Radon surveys in Brazil using CR-39

In this work results of two radon daughters survey in Brazil are presented and discussed. Some methodological problems concerning the first survey are pointed out which were corrected for the second survey in order to make a realistic long-term measurement of radon decay products in the air. The technique employed in both surveys was the alpha-spectroscopy using CR-39. The reliability of this technique as well as the results of the second survey are discussed, which indicate a poor correlation between radon and its decay products in the air at the researched dwellings. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Health surveys and use of maternal and child health care services in three municipalities within the São Paulo metropolitan area

Objectives. To describe the changes in the use of maternal and child health care services by residents of three municipalities-Embu, Itapecerica da Serra, and Taboao da Serra-in the São Paulo metropolitan area, 12 years after the implementation of the Unified Health System (SUS) in Brazil, and to analyze the potential of population-based health care surveys as sources of data to evaluate these changes.Methods. Two population-based, cross-sectional surveys were carried out in 1990 and 2002 in municipalities located within the São Paulo metropolitan area. For children under 1 year of age, the two periods were compared in terms of outpatient services utilization and hospital admission; for the mothers, the periods were compared in terms of prenatal care and deliveries. In both surveys, stratified and multiple-stage conglomerate sampling was employed, with standardization of interview questions.Results. The most important changes observed were regarding the location of services used for prenatal care, deliveries, and hospitalization of children less than 1 year of age. There was a significant increase in the use of services in the surrounding region or hometown, and decrease in the utilization of services in the city of São Paulo (in 1990, 80% of deliveries and almost all admissions for children less than 1 year versus 32% and 46%, respectively, in 2002). The use of primary care units and 24-hour walk-in clinics also increased. All these changes reflect care provided by public resources. In the private sector, there was a decrease in direct payments and payments through company-paid health insurance and an increase in payments through self-paid health insurance.Conclusions. The major changes observed in the second survey occurred simultaneous to the changes that resulted from the implementation of the SUS. Population-based health surveys are adequate for analyzing and comparing the utilization of health care services at different times.

The signature of dark energy perturbations in galaxy cluster surveys

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The application of biochemical responses to assess environmental quality of tropical estuaries: field surveys

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

The Digital Divide in the University: The Appropriation of ICT in Higher Education Students from Bogota, Colombia

The growth and integration of ICTs in the global economy have created conditions that profoundly affect our society, dividing communities between those who effectively appropriate these resources and those who do not, what is called the digital divide. This exploratory study seeks to propose and validate ways of assessing this phenomenon in higher education, from the construction of a model and a comprehensive methodology that value contextual conditions, in addition to measuring access factors and motivation for use, that have been employed in previous research. To obtain indications about the behavior of this phenomenon, we developed research with students from three universities in Bogota, administering 566 surveys in four phases that would test the variables proposed in the model. The results show that the variables of the model link causally, with the strongest relations between education, attitude towards ICTs and ICT application. Although students have good access to ICTs and high levels of education, no strong relationship was found in regards to perceived impact on production. This may be explained by a superficial appropriation of ICT, due to a context that is alien to its conditions of origin (industrialism, innovation), poor quality of education and economies not centered around R&D.

Projeto Sempre Sorrindo: 10 anos de atenção ao idoso institucionalizado

Introduction: To correctly attend the health needs of the elderly population, it is necessary to invest in training of human resources. Thus, it becomes indispensable to insert the geriatric dentistry content into graduation courses. Objective: To describe the experiences and the results obtained during 10 years of an university extension project focused on oral health care of institutionalized elderly. Methodology: This is a documental and descriptive work, which was analyzed the institutional process of ten years of the University Extension Program, “Always Smiling - Dental Care for the Elderly Institutionalized of Araçatuba, “ developed at the Araçatuba Dental School, FOA/ UNESP. It were collected quantitative and qualitative data, and these were classified and interpreted according to the technique of categorizing the content. Results: In ten years of implementation, the project “Always Smiling” involved undergraduate students, professors and post-graduate students, who together have developed practical activities such as health education, hygiene supervision, recreational and educational activities, epidemiological surveys of oral health conditions and consequently, dental care according to the need of the treatment. Conclusion: The project “Always Smiling” serves as a working model for elderly health care, because it acts involves many aspects, from the prevention of diseases, even to the training of elderly caregivers, benefiting the institutionalized elderly and health professionals.

Fatores ergonômicos críticos de mochos odontológicos e sua relação com a produtividade e satisfação de cirurgiões dentistas

The purpose of the ergonomics is to generate adequate working conditions, by the correct use of equipment and appropriate anatomic positions. Ergonomics has become essential in the dentist's life while in the dental practice. The misuse of equipment in performing tasks or the wrong choice of equipment can initiate various problems like back pain, bursitis, repetitive strain injury (RSI), limitation of movement, and stress. Using a survey that was implemented with professional dentists linked to Paulista Association of Dental Surgeons (APCD) and graduate students at the Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP) in the São José dos Campos (SP) region, this study intends to propose an adequate research instrument to identify ergonomic critical factors of dental stools and their relation to productivity and satisfaction of dentists. The survey was developed with Google Docs Forms tool and was designed by analysis of other studies, existing surveys and other papers in this area. Relevant content were discussed and developed questions about the stool used by dentists in their activities, the occurrence of any problems arising from the exercise of their profession and the views of respondents about the influence of using the dental stool in these cited problems as well as their productivity. Due to obstacles encountered during the project, particularly bureaucratic issues, the survey cannot be implemented as needed, resulting in a test with reduced number of answers. The users' opinion varies according to the stool used, bringing some difficulty to generalizing the answers, but if treated properly, it is possible to obtain relevant conclusions about the main aspects perceived by users in relation to the stool and the needs pointed as most important