Anesthesiology and Medicine, General & Internal

AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS & POLICY, AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING, AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE, AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY, AGRONOMY, biological agents, fungi disease, Phaseolus vulgaris, seed coating, agentes biológicos, enfermedades fúngicas, and recubrimiento a la semilla

RESUMEN Se evaluó el efecto del tratamiento a las semillas con cepas de actinomicetos (EA2, CB14 y su combinación) sobre la incidencia de la marchitez de las posturas causadas por Rhizoctonia solani Kühn en Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Velasco largo en condiciones de casa de cultivo. Se comparó con Trichoderma harzianum A-34, Celest®Top 312 FS y dos controles (positivo y negativo). Se empleó suelo Pardo mullido medianamente lavado estéril y no estéril, bajo un diseño completamente aleatorizado. El tratamiento a la semilla fue realizado por recubrimiento, con almidón de yuca 8 % como adherente. La incidencia por R. solani se determinó a los 21 días posteriores a la siembra de las semillas. En el suelo no estéril se encontraron las menores incidencias provocadas por R. solani con el uso del Celest®Top 312 FS, el cual no difirió de la combinación de actinomicetos CB14+EA2, pero sí respecto al resto de los tratamientos. En el suelo estéril, los menores porcentajes de incidencia se obtuvieron al utilizar la combinación de cepas de actinomicetos (CB14+EA2)
The effect of seed treatment with the actinomycetes strains EA2 and CB14, and their combination, on damping-off incidence caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn in Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Velasco largo was evaluated under greenhouse conditions. These strains were compared with Trichoderma harzianum A-34, Celest®Top 312 FS and two controls (positive and negative). Inceptisol sterile and non-sterile soil was used under a completely randomized design. The coating seeds with strains were made using 8 % cassava starch. The incidence of R. solani was determined 21 days after sowing. In non-sterile soil, the lowest incidences caused by R. solani were found with Celest®Top 312 FS, which did not significantly differ from the combination of actinomycete strains CB14 + EA2, but yes with the rest of the treatments. In the sterile soil, the lowest percentages of incidences were obtained with the combination of actinomycete strains (CB14 + EA2)

HORTICULTURE, Rhapis excelsa, coconut husk, fertilizers, casca de coco, and adubos

As avaliações foram realizadas em quatro substratos compostos de mistura de fibra de coco triturada (FC) e substrato comercial Plantmax HT® (SC), nas proporções de 0, 25, 50 e 75% de FC, em vasos com capacidade para 35 L, em delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições e três vasos por parcela, com uma planta por vaso. A adubação das plantas foi feita alternando-se, a cada três meses, 25 g de 4-14-8 com 10 g de uréia por vaso, a partir do plantio e durante os 24 meses do período experimental. O crescimento foi avaliado medindo-se a altura da haste inicial (da base do caule à inserção da última folha completamente expandida), número de folhas da haste inicial, número de perfilhos, número de folhas dos perfilhos, altura dos perfilhos e teores de nutrientes da última folha completamente expandida da haste inicial. A qualidade foi avaliada através de análise sensorial visual, baseado nos critérios "gostei"(muito ou pouco) e "compraria"(sim ou não). Não houve diferença entre os tratamentos sobre as características de crescimento, exceto para o número de folhas da haste inicial. As plantas com melhor aceitação foram aquelas cultivadas na mistura com 50% FC e 50% SC. Nenhuma das plantas apresentou sintoma visual de deficiência de nutrientes, sendo os teores foliares encontrados em plantas sadias com padrão de qualidade para comercialização de: 17,80 - 18,29 g kg-1 de N; 0,66 - 0,81 g kg-1 de NO-3; 2,02 - 2,34 g kg-1 de P; 18,11 - 20,40 g kg-1 de K; 11,63 - 13,84 g kg-1 de Cl; 2,69 - 4,04 g kg-1 de Ca; 1,61 - 2,07 g kg-1 de S; 1,98 - 2,64 g kg-1 de Mg.
It was evaluated the quality and nutrient content of lady palm in four substrates made up of a mixture of shredded coconut fiber (FC) and commercial substrate Plantmax HT® (SC), in proportions of 0, 25, 50 and 75% of FC, in 35 liters containers, in a randomized block experiment with four replicates and three pots per plot, with one plant per pot. The plants were fertilized every three months alternating 25 g of 4-14-8 with 10 g of urea per pot, at planting and throughout the 24 months of the experimental period. Growth was evaluated by measuring the height of the initial stem (from the stem base to leaf insertion of the most recently expanded leaf), number of leaves in the original stem, number of offsets, number of leaves in offsets, offset height and nutrient content of last completely expanded leaf in the initial stem. The quality was evaluated by visual sensorial analysis using the criteria "I liked it"(a lot or a little) and "I would buy it"(yes or no). There was no significant difference on the growth characteristics among treatments, except on the number of leaves of the initial stem. Plants with the best acceptance were those grown in the mixture 50% FC and 50 % SC. None of the plants showed visual nutrient deficiency symptoms; the leaf nutrient content of healthy plants with market quality standards were: 17.80 - 18.29 g kg-1 of N; 0.66 - 0.81 g kg-1 of NO-3 ; 2.02 - 2.34 g kg-1 of P; 18.11 - 20.40 g kg-1 of K; 11.63 - 13.84 g kg-1 of Cl; 2.69 - 4.04 g kg-1 of Ca; 1.61 - 2.07 g kg-1 of S; 1.98 - 2.64 g kg-1 of Mg.

