Relação entre função sexual, sintomatologia depressiva e qualidade de vida em mulheres grávidas

INTRODUCTION: Human sexuality is recognized as one of the pillars of quality of life. In women, sexual function is influenced throughout life by many factors that can lead to the appearance of changes in the cycle of sexual response, and hence the quality of life (QOL). Pregnancy is a period of change, leaving them physically and mentally vulnerable, which may affect sexual function and quality of life during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between sexual function, presence of depressive symptoms and quality of life in pregnant women. METHODS: The study included 207 pregnant women attending prenatal examination of the Maternity Divine Love, Parnamirim / RN and the participants of the Course for Pregnant Women of the Department of Physical Therapy at UFRN (central campus). Initially it was applied, a questionnaire containing questions about sociodemographic, gynecological and obstetric data, as well as body and sexual self-knowledge. Sexual function was assessed using the Sexual Function Index Female (Female Sexual Function Index - FSFI). To assess the quality of life, we used the Quality Index Ferrans Life & Powers mom. The presence of depressive symptoms was verified by applying the Beck Depression Inventory. The Shapiro-Wilk test for normality was carried variables, Mann-Whitney test for carrying out the comparisons and the Wilcoxon test for comparing the monthly sexual frequency before and during pregnancy. Multiple linear regression was used to verify the relationship between sexual function, depressive symptoms and quality of life. We used the Spearman correlation to check correlation between the variables. Ap value <0.05 was adopted. RESULTS: Sexual function and depressive symptoms were related quality of life (R2 = 0.30, p <0.001). Depression had a moderate negative correlation with quality of life (0.53; p <0.001), whereas sexual function showed a positive correlation with low quality of life (0.22; p = 0.001). The planning of pregnancy, education and income shown to influence depression scores. With respect to sexual function, it was seen that during pregnancy, a reduction in the monthly frequency of sexual partner (Z = -10.56; p <0.001). Among the sexual domain, just the pain, showed a statistically significant difference compared between the second and third quarter (Z = -1.91, p <0.05). The score of the quality of life of women with sexual dysfunction was xvii significantly lower than that pregnant women without dysfunction (Z = -2.87, p = 0.004). Conclusion: Sexual function and the presence of depressive symptoms are related to the quality of life of pregnant women.

Near miss materno e iniquidades em saúde: análise de determinantes contextuais no Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

The scope of this study was to identify socioeconomic contextual and health care factors in primary care associated with maternal near misses and their marker conditions. This is an ecological study that used aggregated data of 63 clusters formed by the municipalities of State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, using the Skater method of area regionalization, as the unit of analysis. The ratio of maternal near misses and their marker conditions were obtained from the Hospital Information System of the Brazilian Unified Health System. In multiple linear regression analysis, there was a significant association between maternal near misses and variables of poverty and poor primary health care. Hypertensive disorders were also associated with poverty and poor primary care and the occurrence of hemorrhaging was associated with infant mortality. It was observed that the occurrence of maternal near misses is linked to unfavorable socioeconomic conditions and poor quality health care that are a reflection of public policies that accentuate health inequalities.

Near miss materno e iniquidades em saúde: análise de determinantes contextuais no Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

The scope of this study was to identify socioeconomic contextual and health care factors in primary care associated with maternal near misses and their marker conditions. This is an ecological study that used aggregated data of 63 clusters formed by the municipalities of State of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, using the Skater method of area regionalization, as the unit of analysis. The ratio of maternal near misses and their marker conditions were obtained from the Hospital Information System of the Brazilian Unified Health System. In multiple linear regression analysis, there was a significant association between maternal near misses and variables of poverty and poor primary health care. Hypertensive disorders were also associated with poverty and poor primary care and the occurrence of hemorrhaging was associated with infant mortality. It was observed that the occurrence of maternal near misses is linked to unfavorable socioeconomic conditions and poor quality health care that are a reflection of public policies that accentuate health inequalities.

