Qualidade de vida em idosos desenvolvimento e aplicação do módulo WHOQOL-OLD e teste do desempenho do instrumento WHOQOL-BREF em uma população idosa brasileira

Introdução: A presente dissertação de mestrado tem como foco a investigação de qualidade de vida em idosos. Não somente à expectativa de vida e à morbi-mortalidade, o interesse científico tem-se voltado a conferir qualidade aos anos de vida de uma população de idosos crescente em países desenvolvidos e em desenvolvimento. A definição do construto qualidade de vida não desfruta de consenso até o momento. Entretanto, é consensual que a população de idosos apresenta particularidades que, por conseguinte, se refletem na conceituação de qualidade de vida e na determinação de quais fatores contribuem para sua composição. Entretanto, diversos instrumentos utilizados em estudos de qualidade de vida em idosos não abrangem tais especificidades ou não apresentam propriedades psicométricas adequadamente testadas para esta população. Objetivos: Os objetivos principais desta dissertação são dois. Primeiramente, desenvolver a versão em português do módulo de aferição de qualidade de vida em idosos da Organização Mundial de Saúde WHOQOL-OLD e descrever suas propriedades psicométricas em uma amostra de idosos brasileiros. Em segundo lugar, realizar a testagem do desempenho psicométrico do instrumento genérico de avaliação de qualidade de vida WHOQOL-BREF, originalmente gerado em uma população de adultos não-idosos e crescentemente utilizado em investigações geriátricas. Método: 424 sujeitos com idade igual ou superior a 60 anos foram entrevistados, completando uma ficha de dados sócio-demográficos, os instrumentos WHOQOL-BREF, Inventário de Depressão de Beck (BDI), Escala de Desesperança de Beck (BHS) e o módulo WHOQOL-OLD. A uma subamostra de 51 sujeitos foi aplicado o Módulo WHOQOL-OLD após duas semanas. Resultados: A amostra foi constituída predominantemente de mulheres (64,2%), de sujeitos vivendo na comunidade (84,4%) e de sujeitos que se consideram saudáveis (67,5%). O Módulo WHOQOL-OLD é composto por seis facetas e 24 itens, gerando escores em cada uma das facetas e um escore geral (overall). Os coeficientes de Cronbach indicam que todas as facetas e o conjunto de itens apresentam fidedignidade satisfatória, variando de 0,710 (faceta autonomia) a 0,885 (overall). As seis facetas e o escore overall mostram-se capazes de discriminar os idosos com diferentes níveis de depressão, bem como os que se percebem saudáveis daqueles que se percebem doentes. A validade concorrente, aferida através da correlação dos escores com os de sintomatologia depressiva e de desesperança, apresenta significância estatística. A comparação das médias dos escores do teste e reteste não indica diferenças, atestando a estabilidade do instrumento. Em relação ao desempenho do instrumento WHOQOL-BREF, todos seus quatro domínios demonstraram-se capazes de discriminar níveis de sintomas depressivos e de desesperança, bem como diferentes percepções de estado de saúde. Os coeficientes de correlação entre os domínios e os escores do BDI e BHS apresentaram significância estatística. Os coeficientes de fidedignidade de Cronbach assumem valores que variam de 0,614 (domínio relações sociais) a 0,925(conjunto de 26 itens). Em relação à validade de critério, O domínio Relações Sociais não apresentou significância estatística no modelo proposto de regressão linear múltipla (p=0,061). Os domínios físico, psicológico e de meio-ambiente explicam 64,7% da variância do escore global, constituído por dois itens de qualidade de vida geral.Conclusão: O módulo WHOQOL-OLD representa uma ferramenta adicional aos questionários genéricos de qualidade de vida WHOQOL-100 ou WHOQOL-BREF como uma alternativa útil na investigação de qualidade de vida de idosos, abrangendo aspectos relevantes e não abordados nos instrumentos desenhados originalmente para populações não-idosas. A testagem do desempenho psicométrico do instrumento WHOQOL-BREF demonstrou que este apresenta consistência interna, validade concorrente, validade discriminante e validade de critério satisfatórias em uma amostra de idosos brasileiros. Seus itens foram analisados previamente em grupos focais, em relação ao conteúdo e fraseamento, tendo sido considerados pelos idosos como relevantes para a aferição de qualidade de vida e de fácil entendimento. Assim sendo, o WHOQOL-BREF apresenta características que o colocam como um instrumento genérico de aferição de qualidade de vida com adequado desempenho psicométrico testado em idosos.

