Universidade Federal De Pernambuco Research Articles

Maitland in chronic lumbar pain of young adults improves pain and functionality

Background: Back pain is an injury to health that accompanies humans since the beginning of time. The pain in the column are recurrent complaints of the physical therapy students of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. Objective: The objective was to verify the effectiveness of the Maitland Method, to reduce pain and to improve the functionality of physical therapy students. Methods: 12 volunteers were analyzed in this study, four were allocated in the Intervention Group (IG) and eight in the Control Group (CG). They were evaluated for anthropometry, flexibility (finger-ground index), functionality (Roland Morris Questionnaire-QRM), pain level (Visual Analogue Scale-EVA), and perception of patient improvement. Results: In the QRM scores, it was observed that the CG showed a significant improvement over the initial evaluation in both the T1 (p= 0.026) and the T2 (p= 0.018) reevaluation. The same was observed in VAS in relation to T1 (p= 0.018) and T2 (p= 0.017). IG remained constant throughout the treatment. Conclusion: We can infer that both the Maitland Method and the exercises are effective for the reduction of pain and improvement of function in individuals with chronic low back pain.

Nutritional status and cardiovascular risk in women with breast cancer

Objective: To evaluate the nutritional status and the cardiovascular risk in women with breast cancer and identify factors associated with excessive body weight. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional, quantitative study was carried out in an oncology outpatient clinic and, gynecology/oncology wards at the Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, from March to August 2019. The data analyzed was related to sociodemographic, gynecologic, clinic, anthropometric and lifestyle factors. Nutritional status was assessed using Body Mass Index, considering excessive body weight when > 25 kg/m2 for adults and > 27 kg/m2 for elderly. Obesity was considered > 30 kg/m2. Cardiovascular risk was defined by waist circumference (≥ 80 cm), neck circumference (≥ 34 cm) and waist-to-height ratio (> 0.5). Results: A total of 46 patients were included, with a mean age of 51.9 years, and the majority in outpatient follow-up. The population was mostly Caucasian women, who were married or in a civil union, who had had at least one pregnancy, were in menopause, and were sedentary. High frequencies of excessive body weight (76.1%) and obesity (43.5%) were observed, and anthropometric parameters revealed an elevated frequency of cardiovascular risk in this population, waist circumference (97.8%), neck circumference (84.8%), and waist-to-height ratio (95.7%). Unemployment (p = 0.020), and waist (p = 0.001) and neck (p = 0.001) circumferences were statistically associated factors to excessive body weight. Conclusions: The anthropometric profile of women with breast cancer indicated excess body weight and elevated cardiovascular risk, which suggests to the need for nutrition intervention and follow-up after the diagnosis.

PgTI, the First Bioactive Protein Isolated from the Cactus Pilosocereus gounellei, is a Trypsin Inhibitor with Antimicrobial Activity

Aims: This work aimed to isolate, characterize and evaluate the antimicrobial activity of a trypsin inhibitor (PgTI) from the stem of Pilosocereus gounellei.
 Place and Duration of Study: Departamento de Bioquímica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco between March 2013 and October 2018. Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro between June and July 2018.
 Methodology: PgTI was isolated from P. gounellei stem extract by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatographies. The inhibitor was characterized by isoelectric focusing, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, tryptic digestion followed by mass spectrometry analysis and for stability towards heating. Antibacterial and antifungal activities were investigated through broth microdilution assays. Viability of the microbial cells was also evaluated by flow cytometry analysis using thiazol orange and propidium iodide.
 Results: PgTI appeared as a single polypeptide band of 37.1 kDa and isoelectric point (pI) 5.88. The inhibition constant (Ki) for bovine trypsin was 14 nM and mass spectrometry analysis of PgTI did not reveal similarities with other plant proteins. Trypsin inhibitor activity was stable at temperatures up to 50ºC. PgTI inhibited growth of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) from 7.5 to150 µg/mL) with bactericidal activity only against Escherichia coli (minimal bactericidal concentration: 75.0 µg/mL). PgTI also inhibited the growth of Candida krusei (MIC of 60 µg/mL). Flow cytometry confirmed that PgTI did not affect the viability of E. coli and C. krusei cells at the MIC.
 Conclusion: This is the first report on a bioactive protein purified from P. gounellei, which provides biotechnological value to this cactus.

