Morphological characterization of the nasopalatine region in human fetuses and its association to pathologies

The nasopalatine region is composed of structures such as the vomeronasal organ and nasopalatine duct. The nasopalatine duct may provide the communication of the mouth to the nasal cavity in human fetuses and can be obliterated in an adult human. Knowledge on the development of the nasopalatine region and nasopalatine duct in humans is necessary for understanding the morphology and etiopathogenesis of lesions that occur in this region. Objective: The aim of the present study was to describe the morphological aspects of the nasopalatine region in human fetuses and correlate these aspects with the development of pathologies in this region. Material and Methods: Five human fetuses with no facial or palatine abnormalities were used for the acquisition of specimens from the nasopalatine region. After demineralization, the specimens were histologically processed. Histological cuts were stained with methylene blue to orient the cutting plane and hematoxylin-eosin for the descriptive histological analysis. Results: The age of the fetuses was 8.00, 8.25, 9.00 and 9.25 weeks, and it was not possible to determine the age in the last one. The incisive canal was observed in all specimens as an opening delimited laterally by the periosteum and connecting oral and nasal cavity. The nasopalatine duct is an epithelial structure with the greatest morphological variation, with either unilateral or bilateral occurrence and total patent, partial patent and islet forms. The vomeronasal organ is a bilateral epithelized structure located alongside the nasal septum above the incisive canal in all the fetuses. Conclusions: The incisive canal, nasopalatine duct and vomeronasal organ are distinct anatomic structures. The development of nasopalatine duct cysts may occur in all forms of the nasopalatine duct

A framework of quality assessment methods for crowdsourced geographic information : a systematic literature review

Collaboration is the foundation to strengthen disaster preparedness and for effective emergency response actions at all levels. Some studies have highlighted that remote volunteers, i.e., volunteers supported by Web 2.0 technologies, possess the potential to strengthen humanitarian relief organizations by offering information regarding disaster-affected people and infrastructure. Although studies have explored various aspects of this topic, none of those provided an overview of the state-of-the-art of researches on the collaboration among humanitarian organizations and communities of remote volunteers. With the aim of overcoming this gap, a systematic literature review was conducted on the existing research works. Therefore, the main contribution of this work lies in examining the state of research in this field and in identifying potential research gaps. The results show that most of the research works addresses the general domain of disaster management, whereas only few of them address the domain of humanitarian logistics. Collaboration among Humanitarian Relief Organizations and Volunteer Technical Communities: Identifying Research Opportunities and Challenges through a Systematic Literature Review (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315790817_Collaboration_among_Humanitarian_Relief_Organizations_and_Volunteer_Technical_Communities_Identifying_Research_Opportunities_and_Challenges_through_a_Systematic_Literature_Review [accessed May 26, 2017]

A software architecture to integrate sensor data and volunteered geographic information for flood risk management

Natural disasters are phenomena that can cause great damage to people in urban and rural areas, and thus require preventive and reactive measures. If they involve multiple sources of information, these measures can be more useful and effective. However, the integration of heterogeneous data still poses challenges due to the differences in their structures and contents. To overcome this difficulty, this paper outlines a service-oriented architecture, as part of the AGORA platform, which aims to support the integration of sensor data and Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI) related to floods. The composition of the architectural components enables sensor data to be integrated with VGI by using several algorithms in a flexible and automated manner. The architecture was implemented by means of a prototype as a proof of concept and the results were used to generate thematic maps. These maps can improve flood risk awareness and support decision-making in flood risk management

Is the Erich arch bar the best intermaxillary fixation method in maxillofacial fractures? : a systematic review

Background: Intermaxillary fixation is used to achieve proper occlusion during and after oral and maxillofacial fracture surgery. The aim of this systematic review was to compare Erich arch bar fixation with other intermaxillary fixation methods in terms of the operating time, safety during installation, oral health maintenance and occlusal stability. Material and Methods: An electronic online search was conducted of the Scirus, PubMed, Ovid, Cochrane Library and VHL databases. A clinical trial dating from the inception of the data bases until August 2013 was selected. Studies that compared Erich arch bars with other intermaxillary fixation methods in patients older than 18 years-old were included. The studies were assessed by two independent reviewers. The methodological quality of each article was analyzed. Results: Nine hundred and twenty-five manuscripts were found. Seven relevant articles were analyzed in this review. The risk of bias was considered moderate for four studies and high for three clinical trials. Conclusions: There is not enough evidence to conclude that the Erich arch bar is the best intermaxillary fixation method in cases of oral and maxillofacial fracture

Schistosomiasis mansoni in the Southwest of the State of Minas Gerais (Brazil)

