Collimation and scattering of the AGN emission in the Sombrero galaxy

We present an analysis of a data cube of the\ud central region of M104, the Sombrero galaxy,\ud obtained with the GMOS-IFU of the Gemini-\ud South telescope, and report the discovery of\ud collimation and scattering of the active galactic\ud nucleus (AGN) emission in the circumnuclear\ud region of this galaxyResumo publicado no periódico: Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica. Serie de Conferencias, v. 44, p. 99, 2014

Scope of services provided to childhood cancer patients by the Brazilian Pediatric Palliative Care Network

IntroductionBrazil is a developing and an Upper Middle Income, categorized by the World Bank. Therefore, it is a country that needs a special vision for children with oncological diseases who require Pediatric Palliative Care. This study aimed to understand the specificities of services that provide oncology services in comparison to those that do not provide oncological care.MethodsThis is a descriptive, cross-sectional, and online survey study. A questionnaire was created by a multidisciplinary group of leaders from the Brazilian Pediatric Palliative Care Network and then the survey was distributed using a snowball strategy.ResultsOf the 90 services that answered the questionnaire, 40 (44.4%) attended oncologic patients. The Southeast represented most of the services (57.57%), followed by the Northeast, with 18.89% (17 services), the South with 12.22% (11 services), and the Center West with 8.89% (8 services). No differences were observed in access to opioid prescriptions between the services. It was observed that those services that attended oncologic patients had a tendency to dedicate more time to Pediatric Palliative Care.DiscussionThe distribution of services that cover oncology and those that do not, are similar in the different regions of Brazil. In Brazil, there are difficulties in accessing opioids in pediatrics: access to opioid prescriptions without differences revealed that even pediatric oncologists might have difficulty with this prescription, and this should improve. It is concluded that education in Pediatric Palliative Care is the key to improvements in the area

Repair of osteochodral defect in the knee of rabbits using autologous bone marrow centrifuged

A cartilagem articular, por sua natureza avascular, apresenta uma capacidade limitada de regeneração. Uma abordagem terapêutica para o tratamento de defeitos da cartilagem consiste na utilização de células ou tecidos aplicados ao local da lesão. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito da aplicação de centrifugado de medula óssea autóloga em lesões osteocondrais no joelho de coelhos, em comparação com um grupo controle de lesões osteocondrais sem preenchimento, analisando o comportamento histológico destes grupos em função do tempo. Foram utilizados doze coelhos da raça Nova Zelândia, albinos, machos, adultos, submetidos a uma lesão osteocondral, de 4 mm de diâmetro e 3 mm de profundidade, em ambos os joelhos, na região da tróclea femoral. Nos joelhos direitos, que constituíram o Grupo Estudo, o defeito osteocondral foi preenchido por um coágulo de células mesenquimais, obtidas por centrifugação de um aspirado da medula óssea e selado com cola de fibrina. Nos joelhos esquerdos, que constituíram o Grupo Controle, o defeito osteocondral não recebeu qualquer preenchimento. Os animais foram divididos em três grupos de quatro coelhos, estudados após oito, 16 e 24 semanas. Os resultados foram descritos com base em uma escala de pontuação histológica que avaliou a morfologia celular, a reconstrução do osso subcondral, o aspecto da matriz, o preenchimento do defeito, a regularidade da superfície e a conexão das margens. A análise estatística foi realizada pelo Teste t-student para dados pareados na comparação entre Grupo Estudo e Grupo Controle. Para as comparações através do fator temporal, utilizou-se o Teste ANOVA one way. Com 5% de confiança, rejeitou-se a hipótese de igualdade entre os Grupos Estudo e Controle. Notou-se uma distância decrescente entre os escores dos Grupos Estudo e Controle com o aumento do tempo, bem como uma tendência crescente do valor da escala para o Grupo Controle. Concluiu-se que a aplicação de centrifugado de medula óssea em defeitos osteocondrais no joelho de coelhos mostrou melhor resultado na avaliação histológica, em comparação ao Grupo Controle. Analisando a evolução dos grupos através do tempo, houve uma aproximação de seus escores histológicos, sobretudo pelo aumento observado no Grupo ControleThe articular cartilage, due to its avascular nature, presents a limited regeneration capacity. A therapeutical approach to the treatment of cartilage defects consists of the utilization of cells or tissues applied to the lesion site. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of applying autologous bone marrow centrifuged in osteochondral lesions in the knees of rabbits, compared to a control group of osteochondral lesions without any filling, analyzing the behavior of these groups in terms of time. Twelve adult albino male New Zealand rabbits were used being submitted to an osteochondral lesion of 4 mm in diameter and 3 mm deep in both knees, at the femoral trochlea area. On the right knees, which comprised the Study Group, the osteochondral defect was filled by a clot of mesenchymal cells, obtained by centrifugation of an aspirate from bone marrow and sealed with fibrin glue. On the left knees, which comprised the Control Group, the osteochondral defect did not get any filling. The animals were divided into 3 groups of 4 rabbits, and studied after eight, 16 and 24 weeks. The results were described based on a histological grading scale which took into account the cell morphology, the subchondral bone reconstruction, the matrix staining, the filling of the defect, the surface regularity and the bonding of the edges. The statistical analysis was made by the t-student Test for paired data in the comparison between the Study Group and the Control Group. For the comparisons made by the time factor, it was used the ANOVA Test one way. With 5% level of confidence, the hypothesis of equality between the Study and Control Groups was rejected. It was observed a decreasing distance between scores of the Study and Control Groups as time increased, as well as an increasing tendency of the scale value for the Control Group. It was concluded that the application of autologous bone marrow centrifuged in osteochondral defects in the knees of rabbits showed better result in histological evaluation, in comparison to the Control Group. By analyzing the evolution of the groups through time, there was an approach of their histological scores, especially by the increase observed in the Control Grou

