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Endocrine physiology is a complex subject for students. Game-based learning (GBL) and case-based learning (CBL) are active methodologies that are widely used because of their potential for motivation and greater proximity to the reality of modern students. We evaluated the effectiveness of GBL and CBL among veterinary medicine students compared with a control group using peer tutoring. Students (n = 106) from two institutions volunteered to participate in this study. The participants were submitted to a pretest questionnaire and subsequently were divided into three paired groups by their performance on the pretest exam: (1) traditional class + peer tutoring, (2) traditional class + GBL, and (3) traditional class + CBL. After the students completed the activities, their performance was once again evaluated by applying a new test with the same initial 10 questions and another set of 10 different questions. The students' perceptions and satisfaction with the methodologies and learning strategies were assessed. Anxiety was assessed with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory before and after the conventional class and after the active methodologies. The GBL group significantly improved their correct answers compared with the baseline (P < 0.05), with no significant difference from CBL and peer tutoring. Anxiety levels did not differ regardless of the time of evaluation or the teaching methodology applied. GBL promoted a greater perception of the stimulus for self-study and problem-solving ability and contributed to the development of group dynamics compared with the group who received CBL (P < 0.05). In conclusion, GBL showed better results than peer tutoring and CBL.

This research analyzes how the resilience of higher education students is shaped during the undergraduate program by personal and contextual factors. In this research, the resilient student is one who faces a high burden of stress and/or adversity during their undergraduate course but manages to reach the end of the program satisfied and/or committed to the chosen career. Based on the literature review, we developed the Academic Resilience Model (ARM), which explains the sources of stress and/or adversity, as well as the protective mechanisms and/or factors that affect students throughout the program. We empirically test this model by conducting a phenomenology-based qualitative study at a public university in Brazil. The results of ARM validation indicate that the main sources of stress and/or adversity and protective mechanisms and/or factors come from individual, academic and external systems. Examples of sources of stress/adversity were the low initial motivation for the program, personal health problems, faculty didactic-pedagogical deficiency, difficulties in relationships with peers, and competing professional demands. On the other hand, the main protective mechanisms/factors identified were the capacity of adaptability, self-control, personal organization, good relationships with the faculty, integration with peers, and support of family. The research enabled identification of how resilience helps students to overcome barriers in higher education, generating important results for future education policies.

Career pattern is a useful methodological resource to generate portraits of career constructions. This article has two interconnected objectives. Through a literature review, it first aimed to synthesise the main contemporary career patterns. And second, using a qualitative approach, it sought to build contemporary narrative patterns of career construction of 40 Brazilian workers intentionally selected. Differences and similarities between the two proposed taxonomies were examined. The literature describes five career patterns (traditional/professional, flexible, hybrid, transitional, and social role balancing). The present study built nine narrative patterns of career construction described by their central discourse: Enclosure (professional career and occupational career), Nostalgia (organisational career), Possibility (flexible career, entrepreneurial career, and informal career), Hybrid (hybrid careers), and Instrumentality (transitional career and liminal career). We emphasise the need for diversifying samples and research contexts to contextualise theories and concepts and produce situated practices.

This research is placed among the current studies discussing the relationship between working, education and modes of subjectification within the present context by means of specific phenomena in identity constructions as well as workplace learning processes. By means of a qualitative narrative research with in-depth interviews among urban workers in São Paulo, Brazil -- a global South country, this paper aimed to identify and analyse their main narrative patterns of workplace learning modes and combined to corresponding narrative patterns of working identity construction previously proposed in the literature. A content analysis of the narratives of 40 participants, over 35 years of age, intentionally selected, with an approximate distribution of men and women, was carried out. The study identified three narrative patterns of workplace learning mode with five corresponding narrative patterns of working identity construction marked by two opposed movements, equally significant: search for stability and use of formal learning modes (organisational, professional and occupational identity narrative pattern); and search for flexibility and use of informal and relational learning modes (networking identity narrative pattern). Moreover, the interrelation between the modes has defined hybrid identity narrative patterns, and the absence of workplace learning modes has delineated transitory identity narrative patterns, which is understood as a transitional crisis. In conclusion, traditional models of identity construction coexist with flexible models, as well as formal learning modes coexist with informal and relational models. In both cases hybrid modes arise as a merger or a joint construction between preexisting modes.

