Avaliação de programa para reduzir dores nas costas em trabalhadores de enfermagem

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a program designed to reduce back pain in nursing aides. METHODS: Female nursing aides from a university hospital who had suffered episodes of back pain for at least six months were included in the study. Participants were randomly divided into a control group and an intervention group. The intervention program involved a set of exercises and an educational component stressing the ergonomic aspect, administered twice a week during working hours for four months. All subjects answered a structured questionnaire and the intensity of pain was assessed before and after the program using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Student's t-test or the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test for independent samples, and Chi-square test or the Exact Fisher test for categorical analysis, were used. The McNemar test and the Wilcoxon matched pairs test were used to compare the periods before and after the program. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant decrease in the frequency of cervical pain in the last two months and in the last seven days in the intervention group. There was also a reduction in cervical pain intensity in the two periods (2 months, 7 days) and lumbar pain intensity in the last 7 days. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that a program of regular exercise with an emphasis on ergonomics can reduce musculoskeletal symptoms in nursing personnel.OBJETIVO: Avaliar o efeito de um programa na redução de dores nas costas em auxiliares de enfermagem. MÉTODOS: Participaram do estudo auxiliares de enfermagem com menos de 50 anos de idade, do sexo feminino, de um hospital universitário e que apresentavam dores nas costas por um período mínimo de 6 meses. O programa envolveu parte educativa, com abordagem ergonômica, e a realização de exercícios executados durante o horário de trabalho, duas vezes por semana, em um período de quatro meses. As participantes foram divididas aleatoriamente em grupo tratado e grupo controle. A intensidade das dores foi avaliada pela escala visual analógica. Foram utilizados os testes t de Student ou de Wilcoxon, para amostras independentes e os testes Qui-quadrado ou Exato de Fisher, para as categóricas. Para comparar as proporções do início e final do programa utilizou-se o teste de McNemar. RESULTADOS: Ocorreu diminuição estatisticamente significativa na freqüência de dor cervical durante os últimos dois meses e durante a ultima semana no grupo tratado. Houve também redução na intensidade da dor cervical em ambos os períodos (2 meses; 7 dias) e da dor lombar na última semana. CONCLUSÕES: O estudo sugere que programa regular de exercícios, acompanhado por abordagem instrucional ergonômica, pode reduzir sintomas músculo-esqueléticos em trabalhadores de enfermagem.35636

Platinum nanoparticles stabilized by N-heterocyclic thiones. Synthesis and catalytic activity in mono- and di-hydroboration of alkynes

N-Heterocyclic Thiones (NHT) proved to be efficient ligands for the stabilization of small platinum nanoparticles (1.3-1.7 nm), synthesized by decomposition of [Pt(dba)2], under a H2 atmosphere, in the presence of variable sub-stoichiometric amounts of the NHT. Full characterization by means of TEM, HR-TEM, NMR, ICP, TGA and XPS have been carried out, providing information about the nature of the metal nanoparticles and the interaction of the NHT ligands to the metal surface. Importantly, DFT calculations indicate that some NHT ligands interact with the metal through the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C double bond of the imidazole fragment in addition to the sulfur atom, thus providing additional stabilization to the nanoparticles. According to XPS, TGA and ICP techniques, the surface coverage by the ligand increases by decreasing the size of the substituents on the nitrogen atom. The platinum nanoparticles have been used as catalyst in the hydroboration of alkynes. The most active system is that with a less covered surface area lacking an interaction of the ligand by means of the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C double bond. This catalyst hydroborates alkynes with excellent selectivities towards the monoborylated anti-Markovnikov product (vinyl-boronate) when one equiv. of borane is used. Very interestingly, aliphatic alkynes undergo a second hydroborylation process leading to the corresponding 1,1- and 1,2-diboroylated species with good selectivities towards the former.España MINECO (Projects CTQ2016-76267-P, CTQ2016-80814-R and CTQ2016- 81797-REDC)España Junta de Andalucía Project FQM-212

Low Thrust Propelled Close Approach Maneuvers

The study of orbital maneuvers in space missions is a very important problem in astrodynamics. One of the options is the use of a “gravity assisted” maneuver, which is a technique where a spacecraft passes close to a celestial body and uses the gravity of this body to change its trajectory. This approach trajectory has symmetry with respect to the periapsis line when observed from a reference frame fixed in the approached body. There is also a more complex maneuver, when the passage by the celestial body is combined with the application of propulsion, either to give extra energy to the spacecraft or to help to satisfy other constraints required by the mission, like passing by a giving point or region in space. The main object of this study is to measure the efficiency of the application of a continuous thrust combined with the “gravity assisted” maneuver. The effect of this combination is analyzed using maps that give the energy variation of the spacecraft as function of the parameters related to the maneuver. This analysis is made from the point of view of the variation of energy of the spacecraft with respect to the main body of the system. The continuous thrust is applied in the different regions of the trajectory to evaluate the effects of the locations of the thrusting arcs in the variations of energy. The effects of the variations of the direction of the thrust are also studied. This type of combined maneuver may be used to give extra energy to the spacecraft and keeping control of the trajectory during the close approach to better position the spacecraft to complete the mission

Chemical composition, antibacterial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil from Vismia guianensis fruits

In recent decades, the essential oils of plants have drawn great interest as sources of natural products. Essential oil from the fruits of Vismia guianensis was tested for its chemical constituents and antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the essential oil revealed the presence of 38 sesquiterpenoids. The major components were β-caryophyllene (25.8%), α-copaene (13.1%), and δ-cadinene (11.6%). Antimicrobial activities were measured against six species of Gram negative and seven species of Gram positive bacteria and showed antibacterial activity against the human pathogenic Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus lentus with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values of 78 μg/ml. The antioxidant activity of the essential oil was evaluated using the beta carotene/linoleic acid assay and showed antioxidant activity.Key words: Vismia guianensis, chemical composition, antibacterial, antioxidant, fruits, essential oil

Nutritive value of rations containing sugar cane, poultry litter and corn

Realizou-se, no campus da Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias da UNESP, em Jaboticabal, SP, um estudo com o objetivo de determinar a ingestão voluntária e a digestibilidade aparente de rações contendo diferentes relações de cana-de-açúcar: cama-de-frango (CC1 = 65,50 : 34,50%; CC2 = 58,00 : 42,00%; e CC3 - 52,00 : 48,00% combinadas com três níveis de milho (M1 = 0 kg; M2 = 0,75 kg e M3 = 1,50 kg), através do delineamento em blocos casualizados em esquema fatorial 3 com três repetições. Utilizaram-se nove bezerros pesando, em média, 334 kg. Através da análise de regressão, detectou-se efeito linear positivo (P < 0,01) entre os níveis de milho e a digestibilidade aparente da matéria seca, da matéria orgânica, do extrato etéreo, do extrato não nitrogenado e dos teores de nutrientes digestíveis totais. As proporções de cana: cama-de-frango com menores quantidades de cana proporcionaram aumentos na digestibilidade da proteína e da fibra bruta (P < 0,01). Não houve interação significativa entre os níveis de milho e as proporções de cana: cama-de-frango. O valor nutritivo e a ingestão de matéria seca total foram significativamente aumentadas nas rações com os níveis crescentes de milho (P < 0,01).This work was conduced at Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Campus de Jaboticabal-UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil, with the objective of finding out the intake and apparent digestibility of the nutrients in rations with different proportions of sugar cane (SC) and poultry litter (PL): 65.50 : 34.50%; 58.00 : 42.00% and 52.00 : 48.00% combined with three levels of corn: 0; 0.15 kg an 1,50 kg. Treatments were studied according to a completely randomized block design 32 with three replications. Nine steers with an initial average weight of 334 kg were used. Linear regression studies showed significant effects (P < 0.01) of the different levels of corn on apparent digestibility of the dry matter, organic matter, ether extract, nitrogen free extract and total digestible nutrients. Proportions of SC/PL with lower sugarcane ration increased crude fiber and protein digestibility (P < 0.01). There was no significant interaction of the levels of corn and different proportions of sugarcane to poultry litter. Nutritive value and total intake of dry matter increased with the levels of corn in the ration (P < 0.01)

Propagação e manejo fitossanitário de mudas de maniçoba.

