Guidelines in human resources management

The purpose of this communication is to address the management of human resources in the organizations. The aim is to discuss a range of issues that are likely to be applied in the management of human resources, such as competence management, organizational development, and administrative management. Reference is also made to some support tools for decision making as well as the coaching process in the management of human resources. The methodology used is based on a personal reflection upon two decades of professional experience in the management of organizations and human resources and on the bibliographic review on this subject. We highlight the following main conclusions: (1) the integration of human resources management in the organizational strategy optimizes the entire process of organizational development, contributing to excellence; in this sense we emphasize the importance of the human resources management be in line with the top administration; (2) the human resource management implies recognizing people as a resource (in its more technical and economicist way) but also recognize people as individuals (a human being) with their values, beliefs, identities, attitudes and behaviours; (3) despite these evidences, a larger number of organizations continue to focus their practice in the management of people as a mere resource, being important to investigate and discuss the reasons that underlie this misconception

Motivational tools within organizational management

This communication is about the theme of organizational development. This is one of the most important and relevant dimensions of the organizational success. Having motivational tools that act as the trigger for the environment improvement should be one of the concerns of leaders. The aim is to discuss about the importance of emotional development of the associates and its relations with the organizational environment. The methodology was based in a personal reflexion about a decade of professional experience of organizational management and human resources as well in the literature revision about the issue. The major conclusions that we would like to highlight are: (1) organizational management implies managing people as a resource (in the view more economicist and technics) and consider people as individuals (human beings) with their values, beliefs, identities, attitudes and behaviors’. (2) having a tool which identifies the level of emotional development is fundamental in order to contribute for a good organizational environment; (3) can control in a positive manner the emotions is one of the competencies to developed having in mind achieve the satisfaction of all players (associates), as a way to contribute for a good organizational performance

Nanomaterials towards Biosensing of Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarkers

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an incurable and highly debilitating condition characterized by the progressive degeneration and/or death of nerve cells, which leads to manifestation of disabilities in cognitive functioning. In recent years, the development of biosensors for determination of AD's main biomarkers has made remarkable progress, particularly based on the tremendous advances in nanoscience and nanotechnology. The unique and outstanding properties of nanomaterials (such as graphene, carbon nanotubes, gold, silver and magnetic nanoparticles, polymers and quantum dots) have been contributing to enhance the electrochemical and optical behavior of transducers while offering a suitable matrix for the immobilization of biological recognition elements. Therefore, optical and electrochemical immuno- and DNA-biosensors with higher sensitivity, selectivity and longer stability have been reported. Nevertheless, strategies based on the detection of multiple analytes still need to be improved, as they will play a crucial role in minimizing misdiagnosis. This review aims to provide insights into the conjugation of nanomaterials with different transducers highlighting their crucial role in the construction of biosensors for detection of AD main biomarkers.This work was financially supported by: project UID/EQU/00511/2019—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy—LEPABE and project UID/QUI/50006/2019—REQUIMTE, both funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC); Project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006939, funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020—Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) and by national funds (PIDDAC) through FCT/MCTES; Project UID/EQU/00511/2019—Laboratory for Process Engineering, Environment, Biotechnology and Energy—LEPABE funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC). The PhD grant of Pedro Carneiro (SFRH/BD/131755/2017) is financially supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

PLGA Based Drug Carrier and Pharmaceutical Applications: The Most Recent Advances

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is one of the most successful polymers that has been used to produce medicines, such as drug carriers (DC) [...]</jats:p

É possível desvirtuar a participação social na gestão dos recursos hídricos? : análise espacial aplicada ao Comitê de Bacia Hidrográfica do rio Paraguaçu (BA)