Tobacco Use, Attitudes, Knowledge, and Perception About Smoking Cessation Counseling Among Brazilian Dental Students: a Cross-Sectional Study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of tobacco use, exposure to secondhand smoke, and knowledge and perception about smoking cessation counseling among dental students in Brazil. A cross-sectional study was performed at the School of Dentistry, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil. The Global Health Professions Student Survey (GHPSS) research instrument was used. In the second half of 2017, students from the 5th to the 10th semester were recruited to answer the anonymous and self-administered survey in classrooms. The data were tabulated and analyzed, and information about the variables was presented using descriptive statistics. The association between the variables was determined through the Chi-square test and binary logistic regression. Two hundred and twenty-four students answered the survey. More than 40% of the students had tried cigarettes at least once and 8.9% were current smokers. About 28% of the participants reported having been exposed to secondhand smoke in their home and 57.1% in other environments. Most students recognized that they are role models for society and believed they should receive training in smoking cessation counseling. However, only 12.5% of the students reported having received some formal training in this subject. In conclusion, although dental students are aware of the harmful effects of tobacco, there is still a lack of training in smoking prevention and control among these future professionals.

Modos de pensar sobre entropia e espontaneidade de licenciandos em química a partir da teoria dos perfis conceituais

O presente trabalho é parte de uma pesquisa mais ampla de mestrado acadêmico, que tem por objetivo analisar a emergência de zonas do perfil conceitual de entropia e espontaneidade em uma sequência didática aplicada a licenciandos em química. Justificamos a utilização da teoria dos perfis conceituais por sua importância em se considerar diversos modos de pensar conceitos científicos, que possuem valor pragmático em determinados contextos, bem como a necessidade de apresentar essa pluralidade em situações de ensino e de aprendizagem em sala de aula. Este estudo é um recorte com o objetivo específico de analisar a emergência das zonas do perfil conceitual de entropia e espontaneidade a partir das concepções informais e científicas dos estudantes. A pesquisa ocorreu com vinte estudantes matriculados na disciplina Físico-química I do curso de Licenciatura em Química do Campus Acadêmico do Agreste da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco mediante aplicação de um instrumento constituído de uma única e ampla pergunta, elaborada segundo recomendações da literatura: “o que você entende por entropia?”. A análise evidenciou a emergência das três zonas do perfil conceitual de entropia e espontaneidade nas respostas dos estudantes, a saber: zona perceptiva/intuitiva, zona empírica e zona racionalista. Destacamos a ocorrência de respostas majoritariamente associadas a ideia de entropia como grau de desordem de um sistema, em associação direta à questão da espontaneidade dos processos mediante aumento da entropia, que corresponde a zona empírica.

A new species of Characella Sollas, 1886 (Tetractinellida; Demospongiae; Porifera) from deeper waters off the coast of Brazil.

Sponges of the Family Pachastrellidae Carter, 1875 are distributed worldwide and found generally in deep water. Up to date, only four species are known for the Brazilian coast (Muricy 2018): Characella aspera Sollas, 1886, C. capitolii Mothes et al. 2007, C. pachastrelloides (Carter, 1876), and Pachastrella monilifera Schmidt, 1868. In this study, a new species of Characella is described from the mesophotic zone off Bacia Potiguar (Rio Grande do Norte State, Northeastern Brazil). The specimen was preserved in 80% ethanol and deposited in the Porifera Collection of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPEPOR). Taxonomic comparisons were made with data tabulated for all species of Characella available in the World Porifera Database (van Soest et al. 2018).

A new species of Acanthella Schmidt, 1862 (Porifera, Demospongiae, Dictyonellidae) from northeast region, Brazil.

Acanthella Schmidt, 1862 species are characterized by choanosomal skeleton of dendritic tracts cored by interwoven sinuously bent strongyles or strongyloxeas and echinated by straight styles, oxeas or anisoxeas (Van Soest et al. 2002). The genus Acanthella comprises 33 valid species, with six known from the Atlantic Ocean (Van Soest et al. 2018). Previously, the only record for Brazil was A. flagelliformis (Van Soest Stentoft, 1988) (Muricy 2018). Species of the genus include a transition from shrub like 'Axinellas' and herbaceous species similar to the genus Suberites Nardo, 1833 (Schmidt 1862; Vosmaer 1912). Due to its heterogeneous complex of species, Acanthella has been confused with other axinellids. Similarities were seen in genera such as Phakellia (Van Soest et al. 2002), which shares spicule complement and comparable choanosomal skeletons. In the present study, we describe a new species of Acanthella from oceanographic expeditions of the northeast region of Brazil. Two specimens of Acanthella sp. nov. were collected by dredging at Ceará and Pernambuco State, Brazil. All specimens were preserved in 92% ethanol and deposited in the Porifera Collections at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPEPOR). The taxonomic identification was carried out through analysis of spicules morphologies, using Light Microscopy (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), following methods described by Hajdu et al. (2011).