Comparative study of the biomechanical properties of cryopreserved and fresh central portions of the Achilles tendon

Com o objetivo de analisar a influência do fenômeno de congelamento e o tempo de criopreservação sobre as propriedades biomecânicas de tendões, os autores estudaram 40 tendões de Aquiles obtidos de 20 cadáveres humanos. De cada cadáver foram retirados dois tendões, sendo que um foi testado a fresco e o contralateral congelado a - 85o C, durante um período de seis ou 12 semanas. Os corpos de prova foram submetidos a ensaios de tração, com análise de suas propriedades biomecânicas. Os resultados foram comparados estatisticamente pelo método de "t-student", com índice de significância de 0,05, não havendo diferença significativa entre os grupos "congelado" e "a fresco"For the purpose of analyzing the influence of the freezing phenomenon and cryopreservation time over the biomechanical properties of tendons, the authors studied 40 Achilles tendons from 20 human cadavers. Each cadaver had two tendons removed, one of which was tested whilst fresh and its contralateral whilst frozen at - 85o C, for a period of six or 12 weeks. The trial items were submitted to tensile testing in order to analyze their biomechanical properties. The results were compared statistically using the T-Student method, with a significance ratio of 0.05, there being no significant difference between the 'frozen' group and the 'fresh' grou

Comparative study of the biomechanical properties of cryopreserved and fresh central portions of the Achilles tendon

Com o objetivo de analisar a influência do fenômeno de congelamento e o tempo de criopreservação sobre as propriedades biomecânicas de tendões, os autores estudaram 40 tendões de Aquiles obtidos de 20 cadáveres humanos. De cada cadáver foram retirados dois tendões, sendo que um foi testado a fresco e o contralateral congelado a - 85o C, durante um período de seis ou 12 semanas. Os corpos de prova foram submetidos a ensaios de tração, com análise de suas propriedades biomecânicas. Os resultados foram comparados estatisticamente pelo método de "t-student", com índice de significância de 0,05, não havendo diferença significativa entre os grupos "congelado" e "a fresco"For the purpose of analyzing the influence of the freezing phenomenon and cryopreservation time over the biomechanical properties of tendons, the authors studied 40 Achilles tendons from 20 human cadavers. Each cadaver had two tendons removed, one of which was tested whilst fresh and its contralateral whilst frozen at - 85o C, for a period of six or 12 weeks. The trial items were submitted to tensile testing in order to analyze their biomechanical properties. The results were compared statistically using the T-Student method, with a significance ratio of 0.05, there being no significant difference between the 'frozen' group and the 'fresh' grou

The architecture of the active galactic nucleus of NGC 1068

NGC 1068 is the brightest and most studied AGN\ud in the sky. Its study motivated the development of\ud the Unified Model for AGN as the prototype of an\ud obscured Seyfert 1 galaxy. The opportunity of studying\ud such object, with IFU spectrographs in the near\ud infrared, allow us to understand the details of how\ud gas is being fed to the central black hole and how\ud the gas is being ionized and ejected from the center.\ud We re-analyzed data taken from the SINFONI\ud (VLT) and NIFS (GEMINI North) public archives,\ud in the HK bands with spatial resolution of 0,1 arcsec\ud (1,7 pc/spaxel). We concentrated our analysis\ud on the molecular H2 lines, the low ionization line [Fe\ud II] and the high ionization line [Si VI]. The analysis\ud shows very distinct behavior for the different lines.\ud In particular we found a clear structure resembling\ud a “glowing-hourglass” shape for the low velocity [Fe\ud II] emission, while the high velocity emission fills\ud the “hourglass”. The shape of this image suggests\ud that the dusty torus and the ionization axis, possibly\ud associated to the central accretion disk, are not\ud co-planar. The primary wind is probably originated\ud from this asymmetry while the secondary wind is\ud likely to be originated from an H2 emitting cloud, about 1” to the north of the AGN, impacted by the primary wind and ionized by the central source.Resumo publicado no periódico: Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica. Serie de Conferencias, v. 44, p. 193-194, 2014

Estudo comparativo de propriedades biomecânicas da porção central do tendão calcâneo congelado e a fresco Comparative study on biomechanical properties of the central portion of frozen and fresh calcaneus tendon

