambiental no campo das políticas públicas de saúde é uma demanda relativamente recente no Brasil. Um dos principais desafios da vigilância ambiental em saúde é a definição do seu objeto e a especificidade de suas ações. O conceito ampliado de exposição, tratado não como um atributo da pessoa, mas do conjunto de relações complexas entre a sociedade e o ambiente, é central para a definição de indicadores e para a orientação da prática de vigilância ambiental. Entre as dificuldades encontradas para sua efetivação no Sistema Único de Saúde estão a necessidade de reestruturação das ações de vigilância em saúde e a formação de equipes multidisciplinares, com capacidade de diálogo com outros setores, além da construção de sistemas de informação capazes de auxiliar a análise de situações de saúde e a tomada de decisões. Nesse sentido, foi realizada uma revisão do objeto e conceitos da vigilância ambiental em saúde, bem como identificados os desafios para a sua implantação no Sistema Único de Saúde.

  14. Draft Genome Sequence of Enterobacter sp. Sa187, an Endophytic Bacterium Isolated from the Desert Plant Indigofera argentea

    KAUST Repository

    Lafi, Feras Fawzi; Alam, Intikhab; Geurts, Rene; Bisseling, Ton; Bajic, Vladimir B.; Hirt, Heribert; Saad, Maged

    2017-01-01

    Enterobacter sp. Sa187 is a plant endophytic bacterium, isolated from root nodules of the desert plant Indigofera argentea, collected from the Jizan region of Saudi Arabia. Here, we report the genome sequence of Sa187, highlighting several genes involved in plant growth–promoting activity and environmental adaption.

  15. Draft Genome Sequence of Enterobacter sp. Sa187, an Endophytic Bacterium Isolated from the Desert Plant Indigofera argentea

    KAUST Repository

    Lafi, Feras Fawzi

    2017-02-17

    Enterobacter sp. Sa187 is a plant endophytic bacterium, isolated from root nodules of the desert plant Indigofera argentea, collected from the Jizan region of Saudi Arabia. Here, we report the genome sequence of Sa187, highlighting several genes involved in plant growth–promoting activity and environmental adaption.

  16. Health SA Gesondheid

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal Home > Vol 23, No 1 (2018) ... Health SA Gesondheid - Journal of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences is an open access, peer-reviewed ... improvement of health safety and service delivery; management and measurement of health ...

  17. Diretrizes Curriculares na saúde e as mudanças nos modelos de saúde e de educação

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Otávio Fiúza Moreira

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Artigo produzido a partir de pesquisa bibliográfica e de questões formuladas para uma conferência no módulo “Educação na Saúde II” do Mestrado Profissional da Rede Nordeste de Formação em Saúde da Família. O texto discute questões dos campos da saúde e da educação relacionadas à emergência de novos modelos de saúde e de formação; analisa também as Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais (DCN de três cursos da área da saúde (Medicina, Enfermagem e Odontologia como expressão desses novos modelos para saúde e para a educação. Uma questão transversal ao artigo são as relações entre os campos da saúde e da educação. Para isto, lança‑se mão do conceito de campo, desenvolvido pelo sociólogo Pierre Bourdieu. Considera‑se, ainda, o desafio de transformar as DCN em currículos e programas, ferramentas ou dispositivos necessários para fazer a passagem do que está prescrito para os cenários de ensino e aprendizagem.

  18. DAYA SAING DAN STRATEGI PENGEMBANGAN MINYAK SAWIT DI INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jauhar Samudera Nayantakaningtyas

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACTThe aims of this study were to analyze the competitiveness of Indonesian Crude palm oil CPO products in the international market and to analyze the strategy to improve the competitiveness of Indonesian CPO. The analysis methods used this research were descriptive qualitative methods. The tools used to analyze the competitiveness of palm oil is Revealed Comparative Advantages and Porter Diamond Theory, while the development of the strategy used to determine the SWOT method. Based on the analysis of Porter's Diamond System and revealed comparative advantages, this study concluded that the competitiveness of Indonesian CPO was pretty strong, but it still needed a strategy to strengthen its competitiveness especially on derivative products. Some of the routine strategies that need to be done every year, are the development of the CPO industry human resources through training and innovation activities, paying attention to national and international issues by improving government policies, downstream industrial development and palm oil value-added increase, enhance cooperation with manufacturers from other countries through promotions.Keywords: crude palm oil, competitiveness, strategy, analysis of porter's diamondABSTRAKTujuan penelitian ini adalah menganalisis daya saing produk Crude Palm Oil (CPO Indonesia di pasar internasional dan menganalisis strategi peningkatan daya saing CPO Indonesia. Metode pengolahan dan analisis data yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode deskriptif kualitatif. Alat  yang digunakan untuk menganalisis daya saing minyak sawit  adalah Revealed Comparative Advantages dan Teori Berlian Porter, sedangkan untuk mengetahui strategi pengembangan digunakan metode SWOT. Hasil analisis Sistem Berlian Porter dan revealed comparative advantages disimpulkan bahwa daya saing CPO Indonesia cukup kuat, namun masih diperlukan adanya strategi untuk memperkuat terutama pada produk turunan CPO. Strategi rutin yang harus

  19. Altera – Technical update, presented by Sascoholz SA

    CERN Multimedia

    FI Department

    2008-01-01

    Thursday 28 August 2008 From 9h00 to 12h00 (welcome at 08h45) in Room B (Main Building 61/1-009) SascoHolz SA cordially invites you to an informative and interesting technical update on the latest Altera FPGA developments. Introducing Altera’s Stratix IV Device Family 40-nm high-performance, high-end FPGAs with 8.5-Gbps transceiver option The Stratix IV FPGA family gives you the highest density, highest system performance, and the lowest power available in an FPGA, enabling innovation without compromise. Speaker Ole Horn, FAE Sascoholz Agenda Altera Stratix IV Device FamilyIntroduction Logic Fabric Architecture DSP Blocks Tri-Matrix Memory PLL and Clock Networks Design Security I/O Connectivity High-Speed Transceiver Low Power Consumption Language: English As a member of the globally active distribution group, Arrow Electronics, SascoHolz SA does more than just following the concepts of classic broadline distributors. In fact, we offer a depth of service throughou...

  20. Development of magnetic sensors for JT-60SA

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Takechi, M., E-mail: takechi.manabu@jaea.go.jp [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka, Ibaraki 311-0193 (Japan); Matsunaga, G.; Sakurai, S.; Sasajima, T.; Yagyu, J.; Hoshi, R.; Kawamata, Y.; Kurihara, K. [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka, Ibaraki 311-0193 (Japan); Nishikawa, T.; Ryo, T.; Kagamihara, S. [Okazaki Manufacturing Company, Kobe, Hyogo 651-0087 (Japan); Nakamura, K. [RIAM, Kyushu Univ., Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580,Japan (Japan)

    2015-10-15

    JT-60SA has been designed and is being constructed to demonstrate and develop steady-state high-beta operation. Resistive wall mode (RWM) control, error field correction, and edge-localized mode (ELM) control will be performed using in-vessel coils. For these controls, we have developed a biaxial magnetic sensor to determine 3D magnetic configuration of the plasma. Moreover, for obtaining basic information about JT-60SA plasma, magnetic sensors, in particular, one-turn loops, Rogowski coils, diamagnetic loops, and saddle coils have been developed. Because the length of the vacuum vessel in the poloidal direction of JT-60SA is 16 m and almost twice as long as that of JT-60U, the length of the Rogowski coil and the diamagnetic loop of JT-60SA are also twice as long as those on JT-60U. We have devised new types of sensors and a connector for the mineral-insulated cable because construction and installation of these sensors are much more difficult in JT-60SA. We will report the design and specification of the magnetic sensors for JT-60SA from the physics and engineering aspects.

  1. MimoSA: a system for minimotif annotation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kundeti Vamsi

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Minimotifs are short peptide sequences within one protein, which are recognized by other proteins or molecules. While there are now several minimotif databases, they are incomplete. There are reports of many minimotifs in the primary literature, which have yet to be annotated, while entirely novel minimotifs continue to be published on a weekly basis. Our recently proposed function and sequence syntax for minimotifs enables us to build a general tool that will facilitate structured annotation and management of minimotif data from the biomedical literature. Results We have built the MimoSA application for minimotif annotation. The application supports management of the Minimotif Miner database, literature tracking, and annotation of new minimotifs. MimoSA enables the visualization, organization, selection and editing functions of minimotifs and their attributes in the MnM database. For the literature components, Mimosa provides paper status tracking and scoring of papers for annotation through a freely available machine learning approach, which is based on word correlation. The paper scoring algorithm is also available as a separate program, TextMine. Form-driven annotation of minimotif attributes enables entry of new minimotifs into the MnM database. Several supporting features increase the efficiency of annotation. The layered architecture of MimoSA allows for extensibility by separating the functions of paper scoring, minimotif visualization, and database management. MimoSA is readily adaptable to other annotation efforts that manually curate literature into a MySQL database. Conclusions MimoSA is an extensible application that facilitates minimotif annotation and integrates with the Minimotif Miner database. We have built MimoSA as an application that integrates dynamic abstract scoring with a high performance relational model of minimotif syntax. MimoSA's TextMine, an efficient paper-scoring algorithm, can be used to

  2. Controle social do Sistema Único de Saúde: o que pensam os conselheiros municipais de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Dib Zambon

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Desafios estão presentes para a consolidação da participação da comunidade e este estudo objetiva analisar o controle social na perspectiva dos conselheiros municipais de saúde. Trata-se de estudo de abordagem qualitativa utilizando entrevistas semiestruturadas. Identificou-se que alguns conselheiros não reconhecem a participação social como diretriz do Sistema Único de Saúde. Apesar do reconhecimento dos conselhos como espaços deliberativos, identificam-se dificuldades como a centralização das decisões na gestão, a valorização do saber técnico e a não realização de conferências de saúde. Há limitações no efetivo exercício do papel de conselheiro, dificuldade de interlocução com as bases de representação e de acesso a informações. Aponta-se a necessidade de articulação dos conselheiros e capacitações. Conclui-se pela necessidade de valorização dos espaços colegiados instituídos no Pacto pela Saúde, para fortalecimento do controle social, com destaque à educação permanente em saúde.

  3. Em busca de uma Teologia Pública da Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Villas Boas

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available A proposta de uma teologia pública da saúde visa o diálogo entre antropologia teológica e antropologias médicas e da saúde de modo a ampliar a percepção da saúde, não somente como fato, mas como valor. Mesmo um Estado Laico, suas tradições religiosas possuem hermenêuticas de saúde, ao interpretar a doença e a morte com razões religiosas distintas, ora conflitantes, ora cooperativas com as ciências da saúde. Ampliar essas hermenêuticas religiosas compondo a sabedoria de vida presente nas expressões religiosas e o conhecimento científico da área de saúde visa uma cooperação para interesses de bem comum da sociedade civil, como é a questão da saúde. Para essa reflexão, a escola de Cós combina a sabedoria mítica asclepíade e a ciência jônia. Os mitos de saúde nomeados no juramento hipocrático pertencem à tradição da teologia poética grega e indica uma espécie de credo no qual a medicina hipocrática professa, no qual o médico além de profissional também possui fé na vida e exerce o ofício de sacerdote da esperança. Interessa ainda o modo como o a teologia da saúde grega foi recebida pela teologia cristã, e como ambas desconstruíram suas teodiceias. Nessa recepção há um caminho para pensar uma teologia pública da saúde. 

  4. Analysis of SOS-Induced Spontaneous Prophage Induction in Corynebacterium glutamicum at the Single-Cell Level

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nanda, Arun M.; Heyer, Antonia; Krämer, Christina; Grünberger, Alexander; Kohlheyer, Dietrich

    2014-01-01

    The genome of the Gram-positive soil bacterium Corynebacterium glutamicum ATCC 13032 contains three integrated prophage elements (CGP1 to -3). Recently, it was shown that the large lysogenic prophage CGP3 (∼187 kbp) is excised spontaneously in a small number of cells. In this study, we provide evidence that a spontaneously induced SOS response is partly responsible for the observed spontaneous CGP3 induction. Whereas previous studies focused mainly on the induction of prophages at the population level, we analyzed the spontaneous CGP3 induction at the single-cell level using promoters of phage genes (Pint2 and Plysin) fused to reporter genes encoding fluorescent proteins. Flow-cytometric analysis revealed a spontaneous CGP3 activity in about 0.01 to 0.08% of the cells grown in standard minimal medium, which displayed a significantly reduced viability. A PrecA-eyfp promoter fusion revealed that a small fraction of C. glutamicum cells (∼0.2%) exhibited a spontaneous induction of the SOS response. Correlation of PrecA to the activity of downstream SOS genes (PdivS and PrecN) confirmed a bona fide induction of this stress response rather than stochastic gene expression. Interestingly, the reporter output of PrecA and CGP3 promoter fusions displayed a positive correlation at the single-cell level (ρ = 0.44 to 0.77). Furthermore, analysis of the PrecA-eyfp/Pint2-e2-crimson strain during growth revealed the highest percentage of spontaneous PrecA and Pint2 activity in the early exponential phase, when fast replication occurs. Based on these studies, we postulate that spontaneously occurring DNA damage induces the SOS response, which in turn triggers the induction of lysogenic prophages. PMID:24163339

  5. Spontaneous intracranial hypotension.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Fullam, L

    2012-01-31

    INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous\\/primary intracranial hypotension is characterised by orthostatic headache and is associated with characteristic magnetic resonance imaging findings. CASE REPORT: We present a case report of a patient with typical symptoms and classical radiological images. DISCUSSION: Spontaneous intracranial hypotension is an under-recognised cause of headache and can be diagnosed by history of typical orthostatic headache and findings on MRI brain.

  6. USING THE CONCEPT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN COMPANIES WITH THE STATE TREASURY BASING ON PORT OF GDYNIA AUTHORITY SA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agata Kaszuba

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to show the importance of CSR in companies with the State Treasury. It can be assumed that these companies should as the first obligatory re-porting of CSR activities, and therefore constitute a specific group of companies. Also as an example, selected in this article - Port of Gdynia Authority SA (PGA SA - due to its activity at the interface of social and economic interests with a strong focus on environ-mental protection, should be highly predisposed to the use CSR. The article identifies ar-eas in which the PGA SA implements CSR and what the barriers and needs associated with it are.

  7. CTCF and CohesinSA-1 Mark Active Promoters and Boundaries of Repressive Chromatin Domains in Primary Human Erythroid Cells.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurie A Steiner

    Full Text Available CTCF and cohesinSA-1 are regulatory proteins involved in a number of critical cellular processes including transcription, maintenance of chromatin domain architecture, and insulator function. To assess changes in the CTCF and cohesinSA-1 interactomes during erythropoiesis, chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high throughput sequencing and mRNA transcriptome analyses via RNA-seq were performed in primary human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC and primary human erythroid cells from single donors.Sites of CTCF and cohesinSA-1 co-occupancy were enriched in gene promoters in HSPC and erythroid cells compared to single CTCF or cohesin sites. Cell type-specific CTCF sites in erythroid cells were linked to highly expressed genes, with the opposite pattern observed in HSPCs. Chromatin domains were identified by ChIP-seq with antibodies against trimethylated lysine 27 histone H3, a modification associated with repressive chromatin. Repressive chromatin domains increased in both number and size during hematopoiesis, with many more repressive domains in erythroid cells than HSPCs. CTCF and cohesinSA-1 marked the boundaries of these repressive chromatin domains in a cell-type specific manner.These genome wide data, changes in sites of protein occupancy, chromatin architecture, and related gene expression, support the hypothesis that CTCF and cohesinSA-1 have multiple roles in the regulation of gene expression during erythropoiesis including transcriptional regulation at gene promoters and maintenance of chromatin architecture. These data from primary human erythroid cells provide a resource for studies of normal and perturbed erythropoiesis.

  8. Observation of new spontaneous fission activities from elements 100 to 105

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Somerville, L.P.

    1982-03-01

    Several new Spontaneous Fission (SF) activities have been found. No definite identification could be made for any of the new SF activities; however, half-lives and possible assignments to element-104 isotopes consistent with several cross bombardments include 257 Rf(3.8 s, 14% SF), 258 Rf(13 ms), 259 Rf(approx. 3 s, 8% SF), 260 Rf(approx. 20 ms), and 262 Rf(approx. 50 ms). The 80-ms SF activity claimed by the Dubna group for the discovery of element 104 ( 260 104) was not observed. A difficulty exists in the interpretation that 260 Rf is a approx. 20-ms SF activity: in order to be correct, for example, the SF activities with half-lives between 14 and 24 ms produced in the reactions 109- to 119-MeV 18 O + 248 Cm, 88- to 100-MeV 15 N + 249 Bk, and 96-MeV 18 O + 249 Cf must be other nuclides due to their large production cross sections, or the cross sections for production of 260 Rf must be enhanced by unknown mechanisms. Based on calculated total production cross sections a possible approx. 1% electron-capture branch in 258 Lr(4.5 s) to the SF emitter 258 No(1.2 ms) and an upper limit of 0.05% for SF branching in 254 No(55 s) were determined. Other measured half-lives from unknown nuclides produced in respective reactions include approx. 1.6 s ( 18 O + 248 CM), indications of a approx. 47-s SF activity (75-MeV 12 C + 249 Cf), and two or more SF activities with 3 s less than or equal to T/sub 1/2/ less than or equal to 60 s ( 18 O + 249 Bk). The most exciting conclusion of this work is that if the tentative assignments to even-even element 104 isotopes are correct, there would be a sudden change in the SF half-life systematics at element 104 which has been predicted theoretically and attributed to the disappearance of the second hump of the double-humped fission barrier

  9. The perception of musical spontaneity in improvised and imitated jazz performances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Annerose eEngel

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The ability to evaluate spontaneity in human behavior is called upon in the aesthetic appreciation of dramatic arts and music. The current study addresses the behavioral and brain mechanisms that mediate the perception of spontaneity in music performance. In a functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging experiment, 22 jazz musicians listened to piano melodies and judged whether they were improvised or imitated. Judgment accuracy (mean 55%; range 44-65%, which was low but above chance, was positively correlated with musical experience and empathy. Analysis of listeners’ hemodynamic responses revealed that amygdala activation was stronger for improvisations than imitations. This activation correlated with the variability of performance timing and intensity (loudness in the melodies, suggesting that the amygdala is involved in the detection of behavioral uncertainty. An analysis based on the subjective classification of melodies according to listeners’ judgments revealed that a network including the pre-supplementary motor area, frontal operculum, and anterior insula was most strongly activated for melodies judged to be improvised. This may reflect the increased engagement of an action simulation network when melodic predictions are rendered challenging due to perceived instability in the performer’s actions. Taken together, our results suggest that, while certain brain regions in skilled individuals may be generally sensitive to objective cues to spontaneity in human behavior, the ability to evaluate spontaneity accurately depends upon whether an individual’s action-related experience and perspective taking skills enable faithful internal simulation of the given behavior.

  10. The perception of musical spontaneity in improvised and imitated jazz performances.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engel, Annerose; Keller, Peter E

    2011-01-01

    The ability to evaluate spontaneity in human behavior is called upon in the esthetic appreciation of dramatic arts and music. The current study addresses the behavioral and brain mechanisms that mediate the perception of spontaneity in music performance. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, 22 jazz musicians listened to piano melodies and judged whether they were improvised or imitated. Judgment accuracy (mean 55%; range 44-65%), which was low but above chance, was positively correlated with musical experience and empathy. Analysis of listeners' hemodynamic responses revealed that amygdala activation was stronger for improvisations than imitations. This activation correlated with the variability of performance timing and intensity (loudness) in the melodies, suggesting that the amygdala is involved in the detection of behavioral uncertainty. An analysis based on the subjective classification of melodies according to listeners' judgments revealed that a network including the pre-supplementary motor area, frontal operculum, and anterior insula was most strongly activated for melodies judged to be improvised. This may reflect the increased engagement of an action simulation network when melodic predictions are rendered challenging due to perceived instability in the performer's actions. Taken together, our results suggest that, while certain brain regions in skilled individuals may be generally sensitive to objective cues to spontaneity in human behavior, the ability to evaluate spontaneity accurately depends upon whether an individual's action-related experience and perspective taking skills enable faithful internal simulation of the given behavior.

  11. Saúde em retrospectiva e prospectivas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula Borges Jacques

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Nesse ano que ora está findando, a Saúde mundial enfrentou inúmeros desafios. Houve desastres sísmicos, furacões, vulcões em erupção, ataques terroristas, guerras e, como consequência, refugiados em situação de risco em vários países(1. (Reemergiram doenças que poderiam estar controladas(2,3, como tuberculose, sífilis, AIDS, hipertensão, diabetes, hepatites, ebola, cólera, desnutrição grave, dengue, zica, entre outras. Além disso, surgiram síndromes e doenças que desafiam diagnósticos(3 enquanto diversos hospitais públicos agonizavam em diversos pontos do Brasil(4. Por outro lado, verificaram-se relatos de êxitos sucessivos no controle, tratamentos, desenvolvimento de vacinas, cirurgias e aparatos para erradicação de doenças, como a poliomielite nas Américas, que alegram e motivam a Saúde em todo o planeta(5. Nunca houve, como atualmente, tanta veiculação de ajuda humanitária e de solidariedade em notícias televisivas e nas redes sociais. Nobres trabalhadores da Saúde empenhados em, mais do que salvar vidas, resgatar refugiados, trazer esperança e alento a quem sofreu grandes perdas materiais e familiares(6. Se as redes sociais e a globalização expõem o fragilizado, também são capazes de encabeçar campanhas e salvarem, seja um bebê que precisa de um medicamento (Spiraza® não disponível no Brasil e que custa um milhão de reais para seu tratamento contra a Atrofia Muscular Espinhal (AME(7, sejam milhares de refugiados que deixam seus países em botes praticamente suicidas resgatados pelo Mar Mediterrâneo(8. A Revista Brasileira em Promoção da Saúde (RBPS acredita no desenvolvimento da Promoção da Saúde pelo mundo, e se emociona com cada pequena ou grande boa notícia de auxílio ou ajuda a quem está precisando. Nesse ano, estimou-se mais de 500 milhões de pessoas vivendo em área de risco para zica, dengue e chicungunha em dados de março para as Américas(9. Em estados do Nordeste do Brasil

  12. Optimization of an NLEO-based algorithm for automated detection of spontaneous activity transients in early preterm EEG

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Palmu, Kirsi; Vanhatalo, Sampsa; Stevenson, Nathan; Wikström, Sverre; Hellström-Westas, Lena; Palva, J Matias

    2010-01-01

    We propose here a simple algorithm for automated detection of spontaneous activity transients (SATs) in early preterm electroencephalography (EEG). The parameters of the algorithm were optimized by supervised learning using a gold standard created from visual classification data obtained from three human raters. The generalization performance of the algorithm was estimated by leave-one-out cross-validation. The mean sensitivity of the optimized algorithm was 97% (range 91–100%) and specificity 95% (76–100%). The optimized algorithm makes it possible to systematically study brain state fluctuations of preterm infants. (note)

  13. [Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velkey, Bálint; Vitális, Eszter; Vitális, Zsuzsanna

    2017-01-01

    Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis occurs most commonly in cirrhotic patients with ascites. Pathogens get into the circulation by intestinal translocation and colonize in peritoneal fluid. Diagnosis of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis is based on elevated polymorphonuclear leukocyte count in the ascites (>0,25 G/L). Ascites culture is often negative but aids to get information about antibiotic sensitivity in positive cases. Treatment in stable patient can be intravenous then orally administrated ciprofloxacin or amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, while in severe cases intravenous III. generation cephalosporin. Nosocomial spontaneous bacterial peritonitis often caused by Gram-positive bacteria and multi-resistant pathogens can also be expected thus carbapenem should be the choice of the empiric treatment. Antibiotic prophylaxis should be considered. Norfloxacin is used most commonly, but changes are expected due to increase in quinolone resistance. As a primary prophylaxis, a short-term antibiotic treatment is recommended after gastrointestinal bleeding for 5 days, while long-term prophylaxis is for patients with low ascites protein, and advanced disease (400 mg/day). Secondary prophylaxis is recommended for all patients recovered from spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Due to increasing antibiotic use of antibiotics prophylaxis is debated to some degree. Orv. Hetil., 2017, 158(2), 50-57.

  14. High-efficiency electroluminescence and amplified spontaneous emission from a thermally activated delayed fluorescent near-infrared emitter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Dae-Hyeon; D'Aléo, Anthony; Chen, Xian-Kai; Sandanayaka, Atula D. S.; Yao, Dandan; Zhao, Li; Komino, Takeshi; Zaborova, Elena; Canard, Gabriel; Tsuchiya, Youichi; Choi, Eunyoung; Wu, Jeong Weon; Fages, Frédéric; Brédas, Jean-Luc; Ribierre, Jean-Charles; Adachi, Chihaya

    2018-02-01

    Near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes and semiconductor lasers could benefit a variety of applications including night-vision displays, sensors and information-secured displays. Organic dyes can generate electroluminescence efficiently at visible wavelengths, but organic light-emitting diodes are still underperforming in the near-infrared region. Here, we report thermally activated delayed fluorescent organic light-emitting diodes that operate at near-infrared wavelengths with a maximum external quantum efficiency of nearly 10% using a boron difluoride curcuminoid derivative. As well as an effective upconversion from triplet to singlet excited states due to the non-adiabatic coupling effect, this donor-acceptor-donor compound also exhibits efficient amplified spontaneous emission. By controlling the polarity of the active medium, the maximum emission wavelength of the electroluminescence spectrum can be tuned from 700 to 780 nm. This study represents an important advance in near-infrared organic light-emitting diodes and the design of alternative molecular architectures for photonic applications based on thermally activated delayed fluorescence.

  15. Synthesis and in vivo evaluation of [11C]SA6298 as a PET sigma1 receptor ligand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawamura, Kazunori; Ishiwata, Kiichi; Tajima, Hisashi; Ishii, Shin-Ichi; Shimada, Yuhei; Matsuno, Kiyoshi; Homma, Yoshio; Senda, Michio

    1999-01-01

    The potential of a 11 C-labeled selective sigma 1 receptor ligand, 1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)-4-[3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)propyl]piperazine ([ 11 C]SA6298), was evaluated as a positron emission tomography (PET) ligand for mapping sigma 1 receptors in the central nervous system and peripheral organs. [ 11 C]SA6298 was synthesized by methylation of the desmethyl SA6298 with [ 11 C]CH 3 I, with the decay-corrected radiochemical yield of 39±5% based on [ 11 C]CH 3 I and with the specific activity of 53±17 TBq/mmol within 20 min from end of bombardment (EOB). In mice, the uptake of [ 11 C]SA6298 was significantly decreased by carrier loading in the brain, liver, spleen, heart, lung, small intestine, and kidney in which sigma receptors are present as well as in the skeletal muscle. Pretreatment with SA6298 also blocked the uptake of [ 11 C]SA6298 by these organs except for the small intestine, but significant displacement of [ 11 C]SA6298 by posttreatment with SA6298 was observed only in the heart, lung, and muscle. In the blocking study with one of the eight sigma receptor ligands, including haloperidol, SA6298, NE-100, (+)-pentazocine, SA4503, (-)-pentazocine, (+)-3-PPP, and (+)-SKF 10,047 (in the order of the affinity for sigma 1 receptor subtype), only SA6298 and an analog SA4503 significantly reduced the brain uptake of [ 11 C]SA6298 to approximately 80% of the control, but the other six ligands did not. Peripherally, the uptake of [ 11 C]SA6298 by the organs described above was decreased predominantly by SA6298 or SA4503, but the blocking effects of the other five ligands except for NE-100 depended on their affinity for sigma 1 receptors. The saturable brain uptake of [ 11 C]SA6298, approximately 20%, was also observed by tissue dissection method in rats and by PET in a cat. Ex vivo autoradiography of the rat brain showed a high uptake in the cortex and thalamus. In the cat brain a relatively high uptake was found in the cortex, thalamus, striatum, and cerebellum

  16. Indutores de mudança na formação dos profissionais de saúde: pró-saúde e PET-SAÚDE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Cristina Luck Coelho de Holanda

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Na última década, a formação de profissionais de saúde tem sido reformulada no intuito de atender às necessidades de saúde das pessoas e não somente suas demandas. Políticas públicas de educação e saúde promovidas em parceria com o Ministério da Educação (MEC e o Ministério da Saúde (MS sinalizaram uma reforma curricular imprescindível nos cursos de graduação da área de saúde(1,2 .A formalização dessa mudança teve seu marco com a instituição das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais (DCN para os cursos de graduação no campo da saúde. Todos os instrumentos vigentes orientam a construção do perfil dos egressos por meio de um modelo acadêmico e profissional em que atitudes, habilidades e conteúdos almejem a formação generalista, humanista, crítica e reflexiva, com competência para a atuação em todos os níveis de atenção à saúde, embasando suas condutas nos rigores científico e ético(3-7.Não por acaso, todos os documentos ressaltam os mesmos campos de competência a serem desenvolvidos durante a formação dos diferentes profissionais da área: atenção à saúde, tomada de decisões, comunicação, liderança, educação permanente, administração e gerenciamento(3-7, pois a saúde, como um complexo campo de atuação, não consegue imprimir ações resolutivas através de uma única disciplina ou área do saber.A proposta preconizada pelo MEC e MS de produzir transformação nos processos de formação, trabalho e ampliação da cobertura dos serviços tem sido concretizada mediante programas indutores, como o Programa Nacional de Reorientação da Formação Profissional em Saúde (Pró-Saúde e o Programa de Educação pelo Trabalho para a Saúde (PET–Saúde(1,2.O Pró-Saúde, implementado no país desde 2005 através da divulgação de editais, pretende sintonizar a formação em saúde com as necessidades sociais, considerando as dimensões históricas, culturais e econômicas da população(8

  17. Kv1.1 knock-in ataxic mice exhibit spontaneous myokymic activity exacerbated by fatigue, ischemia and low temperature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunetti, Orazio; Imbrici, Paola; Botti, Fabio Massimo; Pettorossi, Vito Enrico; D'Adamo, Maria Cristina; Valentino, Mario; Zammit, Christian; Mora, Marina; Gibertini, Sara; Di Giovanni, Giuseppe; Muscat, Richard; Pessia, Mauro

    2012-09-01

    Episodic ataxia type 1 (EA1) is an autosomal dominant neurological disorder characterized by myokymia and attacks of ataxic gait often precipitated by stress. Several genetic mutations have been identified in the Shaker-like K(+) channel Kv1.1 (KCNA1) of EA1 individuals, including V408A, which result in remarkable channel dysfunction. By inserting the heterozygous V408A, mutation in one Kv1.1 allele, a mouse model of EA1 has been generated (Kv1.1(V408A/+)). Here, we investigated the neuromuscular transmission of Kv1.1(V408A/+) ataxic mice and their susceptibility to physiologically relevant stressors. By using in vivo preparations of lateral gastrocnemius (LG) nerve-muscle from Kv1.1(+/+) and Kv1.1(V408A/+) mice, we show that the mutant animals exhibit spontaneous myokymic discharges consisting of repeated singlets, duplets or multiplets, despite motor nerve axotomy. Two-photon laser scanning microscopy from the motor nerve, ex vivo, revealed spontaneous Ca(2+) signals that occurred abnormally only in preparations dissected from Kv1.1(V408A/+) mice. Spontaneous bursting activity, as well as that evoked by sciatic nerve stimulation, was exacerbated by muscle fatigue, ischemia and low temperatures. These stressors also increased the amplitude of compound muscle action potential. Such abnormal neuromuscular transmission did not alter fiber type composition, neuromuscular junction and vascularization of LG muscle, analyzed by light and electron microscopy. Taken together these findings provide direct evidence that identifies the motor nerve as an important generator of myokymic activity, that dysfunction of Kv1.1 channels alters Ca(2+) homeostasis in motor axons, and also strongly suggest that muscle fatigue contributes more than PNS fatigue to exacerbate the myokymia/neuromyotonia phenotype. More broadly, this study points out that juxtaparanodal K(+) channels composed of Kv1.1 subunits exert an important role in dampening the excitability of motor nerve axons during

  18. Genetics Home Reference: primary spontaneous pneumothorax

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Home Health Conditions Primary spontaneous pneumothorax Primary spontaneous pneumothorax Printable PDF Open All Close All Enable Javascript ... view the expand/collapse boxes. Description Primary spontaneous pneumothorax is an abnormal accumulation of air in the ...

  19. Hortas comunitárias como atividade promotora de saúde: uma experiência em Unidades Básicas de Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christiane Gasparini Araújo Costa

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available ResumoA agricultura urbana e periurbana (AUP vem sendo praticada em diferentes espaços, contribuindo para a melhoria da saúde nas comunidades e ambientes mais saudáveis. Objetivando identificar significados e repercussões da prática da AUP em Unidades Básicas de Saúde (UBS, enquanto uma atividade de Promoção da Saúde (PS, e em que medida sua dimensão terapêutica a caracteriza como uma atividade alinhada às práticas integrativas e complementares, foi realizado um estudo transversal com abordagem qualitativa no município de Embu das Artes, SP. Da análise, emergiram as seguintes categorias: concepção de saúde, resultados na saúde, resgate de práticas e hábitos tradicionais e reorientação dos serviços de saúde. Identificou-se a estreita ligação entre a prática das hortas e as diretrizes e campos de ação da PS como: criação de ambientes saudáveis, reforço da ação comunitária, desenvolvimento de habilidades pessoais, estímulo à autonomia e empoderamento e demandas por reorientação dos serviços. As atividades de horta instituídas nas UBS se mostraram uma estratégia de implementação das práticas integrativas e complementares (PIC. Conclui-se que as atividades de cultivo nas hortas comunitárias mostram-se como práticas promotoras da saúde que integram elementos fundamentais das PIC.

  20. Relações sociais e autopercepção da saúde: projeto envelhecimento e saúde Social relations and self- rated health: the ageing and health project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula Nogueira Nunes

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Investigar a associação entre as relações sociais e a autopercepção da saúde em idosos. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal de amostra representativa de idosos cobertos pelo Programa de Saúde da Família e residentes em uma área de alta vulnerabilidade para a saúde em Belo Horizonte, MG. As informações foram obtidas por meio de entrevista estruturada. Idosos que relataram autopercepção ruim ou muito ruim da saúde foram comparados aos demais e os fatores associados foram determinados por meio de regressão logística múltipla. RESULTADOS: 363 dos 371 idosos elegíveis participaram do estudo. A autopercepção ruim da saúde foi relatada por 17,1% dos idosos e foi positivamente associada com o número de doenças crônicas e o grau de dificuldade para realizar as atividades de vida diária, apresentando um gradiente dose resposta. Idosos com auto-avaliação negativa dos relacionamentos pessoais e que não podiam contar com alguém caso ficassem acamados tiveram mais chance de autoperceber sua saúde como ruim. Trabalhar foi associado negativamente com a autopercepção ruim da saúde. CONCLUSÃO: Os resultados encontrados corroboram a estrutura multidimensional da autopercepção da saúde englobando fatores sociodemográficos, aspectos relacionados à saúde e às relações sociais e reforçam o papel dessas últimas sobre a saúde.OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between social relationships and self-perceived health in the elderly. METHODS: cross-sectional study of a representative sample of elderly individuals covered by the Family Health Program and residents in an area of high health vulnerability in Belo Horizonte, MG. Information was obtained through structured interviews. Factors associated with poor or very poor self-perceived health were identified by multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: 363 out of 371 eligible elderly participated; 17.1% of elderly self-perceived their health as poor. There was

  1. Saúde oral: um desafio para a equipe de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Lúcia de Oliveira Gomes

    2001-03-01

    Full Text Available Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo desvelar o conhecimento dos formandos dos cursos de Enfermagem e Medicina de uma Universidade do Rio Grande do Sul acerca da promoção da Saúde Oral. Participaram do estudo 58 acadêmicos, sendo 26 do Curso de Enfermagem e 32 do Curso de Medicina, estes responderam a um questionário com três perguntas semi-estruturadas. Através da triangulação constatamos que esse conhecimento entre os formandos dos referidos cursos é deficitário. Sabemos que é grande a dificuldade de acesso da população infantil carente aos gabinetes dentários, por esse motivo, acreditamos ser indispensável que os profissionais de Enfermagem e Medicina tenham conhecimentos referentes à promoção de saúde oral em crianças.

  2. A política de saúde bucal em pauta no Conselho Municipal de Saúde no Município de Nova Friburgo - RJ

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Gomes Ditterich

    Full Text Available Objetivo O presente estudo teve como objetivo analisar, por meio dos documentos técnicos do Conselho Municipal de Saúde (CMS, a organização dos serviços de saúde bucal no Município de Nova Friburgo - RJ, a partir da institucionalização da Política Nacional de Saúde Bucal. Metodologia Para a análise documental, utilizou-se o registro de frequência e categorização por assunto: saúde bucal das atas do CMS de junho/2006 a agosto/2011, do Plano Municipal de Saúde de 2003-2005 e 2010-2013, e os documentos encaminhados entre 2005 e 2011. Resultado Os registros analisados até 2012 indicaram que a população estava desassistida na questão da média complexidade, como também no acesso à água fluoretada. As equipes de saúde bucal ainda não tinham sido qualificadas e ampliadas, como é bem colocado como prioridade no Brasil Sorridente. O Município ainda não desenvolvia programas de prevenção e promoção de saúde bucal de forma contínua e efetiva. Conclusão Concluiu-se que a Política Nacional de Saúde Bucal, até o ano de 2012, não tinha ainda reflexo nas ações de saúde bucal em Nova Friburgo.

  3. A proposta da educação permanente em saúde na atualização da equipe de saúde em diabetes mellitus

    OpenAIRE

    Rodrigues,Andreia Cristinha Seabra; Vieira,Gisele de Lacerda Chaves; Torres,Heloisa de Carvalho

    2010-01-01

    O objetivo do estudo foi relatar a experiência da Educação Permanente em Saúde na atualização da equipe de saúde de uma Unidade Básica de Saúde para a atenção integral e humanizada às pessoas com diabetes tipo 2. A metodologia de escolha para a capacitação das equipes de saúde foi a Educação em Permanente em Saúde, por meio de oficinas educativas em diabetes com enfoque na problematização do processo educativo e profissional. Buscou-se, assim, construir um programa de educação em diabetes vis...