Education & Educational Research, Education, Scientific Disciplines, Nursing, child abuse, child sexual abuse, prevention, abuso infantil, abuso sexual infantil, and prevención

El abuso sexual infantil se presenta mayormente a nivel intrafamiliar es decir son los padres, tíos, hermanos, padrastros, que se aprovechan de la inocencia del niño, situación esta que impacta en gran manera su vida; el presente estudio tuvo como propósito Determinar el Nivel de conocimiento que poseen los padres en Relación al Abuso Sexual Infantil. Se efectuó un estudio de campo de carácter descriptivo, no experimental transeccional. La población considerada estuvo conformada por 80 madres de los niños y niñas en edad escolar del sector Colinas de Mara II, Morón, estado Carabobo. La muestra correspondió 25% de la población objeto del estudio es decir 19 madres. La recolección de la información se obtuvo a través de un cuestionario con 19 ítems, de alternativas de respuestas dicotómicas (SÍ-NO), siendo validado por juicio de expertos. Y un coeficiente de confialidad de 0,79 por el método de alfa de Crombach. Del Análisis de los resultados se Concluyó, que un 50% de los padres encuestados no dialogan con su hijos sobre esta situación, medida vital que permite prevenir el abuso sexual infantil, lo que hace más relevante la necesidad de poner en práctica estrategias educativas para la prevención del abuso sexual infantil y así contribuir a combatir este flagelo social.
Child sexual abuse occurs mostly within the family, i.e. the parents, uncles, brothers, stepfathers, who prey on the innocence of youth, a situation that impacts greatly on the child's life. This study was aimed at determining the level of knowledge parents have in relation to Child Sexual Abuse. A cross-sectional, non experimentan descriptive field study was made. The population consisted of 80 mothers of school age children from the Mara Hill II sector, Moron, Carabobo State. The sample consisted of 25% of the population surveyed, i.e. 19 mothers. Data collection was obtained through a questionnaire with 19 items of dichotomous response options (YES-NO), and was validated by expert opinion. The confidence coefficient was 0.79 according to the Crombach alpha. Analysis of the results concluded that 50% of the parents surveyed do not talk to their children about the situation, when talkimg is a vital method of preventing child sexual abuse. It is, theregore, of great importance implement educational strategies for prevention of child sexual abuse and so help to combat this social scourge.

SURGERY, varicose veins, great saphenous vein, reflux patterns, eco-Doppler, veias varicosas, grande veia safena, and padrões de refluxo