Métodos de armazenamento de aloenxertos podem alterar certas características mecânicas dos tecidos. Com o objetivo de analisar a influência do fenômeno de congelamento e do tempo de armazenamento sobre as propriedades biomecânicas de tendões, os autores estudaram 40 tendões calcâneos obtidos de 20 cadáveres humanos com idade média de 41,95 anos, variando de 31 a 54 anos, sendo 17 do sexo masculino e três do sexo feminino. De cada cadáver foram retirados dois tendões, sendo que um foi testado a fresco e o contralateral congelado a - 85º C em freezer elétrico, durante um período de seis ou 12 semanas. Os corpos de prova foram submetidos a ensaios de tração em uma máquina de ensaios mecânicos Kratos K5002, fornecendo gráficos força-deformação. Foram analisados os parâmetros de força no limite de resistência máxima, rigidez, tensão no limite de resistência máxima, deformação relativa e módulo de elasticidade. Os resultados foram comparados e a analisados estatisticamente pelo método de "t-student", com índice de significância de 0,05, sendo que não houve diferença significativa nos valores obtidos entre os grupos. Concluímos que o congelamento a - 85º C não altera as propriedades biomecânicas de tendões, a despeito do tempo de armazenamento.<br>Allograft storage methods can change some mechanical characteristics of tissues. With the objective of analyzing the influence of freezing phenomenon and storage time on tendons’ biomechanical properties, the authors studied 40 calcaneus tendons obtained from 20 human cadavers, with an average age of 41.95 years, ranging from 31 to 54 years old, being 17 males and three females. From each cadaver, two tendons were removed, one tested in its fresh state and the contralateral one frozen at -85º C in an electric freezer, during a period of six or 12 weeks. The bodies of evidence were submitted to traction assays in a Kratos K5002 mechanical assay machine, delivering strength-deformation graphics. Strength at maximum resistance limit, stiffness, tension at maximum resistance limit, relative deformation, and elasticity module parameters were assessed. The results were compared and statistically analyzed by "Student’s t- method", with a significance level of 0.05, with no significant difference on values achieved between groups. We concluded that freezing at -85º C does not cause changes to tendons’ biomechanical properties, despite of storage time

The effect of additional strengthening of hip abductor and lateral rotator muscles in patellofemoral pain syndrome: a randomized controlled pilot study

Objectives: To study the effect of additional strengthening of hip abductor and lateral rotator muscles in a strengthening quadriceps exercise rehabilitation programme for patients with the patellofemoral pain syndrome. Design: Randomized controlled pilot trial. Setting: Clinical setting with home programme. Participants: Fourteen patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome. Intervention: The subjects were randomly assigned to the intervention group (strengthening of quadriceps plus strengthening of hip abductor and lateral rotator muscles) or to the control group (strengthening of quadriceps). Both groups participated in a six-week home exercise protocol. Main outcome measures: The perceived pain symptoms, isokinetic eccentric knee extensor, hip abductor and lateral rotator torques and the gluteus medius electromyographic activity were assessed before and after treatment. Parametric and non-parametric tests were used to compare the groups before and after treatment with alpha = 0.05. Results: Only the intervention group improved perceived pain symptoms during functional activities (P=0.02-0.04) and also increased their gluteus medius electromyographic activity during isometric voluntary contraction (P=0.03), Eccentric knee extensors torque increased in both groups (P=0.04 and P=0.02). There was no statistically significant difference in the hip muscles torque in either group. Conclusion: Supplementation of strengthening of hip abductor and lateral rotator muscles in a strengthening quadriceps exercise programme provided additional benefits with respect to the perceived pain symptoms during functional activities in patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome after six weeks of treatment.National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq)Sao Paulo State Research Foundation (FAPESP

Effects of low level laser therapy (808 nm) on physical strength training in humans

Recent studies have investigated whether low level laser therapy (LLLT) can optimize human muscle performance in physical exercise. This study tested the effect of LLLT on muscle performance in physical strength training in humans compared with strength training only. The study involved 36 men (20.8 +/- 2.2 years old), clinically healthy, with a beginner and/or moderate physical activity training pattern. The subjects were randomly distributed into three groups: TLG (training with LLLT), TG (training only) and CG (control). The training for TG and TLG subjects involved the leg-press exercise with a load equal to 80% of one repetition maximum (1RM) in the leg-press test over 12 consecutive weeks. The LLLT was applied to the quadriceps muscle of both lower limbs of the TLG subjects immediately after the end of each training session. Using an infrared laser device (808 nm) with six diodes of 60 mW each a total energy of 50.4 J of LLLT was administered over 140 s. Muscle strength was assessed using the 1RM leg-press test and the isokinetic dynamometer test. The muscle volume of the thigh of the dominant limb was assessed by thigh perimetry. The TLG subjects showed an increase of 55% in the 1RM leg-press test, which was significantly higher than the increases in the TG subjects (26%, P = 0.033) and in the CG subjects (0.27%, P < 0.001). The TLG was the only group to show an increase in muscle performance in the isokinetic dynamometry test compared with baseline. The increases in thigh perimeter in the TLG subjects and TG subjects were not significantly different (4.52% and 2.75%, respectively; P = 0.775). Strength training associated with LLLT can increase muscle performance compared with strength training only.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq