Assessment of satisfaction and Quality of Life using self - reported questionnaires after urethroplasty : a prospective analysis

Objectives: To assess patient satisfaction and quality of life after urethroplasty using two different self-reported outcome measures and to compare it with objective clinical data. Materials and Methods: We prospectively collected data from 35 consecutive patients who underwent urethroplasty from January 2013 to September 2014. Patient demographics, International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), quality of life score, urethral stricture surgery patient-reported outcome measure (USS-PROM), maximum flow rate (Qmax) and post-void residual urine were collected before, two and eight months after surgery. Failure occurred when any postoperative instrumentation was performed. General estimation equation was used to compare the results and linear regression analysis to correlate both questionnaires with objective data. Results: Mean age was 61 years. Urethroplasties were equally divided between anastomotic and buccal mucosa grafts and 19 patients (59.3%) had a previous urethral procedure. Overall success rate was 87.5%. IPSS improved from a mean 19 at baseline to 5.32 at 8 months (p <0.001). The mean USS-PROM score also improved from 13.21 preoperatively to 3.36 after surgery (p <0.001) and 84.3% of patients were satisfied or very satisfied with surgical results. Mean Qmax increased from 4.64mL/s to 11mL/s (p <0.001). Strong negative correlation was found respectively between flow rate and USS-PROM (r=-0.531, p <0.001) and with IPSS (r=-0.512, p <0.001). Conclusions: Significant improvements in urinary symptoms and in quality of life are expected after urethroplasty and they are correlated with objective measures

Similaridade De Solos Quanto A Salinidade No Vale Perenizado Do Rio Trussu, Ceará

The goal was to evaluate the impacts of irrigation with addition of salts on soils of two irrigated areas in the perennial stretch of Trussu River, Iguatu, Ceará, located in the Brazilian semiarid, by applying the multivariate statistical technique, and clustering analysis, as a tool to identify the similarity of the areas in time and space. Samples were collected in three areas: one with forest regeneration, cultivated with irrigated pasture and another with irrigated guava. Soil samples were collected every two months from May/2013 to April/2014 in 0-30 cm; 30-60 cm; 60-90 cm layers. The following attributes were considered: Electrical Conductivity of the saturation extract (EC), pH, PES (percentage of exchangeable sodium), SAR (sodium adsorption ratio) and soluble ions Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Cl-. Group 1 was formed by soils presenting the lowest salts concentration average, composed for all samples taken in the regeneration forest soils, seven originating from areas with pasture and six from areas with guava, regardless of the sampled layer or collection time. Group 2 expresses a complete dissimilarity of information on the regeneration forest, since no information on this area is present in this group. The largest salt concentrations in Group 2 indicates that there was an accumulation of ions in the soil in the irrigated areas, but not at a level that could compromise plant growth and jeopardize both soils as salinity. The separation of these soils into groups containing similar soil in salinity can contribute to management strategies to be adopted for each soil group formed. © 2016, Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP. All rights reserved.21232734

Accuracy of ITK-SNAP software for 3D analysis of a non-regular topography structure

To evaluate the accuracy of ITK-SNAP software for measuring volumes of a non-regular shape structure, using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans, besides for developing a mathematical model to correct the software measurement error in case it existed. A phantom made by moulding a rubber duck’s head was filled with total (38,000 mm3) and partial volumes of water (7000 mm3, 14,000 mm3, 21,000 mm3, 28,000 mm3 and 35,000 mm3), which constituted the gold standards. The sound phantom and the phantom filled with different volumes of water were scanned in a Picasso Trio CBCT unit set at 80 kVp, 3.7 mA, 0.2 mm3 voxel and 12 × 8.5 cm field of view. Semi-automatic segmentation was performed with ITK-SNAP 3.0 software by two trained oral radiologists. Linear regression analyzed the relation between ITK-SNAP calculated volumes and the gold standard. Intraclass correlation coefficient was applied to analyze the reproducibility of the method. Significance level was set at 5%. Linear regression analysis showed a significant relationship between ITK-SNAP volumes and the gold standard (F = 22,537.3, p < 0.0001), with an R2 of 0.9993. The average error found was 4.7 (± 4.3) %. To minimize this error, a mathematical model was developed and provided a reduction of it. ICC revealed excellent intra-examiner agreements for both examiners 1 (ICC = 0.9991, p < 0.0001) and 2 (ICC = 0.9989, p < 0.0001). Likewise, inter-examiner agreement was excellent (ICC = 0.9991, p < 0.0001). The software showed to be accurate for evaluating non-regular shape structures. The mathematical model developed reduced an already small error on the software’s measurements36183189COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL DE NÍVEL SUPERIOR - CAPES00

INITIAL DEVELOPMENT OF CORN SUBJECTED TO INCREASING NITROGEN DOSES

Corn (Zea mays L.) is one of the most important cereals grown and consumed in the world not only for its economic value but also due to its importance in human and animal nutrition. This study aimed to assess the initial development of corn as a function of increasing nitrogen doses. The study was carried out in a greenhouse on the Sipal Farm, Confresa, MT, Brazil. The experiment was set up in a completely randomized design, consisting of five treatments (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 mg N dm−3 soil), with four replications, conducted from April to June 2020. Four seeds of the hybrid K 9606 VIP 3 were sown per 8-L polyethylene pot. The plants were thinned at 7 days after emergence (DAE), leaving only one plant per pot. Morphological components were assessed. A significant effect was found for almost all the analyzed parameters, except for stem diameter and root dry matter. The maximum plant height, shoot fresh matter, leaf area index, shoot dry matter, root fresh matter, and root volume was obtained by applying the maximum agronomic efficiency doses of 248.83, 271.90, 336.91, 279.66, 403.92, and 272.90 mg N dm−3 soil, respectively. Nitrogen doses influenced the initial development of the corn crop

Simulated Acidic Weathering of “Black Granites”: an Assessment using Regression Analysis

A number of “black granites” were tested using simulated acidic weathering (H2SO4, HNO3, H2SO4/HNO3 and HCl, at pH = 3,00), freeze resistance and relative loss of brightness. The same plates of these granites remained immersed in each acidic solution over eight weekly cycles. The pH data from residual acid solutions were plotted versus timing of the experimental cycles in XY diagrams for interpretation as log-linear regressions. The global set of data, transcribed in a ternary diagram, shows a distinctive area highlighting the best commercial granites. In addition to these granite coatings, the proposed methodology allows easy and accurate identification of their best performances