Avaliação multidimensional da qualidade de vida em idosos: um estudo no Curimataú ocidental paraibano

The fast growth of the elderly population is a reality throughout the world and has become one of the greatest challenges for contemporary public health. When considering the increased life expectancy and the aging as a multidimensional phenomenon, one should highlight the need to investigate if the increase of longevity is associated with satisfactory levels of Quality of Life (QOL). This study has the objective of assessing the QOL of elderly people from the Paraíba’s Western Curimataú microregion, explained by its health and living conditions. This is a cross-sectional and observational study with quantitative design held with 444 elderly people from five cities: Barra de Santa Rosa, Cuité, Nova Floresta, Remígio e Sossego. In order to obtain information, the following instruments were used: I) Questionnaire for collection data related to the elderly population, for sociodemographic, clinical and behavioral characteristics; and II) WHOQOL-Old questionnaire, with a view to measuring and assessing QOL. Data were processed on the IBM-SPSS Statistics 20.0 software by means of the ANOVA (one-way), Student’s t, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson’s correlation tests, with p-values<0,05 accepted as being statistically significant. The results indicate a good global QOL (ETT=65,69%), with better assessment by elderly men, aged between 60 and 74 years, married, living with partner and children, without caregiver, physical activity practitioners, with up to one health problem before an aspect of multimorbidity and with very good and/or good assessment of basic needs. The self-reported stress showed a negative significant correlation before the global QOL, where the greater the perception of stress, the worse the assessment of QOL. In the faceted assessment of QOL, the Sensory Operation showed the best performance (ETF= 68,86%) and the Social Participation (SP) the worst (ETF=60,37%). In the multiple linear regression model, SP is singly responsible for 51,8% (R2=0,518) of explanation of the global QOL. In the intercorrelation among the WHOQOL-Old facets, only Death and Dying did not reveal significance. The harmony highlighted among the facets raises the need to ensure a comprehensive health care for the elderly population, especially in understanding the social participation as an intrinsic part of the QOL and that it requires the re-discussion and reconstruction of individual and collective, family and community, political and government actions. Hence, guaranteeing an active, healthy and participatory aging, with QOL, is the major challenge.

Avaliação multidimensional da qualidade de vida em idosos: um estudo no Curimataú ocidental paraibano

The fast growth of the elderly population is a reality throughout the world and has become one of the greatest challenges for contemporary public health. When considering the increased life expectancy and the aging as a multidimensional phenomenon, one should highlight the need to investigate if the increase of longevity is associated with satisfactory levels of Quality of Life (QOL). This study has the objective of assessing the QOL of elderly people from the Paraíba’s Western Curimataú microregion, explained by its health and living conditions. This is a cross-sectional and observational study with quantitative design held with 444 elderly people from five cities: Barra de Santa Rosa, Cuité, Nova Floresta, Remígio e Sossego. In order to obtain information, the following instruments were used: I) Questionnaire for collection data related to the elderly population, for sociodemographic, clinical and behavioral characteristics; and II) WHOQOL-Old questionnaire, with a view to measuring and assessing QOL. Data were processed on the IBM-SPSS Statistics 20.0 software by means of the ANOVA (one-way), Student’s t, Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis and Pearson’s correlation tests, with p-values<0,05 accepted as being statistically significant. The results indicate a good global QOL (ETT=65,69%), with better assessment by elderly men, aged between 60 and 74 years, married, living with partner and children, without caregiver, physical activity practitioners, with up to one health problem before an aspect of multimorbidity and with very good and/or good assessment of basic needs. The self-reported stress showed a negative significant correlation before the global QOL, where the greater the perception of stress, the worse the assessment of QOL. In the faceted assessment of QOL, the Sensory Operation showed the best performance (ETF= 68,86%) and the Social Participation (SP) the worst (ETF=60,37%). In the multiple linear regression model, SP is singly responsible for 51,8% (R2=0,518) of explanation of the global QOL. In the intercorrelation among the WHOQOL-Old facets, only Death and Dying did not reveal significance. The harmony highlighted among the facets raises the need to ensure a comprehensive health care for the elderly population, especially in understanding the social participation as an intrinsic part of the QOL and that it requires the re-discussion and reconstruction of individual and collective, family and community, political and government actions. Hence, guaranteeing an active, healthy and participatory aging, with QOL, is the major challenge.

