The Finance-Growth Nexus: An Empirical Analysis from Brazil

A well-established financial system is very crucial for the economic growth and development of any country. There are many aspects that are studied in relation with financial development such as savings, investments, and technical innovations etc. which affect the growth of economy in a country in one way or the other. In this context, the researcher has designed this study to explore the relationship amid financial development and economic growth of Brazil, which is clear from the title of the study i.e. finance-growth nexus. In continuation of this objective, the researcher has collected data from Brazil and the collected data is time series. The period for which the data has been gathered comprises of 30 years and has been collected from the most authentic sources of data or databases such as World Bank Development. The collected data has been analyzed by applying the techniques such as unit root, bounds test and ARDL estimation. These results indicate that private credit has noteworthy along with positive impact on economic growth. The next result of the study suggests that gross domestic saving does not pose any momentous impact on the economic growth of the country. The impact of trade openness has been found as significant along with negative in Brazil. The inflation has significant but negative impact on economic growth in longer run but this impact is insignificant in shorter run

Cytotoxicity of substances leached from a root canal sealer based on mineral trioxide aggregate

Objetivo: Com base nas características biológicas e físico-químicas do agregado de trióxido mineral (MTA), este seria o material mais adequado para a obturação do canal radicular. No entanto, esse material apresenta baixo escoamento e, consequentemente, difícil manipulação. O MTA Fillapex (MTA-F) foi criado na tentativa de combinar as propriedades físico-químicas do cimento endodôntico com as propriedades biológicas do MTA. No entanto, os estudos sobre as características biológicas do MTA-F ainda são controversos. Dessa forma, este estudo teve como objetivo analisar in vitro a citotoxicidade do MTA-F. Materiais e Métodos: fi broblastos gengivais foram cultivados em Dulbecco’s modifi ed Eagle Medium (DMEM) e submetidos ao meio de cultura condicionado pelo MTA ou MTA-F. Esse meio condicionado continha substâncias liberadas pelos cimentos endodônticos. Células cultivadas em meio fresco serviram como controle positivo. A viabilidade celular foi avaliada por ensaio do MTT após 1, 3, 5 e 7 dias. Os dados obtidos foram comparados por análise de variância (ANOVA) seguida pelo teste de Tukey (p < 0,05). Resultados: As células submetidas ao meio condicionado pelo MTA apresentaram curva de crescimento celular semelhante à das células do grupo controle. Para o grupo MTA-F, não houve crescimento celular e foi observado um número de células viáveis significativamente menor do que o dos demais grupos durante todo o experimento. Conclusão: Substâncias liberadas a partir de MTA-F não permitiram o crescimento celular, mostrando que esse cimento endodôntico à base de MTA é altamente citotóxico. A característica de biocompatibilidade do MTA pode ser perdida com o MTA-F e comprometer o sucesso do tratamento endodôntico.Aim: Based on its biological and physicochemical characteristics, mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) could be considered the most appropriate material for root canal obturation; nevertheless, handling of MTA is not easy. The MTA Fillapex (MTA-F) was created in an attempt to combine the physicochemical properties of a root canal sealer with the biological properties of MTA. However, the studies on the biological characteristics of MTA-F are still controversial. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the cytotoxicity of MTA-F. Materials and Methods: Cultured human gingival fi broblasts were grown in Dulbecco’s modifi ed Eagle Medium (DMEM) and submitted to a cell culture medium conditioned by MTA or MTA-F. The conditioned medium contained substances leached from the root canal sealers. Cells grown on a fresh medium served as a positive control. Cell viability was assessed by MTT assay at 1, 3, 5 and 7 days. Data was compared by ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test (p < 0.05). Results: Cells submitted to media conditioned by MTA presented a cell growth curve similar to that of the control cells. For the MTA-F group, cell growth was not observed and cell viability was signifi cantly lower than for the other groups during the entire experiment. Conclusion: Substances leached from MTA-F did not allow cell growth, indicating that this MTA-based root sealer is highly cytotoxic. The biocompatibility characteristic of MTA can be lost with MTA-F, and may compromise the endodontic treatment outcome

TEORIA OU PRÁTICA: O QUE ESPERAR DA DISSERTAÇÃO DE MESTRADO PROFISSIONAL EM ADMINISTRAÇÃO?

Strict sense mastership courses in Brazil can be academic or professional, being the latter ones representative of a type focused on the training of professionals. Previous recent articles sought to evaluate the importance of this modality in comparison with academic courses; however, they have not advanced in the discussion on the term papers of professional mastership courses. For this, a guideline was developed, supported by experiential learning theory, applied to students entering the professional master's degree, between 2014 and 2015, from School of Economics, Business and Accounting of the University of São Paulo FEA-USP. The current research, motivated by the perceived need to have a different logic for the preparation of the term paper at professional masters, sought to investigate whether students in their projects are using this guideline. The research took place in two distinct phases: the first aimed to develop the guidelines to be tested and in the second was carried out a documentary research with 37 students’ projects, being these documents analyzed using content analysis. We concluded that the guideline was partially used by students, lacking evolution when concerning the inclusion of creativity, the observation of experiences and the relationship between theory and practice

