Stresse profissional : um estudo exploratório sobre a importância das variáveis sexo e tempo de serviço numa amostra de enfermeiros portugueses

Tese de mestrado, Psicologia (Secção de Psicologia dos Recursos Humanos, do Trabalho e das Organizações), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia, 2012Decorrentes do processo de globalização, têm ocorrido transformações no mundo do trabalho e no contexto de vida, as quais induzem a um determinado nível de stresse. A partir desta perspectiva, foram identificadas pesquisas que revelam a presença de stresse no trabalho, apontando para a enfermagem como pertencente ao grupo de profissões potencialmente stressantes. Assim, o presente estudo objectiva investigar o nível de stresse em enfermeiros, de acordo com a influência da variável sexo e tempo de serviço. Para este estudo, foi usado o Inventário sobre o Stresse Profissional, aplicado a 80 profissionais de enfermagem. Conclui-se que não foram encontradas diferenças estatisticamente significativas nos níveis de stresse entre os dois sexos e os cinco grupos da variável tempo de serviço, pois o p-value é superior ao alfa (p>.05).Arising from globalization, some changes have occurred in the world of work and life context, which induce a certain level of stress. From this perspective, we identified studies that reveal the presence of stress at work, pointing to nursing as belonging to the group of potentially stressful professions. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the level of stress in nurses, according to the influence of sex variable and length of service. For this study, it was used the Job Stress Survey, applied to 80 nurses. The study concludes that there are no statistically significant differences regarding the stress levels between the both genders and between the five groups of length service variable, since the p-value is higher than alpha (p> .05)

Homeostasis in C. elegans sleep is characterized by two behaviorally and genetically distinct mechanisms

Biological homeostasis invokes modulatory responses aimed at stabilizing internal conditions. Using tunable photo- and mechano-stimulation, we identified two distinct categories of homeostatic responses during the sleep-like state of Caenorhabditis elegans (lethargus). In the presence of weak or no stimuli, extended motion caused a subsequent extension of quiescence. The neuropeptide Y receptor homolog, NPR-1, and an inhibitory neuropeptide known to activate it, FLP-18, were required for this process. In the presence of strong stimuli, the correlations between motion and quiescence were disrupted for several minutes but homeostasis manifested as an overall elevation of the time spent in quiescence. This response to strong stimuli required the function of the DAF-16/FOXO transcription factor in neurons, but not that of NPR-1. Conversely, response to weak stimuli did not require the function of DAF-16/FOXO. These findings suggest that routine homeostatic stabilization of sleep may be distinct from homeostatic compensation following a strong disturbance. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.04380.00

Reliable PCR quantitation of estrogen, progesterone and ERBB2 receptor mRNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue is independent of prior macro-dissection

Gene expression analysis on messenger RNA (mRNA) purified from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue is increasingly used for research purposes. Tissue heterogeneity may question specificity and interpretation of results from mRNA isolated from a whole slide section, and thresholds for minimal tumor content in the paraffin block or macrodissection are used to avoid contamination from non-neoplastic tissue. The aim was to test if mRNA from tissue surrounding breast cancer affected quantification of estrogen receptor α (ESR1), progesterone receptor (PGR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (ERBB2), by comparing gene expression from whole slide and tumor-enriched sections, and correlating gene expression from whole slide sections with corresponding immunohistochemistry. Gene expression, based on mRNA extracted from a training set (36 paraffin blocks) and two validation sets (133 + 1,083 blocks), were determined by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction for all samples, as well as by microarray for 133 validation samples. In the training set, agreement between high vs. low mRNA expression from whole slide and tumor-enriched sections was absolute for ESR1 and ERBB2, and 83 % for PGR. Overall agreements, when comparing mRNA expression to immunohistochemistry, were 100 % (ERBB2), 89 % (ESR1) and 83 % (PGR), which was confirmed in the validation sets. Percentage of tumor in the sections did not influence the results. In conclusion, reliable quantification of ESR1, PGR and ERBB2 mRNA expression can be obtained from a whole slide section, and correlates well with immunohistochemistry. Prior removal of surrounding tissue was found to be unnecessary even with minimal tumor content in the section

Measurement of the β\beta-asymmetry parameter of 67^{67}Cu in search for tensor type currents in the weak interaction

Precision measurements at low energy search for physics beyond the Standard Model in a way complementary to searches for new particles at colliders. In the weak sector the most general $\beta$ decay Hamiltonian contains, besides vector and axial-vector terms, also scalar, tensor and pseudoscalar terms. Current limits on the scalar and tensor coupling constants from neutron and nuclear $\beta$ decay are on the level of several percent. The goal of this paper is extracting new information on tensor coupling constants by measuring the $\beta$-asymmetry parameter in the pure Gamow-Teller decay of $^{67}$Cu, thereby testing the V-A structure of the weak interaction. An iron sample foil into which the radioactive nuclei were implanted was cooled down to milliKelvin temperatures in a $^3$He-$^4$He dilution refrigerator. An external magnetic field of 0.1 T, in combination with the internal hyperfine magnetic field, oriented the nuclei. The anisotropic $\beta$ radiation was observed with planar high purity germanium detectors operating at a temperature of about 10\,K. An on-line measurement of the $\beta$ asymmetry of $^{68}$Cu was performed as well for normalization purposes. Systematic effects were investigated using Geant4 simulations. The experimental value, $\tilde{A}$ = 0.587(14), is in agreement with the Standard Model value of 0.5991(2) and is interpreted in terms of physics beyond the Standard Model. The limits obtained on possible tensor type charged currents in the weak interaction hamiltonian are -0.045 $< (C_T+C'_T)/C_A <$ 0.159 (90\% C.L.). The obtained limits are comparable to limits from other correlation measurements in nuclear $\beta$ decay and contribute to further constraining tensor coupling constants

