Qualidade de vida no trabalho em bancários de um município do interior do Rio Grande do Sul

A Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho (QVT) é requisito fundamental para garantir o bem-estar do colaborador, assim como o seu desempenho no ambiente laboral. No setor bancário, a necessidade do cumprimento de metas para o alcance dos resultados faz com que os trabalhadores sofram diferentes exigências de produtividade e constantes cobranças. Assim, este artigo de pesquisa objetiva verificar, com base no modelo de Richard Walton (1973), como os bancários de um município do interior do Rio Grande do Sul avaliam a sua QVT. Para tanto, apoiou-se no método exploratório, descritivo, quantitativo e qualitativo, sendo o questionário utilizado para a coleta de dados. Constatou-se que a categoria Relevância Social da Vida no Trabalho obteve destaque, demonstrando que, apesar das dificuldades verificadas, o colaborador tem muito orgulho em trabalhar na instituição financeira, desenvolvendo atividades relevantes na vida das pessoas

Output Gap and GDP in Brazil: a real-time data analysis

Economic agents make decisions using real-time data. However, recent literature has shown that several economic activity measures go through important revisions over time, impairing the reliability of real-time data. We organize a real-time dataset for Brazil’s GDP, and assess the revisions of GDP growth and the output gap. We show that GDP growth revisions are substantial, with a 0.7 p.p. mean absolute revision for the quarter-over-quarter growth, although the revisions become less important for four-quarter changes. To assess output gap revisions, we use four methods to estimate the output gap: Hodrick-Prescott filter, linear trend, quadratic trend, and Harvey-Clark model of unobservable components. The output gap revisions are substantial in all methods, with absolute mean revisions between 0.6 p.p. and 2.3 p.p. In three out of the four methods, the revisions implied changes in the output gap sign in 30 percent or more of the cases. In general, both the GDP data revision and the sample increase are relevant sources of output gap revisions. Key words: Real-time data; Output gap; Gross Domestic Product; Business cycle; Brazil. JEL classification: C82; E32.

Relationship between Degree of Deformation in Quartz and Silica Dissolution for the Development of Alkali-Silica Reaction in Concrete.

This paper presents research on the influence of quartz deformation in aggregates for the development of the alkali-silica reaction in concrete and its relationship with silica dissolution. The study also compares these characteristics with the field behavior of such rocks in concrete. The paper proposes parameters to classify the different degrees of deformation of quartz. Transmission electron microscopy showed the presence of walls even in slightly deformed quartz, which indicate the presence of the internal paths available to react with the alkaline concrete pore solutions and point to the potential development of an alkali-silica reaction. The presence of the deformation bands in the quartz grains leads to the alkali aggregate reaction occurring more rapidly. The visible spectrophotometer test was performed to evaluate the dissolution potential of the different samples of deformed quartz, which confirmed that the reactivity of the quartz increases as the deformation of the crystalline structure increases. The parameters established in the present study could be verified by analyzing the behavior of reactive and innocuous aggregates from the buildings

Soil organic phosphorus forms under different soil management systems and winter crops, in a long term experiment

Organic phosphorus (P) is an important source of phosphate for plants both in natural environments and in cultivated soils. Growing plants with high P recycling capacity may increase the importance of organic forms in phosphate availability mainly in undisturbed soils. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of long period of cultivation of different winter species under different soil management systems in the distribution of soil organic P forms, in the P content stored into the soil microbial biomass (SMB) and in the acid phosphatase enzyme activity. The experiment was established in 1986 with six winter treatments (blue lupine, hairy vetch, oat, radish, wheat and fallow) implanted in a Rhodic Hapludox in southern Brazil, under no-tillage system (NT) and conventional tillage system (CT). The crops were cultivated with rational use of chemical phosphate fertilizer, according to plant needs and soil type maintaining high levels of soil organic carbon leading to P organic form accumulation. Growing crops during the winter period in highly weathered subtropical soil increases the importance of microbial interactions in the P cycle, especially in the NT, where a large amount of crop residues is annually added to the soil surface, increasing soil organic P level, P content stored into the SMB and acid phosphatase enzyme activity

Respostas bioquímico-fisiológicas, transcricionais e mapeamento de QTLs de frutos na pós-colheita.

