The Environmental Management System of ISO 14001 stands out as one of the most widely used systems for managing corporate environmental aspects and processes and the Cleaner Production is a proactive ...environmental strategy that has remarkably positive results in environmental corporate management. The principal aim of this article was to identify and analyze the influence relations of the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System to the Cleaner Production through a survey-based research. The maturity and the phases of planning and discipline are key factors for the systematization and continuity of Cleaner Production practices. The stages of Planning, Evaluation and Feasibility Study, and Implementation were identified as the main stages of CP fostered by the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System.
•We analyzed the relations of the ISO 14001 EMS to the CP in industrial companies.•The main influence relations were identified and discussed.•Four hypotheses of relations were tested.•Two main CP stages are fostering by the ISO 14001 EMS.•These results should be considered in many industrial sectors worldwide.
The literature has reported the association between lead and auditory effects, based on clinical and experimental studies. However, there is no consensus regarding the effects of lead in the auditory ...system, or its correlation with the concentration of the metal in the blood.
To investigate the maturation state of the auditory system, specifically the auditory nerve and brainstem, in rats exposed to lead acetate and supplemented with ferrous sulfate.
30 weanling male rats (Rattus norvegicus, Wistar) were distributed into six groups of five animals each and exposed to one of two concentrations of lead acetate (100 or 400mg/L) and supplemented with ferrous sulfate (20mg/kg). The maturation state of the auditory nerve and brainstem was analyzed using Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential before and after lead exposure. The concentration of lead in blood and brainstem was analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry.
We verified that the concentration of Pb in blood and in brainstem presented a high correlation (r=0.951; p<0.0001). Both concentrations of lead acetate affected the maturation state of the auditory system, being the maturation slower in the regions corresponding to portion of the auditory nerve (wave I) and cochlear nuclei (wave II). The ferrous sulfate supplementation reduced significantly the concentration of lead in blood and brainstem for the group exposed to the lowest concentration of lead (100mg/L), but not for the group exposed to the higher concentration (400mg/L).
This study indicate that the lead acetate can have deleterious effects on the maturation of the auditory nerve and brainstem (cochlear nucleus region), as detected by the Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potentials, and the ferrous sulphate can partially amend this effect.
A literatura relatou a associação entre o chumbo e os efeitos auditivos, com base em estudos clínicos e experimentais. No entanto, não há consenso em relação aos efeitos do chumbo no sistema auditivo, ou sua correlação com a concentração do metal no sangue.
Investigar o estado de maturação do sistema auditivo, especificamente do nervo auditivo e do tronco encefálico, em ratos expostos ao acetato de chumbo e suplementados com sulfato ferroso.
30 ratos machos desmamados (Rattus norvegicus, Wistar) foram distribuídos em seis grupos de cinco animais e expostos a uma de duas concentrações de acetato de chumbo (100 ou 400mg/L) e suplementados com sulfato ferroso (20mg/kg). O estado de maturação do nervo auditivo e do tronco encefálico foi analisado pelo Potencial Evocado Auditivo do Tronco Encefálico antes e após a exposição ao chumbo. A concentração de chumbo no sangue e tronco encefálico foi analisada utilizando-se Espectrometria de Massa com Plasma Indutivamente Acoplado.
Verificamos que as concentrações de Pb no sangue e no tronco encefálico apresentaram alta correlação (r=0.951, p<0.0001). Ambas as concentrações de acetato de chumbo afetaram o estado de maturação do sistema auditivo, sendo a maturação mais lenta nas regiões correspondentes à porção do nervo auditivo (onda I) e núcleos cocleares (onda II). A suplementação com sulfato ferroso reduziu significativamente a concentração de chumbo no sangue e tronco cerebral no grupo exposto à menor concentração de chumbo (100mg/L), mas não para o grupo exposto à maior concentração (400mg/L).
Esse estudo indica que o acetato de chumbo pode ter efeitos deletérios na maturação do nervo auditivo e do tronco encefálico (região do núcleo coclear), como detectado pelos potenciais evocados auditivos do tronco encefálico, e que o sulfato ferroso pode diminuir parcialmente esse efeito.
Neuropathic pain (NP) is a well-recognized feature of leprosy neuropathy. However, the diagnosis of NP is difficult using only clinical criteria. In the study reported here, by means of conventional ...nerve conduction studies, the authors sought for an association between long-latency responses and NP complaints in leprosy patients with type 1 and 2 reactions. Of the 27 ulnar nerves of leprosy patients, 18 with type 1 reaction (T1R) and 9 with type 2 reaction (T2R) were followed-up for 6 months before and after steroid treatment. Clinical characteristics of pain complaints and clinical function were assessed, as well as the presence of F- and A-waves of the ulnar nerve using nerve conduction studies. The clinical and the neurophysiologic findings were compared to note positive concordances (presence of NP and A-waves together) and negative concordances (absence of NP and A-waves together) before and after treatment. Both reactions presented a high frequency of A-waves (61.1% in T1R and 66.7% in T2R, P < 0.05) and prolonged F-waves (69.4% in T1R and 65.8% in T2R, P = 0.4). No concordances were seen between pain complaints and F-waves. However, significant concordances between NP and A-waves were observed, although restricted to the T2R group (χ(2) = 5.65, P = 0.04). After treatment, there was a significant reduction in pain complaints, as well as the presence of F- and A-waves in both groups (P < 0.05 for all comparisons). In conclusion, the presence of A-waves correlates well with pain complaints of neuropathic characteristics in leprosy patients, especially in those with type 2 reaction. Probably, such response shares similar mechanisms with the small-fiber dysfunction seen in these patients with NP, such as demyelination, intraneural edema, and axonal sprouting. Further studies using specific tools for small-fiber assessment are warranted to confirm our findings.
Objective
To develop tools for predicting velopharyngeal competence (VPC) based on auditory-perceptual assessment and its correlation with objective measures of velopharyngeal orifice area.
Design
...Methodological study.
Participants and Methods
Sixty-two patients with repaired cleft palate, aged 6 to 45 years, underwent aerodynamic evaluation by means of the pressure-flow technique and audiovisual recording of speech samples. Three experienced speech-language pathologists analysed the speech samples by rating the following resonance, visual, and speech variables: hypernasality, audible nasal air emission, nasal turbulence, weak pressure consonants, facial grimacing, active nonoral errors, and overall velopharyngeal competence. The correlation between the perceptual speech variables and velopharyngeal orifice area estimates was analysed with Spearman's correlation coefficient. Two statistical models (discriminant and exploratory) were used to predict VPC based on the orifice area estimates. Sensitivity and specificity analyses were performed to verify the clinical applicability of the models.
Results
There was a strong correlation between VPC (based on the orifice area estimates) and each speech variable. Both models showed 88.7% accuracy in predicting VPC. The sensitivity and specificity for the discriminant model were 92.3% and 97.2%, respectively, and 96.2% and 94.4% for the exploratory model.
Conclusion
Two predictor models based on ratings of resonance, visual, and speech variables and a simple calculation of a composite variable, SOMA (Eng. “sum”), were developed and found to be efficient in predicting VPC defined by orifice estimates categories based on aerodynamic measurements. Both tools may contribute to the diagnosis of velopharyngeal dysfunction in clinical practice.
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