Estudo comportamental, hormonal e histopatológico de animais com perda de peso progressina (SEP) e da variável peso associada a uma nova classificação ontogenética em Callithrix jacchus

The use of non-human primates in scientific research has contributed significantly to the biomedical area and, in the case of Callithrix jacchus, has provided important evidence on physiological mechanisms that help explain its biology, making the species a valuable experimental model in different pathologies. However, raising non-human primates in captivity for long periods of time is accompanied by behavioral disorders and chronic diseases, as well as progressive weight loss in most of the animals. The Primatology Center of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) has housed a colony of C. jacchus for nearly 30 years and during this period these animals have been weighed systematically to detect possible alterations in their clinical conditions. This procedure has generated a volume of data on the weight of animals at different age ranges. These data are of great importance in the study of this variable from different perspectives. Accordingly, this paper presents three studies using weight data collected over 15 years (1985-2000) as a way of verifying the health status and development of the animals. The first study produced the first article, which describes the histopathological findings of animals with probable diagnosis of permanent wasting marmoset syndrome (WMS). All the animals were carriers of trematode parasites (Platynosomum spp) and had obstruction in the hepatobiliary system; it is suggested that this agent is one of the etiological factors of the syndrome. In the second article, the analysis focused on comparing environmental profile and cortisol levels between the animals with normal weight curve evolution and those with WMS. We observed a marked decrease in locomotion, increased use of lower cage extracts and hypocortisolemia. The latter is likely associated to an adaptation of the mechanisms that make up the hypothalamus-hypophysis-adrenal axis, as observed in other mammals under conditions of chronic malnutrition. Finally, in the third study, the animals with weight alterations were excluded from the sample and, using computational tools (K-means and SOM) in a non-supervised way, we suggest found new ontogenetic development classes for C. jacchus. These were redimensioned from five to eight classes: infant I, infant II, infant III, juvenile I, juvenile II, sub-adult, young adult and elderly adult, in order to provide a more suitable classification for more detailed studies that require better control over the animal development

Condições de trabalho e saúde psíquica de servidores técnico-administrativos da UFRN

Unfavorable working conditions constitute one of the factors that may contribute to cause psychic suffering and behavioral disorders in workers. This research aimed to characterize the working conditions public servant technical- administrative , specifically the auxiliaries and assistants in administration of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte – UFRN, Natal, Brasil, as well to identify the incidence of psychic suffering in this group of public servants. As a strategy, we chose a case study of multi-method type, descriptive with quantitative and qualitative sequential steps. For this, it initially performed desk research by surveying epidemiological data for these public servants working in central campus, to identify the major diseases presented in the period from January 2011 to June 2014. Then, we proceeded to diagnostic step of the aspects related to work, by applying online and in loco of Working Conditions Survey (already validated by Borges et al., 2013a) in 11 sectors selected according to the following criteria: high number of workers public servants and major and minor percentage of absences for health care for ICD-F (according to records of Sector of Workers Health Care - DAS). In the treatment of the data the spreadsheet editor software Microsoft Office Excel and statistical SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences were used and made qualifying type of content analysis of open questions. Applied to this study 174 public servants and the results show a predominance of absenteeism due to mental or behavioral disorders (ICD F), musculoskeletal diseases (ICD M) and respiratory system (ICD J). Among the factors that were significant are the working hours (contractual and legal); Physical Effort (M = 2.59) and workspace (M = 2.58) - physical and material conditions; encouraging collaboration (M = 3.5) - processes and characteristics of the work; and participation (M = 1.78) - social-management environment. Therefore, it infers the existence of a relationship between these factors and some of the reasons for absenteeism reported by participants. It is suggested the expansion of this research with studies involving other professionals (including scholarship workers and contractors) and specific sectors.