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O estudo teve com objetivo caracterizar o processo de inserção nos Centros de Material e Esterilização - CME, de trabalhadores que não possuem formação específica na área de enfermagem. Fizeram parte do estudo 75 trabalhadores de dois hospitais públicos. Após observação dos aspectos éticos legais, os dados foram obtidos por meio de questionário previamente validado e testado. Foram encontrados 15 trabalhadores sem formação específica, provenientes de serviços diversos intra e extra hospitalar, os quais não foram submetidos a processos de seleção ou treinamentos, tendo aprendido a rotina do serviço com colegas de trabalho. Tais aspectos são preocupantes, considerando-se o risco ocupacional do trabalhador, o comprometimento da qualidade do reprocessamento de artigos hospitalares e o cumprimento da legislação do exercício profissional.Para este estudio se tuvo como objetivo caracterizar el proceso de inserción en los Centros de Material y Esterilización - CME, de trabajadores que no poseen formación específica en el área de enfermería. Hicieron parte del estudio 75 trabajadores de dos hospitales públicos. Después de la observación de los aspectos éticos legales, los datos fueron obtenidos por medio de un cuestionario previamente validado e testado. Fueron encontrados 15 trabajadores sin formación específica, provenientes de servicios diversos intra y extra-hospitalarios, los cuales no fueron sometidos a procesos de selección o entrenamientos, habiendo aprendido la rutina del servicio con colegas del trabajo. Tales aspectos son preocupantes, considerándose el riesgo ocupacional del trabajador, el compromiso de la calidad del reprocesamiento de artículos hospitalarios y el cumplimiento de la legislación del ejercicio profesional.The object of this study was to characterize the process of insertion in the Centros de Material e Esterilização - Center of Material and Sterilization - (CME) of workers who have no specific formation in the area of Nursing. Seventyfive workers of two public hospitals took part in the study. After the observation of the legal ethical aspects, data was obtained through a questionnaire previously validated and tested. The study found 15 workers without specific formation, who came from different intra- and extra-hospital services. They had not been submitted to selection processes nor to training, and had learned the work routine with co-workers. This is worrisome, considering the worker's occupational risk, the risks this situation represents for the quality of the reprocessing of hospital items and the conformity to the legislation that governs professional practice.

Although popular management wisdom has suggested that telecommuting enhances job satisfaction, research has found both positive and negative relationships. In this study, the authors attempt to resolve these inconsistent findings by hypothesizing a curvilinear, inverted U-shaped relationship between the extent of telecommuting and job satisfaction. Using hierarchical regression analysis on a sample of 321 professional-level employees, their findings suggest a curvilinear link between extent of telecommuting and job satisfaction, with satisfaction appearing to plateau at more extensive levels of telecommuting. In addition, task interdependence and job discretion moderated this link, suggesting that some job attributes play an important, contingent role.

Extending Hambrick's (1994) concept of behavioral integration, a meta-construct of top management team process, we theorized on the extent to which CEO-, team-, and firm-level determinants shape be...

Despite the fact that many organizations have implemented family-friendly programs to meet the needs of today's diverse workforce, employees have been reluctant to use them. Drawing on the theories of planned behavior, help-seeking, and distributive justice, we propose a framework that focuses initially on the more proximal factors that influence an employee's likelihood of participating in such programs. We then examine the role of organization-based situational characteristics in shaping both personal and normative assessments and describe the implications of our framework for researchers and practitioners.

Although research has uncovered important predictors of managerial career success, the causal relationships between these predictors has not been fully explored. Accordingly, we propose and test a model that establishes a link between individual differences, salient career‐related beliefs, career enhancing outcomes and managerial career success. Using path analysis, we found that education and career impatience directly affected willingness to relocate and perceived marketability, which in turn led to more promotions offered and greater exposure to powerful networks. Finally, the number of promotions offered directly affected management level, which in turn affected compensation level. With respect to gender differences, we found that beliefs regarding the efficacy of mentoring positively influenced a woman's sense of marketability, and like her male counterpart, exposure to powerful networks. However, we also found that for women managers, unlike men, such exposure did not affect the number of promotions they were offered.

