Search results for: María Fernanda Barreto

Authors: Maria C. Proença, Maria T. Rebelo, Marília Antunes, Maria J. Alves, Hugo Osório, Sofia Cunha, João Casaca

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Using a geographic information system (GIS), the relations between a georeferenced data set of Culex pipiens sl. mosquitoes collected in Portugal mainland during seven years (2006-2012) and meteorological and physiographic parameters such as: air relative humidity, air temperature (minima, maxima and mean daily temperatures), daily total rainfall, altitude, land use/land cover and proximity to water bodies are evaluated. Focus is on the mosquito females; the characterization of its habitat is the key for the planning of chirurgical non-aggressive prophylactic countermeasures to avoid ambient degradation. The GIS allow for the spatial determination of the zones were the mosquito mean captures has been above average; using the meteorological values at these coordinates, the limits of each parameter are identified/computed. The meteorological parameters measured at the net of weather stations all over the country are averaged by month and interpolated to produce raster maps that can be segmented according to the thresholds obtained for each parameter. The intersection of the maps obtained for each month show the evolution of the area favorable to the species through the mosquito season, which is from May to October at these latitudes. In parallel, mean and above average captures were related to the physiographic parameters. Three levels of risk could be identified for each parameter, using above average captures as an index. The results were applied to the suitability meteorological maps of each month. The Culex pipiens critical niche is delimited, reflecting the critical areas and the level of risk for transmission of the pathogens to which they are competent vectors (West Nile virus, iridoviruses, rheoviruses and parvoviruses).

Keywords: Culex pipiens, ecological niche, risk assessment, risk management

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Authors: Robson C. Santos, Christian N. Barreto, Gerson G. Cunha, Severino J. C. Neto

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This paper aims to project the construction of a prototype azimuthal thruster, mounted with materials of low cost and easy access, testing in a controlled environment to measure their performance, characteristics and feasibility of future projects. The construction of the simulation of dynamic positioning software, responsible for simulating a vessel and reposition it when necessary . Tests for partial and full validation of the model were conducted, operates independently of the control system and executes the commands and commands of the helix of rotation azimuth. The system provides an interface to the user and simulates the conditions unfavorable positioning of a vessel, accurately calculates the azimuth angle, the direction of rotation of the helix and the time that this should be turned on so that the vessel back to position original. There is a serial communication that connects the Simulation Dynamic Positioning System with Embedded System causing the user-generated data to simulate the DP system arrives in the form of control signals to the motors of the propellant. This article addresses issues in the marine industry employees.

Keywords: azimuthal thruster, dynamic positioning, embedded system, simulator dynamic positioning

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Authors: Flavio Campos, Patricia Masmo, Fernanda Yamamoto

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The report presents a research about teaching professional competencies through projects, considering the student as an active learner and curriculum development. Considering project based-learning, the report articulate the result of research about curriculum development for professional competencies and teaching-learning strategies to help the development of professional competencies in learning environments in the courses of National Learning Service in São Paulo, Brazil. There so, intend to demonstrate fundamentals to elaborate curriculum to learning environment, specific about teaching methodologies to enrich student-learning process, using projects. The practice that has been taking place since 2013 indicates the needs of rethinking knowledge and practice in courses that prepared students to labor.

Keywords: curriculum design, active learning, professional competencies, project based-learning

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Authors: Sánchez Acuña, Juan Camilo, Granados Gómez, Mildred Magaly, Navarrete Rodríguez, Luisa Fernanda

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Nowadays, the main biofuels source production as bioethanol is food crops. This means a high competition between foods and energy production. For this reason, it is necessary to take into account the use of new raw materials friendly to the environment. The main objective of this paper is to evaluate the potential of the agro-industrial banana crop residues in the production of bioethanol. A factorial design of 2⁴ was used, the design has variables such as pH, time and concentration of hydrolysis, another variable is the time of fermentation that is of 7 or 15 days. In the hydrolysis phase, the pH is acidic (H₂SO₄) or basic (NaOH), the time is 30 or 15 minutes and the concentration is 0.1 or 0.5 M. It was observed that basic media, low concentrations, fermentation, and higher pretreatment times produced better performance in terms of biofuel obtained.

Keywords: bioethanol, biofuels, banana waste, hydrolysis

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Authors: Jorge Iván Bañol-Betancur, Lina María Martínez-Sánchez, María de los Ángeles Rodríguez-Gázquez, Estefanía Bahamonde-Olaya, Ana María Gutiérrez-Tamayo, Laura Isabel Jaramillo-Jaramillo, Camilo Ruiz-Mejía, Natalia Morales-Quintero