First Report of Neoscytalidium dimidiatum Causing Root Rot in Sweet Potato in Brazil

In January 2018, a large number of tuberous roots of sweet potato were lost in a production field in Jaiba, State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Immediately after harvest, the roots showed dark spots on the surface, extending to the center, causing an internal, brown to black necrosis. Two symptomatic roots (cultivar Canadense) from different parts of the field were subjected to fungus isolation by removal of fragments between symptomatic and healthy tissue, followed by surface sterilization in 70% ethanol and then in sodium hypochlorite (1%) for 1 and 3 min, respectively, rinsing in sterile water, and incubation in PDA plates for 25°C in the dark. A gray to black, fast-growing fungus with abundant arthroconidia in aerial mycelia was isolated from all samples after 4 days of incubation. Hyphal tips were excised and transferred to new PDA plates, and two pure cultures (isolates) were obtained. Based on these characteristics, the fungus was identified as Neoscytalidium. For morphological analysis, culture sporulation was induced as described by Machado et al. (2014). Microscopic examination of the fungal structures identified arthroconidia with one to two septa, released by hyphal fragmentation, 4.2 to 9.5 × 3.2 to 5.3 μm, and a pycnidial synanamorph with hyaline, ellipsoid to nearly fusiform conidia, 7.4 to 12.7 × 4.2 to 6.3 μm. The morphological characteristics were similar to Neoscytalidium dimidiatum (Phillips et al. 2013). To confirm species identification, genomic DNA was extracted, and sequences of the internal transcribed spacer of the rDNA and translation elongation factor 1-α (TEF1-α) were obtained (Machado et al. 2014) and deposited in GenBank (accession nos. MH636327, MH636328, MH349427, and MH349428, respectively). According to a BLAST search, the TEF1-α sequences showed 99% identity with N. dimidiatum (accession no. KF553902). A combined phylogenetic tree obtained by Bayesian inference using MrBayes version 3.1.1 (Ronquist and Huelsenbeck 2003) grouped the isolates within the N. dimidiatum clade, confirming the species identification. One representative isolate (URM 7888) was deposited in the culture collection “Micoteca URM Profa. Maria Auxiliadora Cavalcanti” at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (Recife, Brazil). The pathogenicity test was performed by inoculating asymptomatic roots (cultivar Canadense), previously sterilized on the surface with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite and unwounded or wounded with a sterile scalpel at two equidistant points, with conidia suspension. Arthroconidia suspension (20 μl, 2.4 × 10⁶ conidia/ml) obtained from 7-day-old colonies was pipetted onto the inoculation sites. Sterile distilled water was used for the control instead of inoculum. Five roots were used for each treatment. The inoculated roots were maintained in plastic boxes containing moistened paper towels at approximately 25°C for 15 days. After 7 days, it was possible to observe initial symptoms of internal brown to black rot, which increased in size after 15 days. The fungus was reisolated, and pathogenicity was confirmed. The control and unwounded roots remained asymptomatic. In Brazil, N. dimidiatum has been reported causing collar and root rot in physic nut (Machado et al. 2012), black root rot in cassava (Machado et. al., 2014), and dieback in mango (Marques et al. 2013). To our knowledge, this is the first report of N. dimidiatum causing root rot of sweet potato in Brazil.

Correlação entre anti-desmogleína e lesões mucocutâneas em pacientes com pênfigo vulgar ou foliáceo

Essa é uma pesquisa não-probabilística e transversal. O objetivo deste estudo foi correlacionar a imunodetecção de anti-desmogleína 1 e 3 no soro de pacientes com pênfigo vulgar (PV) ou pênfigo foliáceo (PF) com a presença de lesões mucocutâneas. Pacientes foram selecionados por uma amostra de conveniência baseada na demanda espontânea nas unidades de Dermatologia e Medicina Oral da Universidade Federal do Pernambuco, Recife, Brasil, de fevereiro a novembro de 2012. Vinte e seis indivíduos (18 mulheres, 69,2% e 8 homens, 30,8%) foram avaliados, 20 diagnosticados com PV (73,1%) e 6 com PF (26,9%). O teste ELISA foi usado para determinar a presença de anti-desmogleína 1 e 3 no soro. A presença de anti-desmogleína 1 foi associada a lesões na pele (p=0,038) e a de anti-desmogleína 3 a lesões mucosais (p = 0,041). Nesse estudo, o ELISA se mostrou altamente sensível ao DSG1 e ao DSG3, de acordo com o fenótipo da doença.

