Concentrations levels and effects of 17alpha-Ethinylestradiol in freshwater and marine waters and bivalves: a review

Pharmaceutical drugs are contaminants of emerging concern and are amongst the most frequent in the aquatic environment. Even though a vast literature indicate that pharmaceuticals exert negative impacts towards aquatic organisms, mainly in vertebrates, there is still limited information regarding the effects of these drugs in freshwater and marine bivalves. Marine bivalves have a high ecological and socio-economic value and are considered good bioindicator species in ecotoxicology and risk assessment programs. Furthermore, another lacking point on these studies is the absence of bioconcentration data, with no clear relationship between the concentration of drugs on tissue and the biological effects. 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2) is a synthetic hormone with high estrogenic potency that was added to the Watch List adopted by the European Commission stating the priority substances to be monitored. Thus, this review summarizes the current knowledge on the concentration levels and effects of EE2 on freshwater and marine bivalves. The inclusion in the Watch List, the presence in freshwater and marine systems, and the impact exerted on aquatic biota, even at trace concentrations, justify the review devoted to this pharmaceutical drug. Globally the available studies found that EE2 induces individual and sub-individual (e.g. tissue, cellular, biochemical and molecular levels of biological organization) impacts in bivalves. Essentially, this estrogenic compound, even in trace concentrations, was found to have accumulated in wild and laboratory exposed bivalves. The most common effects reported were changes on the reproductive function and energy metabolism. The studies used in this review support keeping the EE2 on the Watch List and highlight the need to increase the number of monitorization studies since clear negative effects were exerted on bivalves by this drug.publishe

A RESSIGNIFICAÇÃO DE FAVELA EM BECOS DA MEMÓRIA: DA FAVELAFOBIA AO BECO-LAR

Este artigo analisa a representação de uma favela e de seus moradores em Becos da memória, romance de Conceição Evaristo que proporciona a visão de sujeitos que, em nosso quotidiano, são excluídos socialmente. Considera-se, sobretudo, a construção, por esses sujeitos, da favela como lar, e o abalo sofrido por esse conceito ao longo do processo de desfavelamento tematizado pelo romance. Inicialmente, enfoca-se a favela: sua origem e a visão depreciativa que se construiu em torno dela, expondo-se, a seguir, o conceito de lar, sobretudo os fatores que levam um espaço a ser considerado como tal. Destaca-se como, no romance, os becos da favela constituem-se em lar para seus moradores, analisando a construção e desconstrução desse conceito ao longo da obra, uma vez que a imagem da favela como lar sofre modificação profunda com a remoção dos moradores e a destruição do espaço em que habitaram. Percebe-se divergência na avaliação da favela por parte da população hegemônica e da periférica, que a habita: para esta a favela é um lar, enquanto para aquela o espaço e seus moradores não passam de entraves à especulação imobiliária, razão pela qual é necessário que sejam reafirmados os estereótipos ligados à favelafobia. O estudo baseia-se na teorização sobre a favela e sobre o conceito de lar, especialmente Valença (2008), Zaluar: Alvito (2004), Davis (2005) e Abreu (1994), com relação à primeira noção, e Santos (2007), Huttunen (2005) e Hollander (1991), com relação à segunda.

Evaluation of serum concentrations of total cholesterol in Pharmacy students of Instituto Politécnico de Bragança

Hypercholesterolemia is a factor involved in the development of atherosclerosis, which is related to cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, the two main causes of death in the world. The aim of the study was determined the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia in Pharmacy students from the Instituto Politécnico de Bragança (IPB) and described and analyze the risk factors associated. From a random sample of four classes of the course of Pharmacy from IPB, were selected for this study two years (1º and 4º years), with 32 students in each class. The descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative study was carried out by application of a screening of cholesterol levels, and with a self-completion questionnaire. The data were subjected to statistical treatment through the program SPSS 16.0. This study found that the average of total cholesterol (TC) was 197.06 ± 43.542 mg/ dL. The men had lower levels of cholesterol (174.33 mg/ dL) than females (200.78 mg/ dL) indicating the sex has influence on the levels of cholesterol. Hypercholesterolemia was more prevalent at ages ≥ 20 years, with higher average for students attending the 4th year (203.53 mg/ dL) than those attending the 1st year (190.59 mg/ dL). Concerning food, only the consumption of sausages showed association with serum concentrations of TC. Aditionally, students who make meals at home have higher CT than those who make their meals elsewhere (200.49 and 183.62 mg/ dL, respectively), allowing to conclude that the lack of time for meals provides a power based on fast food, rich in cholesterol. The high levels of TC obtained in young students alert the need for control the cholesterol levels and also take action with regard to food and physical exercise