Durante o amadurecimento as principais alterações que ocorrem nos frutos, além de resultarem na alteração da coloração, contribuem para a melhoria do flavor, da textura e dos atributos de qualidade nutricional e funcional. Em frutos climatéricos, como o tomate e a maçã, a evolução dos atributos de qualidade é influenciada pelo hormônio vegetal etileno, que é aumentado drasticamente durante a maturação. A fim de reduzir perdas nos atributos de qualidade dos frutos, novas estratégias tecnológicas vêm sendo desenvolvidas. O tratamento com o uso da radiação UV-C, além de seu conhecido efeito germicida, é uma dessas estratégias capaz de retardar o processo de amadurecimento. Além disso, a radiação UV-C atua como um agente estressor, capaz de induzir mecanismos de defesa, que é qualificado pelo metabolismo especializado. Assim, no primeiro estudo dessa tese (artigo I), foram avaliadas as alterações moleculares e metabólicas decorrentes da ação do UV-C no armazenamento e tomates cv. Flavortop, e suas relações com eventos influenciados pelo etileno. Para isso, realizaram-se os tratamentos: UV-C a 3,7 KJ/m2, 1-MCP (1-metilciclopropeno) a 2μL/L e 1-MCP+UV-C. Observou-se que, embora a radiação UV-C estimule a produção de etileno ocorreu retardo no desenvolvimento da coloração dos frutos. Houve também redução da firmeza de polpa independente dos tratamentos, porém em menor intensidade nos frutos submetidos à aplicação de 1-MCP. Em geral, houve aumento no acúmulo de transcritos de todos os genes estudados um dia após o tratamento com UV-C, enquanto que o tratamento com 1-MCP impediu esse incremento imediato. O teor de poliaminas em frutos tratados com UV-C foi mais elevado quando comparado aos demais tratamentos, sugerindo uma possível relação entre essas moléculas e o retardo do amadurecimento. No segundo estudo da tese (artigo II), foram mapeados locos de características quantitativas (QTLs) dos principais parâmetros da textura da maçã, que é um dos atributos de qualidade que mais influencia o consumo desse fruto. Nessa abordagem, frutos foram colhidos em dois estágios de maturação, precoce e ótimo, e avaliados na colheita e após dois meses de armazenamento refrigerado a 1,5 °C ± 80% de umidade relativa nas safras de 2007 e 2011. A população analisada(F1)é oriunda de um cruzamento entre os genótipos X3259 e X3263. A fenotipagem foi feita através de análise sensorial, por medições instrumentais (penetrometria e compressão) e por análise histológica. Um mapa genético com 17 grupos de ligação já estava disponível para esse cruzamento. Foram mapeados 19 QTLs em seis grupos de ligação (LG01, LG02, LG07, LG10, LG11 e LG16)do mapa genético integrado. A percentagem da variação fenotípica (R2) oscilou entre 8,7% e 67,6%para as variáveis analisadas. Algumas das regiões onde os QTLs foram encontrados estão co-localizadas com genes candidatos já mapeados e disponíveis na literatura. A partir dos resultados obtidos nos dois estudos, verificou-se que: 1) a radiação UV-C atua em nível molecular, desencadeando diferentes respostas bioquímico-fisiológicas nos frutos, especialmente na produção de etileno, o retardo do desenvolvimento da coloração e na biossíntese de poliaminas; 2) o mapeamento de QTLs fornece bases para a localização de genes candidatos que controlam determinantes estruturais da textura da maçã e oferece novas perspectivas para programas de melhoramento. Palavras-chave: Radiação UV-C. Etileno. Textura. Marcadores moleculares. Locos de características quantitativas.Tese (Doutorado em Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos). Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Alimentos, Pelotas, 2013. Orientador: César Luis Girardi, PhD ? Embrapa Uva e Vinho; Cesar Valmor Rombaldi, PhD ; PPGCTA;UFPel; Fábio Clasen Chaves, PhD ?PPGCTA,UFPel; François Laurens, PhD ?IRHS, INR

Forms of Inorganic Phosphorus in Soil under Different Long Term Soil Tillage Systems and winter Crops

The cultivation of crops with different capacity of P uptake and use under long-term soil tillage systems can affect the distribution of P cycling and inorganic forms in the soil, as a result of higher or lower use efficiency of P applied in fertilizers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of long-term cultivation of different winter species under tillage systems on the distribution of inorganic P forms in the soil. In 1986, the experiment was initiated with six winter crops (blue lupin, hairy vetch, oat, oilseed radish, wheat and fallow) on a Rhodic Hapludox in southwestern Paraná, under no-tillage (NT) and conventional tillage (CT ). The application of phosphate fertilizer in NT rows increased inorganic P in the labile and moderately labile forms, and soil disturbance in CT redistributed the applied P in the deeper layers, increasing the moderately labile P concentration in the subsurface layers. Black oat and blue lupin were the most efficient P-recyclers and under NT, they increased the labile P content in the soil surface layers

