Estimating uniaxial compressive strength, density and porosity of rocks from the p-wave velocity measurements in-situ and in the laboratory

Knowledge of the physical properties of rock masses is fundamental for the economics and safety of mining projects. The determination of these properties in rock samples in the laboratory requires time, expensive equipment and qualified personnel, which considerably increases the information's cost. Indirect methods were developed to obtain properties related to rock masses, which have been shown to be a viable alternative to traditional procedures. The determination of the compressional mechanical wave velocity (Vp) and subsequent correlation with lithological mechanical properties are indirectly obtained. This study’s objective was to obtain correlations between Vp and the resistance to uniaxial compression, UCS (Unconfined Compressive Strength), as well as the density and porosity of the siltstone and sandstone lithologies present in the coalfield of Candiota, located in the southern region of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The Vp records were obtained in laboratory samples, using ultrasonic velocity sensors, and in-situ by geophysical well logging (directly in boreholes). The results indicate the possibility of using Vp to determine the physical parameters of the investigated lithologies. In the specific case of the correlations between Vp and Unconfined Compressive Strength, determination coefficients R2 above 0.70 were obtained, indicating sufficiently high reliability for using this information (e.g. in roof support projects). The correlation between Vp and density was also high

Transpondo limites : O Cinema na pesquisa-intervenção e o documentário enquanto estratégia de empoderamento em saúde mental.

O presente trabalho objetiva apresentar as possibilidades de pesquisa e intervenção a partir da utilização de recursos cinematográficos, mais especificamente da elaboração de documentários. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida pelo Grupo de Pesquisa Subjetividade e Movimentos Sociais, da Universidade Potiguar, por ocasião do Dia Nacional da Luta Antimanicomial (18 de Maio), que em Natal foi palco da IV Conferência de Saúde Mental Intersetorial, contando com a participação de profissionais, acadêmicos, gestores, familiares e usuários da rede de saúde mental do Rio Grande do Norte. A partir da perspectiva teórico-metodológica da cartografia, a pesquisa-intervenção produziu um curta-metragem, na categoria documentário, problematizando o protagonismo e participação política dos usuários da rede de saúde mental, no processo de reforma psiquiátrica. Os resultados apontam que, diante da ausência de protagonismo do usuário no campo da reforma psiquiátrica brasileira, as possibilidades da intervenção cinematográfica nesse campo se apresentam enquanto um importante recurso de pesquisa-intervenção, ao trazer a tona discursos, cenas e modos de vida dos portadores de transtornos mentais, usuários da rede de saúde mental. . Ao realizar filmagens e edição de um documentário, tem-se a possibilidade de cartografar de cenas, nuances e linhas de força presentes no conflituoso cenário da reforma psiquiátrica, além de permitir o empoderamento dos usuários entrevistados, dando voz a um coletivo historicamente excluído. Ao utilizarmos a linguagem cinematográfica como ferramenta de pesquisa-intervenção, afirmamos possibilidade de produção de linhas de fuga, favorecendo o processo de produção de novas subjetividades

Plataforma Web de Indicadores Nacionais de CT&I: uma ferramenta de apoio à gestão na SETEC/AP

The objective of the paper is to analyze how national indicators of ST&I can contribute to the development of innovation in ST&I institutions. These performance indicators assist managers in the decision-making process and strengthen innovation management actions. The study is classified as qualitative research with a descriptive approach, using the action research method. The research was developed with the management team of the Science and Technology Secretariat of Amapá (SETEC), agency responsible for the ST&I ecosystem in the state. Information was gathered through bibliographic research, meetings, and analysis of documents and national innovation indicators provided by MCTI. The study contributed to the development of a Web Indicators Platform, a tool that allows performance measurement and evaluation through indicator management, strengthening the management and planning of SETEC/AP.O objetivo geral do artigo foi analisar de que forma os indicadores nacionais de CT&I podem contribuir para o desenvolvimento da inovação nas instituições de CT&I. Esses indicadores de desempenho auxiliam o processo de tomada de decisões dos gestores e fortalecem as ações de gestão da inovação. O estudo é classificado como pesquisa qualitativa, com abordagem descritiva, e foi utilizado o método de pesquisa-ação. A pesquisa foi desenvolvida com a equipe de gestores da Secretaria de Ciência e Tecnologia (SETEC) do Amapá, órgão responsável pelo ecossistema de CT&I no Estado. O levantamento das informações ocorreu com base em pesquisa bibliográfica, reuniões e análise de documentos e indicadores nacionais de inovação disponibilizados pelo MCTI. O estudo contribuiu para o desenvolvimento de uma Plataforma Web de Indicadores, uma ferramenta que permite mensurar e avaliar o desempenho por meio da gestão de indicadores, fortalecendo a gestão e o planejamento da SETEC/AP