Flora da Bahia: Plumbaginaceae

The flora of the Plumbaginaceae from Bahia, Brazil, is presented here. Plumbago zeylanica was the only native (or subspontaneous) species recognized in the state. Descriptions of the family, genus and species, illustrations, a distribution map and general notes are presented.The flora of the Plumbaginaceae from Bahia, Brazil, is presented here. Plumbago zeylanica was the only native (or subspontaneous) species recognized in the state. Descriptions of the family, genus and species, illustrations, a distribution map and general notes are presented

A Role of Supraspinal Galanin in Behavioural Hyperalgesia in the Rat

Peer reviewe

Surviving a transfixing gunshot wound to the head 70 years ago.

Surviving a gunshot wound to the head is a rare event, particularly in the past when medical treatment was much less advanced than it is today. Moreover, the finding of such a case as an identified specimen within a museum collection is even more uncommon. This led us to report on this unique case in this paper as it poses a challenge to forensic anthropology and provides a unique educational oppourtunity. The skull from the Collection at the Cranium Museum in the Department of Morphology and Genetic at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) dates back to 1946. For trauma registration the bone location, severity, trauma aetiology, trauma classification, description, callus formation, periosteal reaction, degree and success of repair, and an estimate of the time elapsed since the trauma, were all assessed. To explore the case radiologically a CT scan of the skull was performed. Considering the survival of the patient and the morphology of the wound it is likely that the injury was caused by a small calibre, low-velocity gunshot. The bullet path shows an almost vertical direction on the right side of the individual's splanchno and neurocranium. The path of the projectile is consistent with a suicide attempt, although the possibility of a homicide simulating a suicide cannot be discarded. This case highlights how informative such cases can be to the practice of forensic anthropology

Trends, geographical variation and factors associated with the use of anti-VEGF intravitreal injections in Portugal (2013-2018): a retrospective analysis of administrative data.

AIMS: The arrival of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapies represented a treatment shift for several ophthalmological disorders and led to an increasing number of patients undergoing intravitreal injections. The aims of this observational study were to assess the expansion of anti-VEGF intravitreal injections in the Portuguese National Health System (NHS) and to identify factors correlated with geographical variations in episode rates. METHODS: Administrative database on discharge from Portuguese NHS hospitals was analysed for annual values and rates of intravitreal anti-VEGF injections at a national and regional level, between 2013 and 2018. RESULTS: The number of episodes of anti-VEGF treatment and patients treated increased 16% and 9% per year, respectively, between 2013 and 2018. During the study period around 72% of patients were treated in the Metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto and in the Central region. Intravitreal anti-VEGF treatment rates in 2018 were 560 per 100 000 population and presented high variability between municipalities. Higher anti-VEGF treatment rates at the municipality level were associated with shorter distances between their residence and the hospital. At the hospital level, higher ratio of ophthalmologists and higher organisational level were associated with higher anti-VEGF treatment rates. CONCLUSION: The number of episodes and patients treated with anti-VEGF injections has been growing in recent years. Proximity to healthcare, more access to ophthalmologists and hospitals with higher organisational levels are associated with higher anti-VEGF treatment rates. Improving access is crucial to reduce regional discrepancies and ensure optimal treatment frequency, which may improve health outcomes

Pressure-support ventilation or T-piece spontaneous breathing trials for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease : a randomized controlled trial

Background Little is known about the best strategy for weaning patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from mechanical ventilation. Spontaneous breathing trials (SBT) using a T-piece or pressure-support ventilation (PSV) have a central role in this process. Our aim was to compare T-piece and PSV SBTs according to the duration of mechanical ventilation (MV) in patients with COPD. Methods Patients with COPD who had at least 48 hours of invasive MV support were randomized to 30 minutes of T-piece or PSV at 10 cm H2O after being considered able to undergo a SBT. All patients were preemptively connected to non-invasive ventilation after extubation. Tracheostomized patients were excluded. The primary outcome was total invasive MV duration. Time to liberation from MV was assessed as secondary outcome. Results Between 2012 and 2016, 190 patients were randomized to T-piece (99) or PSV (91) groups. Extubation at first SBT was achieved in 78% of patients. The mean total MV duration was 10.82 ± 9.1 days for the T-piece group and 7.31 ± 4.9 days for the PSV group (p < 0.001); however, the pre-SBT duration also differed (7.35 ± 3.9 and 5.84 ± 3.3, respectively; p = 0.002). The time to liberation was 8.36 ± 11.04 days for the T-piece group and 4.06 ± 4.94 for the PSV group (univariate mean ratio = 2.06 [1.29±3.27], p = 0.003) for the subgroup of patients with difficult or prolonged weaning. The study group was independently associated with the time to liberation in this subgroup.Conclusions The SBT technique did not influence MV duration for patients with COPD. For the difficult/ prolonged weaning subgroup, the T-piece may be associated with a longer time to liberation, although this should be clarified by further studies