Angioid streaks: fundoscopic analysis of 317 cases

OBJETIVO: Avaliar a presença de neovascularização de coróide (NVC) e suas seqüelas em pacientes portadores de estrias angióides (EA). MÉTODOS: Foram analisados retrospectivamente os prontuários de pacientes atendidos no Instituto Suel Abujamra, São Paulo (SP), Brasil, de 1976 a 2006. Considerou-se a idade, cor da pele, queixas na primeira consulta, acuidade visual e aspecto fundoscópico com especial atenção a lesões disciformes por NVC sub-retinianas ativas ou cicatrizadas. RESULTADOS: Dos 317 pacientes estudados, 163 (51,5%) eram homens. A média de idade era de 57 anos com desvio-padrão de 12,4 anos, mínimo de 11 e máximo de 91 anos. Quanto a cor da pele, 209 (66,2%) eram brancos, 91 (29,0%) amarelos,11 (3,7%) negros, e 3 (1,1%) pardos. As EA eram bilaterais em todos os pacientes, e de 631 olhos pesquisados, 348 (55,1%) tinham EA de coloração marrom, 153 (24,2%) cinza e 124 (19,6%) marrom-avermelhada. No momento do diagnóstico, as acuidades visuais medidas na tabela de Snellen foram piores que 20/200 em 40,4% dos olhos. Comprovou-se a ausência de NVC em 103 (32,5%) pacientes. As lesões NVC unilaterais estavam presentes em 112 (35,3%) e bilaterais em 99 (31,2%). Quanto à localização, 242 (74,3%) eram maculares, 45 (13,8%) extra-maculares e 38 (11,7%) mistas. CONCLUSÃO: As EA são importante causa de cegueira legal e podem passar despercebidas no exame oftalmológico de rotina quando não apresentam lesões maculares disciformes ativas ou cicatrizadas. A importância deste estudo é o expressivo número de casos e alertar os oftalmologistas quanto à necessidade de um exame fundoscópico minucioso, a fim de monitorá-las, diagnosticar e tratar precocemente a NVC.PURPOSE: To evaluate the presence of choroidal neovascularization (CN) and their sequels in patient bearing angioid streaks (AE). METHODS: Case records of patients assisted from 1976 to 2006 at the Instituto Suel Abujamra located in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, were analyzed retrospectively. Age, skin color; patient complaints at the first evaluation, visual acuity, fundoscopic aspects with special attention to disciform lesions to active or scarred subretinal CN were considered. RESULTS: Among the 317 studied patients, 163 (51.5%) were men. The average age was 57, with standard deviation of 12.4 years, minimum 11 and maximum 91 years. Regarding skin color, 209 (66.2%) were white, 91 (29.0%) were yellow, 11 (3.7%) were black, and 3 (1.1%) were mulatto. AE were bilateral in all patients; of 631 researched eyes, 348 (55.1%) had brown color AE, in 153 (24.2%) they were gray and in 124 (19.6%) reddish brown. Upon diagnosis, visual acuities measured with the Snellen chart were worse than 20/200 in 40.4% of the eyes. CN absence was proven in 103 (32.5%) patients. The unilateral lesions were present in 112 (35.3%) and bilateral lesions were present in 99 (31.2%). Regarding location, 242 (74.3%) were macular, 45 (13.8%) were extramacular and 38 (11.7%) were both macular and extramacular. CONCLUSION: AE are an important cause of legal blindness and can be easily bypassed in an ophthalmic routine examination in the absence of active or disciform neovascular lesions. The expressive number of these cases brings us to the importance of this study. It highlights the need for a meticulous fundoscopic examination in order to improve diagnoses of the disease and early treatment of CN