  4. Acupuntura e promoção de saúde: possibilidades no serviço público de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Elisa Rizzi Cintra

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available O presente estudo objetivou analisar as possíveis contribuições da Acupuntura aplicada nos serviços públicos de saúde do município de São Paulo para a Promoção da Saúde. Foi utilizada a abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa, com uso de entrevistas em profundidade. Os resultados apontam que a Acupuntura praticada nos serviços públicos permite um trânsito interdisciplinar integrando a percepção do indivíduo sobre si mesmo e seu contexto, possibilitando mudanças nas causas primárias das doenças. Assim, o contato com a Acupuntura praticada nos serviços de saúde da rede municipal de São Paulo mostra-se passível de contribuir para o desenvolvimento de ações de Promoção de Saúde.

  5. Reduced spontaneous neuronal activity in the insular cortex and thalamus in healthy adults with insomnia symptoms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chun-Hong; Liu, Cun-Zhi; Zhang, Jihui; Yuan, Zhen; Tang, Li-Rong; Tie, Chang-Le; Fan, Jin; Liu, Qing-Quan

    2016-10-01

    Poor sleep and insomnia have been recognized to be strongly correlated with the development of depression. The exploration of the basic mechanism of sleep disturbance could provide the basis for improved understanding and treatment of insomnia and prevention of depression. In this study, 31 subjects with insomnia symptoms as measured by the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17) and 71 age- and gender-matched subjects without insomnia symptoms were recruited to participate in a clinical trial. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), we examined the alterations in spontaneous brain activity between the two groups. Correlations between the fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF) and clinical measurements (e.g., insomnia severity and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale [HAMD] scores) were also tested in all subjects. Compared to healthy participants without insomnia symptoms, participants with insomnia symptoms showed a decreased fALFF in the left ventral anterior insula, bilateral posterior insula, left thalamus, and pons but an increased fALFF in the bilateral middle occipital gyrus and right precentral gyrus. More specifically, a significant, negative correlation of fALFF in the left thalamus with early morning awakening scores and HAMD scores in the overall sample was identified. These results suggest that insomnia symptoms are associated with altered spontaneous activity in the brain regions of several important functional networks, including the insular cortex of the salience and the thalamus of the hyperarousal network. The altered fALFF in the left thalamus supports the "hyperarousal theory" of insomnia symptoms, which could serve as a biomarker for insomnia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Cloning, Characterization and Expression Pattern Analysis of a Cytosolic Copper/Zinc Superoxide Dismutase (SaCSD1 in a Highly Salt Tolerant Mangrove (Sonneratia alba

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Enze Yang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Mangroves are critical marine resources for their remarkable ability to tolerate seawater. Antioxidant enzymes play an especially significant role in eliminating reactive oxygen species and conferring abiotic stress tolerance. In this study, a cytosolic copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (SaCSD1 cDNA of Sonneratia alba, a mangrove species with high salt tolerance, was successfully cloned and then expressed in Escherichia coli Rosetta-gami (designated as SaCSD1. SaCSD1 comprised a complete open reading frame (ORF of 459 bp which encoded a protein of 152 amino acids. Its mature protein is predicted to be 15.32 kDa and the deduced isoelectric point is 5.78. SaCSD1 has high sequence similarity (85%–90% with the superoxide dismutase (CSD of some other plant species. SaCSD1 was expressed with 30.6% yield regarding total protein content after being introduced into the pET-15b (Sma I vector for expression in Rosetta-gami and being induced with IPTG. After affinity chromatography on Ni-NTA, recombinant SaCSD1 was obtained with 3.2-fold purification and a specific activity of 2200 U/mg. SaCSD1 showed good activity as well as stability in the ranges of pH between 3 and 7 and temperature between 25 and 55 °C. The activity of recombinant SaCSD1 was stable in 0.25 M NaCl, Dimethyl Sulphoxide (DMSO, glycerol, and chloroform, and was reduced to a great extent in β-mercaptoethanol, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS, H2O2, and phenol. Moreover, the SaCSD1 protein was very susceptive to pepsin digestion. Real-time Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR assay demonstrated that SaCSD1 was expressed in leaf, stem, flower, and fruit organs, with the highest expression in fruits. Under 0.25 M and 0.5 M salt stress, the expression of SaCSD1 was down-regulated in roots, but up-regulated in leaves.

  7. ANALISIS DAYA SAING KEDELAI INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarwono Sarwono

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available RCA (Revealed Comparative Advantage index of soybean in Indonesia from 1983 up to 2013 is less than one, mostly. It means that the competitiveness of soybean in Indonesia is low. The purpose of this study is to analyze the factors influence the soybean competitiveness. OLS (Ordinary Least Square was used as the analysis method. Hypotheses test based on that analysis model is not bias, so that, classic divergence test is needed. It is for getting the Best Linier Unbiased Estimator (BLUE appraisal. T statistic and F statistic were also applied. The result of this research shows that production and export have positive and significant influence. In addition, exchange rate and government policy do not influence the Indonesia soybean competitiveness.Indeks RCA (Revealed Comparative Advantage kedelai Indonesia dari tahun 1983-2013 kecenderungan bernilai kurang dari satu yang berarti daya saing kedelai Indonesia rendah.Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi daya saing kedelai Indonesia.Metode analisis yang digunakan adalah Ordinary Least Square (OLS.Pengujian hipotesis berdasarkan model analisis tersebut tidak bias maka perlu dilakukan uji penyimpangan klasik yang tujuannya agar diperoleh penaksiran yang bersifat Best Linier Unbiased Estimator (BLUE.Pengujian statistik menggunakan uji t statistikdan uji f statistik.Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa produksi dan ekspor berpengaruh secara positif dan signifikan terhadap daya saing kedelai Indonesia. Nilai tukar rupiah dan kebijakan pemerintah tidak berpengaruh terhadap daya saing kedelai Indonesia.

  8. Ziprasidone-induced spontaneous orgasm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boora, K; Chiappone, K; Dubovsky, S; Xu, J

    2010-06-01

    Neuroleptic treatment in schizophrenic patients has been associated with sexual dysfunction, including impotence and decreased libido. Spontaneous ejaculation without sexual arousal during typical antipsychotic treatment is a rare condition that has been described with zuclopentixol, trifluoperazine, and thiothixene. Here, we are reporting a case of spontaneous orgasm with ziprasidone in a bipolar patient. This patient began to repeatedly experience spontaneous sexual arousal and orgasm, which she had never experienced in the past. Ziprasidone might be causing an increase in sexual orgasm by 5-HT2 receptor antagonism, which preclinical evidence suggests that it facilitates dopamine release in the cortex.

  9. Barreiras às intervenções relacionadas à saúde do trabalhador do setor saúde no Brasil Barriers to interventions aimed at promoting the health of health care workers in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Érica Lui Reinhardt

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Identificar na literatura situações que possam impedir ou prejudicar as ações de prevenção de acidentes e doenças ou de promoção da saúde de trabalhadores do setor saúde. MÉTODO: Foi realizada uma revisão da literatura utilizando a base SciELO para o período de 1967 a 2008, complementada por busca na base PubMed para o período de 1950 a 2008. Os seguintes termos foram utilizados para identificar artigos em português, inglês e espanhol: trabalho, trabalhador, ocupacional, riscos, doenças, ergonomia, capacidade para o trabalho, qualidade de vida, organização, acidentes, condições de trabalho, intervenção e administração. Foram selecionados artigos sobre prevenção de doenças e acidentes e sobre promoção da saúde no trabalho em serviços de saúde latino-americanos. Também foram selecionados artigos sobre intervenções em ambientes de trabalho no setor saúde. RESULTADOS: Foram identificadas as seguintes situações desfavoráveis: programas de intervenção sem boa base teórica e não integrados à gestão do serviço como um todo; falhas em avaliar a eficácia das intervenções; vigilância da saúde restrita a doenças e agravos específicos; falta de compromisso da gestão com as intervenções; falhas na comunicação; falta de participação e controle por parte dos trabalhadores sobre o ambiente de trabalho; e programas e intervenções baseados exclusivamente na mudança comportamental dos trabalhadores. CONCLUSÕES: A literatura mostra que todas as barreiras citadas afetam tanto a melhoria do estado de saúde dos trabalhadores em saúde quanto a sua capacidade para o trabalho.OBJECTIVE: To search the literature for circumstances that impede injury and disease prevention and other activities intended to improve the health of the health care worker. METHODS: The SciELO database was searched for articles published in 1967-2008. This was supplemented by a PubMed search for the period 1950-2008. The

  10. Psicologia da saúde crítica no contexto hospitalar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denis Barros de Carvalho

    Full Text Available O texto apresenta uma discussão sobre a Psicologia da saúde no contexto hospitalar a partir de uma perspectiva histórica e ética, mostrando como o desenvolvimento desse campo foi caracterizado pelo surgimento de duas perspectivas: a Psicologia da saúde tradicional e a Psicologia da saúde crítica. O modelo de quatro abordagens à Psicologia da saúde é apresentado e reformulado com a inclusão do conceito de Psicologia sanitária, e a prática em Psicologia da saúde é discutida à luz do conceito de reflexividade. Por fim, alguns questionamentos derivados da Psicologia da saúde crítica são feitos à prática do psicólogo no contexto hospitalar.

  11. Translational Science: How experimental research has contributed to the understanding of spontaneous Physical Activity and Energy Homeostasis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izabelle D Benfato

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Spontaneous physical activity (SPA consists of all daily living activities other than volitional exercise (e.g. sports and fitness-related activities. SPA is an important component of energy expenditure and may protect from overweight and obesity. Little is known about the biological regulation of SPA, but animal researchhas contributedsignificantly to expand our knowledge in this field. Studies in rodents have shown that SPA is influenced by nutrients and volitional exercise. High-fat diet seems to decrease SPA, which contributes to weigh gain. Volitional exercisemayalso reduce SPA, helping to explain the commonly reported low efficiency of exercise to cause weight loss, and highlighting the need to finda volume/intensity of exercise to maximize total daily energy expenditure. Animal studieshave also allowed for the identification of some brain areas and chemical mediatorsinvolved in SPA regulation. These discoveries could enable the development of new therapeutics aiming to enhance SPA.

  12. Saúde mental na atenção primária e Saúde Mental Global: perspectivas internacionais e cenário brasileiro

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leandro David Wenceslau

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo apresenta uma análise teórica sobre a integração da saúde mental na atenção primária sob a perspectiva dos objetivos e estratégias da Saúde Mental Global (Global Mental Health - GMH. Esta tarefa é dividida em duas partes. A primeira parte é dedicada a estudos internacionais de revisão sobre o tema, e a segunda trata de publicações normativas e científicas brasileiras que tocam a questão. Os estudos internacionais ratificam a integração da saúde mental na atenção primária à saúde como estratégia fundamental para o alcance dos objetivos do GMH. No cenário brasileiro, o tema é relevante para as políticas e pesquisas em saúde mental, porém, os objetivos desta integração e suas formas de operacionalização demandam melhor definição. Nas conclusões, apontamos obstáculos para que a APS possa ocupar um papel estratégico para as ações de saúde mental no Sistema Único de Saúde.

  13. A música popular brasileira na construção do conhecimento em Saúde Pública: o tema processo de trabalho e saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Augusto Pina

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Este estudo destaca temas relativos ao trabalho e à saúde na música popular brasileira, especialmente no samba. Tem como objetivo apresentar um corpo de conhecimentos sobre o tema processo de trabalho e saúde. Nas canções selecionadas foram identificadas categorias tomadas como ponto de partida para discussão com a literatura. Com o desenvolvimento do texto, percebe-se o manancial da canção popular para proporcionar conteúdos sobre múltiplas dimensões do processo de trabalho e do processo saúde-doença dos trabalhadores, inclusive a dimensão coletiva e histórica da luta pelo direito à saúde. Esta pesquisa resultou na valorização da música popular brasileira como uma forma de se entenderem as relações trabalho-saúde e de se desenvolver conhecimento em Saúde Coletiva.

  14. Regulation of Spontaneous Eosinophil Apoptosis—A Neglected Area of Importance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pinja Ilmarinen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Asthma is characterized by the accumulation of eosinophils in the airways in most phenotypes. Eosinophils are inflammatory cells that require an external survival-prolonging stimulus such as granulocyte macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF, interleukin (IL-5, or IL-3 for survival. In their absence, eosinophils are programmed to die by spontaneous apoptosis in a few days. Eosinophil apoptosis can be accelerated by Fas ligation or by pharmacological agents such as glucocorticoids. Evidence exists for the relevance of these survival-prolonging and pro-apoptotic agents in the regulation of eosinophilic inflammation in inflamed airways. Much less is known about the physiological significance and mechanisms of spontaneous eosinophil apoptosis even though it forms the basis of regulation of eosinophil longevity by pathophysiological factors and pharmacological agents. This review concentrates on discussing the mechanisms of spontaneous eosinophil apoptosis compared to those of glucocorticoid- and Fas-induced apoptosis. We aim to answer the question whether the external apoptotic stimuli only augment the ongoing pathway of spontaneous apoptosis or truly activate a specific pathway.

  15. An investigation on SA 213-Tube to SA 387-Tube plate using friction welding process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rajan, S. Pandia; Kumaraswamidhas, L. A. [Indian Institute of Technology, Jharkhand (India); Kumaran, S. Senthil [RVS School of Engineering and Technology, Tamil Nadu (India); Muthukumaran, S. [National Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu (India)

    2016-01-15

    Friction welding of tube to tube plate using an external tool (FWTPET) is a relatively newer solid state welding process used for joining tube to tube plate of either similar or dissimilar materials with enhanced mechanical and metallurgical properties. In the present study, FWTPET has been used to weld SA 213 (Grade T12) tube with SA 387 (Grade 22) tube plate. The welded samples are found to have satisfactory joint strength and the Energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) study showed that inter metallic compound is absent in the weld zone. The different weld joints have been identified and the phase composition is found using EDX and XRD. Microstructures have been analyzed using optical and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties such as hardness, compressive shear strength and peel test for different weld conditions are studied and the hardness survey revealed that there is increase in hardness at the weld interface due to grain refinement. The corrosion behavior for different weld conditions have been analyzed and the weld zone is found to have better corrosion resistance due to the influence of the grain refinement after FWTPET welding process. Hence, the present investigation is carried out to study the behavior of friction welded dissimilar joints of SA 213 tube and SA 387 tube plate joints and the results are presented. The present study confirms that a high quality tube to tube plate joint can be achieved using FWTPET process at 1120 rpm.

  16. Desafios da Saúde Global para a educação de profissionais de saúde: (re)definição de modos de produção de conhecimento em iniciativas de combate às desigualdades de saúde

    OpenAIRE

    Ferreira, Patrícia Moreira

    2013-01-01

    O artigo parte da discussão de uma das dimensões associadas à Saúde Global - o seu envolvimento nas dinâmicas de produção de conhecimento “globalizado” sobre saúde, na sua disseminação através de modelos de transferência de conhecimento e implementação em diversos locais ou lugares. Argumenta-se que os programas de educação de profissionais de saúde, inseridos em iniciativas de Saúde Global de combate às desigualdades de saúde, se sustenta em orientações definidas internacionalmente que promo...

  17. Power sale. An activity of increasing importance in S.N Nuclearelectrica S.A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Metes, Mircea

    2006-01-01

    The paper discusses the main characteristics of the power market in Romania. S. N. Nuclearelectrica S.A., the operator of Cernavoda nuclear power plant, is a new power supplier on this market. The price formation of the power sold by S. N. Nuclearelectrica S. A., its participation to the power market as well as the structure of the production costs at Cernavoda NPP are presented. The paper has the following contents: The electricity companies; - From service supplier to wholesale dealer; - Regulated contracts vs. free market; - The shock from 1 July 2005; - The last but not the final challenge. At the above noted date two events with an direct impact upon the power sale by Nuclearelectrica S.A. in Romania took place: 1.The new Trade Code of the power gross market became operative; 2. The opening degree of the free market raised steeply from 55% to over 83% of the energy demand, all the industrial consumers having the right of having the statute of 'eligible consumer'. The conclusion of the paper is that the reduced production cost in the nuclear unit as compared with those of classical stations, as well as a correct planning of the production are favorable premises to a successful transaction and sale of power produced at Cernavoda NPP

  18. Spontaneous stress fractures of the femoral neck

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dorne, H.L.; Lander, P.H.

    1985-01-01

    The diagnosis of spontaneous stress fractures of the femoral neck, a form of insufficiency stress fracture, can be missed easily. Patients present with unremitting hip pain without a history of significant trauma or unusual increase in daily activity. The initial radiographic features include osteoporosis, minor alterations of trabecular alignment, minimal extracortical or endosteal reaction, and lucent fracture lines. Initial scintigraphic examinations performed in three of four patients showed focal increased radionuclide uptake in two and no focal abnormality in one. Emphasis is placed on the paucity of early findings. Evaluation of patients with persistent hip pain requires a high degree of clinical suspicion and close follow-up; the sequelae of undetected spontaneous fractures are subcapital fracture with displacement, angular deformity, and a vascular necrosis of the femoral head

  19. Involvement of cyclic nucleotide-gated channels in spontaneous activity generated in isolated interstitial cells of Cajal from the rabbit urethra.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sancho, Maria; Bradley, Eamonn; Garcia-Pascual, Angeles; Triguero, Domingo; Thornbury, Keith D; Hollywood, Mark A; Sergeant, Gerard P

    2017-11-05

    Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels are non-selective cation channels that mediate influx of extracellular Na + and Ca 2+ in various cell types. L-cis-Diltiazem, a CNG channel blocker, inhibits contraction of urethral smooth muscle (USM), however the mechanisms underlying this effect are still unclear. We investigated the possibility that CNG channels contribute to spontaneous pacemaker activity in freshly isolated interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC) isolated from the rabbit urethra (RUICC). Using immunocytochemistry, we found intense CNG1-immunoreactivity in vimentin-immunoreactive RUICC, mainly within patches of the cellular body and processes. In contrast, α-actin immunoreactive smooth muscle cells (SMC) did not show significant reactivity to a specific CNGA1 antibody. Freshly isolated RUICC, voltage clamped at -60mV, developed spontaneous transient inward currents (STICs) that were inhibited by L-cis-Diltiazem (50µM). Similarly, L-cis-Diltiazem (50µM) also inhibited Ca 2+ waves in isolated RUICC, recorded using a Nipkow spinning disk confocal microscope. L-cis-Diltiazem (50µM) did not affect caffeine (10mM)-induced Ca 2+ transients, but significantly reduced phenylephrine-evoked Ca 2+ oscillations and inward currents in in RUICC. L-type Ca 2+ current amplitude in isolated SMC was reduced by ~18% in the presence of L-cis-Diltiazem (50µM), however D-cis-Diltiazem, a recognised L-type Ca 2+ channel blocker, abolished L-type Ca 2+ current but did not affect Ca 2+ waves or STICs in RUICC. These results indicate that the effects of L-cis-diltiazem on rabbit USM could be mediated by inhibition of CNG1 channels that are present in urethral ICC and therefore CNG channels contribute to spontaneous activity in these cells. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  20. Being Spontaneous: The Future of Telehealth Implementation?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mars, Maurice; Scott, Richard E

    2017-09-01

    The smartphone simplifies interprofessional communication, and smartphone applications can facilitate telemedicine activity. Much has been written about the steps that need to be followed to implement and establish a successful telemedicine service that is integrated into everyday clinical practice. A traditional and systematic approach has evolved incorporating activities such as strategy development, needs assessment, business cases and plans, readiness assessment, implementation plans, change management interventions, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation. This "best practice" has been promoted in the telehealth literature for many years. In contrast, several recent initiatives have arisen without any such formal undertakings. This article describes the strengths and weaknesses of two "spontaneous" telemedicine services in dermatology and burn management that have evolved in South Africa. Two spontaneous services were identified and reviewed. In one unsolicited service, doctors at rural referring hospitals have been taking photographs of skin lesions and sending them with a brief text message history to dermatologists using the instant messaging smartphone app, WhatsApp. In the other, burns service, admissions to the burns unit or the clinic were triaged by telephonic description of the case and completion of a preadmission questionnaire. More recently, management and referral decisions are made only after completion of the questionnaire and subsequent submission of photographs of the burn sent by WhatsApp, with the decision transmitted by text message. Although efficient and effective, potential legal and ethical shortcomings have been identified. These "spontaneous" telehealth services challenge traditional best practice, yet appear to lead to truly integrated practice and, therefore, are successful and warrant further study.

  1. Spontaneous fragmentation of an alpha-active ceramic: a mechanism for dispersion of solid waste

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clinard, F.W. Jr.; Rohr, D.L.

    1980-01-01

    Studies underway to characterize spontaneous fragmentation in 238 PuO 2 and to determine the mechanism(s) responsible are reported. Results reported here show that: spontaneous fragmentation of 238 PuO 2 generates a wide range of particle sizes, from a few mm to 1000 A or less; the phenomenon may continue with time or may saturate, depending on starting material; the magnitude of the effect is dependent on storage environment. Neither thermal stresses nor lattice damage appear to be solely responsible for fragmentation, but radiolysis of the environment could play an important role. Work is continuing in an effort to identify the controlling factors in this phenomenon

  2. Saúde mental e trabalho: os problemas que persistem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leny Sato

    Full Text Available Este artigo toma por objeto a Saúde Mental e Trabalho como uma subárea do campo da Saúde do Trabalhador. Parte da constatação de que os problemas de saúde mental e trabalho, já identificados em meados da década de 1980, persistem. Após retomar a taxonomia de tais problemas, busca evidenciar algumas de suas expressões atuais a partir da assistência e da vigilância em saúde do trabalhador, bem como pela perspectiva de alguns sindicatos mais atentos à questão. Para tal, toma como ponto de partida o Centro de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador (CRST de Campinas. Por fim, pontua algumas características do trabalho no contexto atual para compreender as motivações dessa persistência.

  3. Liver transplantation nearly normalizes brain spontaneous activity and cognitive function at 1 month: a resting-state functional MRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Yue; Huang, Lixiang; Zhang, Xiaodong; Zhong, Jianhui; Ji, Qian; Xie, Shuangshuang; Chen, Lihua; Zuo, Panli; Zhang, Long Jiang; Shen, Wen

    2015-08-01

    To investigate the short-term brain activity changes in cirrhotic patients with Liver transplantation (LT) using resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) with regional homogeneity (ReHo) method. Twenty-six cirrhotic patients as transplant candidates and 26 healthy controls were included in this study. The assessment was repeated for a sub-group of 12 patients 1 month after LT. ReHo values were calculated to evaluate spontaneous brain activity and whole brain voxel-wise analysis was carried to detect differences between groups. Correlation analyses were performed to explore the relationship between the change of ReHo with the change of clinical indexes pre- and post-LT. Compared to pre-LT, ReHo values increased in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), right inferior parietal lobule (IPL), right supplementary motor area (SMA), right STG and left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) in patients post-LT. Compared to controls, ReHo values of post-LT patients decreased in the right precuneus, right SMA and increased in bilateral temporal pole, left caudate, left MFG, and right STG. The changes of ReHo in the right SMA, STG and IFG were correlated with change of digit symbol test (DST) scores (P brain activity of most brain regions with decreased ReHo in pre-LT was substantially improved and nearly normalized, while spontaneous brain activity of some brain regions with increased ReHo in pre-LT continuously increased. ReHo may provide information on the neural mechanisms of LT' effects on brain function.

  4. Environmental management system implantation and certification in E and P activities: the Perez Companc S.A. experience, Argentina; Implementacion y certificacion de sistemas de gestion ambiental en actividades de E y P: la experiencia de Perez Companc S.A.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levin, M.; Fasano, Jorge [Perez Companc S.A., Buenos Aires (Argentina)

    1998-07-01

    This work describes the programme and activities for the implementation of Environmental Management Systems in three E and P oil fields operated by Perez Companc S.A. in Argentina. This programme started on June 1995 and the Certificates, for both BS 7750 and ISO 14001 Standards, were obtained on February 1997. The whole implementation process was divided in four main steps, and main activities within each one is described. Manager's commitment and intensive training are seen as fundamental aspects to guarantee the development of the Systems. Main documentation, relates to Environmental Impacts Record, Applicable Legislation Record, System and Operational Control Procedures, Environmental Management Manual and Contingency Plans. (author)

  5. Spontaneous arylation of activated carbon from aminobenzene organic acids as source of diazonium ions in mild conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebègue, Estelle; Brousse, Thierry; Gaubicher, Joël; Cougnon, Charles

    2013-01-01

    Activated carbon products modified with benzoic, benzenesulfonic and benzylphosphonic acid groups were prepared by spontaneous reduction of aryldiazonium ions in situ generated in water from the corresponding aminobenzene organic acids without addition of an external acid. Electrochemistry and NMR studies show that the advancement of the diazotization reaction depends both on the acidity and the electronic effect of the organic acid substituent, giving a mixture of diazonium, amine and triazene functionalities. Carbon products prepared by reaction of activated carbon Norit with 4-aminobenzenecarboxylic acid, 4-aminobenzenesulfonic acid and (4-aminobenzyl)phosphonic acid were analyzed by chemical elemental analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments. Results show that this strategy is well suited for the chemical functionalization, giving a maximized grafting yield due to a chemical cooperation of amine and diazonium functionalities

  6. Population calcium imaging of spontaneous respiratory and novel motor activity in the facial nucleus and ventral brainstem in newborn mice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Persson, Karin; Rekling, Jens C

    2011-01-01

    The brainstem contains rhythm and pattern forming circuits, which drive cranial and spinal motor pools to produce respiratory and other motor patterns. Here we used calcium imaging combined with nerve recordings in newborn mice to reveal spontaneous population activity in the ventral brainstem...... and in the facial nucleus. In Fluo-8AM loaded brainstem-spinal cord preparations, respiratory activity on cervical nerves was synchronized with calcium signals at the ventrolateral brainstem surface. Individual ventrolateral neurons at the level of the parafacial respiratory group showed perfect or partial...... synchrony with respiratory nerve bursts. In brainstem-spinal cord preparations, cut at the level of the mid-facial nucleus, calcium signals were recorded in the dorsal, lateral and medial facial subnuclei during respiratory activity. Strong activity initiated in the dorsal subnucleus, followed by activity...

  7. R4SA for Controlling Robots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghazarian, Hrand

    2009-01-01

    The R4SA GUI mentioned in the immediately preceding article is a userfriendly interface for controlling one or more robot(s). This GUI makes it possible to perform meaningful real-time field experiments and research in robotics at an unmatched level of fidelity, within minutes of setup. It provides such powerful graphing modes as that of a digitizing oscilloscope that displays up to 250 variables at rates between 1 and 200 Hz. This GUI can be configured as multiple intuitive interfaces for acquisition of data, command, and control to enable rapid testing of subsystems or an entire robot system while simultaneously performing analysis of data. The R4SA software establishes an intuitive component-based design environment that can be easily reconfigured for any robotic platform by creating or editing setup configuration files. The R4SA GUI enables event-driven and conditional sequencing similar to those of Mars Exploration Rover (MER) operations. It has been certified as part of the MER ground support equipment and, therefore, is allowed to be utilized in conjunction with MER flight hardware. The R4SA GUI could also be adapted to use in embedded computing systems, other than that of the MER, for commanding and real-time analysis of data.

  8. The changes of spontaneous motility in chick embryos after blockade of NO-synthase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sedlácek, J

    1996-01-01

    The consequences of the blockade of NO-synthase (NOS) for the development, frequency and reactivity of spontaneous motility were investigated in chick embryos aged 4-19 day of incubation. 1. Acute NOS blockade evoked by N-nitro-L-arginine- methylester (L-NAME) (20 mg/kg egg weight-e.w.) caused on day 17 of incubation the short-lasting depression of spontaneous motility to 50% of resting motor activity. L-NAME was in spinal embryos without any effect. Chronic application of L-NAME (1.70 mg/kg e.w./24 h) from day 4 of incubation led after the first 4 days of continual supply to the development of reduced spontaneous motility on one hand, on the other hand it changed the efficacy of central activatory (NMDA, pentylenetetrazole) and inhibitory drugs (ketamine, glycine). L-NAME and L-arginine in different mutual combinations manifested in 17-day-old embryos their typical effect, though the depressory effect of L-NAME took a swifter course than the activatory effect of L-arginine. 2. Aminoguanidine (AmG) (9.8 and 20 mg/kg e.w.) evoked from day 17 of incubation the significant biphasic change of spontaneous motility only: initial depression was replaced by later activation. AmG was in spinal embryos without effect again. Chronic application of AmG (5.29 +/- 0.51 mg/kg e.w./24 h) showed in 17-day-old embryos a reduction of resting motility dependent on the duration of AmG influence during incubation. Another expression was the changed reactivity of spontaneous motility to some centrally effective drugs (ketamine, NMDA, D-cycloserine, glycine, pentylenetetrazole). 3. 7-nitroindazole (7-NIZ) (15 and 30 mg/kg e.w.) caused the significant decrease of spontaneous motility in chick embryos already from day 15 of incubation; the depression after the lower dosis had an interrupted course, whereas after the higher dosis it was a continuous one. 7-NIZ blocked in 17-day-old embryos the activatory effect of L-arginine, reduced the paroxysmal activation of motility evoked by NMDA and

  9. Locomotor activity and catecholamine receptor binding in adult normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hellstrand, K.; Engel, J.

    1980-01-01

    The binding of 3 H-WB 4101, an α 1 -adrenoceptor antagonist, the membranes of the cerebral cortex, the hypothalamus, and the lower brainstem was examined in adult spontaneously hypertensive (SH) rats and in normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WK) controls. The specific binding of 3 H-WB 4101 (0.33 nM) was significantly higher in homogenates from the cerebral cortex of SH rats as compared to WK rats. No differences were detected between SH and WK rats in the specific binding of 3 H-spiroperidol (0.25 nM), a dopamine receptor antagonist, to membranes from the corpus striatum and the limbic forebrain. The locomotor activity was significantly higher in SH rats as compared to WK controls, in all probability due to a lack of habituation to environmental change. It is suggested that the high reactivity of SH rats is related to a disfunction in the noradrenergic neurons in the central nervous system. (author)

  10. Localization of spontaneous bursting neuronal activity in the preterm human brain with simultaneous EEG-fMRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arichi, Tomoki; Whitehead, Kimberley; Barone, Giovanni; Pressler, Ronit; Padormo, Francesco; Edwards, A David; Fabrizi, Lorenzo

    2017-09-12

    Electroencephalographic recordings from the developing human brain are characterized by spontaneous neuronal bursts, the most common of which is the delta brush. Although similar events in animal models are known to occur in areas of immature cortex and drive their development, their origin in humans has not yet been identified. Here, we use simultaneous EEG-fMRI to localise the source of delta brush events in 10 preterm infants aged 32-36 postmenstrual weeks. The most frequent patterns were left and right posterior-temporal delta brushes which were associated in the left hemisphere with ipsilateral BOLD activation in the insula only; and in the right hemisphere in both the insular and temporal cortices. This direct measure of neural and hemodynamic activity shows that the insula, one of the most densely connected hubs in the developing cortex, is a major source of the transient bursting events that are critical for brain maturation.

  11. Saúde e meio ambiente nas cidades: os desafios da saúde ambiental

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelson Gouveia

    1999-02-01

    Full Text Available Dentro de alguns poucos anos, nosso planeta contará com mais habitantes em áreas urbanas do que em áreas rurais. A urbanização desenfreada, sem mecanismos regulatórios e de controle, típica dos países periféricos, trouxe consigo enormes repercussões na saúde da população. Problemas como a insuficiência dos serviços básicos de saneamento, coleta e destinação adequada do lixo e condições precárias de moradia, tradicionalmente relacionados com a pobreza e o subdesenvolvimento, somam-se agora à poluição química e física do ar, da água e da terra, problemas ambientais antes considerados "modernos". Novamente, é sobre as populações mais carentes que recai a maior parte dos efeitos negativos da urbanização, gerando uma situação de extrema desigualdade e iniqüidade ambiental e em saúde. Para reverter esse quadro é preciso que haja uma reincorporação das questões do meio ambiente nas políticas de saúde, e a integração dos objetivos da saúde ambiental numa ampla estratégia de desenvolvimento sustentável. Uma abordagem mais integrada, com mecanismos intersetoriais que possibilitem um diálogo amplo entre as partes, trará enormes benefícios na conquista de melhores condições de vida nas cidades. A saúde ambiental hoje tem o desafio de promover uma melhor qualidade de vida e saúde nas cidades e a oportunidade de enfrentar o absurdo quadro de exclusão social, sob a perspectiva da eqüidade.In a matter of few years there will be more urban than rural dwellers worldwide. The rapid urbanisation lacking adequate control and regulatory mechanisms typical of developing countries, brought along huge effects to the health of the population Environmental problems traditionally related to poverty and underdevelopment such as insufficient provision of sanitation services, waste collection and disposal, and precarious housing conditions, are now added to environmental problems considered of "modern life" such as the

  12. Role of spontaneous physical activity in prediction of susceptibility to activity based anorexia in male and female rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perez-Leighton, Claudio E; Grace, Martha; Billington, Charles J; Kotz, Catherine M

    2014-08-01

    Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a chronic eating disorder affecting females and males, defined by body weight loss, higher physical activity levels and restricted food intake. Currently, the commonalities and differences between genders in etiology of AN are not well understood. Animal models of AN, such as activity-based anorexia (ABA), can be helpful in identifying factors determining individual susceptibility to AN. In ABA, rodents are given an access to a running wheel while food restricted, resulting in paradoxical increased physical activity levels and weight loss. Recent studies suggest that different behavioral traits, including voluntary exercise, can predict individual weight loss in ABA. A higher inherent drive for movement may promote development and severity of AN, but this hypothesis remains untested. In rodents and humans, drive for movement is defined as spontaneous physical activity (SPA), which is time spent in low-intensity, non-volitional movements. In this paper, we show that a profile of body weight history and behavioral traits, including SPA, can predict individual weight loss caused by ABA in male and female rats with high accuracy. Analysis of the influence of SPA on ABA susceptibility in males and females rats suggests that either high or low levels of SPA increase the probability of high weight loss in ABA, but with larger effects in males compared to females. These results suggest that the same behavioral profile can identify individuals at-risk of AN for both male and female populations and that SPA has predictive value for susceptibility to AN. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. O conceito de saúde: ponto-cego da epidemiologia?

    OpenAIRE

    Almeida Filho,Naomar de

    2000-01-01

    O trabalho faz uma avaliação da proposição de que o conceito de 'saúde' constitui um ponto-cego para a ciência epidemiológica, postulando que não há base lógica para uma definição negativa da Saúde, tanto no nível individual quanto no coletivo. Também analisa brevemente as tentativas de produzir uma "epidemiologia da saúde" em bases simétricas à epidemiologia dos riscos, bem como as abordagens econométricas que reforçam e complementam o repertório epidemiológico destinado à medida da saúde. F...

  14. Spontaneous rib fractures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katrancioglu, Ozgur; Akkas, Yucel; Arslan, Sulhattin; Sahin, Ekber

    2015-07-01

    Other than trauma, rib fracture can occur spontaneously due to a severe cough or sneeze. In this study, patients with spontaneous rib fractures were analyzed according to age, sex, underlying pathology, treatment, and complications. Twelve patients who presented between February 2009 and February 2011 with spontaneous rib fracture were reviewed retrospectively. The patients' data were evaluated according to anamnesis, physical examination, and chest radiographs. The ages of the patients ranged from 34 to 77 years (mean 55.91 ± 12.20 years), and 7 (58.4%) were male. All patients had severe cough and chest pain. The fractures were most frequently between 4th and 9th ribs; multiple rib fractures were detected in 5 (41.7%) patients. Eight (66.7%) patients had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 2 (16.7%) had bronchial asthma, and 2 (16.7%) had osteoporosis. Bone densitometry revealed a high risk of bone fracture in all patients. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or bronchial asthma had been treated with high-dose steroids for over a year. Spontaneous rib fracture due to severe cough may occur in patients with osteoporosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or bronchial asthma, receiving long-term steroid therapy. If these patients have severe chest pain, chest radiography should be performed to check for bone lesions. © The Author(s) 2015.

  15. Spontaneous and visually-driven high-frequency oscillations in the occipital cortex: Intracranial recording in epileptic patients

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagasawa, Tetsuro; Juhász, Csaba; Rothermel, Robert; Hoechstetter, Karsten; Sood, Sandeep; Asano, Eishi

    2011-01-01

    SUMMARY High-frequency oscillations (HFOs) at ≧80 Hz of nonepileptic nature spontaneously emerge from human cerebral cortex. In 10 patients with extra-occipital lobe epilepsy, we compared the spectral-spatial characteristics of HFOs spontaneously arising from the nonepileptic occipital cortex with those of HFOs driven by a visual task as well as epileptogenic HFOs arising from the extra-occipital seizure focus. We identified spontaneous HFOs at ≧80 Hz with a mean duration of 330 msec intermittently emerging from the occipital cortex during interictal slow-wave sleep. The spectral frequency band of spontaneous occipital HFOs was similar to that of visually-driven HFOs. Spontaneous occipital HFOs were spatially sparse and confined to smaller areas, whereas visually-driven HFOs involved the larger areas including the more rostral sites. Neither spectral frequency band nor amplitude of spontaneous occipital HFOs significantly differed from those of epileptogenic HFOs. Spontaneous occipital HFOs were strongly locked to the phase of delta activity, but the strength of delta-phase coupling decayed from 1 to 3 Hz. Conversely, epileptogenic extra-occipital HFOs were locked to the phase of delta activity about equally in the range from 1 to 3 Hz. The occipital cortex spontaneously generates physiological HFOs which may stand out on electrocorticography traces as prominently as pathological HFOs arising from elsewhere; this observation should be taken into consideration during presurgical evaluation. Coupling of spontaneous delta and HFOs may increase the understanding of significance of delta-oscillations during slow-wave sleep. Further studies are warranted to determine whether delta-phase coupling distinguishes physiological from pathological HFOs or simply differs across anatomical locations. PMID:21432945

  16. Body Mass Index and spontaneous miscarriage.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Turner, Michael J

    2012-02-01

    OBJECTIVE: We compared the incidence of spontaneous miscarriage in women categorised as obese, based on a Body Mass Index (BMI) >29.9 kg\\/m(2), with women in other BMI categories. STUDY DESIGN: In a prospective observational study conducted in a university teaching hospital, women were enrolled at their convenience in the first trimester after a sonogram confirmed an ongoing singleton pregnancy with fetal heart activity present. Maternal height and weight were measured digitally and BMI calculated. Maternal body composition was measured by advanced bioelectrical impedance analysis. RESULTS: In 1200 women, the overall miscarriage rate was 2.8% (n=33). The mean gestational age at enrolment was 9.9 weeks. In the obese category (n=217), the miscarriage rate was 2.3% compared with 3.3% in the overweight category (n=329), and 2.3% in the normal BMI group (n=621). There was no difference in the mean body composition parameters, particularly fat mass parameters, between those women who miscarried and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: In women with sonographic evidence of fetal heart activity in the first trimester, the rate of spontaneous miscarriage is low and is not increased in women with BMI>29.9 kg\\/m(2) compared to women in the normal BMI category.