Delaying Diabetes in the Native American Population

Diabetes is a debilitating disease process caused by the body’s inability to control blood glucose levels. With over 30 million diabetics in the United States and another 85 million prediabetics, the effects of this disease are wide-spread and far-reaching. Native American/Alaska Native populations have a nearly two-fold increase in prevalence of diabetes when compared to non-native populations. Risk factors for diabetes in all populations include modifiable risks such as obesity, diet, and physical inactivity as well as non-modifiable factors such as age, family history, and ethnicity. Studies have shown that early identification of symptoms, coupled with proper and intentional treatment can delay the onset of diabetes. The purpose of this project is to determine the efficacy of currently recognized best-practice therapies in Native American patients and to identify barriers to successful implementation of such practices in the Native American population. A thorough review of the available literature shows that research of this topic specific to the Native American population is lacking. However, evidence suggests that the broad, general population recommendations made by the American Diabetes Association in their Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes (2018) will be equally effective in the Native American population when applied objectively. It is also recognized that Native Americans face additional barriers in the effort to identify and treat diabetes. These include geographic, economic, and social factors that inhibit treatment efficacy and ultimately lead to increased morbidity in this population.https://commons.und.edu/pas-grad-posters/1174/thumbnail.jp

SimpleMOC - A performance abstraction for 3D MOC

The method of characteristics (MOC) is a popular method for efficiently solving two-dimensional reactor problems. Extensions to three dimensions have been attempted with mitigated success bringing into question the ability of performing efficient full core three-dimensional (3D) analysis. Although the 3D problem presents many computational difficulties, some simplifications can be made that allow for more efficient computation. In this investigation, we present SimpleMOC, a “mini-app” which mimics the computational performance of a full 3D MOC solver without involving the full physics perspective, allowing for a more straightforward analysis of the computational challenges. A variety of simplifications are implemented that are intended to increase the computational feasibility, including the formation axially-quadratic neutron sources. With the addition of the quadratic approximation to the neutron source, 3D MOC is cast as a CPU-intensive method with the potential for remarkable scalability on next generation computing architectures.United States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Nuclear Energy (Nuclear Energy University Programs Fellowship)United States. Dept. of Energy. Center for Exascale Simulation of Advanced ReactorUnited States. Dept. of Energy. Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357

A task-based parallelism and vectorized approach to 3D Method of Characteristics (MOC) reactor simulation for high performance computing architectures

In this study we present and analyze a formulation of the 3D Method of Characteristics (MOC) technique applied to the simulation of full core nuclear reactors. Key features of the algorithm include a task-based parallelism model that allows independent MOC tracks to be assigned to threads dynamically, ensuring load balancing, and a wide vectorizable inner loop that takes advantage of modern SIMD computer architectures. The algorithm is implemented in a set of highly optimized proxy applications in order to investigate its performance characteristics on CPU, GPU, and Intel Xeon Phi architectures. Speed, power, and hardware cost efficiencies are compared. Additionally, performance bottlenecks are identified for each architecture in order to determine the prospects for continued scalability of the algorithm on next generation HPC architectures. Keywords: Method of Characteristics; Neutron transport; Reactor simulation; High performance computingUnited States. Department of Energy (Contract DE-AC02-06CH11357

Design and Fabrication of Astrophysical Instrumentation for Distinguishing Infrared Sources

Observations in the near- and far-infrared allow us to probe through cosmic clouds of gas and dust to uncover processes that are obscured at other wavelengths such as young stars embedded in dust clouds, thermal emission from the interstellar medium, and the birth of galaxies. However, cosmic infrared light is obstructed by Earth\u27s atmosphere. As a result, infrared astrophysical instrumentation is often designed for use in space. As specific examples of technologies addressing the kind of science that can be performed at these wavelengths, I will discuss my contributions to two applications of infrared instrumentation: a Fourier transform spectrometer (FTS) and the Cosmic Infrared Background ExpeRiment-2 (CIBER-2). I have developed the FTS for use as a calibration device to source far-infrared light with well-understood spectral characteristics. The motivation for such a device stems from the development of a novel spectrometer-on-a-chip design for far-infrared wavelengths. To test the prototype THz on-chip spectrometer, I have designed and am now fabricating the FTS, with an expected completion date of late 2022. In this thesis, I will discuss the motivation, optical configuration, thermal and mechanical design processes, and status of the FTS. This thesis also presents my contributions to CIBER-2, a sounding rocket experiment designed to distinguish the Epoch of Reionization from intra-halo light by characterizing fluctuations in the Extragalactic Background Light. This instrument, which collects images in both the near-infrared and the optical, completed a successful first flight from White Sands Missile Range on June 7th, 2021. I will discuss the performance of the instrument in its first flight as well as the improvements I have implemented that will lead to a successful second flight scheduled for early 2023