Evaluation of pharmaceutical counseling after hospital discharge of post-surgery patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate pharmaceutical counseling following hospital discharge. All subjects received pharmacist counseling before discharge in a private hospital in Aracaju-SE, Brazil, from October 2007 to February 2008. Medication adherence was measured by Haynes-Sacket and Morisky-Green-Levine scales at the end of post-discharge treatment. Post-surgery patients (n = 243) received counseling on the day of hospital discharge, while adherence was observed in 186 (76.5 %) of these patients. During the four months, the increase in adherence was observed in those patients that received the counseling: 68.7 %, 73.6 %, 82.9 % and 85.7 %, respectively. The patients were distributed according to the variables of age, chronic illness, and duration of treatment did not significantly vary during the study. At the end of pharmaceutical counseling period, more than three fourths of post-surgery patients were considered adherent after hospital discharge. This result indicates a potential opportunity to implement this service in other wards.Colegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

O TRABALHO NA PLATAFORMA DIGITAL GETNINJAS: vitrine de pessoas, moedas virtuais e leilão reverso

Este artigo examina o trabalho na plataforma digital de trabalho GetNinjas, partindo dos termos de uso e opiniões coletadas por seus usuários nas redes sociais, mesclando pesquisa bibliográfica e empírica. Relata o panorama da economia digital e as classificações do trabalho em plataforma. Apresenta a GetNinjas, demonstrando também classificações possíveis do trabalho realizado pela plataforma, assim como faz uma breve comparação com a plataforma TaskRabbit. Examina a plataforma pela perspectiva do usuário trabalhador e do usuário consumidor. Explora a repercussão da plataforma pelos usuários nas mídias digitais trazendo relatos expostos no Reclame Aqui, Facebook e YouTube. Por último, conclui a dificuldade de caracterizar o vínculo empregatício na GetNinjas, todavia tem a responsabilidade de assegurar os direitos fundamentais dos trabalhadores que se relacionam

Evaluation of mass attenuation coefficient of concrete sample for different traits

Concrete is widely used in the world and is the main material for civil construction. Due to its properties, it has different uses such as structural, filling and shielding. The aim of this work is to compare experimental and theoretical mass attenuation coefficient for concrete with different traits and determine the one with the best performance. For this, density, X-ray diffraction, mass attenuation coefficient (experimental with a Cs137 source, simulated by MCNP and theoretical determined with XCOM platform) and compressive strength were determined for three different traits of cement mortar (standardized sand, conventional sand and artificial sand). The X-ray diffraction showed more compounds for artificial sand’s samples. Density showed no significant variation. The samples showed a good agreement for experimental, simulated and theoretical mass attenuation coefficient. Standardized sand’s samples had the best performance for mechanical test, with a compressive strength 47.4% higher than artificial sand’s samples and 38.2% higher than conventional sand’s samples. It is possible to conclude that, since mass attenuation coefficient showed no significant difference, standardized sand’s samples is more indicated to be used for shielding than the others

Avaliação da resposta termorregulatória de cabras expostas naturalmente ao clima tropical a partir do uso de dados longitudinais

