Political Systems and the Perspective on Nursing Education during the Spanish Transition (from the Franco Regime to Democracy). A Contribution based on Nursing History

The aim of this study is to describe the changes in nursing education during the process prior to and after the establishment of democracy in Spain. It begins with the hypothesis that differences in social and political organization influenced the way the system of nursing education evolved, keeping it in line with neopositivistic schemes and exclusively technical approaches up until the advent of democracy. The evolution of a specific profile for nursing within the educational system has been shaped by the relationship between the systems of social and political organization in Spain. To examine the insertion of subjects such as the anthropology of healthcare into education programs for Spanish nursing, one must consider the cultural, intercultural and transcultural factors that are key to understanding the changes in nursing education that allowed for the adoption of a holistic approach in the curricula. Until the arrival of democracy in 1977, Spanish nursing education was solely technical in nature and the role of nurses was limited to the tasks and procedures defined by the bureaucratic thinking characteristic of the rational-technological paradigm. Consequently, during the long period prior to democracy, nursing in Spain was under the influence of neopositivistic and technical thinking, which had its effect on educational curricula. The addition of humanities and anthropology to the curricula, which facilitated a holistic approach, occurred once nursing became a field of study at the university level in 1977, a period that coincided with the beginnings of democracy in Spain.

High Solids Content, Soap-Free, Film-Forming Latexes Stabilized by Laponite Clay Platelets

High solids content film-forming poly[styrene-co-(n-butyl acrylate)] [poly(Sty-co-BuA)] latexes armored with Laponite clay platelets have been synthesized by soap-free emulsion copolymerization of styrene and n-butyl acrylate. The polymerizations were performed in batch in the presence of Laponite and a methyl ether acrylateterminated poly(ethylene glycol) macromonomer in order to promote polymer/clay association. The overall polymerization kinetics showed a pronounced effect of clay on nucleation and stabilization of the latex particles. Cryo-transmission electron microscopy observation confirmed the armored morphology and indicated that the majority of Laponite platelets were located at the particle surface. The resulting nanostructured films displayed enhanced mechanical properties.

LEACHATE TREATMENT PROCESS AT A MUNICIPAL STABILIZED LANDFILL BY CATALYTIC OZONATION: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY FROM TAGUCHI ORTHOGONAL ARRAY

Catalytic ozonation has been recognized in the scientific community as an efficient technique, reaching elevated rates of recalcitrant organic material mineralization, even at the presence of scavenger species of hydroxyl free radicals. This study presents the most significant factors involving the leachate treatment stabilized by the municipal landfill of the city of Guaratingueta, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, by using a catalytic ozonation activated by metallic ions Fe(3+), Zn(2+), Mn(2+), Ni(2+) and Cr(3+). The Taguchi L(16) orthogonal array and its associated statistical methods were also used in this study. Among the researched ions, the most notable catalysis was obtained with ferric ion, statistically significant in the reduction of COD with a confidence level of 99.5%.

Influence of hardness of the harder body on wear regime transition in a sliding pair of steels

In the unlubricated sliding wear of steels the mild-severe and severe-mild wear transitions have long been investigated. The effect of system inputs such as normal load, sliding speed, environment humidity and temperature, material properties, among others, on those transitions have also been studied. Although transitions seem to be caused by microstructural changes, surfaces oxidation and work-hardening, some questions remain regarding the way each aspect is involved. Since the early studies in sliding wear, it has usually been assumed that only the material properties of the softer body influence the wear behavior of contacting surfaces. For example, the Archard equation involves only the hardness of the softer body, without considering the hardness of the harder body. This work aims to discuss the importance of the harder body hardness in determining the wear regime operation. For this, pin-on-disk wear tests were carried out, in which the disk material was always harder than the pin material. Variations of the friction force and vertical displacement of the pin were registered during the tests. A material characterization before and after tests was conducted using stereoscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) methods, in addition to mass loss, surface roughness and microhardness measurements. The wear results confirmed the occurrence of a mild-severe wear transition when the disk hardness was decreased. The disk hardness to pin hardness ratio (H(d)/H(p)) was used as a criterion to establish the nature of surface contact deformation and to determine the wear regime transition. A predominantly elastic or plastic contact, characterized by H(d)/H(p) values higher or lower than one, results in a mild or severe wear regime operation, respectively. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Characterization and Performance Modeling of Cementitiously Stabilized Layers in the Mechanistic-Empirical Pavement Design Guide

Cementitious stabilization of aggregates and soils is an effective technique to increase the stiffness of base and subbase layers. Furthermore, cementitious bases can improve the fatigue behavior of asphalt surface layers and subgrade rutting over the short and long term. However, it can lead to additional distresses such as shrinkage and fatigue in the stabilized layers. Extensive research has tested these materials experimentally and characterized them; however, very little of this research attempts to correlate the mechanical properties of the stabilized layers with their performance. The Mechanistic Empirical Pavement Design Guide (MEPDG) provides a promising theoretical framework for the modeling of pavements containing cementitiously stabilized materials (CSMs). However, significant improvements are needed to bring the modeling of semirigid pavements in MEPDG to the same level as that of flexible and rigid pavements. Furthermore, the MEPDG does not model CSMs in a manner similar to those for hot-mix asphalt or portland cement concrete materials. As a result, performance gains from stabilized layers are difficult to assess using the MEPDG. The current characterization of CSMs was evaluated and issues with CSM modeling and characterization in the MEPDG were discussed. Addressing these issues will help designers quantify the benefits of stabilization for pavement service life.

