Modelos de elementos finitos de propagação de ondas, dreams e epe_cg - aplicação à marina do lugar de baixo

Descrevem-se dois modelos que resolvem a equação de declive suave, denominados DREAMS e EPE_CG. O modelo DREAMS utiliza a formulação clássica do método dos elementos finitos para resolver a equação de declive suave, o que leva à montagem da matriz global do sistema. O modelo EPE_CG utiliza uma formulação denominada elemento por elemento (EPE), para resolver aquela equação. Neste tipo de formulação EPE, não há a montagem da matriz global do sistema, o que traz grande economia nos requisitos de armazenamento. Ambos os modelos efetuam a refração e difração de ondas marítimas em zonas portuárias e são adequados quer para estudos de agitação, quer de ressonância em portos e zonas abrigadas. Os dois modelos numéricos são aplicados ao estudo de agitação no interior da marina do Lugar de Baixo, situada na costa sul da ilha da Madeira, em Portugal, para várias condições de onda incidente. De modo a avaliar as vantagens e desvantagens de cada um dos modelos na sua aplicação a zonas portuárias, os resultados de ambos os modelos numéricos são comparados em termos do tempo de CPU e memória necessária para as várias condições de teste. Palavras-chave: Zonas portuárias e costeiras; propagação e deformação de ondas; refração-difração e reflexão de onda; método dos elementos finitos; formulação elemento por elemento

Quantitative and Qualitative Characteristics of the Loin of Grazing Lambs From Different Production Systems

The international sheep market is supplied mainly from New Zealand and Australia, where there are advanced production systems and marketing organisations, and where the product is exported mainly in the form of carcasses and cuts. In Brazil, the farmers should aim to produce a younger animal, with an adequate fat level at an optimum stage of muscle development, in order to gain market share The proportions of muscle, bone and fat largely determine the value of the carcass, and the breed and age of animal, in addition to other factors such as feeding systems, cause variation in the proportions (Purchas et al., 1991). Grazing systems may be considered in Brazil due to reduced production costs. Measuring M. longissimus (the loin muscle) traits is a way of evaluating carcass quality because this muscle is one of the most important commercial cuts and represents total carcass characteristics. The objective of this study was to determine qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the loin of lambs on different production systems

Environment Impact of Moxidectin in Sheep Faeces upon Dung Diptera in South of Brazil

Dung Diptera can be beneficial to the environment because the adults feed on, deposit eggs in, and the larval nutrition depends on the feaces of animals which significantly im-proves nutrient cycling. However, anthelmintics which are used to control internal parasites have long persistence with a long half-life in faeces. This is harmful to the coprofauna and may adversely affect the diversity of this environmen-tal system. In this study we evaluated the toxicity of moxidectin anthelmintic on the dung Diptera population in pastures of South of Brazil

O SENTIMENTO DE FINITUDE DO PORTADOR DE TUBERCULOSE PULMONAR, NO ATO DE CUIDAR NA TERAPIA OCUPACIONAL

Objective: To analyze the contribution of occupational therapy adherence to tuberculosis treatment, and identify strategies to facilitate the linkage to treatment. Method: Qualitative study. We obtain data through Creativity Workshops. Participated in the workshops eleven customers with pulmonary tuberculosis, which carried out the activity of collage. We use the method of content analysis of Bardin, who works with the universe of meanings, to uncover the beliefs and values of the subjects in this study. Results: Occupational therapy favored the disclosure of blocked content and enabled the flowering of the nuclei of aggression, rebellion, stress, dependency, control and finitude, which were in the unconscious of each participant. Conclusion: Occupational Therapy through the Creativity Workshop has benefited: the act out of feelings, compliance, facilitated the relief of emotional stress, increased self-esteem and provided better quality of life. Descriptors: Occupational Therapy, Pulmonary Tuberculosis, Qualitative Research, Content Analysis.Objetivo: Analisar a contribuição da Terapia Ocupacional a aderência ao tratamento da tuberculose e identificar estratégias que facilitem o vínculo ao tratamento. Método: Estudo qualitativo. Obtemos os dados por meio das Oficinas de Criatividade. Participaram das oficinas onze clientes com tuberculose pulmonar, os quais executaram a atividade de colagem. Utilizamos o método de análise de conteúdo de Bardin, que trabalha com o universo de significados, para desvendar as crenças e valores dos sujeitos desta pesquisa. Resultados: A Terapia Ocupacional favoreceu o desvelamento dos conteúdos bloqueados e possibilitou o desabrochar dos núcleos de agressividade, rebeldia, tensão, dependência, controle e finitude, que se encontravam no inconsciente de cada participante. Conclusão: A Terapia Ocupacional por meio da Oficina de Criatividade beneficiou: o exteriorizar de sentimentos, adesão ao tratamento, facilitou o alívio da tensão emocional, aumentou da auto-estima e proporcionou melhoria da qualidade de vida. Descritores: Terapia Ocupacional, Tuberculose Pulmonar, Pesquisa Qualitativa, Análise de Conteúdo

