Student stress and quality of education

Today, managers are increasingly interested in knowing how the work in organizations aftects employees' health. Less common is the interest in stress erupting in the academic community - among students, faculty and administrators. The authors present a reflection paper focused on student stress. In this paper, they first examine McLean 's model of context, vulnerability and stressors. This model provides the framework for the student surveys and for the entire paper. Based on the students surveys, an assessment is made of how asma" group of students are coping with stress. The paper fina"y suggests what can be done by students, faculty, and administrators to insta" and/or improve social support systems that might reduce the harmful eftects of stress on students and thus impact the quality of education.

Training-related accidents during teacher-student-assistance activities of medical students

A survey was done to determine the most common hospital accidents with biologically contaminated material among students at the Medical College of the Federal University of Minas Gerais. Six hundred and ninety-four students (between fifth and twelfth semesters of the college course) answered the questionnaire individually. Three-hundred and forty-nine accidents were reported. The accident rate was found to be 33.9% in the third semester of the course, and increased over time, reaching 52.3% in the last semester. Sixty-three percent of the accidents were needlestick or sharp object injuries; 18.3% mucous membrane exposure; 16.6% were on the skin, and 1.7% were simultaneously on the skin and mucous membrane exposure. The contaminating substances were: blood (88.3%), vaginal secretion (1.7%), and others (9.1%). The parts of the body most frequently affected were: hands (67%), eyes (18.9%), mouth (1.7%), and others (6.3%). The procedures being performed when the accidents occurred were: suture (34.1%), applying anesthesia (16.6%), assisting surgery (8.9%), disposing of needles (8.6%), assisting delivery (6.3%), and others (25.9%). Forty-nine percent of those involved reported the accident to the accident control department. Of these 29.2% did not receive adequate medical assistance. Eight percent of those involved used antiretroviral drugs and of these 86% discontinued the treatment on receiving the Elisa method applied to the patient (HIV-negative); 6.4% discontinued the treatment due to its side-effects; and 16% completed the treatment.

Assessment of medical courses in Brazil using student-completed questionnaires. Is it reliable?

INTRODUCTION: Debates about the quality of medical education have become more evident in the recent past, and as a result several different assessment methods have been refined for that purpose. The use of questionnaires filled out by medical students to assess the quality of lectures is one of the most common methods employed in our milieu. However, the reliability of this investigation method has not yet been systematically tested. The authors present the reliability of a specific form applied to the fourth grade medical students during the clinical psychiatry course. METHOD: Eighty-one fourth grade medical students were instructed to complete a form immediately after each clinical psychiatry lecture. Thirty-four students (42%) failed to turn in the forms after the final lecture. These students were given an identical form to assess the lectures in a retrospective fashion. The grades given by both groups of students for each performed lecture and the number of students who have graded an unperformed lecture were compared. Statistical significance for both groups was determined by means of the chi-square test (p< 0.05). RESULTS: Eighteen out of the 34 students who filled out the forms retrospectively (53%) rated the unperformed lecture, whereas only 5 out of the 47 students who filled out the forms during the course (11%) did so. This is statistically significant (p< 0.05). There was no statistical difference for the grades given to the lectures that were actually performed. DISCUSSION: The authors concluded the low reliability rate of the retrospective evaluation warrant a continuous assessment method during the course.

Endovascular techniques for placement of long-term chemotherapy catheters

PURPOSE: To analyze the results from using endovascular techniques to place long-term chemotherapy catheters when advancing the catheter using the external jugular vein is difficult due to obstructions or kinking. METHODS: Between July 1997 and August 2000, 320 long-term chemotherapy catheters were placed, and in 220 cases the external jugular vein was used as the primary venous approach. In 18 of these patients, correct positioning was not achieved and several endovascular techniques were then utilized to overcome these obstacles, including manipulation of a J-wire with a moveable core, venography, and the exchange wire technique. RESULTS: In 94.5% of the patients with difficulties in obtaining the correct positioning, we were able to advance the long-term catheter to the desired position with the assistance of endovascular techniques. CONCLUSIONS: Venography and endovascular guidance techniques are useful for the placement of long-term catheters in the external jugular vein.

Studies on the mineral nutrition and fertilization of the passion fruit plant (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa): II - placement of fertilizer phosphorus

A localização do superfosfato (marcado com P32) no maracujá em produção foi estudada em condições de plantação comercial. Verificou-se que as aplicações em sulcos circulares ou faixas superficiais ao redor da planta tem eficiência equivalente sendo esses métodos três vezes superiores à localização do adubo em furos no solo. A pulverização foliar, por sua vez, mostrou-se 20 vezes mais eficiente que a aplicação no solo de acordo com os dois primeiros métodos.

Studies on the mineral nutrition and fertilization of the passion fruit plant (Passiflora edulis F. flavicarpa): II. placement of fertilizer phosphorus

1. Tagged superphosphate was applied to 2.5 year old passion fruit plants from a commercial plantation established in a sandy loam. 2. 100 grams of the fertilizer were distributed in the following ways: in a circular furrow 20 cm around the plant 40 cm from the stems; in a circular strip 10 cm wide, 40 cm from the stems; in six holes around the plants, 40 cm from the stems 20 cm deep, 2.5 cm in diameter. 3. 10 grams of the fertilizer in 11 of water were sprayed to the leaves. 4. Three weeks after the treatments were made, leaf samples were taken for analysis. 5. Determinations of specific activities both in the leaves and in the fertilizer used have shown that R in the plant was derived from the superphosphate in the following relative proportions (by making the first treatment equal to 100): circular furrow = 100; circular strip = 120; holes = 30; foliar spray = 230.

Apedilum griseistriatum comb. nov., placement of Chironomus (Polypedilum) griseistriatum (Diptera, Chironomidae)

The study of the type material of Chironomus (Polypedilum) griseistriatum Edwards, 1931 described from Patagonia lead us to formally transfer the species to Apedilum Townes, 1945 as a new combination, and a reared specimen allows us to describe its pupa. Based on several larvae belonging to Apedilum collected in the proximity of the localities in which the adults and pupae were found, we tentatively describe the larval stage. Subfossil larval head capsules of the same species were found in Laguna Stibnite at 46°S in Chile dated to about 2,500 years ago and in Puerto Blest, Lago Nahuel Huapi at 41°S in Argentina dated about 2,000 years ago. We discuss the habitat of the species based on both modern and subfossil material. Identification keys to male adult, pupae and fourth instar larvae are also provided.

MEDICAL STUDENT IN THE FAMILY HEALTH STRATEGY ON THE FIRST YEARS OF COLLEGE: PERCEPTION OF GRADUATES

There is a lack of knowledge about the effective value of the experience gained by medical students who participate in the Family Health Strategy (Estratégia Saúde da Família (ESF)) during the early stages of their medical training. This teaching strategy is based on learning by experiencing the problems that exist in real life. This study proposed to understand the value of this teaching strategy from the viewpoint of the students who had participated, after their graduation. The method adopted was a qualitative study conducted through interviews with students who graduated in the years 2009, 2010 and 2011. The data analysis used the hermeneutic dialectic technique as its model. The graduates considered that this experience enabled them to understand the organization and functioning of the health service and the context of the daily life of the users. This experience facilitated the doctor patient relationship, the development of clinical reasoning and the bond with the user. However the students emphasized that a lack of maturity prevented them gaining a higher level of benefit from the experience. Therefore, although the structure of the course is permeated by advances and challenges, it was concluded that this experience contributed to the student's learning of certain essential elements of medical training.

The taxonomic placement and provenance of Hypopyra inconspicua Herrich-Schäffer (Lepidoptera, Thyrididae)

The taxonomic placement and provenance of Hypopyra inconspicua Herrich-Schäffer (Lepidoptera, Thyrididae). Tanyodes inconspicua (Herrich-Schäffer) comb. nov. is transferred from Spirama Guenée (Noctuidae, Catocalinae) to Striglininae (Thyrididae), as a senior synonym of Ortogramma rufitibia R. Felder & Rogenhofer syn. nov. and Tanyodes ochracea Möschler syn. nov., and from the African to the Neotropical fauna.

Phosphorus and root distribution and corn growth as related to long-term tillage systems and fertilizer placement

Soil and fertilizer management during cultivation can affect crop productivity and profitability. Long-term experiments are therefore necessary to determine the dynamics of nutrient and root distribution as related to soil profile, as well as the effects on nutrient uptake and crop growth. An 18-year experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul State (UFRGS), in Eldorado do Sul, Brazil, on Rhodic Paleudult soil. Black oat and vetch were planted in the winter and corn in the summer. The soil management methods were conventional, involving no-tillage and strip tillage techniques and broadcast, row-and strip-applied fertilizer placement (triple superphosphate). Available P (Mehlich-1) and root distribution were determined in soil monoliths during the corn grain filling period. Corn shoot dry matter production and P accumulation during the 2006/2007 growing season were determined and the efficiency of P utilization calculated. Regardless of the degree of soil mobilization, P and roots were accumulated in the fertilized zone with time, mainly in the surface layer (0-10 cm). Root distribution followed P distribution for all tillage systems and fertilizer treatments. Under no-tillage, independent of the fertilizer placement, the corn plants developed more roots than in the other tillage systems. Although soil tillage systems and fertilizer treatments affected P and root distribution throughout the soil profile, as well as P absorption and corn growth, the efficiency of P utilization was not affected.

