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OBJECTIVE: To define the profile of the Brazilian physical therapy researcher in terms of training, productive outcomes, and grants and fellowships awarded by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), an agency linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology and dedicated to promoting scientific research and developing human resources for research in Brazil. METHODS: We assessed the online curricula vitae of every Ph.D. physical therapy researcher available in the Lattes database (CNPq). This public source of information was chosen because it is where every Brazilian researcher interested in grants and fellowships or involved with graduate education must fill out an electronic curriculum vitae providing detailed career and academic productivity information. To ensure the precision of information provided, a password and a formal statement are required for the researcher to feed the database. General statistics on financial support available in the CNPq homepage were also consulted. A binary regression was run to investigate the influence of career and general productivity aspects on the publication of ISI/JCR indexed papers. RESULTS: In the past ten years, there was an extraordinary increase (900%) in physical therapists with a Ph.D. in traditional and new fields of practice. There was also an increase in publications, dissertations and theses supervised by physical therapists. The variables investigated by the regression analysis explained 49.8% of the occurrence of indexed papers. Statistics on grants and fellowship showed a small investment by CNPq in physical therapy compared to other allied health areas. CONCLUSIONS: We expect that the information provided here will help the academic community to gain a perspective on their identity and to define future priorities for the furtherance of knowledge and professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To define the profile of the Brazilian physical therapy researcher in terms of training, productive outcomes, and grants and fellowships awarded by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), an agency linked to the Ministry of Science and Technology and dedicated to promoting scientifi c research and developing human resources for research in Brazil. Methods: We assessed the online curricula vitae of every Ph.D. physical therapy researcher available in the Lattes database (CNPq). This public source of information was chosen because it is where every Brazilian researcher interested in grants and fellowships or involved with graduate education must fill out an electronic curriculum vitae providing detailed career and academic productivity information. To ensure the precision of information provided, a password and a formal statement are required for the researcher to feed the database. General statistics on financial support available in the CNPq homepage were also consulted. A binary regression was run to investigate the influence of career and general productivity aspects on the publication of ISI/JCR indexed papers. Results: In the past ten years, there was an extraordinary increase (900%) in physical therapists with a Ph.D. in traditional and new fields of practice. There was also an increase in publications, dissertations and theses supervised by physical therapists. The variables investigated by the regression analysis explained 49.8% of the occurrence of indexed papers. Statistics on grants and fellowship showed a small investment by CNPq in physical therapy compared to other allied health areas. Conclusions: We expect that the information provided here will help the academic community to gain a perspective on their identity and to define future priorities for the furtherance of knowledge and professional practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Planimetry is a method used to evaluate the progression of skin wound healing. Computerized planimetry is still an experimental method, but its advantages have been demonstrated in several investigations. Objective: To evaluate the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on the healing of a skin lesion produced on the dorsal region of rats, by means of computerized planimetry. Methods: Sixty male Wistar rats of mean weight 300g were used. They were divided into two groups according to the treatment applied: 1) simulated irradiation (control); 2) effective irradiation (fundamental frequency 1.5MHz, pulse repetition frequency 1KHz, pulse width 200[micro]s. SATA intensity 30mW/cm[2] and application for ten minutes on alternate days). Each group was divided into three subgroups according to the length of time for which ultrasound irradiation was applied of three, seven and 14 days, respectively, and healing was evaluated by means of planimetry; a tracing of the wound was obtained on special paper and this was digitized and measured by means of a graphing software. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney non-parametric method. Results: The healed area was significantly greater (p<0.05) in group 2 (141.88+/-18.50mm[2]) than in group 1 (117.38+/-15.14mm[2]) on the 14th day. There were no significant differences between the subgroups for the other experimental periods. Conclusions: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound irradiation stimulated secondary skin healing under these experimental conditions. Computerized planimetry was shown to be a low cost method that was easy to use and present clinical applicability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Planimetry is a method used to evaluate the progression of skin wound healing. Computerized planimetry is still an experimental method, but its advantages have been demonstrated in several investigations. Objective: To evaluate the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound on the healing of a skin lesion produced on the dorsal region of rats, by means of computerized planimetry. Methods: Sixty male Wistar rats of mean weight 300g were used. They were divided into two groups according to the treatment applied: 1) simulated irradiation (control); 2) effective irradiation (fundamental frequency 1.5MHz, pulse repetition frequency 1KHz, pulse width 200µs, SATA intensity 30mW/cm&sup2 and application for ten minutes on alternate days). Each group was divided into three subgroups according to the length of time for which ultrasound irradiation was applied of three, seven and 14 days, respectively, and healing was evaluated by means of planimetry; a tracing of the wound was obtained on special paper and this was digitized and measured by means of a graphing software. Statistical analysis was performed using the Mann-Whitney non- parametric method. Results: The healed area was significantly greater (p<0.05) in group 2 (141.88±18.50mm²) than in group 1 (117.38±15.14mm²) on the 14th day. There were no significant differences between the subgroups for the other experimental periods. Conclusions: Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound irradiation stimulated secondary skin healing under these experimental conditions. Computerized planimetry was shown to be a low cost method that was easy to use and present clinical applicability. Key words: computerized planimetry; skin injuries; low-intensity ultrasound; healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]