Working hours and earnings: are mates’ answers coherent?

As surveys about time allocation among couples are extremely expensive, one way of reducing costs could be to query only one member of the coupler with the same set of questions about him/her and about his/her partner. In this paper we show that after carrying out a survey in this way, the responses given by one partner do not always fit the same econometric model as those obtained from the other.

Immediate effects of Tuina techniques on working-related musculoskeletal disorder of professional orchestra musicians

BACKGROUND: Musicians are a prone group to suffer from working-related musculoskeletal disorder (WRMD). Conventional solutions to control musculoskeletal pain include pharmacological treatment and rehabilitation programs but their efficiency is sometimes disappointing. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this research is to study the immediate effects of Tuina techniques on WRMD of professional orchestra musicians from the north of Portugal. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS AND INTERVENTIONS: We performed a prospective, controlled, single-blinded, randomized study. Professional orchestra musicians with a diagnosis of WRMD were randomly distributed into the experimental group (n=39) and the control group (n=30). During an individual interview, Chinese diagnosis took place and treatment points were chosen. Real acupoints were treated by Tuina techniques into the experimental group and non-specific skin points were treated into the control group. Pain was measured by verbal numerical scale before and immediately after intervention. RESULTS: After one treatment session, pain was reduced in 91.8% of the cases for the experimental group and 7.9% for the control group. CONCLUSION: Although results showed that Tuina techniques are effectively reducing WRMD in professional orchestra musicians of the north of Portugal, further investigations with stronger measurements, double-blinding designs and bigger simple sizes are needed.

Summer Vacations not Only a Memory for Life, but Also a Rare Infection

Introduction: Rhinoscleroma is a rare, chronic, granulomatous disease that most frequently affects the upper respiratory tract, especially the nasal cavity and sometimes extends through the lower respiratory tract. Is associated with Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis, which is endemic in certain geographic regions namely Central America. The pathogenesis and risk factors remain unclear. Clinical case: We report a five years Old Portuguese boy, previously healthy, brought to the Emergency Department with epistaxis, without other accompanying signs or symptoms. The Otorhinolaryngologist (ORL) performed rhinoscopy and identified an intranasal bleeding mass. The MRI revealed an intranasal mass with extension to the ethmoid bone sinus, and performed biopsy. The histopathology was vital, making the diagnosis of Rhinoscleroma. The child had traveled abroad for the first time on vacations a year before to Dominican Republic. The bacteriologic exam identified a Klebsiella spp. sensible to the association of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. Blood test performed excluded association of immunodeficiency. Since it’s a rare disease genetic study are under course. Monthly evaluation by ORL and pediatrician was performed which documented progressive reduction until total disappearing of the macro and microscopic lesion, and negative bacteriologic exam. Six months of antibiotic therapy were completed without any known secondary effects. The child remained asymptomatic up to the last visit, 3 months following treatment and has shown no evidence of recurrence. Conclusion: Globalization and free transit of people to areas far from origin countries here some rare diseases are endemic brings a new challenge to modern medicine. Sometimes vacations bring more than memories.

Attitudes towards mentally ill in professionals working in Ndera neuropsychiatric hospital in Rwanda

ABSTRACT: This quantitative study investigated the attitudes toward the mentally ill in professionals working in Ndera neuropsychiatric hospital. The research questions explored were centered on the attitudes of directly involved and supportive professionals toward mentally ill clients and also on the difference between the attitudes of directly involved and supportive professionals toward mentally ill clients and demographic variables. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are differences in attitude between direct care providers and supportive professionals toward the mentally ill clients. The Community Attitudes towards Mentally Ill (CAMI) scale (Dear & Taylor, 1982; Taylor, Dear & Hall, 1979; Taylor & Dear, 1981) was used. A total of 72 members of the staff, including 55 directly involved staff and 17 supportive staff members, participated in the survey. A summary interpretation of the main findings in this thesis reinforces the assumption that negative attitudes towards people with mental illness received in Ndera neuropsychiatric hospital are in existence, even though the majority have favorable attitudes towards the mentally ill. This suggests that persons with mental illness may encounter stigmatizing attitudes from mental health professionals. This study represents one of the first to explore professionals’ attitudes towards the mentally ill. It is hoped that this work will highlight the need to explore the influence of attitudes in the delivery of high quality healthcare. The provider–patient relationship is at the heart of effective treatment and the detrimental impact of prejudicial judgments on this relationship should not be ignored. This study also demonstrates that professionals with different roles report different attitudes and this suggest that they would behave differently towards patients with mental illness. The directly involved professionals have been found to have more positive attitudes than the supportive professional and this seems to show that as individuals improve their ability to interact with persons with mental illness, they become more tolerant. The present study demonstrates that the sociodemographic variables tested have no impact on the attitudes of the professionals working in Ndera neuropsychiatric hospital. The extent of mental health training (as part of general health training) and duration of experience of working in mental health settings did not influence attitudes. Finally, this study demonstrates that there is no correlation between the attitudes towards mentally ill patients and their inclusion in the process of decision-making.