Face-to-face clinical practice under COVID-19 pandemic: how psychotherapists describe their experiences

Driven by the theory-building around the role of the non-verbal components to communication, we aimed to understand how therapists experience the therapeutic process using a facial mask. The empirical evidence of the power of non-verbal communication to engage therapists and clients in therapeutic work, develop a positive and collaborative relationship between them, and display empathy is quite large. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, drawing from the therapists’ participation in an online survey. A sample of 137 psychotherapists with different therapy orientations and years of clinical practice participated in the study. Therapists conducted faceto- face therapy wearing face masks with existing and/or new clients. We performed an exploratory analysis, using descriptive statistics, to explore the psychotherapists’ evaluations regarding perceived impact of face masks on different therapy quality dimensions. In a complementary rationale, we analyzed the therapists’ perspectives on their experience wearing face masks using the thematic analysis methodology. Results show that among 137 psychotherapists, 114 were attending both existing and new clients, whereas only 13 were seeing exclusively existing clients and 10 were working exclusively with new clients. Despite no major differences were found between conditions regarding the perceived impact of face masks on different therapy quality dimensions and strategies adopted, the qualitative analysis allowed us to expand the quantitative results and deepen understanding of psychotherapists’ experience. Based on general and typical patterns, we propose two distinct models to describe the therapist’s experiences narrative when working with existing or new clients wearing face masks. Based on the results, we propose some recommendations to clinical practice in similar conditions.This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM) School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (UIDB/01662/2020)

LETRAMENTO EM SAÚDE, CONHECIMENTO DA DOENÇA E RISCO PARA PÉ DIABÉTICO EM ADULTOS: ESTUDO TRANSVERSAL

Objetivo: analisar a relação do letramento em saúde, conhecimento da doença e risco para o desenvolvimento do pé diabético em adultos com Diabetes Mellitus, de acordo com as características sociodemográficas e clínicas. Método: estudo transversal, descritivo e analítico, realizado de janeiro a março de 2020. Participaram 33 adultos com alterações glicêmicas cadastrados em unidade de saúde da Região Metropolitana de Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil. Aplicou-se questionário sociodemográfico e clínico e os instrumentos Eight-Item Health Literacy Assessment Tool e Spoken Knowledge in Low Literacy Patients with Diabetes. Resultados: houve predominância de letramento satisfatório e conhecimento adequado, associados à idade (≤59 anos), tempo de escolaridade (>4 anos) e diagnóstico (>5 anos). Ao cruzar as variáveis de letramento em saúde e conhecimento da doença com o risco para pé diabético não houve significância estatística. Conclusão: níveis satisfatórios de letramento foram associados ao conhecimento adequado, sem relação com o risco para pé diabético. Descritores: Diabetes Mellitus Tipo 2. Letramento em Saúde. Adulto. Conhecimento. Pé Diabético.