Introduction: Varicose veins are frequent and cause problems for patients and health care services. Varicose vein surgery is one of the three more frequent surgical procedures. Eco-Doppler observations have changed completely concepts of varicose veins beginning and progression with great reflex on clinical practice and treatment. Eco-Doppler as shown great saphenous vein (GSV) as an interfascial vein and not a superficial one, varicose veins with competent saphenofemoral junction as well as varicose veins just involving collaterals or collaterals with segments of GSV but not a continuous descending involvement of the GSV. Consequently two main patterns of venous reflux as been defined: the axial reflux with a continuous reflux of GSV trunk from groin to malleolus and the segmental reflux with reflux of segments of saphenous trunk but not a continuous descending reflux starting at the junction. This segmental reflux pattern presents in our practice three sub-types: sub-type 1, just involving superficial branches, sub-type 2, involving superficial branches plus segments of saphenous trunk and sub-type 3 with reflux of saphenofemoral junction plus tight collateral, with a non dilated GSV bellow the confluence of this collateral. Aim: Can we preserve the GSV when treating varicose veins with a segmental reflux pattern? Can we do a much lesser aggressive and quick surgery with equal or even better results as with classic surgery? Metolodgy: 54 consecutive patients with segmental reflux pattern operated on with phlebectomy of varicose superficial collaterals and with preservation of GSV. Clinical follow-up with symptomatic relieve, cosmetic results and no recurrence of varicose veins expressed as worthwhile surgery. Eco-Doppler follow - up expressed as: disappearance of previous segmental reflux of GSV, maintenance of previous reflux or progression of segmental reflux to an axial one. Mean follow-up time: 12,1 months. Results: Clinical results: 98,5 of patients consider surgery as worthwhile. Eco-Doppler results: 58% with no reflux, 40 % with maintenance of previous reflux and just 1 case (2%) with progression of reflux to an axial pattern. Conclusions: Clinical and eco-Doppler results of our study, support preservation of GSV when the pattern of reflux is a segmental one. The answer to our question: can we preserve the GSV is a positive yes we can. Our findings also support the concept that varicose veins are a local and multifocal process starting at any vein segment and not a progressive descending one starting at the sapheno-femoral- junction. Superficial varicose branches appear as main players and not the saphenous trunk as consider before.
Introdução: As varizes dos membros inferiores são situação muito frequente causando problemas aos doentes e ao SNS. A cirurgia das varizes é das três mais frequentes cirurgias. As observações do exame eco-Doppler vieram revolucionar o conceito de aparecimento e progressão das varizes dos membros inferiores com reflexo no tratamento das mesmas. As observações do eco-Doppler mostraram a grande veia safena como uma veia interfascial e não superficial, veias varicosas com junção safeno femoral competente, bem como veias varicosas que envolvem somente veias colaterais ou veias colaterais e segmentos da grande veia safena, mas sem um envolvimento descendente progressivo desta veia a partir da juncao com a veia femural. Consequentemente foram definidos dois padrões principais de refluxo venoso: o refluxo axial com envolvimento contínuo descendente da grande veia safena desde a junção safenofemoral ao maléolo e o refluxo segmentar com envolvimento de segmentos da grande veia safena e/ou veias colaterais, mas sem continuidade descendente da GVS. O padrão de refluxo segmentar surge na nossa prática clinica com 3 subtipos: no subtipo 1 estão apenas refuxivos ramos superficiais, no subtipo 2 estão envolvidos ramos superficiais e segmentos da grande veia safena, mas sem refluxo descendente continuo da GVS e no subtipo 3 verifica-se refluxo ao nível da junção safenofemoral e de veias colaterais da coxa estando a GVS normal e sem refluxo abaixo da confluência da colateral varicosa. Objetivo: Na cirurgia das varizes dos membros inferiores com padrão de refluxo segmentar é possível proceder a simples flebectomias das colaterais varicosas preservando a GVS? ou seja proceder a uma cirurgia menos invasiva com iguais ou melhores resultados que a cirurgia clássica? Metodologia: Foram operados 54 doentes com padrão de refluxo segmentar com flebectomia das colaterais varicosas e preservação da grande veia safena. O seguimento clínico considerou o alívio sintomático e resultados cosméticos e a não recorrência de varizes, avaliados pela equipa cirúrgica e os doentes como cirurgia que valeu a pena. O seguimento por eco-Doppler classificou os refluxos segmentares prévios em: desaparecimento, persistência ou progressão para refluxo axial. O tempo médio de seguimento foi de 12,1 meses. Resultados clínicos: 98.5% dos doentes avaliaram a cirurgia como positiva. Resultados do Eco-Doppler: 58% com ausência de refluxo, 40% com persistência de refluxo e 1 caso (2%) com progressão do refluxo. Conclusão: Os resultados clínicos e seguimento por eco-Doppler, sustentam como possível a preservação da GVS nos doentes com padrão de refluxo segmentar. A resposta à questão: podemos preservar a GVS quando o refluxo é segmentar? é um sim podemos. Os nossos achados são também a favor do conceito de que as veias varicosas são um processo local e multifocal com início em qualquer segmento de veias colaterais ou safenas e não um processo descendente do tronco da safena com início na junção safenofemoral. As colaterais varicosas superficiais aparentam ter um papel de actor principal neste processo e não o tronco da veia safena, como considerado no conceito clássico.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY SCIENCES, neck pain, disability, physiotherapy, translation, dor no pescoço, incapacidade, fisioterapia, and tradução

