Subitamente cuidadores informais: a experiência de transição para o papel de cuidador informal a partir de um evento inesperado

Tese de doutoramento, Enfermagem, Universidade de Lisboa, com a participação da Escola Superior de Enfermagem, 2011A literatura sobre o desenvolvimento do papel de cuidador informal reconhece, consensualmente, a importância da protecção e da promoção da qualidade de vida dos cuidadores informais como uma prioridade para os profissionais de saúde. Contudo, a literatura revela-se escassa no que respeita à atenção sobre a experiência vivida dos subitamente cuidadores informais, encontrando-se o conhecimento existente muito centrado nos aspectos físicos do cuidar. O que significa tornar-se subitamente cuidador, ou a experiência vivida da redefinição de si, num novo papel, são aspectos que necessitam de maior clarificação. Este estudo qualitativo tem como objectivo compreender o sentido da experiência vivida na transição para o papel de cuidador informal de um convivente significativo a partir de um evento súbito. O desenho do estudo adoptou uma abordagem fenomenológico-hermenêutica tendo sido realizadas entrevistas não estruturadas junto de cuidadores informais (N=14) para a recolha de informação. Na análise da informação utilizou-se a abordagem de Van Manen, identificando-se quatro temas principais: o(s) tempo(s) vivido(s); sentindo-se só; tomando o outro a cargo; desencontros no percurso. A experiência de se tornar subitamente cuidador é, ainda, marcada por um movimento não linear através do decurso do tempo de focagem e desfocagem na situação de cuidar. O ser capaz de se relacionar com os outros, de reorganizar o seu tempo e de se sentir confortável ao assumir as suas novas responsabilidades são indicadores da capacidade de adaptação dos cuidadores a esta transição, bem como da obtenção de equilíbrio neste novo papel – do sentir-se “exclusivamente cuidador” a “também cuidador”. O conhecimento aprofundado sobre o sentido que os cuidadores atribuem à sua experiência – relações, opções e estratégias de coping – é crucial para que os enfermeiros possam planificar, avaliar e desenhar intervenções de enfermagem capazes de dar respostas às necessidades daqueles que se tornam subitamente cuidadores informaisThe literature on the development of the role of informal caregivers widely recognizes that protecting and promoting the quality of life of caregivers should be a priority for health professionals. However, knowledge about how individuals develop as sudden caregivers is scarce, with existing knowledge centring mainly on the physical aspects of caregiving. What it means to suddenly become a caregiver or to experience role redefinition as a caregiver remains largely unclear. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the lived experience of individuals taking on the role of informal caregivers after an unexpected event involving a relative. A phenomenological-hermeneutical framework guided the study. Participants were 14 adult informal caregivers. Unstructured interviews were used for collecting data and Van Manen´s approach to analyse data and to reveal themes. From caregivers‟ interviews, four main themes were identified: lived time, feeling alone, taking over someone else‟s life, failing expectations. Also, the caregiving experience is characterized as a movement of ongoing focussing and de-focussing in the caregiving situation over time. The extent to which caregivers feel connected with others, redefine their personal use of time, and feel comfortable with their new responsibilities indicates how they are managing this transition and how well they are achieving balance in their new role; i.e., from feeling „exclusively‟ a caregiver to being „also‟ a caregiver. Information about the meaning that caregivers attribute to their experience – relationships, options, and strategies – is crucial, as it will help nurses to plan, assess, and design adequate nursing interventions to support informal caregivers, especially in unexpected situations

Yeast chassis design for dicarboxylic acids production

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Model-guided development of an evolutionarily stable yeast chassis.

First-principle metabolic modelling holds potential for designing microbial chassis that are resilient against phenotype reversal due to adaptive mutations. Yet, the theory of model-based chassis design has rarely been put to rigorous experimental test. Here, we report the development of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chassis strains for dicarboxylic acid production using genome-scale metabolic modelling. The chassis strains, albeit geared for higher flux towards succinate, fumarate and malate, do not appreciably secrete these metabolites. As predicted by the model, introducing product-specific TCA cycle disruptions resulted in the secretion of the corresponding acid. Adaptive laboratory evolution further improved production of succinate and fumarate, demonstrating the evolutionary robustness of the engineered cells. In the case of malate, multi-omics analysis revealed a flux bypass at peroxisomal malate dehydrogenase that was missing in the yeast metabolic model. In all three cases, flux balance analysis integrating transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics data confirmed the flux re-routing predicted by the model. Taken together, our modelling and experimental results have implications for the computer-aided design of microbial cell factories

Ergonomics in "remote work" activities: a workstation adaptation case study in Brazil

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic decreed by the outbreak of the new coronavirus culminated in the need to implement jobs in the homes of employees who had to adhere to the “remote work” style, due to social isolation actions in Brazil. Many of the employees started to work in the absence of adequate working conditions in their homes, impacting the three dimensions of ergonomics, i.e., physical, organizational and cognitive. The objective of this chapter is to report the adjustments made in a workplace after the change of modality from face-to-face (f2f) activities to “remote work” after the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, aiming to adopt actions aimed at ergonomics. The research was carried out with a professional in the area of Environmental and Sanitary Engineering who started remote work in March 2020. The work is of a qualitative nature, using photos to illustrate the changes occurring before and after the installation of the equipments and reports on strategies to improve working conditions in the “remote work”. The cost of physical adaptations was also computed. The most reported complaints collected by the professional were back pain, neck, forearm, wrist and eye pain, in addition to mental fatigue. The necessary equipment and furniture were acquired for the physical adaptation of the workspace. Issues of working hours, days off, means of communication were also addressed, but aspects of cognitive and organizational ergonomics must have the participation of the entire work group to achieve effective results. The accompaniment of a specialized technical professional would be important for the establishment of further assertive actions, seeking the productivity and quality of life of the employee.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Per millorar la recuperació muscular de la part superior del braç després del dany induït per l’exercici no n’hi ha prou amb usar durant 12 h una màniga de compressió

