A psicologia do consumo de tabaco: Uma revisão da literatura

Este artigo apresenta um resumo da literatura sobre a relação entre perfil psicológico e consumo de tabaco nas últimas décadas. Estudos revelam que fumantes tendem a ser mais extrovertidos, ansiosos, tensos, impulsivos e com mais traços de neuroticismo, psicoticismo e histórico de desordens depressivas e traços de ansiedade, em relação a ex-fumantes e não-fumantes. Um corpo crescente de evidências sugere ainda que a prevalência de tabagismo é maior em portadores de quadros psicopatológicos, em especial a esquizofrenia. Contudo, essa relação não está completamente elucidada e ainda são necessários mais estudos, para comprovação dos resultados. O conhecimento acerca desse assunto, pode servir como suporte para o trabalho de profissionais da área de saúde, como médicos, psicólogos, fisioterapeutas (entre outros). A identificação de traços de personalidade que dificultam o abandono do hábito, pode subsidiar a elaboração e aperfeiçoamento de terapias, como técnicas de aconselhamento, por exemplo, no sentido de aumentar as possibilidades de êxito dos pacientes durante o tratamento e minimizar as recaídas. Além disso, o conhecimento sobre características de personalidade que favorecem a iniciação do consumo de tabaco, pode facilitar a elaboração e aperfeiçoamento dos programas profiláticos (educativo / preventivo) contra o início e progressão do tabagismo. ------ ABSTRACT ------ The present study is a review of the literature concerning the relationship between psychological profile and smoking during the last decades. Studies have shown that smokers tend to be more extroverted, anxious, tense, impulsive, and present more traces of neuroticism, psychosis, a history of depressive disorders and traces of anxiety than ex-smokers and non-smokers. An increasing body of evidence even suggests that the prevalence of smoking is higher in subjects with psychopathological signs and symptoms, particularly subjects with schizophrenia. However, this relationship is still not completely understood and further studies are required to prove these results. An increased understanding of this subject can help the work of health professionals such as doctors, psychologists and physiotherapists, among others. The identification of personality traits that prevent individuals from giving up smoking may help in the elaboration and improvement of therapies, for example, counseling techniques, in order to increase the possibility of successful treatment and to minimize relapse. In addition, knowledge about personality characteristics that favor the initiation of smoking may facilitate the elaboration and improvement of prophylactic educational/preventive programs against the initiation and progression of smoking

Abundancia estacional de tab\ue1nidos (Diptera: Tabanidae) en el sector Las Lajas, Municipio Miranda, estado Gu\ue1rico, Venezuela.

VEL\uc1SQUEZ DE R\ucdOS M, TIAPE G 3MEZ Z, GORAYEB I, TAMASAUKAS R.2004. Seasonal abundace of horseflies (Diptera: Tabanidae) at sector Las Lajas, Miranda County, Gu\ue1rico State, Venezuela. Entomotropica 19(3): 149-152. From August 2002 to August 2003, weekly collections of tabanids were conducted to study their seasonal fluctuation during the rainy and dry seasons in a farm located at Las Lajas, Miranda County, Gu\ue1rico State, Venezuela. Two kinds of traps were used, malaise and canopyand occasional captures on horses. The flies were removed from the traps weekly and carried to the Entomology Lab of R\uf3mulo Gallegos University for identification and count. A total of 1179 tabanids belonging to four genera and 14 species were captured. Species diversity and captures were highest at the end of the rainy season. T. claripennis (Bigot, 1892) y T. pungens Wiedemann, 1828 were the most abundant species,and were recorded in both capture periods.VEL\uc1SQUEZ DE R\ucdOS M, TIAPE G 3MEZ Z, GORAYEB I, TAMASAUKAS R.2004. Abundancia estacional de tab\ue1nidos (Diptera: Tabanidae) en el sector Las Lajas, Municipio Miranda, estado Gu\ue1rico, Venezuela. Entomotropica 19(3): 149-152. Desde el 15 de agosto de 2002 hasta el 30 de agosto de 2003 se realizaron colectas de tab\ue1nidos (Diptera) con el objetivo de estudiar la abundancia y estacionalidad de los Tabanidae durante los per\uedodos seco y lluvioso en una finca localizada en el sector Las Lajas, municipio Miranda del estado Gu\ue1rico. Para las capturas se utilizaron dos tipos de trampas malaise y canopy, y capturas eventuales sobre caballos. Las capturas fueron retiradas semanalmente y llevadas al laboratorio de Entomolog\ueda para su identificaci\uf3n y contaje. Un total de 1179 tab\ue1nidos fueron colectados distribuidos en cuatro g\ue9neros y 14 especies. Se observ\uf3 que la diversidad de especies y el n\ufamero de individuos colectados fue mayor a finales del per\uedodo lluvioso. Las especies m\ue1s abundantes resultaron T. claripennis (Bigot, 1892) y T. pungens Wiedemann, 1828 las cuales estuvieron presentes en ambos per\uedodos de colecta