O trabalho produziu uma análise espacial do quantitativo de membros representantes do Comitê de Bacia Hidrográfica do rio Paraguaçu (CBHP), Bahia, no período de 2006/2009, e suas implicações para a gestão participativa e dos conflitos em torno dos usos múltiplos dos recursos hídricos. A partir do domicílio de cada representante, foi quantificado o número de representantes no CBHP por município e feita a cartografia desse quantitativo. O resultado revelou a existência de uma superrepresentação no CBHP dos irrigantes do trecho alto da bacia do rio Paraguaçu. A consequência é a hegemonia política de uma região sobre as demais, que configura uma geometria de poder conformada pela existência de pólos concentradores de poder político, que possivelmente expresse polarização econômica. Com base nos resultados, problematiza-se os critérios de composição dos comitês de bacia hidrográfica, baseados na representação por setor de usuários, sem levar em consideração a origem geográfica e a vinculação regional ao território.This paper produced a spatial analysis of the quantitative of representative members of the Water basin Committee of Paraguaçu river (CBHP), Bahia, in the period 2006/2009, and its implication for participatory and conflict management around the multiple uses of water resources. From the home address of each representative in CBHP, it has been quantified the number of representatives per municipalities and it was made the mapping of this quantitative. The result showed the existence of an overrepresentation of irrigators from the upper portion of water basin. The consequence is a political hegemony of one region over the others ones that constitutes a geometry of power conformed by the existence of hubs poles of political power, possibly expressing the economic polarization in the territory. Based on the results, it was discussed the criteria for the composition of the water basin committees, based on representation by users of water resources, regardless of geographic origin and linkage to the regional territory

Trace metals in size-fractionated particulate matter in a Portuguese hospital: exposure risks assessment and comparisons with other countries

Hospitals are considered as a special and important type of indoor public place where air quality has significant impacts on potential health outcomes. Information on indoor air quality of these environments, concerning exposures to particulate matter (PM) and related toxicity, is limited though. This work aims to evaluate risks associated with inhalation exposure to ten toxic metals and chlorine (As, Ni, Cr, Cd, Pb, Mn, Se, Ba, Al, Si, and Cl) in coarse (PM2.5–10) and fine (PM2.5) particles in a Portuguese hospital in comparison with studies representative of other countries. Samples were collected during 1 month in one urban hospital; elemental PM characterization was determined by proton-induced X-ray emission. Noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were assessed according to the methodology provided by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA; Region III Risk-Based Concentration Table) for three different age categories of hospital personnel (adults, >20, and 65 years). The estimated noncarcinogenic risks due to occupational inhalation exposure to PM2.5-bound metals ranged from 5.88×10−6 for Se (adults, 55–64 years) to 9.35×10−1 for As (adults, 20–24 years) with total noncarcinogenic risks (sum of all metals) above the safe level for all three age categories. As and Cl (the latter due to its high abundances) were the most important contributors (approximately 90 %) to noncarcinogenic risks. For PM2.5–10, noncarcinogenic risks of all metals were acceptable to all age groups. Concerning carcinogenic risks, for Ni and Pb, they were negligible (<1×10−6) in both PM fractions for all age groups of hospital personnel; potential risks were observed for As and Cr with values in PM2.5 exceeding (up to 62 and 5 times, respectively) USEPA guideline across all age groups; for PM2.5–10, increased excess risks of As and Cr were observed particularly for long-term exposures (adults, 55–64 years). Total carcinogenic risks highly (up to 67 times) exceeded the recommended level for all age groups, thus clearly showing that occupational exposure to metals in fine particles pose significant risks. If the extensive working hours of hospital medical staff were considered, the respective noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were increased, the latter for PM2.5 exceeding the USEPA cumulative guideline of 10−4. For adult patients, the estimated noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic risks were approximately three times higher than for personnel, with particular concerns observed for children and adolescents

Traffic-Related Air Pollution: Legislation Versus Health and Environmental Effects

Ambient air quality is a very topical issue as it has an important influence on human health.Exposure to atmospheric pollutants may result in various adverse health effects. Theimpacts of air pollution are not confined only to human health but also to the environmentas a whole. In that regard, vehicular traffic emissions are especially important, because itsvolume is increasing every year. Consequently pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOx),carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs) are emitted into the atmosphere causing a significant decline of air quality acrossEurope, which results in hundreds of thousands of premature deaths every year. In order toimprove the situation, the European Union has been defining legislation on ambient airquality with limits of the respective pollutants and aiming to increase the levels of publichealth protection. Despite reductions in emissions, concentrations of these pollutants remainhigh often above existing targets exposing populations to levels that reduce lifeexpectancy, cause premature death and widespread aggravation to health.In this chapter, various aspects of air pollution are discussed with specific emphasis onvehicular road traffic. An overview of the current legislation related to air quality is given.The work then focuses on the health impacts of important traffic related pollutants, withparticular focus on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The general description ofPAHs is presented with further discussion on their health and environmental impacts