This paper seeks to identify strategies for anti-racist higher education, drawing on scholarship that locates structural racism in global and local centre-periphery relations. We first examine how the centre-periphery divide has been identified and challenged in anti-racist intellectual and political movements, focusing on exchanges and solidarity between peripheral territories. We then discuss the implications of this framework for the setting in which the authors work: Brazilian higher education. The Brazilian university sector has recently expanded through affirmative action policies that have resulted in an influx of Black students from urban peripheries. However, the dominant nationalist ideology in Brazil has historically denied racial divisions, presenting a myth of racial democracy and delegitimising transnational links between anti-racist movements. Reflecting on our own experiences and perceptions through a narrative approach, we draw out elements of border thinking that we believe can contribute to anti-racist pedagogical and institutional relationships.

ENADE that stands, in Portuguese, for "National Exam of Student Performance" is an exam for all senior students about to graduate; it is one of the official tools for measuring the state of undergraduate courses in Brazil. Contribution: This article presents an integrative synthesis of the 2014 edition of ENADE examination of control and automation engineering (CAE) courses in Brazil. Background: ENADE is a national exam triennially administered for the senior undergraduate students in each area, as part of the federal government policies for performance assessment of higher education in Brazil. The results of ENADE are the basis of quality indexes used for program accreditation and funds distribution. Research Questions: What are the main assessments that the ENADE 2014 can provide about the CAE courses in Brazil? How can the results of such a nationwide evaluation be exploited by specific programs to improve their academic performance? Methodology: Starting from a historical perspective of CAE in Brazil, the authors present their experience with the methods and tools for the preparation of the CAE exam and synthesize the most relevant results of ENADE 2014. Finally, a case study is used to illustrate how could a teaching institution exploit the ENADE report to assess its courses performance. Findings: The exams of 3.579 senior students from 118 CAE courses show significant differences in the academic performance of CAE courses in Brazil according to the geographical region, funding type, and academic organization. The objective and discursive questions had very good discrimination covering the main profiles, resources, and objects of knowledge in the CAE curriculum. The analysis of students' performance can support educators' local decisions to improve the quality of CAE courses.

Social and political commitment has a key role in the career counselling process, but it has not advanced with practical proposals so far. Through multiple case studies, this paper aims to propose discursive validation as an intermediate strategy for career counselling to foster narrative changes and social repositioning. Based on the Innovative Moments Coding System (IMCS), the effectiveness of discursive validation was assessed by the analysis of changes in the clients' personal narrative. The findings demonstrated emergence of innovative moments in the clients' narratives and social repositioning. The limitations and potentialities of the proposed model are also discussed.

This essay is part of a collection of short essays solicited from authors around the globe who teach religion courses at the college level (not for professional religious training). They are published together with an introduction in "Teaching Theology and Religion" 18:3 (July 2015). The authors were asked to provide a brief overview of the curriculum, student learning goals, and pedagogical techniques employed in their courses.

Career guidance and career counselling have traditionally been conducted in an individualized fashion focusing on the counsellor-client relationship. Specialized literature, however, points to the potential use of group strategies. This article seeks to contribute to the advancement of studies in group career counselling practices, by introducing and discussing the theoretical-technical group career counselling model that was developed, evaluated and consolidated in Brazil over the past 40 years. It is an unstructured group intervention model with a therapeutic objective based on a psychodynamic approach. Limitations and potentialities of this group intervention and model are discussed.

This qualitative and exploratory research is aimed at investigating the underlying reasons for the professional choice of Brazilian teachers who work within early education. Seventeen teachers (seven from public schools and 10 from private schools) were interviewed in depth in a semi-structured manner. Questions concerned the reasons that guided the participants' professional choice. According to the results, the main reasons for choosing to work with children were associated with love for children, family influence, opportunity, idealism, enchantment and special talent to work with children. Some of the interviewees worked with children due to a professional option made consciously, and others were merely taken by the circumstances. Stereotyped views of the profession (feminine profession) are also addressed.