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Acute chest pain is a distressing sensation between the diaphragm and the base of the neck and it represents a diagnostic challenge for any physician in the emergency department. Objective: To establish the main clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients who present with chest pain to the emergency department in a private clinic from the city of Medellin, during 2014-2015. Methods: Cross-sectional retrospective observational study. Population and sample were patients who consulted for chest pain in the emergency department who met the eligibility criteria. The information was analyzed in SPSS program vr.21; qualitative variables were described through relative frequencies, and the quantitative through mean and standard deviation ‬or medians according to their distribution in the study population. Results: A total of 231 patients were evaluated, the mean age was 49.5 ± 19.9 years, 56.7% were females. The most frequent pathological antecedents were hypertension 35.5%, diabetes 10,8%, dyslipidemia 10.4% and coronary disease 5.2%. Regarding pain features, in 40.3% of the patients the pain began abruptly, in 38.2% it had a precordial location, for 20% of the cases physical activity acted as a trigger, and 60.6% was oppressive. Costochondritis was the most common cause of chest pain among patients with an established etiologic diagnosis, representing the 18.2%. Conclusions: Although the clinical features of pain reported coincide with the clinical presentation of an acute coronary syndrome, the most common cause of chest pain in study population was costochondritis instead, indicating that it is a differential diagnostic in the approach of patients with pain acute chest.

Keywords: acute coronary syndrome, chest pain, epidemiology, osteochondritis

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Authors: Camilo Andres Agudelo-Velez, Lina María Martinez-Sanchez, Natalia Perilla-Hernandez, Maria De Los Angeles Rodriguez-Gazquez, Felipe Hernandez-Restrepo, Dayana Andrea Quintero-Moreno, Camilo Ruiz-Mejia, Isabel Cristina Ortiz-Trujillo, Monica Maria Zuluaga-Quintero

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is common condition, characterized by a persistent blockage of airflow, partially reversible and progressive, that represents 5% of total deaths around the world, and it is expected to become the third leading cause of death by 2030. Objective: To establish the clinical and epidemiological profile of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a medical institution from the city of Medellin, Colombia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed, with a sample of 50 patients with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a private institution in Medellin, during 2015. The software SPSS vr. 20 was used for the statistical analysis. For the quantitative variables, averages, standard deviations, and maximun and minimun values were calculated, while for ordinal and nominal qualitative variables, proportions were estimated. Results: The average age was 73.5±9.3 years, 52% of the patients were women, 50% of them had retired, 46% ere married and 80% lived in the city of Medellín. The mean time of diagnosis was 7.8±1.3 years and 100% of the patients were treated at the internal medicine service. The most common clinical features were: 36% were classified as class D for the disease, 34% had a FEV1 <30%, 88% had a history of smoking and 52% had oxygen therapy at home. Conclusion: It was found that class D was the most common, and the majority of the patients had a history of smoking, indicating the need to strengthen promotion and prevention strategies in this regard.

Keywords: pulmonary disease, chronic obstructive, pulmonary medicine, oxygen inhalation therapy

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Authors: Cheila Cristina Leonardo Oliveira Gaioli, Fernanda Ludmilla Rossi Rocha, Sandra Cristina Pillon

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Resilience is a psychological process that facilitates the maintenance of health, developed in response to numerous existing stressors in daily life. Furthermore, resilience can be described as the ability which allows an individual or group to hold up well before unfavorable situations. This study aimed to identify nursing workers’ resilience at a psychiatric hospital in Brazil. This is an exploratory research with quantitative data approach. The sample consisted of 56 workers, using the Resilience Scale. Of the 56 subjects, 45 (80.4%) were women; 22 (39.2%) were 20- to 40-years-old and 30 (53.6%) were 41- to 60-years-old; 11 (19.6%) were nurses and 45 (80.4%) were technicians or nursing assistants. The results also showed that 50% of subjects showed a high resilience degree and 42.9% an average resilience degree. Thus, it was found that workers seek to develop protective factors in coping with a work environment that does not value the individual subjectivity and does not allow professional development, discouraging workers.

Keywords: health promotion, nursing, occupational health, resilience

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Authors: Marina Sousa, Célia Barreto Carvalho, Carolina da Motta, Joana Cabral, Vera Pereira, Suzana Nunes Caldeira, Ermelindo Peixoto

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Paranoid ideation is a common thought process that constitutes a defense against perceived social threats. The current study aimed at the characterization of paranoid ideation in youths and to explore the possible predictors involved in the development of paranoid ideations. Paranoid ideation, shame, submission, early childhood memories and current depressive, anxious and stress symptomatology was assessed in a sample of 1516 Portuguese youths. Higher frequencies of paranoid ideation were observed, particularly in females and youths from lower socio-economic status. The main predictors identified relates to submissive behaviors and adverse childhood experiences, and especially to shame feelings. The current study emphasizes that the these predictors are similar to findings in adults and clinical populations, and future implications to research and clinical practice aiming at paranoid ideations are discussed, as well as the pertinence of the study of mediating factors that allow a wider understanding of this thought process in younger populations and the prevention of psychopathology in adulthood.