  17. Desenvolvimento econômico, desigualdade e saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prata Pedro Reginaldo

    1994-01-01

    Full Text Available O autor se refere a dimensão socioeconômica, individual e coletiva do fenômeno saúde-doença. Refere-se também ao fato das populações estarem sobre a influência desigual de fatores de risco e de proteção à saúde. Discute as desigualdades no desenvolvimento e a relação entre desenvolvimento, riqueza, saúde e justiça social. Questiona as teorias de desenvolvimento econômico, diferenciando desenvolvimento de crescimento. Cunha os conceitos de armadilha do desenvolvimento e refugiados sociais. Define uma comunidade saudável. Propõe a necessidade de mudança no modelo de desenvolvimento. Baliza o papel e as limitações do setor saúde no que diz respeito a iniqüidade social.

  18. Spontaneous regression of retinopathy of prematurity:incidence and predictive factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui-Hong Ju

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available AIM:To evaluate the incidence of spontaneous regression of changes in the retina and vitreous in active stage of retinopathy of prematurity(ROP and identify the possible relative factors during the regression.METHODS: This was a retrospective, hospital-based study. The study consisted of 39 premature infants with mild ROP showed spontaneous regression (Group A and 17 with severe ROP who had been treated before naturally involuting (Group B from August 2008 through May 2011. Data on gender, single or multiple pregnancy, gestational age, birth weight, weight gain from birth to the sixth week of life, use of oxygen in mechanical ventilation, total duration of oxygen inhalation, surfactant given or not, need for and times of blood transfusion, 1,5,10-min Apgar score, presence of bacterial or fungal or combined infection, hyaline membrane disease (HMD, patent ductus arteriosus (PDA, duration of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU and duration of ROP were recorded.RESULTS: The incidence of spontaneous regression of ROP with stage 1 was 86.7%, and with stage 2, stage 3 was 57.1%, 5.9%, respectively. With changes in zone Ⅲ regression was detected 100%, in zoneⅡ 46.2% and in zoneⅠ 0%. The mean duration of ROP in spontaneous regression group was 5.65±3.14 weeks, lower than that of the treated ROP group (7.34±4.33 weeks, but this difference was not statistically significant (P=0.201. GA, 1min Apgar score, 5min Apgar score, duration of NICU stay, postnatal age of initial screening and oxygen therapy longer than 10 days were significant predictive factors for the spontaneous regression of ROP (P<0.05. Retinal hemorrhage was the only independent predictive factor the spontaneous regression of ROP (OR 0.030, 95%CI 0.001-0.775, P=0.035.CONCLUSION:This study showed most stage 1 and 2 ROP and changes in zone Ⅲ can spontaneously regression in the end. Retinal hemorrhage is weakly inversely associated with the spontaneous regression.

  19. Pesquisa em saúde, política de saúde e eqüidade na América Latina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto Pellegrini Filho

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available O autor analisa as relações entre pesquisa de saúde, políticas de saúde e eqüidade na América Latina. Descreve novas tendências no modo de produção do conhecimento, que permitem maior integração entre as necessidades sociais e a pesquisa, facilitando o vínculo entre esta e o processo de definição de políticas. Analisa as manifestações das novas tendências na América Latina e finaliza com a descrição de algumas iniciativas promovidas pela OPAS no sentido de aproveitar as oportunidades abertas pelas novas tendências para a melhoria das condições de saúde na região. Busca defender a tese de que a informação e o conhecimento são bens públicos essenciais e que as iniqüidades de acesso a esses bens são importantes determinantes das iniqüidades em saúde. Para que as políticas de saúde e as políticas de pesquisa em saúde se integrem e se consolidem como políticas públicas voltadas a atender ao interesse público e à promoção da eqüidade, é necessário o fortalecimento do processo democrático de definição das mesmas, multiplicando os atores envolvidos, os espaços e oportunidades de interação entre eles e instrumentando sua participação com o acesso eqüitativo a informações e conhecimentos científicos pertinentes que permitam a defesa fundamentada de seus interesses.

  20. Dentate gyrus mossy cells control spontaneous convulsive seizures and spatial memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bui, Anh D; Nguyen, Theresa M; Limouse, Charles; Kim, Hannah K; Szabo, Gergely G; Felong, Sylwia; Maroso, Mattia; Soltesz, Ivan

    2018-02-16

    Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) is characterized by debilitating, recurring seizures and an increased risk for cognitive deficits. Mossy cells (MCs) are key neurons in the hippocampal excitatory circuit, and the partial loss of MCs is a major hallmark of TLE. We investigated how MCs contribute to spontaneous ictal activity and to spatial contextual memory in a mouse model of TLE with hippocampal sclerosis, using a combination of optogenetic, electrophysiological, and behavioral approaches. In chronically epileptic mice, real-time optogenetic modulation of MCs during spontaneous hippocampal seizures controlled the progression of activity from an electrographic to convulsive seizure. Decreased MC activity is sufficient to impede encoding of spatial context, recapitulating observed cognitive deficits in chronically epileptic mice. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  1. Physical Activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Lars Bo; Anderssen, Sigmund Alfred; Wisløff, Ulrik

    2014-01-01

    Andersen LB, Anderssen SA, Wisløff U, Hellénius M-L, Fogelholm M, Ekelund U. (Expert Group) Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2012. Integrating nutrition and physical activity. Chapter: Physical Activity p. 195-217.Nordic Counsil of Ministers.......Andersen LB, Anderssen SA, Wisløff U, Hellénius M-L, Fogelholm M, Ekelund U. (Expert Group) Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2012. Integrating nutrition and physical activity. Chapter: Physical Activity p. 195-217.Nordic Counsil of Ministers....

  2. An investigation on thermal and friction effect produced by friction welding of SA 213 tube to SA 387 tube plate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Pandia Rajan

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The present study investigates the effect of thermal and friction produced in the tube to tube plate during the friction welding process by using a Tungsten carbide external tool. In this process, the fictional welding of SA 213 tube and SA 387 tube plate was done by using an external tool. Modeling of tool and wok piece is done by using Solid works and to study the thermal and frictional effect by using Ansys. In this research work, joining of SA 213 tube to SA 387 tube plate was done by using two different techniques such as with hole [WH] and without hole [WOH]. The stress value of with hole and without hole such as 18,782 MPa and 10,486 MPa respectively and the ultimate heat flux generated with hole and without hole such as 0.80475 W/mm2 and 1.1344 W/mm2 respectively were observed.

  3. Saúde ambiental : a articulação entre saúde e ambiente na política de saúde ambiental como estratégia de governo da população

    OpenAIRE

    Doris Soares Blessmann

    2010-01-01

    Esta dissertação apresenta uma discussão acerca de como uma política pública de saúde opera para a regulação de riscos ambientais que incidem sobre a população. Para tanto, examinei formulações inseridas na Política Nacional de Saúde Ambiental (PNSA) e da Vigilância Ambiental em Saúde (VAS). Ancorada nos pressupostos de Foucault, realizo dois movimentos de pesquisa. Numa perspectiva histórica, analiso as políticas mundiais e brasileiras implicadas na construção da VAS e da PNSA. Examino, a se...

  4. Fonoaudiologia em saúde pública

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Regina M. Freire

    1992-06-01

    Full Text Available Objetivou-se obter o entendimento das funções do fonoaudiólogo enquanto profissional da saúde. Discutem-se as dificuldades ligadas à implantação de um serviço novo, estranho às Unidades Básicas de Saúde. A seguir, analisa-se a demanda pelo serviço de Fonoaudiologia em postos de saúde, e verifica-se que 32% da população que busca esse serviço está em idade escolar e vem encaminhada pelas escolas, com queixa de problemas de aprendizagem. Uma aproximação maior dessas crianças, através do atendimento fonoaudiológico, delineia uma outra realidade: a de que não se pode considerar como distúrbio/desvio/problema/patologia marcas gráficas que se constituem como indícios do choque entre o processo de letramento e o de alfabetização. Entendendo a problemática do ponto de vista da saúde pública, propõe-se um programa de atendimento ao professor, cujo objetivo é o esclarecimento da escola com relação ao seu papel de co-construtora do processo de letramento da criança, devolvendo-lhe a responsabilidade pelo sucesso e/ou fracasso da alfabetização.

  5. Fonoaudiologia em saúde pública

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Freire Regina M.

    1992-01-01

    Full Text Available Objetivou-se obter o entendimento das funções do fonoaudiólogo enquanto profissional da saúde. Discutem-se as dificuldades ligadas à implantação de um serviço novo, estranho às Unidades Básicas de Saúde. A seguir, analisa-se a demanda pelo serviço de Fonoaudiologia em postos de saúde, e verifica-se que 32% da população que busca esse serviço está em idade escolar e vem encaminhada pelas escolas, com queixa de problemas de aprendizagem. Uma aproximação maior dessas crianças, através do atendimento fonoaudiológico, delineia uma outra realidade: a de que não se pode considerar como distúrbio/desvio/problema/patologia marcas gráficas que se constituem como indícios do choque entre o processo de letramento e o de alfabetização. Entendendo a problemática do ponto de vista da saúde pública, propõe-se um programa de atendimento ao professor, cujo objetivo é o esclarecimento da escola com relação ao seu papel de co-construtora do processo de letramento da criança, devolvendo-lhe a responsabilidade pelo sucesso e/ou fracasso da alfabetização.

  6. Kölliker’s Organ and the Development of Spontaneous Activity in the Auditory System: Implications for Hearing Dysfunction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. W. Nishani Dayaratne

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Prior to the “onset of hearing,” developing cochlear inner hair cells (IHCs and primary auditory neurons undergo experience-independent activity, which is thought to be important in retaining and refining neural connections in the absence of sound. One of the major hypotheses regarding the origin of such activity involves a group of columnar epithelial supporting cells forming Kölliker’s organ, which is only present during this critical period of auditory development. There is strong evidence for a purinergic signalling mechanism underlying such activity. ATP released through connexin hemichannels may activate P2 purinergic receptors in both Kölliker’s organ and the adjacent IHCs, leading to generation of electrical activity throughout the auditory system. However, recent work has suggested an alternative origin, by demonstrating the ability of IHCs to generate this spontaneous activity without activation by ATP. Regardless, developmental abnormalities of Kölliker’s organ may lead to congenital hearing loss, considering that mutations in ion channels (hemichannels, gap junctions, and calcium channels involved in Kölliker’s organ activity share strong links with such types of deafness.

  7. Spontaneous tension haemopneumothorax.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, Benjamin Oliver; Itam, Sarah; Probst, Fey

    2008-10-31

    We present a patient with sudden onset progressive shortness of breath and no history of trauma, who rapidly became haemodynamically compromised with a pneumothorax and pleural effusion seen on chest radiograph. He was treated for spontaneous tension pneumothorax but this was soon revealed to be a tension haemopneumothorax. He underwent urgent thoracotomy after persistent bleeding to explore an apical vascular abnormality seen on CT scanning. To our knowledge this is the first such case reported.Aetiology and current approach to spontaneous haemothorax are discussed briefly.

  8. Spontaneous locomotor activity correlates with the degranulation of mast cells in the meninges rather than in the thalamus: disruptive effect of cocaine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Alice A; Thomas, Mark J; McElhose, Alex; Kovács, Katalin J

    2011-06-13

    Mast cells are located in the central nervous system (CNS) of many mammals and stress induces their degranulation. We postulated that mast cells are associated with wakefulness and stimulatory tone in the CNS, as reflected by spontaneous motor activity. Because stress also precipitates drug-seeking behavior in cocaine addicts, we also postulated that cocaine manifests its effects through this relationship. We investigated the influence of single and repeated injections of cocaine on circulating corticosterone, motor activity and degranulation of mast cells in both the thalamus and meninges of mice. Mice were subjected to 5 consecutive days of cocaine or saline followed by a single injection of cocaine or saline 11 days later. Spontaneous locomotor activity was measure for 1h after the final injection before death. Neither a single injection nor prior treatment with cocaine increased motor activity compared to saline-injected controls, however, repeated administration of cocaine induced a significant sensitization to its behavioral effect when delivered 11 days later. In mice that received only saline, motor activity correlated positively with mast cell degranulation in the meninges but not in the thalamus. Cocaine, regardless of the treatment schedule, disrupted this correlation. The concentration of corticosterone did not differ amongst groups and did not correlate with either behavior or mast cell parameters in any group. The correlation between behavioral activity and the mast cell degranulation in the meninges suggests that these parameters are linked. The disruptive effect of cocaine on this relationship indicates a role downstream from mast cells in the regulation of motor activity. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Intake of probiotic food and risk of spontaneous preterm delivery123

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myhre, Ronny; Brantsæter, Anne Lise; Myking, Solveig; Gjessing, Håkon Kristian; Sengpiel, Verena; Meltzer, Helle Margrete; Haugen, Margaretha; Jacobsson, Bo

    2011-01-01

    Background: Preterm delivery represents a substantial problem in perinatal medicine worldwide. Current knowledge on potential influences of probiotics in food on pregnancy complications caused by microbes is limited. Objective: We hypothesized that intake of food with probiotics might reduce pregnancy complications caused by pathogenic microorganisms and, through this, reduce the risk of spontaneous preterm delivery. Design: This study was performed in the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort on the basis of answers to a food-frequency questionnaire. We studied intake of milk-based products containing probiotic lactobacilli and spontaneous preterm delivery by using a prospective cohort study design (n = 950 cases and 17,938 controls) for the pregnancy outcome of spontaneous preterm delivery (<37 gestational weeks). Analyses were adjusted for the covariates of parity, maternal educational level, and physical activity. Results: Pregnancies that resulted in spontaneous preterm delivery were associated with any intake of milk-based probiotic products in an adjusted model [odds ratio (OR): 0.857; 95% CI: 0.741, 0.992]. By categorizing intake into none, low, and high intakes of the milk-based probiotic products, a significant association was observed for high intake (OR: 0.820; 95% CI: 0.681, 0.986). Conclusion: Women who reported habitual intake of probiotic dairy products had a reduced risk of spontaneous preterm delivery. PMID:20980489

  10. O complexo industrial da saúde e a necessidade de um enfoque dinâmico na economia da saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Augusto Grabois Gadelha

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available O artigo desenvolve um enfoque analítico voltado para o estudo do complexo industrial da saúde, englobando o conjunto das atividades produtivas e suas relações de interdependência, segundo uma perspectiva de economia política e da inovação. A lógica empresarial capitalista penetra em todos os segmentos produtivos, envolvendo tanto as indústrias que já operavam tradicionalmente nessas bases quanto segmentos que possuíam formas de organização em que era possível verificar a convivência de lógicas empresariais com outras que dela se afastavam, como a produção de vacinas e produtos biológicos, fitoderivados e a prestação de serviços de saúde. O artigo analisa a interação entre o sistema de saúde e o sistema econômico-industrial, mostrando como tem havido uma dicotomia na relação entre ambos, que se exprime na deterioração do potencial de inovação do país e numa crescente e preocupante vulnerabilidade externa da política de saúde. Sugere-se que o enfoque neoclássico tradicional da economia da saúde é insuficiente para tratar do complexo industrial da saúde, dada a intensidade do processo de mudança estrutural, e a necessidade de um enfoque teórico alternativo que incorpore a dinâmica de transformação econômica e institucional, de acumulação e de inovação.

  11. O conceito de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Segre Marco

    1997-01-01

    Full Text Available Questiona-se a atual definição de saúde da Organização Mundial da Saúde: "situação de perfeito bem-estar físico, mental e social" da pessoa, considerada ultrapassada, primeiramente, por visar a uma perfeição inatingível, atentando-se as próprias características da personalidade. Menciona-se como principal sustentação dessa idéia, a renúncia necessária a parte da liberdade pulsional do homem, em troca da menor insegurança propiciada pelo convívio social. Discute-se a validade da distincão entre soma, psique e sociedade, esposando o conceito de homem "integrado", e registrando situações em que a interação entre os três aspectos citados é absolutamente cristalina. É revista a noção de qualidade de vida sob um vértice antipositivista. Essa priorização e proposta de resgate do subjetivismo, reverte a um questionamento da atual definição de saúde, toda ela embasada em avaliações externas, "objetivas", dessa situação.

  12. O conceito de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Segre

    1997-10-01

    Full Text Available Questiona-se a atual definição de saúde da Organização Mundial da Saúde: "situação de perfeito bem-estar físico, mental e social" da pessoa, considerada ultrapassada, primeiramente, por visar a uma perfeição inatingível, atentando-se as próprias características da personalidade. Menciona-se como principal sustentação dessa idéia, a renúncia necessária a parte da liberdade pulsional do homem, em troca da menor insegurança propiciada pelo convívio social. Discute-se a validade da distincão entre soma, psique e sociedade, esposando o conceito de homem "integrado", e registrando situações em que a interação entre os três aspectos citados é absolutamente cristalina. É revista a noção de qualidade de vida sob um vértice antipositivista. Essa priorização e proposta de resgate do subjetivismo, reverte a um questionamento da atual definição de saúde, toda ela embasada em avaliações externas, "objetivas", dessa situação.

  13. IkusaSA. Integrated Assessment for Sustainability

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Scholes, RJ

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available , have intended and unintended consequences across a range of important issues. The IkusaSA model system comprises: ? A South African national IAM nested within one or more ?state-of-the-art? global IAMs that predict trade, climate change and human... the country and internationally. The IkusaSA mission is to establish Integrated Assessment Modeling (IAM) in South Africa. The goal is to put in place the tools for an integrated planning approach and provide effective information sharing mechanisms...

  14. Kefir ve Sağlık

    OpenAIRE

    DAYISOYLU, Kenan Sinan; KÖROĞLU, Özge; BAKIR, Esra; ULUDAĞ, Günsel; KÖROĞLU, Sedat

    2015-01-01

    Özet: Son yıllarda toplumlar beslenme konusunda giderek daha bilinçli hale gelmektedir. Beslenme konusunda temel talep olan sağlıklı ve güvenli gıdalar tüketebilme isteğinin yanında; insan sağlığına ek faydalar sağlayan, hastalıklardan koruma potansiyeli olan ve fonksiyonel gıda olarak adlandırılan ürünlere ulaşma isteği de giderek artmaktadır. Kefir, fonksiyonel gıdalardan probiyotikler alt kolunun önemli bir üyesi olup, içeriğinde birçok faydalı maya ve bakteri bulunduran, son yıllarda popü...

  15. Letramento funcional em saúde: reflexões e conceitos sobre seu impacto na interação entre usuários, profissionais e sistema de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria da Penha Baião Passamai

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Letramento funcional em saúde (LFS é o grau pelo qual os indivíduos têm a capacidade para obter, processar e entender informações básicas e serviços necessários para a tomada de decisões adequadas em saúde. O tema preocupa pesquisadores/profissionais da saúde/formuladores de políticas públicas. Sua natureza interdisciplinar, relacional e interacional indica que o LFS sofre a influência dos sistemas de saúde/educacional, mídia, família, ambiente de trabalho/comunidade/decisão política. Analisam-se conceitos de LFS versus interação usuários-profissionais-sistema de saúde, norteando-se pelas questões: Em que consiste o LFS? Em que medida interfere na comunicação entre usuários, profissionais e sistema de saúde? Quais são suas consequências na saúde pública? Medidas para elevação do LFS devem melhorar as competências individuais e serviços de saúde humanizados, aperfeiçoando suas comunicações, escritas/orais, satisfazendo as necessidades/habilidades dos usuários.

  16. Inhibin A and B in adolescents and young adults with Turner's syndrome and no sign of spontaneous puberty

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gravholt, C.H.; Næraa, R.W.; Andersson, A.M.

    2002-01-01

    The aim of this study was to assess levels of inhibin A and B, FSH and LH in Turner's syndrome (TS) without signs of spontaneous ovarian activity.......The aim of this study was to assess levels of inhibin A and B, FSH and LH in Turner's syndrome (TS) without signs of spontaneous ovarian activity....

  17. Quality and efficiency of the procurement activities for nuclear program developed within S.N. Nuclearelectrica SA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vatamanu, Mariana; Florescu, Nicolae

    2004-01-01

    prepared on basis of Romanian and international quality standards, in order to ensure a safe operation of the NPPs with a low impact on the environment and population. As an answer to the challenge of the increasing market globalization the ISO quality system, within 9000 family of standards has been developed. The very intensive competition for all market clients, either locally or globally, encouraged a very intensive development of quality requirements and, as consequence, a new concept of quality management systems was developed. The development, construction and operation of a Nuclear Power Plant shall be performed in controlled conditions, based on specific authorizations obtained by the Owner of the NPP from the Romanian Nuclear Regulatory Authorities - National Commission for Nuclear Activities - CNCAN. SN Nuclearelectrica SA - as owner of the Cernavoda NPPs 5 x 700 MW Candu 6 units is responsible for compliance with all the rules of the project development, construction and operation of Cernavoda NPP. The success of operation of a NPP depends by qualification of the operational personnel, quality of operating documentation, and quality of equipment/components installed in the field. It is mandatory that any organizations involved in developing, construction, commissioning and operation of a NPP to perform their activities on the basis of a Quality Management System. Quality Management System as per standard definition provided by ISO 9000/2000 is a set of interrelated or interacting elements needed in establishing the policy and objectives as well as in achieving those objectives. The experience acquired in 8 years of operation of Cernavoda NPP U1 demonstrates that the quality of the items installed on the plant is essential for safe operation. The quality of the items depends strongly by the procurement system established for purchasing goods and services. In order to manage the execution of the internal and international rules related to safety requirements and

  18. SA Journal of Radiology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SA Journal of Radiology. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 19, No 2 (2015) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  19. SA Journal of Radiology

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    SA Journal of Radiology. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 21, No 1 (2017) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads.

  20. Draft Genome Sequence of the Plant Growth–Promoting Rhizobacterium Acinetobacter radioresistens Strain SA188 Isolated from the Desert Plant Indigofera argentea

    KAUST Repository

    Lafi, Feras Fawzi; Alam, Intikhab; Bisseling, Ton; Geurts, Rene; Bajic, Vladimir B.; Hirt, Heribert; Saad, Maged

    2017-01-01

    Acinetobacter radioresistens strain SA188 is a plant endophytic bacterium, isolated from root nodules of the desert plants Indigofera spp., collected in Jizan, Saudi Arabia. Here, we report the 3.2-Mb draft genome sequence of strain SA188, highlighting characteristic pathways for plant growth–promoting activity and environmental adaptation.

  1. Draft Genome Sequence of the Plant Growth–Promoting Rhizobacterium Acinetobacter radioresistens Strain SA188 Isolated from the Desert Plant Indigofera argentea

    KAUST Repository

    Lafi, Feras Fawzi

    2017-03-03

    Acinetobacter radioresistens strain SA188 is a plant endophytic bacterium, isolated from root nodules of the desert plants Indigofera spp., collected in Jizan, Saudi Arabia. Here, we report the 3.2-Mb draft genome sequence of strain SA188, highlighting characteristic pathways for plant growth–promoting activity and environmental adaptation.

  2. Potential of Lactobacillus reuteri from Spontaneous Sourdough as a Starter Additive for Improving Quality Parameters of Bread

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lina Vaičiulytė-Funk

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Retardation of microbial spoilage of bread can be achieved by the use of spontaneous sourdough with an antimicrobial activity. This study was undertaken to identify lactic acid bacteria naturally occurring in spontaneous sourdough and use them for quality improvement and prolonging shelf life of rye, wheat and rye with wheat bread. Identification of isolates from spontaneous sourdough by pyrosequencing assay showed that Lactobacillus reuteri were dominant lactic acid bacteria. The isolates showed a wide range of antimicrobial activity and displayed a synergistic activity against other lactobacilli, some lactococci and foodborne yeasts. The best application of spontaneous sourdough was noticed in the rye bread with the lowest crumb fi rmness of the fi nal product, although the sensory results of wheat and rye with wheat bread did not statistically diff er from control bread. L. reuteri showed a high preserving capacity against fungi during storage. This may be due to bacteriocins and various fatty acids secreted into the growth medium that were identified by agar well diffusion assay and gas chromatography. L. reuteri showing high antimicrobial activity have the potential to be used as a starter additive that could improve safety and/or shelf life of bread.

  3. Spontaneous tension haemopneumothorax

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Itam Sarah

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract We present a patient with sudden onset progressive shortness of breath and no history of trauma, who rapidly became haemodynamically compromised with a pneumothorax and pleural effusion seen on chest radiograph. He was treated for spontaneous tension pneumothorax but this was soon revealed to be a tension haemopneumothorax. He underwent urgent thoracotomy after persistent bleeding to explore an apical vascular abnormality seen on CT scanning. To our knowledge this is the first such case reported. Aetiology and current approach to spontaneous haemothorax are discussed briefly.

  4. Novel Target for Ameliorating Pain and Other Problems after SCI: Spontaneous Activity in Nociceptors

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-10-01

    tetrodotoxin-sensitive inward current) carried by Nav1.8 channels. Importantly, we confirmed that Nav1.8 knockdown eliminated the increase in persistent SA...Wei, P., Zhan, S., Zhang, S., McDougall , J.J., King, O.D., Mogil, J.S., 2011. The Rat Grimace Scale: a partially automated method for quantifying pain

  5. Spontaneous compactification to homogeneous spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mourao, J.M.

    1988-01-01

    The spontaneous compactification of extra dimensions to compact homogeneous spaces is studied. The methods developed within the framework of coset space dimensional reduction scheme and the most general form of invariant metrics are used to find solutions of spontaneous compactification equations

  6. Coesão familiar associada à saúde bucal, fatores socioeconômicos e comportamentos em saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luale Leão Ferreira

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Pesquisas sobre saúde geral têm relacionado coesão familiar a fatores socioeconômicos e comportamentais. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a associação entre coesão familiar e fatores socioeconômicos, comportamentais e de saúde bucal. Este foi um estudo transversal com amostra por conglomerados em dois estágios. A amostra randomizada de 524 adolescentes era proveniente de escolas públicas da cidade de Piracicaba-SP. As variáveis foram avaliadas por questionários autoaplicáveis e os dados de saúde bucal, pelos índices CPO e CPI. A coesão familiar percebida pelo adolescente foi avaliada por meio da escala de adaptabilidade e coesão familiar. Análise univariada e regressão logística multinominal mostraram que adolescentes com baixa coesão familiar apresentaram mais chance de terem baixa renda (OR 2,28 IC95% 1,14-4,55, presença de cárie (OR 2,23 IC95% 1,21-4,09 e baixa frequência de escovação diária (OR 1,91 IC95% 1,03-3,54. Adolescentes com alta coesão familiar apresentaram mais chance que adolescentes com média coesão de terem alta renda e fator de proteção contra o hábito de tabagismo. Desta forma, a coesão familiar percebida pelo adolescente associou-se com variáveis comportamentais, socioeconômicas e de saúde bucal, indicando a importância de uma abordagem integral da saúde do paciente.

  7. Conferências Locais de Saúde de Belo Horizonte: dinâmica, efetividade e contribuições para o Plano Municipal de Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Maria Caldeira Oliveira

    Full Text Available RESUMO O objetivo do estudo é analisar a dinâmica e a efetividade das Conferências Locais de Saúde (CLS, realizadas nas Unidades Básicas de Saúde. O estudo ocorreu durante a XII Conferência Municipal de Saúde em outubro de 2013. Foram utilizadas as técnicas de pesquisa de observação participante e análise documental. Verificou-se que as CLS são realizadas de portas abertas, não existindo um número predeterminado de participantes. Além disso, todos têm direito a voz e voto. O estudo conclui pela efetividade das CLS, pois possibilita a discussão das necessidades de saúde pelos usuários, trabalhadores e gestores na atenção primária, legitimando as decisões políticas, assegurando o direito à saúde.

  8. Quality control and biophysical characterisation data of VanSA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.S. Hughes

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available This data article presents the results from quality control experiments including N-terminal sequencing, SEC-MALS and Mass Spectrometry for purified VanSA used in experiments described in (Hughes et al., 2017 [1]; in addition to ligand interaction measurements and thermal melting curves of VanSA in the presence of screened ligands from circular dichroism measurements as well as UV–vis absorbance spectra for the binding interaction of VanSA in the presence of screened ligands.

  9. Práticas de cuidado à saúde de mulheres camponesas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iraí Maria de Campos Teixeira

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available O presente artigo apresenta resultados de pesquisa acerca de práticas de cuidado à saúde de mulheres camponesas do Assentamento Monte Alegre VI – SP. A metodologia, qualitativa, constou de observação participante, entrevistas individuais e coletivas, tendo ocorrido 15 visitas no período de abril de 2010 a julho de 2011. Participaram doze moradoras, das quais, seis agentes comunitárias de saúde. As práticas de cuidado à saúde referem-se a: companheirismo, diálogo, escuta ativa, mobilizações sociais, assistência multiprofissional dos serviços de saúde, uso de plantas medicinais, crença religiosa como apoio social e dietas. Tais práticas somam-se e articulam-se. As participantes ensinam e aprendem sobre o cuidado à saúde nas relações entre elas, nas intergeracionais e nas com os profissionais de saúde, além de recorrerem a outras fontes de informação e outros processos formativos específicos, como do Programa Saúde da Família.

  10. SA FORCES IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    was to seek out the enemy armour and de- stroy it. 1 SA Division was to guard the left flank of 7 Armoured Division in this opera- tion, and then advance past Sidi Rezegh to threaten the rear of the enemy investing To- bruk. This would assist the garrison in mak- ing a sortie, and the garrison and 1 SA Divi- sion would link up ...

  11. Estratégia saúde da família e saúde do trabalhador: um diálogo possível?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francisco Antonio de Castro Lacaz

    Full Text Available Reflete-se sobre a omissão de práticas voltadas para a saúde dos trabalhadores no âmbito de atuação da Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF e propõe-se a inclusão dessas práticas. Considera-se que a mudança do modelo de atenção médico-centrado exige uma nova abordagem que incorpore a análise de elementos da produção de bens, da circulação e do consumo. Fundamenta-se na teoria da determinação social do processo saúde-doença e nas categorias trabalho e reprodução social. Propõe-se que a incorporação da temática Saúde do Trabalhador (ST na ESF seja realizada pela operacionalização de: um instrumento que levante e analise variáveis e indicadores de reprodução social; um sistema de apoio matricial que integre os Centros de Referência em ST com as Unidades Básicas de Saúde; educação permanente das equipes da ESF em conteúdos de ST.

  12. Case of spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamane, Kanji; Yoshimoto, Hisanori; Harada, Kiyoshi; Uozumi, Tohru [Hiroshima Univ. (Japan). School of Medicine; Kuwabara, Satoshi

    1983-05-01

    The authors experienced a case of spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy diagnosed by CT scan with metrizamide and Conray. Patient was 23-year-old male who had been in good health until one month before admission, when he began to have headache and tinnitus. He noticed bilateral visual acuity was decreased about one week before admission and vomiting appeared two days before admission. He was admitted to our hospital because of bilateral papilledema and remarkable hydrocephalus diagnosed by CT scan. On admission, no abnormal neurological signs except for bilateral papilledema were noted. Immediately, right ventricular drainage was performed. Pressure of the ventricle was over 300mmH/sub 2/O and CSF was clear. PVG and PEG disclosed an another cavity behind the third ventricle, which was communicated with the third ventricle, and occlusion of aqueduct of Sylvius. Metrizamide CT scan and Conray CT scan showed a communication between this cavity and quadrigeminal and supracerebellar cisterns. On these neuroradiological findings, the diagnosis of obstructive hydrocephalus due to benign aqueduct stenosis accompanied with spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy was obtained. Spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy was noticed to produce arrest of hydrocephalus, but with our case, spontaneous regression of such symptoms did not appeared. By surgical ventriculocisternostomy (method by Torkildsen, Dandy, or Scarff), arrest of hydrocephalus was seen in about 50 to 70 per cent, which was the same results as those of spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy. It is concluded that VP shunt or VA shunt is thought to be better treatment of obstructive hydrocephalus than the various kinds of surgical ventriculocisternostomy.

  13. Spontaneous Intracranial Hypotension without Orthostatic Headache

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tülay Kansu

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available We report 2 cases of spontaneous intracranial hypotension that presented with unilateral abducens nerve palsy, without orthostatic headache. While sixth nerve palsies improved without any intervention, subdural hematoma was detected with magnetic resonance imaging. We conclude that headache may be absent in spontaneous intracranial hypotension and spontaneous improvement of sixth nerve palsy can occur, even after the development of a subdural hematoma

  14. Reflexões sobre a saúde bucal no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anya Pimentel Gomes Fernandes Vieira Meyer

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available No último século, numerosos avanços em pesquisas e tecnologias biomédicas na área odontológica foram responsáveis por melhorias na saúde e no bem-estar das populações(1. Entretanto, apesar das grandes realizações no âmbito da saúde bucal, muitos problemas ainda permanecem, como a cárie dental, a mais comum das doenças bucais. A prevalência da cárie dentária apresentou uma tendência de declínio nas três últimas décadas do século XX e no início do século XXI, especialmente nos países desenvolvidos, contudo, ainda é considerada uma importante questão de saúde pública mundial, afetando de 60% a 90% das crianças em idade escolar, além da vasta maioria dos adultos(2-4. No levantamento epidemiológico SB Brasil 2010(5, foram observadas melhoras na condição bucal dos brasileiros, porém, ainda é alta a prevalência de cárie. Entre os adolescentes de 15 a 19 anos, por exemplo, a média de dentes afetados foi de 4,25 mais que o dobro do número médio encontrado aos 12 anos. Entre os idosos de 65a 74 anos, o número de dentes cariados, perdidos e obturados (CPO praticamente não se alterou, ficando em 27,5 em 2010, enquanto, em 2003, a média era de 27,8. Em termos internacionais, de acordo com o Ministério da Saúde brasileiro(5,um estudo realizado pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS em 2004 indicou que, nos dados de 188 países, o valor médio do CPO aos 12 anos foi de 1,6, sendonas Américas a média de 2,8, enquanto na Europa ficou em 1,6. Na América do Sul,somente a Venezuela apresentou média de CPO aos 12 anos semelhante à brasileira(2,1. Nos demais países, as médias apresentaram-se mais altas, como na Argentina(3,4, Bolívia (4,7, Colômbia (2,3, Paraguai (2,8 e Peru (3,7. Os achados epidemiológicos de 2010 sobre a saúde bucal no Brasil(5mostraram que o país entrou para o grupo daqueles com baixa prevalência de carie aos 12 anos. Embora os resultados nesse quesito tenham sido animadores, a

  15. Spontaneous intraorbital hematoma: case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vinodan Paramanathan

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Vinodan Paramanathan, Ardalan ZolnourianQueen's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Burton on Trent, Staffordshire DE13 0RB, UKAbstract: Spontaneous intraorbital hematoma is an uncommon clinical entity seen in ophthalmology practice. It is poorly represented in the literature. Current evidence attributes it to orbital trauma, neoplasm, vascular malformations, acute sinusitis, and systemic abnormalities. A 65-year-old female presented with spontaneous intraorbital hematoma manifesting as severe ocular pains, eyelid edema, proptosis, and diplopia, without a history of trauma. Computer tomography demonstrated a fairly well defined extraconal lesion with opacification of the paranasal sinuses. The principal differential based on all findings was that of a spreading sinus infection and an extraconal tumor. An unprecedented finding of a spontaneous orbital hematoma was discovered when the patient was taken to theater. We discuss the rarity of this condition and its management.Keywords: hemorrhage, ophthalmology, spontaneous, intra-orbital, hematoma

  16. Blockade of persistent sodium currents contributes to the riluzole-induced inhibition of spontaneous activity and oscillations in injured DRG neurons.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rou-Gang Xie

    Full Text Available In addition to a fast activating and immediately inactivating inward sodium current, many types of excitable cells possess a noninactivating or slowly inactivating component: the persistent sodium current (I(NaP. The I(NaP is found in normal primary sensory neurons where it is mediated by tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium channels. The dorsal root ganglion (DRG is the gateway for ectopic impulses that originate in pathological pain signals from the periphery. However, the role of I(NaP in DRG neurons remains unclear, particularly in neuropathic pain states. Using in vivo recordings from single medium- and large-diameter fibers isolated from the compressed DRG in Sprague-Dawley rats, we show that local application of riluzole, which blocks the I(NaP, also inhibits the spontaneous activity of A-type DRG neurons in a dose-dependent manner. Significantly, riluzole also abolished subthreshold membrane potential oscillations (SMPOs, although DRG neurons still responded to intracellular current injection with a single full-sized spike. In addition, the I(NaP was enhanced in medium- and large-sized neurons of the compressed DRG, while bath-applied riluzole significantly inhibited the I(NaP without affecting the transient sodium current (I(NaT. Taken together, these results demonstrate for the first time that the I(NaP blocker riluzole selectively inhibits I(NaP and thereby blocks SMPOs and the ectopic spontaneous activity of injured A-type DRG neurons. This suggests that the I(NaP of DRG neurons is a potential target for treating neuropathic pain at the peripheral level.

  17. Blockade of persistent sodium currents contributes to the riluzole-induced inhibition of spontaneous activity and oscillations in injured DRG neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Rou-Gang; Zheng, Da-Wei; Xing, Jun-Ling; Zhang, Xu-Jie; Song, Ying; Xie, Ya-Bin; Kuang, Fang; Dong, Hui; You, Si-Wei; Xu, Hui; Hu, San-Jue

    2011-04-25

    In addition to a fast activating and immediately inactivating inward sodium current, many types of excitable cells possess a noninactivating or slowly inactivating component: the persistent sodium current (I(NaP)). The I(NaP) is found in normal primary sensory neurons where it is mediated by tetrodotoxin-sensitive sodium channels. The dorsal root ganglion (DRG) is the gateway for ectopic impulses that originate in pathological pain signals from the periphery. However, the role of I(NaP) in DRG neurons remains unclear, particularly in neuropathic pain states. Using in vivo recordings from single medium- and large-diameter fibers isolated from the compressed DRG in Sprague-Dawley rats, we show that local application of riluzole, which blocks the I(NaP), also inhibits the spontaneous activity of A-type DRG neurons in a dose-dependent manner. Significantly, riluzole also abolished subthreshold membrane potential oscillations (SMPOs), although DRG neurons still responded to intracellular current injection with a single full-sized spike. In addition, the I(NaP) was enhanced in medium- and large-sized neurons of the compressed DRG, while bath-applied riluzole significantly inhibited the I(NaP) without affecting the transient sodium current (I(NaT)). Taken together, these results demonstrate for the first time that the I(NaP) blocker riluzole selectively inhibits I(NaP) and thereby blocks SMPOs and the ectopic spontaneous activity of injured A-type DRG neurons. This suggests that the I(NaP) of DRG neurons is a potential target for treating neuropathic pain at the peripheral level.

