Os agentes funerários e a morte: o cuidado presente diante da vida ausente

The present time is marked by the art of escape from death, which has become synonymous with failure, its exposure has become intolerable and the care of the dead body were assigned to third parties who market this practice through services and products that shape the market undertaker. In this context, in which death is an object of study, has arisen funeral officers, as professionals dealing with a dead body, with the pain of relatives and their reactions, often being the first to have contact with the death scene. As professionals in the health area, the morticians also deal with death. The first attempt to prevent the arrival of death, funeral officers already has begun their work routine from there. Death and its surrounding part of their profession. What about those professionals whose work demands as a feared and denied by society? This study aims to understand the intents, meanings and implications for the mortician to deal with death in their daily work in order to focus renewed attention to the care of these professionals. To this end, it was carried out a qualitative research grounded in the theoretical framework of Gadamerian hermeneutics for production and interpretation of narratives. It was used two methodological strategies for data collection: in-depth interview with script and workshop with the use of "scenes". Research participants were nine morticians funeral of two funeral agencies of the city of Natal. It was possible to detect the presence of the social imaginary of interdiction on the theme of death from living with feelings of his presence daily, from the need of respondents to naturalize their contacts with death, a requirement of their office to deal with the difficulties of manipulating body fluids and odors, sometimes in a state of decomposition; allied to wishes to achieve the goal of delivering to family-customers a "embellished" body for the final farewell. Being a mortician, in addition to not being a professional motivation, involves facing difficulties related to heavy routine work, low salaries, unprofitable work materials and equipments, besides having to deal with the social gaze that devalues the profession. In turn, they also deal with the pain coming especially from contact with family members, either when they are targets of these feelings of anger, whether they identify with the pain of the bereaved ones. On the other hand, when the recognition and gratitude of the families occur, they find meaning and beauty in their profession of caring for the dead body. The present study by giving voice to morticians has become possible to understand better their profession, the pain that surrounds and care needs of these workers. Finally, it has argued that the mortician may be recognized as a care professional for the way exercising caution with the dead body and their families.

Desenvolvendo e gerenciando compostagem de resíduos sólidos urbanos: para geração de renda e repasse de tecnologia à acrevi

Nowadays, as well as in the past decades, the dumping of biodegradable organic waste in landfill is common practice in Brazil, as well as in most parts of the world. Nevertheless due to its rapid decomposition and release of odors, this practice hamper’s the operation and implementation of a recycling system. These facts encouraged our research to find an efficient system for the management of organic waste, not only for the use of official workers responsible for managing these wastes, but also for non-governmental institutions. The Recycling for Life Community Association – ACREVI (Associação Comunitária Reciclando para a Vida), together with the municipal authorities of Mossoró-RN, Brazil, have assumed the social role of collecting and recycling solid waste produced by most of the local population. However, it was observed that the organic waste it collected was not receiving any treatment. This present work aims to make compost with mixed waste (green waste and organic household), and then do chemical analysis of the material in view to use the waste as organic fertilizer. The objective being: to share the knowledge acquired by putting it into a very simple language accessible to people with little education. The experiment was conducted at ACREVI, Mossoró (RN), and the compost was obtained following the method "windrow", forming three cells (I, II, III) with conical shape, dimensions of 1.6 meters and 2.0 meters in diameter for cells I and II, and 1.0 meters high and 2.0 meters in diameter for cell III. The process was accompanied by analysis: CHN elemental, a variation of cell temperature, humidity, pH, TKN, bulk density, nutrients and heavy metals. Stabilized organic compounds reached the C/N ratio of 10.4/1 cell I and 10.4/1 in the cell II in the cell, showing how good soil conditions, with potential to improve the physical properties of any soil and pH acid soils, has presented the cell III at the end of the process the C/N 26/1, is a high ratio may be associated with the stack size III, thus changing the optimal conditions for the occurrence of the process. The levels of heavy metals in the analyzed compounds were lower than those established by the SDA normative instruction, Nº 27, of 5 June, 2006. The use of pruning trees and grass are used in small-scale composting, while generating a quality compost in the final process, it also created an important condition for a correct sizing of the composting piles. Under the studied conditions it is not advisable to use cells with a height of 1.00 m in height and 2.00 m in diameter, as these do not prevent the rapid dissipation of heat and thus can not be a good product at the end of composting. The composting process in the shed of the association and the preparation of the primer enabled the development of an alternative technology to generate income for members of ACREVI.