Oral paracoccidioidomycosis in a non-endemic region from Brazil: A short case series.

BackgroundAlthough the paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is endemic in Brazil, the occurrence in most states from the North and Northeastern Brazil is very unusual. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinicopathologic features of a case series of oral PCM in a non-endemic region from Brazil (Northeastern region), discussing the clinical and histopathological differential diagnoses of the oral manifestations of the disease.Material and MethodsBetween 2000 and 2017, all cases of oral PCM were retrieved from the Oral Pathology Laboratory, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, located at Northeastern Brazil. Clinical data, such as age, gender, origin, occupation, site, symptoms, time of complaints, clinical presentation, number of lesions, and clinical hypotheses of diagnosis, were collected from the clinical charts. All cases were histologically reviewed in hematoxylin-eosin and Gomori-Grocott staining.ResultsSix cases were identified. All patients were male, with a mean age of 53.8 years (ranging from 40 to 73 years). Four cases appeared as multiple ulcers and two presented single lesions (buccal mucosa and hard palate). Clinically, in five cases, squamous cell carcinoma was considered in the differential diagnosis. The common histopathological features consisted of hyperplastic epithelium, intraepithelial microabscesses, and formation of granulomatous chronic inflammatory reaction in a fibrous connective tissue with severe chronic inflammatory reaction. Yeasts were observed either inside of multinucleated giant cells or extracellularly.ConclusionsAlthough rare in non-endemic regions, oral PCM should be considered in the differential diagnosis of oral chronic ulcers, mainly those multiple. Key words:Oral mucosa, mycology, paracoccidoidomycosis, ulcer.

The implementation of didactic collections and guidebooks in micropaleontology classes at the Geology Department of UFPE, Brazil

The aim of paleontology is the understanding of the life history on Earth, its development and processes along the geologic time. Hence, it involves diversified fields, being the micropaleontology one of them, whose focus lies on taxonomy and appli-cations. The micropaleontology is, sometimes, poorly developed in an institution due to the scarcity of specialists. In order to fill this gap, a didactic collection was prepared to facilitate the divulgation of the micropaleontology in the university. Due to the necessity of increase in the knowledge on microfossils among graduate and undergraduate students, an extension project of mi-crofossils didactic collection was carried out at the Geology Department of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. For each fossil group (i.e. ostracods, foraminifers, calcareous nannofossils, charophytes, radiolarians, diatoms, conodonts, palyno-morphs, fish fragments, echinoid spines, sponge spicules and mollusks) micropaleontological slides were assembled. The origin of the material is varied, with specimens from several Brazilian sedimentary basins and even from other countries. The collections consist in numbered and identified slides, besides the material necessary for their manipulation, such as brushes and spare slides. In each fossil group, the specimens are organized according to the morphology, taxonomy and age. Each slide has instructions for classes inserted in a Guidebook of Micropaleontology thoroughly illustrated, with general characteristics of each fossil group and the respective methodology for sample preparation. The collection is intended to be used in practical classes, workshops and short-courses, with biological, petrographic and stereoscopic microscopes, for observation of the mor-phological structures, identification and solution of problems proposed in the guidebook. Besides the improvement in the pale-ontology teaching, these collections will also contribute to the qualification of the students as future professionals.