  18. Spontaneous mentalizing during an interactive real world task: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spiers, Hugo J; Maguire, Eleanor A

    2006-01-01

    There are moments in everyday life when we need to consider the thoughts and intentions of other individuals in order to act in a socially appropriate manner. Most of this mentalizing occurs spontaneously as we go about our business in the complexity of the real world. As such, studying the neural basis of spontaneous mentalizing has been virtually impossible. Here we devised a means to achieve this by employing a unique combination of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a detailed and interactive virtual reality simulation of a bustling familiar city, and a retrospective verbal report protocol. We were able to provide insights into the content of spontaneous mentalizing events and identify the brain regions that underlie them. We found increased activity in a number of regions, namely the right posterior superior temporal sulcus, the medial prefrontal cortex and the right temporal pole associated with spontaneous mentalizing. Furthermore, we observed the right posterior superior temporal sulcus to be consistently active during several different subtypes of mentalizing events. By contrast, medial prefrontal cortex seemed to be particularly involved in thinking about agents that were visible in the environment. Our findings show that it is possible to investigate the neural basis of mentalizing in a manner closer to its true context, the real world, opening up intriguing possibilities for making comparisons with those who have mentalizing problems.

  19. Projeto: Ylê ayié yaya ilera (Saúde plena na casa desta existência: equidade e integralidade em saúde para a comunidade religiosa afro-brasileira

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcia Constância Pinto Aderne Gomes

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available A Política Nacional de Saúde Integral da População Negra definiu o conjunto de princípios, diretrizes e objetivos voltados para a melhoria das condições de saúde dessa população, incluindo, entre outras, ações de cuidado e atenção à saúde, visando à promoção da equidade e integralidade em saúde. Este trabalho relata a experiência de implantar um serviço de saúde vinculado a um terreiro de candomblé. Na condução do projeto encontramos apoio de gestores e profissionais, mas surgiram alguns obstáculos (preconceitos, intolerância religiosa, racismo cordial, “invisibilidade”. Iniciamos o diagnóstico de saúde das mulheres e suas famílias e desenvolvemos ações de atenção e de educação em saúde. O desafio que se destaca consiste em estabelecer mecanismos de sustentabilidade, pois o projeto não responde por todas as necessidades do grupo e nos permitiu “abrir um olhar analisador” sobre equidade e integralidade das ações de saúde para a população negra vinculada a religiões de matriz afro-brasileira.

  20. Projeto: Ylê ayié yaya ilera (Saúde plena na casa desta existência: equidade e integralidade em saúde para a comunidade religiosa afro-brasileira

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcia Constância Pinto Aderne Gomes

    Full Text Available A Política Nacional de Saúde Integral da População Negra definiu o conjunto de princípios, diretrizes e objetivos voltados para a melhoria das condições de saúde dessa população, incluindo, entre outras, ações de cuidado e atenção à saúde, visando à promoção da equidade e integralidade em saúde. Este trabalho relata a experiência de implantar um serviço de saúde vinculado a um terreiro de candomblé. Na condução do projeto encontramos apoio de gestores e profissionais, mas surgiram alguns obstáculos (preconceitos, intolerância religiosa, racismo cordial, “invisibilidade”. Iniciamos o diagnóstico de saúde das mulheres e suas famílias e desenvolvemos ações de atenção e de educação em saúde. O desafio que se destaca consiste em estabelecer mecanismos de sustentabilidade, pois o projeto não responde por todas as necessidades do grupo e nos permitiu “abrir um olhar analisador” sobre equidade e integralidade das ações de saúde para a população negra vinculada a religiões de matriz afro-brasileira.

  1. Assembly study for JT-60SA tokamak

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shibanuma, K., E-mail: shibanuma.kiyoshi@jaea.go.jp [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka, Ibaraki-ken 311-0193 (Japan); Arai, T.; Hasegawa, K.; Hoshi, R.; Kamiya, K.; Kawashima, H.; Kubo, H.; Masaki, K.; Saeki, H.; Sakurai, S.; Sakata, S.; Sakasai, A.; Sawai, H.; Shibama, Y.K.; Tsuchiya, K.; Tsukao, N.; Yagyu, J.; Yoshida, K.; Kamada, Y. [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Naka, Ibaraki-ken 311-0193 (Japan); Mizumaki, S. [Toshiba Corporation, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8001 (Japan); and others

    2013-10-15

    The assembly scenarios and assembly tools of the major tokamak components for JT-60SA are studied in the following. (1) The assembly frame (with a dedicated 30-tonne crane), which is located around the JT-60SA tokamak, is adopted for effective assembly works in the torus hall and the temporary support of the components during assembly. (2) Metrology for precise positioning of the components is also studied by defining the metrology points on the components. (3) The sector segmentation for weld joints and positioning of the vacuum vessel (VV), the assembly scenario and tools for VV thermal shield (TS), the connection of the outer intercoil structure (OIS) and the installation of the final toroidal field coil (TFC) are studied, as typical examples of the assembly scenarios and tools for JT-60SA.

  2. A Agência Nacional de Saúde e a política de saúde mental no contexto do sistema suplementar de assistência à saúde: avanços e desafios The Brazilian National Health Agency and the mental health policy in the context of the private health system: developments and challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel Torres Salvatori

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available O presente estudo trata das políticas de saúde mental conduzidas pela Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar - ANS, no cenário da assistência dispensada pelos planos privados de assistência à saúde. Dessa forma, analisa o modelo de regulação econômica e assistencial do setor suplementar, a forma de atuação da ANS como organismo regulador e o tratamento dispensado à assistência à saúde mental nos normativos emanados pela Agência. Concluiu-se que, apesar de avanços como a obrigatoriedade de cobertura para todas as doenças listadas na CID-10, a inclusão do tratamento das tentativas de suicídio e das lesões autoinfligidas, o atendimento por uma equipe multiprofissional, a ampliação do número de sessões com psicólogo, com terapeuta ocupacional e de psicoterapia, e a inclusão do hospital-dia na rede credenciada da operadora, a assistência à saúde mental ainda é pouco normatizada pelos regramentos vigentes no sistema de atenção à saúde suplementar, existindo muitas lacunas a serem preenchidas. A regulamentação dos mecanismos de coparticipação e franquia, a coparticipação crescente como limitador da internação psiquiátrica sem o repensar em uma rede substitutiva e a limitação do número de sessões de psicoterapia de crise são alguns dos desafios colocados para a ANS, no sentido de que esta cumpra realmente o seu papel institucional de promoção da defesa do interesse público na assistência suplementar à saúde.This work analyses the mental health policy-making activity of the Brazilian National Health Agency (ANS, responsible for controlling health insurance companies. Three points are discussed: a the framework of an economic and private health assistance regulatory activity, b the ANS and its regulation activity and c the rules produced by ANS in the mental health care field. It was concluded that, despite advances like the legal obligation to ensure medical treatment to all the diseases listed in

  3. Direito à saúde: um convite à reflexão

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vera Maria Ribeiro Nogueira

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available As alterações e rupturas que vêm ocorrendo na sociedade contemporânea em relação ao direito à saúde como valor universal, consoantes às orientações das agências multilaterais veiculadas especialmente a partir dos anos 90, constitui-se o foco central do presente estudo. A partir da gênese dos direitos sociais e do resgate da interdependência entre os aspectos sociais e econômicos na conformação da cidadania social nos países capitalistas democráticos, apresenta os dois paradigmas que delimitam o encaminhamento da atenção à saúde no início do século XXI. O paradigma da cidadania plena, no qual o direito à saúde é um valor universal, e o da cidadania social restrita, em que o direito à saúde é orientado pelo critério da eficiência e racionalidade econômica. Essas proposições alinham-se ao paradigma da economia da saúde, que defende a focalização dos recursos para atenuar as condições de miserabilidade, reduz o papel do Estado, sugere a alocação de recursos para a saúde aliada à proteção social e coloca o mercado como o regulador privilegiado das ações de saúde.

  4. Transcriptome Analysis in Haematococcus pluvialis: Astaxanthin Induction by Salicylic Acid (SA) and Jasmonic Acid (JA).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Zhengquan; Li, Yan; Wu, Guanxun; Li, Guoqiang; Sun, Haifeng; Deng, Suzhen; Shen, Yicheng; Chen, Guoqiang; Zhang, Ruihao; Meng, Chunxiao; Zhang, Xiaowen

    2015-01-01

    Haematococcus pluvialis is an astaxanthin-rich microalga that can increase its astaxanthin production by salicylic acid (SA) or jasmonic acid (JA) induction. The genetic transcriptome details of astaxanthin biosynthesis were analyzed by exposing the algal cells to 25 mg/L of SA and JA for 1, 6 and 24 hours, plus to the control (no stress). Based on the RNA-seq analysis, 56,077 unigenes (51.7%) were identified with functions in response to the hormone stress. The top five identified subcategories were cell, cellular process, intracellular, catalytic activity and cytoplasm, which possessed 5600 (~9.99%), 5302 (~9.45%), 5242 (~9.35%), 4407 (~7.86%) and 4195 (~7.48%) unigenes, respectively. Furthermore, 59 unigenes were identified and assigned to 26 putative transcription factors (TFs), including 12 plant-specific TFs. They were likely associated with astaxanthin biosynthesis in Haematococcus upon SA and JA stress. In comparison, the up-regulation of differential expressed genes occurred much earlier, with higher transcript levels in the JA treatment (about 6 h later) than in the SA treatment (beyond 24 h). These results provide valuable information for directing metabolic engineering efforts to improve astaxanthin biosynthesis in H. pluvialis.

  5. Screening for spontaneous preterm birth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Os, M.A.; van Dam, A.J.E.M.

    2015-01-01

    Preterm birth is the most important cause of perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. In this thesis studies on spontaneous preterm birth are presented. The main objective was to investigate the predictive capacity of mid-trimester cervical length measurement for spontaneous preterm birth in a

  6. Saúde Ambiental e Atenção Primária à Saúde nos microterritórios: a taxa de mortalidade infantil para subsidiar a atuação da equipe de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Herling Gregorio Aguilar Alonzo

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Nos últimos 20 anos, o Sistema Único de Saúde no Brasil vem avançando no aprimoramento da atenção primaria e da vigilância em saúde ambiental. No País, também, melhorou a cobertura do saneamento básico. Mas existem iniquidades macrorregionais e são escassas as informações sobre os microterritórios, onde as ações básicas de saúde se concretizam. Descrever a influência das coberturas do sistema de abastecimento de água (SAA, esgotamento sanitário (ES e coleta de resíduos sólidos domiciliares (CRSD na taxa mortalidade infantil (TMI nas áreas de abrangência das unidades básicas de saúde (UBS do Distrito de Saúde Noroeste de Campinas-SP. Foi conduzido estudo ecológico com dados secundários referentes a 2000. As coberturas nas oito UBS: do SAA variou entre 96,3 %, de Valença, e 99,9 % de Integração; de ES entre 67 %, de Ipaussurama e 99,8 % de Integração; da CRSD entre 95,8 % de Florence e 99,9 % de Perseu e Integração. A TMI variou entre 5,5 ‰, na UBS Perseu e 22,9 ‰ Floresta. Observou-se que existe relação inversa, quanto maior a cobertura do SAA (R2=0,73, de ES (R2=0,78 e da CRSD (R2= 0,95 menor a TMI nas UBS. Além de outros fatores, o saneamento básico determina o processo saúde doença da população e conforme os achados, existem iniquidades também nos microterritórios de abrangência das UBS que devem ser consideradas pelos gestores e profissionais de saúde, principalmente, da atenção primária na pactuação das prioridades, ações e metas para atenção integral e vigilância em saúde e atuação intersetorial.

  7. Early pregnancy angiogenic markers and spontaneous abortion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Louise B; Dechend, Ralf; Karumanchi, S Ananth

    2016-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Spontaneous abortion is the most commonly observed adverse pregnancy outcome. The angiogenic factors soluble Fms-like kinase 1 and placental growth factor are critical for normal pregnancy and may be associated to spontaneous abortion. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the association between...... maternal serum concentrations of soluble Fms-like kinase 1 and placental growth factor, and subsequent spontaneous abortion. STUDY DESIGN: In the prospective observational Odense Child Cohort, 1676 pregnant women donated serum in early pregnancy, gestational week ..., interquartile range 71-103). Concentrations of soluble Fms-like kinase 1 and placental growth factor were determined with novel automated assays. Spontaneous abortion was defined as complete or incomplete spontaneous abortion, missed abortion, or blighted ovum

  8. Spontaneous calcium transients in human neural progenitor cells mediated by transient receptor potential channels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morgan, Peter J; Hübner, Rayk; Rolfs, Arndt; Frech, Moritz J

    2013-09-15

    Calcium signals affect many developmental processes, including proliferation, migration, survival, and apoptosis, processes that are of particular importance in stem cells intended for cell replacement therapies. The mechanisms underlying Ca(2+) signals, therefore, have a role in determining how stem cells respond to their environment, and how these responses might be controlled in vitro. In this study, we examined the spontaneous Ca(2+) activity in human neural progenitor cells during proliferation and differentiation. Pharmacological characterization indicates that in proliferating cells, most activity is the result of transient receptor potential (TRP) channels that are sensitive to Gd(3+) and La(3+), with the more subtype selective antagonist Ruthenium red also reducing activity, suggesting the involvement of transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) channels. In differentiating cells, Gd(3+) and La(3+)-sensitive TRP channels also appear to underlie the spontaneous activity; however, no sub-type-specific antagonists had any effect. Protein levels of TRPV2 and TRPV3 decreased in differentiated cells, which is demonstrated by western blot. Thus, it appears that TRP channels represent the main route of Ca(2+) entry in human neural progenitor cells (hNPCs), but the responsible channel types are subject to substitution under differentiating conditions. The level of spontaneous activity could be increased and decreased by lowering and raising the extracellular K(+) concentration. Proliferating cells in low K(+) slowed the cell cycle, with a disproportionate increased percentage of cells in G1 phase and a reduction in S phase. Taken together, these results suggest a link between external K(+) concentration, spontaneous Ca(2+) transients, and cell cycle distribution, which is able to influence the fate of stem and progenitor cells.

  9. Spontaneous emission by moving atoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meystre, P.; Wilkens, M.

    1994-01-01

    It is well known that spontaneous emission is not an intrinsic atomic property, but rather results from the coupling of the atom to the vacuum modes of the electromagnetic field. As such, it can be modified by tailoring the electromagnetic environment into which the atom can radiate. This was already realized by Purcell, who noted that the spontaneous emission rate can be enhanced if the atom placed inside a cavity is resonant with one of the cavity is resonant with one of the cavity modes, and by Kleppner, who discussed the opposite case of inhibited spontaneous emission. It has also been recognized that spontaneous emission need not be an irreversible process. Indeed, a system consisting of a single atom coupled to a single mode of the electromagnetic field undergoes a periodic exchange of excitation between the atom and the field. This periodic exchange remains dominant as long as the strength of the coupling between the atom and a cavity mode is itself dominant. 23 refs., 6 figs

  10. Engineering a morphogenetically active hydrogel for bioprinting of bioartificial tissue derived from human osteoblast-like SaOS-2 cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neufurth, Meik; Wang, Xiaohong; Schröder, Heinz C; Feng, Qingling; Diehl-Seifert, Bärbel; Ziebart, Thomas; Steffen, Renate; Wang, Shunfeng; Müller, Werner E G

    2014-10-01

    Sodium alginate hydrogel, stabilized with gelatin, is a suitable, biologically inert matrix that can be used for encapsulating and 3D bioprinting of bone-related SaOS-2 cells. However, the cells, embedded in this matrix, remain in a non-proliferating state. Here we show that addition of an overlay onto the bioprinted alginate/gelatine/SaOS-2 cell scaffold, consisting of agarose and the calcium salt of polyphosphate [polyP·Ca(2+)-complex], resulted in a marked increase in cell proliferation. In the presence of 100 μm polyP·Ca(2+)-complex, the cells proliferate with a generation time of approximately 47-55 h. In addition, the hardness of the alginate/gelatin hydrogel substantially increases in the presence of the polymer. The reduced Young's modulus for the alginate/gelatin hydrogel is approximately 13-14 kPa, and this value drops to approximately 0.5 kPa after incubation of the cell containing scaffolds for 5 d. In the presence of 100 μm polyP·Ca(2+)-complex, the reduced Young's modulus increases to about 22 kPa. The hardness of the polyP·Ca(2+)-complex containing hydrogel remains essentially constant if cells are absent in the matrix, but it drops to 3.2 kPa after a 5 d incubation period in the presence of SaOS-2 cells, indicating that polyP·Ca(2+)-complex becomes metabolized, degraded, by the cells. The alginate/gelatine-agarose system with polyP·Ca(2+)-complex cause a significant increase in the mineralization of the cells. SEM analyses revealed that the morphology of the mineral nodules formed on the surface of the cells embedded in the alginate/gelatin hydrogel do not significantly differ from the nodules on cells growing in monolayer cultures. The newly developed technique, using cells encapsulated into an alginate/gelatin hydrogel and a secondary layer containing the morphogenetically active, growth promoting polymer polyP·Ca(2+)-complex opens new possibilities for the application of 3D bioprinting in bone tissue engineering. Copyright

  11. DeSa News. No. 1, July 2005

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2005-07-01

    Safety of nuclear fuel cycle facilities is required through all stages of facility life cycle (e.g. design, construction, operation, maintenance, closure and decommissioning) and international safety standards developed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) during the last few years, also underline the importance of evaluation and demonstration of safety during decommissioning of nuclear facilities as part of the safe ending of those practices intended to be released from regulatory control. In the last few years, international guidance has been developed on the safety assessment for predisposal and disposal facilities and a need for specific guidance on safety assessment for decommissioning of nuclear facilities was recognised. This established the basis for the approval of Action 3 of the International Action Plan on Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities (GOV/2004/40) by the IAEA Board of Governors in June 2004. The Action Plan requests the IAEA to 'establish a forum for the sharing and exchange of national information and experience on the application of safety assessment in the context of decommissioning and provide a means to convey this information to other interested parties, also drawing on the work of other international organizations in this area'. In this relation the IAEA launched an International Project on 'Evaluation and Demonstration of Safety during Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities (DeSa)' in November of last year with the following objectives: a. To develop a harmonized approach to safety assessment and define the elements of safety assessment for decommissioning; b. To investigate the practical applicability of the methodology and performance of safety assessments for the decommissioning of various types of facilities through a selected number of test cases; c. To investigate approaches for review of safety assessments for decommissioning activities and the as a basis for the regulatory decision making; and d. To provide a forum

  12. Caso Ouro Fino Saúde Animal Caso Ouro Fino Saúde Animal Ouro Fino Saúde Animal case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernardo Hauch Ribeiro de Castro

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available O Caso Ouro Fino Saúde Animal ilustra uma tomada de decisão, pelos executivos da empresa, sobre a entrada em um novo mercado, de vacinas para bovinos. Diante da necessidade de dar um passo maior em direção ao crescimento sustentável, a empresa não poderia deixar de entrar nesse segmento, que representava mais de metade do mercado brasileiro de produtos veterinários. No entanto, era um passo arriscado. A principal questão do caso é avaliar as alternativas de comprar vacinas de terceiros ou produzir internamente suas próprias vacinas. A empresa do caso é a Ouro Fino Saúde Animal, empresa brasileira de produtos veterinários, instalada no Estado de São Paulo, com faturamento de mais de R$ 100 milhões anuais. Os dois principais personagens deste caso são os diretores financeiro e industrial da empresa. A situação passa-se em 2005. Como instrumento de ensino, o caso foi concebido para o ensino de estratégia em cursos de pós-graduação em administração, levando os alunos a avaliar vantagens e desvantagens de cada uma das alternativas. Como objetivo secundário, o caso propicia alguns elementos para uma estimativa da viabilidade financeira da opção de implantar uma nova unidade produtiva e a possibilidade de refletir sobre uma decisão já tomada, de entrada no novo mercado. Por fim, o caso traz uma série de informações sobre o mercado brasileiro e sobre o mercado mundial de produtos veterinários. É possível, com base nestes dados, trabalhar questões ligadas à segmentação e posicionamento da empresa no setor, ficando a critério do professor este tipo de uso.El Caso Ouro Fino Saúde Animal ilustra una toma de decisiones por los ejecutivos de la empresa, a la entrada en un nuevo mercado de las vacunas para el ganado. Ante la necesidad de dar un paso importante hacia el crecimiento sostenible, Ouro Fino Saúde Animal no podía dejar de entrar, ya que representaba más de la mitad del mercado de productos veterinarios

  13. A Case of Multiple Spontaneous Keloid Scars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdulhadi Jfri

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Keloid scars result from an abnormal healing response to cutaneous injury or inflammation that extends beyond the borders of the original wound. Spontaneous keloid scars forming in the absence of any previous trauma or surgical procedure are rare. Certain syndromes have been associated with this phenomenon, and few reports have discussed the evidence of single spontaneous keloid scar, which raises the question whether they are really spontaneous. Here, we present a 27-year-old mentally retarded single female with orbital hypertelorism, broad nasal bridge, repaired cleft lip and high-arched palate who presented with progressive multiple spontaneous keloid scars in different parts of her body which were confirmed histologically by the presence of typical keloidal collagen. This report supports the fact that keloid scars can appear spontaneously and are possibly linked to a genetic factor. Furthermore, it describes a new presentation of spontaneous keloid scars in the form of multiple large lesions in different sites of the body.

  14. Characterization of the interaction between the cohesin subunits Rad21 and SA1/2.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nenggang Zhang

    Full Text Available The cohesin complex is responsible for the fidelity of chromosomal segregation during mitosis. It consists of four core subunits, namely Rad21/Mcd1/Scc1, Smc1, Smc3, and one of the yeast Scc3 orthologs SA1 or SA2. Sister chromatid cohesion is generated during DNA replication and maintained until the onset of anaphase. Among the many proposed models of the cohesin complex, the 'core' cohesin subunits Smc1, Smc3, and Rad21 are almost universally displayed as tripartite ring. However, other than its supportive role in the cohesin ring, little is known about the fourth core subunit SA1/SA2. To gain deeper insight into the function of SA1/SA2 in the cohesin complex, we have mapped the interactive regions of SA2 and Rad21 in vitro and ex vivo. Whereas SA2 interacts with Rad21 through a broad region (301-750 aa, Rad21 binds to SA proteins through two SA-binding motifs on Rad21, namely N-terminal (NT and middle part (MP SA-binding motif, located at 60-81 aa of the N-terminus and 383-392 aa of the MP of Rad21, respectively. The MP SA-binding motif is a 10 amino acid, α-helical motif. Deletion of these 10 amino acids or mutation of three conserved amino acids (L(385, F(389, and T(390 in this α-helical motif significantly hinders Rad21 from physically interacting with SA1/2. Besides the MP SA-binding motif, the NT SA-binding motif is also important for SA1/2 interaction. Although mutations on both SA-binding motifs disrupt Rad21-SA1/2 interaction, they had no apparent effect on the Smc1-Smc3-Rad21 interaction. However, the Rad21-Rad21 dimerization was reduced by the mutations, indicating potential involvement of the two SA-binding motifs in the formation of the two-ring handcuff for chromosomal cohesion. Furthermore, mutant Rad21 proteins failed to significantly rescue precocious chromosome separation caused by depletion of endogenous Rad21 in mitotic cells, further indicating the physiological significance of the two SA-binding motifs of Rad21.

  15. Spontaneous NF-κB activation by autocrine TNFα signaling: a computational analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jakub Pękalski

    Full Text Available NF-κB is a key transcription factor that regulates innate immune response. Its activity is tightly controlled by numerous feedback loops, including two negative loops mediated by NF-κB inducible inhibitors, IκBα and A20, which assure oscillatory responses, and by positive feedback loops arising due to the paracrine and autocrine regulation via TNFα, IL-1 and other cytokines. We study the NF-κB system of interlinked negative and positive feedback loops, combining bifurcation analysis of the deterministic approximation with stochastic numerical modeling. Positive feedback assures the existence of limit cycle oscillations in unstimulated wild-type cells and introduces bistability in A20-deficient cells. We demonstrated that cells of significant autocrine potential, i.e., cells characterized by high secretion of TNFα and its receptor TNFR1, may exhibit sustained cytoplasmic-nuclear NF-κB oscillations which start spontaneously due to stochastic fluctuations. In A20-deficient cells even a small TNFα expression rate qualitatively influences system kinetics, leading to long-lasting NF-κB activation in response to a short-pulsed TNFα stimulation. As a consequence, cells with impaired A20 expression or increased TNFα secretion rate are expected to have elevated NF-κB activity even in the absence of stimulation. This may lead to chronic inflammation and promote cancer due to the persistent activation of antiapoptotic genes induced by NF-κB. There is growing evidence that A20 mutations correlate with several types of lymphomas and elevated TNFα secretion is characteristic of many cancers. Interestingly, A20 loss or dysfunction also leaves the organism vulnerable to septic shock and massive apoptosis triggered by the uncontrolled TNFα secretion, which at high levels overcomes the antiapoptotic action of NF-κB. It is thus tempting to speculate that some cancers of deregulated NF-κB signaling may be prone to the pathogen-induced apoptosis.

  16. Hepatic Rupture Induced by Spontaneous Intrahepatic Hematoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jin-bao Zhou

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The etiology of hepatic rupture is usually secondary to trauma, and hepatic rupture induced by spontaneous intrahepatic hematoma is clinically rare. We describe here a 61-year-old female patient who was transferred to our hospital with hepatic rupture induced by spontaneous intrahepatic hematoma. The patient had no history of trauma and had a history of systemic lupus erythematosus for five years, taking a daily dose of 5 mg prednisone for treatment. The patients experienced durative blunt acute right upper abdominal pain one day after satiation, which aggravated in two hours, accompanied by dizziness and sweating. Preoperative diagnosis was rupture of the liver mass. Laparotomy revealed 2500 mL fluid consisting of a mixture of blood and clot in the peritoneal cavity. A 3.5 cm × 2.5 cm rupture was discovered on the hepatic caudate lobe near the vena cava with active arterial bleeding, and a 5  × 6 cm hematoma was reached on the right posterior lobe of the liver. Abdominal computed tomography (CT and laparotomy revealed spontaneous rupture of intrahepatic hematoma with hemorrhagic shock. The patient was successfully managed by suturing the rupture of the hepatic caudate lobe and clearing part of the hematoma. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged after two weeks of hospitalization.

  17. Suporte social, promoção de saúde e saúde bucal na população idosa no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvânia Suely Caribé de Araújo

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available O crescente envelhecimento da população mundial, inclusive no Brasil, ressalta a importância de medidas para se lidar com esta situação. No Brasil, a maioria dos idosos é do sexo feminino; vive em domicílios multigeracionais; é referência econômica nos mesmos; possui baixo nível socioeconômico; portadora de, pelo menos, uma doença crônica; independente para realização das atividades da vida diária; não possui dentes, e busca atenção em saúde no SUS. Os idosos brasileiros expostos a situações de vulnerabilidade social estão sujeitos à interferência direta dos determinantes sociais no processo saúde-doença. O Suporte Social inclui políticas e redes de apoio social, que atuam como agente de integração do idoso na sociedade, minimizando os riscos de exclusão social e, conseqüentemente, de danos à sua saúde por meio de medidas de Promoção de Saúde. Este artigo aborda o Suporte Social e alguns de seus aspectos, tais como: tipo e local de residência, transporte e suporte financeiro; em idosos brasileiros e sua relação com a Promoção de Saúde.

  18. O desafio da análise de redes de saúde no campo da saúde coletiva

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Eduardo Menezes Amaral

    Full Text Available Resumo A organização do cuidado no Sistema Único de Saúde tem conferido destaque às redes de atenção, tanto no campo discursivo como na sua tradução em estratégias concretas. Contudo, são escassos os aportes analíticos e avaliativos abarcando as redes enquanto objeto. Neste artigo, apresentamos alguns subsídios sob forma de um construto multidimensional que dialoga com as contribuições de autores do campo da saúde coletiva e de outros campos disciplinares que se debruçaram sobre o tema. Nossa proposta apresenta cinco dimensões, sistematizadas depois de um exercício conduzido pelo método analítico reflexivo, tomando como material 23 artigos concernentes a distintos aspectos relevantes à análise de redes de saúde. Esse exercício, operacionalizando um processo sucessivo de redução semântica, resultou em um modelo composto pelas seguintes dimensões: Unidades mínimas, compreendendo a caracterização dos pontos fixos a partir dos quais ocorrem as conexões da rede; Conectividade, representando as modalidades e efeitos das relações estabelecidas entre as unidades mínimas; Integração, concernente aos efeitos do conjunto das unidades mínimas e suas relações, identificados como coerência, continuidade e complementaridade de ações na rede; Normatividade, indicando a construção e adesão a diretrizes clínicas e linhas de cuidado singulares, assim como o estabelecimento de critérios de encaminhamento, entrada e saída de cada ponto da rede; e Subjetividade, incluindo protagonismos, sentidos, valores e vínculos afetivos circulantes na rede. Essas dimensões, operando de forma recursiva, podem subsidiar a construção de modelos analítico-conceituais de redes como aporte à superação desse desafio no campo da saúde coletiva.

  19. O movimento da Saúde Bucal Coletiva no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Catharina Leite Matos Soares

    Full Text Available Resumo A Saúde Bucal Coletiva (SBC pode designar um fenômeno histórico especifico, distinto das outras “Odontologias Alternativas” e um referencial teórico para as práticas odontológicas em serviços de saúde. Este estudo buscou compreender a permanência das “Odontologias Alternativas” no espaço social de luta pela saúde bucal no Brasil, a partir de posições dos agentes fundadores e precursores, levando em consideração as concepções de SBC, Saúde Coletiva (SC e SUS. Partiu-se da teoria das práticas de Pierre Bourdieu, complementada pelos conceitos de hegemonia e contra-hegemonia em Gramsci. Realizaram-se 12 entrevistas em profundidade, revisão documental e análise da produção científica, além das trajetórias dos agentes e seus capitais em 1980 e 2013. Os resultados indicam que a concepção de SBC e SC como ruptura com as práticas de saúde oriundas às “Odontologias Alternativas” prevaleceu entre aqueles com disposições políticas em defesa da democracia e da Reforma Sanitária. Embora a SBC tenha proposta crítica, permanecem antigas “Odontologias” na produção científica e nas práticas de saúde bucal.

  20. Potential of Lactobacillus reuteri from Spontaneous 
Sourdough as a Starter Additive for Improving Quality Parameters of Bread

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaičiulytė-Funk, Lina; Šalomskienė, Joana; Alenčikienė, Gitana; Mieželienė, Aldona

    2016-01-01

    Summary Retardation of microbial spoilage of bread can be achieved by the use of spontaneous sourdough with an antimicrobial activity. This study was undertaken to identify lactic acid bacteria naturally occurring in spontaneous sourdough and use them for quality improvement and prolonging shelf life of rye, wheat and rye with wheat bread. Identification of isolates from spontaneous sourdough by pyrosequencing assay showed that Lactobacillus reuteri were dominant lactic acid bacteria. The isolates showed a wide range of antimicrobial activity and displayed a synergistic activity against other lactobacilli, some lactococci and foodborne yeasts. The best application of spontaneous sourdough was noticed in the rye bread with the lowest crumb firmness of the final product, although the sensory results of wheat and rye with wheat bread did not statistically differ from control bread. L. reuteri showed a high preserving capacity against fungi during storage. This may be due to bacteriocins and various fatty acids secreted into the growth medium that were identified by agar well diffusion assay and gas chromatography. L. reuteri showing high antimicrobial activity have the potential to be used as a starter additive that could improve safety and/or shelf life of bread. PMID:27956866

  1. Para uma análise existencial da saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Passos Nogueira

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available A ontologia fundamental de Heidegger de Ser e Tempo tem servido de fonte de inspiração para investigadores que realizam seus trabalhos nas áreas de saúde mental e saúde coletiva, a despeito das dificuldades de interpretação dessa obra. O entendimento equivocado por Binswanger, na tentativa de transpô-la para a psicanálise, serve de exemplo e é brevemente exposto com base na análise detalhada feita por Loparic. Neste artigo, parte-se do pressuposto de que a linguagem antimetafísica de Heidegger pode ajudar a fechar o que denomina de fenda ontológica entre saúde mental e saúde do corpo. Na primeira parte, recapitulam-se alguns equívocos que podem ser cometidos na interpretação da ontologia heideggeriana e delineiam-se os critérios de não-objetivação e não-determinismo. Na segunda, o autor aporta sua contribuição pessoal, ao explicitar sua própria interpretação da analítica existencial da saúde, articulada em torno de termos, tais como: padecimento, socorro e reatamento.

  2. Saúde mental versus doença mental

    OpenAIRE

    Sá, Luís

    2010-01-01

    Neste artigo são sintetizadas um conjunto de leituras realizadas para a moderação da mesa “Saúde Mental versus Doença Mental”. Pretendemos contribuir para a reflexão sobre a dificuldade de consensos para a definição objectiva de saúde e doença mental.

  3. Differential neurotoxic effects of in utero and lactational exposure to hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyl (OH-PCB 106) on spontaneous locomotor activity and motor coordination in young adult male mice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haijima, Asahi; Lesmana, Ronny; Shimokawa, Noriaki; Amano, Izuki; Takatsuru, Yusuke; Koibuchi, Noriyuki

    2017-01-01

    We investigated whether in utero or lactational exposure to 4-hydroxy-2',3,3',4',5'-pentachlorobiphenyl (OH-PCB 106) affects spontaneous locomotor activity and motor coordination in young adult male mice. For in utero exposure, pregnant C57BL/6J mice received 0.05 or 0.5 mg/kg body weight of OH-PCB 106 or corn oil vehicle via gavage every second day from gestational day 10 to 18. For lactational exposure, the different groups of dams received 0.05 or 0.5 mg/kg body weight of OH-PCB 106 or corn oil vehicle via gavage every second day from postpartum day 3 to 13. At 6-7 weeks of age, the spontaneous locomotor activities of male offspring were evaluated for a 24-hr continuous session in a home cage and in an open field for 30-min. Motor coordination function on an accelerating rotarod was also measured. Mice exposed prenatally to OH-PCB 106 showed increased spontaneous locomotor activities during the dark phase in the home cage and during the first 10-min in the open field compared with control mice. Mice exposed lactationally to OH-PCB 106, however, did not show a time-dependent decrease in locomotor activity in the open field. Instead, their locomotor activity increased significantly during the second 10-min block. In addition, mice exposed lactationally to OH-PCB 106 displayed impairments in motor coordination in the rotarod test. These results suggest that perinatal exposure to OH-PCB 106 affects motor behaviors in young adult male mice. Depending on the period of exposure, OH-PCB 106 may have different effects on neurobehavioral development.

  4. Saúde sexual dos adolescentes : conhecimentos riscos e mitos

    OpenAIRE

    Antunes, Maria Inês Araújo

    2012-01-01

    Trabalho final de mestrado integrado na área científica de Medicina Geral e Familiar, apresentado á Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra Introdução: A saúde sexual é parte importante da saúde e desenvolvimento dos jovens, sendo os comportamentos sexuais e seus riscos um importante aspeto de saúde pública. O presente artigo visa avaliar as fontes de informação e mitos sobre sexualidade e o risco de infeção por ISTs e gravidez não planeada nos adolescentes. Materiais ...

  5. Articulação ensino-serviço e vigilância da saúde: a percepção de trabalhadores de saúde de um distrito escola Teaching-service and health surveillance integration: a school district's health workers' perception

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliana Guisardi Pereira

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Para ser colocada em prática, a Vigilância da Saúde necessita que os trabalhadores de saúde estejam preparados para operacionalizá-la. O objetivo deste artigo é descrever a percepção de profissionais de saúde sobre as contribuições da articulação ensino-serviço para a implantação da Vigilância da Saúde. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, realizada no Distrito de Saúde Escola Butantã, no município de São Paulo. Foram sujeitos da pesquisa médicos e enfermeiros que atuavam nas unidades de saúde da região. Os dados foram coletados mediante entrevistas e analisados segundo a técnica do discurso do sujeito coletivo. Os resultados mostraram que, segundo os profissionais de saúde, a articulação ensino-serviço se efetiva pela supervisão dos alunos de graduação em Medicina e Enfermagem, no cotidiano das unidades de saúde. Para os profissionais de saúde, a contribuição da articulação ensino-serviço para a Vigilância da Saúde é pequena e se resume às atividades curriculares dos alunos. Falta um projeto político do município para a Vigilância da Saúde, e a academia poderia contribuir na sua elaboração. Conclui-se que, para a mudança das práticas assistenciais, é importante a construção em parceria, entre gestores, trabalhadores, docentes e alunos, de um projeto político-pedagógicoTo be put into practice, Health Surveillance needs health workers to be prepared in order to operationalize it. The purpose of this article is to describe the perception health professionals have on the contributions of the teaching-service integration for the deployment of Health Surveillance. This is a qualitative study conducted in the Butantã School Health District, in the municipality of São Paulo. Research subjects were physicians and nurses working for health facilities located in the region. Data was collected through interviews and analyzed pursuant to the collective subject discourse technique. The results

  6. Low temperature oxidation and spontaneous combustion characteristics of upgraded low rank coal

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Choi, H.K.; Kim, S.D.; Yoo, J.H.; Chun, D.H.; Rhim, Y.J.; Lee, S.H. [Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2013-07-01

    The low temperature oxidation and spontaneous combustion characteristics of dried coal produced from low rank coal using the upgraded brown coal (UBC) process were investigated. To this end, proximate properties, crossing-point temperature (CPT), and isothermal oxidation characteristics of the coal were analyzed. The isothermal oxidation characteristics were estimated by considering the formation rates of CO and CO{sub 2} at low temperatures. The upgraded low rank coal had higher heating values than the raw coal. It also had less susceptibility to low temperature oxidation and spontaneous combustion. This seemed to result from the coating of the asphalt on the surface of the coal, which suppressed the active functional groups from reacting with oxygen in the air. The increasing upgrading pressure negatively affected the low temperature oxidation and spontaneous combustion.