IntroductionMental ill health is common among doctors. Fast, efficient diagnosis and treatment are needed as mentally ill doctors pose a safety risk to themselves and to patients, yet they are often reluctant to seek help. Focusing on psychiatry, it is known that psychiatrists as a professional group are prone to stress burnout and suicide. Thus, it seems relevant and current to address on the burnout in this professional group.Objectives/aimTo analyze the burnout levels and the existence of psychopathology in a Portugal psychiatry department.MethodsAnonymous self-completion questionnaire, prepared by the Suicide Prevention Consultation (also using MBI-Maslach Burnout Inventory and QIS-Suicide Ideation Questionnaire) and distributed by e-mail and online submitted for all psychiatrists in the department.ResultsForty-two percent of psychiatrists responded, mostly women. Although the percentages of responses related to fatigue/amount of work are significant, there were not high levels of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, but before satisfactory levels of personal fulfilment.ConclusionsHigh levels of “burnout” are associated with high scores of emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation, but also with low scores of personal fulfilment. Despite the preliminary results of this study, it is important to remember important prevention strategies. Further studies directed to psychiatry trainees seem important, as this represents an important risk group, where an early intervention can make a difference.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

Accommodation benefits employers and helps create equal opportunity for people with disabilities. Yet while there is evidence of reluctance to ask, little is known about requesters' decisions to as...

OBJETIVO: comparar dois grupos de meninas em idade escolar, de diferentes extratos sociais, quanto à percepção e conhecimento sobre aleitamento materno. MÉTODOS: aplicou-se um questionário estruturado a todas as 346 meninas da 4ª à 8ª séries de duas escolas, uma particular, com alunos de alto poder aquisitivo (Escola A), e outra pública, com alunos de nível econômico-social baixo (Escola B). RESULTADOS: cerca de 90% das meninas relataram ter sido amamentadas, e mais de 98% já viram alguma mãe amamentando. Somente 14% das da Escola A e 26% da Escola B (p=0,01) ofereciam exclusivamente o seio ou o seio e mamadeira em suas brincadeiras com bonecas. Mais de 80% das meninas gostariam que seu parto fosse normal e de amamentar seu filho por mais de 6 meses, mas 46% das da Escola A e 32% da B teriam vergonha de amamentar em público. Cerca de 90% das meninas consideram o leite humano o melhor alimento para o bebê, porém apenas pequena parcela delas reconhece outras vantagens mais específicas. Menos de 1/3 delas optaria pelo aleitamento exclusivo e perto de 60% delas ofereceria chupeta para o nenê. CONCLUSÕES: as meninas de ambos extratos sociais sabem que o aleitamento materno é a melhor dieta de um recém-nascido, porém desconhecem vantagens específicas. O aleitamento materno exclusivo não está incorporado no conhecimento da maioria dessas meninas, já que foram consideradas como práticas adequadas o oferecimento de água, chá, sucos e chupeta. O ensino do aleitamento nas escolas deve enfatizar esses conceitos. OBJECTIVE: to compare two groups of school age girls from different social strata were compared in terms of their perception and knowledge about breastfeeding. METHODS: a structured questionnaire was applied to all 346 4th to 8th grade girls attending two schools, a private one, whose students belonged to the upper class (School A), and a public one, whose students belonged to the lower class (School B). RESULTS: about 90% of the girls reported having been breastfed and more than 98% had seen a mother breastfeeding. Only 14% of girls from School A and 26% from School B (p = 0.01) exclusively offered their breast or their breast and a bottle when playing with dolls. More than 80% of the girls stated that they would like to have a normal delivery and to breast-feed their child for more than 6 months, but 46% of the girls from School A and 32% from School B stated that they would be ashamed to breastfeed in public. About 90% of the girls considered human milk to be the best food for the baby, but only a small portion of them recognized other more specific advantages. Less than 1/3 would choose exclusive breastfeeding and about 60% would offer a pacifier to the baby. CONCLUSIONS: girls from both social strata are aware of the fact that breastfeeding is the best diet for a newborn baby, but are not aware of its specific advantages. Exclusive breastfeeding is not incorporated into the knowledge of most of these girls, since most of them consider offering water, tea, juices and a pacifier to be adequate practices. Teaching about breastfeeding at school should emphasize these concepts.

Objetivo Evaluar la eficacia y seguridad del tratamiento de la tromboembolia pulmonar submasiva (TEP) con enoxaparina en comparacion con heparina no fraccionada Pacientes Y Metodos Se incluyo en el estudio, de forma prospectiva, a 56 pacientes con TEP que no precisaron tratamiento fibrinolitico. Se asignaron de forma aleatoria a dos grupos de tratamiento: el grupo A, que recibio enoxaprina (1 mg/kg cada 12 h) y el grupo B, al que se le administraron dosis ajustadas de heparina no fraccionada. La anticoagulacion oral se inicio una vez que el diagnostico se comprobo y se mantuvo durante 6 meses. Se evaluo la incidencia de recurrencia tromboembolica y de hemorragia mayor al cabo de ese tiempo Resultados Seis pacientes fueron excluidos del estudio. De los 50 finalmente incluidos, 29 fueron asignados al grupo A (enoxaparina) y 21 al grupo B (heparina no fraccionada). Tres pacientes del grupo A (10,7%) fueron diagnosticados de recurrencia tromboembolica, mientras que dicha complicacion se constato en dos pacientes del grupo B (9,5%). No se encontraron diferencias significativas. Dos pacientes fallecieron, siendo una de las muertes achacada a hemorragia secundaria a la anticoagulacion oral (grupo A) y la otra a un proceso independiente a la enfermedad tromboembolica Conclusiones El empleo de enoxaparina en el tratamiento inicial del TEP parece ser tan efectivo y seguro como el uso de heparina no fraccionada

