Validation of the Beck Depression Inventory for a Portuguese-speaking Chinese community in Brazil

The objective of the present study was to investigate the psychometric properties and cross-cultural validity of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) among ethnic Chinese living in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The study was conducted on 208 community individuals. Reliability and discriminant analysis were used to test the psychometric properties and validity of the BDI. Principal component analysis was performed to assess the BDI's factor structure for the total sample and by gender. The mean BDI score was lower (6.74, SD = 5.98) than observed in Western counterparts and showed no gender difference, good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.82), and high discrimination of depressive symptoms (75-100%). Factor analysis extracted two factors for the total sample and each gender: cognitive-affective dimension and somatic dimension. We conclude that depressive symptoms can be reliably assessed by the BDI in the Brazilian Chinese population, with a validity comparable to that for international studies. Indeed, cultural and measurement biases might have influenced the response of Chinese subjects.

Validation of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C) in a sample of Brazilian children

The purpose of the present study was to examine the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C), an instrument developed in the United States and applied to a sample of Brazilian schoolchildren. The process included the translation of the original material from English into Portuguese by two bilingual psychiatrists and a back translation by a bilingual physician. Both the front and back translations were revised by a bilingual child psychiatrist. The study was performed using a cross-sectional design and the Portuguese version of the SPAI-C was applied to a sample of 1954 children enrolled in 3rd to 8th grade attending 2 private and 11 public schools. Eighty-one subjects were excluded due to an incomplete questionnaire and 2 children refused to participate. The final sample consisted of 1871 children, 938 girls (50.1%) and 933 boys (49.8%), ranging in age from 9 to 14 years. The majority of the students were Caucasian (89.0%) and the remainder were African-Brazilian (11.0%). The Pearson product-moment correlation showed that the two-week test-retest reliability coefficient was r = 0.780 and Cronbach's alpha was 0.946. The factor structure was almost similar to that reported in previous studies. The results regarding the internal consistency, the test-retest reliability and the factor structure were similar to the findings obtained in studies performed on English speaking children. The present study showed that the Portuguese language version of SPAI-C is a reliable and valid measure of social anxiety for Brazilian children.

Proteomic inventory of myocardial proteins from patients with chronic Chagas' cardiomyopathy

Chronic Chagas' disease cardiomyopathy (CCC) is an often fatal outcome of Trypanosoma cruzi infection, with a poorer prognosis than other cardiomyopathies. CCC is refractory to heart failure treatments, and is the major indication of heart transplantation in Latin America. A diffuse myocarditis, plus intense myocardial hypertrophy, damage and fibrosis, in the presence of very few T. cruzi forms, are the histopathological hallmarks of CCC. To gain a better understanding of the pathophysiology of CCC, we analyzed the protein profile in the affected CCC myocardium. Homogenates from left ventricular myocardial samples of end-stage CCC hearts explanted during heart transplantation were subjected to two-dimensional electrophoresis with Coomassie blue staining; protein identification was performed by MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry and peptide mass fingerprinting. The identification of selected proteins was confirmed by immunoblotting. We demonstrated that 246 proteins matched in gels from two CCC patients. They corresponded to 112 distinct proteins. Along with structural/contractile and metabolism proteins, we also identified proteins involved in apoptosis (caspase 8, caspase 2), immune system (T cell receptor ß chain, granzyme A, HLA class I) and stress processes (heat shock proteins, superoxide dismutases, and other oxidative stress proteins). Proteins involved in cell signaling and transcriptional factors were also identified. The identification of caspases and oxidative stress proteins suggests the occurrence of active apoptosis and significant oxidative stress in CCC myocardium. These results generated an inventory of myocardial proteins in CCC that should contribute to the generation of hypothesis-driven experiments designed on the basis of the classes of proteins identified here.

