Does workplace bullying experiences impact, on long-term, employees levels of strain?

Abstract:-The present study reports the long-term effects of workplace bullying exposure on Romanian employees' physical strain. 73 (Mage=31.5; SDage=8.91) Romanian employees participated at baseline (t1-June-September 2012) and at follow-up six months later (t2. March 2013-June 2013). The results of the present article showed that workplace bullying consequences are more important for the longterm than for the short one. The results showed that workplace bullying predicted at time 1 only 6.2% of physical strain's variance while at time 2 it predicted 13.1% of physical strain's variance. These results emphasize that the more prolonged are workplace bullying acts the more physically strain Romanian employees will feel. It seems that the negative effects of workplace bullying exposure are more salient on long-term than on short-term. The results of the present article can have practical implications because they can bring new information useful for human resources practitioners, helping them designing and conducting more efficient training programs

Progress in hydroxyapatite-starch based sustainable biomaterials for biomedical bone substitution applications

Hydroxyapatite is a calcium phosphate intensively proposed as a bone substitution material because of its resemblance to the constituents of minerals present in natural bone. Since hydroxyapatite’s properties are mainly adequate for nonload bearing applications, different solutions are being tested for improving these properties and upgrading them near the target values of natural bone. On the other hand, starch (a natural and biodegradable polymer) and its blends with other polymers have been proposed as constituents in hydroxyapatite mixtures due to the adhesive, gelling, and swelling abilities of starch particles, useful in preparing well dispersed suspensions and consolidated ceramic bodies. This article presents the perspectives of incorporating starch and starch blends in hydroxyapatite materials. Based on the role of starch within the materials, the review covers its use as (i) a polymeric matrix in hydroxyapatite composites used as adhesives, bone cements, bone waxes, drug delivery devices or scaffolds and (ii) a sacrificial binder for fabrication of porous hydroxyapatite scaffolds. The suitability of these materials for bone reconstruction has becomes a reachable aim considering the recent advancements in ceramic fabrication and the current possibilities of controlling the processing parameters

Biomimetic Calcium Phosphates Derived from Marine and Land Bioresources

This chapter aims to establish the key factors for technological optimization of biogenic calcium phosphate synthesis from marine and land resources. Three natural calcium sources—marble, seashell and bovine bone—were considered as raw materials. The proposed materials are suitable candidates for the synthesis of bone substitutes similar to the inorganic bone component. The synthesis processes were developed based on the investigations of thermal phenomena (TGA-DSC analysis) that can occur during thermal treatments. By this method, we were able to determine the optimum routes and temperatures for the complete dissociation of calcium carbonate as well as risk-free deproteinization of bovine bone. An exhaustive characterization, performed with modern and complementary techniques such as morphology (SEM), composition (EDS, XRF) and structure (FT-IR, XRD), is presented for each precursor. The final chemical composition of ceramic products can be modulated through a careful control of the key parameters involved in the conversion, in order to create long-term performant biphasic apatite biomaterials, with broad medical applicability. Identifying the suitable strategies for this modulation contributes to an appreciable advance in orthopedic tissue engineering

Synthesis and characterization of jellified composites form bovine bone-derived hydroxyapatite and starch as precursors for robocasting

Hydroxyapatite–starch composites solidify rapidly via jellification, making them suitable candidates for robocasting. However, many aspects related to hydroxyapatite powder characteristics, hydroxyapatite–starch interaction, and composites composition and properties need to be aligned with robocasting requirements to achieve a notable improvement in the functionality of printed scaffolds intended for bone regeneration. This article presents a preliminary evaluation of hydroxyapatite–starch microcomposites. Thermal analysis of the starting powders was performed for predicting composites’ behavior during heat-induced densification. Also, morphology, mechanical properties, and hydroxyapatite–starch interaction were evaluated for the jellified composites and the porous bodies obtained after conventional sintering, for different starch additions, and for ceramic particle size distributions. The results indicate that starch could be used for hydroxyapatite consolidation in limited quantities, whereas the composites shall be processed under controlled temperature. Due to a different mechanical behavior induced by particle size and geometry, a wide particle size distribution of hydroxyapatite powder is recommended for further robocasting ink development

Facile synthesis and characterization of hydroxyapatite particles for high value nanocomposites and biomaterials

