Ventilação natural e temperatura da superfície de pisos aquecidos em escamoteadores

This research had the objective of evaluating the influence of the natural ventilation on the surface temperature distribution of heated crates. The research used six crates from a farrowing room in a commercial swine production farm located in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Three crates were heated using a heat mat while the other three had the environment heated by incandescent light bulbs (200W) fixed on the lateral wall. The surface temperature of the crate's floor (1.55x0.55m) was registered in 36 points, distributed in 18 quadrants (0.26x0.18m) using an infrared thermometer in three different conditions of the room's natural ventilation: opened, semi-opened, and closed lateral curtain. The isotherms and the temperature distribution of the floor heat were processed using the SURFER® (1995), and the statistical analysis was done using the MINITAB® (Statistical..., 2002). It was found that the room's natural ventilation had a significant influence on crate floor surface temperature distribution. The crate with a heat mat system provided higher temperatures and led to a more homogeneous surface temperature distribution.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência da ventilação natural sobre a distribuição da temperatura na superfície de pisos aquecidos em escamoteadores. Foram avaliados seis escamoteadores da maternidade de uma granja de suínos localizada no estado de São Paulo. Dentre os escamoteadores avaliados, três deles usavam piso aquecido para o acondicionamento dos leitões, e os outros usavam lâmpadas incandescentes (200W), fixadas na parede lateral do interior do escamoteador. A temperatura da superfície do piso (1,55x0,55m) foi registrada medindo-se 36 pontos distribuídos em 18 quadrantes (0,26x0,18m), por meio de um termômetro infravermelho, em três diferentes condições de ventilação natural: com cortina lateral aberta, semiaberta e totalmente fechada. As isotermas e a distribuição da temperatura sobre o piso aquecido foram processadas usando-se o software SURFER®. Verificou-se que a ventilação natural teve efeito sobre a distribuição da temperatura da superfície do piso dos escamoteadores. O escamoteador aquecido com manta térmica forneceu temperaturas mais altas e distribuição mais homogênea na superfície de contato com os leitões.47748

Chronic Q fever with no elevation of inflammatory markers: a case report

Chronic q Fever with no elevation of inflammatory markers: a case report. Boattini M, Almeida A, Moura RB, Abreu J, Santos AS, Toscano Rico M. SourceDepartment of Internal Medicine, St. Marta's Hospital, 1169-024 Lisbon, Portugal. Abstract We describe the case of a 55-year-old man with a biological prosthetic aortic valve who suffered from epigastrium and right hypochondrium pain associated with intermittent night sweats. Liver biopsy showed infectious hepatitis pattern without pathognomonic features. Coxiella burnetii serology was suggestive of chronic Q fever, and modified Duke's criteria for endocarditis were also fulfilled. The authors present a brief literature review concerning chronic Q fever, emphasizing absent previous reports of chronic Q fever with hepatitis and endocarditis and no increase in inflammatory markers

Spirulina does not decrease muscle damage nor oxdidative stress in cycling athletes with adequate nutritional status

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of Spirulina maxima on oxidative stress and muscle damage in cycling athletes subjected to high volume and intensity of training. Eighteen male athletes were randomly divided into an experimental group (n=11) with age 27.8±3.5 and placebo (n=7) with age 34.3±2.3 in a double-blind fashion. They carried out a protocol of Spirulina dietary supplementation (7.5 g/day) of placebo for four weeks and maintained their trainings during this period. A nutritional anamnesis was performed and blood tests were done to determine pre and post levels of creatine kinase (CK), lactic dehydrogenase (LHD), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA). The supplemented and placebo groups performed the same volume training, has adequate macronutrients and antioxidant vitamins ingestion before study, as well as initial CK, LDH, SOD and MDA levels. Supplementation did not promote a significant alteration in CK levels on supplemented group (158.4±16.3 for 140.0±16.6 U/l, p>0.05), LDH (420±13.2 for 394.9±27.9 UI/l, p>0.05), MDA (2.8±0.2 for 2.9±0.4 nmol/ml, p>0.05), nor an increase in the SOD (7.3±0.6 for 7.0±0.6 U/mg Hb, p>0.05). We conclude that administration of Spirulina does not interfere in the magnitude of muscle damage nor in antioxidant status of cycling athletes that practice intense training

Effects of deliberate reflection on students' engagement in learning and learning outcomes

Context Reflection in practice is assumed to enhance interest in knowing more about a topic, increasing engagement in learning and learning outcomes. However, this claim lacks empirical evidence, particularly in medical education. The authors investigated the effects of deliberate reflection upon clinical cases on medical students’ engagement in a learning activity and learning outcomes. Methods A three‐task (diagnostic task; learning activity; test) experiment was conducted in August 2017. Seventy‐two fourth‐year students from UNIFENAS‐BH Medical School, Brazil, diagnosed two clinical cases with jaundice as the chief complaint, either by following a deliberate reflection procedure or making differential diagnosis. Subsequently, all participants received the same study material on the diagnosis of jaundice. Finally, they took a recall test on the study material. Outcome measurements were study time and test scores. Results There was a significant effect of experimental condition on students’ engagement in the learning activity and on learning outcomes. Students who deliberately reflected upon the cases invested more time in studying the material than those who made a differential diagnosis (respectively, mean = 254.97, standard deviation = 115.45 versus mean = 194.96, standard deviation = 111.68; p = 0.02; d = 0.53). Deliberate reflection was also related to higher scores in the test relative to differential diagnosis (respectively, mean = 22.08, standard deviation = 14.94 versus mean = 15.75, standard deviation = 9.24; p = 0.03; d = 0.51). Medium effect sizes (Cohen's d) were observed in both measurements. Conclusions Relative to making differential diagnosis, deliberate reflection while diagnosing cases fostered medical students’ engagement in learning and increased learning outcomes. Teachers can employ this relatively easy procedure, possibly both with simulated and real scenarios, to motivate their students and help them expand their knowledge, an important requirement for their professional development

Advances in chemometric control of commercial diesel adulteration by kerosene using IR spectroscopy

Adulteration is a recurrent issue found in fuel screening. Commercial diesel contamination by kerosene is highly difficult to be detected via physicochemical methods applied in market. Although the contamination may affect diesel quality and storage stability, there is a lack of efficient methodologies for this evaluation. This paper assessed the use of IR spectroscopies (MIR and NIR) coupled with partial least squares (PLS) regression, support vector machine regression (SVR), and multivariate curve resolution with alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) calibration models for quantifying and identifying the presence of kerosene adulterant in commercial diesel. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA), successive projections algorithm (SPA), and genetic algorithm (GA) tools coupled to linear discriminant analysis were used to observe the degradation behavior of 60 samples of pure and kerosene-added diesel fuel in different concentrations over 60 days of storage. Physicochemical properties of commercial diesel with 15% kerosene remained within conformity with Brazilian screening specifications; in addition, specified tests were not able to identify changes in the blends’ performance over time. By using multivariate classification, the samples of pure and contaminated fuel were accurately classified by aging level into two well-defined groups, and some spectral features related to fuel degradation products were detected. PLS and SVR were accurate to quantify kerosene in the 2.5–40% (v/v) range, reaching RMSEC < 2.59% and RMSEP < 5.56%, with high correlation between real and predicted concentrations. MCR-ALS with correlation constraint was able to identify and recover the spectral profile of commercial diesel and kerosene adulterant from the IR spectra of contaminated blends

Seminal plasma proteins and their relationship with percentage of morphologically normal sperm in 2-year-old Brahman (Bos indicus) bulls

The objective was to determine the relationship between seminal plasma proteins and sperm morphology in Bos indicus bulls of the Brahman breed. Fifty-six 24-month-old Australian Brahman bulls were electroejaculated and samples were examined to determine the percentage of morphologically normal sperm (PNS24) and the seminal plasma protein composition was identified and quantified by 2-D gel electrophoresis. The total integrated optical density of 152 seminal plasma protein spots (SPPs) across all gels was determined using the PDQuest software version 8.0 (Bio Rad, USA). Using a single regression mixed model with the density of individual spots as a covariate for PNS24, 17 SPPs were significantly associated with PNS24 (

Effects of deliberate reflection on diagnostic accuracy, confidence and diagnostic calibration in dermatology

Background: Deliberate reflection on initial diagnoses improved diagnostic accuracy in internal medicine and general practice, but it is unknown if the same occurs in specialties that rely mostly on visual perception, such as dermatology. Moreover, whether reflection influences diagnostic calibration has not been studied yet. Diagnostic calibration, the relationship between diagnostic accuracy and confidence in that accuracy, affects diagnostic performance because overconfidence tends to induce premature closure. This study evaluated the effects of deliberate reflection on diagnostic accuracy and diagnostic calibration in dermatology. Methods: Sixty-one sixth-year students from a Brazilian medical school were allocated to either a reflection group (RG) or a control group (CG). In both groups, students worked with the same 12 dermatological images, presented sequentially, providing an initial diagnosis and confidence in that diagnosis. Subsequently, RG students reflected on the case using a structured procedure, while CG students performed a time-filler activity. All students then provided a final diagnosis and confidence in that diagnosis. Outcome measurements were diagnostic accuracy, confidence, and calibration. Results: Reflection increased diagnostic accuracy relative to control (49.7 ± 12.1 vs 38.4 ± 14.6; p = 0.002) but did not affect confidence (64.3 ± 13.2 vs 58.9 ± 20.1; p = 0.228) nor calibration (0.15 ± 0.16 vs 0.20 ± 0.19, p = 0.197). Overall, case difficulty influenced calibration, with students showing more overconfidence on more difficult cases (p <0.001). Conclusions: Deliberate ref