Female preferences based on male nutritional chemical traits

Selection favors females that attend to reliable information about male genetic quality and fitness. Male nutritional condition can be a significant sign of mate quality since poor nutrition can be related to reduced sperm quality, low sperm quantity, sexually transmitted diseases, and parasites. We tested whether female Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, preferred the chemical cues of males that were well fed with high-protein diet over those fed with low-protein diet. Females do not only discriminate between males but also show a preference for well-fed males, discriminating between the odors with respect to nutritional state, suggesting that they were responding to a food-specific chemical cue. It is therefore likely that nutritional condition is related to the production of pheromones in males. Our results suggest that information about male nutritional state can be conveyed in chemical cues and that females attend to these cues during mate choice.

Use of Fruit Essential Oils to Assist Forest Regeneration by Bats

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Estudo da aplicação do processo foto-Fenton solar na degradação de efluentes de indústria de tintas

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

THE EFFECT OF RECENT DIET ON PREY ODOR DISCRIMINATION BY JUVENILE TEGU LIZARD, TUPINAMBIS-TEGUIXIN (SAURIA, TEIIDAE)

Teiid lizards are intesive foragers supposed to rely lagerly on chemoreception for prey detection, an ability that can be modified by previous feeding experiences. We investigated the ability of juvenile lizards, Tupinambis teguixin, in discriminate prey from non-prey odors as well as the effects of recent diet on these ability. Tegu lizards were able to discriminate prey odors and this ability probably is inate. The effect of recent diet was analysed through optimal foraging models and our results does not support in a broad sense the predictions made by theoretical models.

Is the number of antennal plate organs (sensilla placodea) greater in hygienic than in non-hygienic Africanized honey bees?

Hygienic behavior is a desirable trait in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.), as hygienic bees quickly remove diseased brood, intermpting the infectious cycle. Hygienic lines of honey bees appear to be more sensitive to the odors of dead and diseased honey bee brood, and Africanized honey bees are generally more hygienic than are European honey bees. We compared the number of sensilla placodea, antennal sensory structures involved in the perception of odor, in 10 bees from each of six hygienic and four non-hygienic colonies of Africanized honey bees. The sensilla placodea of three of the terminal segments (flagellomeres) of the right antenna of each bee were counted with a scanning electron microscope. There were no significant differences in the mean numbers of sensilla placodea between the hygienic and non-hygienic bees, though the variance was higher in the hygienic group. Flagellomere 4 had significantly more sensilla placodea than flagellomeres 6 and 8. However, there was no significant difference between the other two flagellomeres. As hygienic bees are capable of identifying dead, injured, or infested brood inside a capped brood cell, sensilla placodea probably have an important role in enabling worker bees to sense sick brood. However, we did not find greater numbers of this sensory structure in the antennae of hygienic, compared to non-hygienic Africanized honey bees.

Cuticular Hydrocarbons of Heterotermes tenuis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae): Analyses and Electrophysiological Studies

Termites have become an important pest of Eucalyptus and Pinus reforestations, sugarcane and other cultures. An alternative for the control of this pest would be the use of attractive traps that take in account the social behavior of these insects. Diverse factors are important for the insects in the localization of the habitat and the choice of the food and specific odors can facilitate this. Studies referring to Heterotermes tenuis (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) are scarce. The objective of this work was to analyze the tergal cuticular extract of H. tenuis and determine the selectivity and sensitivity of its antennae to the components of this extract by electroantennography (EAG). The composition of the cuticular extract was determined by GC-MS analysis. The hydrocarbons found were restricted to linear alkanes, being most abundant C24 to C27 that comprises ca. 65% of the total. Olefins were not detected. EAG and behavioral test responses to the cuticular hydrocarbons were greater and significantly different from the control and the high selectivity of the antennae to the extract indicates its potential as chemical messenger. Cuticular hydrocarbons mixture is species-specific and can be used to identify a given taxon without the diagnostic castes, soldiers or imagoes. Difference in the composition appears to relate with the type of habitat of specie.

Polishing of water treated by a biological process with heterogeneous photocatalysis

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

Wine aroma improvement using a β-glucosidase preparation from aureobasidium pullulans

Microbial β-glucosidases have been used for the enhancement of wine aroma. Nevertheless, few enzymes are active in the conditions of winemaking. In this work, the production of a β-glucosidase by an Aureobasidium pullulans strain (Ap-β-gl) isolated from grape ecosystems was evaluated. The maximum enzymatic synthesis using submerged fermentation was after 96 h of growth in complex media containing 20 g/L of cellobiose as the sole carbon source. The crude enzyme (Ap-β-gl) showed optimal pH at 5.5 and two peaks of optimum temperature (at 45 and 70 C). It showed a wide range of pH stability, stability at low temperatures, and tolerance to ethanol, showing suitable characteristics for winemaking conditions. The hydrolysis of glycosidic terpenes by Ap-β-gl was studied, and its ability to efficiently release free terpenols was demonstrated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The enzymatic treatment notably increased the amount of monoterpenes, showing good prospects for its potential application for the development of aroma in wines. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Avaliação bacteriológica de águas minerais sem gás e gaseificadas artificialmente comercializadas em garrafs individuais