É descrito um foco de esquistossomose mansoni, no Município de Passos, sudoeste do Estado de Minas Gerais, região até agora considerada livre da endemia. Relata-se a presença de Biomphalaria glabrata parasitada por Schistosoma mansoni, em um clube campestre, nas imediações da cidade, além de quatro crianças, residentes neste clube, com esquistossomose autóctone. Observa-se ainda, a existência de B. straminea, não infectada, nos tanques da Estação de Hidrobiologia e Piscicultura de Furnas. É discutida a importância epidemiológica da esquistossomose para a região.A new focus of schisiosomiasis mansoni at Passos, a town in the Southwest of the State of Minas Gerais (Brazil), region until now considered free of the disease is reported. Malacological surveys showed Biophalaria glabrata naturally infected with Schistosoma mansoni in a country club near Passos. All B. straminea captured at the pisciculture station of the Furnas hydroeletric dam were negative. Six out of seven individuals living in the country club were found to be infected with S. mansoni, including four children who had never been out of Passos. The epidemiological importance of these findings is discussed

Primeiros casos autóctones de esquistossomose mansoni em região do Noroeste do Estado de Minas Gerais (Brasil)

The finding of authochtonous cases of schistosomiasis mansoni at Paracatu, Northwest of Minas Gerais State (Brazil) was reported. They were children of ages ranging from 12 to 14, who had never been out of this town. A total of 11,471 Biomphalaria straminea were collected, and all of them were negative to Schistosoma mansoni cercárias and/or sporocystes. The local authorities were advised on, measures to be taken with a view to schistosomiasis control.São relatados os primeiros casos autóctones de esquistossomose mansoni, originários da cidade de Paracatu, Noroeste do Estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil, região até o momento considerrada indene para esta parasitose. Trata-se de oito pacientes com idade entre 12 e 14 anos, e que nunca haviam se ausentado da localidade. Os levantamentos malacológicos proporcionaram a coleta de 11.471 exemplares de Biomphalaria straminea, todos negativos para Schistosoma mansoni. Foram sugeridas medidas que, se colocadas em prática, poderiam controlar a parasitose na cidade

Collaboration among humanitarian relief organizations and volunteer technical communities : identifying research opportunities and challenges through a systematic literature review

Collaboration is the foundation to strengthen disaster preparedness and for effective emergency response actions at all levels. Some studies have highlighted that remote volunteers, i.e., volunteers supported by Web 2.0 technologies, possess the potential to strengthen humanitarian relief organizations by offering information regarding disaster-affected people and infrastructure. Although studies have explored various aspects of this topic, none of those provided an overview of the state-of-the-art of researches on the collaboration among humanitarian organizations and communities of remote volunteers. With the aim of overcoming this gap, a systematic literature review was conducted on the existing research works. Therefore, the main contribution of this work lies in examining the state of research in this field and in identifying potential research gaps. The results show that most of the research works addresses the general domain of disaster management, whereas only few of them address the domain of humanitarian logistics. Collaboration among Humanitarian Relief Organizations and Volunteer Technical Communities: Identifying Research Opportunities and Challenges through a Systematic Literature Review (PDF Download Available). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315790817_Collaboration_among_Humanitarian_Relief_Organizations_and_Volunteer_Technical_Communities_Identifying_Research_Opportunities_and_Challenges_through_a_Systematic_Literature_Review [accessed May 26, 2017]

Multicriteria hybrid flow shop scheduling problem: literature review, analysis, and future research

This research focuses on the Hybrid Flow Shop production scheduling problem, which is one of the most difficult problems to solve. The literature points to several studies that focus the Hybrid Flow Shop scheduling problem with monocriteria functions. Despite of the fact that, many real world problems involve several objective functions, they can often compete and conflict, leading researchers to concentrate direct their efforts on the development of methods that take consider this variant into consideration. The goal of the study is to review and analyze the methods in order to solve the Hybrid Flow Shop production scheduling problem with multicriteria functions in the literature. The analyses were performed using several papers that have been published over the years, also the parallel machines types, the approach used to develop solution methods, the type of method develop, the objective function, the performance criterion adopted, and the additional constraints considered. The results of the reviewing and analysis of 46 papers showed opportunities for future researchon this topic, including the following: (i) use uniform and dedicated parallel machines, (ii) use exact and metaheuristics approaches, (iv) develop lower and uppers bounds, relations of dominance and different search strategiesto improve the computational time of the exact methods,  (v) develop  other types of metaheuristic, (vi) work with anticipatory setups, and (vii) add constraints faced by the production systems itself