Correlation between the mechanical cycling behavior and microstructure in laser welded joints using NiTi memory shape alloys

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia de Materiais

BEHAVIORAL AND MEMORY CHANGES IN Mus musculus COINFECTED BY Toxocara canis AND Toxoplasma gondii

Several researchers have stated that parasites can alter the behavior of their hosts, in order to increase the transmission rate, principally when prey-predator relationships are a reliable way of infection transmission. The aim of this study was to verify the occurrence of changes in anxiety and short-term memory patterns in experimentally infected Mus musculus by Toxocara canis and/or Toxoplasma gondii. Forty male Mus musculus (Balb/c) eight-week-old were divided into four groups of 10 mice each. One group was infected with 300 eggs of Toxocara canis; a second group was submitted to infection with 10 cysts of Toxoplasma gondii; a third group was concomitantly infected with both parasites with the same inoculums and the last group was maintained without infection. The anxiety levels were evaluated using an elevated plus maze and an actometer; the short-term memory was determined by a two-way active avoidance equipment. The determination of anxiety levels were conducted 40 and 70 days after infection and the short-term memory was evaluated 140 days after infection. Mice chronically infected by Toxoplasma gondii showed impaired learning and short-term memory, but no significant differences were found in mice infected by Toxocara canis or concomitantly infected by Toxocara canis and Toxoplasma gondii when compared to non infected mice.

A modular distributed transactional memory framework

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

Intravenous Busulfan for Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation in Adult Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: a Survey of 952 Patients on Behalf of the Acute Leukemia Working Party of the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Oral busulfan is the historical backbone of the busulfan+cyclophosphamide regimen for autologous stem cell transplantation. However intravenous busulfan has more predictable pharmacokinetics and less toxicity than oral busulfan; we, therefore, retrospectively analyzed data from 952 patients with acute myeloid leukemia who received intravenous busulfan for autologous stem cell transplantation. Most patients were male (n=531, 56%), and the median age at transplantation was 50.5 years. Two-year overall survival, leukemia-free survival, and relapse incidence were 67±2%, 53±2%, and 40±2%, respectively. The non-relapse mortality rate at 2 years was 7±1%. Five patients died from veno-occlusive disease. Overall leukemia-free survival and relapse incidence at 2 years did not differ significantly between the 815 patients transplanted in first complete remission (52±2% and 40±2%, respectively) and the 137 patients transplanted in second complete remission (58±5% and 35±5%, respectively). Cytogenetic risk classification and age were significant prognostic factors: the 2-year leukemia-free survival was 63±4% in patients with good risk cytogenetics, 52±3% in those with intermediate risk cytogenetics, and 37 ± 10% in those with poor risk cytogenetics (P=0.01); patients ≤50 years old had better overall survival (77±2% versus 56±3%; P<0.001), leukemia-free survival (61±3% versus 45±3%; P<0.001), relapse incidence (35±2% versus 45±3%; P<0.005), and non-relapse mortality (4±1% versus 10±2%; P<0.001) than older patients. The combination of intravenous busulfan and high-dose melphalan was associated with the best overall survival (75±4%). Our results suggest that the use of intravenous busulfan simplifies the autograft procedure and confirm the usefulness of autologous stem cell transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia. As in allogeneic transplantation, veno-occlusive disease is an uncommon complication after an autograft using intravenous busulfan.

What do people do at work when they are not working?

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

What do people do at work when they're not working?

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

What do people do at work when they are not working?

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Management from the NOVA – School of Business and Economics

Partial replication in distributed software transactional memory

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

International News Reporting in the Multidimensional Network: The socio-demographics, professional culture and newswork of foreign correspondents working across Sub-Saharan Africa

Tese apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Media Digitais

Effect of surfactant on PDLC films with and without permanent memory effect

Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre em Engenharia Química e Bioquímica

Study on the valorization routes of ashes from thermoelectric power plants working under mono-and co-combustion regimes

Thesis submitted to obtain the Doctoral degree in Energy and Bioenergy