Keywords: adolescence, early memories, paranoid ideation, parenting styles, shame, submissiveness

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Authors: Maria C. Proença, Maria T. Rebelo, Maria J. Alves, Sofia Cunha

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Vector-borne diseases are transmitted to humans by mosquitos, sandflies, bugs, ticks, and other vectors. Some are re-transmitted between vectors, if the infected human has a new contact when his levels of infection are high. The vector is infected for lifetime and can transmit infectious diseases not only between humans but also from animals to humans. Some vector borne diseases are very disabling and globally account for more than one million deaths worldwide. The mosquitoes from the complex Culex pipiens sl. are the most abundant in Portugal, and we dispose in this moment of a data set from the surveillance program that has been carried on since 2006 across the country. All mosquitos’ species are included, but the large coverage of Culex pipiens sl. and its importance for public health make this vector an interesting candidate to assess risk of disease amplification. This work focus on ports and airports identified as key areas of high density of vectors. Mosquitoes being ectothermic organisms, the main factor for vector survival and pathogen development is temperature. Minima and maxima local air temperatures for each area of interest are averaged by month from data gathered on a daily basis at the national network of meteorological stations, and interpolated in a geographic information system (GIS). The range of temperatures ideal for several pathogens are known and this work shows how to use it with the meteorological data in each port and airport facility, to focus an efficient implementation of countermeasures and reduce simultaneously risk transmission and mitigation costs. The results show an increased alert with decreasing latitude, which corresponds to higher minimum and maximum temperatures and a lower amplitude range of the daily temperature.

Keywords: human health, risk assessment, risk management, vector-borne diseases

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Authors: Lina María Martínez Sánchez, Juliana Molina Valencia, Esteban Vallejo Agudelo, Daniel Gallego González, María Isabel Pérez Palacio, Juan Ricardo Gaviria García, María De Los Ángeles Rodríguez Gázquez, Gloria Inés Martínez Domínguez

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Alternative and complementary therapies constitute a vast and complex combination of interventions, philosophies, approaches, and therapies that acquire a holistic healthcare point of view, becoming an alternative for the treatment of patients with chronic pain. Objective: determine the characteristics of the use of alternative and complementary therapies in patients with chronic pain who consulted in a medical institution. Methodology: cross-sectional and descriptive study, with a population of patients that assisted to the outpatient consultation and met the eligibility criteria. Sampling was not conducted. A form was used for the collection of demographic and clinical variables and the Holistic Complementary and Alternative Medicine Questionnaire (HCAMQ) was validated. The analysis and processing of information was carried out using the SPSS program vr.19. Results: 220 people with chronic pain were included. The average age was 54.7±16.2 years, 78.2% were women, and 75.5% belonged to the socioeconomic strata 1 to 3. Musculoskeletal pain (77.7%), migraine (15%) and neuralgia (9.1%) were the most frequently types of chronic pain. 33.6% of participants have used some kind of alternative and complementary therapy; the most frequent were: homeopathy (14.5%), phytotherapy (12.7%), and acupuncture (11.4%). The total average HCAMQ score for the study group was 30.2±7.0 points, which shows a moderate attitude toward the use of complementary and alternative medicine. The highest scores according to the type of pain were: neuralgia (32.4±5.8), musculoskeletal pain (30.5±6.7), fibromyalgia (29.6±7.3) and migraine (28.5±8.8). The reliability of the HCAMQ was acceptable (Cronbach's α: 0.6). Conclusion: it was noted that the types of chronic pain and the clinical or therapeutic management of patients correspond to the data available in current literature. Despite the moderate attitude toward the use of these alternative and complementary therapies, one of every three patients uses them.

Keywords: chronic pain, complementary therapies, homeopathy, acupuncture analgesia

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Authors: Evangelia Kotrotsiou, Mairy Gouva, Theodosios Paralikas, Maria Fiaka, Styliani Kotrotsiou, Maria Malliarou

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The purpose of this research is to investigate the way nurses perceive the care provided in comparison to the way patients perceive it, taking into account existing literature. As far as the sample of research is concerned, it has come from the population of nurses working in the General Hospital of Thessaloniki, St. Paul and the patients of its surgical clinic. In the present study, the sample consists of 100 nurses and 88 patients. The questionnaire used was the Caring Nurse-Patient Interactions Scale: 23-Item Version, created by Cossette et al. (2006). In the case of both patients and nurses, a high score was observed in relational care in the case of the frequency of nursing care in daily practice, as well as the satisfaction of providing nursing care. Overall, patients rated higher clinical care in the case of the frequency of nursing care in daily practice, as well as the satisfaction of the clinical care they were given. On the other hand, nurses rated higher comfort care in the case of the frequency of nursing care in everyday practice, as well as relational care in the area of the importance of nursing care in everyday practice.