Distinct, dosage-sensitive requirements for the autism-associated factor CHD8 during cortical development

Background: CHD8 haploinsufficiency causes autism and macrocephaly with high penetrance in the human population. Chd8 heterozygous mice exhibit relatively subtle brain overgrowth and little gene expression changes in the embryonic neocortex. The purpose of this study was to generate new, sub-haploinsufficient Chd8 mouse models to allow us to identify and study the functions of CHD8 during embryonic cortical development. Methods: To examine the possibility that certain phenotypes may only appear at sub-heterozygous Chd8 levels in the mouse, we created an allelic series of Chd8-deficient mice to reduce CHD8 protein levels to approximately 35% (mild hypomorph), 10% (severe hypomorph) and 0% (neural-specific conditional knockout) of wildtype levels. We used RNA sequencing to compare transcriptional dysregulation, structural MRI and brain weight to investigate effects on brain size, and cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis markers in immunostaining assays to quantify changes in neural progenitor fate. Results: Mild Chd8 hypomorphs displayed significant postnatal lethality, with surviving animals exhibiting more pronounced brain hyperplasia than heterozygotes. Over 2000 genes were dysregulated in mild hypomorphs, including autism-associated neurodevelopmental and cell cycle genes. We identify increased proliferation of non-ventricular zone TBR2+ intermediate progenitors as one potential cause of brain hyperplasia in these mutants. Severe Chd8 hypomorphs displayed even greater transcriptional dysregulation, including evidence for p53 pathway upregulation. In contrast to mild hypomorphs, these mice displayed reduced brain size and increased apoptosis in the embryonic neocortex. Homozygous, conditional deletion of Chd8 in early neuronal progenitors resulted in pronounced brain hypoplasia, partly caused by p53 target gene derepression and apoptosis in the embryonic neocortex. Limitations Our findings identify an important role for the autism-associated factor CHD8 in controlling the proliferation of intermediate progenitors in the mouse neocortex. We propose that CHD8 has a similar function in human brain development, but studies on human cells are required to confirm this. Because many of our mouse mutants with reduced CHD8 function die shortly after birth, it is not possible to fully determine to what extent reduced CHD8 function results in autism-associated behaviours in mice. Conclusions: Together, these findings identify important, dosage-sensitive functions for CHD8 in p53 pathway repression, neurodevelopmental gene expression and neural progenitor fate in the embryonic neocortex. We conclude that brain development is acutely sensitive to reduced CHD8 expression and that the varying sensitivities of different progenitor populations and cellular processes to CHD8 dosage result in non-linear effects on gene transcription and brain growth. Shaun Hurley, Conor Mohan and Philipp Suetterlin have contributed equally to this work

Homocysteine and other markers of cardiovascular risk during a manic episode in patients with bipolar disorder

Objective: To evaluate serum levels of different biomarkers associated with cardiovascular disease in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Patients were prospectively evaluated in two separate instances: during acute mania and after remission of manic symptoms. All measurements were compared with those of healthy controls. Methods: The study included 30 patients with BD and 30 healthy controls, matched for gender and age. Biochemical parameters evaluated included homocysteine (Hcy), folic acid, vitamin B12, ferritin, creatine kinase (CK) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Results: Hcy levels were significantly higher in the BD patients, both during mania and after achieving euthymia. When Hcy was adjusted for body mass index, there was no significant difference between patients and controls. Ferritin was the only marker that showed a significant decrease during mania when compared to both euthymic patients and controls. There were no significant differences for folate, vitamin B12, CK and CRP. Conclusions: These findings do not show an association between alterations of markers of cardiovascular risk during manic episodes. Further studies are necessary to determine factors and mechanisms associated with cardiovascular risk in patients with BD