Trajetórias e fatores associados a qualidade de vida de mães de recém-nascidos pré-termos de muito baixo peso até três anos após o parto

Preterm birth is a public health problem worldwide. It holds growing global incidence rates, high mortality rates and a risk of the long-term sequelae in the newborn. It is also poses burden on the family and society. Mothers of very low birth weight (VLBW) preterm infants may develop psychological disorders, and impaired quality of life (QoL). Factors related to mothers and children in the postpartum period may be negatively associated with the QoL of these mothers. The aim of this study was to assess factors possibly associated with the QoL of mothers of VLBW preterm newborns during the first three years after birth. Mothers of VLBW preterm answered the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-bref and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in five time points up to 36 months postpartum, totalizing 260 observations. The WHOQOL–bref scores were compared and correlated with sociodemographic and clinical variables of mothers and children at discharge (T0) and at six (T1), twelve (T2), 24 (T3) and 36 (T4) months after the delivery. We used the Kruskal Wallis test to compared scores across different time points and correlated WHOQOL-bref scores with the sociodemographic and clinical variables of mothers and preterm infants. Multiple linear regression models were used to evaluate the contribution of these variables for the QoL of mothers. The WHOQOL–bref scores at T1 and T2 were higher when compared to scores in T0 in the physical health dimension (p = 0.013). BDI scores were also higher at T1 and T2 than those at T0 (p = 0.027). Among the maternal variables that contributed most to the QoL of mothers, there were: at T0, stable marital union (b= 13.60; p= 0.000) on the social relationships dimension, gestational age (b= 2.38; p= 0.010) in the physical health dimension; post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus (b= -10.05; p= 0.010; b= -12.18; p= 0.013, respectively) in the psychological dimension; at T1 and T2, Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (b= -7.41; p= 0.005) and female sex (b= 8,094; p= 0.011) in the physical health dimension and environment, respectively. At T3, family income (b= -12.75’ p= 0.001) in the environment dimension, the SNAPPE neonatal severity score (b= -0.23; p= 0.027) on the social relationships dimension; at the T4, evangelical religion (b= 8.11; p= 0.019) and post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus (b: -18.84 p: 0.001) on the social relationships dimension. The BDI scores were negatively associated with WHOQOL scores in all dimensions and at all times points: (-1.42 ≤ b ≤ -0.36; T0, T1, T2, T3 and T4). We conclude that mothers of preterm infants VLBW tend to have a transient improvement in the physical well-being during the first postpartum year. Their quality of life seems to return to levels at discharge between two and three years after delivery. The presence of maternal depressive symptoms and diagnosis of post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus or BDP are factors negatively associated with the QoL of mothers. Social, religious and economic variables are positively associated with the QoL of mothers of VLBW preterm.

Experiências de Combate e a sua Relação com a Sintomatologia Associada à Perturbação Pós-Stress Traumático em Veteranos da Guerra Colonial Portuguesa