Pós-graduação em Alimentos e Nutrição - FCFAR

Estudo das alterações neuropatológicas e do comportamento em tarefas hipocampo-dependentes induzidas pela encefalite experimental aguda associada ao vírus piry

Este trabalho investiga as alterações neuropatológicas e do comportamento em tarefas hipocampo-dependentes induzidas pela encefalite experimental aguda associada ao vírus Piry. Três janelas temporais (3, 7 e 10 dias após a inoculação) foram avaliadas e dois ambientes testados de forma a avaliar se o enriquecimento ambiental influencia as alterações associadas à infecção. Camundongos fêmeas de dois meses de idade foram mantidos em ambientes empobrecido (IE) ou enriquecido (EE) durante seis meses e foram testados para as atividades de burrowing, de campo aberto e de discriminação olfatória. Após esse período os animais foram inoculados por via intranasal com 5μl de homogenado de cérebro normal (NBH) ou homogenado de cérebro infectado pelo vírus Piry (PY) e então reorganizados nos seguintes grupos: IENBH, IEPY, EENBH e EEPY, com sete animais cada. Três, sete e dez dias após a inoculação (dpi), os animais de cada janela temporal foram perfundidos com fixador aldeídico. Os encéfalos foram removidos, seccionados e as secções foram processadas para imunohistoquímica para anti-Piry e para anti-Iba-1 para marcação dos antígenos virais e de macrófagos/micróglias, respectivamente. Quantificações estereológicas foram feitas em cada camada celular de CA3 usando o método do fracionador óptico. Estimativas do fracionador óptico mostraram que não houve alteração da estimativa do número total de micróglias em CA3 nos grupos analisados, indicando que a infecção não alterou o número de células, mas a morfologia das micróglias, que se mostraram mais ativadas no grupo IEPY do que no grupo EEPY. Os resultados revelaram a presença de antígenos virais no bulbo olfatório, córtex piriforme, estriado e fimbria, ao longo da via olfatória. A atividade de burrowing no grupo IEPY diminuiu na primeira janela temporal e permaneceu baixa até a última janela, enquanto que no grupo EEPY não houve alteração neste teste. Na atividade de campo aberto, o grupo IEPY aumentou o tempo imóvel já na primeira janela e continuou aumentando até a última; reduziu o número de linhas cruzadas na segunda janela e permaneceu reduzido na última; e diminuiu o tempo na zona central na segunda e última janela. Já o grupo EEPY, aumentou o tempo imóvel e reduziu o número de linhas cruzadas na segunda janela. No teste de discriminação olfatória, o principal grupo afetado foi o grupo IEPY, que não discriminou os dois odores na última janela, enquanto que o grupo EEPY não teve alteração na discriminação.

Mapeamento de regiões de ativação cerebral durante tarefas deglutórias por imagens de ressonância magnética funcional

