Document management practices in SMEs: An information management capability-based approach

Purpose: This research studied the current document management (DM) practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of a road freight transport sector in a South American city with the aim to determine strengths and challenges for improving information management. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted using a survey approach based on measuring information management capabilities (IMC) through the following main dimensions: perception about DM practices, DM policies and tools, IT usage, organizational climate, and problems related to document management. Findings: The main results from the work stated the challenges for these companies in adopting electronic document management systems (EDMS) and handling information effectively even though the business experience. Also, the study highlighted the top management commitment in terms of investments for IMC development. Nevertheless, this economic support tends to be not enough to afford the EDMS implementation. Originality/value: Regarding the importance of information in road freight transport sector, this paper explored DM practices in a field in which no previous studies related to DM had been conducted and set the basis to make decisions to improve information management performance

Efectividad de un programa de prevención en salud mental mediante el diálogo socrático y el pensamiento crítico

Objetivo: Analizar el impacto de un programa de prevención mediante el diálogo socrático y el pensamiento crítico, en la depresión y la ansiedad. Materiales y métodos: Participaron 110 estudiantes universitarios que accedían al primer año de la carrera; se utilizó un diseño experimental aleatorizado con grupo experimental y de control. La variable independiente fue el diálogo socrático y el pensamiento crítico, y las variables dependientes fueron la sintomatología depresiva y/o ansiosa y los pensamientos negativos, positivos y ansiosos. Como instrumentos se utilizaron la Escala de depresión del Centro de Estudios epidemiológicos (CES-D), el Cuestionario revisado de 90 síntomas (SCL-90R), el Cuestionario de Pensamientos Automáticos Revisado (ATQ-TP), y el Cuestionario de Automanifestaciones Ansiosas (ASSQ). Resultados: Al realizar los análisis comparativos de la evaluación pos-test para muestras independientes se encontraron diferencias significativas entre el grupo experimental y control con el test U de Mann-Whitney en la reducción de pensamientos negativos. Se encontraron resultados similares al comparar la observación antes y después del grupo experimental. Conclusiones: La comparación entre grupos, mostró que el programa resultó efectivo en la reducción de los pensamientos negativos

INDICATIVO DE CONTAMINAÇÃO AMBIENTAL POR METAIS PESADOS EM ATERRO SANITÁRIO

http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/2236130814441The manure is a dark liquid, which contains high concentrations of organic and inorganic compounds. This fluid can contain heavy metals, suspended solids and organic compounds derived from the degradation of substances that are metabolized as carbohydrates, proteins and fats. By virtue of the place where you can reach and contaminate soil and surface and underground water resources, threatening the population living near the area. This study aimed to analyze the concentrations of heavy metals barium, copper and chromium in soil occupied by the landfill. To collect soil auger were performed on 10 different sites and depths. To determine the metal has been used the technique of fluorescence X-ray Energy Dispersive and with the aid of specialized software 10 were Surfer generating the data to the maps. All metals cited in this study indicate soil contamination at some sites and depths, highlighting the point 8 a share of 538.94 m, obtaining concentrations of barium, copper and chromium indicating relation of the surface flow and sub-surface water contaminated by these elements, with the results obtained it can be seen the potential of metal contamination in soil displaced by landfill.http://dx.doi.org/10.5902/2236130814441O chorume é um liquido escuro, que contém altas concentrações de compostos orgânicos e inorgânicos. Esse líquido pode conter metais pesados, sólidos suspensos e compostos orgânicos originados da degradação de substâncias que são metabolizadas, como carboidratos, proteínas e gorduras. Em virtude do local onde se encontra poderá atingir e contaminar o solo e recursos hídricos superficiais e subterrâneos, pondo em risco a população que vive nas proximidades da área. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo analisar as concentrações dos metais pesados bário, cobre e cromo em solo ocupado por aterro sanitário. Para coleta do solo foram realizadas tradagens em 10 diferentes pontos e profundidades. Para determinação dos metais foi utilizado a técnica de Fluorescência de Raios-X por Energia dispersiva e com auxilio do software Surfer 10 foram especializados os dados gerando-se os cartogramas. Todos os metais citados no presente trabalho indicam contaminação do solo em alguns pontos e profundidades, destacando-se o ponto 8 a uma cota de 538,94 m, obtendo concentrações de Bário, Cobre e Cromo indicando relação do fluxo superficial e sub superficial da água com contaminação por estes elementos, com os resultados obtidos pode-se constatar o potencial de contaminação por metais em solo ocupado pelo Aterro Sanitário