Local influence for spatial analysis of soil physical properties and soybean yield using student's t-distribution

The modeling and estimation of the parameters that define the spatial dependence structure of a regionalized variable by geostatistical methods are fundamental, since these parameters, underlying the kriging of unsampled points, allow the construction of thematic maps. One or more atypical observations in the sample data can affect the estimation of these parameters. Thus, the assessment of the combined influence of these observations by the analysis of Local Influence is essential. The purpose of this paper was to propose local influence analysis methods for the regionalized variable, given that it has n-variate Student's t-distribution, and compare it with the analysis of local influence when the same regionalized variable has n-variate normal distribution. These local influence analysis methods were applied to soil physical properties and soybean yield data of an experiment carried out in a 56.68 ha commercial field in western Paraná, Brazil. Results showed that influential values are efficiently determined with n-variate Student's t-distribution.

Gender Might Be Factor for Student Admission in Two Brazilian Medical Schools

This is a secondary data-based study conducted to investigate whether gender is related to acceptance. Two Brazilian Medical Schools, Universities A and B, were studied. Their entrance exams (EE) were analysed and the number of candidates who took the EE was compared to the number of students admitted to the MS according to gender, in the period between 1995 and 2009. The same data from MS in the United States in 2011 was also evaluated. There was an increase in the percentage of female applicants but it did not correspond to the percentage of admitted students of the same gender. There was a trend of selecting men. At A, 39.3% of the applicants and 47% of the admitted students were men (OR = 1.37; CI95% = 1.24 – 1.51). In B, men represented 39.3% of the applicants and 65.4% of the admitted students (OR = 2.93; CI 95% = 2.76 – 3.11). This was not seen in US MS. The analysis of the EE suggests that the greater selection of men could be a product of EE format.

Agricultural engineering at UNICAMP: undergraduate student dropout analysis

Nowadays, dropping out in B.Sc. courses practically occurs in all Universities of the contemporary world. Undergraduate student withdraw could means several losses as, to the student, not to graduate, to the teacher, for not accomplishing his goal as educator, to the university, for not attending its mission, to the society, economic and social losses and also to the family for unfulfilling the dreams. The objective of this research is to present a quantitative study on the dropping out rate in the Agricultural Engineering B.Sc. program (BSAGENG) at State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), seeking to contribute to the understanding of this issue. It has been determined the dropping out rate from 1995 to 2006 based on the university official data, by employing four different methods of calculation. Three of the methods revealed that dropping out rate is very close to the graduation index, i.e., close to 50%. Regardless of the adopted method for the dropping rate estimation and the statistics demonstrating that the agricultural engineering undergraduate course at UNICAMP figures falls within similar courses normality in Brazil, it should be recognized that a public institution of education should be concerned in presenting such figures. A detailed and deep analysis must be outlined in further studies seeking for specific actions aiming to reduce dropping out process.

Influência local em um modelo espacial linear da produtividade da soja utilizando distribuição t-Student

O uso das ferramentas da geoestatística, aliadas à agricultura de precisão permitem o acompanhamento das áreas agrícolas produtoras de soja, estabelecendo as relações de dependência espacial entre os pontos amostrados. A modelagem da estrutura de variabilidade espacial possibilita a construção de mapas temáticos dos atributos estudados, utilizando como método de interpolação a krigagem. Porém, a presença de valores atípicos entre os elementos amostrais pode influenciar na construção e interpretação desses mapas. A distribuição de probabilidades t-Student tem sido utilizada na tentativa de diminuir a influência dos valores atípicos durante a estimativa dos parâmetros de dependência espacial, por ter caudas mais pesadas que a distribuição normal. A detecção dos valores influentes na área em estudo, por meio da análise de diagnósticos de influência local, confere maior confiabilidade na utilização dos mapas gerados, corroborando a aplicação de insumos. Deste modo, o objetivo deste trabalho foi aplicar as técnicas de influência local em dados espacialmente referenciados, com os modelos de perturbação aditiva e utilizando a matriz escala, considerando a distribuição t-Student n-variada. Foi utilizado um modelo espacial linear para o estudo de dados da produtividade da soja em função da altura média de plantas e do número médio de vagens por planta. As técnicas de influência local foram eficientes para detectar pontos que influenciam na escolha do modelo geoestatístico, nas estimativas dos parâmetros e na construção do mapa temático.