This paper presents a program emphasizing ethnopharmacological approaches that could allow great success in the study of medicinal plants. The minimum ethnopharmacological research team should consist of a botanist, a chemist and a pharmacologist with each carrying the responsibility for answering in sequential fashion critical questions. The chemical composition and pharmacological properties of the very efficient medicinal plant Croton cajucara were investigated according to ethnopharmacological approaches. The study with this Croton proved to be both efficient and successful. This happy situation was only possible because a multidisciplinary team was involved getting the research done correctly. The ethnopharmacological study involving one other especies Copaifera will be cited.

In this study, we examined the moderating effects of individual differences and sources of support on the negative relationship between work-family conflict and career satisfaction. Data from 975 managers indicated that the relationship was significant for women irrespective of age but was significant for men only in later career. Moreover, the relationship was stronger for individuals who were in the minority gender in their work groups, but it was weaker for those who had strong community ties. Implications are discussed.

Two of the most significant forces shaping organizations are globalization and the continued, rapid and, some would say, radical changes taking place in information technology (IT). To date, the extant literature has centred on the technology acceptance model (TAM) because it is arguably one of the most widely cited and influential models used for explaining the acceptance of IT. However, this literature has remained relatively silent with respect to the role that differences in national culture might play in IT acceptance as globalization continues. In order to begin to address this deficit, this paper offers a series of research propositions that explore the potential impact of differences in national culture on IT implementation and acceptance. Specifically, the paper explores the effects of culturally induced beliefs - including individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, long-/short-term orientation and power distance - on the implementation processes that impact on key variables in the TAM. The paper then discusses the potential importance of the revisions it has made for both researchers interested in employing the model for predicting IT acceptance in cross-cultural contexts and for managers faced with introducing new IT in a global organization.

With so many individuals linked to the Internet and so many possible ways to reach them, the debate for organizational scholars is no longer over whether Internet self-administered surveys are possible but rather over the comparative understanding and the relative advantages and disadvantages of these surveys. Because relevant research has generally been fragmented and narrow in scope, making comparisons difficult, the authors review and assess the research on Internet selfadministered surveying modalities of electronic mail and the World Wide Web. Then, they provide recommendations that address problematic and controversial aspects of these modalities, including ways to increase the representativeness of samples, construct sampling frames, increase response rates, and manage anonymity and confidentiality.

RESUMEN OBJETIVOS Evaluar la eficacia, la dosis optima y la seguridad de la risperidona en el tratamiento de los sintomas psicoticos y trastornos de conducta de los pacientes con demencia. MATERIAL Y METODOS En un estudio abierto, observacional, multicentrico y prospectivo, se incluyeron un total de 1.047 pacientes con demencia (criterios DSM-IV) con sintomas psicoticos y trastornos de conducta. Una vez considerados elegibles para tratamiento se inicio tratamiento con risperidona (dosis media: 1,24 ± 0,84). La respuesta terapeutica fue evaluada mediante: Impresion Global Clinica (CGI), Miniexamen Cognoscitivo (MEC), Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), e indice de Barthel, y los efectos secundarios con la subescala UKU para efectos secundarios neurologicos y la declaracion espontanea para otros efectos adversos. Los pacientes fueron evaluados a la entrada en el estudio, al mes, a los tres y a los seis meses. RESULTADOS Reclutados 1.047 pacientes, 1.009 (96,8%) fueron elegidos para tratamiento. Se han perdido 134 durante el seguimiento. El tratamiento con risperidona supuso una mejoria significativa en la puntuacion media total de la escala IGC y del NPI desde el primer mes en adelante, asi como en cada uno de los sintomas psicoticos, afectivos y de conducta evaluados con el NPI. Las puntuaciones totales del indice de Barthel y del MEC han permanecido estables o mejoraron durante el tratamiento. Los sintomas extrapiramidales (temblor y rigidez) mejoraron significativamente a partir del primer mes en los pacientes que recibian tratamiento neuroleptico antes de entrar en el estudio. La risperidona fue bien tolerada; solo 11 pacientes (1,1%) suspendieron el tratamiento por causa de efectos secundarios. El 95% no ha tenido efectos adversos, el 5% restante sufrio uno o mas efectos secundarios: sintomas extrapiramidales (2,6%) y sedacion (1,9%) entre otros. CONCLUSION La risperidona en dosis bajas es eficaz y bien tolerada en los trastornos de conducta y sintomas psicoticos de la demencia.

