Critical analysis of a Musculoskeletal Disorders Prevention Program

Critical analysis of a Musculoskeletal Disorders Prevention ProgramThe studies involving the development of occupational diseases and accidents at work prevention programs have delimited two facts. One of them is that the program must be linked to the general organization politics. The other fact is that the diagnosis and the intervention about the organizational culture are necessary for the program to reach its goals. This research have aimed to evaluate an ergonomic intervention called Legislature Court, – Prevention of Musculoskeletal Disorders Program – developed, during one year, at the in Santa Catarina, compounded by 61 work environments. The demand have come from the institution direction, which have noticed the growing rise of Musculoskeletal Disorders. Thus, the direction have hired two professionals from the Ergonomics area (phychologist and physiotherapist) for contributing to the team organization which would be formed by the institutions´employess. The PMDP have initially aimed: to investigate the diseases demand and to evaluate the professionals, able to participate in the multidisciplinary team which would develop the PMDP. The program have gathered diagnosis strategies and interventions highlighted by ergonomics, work psychology and physiotherapy. The strategies were brought in two dimensions: the organizational and the individual. On the individual dimension there were performed physical activities on the work environment, followed by discussions about body conscious, in 14 place of the institution, visitations for understanding the work conditions, followed by discussions about the furniture adequacy and body posture; and three groups of preventive activities. On the organizational dimension it was planned for the multidisciplinary team to integrate the department in charge of the maintenance of the building and the health department. For the critical analysis of the program’s results, the data were collected by: : a) historical rescue of the PMDP; b) surveys with the employees who partipated in the multidisciplinary team; c) questionnaires in a stratified pre-sample of the activities´particpants. The critical analysis of the program´s results, can be initially understood, by the political aspect, due to the fact that the multidisciplinary team was built aiming the self-management, facing the human relations´ institutionalization, which permeates the politics adopted by the Intitution. However, the team didn´t reflect about the politics ´attitude and how it was against the whole organization politics. The team professional project was intervening on the Musculoskeletal Disorders prevention. This made them to be recognized as references on Ergonomics and Health. However, the team wasn´t recognized by the institution’s direction, who didn’t have a commitment with the PMDP. To conclude, the result’s criticism shows the comprehension a team must have about its own politics, about its organization politics and how it can determine a Musculoskeletal Disorders Prevention Program and its limits

Data acquisition system for measurement equipment of soil air permeability

A permeabilidade intrínseca - ou simplesmente permeabilidade do solo ao ar - é uma propriedade importante para a identificação de alterações no espaço poroso do solo causadas pelas práticas de manejo, na estimativa de propriedades do solo mais difíceis e onerosas e na composição de modelos de fluxo de fluidos em solos agrícolas e em solos contaminados. O objetivo do presente estudo foi construir um sistema de aquisição de dados (módulo eletrônico e programa computacional) para a medida da permeabilidade do solo ao ar em laboratório, utilizando-se materiais disponíveis no local e ferramentas computacionais de acesso livre. O sistema de aquisição de dados mostrou-se bastante preciso na determinação da permeabilidade do solo ao ar, com intervalo de confiança de 9,42 ± 0,085 μm² (95 %), para uma amostra-padrão constituída de partículas com diâmetro de 0,106 a 0,250 mm da fração areia de um Latossolo Vermelho-Amarelo textura média. A estimativa da permeabilidade do solo ao ar, considerando a viscosidade dinâmica do ar em função da temperatura, foi significativamente maior que a estimativa com valor fixo de viscosidade dinâmica em aproximadamente 20 ºC. A medição realizada em uma amostra de solo com estrutura indeformada de um Latossolo Vermelho foi tão precisa quanto à da amostra-padrão, e a estimativa da massa de água removida da amostra foi de 3,27 mg.The intrinsic permeability or soil air permeability is an important soil property for the identification of changes in soil porous space caused by soil tillage, in estimations of soil properties that are expensive and difficult to be determined in the laboratory, and for the formulation of flux models in cropped and contaminated soils. The purpose of this study was to develop a data acquisition system (electronic module and software) for intrinsic permeability measurement, in laboratory. High precision of the acquisition system was observed in the estimation of this property, with a confidence interval of 9.42 ± 0.085 μm² (significant at the 5 % level), in a standard soil sample consisting of particles with diameter from 0.25 to 0.106 mm of the sand fraction of a medium texture Yellow Red Latosol. The estimate of soil air intrinsic permeability considering the air dynamic viscosity as a function of temperature was significantly greater than the estimate with fixed air dynamic viscosity at approximately 20 ºC. The measurement precision of air permeability in an undisturbed Red Latosol sample was high and similar to that of the standard sample and the estimate of water mass removed from the soil sample (3.27 mg)

