Vulnerability of Brazilian municipalities to hantavirus infections based on multi‑criteria decision analysis

Background: Hantavirus infection is an emerging zoonosis transmitted by wild rodents. In Brazil, high case-fatality rates among humans infected with hantavirus are of serious concern to public health authorities. Appropriate preventive measures partly depend on reliable knowledge about the geographical distribution of this disease. Methods: Incidence of hantavirus infections in Brazil (1993–2013) was analyzed. Epidemiological, socioeconomic, and demographic indicators were also used to classify cities’ vulnerability to disease by means of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). Results: From 1993 to 2013, 1752 cases of hantavirus were registered in 16 Brazilian states. The highest incidence of hantavirus was observed in the states of Mato Grosso (0.57/100,000) and Santa Catarina (0.13/100,000). Based on MCDA analysis, municipalities in the southern, southeastern, and midwestern regions of Brazil can be classified as highly vulnerable. Most municipalities in northern and northeastern Brazil were classified as having low vulnerability to hantavirus cardiopulmonary syndrome. Conclusions: Although most human infections by hantavirus registered in Brazil occurred in the southern region of the country, a greater vulnerability to hantavirus was found in the Brazilian Midwest. This result reflects the need to strengthen surveillance where the disease has thus far gone unreported

Situações de conflito vivenciadas no contexto hospitalar: a visão dos técnicos e auxiliares de enfermagem

Realizamos um estudo no Hospital das Clínicas-UFMG, objetivando analisar como o enfermeiro lida com os conflitos no ambiente organizacional. Desenvolvemos a pesquisa em duas fases de coleta de dados. Aplicamos um questionário e, em seguida, realizamos uma entrevista semiestruturada. Organizamos os dados de acordo com os conteúdos temáticos. Segundo os profissionais pesquisados, o termo conflito traz uma denotação negativa. Alguns sujeitos apontaram os seguintes tipos de conflito: intrapessoal, interpessoal e intergrupal. Determinado número de pesquisados relatou que o enfermeiro está preparado para lidar com situações conflituosas utilizando o diálogo e a negociação. No entanto, outros responderam que o enfermeiro não está preparado, devido à inexperiência profissional e a falta de interação com a equipe. Consideramos que esses resultados trazem uma reflexão para o enfermeiro acerca da sua conduta gerencial.Realizamos un estudio en el Hospital de Clínicas UFMG (Minas Gerais, Brasil), objetivando analizar el modo en el que el enfermero se enfrenta con los conflictos en el ambiente organizacional. Desarrollamos la investigación en dos fases de recolección de datos. Aplicamos un cuestionario y a continuación realizamos una entrevista semiestructurada. Organizamos los datos de acuerdo a los contenidos temáticos. Según los profesionales entrevistados, el término conflicto acarrea una connotación negativa. Algunos sujetos apuntaron los siguientes tipos de conflicto: intrapersonal, interpersonal e intergrupal. Determinado número de entrevistados relató que el enfermero está preparado para enfrentarse a situaciones de conflicto utilizando el diálogo y la negociación. Entretanto, otros respondieron que el enfermero no está preparado, en razón de la inexperiencia profesional y la falta de interacción con el equipo. Consideramos que esos resultados apuntan a que el enfermero reflexione acerca de su conducta gerencial.This study was developed at the Federal University of Minas Gerais Hospital with the purpose to analyze how nurses deal with the conflicts that occur in the work environment. The research was developed in two data collection stages. Authors applied a questionnaire, followed by a semi-structured interview. Data was organized according to their thematic content. According to the interviewed workers, the term conflict has a negative denotation. Some subjects pointed out the following types of conflict: intrapersonal, interpersonal and intergroup. Some of them also reported that nurses are prepared to face conflict situations using dialogue and negotiation. However, others answered that nurses are not prepared, due to professional inexperience and the lack of interaction with the team. Authors considered that these results must encourage nurses towards reflecting about their management practice

Biological Tissue Response to a New Formulation of a Silicone Based Endodontic Sealer

Satisfactory biological behavior is a necessary requirement for clinical application of endodontic materials. In this study, the connective tissue responses to silicone (GuttaFlow 2), epoxy resin (AH Plus) and zinc oxide and eugenol (Endofill) based sealers were compared. Twelve Wistar rats had polyethylene tubes (four per animal) containing one of the tested sealers and empty tubes (negative control) implanted in their subcutaneous tissue. The tubes were randomly placed 2 cm from the spine and at least 2 cm apart from one another. Tissue samples with implants were processed for histological analysis after 7 or 60 days (n=6 animals per period). Inflammatory cells, fibrous condensation and abscess were scored according to their intensity. Friedman, followed by Dunn’s post hoc, was used to compare sealers. Differences between the two experimental periods were verified using Mann-Witney U test (p<0.05). At 7 days, most of the histological parameters showed no significant differences amongst groups. Endofill group scored higher than the others for giant cells (o<0.05) and promoted a greater number of samples presenting abscess formation. GuttaFlow 2 tended to show a less intense inflammatory infiltrate compared to the other materials. At 60 days, there were no significant differences between groups in most of the histological parameters evaluated. However, it was observed that Endofill scored higher for macrophages (p<0.05) compared to the control group, and GuttaFlow 2 tended to present lower scores than the others for neutrophils and abscess. GuttaFlow 2 showed proper biological behavior and should be considered adequate for clinical practice