Keywords: nursing care, patient needs, patient satisfaction, care giving

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Authors: Al. Harshan, Hazamah Ali Mahdi

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The Big House literature embodies Irish history. It requires a special dimension of moral and social significance in relation to its owners. The Big House is a metaphor for the decline of the protestant Ascendancy that ruled in a catholic country and oppressed a native people. In the tradition of the Big House fiction, Maria Edgeworth's Castle Rackrent and the Absentee explore the effect of the Anglo-Irish protestant Ascendancy as it governed and misgoverned Ireland. Edgeworth illustrates the tradition of the Big House as a symbol of both a personal and historical theme. This paper provides a reading of Castle Rackrent and The Absentee from a post-colonial perspective. The paper maintains that Edgeworth's novel contain elements of a radical critique of the colonialist enterprise. In our postcolonial reading of Maria Edgeworth's novels, one that goes beyond considering works as those of Sir Walter Scoot, regional evidence has been found of Edgeworth's colonial ideology. The significance of Castle Rackrent lies mainly in the fact that is the first English novel to speak in the voice of the colonized Irish. What is more important is that the irony and the comic aspect of the novel comes from its Irish narrator (Thady Quirk) and its Irish setting Ireland. Edgeworth reveals the geographical 'other' to her English reader, by placing her colonized Irish narrator and his son, Jason Quirk, in a position of inferiority to emphasize the gap between Englishness and Irishness. Furthermore, this satirical aspect is a political one. It works to create and protect the superiority of the domestic English reader over the Irish subject. In other words, the implication of the colonial system of the novel and of its structure of dominance and subordination is overlooked by its comic dimension. The matrimonial plot in the Absentee functions as an imperial plot, constructing Ireland as a complementary but ever unequal partner in the family of Great Britain. This imperial marriage works hegemonically to produce the domestic stability considered so crucial to national and colonial stability. Moreover, in order to achieve her proper imperial plot, Edgeworth reconciliation of England and Ireland is seen in the marriage of the Anglo-Irish (hero/Colambre) with the Irish (heroine/Grace Nugent), and the happy bourgeois family; consequently, it becomes the model for colonizer-colonized relationships. Edgeworth must establish modes of legitimate behavior for women and men. The Absentee explains more purposely how familial reorganization is dependent on the restitution of masculine authority and advantage, particularly for Irish community.

Keywords: Maria Edgeworth, post-colonial, reading, Irish

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Authors: Gizem Barreto Martins

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This paper explores the subversive potential inherent in the theatrical language employed within Arthur Miller's The Crucible. The research argues that this play intricately weaves ideological connections with its audience and the historical epoch it represents, effectively serving as a channel for ideological and cultural interaction potentially exerting subversive influences on social and political realms. Using a historical-materialist methodology that situates the play within its historical and political context, all while examining its connections with theater and literary theories, the paper raises a fundamental query: How does this dramatic work embody subversion, presenting a style unburdened by the performative conventions of daily life and prevailing codes and systems of representation? In response to this inquiry, the study asserts that theatrical language has the capacity to function as a subversive catalyst against prevailing ideologies, actively contributing to the process of social transformation. To substantiate this claim, the research conducts a detailed analysis of the selected play, employing the semiotic framework pioneered by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari.

Keywords: arthur miller, The crucible, gilles deleuze, felix guattari, theater and literary theories

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Authors: Hualter Oliveira Barbosa, Raquel Feitosa do Vale Cunha, Erika Muniz dos Santos, Fernanda Belmira Souza, Fabio Sousa, Luis Henrique Pascareli, Franciney de Oliveira Lima, Ana Cláudia Reis da Silva, Christiane Moreira de Almeida

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Software development is intrinsic human-based knowledge-intensive. Due to globalization, software development has become a complex challenge and we usually face barriers related to knowledge management, team building, costly testing processes, especially in distributed settings. For this reason, several approaches have been proposed to minimize barriers caused by geographic distance. In this paper, we present as we use experimental studies to improve our knowledge management process using the Wiki system. According to the results, it was possible to identify learning preferences from our software projects leader team, organize and improve the learning experience of our Wiki and; facilitate collaboration by newcomers to improve Wiki with new contents available in the Wiki.

Keywords: mobile product, knowledge transfer, knowledge management process, wiki, GSD

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Authors: Darius Diogo Barreto, Ajeet Kumar, Sushma Santapuri

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We present an axisymmetric variational formulation for coupled extension-torsion-inflation deformation in magnetoelastomeric thin tubes when both azimuthal and axial magnetic fields are applied. The tube's material is assumed to have a preferred magnetization direction which imparts helical magnetic anisotropy to the tube. We have also derived the expressions of the first derivative of free energy per unit tube's undeformed length with respect to various imposed strain parameters. On applying the thin tube limit, the two nonlinear ordinary differential equations to obtain the in-plane radial displacement and radial component of the Lagrangian magnetic field get converted into a set of three simple algebraic equations. This allows us to obtain simple analytical expressions in terms of the applied magnetic field, magnetization direction, and magnetoelastic constants, which tell us how these parameters can be tuned to generate positive/negative Poisson's effect in such tubes. We consider both torsionally constrained and torsionally relaxed stretching of the tube. The study can be useful in designing magnetoelastic tubular actuators.