  7. Spontaneous pneumothorax in silicotuberculosis of lung

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolenic, J.; Jurgova, T.; Zimacek, J.; Vajo, J.; Krchnavy, M.

    1995-01-01

    The authors describe the case of 62 years old man with the appearance of spontaneous pneumothorax, in whom the basic pulmonary disease was silicotuberculosis of the lung. At clinic of occupational diseases in Kosice have been evidence 965 cases of silicosis and silicotuberculosis. From 1971 they have now the first case of spontaneous pneumothorax. The authors make discussion about possible mechanical and biochemical factors, which cause relatively low incidence of spontaneous pneumothorax in silicosis of the lung. (authors)

  8. Altered spontaneous brain activity in adolescent boys with pure conduct disorder revealed by regional homogeneity analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Qiong; Zhang, Xiaocui; Dong, Daifeng; Wang, Xiang; Yao, Shuqiao

    2017-07-01

    Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have revealed abnormal neural activity in several brain regions of adolescents with conduct disorder (CD) performing various tasks. However, little is known about the spontaneous neural activity in people with CD in a resting state. The aims of this study were to investigate CD-associated regional activity abnormalities and to explore the relationship between behavioral impulsivity and regional activity abnormalities. Resting-state fMRI (rs-fMRI) scans were administered to 28 adolescents with CD and 28 age-, gender-, and IQ-matched healthy controls (HCs). The rs-fMRI data were subjected to regional homogeneity (ReHo) analysis. ReHo can demonstrate the temporal synchrony of regional blood oxygen level-dependent signals and reflect the coordination of local neuronal activity facilitating similar goals or representations. Compared to HCs, the CD group showed increased ReHo bilaterally in the insula as well as decreased ReHo in the right inferior parietal lobule, right middle temporal gyrus and right fusiform gyrus, left anterior cerebellum anterior, and right posterior cerebellum. In the CD group, mean ReHo values in the left and the right insula correlated positively with Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS) total scores. The results suggest that CD is associated with abnormal intrinsic brain activity, mainly in the cerebellum and temporal-parietal-limbic cortices, regions that are related to emotional and cognitive processing. BIS scores in adolescents with CD may reflect severity of abnormal neuronal synchronization in the insula.

  9. As dissonâncias do sistema privado de saúde e a judicialização da saúde no Distrito Federal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabella Cristina Fernandes da SILVA

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available RESUMO A saúde, bem maior constante da nossa Constituição Federal da República de 1988, é um tema que tem sido bastante discutido ultimamente. O compromisso com a qualidade de vida, juntamente com os avanços da tecnologia e a precariedade no atendimento público levaram ao surgimento de diversas operadoras de saúde. Com o aumento desse segmento, o estado viu a necessidade de regulamentar essa atividade, a fim de proteger a relação usuário-operadora de saúde. Nesse contexto, foi criado um conjunto de normas jurídicas para regulação dos planos e seguros de saúde. A Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar representa um papel de suma importância na fiscalização e regulação das operadoras de saúde, assegurando o equilíbrio dessa relação. No entanto, o número de insatisfação dos usuários de planos e seguros de saúde vem aumentando e muitas reclamações feitas são levadas ao judiciário, fenômeno este chamado de judicialização. O presente trabalho versa sobre a identificação e análise das demandas judiciais do TJDFT atinentes às reclamações dos usuários do sistema privado de saúde no ano de 2010. ABSTRACT Health, which is considered to be the greater good of the 1988 federal constitution, has been a widely disscussed topic lately. The obligation to maintain the quality of life, along with the technological advances and the precariousness of public services, have set the grounds for the emergence of various health insurers. The state was forced to regulate these kind of activities in order to protect the user - health insurer relationship. In this context, a number of judicial norms were created. The National supplementary health agency has a very important role in the inspection and regulation of health insurers, ensuring a balanced relationship. However, the number of unsatisfied health plan users has been increasing and many of the complaints have been taken to the judiciary, which is called judicialization

  10. Dinâmica do capital e sistemas locais de saúde: em busca de uma análise integradora do setor saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria de Fátima Siliansky de Andreazzi

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Apresenta-se uma proposta metodológica direcionada à análise dos determinantes da oferta de atenção à saúde, com base na dinâmica da acumulação de capital a ser agregada aos elementos de definição das políticas de saúde mais convencionalmente empregados na área da Saúde Coletiva. A análise está baseada nos conceitos e métodos da Economia Industrial, já testados para o setor saúde em trabalhos desenvolvidos no âmbito europeu e por pesquisadores da CEPAL, aos quais se propõem agregar variáveis do contexto geral, que condicionam possibilidades e impõem limites às estratégias dos agentes locais, e análises de corte histórico que permitam identificar rugosidades. Destina-se a apoiar os gestores do SUS, estaduais e municipais, na sua atribuição de comando único do setor saúde sobre um determinado território, o que inclui o conjunto das possibilidades de regulação do setor privado - do planejamento da oferta ao controle de qualidade.

  11. Spontaneous activity in the developing mammalian retina: Form and function

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butts, Daniel Allison

    Spontaneous neuronal activity is present in the immature mammalian retina during the initial stages of visual system development, before the retina is responsive to light. This activity consists of bursts of action potentials fired by retinal ganglion cells, and propagates in a wavelike manner across the inner plexiform layer of the retina. Unlike waves in other neural systems, retinal waves have large variability in both their rate and direction of propagation, and individual waves only propagate across small regions of the retina. The unique properties of retinal activity arise from dynamic processes within the developing retina, and produce characteristic spatiotemporal properties. These spatiotemporal properties are of particular interest, since they are believed to play a role in visual system development. This dissertation addresses the complex spatiotemporal patterning of the retinal waves from two different perspectives. First, it proposes how the immature circuitry of the developing retina generates these patterns of activity. In order to reproduce the distinct spatiotemporal properties observed in experiments, a model of the immature retinal circuitry must meet certain requirements, which are satisfied by a coarse-grained model of the developing retina that we propose. Second, this dissertation addresses how the particular spatiotemporal patterning of the retinal waves provides information to the rest of the visual system and, as a result, can be used to guide visual system development. By measuring the properties of this information, we place constraints on the developmental mechanisms that use this activity, and show how the particular spatiotemporal properties of the retinal waves provide this information. Together, this dissertation demonstrates how the apparent complexity of retinal wave patterning can be understood both through the immature circuitry that generates it, and through the developmental mechanisms that may use it. The first three

  12. Spontaneous body movements in spatial cognition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergiu eTcaci Popescu

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available People often perform spontaneous body movements during spatial tasks such as giving complex directions or orienting themselves on maps. How are these spontaneous gestures related to spatial problem-solving? We measured spontaneous movements during a perspective-taking task inspired by map reading. Analyzing the motion data to isolate rotation and translation components of motion in specific geometric relation to the task, we found out that most participants executed spontaneous miniature rotations of the head that were significantly related to the main task parameter. These head rotations were as if participants were trying to align themselves with the orientation on the map either in the image plane or on the ground plane, but with tiny amplitudes, typically below 1% of the actual movements. Our results are consistent with a model of sensorimotor prediction driving spatial reasoning. The efference copy of planned movements triggers this prediction mechanism. The movements themselves may then be mostly inhibited; the small spontaneous gestures that we measure are the visible traces of these planned but inhibited actions.

  13. Spontaneous pneumothorax in diffuse cystic lung diseases.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooley, Joseph; Lee, Yun Chor Gary; Gupta, Nishant

    2017-07-01

    Diffuse cystic lung diseases (DCLDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders with varying pathophysiologic mechanisms that are characterized by the presence of air-filled lung cysts. These cysts are prone to rupture, leading to the development of recurrent spontaneous pneumothoraces. In this article, we review the epidemiology, clinical features, and management DCLD-associated spontaneous pneumothorax, with a focus on lymphangioleiomyomatosis, Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, and pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis. DCLDs are responsible for approximately 10% of apparent primary spontaneous pneumothoraces. Computed tomography screening for DCLDs (Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, and pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis) following the first spontaneous pneumothorax has recently been shown to be cost-effective and can help facilitate early diagnosis of the underlying disorders. Patients with DCLD-associated spontaneous pneumothorax have a very high rate of recurrence, and thus pleurodesis should be considered following the first episode of spontaneous pneumothorax in these patients, rather than waiting for a recurrent episode. Prior pleurodesis is not a contraindication to future lung transplant. Although DCLDs are uncommon, spontaneous pneumothorax is often the sentinel event that provides an opportunity for diagnosis. By understanding the burden and implications of pneumothoraces in DCLDs, clinicians can facilitate early diagnosis and appropriate management of the underlying disorders.

  14. A Motivação dos Profissionais de Saúde das Unidades Básicas de Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antônio Alves Filho

    Full Text Available Relata-se pesquisa que objetivou estudar a motivação para o trabalho dos profissionais de saúde vinculados às Unidades Básicas de Saúde do município de Natal. Compreendeu-se a motivação como um processo e aplicou-se a Teoria das Expectativas que a considera como um fenômeno processual e envolve cinco componentes: resultados do trabalho, expectativa, valên-cia, instrumentalidade e força motivacional. Entendeu-se também a motivação como um fenômeno relacionado com o contexto de trabalho e adotou-se a perspectiva psicossociológica. Aplicou-se o Inventário da Motivação e Significado do Trabalho, identificando-se os fatores que mais contribuem, bem como os que enfraquecem a força motivacional dos profissionais de saúde. Conclui-se que a maioria dos profissionais apresentou força motivacional moderada e em queda, por vivenciarem e perceberem um contexto deteriorado com condições de trabalho desfavoráveis.

  15. O apoio matricial em saúde mental na Estratégia da Saúde da Família : concepção da equipe de apoiadores

    OpenAIRE

    Beatriz Antunes

    2015-01-01

    A Reforma Psiquiátrica apontou novos instrumentos de atenção à saúde mental; dentre eles, o apoio matricial, o qual oferece retaguarda especializada à Estratégia da Saúde da Família, consolidando o cuidado em saúde mental no território. A pesquisa tem como objetivo conhecer a concepção dos apoiadores de matriciamento quanto ao apoio matricial oferecido às equipes de Estratégia da Saúde da Família. Estudo qualitativo descritivo, exploratório, tipo estudo de caso. Foram informantes seis profiss...

  16. O sistema social da saúde: conceito, limites e possibilidades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Regina Martini Vial

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Discutem-se as possibilidades de definir o sistema da saúde como um sistema social, diferenciado funcionalmente, a partir da ótica da Teoria dos Sistemas Sociais, utilizando os pressupostos gerais da Teoria e a estrutura apresentada por Niklas Luhmann sobre o sistema médico. Apresentam-se alguns “desassossegos” provocados pela Teoria; as possíveis relações entre o sistema da saúde e o que Luhmann chamou de sistema médico e como esse sistema, atualmente, pode ser considerado sistema da saúde; e, por fim, a nossa concepção do sistema da saúde na atualidade.

  17. Acute Abdomen Due to Uncontrolled Use of Warfarin: Spontaneous Intra-abdominal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fatih Dal

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Warfarin is an oral anticoagulant, which is commonly used in the treatment and prophylaxis of thromboembolic conditions. Bleeding is the primary adverse effect associated with warfarin. The majority of warfarin-related bleedings are spontaneous minor hemorrhages occurring in the subcutaneous or intramuscular tissues and can be treated by decreasing the dose of oral anticoagulants. However, although rare, it is possible to encounter spontaneous major bleedings with increased risk of mortality. Conservative approach is the preferred initial therapy for hemodynamically stable patients with major intra-abdominal hemorrhages that we define as the intermediate group patients. Nevertheless, surgery is required for hemodynamically unstable patients with acute abdominal pain in cases of ongoing active hemorrhage, generalized peritonitis, obstruction, acute abdomen, intestinal ischemia, and perforation. In this article, we present a rare case of acute abdomen and spontaneous intra-abdominal hemorrhage resulting from uncontrolled use of warfarin and a new classification requirement.

  18. FEL gain optimisation and spontaneous radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bali, L.M.; Srivastava, A.; Pandya, T.P. [Lucknow Univ. (India)] [and others

    1995-12-31

    Colson have evaluated FEL gains for small deviations from perfect electron beam injection, with radiation of the same polarisation as that of the wiggler fields. We find that for optimum gain the polarisation of the optical field should be the same as that of the spontaneous emission under these conditions. With a helical wiggler the axial oscillations resulting from small departures from perfect electron beam injection lead to injection dependent unequal amplitudes and phases of the spontaneous radiation in the two transverse directions. Viewed along the axis therefore the spontaneous emission is elliptically polarised. The azimuth of the ellipse varies with the difference of phase of the two transverse components of spontaneous emission but the eccentricity remains the same. With planar wigglers the spontaneous emission viewed in the axial direction is linearly polarised, again with an injection dependent azimuth. For optimum coherent gain of a radiation field its polarisation characteristics must be the same as those of the spontaneous radiation with both types of wiggler. Thus, with a helical wiggler and the data reported earlier, an increase of 10% in the FEL gain at the fundamental frequency and of 11% at the fifth harmonic has been calculated in the small gain per pass limit. Larger enhancements in gain may result from more favourable values of input parameters.

  19. Assembly work and transport of JT-60SA cryostat base

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okano, Fuminori; Masaki, Kei; Yagyu, Jun-ichi; Shibama, Yusuke; Sakasai, Akira; Miyo, Yasuhiko; Kaminaga, Atsushi; Nishiyama, Tomokazu; Suzuki, Sadaaki; Nakamura, Shigetoshi; Shibanuma, Kiyoshi

    2013-11-01

    Japan Atomic Energy Agency started to construct a fully superconducting tokamak experiment device, JT-60SA, to support the ITER since January, 2013 at the Fusion Research and Development Directorate in Naka, Japan. The JT-60SA will be constructed with enhancing the previous JT-60 infrastructures, in the JT-60 torus hall, where the ex-JT-60 machine was disassembled. The JT-60SA Cryostat Base, for base of the entire tokamak structure, were assembly as the first step of this construction. The Cryostat Base (CB, 250tons) is consists of 7 main components made of stainless steel, in 12 m diameter and 3 m height. The CB was built in the Spain and transported to the Naka site, via Hitachi port. After pre-assembly work including preliminary measurements and sole plate adjustments of its height/flatness, the JT-60SA CB was carefully set on the sole plate. JT-60SA CB was assembled with high accuracy by using a laser tracker. The CB was adjusted in the height and flatness against the assembly reference position and determined by the absolute coordinates. This report introduces the concrete result of assembly work and transport of JT-60SA CB. (author)

  20. Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis in Subclinical Hypothyroidism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dalip Gupta

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available Hypothyroidism is an uncommon cause of ascites. Here we describe a case of a 75 year-old female patient with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and subclinical hypothyroidism that resolved with thyroid replacement and antibiotic therapy respectively. Ascitic fluid analysis revealed a gram-positive bacterium on gram staining. A review of the literature revealed just one other reported case of myxoedema ascites with concomitant spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and no case has till been reported of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in subclinical hypothyroidism.

  1. Kinetika i optimizacija procesa izolacije biljnih ekstrakata sa antibakterijskim dejstvom

    OpenAIRE

    Ivanović, Jasna Z.

    2011-01-01

    Cilj ove doktorske disertacije bio je ispitivanje kinetike izolacije ekstrakata sa jakim antibakterijskim delovanjem iz biljnog materijala primenom različitih postupaka ekstrakcije. Za izolaciju bioaktivnih supstanci korišćena je natkritična ekstrakcija sa ugljenik(IV)-oksidom, hidrodestilacija i ekstrakcija etanolom sa i bez primene ultrazvuka. Predmetom istraživanja ove doktorske disertacije obuhvaćena je analiza i optimizacija različitih procesa izolacije, kao i ispitivanje sad...

  2. Spontaneous mutation rates and the rate-doubling dose

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Von Borstel, R.C.; Moustaccki, E.; Latarjet, R.

    1978-01-01

    The amount of radiation required to double the frequency of mutations or tumours over the rate of those that occur spontaneously is called the rate-doubling dose. An equivalent concept has been proposed for exposure to other environmental mutagens. The doubling dose concept is predicated on the assumption that all human populations have the same spontaneous mutation rate, and that this spontaneous mutation rate is known. It is now established for prokaryotes and lower eukaryotes that numerous genes control the spontaneous mutation rate, and it is likely that the same is true for human cells as well. Given that the accepted mode of evolution of human populatons is from small, isolated groups of individuals, it seems likely that each population would have a different spontaneous mutation rate. Given that a minimum of twenty genes control or affect the spontaneous mutation rate, and that each of these in turn is susceptible to spontaneously arising or environmentally induced mutations, it seems likely that every individual within a population (except for siblings from identical multiple births) will have a unique spontaneous mutation rate. If each individual in a population does have a different spontaneous mutation rate, the doubling dose concept, in rigorous terms, is fallacious. Therefore, as with other concepts of risk evaluation, the doubling dose concept is subject to criticism. Nevertheless, until we know individual spontaneous mutation rates with precision, and can evaluate risks based on this information, the doubling dose concept has a heuristic value and is needed for practical assessment of risks for defined populations. (author)

  3. Percepções sobre necessidades de saúde na Atenção Básica segundo usuários de um serviço de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Alexandre de Moraes

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Trata-se de pesquisa qualitativa de caráter exploratório, com o objetivo de conhecer o conceito de necessidades de saúde, segundo a percepção de usuários de um serviço de saúde do interior paulista. Realizou-se 15 entrevistas, por meio de roteiro semi-estruturado, em janeiro de 2009. A leitura exaustiva das entrevistas permitiu a apreensão de elementos constitutivos das categorias, definidas a priori, segundo a Taxonomia das Necessidades de Saúde. Identificou-se que os usuários perceberam-se como detentores de necessidades; o contexto social pode apresentar forte influência na sua saúde, verificando-se que a autonomia na tomada de decisões é uma necessidade. Quanto ao vínculo, percebe-se que está intimamente ligado às necessidades de autonomia/autocuidado, pois de certo modo é reforçando a relação de confiança que será possível fortalecer os potenciais para o enfrentamento do processo saúde-doença. Conclui-se que existe a necessidade de instrumentos que auxiliem o profissional da área da Saúde Coletiva a identificar as necessidades de saúde dos usuários.

  4. Conceptual design of JT-60SA cryostat

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shibama, Y.K.; Sakurai, S.; Masaki, K.; Sukekawa, A.M.; Kaminaga, A.; Yoshida, K.; Matsukawa, M.

    2007-01-01

    JT-60U modification program to fully superconducting device has been proceeded, namely ''JT-60SA'', toward early realization of fusion energy based on tokamak concept. The design of JT-60SA cryostat is expected to achieve a vacuum thermal insulation for super conducting coils, a bio-shielding boundary and structural gravity support. The cryostat is required to cover JT-60SA tokamak device, which is 15 m of total height and 7 m of radius, but there is geometrical limit due to surrounding devices reutilized. Although the cryostat consists of vessel body and gravity support, and the structural material is low cobalt 304 stainless steel (Co: 2 , and the design of the leaf spring is considered to reduce thermal stress, and to withstand the mechanical loads of plasma disruption and seismic loads. The coolant is 80 K gas helium and both sides of panel are covered with multi-layers super insulation (SI) to reduce heat load (radiation) up to 1/100. Fraction of non-covered region is assumed to be 2% due to many port-joints and supports for the vacuum vessel. Total heat load for inner surface of cryostat (600 m 2 ) is 9kW and the heat load for the port-joints (-300 m 2 ) is assumed up to 9 kW. The operational pressure of the cryostat is required to keep less than 10 -2 Pa and about 100,000 m 2 of structural surfaces is considered for exhaust system specification. Another role of the cryostat is the radiation protection. Biological shielding up to 10 micro-Sv/h (for maintenance acceptance) is required of the cryostat surface after the 10 years operation. Thus the cryostat consists of boron (2 wt%) doped concrete of 220 mm thickness and structural SS304 of total 40 mm thickness. The concrete reduces the air activation (41Ar) in the torus hall by 90% rather than the normal one by the thermal neutron absorption of boron. (orig.)

  5. Spontaneous quasi single helicity regimes in EXTRAP T2R reversed-field pinch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frassinetti, L.; Brunsell, P. R.; Drake, J. R.; Menmuir, S.; Cecconello, M.

    2007-11-01

    In recent years, good progress toward a better understanding and control of the plasma performance in reversed-field pinch devices has been made. These improvements consist both of the discovery of spontaneous plasma regimes, termed the quasi single helicity (QSH) regime, in which part of the plasma core is no longer stochastic, and of the development of techniques for active control of plasma instabilities. In this paper, a systematic study of spontaneous QSH in the EXTRAP T2R device [P. R. Brunsell, H. Bergsaker, M. Cecconello et al., Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 43, 1457 (2001)] is presented. In this device, QSH states can occur spontaneously and it is associated with magnetic and thermal structures. A statistical analysis to determine the most favorable experimental conditions to have a transition to the QSH regime will be presented. The results described here are useful to understand the underlying properties of QSH regimes in view of future applications of the QSH active control in EXTRAP T2R; they are also important to have a comparison with the QSH studied in other devices.

  6. Disturbed spontaneous brain activity pattern in patients with primary angle-closure glaucoma using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation: a fMRI study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang X

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Xin Huang,1,* Yu-Lin Zhong,1,* Xian-Jun Zeng,2 Fuqing Zhou,2 Xin-Hua Liu,1 Pei-Hong Hu,1 Chong-Gang Pei,1 Yi Shao,1 Xi-Jian Dai21Department of Ophthalmology, 2Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nangchang, Jiangxi, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workObjective: The aim of this study is to use amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF as a method to explore the local features of spontaneous brain activity in patients with primary angle -closure glaucoma (PACG and ALFFs relationship with the behavioral performances.Methods: A total of twenty one patients with PACG (eight males and 13 females, and twenty one healthy subjects (nine males and twelve females closely matched in age, sex, and education, each underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. The ALFF method was used to assess the local features of spontaneous brain activity. The correlation analysis was used to explore the relationships between the observed mean ALFF signal values of the different areas in PACG patients and the thickness of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL. Results: Compared with the healthy subjects, patients with PACG had significant lower ALFF areas in the left precentral gyrus, bilateral middle frontal gyrus, bilateral superior frontal gyrus, right precuneus, and right angular gyrus, and higher areas in the right precentral gyrus. In the PACG group, there were significant negative correlations between the mean ALFF signal value of the right middle frontal gyrus and the left mean RNFL thickness (r=-0.487, P=0.033, and between the mean ALFF signal value of the left middle frontal gyrus and the right mean RNFL thickness (r=-0.504, P=0.020. Conclusion: PACG mainly involved in the dysfunction in the frontal lobe, which may reflect the underlying pathologic mechanism of PACG.Keywords: angle-closure glaucoma, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation, functional

  7. Editorial | Scott | Ergonomics SA

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ergonomics SA. Journal Home · ABOUT THIS JOURNAL · Advanced Search · Current Issue · Archives · Journal Home > Vol 23, No 1 (2011) >. Log in or Register to get access to full text downloads. Username, Password, Remember me, or Register. DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT Open Access DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ...

  8. Hypotensive and Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitory Activities of Eisenia fetida Extract in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shumei Mao

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Objectives. This study aimed to investigate the antihypertensive effects of an Eisenia fetida extract (EFE and its possible mechanisms in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR rats. Methods. Sixteen-week-old SHR rats and Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY rats were used in this study. Rats were, respectively, given EFE (EFE group, captopril (captopril group, or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS (normal control group and SHR group for 4 weeks. ACE inhibitory activity of EFE in vitro was determined. The systolic blood pressure (SBP and diastolic blood pressure (DBP were measured using a Rat Tail-Cuff Blood Pressure System. Levels of angiotensin II (Ang II, aldosterone (Ald, and 6-keto-prostaglandin F1 alpha (6-keto-PGF1α in plasma were determined by radioimmunoassay, and serum nitric oxide (NO concentration was measured by Griess reagent systems. Results. EFE had marked ACE inhibitory activity in vitro (IC50 = 2.5 mg/mL. After the 4-week drug management, SHR rats in EFE group and in captopril group had lower SBP and DBP, lower levels of Ang II and Ald, and higher levels of 6-keto-PGF1α and NO than the SHR rats in SHR group. Conclusion. These results indicate that EFE has hypotensive effects in SHR rats and its effects might be associated with its ACE inhibitory activity.

  9. Visually Evoked Spiking Evolves While Spontaneous Ongoing Dynamics Persist

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huys, Raoul; Jirsa, Viktor K.; Darokhan, Ziauddin; Valentiniene, Sonata; Roland, Per E.

    2016-01-01

    Neurons in the primary visual cortex spontaneously spike even when there are no visual stimuli. It is unknown whether the spiking evoked by visual stimuli is just a modification of the spontaneous ongoing cortical spiking dynamics or whether the spontaneous spiking state disappears and is replaced by evoked spiking. This study of laminar recordings of spontaneous spiking and visually evoked spiking of neurons in the ferret primary visual cortex shows that the spiking dynamics does not change: the spontaneous spiking as well as evoked spiking is controlled by a stable and persisting fixed point attractor. Its existence guarantees that evoked spiking return to the spontaneous state. However, the spontaneous ongoing spiking state and the visual evoked spiking states are qualitatively different and are separated by a threshold (separatrix). The functional advantage of this organization is that it avoids the need for a system reorganization following visual stimulation, and impedes the transition of spontaneous spiking to evoked spiking and the propagation of spontaneous spiking from layer 4 to layers 2–3. PMID:26778982

  10. Supplementary Motor Area Activation in Disfluency Perception : An fMRI Study of Listener Neural Responses to Spontaneously Produced Unfilled and Filled Pauses

    OpenAIRE

    Eklund, Robert; Ingvar, Martin

    2016-01-01

    Spontaneously produced Unfilled Pauses (UPs) and Filled Pauses (FPs) were played to subjects in an fMRI experiment. For both stimuli increased activity was observed in the Primary Auditory Cortex (PAC). However, FPs, but not UPs, elicited modulation in the Supplementary Motor Area (SMA), Brodmann Area 6. Our results provide neurocognitive confirmation of the alleged difference between FPs and other kinds of speech disfluency and could also provide a partial explanation for the previously repo...

  11. Critical care admission of South African (SA surgical patients: Results of the SA Surgical Outcomes Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Lee Skinner

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Background. Appropriate critical care admissions are an important component of surgical care. However, there are few data describing postoperative critical care admission in resource-limited low- and middle-income countries. Objective. To describe the demographics, organ failures, organ support and outcomes of non-cardiac surgical patients admitted to critical care units in South Africa (SA. Methods. The SA Surgical Outcomes Study (SASOS was a 7-day national, multicentre, prospective, observational cohort study of all patients ≥16 years of age undergoing inpatient non-cardiac surgery between 19 and 26 May 2014 at 50 government-funded hospitals. All patients admitted to critical care units during this study were included for analysis. Results. Of the 3 927 SASOS patients, 255 (6.5% were admitted to critical care units; of these admissions, 144 (56.5% were planned, and 111 (43.5% unplanned. The incidence of confirmed or strongly suspected infection at the time of admission was 35.4%, with a significantly higher incidence in unplanned admissions (49.1 v. 24.8%, p<0.001. Unplanned admission cases were more frequently hypovolaemic, had septic shock, and required significantly more inotropic, ventilatory and renal support in the first 48 hours after admission. Overall mortality was 22.4%, with unplanned admissions having a significantly longer critical care length of stay and overall mortality (33.3 v. 13.9%, p<0.001. Conclusion. The outcome of patients admitted to public sector critical care units in SA is strongly associated with unplanned admissions. Adequate ‘high care-dependency units’ for postoperative care of elective surgical patients could potentially decrease the burden on critical care resources in SA by 23%. This study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02141867.

  12. Peritonitis - spontaneous bacterial

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP); Ascites - peritonitis; Cirrhosis - peritonitis ... who are on peritoneal dialysis for kidney failure. Peritonitis may have other causes . These include infection from ...

  13. Synthesis and evaluation of fluorine-18-labeled SA4503 as a selective sigma1 receptor ligand for positron emission tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawamura, Kazunori; Tsukada, Hideo; Shiba, Kazuhiro; Tsuji, Chieko; Harada, Norihiro; Kimura, Yuichi; Ishiwata, Kiichi

    2007-01-01

    The [ 18 F]fluoromethyl analog of the sigma 1 selective ligand 1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)-4-(3-phenylpropyl)piperazine dihydrochloride (SA4503) ([ 18 F]FM-SA4503) was prepared and its potential evaluated for the in vivo measurement of sigma 1 receptors with positron emission tomography (PET). FM-SA4503 had selective affinity for the sigma 1 receptor ( K i for sigma 1 receptor, 6.4 nM; K i for sigma 2 receptor, 250 nM) that was compatible with the affinity of SA4503 ( K i for sigma 1 receptor, 4.4 nM; K i for sigma 2 receptor, 242 nM). [ 18 F]FM-SA4503 was synthesized by 18 F-fluoromethylation of O-demethyl SA4503 in the radiochemical yield of 2.9-16.6% at the end of bombardment with a specific activity of 37.8-283 TBq/mmol at the end of synthesis. In mice, the uptake of [ 18 F]FM-SA4503 in the brain was gradually increased for 30 min after injection, and then decreased. In the blocking study, brain uptake was significantly decreased by co-injection of haloperidol to 32% of control, and FM-SA4503 to 52% of control. In PET study of the monkey brain, high uptake was found in the cerebral cortex, thalamus and striatum. The radioactivity level of [ 18 F]FM-SA4503 in the brain regions gradually increased over a period of 120 min after injection, followed by a stable plateau phase until 180 min after injection. In pretreatment with haloperidol measurement of the monkey brain, the radioactivity level was 22-32% and 11-25% of the baseline at 60 and 180 min, respectively, after injection, suggesting high receptor-specific binding. [ 18 F]FM-SA4503 showed specific binding to sigma 1 receptors in mice and monkeys; therefore, [ 18 F]FM-SA4503 has the potential for mapping sigma 1 receptors in the brain

  14. Search for spontaneous fission of 226Ra and systematics of the spontaneous fission, α-decay and cluster decay probabilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mikheev, V.L.; Tret'yakova, S.P.; Golovchenko, A.N.; Timofeeva, O.V.; Hussonnois, M.; Le Naour, C.

    1998-01-01

    The low limit of the 226 Ra spontaneous fission half-life corresponding to T 1/2 ≥ 4 · 10 18 years is measured. The 226 Ra spontaneous fission probability proved to be about 50 times less than the value expected from the known systematics, connecting the ratios of theα-decay and spontaneous fission probabilities with the fissility parameter Z 2 /A. It is shown that the probabilities of spontaneous fission, α-decay and cluster decay can be systematized in the same way according to the difference between the decay products Coulomb energy near the scission point and decay energy Q

  15. Level of Need for Cognition and Metacognitive Thinking among Undergraduate Kindergarten Female Students at King Sa'ud University in Sa'udi Arabia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daghistani, Bulquees

    2015-01-01

    This study aims at examining the level of need for cognition and metacognitive thinking among undergraduate kindergarten female students in Education Faculty at King Sa'ud University in Sa'udi Arabia from their own perceptions. Results showed that the need for the cognition level was moderate, but metacognitive thinking level was high. In…

  16. Maternal smoking predicts the risk of spontaneous abortion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Ann; Hannibal, Charlotte Gerd; Lindekilde, Bodil Eriksen

    2006-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined smoking prior to pregnancy and the occurrence of spontaneous abortion, as most studies have addressed the risk of spontaneous abortion in relation to smoking during pregnancy. However, results are not entirely consistent. The aim of the present study...... was to assess the risk of spontaneous abortion considering smoking prior to pregnancy. METHODS: We performed a nested case-control study using prospective data from a population-based cohort comprising 11,088 women aged 20-29 years. From this cohort, women who experienced either a spontaneous abortion (n=343......) or who gave birth (n=1,578) during follow-up were selected. Associations between self-reported smoking at enrollment and subsequent spontaneous abortion were analyzed by means of multiple logistic regression. RESULTS: The risk of spontaneous abortion in relation to pre-pregnancy smoking showed a clear...

  17. Habitação e saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suzana Pasternak

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available O artigo discute o conceito de moradia adequada, constatando que os indicadores utilizados no Brasil, embora adequados para o momento e o local, não cobrem todas as condições habitacionais para promover a saúde e o bem-estar dos moradores. Explicita a relação habitação-saúde através da análise de quatro dimensões: casa e doenças transmissíveis, casa e necessidades fisiológicas, casa e acidentes domésticos, casa e saúde mental. Utilizando informações do Censo de 2010 e estatísticas vitais de 2012, analisa as condições urbanas e domiciliares do município de São Paulo, observando que o padrão da mortalidade infantil e geral varia espacialmente. Finaliza o artigo com a descrição das condições ambientais das favelas paulistanas.

  18. Ações de saúde na estratégia saúde da família no município goiano na perspectiva da integralidade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabiana Ribeiro Santana

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Objetivou-se com este estudo analisar as ações de saúde desenvolvidas por equipes de saúde da família em um município do sudeste goiano à luz da integralidade. Trata-se de pesquisa exploratória descritiva de abordagem qualitativa. A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de entrevistas e, após uma análise de conteúdo, elegeram-se três categorias temáticas: Ações dos trabalhadores e articulação entre elas; A ESF não funciona como Estratégia Saúde da Família;Atualização das equipes de saúde da família. Os resultados demonstram a fragmentação das ações e desarticulação entre os trabalhadores, o que dificulta a integralidade. Concluiu-se, assim, que existe uma necessidade de investimentos na educação permanente em saúde, no fortalecimento do controle social, na avaliação participativa no SUS e no aprimoramento de tecnologias de gestão e cuidado.

  19. Mathematics teachers' beliefs about scientific approach (SA) and implementation in mathematics learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mutholib, Ahmad Abdul; Sujadi, Imam; Subanti, Sri

    2017-08-01

    SA is the approach used for the exploration of research and answer questions. Teachers' beliefs have a greater influence than the teacher's knowledge of designing lesson plans in the classroom. The objectives of this study are to explore the teachers' beliefs in SA, to reveal how the beliefs are reflected in classroom practices; and to figure out the factors affecting their beliefs and practices of SA to the teaching of mathematics. This qualitative research applied case study. The data was gained from classroom observation, face-to-face interview, and documentation. Interactive models from Miles and Huberman were used to examine the data. Results of the study: 1) The teachers believe about the conception of SA. They also believe that the SA is important and gives impact to students' progress. They believe that by applying SA, the target of mathematics learning is acquired. As to learning procedure, they believe that SA steps are conducted in sequence by combining some steps for each. 2) Teachers formulate their beliefs of applying the five scientific step of integrating all steps by keeping the sequence. Teachers argue that target of mathematics learning can be attained by some ways, namely presence of theoretical and practical support, teachers' guidance, providing variety of media and motivation to students. 3) There are five factors which influence teachers' beliefs and practices of SA, namely learning and teaching experience, teachers' motivation, sharing with colleagues and facility. This study concludes that teachers believe in the importance of SA, therefore they implement it in the classroom.

  20. Promoção de Saúde e a Funcionalidade Humana

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Cristhina de Oliveira Brasil

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Para a elaboração de políticas públicas de saúde no Brasil, dois aspectos devem ser levados em consideração, a saber, a transição demográfica e a transição epidemiológica. Cada vez mais, observa-se um aumento no número de pessoas idosas convivendo com inúmeras incapacidades e, ainda, um perfil epidemiológico. A Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (PNAD 1998-2003 indica uma distribuição de doenças crônicas que, consequentemente, tem gerado um número expressivo de incapacidades. Essas pessoas com incapacidades necessitam dos serviços de saúde, e os utilizam quando conseguem ter acesso a eles. Contudo, os modelos vigentes de atenção à saúde do idoso ou à saúde das pessoas com deficiência são de alto custo e, em alguns aspectos, não se apresentam eficientes, demandando estratégias de prevenção e equipamentos de saúde destinados à manutenção ou recuperação da saúde de uma população mais envelhecida. Desse modo, a agenda de política pública do Brasil deveria priorizar a manutenção da funcionalidade dos idosos, com monitoramento das condições de saúde, ações preventivas específicas de saúde e educação, e cuidados buscando uma atenção multidimensional e integral, não necessariamente centrada na doença(1.A necessidade de se elaborar políticas e estratégias, em especial de promoção de saúde, com um olhar descentralizado da doença se justifica porque os problemas de saúde advêm não somente de doenças, mas de qualquer outra condição ou circunstância de saúde, tais como agravos, gravidez, envelhecimento, estresse, predisposição genética – todas classificadas pela CID-10, contudo, sem poder mensurar as mudanças de estado relativas à condição de saúde, e muito menos classificar para descrever o contexto em que esses problemas acontecem, o que dificulta e compromete o planejamento e a resolubilidade das ações e dos serviços em saúde, diferentemente dos dados por

  1. Aspirin-induced AMP-activated protein kinase activation regulates the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells from spontaneously hypertensive rats

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sung, Jin Young; Choi, Hyoung Chul

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → Aspirin-induced AMPK phosphorylation was greater in VSMC from SHR than WKY. → Aspirin-induced AMPK phosphorylation inhibited proliferation of VSMC from SHR. → Low basal AMPK phosphorylation in SHR elicits increased VSMC proliferation. → Inhibition of AMPK restored decreased VSMC proliferation by aspirin in SHR. → Aspirin exerts anti-proliferative effect through AMPK activation in VSMC from SHR. -- Abstract: Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), used to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, plays an important role in the regulation of cellular proliferation. However, mechanisms responsible for aspirin-induced growth inhibition are not fully understood. Here, we investigated whether aspirin may exert therapeutic effects via AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from wistar kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Aspirin increased AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation in a time- and dose-dependent manner in VSMCs from WKY and SHR, but with greater efficacy in SHR. In SHR, a low basal phosphorylation status of AMPK resulted in increased VSMC proliferation and aspirin-induced AMPK phosphorylation inhibited proliferation of VSMCs. Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, and AMPK siRNA reduced the aspirin-mediated inhibition of VSMC proliferation, this effect was more pronounced in SHR than in WKY. In VSMCs from SHR, aspirin increased p53 and p21 expression and inhibited the expression of cell cycle associated proteins, such as p-Rb, cyclin D, and cyclin E. These results indicate that in SHR VSMCs aspirin exerts anti-proliferative effects through the induction of AMPK phosphorylation.