Repeated disturbances and canopy disturbance regime in a tropical semi-deciduous forest

The canopy disturbance regime and the influence of gap methods on the interpretation of forest structure and dynamics were evaluated in a tropical semi-deciduous forest in south-eastern Brazil. We encountered a gap density of 11.2 gaps ha(-1) and an average size which varied from 121 to 333 m(2) depending on the gap delimitation method considered (minimum gap size was 10 m(2)). Although average size was slightly higher, the median value obtained (78 m(2)) was comparable to other tropical forest sites and the gap size-class distribution found supported the pattern described for such forest sites. Among 297 gap makers, snapping and uprooting were the most common modes of disturbance. The number and basal area of gap makers were good predictors of gap size. Almost 25% of all gaps suffered from repeated disturbance events that brought about larger gap sizes. Such processes, along with delimitation methods, strongly influenced the estimation of turnover rate and therefore the interpretation of forest dynamics. These results demonstrated the importance of further studies on repeated disturbances, which is often neglected in forest studies.

A stabilized demethoxyviridin derivative inhibits PI3 kinase

The viridins like demethoxyviridin (Dmv) and wortmannin (Wm) are nanomolar inhibitors of the PI3 kinases, a family of enzymes that play key roles in a host of regulatory processes. Central to the use of these compounds to investigate the role of PI3 kinase in biological systems, or as scaffolds for drug development, are the interrelated issues of stability, chemical reactivity, and bioactivity as inhibitors of PI3 kinase. We found that Dmv was an even more potent inhibitor of PI3 kinase than Wm. However, Dmv was notably less stable than Wm in PBS, with a half-life of 26 min versus Wm`s half-life of 3470 min. Dmv, like Wm, disappeared in culture media with a half-life of less than 1 min. To overcome Dmv`s instability, it was esterified at the C1 position, and then reacted with glycine at the C20 position. The resulting Dmv derivative, termed SA-DmvC20-Gly had a half-life of 218 min in PBS and 64 min in culture media. SA-DmvC20-Gly underwent an exchange reaction at the C20 position with N-acetyl lysine in a manner similar to a WmC20 derivative, WmC20-Proline. SA-DmvC20-Gly inhibited PI3 kinase with an IC(50) of 44 nM, compared to Wm`s IC(50) of 12 nM. These results indicate that the stability of Dmv can be manipulated by reactions at the C1 and C20 positions, while substantially maintaining its ability to inhibit PI3 kinase. Our results indicate it may be possible to obtain stabilized Dmv derivatives for use as PI3 kinase inhibitors in biological systems. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Ethics and Citizenship Program: a Brazilian experience in moral education

This article describes the Ethics and Citizenship Program, a moral education project developed by the Brazilian government to promote education in ethics and citizenship in Brazilian fundamental and middle schools through four key themes: ethics, democratic coexistence, human rights and social inclusion. Some findings from a research project that investigated whether such a program did in fact promote the ethical and citizenship awareness of participating students are outlined. As an introduction to the paper`s main concerns, the Brazilian socioeconomic context is characterised, followed by a description of the historical background of moral education in Brazil.

A novel nucleation apparatus for regime separated granulation

A novel nucleation apparatus is presented for the production of narrow sized nuclei from various powder and binder liquid combinations. Mono-sized binder liquid droplets are produced by a specially designed mono-disperse droplet generator. The droplet generator is positioned above a conveyor belt, transporting a powder bed through the spray zone of the droplet generator. By nucleating powder on a conveyer belt, the nucleation mechanism is completely separated from all other granulation mechanisms due to the lack of relative motion between primary particles and/or formed nuclei. Nucleation tests were performed using chalcopyrite and limestone powders with water as the binder liquid. At all operating conditions, the formed nuclei were found to originate from multiplicities of drops that merged on the powder bed surface. Investigation of the dynamics of nuclei formation showed that powder-binder liquid combinations with fast penetration dynamics result in less variation in the number of droplets from which nuclei originate. Smaller and more narrowly distributed nuclei were also achieved by increasing powder speed through the spray zone.

A method to lower the detection limit for optical beat signals from a frequency-dithered stabilized laser

A narrow absorption feature in an atomic or molecular gas (such as iodine or methane) is used as the frequency reference in many stabilized lasers. As part of the stabilization scheme an optical frequency dither is applied to the laser. In optical heterodyne experiments, this dither is transferred to the RF beat signal, reducing the spectral power density and hence the signal to noise ratio over that in the absence of dither. We removed the dither by mixing the raw beat signal with a dithered local oscillator signal. When the dither waveform is matched to that of the reference laser the output signal from the mixer is rendered dither free. Application of this method to a Winters iodine-stabilized helium-neon laser reduced the bandwidth of the beat signal from 6 MHz to 390 kHz, thereby lowering the detection threshold from 5 pW of laser power to 3 pW. In addition, a simple signal detection model is developed which predicts similar threshold reductions.

Extended integrability regime for the supersymmetric U model

An extension of the supersymmetric U model for correlated electrons is given and integrability is established by demonstrating that the model can he constructed through the quantum inverse scattering method using an R-matrix without the difference property. Some general symmetry properties of the model are discussed and from the Bethe ansatz solution an expression for the energies is presented.