Sexual dimorphism and reproductive behavior in the Brazilian scorpionTityus pusillus(Scorpiones, Buthidae)

AbstractWe studied sexual dimorphism (SD) and reproductive behavior in the litter‐dwelling scorpion,Tityus pusillus. SD was determined by measuring seven body structure attributes (prosoma, mesosoma, and metasoma lengths, and pedipalp chelae and metasomal segment V lengths and widths) in 634 individuals (211 males and 423 females) from the Arachnological Collection of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco. Reproductive behavior was observed in 55 couples during nocturnal activity observations conducted in the laboratory. In addition, we evaluated gestation time, hemispermatophore replacement, and sequential courtship. Individuals ofT. pusillusexhibited typical reproductive behavior, with a short courtship time (averaging 10±5 min). Males only accepted new partners at least 48 h after first mating, suggesting that this period may be necessary for hemispermatophore production. Females did not accept new partners for 24–48 h after their first mating. The average gestation period was 85±12 d, ranging 60–100 d. Our results showed a more complex picture of SD than previously described for this species, including features characteristic of both sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and sexual body component dimorphism in scorpions. In general, considering the relatively large size of the prosoma and mesosoma inT. pusillus, it seems reasonable to conclude that female‐biased SSD exists in the species, and that male‐biased sexual body component dimorphism is evident in the metasoma and chelae.

Screening of endophytic fungi stored in a culture collection for taxol production.

In this work, four isolates of endophytic fungi (Alternaria alternata, Colletotrichum gloesporioides, Glomerella cingulata and Nigrospora sphaerica), deposited in the culture collection ‘University Recife Mycologia’ (URM) at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, were characterized for the genes ITS 1 and 4 (region 5.8 S) and evaluated for taxol production.

Dental Students' Perceptions and Performance in Use of Conventional and Virtual Microscopy in Oral Pathology.

Virtual microscopy (VM) is a technology for showing microscope slides using computers and could be considered a progression of classic methodology using optical microscopes. The aim of this study was to analyze the perceptions and performance of dental students in oral pathology regarding the use of conventional microscopy (CM) and VM in relation to teaching and learning. All fourth-semester dental students (N=165) in an oral pathology course at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Brazil in 2016-17 were invited to participate in the study. Students first answered a questionnaire with ten multiple-choice items on VM in comparison with CM and then took an exam divided into two sections: the first contained three virtual slides on the computer; in the second, three glass slides were positioned in an optical microscope. Each slide question, asking students to identify the oral lesion shown, was worth two points. Both conventional and virtual slides were chosen from the main lectures in the oral pathology classes. Of the students, 132 completed the questionnaire (80% response rate), and 77 completed the exam (46.7% response rate). On the questionnaire results, most students perceived that VM was a superior method for teaching and learning compared to CM. Students earned a total of 312 points on the questions with virtual slides and earned 190 points on the questions with conventional slides. In this study, the use of VM in oral pathology teaching was favored by the students over CM and also contributed to these students' learning.

Publicidade, institucionalidade e formação publicitária

As reflexões apontadas neste artigo compreendem a primeira fase da pesquisa interinstitucional com a temática do ensino de criação publicitária e repercutem os trabalhos exercidos na Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing (RS), na Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (PE) e na Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (RS). O objetivo principal nesta etapa foi explorar as práticas de ensino consideradas institucionalizadas, fundamentais para compreensão de determinadas características pedagógicas favoráveis ao senso de “inovação” nas dinâmicas do ensino ligado às matérias de criatividade. Em especial, consideram-se as proposições teóricas de Piaget, Edgar Morin e Vygotsky quanto aos processos de orientação, em que se coloca em perspectiva três dimensões específicas: interação, técnicas e condições de ambiência, igualmente tencionadas pelas projeções de Berger e Luckmann e outros textos dos pesquisadores colaboradores, que farão um estudo longitudinal abarcando todas as regiões do Brasil, com exceção da região Norte.

New records of Biemna Gray, 1867 (Biemnidae: Biemnida: Demospongiae) and a replacement name for the species Biemna microstyla Thomas, 1984.

Biemna Gray, 1867 is characterized by stylote or exceptionally oxeote megascleres arranged in a plumoreticulate skeleton, ectosomal skeleton consists of the brushed endings of choanosomal tracts, microscleres are sigmas, microxeas, commata and raphides (Hajdu Van Soest 2002). Currently, Biemna has 55 valid species (Van Soest et al. 2018). In Brazil, three species are known from northern region (Muricy 2018): Biemna microacanthosigma Mothes, Hajdu, Lerner Van Soest, 2004, Biemna spinomicroxea Mothes, Campos, Lerner, Carraro Van Soest, 2005, Biemna trisigmata Mothes Campos, 2004. In this present study, a new name is proposed for a preoccupied combination, Biemna thomasi nom. nov. The species Biemna caribea Pulitzer-Finali, 1986 is recorded and described for the first time in Brazilian waters. Six specimens of Biemna were studied in Pernambuco and Bahia States. All specimens were preserved in 80% ethanol and deposited on the Porifera Collections at the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPEPOR).