  2. Aspirin-induced AMP-activated protein kinase activation regulates the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells from spontaneously hypertensive rats

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sung, Jin Young [Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu 705-717 (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Hyoung Chul, E-mail: hcchoi@med.yu.ac.kr [Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu 705-717 (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-05-06

    Highlights: {yields} Aspirin-induced AMPK phosphorylation was greater in VSMC from SHR than WKY. {yields} Aspirin-induced AMPK phosphorylation inhibited proliferation of VSMC from SHR. {yields} Low basal AMPK phosphorylation in SHR elicits increased VSMC proliferation. {yields} Inhibition of AMPK restored decreased VSMC proliferation by aspirin in SHR. {yields} Aspirin exerts anti-proliferative effect through AMPK activation in VSMC from SHR. -- Abstract: Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin), used to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, plays an important role in the regulation of cellular proliferation. However, mechanisms responsible for aspirin-induced growth inhibition are not fully understood. Here, we investigated whether aspirin may exert therapeutic effects via AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from wistar kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Aspirin increased AMPK and acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation in a time- and dose-dependent manner in VSMCs from WKY and SHR, but with greater efficacy in SHR. In SHR, a low basal phosphorylation status of AMPK resulted in increased VSMC proliferation and aspirin-induced AMPK phosphorylation inhibited proliferation of VSMCs. Compound C, an AMPK inhibitor, and AMPK siRNA reduced the aspirin-mediated inhibition of VSMC proliferation, this effect was more pronounced in SHR than in WKY. In VSMCs from SHR, aspirin increased p53 and p21 expression and inhibited the expression of cell cycle associated proteins, such as p-Rb, cyclin D, and cyclin E. These results indicate that in SHR VSMCs aspirin exerts anti-proliferative effects through the induction of AMPK phosphorylation.

  3. SU-C-204-05: Magnetic Resonance-Induced Adaptive Response to Orthovoltage Radiation Therapy in FSa and SA-NH Mouse Tumor Cell Lines

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendel, K; Miller, R; Murley, J; Sadinski, M; Grdina, D [University of Chicago, Chicago, IL (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: To assess the effect of pre-treatment Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) on cell survival following orthovoltage radiation therapy. Methods: This in vitro study examined the survival of FSa cells (extracted from methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma in the flank of a C3H female mouse) and SA-NH cells (derived from a spontaneously arising murine sarcoma tumor) having undergone an MRI scan prior to radiation exposure. Cell cultures were kept at 37 C, in a humidified environment with 5% CO2, and were grown to confluence prior to the start of the experiment. Each cell culture underwent two, 25 minute MRIs spaced 24 hours apart using a standard brain imaging protocol. The cultures were exposed to a 2 Gy dose of radiation beginning 15 minutes after the end of each MRI scan. Irradiations were performed by a Philips RT250 X-ray generator at 250 kVp and 15 mA. All MR imaging was performed on a 1.5 T Philips Achieva scanner using a head and neck vasculature coil. Results: Cells given an MRI scan prior to radiation exhibited an increase in mean surviving fraction of 10.8% and 9.6% in FSa and SA-NH cells, respectively. The difference was found to be statistically significant in both cell types by a student two-tailed t test with P = 0.011 and P < 0.001 for FSa and SA-NH, respectively. Conclusion: MRI may cause an increase in radio-resistance in FSa and SA-NH cells. If this biological effect is found to be consistent across other cell types and voltage ranges, these results could help inform treatment planning by improving our understanding of the joint effects of MRI and ionizing radiation. This work was supported in part under NIH grant numbers T32 EB002103, NCI R01-CA 132998, DOE Low Dose Program/Project Grant DE-413 SC0001271. DJ Grdina is a paid consultant to Pinnacle Biologics. DJ Grdina and JS Murley are minority equity partners in Pinnacle Oncology LLC.

  4. SU-C-204-05: Magnetic Resonance-Induced Adaptive Response to Orthovoltage Radiation Therapy in FSa and SA-NH Mouse Tumor Cell Lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendel, K; Miller, R; Murley, J; Sadinski, M; Grdina, D

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To assess the effect of pre-treatment Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) on cell survival following orthovoltage radiation therapy. Methods: This in vitro study examined the survival of FSa cells (extracted from methylcholanthrene-induced fibrosarcoma in the flank of a C3H female mouse) and SA-NH cells (derived from a spontaneously arising murine sarcoma tumor) having undergone an MRI scan prior to radiation exposure. Cell cultures were kept at 37 C, in a humidified environment with 5% CO2, and were grown to confluence prior to the start of the experiment. Each cell culture underwent two, 25 minute MRIs spaced 24 hours apart using a standard brain imaging protocol. The cultures were exposed to a 2 Gy dose of radiation beginning 15 minutes after the end of each MRI scan. Irradiations were performed by a Philips RT250 X-ray generator at 250 kVp and 15 mA. All MR imaging was performed on a 1.5 T Philips Achieva scanner using a head and neck vasculature coil. Results: Cells given an MRI scan prior to radiation exhibited an increase in mean surviving fraction of 10.8% and 9.6% in FSa and SA-NH cells, respectively. The difference was found to be statistically significant in both cell types by a student two-tailed t test with P = 0.011 and P < 0.001 for FSa and SA-NH, respectively. Conclusion: MRI may cause an increase in radio-resistance in FSa and SA-NH cells. If this biological effect is found to be consistent across other cell types and voltage ranges, these results could help inform treatment planning by improving our understanding of the joint effects of MRI and ionizing radiation. This work was supported in part under NIH grant numbers T32 EB002103, NCI R01-CA 132998, DOE Low Dose Program/Project Grant DE-413 SC0001271. DJ Grdina is a paid consultant to Pinnacle Biologics. DJ Grdina and JS Murley are minority equity partners in Pinnacle Oncology LLC.

  5. Risk of spontaneous abortion and other pregnancy outcomes in 15-25 year old women exposed to human papillomavirus-16/18 AS04-adjuvanted vaccine in the United Kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baril, Laurence; Rosillon, Dominique; Willame, Corinne; Angelo, Maria Genalin; Zima, Julia; van den Bosch, Judith H; Van Staa, Tjeerd; Boggon, Rachael; Bunge, Eveline M; Hernandez-Diaz, Sonia; Chambers, Christina D

    2015-11-27

    We assessed the risk of spontaneous abortion (SA) after inadvertent exposure to HPV-16/18-vaccine during pregnancy using an observational cohort design. The study population included women aged 15-25 years registered with the Clinical Practice Research Datalink General Practice OnLine Database in the United Kingdom (UK), who received at least one HPV-16/18-vaccine dose between 1st September 2008 and 30th June 2011. Exposed women had the first day of gestation between 30 days before and 45 days (90 days for the extended exposure period) after any HPV-16/18-vaccine dose. Non-exposed women had the first day of gestation 120 days-18 months after the last dose. SA defined as foetal loss between weeks 1 and 23 of gestation (UK definition). The frequency of SA was 11.6% (among 207 exposed) and 9.0% (632 non-exposed), women: hazard ratio (HR) adjusted for age at first day of gestation 1.30 (95% confidence interval: 0.79-2.12). Sensitivity analysis per number of doses administered (-30 to +45-day risk period) showed a HR for SA of 1.11 (0.64-1.91) for 18/178 women with one dose during the risk period versus 2.55 (1.09-5.93) in 6/29 women with two doses within a 4-5 weeks period. The proportion of pre-term/full-term/postterm deliveries, small/large for gestational age infants, and birth defects was not significantly different between exposed and non-exposed women. Results were consistent using a (United States) SA definition of foetal loss between weeks 1-19 and/or the extended risk period. There was no evidence of an increased risk of SA and other adverse pregnancy outcomes in young women inadvertently HPV-16/18-vaccinated around gestation. Nevertheless, women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant are advised to postpone vaccination until completion of pregnancy. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. Osteonecrosis or spontaneous fractures following renal transplantation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andresen, J.; Nielsen, H.E.; Aarhus Univ.

    1981-01-01

    31 renal transplant recipients with posttransplant development of osteonecrosis or spontaneous fractures were evaluated with regard to age, duration of dialysis before transplantation. Determination of metacarpal bone mass at the time of transplantation and registration of bone resorption and soft tissue calcification at the time of transplantation and at the time of onset of osteonecrosis and spontaneous fractures were made. Apart from the increased mean age in patients with spontaneous fractures no difference was seen between the groups. Osteonecrosis and spontaneous fractures occurred in areas of trabecular bone. It seems most likely that after renal transplantation the patients show bone complications of different localization. (orig.) [de

  7. Promoting Spontaneous Second Harmonic Generation through Organogelation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marco, A Belén; Aparicio, Fátima; Faour, Lara; Iliopoulos, Konstantinos; Morille, Yohann; Allain, Magali; Franco, Santiago; Andreu, Raquel; Sahraoui, Bouchta; Gindre, Denis; Canevet, David; Sallé, Marc

    2016-07-27

    An organogelator based on the Disperse Red nonlinear optical chromophore was synthesized according to a simple and efficient three-step procedure. The supramolecular gel organization leads to xerogels which display a spontaneous second harmonic generation (SHG) response without any need for preprocessing, and this SHG activity appears to be stable over several months. These findings, based on an intrinsic structural approach, are supported by favorable intermolecular supramolecular interactions, which promote a locally non-centrosymmetric NLO-active organization. This is in sharp contrast with most materials designed for SHG purposes, which generally require the use of expensive or heavy-to-handle external techniques for managing the dipoles' alignment.

  8. Agente comunitário de saúde: perfil adequado a realidade do Programa Saúde da Família?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karina Tonini dos Santos

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available O presente artigo analisa o perfil e a realidade de trabalho dos agentes comunitários de saúde, visando contribuir para a otimização do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS, especialmente em municípios de pequeno porte. Foram discutidos aspectos relacionados a sua inserção na equipe do Programa de Saúde da Família (PSF e a sua interação com a comunidade adscrita. Observou-se, entre outros, que há falta de motivação e experiência por parte dos agentes, o que compromete a qualidade da atuação na comunidade. Sabe-se que tais fatos encontrados são reflexos e consequências de todo um contexto estabelecido. Torna-se necessário um profundo repensar de prática por parte da equipe e, especialmente, dos gestores, tendo como base os princípios que regem o SUS e o PSF.

  9. A Case of Spontaneously Resolved Bilateral Primary Spontaneous Pneumothorax

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hasan Kahraman

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available A condition of intrapleural air-space accumulation in individuals without any history of trauma or lung disease is called as primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP. Sixteen-years-old male patient admitted with complains of chest pain and dyspnea beginning 3 day ago. On physical examination, severity of breath sounds decreased on right side. Chest radiograph was taken and right-sided pneumothorax was detected and tube thoracostomy was inserted. Two months ago the patient referred to a doctor with similar complaints and physical examination and chest radiograph were reported as normal. The radiograph was retrospectively examined and bilateral PSP was detected. We presented the case duo to spontaneous recovery of bilateral PSP is seen very rarely and so contributes data to the literature. In patients admitted to the clinic with chest pain and shortness of breath, pneumothorax should be considered at differential diagnosis.

  10. Maternal underweight and the risk of spontaneous abortion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helgstrand, Stine; Andersen, Anne-Marie Nybo

    2005-01-01

    BACKGROUND: To evaluate the risk of spontaneous abortion in relation to maternal pre-pregnant underweight. METHODS: The study was designed as a cohort study within the framework of the Danish National Birth Cohort (DNBC). The participants were a total of 23 821 women recruited consecutively...... spontaneous abortion. Relative risk of spontaneous abortion was calculated as Hazard Ratios using Cox regression with delayed entry. RESULTS: The outcome measure was spontaneous abortion. The hazard ratio for spontaneous abortion in women with a pre-pregnant body mass index (BMI) below 18.5 was 1.24 (95......% confidence limits 0.95-1.63) compared to women with pre-pregnant BMI 18.5-24.9. Women with a BMI of 25 or more had a smaller increase in risk of spontaneous abortion. Adjustment for maternal age, parity, previous miscarriages, and lifestyle factors did not affect the estimates substantially, neither did...

  11. Políticas de saúde e alegações de propriedades funcionais e de saúde para alimentos no Brasil Health policies and functional property and health claims for food in Brazil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo César Stringheta

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available O trabalho estabelece a relação entre as diretrizes das políticas públicas de saúde brasileiras e os critérios adotados pela Anvisa para aprovação das alegações de propriedades funcionais e, ou, de saúde para alimentos e para substâncias bioativas e probióticos isolados. Comenta a legislação brasileira sobre alimentos com alegações de propriedades funcionais e, ou, de saúde, novos alimentos e substâncias bioativas e probióticos isolados, evidenciando a obrigatoriedade de registro destes produtos junto aos órgãos competentes. Apresenta as diretrizes da Política Nacional de Alimentação e Nutrição, Política Nacional de Promoção da Saúde, Guia Alimentar para a População Brasileira e Estratégia Global sobre Dieta, Atividade Física e Saúde da Organização Mundial de Saúde. Ressalta a convergência das diretrizes destas políticas que objetivam a redução das doenças crônicas não-transmissíveis na população através da promoção da alimentação saudável e da atividade física. Destaca as orientações direcionadas aos governos e à indústria para a implementação dessas medidas. Apresenta critérios de avaliação da base científica das alegações propostos por órgãos internacionais. Objetiva oferecer subsídios para o entendimento da influência da tecnologia de alimentos sobre a saúde pública e para o entendimento dos critérios adotados pela Anvisa, na avaliação das alegações de propriedades funcionais e de saúde.This article establishes the relationship between public health policies in Brazil and the criteria adopted by Anvisa for the approval of functional property claims and, or, of health for food and for bioactive substances and isolated products. It also comments on Brazilian Legislation about functional property claimed food and, or, on healthy claimed food, new foods, bioactive substances and isolated probiotics, emphasizing the obligation to registering such products before the

  12. An N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor mediated large, low-frequency, spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic current in neonatal rat spinal dorsal horn neurons.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomson, L M; Zeng, J; Terman, G W

    2006-09-01

    Examples of spontaneous oscillating neural activity contributing to both pathological and physiological states are abundant throughout the CNS. Here we report a spontaneous oscillating intermittent synaptic current located in lamina I of the neonatal rat spinal cord dorsal horn. The spontaneous oscillating intermittent synaptic current is characterized by its large amplitude, slow decay time, and low-frequency. We demonstrate that post-synaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) mediate the spontaneous oscillating intermittent synaptic current, as it is inhibited by magnesium, bath-applied d-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV), or intracellular MK-801. The NR2B subunit of the NMDAR appears important to this phenomenon, as the NR2B subunit selective NMDAR antagonist, alpha-(4-hydroxphenyl)-beta-methyl-4-benzyl-1-piperidineethanol tartrate (ifenprodil), also partially inhibited the spontaneous oscillating intermittent synaptic current. Inhibition of spontaneous glutamate release by the AMPA/kainate receptor antagonist 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) or the mu-opioid receptor agonist [D-Ala2, N-Me-Phe4, Gly5] enkephalin-ol (DAMGO) inhibited the spontaneous oscillating intermittent synaptic current frequency. Marked inhibition of spontaneous oscillating intermittent synaptic current frequency by tetrodotoxin (TTX), but not post-synaptic N-(2,6-dimethylphenylcarbamoylmethyl)triethylammonium bromide (QX-314), suggests that the glutamate release important to the spontaneous oscillating intermittent synaptic current is dependent on active neural processes. Conversely, increasing dorsal horn synaptic glutamate release by GABAA or glycine inhibition increased spontaneous oscillating intermittent synaptic current frequency. Moreover, inhibiting glutamate transporters with threo-beta-benzyloxyaspartic acid (DL-TBOA) increased spontaneous oscillating intermittent synaptic current frequency and decay time. A possible functional role of this spontaneous NMDAR

  13. Expression and distribution of voltage-gated ion channels in ferret sinoatrial node.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brahmajothi, Mulugu V; Morales, Michael J; Campbell, Donald L; Steenbergen, Charles; Strauss, Harold C

    2010-10-01

    Spontaneous diastolic depolarization in the sinoatrial (SA) node enables it to serve as pacemaker of the heart. The variable cell morphology within the SA node predicts that ion channel expression would be heterogeneous and different from that in the atrium. To evaluate ion channel heterogeneity within the SA node, we used fluorescent in situ hybridization to examine ion channel expression in the ferret SA node region and atrial appendage. SA nodal cells were distinguished from surrounding cardiac myocytes by expression of the slow (SA node) and cardiac (surrounding tissue) forms of troponin I. Nerve cells in the sections were identified by detection of GAP-43 and cytoskeletal middle neurofilament. Transcript expression was characterized for the 4 hyperpolarization-activated cation channels, 6 voltage-gated Na(+) channels, 3 voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels, 24 voltage-gated K(+) channel α-subunits, and 3 ancillary subunits. To ensure that transcript expression was representative of protein expression, immunofluorescence was used to verify localization patterns of voltage-dependent K(+) channels. Colocalizations were performed to observe any preferential patterns. Some overlapping and nonoverlapping binding patterns were observed. Measurement of different cation channel transcripts showed heterogeneous expression with many different patterns of expression, attesting to the complexity of electrical activity in the SA node. This study provides insight into the possible role ion channel heterogeneity plays in SA node pacemaker activity.

  14. O PET-Saúde da Família e a formação de profissionais da saúde: a percepção de estudantes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luciana Margarida de Santana Madruga

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Trata-se de estudo com abordagem qualitativa, cujo objetivo foi analisar a contribuição do Programa de Educação pelo Trabalho para a Saúde (PET– Saúde da Família para a formação dos futuros profissionais de saúde de uma universidade pública do Nordeste do Brasil. Foram utilizados dados secundários do instrumento de avaliação semestral do programa, respondido por 67 estudantes dos cursos de: Educação Física, Enfermagem, Fisioterapia, Medicina, Nutrição e Odontologia. Os resultados foram sistematizados em duas categorias de análise: o trabalho interprofissional e a integração ensino-serviço. O estudo evidenciou: a importância do trabalho interprofissional e colaborativo, a integração ensino-serviço-comunidade, e a reflexão das práticas impulsionadas pelo PET-Saúde da Família para a mudança no processo formativo em saúde. Estratégias como essa são essenciais para a formação e o aperfeiçoamento de profissionais para o Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS.

  15. Altered spontaneous brain activity pattern in patients with high myopia using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation: a resting-state fMRI study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang X

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Xin Huang,1,2,* Fu-Qing Zhou,3,* Yu-Xiang Hu,1 Xiao-Xuan Xu,1 Xiong Zhou,4 Yu-Lin Zhong,1 Jun Wang,4 Xiao-Rong Wu1 1Department of Ophthalmology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 2Department of Ophthalmology, The First People’s Hospital of Jiujiang City, Jiujiang, 3Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Jiangxi Province Medical Imaging Research Institute, 4Second Department of Respiratory Disease, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, Nanchang, Jiangxi, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: Many previous reports have demonstrated significant neural anatomy changes in the brain of high myopic (HM patients, whereas the spontaneous brain activity changes in the HM patients at rest are not well studied. Our objective was to use amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF method to investigate the changes in spontaneous brain activity in HM patients and their relationships with clinical features. Methods: A total of 38 patients with HM (17 males and 21 females and 38 healthy controls (HCs (17 males and 21 females closely matched in age, sex, and education underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. The ALFF method was used to assess local features of spontaneous brain activity. The relationship between the mean ALFF signal values in many brain regions and the clinical features in HM patients was calculated by correlation analysis. Results: Compared with HCs, the HM patients had significantly lower ALFF in the right inferior and middle temporal gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus/putamen, right inferior frontal gyrus/putamen/insula, right middle frontal gyrus, and right inferior parietal lobule and higher ALFF values in the bilateral midcingulate cortex, left postcentral gyrus, and left precuneus/inferior parietal lobule. However, no relationship was found between the mean ALFF

  16. RiSA: A Science Festival for the Bilingual and Bicultural Rio Grande Valley

    Science.gov (United States)

    Key, Joey Shapiro; Torres, Cristina; Stone, Robert

    2014-03-01

    The Rio Grande Science and Arts (RiSA) Festival organized by the Center for Gravitational Wave Astronomy (CGWA) at the University of Texas at Brownsville (UTB) will use a wide variety of artforms to bring physics and science topics to the bilingual and bicultural population of the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas. The science and art faculty at UTB will partner with art and education professionals to create an annual community event celebrating science though art. Music, dance, poetry, and visual arts will headline the festival activities. Festival events and products will be produced in both English and Spanish to attract and inform the bilingual local community. The RiSA Festival is supported by the Science Festival Alliance and the Sloan Foundation. Supported by the Science Festival Alliance and the Sloan Foundation.

  17. Carbon monoxide oxidation on a Au(111 surface modified by spontaneously deposited Ru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ROLF-JÜRGEN BEHM

    2001-04-01

    Full Text Available The spontaneous deposition of Ru on Au(111 was performed in 10-3 M RuCl3 + 0.5 M H2SO4 solution. The obtained surface was characterized by STM under potential control in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution. The coverage of the Au(111 terraces by deposited Ru was estimated by STM to be 0.02 ML. Step decoration could be noticed in the STM images, which indicates that the steps, as lined defects, are active sites for the nucleation of Ru monolayer islands, while the random distribution of Ru nuclei, observed on the terraces indicates point defects as active sites. The electrocatalytic activity of Au(111 surface modified by spontaneously deposited Ru was studied towards CO oxidation. The significant enhancement in the reaction rate compared to CO oxidation on a pure Au(111 surface, indicated that the edges of the deposited Ru islands were the active sites for the reaction.

  18. Spontaneous deregulation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Edelman, Benjamin; Geradin, Damien

    Platform businesses such as Airbnb and Uber have risen to success partly by sidestepping laws and regulations that encumber their traditional competitors. Such rule flouting is what the authors call “spontaneous private deregulation,” and it’s happening in a growing number of industries. The authors

  19. Spontaneous and α-adrenoceptor-induced contractility in human collecting lymphatic vessels require chloride

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mohanakumar, Sheyanth; Majgaard, Jens; Telinius, Niklas

    2018-01-01

    - with the impermeant anion aspartate and inhibition of Cl- transport and channels with the clinical diuretics furosemide and bendroflumethiazide, as well as DIDS and NPPB. The molecular expression of calcium-activated chloride channels was investigated by RT-PCR and proteins localized using immunoreactivity....... Spontaneous and norepinephrine-induced contractility in human lymphatic vessels was highly abrogated after Cl- substitution with aspartate. 100‒300µM DIDS or NPPB inhibited spontaneous contractile behavior. Norepinephrine-stimulated tone was furthermore markedly abrogated by 200µM DIDS. Furosemide lowered...

  20. Spontaneous motor activity during the development and maintenance of diet-induced obesity in the rat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, B E

    1991-09-01

    More than 80% of most daily spontaneous activities (assessed in an Omnitech activity monitor) occurred during the last hour of light and 12 h of the dark phase in 8 chow-fed male Sprague-Dawley rats. Thirty additional rats were, therefore, monitored over this 13-h period to assess the relationship of activity to the development and maintenance of diet-induced obesity (DIO) on a diet high in energy, fat and sucrose (CM diet). Nine of 20 rats became obese after 3 months on the CM diet, with 71% greater weight gain than 10 chow-fed controls. Eleven of 20 rats were diet resistant (DR), gaining the same amount of weight as chow-fed rats. Neither initial activity levels nor initial body weights on chow (Period I) differed significantly across retrospectively identified groups. After 3 months on CM diet or chow (Period II), as well as after an additional 3 months after CM diet-fed rats returned to chow (Period III), there were significant inverse correlations (r = -.606 to -.370) between body weight at the time of testing and various measures of movement in the horizontal plane. There was no relationship to dietary content nor consistent correlations of body weight or diet group to vertical movements, an indirect measure of ingestive behavior. Patterns of time spent in the vertical position were significantly different for DIO vs. DR rats in Period III, however. Thus, differences in food intake and metabolic efficiency, rather than differences in nocturnal activity, are probably responsible for the greater weight gain in DIO-prone rats placed on CM diet.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

  1. Sociologia das profissões e percepção de acadêmicos de Odontologia sobre o Agente Comunitário de Saúde em Saúde Bucal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodrigo Otávio Moretti-Pires

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available A atuação profissional no Programa de Saúde da Família exige dos odontólogos uma postura que rompa com práticas clínicas tradicionais, a exemplo da articulação com o ACS neste contexto de trabalho em equipe. Estas questões remetem ao campo da sociologia das profissões de saúde. O presente artigo objetiva investigar a percepção de acadêmicos de Odontologia sobre a atuação dos ACS junto ao trabalho de Saúde Bucal. Em termos metodológicos, foram utilizadas quarenta entrevistas com acadêmicos de Odontologia de uma universidade federal, tratadas por um processo hermenêutico-dialético. Os resultados apontam para a falta de formação no trabalho em equipe multiprofissional, a existência de dificuldades para atuação em Saúde Coletiva, assim como para a deficiência no conhecimento das atribuições dos membros da equipe de Saúde da Família, em especial sobre as atribuições dos ACS junto à Saúde Bucal.

  2. A agência nacional de saúde suplementar - ANS: onze anos de regulação dos planos de saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rachel Torres Salvatori

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Trata-se de um trabalho com objetivo de apresentar os principais resultados alcançados pela regulação dos planos de saúde exercida pela Agência Nacional de Saúde Suplementar, autarquia instituída para promover o equilíbrio das relações entre operadoras e consumidores, tornando o mercado de planos de saúde mais efi ciente. Como avanços mais significativos oriundos da regulação do setor podem ser citados: as barreiras à entrada e à saída das operadoras no mercado, a ampliação das coberturas assistenciais contratuais, o monitoramento e o controle dos reajustes, a indução a práticas de promoção da saúde e à qualifi cação do setor, e a possibilidade da portabilidade de carências. Como desafios a serem enfrentados, podem ser apontados: o monitoramento da qualidade da assistência prestada, a renúncia fiscal, a existência dos cartões de desconto, a operação de empresas como operadoras de planos de saúde sem o registro na ANS e a adoção de alguns mecanismos nocivos de regulação assistencial pelas operadoras de planos de saúde. ----- The National Agency of Supplementary Health – ANS: eleven years in regulating health insurance plans ----- ABSTRACT ----- This study aims to present the main results achieved in the regulation of health insurance plans through the National Agency of Supplementary Health, an agency set up to promote a balance in the relationship between health insurance plans and their consumers, making the health insurance market more efficient. As examples of the important progress achieved in regulating the sector, the authors emphasize: greater control of the infl ow and outfl ow of service operators in the market; the widening of contractual coverage; monitoring and control of readjustments; encouragement of health promotion practices and increased training in the sector; grace period flexibility. Examples of regulatory gaps however, include: problems monitoring the quality of the care provided

  3. Therapeutic actions of an insulin receptor activator and a novel peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonist in the spontaneously hypertensive obese rat model of metabolic syndrome X.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Velliquette, Rodney A; Friedman, Jacob E; Shao, J; Zhang, Bei B; Ernsberger, Paul

    2005-07-01

    Insulin resistance clusters with hyperlipidemia, impaired glucose tolerance, and hypertension as metabolic syndrome X. We tested a low molecular weight insulin receptor activator, demethylasterriquinone B-1 (DMAQ-B1), and a novel indole peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonist, 2-(2-(4-phenoxy-2-propylphenoxy)ethyl)indole-5-acetic acid (PPEIA), in spontaneously hypertensive obese rats (SHROB), a genetic model of syndrome X. Agents were given orally for 19 days. SHROB showed fasting normoglycemia but impaired glucose tolerance after an oral load, as shown by increased glucose area under the curve (AUC) [20,700 mg x min/ml versus 8100 in lean spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)]. Insulin resistance was indicated by 20-fold excess fasting insulin and increased insulin AUC (6300 ng x min/ml versus 990 in SHR). DMAQ-B1 did not affect glucose tolerance (glucose AUC = 21,300) but reduced fasting insulin 2-fold and insulin AUC (insulin AUC = 4300). PPEIA normalized glucose tolerance (glucose AUC = 9100) and reduced insulin AUC (to 3180) without affecting fasting insulin. PPEIA also increased food intake, fat mass, and body weight gain (81 +/- 12 versus 45 +/- 8 g in untreated controls), whereas DMAQ-B1 had no effect on body weight but reduced subscapular fat mass. PPEIA but not DMAQ-B1 reduced blood pressure. In skeletal muscle, insulin-stimulated phosphorylation of the insulin receptor and insulin receptor substrate protein 1-associated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity were decreased by 40 to 55% in SHROB relative to lean SHR. PPEIA, but not DMAQ-B1, enhanced both insulin actions. SHROB also showed severe hypertriglyceridemia (355 +/- 42 mg/dl versus 65 +/- 3 in SHR) attenuated by both agents (DMAQ-B1, 228 +/- 18; PPEIA, 79 +/- 3). Both these novel antidiabetic agents attenuate insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridemia associated with metabolic syndrome but via distinct mechanisms.

  4. A case of spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamane, Kanji; Yoshimoto, Hisanori; Harada, Kiyoshi; Uozumi, Tohru; Kuwabara, Satoshi.

    1983-01-01

    The authors experienced a case of spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy diagnosed by CT scan with metrizamide and Conray. Patient was 23-year-old male who had been in good health until one month before admission, when he began to have headache and tinnitus. He noticed bilateral visual acuity was decreased about one week before admission and vomiting appeared two days before admission. He was admitted to our hospital because of bilateral papilledema and remarkable hydrocephalus diagnosed by CT scan. On admission, no abnormal neurological signs except for bilateral papilledema were noted. Immediately, right ventricular drainage was performed. Pressure of the ventricle was over 300mmH 2 O and CSF was clear. PVG and PEG disclosed an another cavity behind the third ventricle, which was communicated with the third ventricle, and occlusion of aqueduct of Sylvius. Metrizamide CT scan and Conray CT scan showed a communication between this cavity and quadrigeminal and supracerebellar cisterns. On these neuroradiological findings, the diagnosis of obstructive hydrocephalus due to benign aqueduct stenosis accompanied with spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy was obtained. Spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy was noticed to produce arrest of hydrocephalus, but with our case, spontaneous regression of such symptoms did not appeared. By surgical ventriculocisternostomy (method by Torkildsen, Dandy, or Scarff), arrest of hydrocephalus was seen in about 50 to 70 per cent, which was the same results as those of spontaneous ventriculocisternostomy. It is concluded that VP shunt or VA shunt is thought to be better treatment of obstructive hydrocephalus than the various kinds of surgical ventriculocisternostomy. (J.P.N.)

  5. Saúde Mental na Atenção Básica: Sentidos Atribuídos pelos Agentes Comunitários de Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raul Franklin Sarabando de Moura

    Full Text Available Em consideração a normas recentes do Ministério da Saúde, que regulamentam as relações entre a Saúde Mental e a Atenção Básica, esta pesquisa tem por objetivo estudar os sentidos atribuídos pelo ACS à Saúde Mental e suas implicações na prática cotidiana, além de suas percepções sobre as ações do Programa de Residência Multiprofissional em Atenção à Saúde (PRMAS. Trata-se de um estudo qualitativo, segundo o referencial da Hermenêutica de Profundidade,feito através de observação participante e entrevistas semidirigidas. Os resultados alcançados apontam a centralização dos cuidados em Saúde Mental nos CAPS, especialmente através de medicações. Em relação ao PRMAS, percebe-se o papel de matriciamento exercido pela residência, por meio da escuta e acompanhamento do ACS, que encontra situações de sofrimento psíquico em seu cotidiano mas se sente despreparado para lidar com elas. A residência fortalece a integralidade do cuidado, conforme qualifica a atuação do ACS e o orienta em casos difíceis, bem como pode ser um articulador do trabalho, através das iniciativas de aproximação entre os serviços que tem promovido.

  6. Discussion of CoSA: Clustering of Sparse Approximations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Armstrong, Derek Elswick [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2017-03-07

    The purpose of this talk is to discuss the possible applications of CoSA (Clustering of Sparse Approximations) to the exploitation of HSI (HyperSpectral Imagery) data. CoSA is presented by Moody et al. in the Journal of Applied Remote Sensing (“Land cover classification in multispectral imagery using clustering of sparse approximations over learned feature dictionaries”, Vol. 8, 2014) and is based on machine learning techniques.

  7. Saúde Mental no contexto da atenção básica: potencialidades, limitações, desafios do Programa Saúde da Família

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Denize Bouttelet Munari

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Esse estudo destaca as possibilidades da inclusão da atenção em saúde mental no Programa de Saúde da Família (PSF. O objetivo foi analisar na literatura nacional as possibilidades, limites e desafios dos profissionais do PSF no enfrentamento das questões concernentes à prática. Revisão de literatura realizada em agosto/2007, na Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde, sendo acessadas bases LILACS e SciELO. A busca foi realizada por meio dos descritores “saúde mental”, “família”, e “programa saúde da família”, recuperando apenas artigos publicados em periódicos disponíveis nessas bases entre 1997 e 2007. Identificamos 155 títulos inicialmente que, ao serem analisados possibilitou seleção de 50 artigos (30 LILACS e 20 SciELO. Esse exercício levou a organização do material em dois pontos de convergência: 1. Programa Saúde da Família e a Reabilitação Psicossocial: o que há de comum? 2. Do descompasso aos vôos possíveis: limites, contradições, impasses e possibilidades na atenção em saúde mental no PSF. Concluímos que embora haja tendência de expansão da produção do conhecimento sobre a temática ainda é necessário investimento em iniciativas de superação do modelo assistência, que de fato tenha impacto na prática assistencial.

  8. Relationship of spontaneous pneumothorax cases seen in Eastern Black Sea region with meteorological changes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamac, Mustafa Esat; Karapolat, Sami; Turkyilmaz, Atila; Seyis, Kubra Nur; Tekinbas, Celal

    2017-08-01

    The relationship of climate changes or weather conditions with the incidence of pneumothorax has been explored for many years. We aimed at revealing the effects of meteorological changes on the incidence of pneumothorax in the Eastern Black Sea region where spontaneous pneumothorax cases are seen relatively more frequently. The records of 195 subjects (179 males and 16 females) who had been monitored and treated due to spontaneous pneumothorax between January 2006 and December 2012 at our clinic were reviewed retrospectively, and their relationship was investigated with the meteorological data obtained by going through the database archive records of the 11th Regional Meteorology Directorate for the years between 2006 and 2012. Wind velocity was observed to be less in the days of having spontaneous pneumothorax than in the days of having no spontaneous pneumothorax, and the difference was found statistically significant ( P = 0.026). The people of our region whose active lifestyle is reflected in their working life, social life, and even in their folk dances usually take a rest in the days of slower wind speed. We think that this state of resting leads to an increase in the frequency of spontaneous pneumothorax.

  9. Atividade física e saúde: discurso que controlam o corpo Physical Activity and Health: body controlling discourses Actividad fisica y salud: discursos que controlan el cuerpo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2006-11-01

    Full Text Available A Educação Física, no século XIX, construiu o corpo saudável com intuito militar e industrial, baseada nos discursos: atividade física e saúde. Atualmente, mídia, tecnologia e ciência os propagam com outros objetivos. Este estudo tenta ampliar as relações desses discursos, a partir da mídia e biotecnologia para pensar a prática do profissional de Educação Física, sobretudo evitando uma intervenção acrítica generalizante: “atividade física é saúde”. O estilo de vida moderna parece influenciar doenças cardiovasculares, obesidade, depressão e estresse. Novamente a atividade física é um remédio. Paralelamente, a mídia utiliza-se deste contexto tornando o corpo produto de consumo e transforma a saúde em sinônimo de beleza. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Corpo – Saúde – Atividade Física – Mídia In the 19th Century, physical education built the healthy body for military and industrial aims, based on the discourses of physical activity and health. Currently, media, technology and science disseminate such discourses for other objectives. This study aims at broadening the boundaries of such discourses, from the starting point of media and biotechnology, in order to reflect upon the work of the physical education professional, avoiding a non-critical, generalizing intervention, such as the discourse that “physical activity is health”. Contemporary lifestyles seem to lead to heart problems, obesity, depression, and stress. Again, physical activity is advertised as the cure. At the same time, the mass media use this context by turning the body into a consumer product, and by turning health into a synonym for beauty. KEY-WORDS: body - health - physical activity - mass media. La Educación Física, en el siglo XIX, construyó el cuerpo saludable con el propósito militar e industrial, baseada en discursos: actividad física y salud. Actualmente, media, tecnología y ciencia los propagan con otros objetivos. Este

  10. Determination of MMP-2 and -9 activities in synovial fluid of horses with osteoarthritic and arthritic joint diseases using gelatin zymography and immunocapture activity assays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fietz, S; Einspanier, R; Hoppner, S; Hertsch, B; Bondzio, A

    2008-05-01

    Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs)-2 and -9 activities have been found elevated in synovial fluid from various joint diseases in man. However, in the horse few data are available. To explore the clinical significance of MMP-2 and -9 activities in synovial fluid of horses with different forms of joint diseases. Gelatin zymography and MMP-2 and -9 immunocapture activity assays were applied on synovial fluids from control joints and joints with aseptic joint disease (AJD) and septic arthritis (SA). Additionally, MMP-2 and -9 activities were measured in samples from SA to monitor the disease process. Zymographic analysis revealed that samples from AJD and SA contained significantly increased latent MMP-2 activity compared to controls. Samples from SA showed significantly increased monomeric latent MMP-9 activity compared with all other affected joints and controls. Trace amounts of MMP-9 activity, due to the active and dimer form, were detected in samples from SA; however, these bands were absent in samples from AJD and controls. Using immunocapture activity assays, MMP-2 and -9 activities were found to be significantly elevated in joints from SA compared to controls and AJD samples. MMP-2 activity in samples from AJD was significantly increased compared to controls. Both MMP activities decreased in the joints from SA in the course of successful therapy. Data from zymographic analysis confirmed that MMP-2 and -9 were elevated in equine joint diseases. Immunocapture activity assays have been shown to be suitable for the quantitative determination of MMP-2 and -9 activities in synovial fluid of horses. Both MMP-2 and -9 activities seem to be useful to indicate SA, and MMP-2 activity might be a suitable marker for AJD. These findings encourage the potential use of MMP-2 and -9 as additional aids to clinical investigation. Further work is required to validate the clinical significance of MMP activities in the progress of different joint diseases in horses.