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Background and Purpose: The present study aimed to assess the concurrent validity of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) core set to classify physical health of older adults in relation to self-rated health. Methods: This is a methodological study conducted in Santa Cruz, Rio Grande do Norte (RN) state, in Northeastern Brazil, with 101 community-dwelling older adults. The participants rated their health status, which was classified into 3 groups: very good, fair, and poor/very poor. An interview was then conducted using self-reported and objective measurements to classify physical health according to the ICF core set. It consists of 30 categories, 14 of which belong to the body function (b) component, 4 to body structures (s), 9 to activities and participation (d), and 3 related to environmental factors (e). To analyze the compromised and problematic categories in the ICF, an impairment index was created for each component. The relationship between self-rated health and the impairment indexes was assessed using the multinomial logistic regression test adjusted for age, sex, schooling, and perception of income sufficiency. Results: A greater likelihood of poor or very poor self-rated health was found in older individuals with the highest impairment index in (b) (odds ratio [OR] = 1.18; P <.001); (s) (OR = 1.11; P ≤.001); (d) capacity (OR = 1.09; P =.02); and (d) performance (OR = 1.08; p = 0.01). Conclusion: The results suggest that the ICF core set is a valid instrument to assess the physical health of older adults, since it is associated with self-rated health and shows potential for use in clinical practice and scientific research, with universal language regarding functionality and physical health in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The São Francisco Valley region, in Brazil, has stood out as one of the largest fruit producers in Brazil, mainly in the production and marketing of table grapes for the national and international market. This research aims to analyze the distribution network of table grapes produced in the São Francisco Valley region and identify possible locations for installation of Distribution Centers (DCs) through simulation, using the AnyLogistix software, in one year. The study was applied in Uvas do Vale company, which is at the beginning of its operations and has no history of demand. With the help of the computational tool, the company's demand for the 100 largest Brazilian cities was estimated. Three possible scenarios were created for the distribution network through GreenField Analysis (GFA), establishing customers, DCs linked to them and their demands. The application of AnyLogistix contributes to the organization's strategic planning, and the C3 scenario is the most aligned with the company's goals and objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In Brazil, there are 15,500 incident cases of oral cancer (OC) yearly, and early diagnosis is the main factor for a better prognosis. The objective of this study was to analyze the interval between the first symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment commencement in patients with malignant neoplasms in the oral cavity, lips, and oropharynx diagnosed between 2012-2018. Epidemiological data, duration, history of lesion, biopsy, and diagnosis were obtained from the medical records of these patients, who were then contacted via phone and interviewed about their oncological treatment. The results were analyzed and expressed as mean, median, and SD. Of 184 patients, most were men, white, 50-69 years old, smokers, and alcoholics. The longest interval was between the first symptoms and first evaluation (a mean of 275 days). The interval between the first appointment and the result of the biopsy was shorter (13 days). Among the 85 patients interviewed, the interval between the diagnosis, the first appointment at the oncological clinic and treatment commencement was 55 days (mean) for patients using private-sector health care, and 96 days (mean) for patients using public health care. The interval was twice as long in the public health system compared with the private sector, which highlights the inequality of access to health care in Brazil. Delay in seeking health care after the appearance of the first symptoms remains a major problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista CESUMAR: Ciências Humanas e Sociais Aplicadas is the property of Revista Cesumar - Ciencias Humanas e Sociais Aplicadas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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Achieving the UN SD Goals requires the conservation of keystone marine species. As top predators, many sharks play a crucial role in balancing marine ecosystems; yet, they have been experiencing severe population declines. Overfishing is indisputably the main threat to shark populations, but little is known about the impact of non-extractive human pressure. This study tests the effect of varied human presence on shark behavior at an insular marine reserve. In 2020, humans were virtually absent from Fernando de Noronha (FEN), Brazil, during a 211-days lockdown period prompted by the COVID-19 pandemics. A local shark tracking program rendered nearly 280000 acoustic detections in coastal waters from 2016 through 2021. Lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris , showed