Life cycle of the South American apple snail Asolene platae (Maton, 1811) (Caenogastropoda: Ampullariidae) under laboratory condition

Reproductive mode, life cycle and fecundity are relevant to understand and predict the spread and impacts of invasive freshwater molluscs. Ampullariids or apple snails have been intensively studied in recent decades due to the fast global expansion and severe impacts of two species of Pomacea, a genus with a peculiar reproductive mode (aerial egg masses). We investigated the life cycle and fecundity of Asolene platae, an apple snail with a different reproductive mode (aquatic egg masses) from the Río de la Plata basin by following three cohorts from hatching to death under laboratory conditions. Growth of A. platae remained continuous during the 4-year lifespan and the snails reached 80% of their asymptotic size at an age of 1 year. In terms of the von Bertalanffy model, females attain higher asymptotic sizes (26.02–25.72 mm) than males (23.01–24.89 mm), but males grow to their asymptotic sizes at slightly higher rates than females (0.047–0.054 vs 0.050–0.057 week−1). Males matured at a smaller size (21.16 vs 24.53 mm) and much earlier (55.02 vs 84.88 weeks) than females. The survivorship curves showed 63% mortality during the first 2–8 weeks, almost no mortality for the following 2 years and finally a steady decline in the number of survivors, with at least 7% of the snails still alive after 3 years. The lifespan fecundity of females included 20.61 egg masses and 1429.9 eggs. The tertiary sex ratio of the three cohorts was balanced, but varied from 0.25 to 0.76 among egg masses. Our laboratory data indicated that, in temperate environments, A. platae males would mature in their second summer and females during their second or third summer, and that the survivors would reproduce again during the three following summers. Several attributes of the life cycle of A. platae (slow growth, high posthatching mortality, late maturation and relatively low fecundity) indicate lower invasive potential and population resilience than those of invasive apple snails.Fil: Tiecher, María José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Burela, Silvana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Martín, Pablo Rafael. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur; Argentin

A comprehensive study of the voltage gated potassium channel Kv4.3:from functional analysis to molecular dynamics modelling

Over 100 billion neurons, connected by thousands of synapses, form the human brain. This complex neuronal network allows us to perform cognitive and motor tasks, such as thinking, talking, feeling and moving our arms and legs. Specialized proteins, known as ion channels, make it possible for neurons to communicate with each other by generating electrical stimuli. When ion channels do not work properly due to mutations, people suffer from various disorders, known as channelopathies. Mutations in the Kv4.3 channel cause motor disorders (ataxia), in some cases, accompanied by other clinical conditions, such as intellectual disability and epilepsy. Patients suffering from this disorder have difficulties in performing daily motor tasks, such as standing upright and grabbing objects. In neuronal cells, the Kv4.3 channel generates an electrical current which ‘filters’ incoming electrical stimuli and allows correct neuronal communication. In this thesis, we have studied the effect of mutations found in patients on the Kv4.3 channel activity, and we have developed and used different state of the-art technologies to understand how the Kv4.3 channel works. We found that disease causing mutations reduce the activity of the Kv4.3 channel. Our research has provided new information that brings us closer to the understanding of complex neurological disorders linked to the malfunctioning of the Kv4.3 channel

Life history and reproductive and thermal biology of Asolene Platae, an Apple Snail from the Río de la PLata basin (Argentina)

The Neotropical apple snails that lay subaquatic, gelatinousegg masses (species of Asolene, Felipponea and Marisa) havereceived less scientific interest than those apple snails that lay masses of calcareous shelled eggs above the waterline (genus Pomacea). Basic and applied research has concentrated so faron two species of Pomacea that have become important pestsof aquatic crops (mainly rice) as well as drivers ofecosystemic changes in invaded wetlands. Up to now, conservation orientedresearch and conservation efforts have been aimed only at theFlorida apple snail, Pomacea paludosa, which is the staplefood of an endangered raptor, the snail kite. As part of a broader research program that commenced five years ago on the natural history, invasion and conservation biology of Argentinean apple snails (Martín et al., 2013), weundertook a study of the life cycle and the reproductive andthermal biology of Asolene platae.Fil: Tiecher, María José. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Burela, Silvana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Martín, Pablo Rafael. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas del Sur; Argentin