El abordaje de la salud mental desde la perspectiva de género, fundamental para reducción de desigualdades

Boletín semanal para profesionales sanitarios de la Secretaría General de Salud Pública y Participación Social de la Consejería de Salud

La evaluación de riesgos, una herramienta fundamental en la protección de la salud

Boletín semanal para profesionales sanitarios de la Secretaría General de Calidad, Innovación y Salud Pública de la Consejería de Igualdad, Salud y Políticas Sociales

A nuclear ribosomal DNA pseudogene in triatomines opens a new research field of fundamental and applied implications in Chagas disease

A pseudogene, designated as "ps(5.8S+ITS-2)", paralogous to the 5.8S gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS)-2 of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA), has been recently found in many triatomine species distributed throughout North America, Central America and northern South America. Among characteristics used as criteria for pseudogene verification, secondary structures and free energy are highlighted, showing a lower fit between minimum free energy, partition function and centroid structures, although in given cases the fit only appeared to be slightly lower. The unique characteristics of "ps(5.8S+ITS-2)" as a processed or retrotransposed pseudogenic unit of the ghost type are reviewed, with emphasis on its potential functionality compared to the functionality of genes and spacers of the normal rDNA operon. Besides the technical problem of the risk for erroneous sequence results, the usefulness of "ps(5.8S+ITS-2)" for specimen classification, phylogenetic analyses and systematic/taxonomic studies should be highlighted, based on consistence and retention index values, which in pseudogenic sequence trees were higher than in functional sequence trees. Additionally, intraindividual, interpopulational and interspecific differences in pseudogene amount and the fact that it is a pseudogene in the nuclear rDNA suggests a potential relationships with fitness, behaviour and adaptability of triatomine vectors and consequently its potential utility in Chagas disease epidemiology and control.

Estimation de la fonction rénale par l'equation MDRD: intérêt et limites pour l'adaptation des doses de médicaments [Renal function estimation by MDRD equation: interest and limitations for drug dosing].

The MDRD (Modification of diet in renal disease) equation enables glomerular filtration rate (GFR) estimation from serum creatinine only. Thus, the laboratory can report an estimated GFR (eGFR) with each serum creatinine assessment, increasing therefore the recognition of renal failure. Predictive performance of MDRD equation is better for GFR < 60 ml/min/1,73 m2. A normal or near-normal renal function is often underestimated by this equation. Overall, MDRD provides more reliable estimations of renal function than the Cockcroft-Gault (C-G) formula, but both lack precision. MDRD is not superior to C-G for drug dosing. Being adjusted to 1,73 m2, MDRD eGFR has to be back adjusted to the patient's body surface area for drug dosing. Besides, C-G has the advantage of a greater simplicity and a longer use.

An alternative approach to fundamental general physics concepts

An alternative approach to the fundamental general physics concepts has been proposed. We demonstrate that the electrostatic potential energy of a discrete or a continuous system of charges should be stored by the charges and not the field. It is found that there is a possibility that any electric field has no energy density, as well as magnetic field. It is found that there is no direct relation between the electric or magnetic energy and photons. An alternative derivation of the blackbody radiation formula is proposed. It is also found that the zero-point of energy of electromagnetic radiation may not exist.

Application of the european customer satisfaction index to postal services. Structural equation models versus partial least squars

Customer satisfaction and retention are key issues for organizations in today’s competitive market place. As such, much research and revenue has been invested in developing accurate ways of assessing consumer satisfaction at both the macro (national) and micro (organizational) level, facilitating comparisons in performance both within and between industries. Since the instigation of the national customer satisfaction indices (CSI), partial least squares (PLS) has been used to estimate the CSI models in preference to structural equation models (SEM) because they do not rely on strict assumptions about the data. However, this choice was based upon some misconceptions about the use of SEM’s and does not take into consideration more recent advances in SEM, including estimation methods that are robust to non-normality and missing data. In this paper, both SEM and PLS approaches were compared by evaluating perceptions of the Isle of Man Post Office Products and Customer service using a CSI format. The new robust SEM procedures were found to be advantageous over PLS. Product quality was found to be the only driver of customer satisfaction, while image and satisfaction were the only predictors of loyalty, thus arguing for the specificity of postal services

Administração de insulina: uma abordagem fundamental na educação em diabetes

O estudo tem como objetivo realizar uma revisão na literatura sobre administração de insulina, com ênfase nos seguinte temas: ações de insulinas, complicações locais cutâneas, uso de instrumentais para a aplicação de insulina, a seringa descartável e sua reutilização e a técnica de aplicação de insulina, temas estes fundamentais para serem abordados em programas educativos em diabetes.