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act requires most employers to provide reasonable accommodation, there is reason to believe that people with disabilities are often unwilling to make such requests. We therefore focus on factors influencing the requester's likelihood of seeking an accommodation. By drawing upon the theories of planned behavior, help-seeking, and distributive justice, we propose a framework identifying several salient beliefs that may influence request likelihood and then explore the role of select situational characteristics in shaping these beliefs as a way to more fully understand the requester's assessment process.

The composition of eight samples of commercial copaiba oils, used in the Amazonian region as antiinflammatory agents and available in popular markets, were analysed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HRGC-MS). Major differences were observed in their chemical composition and some adulterations were pointed out. When tested in vivo oils 1 and 3, and to a lesser extent oil 6, significantly inhibited bradykinin-induced oedema formation. The other tested oils had no effect. When assessed in carrageenan-induced oedema formation, oils 1, 2 and 6, but not oil 3, significantly attenuated the oedema formation. The other tested oils failed to affect carrageenan-induced paw oedema. Oils 1 and 6 were further fractionated and several sesquiterpenes and diterpenes were detected. It is suggested that the naturally occurring sesquiterpenes present in the copaiba oils seem to be responsible for the antiinflammatory action reported in the folk medicine. Furthermore, our results clearly show an adulteration in copaiba oils available in Brazil.

The primary objective of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of an artificial intelligence technique known as neural network analysis as an aid to uncovering the underlying patterns, or trace effects, of national culture. To make our case, we provide an application of the technique's pattern recognition capability utilizing survey data from top executives in French and British firms. We conclude by interpreting the trace effects found and encouraging the use of this tool by cross-cultural researchers in the future.© 2000 JIBS. Journal of International Business Studies (2000) 31, 223–238

Though the concept of `culture clash' has been widely discussed and written about in the context of mergers and acquisitions, the literature has been relatively silent about how to empirically measure this phenomenon. Given the difficulties associated with developing and testing such a measure - especially gaining access to sufficient numbers of firms which have recently experienced a merger - it is not surprising that little has been done. In this paper, we present a post-hoc analysis of a cultural compatibility index that was developed as part of a multi-study survey that we conducted. In addition, we provide evidence of the measure's integrity in two different national cultures. The analysis is based on a survey of executives of acquired British and French firms as to their perceptions of compatibility with the organizational values of the buying firms. We found evidence to suggest that the measure is a reliable and valid congruence index within and across national contexts.

Even though e-mail is the most widely used computer-mediated communication medium, its considerable potential as a survey technique has received little attention from management scholars. Using a three-dimensional framework focused on sampling issues, nonsampling errors, and comparative performance, the authors review and integrate previous research on the electronic survey technique and provide an assessment of the comparative trade-offs vis-à-vis other techniques. Moreover, they provide recommendations for future researchers interested in using this approach. Finally, they conclude that although this approach poses unique challenges and drawbacks, when an unbiased sampling frame exists or can be constructed, it allows researchers to inexpensively gather data with less effort than other available approaches.

The application of Western management techniques to countries in the very early stages of economic development remains a subject of debate. Building on the works of Montgomery in the Southern African Development Coordination Conference countries and of Vengroff in the Central African Republic, the authors examine the skill requirements among Senegalese managers from nine different employment situations: upper, middle, and lower levels at public, private, and parastatal organizations. They then extend their work by examining the same managers as to their normative beliefs and attitudes about managerial work. They conclude with implications of these findings for the design and implementation of management-training programs and the possibilities for the success of management reform efforts.

Workplace accommodation plays a critical role in the successful inclusion of people with disabilities. While past studies have examined reactions to workplace accommodation, none have explored the ...

Executive Overview There's a disturbing disconnect in organizational management. Research, experience, and common sense all increasingly point to a direct relationship between a company's financial success and its commitment to management practices that treat people as assets. Yet trends in management practice are actually moving away from these very principles. Why is common sense so remarkably uncommon when it comes to managing people? Why do organizations habitually overlook readily available opportunities to boost their financial performance? Drawing on extensive empirical research, an irrefutable business case can be made that the culture and capabilities of an organization—derived from the way it manages its people—are the real and enduring sources of competitive advantage. Managers today must begin to take seriously the often heard, yet frequently ignored, adage that “people are our most important asset”

Executive Overview Over the past several years, the authors of this article have been gathering real-life stories that reflect the difficulties of managing a diverse workforce. What follows is one of those stories about a manager, who after the ordeal of brain tumor surgery, was fired for poor performance. To provide insights for effective management of such situations, a physician-manager and two human resources executives share their views. The law is also discussed. Concluding remarks are offered by two people with disabilities—one who actually suffered, and survived, the same trauma as the person in this story, and another whom we asked to offer his views based on his personal experience.