Requisites for a successful implementation of an automated inventory replenishment system

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää automaattisten tilausjärjestelmien onnistuneen käyttöönottoon taustalla vaikuttavia tekijöitä vähittäiskaupan toimialalla ja etsiä ratkaisua kyseisten järjestelmien onnistuneeseen käyttöönottoon tässä ympäristössä. Tutkimus analysoi yli sadan kaupan järjestelmän käyttöönottoa ja käyttöönoton tuloksia. Tutkimusta varten haastateltiin niin yhtiön sisältä kuin ulkopuoleltakin mukana olleita hankintajärjestelmän ja jalkautuksen asiantuntijoita. Tämän lisäksi järjestelmän käyttöönottaneisiin kauppoihin lähetettiin kyselyt, joita analysoitiin ryhmissä automaattisen tilausjärjestelmän tietojen pohjalta. Työn tuloksena pystyttiin tunnistamaan tietty joukko taustatekijöitä, jotka tulee ottaa käyttöönotossa huomioon sekä saatuihin tutkimustuloksiin perustuen kehitettiin malli vastaavanlaisten järjestelmien käyttöönotolle vähittäiskaupan alalle.

Study of the physical and physicochemical characteristics of fruits of the licuri palm (Syagrus coronata (Mart.) Becc.) found in the Atlantic Forest of Minas Gerais, Brazil

AbstractThe Atlantic Forest has species of native fruits, consumed fresh and processed, which have an important contribution to food sovereignty of families that consume it. This study examined the physical and physicochemical characteristics, proximate composition, concentration of carotenoids, vitamin C, vitamin E and minerals in the pulp and kernels of fruits of licuri (Syagrus coronata (Mart.) Becc.). Titratable acidity was analyzed by volumetric neutralization, soluble solids by refractometry, proteins by the micro-Kjeldahl method, lipids by gravimetry using soxhlet, dietary fiber by non-enzymatic gravimetry, carotenoids and vitamin C by HPLC-DAD, vitamin E by HPLC-fluorescence, and minerals by ICP-AES. Pulp were a source of Zn (0.95 mg 100–1), a good source of fiber (6.15 g 100–1), excellent source of provitamin A (758.75 RAE 100–1), Cu (0.69 mg 100–1), Fe (3.81 mg 100–1), Mn (3.40 mg 100–1) and Mo (0.06 mg 100–1). The kernel were a source of Fe (3.36 mg 100–1) and excellent source of Mn (6.14 mg 100–1), Cu (0.97 mg 100–1) and Mo (0.07 mg 100–1). The nutritional value and wide availability of licuri fruit make it an important resource for reducing food insecurity and improving nutrition of the rural population and other individuals who have access to it.

Trophic cascades in boreal landscapes: top predator protection on tree seedlings and forest grouse

Changes in the abundance of top predators have brought about notable, cascading effects in ecosystems around the world. In this thesis, I examined several potential trophic cascades in boreal ecosystems, and their separate interspecific interactions. The main aim of the thesis was to investigate whether predators in the boreal forests have direct or indirect cascading effects on the lower trophic levels. First, I compared the browsing effects of different mammalian herbivores by excluding varying combinations of voles, hares and cervids from accessing the seedlings of silver birch (Betula pendula), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies). Additionally, I studied the effect of simulated predation risk on vole browsing by using auditory cues of owls. Moving upwards on the trophic levels, I examined the intraguild interactions between the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), and its mesopredator prey, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the pine marten (Martes martes). To look at an entire potential trophic cascade, I further studied the combined impacts of eagles and mesopredators on the black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) and the hazel grouse (Tetrastes bonasia), predicting that the shared forest grouse prey would benefit from eagle presence. From the tree species studied, birch appears to be the most palatable one for the mammalian herbivores. I observed growth reductions in the presences of cervids and low survival associated with hares and voles, which suggests that they all weaken regeneration in birch stands. Furthermore, the simulated owl predation risk appeared to reduce vole browsing on birches in late summer, although the preferred grass forage is then old and less palatable. Browsing by voles and hares had a negative effect on the condition and survival of Scots pine, but in contrast, the impact of mammalian herbivores on spruce was found to be small, at least when more preferred food is available. I observed that the presence of golden eagles had a negative effect on the abundance of adult black grouse but a positive, protective effect on the proportion of juveniles in both black grouse and hazel grouse. Yet, this positive effect was not dependent on the abundance foxes or martens, nor did eagles seem to effectively decrease the abundance of these mesopredators. Conversely, the protection effect on grouse could arise from fear effects and also be mediated by other mesopredators. The results of this thesis provide important new information about trophic interactions in the boreal food webs. They highlight how different groups of mammalian herbivores vary in their effects on the growth and condition of different tree seedlings. Lowered cervid abundances could improve birch regeneration, which indirectly supports the idea that the key predators of cervids could cause cascading effects also in Fennoscandian forests. Owls seem to reduce vole browsing through an intimidation effect, which is a novel result of the cascading effects of owl vocalisation and could even have applications for protecting birch seedlings. In the third cascade examined in this thesis, I found the golden eagle to have a protective effect on the reproducing forest grouse, but it remains unclear through which smaller predators this effect is mediated. Overall, the results of this thesis further support the idea that there are cascading effects in the forests of Northern Europe, and that they are triggered by both direct and non‐lethal effects of predation.

