Unethical aspects of homeopathic dentistry

In the last year there has been a great deal of public debate about homeopathy, the system of alternative medicine whose main principles are that like cures like and that potency increases relative to dilution. The House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology concluded in November 2009 that there is no evidence base for homeopathy, and agreed with some academic commentators that homeopathy should not be funded by the NHS. While homeopathic doctors and hospitals are quite commonplace, some might be surprised to learn that there are also many homeopathic dentists practising in the UK. This paper examines the statements made by several organisations on behalf of homeopathic dentistry and suggests that they are not entirely ethical and may be in breach of various professional guidelines

Epidemiology and integrated control of Potato Late Blight in Europe

Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight, is a major threat to potato production in northwestern Europe. Before 1980, the worldwide population of P. infestans outside Mexico appeared to be asexual and to consist of a single clonal lineage of A1 mating type characterized by a single genotype. It is widely believed that new strains migrated into Europe in 1976 and that this led to subsequent population changes including the introduction of the A2 mating type. The population characteristics of recently collected isolates in NW Europe show a diverse population including both mating types, sexual reproduction and oospores, although differences are observed between regions. Although it is difficult to find direct evidence that new strains are more aggressive, there are several indications from experiments and field epidemics that the aggressiveness of P. infestans has increased in the past 20 years. The relative importance of the different primary inoculum sources and specific measures for reducing their role, such as covering dumps with plastic and preventing seed tubers from becoming infected, is described for the different regions. In NW Europe, varieties with greater resistance tend not to be grown on a large scale. From the grower’s perspective, the savings in fungicide input that can be achieved with these varieties are not compensated by the higher (perceived) risk of blight. Fungicides play a crucial role in the integrated control of late blight. The spray strategies in NW Europe and a table of the specific attributes of the most important fungicides in Europe are presented. The development and use of decision support systems (DSSs) in NW Europe are described. In The Netherlands, it is estimated that almost 40% of potato growers use recommendations based on commercially available DSS. In the Nordic countries, a new DSS concept with a fixed 7-day spray interval and a variable dose rate is being tested. In the UK, commercially available DSSs are used for c. 8% of the area. The validity of Smith Periods for the new population of P. infestans in the UK is currently being evaluated

First-principles study of the polar O-terminated ZnO surface in thermodynamic equilibrium with oxygen and hydrogen

Using density-functional theory in combination with a thermodynamic formalism we calculate the relative stability of various structural models of the polar O-terminated (000-1)-O surface of ZnO. Model surfaces with different concentrations of oxygen vacancies and hydrogen adatoms are considered. Assuming that the surfaces are in thermodynamic equilibrium with an O2 and H2 gas phase we determine a phase diagram of the lowest-energy surface structures. For a wide range of temperatures and pressures we find that hydrogen will be adsorbed at the surface, preferentially with a coverage of 1/2 monolayer. At high temperatures and low pressures the hydrogen can be removed and a structure with 1/4 of the surface oxygen atoms missing becomes the most stable one. The clean, defect-free surface can only exist in an oxygen-rich environment with a very low hydrogen partial pressure. However, since we find that the dissociative adsorption of molecular hydrogen and water (if also the Zn-terminated surface is present) is energetically very preferable, it is very unlikely that a clean, defect-free (000-1)-O surface can be observed in experiment.Comment: 10 pages, 4 postscript figures. Uses REVTEX and epsf macro

Avaliação econômica de sistemas de produção de arroz irrigado em regiões selecionadas do Rio Grande do Sul, safras 2007/2008 a 2009/2010.

O presente trabalho objetivou o levantamento e avaliação da viabilidade dos Sistemas de produção modais de arroz irrigado praticados na Fronteira Oeste e na região Sul do RS

Competitiveness of the soybean complex in Brazil: enhancers and inhibitors.

The objective of this study was to analyze the competitiveness of the soybean complex in Brazil from 2002/2003 to 2012/2013, assessing the likely rational grounds for explaining this evolution. Using the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) model, as an indicator of competitive measure, we found that the soybean complex exports hold a strong position in the worldwide context for the years under consideration. This study proposes that the main reasons or enhancement factors for this progress may be based on two factors: knowledge & technology, and legislation. Despite the fact that soybean complex has evolved considerably in the past decades, there are inhibitors to be considered, such as problems in transport logistics and storage capacity limitations, both challenging issues which the last government mandates have been struggling with

Effectiveness of Three Decontamination Treatments against Influenza Virus Applied to Filtering Facepiece Respirators

Filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs) are recommended for use as precautions against airborne pathogenic microorganisms; however, during pandemics demand for FFRs may far exceed availability. Reuse of FFRs following decontamination has been proposed but few reported studies have addressed the feasibility. Concerns regarding biocidal efficacy, respirator performance post decontamination, decontamination cost, and user safety have impeded adoption of reuse measures. This study examined the effectiveness of three energetic decontamination methods [ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), microwave-generated steam, and moist heat] on two National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-certified N95 FFRs (3M models 1860s and 1870) contaminated with H5N1. An aerosol settling chamber was used to apply virus-laden droplets to FFRs in a method designed to simulate respiratory deposition of droplets onto surfaces. When FFRs were examined post decontamination by viral culture, all three decontamination methods were effective, reducing virus load by \u3e4 log median tissue culture infective dose. Analysis of treated FFRs using a quantitative molecular amplification assay (quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction) indicated that UVGI decontamination resulted in lower levels of detectable viral RNA than the other two methods. Filter performance was evaluated before and after decontamination using a 1% NaCl aerosol. As all FFRs displayed \u3c5%penetration by 300-nm particles, no profound reduction in filtration performance was caused in the FFRs tested by exposure to virus and subsequent decontamination by the methods used. These findings indicate that, when properly implemented, these methods effectively decontaminate H5N1 on the two FFR models tested and do not drastically affect their filtering function; however, other considerations may influence decisions to reuse FFRs

Proposta metodológica para avaliação da efetividade das políticas sociais para agricultores familiares do Estado de Goiás.

O objetivo principal desse artigo é realizar uma revisão bibliográfica e uma proposta metodológica para avaliar as efetividades sociais das políticas públicas para os agricultores familiares do estado de Goiás. Os programas escolhidos pelas suas representatividades sociais e econômicas para o campo e especificamente para a agricultura familiar, sujeito deste trabalho, são o Programa Nacional da Alimentação Escolar (PNAE), o Programas de Aquisição de Alimentos (PAA) da Agricultura Familiar. Também será abordado o Programa Bolsa Família, que não se trata da temática da segurança alimentar, mas que é um programa social de grande inserção no meio rural, especificamente para os agricultores familiares, e com a hipótese que tem efeitos significativos em elementos de segurança alimentar dos agricultores familiares do território em questão

Impacto socioeconômico e ambiental da soca de arroz produzida na microrregião do Rio Formoso, Estado do Tocantins.

Na busca de meios de se avaliar os reais benefícios regionais do aproveitamento da soca de arroz na microrregião do Rio Formoso (Estado do Tocantins), foi analisada sua sustentabilidade nas dimensões econômica, social e ambiental

Teletrabalho antes e durante a pandemia de COVID-19: uma avaliação da percepção dos servidores do Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de Goiás.

A presente pesquisa teve como objetivo aferir as percepções dos servidores do Tribunal de Justiça do Estado de Goiás (TJGO) com relação aos impactos e desafios do teletrabalho antes e após à pandemia da COVID-19. Tratou-se de umestudo descritivo, exploratório com abordagem quanti-qualitativa a partir de um estudo inédito no TJGO. Nos resultados foram descritos conforme as seguintes categorias de análise: perfil sociodemográfico e análise das percepções dos servidores sobre os impactos do teletrabalho, antes e após à pandemia. Os resultados demonstraram que em relação à idade dos servidores, estes em sua maioria possuem entre 41 e 46 anos de idade. O gênero dos entrevistados em sua maioria é do sexo feminino. Acerca da função dos servidores, a maioria 62,8% são analistas judiciários; e 16,7% escrivão judiciário. Na segunda categoria que foi a análise das percepções dos servidores sobre os impactos do teletrabalho, antes e após à pandemia, notou-se na percepção dos sujeitos de pesquisa, se já haviam trabalhado no formato de teletrabalho antes da pandemia, e 96,2% responderam que não. 98,7% responderam que mesmo antes da pandemia, nunca solicitaram ao TJGO para atuarem no regime de teletrabalho. Sobre a rotina do teletrabalho, 42,3% dos servidores afirmaram que não tiveram dificuldade em estabelecer uma rotina. Dos entrevistados, 43,6% concordam totalmente com a qualidade da Tecnologia de Informação e Comunicação (TICs) disponibilizadas. O tempo de atendimento ao usuário de forma remota na visão dos servidores, é satisfatório, na proporção de 46,2% dos participantes que concordaram totalmente

Eficiência energética e pegada de carbono de sistemas de produção de feijão comum na terceira safra.

Neste trabalho foi avaliado o sistema de produção convencional e produção integrada do feijão comum na terceira safra sob irrigação por pivô central.Pôster - pós-graduação