Various determinants have been proposed to explain the persistence of nationally-bound administrative heritages. In this paper, we propose an overall model that integrates these contingent determinants. Our model is based on historical analysis, a method of theory building that first conceptualizes a model and then utilizes it as an exploratory lens for viewing historical evidence. The originality of our model comes from the theory-based bias that we introduce into the model as a way to avoid the trap of multi-causalism. Specifically, we select a nation's educational system as our model's leading determinant, for educational institutions and particularly schools more than other institutions both shape a nation's beliefs about “how things ought to be done,” and transmit those beliefs and practices to successive generations. We draw the theoretical grounding for this bias using a theory of socialization which posits that the schemas that individuals internalize during their early formative stages of development greatly influence the way that they will later construct reality. We found our model to be useful in clarifying the underlying historical reasons why British and French firms rely on different integrative mechanisms when establishing headquarters-subsidiary linkages. Indeed, by analyzing the history of these two nations and the routines and rationalities imposed by their respective set of institutions in the context of our model, we find an overall mosaic, or gestalt, that is fully consistent with their present-day administrative practices. For example, we find that French managers today tend to heavily rely on centralized controls and headquarters intervention because of the influences of a number of key historical elements. These include the way their ancestors dealt with threats of invasion and ethnic diversity; the leadership styles of past French monarchies and elected officials; the manner in which the French colonies were controlled and the French school system organized; and the way the French government responded to economic problems that came from being a late participant in the two industrial revolutions. These also include the philosophies of the revered seventeenth-century French thinkers; the family structures that have existed in France since the middle ages; and the enduring influence of the Catholic ethos. Similarly, we use our model to present a different, yet equally compelling, mosaic image to explain why British managers have tended to rely on an administrative heritage, based on decentralization, “laissezfaire” and autonomy. Finally, and perhaps most important, we show that the explanation we arrived at using this inductive method of theory building is fully consistent with the empirical conclusions we derived using contemporary methods of organization science. In so doing, we demonstrate that these two approaches, when combined, can inform and enrich theory building and thereby lead to a more thorough understanding of organizational phenomena such as administrative heritage.

This study draws on the concepts of relative standing to explain the post-merger performance of recently acquired European firms. We used a 2 x 3 sampling design where we surveyed top managers of British and French firms that were acquired by British, French, and U.S. firms as to their perceptions of cultural compatibility with the buying firms, their sense of loss of autonomy since the merger, and post-merger performance. While we found that the theory adequately explains the post-merger performance of both British and French firms, suggesting that this primarily 'made-in-the-United States' organization theory extends beyond the cultural domain of the United States, we also found an aspect of the theory that reflects a possible cultural bias. ? 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Executive Overview Our annual survey of members of the Executive's Advisory Board reveals a good deal of information-technology-related angst. To be sure, of the 350 executives who accepted our invitation to vent, many still felt that information technology had a very strong upside and urged then colleagues to be patient. Having said that, as you will see, the executives we surveyed (average age 44, one-third female) from many of the nation's major corporations had a number of common concerns. Whether you are a Netizen or a novice, we think you'll find that some of the griping is legitimate.

This paper presents the design of a pneumatic robotic system to support the inspection of conduits according to the Electric Energy Company of the State of Rio Grande do Sul standard. Throughout the text is given an emphasis on mechanical solution developed, based on the movement of a caterpillar. Moreover, the pneumatic actuators are specified, the onboard electronics and thermal sensor used in the project. Results of the mechanical design and acquisition of images of the thermal camera are presented.

Executive Overview It has been said that over half the decisions reached by teams never get carried out and of the rest only half should have been. Whether or not this old saw is accurate is not the point. Managers today are more than a little cynical when it comes to their participation in decision-making teams. While many feel compelled to sit through endless meetings, they frequently surrender—at least privately—withholding any real effort. And, by their own account, they “raise a white flag” in over half the teams in which they participate. In this article, we will explore why this happens, and offer ways to manage teams that will minimize the withholding of effort.