a 43% increase in detection rate during the lockdown which was ascribed to the concomitant decrease in human presence. In contrast, the detection rate of tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier , decreased by 67% during the lockdown, but this trend was likely related to seasonality in tiger shark behavior. After the lockdown, both species' detection rates tended to return to previous levels. Further, lemon sharks increased diurnal coastal residency and made more use of areas less restrictive to human use during the lockdown, whilst tiger sharks increased nocturnal coastal residency during and after the lockdown period. Contrasting trends might relate with lemon sharks completing their life cycle in FEN and tiger sharks being migrants arriving to FEN at older ages and being less exposed to local anthropogenic stimuli across ontogeny. This study demonstrates that non-extractive human disturbance can induce significant changes in the way marine predators explore crucial habitats for accomplishing trophic, reproductive, and ontogenetic functions. Ascertaining the ecological impacts of marine-based human development should thus consider cryptic responses by keystone megafauna to the anthropogenic landscape produced by an ever-growing coastal population. The designation of human exclusion marine areas could emerge as the single solution to endow shark populations with suitable habitats for optimizing their resilience to human pressure. [Display omitted] • Knowledge of shark responses to human pressure is crucial for ensuring their conservation. • The COVID-19 lockdown drastically reduced human presence at a touristic marine protected area. • Acoustic tracking revealed significant effects of human disturbance on shark behavior. • Interspecific differences in shark behavioral responses to varied human presence were observed. • Non-extractive human pressure may prompt harmful impacts on lemon shark fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dengue fever is a viral disease transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. In order to avoid epidemics and deaths, this transmitting vector must be controlled. This work assembles, for the first time, data from multiple governmental bodies describing the number of dengue cases reported, and meteorological conditions in 20 cities in the Goiás state, Brazil, from 2008 to 2015. We then apply generalised linear mixed modelling to this novel data set to model dengue occurrences in this state, where the tropical climate favours the proliferation of the main transmitting vector of this disease. The number of reported dengue cases is estimated using meteorological variables as fixed effects, and city and year data are included in the model as random effects. The proposed models can cope with complex data structures, such as nested data, while taking into account the particularities of each year dependent on the city under analysis. The results confirm that precipitation, minimum temperature, and relative air humidity contribute to the increase of dengue cases number, while year and city location are determining factors. Public policies, based on these new results, together with joint actions involving local populations, are essential to combat the vector transmitting dengue and avoid epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses: (1) continuing engineering education (CEE) in developing countries and particularly the Brazilian experience; (2) financial sources provided by legislation passed by the government of Brazil and their importance for CEE expansion; and (3) CEE in traditional classroom education and limitations due to schedules for working engineers in industry in non-governmental systems. (JN)

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Decent work (DW) is a topic that has only recently attracted the attention of psychology researchers. The Decent Work Scale (DWS) is an instrument developed to assess five dimensions of decent work: Safe Working Conditions, Access to Health Care, Adequate Compensation, Free Time and Rest, and Complementary Values. The aims of this study were to understand decent work in a Brazilian context both quantitatively and qualitatively. A total of 307 Brazilian working adults took part in the study. First, we adapted the DWS to Brazilian Portuguese and examined its psychometric properties. Mirroring the results o previous studies, a five-factor bifactor model showed the best fit to the data. Additionally, positive correlations with job satisfaction and work meaning, and negative correlations with withdrawal intentions provided evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. The meaning of decent work was investigated through a qualitative content analysis, which allowed the identification of already known aspects of decent work and a new aspect related to the idea of contributing to the common good. These findings suggest that the decent work construct and DWS are applicable within the Brazilian context, but also that other elements of decent work deserve further investigation. • The Decent Work Scale (DWS) was adapted to Brazilian Portuguese. • Evidences of validity and reliability were comparable to other studies. • Meaning of decent work was investigated qualitatively. • Common good emerged as an aspect of decent work not previously reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Neotropical Biology & Conservation is the property