Objectivos: O presente estudo avaliou a relação entre diversos aspectos objectivos e subjectivos inerentes às experiências de combate/guerra e sintomatologia associada à Perturbação Pós-Stress Traumático. Os instrumentos de auto-resposta utilizados na colheita dos dados foram analisados quanto às suas principais propriedades psicométricas. Métodos: A amostra foi composta por 105 combatentes da Guerra Colonial Portuguesa. Foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos de avaliação: um questionário sóciodemográfico de auto-resposta para a caracterização da amostra, o Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (para militares), o Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire, o Questionário de Experiências de Combate e duas escalas do Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory, nomeadamente a Difficult Livings and Working Environment Scale e a Perceived Threat Scale. Resultados: O estudo das qualidades psicométricas dos instrumentos apresenta uma consistência interna superior a .86 e uma estabilidade temporal superior a .79. A análise factorial do Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire apresenta bons valores na medida de Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin e no teste de esfericidade de Bartlett. Na rotação de Varimax é extraído um factor, predizendo a sua unidimensionalidade, que explica cerca de 70% da variância total do questionário. Os resultados relativos à validade divergentediscriminante indicam, por si só, que esta se apresenta de forma clara entre os instrumentos estudados (PCL-M, PDEQ, DLWES e PTS) no subgrupo com PTSD, com excepção da verificada entre o PCL-M e o PDEQ.. Quanto à validade de critério, constatam-se diferenças entre os subgrupos com e sem PTSD. Através do método da regressão linear múltipla, duas das seis variáveis têm, isoladamente, um peso preditivo significativo para a PTSD, nomeadamente a frequência de exposição a situações típicas e objectivas de combate/ guerra e os desconfortos diários durante a(s) comissão(ões). Ao considerarmos as variáveis no seu conjunto, aquelas que mais contribuem são a dissociação peritraumática e os desconfortos diários durante a(s) comissão(ões). Conclusão: Constata-se que os factores peritraumáticos em estudo desempenham um importante papel no desenvolvimento da sintomatologia inerente à PTSD. /

Ajustamento Mental ao Cancro do Pulmão: o papel da autocompaixão e do suporte social

A presente investigação pretendeu ver cumpridos três dos principais objetivos: 1) Estudar as variáveis sociodemográficas e clínicas que caracterizam os doentes com cancro do pulmão; 2) Explorar a relação entre o ajustamento mental ao cancro do pulmão, a autocompaixão, o suporte social e os estados emocionais negativos dos doentes; 3) Examinar o impacto da autocompaixão e do suporte social em relação ao ajustamento mental e aos estados emocionais negativos em doentes com cancro do pulmão. A amostra é constituída por 55 indivíduos (38 homens e 17 mulheres) diagnosticados com cancro do pulmão e com idades compreendidas entre os 44 e os 87 anos, acompanhados medicamente no Hospital de Dia de Oncologia do Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra. Como instrumentos de medida para avaliar o ajustamento mental ao cancro, a autocompaixão, o suporte social e os estados emocionais negativos dos participantes foram utilizadas a Escala de Ajustamento Mental ao Cancro (MiniMac), a Escala de Autocompaixão (Selfcs), a Escala de Satisfação com o Suporte Social (Esss) e a Escala de Sintomatologia Psicopatológica (Eads-21). Os resultados obtidos revelaram uma associação significativa entre algumas variáveis clínicas, nomeadamente ser fumador, perceção da gravidade da doença, existência de antecedentes familiares com doença oncológica, e as variáveis em estudo (ajustamento mental, autocompaixão, suporte social e psicopatologia). Foram ainda encontradas correlações significativas entre o ajustamento mental e as estratégias de regulação emocional (autocompaixão), suporte social e psicopatologia. Por último, as análises de regressão linear múltipla mostraram que o modelo preditor da sintomatologia depressiva e do ajustamento mental (avaliado pela dimensão de desânimo) inclui o mindfulness como um preditor significativo. Já em relação ao modelo preditor do stress, o grau de satisfação com o suporte dos amigos revelou ser um contributo importante. Estes resultados têm implicações práticas, sugerindo que estes doentes podem no seu programa terapêutico beneficiar do desenvolvimento deste tipo de estratégias (novas formas de se relacionarem com as suas experiências emocionais e qualidade das suas redes sociais) no sentido de promover um melhor ajustamento mental à sua condição. / The current investigation intended to study three main objetives: 1) to study the sociodemographical and clinical variables which characterize those who suffer from lung cancer; 2) to explore the relation between the mental adjustment to lung cancer, selfcompassion, social support and the negative mental conditions of the sick person; 3) to analyse the impact of self-compassion and the social support in relation to the mental adjustment and to the negative mental conditions of a sick person with lung cancer. The sample is made of 55 individuals (38 males and 17 females) diagnosed with lung cancer, aged between 44 and 87 years old, using medicines at the Hospital de Dia de Oncologia do Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra. The Mini Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale (MiniMac), the Self-Compassion Scale (Selfcs), the Escala de Satisfação com o Suporte Social (Esss) and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (Eads-21) scales were used as measuring instruments of evaluation of the mental adjustment to lung cancer, selfcompassion, social support and the negative mental conditions of the sick person. The results revealed a significant association between some clinical variables (being a smoker, awareness of the gravity of sickness, precedent relatives who suffered from cancer) and the variables in study (mental adjustment, self-compassion, social support and psychopathology). There were also found significant correlations between mental adjustment and the strategies used for emotional adjustment (self-compassion), the social support and the psychopathology. At last the multiple linear regretting analysis has shown that the predictor model of depressive symptomatology and the mental adjustment (analysed by the discouragement dimension) includes mindfulness as a significant predictor. However in what concerns to the stress model predictor, the satisfaction level with friends support revealed itself has being of high importance. These results have practical consequences, suggesting that sick people can benefit in their therapeutic program of these kind of strategies (new ways of leading with their emotional experiences and the quality of their social relationships) so they can promote a better mental adjustment to their health condition.