Reduction of production cost on electric arc furnace (EAF) technology is strongly dependent on the efficiency of electrical energy introduced into the metal bath. Beyond EAF technology, the slag foaming process is currently applied to some other equipment for steel production aiming to save energy, productivity improvements, enhance the refractory service life and inhibit steel re-oxidation and can be achieved by improving the thermal efficiency heat transfer to the scarp by stabilizing of the arc activity through foamy slag practice. All these effects can be achieved by guaranteeing the optimum amount of MgO in the slag to achieve the best foaming quality. The recycling options of Crushed MgO-C spent refractories removed from EAF without complex and costly beneficiation have been evaluated with emphasis on the application as a slag conditioner because of their high MgO content. A specially prepared briquettes content crushed MgO-C spent refractories and Dolomite Sinter obtained from rotary kilns process were used as a slag conditioning agent on the slag and metal phase boundary aiming an optimum amount of MgO in the slag and the formation of gas bubbles needed to achieve the best foaming quality necessary for the foaming effect. After several tests in the laboratory simulating EAF conditions a final formulation was defined. Together with a computer model based on published phase-diagrams which graphically maps the chemistries for the dual saturated slag, the optimum MgO amount to control the slag composition while the equipment is being operated was defined. The additional Waste Management and the Environment VI 259 www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541 (on-line) WIT Transactions on Ecology and The Environment, Vol 163, © 201 WIT Press 2 doi:10.2495/WM120241 amount of briquettes for achieving the optimal foaming conditions was then defined. Considering the data presented in the scientific literature and the laboratory results, this type of approach could help the melt shop extend refractory service life, increase the energy efficiency, increase productivity, and decrease the amount of slag.

To discover new possible therapies for Chagas' disease, we evaluated against all Trypanosoma cruzi life stages the in vitro trypanocidal and synergistic activity of terpenes isolated from Copaifera oleoresins collected in the Amazon and investigated their possible mechanism of action. Seven acid diterpenes and one sesquiterpene were tested. Terpenes promoted changes in oxidative metabolism followed by autophagic processes in the parasite cell leading to selective death. Furthermore, they were more effective against replicative forms, in particular amastigotes. A synergistic effect occurred. Cytotoxicity to erythrocytes and nucleated cells was moderate. This is the first study showing synergic activity between two terpenes against T. cruzi. Combinations of natural compounds can show high activity and may lead to new alternative treatments in the future.

The acculturation process involved when one organization is acquired by another, and the two organizational cultures merge, has not been adequately conceptualized in the strategic management literature. It is argued here that the acculturation process can be more fully understood by utilizing Lewin's (1951) force-field approach. In addition, major forces of cultural differentiation and organizational integration are identified. It is also argued that the dynamic acculturative change process will both influence and be influenced by postacquisition organizational performance. Predictions as to how post-acquisition performance influences subsequent acculturation modes are offered.

In this work a Galerkin type method is used to approximate the displacement field of a homogerieous anisotropic beam. Following a technique introduced by M. Vogelius allti I. Babu ka1, and extended by B. Miara2 to plates and by B.Miara and L.Trabucho to beams, we construct an approximate solution of the three-dimensional anisotropic clasticity problem as a series of solutions of one and two-dimensional problems. For sufficiently smooth data, we approximate the error, in the H1 norm, as a function of the loading. tho geomentry and ofelesticity constants of the beam.

The present study was performed in vivo in rabbits to evaluate the functional and morphologic effects of verapamil in a model of ischemic acute renal failure (ARF). Particularly impressive was the ultrastructural integrity of renal tubules in the animals exposed to both ischemia and verapamil. Three groups were studied: Group A: no ischemia; Group B: renal ischemia alone; and Group C: renal ischemia with verapamil. Creatinine clearance was higher in Group C (0.77 mL/min/kg) compared to Group B (0.13 mL/min/kg) at 24 h of reperfusion (p.005) as well as at 48 and 72 h (0.73 mL/min/kg) vs. 0.35 mL/min/kg; p.05 and 0.90 mL/min/kg vs. 0.46 mL/min/kg; p0.05, respectively). Light microscopic evaluation of Group C rabbits revealed significantly better preservation of proximal tubule (PT) brush border (p.0005) and less desquamation of PT (p.05) compared to Group B. Ultrastructural examination of in vivo perfused kidneys also demonstrated decreased loss of microvilli of PT (p.0005) as well as less cellular edema (p.005), fewer cells with apical PT membrane rupture (p.01), better preservation of mitochondria (p.005), less flattening of the PT basolateral labyrinth (p.05), and fewer hypertrophic actin bands at the basal surface of PT epithelial cells (p.05). These results suggest that verapamil markedly attenuates PT morphologic injury in a rabbit model of reversible ischemic ARF. The functional protection observed in these studies may be related, in part, to the improved structural integrity of the renal tubules. Renal transplantation and anticipated renal ischemia (i.e., surgical interventions) are two important situations where treatment with verapamil or other calcium channel blockers may prove to be clinically beneficial.

Recent studies have shown the anti-inflammatory activity of Copaiba oils may be addressed to the high content of β-caryophyllene, the most common sesquiterpene detected, especially in the Copaifera multijuga Hayne species. In the present study, nanoemulsions were proposed as a delivery system for copaiba oil in view to treat locally inflamed skin. This article describes the optimization and validation of a stability-indicating SPME-GC method, for β-caryophyllene analysis in the nanoemulsions produced by high pressure homogenization. SPME methods are performed with PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) fiber (100 μm). Three SPME parameters were evaluated by a three-level-three-factor Box-Behnken factorial design as potentially affecting the technique efficiency. According to the results obtained, the best conditions to extract β-caryophyllene were: (i) sampling temperature of 45°C, (ii) sampling time of 20 min and (iii) no NaCl addition. Results coming from the forced degradation tests showed a reduction of β-caryophyllene peak area when both caryophyllene methanolic solution and nanoemulsions were exposed to acid hydrolysis, UV-A irradiation, oxidative (H(2)O(2)) and thermolitic (60°C) conditions. Such reduction occurred in lower extent in the nanoemulsions, suggesting a protective effect of the formulation to β-caryophyllene content. Since no degradation products were detected in the same retention time of β-caryophyllene, the specificity of the method was demonstrated. The method was linear in the range of 0.14-0.68 μg mL(-1) of β-caryophyllene (r(2)>0.999), and was also validated for precision (R.S.D.≤5.0%), accuracy (97.85-101.87%) and robustness. Finally, the method was applied to quantification of β-caryophyllene content in the developed formulations.

rosuvastatin on coronary atheroma in stable coronary artery disease: multicenter coronary atherosclerosis study measuring effects of rosuvastatin using intravascular ultrasound in Japanese subjects (COSMOS). Circ J 2009;73:2110–7. [5] Smith Jr SC, Allen J, Blair SN, Bonow RO, Brass LM, Fonarow GC, et al. AHA/ACC guidelines for secondary prevention for patients with coronary and other atherosclerotic vascular disease: 2006 update: endorsed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Circulation 2006;113:2363–72. [6] Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III) final report. Circulation 2002;106:3143–421. [7] Grundy SM, Cleeman JI, Merz CN, Brewer Jr HB, Clark LT, Hunninghake DB, et al. Implications of recent clinical trials for the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. Circulation 2004;110:227–39. [8] Deedwania P, Singh V, Davidson MH. Low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and increased cardiovascular disease risk: an analysis of statin clinical trials. Am J Cardiol 2009;104:3E–9E. [9] Barter P, Gotto AM, LaRosa JC, Maroni J, Szarek M, Grundy SM, et al. HDL cholesterol, very low levels of LDL cholesterol, and cardiovascular events. N Engl J Med 2007;357:1301–10. [10] Gordon DJ, Probstfield JL, Garrison RJ, Neaton JD, Castelli WP, Knoke JD, et al. Highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol and cardiovascular disease: Four prospectiveAmerican studies. Circulation 1989;79:8–15. [11] Shewan LG, Coats AJ. Ethics authorship publishing scientific articles Int J Cardiol 2010;144:1–2.

This prospective trial was designed to assess the impact of oncoplastic surgery on quality of life and self-esteem of breast cancer patients undergoing breast-conserving treatment.Forty-five patients with primary breast cancer to be treated with breast-conserving surgery and immediate partial breast reconstruction were assessed with regard to quality-of-life and self-esteem outcomes preoperatively and 6 and 12 months postoperatively. Another 42 breast cancer patients, treated by conservative surgery without breast reconstruction at least 1 year previously, were assessed for the control group. Validated questionnaires (Short Form-36, Brazilian version, and the Rosenberg-EPM Self-Esteem Scale) were used. Data were analyzed by using the Mann-Whitney and Friedman tests.Participation rates at the follow-up assessments were 95.5 percent at the 6-month follow-up and 88.9 percent at the 12-month follow-up. Control and reconstruction groups were matched for age, body mass index, and demographic and oncologic aspects. At postoperative month 12, the breast reconstruction group had significantly better health status than the control group with regard to physical functioning (p0.000), health perception (p0.002), vitality (p0.007), social functioning (p0.02), role emotional (p0.02), mental health (p0.000), and self-esteem (p0.02). Compared with preoperatively, breast reconstruction group scores were significantly higher at 12 months postoperatively for seven of the eight dimensions of the Short Form-36: physical functioning (p0.01), role physical (p0.02), health perception (p0.02), vitality (p0.01), social functioning (p0.02), role emotional (p0.05), and mental health (p0.02). Self-esteem was also significantly better at 12 months (p0.02).Oncoplastic surgery had a positive impact on quality of life and self-esteem of patients undergoing breast-conserving treatment.