VARIAÇÃO ESPACIAL DAS CONCENTRAÇÕES DE CÁDMIO E MANGANÊS EM SOLO OCUPADO POR ATERRO SANITÁRIO

Landfills are configured as a correct and safe way of disposal of solid waste, but require serious study for your choice. Therefore this study aimed to determine the potential for contamination of soil by cadmium and manganese as a result of the occupation by landfill. In the present study, there was a borehole to collect the samples being made according to the existing topography at the site and preferential flow of surface water, considering 10 collection points called P1 to P10. Analyses were performed by Shimadzu Energy Dispersion X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometer Rany, Serie EDX-720. Manganese showed high levels at all points studied with P4 at the highest concentration to 200 cm (11576.46 mg kg-1) has the lowest concentration shown in P7 was 300 cm (516 237 mg kg-1) due high concentration of this element, it becomes harmful to the soil and vegetation at the site. As for Cadmium higher concentrations occurred at P7 at 100 cm depth (57238 mg kg-1) and P9 at 300 cm depth (36319 mg kg-1). Based on this, it was concluded that the highest concentrations of cadmium occurred at depths ranging from 100 to 200 cm, showing that there was an increased concentration with depth. Already vulnerability has been classified as low, thus presenting little susceptible to contamination of groundwater.Os aterros sanitários configuram-se, como uma maneira correta e segura de disposição final dos resíduos sólidos, porém exigem sérios estudos para sua escolha.  Sendo assim o presente estudo teve por objetivo determinar o potencial de contaminação química do solo por Cádmio e Manganês em decorrência da ocupação por aterro sanitário. No presente estudo, ocorreu a tradagem para coleta das amostras sendo realizados em função da topografia existente no aterro e do fluxo preferencial de água superficial, considerando-se 10 pontos de coleta denominados P1 a P10. As análises foram realizadas pelo equipamento Shimadzu Energy Dispersion Fluorescence X-ray Spectrometer Rany, Serie EDX-720. O manganês apresentou altas concentrações em todos os pontos estudados, sendo a maior concentração no P4 a 200 cm (11.576,46 mg kg-1), já a menor concentração foi apresentada no P7 a 300 cm (516.237 mg kg-1), devido a concentração elevada deste elemento, ele se torna prejudicial ao solo e a vegetação existente no local. Já para Cádmio as maiores concentrações ocorreram no P7 em 100 cm de profundidade (57238 mg kg-1) e P9 em 300 cm de profundidade (36319 mg kg-1). Com base nisso, foi possível concluir que as maiores concentrações de Cádmio ocorreram nas profundidades variando de 100 a 200 cm, demonstrando que ocorreu aumento da concentração com a profundidade. Já a vulnerabilidade, foi classificada como baixa, assim apresentando-se pouco vulnerável a contaminação do aquífero.

Concentrações de metais em solo ocupado por cemitério - uso da técnica de espectrometria de fluorescência de raios-x por energia dispersiva - EDXRF

The study of contamination of soil and surface water resources and / or by underground cemeteries is an area still fresh in the scientific community. The main contaminant is necrochorume generated from the decomposition process of the human body over a period of time. This study aimed to determine the range of variation of the concentration of some metals in soil profiles. We used the technique of Fluorescence Spectroscopy Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDXRF) evaluated in 70 soil samples. The study area was a cemetery located in Seberi in the northwest of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná Basin, in Oxisols red ferric aluminum originated from the weathering of volcanic rocks, basalts forming the type of the Serra Geral Aquifer System / SGAS. The selection of the sampling sites was estimated from the preferential flow of surface water, using the mathematical method of kriging interpolation. We considered 10 collection points distributed between the ground surface to a depth of 300 cm, in materials with stony clay matrix to the C horizon Metals Aluminium and Iron and Vanadium nonmetal showed varying concentrations in different depths of the soil profile.O estudo de contaminação de solos e dos recursos hídricos superficiais e/ou subterrâneos por cemitérios é uma área ainda recente no meio científico. O principal contaminante é o necrochorume gerado a partir do processo de decomposição dos corpos humanos, ao longo de um período de tempo. Este estudo teve como objetivo, determinar a faixa de variação da concentração de alguns metais em perfis de solos. Utilizou-se a técnica de Fluorescência de Espectrometria de Energia Dispersiva de Raios X (EDXRF), avaliados em 70 amostras de solos. A área estudada foi um cemitério, localizado na cidade de Seberi, no noroeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul, na Bacia do Paraná, em Latossolos vermelho alumino férrico, originados do intemperismo de rochas vulcânicas, do tipo basaltos formadoras do Sistema Aquífero Serra Geral/SASG. A seleção dos pontos de amostragem foi estimada a partir do fluxo preferencial de água de superfície, usando-se o método matemático de interpolação krigagem. Foram considerados 10 pontos de coletas, distribuídos entre a superfície do terreno até a profundidade de 300 cm, em materiais com matriz argilosa até pedregosa no horizonte C. Os metais Alumínio e Ferro e o metalóide Vanádio, apresentaram concentrações variadas nas diversas profundidades do perfil do solo

Eco-epidemiological analysis of rickettsial seropositivity in rural areas of Colombia: A multilevel approach

ABSTARCT: Rickettsiosis is a re-emergent infectious disease without epidemiological surveillance in Colombia. This disease is generally undiagnosed and several deadly outbreaks have been reported in the country in the last decade. The aim of this study is to analyze the eco-epidemiological aspects of rickettsial seropositivity in rural areas of Colombia where outbreaks of the disease were previously reported. A cross-sectional study, which included 597 people living in 246 households from nine hamlets in two municipalities of Colombia, was conducted from November 2015 to January 2016. The survey was conducted to collect sociodemographic and household characteristics (exposure) data. Blood samples were collected to determine the rickettsial seropositivity in humans, horses and dogs (IFA, cut-off = 1/128). In addition, infections by rickettsiae were detected in ticks from humans and animals by real-time PCR targeting gltA and ompA genes. Data was analyzed by weighted multilevel clog-log regression model using three levels (person, household and hamlets) and rickettsial seropositivity in humans was the main outcome. Overall prevalence of rickettsial seropositivity in humans was 25.62% (95%CI 22.11-29.12). Age in years (PR = 1.01 95%CI 1.01-1.02) and male sex (PR = 1.65 95%CI 1.43-1.90) were risk markers for rickettsial seropositivity. Working outdoors (PR = 1.20 95%CI 1.02-1.41), deforestation and forest fragmentation for agriculture use (PR = 1.75 95%CI 1.51-2.02), opossum in peridomiciliary area (PR = 1.56 95%CI 1.37-1.79) and a high proportion of seropositive domestic animals in the home (PR20-40% vs 40% vs <20% = 3.14 95%CI 2.43-4.04) were associated with rickettsial seropositivity in humans. This study showed the presence of Rickettsia antibodies in human populations and domestic animals. In addition, different species of rickettsiae were detected in ticks collected from humans and animals. Our results highlighted the role of domestic animals as sentinels of rickettsial infection to identify areas at risk of transmission, and the importance of preventive measures aimed at curtailing deforestation and the fragmentation of forests as a way of reducing the risk of transmission of emergent and re-emergent pathogens

Basin-wide variation in tree hydraulic safety margins predicts the carbon balance of Amazon forests

Funding: Data collection was largely funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) project TREMOR (NE/N004655/1) to D.G., E.G. and O.P., with further funds from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES, finance code 001) to J.V.T. and a University of Leeds Climate Research Bursary Fund to J.V.T. D.G., E.G. and O.P. acknowledge further support from a NERC-funded consortium award (ARBOLES, NE/S011811/1). This paper is an outcome of J.V.T.’s doctoral thesis, which was sponsored by CAPES (GDE 99999.001293/2015-00). J.V.T. was previously supported by the NERC-funded ARBOLES project (NE/S011811/1) and is supported at present by the Swedish Research Council Vetenskapsrådet (grant no. 2019-03758 to R.M.). E.G., O.P. and D.G. acknowledge support from NERC-funded BIORED grant (NE/N012542/1). O.P. acknowledges support from an ERC Advanced Grant and a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award. R.S.O. was supported by a CNPq productivity scholarship, the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP-Microsoft 11/52072-0) and the US Department of Energy, project GoAmazon (FAPESP 2013/50531-2). M.M. acknowledges support from MINECO FUN2FUN (CGL2013-46808-R) and DRESS (CGL2017-89149-C2-1-R). C.S.-M., F.B.V. and P.R.L.B. were financed by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES, finance code 001). C.S.-M. received a scholarship from the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq 140353/2017-8) and CAPES (science without borders 88881.135316/2016-01). Y.M. acknowledges the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and ERC Advanced Investigator Grant (GEM-TRAITS, 321131) for supporting the Global Ecosystems Monitoring (GEM) network (gem.tropicalforests.ox.ac.uk), within which some of the field sites (KEN, TAM and ALP) are nested. The authors thank Brazil–USA Collaborative Research GoAmazon DOE-FAPESP-FAPEAM (FAPESP 2013/50533-5 to L.A.) and National Science Foundation (award DEB-1753973 to L. Alves). They thank Serrapilheira Serra-1709-18983 (to M.H.) and CNPq-PELD/POPA-441443/2016-8 (to L.G.) (P.I. Albertina Lima). They thank all the colleagues and grants mentioned elsewhere [8,36] that established, identified and measured the Amazon forest plots in the RAINFOR network analysed here. The authors particularly thank J. Lyod, S. Almeida, F. Brown, B. Vicenti, N. Silva and L. Alves. This work is an outcome approved Research Project no. 19 from ForestPlots.net, a collaborative initiative developed at the University of Leeds that unites researchers and the monitoring of their permanent plots from the world’s tropical forests [61]. The authros thank A. Levesley, K. Melgaço Ladvocat and G. Pickavance for ForestPlots.net management. They thank Y. Wang and J. Baker, respectively, for their help with the map and with the climatic data. The authors acknowledge the invaluable help of M. Brum for kindly providing the comparison of vulnerability curves based on PAD and on PLC shown in this manuscript. They thank J. Martinez-Vilalta for his comments on an early version of this manuscript. The authors also thank V. Hilares and the Asociación para la Investigación y Desarrollo Integral (AIDER, Puerto Maldonado, Peru); V. Saldaña and Instituto de Investigaciones de la Amazonía Peruana (IIAP) for local field campaign support in Peru; E. Chavez and Noel Kempff Natural History Museum for local field campaign support in Bolivia; ICMBio, INPA/NAPPA/LBA COOMFLONA (Cooperativa mista da Flona Tapajós) and T. I. Bragança-Marituba for the research support.Tropical forests face increasing climate risk1,2, yet our ability to predict their response to climate change is limited by poor understanding of their resistance to water stress. Although xylem embolism resistance thresholds (for example, Ψ50) and hydraulic safety margins (for example, HSM50) are important predictors of drought-induced mortality risk3-5, little is known about how these vary across Earth's largest tropical forest. Here, we present a pan-Amazon, fully standardized hydraulic traits dataset and use it to assess regional variation in drought sensitivity and hydraulic trait ability to predict species distributions and long-term forest biomass accumulation. Parameters Ψ50 and HSM50 vary markedly across the Amazon and are related to average long-term rainfall characteristics. Both Ψ50 and HSM50 influence the biogeographical distribution of Amazon tree species. However, HSM50 was the only significant predictor of observed decadal-scale changes in forest biomass. Old-growth forests with wide HSM50 are gaining more biomass than are low HSM50 forests. We propose that this may be associated with a growth-mortality trade-off whereby trees in forests consisting of fast-growing species take greater hydraulic risks and face greater mortality risk. Moreover, in regions of more pronounced climatic change, we find evidence that forests are losing biomass, suggesting that species in these regions may be operating beyond their hydraulic limits. Continued climate change is likely to further reduce HSM50 in the Amazon6,7, with strong implications for the Amazon carbon sink.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Contributions of mean and shape of blood pressure distribution to worldwide trends and variations in raised blood pressure: A pooled analysis of 1018 population-based measurement studies with 88.6 million participants

© The Author(s) 2018. Background: Change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure could be due to both shifts in the entire distribution of blood pressure (representing the combined effects of public health interventions and secular trends) and changes in its high-blood-pressure tail (representing successful clinical interventions to control blood pressure in the hypertensive population). Our aim was to quantify the contributions of these two phenomena to the worldwide trends in the prevalence of raised blood pressure. Methods: We pooled 1018 population-based studies with blood pressure measurements on 88.6 million participants from 1985 to 2016. We first calculated mean systolic blood pressure (SBP), mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and prevalence of raised blood pressure by sex and 10-year age group from 20-29 years to 70-79 years in each study, taking into account complex survey design and survey sample weights, where relevant. We used a linear mixed effect model to quantify the association between (probittransformed) prevalence of raised blood pressure and age-group- and sex-specific mean blood pressure. We calculated the contributions of change in mean SBP and DBP, and of change in the prevalence-mean association, to the change in prevalence of raised blood pressure. Results: In 2005-16, at the same level of population mean SBP and DBP, men and women in South Asia and in Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa would have the highest prevalence of raised blood pressure, and men and women in the highincome Asia Pacific and high-income Western regions would have the lowest. In most region-sex-age groups where the prevalence of raised blood pressure declined, one half or more of the decline was due to the decline in mean blood pressure. Where prevalence of raised blood pressure has increased, the change was entirely driven by increasing mean blood pressure, offset partly by the change in the prevalence-mean association. Conclusions: Change in mean blood pressure is the main driver of the worldwide change in the prevalence of raised blood pressure, but change in the high-blood-pressure tail of the distribution has also contributed to the change in prevalence, especially in older age groups

Rising rural body-mass index is the main driver of the global obesity epidemic in adults

Body-mass index (BMI) has increased steadily in most countries in parallel with a rise in the proportion of the population who live in cities(.)(1,2) This has led to a widely reported view that urbanization is one of the most important drivers of the global rise in obesity(3-6). Here we use 2,009 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in more than 112 million adults, to report national, regional and global trends in mean BMI segregated by place of residence (a rural or urban area) from 1985 to 2017. We show that, contrary to the dominant paradigm, more than 55% of the global rise in mean BMI from 1985 to 2017-and more than 80% in some low- and middle-income regions-was due to increases in BMI in rural areas. This large contribution stems from the fact that, with the exception of women in sub-Saharan Africa, BMI is increasing at the same rate or faster in rural areas than in cities in low- and middle-income regions. These trends have in turn resulted in a closing-and in some countries reversal-of the gap in BMI between urban and rural areas in low- and middle-income countries, especially for women. In high-income and industrialized countries, we noted a persistently higher rural BMI, especially for women. There is an urgent need for an integrated approach to rural nutrition that enhances financial and physical access to healthy foods, to avoid replacing the rural undernutrition disadvantage in poor countries with a more general malnutrition disadvantage that entails excessive consumption of low-quality calories.Peer reviewe