Higher education in nursing: the faculty work process in different institutional contexts

Objective To analyze the characteristics of faculty work in nursing higher education. Method An exploratory qualitative study with a theoretical-methodological framework of dialectical and historical materialism. The faculty work process was adopted as the analytical category, grounded on conceptions of work and professionalism. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 faculty members from three higher education institutions in the city of São Paulo, classified according to the typology of institutional contexts. Results The faculty members at these higher education institutions are a heterogeneous group, under different working conditions. Intensification and precarious conditions of the faculty work is common to all three contexts, although there are important distinctions in the practices related to teaching, research and extension. Conclusion Faculty professionalization can be the starting point for analyzing and coping with such a distinct reality of faculty work and practice.


Violence, Burnout and Minor Psychiatric Disorders in Hospital Work

OBJECTIVE Identifying the violence suffered by the health team workers and their association with Burnout and minor psychiatric disorders. METHODS Cross-sectional study with 269 health team professionals of a public hospital in southern Brazil. Data were collected through the use of the Survey Questionnaire: Workplace Violence in the Health Sector, Maslach Inventory Burnout and Self-Report Questionnaire. RESULTS Workplace violence struck 63.2% of workers, prevailing mostly in women (p = 0.001), among nursing auxiliaries/technicians (p=0.014) and was associated with minor psychiatric disorders (p<0.05), as exposure to different forms of violence increased the chances of these disorders by 60% (CI 95%: 1.2-2.1). The three Burnout dimensions were also associated to violence at work (p<0.05). CONCLUSION Health workers experience violence in the workplace and this exposure is associated with Burnout symptoms and minor psychiatric disorders.

Pleasure-suffering indicators of nursing work in a hemodialysis nursing service

OBJECTIVE To measure the pleasure and suffering indicators at work and relate them to the socio-demographic and employment characteristics of the nursing staff in a hemodialysis center in southern Brazil. METHOD Quantitative research, with 46 workers. We used a self-completed form with demographic and labor data and the Pleasure and Suffering Indicators at Work Scale (PSIWS). We conducted a bivariate and correlation descriptive analysis with significance levels of 5% using the Epi-Info® and PredictiveAnalytics Software programs. RESULTS Freedom of Speech was considered critical; other factors were evaluated as satisfactory. The results revealed a possible association between sociodemographic characteristics and work, and pleasure and suffering indicators. There was a correlation between the factors evaluated. CONCLUSION Despite the satisfactory evaluation, suffering is present in the studied context, expressed mainly by a lack of Freedom of Speech, with the need for interventions to prevent injury to the health of workers.

Offshore work and the work of nurses on board: an integrative review

OBJECTIVETo know the production of theoretical approaches on issues related to offshore work and the work of offshore nurses.METHODIntegrative literature review conducted in the databases of LILACS, BDENF, MEDLINE, SciELO and Index PSI.RESULTSWe selected 33 studies published in national and international journals between 1997 and 2014. The thematic analysis corpus resulted in four central themes: offshore work environment; amid work adversities, an escape; structuring of offshore health and safety services; in search of safe practices.CONCLUSIONThis study contributes to the offshore work of nurses in relation to the nature of work, acting amid adversities and the restless search for safe practices in the open sea.

Sensory response of the egg parasitoid Telenomus podisi to stimuli from the bug Euschistus heros

The objective of this work was to study the foraging behavior of Telenomus podisi Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in the presence of stimuli from its host, Euschistus heros (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae). The stimuli selected were: egg mass; virgin males and females; volatile extracts of sexually mature males and females; components of male sex pheromone; a component of the alarm pheromone, hexane and an empty cage as control. In a closed arena, the parasitoids were given the choice between single and combined stimuli presented to them simultaneously. To find the host egg, T. podisi primarily uses the sensory cues released from the male insects. The orientation toward odors of male chemical extract indicates that a source of kairomone was detected. Gas chromatographic analyses of this substance showed peak of methyl 2,6,10-trimethyltridecanoate, the main component of male sexual pheromone. The sensory response to methyl 2,6,10-trimethyltridecanoate confirms that this compound may act as a kairomone to find host eggs. Females and egg mass stimuli were weakly attractive to the parasitoid.

An ethanol-based process to simultaneously extract and fractionate carotenoids from Mauritia flexuosa L. Pulp

Mauritia vinifera (buriti) is a palm tree that grows wild in different areas of Brazil, particularly in the Amazonian region. The buriti oil is rich in carotenoids, especially in β-carotene. The growing interest in other natural sources of β-carotene has stimulated the industrial use of buriti as a raw material for pulp oil extraction. Most processes are based on the conventional technologies, involving drying and pressing the pulp for oil recovery and further separation of carotenoids in a liquid phase using organics solvents. In the present work, the ethanol-based process was evaluated for simultaneous carotenoids recovering and fractionating from buriti pulp. The raw material and ethanol, 1:4 ratio, were placed in an erlenmeyer flask and maintained at 30rpm for 1 hour in a temperature-controlled bath at 65ºC. The mixture was filtered under vacuum and cooling at 10ºC to allow for the separation of the solvent in two phases. Carotenoids composition, determined by HPLC, has indicated a β-carotene concentration about 12 times greater in the lower phase than in the upper phase. The profile of the carotenoids in the denser phase is quite similar to that of raw buriti oil, and the concentration of total carotenoids is 40% higher than that of the original raw oil, making the ethanol-based process particularly attractive for industrial applications.

Stabilization of fluoroindate glasses by magnesium fluoride and other heavy metal fluorides

Their extended transparency in the IR makes them attractive for use as optical fibers for CO laser power delivery and optical amplification. This paper firstly describes the spectacular stabilizing effect of MgF2 on the binary system InF3-BaF2. The investigation of the InF3-BaF2-MgF2 system led to samples up to 5mm in thickness. Further optimization of this system was achieved by incorporation of limited amounts of other fluorides and resulted in increased resistence to devitrification. The second approach of this work was concerned to the investigation of the pseudo-ternary system InF3-GdF3-GaF3 at constant concentrations of ZnF2-SrF2-BaF2-NaF. Several compositions were studied in this system. The samples presented a better thermal stability when compared to other families of fluoride glasses. Therefore, these glasses seem to be very promising for the fabrication of special optical fibers. Thermal data are reported.

Determinação de ascarel em óleo isolante de transformadores

The contamination level of silicon oil used as insulation liquid in high-voltage transformers by ascarel (PCBs) is above those permitted by the Brazilian law. Thus new techniques able to detect ascarel, with low operational costs, are very attractive. The present work proposes an analysis of the contamination levels of silicon oil using the following techniques: naphthalene anion radical reaction for ascarel dechlorination; and potentiometry with an ion-selective electrode for chloride ion determination. The data obtained with the proposed methodology agree well with those from the official methodology, (method IEC 61619).

Isolation of compounds attractive to the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa forel (hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Mabea fistulifera elaiosome

Mabea fistulifera (Euphorbiaceae)is a pioneer plant species with seeds dispersed by the ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa. Since the ants are attracted to the seeds to use its elaiosome as a source of energy, we investigated its composition. The elaiosomes from 13,000 seeds were extracted with a methanol:chloroform mixture (2:1 v/v) and yielded 22% of a residue. This residue was fractionated by column chromatography and its composition determined by infrared spectroscopy and chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The elaiosome lipids are constituted mainly by free fatty acids, triacylglycerols and minor quantities of monoacylglycerols or diacylglycerols.

Uso de scanner em espectrofotometria de absorção molecular: aplicação em experimento didático enfocando a determinação de ácido ascórbico

Quantitative analysis of colored substances is generally performed using a spectrophotometer for detection of radiation. However, the combination of digital images and mathematical conversion of colors is an alternative for quantitative procedures based on colored chemical reactions. This work proposes a didactic experiment using a scanner for determination of ascorbic acid in medicines based on the formation of the Prussian blue complex. Results were in good agreement with a conventional spectrophotometer method and the procedure is attractive for instrumental analysis undergraduate courses.

Propriedades químico-quânticas empregadas em estudos das relações estrutura-atividade

In this work we show that structure-activity relationship studies are of great importance in modern chemistry and biochemistry. In order to obtain a significant correlation, it is crucial that appropriate descriptors be employed. Thus, quantum chemical calculations are an attractive source of new molecular descriptors which can, in principle, express all the electronic and geometric properties of molecules and their interactions with the biological receptor.

Biomassa em aula prática de Química Orgânica Verde: cravo-da-índia como fonte simultânea de óleo essencial e de furfural

This work presents an optimized integrated experiment for isolation of clove bud essential oil, rich in eugenol, and subsequent utilization of the solid residue for furfural synthesis. The operationally simple laboratory protocols and utilization of water as a solvent in both operations, plus the use of biomass as the starting material for preparation of versatile intermediates in organic synthesis, make the experiments attractive for undergraduate experimental organic chemistry courses in the context of green chemistry. In addition, this is the first description of the use of biomass (clove bud) in the simultaneous preparation of two chemical feedstocks, eugenol and furfural, on experimental organic chemistry courses.

Imobilização de lipase por encapsulação em sílica aerogel

Lipase from Burkholderia cepacia was immobilized in a silica matrix and dried in high pressure carbon dioxide media (aerogel). The protic ionic liquid (PIL) was used in the immobilization process by encapsulation. The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of the drying technique using supercritical carbon dioxide in biocatalysts obtained through the sol-gel technique by evaluating temperature and pressure and, after selecting the best drying conditions, to investigate the application of the technique for the biocatalyst using ionic liquid as an additive in the immobilization process. The results for immobilized biocatalysts showed that the best conditions of pressure and temperature were 100 bar and 25 ºC, respectively, giving a total activity recovery yield of 37.27% without PIL (EN) and 44.23% with PIL (ENLI). The operational stability of the biocatalysts showed a half-life of 11.4 h for ENLI and 6 h for EN. Therefore, solvent extraction using supercritical CO2, besides shortening drying time, offers little resistance to the immobilization of lipases, since their macropores provide ample room for their molecules. The use of the ionic liquid as an additive in the process studied for the immobilization of enzymes produced attractive yields for immobilization and therefore has potential for industrial applications in the hydrolysis of vegetable oils.

What can and should be legalized in ecological restoration?

After listing the five key elements of ecological restoration, ecology, economics, social values, cultural values, and politics, I celebrate the fact that in Brazil there is legislation on how to perform ecological restoration of degraded tropical forests, as well as an ongoing dialogue among legislators and scientists about this legislation, and also a lively debate among scientists as the best way forward, referring to articles by Brancalion et al. (2010) and Durigan et al. (2010) in this issue of Revista Árvore. Legislators elsewhere, especially megadiversity countries, should take note. I do not take sides in the debate; I think both groups of authors make very good points. Instead I call on the scientists and legislators concerned with restoration to ponder five strategic tools: A. Start with clear concepts. B. Decide where you want to go and why. C. Negotiate who should benefit & how, and who should pay, how, & why. D. Work out how an honest cost-benefit analysis of restoration would look, regardless of the biome in which you are working. Finally, figure out how to make the restoration immediately attractive for private landowners. Otherwise, they will not cooperate as fully as they could or should, and restoration efforts will not achieve its full potential.

Local Web Buckling in Tapered Composite Beams: A Parametric Study

Composite flooring systems supported by tapered (varying web depth) beams are very attractive from an economic point of view. However, the tapered beam sections are fabricated from plate by welding, and are susceptible to imperfection effects. These may interact with the localised compressive stress field that is generated in the web at a slope change in the lower flange to cause local web buckling. A substantial parametric study using a non-linear elasto-plastic finite element program and covering practical ranges of the important parameters including the area of the tension flange, taper slope and web thickness is reported. Moment-rotation relations, peak moments and failure mechanisms have been predicted. The validity of the work is supported by the good correlation obtained between the results of the parametric study and experimental data.