Editor's Note As part of this special issue on executive health, our consulting editor, Jack Veiga, was asked to poll AME's executive advisory panel. Out of the full panel, 50 executives responded—giving us a glimpse into their firms' health practices and their own health maintenance practices. What follows is a mock panel interview, a hypothetical rendition of what a dialogue might sound like with the entire panel based on responses to the survey. In the interview, we hear about the factors that contribute to executive health problems, learn what executives do to maintain their health, and find out that some executives are afraid to reveal their health problems because to do so might make them appear weak.

Copaiba oil oleoresin exuded from Copaifera reticulata Ducke (CRD) is commonly used in anti-inflammatory, healing and anti-tumoral folk medicines. The purpose of this study was to investigate the putative anxiolytic effect of acute administration of CRD.CRD was administered (100, 400 and 800 mg/kg, p.o.) to male Wistar rats submitted to the elevated plus-maze model of anxiety using an ethopharmacological analysis.In comparison with control rats, CRD increased the percentage of entries in the open arms over the entire dose range tested (vehicle, 33.6 +/- 4.5; CRD 100 mg/kg, 44.67 +/- 3.68; CRD 400 mg/kg, 47.2 +/- 2.3; CRD 800 mg/kg, 50.7 +/- 2.2) and the percentage of time spent in the open arms of the elevated plus-maze at the highest dose (800 mg/kg) (vehicle, 26.4 +/- 5.7; CRD 800 mg/kg, 52.0 +/- 2.7). A standard anxiolytic, diazepam (3 mg/kg, p.o.), was used as a positive control. In a similar way, diazepam increased the percentage of entries and time spent in the open arms when compared with vehicle (% open entries: vehicle, 45.4 +/- 1.3; diazepam, 50.7 +/- 1.9; % time spent in open arms: vehicle, 28.2 +/- 0.9; diazepam, 38.9 +/- 1.2). Regarding ethological measures, CRD at the highest dose (800 mg/kg) reduced peeping out (anxiety-related behaviour) (vehicle, 3.1 +/- 0.6; CRD, 0.9 +/- 0.2) and increased end-arm activity (vehicle, 0.2 +/- 0.2; CRD, 2.0 +/- 0.4), indicating an enhanced tendency of the rats to explore actively the potentially dangerous areas of the maze. Diazepam decreased peeping out (vehicle, 3.3 +/- 0.3; diazepam, 1.0 +/- 0.2) and flat-back approach (vehicle, 0.8 +/- 0.2; diazepam, 0.2 +/- 0.1) and increased end-arm activity (vehicle, 0.3 +/- 0.1; diazepam, 2.5 +/- 0.3) and head-dipping (vehicle, 8.2 +/- 0.4; diazepam, 12.0 +/- 0.5).These data showed, for the first time, that acute treatment with CRD copaiba oil produced a dose-dependent anxiolytic-like effect over the dose range tested, on conventional and ethological parameters, without adversely affecting general activity levels.

Indomethacin (IM) is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug which inhibits prostaglandin biosynthesis. It is practically insoluble in water and has the capacity to induce gastric injury. Hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-beta-CD) is an alkylated derivative of beta-CD with the capacity to form inclusion complexes with suitable molecules. IM is considered to form partial inclusion complexes with HP-beta-CD by enclosure of the p-chlorobenzoic part of the molecule in the cyclodextrin channel, reducing the adverse effects. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the gastric damage induced by the IM inclusion complex prepared by freeze-drying and spray-drying. A total of 135 Wistar rats weighing 224.4 +/- 62.5 g were put into 10 groups. They were allowed free access to water but were maintained fasted for 18 h before the first administration until the end of the experiment. IM acid-form, IM trihydrated-sodium-salt and IM-HP-beta-CD spray and freeze-dried, at normal and toxic doses, were administered through gastric cannula once/day for 3 days. Seventy-two hours after the first administration, the animals were sacrificed and the stomachs collected and prepared for morphological study by using the haematoxylin-eosin technique. Lesion indexes (rated 0/4) were developed and the type of injury was scored according to the severity of damage and the incidence of microscopic evidence of harm. Microscopic assessment demonstrated levels of injury with index one on 10-25%. The type of complexation method had different incidence but the same degree. The results show that IM inclusion complexation protects against gastric injury, reducing the incidence and the maximum degree of severity from 4 to 1, with a better performance of the spray-dried complex.