  11. BNU-LSVED: a multimodal spontaneous expression database in educational environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Bo; Wei, Qinglan; He, Jun; Yu, Lejun; Zhu, Xiaoming

    2016-09-01

    In the field of pedagogy or educational psychology, emotions are treated as very important factors, which are closely associated with cognitive processes. Hence, it is meaningful for teachers to analyze students' emotions in classrooms, thus adjusting their teaching activities and improving students ' individual development. To provide a benchmark for different expression recognition algorithms, a large collection of training and test data in classroom environment has become an acute problem that needs to be resolved. In this paper, we present a multimodal spontaneous database in real learning environment. To collect the data, students watched seven kinds of teaching videos and were simultaneously filmed by a camera. Trained coders made one of the five learning expression labels for each image sequence extracted from the captured videos. This subset consists of 554 multimodal spontaneous expression image sequences (22,160 frames) recorded in real classrooms. There are four main advantages in this database. 1) Due to recorded in the real classroom environment, viewer's distance from the camera and the lighting of the database varies considerably between image sequences. 2) All the data presented are natural spontaneous responses to teaching videos. 3) The multimodal database also contains nonverbal behavior including eye movement, head posture and gestures to infer a student ' s affective state during the courses. 4) In the video sequences, there are different kinds of temporal activation patterns. In addition, we have demonstrated the labels for the image sequences are in high reliability through Cronbach's alpha method.

  12. Profissionalização e regulação da atividade do agente comunitário de saúde no contexto da reforma sanitária Professionalization and regulation of the community health agent's activity in the context of the sanitary reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Helena Magalhães de Mendonça

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available O artigo tem como tema a profissionalização da atividade do agente comunitário de saúde, no contexto das reformas sociais formuladas no processo de redemocratização do Brasil nos anos 80 e 90, com ênfase na Reforma Sanitária brasileira. O argumento central é a existência de uma relação entre projetos de renovação das práticas sociais em saúde, como a reorganização da atenção básica de saúde a partir dos Programas de Agentes Comunitários de Saúde (Pacs e Saúde da Família (PSF, e a emergência de nova categoria de trabalhador em saúde, que exige um esforço de profissionalização, entendida como educação profissional específica e regulação da atividade no mercado de trabalho em saúde. Primeiro, trabalha-se o contexto em que se definem políticas sociais de saúde como parte da constituição da cidadania social, que se baseia nos princípios da universalidade e da igualdade entre beneficiários. No segundo momento, trata-se da emergência desse novo agente, do seu papel no processo de mudança na produção da saúde e do papel do Estado na normalização de sua atuação e regulação no mercado de trabalho em saúde. Por fim, reflete-se sobre os desafios que a recente regulação da profissão traz para a formação profissional dos trabalhadores em saúde, cujo enfrentamento favorece a implementação da estratégia de Saúde da Família e auxilia na consolidação do processo de reforma social.The article deals with the professionalization of the community health agent's activity in the context of the social reforms formulated during Brazil's return to democracy in the 80s and 90s, with emphasis on the Brazilian sanitary reform. The central argument is that there is a relationship between the projects for the renovation of social practices in health - such as the reorganization of basic health care through the Programmes of Community Health Agents (Pacs and Family Health (PSF - and the emergence of a new

  13. Regiões de saúde e escalas geográficas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guimarães Raul Borges

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available O presente artigo tem como objetivo central discutir o processo de regionalização da saúde no país, considerando-se o novo cenário de direcionamento do investimento de unidades públicas de saúde, a partir da publicação da Norma Operacional de Assistência à Saúde (NOAS - SUS 01/2001. Para isso, um esforço faz-se necessário: o de superação da compreensão predominante a respeito de alguns conceitos, principalmente o de região e de escala geográfica. A proposta de divisão regional dessa NOAS baseia-se no conceito de região de planejamento que, desde a fundação do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, tem subsidiado as políticas territoriais do Estado brasileiro. Contudo, a regionalização da saúde no Brasil é uma necessidade para o fortalecimento do SUS e uma mudança qualitativa da política nacional de saúde. É preciso avançar, relacionando a divisão regional do Brasil com a questão da escala. O que está em questão é se a regionalização da saúde brasileira representa ou não um aprimoramento das mediações entre as diversas escalas do SUS.

  14. Visual learning alters the spontaneous activity of the resting human brain: an fNIRS study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Haijing; Li, Hao; Sun, Li; Su, Yongming; Huang, Jing; Song, Yan

    2014-01-01

    Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) has been widely used to investigate spontaneous brain activity that exhibits correlated fluctuations. RSFC has been found to be changed along the developmental course and after learning. Here, we investigated whether and how visual learning modified the resting oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) functional brain connectivity by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). We demonstrate that after five days of training on an orientation discrimination task constrained to the right visual field, resting HbO functional connectivity and directed mutual interaction between high-level visual cortex and frontal/central areas involved in the top-down control were significantly modified. Moreover, these changes, which correlated with the degree of perceptual learning, were not limited to the trained left visual cortex. We conclude that the resting oxygenated hemoglobin functional connectivity could be used as a predictor of visual learning, supporting the involvement of high-level visual cortex and the involvement of frontal/central cortex during visual perceptual learning.

  15. Effects of an environmentally-relevant mixture of pyrethroid insecticides on spontaneous activity in primary cortical networks on microelectrode arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnstone, Andrew F M; Strickland, Jenna D; Crofton, Kevin M; Gennings, Chris; Shafer, Timothy J

    2017-05-01

    Pyrethroid insecticides exert their insecticidal and toxicological effects primarily by disrupting voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) function, resulting in altered neuronal excitability. Numerous studies of individual pyrethroids have characterized effects on mammalian VGSC function and neuronal excitability, yet studies examining effects of complex pyrethroid mixtures in mammalian neurons, especially in environmentally relevant mixture ratios, are limited. In the present study, concentration-response functions were characterized for five pyrethroids (permethrin, deltamethrin, cypermethrin, β-cyfluthrin and esfenvalerate) in an in vitro preparation containing cortical neurons and glia. As a metric of neuronal network activity, spontaneous mean network firing rates (MFR) were measured using microelectorde arrays (MEAs). In addition, the effect of a complex and exposure relevant mixture of the five pyrethroids (containing 52% permethrin, 28.8% cypermethrin, 12.9% β-cyfluthrin, 3.4% deltamethrin and 2.7% esfenvalerate) was also measured. Data were modeled to determine whether effects of the pyrethroid mixture were predicted by dose-addition. At concentrations up to 10μM, all compounds except permethrin reduced MFR. Deltamethrin and β-cyfluthrin were the most potent and reduced MFR by as much as 60 and 50%, respectively, while cypermethrin and esfenvalerate were of approximately equal potency and reduced MFR by only ∼20% at the highest concentration. Permethrin caused small (∼24% maximum), concentration-dependent increases in MFR. Effects of the environmentally relevant mixture did not depart from the prediction of dose-addition. These data demonstrate that an environmentally relevant mixture caused dose-additive effects on spontaneous neuronal network activity in vitro, and is consistent with other in vitro and in vivo assessments of pyrethroid mixtures. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  16. Sampling and sensitivity analyses tools (SaSAT for computational modelling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wilson David P

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract SaSAT (Sampling and Sensitivity Analysis Tools is a user-friendly software package for applying uncertainty and sensitivity analyses to mathematical and computational models of arbitrary complexity and context. The toolbox is built in Matlab®, a numerical mathematical software package, and utilises algorithms contained in the Matlab® Statistics Toolbox. However, Matlab® is not required to use SaSAT as the software package is provided as an executable file with all the necessary supplementary files. The SaSAT package is also designed to work seamlessly with Microsoft Excel but no functionality is forfeited if that software is not available. A comprehensive suite of tools is provided to enable the following tasks to be easily performed: efficient and equitable sampling of parameter space by various methodologies; calculation of correlation coefficients; regression analysis; factor prioritisation; and graphical output of results, including response surfaces, tornado plots, and scatterplots. Use of SaSAT is exemplified by application to a simple epidemic model. To our knowledge, a number of the methods available in SaSAT for performing sensitivity analyses have not previously been used in epidemiological modelling and their usefulness in this context is demonstrated.

  17. Trabalho e Saúde Coletiva: o ponto de vista da atividade e das relações de gênero Work and collective health: the point of view of activity and gender relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jussara Brito

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available Na medida em que o trabalho é uma atividade fundamental da vida, procuramos mostrar a importância de melhor compreender suas dimensões para incorporá-las nas análises do conjunto de problemas de saúde coletiva. Lançamos mão de abordagens que vêm explorando o conceito de atividade de trabalho, bem como dos estudos das relações de gênero, tendo em vista que nos dois casos busca-se dar visibilidade às diferentes dimensões do trabalho. Através do conceito de atividade de trabalho nos aproximamos do caráter não padronizável, mutável e variável da vida e das situações de trabalho. A partir da concepção de saúde presente na obra de Canguilhem, que chama a atenção para a relação ativa entre o indivíduo e seu meio (de trabalho, esboçamos um debate sobre as possibilidades de criação de normas de saúde. Os materiais que tratam da divisão sexual do trabalho - base material das relações de gênero - se somam às questões apontadas pelo conceito de atividade de trabalho, contribuindo também para uma melhor percepção da relação saúde-trabalho. Na interface desses dois pontos de vista (trabalho como atividade e como materialidade das relações de gênero ressaltamos a importância da experiência dos/as trabalhadores/as na produção de saberes sobre a saúde, assim como a necessidade de múltiplas formas de intervenção.Insofar as work is a fundamental activity in life, we try to show the importance of gaining a better understanding of its dimensions for incorporation into analyses of the set of collective health problems. This is why we have adopted approaches that explore the concept of the activity of work, together with studies of gender relations, bearing in mind that in both cases the aim is to underline the different dimensions of work. Using the activity of work concept, we get closer to the non-standardizable, changeable and variable nature of life and work situations. We use the concept of health in

  18. Concepção de enfermeiros de uma rede pública de saúde sobre Educação para a Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gisele Coscrato

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Estudo qualitativo que objetivou conhecer as concepções de 12 enfermeiros assistenciais, que compõem a rede pública de saúde de um município do interior paulista, sobre Educação para a Saúde, e propor ação educativa. Utilizou-se da metodologia da pesquisa-ação. A coleta dos dados ocorreu no segundo semestre de 2009, nas unidades públicas de saúde desse município. Foram usadas as técnicas de observação participante e entrevistas individuais. A análise e interpretação dos dados foi feita por categorização, fundamentada na teoria de Paulo Freire. Como resultados, revelou-se o reducionismo da Educação para a Saúde na abordagem pedagógica que envolvia a transmissão de conhecimentos, contemplando uma tendência biologicista da formação acadêmica. Porém, nos círculos de discussão, presumiu-se o despertar de uma consciência política relacionada à temática e à promoção da saúde. Concluindo, apreendeu-se a necessidade de mudanças na formação, e de viabilizar novos modos de produção de ciência, na busca pela transformação social.

  19. Condicionalidades em saúde do programa Bolsa Família – Brasil: uma análise a partir de profissionais da saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alice Teles de Carvalho

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Este estudo apresenta a percepção de profissionais de equipes de Saúde da Família de municípios do Nordeste do Brasil acerca das mudanças na vida das famílias participantes do programa Bolsa Família, da relação destas com os serviços de saúde e do impacto na dinâmica de trabalho dos profissionais, a partir do acompanhamento das condicionalidades de saúde do programa Bolsa Família. As informações foram obtidas por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas e encontros de grupo focal. Os profissionais acreditam que o programa ocasionou mudanças favoráveis na vida das famílias participantes, como a redução da pobreza, o aumento da frequência escolar das crianças e mudanças positivas na relação entre as famílias participantes e os serviços de saúde. No entanto, relataram dificuldades de caráter organizacional no acompanhamento das condicionalidades, sobretudo devido ao aumento da demanda de trabalho. É importante que as condicionalidades de saúde proporcionem oportunidades para a realização de ações que visem ao empoderamento e autonomia dos sujeitos quanto ao autocuidado e desenvolvimento da cidadania.

  20. Psicologia da saúde e psicologia positiva: perspectivas e desafios

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prisla Ücker Calvetti

    Full Text Available O presente artigo visa a discutir a interface entre Psicologia da saúde e Psicologia positiva, destacando a relevância dos aspectos positivos do desenvolvimento humano como foco de pesquisas e intervenções. Salienta-se a necessidade de avanços nos estudos relacionados aos fatores protetores e de manutenção do desenvolvimento humano saudável. Na discussão em foco neste artigo, a Psicologia da saúde e a Psicologia positiva têm importante papel na compreensão dos aspectos envolvidos no enfrentamento da doença bem como na manutenção da saúde da pessoa, e apontam a relevância do investimento científico na investigação dos fatores de proteção da saúde.

  1. Sağlıkta eşitsizliklerle ilgili temel kavramlar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hatice Şimşek

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Özet Sağlıkta eşitsizlik, sağlığa etki eden sosyal etmenlerin ve/veya sağlık sistemindeki yetersizliklerin etkisiyle bireylerin ve/veya toplumun sağlığında önlenebilir ve kabul edilemez bozulmaların oluşmasıdır. Neoliberalizmin yaygınlaşmasından sonra günümüzün başlıca konuları arasındadır. Sağlıkta eşitsizliğin iki bileşeni vardır: sağlığın sosyal belirleyicilerindeki eşitsizlik ve sağlık hizmetlerindeki eşitsizlik. Sağlıkta eşitsizlik çalışmalarında standart bir değerlendirme yöntemi yoktur, pek çok bağımlı ve bağımsız değişken kullanılmaktadır. Çalışmalarda kullanılan başlıca bağımlı değişkenler sağlık durumuna (mortalite, morbidite, engellilik, sağlığı etkileyen risk etmenlerine, sağlık algısına, sağlık hizmetlerinin erişilebilirliğine ve kullanımına ilişkindir. Bağımsız değişken olarak temelde öğrenim, gelir, meslek, sosyal sınıf değişkenleri kullanılmaktadır. Konut özellikleri, sosyal güvence durumu, etnik yapı, yaşamı kolaylaştırıcı araçlar/dayanıklı tüketim mallarına sahip olma, bazı bireysel ve bölgesel eşitsizlik indeksleri de bağımsız değişken olabilmektedir. Sağlıkta eşitsizliklerin yalnızca sağlık hizmeti sunumu ile giderilmesi olası değildir. Sağlıkta eşitsizlikleri azaltmanın yolu sınıfsal farklılıkları azaltmak, sağlık hizmetlerini daha ulaşılabilir ve kapsayıcı hale getirmek olmakla birlikte temel çözüm sınıflı toplum yapısının ortadan kaldırılmasıdır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Sağlık, eşitsizlik, sosyoekonomik durum, yoksulluk Basic concepts related to health inequalities Abstract Health inequalities can be defined as the avoidable and unacceptable disruptions in the health of individuals or communities caused by social factors and/or deficiencies in the organization of the health system. It is among the main political/social topics today after the spread of neoliberalism

  2. An evaluation of the spring finger solder joints on SA1358-10 and SA2052-4 connector assemblies (MC3617,W87)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kilgo, Alice C.; Vianco, Paul Thomas; Hlava, Paul Frank; Zender, Gary L.

    2006-01-01

    The SA1358-10 and SA2052-4 circular JT Type plug connectors are used on a number of nuclear weapons and Joint Test Assembly (JTA) systems. Prototype units were evaluated for the following specific defects associated with the 95Sn-5Sb (Sn-Sb, wt.%) solder joint used to attach the beryllium-copper (BeCu) spring fingers to the aluminum (Al) connector shell: (1) extended cracking within the fillet; (2) remelting of the solder joint during the follow-on, soldering step that attached the EMR adapter ring to the connector shell (and/or soldering the EMR shell to the adapter ring) that used the lower melting temperature 63Sn-37Pb (Sn-Pb) alloy; and (3) spalling of the Cd (Cr) layer overplating layer from the fillet surface. Several pedigrees of connectors were evaluated, which represented older fielded units as well as those assemblies that were recently constructed at Kansas City Plant. The solder joints were evaluated that were in place on connectors made with the current soldering process as well as an alternative induction soldering process for attaching the EMR adapter ring to the shell. Very similar observations were made, which crossed the different pedigrees of parts and processes. The extent of cracking in the top side fillets varied between the different connector samples and likely the EMR adapter ring to the shell. Very similar observations were made, which crossed the different pedigrees of parts and processes. The extent of cracking in the top side fillets varied between the different connector samples and likely reflected the different extents to which the connector was mated to its counterpart assembly. In all cases, the spring finger solder joints on the SA1358-10 connectors were remelted as a result of the subsequent EMR adapter ring attachment process. Spalling of the Cd (Cr) overplating layer was also observed for these connectors, which was a consequence of the remelting activity. On the other hand, the SA2052-4 connector did not exhibit evidence of

  3. Synthesis and evaluation of fluorine-18-labeled SA4503 as a selective sigma{sub 1} receptor ligand for positron emission tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawamura, Kazunori [Positron Medical Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-0022 (Japan) and Center for Integrated Human Brain Science, Brain Research Institute, University of Niigata, Niigata, Niigata 951-8585 (Japan)]. E-mail: kawamurak@bri.niigata-u.ac.jp; Tsukada, Hideo [Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics, K.K., Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 434-8601 (Japan); Shiba, Kazuhiro [Advanced Science Research Center, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-8640 (Japan); Tsuji, Chieko [NARD Institute, Ltd., Amagasaki, Hyogo 660-0805 (Japan); Harada, Norihiro [Central Research Laboratory, Hamamatsu Photonics, K.K., Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 434-8601 (Japan); Kimura, Yuichi [Positron Medical Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-0022 (Japan); Ishiwata, Kiichi [Positron Medical Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-0022 (Japan)

    2007-07-15

    The [{sup 18}F]fluoromethyl analog of the sigma{sub 1} selective ligand 1-(3,4-dimethoxyphenethyl)-4-(3-phenylpropyl)piperazine dihydrochloride (SA4503) ([{sup 18}F]FM-SA4503) was prepared and its potential evaluated for the in vivo measurement of sigma{sub 1} receptors with positron emission tomography (PET). FM-SA4503 had selective affinity for the sigma{sub 1} receptor ( K {sub i} for sigma{sub 1} receptor, 6.4 nM; K {sub i} for sigma{sub 2} receptor, 250 nM) that was compatible with the affinity of SA4503 ( K {sub i} for sigma{sub 1} receptor, 4.4 nM; K {sub i} for sigma{sub 2} receptor, 242 nM). [{sup 18}F]FM-SA4503 was synthesized by {sup 18}F-fluoromethylation of O-demethyl SA4503 in the radiochemical yield of 2.9-16.6% at the end of bombardment with a specific activity of 37.8-283 TBq/mmol at the end of synthesis. In mice, the uptake of [{sup 18}F]FM-SA4503 in the brain was gradually increased for 30 min after injection, and then decreased. In the blocking study, brain uptake was significantly decreased by co-injection of haloperidol to 32% of control, and FM-SA4503 to 52% of control. In PET study of the monkey brain, high uptake was found in the cerebral cortex, thalamus and striatum. The radioactivity level of [{sup 18}F]FM-SA4503 in the brain regions gradually increased over a period of 120 min after injection, followed by a stable plateau phase until 180 min after injection. In pretreatment with haloperidol measurement of the monkey brain, the radioactivity level was 22-32% and 11-25% of the baseline at 60 and 180 min, respectively, after injection, suggesting high receptor-specific binding. [{sup 18}F]FM-SA4503 showed specific binding to sigma{sub 1} receptors in mice and monkeys; therefore, [{sup 18}F]FM-SA4503 has the potential for mapping sigma{sub 1} receptors in the brain.

  4. Programas educativos em saúde bucal para populações adultas

    OpenAIRE

    Rota, Lucimara Magon; Queluz, Dagmar de Paula; Mialhe, Fábio Luiz

    2016-01-01

    Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar os aspectos relacionados ao perfil epidemiológico e a autopercepção das condições de saúde bucal, além dos métodos de educação em saúde voltados à população adulta, a fim de contribuir no planejamento de programas educativos para esta população. Com base naanálise dos dados bibliográficos coletados, conclui-se que a educação em saúde bucal para adultos é uma importante ferramenta de manutenção da saúde bucal. Dentre elas destaca-se a cárie dentária, o ...

  5. Maternal MTHFR polymorphisms and risk of spontaneous abortion Polimorfismos maternos MTHFR y riesgo de aborto espontáneo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María del Rosario Rodríguez-Guillén

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To asses the association between intake of folate and B vitamins and the incidence of spontaneous abortion (SA according to the maternal methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR polymorphisms (677 C>T and 1298 A>C. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We conducted a nested case-control study within a perinatal cohort of women recruited in the state of Morelos, Mexico. Twenty-three women with SA were compared to 74 women whose pregnancy survived beyond week 20th. Intake of folate and B vitamins respectively, was estimated using a validated food frequency questionnaire. Maternal MTHFR polymorphisms were determined by PCR-RFLP and serum homocysteine levels by HPLC. RESULTS: Carriers of MTHFR 677TT and 1298AC genotypes respectively showed an increased risk of SA (OR 677TT vs. CC/CT=5.0; 95% CI: 1.2, 20.9 and OR 1298 AC vs. AA=5.5; 95% CI: 1.1, 26.6. CONCLUSIONS: Our results support the role of MTHFR polymorphisms as a risk factor for SA, regardless of dietary intake of B vitamins.OBJETIVO: Evaluar la asociación entre aborto espontáneo (AE y el consumo dietético de vitaminas B en mujeres mexicanas portadoras de los polimorfismos de la metilentetrahidrofolato reductasa (MTHFR (677 C>T y 1298 A>C. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Mediante un diseño de casos y controles anidados en una cohorte, se comparó la ingesta dietética materna de vitaminas B y folato, los polimorfismos maternos de la MTHFR y la concentración sérica de homocisteina de 23 casos de AE ( 20 semanas. RESULTADOS: Las portadoras de los genotipos MTHFR 677TT y 1298AC presentaron un incremento significativo en el riesgo de AE (RM 677TT vs. CC/CT=5.0; IC 95%: 1.2, 20.9 RM 1298 AC vs. AA=5.5; IC95%: 1.1, 26.6, respectivamente. CONCLUSIONES: Nuestros resultados apoyan el papel de la mutación de la MTHFR como posible factor de riesgo para el AE, independientemente del consumo de vitaminas B.

  6. Quantifying emissions from spontaneous combustion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-09-01

    Spontaneous combustion can be a significant problem in the coal industry, not only due to the obvious safety hazard and the potential loss of valuable assets, but also with respect to the release of gaseous pollutants, especially CO2, from uncontrolled coal fires. This report reviews methodologies for measuring emissions from spontaneous combustion and discusses methods for quantifying, estimating and accounting for the purpose of preparing emission inventories.

  7. A contribution to the study of spontaneous and evoked electrical activities of the adult rabbit hypothalamus and application of digital analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lasmoles, Francoise

    1974-01-01

    The spontaneous and evoked electrical activities of the hypothalamus were studied in 18 adult rabbits chronically implanted with electrodes. The graphic study of the EEG was completed by digital analyses of the signal considered as a random process and processed both by statistical analysis in order to know the distribution function of the signal amplitude and harmonic analysis allowing classification of power density spectra by the calculation of the autocorrelation function and its Fourier transform. Absolute values and percentage of energy distribution were obtained from 0 to 40 Hz for each frequency rate (0.25 Hz) and in various frequency bands (0-3, 3-6, 7-9, 9-15, 15-20, 20-30 and 30-40 Hz). The experimental methods (electrode implantation, data acquisition and processing) are described: 240 sequences corresponding to stable physiological states were analyzed after analogical-digital conversion (sampling rate: 10 ms, period of integration: 20 s). Whatever the state of vigilance, the hypothalamus had a fairly homogeneous function different from the spontaneous electrical activity of the cortex. The signal characteristics both in amplitude and frequency allowed to distinguish the hypothalamic areas studied (supra-optic area, mammillary body, postero-lateral hypothalamus). The results were reproducible and verified the information supplied by visual examination of the EEG. Following light stimulus, the evoked potentials were collected in the hypothalamus; there should therefore be convergence, yet since the answers are unstable and long latent, the neuronal paths followed by the impulse must not be direct. (author) [fr

  8. Fatores associados à procura de serviços de saúde entre escolares brasileiros: uma análise da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar (PeNSE), 2012

    OpenAIRE

    Oliveira, Max Moura de; Andrade, Silvânia Suely Caribé de Araújo; Campos, Maryane Oliveira; Malta, Deborah Carvalho

    2015-01-01

    Os objetivos foram descrever a procura por serviços/profissionais de saúde por escolares brasileiros e identificar fatores associados. Foram analisados dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar 2012; estimadas as prevalências e seus respectivos intervalos de 95% de confiança (IC95%) do uso de serviços de saúde entre os escolares. Foi feita regressão logística ajustada por idade. Metade dos estudantes buscaram serviços de saúde; a procura foi maior no sexo feminino; os fatores associados ...

  9. Spontaneous eye blinks are entrained by finger tapping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cong, D-K; Sharikadze, M; Staude, G; Deubel, H; Wolf, W

    2010-02-01

    We studied the mutual cross-talk between spontaneous eye blinks and continuous, self-paced unimanual and bimanual tapping. Both types of motor activities were analyzed with regard to their time-structure in synchronization-continuation tapping tasks which involved different task instructions, namely "standard" finger tapping (Experiment 1), "strong" tapping (Experiment 2) requiring more forceful finger movements, and "impulse-like" tapping (Experiment 3) where upward-downward finger movements had to be very fast. In a further control condition (Experiment 4), tapping was omitted altogether. The results revealed a prominent entrainment of spontaneous blink behavior by the manual tapping, with bimanual tapping being more effective than unimanual tapping, and with the "strong" and "impulse-like" tapping showing the largest effects on blink timing. Conversely, we found no significant effects of the tapping on the timing of the eye blinks across all experiments. The findings suggest a functional overlap of the motor control structures responsible for voluntary, rhythmic finger movements and eye blinking behavior.

  10. Representações sociais da educação em saúde pelos profissionais da equipe de saúde da família

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Flávia Carvalho Gazzinelli

    Full Text Available Este estudo discute a forma como os profissionais da equipe de saúde da família pensam e representam a educação em saúde e a prática educativa que realizam. Os sujeitos da pesquisa (n=248 - médico, enfermeiro, auxiliar de enfermagem e agente comunitário de saúde de 20 unidades básicas de saúde de Belo Horizonte - foram entrevistados mediante a utilização da técnica de evocação livre e da teoria das representações sociais. Solicitou-se aos sujeitos que verbalizassem cinco palavras que lhes ocorressem imediatamente em relação à educação em saúde, classificando-as em positiva ou negativa. Utilizou-se o software Evoc e calculou-se a frequência simples de ocorrência, a média ponderada de ocorrência em função da ordem de evocação e a média das ordens ponderadas do conjunto dos termos evocados. Construiu-se o quadro de quatro casas composto do núcleo central, elementos de contraste e periféricos da representação. Médicos e enfermeiros compartilham conteúdos representacionais entre si, expressando representações sociais similares, ao apresentarem nos possíveis núcleos centrais 'capacitação' e 'prevenção'. Auxiliares de enfermagem e agentes comunitários de saúde se assemelham por meio dos possíveis elementos centrais 'educação' e 'prevenção'. O foco recai na transmissão de orientações com o objetivo de persuadir os indivíduos à adoção de modos de vida saudáveis.

  11. Intervenções Psicossociais para Promoção da Saúde do Homem em Unidade de Saúde da Família

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luiz Gustavo Silva Souza

    Full Text Available Este relato de experiência profissional busca contribuir a responder a questão: Como promover a saúde do homem na Atenção Primária à Saúde? São descritas duas estratégias implantadas em uma Unidade de Saúde da Família de Vitória, ES, as "Ações de Sábado" e o "Grupo de Homens". Cada "Ação de Sábado" é realizada trimestralmente, em um sábado pela manhã, com duração de quatro horas, contando com atividades recreativas e de educação em saúde (discussões sobre doenças sexualmente transmissíveis, por exemplo. O "Grupo de Homens" é realizado semanalmente, com duração de 1h15min, com exposições dialogadas (sobre problemas com o álcool, por exemplo e com oficinas terapêuticas. No período de setembro de 2011 a julho de 2013, as intervenções envolveram cerca de 230 homens de classe popular. Os conceitos de clínica ampliada e atitude psicoterapêutica são utilizados para promover a expressão dos usuários e a corresponsabilização com o processo saúde-doença. Dentre os resultados, destacam-se: o aumento da presença masculina na USF, a melhoria do cuidado dirigido a condições crônicas (especialmente hipertensão, diabetes e problemas com o álcool/alcoolismo e o fortalecimento de comportamentos de redução de danos. Conclui-se que as intervenções são proveitosas para abordar desafios relativos à Saúde do Homem.

  12. Zitkala-Sa and the Problem of Regionalism: Nations, Narratives, and Critical Traditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Totten, Gary

    2005-01-01

    Although Yankton Sioux writer Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Bonnin, 1876-1938) was, as P. Jane Hafen notes, "virtually unknown for many decades," much critical work has appeared since Dexter Fisher's 1979 article,"Zitkala-Sa: Evolution of a Writer." Some critics desiring to bring Zitkala-Sa into the conversation about turn-of-the-century American women…

  13. Significados e sentidos das práticas de saúde: a ontologia fundamental e a reconstrução do cuidado em saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatiana de Vasconcellos Anéas

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available O cuidado em saúde tem sido um tema abordado atualmente por autores da Saúde Coletiva. Essas práticas e estudos refletem dois modos aparentemente antagônicos de se conceber o cuidado, ora baseado na instrumentalidade, com ênfase nos procedimentos e nas intervenções técnicas, ora com foco na relação de encontro entre profissionais e usuários dos serviços de saúde. A partir de uma leitura crítica desse conjunto de estudos, procura-se não opor os dois grupos identificados, mas articulá-los em sua complementaridade por meio da ontologia fundamental de Martin Heidegger. Em Ser e Tempo, Heidegger desconstrói a ontologia tradicional para reconstruir uma nova ontologia que busque os fundamentos da existência humana. Um retorno aos fundamentos mostra-se essencial para uma reconstrução das práticas de saúde e do cuidado.

  14. Critical care admission of South African (SA) surgical patients ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Critical care admission of South African (SA) surgical patients: Results of the SA Surgical Outcomes Study. D.L. Skinner, K de Vasconcellos, R Wise, T.M. Esterhuizen, C Fourie, A Goolam Mahomed, P.D. Gopalan, I Joubert, H Kluyts, L.R. Mathivha, B Mrara, J.P. Pretorius, G Richards, O Smith, M.G.L. Spruyt, R.M. Pearse, ...

  15. Implementation-intention encoding in a prospective memory task enhances spontaneous retrieval of intentions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rummel, Jan; Einstein, Gilles O; Rampey, Hilary

    2012-01-01

    Although forming implementation intentions (Gollwitzer, 1999) has been demonstrated to generally improve prospective memory, the underlying cognitive mechanisms are not completely understood. It has been proposed that implementation-intention encoding encourages spontaneous retrieval (McDaniel & Scullin, 2010). Alternatively one could assume the positive effect of implementation-intention encoding is caused by increased or more efficient monitoring for target cues. To test these alternative explanations and to further investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying implementation-intention benefits, in two experiments participants formed the intention to respond to specific target cues in a lexical decision task with a special key, but then had to suspend this intention during an intervening word-categorisation task. Response times on trials directly following the occurrence of target cues in the intervening task were significantly slower with implementation-intention encoding than with standard encoding, indicating that spontaneous retrieval was increased (Experiment 1). However, when activation of the target cues was controlled for, similar slowing was found with both standard and implementation-intention encoding (Experiment 2). The results imply that implementation-intention encoding as well as increased target-cue activation foster spontaneous retrieval processes.

  16. G-LoSA for Prediction of Protein-Ligand Binding Sites and Structures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hui Sun; Im, Wonpil

    2017-01-01

    Recent advances in high-throughput structure determination and computational protein structure prediction have significantly enriched the universe of protein structure. However, there is still a large gap between the number of available protein structures and that of proteins with annotated function in high accuracy. Computational structure-based protein function prediction has emerged to reduce this knowledge gap. The identification of a ligand binding site and its structure is critical to the determination of a protein's molecular function. We present a computational methodology for predicting small molecule ligand binding site and ligand structure using G-LoSA, our protein local structure alignment and similarity measurement tool. All the computational procedures described here can be easily implemented using G-LoSA Toolkit, a package of standalone software programs and preprocessed PDB structure libraries. G-LoSA and G-LoSA Toolkit are freely available to academic users at http://compbio.lehigh.edu/GLoSA . We also illustrate a case study to show the potential of our template-based approach harnessing G-LoSA for protein function prediction.

  17. A Qualitative Analysis of the Spontaneous Volunteer Response to the 2013 Sudan Floods: Changing the Paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Albahari, Amin; Schultz, Carl H

    2017-06-01

    Introduction While the concept of community resilience is gaining traction, the role of spontaneous volunteers during the initial response to disasters remains controversial. In an attempt to resolve some of the debate, investigators examined the activities of a spontaneous volunteer group called Nafeer after the Sudan floods around the city of Khartoum in August of 2013. Hypothesis Can spontaneous volunteers successfully initiate, coordinate, and deliver sustained assistance immediately after a disaster? This retrospective, descriptive case study involved: (1) interviews with Nafeer members that participated in the disaster response to the Khartoum floods; (2) examination of documents generated during the event; and (3) subsequent benchmarking of their efforts with the Sphere Handbook. Members who agreed to participate were requested to provide all documents in their possession relating to Nafeer. The response by Nafeer was then benchmarked to the Sphere Handbook's six core standards, as well as the 11 minimum standards in essential health services. A total of 11 individuals were interviewed (six from leadership and five from active members). Nafeer's activities included: food provision; delivery of basic health care; environmental sanitation campaigns; efforts to raise awareness; and construction and strengthening of flood barricades. Its use of electronic platforms and social media to collect data and coordinate the organization's response was effective. Nafeer adopted a flat-management structure, dividing itself into 14 committees. A Coordination Committee was in charge of liaising between all committees. The Health and Sanitation Committee supervised two health days which included mobile medical and dentistry clinics supported by a mobile laboratory and pharmacy. The Engineering Committee managed to construct and maintain flood barricades. Nafeer used crowd-sourcing to fund its activities, receiving donations locally and internationally using supporters

  18. Abnormal Spontaneous Neural Activity in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ping, Li; Su-Fang, Li; Hai-Ying, Han; Zhang-Ye, Dong; Jia, Luo; Zhi-Hua, Guo; Hong-Fang, Xiong; Yu-Feng, Zang; Zhan-Jiang, Li

    2013-01-01

    Neuroimaging studies of obsessive-compulsive disorder have found abnormalities in orbitofronto-striato-thalamic circuitry, including the orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, caudate, and thalamus, but few studies have explored abnormal intrinsic or spontaneous brain activity in the resting state. We investigated both intra- and inter-regional synchronized activity in twenty patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and 20 healthy controls using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) and functional connectivity methods were used to analyze the intra- and inter-regional synchronized activity, respectively. Compared with healthy controls, patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder showed significantly increased ReHo in the orbitofrontal cortex, cerebellum, and insula, and decreased ReHo in the ventral anterior cingulate cortex, caudate, and inferior occipital cortex. Based on ReHo results, we determined functional connectivity differences between the orbitofrontal cortex and other brain regions in both patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and controls. We found abnormal functional connectivity between the orbitofrontal cortex and ventral anterior cingulate cortex in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder compared with healthy controls. Moreover, ReHo in the orbitofrontal cortex was correlated with the duration of obsessive-compulsive disorder. These findings suggest that increased intra- and inter-regional synchronized activity in the orbitofrontal cortex may have a key role in the pathology of obsessive-compulsive disorder. In addition to orbitofronto-striato-thalamic circuitry, brain regions such as the insula and cerebellum may also be involved in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

  19. Paism: um marco na abordagem da saúde reprodutiva no Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Osis Maria José Martins Duarte

    1998-01-01

    Full Text Available O Programa de Assistência Integral à Saúde Mulher (PAISM foi lançado pelo Ministério da Saúde em 1983, sendo anunciado como uma nova e diferenciada abordagem da saúde da mulher. Paradoxalmente, o PAISM constitui-se também na primeira vez em que o Estado brasileiro propôs explicitamente, e implantou, embora de modo parcial, um programa que contemplava a regulação da fecundidade. Isso suscitou suspeitas acerca de possíveis intenções ocultas de controle da natalidade. Porém, analisando brevemente a história desse Programa e seu significado social, conclui-se que o PAISM foi pioneiro, inclusive no cenário mundial, ao propor o atendimento à saúde reprodutiva das mulheres, no âmbito da atenção integral à saúde, e não mais a utilização de ações isoladas em planejamento familiar. Por isso mesmo, os movimentos de mulheres, de imediato, passaram a lutar por sua implementação. Seu conteúdo inclui plenamente a definição de saúde reprodutiva adotada pela Organização Mundial da Saúde em 1988, ampliada e consolidada no Cairo em 1994 e em Beijing em 1995. Conseqüentemente, a adoção do PAISM representou, sem dúvida, um passo significativo em direção ao reconhecimento dos direitos reprodutivos das mulheres, mesmo antes que essa expressão ganhasse os diversos foros internacionais de luta.

  20. Evidence for spontaneous serial refreshing in verbal working memory?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergauwe, Evie; Langerock, Naomi; Cowan, Nelson

    2018-04-01

    Working memory (WM) keeps information temporarily accessible for ongoing cognition. One proposed mechanism to keep information active in WM is refreshing. This mechanism is assumed to operate by bringing memory items into the focus of attention, thereby serially refreshing the content of WM. We report two experiments in which we examine evidence for the spontaneous occurrence of serial refreshing in verbal WM. Participants had to remember series of red letters, while black probe letters were presented between these memory items, with each probe to be judged present in or absent from the list presented so far, as quickly as possible (i.e., the probe-span task). Response times to the probes were used to infer the status of the representations in WM and, in particular, to examine whether the content of the focus of attention changed over time, as would be expected if serial refreshing occurs spontaneously during inter-item pauses. In sharp contrast with this hypothesis, our results indicate that the last-presented memory item remained in the focus of attention during the inter-item pauses of the probe-span task. We discuss how these findings help to define the boundary conditions of spontaneous refreshing of verbal material in WM, and discuss implications for verbal WM maintenance and forgetting.