Brazilian investments in medicines for poverty-related diseases: strategies to ensure access / Investimentos brasileiros em medicamentos para doenças relacionadas com a pobreza: estratégias para garantir o acesso

Introduction: Financing the access to medicines has been one of the greatest challenges facing health systems all around the world. For diseases that attract lower levels of interest and medicine offers across the market, that challenge gets bigger. This study investigates the main strategies adopted by the Brazilian government to guarantee access to medicines for diseases identified as “poverty-related”. Methods: We analyzed acquisitions made by the Brazilian federal government over 10 years (2005 to 2014) sourced from the database of the Ministry of Health, indicating three main strategies to face the difficulties of guaranteeing access to these medicines. (I) Centralization of the financing and acquisition for the great majority of the medicines; (II) Acquisition via multilateral organizations and (III) Production of medicines by official laboratories. Results: 132 medicines are included in the National List of Essential Medicines (RENAME in force, used in order to prevent and treat poverty-related diseases.  More than a half (55.3%) of the items have only one national producer or are not registered and therefore can only be obtained through international acquisition to attend consolidated health programs such as tuberculosis, leprosy, malaria or even for disease prevention of nutritional actions and for immunization actions. However, the findings from this study document ways to approach access to medicines for poverty-related diseases. Conclusions: The observation of these strategies enables us to verify the advances and improvement points of the Brazilian Pharmaceutical Policy, in view of preventing setbacks during moments of crisis and guaranteeing assistance to populations.

A prática do drawback nas relações internas e internacionais

Analisa a possibilidade de uso do drawback nas relações internas com o objetivo de atrair investimentos internacionais

CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF BARK COMPOUNDS FROM CAATINGA SPECIES

This study aimed to chemically characterize the bark extracts from three tree species: Anacardium occidentale L., Ziziphus joazeiro Mart. and Mimosa caesalpiniaefolia Benth., in addition to obtaining the soluble extract content in water, alcohol and hexane from the bark of these species. The bark was collected from branches of the three species and subsequently pre-dried and milled. The extract content was then determined using the Sohxlet method aiming to quantify the total extractives in the samples, and determine the extract content soluble in water, ethyl alcohol and hexane. The extracts were further analyzed by Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis to determine their chemical composition. The extract contents in the three species behaved in a similar way, with hexane being the solvent which extracted more compounds and juazeiro the species that displayed the highest total extract content. With the chemical characterization of the extracts, it was possible to identify the presence of functional groups characteristic of carbohydrates and proteins in the aqueous extracts; the presence of characteristic hydroxyl group, for example in alcohols, aldehydes, ketones and ethers in the ethanolic extracts; and the presence of fatty acids and aromatic compounds (essential oils) in hexanolic extracts. The essential oils were the compounds which presented larger quantities, and can be exploited by the pharmaco-chemical industry

What do Cochrane systematic reviews say about non-surgical interventions for urinary incontinence in women?

BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence is a highly prevalent condition that impacts self-esteem and overall quality of life. Many non-surgical treatment options are available, ranging from pharmacological approaches to pelvic exercises. We aimed to summarize the available evidence regarding these non-surgical interventions. DESIGN AND SETTING: Review of systematic reviews, conducted in the Discipline of Evidence-Based Medicine, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (EPM-UNIFESP). METHODS: A sensitive search was conducted to identify all Cochrane systematic reviews that fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Titles and abstracts were screened by two authors. RESULTS: We included 20 Cochrane systematic reviews: 4 assessing methods of vesical training, 3 evaluating pharmacological interventions, 4 studying pelvic floor muscle training approaches and 9 aimed at other alternatives (such as urethral injections, weighted vaginal cone use, acupuncture, biostimulation and radiofrequency therapy). The reviews found that the evidence regarding the benefits of these diverse interventions ranged in quality from low to high. CONCLUSIONS: This review included 20 Cochrane systematic reviews that provided evidence (of diverse quality) for non-pharmacological interventions for patients with urinary incontinence. Moderate to high quality of evidence was found favoring the use of pelvic floor muscle training among women with urinary incontinence. To establish solid conclusions for all the other comparisons, further studies of good methodological quality are needed.Univ Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Discipline Evidence Based Hlth, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Gynecol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Discipline Evidence Based Hlth, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo Unifesp, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Gynecol, Sao Paulo, SP, BrazilWeb of Scienc

ANTIFUNGAL POTENTIAL OF BARK EXTRACTS FROM BRAZILIAN SEMI-ARID TREE SPECIES AGAINST Ganoderma spp.