Acontecimentos Traumáticos, Sentimentos de Vergonha na Relação com os Sintomas Depressivos na Adolescência: estudo longitudinal

Introdução: As experiências adversas na infância, tal como a exposição a acontecimentos traumáticos e vivências de vergonha, podem ter um contributo importante na vida dos adolescentes moldando a forma estes se percecionam a si próprios e aos outros, e como lidam com as adversidades, podendo aumentar a sua vulnerabilidade para desenvolver uma perturbação depressiva. Este estudo, de desenho longitudinal, consistiu em estudar os factores preditores (acontecimentos de vida traumáticos e sentimentos de vergonha) no desenvolvimento de psicopatologia depressiva a seis meses. Método: A amostra é constituída por 325 adolescentes, com idades compreendidas entre os 12 e os 18 anos a frequentar o 3º ciclo do ensino básico e ensino secundário. Para o estudo das variáveis referidas, foram utilizados os seguintes instrumentos de medida: o Child Depression Inventory, o Childhood Trauma Questionaire e a Escala de Vergonha Externa. Resultados: Os resultados obtidos relativamente à estabilidade absoluta das variáveis demonstram diferenças significativas entre os valores médios do 1ºmomento de avaliação e do 2º momento de avaliação (após 6 meses) para a variável vergonha. Ao longo do estudo, verificou-se uma associação positiva entre as variáveis relacionadas com o trauma e os sentimentos de vergonha avaliados no primeiro tempo (T1) e a variável sintomas depressivos (T2). O modelo de regressão linear múltipla, explicou 63% da variância dos sintomas depressivos no tempo 2, mostrando que o facto de pertencer ao sexo feminino, experienciar mais vivências de vergonha, e mais experiências traumáticas de abuso afetivo, abuso sexual e de negligência emocional permitem predizer mais sintomas depressivos na adolescência. Conclusão: Podemos concluir com a presente investigação, que o impacto de acontecimentos traumáticos, do tipo abuso/negligência, bem como de sentimentos de vergonha durante a fase da adolescência pode ser nocivo para o desenvolvimento harmonioso posterior, nomeadamente no desenvolvimento de sintomatologia depressiva. / Introduction: The adverse experiences in childhood, such as an exhibition of traumatic events and experiences of sham can have important contribution in teenager’s life shaping the way they perceive themselves and the others and how they deal with adversity, increasing their vulnerability to develop a depressive disorder. This study, longitudinal design, it was consisted in study of the predictive factors (traumatic life events and feelings of shame) in the development of depressive psychopathology in six months. Method: The sample consisted of 325 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years attending the 3rd cycle of basic education and secondary education. To the study of the variables mentioned, the following measuring instruments were used: the Child Depression Inventory, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and External Shame Scale. Results: The results obtained regarding the absolute stability of the variables showed significant differences between the mean values of the evaluation 1st moment and 2nd moment of evaluation (after 6 months) for the variable shame. Throughout the study, there was a positive association between variables related to the trauma and feelings of shame evaluated at the first time (T1) and the variable depressive symptoms (T2). The multiple linear regression model explained 63% of variance in depressive symptoms at time 2 , showing that the fact of being female experience more shame experiences, and most traumatic experiences of emotional abuse, sexual abuse and emotional neglect permit predict more depressive symptoms in adolescence. Conclusion: We can conclude with this research, that the impact of traumatic events, the type abuse/neglect, as well as feelings of shame during adolescence can be harmful to the subsequent harmonious development, including the development of depressive symptoms.

