O artigo compartilha a experiencia de uma creche da Rede Municipal de Sao Paulo que vem construindo praticas que viabilizem a participacao das criancas pequenas no processo de autoavaliacao institucional. Defende, a luz das contribuicoes de Paulo Freire, as criancas como sujeitos de direitos, dentre eles o direito a palavra e a participacao, bem como as instituicoes de educacao infantil como espacos propicios para se viver experiencias democraticas. Reconhece que as criancas leem e dizem o mundo de um modo muito singular, o que exigiu da equipe docente da creche descentrar-se da cultura adultocentrica para que, desde uma perspectiva dialogica, considerasse as vozes das criancas na elaboracao de propostas que visam a melhoria da qualidade do atendimento na instituicao. Conclui que a participacao politica das criancas deve ser uma constante na construcao da qualidade social da educacao infantil.

There are only a few reported cases of abdominal ectopic pregnancy and consequential foetal mummification in dogs. The majority of the described cases indicate that this condition may exist for a prolonged period of time without any manifestation of illness. Therefore, sudden signs of abdominal distension, abdominal pain, episodes of epileptiform seizures, dark diarrhoea and lethargy, as were observed in the present case, are not likely to be considered as symptoms of an abdominal ectopic pregnancy. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of an eight-year long abdominal pregnancy in an ovariohysterectomised bitch. We present the clinical, laboratory, radiological and intraoperative findings, and the medical and surgical therapy for an abdominal ectopic pregnancy in a 14 year old Miniature Pinscher bitch, ovariohysterectomised eight years previously.

Abstract Objective of the study is to research the epidemiological aspects of maternal alloimmunization against erythrocyte antigens of fetuses (AB0, Rhesus, Lewis, Kell, Duffy and others) and to identify the most common types of hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) in the West Herzegovina region. Study Design The 20-year retrospective epidemiological study includes all pregnant women who had been immunologically tested and newborn treated for HDN. Results The indirect antiglobulin (IAT) detected antibodies against antigens in 545 (1.8%) pregnant women of the 29 663 who were tested at the Department of Transfusion Medicine. During the 20-year-long study 310 (1.0%) newborn with HDN were treated. Our results indicate that 42% (230/545) of the pregnant women had AB0 immunization. The most common form of HDN is AB0 HDN 64% (199/310), whereas RhD HDN was treated in 19% (59/310) of the newborn infants. ETR was performed on 29 (19%) infants, 21 (72.4%) with AB0 HDN, and 7 (26%) with RhD HDN. Conclusion This 20-year-long study concludes that, even though there has been significant progress in the prevention of immunization and proactive treatment of HDN, precautionary measures are still required as is the need for gynecologists and obstetricians to be active. The reasons for this are the non-existence of preventive measures for non-RhD immunization, the irregular immunological screening of RhD positive women in pregnancy in the region encompassed by the study in the past few years. The above raises new questions and recommends further research and monitoring of immunization and HDN treatment worldwide.

Studies of materials used for works of art and cultural monuments throughout the history contribute to the comprehensive understanding of particular cultures, their technological achievements and customs over time. Investigations of the authenticity of objects and the interventions they may have endured over time keep an important role for their successful restoration and preservation. A three-layer sample of the colored wall decoration from Ottoman Ćejvan Ćehaja mosque from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina was investigated by FTIR spectroscopy. The plaster was identified as gypsum-lime binder. Inorganic pigments were found in two layers, reddish-brown mixture of Fe2O3 and MnO2 and green pigment recognized as viridian, Cr2O3 ∙ 2H2O. The upper layer of "golden color" is found to be a physically compact piece of gold foil or leaf whose fixation method meets both the Ottoman and "west" mode of binding. The mode of adhesion by animal glue could be the result of decoration immanent to Islamic culture, but also to reconstruction from the late 19th century during the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia.

High-frequency firing activity can be induced either naturally in a healthy brain as a result of the processing of sensory stimuli or as an uncontrolled synchronous activity characterizing epileptic seizures. As part of this work, we investigate how logic circuits that are engineered in neurons can be used to design spike filters, attenuating high-frequency activity in a neuronal network that can be used to minimize the effects of neurodegenerative disorders such as epilepsy. We propose a reconfigurable filter design built from small neuronal networks that behave as digital logic circuits. We developed a mathematical framework to obtain a transfer function derived from a linearization process of the Hodgkin-Huxley model. Our results suggest that individual gates working as the output of the logic circuits can be used as a reconfigurable filtering technique. Also, as part of the analysis, the analytical model showed similar levels of attenuation in the frequency domain when compared to computational simulations by fine-tuning the synaptic weight. The proposed approach can potentially lead to precise and tunable treatments for neurological conditions that are inspired by communication theory.