INTRODUCTION: the Danish questionnaire entitled The Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale(CNFDS) is a tool for self-assessment of cervical complaints,originally developed in English, of which there is, so far, no translation into Brazilian Portuguese. The process involvedin this researchproved to be relevant for the exploration of the questionnaire and the realization of adjustments necessary for it to be functiona l and applicable in Portuguese Language and Brazilian Culture settings. Thus, once this has been carried out, many health professionals will benefit from this version in their clinical practice. OBJECTIVE: To perform the translation and cultural adaptation to Brazilian Portuguese of the Escala funcional de incapacidade do pescoço de Copenhagen (The Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale - CNFDS). METHODS: The questionnaire was translated into Brazilian Portuguese by two bilingual, Brazilian physiotherapists who were aware of the objective of this research. The back-translation was performed by a third person, a Brazilian, bilingual English teacher, who had not participated in the previous step. After comparing the resulting translations, a single translated version was produced named the Escala Funcional de Incapacidade do Pescoço de Copenhagen (EFIPC) and in each question the option "not applicable" was added to the answer key. During the translation and cultural adaptation process there were no changes and/or eliminations of any questions. RESULT: The composition of the Escala Funcional de Incapacidade do Pescoço de Copenhagen reflects the original English version, with a total of 15 questions, with the questions numbered 1 to 5 presenting a positive direction response (a "yes" answer indicates good cervical condition), and questions numbered 6 to 15 presenting a negative direction response (a "yes" answer indicates poor cervical condition. CONCLUSION: The process involved in this research allowed the achievement of thedesired goal, and thus it was possible totranslate and culturally adapt to Brazilian Portuguese the content of the CNFDS questionnaire, giving riseto the Escala funcional de incapacidade do pescoço de Copenhagen.
INTRODUÇÃO: o questionário dinamarquês intitulado The Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale (CNFDS) é um instrumento de autoavaliação de queixa cervical originalmente desenvolvido no idioma inglês e que não existe, até esse momento, sua tradução para o português brasileiro. O processo envolvido nessa pesquisa se mostrou relevante para a exploração do questionário e realização dos ajustes necessários para que esse seja funcional e aplicável na Língua e Cultura Portuguesa Brasileira. Portanto, uma vez sido feito isso, profissionais da saúde poderão se beneficiar dessa versão em sua prática clínica. OBJETIVO: realizar a tradução e adaptação cultural para o português brasileiro da escala funcional de incapacidade do pescoço de Copenhagen (The Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale - CNFDS). MÉTODO: o questionário em questão foi traduzido para a língua portuguesa brasileira por dois fisioterapeutas brasileiros e fluentes na língua portuguesa e inglesa. A retrotradução foi realizada por uma terceira pessoa, brasileira, bilíngue e professora de inglês, não participante da etapa anterior. Após comparação das traduções produziu-se uma única versão traduzida, denominada Escala Funcional de Incapacidade do Pescoço de Copenhagen (EFIPC) sendo que, em cada questão foi acrescentada a opção "não se aplica" na chave de resposta. No processo de tradução e adaptação cultural não houve modificação e/ou eliminação de nenhuma questão. RESULTADO: a composição da Escala Funcional de Incapacidade do Pescoço de Copenhagen reflete a versão original em inglês, ou seja, com um total de 15 questões, sendo que as questões de número 1 a 5 apresentam direção de resposta positiva (resposta "sim" indica uma boa condição cervical), e as questões de número 6 a 15 apresentam direção de resposta negativa (resposta "sim" indica uma má condição cervical. CONCLUSÃO: o processo envolvido nessa pesquisa permitiu atingir o objetivo desejado e, assim, foi possível traduzir e adaptar culturalmente para o português brasileiro o conteúdo do questionário CNFDS, dando origem à escala funcional de incapacidade do pescoço de Copenhagen.

