Justice seems not to be for all: the role played by justice perceptions in discrimination against immigrants

This thesis aimed to examine how justice perceptions are related with the perpetuation of discrimination, exploring the role played by the scope of justice and belief in a just world (BJW) in the legitimation of discrimination against immigrants. Based on the assumptions of the Justified Discrimination Model (JDM), individuals need to search for justification in order to legitimize the discriminatory behaviour, preserving their self-image as a fair individual. The scope of justice is presented as a justice-based argument that facilitates the legitimation process, since the restricted scope of justice helps to the exclusion of the outgroup from positive treatment. This hypothesis is verified correlational and experimentally, indicating the mediation role played by the restricted scope of justice in the relationship between prejudice and discrimination against Brazilian immigrants in Portugal. In order to verify in which conditions this mediation happens, the BJW is applied to the model, testing the prediction that the legitimising role played by the scope of justice is guided by a justice motivation. Results show that the mediation by the restricted scope of justice is moderated by BJW, only when participants expressed a high level of BJW. Experimental studies reinforce the moderation role of BJW where a greater degree of discrimination against immigrants was influenced by a restricted scope of justice priming but only when the BJW was made salient. This evidence introduces an innovation into the literature on the legitimation of social inequalities by demonstrating the relevant role played by justice perceptions in discrimination against immigrants.A presente tese tem como objetivo analisar como perceções de justiça estão relacionadas com a perpetuação da discriminação, ao explorar o papel do scope of justice e da crença no mundo justo (CMJ) na legitimação da discriminação contra imigrantes. Com base nos pressupostos do Modelo da Discriminação Justificada (MDJ), as pessoas precisam de buscar justificações para legitimar seu comportamento discriminatório, preservando sua auto-imagem como um indivíduo justo. O scope of justice é apresentado como um argumento de justiça que facilita o processo de legitimação, visto que o scope of justice restrito auxilia que exogrupos sejam excluídos de tratamento positivo. Está hipótese é verificada correlacional e experimentalmente, indicando o papel mediador do scope of justice restrito na relação entre preconceito e discriminação contra imigrantes brasileiros em Portugal. A fim de verificar em que condições esta mediação acontece, a CMJ é aplicada ao modelo, testando a predição de que o papel legitimador do scope of justice é guiado por uma motivação para justiça. Resultados mostram que a mediação pelo scope of justice é moderada pela CMJ, apenas quando os participantes expressam CMJ alta. Estudos experimentais reforçam o papel moderador da CMJ, onde um maior grau de discriminação contra imigrantes é influenciado pela primação do scope of justice restrito, apenas quando a CMJ está saliente. Esta evidência introduz uma inovação na literatura sobre legitimação das desigualdades sociais ao demonstrar o papel relevante das perceções de justiça na discriminação contra imigrantes

Recolección de datos en Internet en estudios de representaciones sociales

The present study aimed at comparing social representations structures concerning data collection procedures: through internet forms, diffused in the WWW, and through conventional paper and pencil questionnaire methods. overall 893 individuals participated in the research, 58% of whom were female. A total of 217 questionnaires about the social representation on football (soccer) and 218 about the representation on aging were answered by Brazilian university students in classrooms. Electronic versions of the same instrument were diffused through an internet forum linked to the same university. There were 238 answers for the football questionnaire and 230 for the aging one. The instrument asked participants to indicate five words or expressions related to one of the social objects. Sample characteristics and structural analyses were carried out separately for the two data collection procedures. data indicated that internet-based research allows for higher sample diversity, but it is essential to guarantee the adoption of measures that can select only desired participants. Results also pointed out the need to take into account the nature of the social object to be investigated through internet research on representations, seeking to avoid self-selection effects, which can bias results, as it seems to have happened with the football social object.El presente estudio buscó comparar las estructuras de representaciones sociales según los procedimientos de recolección de datos: a través de formatos difundidos por Internet y a través de métodos de cuestionario convencional de lápiz y papel. En total, 893 personas participaron en la investigación, 58% de las cuales fueron mujeres. Un total de 217 cuestionarios sobre representaciones sociales sobre el fútbol y 218 sobre envejecimiento fueron respondidos en el aula de clase por estudiantes universitarios brasileños. las versiones electrónicas del mismo instrumento fueron difundidas a través de un foro en Internet, ligado a la misma universidad. Hubo 238 respuestas para el cuestionario de fútbol y 230 para el de envejecimiento. El instrumento pidió a los participantes indicar cinco palabras o expresiones relacionadas con uno de los objetos sociales. Se efectuaron caracterizaciones de la muestra y análisis estructurales de cada uno de los dos procedimientos de recolección de datos, por separado. los datos mostraron que la investigación basada en Internet permite una diversidad de muestra más grande, pero esto es esencial para garantizar la adopción de medidas que permiten seleccionar únicamente a los participantes deseados. los resultados también apuntan a la necesidad de tomar en cuenta la naturaleza del objeto social investigado a través de la investigación en Internet sobre representaciones, buscando evitar los efectos de auto-selección, los cuales pueden sesgar los resultados, lo cual parece haber sucedido con el objeto social del fútbol

Limitation of electron mobility in modulation-doped In0.53Ga0.47As/InP quantum wells at low temperatures

The low-temperature electron mobility is investigated here for electrons confined in modulation-doped In0.53Ga0.47As/InP single symmetric quantum wells. The subband structure calculation is developed via variational method, both Schrodinger and Poisson equations being solved simultaneously with adequate heterointer- ¨ face matching conditions. With this in hands, the main electron scattering rates are computed, namely alloy disorder, remote ionized impurity, and interface roughness. As a result, interesting interchanges in these scattering rates were found by varying the well width and the spacer width, which show that some scattering mechanisms can surpass the alloy disorder scattering rate and come to limit the electron mobility, a behavior not reported in the literature

In vitro screening of cytotoxic activity of euphol from Euphorbia tirucalli on a large panel of human cancer-derived cell lines

A large number of classic antineoplastic agents are derived from plants. Euphorbia tirucalli L. (Euphorbiaceae) is a subtropical and tropical plant, used in Brazilian folk medicine against many diseases, including cancer, yet little is known about its true anticancer properties. The present study evaluated the antitumor effect of the tetracyclic triterpene alcohol, euphol, the main constituent of E. tirucalli in a panel of 73 human cancer lines from 15 tumor types. The biological effect of euphol in pancreatic cells was also assessed. The combination index was further used to explore euphol interactions with standard drugs. Euphol showed a cytotoxicity effect against several cancer cell lines (IC50 range, 1.41-38.89 µM), particularly in esophageal squamous cell (11.08 µM) and pancreatic carcinoma cells (6.84 µM), followed by prostate, melanoma, and colon cancer. Cytotoxicity effects were seen in all cancer cell lines, with more than half deemed highly sensitive. Euphol inhibited proliferation, motility and colony formation in pancreatic cancer cells. Importantly, euphol exhibited synergistic interactions with gemcitabine and paclitaxel in pancreatic and esophageal cell lines, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this study constitutes the largest in vitro screening of euphol efficacy on cancer cell lines and revealed its in vitro anti-cancer properties, particularly in pancreatic and esophageal cell lines, suggesting that euphol, either as a single agent or in combination with conventional chemotherapy, is a potential anti-cancer drug.Amazônia Fitomedicamentos Ltda. (grant no. FITO 05/2012) and Barretos Cancer Hospital, all from Brazilinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ecophysiology of the Southern Highbush blueberry cv. Biloxi in response to nitrogen fertigation

In Brazil, the nutritional requirements of the blueberry are not sufficiently known, thus requiring further research on the management of mineral fertilization. In this perspective, this work aimed to evaluate physiological attributes of Southern Highbush blueberry plants cv. Biloxi as a function of nitrogen fertigation in Brasília-DF. The experiment was conducted from August 2018 to July 2019, in the Fruit Sector of the Experimental Biology Station of the University of Brasilia (UnB), Federal District. This experiment adopted a randomized block design, with four treatments: 10; 20; 30, and 40 g of N plant-1, 8 replications, and 5 plants per experimental plot. The following variables were measured: net photosynthesis rate (A), transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (gs), internal CO2 concentration (Ci), instantaneous water-use efficiency (WUE), carboxylation efficiency (CE), SPAD index (SPAD) and leaf nitrogen (N). There was an effect of the different nitrogen doses applied on the physiological attributes. The plants of the blueberry cultivar Biloxi increased their photosynthetic rates at doses up to 30 g of N plant-1. Nitrogen rates did not influence stomatal conductance nor did they provide improvements in the carboxylation efficiency of the blueberry plants. Under the conditions of the present work, the highest N leaf contents were obtained with the application of 30 g N plant-1, and values above this concentration did not correspond to higher net photosynthesis rates, transpiration, and CO2 concentration in the leaf mesophyll.In Brazil, the nutritional requirements of the blueberry are not sufficiently known, thus requiring further research on the management of mineral fertilization. In this perspective, this work aimed to evaluate physiological attributes of Southern Highbush blueberry plants cv. Biloxi as a function of nitrogen fertigation in Brasília-DF. The experiment was conducted from August 2018 to July 2019, in the Fruit Sector of the Experimental Biology Station of the University of Brasilia (UnB), Federal District. This experiment adopted a randomized block design, with four treatments: 10; 20; 30, and 40 g of N plant-1, 8 replications, and 5 plants per experimental plot. The following variables were measured: net photosynthesis rate (A), transpiration (E), stomatal conductance (gs), internal CO2 concentration (Ci), instantaneous water-use efficiency (WUE), carboxylation efficiency (CE), SPAD index (SPAD) and leaf nitrogen (N). There was an effect of the different nitrogen doses applied on the physiological attributes. The plants of the blueberry cultivar Biloxi increased their photosynthetic rates at doses up to 30 g of N plant-1. Nitrogen rates did not influence stomatal conductance nor did they provide improvements in the carboxylation efficiency of the blueberry plants. Under the conditions of the present work, the highest N leaf contents were obtained with the application of 30 g N plant-1, and values above this concentration did not correspond to higher net photosynthesis rates, transpiration, and CO2 concentration in the leaf mesophyll

Study on the use of Artemia salina as bioindicator in the ecotoxicological evaluation of landfill leachate

Landfill leachate deserves special attention because it presents itself as a potentially polluting liquid that can attack nearby natural resources if it is not carefully treated and disposed of in a controlled manner, or it may be reused in other activities. The present work had the objective of evaluating the toxicity of untreated landfill leachate on the test organism A. salina. The physical chemical characterization of the landfill leachate for the presence of metals and salts was performed according to the methodology proposed by the American Public Health Association - APHA (2005). After hatching, about 10 nauples of A. salina were transferred to 15 x 150 mm test tubes containing 10 mL (saline water and the landfill leach to be tested). Seven treatments with four replicates were used. The LC5048h of the landfill leachate used in the present study was mathematically obtained in the dose with 28.4% of leachate. The parameters of salinity, ammonia and sulfates are directly related to the value of the LC5048h

Perfil farmacoepidemiológico de pacientes com Covid-19 moderada a grave internados em um hospital universitário, Brasil

O enfrentamento da doença causada pelo novo coronavírus, denominada covid-19, proporcionou desafios clínicos e farmacológicos importantes para os profissionais de saúde. Este estudo descreveu a prescrição de medicamentos em pacientes críticos, internados por covid-19, em um hospital no Distrito Federal, visando contribuir para o uso racional de medicamentos em doenças emergentes na atenção hospitalar. Trata-se de estudo observacional transversal que utilizou dados da coorte retrospectiva de pacientes com covid-19 no Hospital Universitário de Brasília entre maio de 2020 e dezembro de 2021. Foram coletados dados sociodemográficos, clínicos e sobre medicamentos utilizados durante a internação a partir do prontuário do paciente. Para a amostra do estudo, foram selecionados todos os pacientes internados classificados com escore 6 a 10 na Escala de Progressão de pacientes covid-19 da Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS) no período. Os dados de medicamentos foram coletados no terceiro dia de internação e foram classificados conforme o sistema Anatômico Terapêutico Químico da OMS. Um total de 150 pacientes da coorte fizeram parte do estudo, nos quais observou-se maioria do sexo masculino (58,7%), idosos (69,3%) e residentes do Distrito Federal (88,7%). Cerca de 90% dos pacientes evoluíram para óbito. Um total de 1.676 medicamentos foram prescritos e analisados no terceiro dia de internação (média=11,1 medicamentos por paciente). Houve uma maior frequência de prescrição de medicamentos que atuam no sistema gastrointestinal e no sistema nervoso. O hospital atuou como retaguarda durante a pandemia e os pacientes transferidos apresentavam quadro clínico grave, que pode ter influenciado no desfecho. Os pacientes internados apresentavam comorbidades que influenciaram na polifarmácia, expondo-os a um maior risco de interações medicamentosas e reações adversas a medicamentos