Modification of the Perrine-Baum diagram to improve the calculation of high voltage electric lines

Through the history of Electrical Engineering education, vectorial and phasorial diagrams have been used as a fundamental learning tool. At present, computational power has replaced them by long data lists, the result of solving equation systems by means of numerical methods. In this sense, diagrams have been shifted to an academic background and although theoretically explained, they are not used in a practical way within specific examples. This fact may be against the understanding of the complex behavior of the electrical power systems by students. This article proposes a modification of the classical Perrine-Baum diagram construction to allowing both a more practical representation and a better understanding of the behavior of a high-voltage electric line under different levels of load. This modification allows, at the same time, the forecast of the obsolescence of this behavior and line’s loading capacity. Complementary, we evaluate the impact of this tool in the learning process showing comparative undergraduate results during three academic years

Compreensão sobre sexualidade e sexo nas escolas segundo professores do ensino fundamental

Com o objetivo de identificarmos a forma pela qual professores de Ensino Fundamental compreendem a sexualidade/sexo na escola, procuramos levantar dados relativos a estas questões no cotidiano escolar, verificando a posição da escola e como lidam com isto. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, humanista, por meio de pesquisa-ação. A coleta dos dados foi realizada por meio da observação participante e entrevista individual, usando um questionário com questões norteadoras. Os dados levantados foram organizados em categorias. A análise possibilitou apreender que a maioria dos professores valoriza o diálogo como meio de orientação aos alunos. Destacam a necessidade de obterem apoio de profissionais qualificados sobre a temática, e dão relevância à participação da família no processo de orientação. Neste processo, a Escola pode ser o recurso para ajudar familiares, professores e escolares a compreenderem melhor os pressupostos da educação sexual e profissionais da saúde são grandes aliados, no sentido de conscientizá-los e orientá-los. Baseando-se nos achados, desenvolveram-se ações/intervenções educativas junto aos professores, visando prepará-los para atuarem como agentes multiplicadores no cotidiano escolar. Os professores sugerem a busca de parcerias e a elaboração de estratégias de orientação sexual.

Adolescência na percepção de professores do ensino fundamental

Pesquisa qualitativa realizada com 11 professores de um colégio estadual de Curitiba, para apreender como os professores do ensino fundamental percebem a adolescência. As informações foram coletadas por meio da estratégia Discussão de Grupo e organizadas em quatro categorias temáticas. Identificou-se nos relatos dos professores a pluralidade de significações atribuídas ao processo de adolescer, com ênfase na singularidade da adolescência. A adolescência se constitui em fenômeno singular, apresenta variações de acordo com a cultura, classe social, raça, gênero e idade, configurando distintas formas de vivenciá-la. Mesmo com essa diversidade, é possível desenvolver relações com adolescente que incluam a atenção, dedicação, conforto, paciência e sensibilidade, além da transmissão dos conteúdos curriculares.

Abordagem da amamentação nos primeiros anos do ensino fundamental

Para analisar os currículos e os livros escolares adotados nos primeiros cinco anos do Ensino Fundamental na disciplina de Ciências quanto à presença ou não de termos relacionados à prática da amamentação, realizamos um estudo descritivo analisando o currículo e 16 manuais de 25 escolas públicas de três municípios do interior paulista, de setembro/2010 a fevereiro/2011. Definimos previamente alguns conceitos considerados imprescindíveis para ensinar e explicar à criança noções de amamentação. Verificamos que nenhum bloco temático do currículo aborda explicitamente a temática amamentação. Nove dos 16 conteúdos definidos estavam presentes em oito dos 16 livros. Da análise emergiu a categoria apoio e ajuda da família. Três obras utilizavam ilustrações associadas à alimentação artificial. No programa e nos manuais escolares existem diversas oportunidades de incluir este tema. Aconselha-se a integração dos conteúdos em todos os manuais de Ciências dos primeiros anos do ensino fundamental.

Social use of alcohol among adolescent offenders: a fundamental approach toward human needs

This study examined some basic health care approaches toward human needs, with a particular focus on nursing. We aimed to incorporate these approaches into the discussion of the mental health of adolescent offenders who consume alcohol. We discuss specific needs of the delinquent group, critique policies that prioritize coercion of adolescent offenders, and the role that nurses could play in the sphere of juvenile delinquency.

Further insights on the French WISC-IV factor structure through Bayesian structural equation modeling

The interpretation of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) is based on a 4-factor model, which is only partially compatible with the mainstream Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) model of intelligence measurement. The structure of cognitive batteries is frequently analyzed via exploratory factor analysis and/or confirmatory factor analysis. With classical confirmatory factor analysis, almost all crossloadings between latent variables and measures are fixed to zero in order to allow the model to be identified. However, inappropriate zero cross-loadings can contribute to poor model fit, distorted factors, and biased factor correlations; most important, they do not necessarily faithfully reflect theory. To deal with these methodological and theoretical limitations, we used a new statistical approach, Bayesian structural equation modeling (BSEM), among a sample of 249 French-speaking Swiss children (8-12 years). With BSEM, zero-fixed cross-loadings between latent variables and measures are replaced by approximate zeros, based on informative, small-variance priors. Results indicated that a direct hierarchical CHC-based model with 5 factors plus a general intelligence factor better represented the structure of the WISC-IV than did the 4-factor structure and the higher order models. Because a direct hierarchical CHC model was more adequate, it was concluded that the general factor should be considered as a breadth rather than a superordinate factor. Because it was possible for us to estimate the influence of each of the latent variables on the 15 subtest scores, BSEM allowed improvement of the understanding of the structure of intelligence tests and the clinical interpretation of the subtest scores.