Utilizou-se a Temperatura retal (TR), Frequências cardíaca (FC) e respiratória (FR) aferidas como medidas repetidas no tempo em fêmeas caprinas, objetivando-se identificar matrizes de estruturas de covariância que melhor se ajustou aos dados para modelagem do resíduo nessas três características e, em seguida, avaliou-se a respostas de cabras ao calor, com base nesse resultado. Constatou-se cinco matrizes com convergência nas três características. A Simétrica composta heterogênea ajustou-se bem para modelagem do resíduo associado a TR, enquanto a Autorregressiva heterogênea ajustou-se melhor para a FR e FC, de acordo com os critérios de informação de Akaike (AIC), Akaike corrigido (AICc) e o Bayesiano de Schwarz (BIC) utilizados. Com o resíduos de dados dessas três características ajustados, utilizou-se uma análise com modelos mistos para avaliar a Época de coleta (3), Estado fisiológico (3) e Idade do animal (3) foram como efeitos fixos. Constatou-se que a modelagem do resíduo interferiu de modo diferenciado no p valor associado aos efeitos fixos estudados. A época da coleta e interações não influenciaram a variação da TR (P>0,761), que oscilou dentro da faixa padrão para caprinos nos trópicos, mas o Estágio fisiológico da cabra sim (P<0,05). A Temperatura retal e as Frequências cardíaca e respiratória tendem a apresentar estruturas de covariâncias modeláveis com utilização de matrizes de covariâncias residuais especificas, ou seja, a matriz Simétrica composta heterogênea mais adequada para dados da Temperatura retal, enquanto a Autorregressiva heterogênea para as Frequências cardíaca e respiratória, geralmente correlacionas. As cabras da raça avaliadas mantêm a temperatura retal dentro da amplitude de variação apresentada por raças adaptadas a ambiente quente. Isso ocorre independente da condição fisiológica que se encontra, mas com ocorrência de variação na frequência respiratória e cardíaca, não excedendo, no entanto, a faixa normal para caprinos. A gestação condiciona a cabra a elevar a FR na época chuvosa do ano na região para manter a TR na faixa de amplitude normal para caprinos

Antinociceptive Effect of the Essential Oil from Croton conduplicatus Kunth (Euphorbiaceae)

Medicinal plants have been widely used in the treatment of chronic pain. In this study, we describe the antinociceptive effect of the essential oil from Croton conduplicatus (the EO 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg, i.p.), a medicinal plant native to Brazil. Antinociceptive activity was investigated by measuring the nociception induced by acetic acid, formalin, hot plate and carrageenan. A docking study was performed with the major constituents of the EO (E-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, and camphor). The EO reduced nociceptive behavior at all doses tested in the acetic acid-induced nociception test (p &lt; 0.05). The same was observed in both phases (neurogenic and inflammatory) of the formalin test. When the hot-plate test was conducted, the EO (50 mg/kg) extended the latency time after 60 min of treatment. The EO also reduced leukocyte migration at all doses, suggesting that its antinociceptive effect involves both central and peripheral mechanisms. Pretreatment with glibenclamide and atropine reversed the antinociceptive effect of the EO on the formalin test, suggesting the involvement of KATP channels and muscarinic receptors. The docking study revealed a satisfactory interaction profile between the major components of the EO and the different muscarinic receptor subtypes (M2, M3, and M4). These results corroborate the medicinal use of C. conduplicatus in folk medicine

Ecosystem services of regulation and support in Amazonian pioneer fronts: searching for landscape drivers

Landscape dynamics result from forestry and farming practices, both of which are expected to have diverse impacts on ecosystem services (ES). In this study, we investigated this general statement for regulating and supporting services via an assessment of ecosystem functions: climate regulation via carbon sequestration in soil and plant biomass, water cycle and soil erosion regulation via water infiltration in soil, and support for primary production via soil chemical quality and water storage. We tested the hypothesis that patterns of land-cover composition and structure significantly alter ES metrics at two different scales. We surveyed 54 farms in two Amazonian regions of Brazil and Colombia and assessed land-cover composition and structure from remote sensing data (farm scale) from 1990 to 2007. Simple and well-established methods were used to characterize soil and vegetation from five points in each farm (plot scale). Most ES metrics were significantly correlated with land-use (plot scale) and land-cover (farm scale) classifications; however, spatial variability in inherent soil properties, alone or in interaction with land-use or land-cover changes, contributed greatly to variability in ES metrics. Carbon stock in above-ground plant biomass and water infiltration rate decreased from forest to pasture land covers, whereas soil chemical quality and plant-available water storage capacity increased. Land-cover classifications based on structure metrics explained significantly less ES metric variation than those based on composition metrics. Land-cover composition dynamics explained 45 % (P < 0.001) of ES metric variance, 15 % by itself and 30 % in interaction with inherent soil properties. This study describes how ES evolve with landscape changes, specifying the contribution of spatial variability in the physical environment and highlighting trade-offs and synergies among ES