Influência dos teores de cálcio e de magnésio trocáveis, da capacidade de troca de cátions e do índice de saturação em bases sobre a fixação de zinco pelo solo

It was studied the effects of the exchangeabl e Ca2+ and Mg2+, the cation exchange capacities and the saturation Index in basis over the zinc fixation by 30 soil samples, using the 65zn as a tracer element. It was found positive and significative correlation at 1% among the Zn fixation and the mentioned variables. The results, however, are not conclusives and the authors keep the oppinion that more experiments must be done in order to elucidate the subject.Foram estudados os efeitos dos teores de Ca2+ e de Mg2+ trocáveis, das capacidades de troca de cátions e dos índices de saturação em bases de 30 amostras de terra sobre o poder de fixação de Zn das mesmas. Foram encontradas correlações positivas e significativas ao nível de 1% entre as capacidades de fixação de Zn das terras e as variáveis mencionadas

Instruments on Parental Alienation Assessment: a Systematic Literature Review

A alienação parental refere-se a um conjunto de comportamentos emitidos, consciente ou inconscientemente, por um dos genitores, com vistas a impedir o relacionamento da criança com o outro progenitor. O objetivo deste artigo foi analisar, com base em uma revisão sistemática da literatura, a qualidade dos instrumentos psicológicos adotados em pesquisas sobre alienação parental. Para isso, consultou-se as bases de dados Pubmed, PsycoINFO, Scielo, Scopus e Web of Science. Nesta revisão, incluíram-se artigos empíricos publicados entre os anos de 1986 e 2019. A seleção dos artigos foi realizada por duas juízas independentes. Foram recuperados 184 artigos. Desses, 17 foram analisados. Quanto às propriedades psicométricas, todos os estudos apresentaram evidências de precisão satisfatórias. Contudo, somente seis instrumentos apresentaram evidências de validade baseadas na estrutura interna ou em evidências de validade relacionadas com variáveis externas. Uma vez que a alienação parental é um fenômeno complexo e, a maioria dos instrumentos identificados não apresentou informações suficientes para a sua utilização no contexto profissional, é importante que se invista em iniciativas que qualifiquem os instrumentos nessa área.Parental alienation refers to a set of behaviors emitted, consciously or unconsciously, by one of the parents, to prevent the child's relationship with the other parent. The aim of this article was to analyze, based on a systematic literature review, the quality of the psychological instruments adopted in research on parental alienation. For this, Pubmed, PsycoINFO, Scielo, Scopus and Web of Science database were consulted. This review included empirical articles published between 1986 and 2019. The selection of articles was carried out by two independent judges. 184 articles were retrieved. Of these, 17 were analyzed. As for the psychometric properties, all studies presented satisfactory evidence of accuracy. However, only six instruments showed evidence of validity based on the internal structure or evidence of validity based on relationships with external variables. Since parental alienation is a complex phenomenon and most of the instruments identified did not provide enough information for their use in the professional context, it is important to invest in initiatives that qualify the instruments in this area

Subtelomeric I-scel-mediated double-strand breaks are repaired by homologous recombination in trypanosoma cruzi

