Características psicológicas do paciente obeso grave e suas implicações pós-operatórias na cirurgia bariátrica

Obesity is a chronic disease that has multi-factorial aetiology, characterized by high degree of body fat; the degree of obesity will vary according to the Body Mass Index (BMI=m2 /kg). The severe degree of obesity is characterized by BMI>40 and it is regularly associated to endocrine-metabolic or mechanic clinical alterations, and to psychological disorders. Binge Eating (BE) results were overly high for this population. The Bariatric Surgery has been the treatment chosen by those diagnosed with severe obesity as this intervention provides prompt outcomes for loss of weight and clinical improvement conditions. However, recent research has acquiesced that after two years between 20% and 30% of people subject to this intervention gained weight. The main objective of this research is to assess the psychological and behavioral characteristics of those diagnosed with severe obesity that have been subject to Gastric Bypass Surgery in the past 24 months. Specific aspects were investigated: (1) characteristics of different personalities and diagnose of clinic and personality disorders; (2) BE and its relation with loss of weight; (2) the difference between the groups regarding post-surgery care, e.g. physical activity, psychological and dietician input. Method: 40 adults (women and men) aged 23 and 60 year-old who went through a bariatric surgery in the past 24 months, in the city of Natal-RN (Brazil); they were assembled in two groups n=20, Gain group displaying loss of < 50% of their initial surplus of weight, and the Loss group displaying loss of >50%. The research protocol is made of a socio-demographic questionnaire and 3 psychometric instruments: Rorschach – Comprehensive System; Millon Personality Inventory (MCMI-III); and the Binge Eating Scale (Escala de Compulsão Alimentar Periódica (ECAP). Through Rorschach significant differences between these groups were verified according to the kind of personality (EB) - more EB Extratensivo in Gain group and Intratensivo in Loss group – and the lack of control to express affect, increasing the answer for Color Pure at Group I. Concerning the people standardization, the sample as a whole tends to show psychic pain, denigrated selfperception, high levels of self-criticism, distorted perceptions, vulnerability to develop mood disorders and high scores regarding Suicide. MCMI-III results showed more clinic and personality disorders in Group I: Depressive Disorder and Schizotypal, Anxiety, Dysthymia, Major Depressive Disorder; Thought Disorder, Bipolar- Manic and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. In relation to ECAP, the results indicated significant differences, showing increased BE results in Gain group. There were found significant differences between BE severity and the presence of clinic and personality disorders. Concerning the post-surgery care, the observed differences are statistically significant regarding physical activities with median-increased differences in Loss group. There is a difference between the initial weight and the time post-surgery, indicating that the higher the initial weight and the time after the surgery the higher the re-gain of weight post-surgery. Finally, the results show that the participants with more than 3 years of surgery will have Clinic and Major Depressive Disorders; Somatoform Disorder; Dysthymia. These results confirm prior studies related to BE post-surgery and re-gain of weight as well as the proneness of clinic disorders in severe obesity people. That means the results reinforce that the surgery process is a facet of the severe obesity treatment. The post-surgery process needs to be the main focus of attention and have a long-term input to sustain the care of the surgery results and the quality of life of the patients.

Modelagem e análise dinâmica de um sistema de conversão de energia eólica dotado de gerador síncrono de imã permanente utilizando a plataforma ATP

Human development requires a broad balance between ecological, social and economic factors in order to ensure its own sustainability. In this sense, the search for new sources of energy generation, with low deployment and operation costs, which cause the least possible impact to the environment, has been the focus of attention of all society segments. To do so, the reduction in exploration of fossil fuels and the encouragement of using renewable energy resources for distributed generation have proved interesting alternatives to the expansion of the energy matrix of various countries in the world. In this sense, the wind energy has acquired an increasingly significant role, presenting increasing rates of power grid penetration and highlighting technological innovations such as the use of permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG). In Brazil, this fact has also been noted and, as a result, the impact of the inclusion of this source in the distribution and sub-transmission power grid has been a major concern of utilities and agents connected to Brazilian electrical sector. Thus, it is relevant the development of appropriate computational tools that allow detailed predictive studies about the dynamic behavior of wind farms, either operating with isolated load, either connected to the main grid, taking also into account the implementation of control strategies for active/reactive power generation and the keeping of adequate levels of voltage and frequency. This work fits in this context since it comprises mathematical and computational developments of a complete wind energy conversion system (WECS) endowed with PMSG using time domain techniques of Alternative Transients Program (ATP), which prides itself a recognized reputation by scientific and academic communities as well as by electricity professionals in Brazil and elsewhere. The modeling procedures performed allowed the elaboration of blocks representing each of the elements of a real WECS, comprising the primary source (the wind), the wind turbine, the PMSG, the frequency converter, the step up transformer, the load composition and the power grid equivalent. Special attention is also given to the implementation of wind turbine control techniques, mainly the pitch control responsible for keeping the generator under the maximum power operation point, and the vector theory that aims at adjusting the active/reactive power flow between the wind turbine and the power grid. Several simulations are performed to investigate the dynamic behavior of the wind farm when subjected to different operating conditions and/or on the occurrence of wind intensity variations. The results have shown the effectiveness of both mathematical and computational modeling developed for the wind turbine and the associated controls.