Keywords: nonlinear magnetoelasticity, extension-torsion coupling, negative Poisson's effect, helical anisotropy, thin tube

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Authors: Jiyoung Yoon

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This study examines Spanish textbook explanations of infinitival complements and how they can affect a learner’s second-language acquisition process. Verbs taking infinitival complements are commonly found in the mandate, volition, and emotion verbs, both for Spanish and English. However, while some English verbs take gerunds (María avoids eating/*to eat meat), in Spanish a gerund never functions as the complement of a verb (María evita comer/*comiendo carne). Because of these differences, English learners of Spanish often have difficulty acquiring infinitival complement constructions in Spanish. Specifically, they may employ English-like complement structures, producing such ungrammatical utterances as *Odio comiendo tacos ‘I hate eating tacos.' A compounding factor is that many Spanish textbooks do not emphasize the usages of infinitival complements and, when explanations are provided, they are often vague and insufficient. This study examines Spanish textbook explanations of infinitival complements (intermediate and advanced college-level Spanish textbooks and grammar reference books published in the United States) to determine areas that are problematic and insufficient and how they can affect learners’ second-language acquisition process. In this study, alternative principle-driven explanations are proposed as a replacement.

Keywords: Spanish, teaching, second language, infinitival complement, textbook

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Authors: M. Fernanda Salgado, Alfonso Tierra, David S. Sandoval, Wilbert G. Aguilar

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Public transportation buses usually vary the speed depending on the places with the number of passengers. They require having efficient travel planning, a plan that will help them choose the fast route. Initially, an estimation tool is necessary to determine the travel time of each route, clearly establishing the possibilities. In this work, we give a practical solution that makes use of a concept that defines as areas of commercial incidence. These areas are based on the hypothesis that in the commercial places there is a greater flow of people and therefore the buses remain more time in the stops. The areas have one or more segments of routes, which have an incidence factor that allows to estimate the times. In addition, initial results are presented that verify the hypotheses and that promise adequately the travel times. In a future work, we take this approach to make an efficient travel planning system.

Keywords: commercial incidence, planning, public transport, speed travel, travel time

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Authors: Maria de Nazaré Moraes Soares, Silvia Maria Dias Pedro Rebouças, José Carlos Lázaro

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The Solidarity Economy (SE) acts in the re-articulation of the economic field to the other spheres of social action. The significant participation of women in SE resulted in the formation of a national network of self-managed enterprises in Brazil: The Solidarity and Feminist Economy Network (SFEN). The objective of the research is to identify factors of gender justice and feminist self-management practices that adhere to the reality of women in SE enterprises. The conceptual apparatus related to feminist studies in this research covers Nancy Fraser approaches on gender justice, and Patricia Yancey Martin approaches on feminist management practices, and authors of postcolonial feminism such as Mohanty and Maria Lugones, who lead the discussion to peripheral contexts, a necessary perspective when observing the women’s movement in SE. The research has a quantitative nature in the phases of data collection and analysis. The data collection was performed through two data sources: the database mapped in Brazil in 2010-2013 by the National Information System in Solidary Economy and 150 questionnaires with women from 16 enterprises in SFEN, in a state of Brazilian northeast. The data were analyzed using the multivariate statistical technique of Factor Analysis. The results show that the factors that define gender justice and feminist self-management practices in SE are interrelated in several levels, proving statistically the intersectional condition of the issue of women. The evidence from the quantitative analysis allowed us to understand the dimensions of gender justice and feminist management practices intersectionality; in this sense, the non-distribution of domestic work interferes in non-representation of women in public spaces, especially in peripheral contexts. The study contributes with important reflections to the studies of this area and can be complemented in the future with a qualitative research that approaches the perspective of women in the context of the SE self-management paradigm.

Keywords: feminist management practices, gender justice, self-management, solidarity economy

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Authors: Peter Jurči, Jana Ptačinová, Mária Hudáková, Mária Dománková, Martin Kusý, Martin Sahul

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The strength, hardness, and toughness (ductility) are in strong conflict for the metallic materials. The only possibility how to make their simultaneous improvement is to provide the microstructural refinement, by cold deformation, and subsequent recrystallization. However, application of this kind of treatment is impossible for high-carbon high-alloyed ledeburitic tool steels. Alternatively, it has been demonstrated over the last few years that sub-zero treatment induces some microstructural changes in these materials, which might favourably influence their complex of mechanical properties. Commercially available PM ledeburitic steel Vanadis 6 has been used for the current investigations. The paper demonstrates that sub-zero treatment induces clear refinement of the martensite, reduces the amount of retained austenite, enhances the population density of fine carbides, and makes alterations in microstructural development that take place during tempering. As a consequence, the steel manifests improved wear resistance at higher toughness and fracture toughness. Based on the obtained results, the key question “can the wear performance be improved by sub-zero treatment simultaneously with toughness” can be answered by “definitely yes”.