Objectiu Avaluar l’eficàcia de la màniga de compressió usada durant un període de temps curt (12 h) en la recuperació dels símptomes del dany muscular induït per l’exercici dels músculs del braç. Mètode En un estudi aleatori controlat, 13 homes joves sans realitzaren un protocol d’exercicis estandarditzat per induir dany muscular als flexors del colze. Es dividiren en 2 grups: experimental (n = 7) i control (n = 6). Es prengueren mesures de la força isomètrica de flexió del colze, la circumferència del braç (CB) i la percepció del dolor muscular abans i a les 24, 48, 72 i 96 h posteriors a l’exercici, i s’utilitzaren com a criteris de dany muscular induït per l’exercici. Es van fer comparacions entre grups de cada variable amb un ANOVA de 2 vies (2 grups × 5 mesures) i amb un nivell de significació de p < 0,05. Resultats S’observà una pèrdua important (p < 0,001) de la força muscular (∼43% i ∼34% en els grups control i experimental, respectivament, 24 h després de l’exercici) i un augment significatiu (p < 0,001) en la circumferència del braç i dolor muscular (F4,55 = 6,49 per a CB i F4,55 = 6,95 per al dolor muscular) en prendre les mesures després de l’exercici, en tots 2 grups, sense diferències significatives entre ells. Conclusions Els nostres resultats, juntament amb troballes prèvies, suggereixen que l’ús de la màniga de compressió durant 12 h no és suficient per millorar la recuperació dels símptomes del dany muscular induït per l’exercici dels músculs del braç, i que per aconseguir resultats positius són necessaris períodes més llargs de compressió

Twelve hours of a compression sleeve is not enough to improve the muscle recovery of an exercise-damaged upper arm

Objective To assess the efficacy of a compression sleeve worn for a short-time period (12 h) on the recovery from the symptoms of exercise-induced upper arm muscle damage. Methods A randomized controlled study was conducted on thirteen healthy young men using a standardized and exercise-induced upper arm muscle damage protocol, and they were immediately placed into two groups: TREATED (n = 7) and CONTROL (n = 6). Isometric elbow flexion strength, upper arm circumference, and muscle soreness measurements were taken before and at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after the damaging exercise, and were used as criteria of exercise-induced muscle damage. Group comparisons were made for each variable using a two-way ANOVA design (2 groups × 5 measurements), and with a significance level of P < 0.05. Results A significant impairment (P < 0.001) was observed in muscle strength (∼43% and ∼34%, for CONTROL and TREATED groups, respectively, 24 h after exercise), as well as a significant increase (P < 0.001) in upper arm circumference (UAC) and muscle soreness (F4,55 = 6.49 for UAC and F4,55 = 6.95 for muscle soreness) among the measurements after exercise for both groups, with no significant differences between them. Conclusions These results, together with previous findings, suggest that the use of a compression garment for 12 h is not enough to improve the recovery from exercise-induced muscle damage in the upper arm, and longer periods of compression may be necessary to achieve positive outcomes

CIUDADANÍA EN LAS PRÁCTICAS EDUCATIVAS: INFORMES DE EXPERIENCIA DE LA GEOGRAFÍA EN PIBID

O presente artigo tem por objetivo divulgar as ações desenvolvidas pelo Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação a Docência – PIBID da Universidade Federal do Tocantins especificamente as ações do subprojeto de Licenciatura em Geografia no campus de Porto Nacional e suas contribuições na prática educativa de oficinas direcionadas ao exercício da cidadania dos alunos do ensino fundamental.Este artículo tiene como objetivo difundir las acciones desarrolladas por el Programa de de Iniciación a la Docencia - PIBID em la Universidad Federal de Tocantins específicamente las acciones de subproyecto Geografía Licenciatura en el campus de Porto Nacional y sus contribuciones en los talleres de práctica educativa dirigida a ciudadana de los estudiantes de la escuela primaria

Environmental Groundwater Vulnerability Assessment in Urban Water Mines

A multidisciplinary approach was developed to estimate urban groundwater vulnerability to contamination combining hydrogeology, hydrogeochemistry, subterranean hydrogeotechnics, groundwater ecotoxicology and isotope tracers. Paranhos and Salgueiros spring waters in Porto City were used as a case study. Historical and current vulnerability scenarios were compared using hydrogeological GIS-based modelling. Potential contamination sources were mapped around the spring galleries. Most of these were point sources and their potential contamination load was moderate. The ecotoxicological assessment indicated a low acute toxicity potential. Groundwater radionuclides appeared to be mainly controlled by geological factors and biomineralisation. Vulnerability maps suggest that most of the area has a moderate to low vulnerability to contamination. However, some surface sources such as sewage systems cause contamination and contribute to increased vulnerability. This integrated approach was demonstrated to be adequate for a better knowledge of urban hydrogeological processes and their dynamics, and highlighted the importance of a vulnerability assessment in urban areas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio