ABOUT PSYCHOLOGICAL VARIABLES IN APPLICATION SCORING MODELS

The purpose of this study is to investigate the contribution of psychological variables and scales suggested by Economic Psychology in predicting individuals’ default. Therefore, a sample of 555 individuals completed a self-completion questionnaire, which was composed of psychological variables and scales. By adopting the methodology of the logistic regression, the following psychological and behavioral characteristics were found associated with the group of individuals in default: a) negative dimensions related to money (suffering, inequality and conflict); b) high scores on the self-efficacy scale, probably indicating a greater degree of optimism and over-confidence; c) buyers classified as compulsive; d) individuals who consider it necessary to give gifts to children and friends on special dates, even though many people consider this a luxury; e) problems of self-control identified by individuals who drink an average of more than four glasses of alcoholic beverage a day.

Conflito social e welfare state: Estado e desenvolvimento social no Brasil

Este artigo argumenta que no Brasil a luta de classes não alcançou dimensões profundas que pudesse engendrar a constituição do welfare state. Ao contrário, o Estado, sobretudo sua forma mais moderna, capitalista, que emergiu a partir da década de 1930, sempre se antecipou aos movimentos sociais que representassem ameaças de rupturas. De forma repressiva, o Estado brasileiro desde o Império dissipou os conflitos com o objetivo de manter uma certa harmonia em favor do processo de expansão e reprodução capitalista e a integração dos espaços regionais. O artigo, portanto, é uma tentativa, prematura, de entender o processo de constituição dos sistemas de seguridade social, analisando as experiências de alguns países e suas respectivas características, com isso confrontando alguns estudos e realizando comparações com a dinâmica da luta de classes no Brasil e a função do Estado nesse processo.

Anxiety, Depression, and General Psychological Distress in Patients with Coronary Slow Flow

AbstractBackground:The relationship between psychiatric illness and heart disease has been frequently discussed in the literature. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between anxiety, depression and overall psychological distress, and coronary slow flow (CSF).Methods:In total, 44 patients with CSF and a control group of 50 patients with normal coronary arteries (NCA) were prospectively recruited. Clinical data, admission laboratory parameters, and echocardiographic and angiographic characteristics were recorded. Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) scales were administered to each patient.Results:The groups were comparable with respect to age, sex, and atherosclerotic risk factors. In the CSF group, BAI score, BDI score, and general symptom index were significantly higher than controls (13 [18.7] vs. 7.5 [7], p = 0.01; 11 [14.7] vs. 6.5 [7], p = 0.01; 1.76 [0.81] vs. 1.1[0.24], p = 0.01; respectively). Patients with CSF in more than one vessel had the highest test scores. In univariate correlation analysis, mean thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) frame counts were positively correlated with BAI (r = 0.56, p = 0.01), BDI (r = 0.47, p = 0.01), and general symptom index (r = 0.65, p = 0.01). The psychiatric tests were not correlated with risk factors for atherosclerosis.Conclusion:Our study revealed higher rates of depression, anxiety, and overall psychological distress in patients with CSF. This conclusion warrants further studies.

Psychological distress in health sciences college students and its relationship with academic engagement

Objective: To determine the prevalence of psychological distress and its relationship with academic engagement (absorption, dedication and vigor), sex and degree among students from four public universities. Method: A non-experimental,comparative correlational, quantitative investigation without intervention. Study population: 1840 nursing and physical therapy students. The data collection tool used was a questionnaire. Results: A 32.2% prevalence of psychological distress was found in the subjects; a correlation between vigor and psychological distress was found for all of the subjects and also for women. High absorption and dedication scores and low psychological distress scores predicted higher vigor scores. Conclusion: The risk of psychological distress is high, especially for women. Women seem to have a higher level of psychological distress than men. Vigor, energy and mental resilience positively influence psychological distress and can be a vehicle for better results during the learning and studying process.







Dysfunctional psychological responses among Intensive Care Unit nurses: a systematic review of the literature

AbstractOBJECTIVETo systematically review evidence on dysfunctional psychological responses of Intensive Care Units nurses (ICUNs), with focus on anxiety and depressive symptoms and related factors.METHODA literature search was performed in CINAHL, PubMed and Scopus databases, from 1999 to present, along with a critical appraisal and synthesis of all relevant data. The following key words, separately and in combination, were used: "mental status" "depressive symptoms" "anxiety" "ICU nurses" "PTSD" "burnout" "compassion fatigue" "psychological distress".RESULTSThirteen quantitative studies in English and Greek were included. The results suggested increased psychological burden in ICUNs compared to other nursing specialties, as well as to the general population.CONCLUSIONSStudies investigating psychological responses of ICUNs are limited, internationally. Future longitudinal and intervention studies will contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon.

Logistic regression to estimate the welfare of broiler breeders in relation to environmental and behavioral variables

The increasing demand of consumer markets for the welfare of birds in poultry house has motivated many scientific researches to monitor and classify the welfare according to the production environment. Given the complexity between the birds and the environment of the aviary, the correct interpretation of the conduct becomes an important way to estimate the welfare of these birds. This study obtained multiple logistic regression models with capacity of estimating the welfare of broiler breeders in relation to the environment of the aviaries and behaviors expressed by the birds. In the experiment, were observed several behaviors expressed by breeders housed in a climatic chamber under controlled temperatures and three different ammonia concentrations from the air monitored daily. From the analysis of the data it was obtained two logistic regression models, of which the first model uses a value of ammonia concentration measured by unit and the second model uses a binary value to classify the ammonia concentration that is assigned by a person through his olfactory perception. The analysis showed that both models classified the broiler breeder's welfare successfully.

Identification of acoustic parameters for broiler welfare estimate

Estimates of broiler welfare have subjective character. Nowadays, researchers seek non-invasive features or indicators that may describe this condition in animal production. The aim of this study was to identify acoustic parameters to estimate broiler welfare using the following five vocalization acoustic parameters: energy, spectral centroid, bandwidth, first formant, and second formant. The database that generated the model was obtained from a field experiment with 432 broilers, which half were Cobb® and half, Ross® breed, from day 21 to 42, containing bird vocalizations under either welfare or stress conditions. The results of the experiment generated responses to the tested conditions of gender, genetic strain, and welfare. The proposed model was based on the specific response of mean weights for each situation of stress and well-being. From the results, a model was developed to estimate the welfare condition of broilers from the registered information linked to their vocalization.

Sexual dysfunction in obese women is more affected by psychological domains than that of non-obese

Abstract PURPOSE: To compare differences in the occurrence and changed domains of sexual dysfunction in obese and non-obese Brazilian women. METHODS: Female Sexual Function Index, based on six domains, to investigate 31 sexual dysfunction incidence for obese compared to 32 non-obese women, was used. Statistical analysis using ANOVA and MANOVA were performed to compare total scores of Female Sexual Function Index among groups and to identify the differences among domains, Student t -test was used. Statistical significant level was established for all tests for p<0.05. RESULTS: No difference in female sexual dysfunction frequency between obese (25.8%) and non-obese women (22.5%) was found. However, an important distinction in which aspects of sexual life were affected was found. While the obese group was impaired in three domains of sexual life (desire, orgasm, and arousal), in the control group five aspects were dysfunctional (desire, orgasm, arousal, pain and lubrication). Future research exploring psychological outcomes in obese females, such as body image and measures of positive and negative effect, might better characterize the female sexual dysfunction in this group. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity does not appear to be an independent factor for allow quality of female sexual life. However, disturbance associated to obesity indicates a low frequency of disorder in physical domains, suggesting that psychological factors seem to be mainly involved in the sexual dysfunction in obese women.

Effect of psychological stress on the L-arginine-nitric oxide pathway and semen quality

It has been reported that mental stress causes abnormality of spermiogram parameters. We investigated the effect of psychological stress on the L-arginine-nitric oxide (NO) pathway. Semen samples were collected from 29 healthy fourth semester medical students just before (stress) and 3 months after (non-stress) the final examinations. Psychological stress was measured by the State Anxiety Inventory questionnaire. After standard semen analysis, arginase activity and NO concentration were measured spectrophotometrically in the seminal plasma. Measurements were made in duplicate. During the stress period, sperm concentration (41.28 ± 3.70 vs 77.62 ± 7.13 x 10(6)/mL), rapid progressive motility of spermatozoa (8.79 ± 1.66 vs 20.86 ± 1.63%) and seminal plasma arginase activity (0.12 ± 0.01 vs 0.22 ± 0.01 U/mL) were significantly lower than in the non-stress situation, whereas seminal plasma NO (17.28 ± 0.56 vs 10.02 ± 0.49 µmol/L) was higher compared to the non-stress period (P < 0.001 for all). During stress there was a negative correlation between NO concentration and sperm concentration, the percentage of rapid progressive motility and arginase activity (r = -0.622, P < 0.01; r = -0.425, P < 0.05 and r = -0.445, P < 0.05, respectively). These results indicate that psychological stress causes an increase of NO level and a decrease of arginase activity in the L-arginine-NO pathway. Furthermore, poor sperm quality may be due to excessive production of NO under psychological stress. In the light of these results, we suggest that the arginine-NO pathway, together with arginase and NO synthase, are involved in semen quality under stress conditions.

Psychological stress alters the ultrastructure and increases IL-1β and TNF-α in mandibular condylar cartilage

Psychological factors can be correlated with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), but the mechanisms are unknown. In the present study, we examined the microstructural changes and expression of proinflammatory cytokines in mandibular condylar cartilage of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in a psychological stress animal model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (8 weeks old, 210 ± 10 g) were randomly divided into 3 groups: psychological stress (PS, N = 48), foot shock (FS, N = 24), and control (N = 48). After inducing psychological stress using a communication box with the FS rats for 1, 3, or 5 weeks, PS rats were sacrificed and compared to their matched control littermates, which received no stress and were killed at the same times as the PS rats. Body and adrenal gland weight were measured and corticosterone and adrenocorticotropic hormone levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. After hematoxylin-eosin staining for histological observation, the ultrastructure of the TMJ was examined by scanning electron microscopy. Transcription and protein levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were evaluated by ELISA and semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The PS group showed a significantly higher adrenal gland weight after 3 weeks of stress and higher hormone levels at weeks 1, 3, and 5. Histopathological changes and thinning cartilage were apparent at weeks 3 and 5. In the PS group, TNF-α increased at 1, 3, and 5 weeks and IL-1β increased significantly after 1 and 3 weeks of stress, and then decreased to normal levels by 5 weeks. Psychological stress increased plasma hormone levels and RT-PCR indicated increased IL-1β and TNF-α expression in the TMJ in a time-dependent manner. These results suggest that cytokine up-regulation was accompanied by stress-induced cartilage degeneration in the mandibular condyle. The proinflammatory cytokines play a potential role in initiating the cartilage destruction that eventually leads to the TMDs.

Export subsidies, countervailing duties, and welfare

Using a simple Cournot duopoly model, this paper provides an important policy implication for trade disputes involving export subsidies. In this paper, the possibility that a foreign export subsidy could benefit the domestic country as well as the foreign country by appropriately using countervailing duties is identified.

Welfare State e emprego em saúde nos países avançados desde o Pós-Segunda Guerra Mundial

The article analyzes the economic importance of the health activities in the developed countries in the last decades of the twentieth century. It takes into consideration the evolution of the weight of the employment in the health activities in European countries' and also in the United States' labour markets, which will be compared in an historical perspective. The evolution and the weight of the public expenditure in the health activities will also be taken into account so as to analyze the economic importance of the sector in the last decades of twentieth century. The role played by the political, economic and social context of the Post-Second World War in the construction of the system of social protection (Welfare State) and its effects over the health activities will be also considered.

From transcendental to practical intersubjectivity: a social psychological approach to Kant's musical aesthetics

It is well known that Kant’s aesthetics is framed intersubjectively because he upholds the claim of taste to universality. However, the transcendental foundation of this shared universality is a supersensible ground which is taken for granted but which cannot be brought directly into communicative experience. Kant’s reliance on the synthetic a priori structure of aesthetic judgment also removes it from the sphere of observable personal interaction. This argumentative strategy exposes it to skeptical challenge and generates inaccessible references to inner representations (be they intuitions, categories of the understanding or rational ideas). It is not sufficient, as Kant did, to propose a description of aesthetic experience that is subjectively plausible and thereby claim its intersubjective validity. It is indispensable to embody intersubjectivity in behavior and language. In practical intersubjectivity, aesthetic attitudes are dealt with in a concrete and accessible manner without relying on mentalistic assumptions as a foundation. Conceptual terms such as 'agreeable’, 'beauty’, 'sublime’, 'ugly’, 'universality’ acquire new meaning in a conversational context and aesthetic claims are tested in a dialogical game semantics model.