Existence of Enlarged Parietal Foramina in Bone Collections

Introduction The enlarged parietal foramen (EPF) is a defect in the ossification of the parietal bone that is well described in the literature using a variety of nomenclatures. Individuals with EPF can present symptoms such as migraines, vomiting and intense pain when light pressure is applied to the skull. However, it can go unnoticed for a lifetime. Materials and Methods At the Human Bone Collection department of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, 2 craniums (CAV 90, 96 years old and CAV 16, 81 years old) and were identified as having EPF, both from females. Results There was no apparent kinship between both craniums. The sagittal length, the coronal width, the sagittal suture distance, the coronal suture distance and the lambdoid suture distance of each enlarged parietal foramen were evaluated, with the following results: sagittal length: 5.5 cm (CAV 90), and 5.0 cm (CAV 16); coronal width: 3.1 cm (CAV 90),and 3.4 cm (CAV 16); sagittal suture distance: 2.9 cm (CAV 90), and 2.3 cm (CAV 16); coronal suture distance: 1.8 cm (CAV 90), and 4.6 cm (CAV 16); and lambdoid suture distance: 5.0 cm (CAV 90), and 3.0 cm (CAV 16). The parietal foramen of both craniums exhibited equivalent measurements. Conclusion Due to the low incidence of EPF, the identification of the 2 craniums with this condition in a collection of 105 skeletons makes the discovery relevant. In reference to craniums exhibiting EPF, this is an important tool for study and forensic research, since its appearance is linked to heredity.

Intraoral Pleomorphic Adenoma in Young Patients.

Intraoral pleomorphic adenoma (PA) is rare in young individuals, with only single clinical reports or small patient series reported previously. The aim of this study was to describe the clinicopathological features of PA in 4 patients under 18 years of age, and to discuss the differential diagnosis of pediatric patients presenting with intraoral submucosal nodules. Between 2000 and 2015, all patients of intraoral PA in patients aged ≤18 years diagnosed in the Oral Pathology Laboratory of the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Brazil, were retrieved for the study. Clinical data were recorded from the clinical charts. Histopathological slides stained with hematoxylin and eosin were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis. There were 4 cases of PA in patients aged ≤18 years. All patients in this patient series were males, with a mean age of 16.7 years. Three cases occurred in the palate, and in 1 case, the upper lip was affected. All PAs appeared as a painless, smooth surface, well-circumscribed, and submucosal nodule. All patients were surgically excised and subsequent histopathological analysis revealed well-circumscribed tumors composed of cells that were arranged in ducts within a fibromyxoid stroma. No signs of recurrence were observed in 3 patients after a mean follow-up of 30 months. One patient is lost to follow-up. Although PAs are unusual in young patients, they should be considered in the differential diagnosis of oral submucosal nodules.

Luis Alejandro Yáñez‐Arancibia 1944–2016

Luis Alejandro Yáñez‐Arancibia 1944–2016

Avaliação apreciativa do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Nutrição da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco

Contrastando com a visão tradicional existente nos processos de avaliação institucional vigente na educação superior, trabalhou-se com a Investigação Apreciativa (IA). Assim, buscou-se realizar uma avaliação do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Nutrição da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (PPGN/UFPE), à luz da perspectiva apreciativa. O referencial utilizado distancia-se do modo de avaliação de ordem estrutural, regulatória e competitiva, ao optar pela análise dos pontos fortes do PPGN/UFPE. Foi elaborado um estudo de caso, com ênfase na pesquisa colaborativa, que teve fins descritivos e exploratórios, articulado ao modelo de 5-D (em inglês/português: 1-D Definition/Definição, 2-D Discovery/Descoberta, 3-D Dream/Sonho, 4-D Design/Planejamento e 5-D Destiny/Destino). A coleta e a análise dos dados concentrou-se nos dois primeiros Ds, a partir de múltiplas fontes de evidência. Os resultados indicam que a nucleação e a inserção social explicam a lógica do bom funcionamento do PPGN/UFPE, expressos nas experiências acumuladas, nas grandes realizações e nas tradições vitais desenvolvidas pelo conhecimento agregado de seus integrantes, responsáveis pela excelência alcançada em seu desempenho institucional.