Abstract Background Non-medical use (NMU) of prescription opioids is of concern due to the opioid epidemic in the United States. Objective: We examined sex differences in the effect of age of first use of prescription opioids on prescription opioid NMU among 17- and 18-year olds. Methods: The National Monitoring of Adolescent Prescription Stimulants Study (N-MAPSS) recruited youth 10–18 years from 10 United States cities between 2008 and 2011 (n = 11,048). The cross-sectional survey included questions on past 30 day prescription opioid use (10,965 provided responses; 278 age 17 to 18 years who used opioids in past 30 days), with NMU defined as non-oral use and/or use of someone else’s opioids. Nonparametric survival analysis with lifetable estimates was used to examine age at first use. Binomial logistic regression was conducted predicting any NMU, adjusted for covariates. Results: Among 278 youth 17 to 18 years, a significant difference in age of first use between those with MU only and any NMU (p < .0001) was observed. Each one year increase in age resulted in a 33% decrease in the odds of any prescription opioid NMU compared to MU only, after controlling for covariates (Odds Ratio = 0.67, 95% Confidence Interval: 0.47,0.96). Sex differences in age at first use were not observed. Conclusions: Risk of past 30 day prescription opioid NMU decreased by a third for each one year increase in age of first use, after adjustment for other covariates. Use of prescription opioids in young adolescents may need to be limited where possible and researched further.

In this video, we highlight the anatomy involved with microsurgical resection of a giant T11/T12 conus cauda equina schwannoma. Spinal schwannoma remains the third most common intradural spinal tumor. Tumors undergoing gross total resection usually do not recur. To our knowledge, this is the first video case report of giant cauda equina schwannoma resection. A 55-year-old female presented with paraparesis and urinary retention. Lumbar spine MRI revealed a contrast-enhancing intradural extramedullary tumor at the T11/T12 level. Surgery was performed in the prone position with intraoperative neurophysiology monitoring (somatosensory and motor evoked potentials—SSEPs and MEPs). T11/T12 laminectomies were performed. After opening the dura and arachnoid, the tumor was found covered with cauda equina nerve roots. We delineated the inferior pole of the tumor, followed by opening of the capsule and debulking the tumor. Subsequently, the cranial pole was dissected from the corresponding cauda equina nerve roots. Finally, the tumor nerve origin was identified and divided after nerve stimulation confirmed the tumor arose from a sensory nerve root. The tumor was removed; histological analysis revealed a schwannoma (WHO Grade I). Postoperative MRI revealed complete resection. The patient fully recovered her neurological function. This case highlights the importance of careful microsurgical technique and gross total resection of the tumor in the view of favorable postoperative neurological recovery of the patient. Intraoperative use of ultrasound is helpful to delineate preoperatively tumor extension and confirm postoperative tumor resection.

The increasing integration of renewable energy resources into distribution systems promotes microgrids as important and emerging network concept. The coordination control between the photovoltaic (PV) generator and the battery energy storage system (BESS) is required to provide a necessary amount of active power in the system. Method for voltage regulation for a microgrid which consists of a PV generator with the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control and BESS in the stand-alone mode of operation is presented in the paper. MATLAB/Simulink is used to perform all simulation studies. The validity of the proposed methods is clearly verified on the model of a real distribution network, which might be operated as a microgrid. Obtained results demonstrate that the suggested method can be used for effective voltage regulation in microgrid applications, which remains a vibrant field of research.

: A large body of literature has shown that internationally-assisted transitions to democracy tend to be more successful. Yet despite the great international attention and resources dedicated to the Western Balkans, international efforts have not been particularly successful. Democratization is at a standstill or regressing, ethnic reconciliation has either failed or has not reached up to expected levels, and the stalled process of European enlargement has all but diminished any chance of substantial change. Despite high levels of public support for European integration, and the alignment of party programs with the accession criteria, the region’s progress is below expectations. This chapter, therefore, takes stock of the European integration literature with a reference to the Western Balkans in order to show how the European Union is involved in the democratization and reconciliation processes of the region.

The input and output variables in fuzzy systems are linguistic variables. The base of the fuzzy rule represents the central part of a fuzzy controller, and the fuzzy rule represents its basic part, and it has the following form: "if R then P", where R and P represent the fuzzy relation, i.e. the proposition. Complex systems described by fuzzy relations generate a large number of inference rules. Grouping the states into clusters on the basis of which we make conclusions about the value of the output variable is performed by an expert based on his or her experience and knowledge. Ideally, the number of clusters should correspond to the number of attributes by which the value of the output variable is classified, which, in reality is not the case. In the absence of experts, we perform grouping on the basis of some of the criteria. One way of grouping descriptive states into clusters is presented in this paper. It presents a construction of the method of grouping descriptive states of fuzzy models, with the aim of drawing conclusions about the value of the output variable described by a given state. The presented method of grouping descriptive states is based on defined characteristic values associated with fuzzy numbers by which the input variables of the model are evaluated. They represent the basis for defining the characteristic value of the descriptive state of the output variable of a fuzzy model. For the presented method, a mathematical logical argumentation of the application is given, as an algorithm for the application of the constructed method. The application of the algorithm is demonstrated in measuring the economic dimension of the sustainability of tourism development, measured by comparative evaluation indicators.