Integrability and the demand for monetary assets: an alternative approach to an old problem

This note provides necessary and su¢cient conditions for some speci…c multidimensional consumer’s surplus welfare measures to be well posed (path independent). We motivate the problem by investigating partial-equilibrium measures of the welfare costs of in‡ation. The results can also be used for checking path independence of alternative de…nitions of Divisia indexes of monetary services. Consumer theory classically approaches the integrability problem by considering compensated demands, homothetic preferences or quasi-linear utility functions. Here, instead, we consider demands of monetary assets generated from a shopping-time perspective. Paralleling the above mentioned procedure, of …nding special classes of utility functions that satisfy the integrability conditions, we try to infer what particular properties of the transacting technology could assure path independence of multidimensional welfare measures. We show that the integrability conditions are satis…ed if and only if the transacting technology is blockwise weakly separable. We use two examples to clarify the point.

Caracterização e gênese de solos construídos após mineração de carvão na mina Boa Vista, município de Minas do Leão, RS

A mineração de carvão em lavra a céu aberto provoca a mistura dos materiais sobrejacentes ao carvão e que são, posteriormente, utilizados no preenchimento das cavas mineradas. O processo de construção dos solos e a mistura podem ocasionar problemas ambientais pelas alterações quimicas e fisicas provocadas nos solos construidos. A fimde comparar solos construidos de diferentes idades, caracterizou-se a coluna geológica. o ~Io natural originale solos construidos de 2 anos e de 24 anos da mina de carvão Boa Vista, no Municípiode Minas do Leão, RS. A descrição morfológicado perfil do solo e as análises quimicas e fisicas demonstram que os solos construidos apresentam sérias limitações físicas, impedindo o desenvolvimento normal da vegetação. Ademais. diferenças quimicas entre os perfis de diferentes idades originam-se principalmente da utilização de materiais geológicos e processos de construção distintos, do que pelos processos pedogenéticos. Quanto à evolução temporal dos solos construidos, observou-se que está fortemente caracterizada pela intemperização acido-sulfatada, intensificando-se na sub-área mais antiga. O potencial de acidificação e o potencial de neutralização determínados na coluna geológica indicam a existência de camadas com alto potencial gerador de Drenagem Ácida de Minas, recomendando-se o cuidado na deposição final destas camadas. Os resultados deste estudo indicam que as propriedades químicas e fisicas determinadas nos solos construidos servem como indicadores para o monitoramentode áreas construídas,visando a prevenção de danos ambientais.

Old-age benefits and retirement decisions of rural elderly in Brazil

I estimate the impact of social security benefits on retirement decisions of rural workers by studying changes in the roles governing social security in Brazil. I focus on a 1991 reform, which brought a reduction in the minimum eligibility age for males and females, a doubling of benefit values and the extension of benefits to non-heads of households. Because beneficiaries are not subject to means or retirement tests, I estimate apure income effect. I find that a reduction in the minimum eligibility age for old-age benefits was an important determinant in the reduction in labor supply of elderly rural workers in Brazil. Finally, I find that benefit take-up rates are larger among the better educated, but least-schooled workers show the largest labor supply responses to the reform.

Brazil’s 35 years-old quasi-stagnation: facts and theory

Brazil is growing around 1% per capita a year from 1981; this means for a country that is supposed to catch up, quasi-stagnation. Four historical new facts explain why growth was so low after the Real Plan: the reduction of public savings, and three facts that reduce private investments: the end of the unlimited supply of labor, a very high interest rate, and the 1990 dismantling of the mechanism that neutralized the Dutch disease, which represented a major competitive disadvantage for the manufacturing industry. New-developmental theory offers an explanation and two solutions for the problem, but does not underestimate the political economy problems involved

Povoações, freguesias e vilas na Paraíba Colonial: Pombal e Sousa, 1697-1800

The towns presently named Pombal and Sousa, located in the hinterland of the State of Paraíba, Brazil, still keep vestiges of the colonization process they went through along the 18th and 19th centuries, when they both emerged as settlement nuclei in the extreme West of the then captaincy of Paraíba and attained the status of freguesia and vila in a later period. This research aims to comprehend the process of urban formation and development of the colonial urban nuclei of Pombal and Sousa as they became povoados (hamlets), freguesias (parishes) and vilas (small urban communities with a local government), according to territorial expansion policies implemented by the Portuguese government from 1697 to 1800. The choice of the two urban settlements for this survey lies in the fact that they were part of the great conquest and colonization program undertaken by the Portuguese Crown. Another aspect that was considered was the fact that those towns are the oldest urban nuclei of Paraíba s hinterland. They came into being as early as in the times of the colony, thus producing a favorable environment to the study of the changes that occurred in the captaincy s hinterland scenery resulting from the process of formation and development of the colonial urban space. Three fundamental categories of analysis were defined since they have a direct bearing upon the urban configuration of the two colonization nuclei: povoado, freguesia and vila. The three of them are related to civil and ecclesiastic jurisdictions. Field, documentation and bibliography surveys were undertaken in order to develop the study. They allowed for the finding of vestiges of the old, colonial urban structures and for the development of theoretical analysis based on present-day studies of issues relating to the colonial urban history. The study purposes were, therefore, to try to understand how the old urban nuclei of Pombal and Sousa fit in the territorial expansion policies undertaken by the Portuguese government; to relate the process of urban formation and development of such nuclei with the categories of analysis povoação-freguesia-vila by discussing the relations and influences they exert over one another and their territory, as well as to unveil, as much as possible, the configuration the urban spaces that were shaped along the 18th century

Old beagle dogs have lower faecal concentrations of some fermentation products and lower peripheral lymphocyte counts than young adult beagles

The effects of age on microbiota composition, gut fermentation end-product formation and peripheral lymphocyte numbers were compared between old and young adult Beagle dogs fed four kibble diets differing in yeast cell wall contents. The experiment had a double 4 x 4 Latin square design, one with four mature dogs (4 years old) and the other with four old dogs (10 years old), with four replicates (diets) per dog. In each period a 15d adaptation period preceded a 5d total collection of faeces for the digestibility trial. on day 21, fresh faecal samples were collected for the determination of bacterial enumeration, pH, biogenic amine and short-chain fatty acid. Flow cytometry was used for immunophenotypic evaluation. Dogs were fed four kibble diets with similar composition with 0, 0.15, 0.30 and 0.45% of yeast cell wall (as-fed), respectively. Data were evaluated using general linear models of Statistical Analysis Systems statistical software (P<0.05). No evidence of a difference in faecal bacteria counts between ages was found (total aerobes, total anaerobes, Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, Clostridium and Escherichia coli: P. 0.15). Faecal concentrations of butyrate, histamine, agmatine and spermine were lower (P <= 0.05) and faecal pH was higher (P=0.03) in older dogs than in mature adult dogs, suggesting an alteration in bacterial metabolic activity, or in the rate of intestinal absorption of these compounds. Concentrations of T-lymphocytes, T-cytotoxic lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes were also lower (P <= 0.01) in older dogs than in mature adult dogs. The study confirmed alterations in peripheral lymphocytes and revealed a reduced concentration of some fermentation end products in the colon of old dogs.

Hematological values and body, heart and liver weights of male and female broiler embryos of young and old breeder eggs

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Salmonella spp investigation in transport boxes of day-old birds

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Experimental infection by Salmonella enterica subsp enterica serovar kottbus in day-old broiler chickens

The strain used in this work was a Salmonella enterica subsp enterica serovar Kottbus (6,8:e,h:1,5) isolated from imported day-old ducklings in Laboratório Nacional Agropecuário (LANAGRO/SP) of the Ministry of Agriculture of Brazil (MAPA). In view of the lack of information available about this Salmonella isolate and also because it was detected in day-old imported birds, this study was carried out to investigate the dissemination of S. Kottbus among newly hatched chicks. The birds were placed in three groups: one group of 20 birds received 0.1 mL of S. Kottbus culture containing 1.2 x 10(8) CFU/mL, the second group of 20 birds was inoculated with 1.2 x 10(5) CFU/mL and the third group of 10 birds was untreated (control group). Results were similar for both infected groups. The bacterium was recovered from cloacal swabs collected from the first day following the experimental infection until the end of the trial (42 days post-inoculation). At 15 and 42 days post-inoculation (dpi), half of the birds of each group were killed for bacteriological examination of cecal contents, liver and spleen. At 15 dpi, viable cell counts of S. Kottbus were obtained in all kinds of samples. At 42 dpi, Salmonella was present in the liver and spleen of few birds, but in large amounts in the cecal contents of almost all birds.

New technologies, old habits: automation without innovation

This research investigated the underuse of technological tools by innovative organizations which are acknowledged for their use of and familiarity with new technologies. The research conducted an analysis of 58 institutional repositories (IRs) out of 43 educational and research institutions which are internationally renowned for excellence. The core aspect of the analysis was the use of IRs for publishing and dealing with evidence in order to legitimize and add value to scientific research. The following items were analyzed: (a) the logical structuring of scientific communication published in the IRs; (b) the metadata which describe scientific communication based on the terms of the DCMI protocol used; (c) the availability of software functions which facilitate the queries and publication of evidences. Results show that the introduction of IRs did not add value to the quality of research in\ terms of associating and publishing evidence that could back them up. A strong tendency to replicate the traditional library model of physical collections was observed. It was concluded that merely possessing good technological tools is not sufficient for fostering innovation and strategic gains in organizations, even if their implementation takes place in highly promising and favorable environments.