Exposição ocupacional a compostos orgânicos voláteis na indústria naval

The scope of this study involved the evaluation of the concentration of some volatile organic compounds in the internal environmental air of a naval shipyard in the State of Rio de Janeiro, during painting activities in enclosed, semi-enclosed and open areas. Xylene was the volatile compound found in greatest abundance (25.20 to 191.66 ppm) in the locations researched. Benzene in the air, which is a carcinogenic substance, attained levels of 3.34 ppm in semi-enclosed environments and the highest levels of toluene, xylene and n-butanol were found in the enclosed space of the ship. Results obtained highlight the need to establish air quality control programs in these internal areas, in order to safeguard the health of the workers.

Utilização de índices r e R obtidos de programas interlaboratoriais para o controle de precisão de método analítico: Determinação de água por Karl Fischer

Values of repeatability (r) and reproducibility (R) are parameters of an analytical method. They are related to the maximum difference between two results of analysis (permissible range) and can be obtained by interlaboratorial comparisons. They represent great importance for the quality control of the results and decisions about the fitness-for-purpose of the method. Water determination in fuel oil samples were performed by 16 laboratories, using the Karl Fischer reaction, during the period from June 1997 to December 1999. Values of r and R were presented. Discussion is made in terms of the main factors that would be contribution to analytical method variabilities and uncertainties of final results.

Síntese eletroquímica do ion ferrato(VI)

The optimization of ferrate(VI) ion generation has been studied due to its favorable characteristics for application in several fields, including environmental quality control. The paper presents the best conditions for electrolytic generation of ferrate(VI) in alkaline media. An appropriate electrolyte was NaOH, 10 mol/L. Circulation of the electrolyte solution was important to avoid acidification close to the anode surface. An anode pre-cleaning with 10% HCl was more efficient than a cathodic pre-polarization. Among the distinct anode materials tested, pig iron showed the best performance, allowing up to 20 g/L of Na2FeO4, in 10 mol/L NaOH solution to be obtained, after 7 h of reactor operation, which is a concentration higher than those found in literature for alternative processes.

Implantació d’un manual de gestió en una indústria de llescats

Estudi sobre la implantació d’un manual de gestió en una indústria dellescats, realitzat a l’empresa Serra&Mota de la Cellera de Ter (consta d’un sistema APPCC i un manual de qualitat)

Determinação de corantes artificiais por cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência (CLAE) em pó para gelatina

Synthetic dyes were determined by high performance liquid chromatography in 76 samples of regular jelly and diet jelly powders, of several flavors produced by seven different manufacturers. Three sample of each product, from different batches, were analyzed. The same qualitative composition was observed for products of the same flavor from different manufacturers, but the quantitative composition varied markedly from one manufacturer to the other. There were no or few significant differences between batches from a given manufacturer, demonstrating good quality control in the use of these additives by the food industry. None of the samples exceeded the limit stipulated by Brazilian legislation.

Análise química de sais de cobre fabricados entre 1877 e 1995

Samples of copper compounds covering all of the XXth century and the end of the XIXth century were submitted to classical and instrumental quantitative analysis. The amount of impurities greatly decreased with time, reaching a constant level since the 1960's. The gravimetric method was suitable for the determination of copper although other procedures also gave good or reasonable results. However, for metal contaminants, atomic absorption spectrometry was the best choice because of its lower detection limits, being able to determine several elements in the oldest samples. Ion chromatography detected several anions in copper salts manufactured before the 1950's. An increasing quality of raw materials and a better sensitivity of analytical methods led to quality improvement of copper compounds with time.

Validação em métodos cromatográficos e eletroforéticos

The validation of an analytical method is fundamental to implementing a quality control system in any analytical laboratory. As the separation techniques, GC, HPLC and CE, are often the principal tools used in such determinations, procedure validation is a necessity. The objective of this review is to describe the main aspects of validation in chromatographic and electrophoretic analysis, showing, in a general way, the similarities and differences between the guidelines established by the different Brazilian and international regulatory agencies.

Voltametria de onda quadrada. Segunda parte: aplicações

The aim of this work is to discuss some selected applications of square wave voltammetry published in the last five years. The applications focused here cover several electroanalytical fields such as: determination of pesticides; molecules with biological activity; metals and other environmental pollutants. Special attention is given to the work developed in the Grupo de Materiais Eletroquímicos e Métodos Eletroanalíticos - IQSC - USP concerning the utilization of square wave voltammetry, with different kinds of electrodes, for the determination of pesticides in natural waters and active principles in pharmaceutical formulations. The new methodology is simple, fast and sensitive when compared with the traditional ones such as chromatography and spectrophotometry. The satisfactory results obtained provide alternative procedures for the quality control of drugs and the monitoring of pesticides in natural environments.