INTRODUÇÃO: A deglutição é um processo fisiológico complexo que acontece por uma sequência motora automática, regulada por um complicado mecanismo neuromotor e neuromuscular que é iniciado de maneira consciente e é resultado da integridade anatômica e funcional de diversas estruturas faciais. É de extrema importância para a nutrição do organismo como um todo. Um dos maiores desafios no campo das ciências é identificar os substratos neurais de comportamentos fisiológicos, incluindo esse processo de deglutição. O desenvolvimento da tecnologia em neuroimagem funcional nos últimos anos está provocando um rápido avanço no conhecimento de funções cerebrais, o que resultou numa explosão de novos achados em neurociência. OBJETIVO: Mapear as regiões de ativação cerebral durante o fenômeno da deglutição por meio do exame de ressonância magnética funcional. MÉTODO: Participaram do estudo quatro indivíduos do sexo feminino, com idade entre 18 e 30 anos, sem alterações neurológicas, estruturais e alimentares. Após a aprovação da Instituição (Clínica Lobo), do Comité de Ética e Pesquisa do Instituto de Ciências da Saúde (ICS) e a aprovação escrita de cada paciente através do termo de consentimento livre e esclarecido, foram submetidos a quatro provas deglutórias, utilizando a técnica de ressonância magnética funcional. RESULTADOS: Foi possível a determinação da ativação dos hemisférios cerebrais e cerebelares e as especificas áreas que os compõem. Mesmo com uma amostragem pequena, os resultados das análises individuais mostraram padrões de acordo com a literatura, conjuntamente com dados novos. DISCUSSÃO: O cerebelo é responsável pela coordenação da ação motora e manutenção da harmonia dos movimentos, posição e equilíbrio do bolo alimentar; o bolbo raquidiano juntamente com o tronco cerebral constitui o centro de atividades reflexas que controla funções ou respostas orgânicas automáticas como a deglutição; o mesencéfalo é a parte do encéfalo que coordena a informação visual; o tálamo encaminha quase todo o tipo de informação sensorial para as zonas específicas do córtex cerebral; o hipotálamo, importante na experimentação das sensações de prazer, regula as funções homeostáticas do corpo, gustação, olfação, salivação, interagindo com o sistema nervoso autônomo e o sistema límbico está ligado ao controle e direção das reações emocionais, sob a ação da amígdala, no processamento de odores e no armazenamento de conteúdos da memória, aqui através do hipocampo. CONCLUSÃO: O ato de deglutir é um processo complexo, ativando muitas áreas cerebrais, dentre elas podemos destacar a gustativa, mental/visual e a olfativa e que é iniciado muito antes dos processos mecânicos envolvidos, conforme demonstrado pelas áreas corticais e subcorticais ativadas. A área olfativa foi a mais notadamente destacada nas imagens colhidas pela Rmf.

Assessing the effectiveness of 30% sodium chloride aqueous solution for the preservation of fixed anatomical specimens: a 5-year follow-up study

Anatomical specimens used in human or veterinary anatomy laboratories are usually prepared with formaldehyde (a cancerous and teratogenic substance), glycerin (an expensive and viscous fluid), or ethanol (which is flammable). This research aimed to verify the viability of an aqueous 30% sodium chloride solution for preservation of anatomical specimens previously fixed with formaldehyde. Anatomical specimens of ruminant, carnivorous, equine, swine and birds were used. All were previously fixed with an aqueous 20% formaldehyde solution and held for 7days in a 10% aqueous solution of the same active ingredient. During the first phase of the experiment, small specimens of animal tissue previously fixed in formaldehyde were distributed in vials with different concentrations of formaldehyde, with or without 30% sodium chloride solution, a group containing only 30% sodium chloride, and a control group containing only water. During this phase, no contamination was observed in any specimen containing 30% sodium chloride solution, whether alone or in combination with different concentrations of formaldehyde. In the second phase of the experiment, the 30% sodium chloride solution, found to be optimal in the first phase of the experiment, was tested for its long-term preservation properties. For a period of 5years, the preserved specimens were evaluated three times a week for visual contamination, odors, and changes in color and texture. There was no visual contamination or decay found in any specimen. Furthermore, no strange odors, or changes in color or softness were noted. The 30% sodium chloride solution was determined to be effective in the preservation of anatomic specimens previously fixed in formaldehyde.

Comportamento de oviposição em Chrysomya megacephala (F.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae): distinção quantitativa frente a posturas prévias?

Chrysomya megacephala (Fabricius), has considerable medical, veterinary and forensic importance. In insects in general, the ability to track the food substrate is due to highly sensitive organs adapted for detecting odors, particularly in the case of blowflies, which is one of carcass main consumers. Eggs of blowflies are usually aggregated in function of the behavior of other pheromone mediated by females laying eggs in place on the same substrate. One of the main reasons for studying oviposition behavior is because it may indirectly affect individual qualification, population dynamics and community structure. It has been suggested that female blowflies can evaluate the number of eggs on a substrate, decreasing the size of oviposition in very saturated substrates with larvae or eggs leading to a lower intraspecific competition. The present study investigated the oviposition behavior of females of C. megacephala, and wished to consider whether they are able to distinguish quantitatively (size of the mass) eggs previously put into a place of posture and hence indicate whether there is a limit beneficial (to avoid competition among larvae) for its oviposition on the same substrate or if that place would already be saturated, requiring find another substrate without eggs or less for futures ovipositions. With 20 females and five males, five treatments were applied, repeated ten times and analyzed using the Mann-Whitney test. Each treatment consists in placing, inside the cage, a flask with 50g of ground beef and another one in the other side, with the same amount of substrate with a certain amount of prior oviposition for a period of 5 hours. The masses prior eggs were used 0.03 g, 0.05 g, 0.1 g, 0.2 g and 0.3 g (respectively, T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5). The other part of the work consisted in the use of a “Y” olfactometer, a device used to determine the choice of an invertebrate against... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)