  1. Processing and Properties of Distaloy Sa Sintered Alloys with Boron and Carbon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karwan-Baczewska J.

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Prealloyed iron-based powders, manufactured in Höganäs Company, are used in the automotive parts industry. The properties and life time of such sintered parts depend, first of all, on their chemical composition, the production method of the prealloyed powder as well as on the technology of their consolidation and sintering. One of simpler and conventional methods aimed at increasing the density in sintered products is the process of activated sintering, performed, for example, by adding boron as elementary boron powder. Under this research project obtained were novel sintered materials, based on prealloyed and diffusion bonded powder, type: Distaloy SA, with the following chemical composition: Fe-1.75% Ni-1.5%Cu- 0.5%Mo with carbon (0.55%; 0.75% and boron (0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6%. Distaloy SA samples alloyed with carbon and boron were manufactured by mixing powders in a Turbula mixer, then compressed using a hydraulic press under a pressure of 600 MPa and sintered in a tube furnace at 1473 K, for a 60 minute time, in the hydrogen atmosphere. After the sintering process, there were performed density and porosity measurements as well as hardness tests and mechanical properties were carried out, too. Eventually, analyzed was the effect of boron upon density, hardness and mechanical properties of novel sintered construction parts made from Distaloy SA powder.

  2. Percepção de equipes de saúde bucal no norte de Minas Gerais sobre a formação de técnicos em saúde bucal do SUS

    OpenAIRE

    Silva, Maria Patrícia da; Costa, Georgia Sarmento; Crispim, Zaida Angela Marinho de Paiva; Castro, Eveline Andries; Cerqueira, Marília Borborema Rodrigues; Garibalde, Elika

    2014-01-01

    A inclusão das Equipes de Saúde Bucal na Estratégia Saúde da Família representa uma mudança na saúde pública. Este estudo tem como objetivo conhecer percepções de egressos e coordenadores da formação técnica ministrada pela Escola Técnica de Saúde para Técnicos em Saúde Bucal em municípios do Norte de Minas Gerais, a partir do Programa Brasil Sorridente. A metodologia utilizada é exploratória-descritiva, com ênfase qualitativa. Os egressos afirmam que a participação no curso beneficia o servi...

  3. Saúde vocal e mhealth: novas alternativas para antigos cenários

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina Cesar Praça Brasil

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available O mundo vivencia a era da comunicação e a saúde é uma das áreas beneficiadas pela inserção de novos recursos na vida das pessoas. Nesse contexto, as Tecnologias da Informação e Comunicação (TICs ocupam lugar de destaque e aplicam-se ao processamento, armazenamento, busca e transmissão de informação em formato digital, trazendo mais velocidade e confiabilidade à troca de informações(1,2. Na área da saúde, as TICs exercem papéis cada vez mais relevantes, estando presentes nas áreas clínica, gerencial, assistencial e de apoio à decisão dos profissionais e gestores. Nesse cenário, a tecnologia pode influenciar e modificar o modo de viver e de agir das pessoas, inclusive quando estas questões passam pelo contexto da promoção da saúde e do cuidado. Confirma-se, desta forma, a relevância da incorporação das tecnologias na assistência à saúde(3,4. No caso da saúde vocal, implica em um redimensionamento do autocuidado, uma vez que os acometimentos do aparelho fonador fazem parte do universo dos profissionais da voz, destacando-se os professores, sendo esta uma realidade que requer enfrentamento por meio de medidas políticas e tecnológicas, que ofereçam resolubilidade para esse problema tão recorrente. Um estudo(5 realizado com 351 professoras de escolas municipais do ensino fundamental de Fortaleza, Ceará, mostrou mais da metade delas apresentando mais de seis sintomas vocais, e que, mesmo considerando-se expostas a mais de seis fatores de risco vocal, nunca participaram de programa de saúde vocal, no que convergem outros estudos brasileiros(6,7. Ressalta-se que, além da escassez de ações educativas em saúde vocal, as políticas públicas brasileiras e a legislação voltadas à saúde do professor são falhas e restritas(8, e, por isso, chama-se atenção para a importância do desenvolvimento de campanhas de comunicação em saúde e em recursos tecnológicos voltados à saúde vocal, no sentido de refor

  4. MAPK-dependent JA and SA signalling in Nicotiana attenuata affects plant growth and fitness during competition with conspecifics

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Induced defense responses to herbivores are generally believed to have evolved as cost-saving strategies that defer the fitness costs of defense metabolism until these defenses are needed. The fitness costs of jasmonate (JA)-mediated defenses have been well documented. Those of the early signaling units mediating induced resistance to herbivores have yet to be examined. Early signaling components that mediate herbivore-induced defense responses in Nicotiana attenuata, have been well characterized and here we examine their growth and fitness costs during competition with conspecifics. Two mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), salicylic acid (SA)-induced protein kinase (SIPK) and wound-induced protein kinase (WIPK) are rapidly activated after perception of herbivory and both kinases regulate herbivory-induced JA levels and JA-mediated defense metabolite accumulations. Since JA-induced defenses result in resource-based trade-offs that compromise plant productivity, we evaluated if silencing SIPK (irSIPK) and WIPK (irWIPK) benefits the growth and fitness of plants competiting with wild type (WT) plants, as has been shown for plants silenced in JA-signaling by the reduction of Lipoxygenase 3 (LOX3) levels. Results As expected, irWIPK and LOX3-silenced plants out-performed their competing WT plants. Surprisingly, irSIPK plants, which have the largest reductions in JA signaling, did not. Phytohormone profiling of leaves revealed that irSIPK plants accumulated higher levels of SA compared to WT. To test the hypothesis that these high levels of SA, and their presumed associated fitness costs of pathogen associated defenses in irSIPK plants had nullified the JA-deficiency-mediated growth benefits in these plants, we genetically reduced SA levels in irSIPK plants. Reducing SA levels partially recovered the biomass and fitness deficits of irSIPK plants. We also evaluated whether the increased fitness of plants with reduced SA or JA levels resulted from

  5. Spontaneous calf haematoma: case report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zubaidah, N H; Liew, N C

    2014-02-01

    Spontaneous calf haematoma is a rare condition and few case reports have been published in the English literature. Common conditions like deep vein thrombosis and traumatic gastrocnemius muscle tear need to be considered when a patient presents with unilateral calf swelling and tenderness. Ultrasound and Magnetic Resonance Imaging are essential for confirmation of diagnosis. The purpose of this paper is to report on a rare case of spontaneous calf hematoma and its diagnosis and management.

  6. For-LySa: UML for Authentication Analysis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buchholtz, Mikael; Montangero, Carlo; Perrone, Lara

    2005-01-01

    The DEGAS project aims at enriching standard UML-centred development environments in such a way that the developers of global applications can exploit automated formal analyses with minimal overhead. In this paper, we present For-LySa, an instantiation of the DEGAS approach for authentication...... analysis, which exploits an existing analysis tool developed for the process calculus LySa. We discuss what information is needed for the analysis, and how to build the UML model of an authentication protocol in such a way that the needed information can be extracted from the model. We then present our...

  7. F. VON HAYEK’S THEORY OF SPONTANEOUS ORDER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    О. Nesterenko

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available The essence and the genesis of spontaneous order are disclosed in the context of critical analysis of constructivism. The author’s approach to the definition of the characteristic features of the spontaneous order is proposed. The dichotomy of the order is revealed towards the economic sphere in form of spontaneous order and organization.

  8. Spontaneous pneumomediastinum after bench press training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishino, Tomoya

    2017-04-01

    Spontaneous pneumomediastinum is often associated with asthma and mainly affects adolescent males with a tall, thin body habitus. A 17-year-old man complained of chest and pharyngeal pain after bench press training and spontaneous pneumomediastinum was diagnosed. It should be considered in the differential diagnosis of chest pain of uncertain cause.

  9. Spontaneous cooperation for prosocials, but not for proselfs: Social value orientation moderates spontaneous cooperation behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mischkowski, Dorothee; Glöckner, Andreas

    2016-01-01

    Cooperation is essential for the success of societies and there is an ongoing debate whether individuals have therefore developed a general spontaneous tendency to cooperate or not. Findings that cooperative behavior is related to shorter decision times provide support for the spontaneous cooperation effect, although contrary results have also been reported. We show that cooperative behavior is better described as person × situation interaction, in that there is a spontaneous cooperation effect for prosocial but not for proself persons. In three studies, one involving population representative samples from the US and Germany, we found that cooperation in a public good game is dependent on an interaction between individuals’ social value orientation and decision time. Increasing deliberation about the dilemma situation does not affect persons that are selfish to begin with, but it is related to decreasing cooperation for prosocial persons that gain positive utility from outcomes of others and score high on the related general personality trait honesty/humility. Our results demonstrate that the spontaneous cooperation hypothesis has to be qualified in that it is limited to persons with a specific personality and social values. Furthermore, they allow reconciling conflicting previous findings by identifying an important moderator for the effect. PMID:26876773

  10. An adolescent with prolapsed omentum per rectum: Spontaneous rectal perforation managed laparoscopically

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ameet Kumar

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Spontaneous rupture of the rectum is a rare occurrence. A total laparoscopic approach to rectal perforation has only occasionally been reported. We report an unusual case of a young boy who developed a spontaneous rupture of the rectum following a trivial fall. A magnetic resonance imaging revealed a tear in the rectum at the peritoneal reflection with the omentum plugging it. He denied any history of rectal instrumentation or abnormal sexual activity. He had no history of constipation or rectal prolapse. The tear was repaired laparoscopically and a covering loop sigmoid colostomy was added. He made an uneventful post-operative recovery. Spontaneous rupture of the rectum can occur in younger age groups and even in the absence of significant trauma. One needs to diligently bring out a history of rectal trauma. Equally important is to rule out any underlying pathological condition. A laparoscopic approach is feasible, especially in early cases.

  11. Maratonas hackers no Brasil com desafios no campo da Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Francini Lube Guizardi

    Full Text Available O objetivo deste estudo foi mapear a realização de maratonas hackers no Brasil, com desafios voltados para o campo da Saúde. Espera-se que a descrição e sistematização dos aspectos metodológicos dos eventos identificados, cotejados com informações advindas de levantamento bibliográfico, auxiliem na divulgação e aplicação da metodologia na saúde. De caráter exploratório e descritivo, o mapeamento foi realizado por meio de uma pesquisa web, com o buscador Google, e na base de dados Biblioteca Virtual da Saúde (BVS, abrangendo o período entre 2000 e 2016. Identificou-se a realização de 16 hackathons que abordaram desafios ou soluções na Saúde, sendo todos realizados a partir de 2012. Os resultados encontrados ressaltam o potencial da metodologia como fomento à criatividade e à inovação, a partir do trabalho colaborativo em equipe multiprofissional para soluções oportunas no campo da Saúde.

  12. Evaluation of pro-convulsant risk in the rat: spontaneous and provoked convulsions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esneault, Elise; Peyon, Guillaume; Froger-Colléaux, Christelle; Castagné, Vincent

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the utility of different tests performed in the absence or presence of factors promoting seizures in order to evaluate the pro-convulsant effects of drugs. We studied the effects of theophylline in the rat since this is a well-known pro-convulsant substance in humans. The occurrence of spontaneous convulsions following administration of theophylline was evaluated by observation in the Irwin Test and by measuring brain activity using video-EEG recording in conscious telemetered animals. Theophylline was also tested in the electroconvulsive shock (ECS) threshold and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced convulsions tests, two commonly used models of provoked convulsions. In the Irwin test, theophylline induced convulsions in 1 out of 6 rats at 128 mg/kg. Paroxysmal/seizure activity was also observed by video-EEG recording in 4 out of the 12 animals tested at 128 mg/kg, in presence of clonic convulsions in 3 out of the 4 rats. Paroxysmal activity was observed in two rats in the absence of clear behavioral symptoms, indicating that some precursor signs can be detected using video-EEG. Clear pro-convulsant activity was shown over the dose-range 32-128 mg/kg in the ECS threshold and PTZ-induced convulsions tests. Evaluation of spontaneous convulsions provides information on the therapeutic window of a drug and the translational value of the approach is increased by the use of video-EEG. Tests based on provoked convulsions further complement the evaluation since they try to mimic high risk situations. Measurement of both spontaneous and provoked convulsions improves the evaluation of the pro-convulsant risk of novel pharmacological substances. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Ergonomics SA: Site Map

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Journal Home · Journals · Ergonomics SA · About · Log In · Register · Advanced Search · By Author · By Title. Issues. Current Issue · Archives · Open Journal Systems · Help. ISSN: 1010-2728. AJOL African Journals Online. HOW TO USE AJOL... for Researchers · for Librarians · for Authors · FAQ's · More about AJOL · AJOL's ...

  14. Health SA Gesondheid: Editorial Policies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Health SA Gesondheid - Journal of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences is an open ... on issues related to public health, including implications for practical applications and ... researchers to showcase their work whilst upholding the standards of health ... improvement of health safety and service delivery; management and ...

  15. Anti-malarial activity of 6-(8'Z-pentadecenyl-salicylic acid from Viola websteri in mice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Park Won-Hwan

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Petroleum ether extracts of Viola websteri Hemsl (Violaceae were reported to have anti-plasmodial activity against Plasmodium falciparum in vitro, with this activity being largely attributable to 6-(8'Z-pentadecenyl-salicylic acid (6-SA. Methods The schizontocidal activity of 6-SA on early Plasmodium berghei infections was evaluated in a four-day test. The possible 'repository' activity of 6-SA was assessed using the method described by Peters. The median lethal dose (LD50 of 6-SA, when given intraperitoneally, was also determined using uninfected ICR mice and the method of Lorke. Results In the present study, 6-SA was found to have anti-malarial activity in vivo, when tested against P. berghei in mice. 6-SA at 5, 10 and 25 mg/kg·day exhibited a significant blood schizontocidal activity in four-day early infections, repository evaluations and established infections with a significant mean survival time comparable to that of the standard drug, chloroquine (5 mg/kg·day. Conclusion 6-SA possesses a moderate anti-malarial activity that could be exploited for malaria therapy.

  16. Percepção de gerentes sobre a assistência à saúde coletiva

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Eri Shimizu

    2002-02-01

    Full Text Available Este estudo tem como objetivo conhecer a percepção de gestores e gerentes dos serviços de saúde sobre a assistência à saúde coletiva no contexto do Sistema Único de Saúde (SUS no Distrito Federal (DF. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa realizada por meio de entrevistas semi-estruturadas com gestores e gerentes da Regional Norte de Saúde do Distrito Federal. Conclui-se que a implantação dos princípios do SUS ainda é um desafio a ser enfrentado, tanto pela comunidade como pelos profissionais de saúde, que precisam unir esforços para encontrar estratégias que redirecionem a assistência à saúde coletiva.

  17. Promoção da saúde ocular e prevenção precoce de problemas visuais nos serviços de saúde pública

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Maria Girotti Sperandio

    1999-10-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Verificar o conhecimento, atitudes e práticas em relação às ações básicas de saúde ocular de pediatras e enfermeiros de serviços de saúde pública. MÉTODO: A população estudada constituiu-se de pediatras e enfermeiros que trabalhavam nos centros de saúde do Município de Campinas, SP - Brasil, e atuavam com crianças de 0 a 12 anos de idade. As informações sobre conhecimento, atitudes e práticas foram colhidas através de questionários (para os pediatras e de formulários (para os enfermeiros. RESULTADOS: A execução das ações básicas de saúde ocular em crianças não fazia parte da rotina de atividades dos pediatras e enfermeiros, provavelmente devido ao pouco conhecimento dessas ações. Dos 61 pediatras, 82,0% (50 e 91,0% dos 22 enfermeiros não souberam referir a idade em que se completa o desenvolvimento visual. Em relação à ambliopia, 86,8% (53 dos pediatras e 100,0% dos enfermeiros não souberam defini-la. CONCLUSÕES: A promoção da saúde ocular e a prevenção precoce de problemas visuais em crianças não representava uma prática constante desses profissionais vinculados aos serviços de saúde pública. Recomenda-se que se realize treinamentos e educação continuada na área de saúde ocular durante e após a formação universitária desses profissionais.

  18. Promoção da saúde ocular e prevenção precoce de problemas visuais nos serviços de saúde pública

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sperandio Ana Maria Girotti

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Verificar o conhecimento, atitudes e práticas em relação às ações básicas de saúde ocular de pediatras e enfermeiros de serviços de saúde pública. MÉTODO: A população estudada constituiu-se de pediatras e enfermeiros que trabalhavam nos centros de saúde do Município de Campinas, SP - Brasil, e atuavam com crianças de 0 a 12 anos de idade. As informações sobre conhecimento, atitudes e práticas foram colhidas através de questionários (para os pediatras e de formulários (para os enfermeiros. RESULTADOS: A execução das ações básicas de saúde ocular em crianças não fazia parte da rotina de atividades dos pediatras e enfermeiros, provavelmente devido ao pouco conhecimento dessas ações. Dos 61 pediatras, 82,0% (50 e 91,0% dos 22 enfermeiros não souberam referir a idade em que se completa o desenvolvimento visual. Em relação à ambliopia, 86,8% (53 dos pediatras e 100,0% dos enfermeiros não souberam defini-la. CONCLUSÕES: A promoção da saúde ocular e a prevenção precoce de problemas visuais em crianças não representava uma prática constante desses profissionais vinculados aos serviços de saúde pública. Recomenda-se que se realize treinamentos e educação continuada na área de saúde ocular durante e após a formação universitária desses profissionais.

  19. Incorporação da saúde ocupacional à rede primária de saúde Integration of occupational health measures into the health system

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diogo Pupo Nogueira

    1984-12-01

    Full Text Available Os trabalhadores em geral constituem uma das frações mais importantes das comunidades e a proteção à sua saúde é elemento indispensável para o desenvolvimento social e econômico dos países. Muito tem sido feito, em todo o mundo, para proteger os trabalhadores contra acidentes do trabalho e doenças profissionais, mas muito pouco tem sido feito no sentido de se estudar o efeito do trabalho sobre doenças de natureza não-profissionais. Essa situação é especialmente grave quando se considera os trabalhadores de médias e pequenas empresas e os trabalhadores rurais que, em geral, não tem acesso aos centros de saúde ocupacional e que procuram atendimento para seus problemas de saúde na rede primária de saúde. Tal situação levou a Organização Mundial da Saúde a propor, a todos os países, especialmente os em desenvolvimento, que desenvolvam programas especiais de proteção à saúde dos trabalhadores a serem levados a efeito pela rede geral de saúde, especialmente pelos Centros de Saúde, quando existentes. São apresentados exemplos de planos-piloto já realizados em alguns países em desenvolvimento, e mesmo no Brasil, recomendando-se que o Brasil passe a adotar essa estratégia para proteger integralmente a saúde de seus trabalhadores conforme o propõe aquela agencia internacional.Workers in general constitute one of the most important parts of the community and, their health is therefore, an essential element in social and economic development. Much is being done throughout the world to protect workers against accidents at work and occupational diseases, but very little is being done to study the effects of work on non-occupational diseases. This situation is specially serious regarding workers of medium and small undertakings and agricultural workers, who, specially in developing countries, have no access whatsoever to occupational health centers and who usually are attended to by their countries' general health system

  20. Spontaneous ischaemic stroke in dogs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gredal, Hanne Birgit; Skerritt, G. C.; Gideon, P.

    2013-01-01

    Translation of experimental stroke research into the clinical setting is often unsuccessful. Novel approaches are therefore desirable. As humans, pet dogs suffer from spontaneous ischaemic stroke and may hence offer new ways of studying genuine stroke injury mechanisms.......Translation of experimental stroke research into the clinical setting is often unsuccessful. Novel approaches are therefore desirable. As humans, pet dogs suffer from spontaneous ischaemic stroke and may hence offer new ways of studying genuine stroke injury mechanisms....

  1. Spontaneity and international marketing performance

    OpenAIRE

    Souchon, Anne L.; Hughes, Paul; Farrell, Andrew M.; Nemkova, Ekaterina; Oliveira, Joao S.

    2016-01-01

    The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link. Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to ascertain how today’s international marketers can perform better on the global scene by harnessing spontaneity. Design/methodology/approach – The authors draw on contingency theory to develop a model of the spontaneity – international marketing performance relationship, and identify three potential m...

  2. Angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitory activity and antihypertensive effect in spontaneously hypertensive rats of cobia (Rachycentron canadum) head papain hydrolysate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Ping; Jiang, Yuchuan; Hong, Pengzhi; Cao, Wenhong

    2013-06-01

    Cobia head protein hydrolysate (CHPH) with angiotensin I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity was prepared with papain. The 3 kDa ultrafiltration filtrate CHPH-IV of the hydrolysate exerted a potent ACE inhibitory activity with IC50 being 0.24 mg/mL. The fractions with molecular weight located between 1749 Da and 173 Da represented up 66.96% of CHPH-IV, and those between 494 Da and 173 Da represented up 31.37% of CHPH-IV. It was found that the ACE inhibitory activity of CHPH-IV was intensified from IC50 0.24 mg/mL to 0.17 mg/mL after incubation with gastrointestinal proteases. The CHPH-IV significantly decreased the systolic blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner after oral administration to spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) at dose of 150 mg/kg, 600 mg/kg and 1200 mg/kg body weight. These results suggested that CHPH-IV from cobia head protein hydrolysate by papain could serve as a source of peptides with antihypertensive activity in functional food industry.

  3. Electroacupuncture Delays Hypertension Development through Enhancing NO/NOS Activity in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hye Suk Hwang

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Using spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR, this study investigated whether electroacupuncture (EA could reduce early stage hypertension by examining nitric oxide (NO levels in plasma and nitric oxide synthase (NOS levels in the mesenteric resistance artery. EA was applied to the acupuncture point Governor Vessel 20 (GV20 or to a non-acupuncture point in the tail twice weekly for 3 weeks under anesthesia. In conscious SHR and normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY rats, blood pressure was determined the day after EA treatment by the tail-cuff method. We measured plasma NO concentration, and evaluated endothelial NO syntheses (eNOS and neuronal NOS (nNOS protein expression in the mesenteric artery. Systolic blood pressure (SBP and diastolic blood pressure (DBP were lower after 3 weeks of GV20 treatment than EA at non-acupuncture point and no treatment control in SHR. nNOS expression by EA was significantly different between both WKY and no treatment SHR control, and EA at GV20 in SHR. eNOS expression was significantly high in EA at GV 20 compared with no treatment control. In conclusion, EA could attenuate the blood pressure elevation of SHR, along with enhancing NO/NOS activity in the mesenteric artery in SHR.

  4. Effects of taurine on resting-state fMRI activity in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Vincent Chin-Hung; Hsu, Tsai-Ching; Chen, Li-Jeng; Chou, Hong-Chun; Weng, Jun-Cheng; Tzang, Bor-Show

    2017-01-01

    Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a global behavior illness among children and adults. To investigate the effects of taurine on resting-state fMRI activity in ADHD, a spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) animal model was adopted. Significantly decreased serum C-reactive protein (CRP) was detected in rats of Wistar Kyoto (WKY) high-taurine group and significantly decreased interleukin (IL)-1β and CRP were detected in rats of SHR low-taurine and high-taurine groups. Moreover, significantly higher horizontal locomotion was detected in rats of WKY low-taurine and SHR low-taurine groups than in those of controls. In contrast, significantly lower horizontal locomotion was detected in rats of the SHR high-taurine group than in those of the SHR control group. Additionally, significantly lower functional connectivity (FC) and mean amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (mALFF) in the bilateral hippocampus in rats of WKY high-taurine and SHR high-taurine groups was detected. Notably, the mALFF in rats of the SHR low-taurine and high-taurine groups was significantly lower than in those of the SHR control group. These findings suggest that the administration of a high-dose taurine probably improves hyperactive behavior in SHR rats by ameliorating the inflammatory cytokines and modulating brain functional signals in SHR rats.

  5. Rational Design of Mini-Cas9 for Transcriptional Activation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Dacheng; Peng, Shuguang; Huang, Weiren; Cai, Zhiming; Xie, Zhen

    2018-04-20

    Nuclease dead Cas9 (dCas9) has been widely used for modulating gene expression by fusing with different activation or repression domains. However, delivery of the CRISPR/Cas system fused with various effector domains in a single adeno-associated virus (AAV) remains challenging due to the payload limit. Here, we engineered a set of downsized variants of Cas9 including Staphylococcus aureus Cas9 (SaCas9) that retained DNA binding activity by deleting conserved functional domains. We demonstrated that fusing FokI nuclease domain to the N-terminal of the minimal SaCas9 (mini-SaCas9) or to the middle of the split mini-SaCas9 can trigger efficient DNA cleavage. In addition, we constructed a set of compact transactivation domains based on the tripartite VPR activation domain and self-assembled arrays of split SpyTag:SpyCatch peptides, which are suitable for fusing to the mini-SaCas9. Lastly, we produced a single AAV containing the mini-SaCas9 fused with a downsized transactivation domain along with an optimized gRNA expression cassette, which showed efficient transactivation activity. Our results highlighted a practical approach to generate down-sized CRISPR/Cas9 and gene activation systems for in vivo applications.

  6. Analysis of the Spontaneous Abortion in Chinese Married Women

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    高尔生; 邓新清; 何更生; 方可娟; 唐威; 楼超华

    1994-01-01

    The spontaneous abortion is a common type of pregnant outcomes. The spontaneous abortion rate can be used to indicate the women's fecundity and the level of the reproductive health. It is also a sensitive indicator for determing the social, economic, and health status and prenatal care. To explore the preventive method for spontaneous abortion and improve women's health level, it is important to evaluate the status of spontaneous abortion and to determine the factors affecting

  7. Situation and person attributions under spontaneous and intentional instructions: an fMRI study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kestemont, Jenny; Vandekerckhove, Marie; Ma, Ning; Van Hoeck, Nicole; Van Overwalle, Frank

    2013-06-01

    This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research explores how observers make causal beliefs about an event in terms of the person or situation. Thirty-four participants read various short descriptions of social events that implied either the person or the situation as the cause. Half of them were explicitly instructed to judge whether the event was caused by something about the person or the situation (intentional inferences), whereas the other half was instructed simply to read the material carefully (spontaneous inferences). The results showed common activation in areas related to mentalizing, across all types of causes or instructions (posterior superior temporal sulcus, temporo-parietal junction, precuneus). However, the medial prefrontal cortex was activated only under spontaneous instructions, but not under intentional instruction. This suggests a bias toward person attributions (e.g. fundamental attribution bias). Complementary to this, intentional situation attributions activated a stronger and more extended network compared to intentional person attributions, suggesting that situation attributions require more controlled, extended and broader processing of the information.

  8. Springback prediction in sheet metal forming process based on the hybrid SA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guo Yuqin; Jiang Hong; Wang Xiaochun; Li Fuzhu

    2005-01-01

    In terms of the intensive similarity between the sheet metal forming-springback process and that of the annealing of metals, it is suggested that the simulation of the sheet metal forming process is performed with the Nonlinear FEM and the springback prediction is implemented by solving the large-scale combinational optimum problem established on the base of the energy descending and balancing in deformed part. The BFGS-SA hybrid SA approach is proposed to solve this problem and improve the computing efficiency of the traditional SA and its capability of obtaining the global optimum solution. At the same time, the correlative annealing strategies for the SA algorithm are determined in here. By comparing the calculation results of sample part with those of experiment measurement at the specified sections, the rationality of the schedule of springback prediction used and the validity of the BFGS-SA algorithm proposed are verified

  9. A judicialização da saúde no Distrito Federal, Brasil

    OpenAIRE

    Diniz, Debora; Machado, Teresa Robichez de Carvalho; Penalva, Janaina

    2014-01-01

    Este artigo discute as tendências do Poder Judiciário frente às demandas sobre judicialização do direito à saúde, por meio de um estudo de demandas judiciais cíveis por acesso à assistência em saúde no Distrito Federal. Por judicialização do direito à saúde, entende-se a judicialização de variadas prestações de saúde. Trata-se de um estudo exploratório, descritivo, longitudinal, com uso de técnicas mistas de levantamento e análise dos dados coletados no DF. Foram analisadas 385 ações, o que c...

  10. Slow spontaneous [Ca2+]i oscillations reflect nucleotide release from renal epithelia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Geyti, Christine Stride; Odgaard, Elvin V. P.; Overgaard, Morten Thaarup

    2008-01-01

    Renal epithelia can be provoked mechanically to release nucleotides, which subsequently increases the intracellular Ca(2+) concentration [Ca(2+)](i) through activation of purinergic (P2) receptors. Cultured cells often show spontaneous [Ca(2+)](i) oscillations, a feature suggested to involve nucl...

  11. Spontaneous motor unit behavior in human thenar muscles after spinal cord injury

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zijdewind, Inge; Thomas, CK

    Our first aim was to characterize spontaneous motor unit activity in thenar muscles influenced by chronic cervical spinal cord injury. Thenar surface electromyography (EMG), intramuscular EMG, and abduction and flexion forces were recorded. Subjects were instructed to relax for 2 min. Units still

  12. Spontaneous Vesicle Recycling in the Synaptic Bouton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sven eTruckenbrodt

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The trigger for synaptic vesicle exocytosis is Ca2+, which enters the synaptic bouton following action potential stimulation. However, spontaneous release of neurotransmitter also occurs in the absence of stimulation in virtually all synaptic boutons. It has long been thought that this represents exocytosis driven by fluctuations in local Ca2+ levels. The vesicles responding to these fluctuations are thought to be the same ones that release upon stimulation, albeit potentially triggered by different Ca2+ sensors. This view has been challenged by several recent works, which have suggested that spontaneous release is driven by a separate pool of synaptic vesicles. Numerous articles appeared during the last few years in support of each of these hypotheses, and it has been challenging to bring them into accord. We speculate here on the origins of this controversy, and propose a solution that is related to developmental effects. Constitutive membrane traffic, needed for the biogenesis of vesicles and synapses, is responsible for high levels of spontaneous membrane fusion in young neurons, probably independent of Ca2+. The vesicles releasing spontaneously in such neurons are not related to other synaptic vesicle pools and may represent constitutively releasing vesicles (CRVs rather than bona fide synaptic vesicles. In mature neurons, constitutive traffic is much dampened, and the few remaining spontaneous release events probably represent bona fide spontaneously releasing synaptic vesicles (SRSVs responding to Ca2+ fluctuations, along with a handful of CRVs that participate in synaptic vesicle turnover.

  13. Spontaneous Atraumatic Mediastinal Hemorrhage

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Morkos Iskander BSc, BMBS, MRCS, PGCertMedEd

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Spontaneous atraumatic mediastinal hematomas are rare. We present a case of a previously fit and well middle-aged lady who presented with acute breathlessness and an increasing neck swelling and spontaneous neck bruising. On plain chest radiograph, widening of the mediastinum was noted. The bruising was later confirmed to be secondary to mediastinal hematoma. This life-threatening diagnostic conundrum was managed conservatively with a multidisciplinary team approach involving upper gastrointestinal and thoracic surgeons, gastroenterologists, radiologists, intensivists, and hematologists along with a variety of diagnostic modalities. A review of literature is also presented to help surgeons manage such challenging and complicated cases.

  14. Spontaneous Retropharyngeal Emphysema: A Case Report | Chi ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... is a rare clinical condition in pediatric otolaryngology. The predominant symptoms are sore throat, odynophagia, dysphagia, and neck pain. Here, we report a case of spontaneous retropharyngeal emphysema. Keywords: Iatrogenic injury, retropharyngeal emphysema, spontaneous retropharyngeal emphysem, trauma ...

  15. Spontaneous regression of pulmonary bullae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Satoh, H.; Ishikawa, H.; Ohtsuka, M.; Sekizawa, K.

    2002-01-01

    The natural history of pulmonary bullae is often characterized by gradual, progressive enlargement. Spontaneous regression of bullae is, however, very rare. We report a case in which complete resolution of pulmonary bullae in the left upper lung occurred spontaneously. The management of pulmonary bullae is occasionally made difficult because of gradual progressive enlargement associated with abnormal pulmonary function. Some patients have multiple bulla in both lungs and/or have a history of pulmonary emphysema. Others have a giant bulla without emphysematous change in the lungs. Our present case had treated lung cancer with no evidence of local recurrence. He had no emphysematous change in lung function test and had no complaints, although the high resolution CT scan shows evidence of underlying minimal changes of emphysema. Ortin and Gurney presented three cases of spontaneous reduction in size of bulla. Interestingly, one of them had a marked decrease in the size of a bulla in association with thickening of the wall of the bulla, which was observed in our patient. This case we describe is of interest, not only because of the rarity with which regression of pulmonary bulla has been reported in the literature, but also because of the spontaneous improvements in the radiological picture in the absence of overt infection or tumor. Copyright (2002) Blackwell Science Pty Ltd

  16. Determinantes sociais e saúde bucal de adultos nas capitais do Brasil

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roberto Eduardo Bueno

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available OBJETIVO: Investigar a correlação entre o índice Determinantes Sociais de Saúde Bucal (DSSB e indicadores sociais, indicadores de saúde bucal e determinantes sociais intermediários, representados pelos indicadores da Política Nacional de Saúde Bucal. MÉTODOS: Este estudo ecológico abrangeu 5 915 adultos de 35 a 44 anos em 27 capitais no Brasil. Os indicadores de desfechos em saúde bucal - perda dentária, dentes restaurados e Índice de Cuidados Odontológicos (ICO - foram obtidos do levantamento epidemiológico SB Brasil 2010. Os indicadores sociais (determinantes sociais estruturais e da Política Nacional de Saúde Bucal foram obtidos de censos demográficos e do Ministério da Saúde. RESULTADOS: Uma correlação de Pearson (r moderada foi observada entre o índice DSSB e ICO (r = 0,580, dentes restaurados (r = 0,545 e perda dentária (r = - 0,490. Houve uma correlação forte do componente equidade social com o ICO (r = 0,856, dentes restaurados (r = 0,822 e perda dentária (r = -0,665. Não houve associação estatisticamente significativa desses desfechos em saúde bucal com os componentes relativos à atenção primária e secundária à saúde bucal. O componente equidade social explicou 44% da variância da perda dentária, 68% da variância de dentes restaurados e 73% da variância do ICO. CONCLUSÕES: O índice DSSB e seu componente equidade social se correlacionaram significativamente com desfechos em saúde bucal de adultos nas capitais brasileiras. Portanto, políticas equitativas devem priorizar ações direcionadas aos DSSB, tais como ampliação da cobertura de saneamento e de água fluoretada, e redução da pobreza e das iniquidades regionais.

  17. Cuidados em saúde entre portadores de diabetes mellitus autorreferido no Brasil, Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde, 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Deborah Carvalho Malta

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Resumo: Objetivo: Descrever medidas do cuidado assistencial destinadas ao paciente com diabetes mellitus autorreferido no Brasil. Métodos: Foram utilizados dados da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde(2013, estudo transversal de base populacional, referentes ao cuidado em saúde com o diabetes mellitus autorreferido, quanto ao uso de serviços de saúde e acesso a medicamentos. Resultados: A prevalência de diabetes mellitus autorreferido foi de 6,2%, e 11,5% da população nunca fez uma glicemia na vida. Dos adultos que referiram diabetes mellitus , 80,2% tomaram medicamentos nas duas semanas anteriores à entrevista, 57,4% usaram o Programa Farmácia Popular, 73,2% receberam assistência médica e 47,1% realizaram o atendimento nas Unidades Básicas de Saúde. Em 65,2%, o médico que atendeu na última consulta era o mesmo das consultas anteriores, 95,3% dos pacientes conseguiram realizar os exames complementares solicitados e 83,3% conseguiram fazer as consultas com o médico especialista. A avaliação de pés e olhos foi relatada por 35,6 e 29,1% dos portadores de diabetes mellitus , respectivamente. Relataram internação hospitalar por causa do diabetes ou de alguma complicação 13,4% dos adultos, e outros 7,0% relataram limitações nas atividades diárias. Em geral, mulheres, assim como a população mais idosa, de maior escolaridade, brancos e residentes nas regiões Sul e Sudeste, tiveram maior prevalência da doença e maior acesso aos serviços, medicamentos e consultas. Discussão: Os cuidados aos portadores de diabetes foram recebidos de forma adequada, na maioria dos casos, o que é essencial para manter a qualidade de vida dos pacientes e prevenir desfechos mais graves.

  18. Caracterização das atividades de enfermagem em saúde coletiva desenvolvidas na regional norte de saúde do Distrito Federal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helena Eri Shimizu

    Full Text Available O estudo teve como objetivo identificar e analisar as ações desenvolvidas pela equipe de enfermagem em saúde coletiva na Regional Norte de Saúde do Distrito Federal. Para a coleta de dados aplicou-se um questionário com a descrição das diversas atividades cotidianas da assistência a 29 enfermeiras, 91 auxiliares de enfermagem e 42 agentes de saúde. Para a melhor compreensão de como as atividades são desenvolvidas realizou-se grupos focais com cada uma das categorias profissionais. Os resultados mostram que todos elementos da equipe empregam grandes esforços para organizar, controlar e atender a demanda espontânea e ainda executar as atividades de auxilio às ações médicas, consequentemente priorizam o atendimento individual em detrimento do coletivo.

  19. Resumos do 1º Encontro Internacional de Pesquisadores em Desporto, Psicologia e Saúde

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    1º EIPEPS

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Este número especial contém os resumos das comunicações apresentadas no 1º Encontro Internacional de Pesquisadores em Desporto, Psicologia e Saúde, que se realizou na cidade de Montes Claros, Brasil, entre os dias 12 e 16 de outubro de 2011.Este evento reuniu profissionais e estudantes das ciências da saúde, esporte e lazer, de vários países (Brasil, Portugal, USA, Chile e Moçambique, abrangendo as seguintes áreas temáticas: Ciências da Saúde, Gestão em Lazer, Atividade Física relacionada à Saúde, Educação relacionada à Saúde e Psicologia do Exercício e Saúde.

  20. Auto-avaliação do estado de saúde em idosos usuários do Sistema Único de Saúde de Goiânia-Goiás

    OpenAIRE

    PAGOTTO, Valéria

    2009-01-01

    A auto-avaliação do estado de saúde é um dos indicadores mais empregados em estudos com a população idosa. Existem evidências de sua confiabilidade e de seu potencial na predição da mortalidade e do declínio funcional. A percepção da saúde representa uma visão multidimensional e subjetiva do individuo, que costuma considerar uma série de fatores quando analisam sua própria saúde. O objetivo deste estudo foi estimar a prevalência da auto-avaliação do estado de saúde ruim e seus fatores associa...