Evaluation of the performance of pharmacists in terms of providing health assistance at a university hospital

OBJETIVE: This study aimed to assess the practices of pharmacists in Hospital Care. Method - we interviewed 20 pharmacists from the Pharmacy Division by applying a structured instrument, in September 2005. This instrument addressed aspects related to the main activities at the Hospital Pharmacy, which were assessed according to indicators organized into five areas: sector management, hospital pharmacotechniques, committee activities, information and pharmacotherapeutic follow-up, as well as teaching and research activities.RESULTS: the Pharmacy Division considered all structural aspects under analysis as essential for the good development and application of its services. We found that some essential services, such as the Medication Information Service and Pharmacotherapeutic Follow-up, were absent. Pharmacist professionals were dissatisfied about human resource and physical structure dimensioning, and they presented as not very active in terms of Pharmaceutical Care.CONCLUSION: Results indicate that care is still centered on the drug, with few clinical activities. We suggest reformulations in service management, particularly in the management of pharmacists.

Evaluation of tractive performance of four agricultural tractors in laterally inclined terrain

O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o desempenho operacional de quatro tratores agrícolas com tração dianteira auxiliar, em função de seis inclinações laterais, em uma pista lateral de ensaios, pertencente à Faculdade de Ciências Agronômicas da Universidade Estadual Paulista, Câmpus de Botucatu. As inclinações laterais foram 0; 5; 10; 15; 20 e 25 graus. em todas estas situações, os tratores operaram com carga predeterminada de tração imposta ao trator tracionado de 40 kN na inclinação de 0 grau. Portanto, foi utilizado um delineamento em blocos casualizados (DBC), sendo seis inclinações e quatro tratores, e com três repetições para cada tratamento. As variáveis analisadas foram patinhagem, força de tração, consumo horário de combustível e velocidade de deslocamento. Concluiu-se que a configuração dos rodados pneumáticos influenciaram no desempenho operacional dos tratores, conforme aumentaram as inclinações laterais do terreno.

Experimental performance of a direct evaporative cooler operating during summer in a Brazilian city

This paper presents the basic principles of the evaporative cooling process for human thermal comfort, the principles of operation for the direct evaporative cooling system and the mathematical development of the equations of thermal exchanges, allowing the determination of the effectiveness of saturation. It also presents the results of experimental tests in a direct evaporative cooler that take place in the Air Conditioning Laboratory at the University of Taubate Mechanical Engineering Department, and the experimental results are used to determinate the convective heat transfer co-efficient and to compare with the mathematical model. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.

Power law distribution in education: Effect of economical, teaching, and study conditions in university entrance examination

We studied the statistical distribution of student's performance, which is measured through their marks, in university entrance examination (Vestibular) of UNESP (Universidade Estadual Paulista) with respect to (i) period of study - day versus night period (ii) teaching conditions - private versus public school (iii) economical conditions - high versus low family income. We observed long ubiquitous power law tails in physical and biological sciences in all cases. The mean value increases with better study conditions followed by better teaching and economical conditions. In humanities, the distribution is close to normal distribution with very small tail. This indicates that these power law tails in science subjects axe due to the nature of the subjects themselves. Further and better study, teaching and economical conditions axe more important for physical and biological sciences in comparison to humanities at this level of study. We explain these statistical distributions through Gradually Truncated Power law distributions. We discuss the possible reason for this peculiar behavior.

Productive and reproductive performance in cattle infected with bovine leukosis virus

Economic losses caused by enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) have been of interest since World War II, when the neoplastic form of EEL increased dramatically in Europe. Olson (1974) and House et al. (1975) ed that animals with lymphosarcoma caused by the bovine leukosis virus (BLV) had reduced milk yields. a less efficient reproductive performance and high veterinary costs and mortality rates, while many carcasses were rejected at slaughter. However, the actual impact of BLV infection in cattle without lymphosarcoma is not; clear. The purpose of the study reported here was to compare some productive and reproductive responses of cattle that were antibody-positive (BLV+) or negative (BLV-) for BLV.Holstein dairy cows in commercial dairy farms were used in this study. Blood samples were collected and subjected to BLV serological examination by the agar gel immunodiffusion test of Miller & van der Maaten (1976). Animals were then grouped as BLV+ or BLV- according to their serological response to the BLV antigen. Productive and reproductive histories were obtained from individual animal records and the following factors were considered: milk production, calving interval and birth rate. For milk production, we had the daily milk yields of 547 animals, and for calving interval the time between two successive parturitions for 444 cows. These values were examined by ANOVA and when this was significant a Student's t test was carried out for each age group. Birth rates, the percentage of animals that calved in 1 gear, were available for 557 animals and were examined with the Z-two proportion test. For all analyses, P < 0.05 was considered significant.

Power law distribution in education: University entrance examination

We studied the statistical distribution of candidate's performance which is measured through their marks in university entrance examination (Vestibular) of UNESP (Universidade Estadual Paulista) for years 1998, 1999, and 2000. All students are divided in three groups: Physical, Biological and Humanities. We paid special attention to the examination of Portuguese language which is common for all and examinations for the particular area. We observed long ubiquitous power law tails in Physical and Biological sciences. This indicate the presence of strong positive feedback in sciences. We are able to explain completely these statistical distributions through Gradually Truncated Power law distributions which we developed recently to explain statistical behavior of financial market. The statistical distribution in case of Portuguese language and humanities is close to normal distribution. We discuss the possible reason for this peculiar behavior.

Effects of spray nozzles and spray volume on spodoptera frugiperda management and narrow row corn performance

The high demand of pesticides in the production systems makes the application technology one of the main alternatives to optimize the products efficiency. In this context, the study aimed to evaluate the effects of spray nozzles and spray volumes on spraying deposits, armyworm control and crop corn performance in narrow row sowing system. The experiment was carried out at experimental area of Sao Paulo State University, Campus of Botucatu/SP, Brazil, during the 2009/2010 agricultural season, in randomized blocks with factorial scheme (2x2+1) and four replications. It was tested two flat fan spray nozzles (with and without air induction) combined with two spray volumes (100 and 200 L ha-1) plus a control treatment. There was no influence of spray nozzles (without air induction) in the spray deposits levels on plants. However, the flat fan nozzle with air induction was more effective on fall armyworm, with 100% of control against 47.84% from other at 15 days after spraying. The increase in the spray volume promoted high spray deposits (415.4 and 388.6 μL g-1 dry mass for flat fan nozzle with and without air induction, respectively at V10 growth stage) and consequently, the highest spray volume (200 L-1) was more efficient in the fall armyworm suppression, with 100% of control. All the technologies tested showed lower plant injury from fall armyworm. The insecticide sprayed with different technologies did not affect the parameters of plant height and leaf area index. The corn productivity was directly related with control efficiency of fall armyworm. © 2012 Academic Journals Inc.

Evaluation of low-level laser therapy effectiveness on the pain and masticatory performance of patients with myofascial pain

This study investigated the effect of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on the masticatory performance (MP), pressure pain threshold (PPT), and pain intensity in patients with myofascial pain. Twenty-one subjects, with myofascial pain according to Research Diagnostic Criteria/temporomandibular dysfunction, were divided into laser group (n = 12) and placebo group (n = 9) to receive laser therapy (active or placebo) two times per week for 4 weeks. The measured variables were: (1) MP by analysis of the geometric mean diameter (GMD) of the chewed particles using Optocal test material, (2) PPT by a pressure algometer, and (3) pain intensity by the visual analog scale (VAS). Measurements of MP and PPT were obtained at three time points: baseline, at the end of treatment with low-level laser and 30 days after (follow-up). VAS was measured at the same times as above and weekly throughout the laser therapy. The Friedman test was used at a significance level of 5 % for data analysis. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Federal University of Sergipe (CAAE: 0025.0.107.000-10). A reduction in the GMD of crushed particles (p < 0.01) and an increase in PPT (p < 0.05) were seen only in the laser group when comparing the baseline and end-of-treatment values. Both groups showed a decrease in pain intensity at the end of treatment. LLLT promoted an improvement in MP and PPT of the masticatory muscles. © 2012 Springer-Verlag London.