Lately Hydroxyapatite has gained a lot of research interest and intense focus due to its structural as well as compositional similarity to the components of human bone mineral. The conversion of calcium-rich precursors to hydroxyapatite could lead to the development of a new sustainable alternative with a valuable environmental and socio-economically impact. Still, current approaches faces lots of challenges in terms of synthesis parameters compatible to a reproducible route for calcium phosphates (hydroxyapatite included) synthesis. The optimization of Rathje synthesis route and characterization of biogenic derived calcium phosphates from dolomitic marble and Mytilus galloprovincialis seashells, constitutes the main goals of this study. The synthesized materials were characterized using FTIR, SEM coupled with EDS, and X-ray diffraction at all synthesis stages. Precursors were also subjected to thermal analysis and differential scanning calorimetry for thermal transformations investigations and dissociation temperature setting. This study suggests that acid quantity and magnetic stirring are the key-factors for Ca/P molar ratio adjustment, hence for the amount of naturally-derived hydroxyapatite. This research also contributes to the development of new strategies for further optimization of the conversion procedure and removal of residual components

Synthesis and characterization of cellulose acetate-hydroxyapatite micro and nano composites membranes for water purification and biomedical applications

In this work, we report facile synthesis and characterization of new cellulose acetate-hydroxyapatite membranes for water purification and biomedical applications. The membranes were synthesized from a polymer solution in N, N’-dimethylformamide (12% wt.) where different concentrations of hydroxyapatite (1, 2, 4% wt. based on the amount of polymer) were dispersed using sonication. The synthesis of membranes was carried out by precipitation employing phase inversion using deionized water. The morphological and structural characterization of the synthesized membranes was carried out using SEM, EDS and FT-IR. Thermal characterization (TGA & DTG) and water flows analysis of the synthesized membranes was also carried out. The SEM analysis confirmed the presence of hydroxyapatite micro/nanostructured particles in the membrane as well as significant changes in the morphology of the membranes surface. The presence of inorganic compounds was also found to influence the thermal or hydrodynamic properties of the composite membranes, leading to a more stable hydrodynamic behavior, flow variation in time being much lower compared to the control membrane of cellulose acetate

Vulnerabilidad de las madres y sus hijos e hijas durante el período perinatal: puntos de referencia

Durante los últimos años, la vulnerabilidad se ha convertido en una de las cuestiones más importantes que han centrado el debate en torno las políticas sociales en Europa. Del latín “vulnus”, que significa “lesión”, y “vulnare”, “dañar”, la vulnerabilidad es el área en la que el daño puede darse. Existe una doble perspectiva sobre qué área sensible o fragilidad define la vulnerabilidad, según Soulet (2010). Así pues, vulnerabilidad significa “susceptibilidad de ser dañado”. El denominador común es un estado frágil ya conocido o a punto de ser conocido. Este concepto, aunque muy general, se puede especificar en los dos ámbitos que integra el proyecto europeo CAPEvFAIR: por un lado el científico y, por el otro, el profesional.Proyecto Europeo CapeVfair. Erasmus

Naturally-Derived Biphasic Calcium Phosphates through Increased Phosphorus-Based Reagent Amounts for Biomedical Applications

Calcium carbonate from marble and seashells is an eco-friendly, sustainable, and largely available bioresource for producing natural bone-like calcium phosphates (CaPs). Based on three main objectives, this research targeted the: (i) adaptation of an indirect synthesis route by modulating the amount of phosphorus used in the chemical reaction, (ii) comprehensive structural, morphological, and surface characterization, and (iii) biocompatibility assessment of the synthesized powdered samples. The morphological characterization was performed on digitally processed scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. The complementary 3D image augmentation of SEM results also allowed the quantification of roughness parameters. The results revealed that both morphology and roughness were modulated through the induced variation of the synthesis parameters. Structural investigation of the samples was performed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Depending on the phosphorus amount from the chemical reaction, the structural studies revealed the formation of biphasic CaPs based on hydroxyapatite/brushite or brushite/monetite. The in vitro assessment of the powdered samples demonstrated their capacity to support MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblast viability and proliferation at comparable levels to the negative cytotoxicity control and the reference material (commercial hydroxyapatite). Therefore, these samples hold great promise for biomedical applications