Reliability of simulated combat tasks performed by Brazilian Air Force cadets.

The Brazilian Air Force (BAF) has developed physical evaluations focused on the demands required in combat scenarios, giving rise to the Simulated Tasks (STs). Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine test-retest reliability and investigate learning effects of the five STs established among the BAF. Fifty-six subjects performed five STs three times, after completing a previous familiarisation session. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the occurrence of learning effects, and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to identify the reliability of each ST. ANOVA revealed no significant differences in the subject's scores across trials for all the STs, and the ICCs ranged from 0.75 to 0.92 (p < 0.01). In conclusion, this study identified that the five STs showed no learning effects across three successive trials and exhibited high levels of reliability.

Understanding the reliability and learning effects of the STs established among the Brazilian Air Force is crucial for their potential implementation. The subjects performed five STs three times, over the course of seven days. The results highlighted no evidence of learning effects, and high levels of reliability.

Development of bovine embryos derived from reproductive techniques.

Assisted reproduction techniques have improved agricultural breeding in the bovine. However, important development steps may differ from the situation in vivo and there is a high mortality rate during the first trimester of gestation. To better understand these events, we investigated the development of embryos and fetal membranes following fixed-time AI (FTAI), IVF and nuclear transfer (NT). The onset of yolk-sac development was not normal in cloned embryos. Later steps differed from conditions in vivo in all three groups; the yolk-sac was yellowish and juxtaposed with the amniotic membrane. Vascularisation of the chorioallantoic membrane was relatively late and low in NT gestations, but normal in the others. The overall development of the embryos was normal, as indicated by morphology and regression analysis of growth rate. However, NT conceptuses were significantly smaller, with the livers in some embryos occupying the abdominal cavity and others exhibiting heart abnormalities. In conclusion, the yolk-sac and the cardiovascular system seem to be vulnerable to morphogenetic alterations. Future studies will focus on gene expression and early vascularisation processes to investigate whether these changes may be responsible for the high incidence of intrauterine mortality, especially in clones.

Effects of topical estradiol on the facial skin collagen of postmenopausal women under oral hormone therapy: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the dermal collagen of 15 postmenopausal women who had being treated with systemic estrogen replacement before and after using topical a 0.01% estrogen treatment. METHODS: Fifteen patients were included in this clinical trial using the systemic estrogen therapy for at least 1 year (minimum and maximum lengths of therapy were 13 and 40 months, respectively). A facial punch was performed in the preauricular area for collecting samples before and after the 16 weeks of treatment. Blood samples were also collected for estradiol level determination. The morphometric determination of epithelial and dermal thickness as well as dermal collagen were measured using a suitable software. The paired Student's t-test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: The epithelial and dermal thickness enhanced after the topic estrogen therapy (P<0.01). The amount of collagen significantly increased after 16 weeks of treatment (P<0.001). The estrogen levels did not significant increase after the topical therapy (P > or = 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our data suggested that topical estrogen associated to systemic estrogen therapy seems to increase the expression of skin collagen amount, which may prove to be beneficial for the postmenopausal facial skin.