Trypanosoma cruzi chromosome ends are enriched in surface protein genes and pseudogenes (e.g., trans-sialidases) surrounded by repetitive sequences. It has been proposed that the extensive sequence variability among members of these protein families could play a role in parasite infectivity and evasion of host immune response. In previous reports we showed evidence suggesting that sequences located in these regions are subjected to recombination. To support this hypothesis we introduced a double-strand break (DSB) at a specific target site in a I cruzi subtelomeric region cloned into an artificial chromosome (pTAC). This construct was used to transfect T. cruzi epimastigotes expressing the I-Scel meganuclease. Examination of the repaired sequences showed that DNA repair occurred only through homologous recombination (HR) with endogenous subtelomeric sequences. Our findings suggest that DSBs in subtelomeric repetitive sequences followed by HR between them may contribute to increased variability in T. cruzi multigene families7CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP306591/2015-411/51693-0; 11/51475-

Subtelomeric I-Scel-Mediated Double-Strand Breaks Are Repaired by Homologous Recombination in Trypanosoma cruzi

Trypanosoma cruzi chromosome ends are enriched in surface protein genes and pseudogenes (e.g., trans-sialidases) surrounded by repetitive sequences. It has been proposed that the extensive sequence variability among members of these protein families could play a role in parasite infectivity and evasion of host immune response. In previous reports we showed evidence suggesting that sequences located in these regions are subjected to recombination. To support this hypothesis we introduced a double-strand break (DSB) at a specific target site in a I cruzi subtelomeric region cloned into an artificial chromosome (pTAC). This construct was used to transfect T. cruzi epimastigotes expressing the I-Scel meganuclease. Examination of the repaired sequences showed that DNA repair occurred only through homologous recombination (HR) with endogenous subtelomeric sequences. Our findings suggest that DSBs in subtelomeric repetitive sequences followed by HR between them may contribute to increased variability in T. cruzi multigene families.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Univ Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado, Lab Genet Mol Dr Yunis Turbay, Ciencias Salud, Barquisimeto, VenezuelaNIAID, Lab Malaria & Vector Res, NIH, Rockville, MD USAUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, Sao Paulo, BrazilConsejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, Inst Invest Ingn Genet & Biol Mol, Lab Biol Mol Enfermedad Chagas, Buenos Aires, DF, ArgentinaJ Craig Venter Inst, Dept Infect Dis, Rockville, MD USAFdn Inst Estudios Avanzados, Ctr Biotecnol, Caracas, VenezuelaUniv Estadual Campinas, Fac Ciencias Med, Dept Patol Clin, Campinas, SP, BrazilDepartamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 11/51693-0FAPESP: 11/51475-3CNPq: 306591/2015-4Web of Scienc

Anatomy and evolution of telomeric and subtelomeric regions in the human protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi

Background: the subtelomeres of many protozoa are highly enriched in genes with roles in niche adaptation. T. cruzi trypomastigotes express surface proteins from Trans-Sialidase (TS) and Dispersed Gene Family-1 (DGF-1) superfamilies which are implicated in host cell invasion. Single populations of T. cruzi may express different antigenic forms of TSs. Analysis of TS genes located at the telomeres suggests that chromosome ends could have been the sites where new TS variants were generated. the aim of this study is to characterize telomeric and subtelomeric regions of T. cruzi available in TriTrypDB and connect the sequences of telomeres to T. cruzi working draft sequence.Results: We first identified contigs carrying the telomeric repeat (TTAGGG). of 49 contigs identified, 45 have telomeric repeats at one end, whereas in four contigs the repeats are located internally. All contigs display a conserved telomeric junction sequence adjacent to the hexamer repeats which represents a signature of T. cruzi chromosome ends. We found that 40 telomeric contigs are located on T. cruzi chromosome-sized scaffolds. in addition, we were able to map several telomeric ends to the chromosomal bands separated by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. the subtelomeric sequence structure varies widely, mainly as a result of large differences in the relative abundance and organization of genes encoding surface proteins (TS and DGF-1), retrotransposon hot spot genes (RHS), retrotransposon elements, RNA-helicase and N-acetyltransferase genes. While the subtelomeric regions are enriched in pseudogenes, they also contain complete gene sequences matching both known and unknown expressed genes, indicating that these regions do not consist of nonfunctional DNA but are instead functional parts of the expressed genome. the size of the subtelomeric regions varies from 5 to 182 kb; the smaller of these regions could have been generated by a recent chromosome breakage and telomere healing event.Conclusions: the lack of synteny in the subtelomeric regions suggests that genes located in these regions are subject to recombination, which increases their variability, even among homologous chromosomes. the presence of typical subtelomeric genes can increase the chance of homologous recombination mechanisms or microhomology-mediated end joining, which may use these regions for the pairing and recombination of free ends.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilFIOCRUZ MG, Ctr Pesquisas Rene Rachou, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, ICB, Dept Parasitol, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilUCLA, Barquisimeto, VenezuelaFdn Inst Estudios Avanzados IDEA, Caracas, VenezuelaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Escola Paulista Med, Dept Microbiol Imunol & Parasitol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Poisoning in scavenger birds of prey : literature review