Múltiplos fluxos ópticos e o processamento atentivo da informação visual

The environment in which we live in, we constantly deal with a huge amount of dynamic information, thus, attention is an indispensable cognitive resource that allows an effective selection of stimuli for our survival. From this, investigating how we process our encouragement in movements and how the attention spreads into a space to serve more than one stimuli simultanously is something very important. The behavioural urgence hipothesis suggests that the encouragement in a movement of approaching shows a certain priority in the process related to objects which are in a movement away, but there are researches that point out that it might not happen in an attentive phase, but instead as a priorization of motor response. There are also many controversies found in researches about attentive focalization, in which some studies suggest that the focus of attention would work in a similar manner to a zoom lens, while some searches indicate that the focus of attention could be shared to answer some stimuli in non contiguous regions. This study tried to investigate through two experiments the effect of attentive priorization by encouragement in movements and how the attention is spread with distractors stimuli. The first experiment investigated if the amount of moving flows really influenced in the process of information. The results indicate an effect of priorization of the flows guided in relation to aleatory ones and also from the unique flow due to dual flow. The second experiment investigated how the distribution of attention is in a space with the use of flows as an exogenous cue. The results indicate that the focus of attention works as the one suggested in the zoom lens model.

Puzzle game online running on a bidirectional communication framework based on Node.js and Socket.io

Máster Universitario en Ingeniería Informática (Escuela Universitaria de Informática)

Foretelling darwinism, revising race: Poe's scientific discourse in "The murders in the rue Morgue"

Having recently celebrated the bicentenary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth, his tales still remain an invaluable source of ongoing interpretation. The first tale that conforms his detective trilogy, “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”, has been analysed from multiple perpectives, especially taking into consideration the discourse of race as a main focus of attention. Nonetheless, detective Auguste Dupin’s references to Georges Cuvier, an important preDarwinian French naturalist and zoologist, have often been unnoticed. This article aims at identifying pre-Darwinian concepts about selection and evolution in Poe’s tale so as to facilitate readings of the tale in relation to Darwinism and evolutionary theories

Terceirização de serviços dos trabalhadores de escolas públicas do Distrito Federal : processos de intensificação e precarização do trabalho

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Educação, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Educação, 2016.

A informação como suporte à supervisão de pares em enfermagem

Introdução: A qualidade dos cuidados é atualmente um foco de atenção de todos os profissionais de saúde, nomeadamente dos enfermeiros. A evidência tem vindo a demonstrar que a implementação de processos supervisivos entre pares é promotora do desenvolvimento de competências profissionais, permitindo aos enfermeiros exercer uma prática profissional adequada e criticoreflexiva, o que consequentemente terá repercussões positivas na qualidade dos cuidados de enfermagem. Decorrente das alterações demográficas, tecnológicas e científicas, a informação integra na atualidade o discurso dos profissionais de saúde. Desenvolvimento: a informação é uma ferramenta essencial na orientação dos cuidados de enfermagem, pelo que importa averiguar qual a informação que sustenta a tomada de decisão dos enfermeiros. Esta indagação auxilia também a identificação das necessidades de formação destes profissionais, visando o desenvolvimento pessoal e de competências profissionais. Com a presente revisão narrativa pretende-se refletir sobre a pertinência da implementação de processos supervisivo de pares em enfermagem, bem como do suporte que a informação constitui para a identificação de áreas do conhecimento necessárias à transformação das práticas. Conclusões: Como limitação na concretização deste artigo, evidenciamos a pouca bibliografia disponível principalmente no que respeita à evidência acerca da utilização da informação enquanto suporte à SC de pares em enfermagem, o que nos faz acreditar ser necessário o desenvolvimento de investigação que combine estas duas áreas.