Determinantes da Estrutura de Capital de Companhias Abertas Brasileiras Não-Financeiras: Um Estudo Empírico com Dados em Painel

When a company desires to invest in a project, it must obtain resources needed to make the investment. The alternatives are using firm s internal resources or obtain external resources through contracts of debt and issuance of shares. Decisions involving the composition of internal resources, debt and shares in the total resources used to finance the activities of a company related to the choice of its capital structure. Although there are studies in the area of finance on the debt determinants of firms, the issue of capital structure is still controversial. This work sought to identify the predominant factors that determine the capital structure of Brazilian share capital, non-financial firms. This work was used a quantitative approach, with application of the statistical technique of multiple linear regression on data in panel. Estimates were made by the method of ordinary least squares with model of fixed effects. About 116 companies were selected to participate in this research. The period considered is from 2003 to 2007. The variables and hypotheses tested in this study were built based on theories of capital structure and in empirical researches. Results indicate that the variables, such as risk, size, and composition of assets and firms growth influence their indebtedness. The profitability variable was not relevant to the composition of indebtedness of the companies analyzed. However, analyzing only the long-term debt, comes to the conclusion that the relevant variables are the size of firms and, especially, the composition of its assets (tangibility).This sense, the smaller the size of the undertaking or the greater the representation of fixed assets in total assets, the greater its propensity to long-term debt. Furthermore, this research could not identify a predominant theory to explain the capital structure of Brazilian

Influência dos intermediários de distribuição de produtos turísticos no processo de decisão do meio de hospedagem pelo consumidor

This study examines the complex hotel buyer decision process in front of the tourism distribution channels. Its objective is to describe the influence level of the tourism marketing intermediaries, mainly the travel agents and tour operators, over the hotel decision process by the buyer-tourist. The data collection process was done trough a survey with three hundred brazilian tourists hosted in nineteen hotels of Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The data analysis was done using some multivariate statistic techniques as correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, factor analysis and multiple discriminant analysis. The research characterizes the hotel services consumers profile and his trip, and identifying the distribution channels used by them. Furthermore, the research verifies the intermediaries influence exercised over hotel buyer decision process, looking for identify causality relations between the influence level and the buyer profile. Verifies that information about hotels available on internet reduces the probability that this influence can be practiced; however it was possible identifying those consumers considers this information complementary and non-substitutes than the information from intermediaries. The characteristics of the data do not allow indentifying the factors that constraint the intermediaries influence neither identifying discriminant functions of the specific distribution channel choice by consumers. The study concludes that consumers don t agree in have been influenced by intermediaries or don t know if they have, still considering important to consult them and internet doesn t substitute their function as information source

Fatores que influenciam a aceitação de práticas avançadas de gestão de segurança da informação: um estudo com gestores públicos estaduais no Brasil