of Pensoft Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: To characterize the inclusion of the teaching of communication skills in the curriculum of Pharmacy Schools of Federal Institutions of Higher Education. Methods: An exploratory study of documental analysis of curriculum of Pharmacy Schools was carried out. A convenience sample was selected from undergraduate pharmacy courses of Federal Institutions of Higher Education (IFES). The variables collected were related to the identification of the course, its nature (elective or mandatory), workload, semester, and program content. Results: Among the 49 undergraduate pharmacy courses of IFES, 35 (71.4%) had their curriculum available online. The teaching of communication in health was identified in 26 (74.3%) curriculum. In this study, three courses (7.2%) specifically aimed at teaching communication skills, while 39 (92.9%) had content related to this subject. Most courses (22; 52.4%) belonged to the field of Social, Behavioral, and Administrative Sciences. As for the course period, there was a concentration in the third (19%) and fourth (28.6%) years. The main content present in the curriculum was related to the principles and techniques of health communication (42.8%). Conclusions: Data obtained enabled the identification of gaps in the curricula of undergraduate courses in pharmacy concerning the inclusion of the teaching of communication skills. These results can be used to reflect the current models adopted in Brazil for the teaching of this skills, especially after the recent publication of the new curricular guidelines for undergraduate pharmacy courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Neotropical Biology & Conservation is the property of Pensoft Publishers and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The concern about environmental pollution has risen in the last decades because of its effects on human's health. However, evaluation of the exposure to certain pollutants is currently hampered by the availability of past environmental data. Tree rings are an alternative to reconstruct environmental variability of pre-instrumental periods. Nevertheless, this approach has some reported limitations including migration of chemical elements in the tree rings. The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution of Cd, Cu, Hg, Na, Ni, Pb, Zn in the tree rings of Tipuana tipu (Fabaceae) to aid the reconstruction of past environmental pollution. We sampled trees in the central region of the city of São Paulo, Brazil, and scanned their tree rings using LA-ICP-MS. We used these data to evaluate the temporal trends of chemical elements under investigation. Results show a non-random distribution of these chemical elements within the tree rings, with higher content in the cell-walls of vessels and lower content in the fibers. Sodium was the only element intimately related to the axial parenchyma cells. Due to differences in elemental composition of xylem cells, temporal trends where evaluated using distinct quartiles of data distribution in each tree ring. The first quartile represents the lower content found in fibers and parenchyma, while the third quartile corresponds to the higher content found in vessels. Data from vessels better represent the decreasing trend of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Ni in the last three decades. This reduction is less significant for Na and Zn. Our results highlight the potential to improve the records of environmental pollution using data from different cells. Pronounced reduction in Pb may be attributed to the lead phase-out in gasoline, while the decreasing trend of Cd, Cu, Ni pollution is probably related to increasing efficiency of vehicles and the deindustrialization of São Paulo. Chemical elements are non-randomly distributed in tree rings. Chemical content of vessels cell-walls is a reliable record of metal pollution, which is decreasing in São Paulo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic waste is currently a major threat to marine ecosystems, and the ever-growing production of plastic materials suggests that this scenario will not change soon. Understanding cryptic effects of plastic debris on keystone marine species is warranted to address ecosystem-level impacts caused by plastic pollution. This study reports on plastic entanglement in top predator tiger sharks, Galeocerdo cuvier , from the western South Atlantic Ocean. Circular plastic straps produced severe trauma in 3 % of all tiger sharks sampled and led to abnormal anatomical development, indicating worrisome incidence and consequences of plastic entanglement in this species. Removing the plastic strap from one shark which had been entangled for at least 9 months was probably the cause for the shark having experienced post-release mortality. This suggests that, in some circumstances, strap removal is not effective to promote the survival of entangled sharks. Eliminating the circular integrity of plastic materials at first use should contribute to mitigate some of the impacts of plastic pollution on marine megafauna since this shape might be determinant in the process of shark entanglement. • We recorded the incidence and effects of shark entanglement in plastic debris off northeast Brazil. • A relevant proportion of the tiger sharks sampled was affected by entanglement in circular plastic debris. • Plastic entanglement produced severe trauma