Family and Conjugality: Perception of Happiness of Domestic Abusers

This research aimed to learn about the happiness perception of men with violent behavior attended by a nucleus of assistance to victims of violence in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre RS Brazil For this 16 men with restraining orders for assaulting their partners Lei Maria da Penha - 11 340 2006 were interviewed This study involved descriptive research qualitative approach and data were analyzed using thematic content analysis For the discussion three subcategories related to Subjective Well-Being were organized into conception of happiness challenges in being happy and attitudes required in being happy The word family was referenced by abusers in all subcategories When it comes to involving violence between intimate partners this new approach intends to make men a part of the solution rather than just the proble

Noninvasive Self-monitoring of Blood Glucose at Your Fingertips, Literally!: Smartphone-Based Photoplethysmography

Diabetes is a chronic disease and one of the major public health problems worldwide. It is a multifactorial disease, caused by genetic factors and lifestyle habits. Brazil had ∼ 16.8 million individuals living with diabetes in 2019 and is expected to reach 26 million people by 2045. There are global increasing needs for the development of noninvasive diagnostic methods and use of mobile health, mainly in face of the pandemic caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). For daily glycemic control, diabetic patients use a portable glucometer for glycemic self-monitoring and need to prick their fingertips three or more times a day, generating a huge discomfort throughout their lives. Our goal here is to present a review with very recent emerging studies in the field of noninvasive diagnosis and to emphasize that smartphone-based photoplethysmography (spPPG), powered by artificial intelligence, might be a trend to self-monitor blood glucose levels. In photoplethysmography, a light source travels through the tissue, interacts with the interstitium and with cells and molecules present in the blood. Reflection of light occurs as it passes through the biological tissues and a photodetector can capture these interactions. When using a smartphone, the built-in flashlight is a white light-emitting LED and the camera works as a photodetector. The higher the concentration of circulating glucose, the greater the absorbance and, consequently, the lesser the reflected light intensity will be. Due to these optical phenomena, the signal intensity captured will be inversely proportional to the blood glucose level. Furthermore, we highlight the microvascular changes in the progression of diabetes that can interfere in the signals captured by the photodetector using spPPG, due to the decrease of peripheral blood perfusion, which can be confused with high blood glucose levels. It is necessary to create strategies to filter or reduce the impact of these vascular changes in the blood glucose level analysis. Deep learning strategies can help the machine to solve these challenges, allowing an accurate blood glucose level and interstitial glucose prediction

PARTICIPAÇÃO EM ATIVIDADES DE EDUCAÇÃO PERMANENTE E MUDANÇAS NAS PRÁTICAS ASSISTENCIAIS DE ENFERMAGEM

Objetivo: identificar fatores associados à motivação e às mudanças nas práticas assistenciais entre profissionais de enfermagem participantes de atividades de educação permanente. Metodologia: pesquisa quantitativa, com 283 profissionais de enfermagem. Os dados foram analisados no programa STATA versão 13. Realizou-se análise descritiva e inferencial. Resultados: 90,46% dos participantes sentem-se motivados a participar das atividades de educação permanente; para 90,81% dos participantes, houve mudança na prática assistencial. A motivação em participar das atividades foi associada positivamente ao sexo feminino, proferir religião, trabalhar no campo da pesquisa por até oito anos e pertencer ao vínculo empregatício celetista. Já as repercussões na prática profissional foram associadas estatisticamente a ser técnico/auxiliar de enfermagem, ser formado há até dez anos e trabalhar no campo da pesquisa por até oito anos. Conclusão: a motivação para participar das atividades de educação permanente entre profissionais de enfermagem caracterizou-se como propulsora de mudanças nas práticas assistenciais da enfermagem.Descritores: Educação Permanente. Capacitação em Serviço. Equipe de Enfermagem

A perspectiva sócio-cultural dos EUA na década de 1970 pelo filme Os Embalos de Sábado à Noite

Em sua conjuntura social, política e cultural, os anos 1970 revelaram aspectos bastante peculiares, até então não apresentados na década anterior. A Era disco soube ilustrar muito bem esse momento de transição, entre uma sociedade marcada por resquícios do engajamento político e outra impregnada pela cultura do consumo. O presente artigo trata dessa fase de desdobramentos, onde a razão social coletiva perde força dando margem a um novo momento de experimentação, especialmente focado na realidade norte-americana. A abordagem dessa perspectiva é realizada através da análise fílmica de Embalos de sábado à noite, que acaba por reafirmar o intuito da discussão