Social Sciences, Interdisciplinary, Art, Literary Theory & Criticism, Humanities, Multidisciplinary, Language & Linguistics, Economics, Education, Scientific Disciplines, Literature, Literature, African, Australian, Canadian, a/-rounding, acoustic analysis, case study, classic Afrikaans, co-articulation, dark [f], /l/-velarisation, Modern Afrikaans, formant frequency, vowel language change, /a/-ronding, akoestiese analise, donker [f], gevallestudie, klassieke Afrikaans, koartikulasie, /l/-velarisasie, Moderne Afrikaans, taalverandering, and vokaalformantfrekwensies

In hierdie artikel word verslag gedoen van 'n reeks ondersoeke na die spraakproduksie van 'n enkele jong, vroulike spreker - 'n bekende radiopersoonlikheid verbonde aan Radio Sonder Grense, van wie dit bekend is dat sy die lang /a/-vokaal tot [u] rond. Die resultate van hierdie akoesties-fonetiese ondersoek word vergelyk met dié van soortgelyke vorige studies maar wat van 'n veel oppervlakkiger aard is. In die ondersoek is veral gefokus op die invloed wat /l/ kan hê op voorafgaande vokale. Dit geld veral kort /a/, soos in byvoorbeeld 'n geslote sillabe in /al/ (in wals), of in 'n oop sillabe, soos in /a-ta/ (alle). Lang /a/ is ook hier ter sprake, byvoorbeeld in /mal/ (maal) en /ma-la/ (male). Die spreker se akoestiese metinge in terme waarvan ronding van lang /a/ tot [u] bepaal is, naamlik veral die tweede vokaalformantfrekwensie (F2), kom in 'n beduidende mate ooreen met dié wat in vorige studies gevind is. Dit word uitgewys dat ook kort /a/ merkbaar tot [u]¹ voor /l/ 'n geronde kwaliteit aanneem, veral in geslote sillabes. Hierdie bevinding ten opsigte van die rondende neiging van kort /Q/ is nog nie tevore waargeneem, geanaliseer en beskryf nie. Die laterale konsonant /l/ na agtervokale blyk 'n donker kwaliteit te hê weens die terugtrek van die tongliggaam, wat soms daaraan 'n retrofleksiewe eienskap verleen (Hamann 2003). Hier is sprake van 'n waarskynllike koartikulasie tussen sodanige donker [1] en voorafgaande /a/, met as resultaat 'n geronde [u]. Dit is ook die geval met die lang /a/, waarvan dit reeds bekend is dat dit in benadrukte posisies gerond word. Voor [1] blyk dit nog meer die geval te wees. /l/-velarisasie is 'n verskynsel wat waarskynlik by hierdie studie betrek behoort te word. In die resultate van 'n post hoc-ondersoek, waarby 'n ultrasoniese aftaster en 'n lip- videokamera gebruik is, word hierdie vermoede bevestig. Ander faktore wat ook moontlik 'n rol kan speel by hierdie verskynsel is nie in hierdie studie in ag geneem nie. Lin, Beddor en Coetzee (2013) noem woordfrekwensie as 'n beïnvloedende faktor by /l/-vokalisasie; dit kan moontlik ook van toepassing wees by velarisasie. Recasens en Espinosa (2005) noem ook nog verskille in artikulasiesluiting, dorsopalatale kontakgrootte, sluitingsduur en formantfrekwensie. Laasgenoemde is van toepassing by die prominente rol van F1 wat in die huidige ondersoek gevind is. Afgesien van die te verwagte verhoging van F2, suggereer die resultate wat in hierdie studie gevind is, 'n meer prominente rol van F1. Dit is hier selfs 'n sterker leidraad vir ronding in die geval van beide vokale. Die resultate bevestig die siening dat die Afrikaanse vokaalsisteem, veral wat betref die lang /a/-ronding, aan die verander is, en dit suggereer ook die moontlikheid dat kort /a/ dieselfde pad mag volg. Die gedrag daarvan voor /l/ ondersteun sodanige waarskynlikheid. Dit hou interessante konsekwensies in vir 'n beter begrip van die proses van, en die teorie oor taalverandering in die algemeen.
The present study is a follow-up of previous ones on the rounding of the long low /a/ vowel in Afrikaans, a relatively new sound variation. Against the background of existing descriptions I report a similar tendency of rounding of short /α/ vowel, specifically when followed by the lateral consonant /l/. I suggest an explanation of such rounding as being the result of a process of coarticulation, specifically under the influence of a distinct dark, retroflex quality of this lateral. A post hoc investigation with an ultrasound scanner and lip video camera confirmed this to be the case. The vowel productions of a single speaker, known to be a clear rounding of long /a/ was explored in an extensively designed case study. The phenomenon of /a/-rounding implies a qualitative change of the /a/ to [n] as in [jn] (ja; "yes") and in [snnks (snaaks; "funny"). Apart from superficial references to its existence in linguistic handbooks, such as De Villiers and Ponelis (1987:100), the first systematic study was done by Wissing (2006), followed-up by more recent other studies (Wissing 2010; 2013). Rounding is currently seemingly limited to the speech of young adult female speakers of Afrikaans, but it appears as if it has lately been spreading to the broader Afrikaans speaking community at a rather noticeable pace. It is provoking extremely negative reactions in especially the case of older, or more conservative Afrikaans speaking persons. On the other hand, younger users of Afrikaans do not even seem to notice the existence of this phenomenon, especially in their own language use. Such a vowel change is apparently part of a larger vowel shift which has recently been taking place, viz. the lowering of the front-mid vowel /e/ to almost the position of the short low /a/, or the shifting of /u/ from a back to a more centralised position (cf. Wissing 2010). Broadly defined, language change is a topic that integrates the social as well as the cognitive aspects of what it means to be human. A central feature of