Especificidade da contribuição dos saberes e práticas das Ciências Sociais e Humanas para a saúde

O artigo trata de questões envolvendo a vida, a saúde e o adoecimento na sociedade atual. Tenta esclarecer as contribuições das ciências humanas e sociais na construção do campo da saúde - principalmente o da saúde coletiva - tanto em nível da pesquisa empírica como nos planos teórico e metodológico. Tenta mostrar que tanto categorias analíticas e conceitos como estratégias metodológicas das ciências sociais e humanas são úteis para o esclarecimento de relações entre condutas, estilos de vida, trabalho, valores culturais e o processo saúde/doença. Tenta também demonstrar que esse grupo de ciências tem suas próprias formas de expressão e estilo de difusão de conhecimento, que nem sempre são aceitas pelas ciências duras do campo da vida e da saúde, incluindo a medicina e a epidemiologia. Apesar de sua real contribuição para o avanço do campo, podem ser "acusadas" de falta de objetividade ou precisão. Os cientistas sociais da saúde coletiva têm que demonstrar, muitas vezes, que os resultados de suas pesquisas, e seu estilo de difusão, são tão científicos quanto os das disciplinas duras.This article deals with questions concerning life, health, and getting ill in the current society. It tries to show the contributions of the social and human sciences to the construction of the health field -mainly public health- both in the level of empirical investigation and in the theoretical and methodological ones. It tries to point out that the analytical categories and concepts, as well as methodological strategies of the human sciences are helpful to explain relationships between conducts, lifestyles, work, cultural values and the health/disease process. It also attempts to demonstrate that this group of sciences has its own forms of expression and style of knowledge diffusion, which are not always accepted by the hard sciences in the life and health fields, including medicine and epidemiology. Despite their real contribution for the advance of the field, they can be "accused" of not being objective or exact. The social scientists of the public health field have often to prove that the results of their studies or their own style of expression are as "scientific" as those of the hard disciplines

Human case of West Nile neuroinvasive disease in Portugal, summer 2015

A case of West Nile virus (WNV) infection was reported in the Algarve region, Portugal, in the first week of September 2015. WNV is known to circulate in Portugal, with occasional reports in horses and birds (2004 to 2011) and very sporadically human cases (in 2004 and in 2010). Here we present the clinical and laboratory aspects related to the first human case of West Nile neuroinvasive disease reported in Portugal

Green functions for generalized point interactions in 1D: A scattering approach

Recently, general point interactions in one dimension has been used to model a large number of different phenomena in quantum mechanics. Such potentials, however, requires some sort of regularization to lead to meaningful results. The usual ways to do so rely on technicalities which may hide important physical aspects of the problem. In this work we present a new method to calculate the exact Green functions for general point interactions in 1D. Our approach differs from previous ones because it is based only on physical quantities, namely, the scattering coefficients, $R$ and $T$, to construct $G$. Renormalization or particular mathematical prescriptions are not invoked. The simple formulation of the method makes it easy to extend to more general contexts, such as for lattices of $N$ general point interactions; on a line; on a half-line; under periodic boundary conditions; and confined in a box.Comment: Revtex, 9 pages, 3 EPS figures. To be published in PR

Spectral properties on a circle with a singularity

We investigate the spectral and symmetry properties of a quantum particle moving on a circle with a pointlike singularity (or point interaction). We find that, within the U(2) family of the quantum mechanically allowed distinct singularities, a U(1) equivalence (of duality-type) exists, and accordingly the space of distinct spectra is U(1) x [SU(2)/U(1)], topologically a filled torus. We explore the relationship of special subfamilies of the U(2) family to corresponding symmetries, and identify the singularities that admit an N = 2 supersymmetry. Subfamilies that are distinguished in the spectral properties or the WKB exactness are also pointed out. The spectral and symmetry properties are also studied in the context of the circle with two singularities, which provides a useful scheme to discuss the symmetry properties on a general basis.Comment: TeX, 26 pages. v2: one reference added and two update

Efeito de extratos vegetais fermentados sobre adultos de Anastrepha fraterculus (Wied., 1830) (Diptera: Tephritidae) em laboratório.