This study examines the factors that influence public managers in the adoption of advanced practices related to Information Security Management. This research used, as the basis of assertions, Security Standard ISO 27001:2005 and theoretical model based on TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) from Venkatesh and Davis (2000). The method adopted was field research of national scope with participation of eighty public administrators from states of Brazil, all of them managers and planners of state governments. The approach was quantitative and research methods were descriptive statistics, factor analysis and multiple linear regression for data analysis. The survey results showed correlation between the constructs of the TAM model (ease of use, perceptions of value, attitude and intention to use) and agreement with the assertions made in accordance with ISO 27001, showing that these factors influence the managers in adoption of such practices. On the other independent variables of the model (organizational profile, demographic profile and managers behavior) no significant correlation was identified with the assertions of the same standard, witch means the need for expansion researches using such constructs. It is hoped that this study may contribute positively to the progress on discussions about Information Security Management, Adoption of Safety Standards and Technology Acceptance Model

Characterization of the methanol recovery process at Prio Biocombustíveis S. A.

In a industrial environment, to know the process one is working with is crucial to ensure its good functioning. In the present work, developed at Prio Biocombustíveis S.A. facilities, using process data, collected during the present work, and historical process data, the methanol recovery process was characterized, having started with the characterization of key process streams. Based on the information retrieved from the stream characterization, Aspen Plus® process simulation software was used to replicate the process and perform a sensitivity analysis with the objective of accessing the relative importance of certain key process variables (reflux/feed ratio, reflux temperature, reboiler outlet temperature, methanol, glycerol and water feed compositions). The work proceeded with the application of a set of statistical tools, starting with the Principal Components Analysis (PCA) from which the interactions between process variables and their contribution to the process variability was studied. Next, the Design of Experiments (DoE) was used to acquire experimental data and, with it, create a model for the water amount in the distillate. However, the necessary conditions to perform this method were not met and so it was abandoned. The Multiple Linear Regression method (MLR) was then used with the available data, creating several empiric models for the water at distillate, the one with the highest fit having a R2 equal to 92.93% and AARD equal to 19.44%. Despite the AARD still being relatively high, the model is still adequate to make fast estimates of the distillate’s quality. As for fouling, its presence has been noticed many times during this work. Not being possible to directly measure the fouling, the reboiler inlet steam pressure was used as an indicator of the fouling growth and its growth variation with the amount of Used Cooking Oil incorporated in the whole process. Comparing the steam cost associated to the reboiler’s operation when fouling is low (1.5 bar of steam pressure) and when fouling is high (reboiler’s steam pressure of 3 bar), an increase of about 58% occurs when the fouling increases.

Caminhar na era tecnológica em direção a Santiago de Compostela: Estudo do uso de uma app por parte dos peregrinos

O Caminho de Santiago, sendo uma rota de peregrinação importante para o território Português e Galego, que envolve o ambiente paisagístico e o Património Cultural e Religioso, tem demonstrado uma grande afluência de peregrinos nos últimos anos. Aliado a este contexto, e numa era tecnológica em que se vive, pretende-se estudar o impacto das novas tecnologias neste ambiente de peregrinação da era medieval. Mais concretamente, pretende-se perceber a utilização da tecnologia móvel por parte dos peregrinos durante a realização do Caminho de Santiago, assim como quais as características que consideram importantes para uma aplicação móvel de apoio à peregrinação e se estas têm influência na intenção de uso da mesma. Para o desenvolvimento desta investigação procedeu-se a uma exaustiva revisão da literatura sobre a utilização da tecnologia móvel no setor do Turismo, visto esta se revelar escassa no que concerne à peregrinação. Aliado à revisão da literatura, considerou-se relevante fazer um levantamento dos hábitos dos peregrinos e a utilização da tecnologia durante a peregrinação, realizando-se entrevistas exploratórias a 11 peregrinos que contribuíram para a construção do questionário. Após a realização das entrevistas, foi elaborado um questionário que foi distribuído online. Foram obtidas respostas de 1.140 peregrinos que já tinham realizado o Caminho de Santiago pelo menos uma vez. Em relação ao uso das novas tecnologias no geral, a análise fatorial aplicada revelou que os motivos de utilização de dispositivos móveis durante a peregrinação se podem dividir em quatro categorias: Lazer/informações, comunicar, conveniência e entretenimento. Em relação ao uso de uma aplicação específica sobre o caminho, os resultados mostram que apesar da grande maioria de inquiridos (81%) não ter conhecimento de uma aplicação móvel sobre o Caminho Português, mais de 55% afirmou que a probabilidade de usarem uma aplicação móvel de apoio à peregrinação seria elevada. Para analisar quais as características que os peregrinos mais valorizariam numa aplicação móvel de apoio à peregrinação a Santiago, foram identificadas três categorias de conteúdos através de uma análise fatorial: Características Gerais do Caminho, Características Turísticas e Culturais e Características Religiosas. Por último, aplicou-se uma regressão linear múltipla que revelou que os conteúdos relacionados com o Caminho e com os elementos turísticos e culturais são os que mais influenciam a intenção de uso da app por parte dos peregrinos. Considerando-se este estudo pioneiro no que concerne à utilização da tecnologia móvel por parte dos peregrinos, poderá revelar-se um suporte importante para os programadores de aplicações móveis, bem como para o desenvolvimento de estudos futuros.

