Gerontology in the developing Brazil: Achievements and challenges in public policies

Aim:   In the last three decades, the segment of population aged 60 years and older has more than doubled in Brazil. People aged 80 years and older are expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the near future. This aim of this study was to analyze the legal structures currently in place in Brazil and to provide a framework for care policies and practices towards older-adults.
Methods:   This article focuses on past and present major socioeconomic burdens on this segment of the Brazilian population as well as on public achievements to overcome inequities.
Results:   Both the public health and the social security systems have been directed to provide preferential assistance to the aged. Nonetheless, the elderly remain the most impoverished segment of Brazil and carry the burden of an overall lack of specialized services. Moreover, socioeconomic inequalities and population diversity in Brazil affects elderly care, adding complexity to this unique scenario.
Conclusion:   Brazil has adopted legal hallmarks that substantially shifted public practices towards the elderly segment from a philanthropic status to a legitimate right for care and assistance. The demographic transition that took place provides an opportunity for innovative solutions in public policies for older adults in a developing economic environment.     

Robotic telesurgery for achalasia

The craft of surgery has always relied on the use of instruments. Innovations in surgery have paralleled innovations in instrumentation. Advances in surgical instrumentation continue today and have enabled huge strides in surgical procedures and outcomes during this generation. Computers and related technology are now changing the interface between the surgeon and the patient, and are poised to improve patient outcomes by enhancing the surgeon’s skills and training. The application of computer enhanced telemanipulators, or “robots”, may specifically enhance operations, for example Heller myotomy, that require good visualization and precise careful dissection of delicate structures. This review covers the pathophysiology of achalasia and its history of medical and surgical treatment, leading to modern robotic telesurgical approaches. Improvements in outcome from medical to standard surgical to robotic telesurgical approaches are discussed. Current operative technique for robotic telesurgical treatment of achalasia is described and the authors conclude with a glimpse of where, in the future, current research endeavors will lead us in the treatment of achalasia.     

Development and optimization of an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of Hexoestrol

An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of hexoestrol (HES) was developed, optimized and validated for the analysis of HES in pork. Many parameters, such as the volume ratio of solution A and solution B, colour developing time, pH value, incubation time, the volume ratio of the standard solution and diluted antiserum, blocking solution, blocking condition, coating solution and coating condition were studied and optimized in the paper. The regression equation of the final inhibition curve is y = - 0.3345x + 1.4955, R²=0.9913. The linear range is 0.1-8.1 ng/ml, and the IC₅₀ is 0.671 ng/ml. The specificity of the assay was evaluated by the cross-reactivity rates of six compounds, of which two structurally related compounds had a relatively higher cross-reactivity rate of 25% and 6%. HES was added into a pork sample at 5 ng/g level and then the sample was extracted. The recovery is between 49.6% and 79.2%, and the variation coefficient is 0.164.     

苯胺衍生物掺杂的PMMA薄膜的二次非线性光学性能的稳定性研究

具有A-π-D电子结构的苯胺衍生物掺杂的玻璃态高聚物PMMA的有机薄膜经极化取向后显示很强的二次非线性光学性能,其取向弛豫是实用化的一个有待解决的重要问题。木文通过几种苯胺衍生物以不同百分比与PMMA掺杂,用紫外-可见吸收光谱、二次谐波强度测量、动态力学粘弹谱等方法进行了取向弛豫的机理研究,结果表明分子尺寸和形状以及偶极矩的大小对取向弛豫有显著影响。     

超细α-FeOOH制备过程研究 Ⅰ.制备工艺

以制备晶形、粒度、轴比等满足高性能磁粉要求的铁黄为目标,研究了碱法超细α-FeOOH合成的工艺配方和工艺条件对粒子性能的影响,包括碱比、气量、转速、Fe(OH)_2结晶条件、熟化时间等工艺参数的影响规律。重复稳定地制备出三类超微粒α-FeOOH粒子,其粒度分别为0.18、0.28、0.39μm,分布均匀,无枝叉。     

医用低值材料采供管理的探讨

医疗消耗材料是医疗工作开展的基础，本文从医用低值消耗材料的计划制定、材料采购、库房库存结构、材料供应、成本核算等多方面探讨了如何对医疗消耗材料进行科学管理，这对医院的医疗发展和管理建设有着重要意义。     

Industrial back belts and low back pain: Mechanisms and outcomes

The recent increased utilization of industrial back belts as personal protective equipment in the workplace has generated considerable controversy among occupational health and safety professionals in the United States. The purpose of this article is to review the literature regarding proposed mechanisms of action of these devices and studies related to outcome of belt utilization in the prevention of low back pain and disability in the workplace. At the present time, neither the suspected mechanisms of action nor the efficacy of these devices in the primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention of work-related low back pain has been adequately demonstrated in clinical trials. As a result, generally accepted guidelines regarding the safe use of belts in the occupational setting have not been established. Based on this review it is recommended that further well-controlled, prospective, randomized clinical trials are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of these devices as personal protective equipment. During the interim, the decision to prescribe belts to employees in the workplace should be at the discretion of an adequately trained occupational health care provider. These devices should not be provided as an alternative to appropriate administrative and/or engineering controls.     

A flexible, efficient, checkerboard immunoblot system for the detection and semiquantitation of specific antinuclear antibodies.

In this paper an uncomplicated method for the simultaneous detection and semiquantitation of 11 of the 12 commonly studied antinuclear antibodies (ANA) in a single run is described. This new application of checkerboard immunoblotting (CBIB) is based upon available technology and employs purified antigens which can be either purchased or produced in-house. CBIB requires no electronic instrument, can be formatted to meet the needs of the user, is rapidly performed, and has acceptable labor and materials costs. Data on the use of the method to examine available reference antisera is presented. CBIB has also proven practical for the clinical study of 18 sera, at two dilutions per membrane, for each set of specific antinuclear antibodies, also at two or more dilutions.     

颌面赝复材料研究进展

综述了目前口腔颌面赝复材料种类、性能要求及各种颌面赝复材料的组成、性能和应用过程,探讨了各种颌面赝复材料的优势及不足,指出目前临床应用的颌面赝复材料以硅橡胶类为主,其中又以中温硫化硅橡胶和室温硫化硅橡胶综合性能较好,应用最为广泛。     

Diagnosis of fetal rubella infection by nucleic acid hybridization

The efficacy of nucleic acid hybridization for the diagnosis of rubella infection in experimental and clinical materials was compared with immunoblot and virus isolation techniques. Our results showed that nucleic acid hybridization is specific and rapid but gives false-negative results when compared with conventional virus isolation in some experimental although not in clinical materials so far examined. For this reason, a failure to demonstrate rubella virus in fetal specimens by this method alone cannot yet be taken as a sole criterion for ruling out fetal rubella infection.