Keywords: ledeburitic tool steels, microstructure, sub-zero treatment, mechanical properties

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Authors: Célia Barreto Carvalho, Carolina da Motta, Marina Sousa, Joana Cabral, Ana Luísa Carvalho, Ermelindo Peixoto

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The aim of the current study was to develop and validate a Response to Stressful Situations Scale (RSSS) for the Portuguese population. This scale assesses the degree of stress experienced in scenarios that can constitute positive, negative and more neutral stressors, and also describes the physiological, emotional and behavioral reactions to those events according to their intensity. These scenario include typical stressor scenarios relevant to patients with schizophrenia, which are currently absent from most scale, assessing specific risks that these stressors may bring on subjects, which may prove useful in non-clinical and clinical populations (i.e. patients with mood or anxiety disorders, schizophrenia). Results from Principal Components Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis of on two adult samples from general population allowed to confirm a three-factor model with good fit indices: χ2 (144)= 370.211, p = 0.000; GFI = 0.928; CFI = 0.927; TLI = 0.914, RMSEA = 0.055, P( rmsea ≤ 0.005) = 0.096; PCFI = 0.781. Further data analysis on the scale revealed that RSSS is an adequate assessment tool of stress response in adults to be used in further research and clinical settings, with good psychometric characteristics, adequate divergent and convergent validity, good temporal stability and high internal consistency.

Keywords: assessment, stress events, stress response, stress vulnerability

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Authors: Maria Laura Alzua, Maria Adelaida Lopera

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This paper measures the relative importance of conditional cooperation and unconditional cooperation in a large public goods experiment conducted in Mali. We use expectations about total public goods provision to estimate a structural choice model with heterogeneous preferences. While unconditional cooperation can be captured by common preferences shared by all participants, conditional cooperation is much more heterogeneous and depends on unobserved individual factors. This structural model, in combination with two experimental treatments, suggests that leadership and group communication incentivize public goods provision through different channels. First, We find that participation of local leaders effectively changes individual choices through unconditional cooperation. A simulation exercise predicts that even in the most pessimistic scenario in which all participants expect zero public good provision, 60% would still choose to cooperate. Second, allowing participants to communicate fosters conditional cooperation. The simulations suggest that expectations are responsible for around 24% of the observed public good provision and that group communication does not necessarily ameliorate public good provision. In fact, communication may even worsen the outcome when expectations are low.

Keywords: conditional cooperation, discrete choice model, expectations, public goods game, random coefficients model

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Authors: J. Cabral, C. Barreto Carvalho, C. da Motta, M. Sousa

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Community integration is a construct that an increasing body of research has shown to have a significant impact in well-being and recovery of people with psychiatric problems. However, there are few studies that explore which factors can be associated and predict community integration. Moreover, community integration has been mostly studied in minority groups, and currently literature on the definition and manifestation of community integration in the more general population is scarce. Thus, the current study aims to characterize community integration and explore possible predictor variables in a sample of participants with psychiatric problems (PP, N=183) and a sample of participants from the general population (GP, N=211). Results show that people with psychiatric problems present above average values of community integration, but are significantly lower than their healthy counterparts. It was also possible to observe that community integration does not vary in terms of the socio-demographic characteristics of both groups in this study. Correlation and multiple regression showed that, among several variables that literature present as relevant in the community integration process, only three variables emerged as having the most explanatory value in community integration of both groups: sense of community, basic needs satisfaction and submission. These results also shown that those variables have increased explanatory power in the PP sample, which leads us to emphasize the need to address this issue in future studies and increase the understanding of the factors that can be involved in the promotion of community integration, in order to devise more effective interventions in this field.

Keywords: community integration, mental illness, predictors, psychiatric problems

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Authors: Stephen Adeniyi Adefegha, Vitor Mostardeiro, Vera Maria Morsch, Ademir F. Morel, Ivana Beatrice Manica Da Cruz, Sabrina Somacal Maria Rosa Chitolina Schetinger

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Moringa stenopetala is often consumed as food and used in folkloric medicine for the management of several diseases. Purpose: This study was set up in order to assess the effect of aqueous extract of Moringa stenopetala on cell viability and oxidative stress biomarkers in BV-2 microglial cells. Aqueous extracts of M. stenopetala were prepared, lyophilized and reconstituted in 0.5% dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO). Cells were treated with M. stenopetala extracts (0.1 - 100 µg/ml) for cell viability and nitric oxide (NO) production tests. However, M. stenopetala extract (50 µg/ml) was used in the treatment of cells for the determination of protein carbonyl content and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level. Incubation of BV-2 microglia cell with M. stenopetala extract maintained cell viability, diminished NO and ROS levels, and reduced protein carbonyl contents Chlorogenic acid, rutin, kaempferol and quercetin derivatives were the main phenolic compounds identified in M. stenopetala leaf extract. These phenolic compounds present in M. stenopetala may be responsible for the mitigation of oxidative stress in BV-2 microglial cells.