Neste trabalho são apresentadas as principais recomendações para alcançar sucesso na propagação de mudas de maniçoba por meio de sementes ou por meio de estaquia em condições de viveiro, bem como o manejo fitossanitário, com o objetivo de direcionar de forma adequada as práticas adotadas por viveiristas e agricultores na condução desta etapa inicial do desenvolvimento das plantas.O principal fator para quebra de dormência em sementes de maniçoba é o tempo de armazenamento de no mínimo 1 ano. Se utilizado em conjunto com a escarificação mecânica com lixa e imersão em água, por 2 horas, não haverá grandes dificuldades para a produção de mudas por este método. Para fixação das qualidades genéticas de boas matrizes de maniçoba (produção de clones), a propagação de mudas por estaquia é a escolha correta. No caso da maniçoba, este método é mais rápido e fácil para a produção por pequenos produtores. Neste caso, a escolha da matriz é o principal fator a ser observado na produção de mudas de maniçoba.bitstream/item/219143/1/COMUNICADO-TECNICO-179.pd

Investigation of oral and general health status and IL-1β gene polymorphism as risk factors for oral mucositis in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation patients

The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship of OM with possible risk factors such as oral health condition, immunological status and IL-1β profile in patients submitted to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Fifty-four individuals submitted to HSCT were included. All patients received previous dental treatment and photobiomodulation (PBM) as the institutional OM preventive protocol. OM scores, immune status, and IL-1β levels were determined during the conditioning period and at D+3 and D+8 after HSC infusion. IL-1β gene polymorphism was also analyzed during conditioning. Possible associations of OM with risk factors were analyzed using conditional Fisher’s exact test. OM was observed in 34 patients (62.9%) classified as Grade 1 (13 patients/24.1%), Grade 2 (14 patients/25.9%), Grade 3 (3 patients/5.5%), and Grade 4 (4 patients/7.4%). Allogeneic HSCT individuals exhibited a higher OM grade than autologous subjects. Moreover, an association was observed between severe OM and severe gingivitis (p = 0.01), neutropenia (p = 0.03), and leukopenia (p = 0.04). A significant association between OM and lower IL-1β levels was detected at three time points, i.e., conditioning (p = 0.048), D+3 (p = 0.01), and D+8 (p = 0.005). The results showed that IL-1β gene polymorphism was not associated with OM. Our study provided important insights into the scope of OM risk factors in the setting of HSCT. Patients submitted to HSCT with severe gingivitis prior to chemotherapy and with severe neutropenia and leukopenia exhibited a higher OM grade. Further investigation will be necessary to better understand the exact role of IL-1β in the context of OM pathobiology and to validate cytokine analysis in larger cohorts

Linkage disequilibrium and population structure in wild and cultivated populations of rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis).

Abstract: Among rubber tree species, which belong to the Hevea genus of the Euphorbiaceae family, Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. ex Adr.de Juss.) Muell. Arg. is the main commercial source of natural rubber production worldwide. Knowledge of the population structure and linkage disequilibrium (LD) of this species is essential for the efficient organization and exploitation of genetic resources. Here, we obtained single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) using a genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) approach and then employed the SNPs for the following objectives: (i) to identify the positions of SNPs on a genetic map of a segregating mapping population, (ii) to evaluate the population structure of a germplasm collection, and (iii) to detect patterns of LD decay among chromosomes for future genetic association studies in rubber tree. A total of 626 genotypes, including both germplasm accessions (368) and individuals from a genetic mapping population (254), were genotyped. A total of 77,660 and 21,283 SNPs were detected by GBS in the germplasm and mapping populations, respectively. The mapping population, which was previously mapped, was constructed with 1,062 markers, among which only 576 SNPs came from GBS, reducing the average interval between two adjacent markers to 4.4 cM. SNPs from GBS genotyping were used for the analysis of genetic structure and LD estimation in the germplasm accessions. Two groups, which largely corresponded to the cultivated and wild populations, were detected using STRUCTURE and via principal coordinate analysis. LD analysis, also using the mapped SNPs, revealed that non-random associations varied along chromosomes, with regions of high LD interspersed with regions of low LD. Considering the length of the genetic map (4,693 cM) and the mean LD (0.49 for cultivated and 0.02 for wild populations), a large number of evenly spaced SNPs would be needed to perform genome-wide association studies in rubber tree, and the wilder the genotypes used, the more difficult the mapping saturation