A mosca-das-frutas sul-americana, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wied., 1830), é a principal praga das frutíferas de clima temperado na região sul do Brasil. Neste trabalho foi avaliado o efeito de extratos vegetais fermentados sobre adultos de Anastrepha fraterculus em laboratório. Os extratos fermentados de plantas avaliados foram: Margarida-do-Campo, Aspilia foliacea (Spreng.) Baker; Línguade-vaca, Chaptalia nutans (L.) Polak; Uva-do-japão, Hovenia dulcis Thunb.; Cinamomo, Melia azedarach L.; Fumo-bravo, Solanum mauritianum Scop.; Ervade-passarinho, Tripodanthus acutifolius Thieg. Os extratos (500gr de planta com 1,5 L de água de fonte) foram produzidos através de fermentação anaeróbica ou aeróbica, com presença ou ausência de 20gr de fermento fresco e seco e 40gr de açúcar. Dois casais de 25 dias de idade provenientes de uma criação artificial sob condições controladas (25 ±3ºC, 70±10% e fotofase de 14 horas) foram confinados em gaiola cilíndrica transparente (8 cm de diâmetro x 11 cm de altura) contendo água, dieta (açúcar, gérmen de trigo e extrato de soja na proporção de 3:1:1) e o seu respectivo tratamento em recipiente de 4mL. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente casualizado em dez repetições. Os extratos foram avaliados na concentração de 10% fornecidos via ingestão, integrados a 5% proteína hidrolisada (BioFruit®) mantendo-se um tratamento testemunha. A avaliação da mortalidade foi feita 24, 48, 72 e 96 horas após o fornecimento aos insetos. Os dados da mortalidade foram submetidos à análise de variância e as médias comparadas ao teste de Tukey (P<0,05). Os extratos com fermentação aeróbica da espécie Aspilia foliacea (margarida-do-campo), com e sem fermento fresco proporcionaram mortalidade superior a 85%, diferenciando-se dos demais extratos que não causaram mortalidade significativa de adultos de A. fraterculus

Improving the Understanding of N Transport in a Rural Catchment Under Atlantic Climate Conditions From the Analysis of the Concentration–Discharge Relationship Derived From a High-Frequency Data Set

[Abstract] Understanding processes controlling stream nutrient dynamics over time is crucial for implementing effective management strategies to prevent water quality degradation. In this respect, the study of the nutrient concentration–discharge (C–Q) relationship during individual runoff events can be a valuable tool for extrapolating the hydrochemical processes controlling nutrient fluxes in streams. This study investigated nitrogen concentration dynamics during events by analyzing and interpreting the nitrogen C–Q relationship in a small Atlantic (NW Iberian Peninsula) rural catchment. To this end, nitrate (NO3-N) and total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) concentrations were monitored at a high temporal resolution during 102 runoff events over a 6-year period. For each of the selected runoff events, C–Q response was examined visually for the presence and direction of hysteresis loops and classified into three types of responses, namely clockwise, counterclockwise, and no hysteresis. Changes in concentration (ΔC) and the hysteresis direction (ΔR) were used to quantify nitrogen ( and TKN) patterns during the runoff events. The transport mechanisms varied between compounds. The most frequent hysteretic response for was counterclockwise with enrichment. On the contrary, the main TKN dynamic was enrichment with clockwise hysteresis. Event characteristics, such as rainfall amount, peak discharge (i.e., maximum discharge of the runoff event), and event magnitude relative to the initial baseflow (i.e., the difference between the maximum discharge of the runoff event and the initial baseflow divided by initial baseflow) provided a better explanation for hysteresis direction and magnitude for TKN than antecedent conditions (antecedent precipitation and baseflow at the beginning of the event). For hysteresis, the role of hydrometeorological conditions was more complex. The hysteresis magnitude was related to the magnitude of the event relative to the initial baseflow and the time elapsed since a preceding runoff event. These findings could be used as a reference for the development of N mitigation strategy in the region.This research has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (grant no. REN2003-08143) and Xunta of Galicia (grant nos. PGIDIT05RAG10303PR and 10MDS103031PR)Xunta of Galicia; PGIDIT05RAG10303PRXunta of Galicia; 10MDS103031P

First report of Phytophthora boehmeriae on black wattle in Brazil.

Nota Técnica

Hydrophobic-Core Microcapsules and Their Formation

Hydrophobic-core microcapsules and methods of their formation are provided. A hydrophobic-core microcapsule may include a shell that encapsulates a hydrophobic substance with a core substance, such as dye, corrosion indicator, corrosion inhibitor, and/or healing agent, dissolved or dispersed therein. The hydrophobic-core microcapsules may be formed from an emulsion having hydrophobic-phase droplets, e.g., containing the core substance and shell-forming compound, dispersed in a hydrophilic phase. The shells of the microcapsules may be capable of being broken down in response to being contacted by an alkali, e.g., produced during corrosion, contacting the shell

Condições agrometeorológicas de cafeeiros na região de Soledade de Minas, anos 1999-2011.

O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever os dados climáticos de temperatura do ar e precipitação da região cafeeira de Soledade de Minas, Minas Gerais e relacioná-las as fases fenológicas dos cafeeiros e qualidade da bebida. A área de estudo compreende o município de Soledade de Minas, situado na região da Serra da Mantiqueira, sul do estado de Minas Gerais e pertencente à bacia hidrográfica do Rio Verd

pH-Sensitive Microparticles with Matrix-Dispersed Active Agent

Methods to produce pH-sensitive microparticles that have an active agent dispersed in a polymer matrix have certain advantages over microcapsules with an active agent encapsulated in an interior compartment/core inside of a polymer wall. The current invention relates to pH-sensitive microparticles that have a corrosion-detecting or corrosion-inhibiting active agent or active agents dispersed within a polymer matrix of the microparticles. The pH-sensitive microparticles can be used in various coating compositions on metal objects for corrosion detecting and/or inhibiting