Avaliação do suporte social entre pacientes cardíacos cirúrgicos: subsídio para o planejamento da assistência de enfermagem

This descriptive and cross-sectional study aimed to measure social support among subjects hospitalized for surgical treatment of cardiac diseases and to verify the relations between social support and socio-demographic variables. Data were collected between May, 2004 and June, 2005. A total of 86 patients were studied, 47 men, 58 married and the average age was 53 years old. Regarding social support, in an interval from 1 to 5, we found an average of 4.2+0.74 (interval of 1.92 to 5) for the emotional support and 4.2+0.6 (interval of 2.3 to 5) for the instrumental support, which indicate high satisfaction and availability of received supports. We found weak but statistically significant correlations between instrumental and emotional supports and the participants' age and between instrumental support and years of education. We did not find any differences in the perception of social support in terms of participants' gender and marital status.Las finalidades de este estudio descriptivo y transversal fueron medir el apoyo social de individuos hospitalizados para tratamiento quirúrgico de cardiopatías y verificar las relaciones existentes entre el apoyo social y las variables sociodemográficas. La recopilación de datos ocurrió entre mayo de 2004 y junio de 2005. Participaron del estudio 86 individuos, 47 de los cuales eran hombres, 58 casados, con edad promedio de 53 años. Con respecto al apoyo social, en un intervalo de 1 a 5, se observó una media de 4,2+0,74 (intervalo de 1,92 a 5) para el apoyo emocional, y de 4,2+0,6 (intervalo de 2,3 a 5) para el apoyo instrumental, lo que indica alta satisfacción y disponibilidad con relación a los apoyos recibidos. Se constató correlaciones bajas y estadísticamente significativas entre los apoyos instrumental - emocional y la edad; y entre el apoyo instrumental y la escolaridad. No fueron encontradas diferencias entre el apoyo social con relación al sexo y situación conyugal de los participantes.Estudo descritivo e transversal com objetivo de medir o suporte social de indivíduos internados para tratamento cirúrgico de cardiopatias e verificar as relações existentes entre suporte social e variáveis sociodemográficas. Os dados foram coletados no período de maio de 2004 a junho de 2005. Participaram do estudo 86 sujeitos, sendo 47 homens, 58 casados, com idade média de 53 anos. Quanto ao suporte social, em um intervalo possível de 1 a 5, constatou-se média de 4,2+0,74 (intervalo de 1,92 a 5) para o suporte emocional e de 4,2+0,6 (intervalo de 2,3 a 5) para o suporte instrumental, indicando elevada satisfação e disponibilidade quanto aos suportes recebidos. Houve correlações fracas e estatisticamente significantes entre os suportes instrumental e emocional e a idade dos participantes e entre suporte instrumental e escolaridade. Não foram encontradas diferenças na percepção do suporte social quanto ao sexo e a situação conjugal dos sujeitos do estudo

The Lyophilization Process Maintains the Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Royal Jelly

The alternative use of natural products, like royal jelly (RJ), may be an important tool for the treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. RJ presents a large number of bioactive substances, including antimicrobial compounds. In this study, we carried out the chemical characterization of fresh and lyophilized RJ and investigated their antibacterial effects with the purpose of evaluating if the lyophilization process maintains the chemical and antibacterial properties of RJ. Furthermore, we evaluated the antibacterial efficacy of the main fatty acid found in RJ, the 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10H2DA). Chromatographic profile of the RJ samples showed similar fingerprints and the presence of 10H2DA in both samples. Furthermore, fresh and lyophilized RJ were effective against all bacteria evaluated; that is, the lyophilization process maintains the antibacterial activity of RJ and the chemical field of 10H2DA. The fatty acid 10H2DA exhibited a good antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Therefore, it may be used as an alternative and complementary treatment for infections caused by antibiotic-resistant S. pneumoniae

Application of heterogeneous photocatalysis for the degradation of dyes from a cosmetics industry