As aves de rapina são animais carnívoros, havendo espécies necrófagas consumidoras de carcaças, a maior parte exclusivas como urubus e condores, e também outras oportunistas, como algumas águias. Ocupam importante nicho ao realizar a reciclagem de matéria morta, mantendo o equilíbrio ambiental. Porém, o hábito alimentar os torna vulneráveis a intoxicações produzidas por fármacos de uso veterinário em rebanhos, como o diclofenaco, bem como por metais pesados como o chumbo presente em munições, e rodenticidas de amplo uso para controle de pragas. O objetivo desse trabalho foi realizar uma revisão de literatura sobre essas intoxicações em rapinantes necrófagos. Diversos estudos foram realizados mundialmente, porém no Brasil há carência de pesquisas relacionadas ao tema.Birds of prey are carnivorous animals, with scavenger species that consume carcasses, mostly exclusive, such as vultures and condors, and also other opportunistic species, such as some eagles. They occupy an important niche when recycling dead matter, maintaining environmental balance. However, their food habits make them vulnerable to intoxications produced by drugs for veterinary use in herds, such as diclofenac, as well as by heavy metals such as lead present in ammunition, and rodenticides widely used for pest control. The aim of this work was to carry out a literature review on these poisoning in scavenger predators. Several studies have been carried out worldwide, but in Brazil there is a lack of research related to the topic

Produção e valor nutritivo da forragem de capim-elefante em dois sistemas de produção.

Esta pesquisa foi realizada com o objetivo de avaliar a produção e o valor nutritivo da forragem de capimelefante cultivado em sistemas convencional e agroecológico. No sistema convencional, o capim-elefante foi estabelecido em cultivo exclusivo, em linhas com espaçamento de 1,4 m e, no sistema agroecológico, em linhas afastadas 3 m. Nas entrelinhas, estabeleceu-se azevém no período hibernal para desenvolvimento de espécies de crescimento espontâneo no período estival. Avaliaram-se a massa, a produção e a composição botânica e estrutural da forragem e a carga animal. Amostras de simulação de pastejo foram coletadas para determinação dos teores de proteína bruta e fibra em detergente neutro e da digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca e matéria orgânica. O delineamento experimental foi o inteiramente casualizado com dois tratamentos (sistemas convencional e agroecológico) e duas repetições (piquetes). Valores mais elevados para massa de forragem, produção de forragem, taxa de acúmulo diário e carga animal foram observados no sistema convencional. A relação folha:colmo foi similar entre os sistemas. Valor mais elevado de proteína bruta foi observado no sistema agroecológico. O capim-elefante sob manejo convencional apresenta maior produção de forragem, com menores teores de proteína bruta. O sistema agroecológico apresenta melhor distribuição da produção de forragem no decorrer do ano

Effects of Brazil's political crisis on the science needed for biodiversity conservation

The effects of Brazil’s political crisis on science funding necessary for biodiversity conservation are likely to be global. Brazil is not only the world’s most biodiverse nation, it is responsible for the greater part of the Amazon forest, which regulates the climate and provides rain to much of southern South America. Brazil was a world leader in satellite monitoring of land-use change, in-situ biodiversity monitoring, reduction in tropical-forest deforestation, protection of indigenous lands, and a model for other developing nations. Coordinated public responses will be necessary to prevent special-interest groups from using the political crisis to weaken science funding, environmental legislation and law enforcement. Keywords: Brazil, biodiversity, climate change, governance, fundin