A better physical environment in the workplace means higher well-being? A study with healthcare professionals

Physical working conditions have potential effects on health, and play an important role in quality of life, and job satisfaction, yet most studies on the direct or indirect consequences of physical environmental conditions on healthcare professionals’ focus on outcomes such as performance, efficiency, and error. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of the physical environment quality of healthcare settings on professionals’ wellbeing. The sample comprised 148 healthcare professionals working in inpatient or outpatient care units from four different hospitals. Two independent variables were used: Objective environmental quality (high/low) and Type of care unit (inpatient/outpatient); and three well-being indicators were analyzed: Job satisfaction, Perception of the care unit as close to an ideal care unit, and Subjective stress. Results show that healthcare professionals working in hospitals with better physical conditions feel more satisfied with their job, and perceive the care unit as closer to the ideal. Stress levels were not affected by physical environment quality or the type of care unit

Image Processing Techniques to Remove Depth Bias Effects in Magnetic Source Images of Deep Cracks

Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) methods are used to detect localized phenomena such as surface or sub-surface cracks in ferromagnetic materials [1]. A dc magnetic field is induced inside the sample being tested, and the distribution of the resultant lines of magnetic flux is determined by the values of magnetic permeability within the region of interest. Characteristically, the magnetic flux“leaks” out of the object in the region of a defect, allowing it to be detected using some kind of magnetic sensor

Do the hospital rooms make a difference for patients’ stress? A multilevel analysis of the role of perceived control, positive distraction, and social support

The physical environment of healthcare settings can contribute to preventing or reducing patients' stress. Using Ulrich's theory of supportive design (1991), this study tested whether this relationship occurs because the physical environment promotes perceptions of control, positive distractions, and social support. The research disentangles the contribution of the objective qualities of physical environment to stress, over and above patients' perceptions about the environment. In a multi-site field study (five hospital units from two countries), 57 hospital rooms were assessed in terms of the number of favorable design features, and 187 patients responded to a questionnaire after surgery. Multilevel regression analysis showed that the greater the number of favorable design features, the less the patients' stress, that positive perceptions about the room qualities in terms of how much social support and distraction they provide explain this effect, and that the relative importance of these dimensions may differ between cultures

Imagens digitais aplicadas para determinação de áreas agrícolas através do classificador Bayes.

Através da classificação das imagens digitais é possível construir painéis amostrais por área, particularmente na estratificação de grandes áreas, e, dependendo da resolução espacial, até mesmo na identificação e delineamento dos seus limites físicos. Este trabalho teve por objetivo desenvolver um algoritmo para um classificador de áreas agrícolas para região que compreende parte da região Leste de Goiás. Através dos resultados obtidos no presente trabalho concluiu-se que a técnica utilizada demonstrou ser eficaz na determinação de áreas agrícolas (pivôs centrais). Também foi possível classificar e estimar as áreas agrícolas sobre a refletância dos alvos na cena de estudo

Poor sleep quality and oral health among older Brazilian adults

Objectives: This study evaluates the association between normative and subjective oral health measures and poor self‐reported sleep quality among community‐dwelling older adults in Brazil. / Methods: This was a cross‐sectional study with data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging. The dependent variable was the poor sleep quality. Independent variables of interest included number of teeth and self‐reported impact of oral health on eating/chewing and on maintaining emotional stability. / Results: Poor sleep quality was reported by 17.8 (95% CI 16.6; 19.2) of the participants, 29% of the participants were edentulous, and 30% had 20 or more teeth. Impacts of oral health on eating and maintaining emotional stability was found among 33.3% and 20% of the older adults, respectively. After adjusting for all oral health measures and covariates, the magnitude of the associations between the number of teeth and sleep quality was attenuated. Sleep quality was related to oral health impacts on eating (OR 1.19 [95% CI 1.00; 1.41]) and on emotional stability (OR 1.51 [95% CI 1.21; 1.87]). / Conclusions: This study found an association between oral health and sleep quality emphasizing the importance of oral health to general health

Potential of \u3cem\u3ePanicum maximum\u3c/em\u3e as a Source of Energy

The use of plant biomass as a source of energy presents many advantages, mainly that it is a renewable, clean source of energy. Many tropical grasses have excellent po-tential as energy crops. The main one in Brazil is Pennisetum purpureum (elephant grass) owing to its very high yields. However, it is vegetatively propagated, thus more difficult to establish than seed propagated species. The use of Panicum maximum (guinea grass) is a possible alternative for use as a source of energy, due to its high yields as well as seed propagation. The objective of this research was to evaluate the potential of different P. maximum genotypes for use as energy crops, in comparison with elephant grass

Evapotranspiração real diária utilizando produtos do sensor MODIS/Terra na bacia do Rio Paracatu.

Estudos relacionados à demanda hídrica em uma escala regional de forma a identificar variabilidades espaciais e temporais são fundamentais no diagnóstico e gerenciamento de bacias hidrográficas. O objetivo deste estudo foi estimar a evapotranspiração real diária nas sub-bacias do ribeirão Entre Ribeiros e rio Preto, que ficam entre os Estados de Goiás e Minas Gerais, por meio de ferramentas de sensoriamento remoto. O algoritmo SEBAL (Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land) foi utilizado com produtos do sensor MODIS e dados meteorológicos do dia 23 de setembro de 2007. Os resultados obtidos se mostraram consistentes na comparação com informações da literatura indicando que, a metodologia pode ser utilizada em estudos complementares relacionados à gestão de bacias hidrográficas

Estimativa do saldo de radiação utilizando imagem do sensor MODIS/TERRA em sub-bacias do Paracatu.

O saldo de radiação à superfície exerce um papel fundamental nos métodos que estimam a evapotranspiração, componente essencial do balanço hídrico, principalmente quando a superfície do solo é mantida úmida com irrigação. Neste contexto, esse trabalho tem como objetivo estimar o saldo de radiação em sub-bacias do Paracatu utilizando produtos obtidos pelo sensor MODIS a bordo do satélite Terra. Para obtenção do Rn foi utilizado o Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL). O saldo de radiação à superfície variou de 431,00 a 729,58 W/m2, com média de 559,26 W/m2