a language in the process of change is variation. During a period of change, there is variation in the language between forms that represent the current/previous stage and forms that represent the innovative/new stage of the language. Consequently, the rounding of/a/ could be of linguistic significance when considered against this general linguistic backdrop. The present investigation aims in particular at both broadening, developing and understanding of /a/-rounding to [a] in modern Afrikaans. In order to achieve this, firstly the existing knowledge concerning this phenomenon was summarised, whereafter a variety of carefully constructed stimuli were used in an in-depth case study of the pronunciation of a young female radio presenter at Radio Sonder Grense, the leading Afrikaans public broadcaster (hence referred to as C). The testing material was created with a view to obtaining a fuller understanding of /a/-rounding to [α] in Afrikaans in two respects. Firstly, the stimulus series concerning the degree to which long /a/ vowels are subjected to such rounding was expanded considerably. Secondly, stimuli were included with the aim of examining the possible co-articulatory influence of the rounding of /a/ followed by the lateral consonant /l/ (characterised as a dark l in the case of English pronunciation) on especially the short /a/-vowel, as in wals ("waltz"). Dark /l/ has received much attention in literature. Moreover, word frequency also has been shown (Lin, Beddor & Coetzee 2013) to influence the magnitude of the tongue tip gesture in laterals, especially with regard to /l/ vocalization. It might be applicable on the case of /l/-velarisation as well. Degree of darkness, differences in articulatory closure, dorsopalatal contact size, closure duration, relative timing of events and formant frequency (cf. Recasens & Espinosa 2005) are some of the important factors to take into account when studying this consonant and its co-articulatory effects on phonetic environment. Up until now none of these have been mentioned in Afrikaans phonetic literature. In the present article I superficially touch on some of them. Obviously these facets deserve fundamental attention. I utilised three different types of recording tasks, namely firstly the reading of carrier phrases containing a focus form with the structure /sVs/ (eg. among others, saas and sas); secondly, the naming of the letters of the alphabet (with an interest in a, h, k; all pronounced with a long [a]), and thirdly, the reading of a variety of isolated words and phrases, mostly containing words relevant to this study. In some cases C was prompted to orally complete a task, for example, a noun like val was to be read, but its diminutive (valletjie) and plural forms (valle) were to be completed without visual stimulus. Syllable structure was controlled systematically. In the case of val, /a/ appears in a closed syllable, but in valletjie and valle the syllables are open. These tasks had to be carried out twice. Recordings were done with high quality equipment, in use by RSG. Processing and acoustic analyses of the recordings were performed by means of standard procedures. As is conventional in studies of this nature, acoustic characteristics of the production of long /a/ and short /Q/ were investigated via vowel formant frequencies, F1 as well as F2. F1, the first formant, corresponds to vowel openness (vowel height). An open vowel, such as /a/, has high F1 frequencies, while close vowels, like /i/, have low F1 frequencies. The second formant, F2, corresponds to the front positions of a vowel. Back vowels, which are normally at the same time also rounded, have low F2 frequencies, in contrast to front vowels, which have high F2 frequencies. Generally the results clearly confirm the audible perception that C is a strong rounder of the long /a/. There is a very positive correlation between C's acoustic measurements and that previously found for another young female individual (Wissing 2006) as well as that of twenty others of about the same age (Wissing 2013). This finding strongly suggests a restriction on the number of participants as well as the range of required stimuli in instances of experiments of this kind, especially in the case of pilot studies. The role of syllable structure was found to be of limited importance. The short /a / was rounded to a significant degree when followed by /l/ in open as well as closed syllables, but to a small degree as in the case of open syllables. Of special importance is the finding that F1 also plays a significant role in the expression of degree of roundedness of the /a/ vowel, albeit not quite to the same extent as is the case with F2, generally considered to be the sole carrier of roundedness. The fact that the rounded [n] is frequently misinterpreted (as the rounded vowel [o] (in kom "come")), from a perceptual angle supports the current results of the analysis of the rounded [n] in Afrikaans. Of course, [o] is characterised inter alia by a higher F1 than that of the unrounded [a]. In many languages the existence of dark /l/ ([f]) is well-known (cf. Hamann 2003; also Lin, Beddor & Coetzee 2014 and references cited by them). With regard to Afrikaans, a co-articulatory effect of this lateral was found to be clearly manifested in the present study on the rounding to [a] of the short /a/, but also of the long /a/. In a broader linguistic perspective the present findings should be of distinctive importance to those interested in language change in general, and more specifically in sound variation.