Polynomials to model the growth of young bulls in performance tests

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

A meta-analysis of the feed intake and growth performance of broiler chickens challenged by bacteria

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

Use of live oocyst vaccine in the control of turkey coccidiosis: Effect on performance and intestinal morphology

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of different coccidiosis-preventing programs on performance and intestinal morphology of commercial turkeys. Three hundred fifteen1-d-old female commercial cross turkey poults (British United Turkeys, BUT Big 9) were distributed into 3 treatments with 5 replicates of 21 birds each. Three programs were evaluated from 1 to 70 d of age, where program 1 had no anticoccidial drug and no vaccination against coccidiosis; program 2 had an anticoccidial drug (maduramycin 1%, 5 ppm); and program 3 had a vaccination (commercial vaccine, 4 species of Eimeria). All the groups were challenged with a dose of oocysts sporulated (20,000/bird) of 2 species of Eimeria at 21 d of age. In the growing phase (d 0-28), BW, BW gain, and FCR were significantly greater in treated groups compared with control group. In the fattening phase, the performance was not affected by treatments. Treatments and coccidiosis challenge had no significant effects on intestinal villus height. These observations support other reports that confirm live oocyst vaccination can be used effectively as a preventive against avian coccidiosis in commercially reared turkeys.

Greening the campus of a Brazilian university: cultural challenges

Purpose - This study examined the relationship between environmental management practices developed at a campus of a Brazilian university (University of Sao Paulo) and the greening of its organizational culture. The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach - This article presents a theoretical background based on the concepts of environmental management, organizational culture and environmental management in higher education institutions. The main framework of this research is the model proposed by Harris and Crane.Findings - The studied university has an environmental management program that is sometimes constrained in the following ways: the university bureaucracy and hierarchy; the main performance indicators for lecturers and professors are based on scientific production and publication, giving them little time for complementary activities; and some units develop their own environmental management practices, but they are not disseminated as best practices for use by other units. Some academic units showcase the proactive actions of professors who incorporate environmental management into their daily activities. The general perception is that the phrase environmental management is almost synonymous with solid waste management.Originality/value - This research details the first Brazilian application of the Harris and Crane model. It contributes an original analysis of environmental management and green organizational culture of a Brazilian university, an organizational type that has seldom been studied to date.

Physics teachers initial education and professional performance: what do future teachers have to say?

This research deals with the discussion about Physics teachers’ undergraduate education and professional performance related to the knowledge acquired during this initial education. More specifically, we try to answer questions like: How do future teachers evaluate the knowledge acquired during their initial education as in terms of specific knowledge as pedagogical knowledge? What are their formative needs and future expectatives about professional performance and the school teaching environment? Data was constituted from a sample of 26 future high school physics teachers, one semester long, that were taking the supervised curricular training in a undergraduate Physics education program (called Licenciatura in Brazil), in São Paulo State public university. Besides the final report of this training, future teachers were asked to answer a questionnaire aiming to take their conceptions about their initial education program, their formative needs, future professional expectatives and high school teaching environment. According to the future teachers, the program they were about to finish was satisfactory in terms of Physics specific contents; however, about the pedagogical content knowledge and the pedagogical practice, they showed to be unsatisfied and insecure. The majority of the questionnaire responses demonstrated that they feel lack of teaching experience. Moreover, teachers emphasize other factors related to the future professional performance: possible difficulties to deal with students’ indiscipline, schools’ bad physical structure, limited number of Physics classes in high school level, lack of didactical laboratories and also they seem to be frightened that the expertise teachers do not be collaborative with the new ones. In this sense, the research outcomes shows the necessity of discussions about questions involving teachers knowledge, related to either, the Physics conceptual domain and the pedagogical one, since it matters directly to future teachers professional performance. Discussions in this sense can also help evaluation and restructuration of programs designed to initial and continuous teachers’ education.