Tree native species of the Caatinga (a Brazilian semi-arid biome) have characteristics of interest for the use of their wood and non-wood products, especially regarding their natural chemical compounds. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antifungal action of different bark extracts of Anacardium occidentale, Ziziphus joazeiro and Mimosa caesalpiniifolia against Ganoderma lobatum and G. multiplicatum by in vitro mycelial inhibition. The extractions from the bark of the trees were carried out with a Soxhlet extractor, using water, ethanol and hexane as solvents. The potential of mycelia inhibition of each extract was tested against fungi of the Ganoderma genus. The hexane extracts of the bark had activity against G. multiplicatum, unlike the aqueous and ethanol extracts. Even though the hexane-based extracts had a small mycelial inhibition effect against G. lobatum, there were no satisfactory results of extracts against this fungus species

Asymmetric c-fos expression in the ventral orbital cortex is associated with impaired reversal learning in a right-sided neuropathy

BACKGROUND: Recently we showed that unilateral peripheral neuropathic lesions impacted differentially on rat's emotional/cognitive behavior depending on its left/right location; importantly, this observation recapitulates clinical reports. The prefrontal cortex (PFC), a brain region morphofunctionally affected in chronic pain conditions, is involved in the modulation of both emotion and executive function and displays functional lateralization. To test whether the PFC is involved in the lateralization bias associated with left/right pain, c-fos expression in medial and orbital areas was analyzed in rats with an unilateral spared nerve injury neuropathy installed in the left or in the right side after performing an attentional set-shifting, a strongly PFC-dependent task. RESULTS: SNI-R animals required more trials to successfully terminate the reversal steps of the attentional set-shifting task. A generalized increase of c-fos density in medial and orbital PFC (mPFC/OFC), irrespectively of the hemisphere, was observed in both SNI-L and SNI-R. However, individual laterality indexes revealed that contrary to controls and SNI-L, SNI-R animals presented a leftward shift in c-fos density in the ventral OFC (VO). None of these effects were observed in the neighboring primary motor area. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that chronic neuropathic pain is associated with a bilateral mPFC and OFC hyperactivation. We hypothesize that the impaired performance of SNI-R animals is associated with a left/right activity inversion in the VO, whose functional integrity is critical for reversal learning.This work was granted by the Portuguese Science Foundation (FCT) project PTDC/SAU-NEU/108557/2008 and grant SFRH/BPD/80118/2011

Processos ecológicos e a escala da paisagem como diretrizes para projetos de restauração ecológica

Que problema ambiental é foco deste trabalho? É crescente a demanda, pelos órgãos ambientais competentes, por projetos que visem à restauração de áreas degradadas. Tais projetos, geralmente, fundamentam suas ações em escalas temporais e espaciais restritas em relação às recomendações derivadas do conhecimento científico em ecologia. Além disso, as técnicas normalmente utilizadas tendem a promover simplesmente a reestruturação física através de plantios, pouco considerando a restauração de processos ecológicos de manutenção das comunidades como um todo, chamada atualmente de restauração ecológica. Esta iniciativa teve como propósito contribuir para o desenvolvimento e gestão de projetos de restauração ecológica no estado da Bahia, através da aproximação entre a pesquisa ecológica produzida na esfera acadêmica e os problemas ambientais enfrentados pelos órgãos gestores.Qual foi a estratégia do trabalho para contribuir com sua solução? Fizemos um levantamento dos trabalhos científicos e manuais técnicos sobre restauração ecológica. Após uma análise dos trabalhos levantados produzimos uma Planilha Referência contendo um detalhamento de técnicas de restauração ecológica e a referência do trabalho, além de outras informações relevantes. Com base nessa análise foi elaborado um Mapa de Ações, que indica passo a passo, as etapas para o diagnóstico e planejamento estratégico para a restauração ecológica. Estes dois documentos pretendem subsidiar a elaboração de projetos que visem a restauração ecológica, servindo como uma ferramenta norteadora das ações relacionadas ao tema.Qual é a principal conclusão do trabalho? Três aspectos se mostraram fundamentais para o desenvolvimento de projetos de restauração ecológica: o diagnóstico, o planejamento das estratégias locais de restauração através de uma abordagem multiescala integrada à paisagem e a mudança de foco dos projetos para uma conduta voltada para a restauração de processos ecológicos, em vez de priorizar, apenas, a recuperação dos aspectos físicos da vegetação