Keywords: oxidative stress, BV-2 microglial cell, Moringa stenopetala, cell viability, antioxidant

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Authors: Janneth Gonzalez, Marco Avila, George Barreto

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GRP78 participates in multiple functions in the cell during normal and pathological conditions, controlling calcium homeostasis, protein folding and unfolded protein response. GRP78 is located in the endoplasmic reticulum, but it can change its location under stress, hypoxic and apoptotic conditions. NF-κB represents the keystone of the inflammatory process and regulates the transcription of several genes related with apoptosis, differentiation, and cell growth. The possible relationship between GRP78-NF-κB could support and explain several mechanisms that may regulate a variety of cell functions, especially following brain injuries. Although several reports show interactions between NF-κB and heat shock proteins family members, there is a lack of information on how GRP78 may be interacting with NF-κB, and possibly regulating its downstream activation. Therefore, we assessed the computational predictions of the GRP78 (Chain A) and NF-κB complex (IkB alpha and p65) protein-protein interactions. The interaction interface of the docking model showed that the amino acids ASN 47, GLU 215, GLY 403 of GRP78 and THR 54, ASN 182 and HIS 184 of NF-κB are key residues involved in the docking. The electrostatic field between GRP78-NF-κB interfaces and molecular dynamic simulations support the possible interaction between the proteins. In conclusion, this work shed some light in the possible GRP78-NF-κB complex indicating key residues in this crosstalk, which may be used as an input for better drug design strategy targeting NF-κB downstream signaling as a new therapeutic approach following brain injuries.

Keywords: computational biology, protein interactions, Grp78, bioinformatics, molecular dynamics

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Authors: Gloria Inés Martínez Domínguez, Lina María Martínez Sánchez, María de los Ángeles Rodríguez Gázquez, Juan Guillermo Jiménez Jiménez, Johan Sebastián Lopera Valle, Natalia Vargas Grisales, Sara Rojas Jiménez, Alejandra Uribe Ocampo, Sara Correa Pérez, Natalia Perilla Hernández, Juan Sebastián Marín Cárdenas

Abstract:

The relationship between diet and chronic or degenerative diseases has led to the development of functional foods such as nutraceuticals. Objective: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of consumption of nutraceuticals in undergraduate students. Methodology: Cross-sectional study. It was a simple random sampling with the Statcalc EpiInfo software vr 6.04. It was designed an instrument for collection of demographic data and consumption of nutraceuticals. Statistical analysis used the SPSS program. Results: 427 students, average age 20.8 years (SD 3.1), 56.1% were women. The life prevalence of nutraceuticals consumption was 66.3% and the annual 51.8%. The main reasons for consumption were as food complement 32.8% and prevent diseases 20.1%. Conclusion: The high prevalence of nutraceuticals observed is comparable to that reported in the literature, which suggests an increasing trend in the habit of consumption of dietary supplement which have a preventive or protective effect on health.

Keywords: dietary supplements, food, health, functional food, Colombia

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Authors: Itamir de Morais Barroca Filho, Cephas A. S. Barreto, Ramon Malaquias, Cezar Miranda Paula de Souza, Arthur Costa Gorgônio, João C. Xavier-Júnior, Mateus Firmino, Fellipe Matheus Costa Barbosa

Abstract:

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in healthcare are crucial for efficiently delivering medical healthcare services to patients. These ICTs are also known as e-health and comprise technologies such as electronic record systems, telemedicine systems, and personalized devices for diagnosis. The focus of e-health is to improve the quality of health information, strengthen national health systems, and ensure accessible, high-quality health care for all. All the data gathered by these technologies make it possible to help clinical staff with automated decisions using machine learning. In this context, we collected patient data, such as heart rate, oxygen saturation (SpO2), blood pressure, respiration, and others. With this data, we were able to develop machine learning models for patients’ risk of death and estimate the length of stay in ICU beds. Thus, this paper presents the methodology for applying machine learning techniques to develop these models. As a result, although we implemented these models on an IoT healthcare platform, helping clinical staff in healthcare in an ICU, it is essential to create a robust clinical validation process and monitoring of the proposed models.

Keywords: ICT, e-health, machine learning, ICU, healthcare

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Authors: Mária Hudáková, Mária Lusková

Abstract:

This report is focused on widening the theoretical knowledge as well as controlling practical application from the risk management point of view, regarding to dynamic business changes that have occurred in Slovakia which recently has been considered to be an environment full of risk and uncertainty. The idea of the report is the proposal of the controlling operation model in the course of risk management process in an enterprise operating in Slovakia, by which the controller is able to identify early risk factors in suggested major areas of the business management upon appropriate business information integration, consecutive control and prognoses and to prepare in time full-value documents in order to suggest measures for reduction thereof. Dealing with risk factors, that can quickly limit the growth potential of the enterprise, is an essential part of managerial activities on each level. This is the reason why mutual unofficial, ergo collegial cooperation of individual departments is necessary for controlling application from the business risk management point of view. An important part of the report is elaborated survey of the most important risk factors existing in major management areas of enterprises operating in Slovakia. The outcome of the performed survey is a catalogue of the most important enterprise risk factors. The catalogue serves for better understanding risk factors affecting the Slovak enterprises, their importance and evaluation.