Utilization of Statistical Methods for Management in the Forest Industry

The strongest wish of the customer concerning chemical pulp features is consistent, uniform quality. Variation may be controlled and reduced by using statistical methods. However, studies addressing the application and benefits of statistical methods in forest product sector are scarce. Thus, the customer wish is the root cause of the motivation behind this dissertation. The research problem addressed by this dissertation is that companies in the chemical forest product sector require new knowledge for improving their utilization of statistical methods. To gain this new knowledge, the research problem is studied from five complementary viewpoints – challenges and success factors, organizational learning, problem solving, economic benefit, and statistical methods as management tools. The five research questions generated on the basis of these viewpoints are answered in four research papers, which are case studies based on empirical data collection. This research as a whole complements the literature dealing with the use of statistical methods in the forest products industry. Practical examples of the application of statistical process control, case-based reasoning, the cross-industry standard process for data mining, and performance measurement methods in the context of chemical forest products manufacturing are brought to the public knowledge of the scientific community. The benefit of the application of these methods is estimated or demonstrated. The purpose of this dissertation is to find pragmatic ideas for companies in the chemical forest product sector in order for them to improve their utilization of statistical methods. The main practical implications of this doctoral dissertation can be summarized in four points: 1. It is beneficial to reduce variation in chemical forest product manufacturing processes 2. Statistical tools can be used to reduce this variation 3. Problem-solving in chemical forest product manufacturing processes can be intensified through the use of statistical methods 4. There are certain success factors and challenges that need to be addressed when implementing statistical methods

Data and Inventory Management in Spare Part Business: Developing Operations in the Case Company

After sales business is an effective way to create profit and increase customer satisfaction in manufacturing companies. Despite this, some special business characteristics that are linked to these functions, make it exceptionally challenging in its own way. This Master’s Thesis examines the current situation of the data and inventory management in the case company regarding possibilities and challenges related to the consolidation of current business operations. The research examines process steps, procedures, data requirements, data mining practices and data storage management of spare part sales process, whereas the part focusing on inventory management is reviewing the current stock value and examining current practices and operational principles. There are two global after sales units which supply spare parts and issues reviewed in this study are examined from both units’ perspective. The analysis is focused on the operations of that unit where functions would be centralized by default, if change decisions are carried out. It was discovered that both data and inventory management include clear shortcomings, which result from lack of internal instructions and established processes as well as lack of cooperation with other stakeholders related to product’s lifecycle. The main product of data management was a guideline for consolidating the functions, tailored for the company’s needs. Additionally, potentially scrapped spare part were listed and a proposal of inventory management instructions was drafted. If the suggested spare part materials will be scrapped, stock value will decrease 46 percent. A guideline which was reviewed and commented in this thesis was chosen as the basis of the inventory management instructions.