Controle Da Dengue: Os Consensos Produzidos Por Agentes De Combate às Endemias E Agentes Comunitários De Saúde Sobre As Ações Integradas

Dengue is one of Brazil’s most important public health challenges. Activities for its prevention and control have been based on the strategy of integrated management proposed in health policies, in which the central actors are the Endemic Disease Control Agent(ACE) and the Community Health Agent (ACS). This study analyzes consensus opinions produced by ACSs and ACEs on theactions for incorporating ACEs into the teams of the Family Health Strategy (ESF). It is a qualitative study from a large municipality in Brazil in which dengue is endemic, using a focus group of professionals that is subsequently analyzed using Collective Subject Discourse Analysis, supported by WebQDA. The results indicate consensus positions in relation to the following subjects: I) difficulty in the process of integration of ACSs and ACEs for control of dengue; II) inclusion of ACEs in the primary healthcare of the ESF; and III) absence of monitoring and assessment of the integrated actions. In conclusion, there are needs: to make participants more aware, seeking changes in behavior; to offer an environment of support to those involved with training courses about dengue; and to monitor the process of integration, and evaluate it periodically, creating indicators of quality and quantity. © 2016, Associacao Brasileira de Pos - Graduacao em Saude Coletiva. All rights reserved.2182329233

Diversity management: Challenges, benefits, and the role of human resource management in Brazilian organizations

Purpose The objective of this study was to analyze the major challenges and benefits of diversity management in Brazilian companies by assessing the role of human resources. Design/methodology/approach A total of 15 case studies were carried out on companies that operate in Brazil. Brazil is a country with considerable diversity and multiracial backgrounds. Findings It was found that diversity management in Brazilian companies is still an emerging issue, and the major challenges are related to discriminatory actions taken by coworkers. Among the 15 companies studied, only four had adopted a consistent set of diversity management and human resources practices. These four companies were the only companies to affirm that diversity management requires the strong support of top management and continuous organization to sustain efforts toward incorporating diversity. Originality/value Research studies on diversity management in Brazil are scarce. The findings of this study, however, can be useful to academic professionals and company directors in countries that exhibit similar characteristics to those of Brazil, or to those who are interested in learning more about Brazil. © 2011 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved

Erythrocyte glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase from Brazilian opossum Didelphis marsupialis

In a comparative study of erythrocyte metabolism of vertebrates, the specific activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) of the Brazilian opossum Didelphis marsupialis in a hemolysate was shown to be high, 207 ± 38 IU g-1 Hb-1 min-1 at 37ºC, compared to the human erythrocyte activity of 12 ± 2 IU g-1 Hb-1 min-1 at 37ºC. The apparent high specific activity of the mixture led us to investigate the physicochemical properties of the opossum enzyme. We report that reduced glutathione (GSH) in the erythrocytes was only 50% higher than in human erythrocytes, a value lower than expected from the high G6PD activity since GSH is maintained in a reduced state by G6PD activity. The molecular mass, determined by G-200 Sephadex column chromatography at pH 8.0, was 265 kDa, which is essentially the same as that of human G6PD (260 kDa). The Michaelis-Menten constants (Km: 55 µM) for glucose-6-phosphate and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (Km: 3.3 µM) were similar to those of the human enzyme (Km: 50-70 and Km: 2.9-4.4, respectively). A 450-fold purification of the opossum enzyme was achieved and the specific activity of the purified enzyme, 90 IU/mg protein, was actually lower than the 150 IU/mg protein observed for human G6PD. We conclude that G6PD after purification from the hemolysate of D. marsupialis does not have a high specific activity. Thus, it is quite probable that the red cell hyperactivity reported may be explained by increased synthesis of G6PD molecules per unit of hemoglobin or to reduced inactivation in the RBC hemolysate

Oxide formation as probe to investigate the competition between water and alcohol molecules for OH species adsorbed on platinum

The creation of defects on the surface of Pt(111) and Pt(100) and the dissolution of Pt were used as probes to investigate the oxidation of the surface in the absence and in the presence of methanol, ethanol, glycerol and ethylene glycol. Electrochemical and Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry showed that in the presence of ethanol, glycerol and ethylene glycol, in the same potential window, the formation of defects is decreased in comparison to the oxidation of platinum in the absence of these alcohols. Since both the oxidation of the alcohols and the oxidation of the surface depend on PtOH formation, the competition for this species can displace the potential at which the oxidation of the surface oxidation to PtO is favored in the presence of ethanol, glycerol and ethylene glycol. On the other hand, the presence of methanol does not influence the oxidation and subsequent disordering of the surface, possibly because this reaction takes place in parallel with platinum oxidation to PtO.This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brasil (CAPES), Finance Code 001. The authors also thank FAPESP (projects 2013/13749–0 and 2016/23878-0) and CNPq for PIC/PIBIC (R.A.G. Oliveira and J.M. Roquetto) and DAI (N. Akiba) scholarships and projects 474590/2013–5 and 456758/2014–3. The authors are grateful to the Multiuser Central Facilities (UFABC) for experimental support