Keywords: controlling, information, risks, risk factor, crisis

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Authors: Natália Bruno Chaves, Richardes Caúla, Roosevelt do Vale, Daniela Toneti, Rafaela Carvalho, Renata Silva Lopes, Antônio Carlos Júnior, Adner Nobre, Viviane Santiago, Yara Alana Caldato, Estefania Rodriguez Urrego, André Buarque Lemos, Catarina Nucci Stetner, Marcos Mauro Barreto, Stefany Moreira Lima, Mara Cavalcante, Ticiane Ribeiro

Abstract:

The Well Born (Nascer Bem – in Portuguese) Program was created in the Hapvida health network with the aim of improving access to safe and quality prenatal care for users. In addition to offering a line of prenatal care, the inclusion of obstetric nursing and the decentralization of childbirth, bring security that professionals did not indicate the route of delivery for professional convenience. The introduction of the nursing consultation came to reinforce the care to our users, strengthening their bond and reception. In 2021, the program maintained an average of 40% of normal births in the north, northeast and central-west regions of Brazil, an average above that observed in the rest of the country's private health systems, around 20%. In addition, the neonatal hospitalization rate of this population remained around 5.1%, a figure below the national average. With these data, the “Nascer Bem” program is affirmed as a safe and effective strategy for the promotion of safe normal birth.

Keywords: quality, safe, prenatal, obstetric nursing

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Authors: Lucile Rapin, Cynthia El Hage, Rihab Gamaoun, Maria-Fernanda Arboleda, Erin Prosk

Abstract:

Introduction: Sante Cannabis (SC), a Canadian group of clinics dedicated to medical cannabis, based in Montreal and in the province of Quebec, has served more than 8000 patients seeking cannabis-based treatment over the past five years. As randomized clinical trials with natural medical cannabis are scarce, real-world evidence offers the opportunity to fill research gaps between scientific evidence and clinical practice. Data on the use of medical cannabis products from SC patients were prospectively collected, leading to a large real-world database on the use of medical cannabis. The aim of this study was to report information on the profiles of both patients and prescribed medical cannabis products at SC clinics, and to assess the safety of medical cannabis among Canadian patients. Methods: This is an observational retrospective study of 1342 adult patients who were authorized with medical cannabis products between October 2017 and September 2019. Information regarding demographic characteristics, therapeutic indications for medical cannabis use, patterns in dosing and dosage form of medical cannabis and adverse effects over one-year follow-up (initial and 4 follow-up (FUP) visits) were collected. Results: 59% of SC patients were female, with a mean age of 56.7 (SD= 15.6, range= (19-97)). Cannabis products were authorized mainly for patients with a diagnosis of chronic pain (68.8% of patients), cancer (6.7%), neurological disorders (5.6%), and mood disorders (5.4 %). At initial visit, a large majority (70%) of patients were authorized exclusively medical cannabis products, 27% were authorized a combination of pharmaceutical cannabinoids and medical cannabis and 3% were prescribed only pharmaceutical cannabinoids. This pattern was recurrent over the one-year follow-up. Overall, oil was the preferred formulation (average over visits 72.5%) followed by a combination of oil and dry (average 19%), other routes of administration accounted for less than 4%. Patients were predominantly prescribed products with a balanced THC:CBD ratio (59%-75% across visits). 28% of patients reported at least one adverse effect (AE) at the 3-month follow-up visit and 12% at the six-month FUP visit. 84.8% of total AEs were mild and transient. No serious AE was reported. Overall, the most common side effects reported were dizziness (11.95% of total AEs), drowsiness (11.4%), dry mouth (5.5%), nausea (4.8%), headaches (4.6%), cough (4.4%), anxiety (4.1%) and euphoria (3.5%). Other adverse effects accounted for less than 3% of total AE. Conclusion: Our results confirm that the primary area of clinical use for medical cannabis is in pain management. Patients in this cohort are largely utilizing plant-based cannabis oil products with a balanced ratio of THC:CBD. Reported adverse effects were mild and included dizziness and drowsiness. This real-world data confirms the tolerable safety profile of medical cannabis and suggests medical indications not yet validated in controlled clinical trials. Such data offers an important opportunity for the investigation of the long-term effects of cannabinoid exposure in real-life conditions. Real-world evidence can be used to direct clinical trial research efforts on specific indications and dosing patterns for product development.

Keywords: medical cannabis, safety, real-world data, Canada

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Authors: Sebastián Olivares Lizana, Marianna Oyanedel González

Abstract:

This study takes part of a major project based on implementing a CLIL program (Content and Language Integrated Learning) at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, a leading Chilean tertiary Institution. It aims at examining the relationship between the development of Reflective Processes (RP) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) in weekly learning logs written by faculty members, participants of an initial professional development online course on English for Academic Purposes (EAP). Such course was designed with a genre-based approach, and consists of multiple tasks directed to academic writing proficiency. The results of this analysis will be described and classified in a scale of key indicators that represent both the Reflective Processes and the advances in CALP, and that also consider linguistic proficiency and task progression. Such indicators will evidence affordances and constrains of using a genre-based approach in an EFL Engineering CLIL program implementation at tertiary level in Chile, and will serve as the starting point to the design of a professional development course directed to teaching methodologies in a CLIL EFL environment in Engineering education at Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María.

Keywords: EFL, EAL, genre, CLIL, engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 395