Quantificação de açúcares com uma língua eletrónica: calibração multivariada com seleção de sensores

Este trabalho incide na análise dos açúcares majoritários nos alimentos (glucose, frutose e sacarose) com uma língua eletrónica potenciométrica através de calibração multivariada com seleção de sensores. A análise destes compostos permite contribuir para a avaliação do impacto dos açúcares na saúde e seu efeito fisiológico, além de permitir relacionar atributos sensoriais e atuar no controlo de qualidade e autenticidade dos alimentos. Embora existam diversas metodologias analíticas usadas rotineiramente na identificação e quantificação dos açúcares nos alimentos, em geral, estes métodos apresentam diversas desvantagens, tais como lentidão das análises, consumo elevado de reagentes químicos e necessidade de pré-tratamentos destrutivos das amostras. Por isso se decidiu aplicar uma língua eletrónica potenciométrica, construída com sensores poliméricos selecionados considerando as sensibilidades aos açucares obtidas em trabalhos anteriores, na análise dos açúcares nos alimentos, visando estabelecer uma metodologia analítica e procedimentos matemáticos para quantificação destes compostos. Para este propósito foram realizadas análises em soluções padrão de misturas ternárias dos açúcares em diferentes níveis de concentração e em soluções de dissoluções de amostras de mel, que foram previamente analisadas em HPLC para se determinar as concentrações de referência dos açúcares. Foi então feita uma análise exploratória dos dados visando-se remover sensores ou observações discordantes através da realização de uma análise de componentes principais. Em seguida, foram construídos modelos de regressão linear múltipla com seleção de variáveis usando o algoritmo stepwise e foi verificado que embora fosse possível estabelecer uma boa relação entre as respostas dos sensores e as concentrações dos açúcares, os modelos não apresentavam desempenho de previsão satisfatório em dados de grupo de teste. Dessa forma, visando contornar este problema, novas abordagens foram testadas através da construção e otimização dos parâmetros de um algoritmo genético para seleção de variáveis que pudesse ser aplicado às diversas ferramentas de regressão, entre elas a regressão pelo método dos mínimos quadrados parciais. Foram obtidos bons resultados de previsão para os modelos obtidos com o método dos mínimos quadrados parciais aliado ao algoritmo genético, tanto para as soluções padrão quanto para as soluções de mel, com R²ajustado acima de 0,99 e RMSE inferior a 0,5 obtidos da relação linear entre os valores previstos e experimentais usando dados dos grupos de teste. O sistema de multi-sensores construído se mostrou uma ferramenta adequada para a análise dos iii açúcares, quando presentes em concentrações maioritárias, e alternativa a métodos instrumentais de referência, como o HPLC, por reduzir o tempo da análise e o valor monetário da análise, bem como, ter um preparo mínimo das amostras e eliminar produtos finais poluentes.