and anatomical deformities in tiger sharks. • Removing an embedded plastic strap from a tiger shark likely resulted in post-release mortality. • Circular plastic straps in the ocean may be inducing significant tiger shark cryptic mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Education Policy Analysis Archives / Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas / Arquivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas is the property of Educational Policy Analysis Archives & Education Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Biochemical and molecular responses were evaluated in oysters Crassostrea brasiliana collected from three oyster farms, at Guaratuba Bay, southern Brazil, forming a pollutant gradient: Farm 1 (reference site - farther from the urban area), Farm 2 (intermediate site) and Farm 3 (nearest to the urban area). Oxidative stress markers, DNA damage and transcript levels of CYP2AU1 , CYP2-like1 , CYP2-like2 , SULT-like , GPx-like , SOD-like , CAT-like , GSTmicrosomal-like , GSTomega-like , FABP-like and ALAd-like genes were analyzed in the gills. The levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, linear alkylbenzenes and polychlorinated biphenyls were also evaluated in the soft tissues of the oysters and in the sediment of the Farms. Higher GSTomega-like , CYP2AU1 and FABP-like transcript levels, GR and G6PDH activities and lipid peroxidation levels were observed in oysters from Farms 2 and 3, suggesting pollutant effects on oysters. Alterations in oxidative stress markers also suggest a response against a prooxidant condition in C. brasiliana due to pollutant effects. Highlights • Biomarkers were evaluated in oysters from estuarine areas with different urban influences. • Higher linear alkylbenzene levels were found in areas with higher urban influence. • Oysters from polluted areas showed higher CYP2-like2 , GSTΩ and FABP transcript levels. • Pollutants decreased CYP2-like1 and CAT-like transcript levels and caused oxidative stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to define how the learning outcomes in distance education (DE) in Brazil are influenced by student satisfaction. In particular, it will help us to understand which aspects of the business courses in DE are providing higher satisfaction to their students. Thus, it was decided to adopt a mixed method research strategy consisting of a survey and archival investigations. Based on a special extraction of micro-data from the 2012 National Student Performance Exam (ENADE), records of 39,190 students enrolled in the distance education format were combined with 5,087 valid responses to a survey conducted using an electronic questionnaire. The use of partial least squares structural equation modelling allowed us to infer the nomological validity of the constructs. Among the results, it should be highlighted that the hypotheses of a positive association between satisfaction with interactivity, and with performance and the students' learning results were sustained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In this article we explore the political economy of Chinese outward foreign direct investment (COFDI) in Brazil, and the impact of investment and other economic links on Brazilian foreign policy toward China. The warming of Brazil's relations with China after 2003 had much to do with the perceptions of then president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was particularly impressed by the astounding growth of bilateral trade and believed the two countries shared a similar level of socioeconomic development. Lula's domestic political challenges, the country's prioritization of South-South relations, and some institutional changes further reshaped Brazil's stance toward China. Unlike bilateral trade, Chinese investments did not exert a powerful influence on Brazilian policy toward China, though expectations of greater COFDI did have some impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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BACKGROUND: Noninvasive ventilation (NIV) in preterm infants is currently applied using intermittent positive pressure (2 positive-pressure levels) or in a conventional manner (one pressure level). However, there are no studies in the literature comparing the chances of failure of these NIV methods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of failure of 2 noninvasive ventilatory support systems in preterm neonates over a period of 48 h. METHODS: A randomized, prospective, clinical study was conducted on 80 newborns (gestational age < 37 weeks, birthweight < 2,500 g). The infants were randomized into 2 groups: 40 infants were treated with nasal CPAP and 40 infants with nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (NIPPV). The occurrence of apnea, progression of respiratory distress, nose bleeding, and agitation was defined as ventilation failure. The need for intubation and reintubation after failure was also observed. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in birth characteristics between groups. Ventilatory support failure was observed in 25 (62.5%) newborns treated with nasal CPAP and in 12 (30%) newborns treated with NIPPV, indicating an association between NIV failure and the absence of intermittent positive pressure (odds ratio [OR] 1.22, P < .05). Apnea (32.5%) was the main reason for nasal CPAP failure. After failure, 25% (OR 0.33) of the newborns receiving nasal CPAP and 12.5% (OR 0.14) receiving NIPPV required invasive mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: Ventilatory support failure was significantly more frequent when nasal CPAP was used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Odonto Ciencia is the property of EDIPUCRS - Editora Universitaria da PUCRS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The aim of this study was to develop and apply an implicit yield model based on the Weibull probability density function for the predictions of yield by diameter class for a logged tropical rainforest located in the center of Amazon. The study area is located in the Tropical Forest Experimental Station, 90 km from the urban center of Manaus, AM, Brazil. The data came from 12 permanent 1 ha plots, logged at three levels of basal area removal intensities. In each plot all individuals with DBH 10 cm between 1990 and 2009 were measured annually. Functions were used to describe the dynamics of tree abundance (recruitment and mortality), basal area, summed diameters per hectare, and a new statistic for classification of forest yield, in order to estimate the sample moments of minimum, average and quadratic mean diameter in 2009. The Weibull diameter distribution was fitted using the method of moments and validated by data collected in 2009. The inclusion of variables that reflect the productive potential in the proposed model facilitates the evaluation of forests that have undergone changes in its structural characteristics in the different sites. The use of an alternative technique for classification led to a better understanding of the management regimes applied to the forests under analysis. The proposed model proved efficient by the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, and thus may be used in updating inventory statistics, calculations of annual cut and in planning forest by companies that work in uneven aged and mixed forests in different sites of the Amazon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology / Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista FAMECOS - Mídia, Cultura e Tecnologia is the property of EDIPUCRS - Editora Universitaria da PUCRS and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article discusses the giant grasshopper Tropidacris collaris (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Romalediae) and their attacks on plantations in Brazil. Topics include their usual targets of Acacia mangium (Fabaceae), pinus, and eucalyptus plantations, other species of grasshoppers/locust pests in Brazil like the Rhammatocerus schistocercoides, Schistocerca pallens, and Stiphra robusta, and the areas in South America where T. collaris is found from Colombia, Argentina, and Northest Brazil.

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Objective: This study aims to examine vestibular disorders in patients with recessive spinocerebellar ataxia. Design: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted. The patients underwent the following procedures: case history, ENT and vestibular evaluations. Study sample: The tests were performed in 19 patients ranging from 6 to 63 years of age (mean age of 36.7). Results: Clinically, the patients commonly had symptoms of dizziness (57.8%), lack of coordination of movement with imbalance when walking (52.6%), and headaches (42.1%). In vestibular testing, alterations were predominantly evident under caloric testing (73.5%), rotational chair testing, and testing for gaze and optokinetic nystagmus (36.8%). The presence of alterations occurred under examination in 89.5% of these patients, 100% occurred in subjects with Friedreich’s ataxia and 84.6% for subjects with indeterminate recessive spinocerebellar ataxia, with the majority occurring in those with central vestibular dysfunction, 57.9% of the examinations. Conclusion: The most evident neurotological symptoms were dizziness, lack of coordination of movement, and imbalance when walking. Alterations in vestibular examinations occurred in 89.5% of patients, mostly in the caloric test, with a predominance of deficient central vestibular system dysfunction. This underscores the importance of the contribution of topodiagnostic labyrinthine evaluations for neurodegenerative diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate whether hormone replacement therapy modifies the auditory brainstem response in postmenopausal women. Methods: Nineteen postmenopausal women received hormone replacement therapy (study group) and 25 received no treatment nor placebo (control group). In both groups, age ranged from 45 to 60 years and pure-tone sensitivity was 25 dB or better at frequencies between 500 and 2000 Hz. Auditory brainstem response was evaluated before and after 3 months of hormone use in the study group. The control group was also evaluated at the same periods. The following auditory brainstem response parameters were compared between the two groups: latencies of waves I, III, and V; I-III, III-V, and I-V interpeak intervals. Results: Mean age did not differ between groups (study group: 51.5 ± 0.7 years; control: 52.9 ± 0.6 years). No significant differences in wave latencies, or interpeak intervals were observed between the two groups (p > 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Clínica de Ortodontia Dental Press is the property of Dental Press International and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)