Maturidade emocional, locus de controle e ansiedade em pré- adolescentes obesos

Investigou-se aspectos do funcionamento psicológico como a maturidade emocional, locus de controle e ansiedade em pré-adolescentes obesos, através dos instrumentos: Teste do Desenho da Figura Humana (DFH), Escala de Locus de Controle para crianças e Escala de Ansiedade "RCMS". Os resultados não apontaram uma tendência específica quanto ao locus de controle ser mais interno ou externo. Em relação à ansiedade, enquanto traço de personalidade, a maioria dos sujeitos situou-se dentro do esperado para seu grupo etário. No DFH os índices relativos à Escala Evolutiva e à Escala Emocional encontraram-se também dentro do esperado, em sua maior parte. Tais resultados sugerem que não existe diferença entre pré-adolescentes obesos e pré-adolescentes em geral, quanto às variáveis estudadas. Entretanto, ser obeso pode estar associado a dificuldades de elaboração de aspectos evolutivos e emocionais para alguns indivíduos.Aspects of psychological functioning such as emotional maturity, locus of control and anxiety had been evaluated in obese preadolescents. The following instruments were used: Draw a Person Test - DAT; Locus of Control Scale for Children and the Revised Children Manifest Anxiety Scale (Portuguese versions). Results show no tendency for the locus of control to be more external or internal, when compared to normative data. The scores of anxiety, as personality trait, are compatible to the normative data. The DAT analysis showed that most of the results related to Developmental and Emotional Scales are within the norm values. These results suggest no differences between obese preadolescents and preadolescents in general, related to the aspects approached in this study. They also suggest that, for some individuals, being obese may be associated to some emotional suffering and difficulties in dealing with developmental aspects

Emotional maturity, locus of control and anxiety in obese preadolescents

Investigou-se aspectos do funcionamento psicológico como a maturidade emocional, locus de controle e ansiedade em pré-adolescentes obesos, através dos instrumentos: Teste do Desenho da Figura Humana (DFH), Escala de Locus de Controle para crianças e Escala de Ansiedade "RCMS". Os resultados não apontaram uma tendência específica quanto ao locus de controle ser mais interno ou externo. Em relação à ansiedade, enquanto traço de personalidade, a maioria dos sujeitos situou-se dentro do esperado para seu grupo etário. No DFH os índices relativos à Escala Evolutiva e à Escala Emocional encontraram-se também dentro do esperado, em sua maior parte. Tais resultados sugerem que não existe diferença entre pré-adolescentes obesos e pré-adolescentes em geral, quanto às variáveis estudadas. Entretanto, ser obeso pode estar associado a dificuldades de elaboração de aspectos evolutivos e emocionais para alguns indivíduos.Aspects of psychological functioning such as emotional maturity, locus of control and anxiety had been evaluated in obese preadolescents. The following instruments were used: Draw a Person Test - DAT; Locus of Control Scale for Children and the Revised Children Manifest Anxiety Scale (Portuguese versions). Results show no tendency for the locus of control to be more external or internal, when compared to normative data. The scores of anxiety, as personality trait, are compatible to the normative data. The DAT analysis showed that most of the results related to Developmental and Emotional Scales are within the norm values. These results suggest no differences between obese preadolescents and preadolescents in general, related to the aspects approached in this study. They also suggest that, for some individuals, being obese may be associated to some emotional suffering and difficulties in dealing with developmental aspects

Assessing the diversity of whiteflies infesting cassava in Brazil.

Background. The necessity of a competent vector for transmission is a primary ecological factor driving the host range expansion of plant arthropod-borne viruses, with vectors playing an essential role in disease emergence. Cassava begomoviruses severely constrain cassava production in Africa. Curiously, begomoviruses have never been reported in cassava in South America, the center of origin for this crop. It has been hypothesized that the absence of a competent vector in cassava is the reason why begomoviruses have not emerged in South America. Methods. We performed a country-wide whitefly diversity study in cassava in Brazil. Adults and/or nymphs of whiteflies were collected from sixty-six cassava fields in the main agroecological zones of the country. A total of 1,385 individuals were genotyped based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I sequences. Results. A high species richness was observed, with five previously described species and two putative new ones. The prevalent species were Tetraleurodes acaciae and Bemisia tuberculata, representing over 75% of the analyzed individuals. Although we detected, for the first time, the presence of Bemisia tabaci Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (BtMEAM1) colonizing cassava in Brazil, it was not prevalent. The species composition varied across regions, with fields in the Northeast region showing a higher diversity. These results expand our knowledge of whitefly diversity in cassava and support the hypothesis that begomovirus epidemics have not occurred in cassava in Brazil due to the absence of competent vector populations. However, they indicate an ongoing adaptation process of BtMEAM1 to cassava, increasing the likelihood of begomovirus emergence in this cro