Relatório de prática de ensino supervisionada realizado no agrupamento vertical n.º 3 de Évora - Santa Clara e Escola Secundária Severim de Faria em educação física nos ensinos básico e secundário

O objectivo deste relatório é efectuar uma reflexão fundamentada sobre a prática pedagógica desenvolvida ao longo do ano lectivo 2009/201O. A dimensão investigativa está presente ao longo de todo o relatório e encontra-se associada à reflexão sobre o trabalho desenvolvido nas instituições escolares em que estive inserido. No decorrer deste relatório são destacas as seguintes temáticas: modelos de planeamento; ensino das actividades físico-desportivas; destrezas do professor; promoção da saúde; avaliação; participação na escola; desenvolvimento profissional. Conclusões: O Modelo de planeamento por etapas é aquele que mais favorece a aprendizagem dos alunos. No ensino dos jogos desportivos colectivos, o modelo teaching games for understanding assume-se como uma alternativa às abordagens tradicionais centradas na técnica. Informação aumentada dirigida para um foco externo parece dar origem a uma melhor aprendizagem. As aulas de Educação Física não estão a conseguir dar o contributo necessário para a obtenção dos níveis recomendados de actividade física. ABSTRACT: The purpose of this report is to conduct a reasoned discussion about the pedagogical practice developed during the academic year 2009/201O. The investigative dimension is present throughout the report and is linked to the reflection on the work that was undertaken in schools. Throughout this report the following topics are highlighted: planning models, teaching physical and sporting activities, teacher's skills, health promotion, evaluation, participation in school, and professional development. Conclusions: The model of "planning steps" is one most conducive to student learning. ln collective sports games, the teaching games for understanding model is assumed as an alternative to traditional approaches focused on the critical components of each motor skill. The use of an externa! focus of attention appears to lead to better learning. lt seems that Physical Education classes are failing to provide the levels of physical activity recommended for young people.

Can Attention Focus Instructions Reduce the Effects of Fatigue on Balance Control?

Localized muscular fatigue has been identified to have detrimental effects on balance control, an important skill for everyday life. Manipulation of attention focus instructions has been shown to benefit performance of various motor skills including balance and has been found to facilitate endurance during fatiguing tasks. The purpose of this thesis was to determine if the use of attention focus instructions could attenuate the effects of muscular fatigue on balance control. Twenty-four participants performed a balance task (two-legged stance on an unstable platform) before and after a fatigue protocol. Trunk sway, platform excursions, and lower limb muscle activity was measured. Results suggest that use of either internal or external attention focus instructions can reduce the immediate effects of muscular fatigue of the lower limb on balance control as shown through reduced trunk sway and platform excursions. These results have relevance for individuals performing balance tasks in a fatigued state.

Modulation of the glutamatergic transmission by Dopamine: a focus on Parkinson, Huntington and Addiction diseases.

Dopamine (DA) plays a major role in motor and cognitive functions as well as in reward processing by regulating glutamatergic inputs. In particular in the striatum the release of DA rapidly influences synaptic transmission modulating both AMPA and NMDA receptors. Several neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders, including Parkinson, Huntington and addiction-related diseases, manifest a dysregulation of glutamate and DA signaling. Here, we will focus our attention on the mechanisms underlying the modulation of the glutamatergic transmission by DA in striatal circuits.

The Influence of Attentional Focus on the Self-Efficacy-Performance Relationship in a Continuous Running Task

The self-efficacy-performance relationship in continuous sport tasks has been shown to be significantly reciprocal yet unequal with stronger influences in the performance-to-self-efficacy pathway rather than self-efficacy-to-performance pathway (e.g., LaForge-MacKenzie & Sullivan, 2014b). Bandura (2012) suggested that sociocognitive variables may influence this relationship. Attention as a sociocognitve factor may bias the processing of performance and self-efficacy information (Bandura, 1982, 1997; Bandura & Jourden, 1991). As confidence and attention are important aspects of peak running performance (Brewer, Van Raalte, Linder, & VanRaalte, 1991), the primary purpose of the present study was to examine the self-efficacy-performance relationship under three conditions of attentional focus. The secondary purpose was to examine self-efficacy and performance as separate constructs under the same conditions of attention. Participants ran continuously for one kilometer in one of three randomly assigned attentional focus conditions: internal-focus (n = 51), external-focus (n = 50), and control (n = 49). Self-efficacy was assessed using a one-item measure every 200 meters. Path analyses examining the primary objective revealed significant self-efficacy-to-performance pathways in all conditions: external-focus (p < .05, βs ranging from -.17 to -.32), internal-focus (p < .05, βs ranging from -.26 to -.36), and control (p < .05, βs ranging from -.29 to -.42). Significant reciprocal relationships were absent in all conditions. ANOVAs examining the secondary objectives found significantly faster performance in the control condition at the start (F (2, 147) = 3.86, p < .05) and end of the task (F (2, 147) = 3.56, p < .05). Self-efficacy was significantly higher in the internal-focus condition at the end of the task (Self-Efficacy 4 (F (2, 147) = 3.21, p < .05) and Self-Efficacy 5 (F (2, 147) = 4.74, p < .05). In contrast to previous within-trial research (e.g., LaForge-MacKenzie & Sullivan, 2014b) self-efficacy-to-performance effects were more significant and robust than performance-to-self-efficacy effects. These results provided support for Bandura’s (2012) suggestion that sociocognitive factors may have the ability to alter the causal structure of the self-efficacy-performance relationship, proposing complexities in the self-efficacy-performance relationship (Sitzmann &Yeo, 2013). Results were discussed from both theoretical and applied perspectives.

The Effects of Emotions and Distraction on Attention During a Perceptual Task

According to the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions, positive emotions broaden while negative emotions narrow thought-action repertoires. These processes reflect changes in attentional scope, which is the focus of this research. The present study tested the hypothesis that participants in negative mood would be better able to focus on a target figure and separate it from its context in a perceptual task, and would also be better able to focus on the task amid a distracting environment than participants in a positive mood. An undergraduate sample of 77 participants watched video clips selected to induce either fear or amusement, and completed an Embedded Figures Test either in a quiet setting or in a noisy setting. A higher-order ANOVA revealed that Mood had a marginally significant effect on task performance, F(1, 73) = 3.94, p = .051, and that Distraction, F(1, 72) = 4.61, p = .035 and the Mood x Distraction interaction, F(1, 73) = 9.12, p = .003 did significantly affect task performance. However, contrary to the hypothesis, the effect of the distraction manipulation was greater for participants in a negative mood than it was for participants in a positive mood. The author suggests future directions to clarify the relationship between emotions, attentional scope, and susceptibility to environmental distraction.

Negative mood, self-focused attention, and the experience of physical symptoms: the joint impact hypothesis

A joint impact hypothesis on symptom experience is introduced that specifies the role of negative mood and self-focus, which have been considered independently in previous research. Accordingly, negative affect only promotes symptom experience when people simultaneously focus their attention on the self. One correlational study and 4 experiments supported this prediction: Only negative mood combined with self-focus facilitated the experience (see the self-reports in Studies 1, 2a, & 2b) and the accessibility (lexical decisions, Stroop task in Studies 3 & 4) of physical symptoms, whereas neither positive mood nor negative mood without self-focus did. Furthermore, the joint impact of negative mood and self-focused attention on momentary symptom experience remained significant after controlling for the influence of dispositional symptom reporting and neuroticism.

Influence of silence and attention on tinnitus perception

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to study the effect of attention and sustained silence on the emergence of auditory phantom perception in normal-hearing adults. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: While sitting in a sound booth, 66 volunteers (age range. 18-65; mean age, 37.3) performed 3 experiments of 5 minutes each, consecutively and randomly presented. Two deviated attention from auditory system (Hanoi and visual attention experiments). and 1 drove attention to the auditory system (auditory attention). After each experiment, participants were asked about their auditory and visual perception. No sound or light change was given at any moment. RESULTS: Of the participants, 19.7% experienced tinnitus during Hanoi, 45.5% during visual attention, and 68.2% during auditory attention experiment. with no significant differences for studied variables. CONCLUSION: Tinnitus-like perceptions may occur in a non-clinical population in a silent environment. Concomitant auditory attention plays an important role on the emergence of tinnitus. (C) 2008 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. All rights reserved.

Development of Lifetime Comorbidity in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys

Context: Although numerous studies have examined the role of latent variables in the structure of comorbidity among mental disorders, none has examined their role in the development of comorbidity. Objective: To study the role of latent variables in the development of comorbidity among 18 lifetime DSM-IV disorders in the World Health Organization World Mental Health Surveys. Design: Nationally or regionally representative community surveys. Setting: Fourteen countries. Participants: A total of 21 229 survey respondents. Main Outcome Measures: First onset of 18 lifetime DSM-IV anxiety, mood, behavior, and substance disorders assessed retrospectively in the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview. Results: Separate internalizing (anxiety and mood disorders) and externalizing (behavior and substance disorders) factors were found in exploratory factor analysis of lifetime disorders. Consistently significant positive time-lagged associations were found in survival analyses for virtually all temporally primary lifetime disorders predicting subsequent onset of other disorders. Within-domain (ie, internalizing or externalizing) associations were generally stronger than between-domain associations. Most time-lagged associations were explained by a model that assumed the existence of mediating latent internalizing and externalizing variables. Specific phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder (internalizing) and hyperactivity and oppositional defiant disorders (externalizing) were the most important predictors. A small number of residual associations remained significant after controlling the latent variables. Conclusions: The good fit of the latent variable model suggests that common causal pathways account for most of the comorbidity among the disorders considered herein. These common pathways should be the focus of future research on the development of comorbidity, although several important pairwise associations that cannot be accounted for by latent variables also exist that warrant further focused study.