Atualmente necessitam-se de processos de tratamento de efluentes que sejam mais sustentáveis em longo prazo, e com isso estão sendo desenvolvidos os processos oxidativos avançados (POAs). Estes processos apresentam a capacidade de mineralizar os poluentes, sem apenas transferi-los de fase, como ocorre com muitos métodos de tratamentos convencionais. A mineralização de poluentes, ou seja, a transformação de contaminantes orgânicos em dióxido de carbono, água e ânions inorgânicos, se baseia em reações de degradação que envolvem a geração de espécies altamente oxidantes, tais como o radical hidroxila (•OH). Durante o processo de fabricação, uma determinada quantidade de corante sempre é perdida e com frequência causa problemas ambientais. Os corantes afetam a natureza da água e inibem a penetração da luz solar nos rios reduzindo as suas atividades fotossintéticas. Devido a isso, os efluentes de indústrias que utilizam corantes em seus processos de produção necessitam de tratamentos adequados para a remoção desses contaminantes. Estudou-se então a aplicação da fotocatálise heterogênea (utilizando-se o TiO2 como fotocatalisador) com o objetivo de remover a cor de um efluente sintético contendo corantes de uma indústria de cosméticos (D&C Vermelho 6, Carmim e D&C Laranja 5). Para tal, realizou-se um planejamento experimental 23 em que se encontrou como ponto ótimo de tratamento os valores de 7,0, 0,5 g L-1 e 25°C para pH, concentração de TiO2 e temperatura, respectivamente, obtendo-se uma remoção de cor de 80% com 15 minutos de irradiação. Os experimentos cinéticos mostraram que a fotocatálise heterogênea segue um modelo de ordem 0,5 com constante de velocidade k = (7,2 ± 1,2) × 10-2 min-1 e R2 = 0,997. A fotólise segue um modelo de ordem 1, com constante de velocidade k = (8,9 ± 2,5) × 10-3 min-1 e R2 = 0,977. A diminuição dos valores de DQO, em aproximadamente 80%, demonstra que o efluente foi efetivamente oxidado. O valor encontrado na relação DQO/DBO5,20 para o efluente inicial demonstra que este não é biodegradável, porém após o tratamento, esta relação mostra que o efluente se tornou biodegradável. A remoção de COD, ou seja, a mineralização do efluente foi de aproximadamente 70% com 30 minutos de tratamento. Os valores encontrados de MOC confirmam o já descrito pela DQO, que o efluente foi realmente oxidado pelo tratamento. O efluente bruto apresentou uma leve ecotoxicidade enquanto que após o tratamento não houve ecotoxicidade alguma. Conclui-se com esse estudo que o método da fotocatálise heterogênea removeu a cor do efluente, tornou-o mais biodegradável, removeu sua ecototoxicidade e o mineralizou.Currently, wastewater treatment processes that are more sustainable in the long term are needed, thus leading to the development of the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Those processes have the ability to mineralize pollutants, instead of just transferring them from one phase to another, as it is the case with many conventional treatment methods. The mineralization of pollutants, i.e. the transformation of organic contaminants into carbon dioxide, water and inorganic anions, is based on degradation reactions involving the generation of highly oxidizing species such as hydroxyl radical (•OH). During the manufacturing process, a certain amount of dye is always lost and often causes environmental problems. The dyes affect the nature of water and inhibit the penetration of sunlight into rivers, thus reducing their photosynthetic activity. Because of this, the wastewaters from industries that use dyes in their production processes require appropriate treatment for the removal of these contaminants. Therefore, it was studied the application of heterogeneous photocatalysis (using TiO2 as the photocatalyst) in order to remove the color of a synthetic wastewater containing dyes of the cosmetics industry (D&C Red 6, Carmin, and D&C Orange 5). For that purpose, an experimental design 23 was used and an optimal treatment condition was found: 7.0, 0.5 g L-1 and 25°C for pH, concentration of TiO2 and temperature, respectively, resulting in a color removal of 80% with 15 minutes of irradiation. Kinetic experiments showed that the heterogeneous photocatalysis follows a 0.5 order model, with a constant k of (7.2 ± 1.2) × 10-2 min-1 and R2 of 0.997. Photolysis followed a first order model, with a constant k of (8.9 ± 2.5) × 10-3 min-1 and R2 of 0.977. The COD decrease of approximately 80% shows that the effluent was effectively oxidized. The initial COD/BOD5, 20 ratio demonstrates that the effluent is not biodegradable, but after treatment, that ratio indicated that the effluent became biodegradable. The DOC removal, i.e. the mineralization of the effluent was approximately 70% with 30 minutes of treatment. The MOC confirmed that the effluent was actually oxidized by the treatment. The raw effluent had a slight ecotoxicity while after treatment it became non-toxic. It could be concluded that heterogeneous photocatalysis was able to remove the color of the effluent, to increase its biodegradability, to remove its ecotoxicity and to mineralize it

Evaluation of social support among surgical cardiac patients: support for nursing care planning

This descriptive and cross-sectional study aimed to measure social support among subjects hospitalized for surgical treatment of cardiac diseases and to verify the relations between social support and socio-demographic variables. Data were collected between May, 2004 and June, 2005. A total of 86 patients were studied, 47 men, 58 married and the average age was 53 years old. Regarding social support, in an interval from 1 to 5, we found an average of 4.2+0.74 (interval of 1.92 to 5) for the emotional support and 4.2+0.6 (interval of 2.3 to 5) for the instrumental support, which indicate high satisfaction and availability of received supports. We found weak but statistically significant correlations between instrumental and emotional supports and the participants' age and between instrumental support and years of education. We did not find any differences in the perception of social support in terms of participants' gender and marital status

The Lyophilization Process Maintains the Chemical and Biological Characteristics of Royal Jelly

The alternative use of natural products, like royal jelly (RJ), may be an important tool for the treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. RJ presents a large number of bioactive substances, including antimicrobial compounds. In this study, we carried out the chemical characterization of fresh and lyophilized RJ and investigated their antibacterial effects with the purpose of evaluating if the lyophilization process maintains the chemical and antibacterial properties of RJ. Furthermore, we evaluated the antibacterial efficacy of the main fatty acid found in RJ, the 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10H2DA). Chromatographic profile of the RJ samples showed similar fingerprints and the presence of 10H2DA in both samples. Furthermore, fresh and lyophilized RJ were effective against all bacteria evaluated; that is, the lyophilization process maintains the antibacterial activity of RJ and the chemical field of 10H2DA. The fatty acid 10H2DA exhibited a good antibacterial activity against Streptococcus pneumoniae. Therefore, it may be used as an alternative and complementary treatment for infections caused by antibiotic-resistant S. pneumoniae