Cooking and Active Leisure TAS Program, Spain: A Program Impact Pathways (PIP) analysis

Background. The “Cooking and Active Leisure” Tu y Alícia por la Salud (CAL-TAS) Program is a schoolbased pilot that addresses healthy lifestyle needs of Spanish secondary school students with initiatives that research has proven to improve dietary and physical activity behaviors. Objective. The objectives were to perform a Program Impact Pathways (PIP) analysis to describe key activities and processes of the CAL-TAS Program, identify Critical Quality Control Points (CCPs), and identify a suite of common indicators of healthy lifestyles to be applied across participant schools. Methods. The CAL-TAS Program designers and implementation team developed this PIP analysis through an iterative process and presented the results for feedback at the seven-country Healthy Lifestyles Program Evaluation Workshop held in Granada, Spain, 13–14 September 2013, under the auspices of the Mondelēz International Foundation. Results. The team identified three PIP CCPs: teachers’ motivation and training, changes in students’ knowledge of healthy lifestyles, and changes in students’ healthy lifestyle behavior. The selected indicators of the program’s impact on healthy lifestyles are adequacy of food intake, level of knowledge of healthy lifestyles gained, and adequacy of physical activity level according to World Health Organization recommendations. A clear definition of impact indicators, as well as collection of accurate data on healthy lifestyle behaviors and knowledge, is essential to understanding the effectiveness of this program before it can be scaled up. Conclusions. CAL-TAS is an effective secondary school-based program encouraging healthy lifestyles. The PIP analysis was instrumental in identifying CCPs to sustain and improve the quality of the program. The team hopes to sustain and improve the program through these program evaluation recommendations.

Teste de TBA aplicado a carnes e derivados: métodos tradicionais, modificados e alternativos

The TBA test is essential to quality control of fat-containing food, being the test most applied to evaluate lipid peroxidation in fishery, meat and poultry products. It estimates malonaldehyde, a secondary oxidation product, by reacting with 2-thiobarbituric acid, forming a coloured complex, measured spectrophotometrically atlambda = 532 nm. Results are expressed as mg malonaldehyde per kg sample or frequently as "TBA value". There are four ways of quantifying it: by lipid extraction, direct heating, distillation or heat-acid extraction. This review intends to point out traditional, modified and alternative TBA test methods, besides enumerating advantages and drawbacks of each one.

Resultados de la implantación de la norma ISO 9000 y el modelo EFQM: conclusiones de un estudio tipo Delphi

Desde el ámbito académico el auge de la Gestión de la Calidad (GC) ha sido analizadoextensamente a través de numerosos estudios de carácter empírico. Una parte importante de estos estudios han tratado de analizar cuáles han sido los principales efectos de laimplantación de estos modelos sobre los resultados o el desempeño (performance) empresarial. Hay que señalar que la mayor parte de dichos estudios son de tipo cuantitativo, basados en la utilización de encuestas dirigidas a los directivos de las empresas que han participado en el proceso de implantación. Ahora bien, el análisis de los efectos de la GC realizado de esta forma, cuenta, a nuestro entender, con una posible debilidad y distorsión metodológica al tomar sólo como base las opiniones de los directivos de las empresas involucradas en el proceso de implantación sobre los efectos del propio proceso y los resultados pueden tener cierto sesgo, tal y como ha sido subrayado por diversos investigadores (ver, por ejemplo, Wayhan et al, 2002 y Heras et al, 2002). Por estos motivos, en el estudio que aquí presentamos hemos considerado necesario utilizar una metodología que tenga en cuenta la opinión de expertos de diversa índole que tienen distintas funciones en la implantación de modelos de GC, de forma que se pueda obtener una información de interés para contrastarla y triangularizarla con la obtenida en estudios empíricos previos llevados a cabo con la metodología tradicional

La ISO 9000: ¿Seguirá siendo válida en la nueva era de la gestión de la calidad?

Si bien la gestión de la Calidad siempre ha estado presente en nuestro entorno, no es hasta la aparición de la famosa normativa ISO 9000 que su impacto se ha incluso popularizado, tanto a escala nacional como internacional. En la actualidad, cuando las empresas y organizaciones de nuestro país se plantean nuevos retos (modelos de gestión de la calidad total como el EFQM, nuevos estándares de gestión como la ISO 14000, estándares de soporte como la ISO 10000, …), en este artículo nos preguntamos si la ISO 9000 seguirá siendo válida en esta nueva era

Calidad de onda en el servicio eléctrico: causas y efectos de las perturbaciones que afectan la calidad de la electricidad

La qualitat d'ona en el servei elèctric

Monitorización y diagnostico de la calidad de onda : estrategias para la identificación y localización de faltas en sistemas de distribución eléctrica

Control de la qualitat de la Xarxa elèctrixa

Stability-indicating methods for quantitative determination of zidovudine and stavudine in capsules

Zidovudine (AZT) and stavudine (D4T) are nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors extensively used in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients. In order to evaluate the quality of these drugs, two stability indicating HPLC methods were developed. The validated methods were applied in quantitative determination of AZT, D4T and their induced degradation products in capsule preparations. The stability studies were conducted at controlled temperature and relative humidity conditions based on the International Conference on Harmonization stability studies protocol for Zone IV areas. Easy sample preparation and low-cost make these methods especially useful for quality control and stability studies of AZT and D4T in drug products.