UROLOGY & NEPHROLOGY, Erectile Dysfunction, Therapeutics, and Lithotripsy

The primary goal in the management strategy of a patient with ED would be to determine its etiology and cure it when possible, and not just to treat the symptoms alone. One of the new therapeutic strategies is the use of low intensity extracorporeal shockwave (LISW) therapy. The mechanism of shockwave therapy is not completely clear. It is suggested that LISW induces neovascularization and improvement of cavernosal arterial flow which can lead to an improvement of erectile function by releasing NO, VEGF and PCNA. Materials and Methods: 31 patients between February and June 2013 with mild to severe ED and non-Phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitors responders were enrolled. Patients underwent four weekly treatment sessions. During each session 3600 shocks at 0.09mJ/ mm2 were given, 900 shocks at each anatomical area (right and left corpus cavernosum, right and left crus). Improvement of the erectile function was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-EF), the Sexual Encounter Profile (SEP) diaries (SEP-Questions 2 and 3) and Global Assessment Questions (GAQ-Q1 and GAQ-Q2). Results: At 3-month follow-up IIEF-EF scores improved from 16.54±6.35 at baseline to 21.03±6.38. Patients answering ‘yes’ to the SEP-Q2 elevated from 61% to 89% and from 32% to 62% in the SEP-Q3. A statistically significant improvement was reported to the Global Assessment Questions (GAQ-Q1 and GAQ-Q2). Conclusion: In conclusion, we can affirm that LISW is a confirmed therapeutic approach to erectile dysfunction that definitely needs more long-term trials to be clarified and further verified.

Science, Accuracy, Evidence based medicine, Bayesian analysis, Medical specialties, Decision, Ciencia, Exactitud, Medicina basada en la evidencia, Análisis bayesiano, Especialidades clínicas, and Decisión

¿Tendrán las especialidades clínicas un estatuto epistemológico de ciencia en el futuro? Sí, lo tendrán mediante una transformación de tipo continuo. El concepto clínico de exactitud es muy posible que sea diferente gracias a las aportaciones lógico-formales de las matemáticas, al desarrollo de la física cuántica y a las aplicaciones de la teoría de la relatividad. La medicina basada en la evidencia está ayudando al tránsito hacia la "exactitud científica" de las especialidades clínicas sobre todo en el campo de la teoría de la decisión.
Will be medical specialties like sciences in the future? Yes, progressively they will. Accuracy in clinical specialties will be dissimilar in the future because formal-logic mathematics, quantum physics advances and relativity theory utilities. Evidence based medicine is now helping to clinical specialties on scientific accuracy by the way of decision theory.