Dissertations / Theses on the topic '1625'

Submitted by Suelen Reis (suziy.ellen@gmail.com) on 2013-04-22T19:28:45Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Ricardo Behrens2.pdf: 660849 bytes, checksum: 9204644501594795ed00f281c174208b (MD5) Ricardo Behrens1.pdf: 142823 bytes, checksum: 5c578ed45f46a3d594565b2345f1b777 (MD5)<br>Approved for entry into archive by Rodrigo Meirelles(rodrigomei@ufba.br) on 2013-05-23T18:53:42Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Ricardo Behrens2.pdf: 660849 bytes, checksum: 9204644501594795ed00f281c174208b (MD5) Ricardo Behrens1.pdf: 142823 bytes, checksum: 5c578ed45f46a3d594565b2345f1b777 (MD5)<br>Made available in DSpace on 2013-05-23T18:53:42Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Ricardo Behrens2.pdf: 660849 bytes, checksum: 9204644501594795ed00f281c174208b (MD5) Ricardo Behrens1.pdf: 142823 bytes, checksum: 5c578ed45f46a3d594565b2345f1b777 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004<br>Pouco se escreveu sobre a presença holandesa na Bahia. Em termos de produção historiográfica, podemos dividir os trabalhos que abordaram o tema da seguinte forma: 1- trabalhos de História Geral do Brasil, nos quais os acontecimentos de 1624 e 1625 aparecem como uma introdução à ocupação holandesa do Nordeste pós 1630, reduzindo a história dos holandeses na Bahia apenas aos aspectos militares do episódio; 2- obras que trataram da presença holandesa no Brasil como um todo. Nesses estudos, também é comum que os acontecimentos de 1624-25 fiquem circunscritos a um capítulo introdutório, porém, a passagem dos holandeses na Bahia é tratada de forma mais detalhada, fazendo associações com os objetivos da Companhia das Índias Ocidentais; 3- obras específicas sobre a invasão da Bahia, são elas: Os hollandezes na Bahia, de Francisco Menezes, publicada em 1922. Trata-se de um trabalho de grande fôlego, que busca explicar os motivos da invasão holandesa desde a morte do rei D. Sebastião com o advento da União Ibérica; Holandeses na Bahia, 1624-1625 de Alberto Silva, publicado em 1925. Silva escreveu sobre o assunto nas comemorações do tri-centenário da expulsão dos holandeses e se preocupou apenas em narrar os episódios militares e, A defesa de Salvador na 1ª Invasão Holandesa, de Algedy de Souza, publicado em 1957. Este autor se concentrou em entender como Salvador caiu em poder dos holandeses em menos de vinte e quatro horas; 4- artigos publicados em revistas especializadas, dentre os quais destacamos: Um problema: a traição dos cristãos-novos em 1624 de Eduardo D?Oliveira França, trata-se de um bom trabalho que aborda a possível ligação entre cristãos novos e holandeses; The Voyage of the vassals ? Royal power, noble obligations, and Merchant capital before the Portuguese Restauration of independence, 1624-1640 de Stuart Schwartz, trata-se de uma abordagem da restauração da Bahia com ênfase na sociedade ibérica, no qual o autor aproveita o episódio de 1624-25 para analisar as relações de poder entre sociedade e Estado na União Ibérica e, também do mesmo historiador americano, When Brazil Was Jewish: new sources on the Fall of Bahia, 1624, in the context of Portugal?s political in the Seventeenth century, texto sobre o envolvimento dos cristãos novos na queda de Salvador, no qual o autor privilegia, mais uma vez, as disputas políticas existentes entre Estado e sociedade em Portugal durante a União Ibérica. Além dos trabalhos acima citados, há uma série de conferências publicadas na Revista do Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia de número 66, no ano de 1940. Trata-se de uma publicação em comemoração à derrota de Maurício de Nassau na Bahia em 1638. Além das conferências, foram publicadas as sugestões feitas pelos membros do Instituto para comemorar a data, dentre as quais destaca-se a idéia de confecção de uma série de placas comemorativas, a exemplo da que existe ainda nos dias atuais na entrada do mosteiro de São Bento. De maneira geral, essas conferências e providências comemorativas atendiam as exigências de uma época em que a história se fazia pela mitificação de personagens. Todavia, cabe salientar a importância do IGHBa para um maior conhecimento do tema através das sucessivas publicações que fez de documentos referentes ao período. Vários relatos Seiscentistas foram publicados nas revistas do Instituto. Esses relatos constituem material fundamental para a compreensão do que se passou na capital colonial naqueles anos de 1624-25. Nesse sentido, se algum esforço foi feito na Bahia para que se pudesse ter conhecimento da história da presença holandesa em Salvador e no seu entorno, o mérito é do Instituto.<br>Salvador

This study is primarily concerned with how the Caroline Navy was run, both in theory and in practice. Previous assessments of early Stuart naval administration have generally been superficial and unsympathetic in tone, but this new work, in shedding fresh light on a variety of themes, attempts to offer a more detailed and balanced view of the quality of administration in the 1620s and 1630s. Starting with an examination of the Navy's senior executive, the thesis broadens out into a discussion of the role of the Navy Board and the manner in which the yards were administered. Here it is argued that the yards were a good deal better regulated than has sometimes been appreciated. It is also suggested that the Navy's ability to reform its own administration has been understated. In the second part of the thesis, two chapters are devoted to the question of finance, in which both financial procedures and management are discussed. In the final section, the Navy's ability to man, victual and prepare its ships for sea is scrutinised. Detailed consideration is also given to the Ordnance Office, which was responsible for gunning and munitioning the Navy's ships. In these later chapters considerable space is devoted to administrative deficiencies which persistently dogged the Navy, but the author argues that institutional factors, such as underfunding, were often to blame rather than mismanagement, a theme which is echoed in the final conclusion.

This thesis is a detailed case study about employee fraud in a bank in Malaysia. As this bank is set up by the Government in 1965, the fraud has political implications. This thesis discusses the internal structure of the organization as well as the political and social climate conducive to fraud and corruption in Malaysia. Two other major financial fraud cases in Malaysia will be discussed as comparative case studies. Fraud and corruption trends in other countries will also be discussed to illustrate that the Malaysian case is not a unique one. In chapter one, a theoretical framework suitable for the studies of crime in developing countries will be formulated. In Malaysia, the historical development of the country is important. Chapter two introduces the concepts and definitions of crimes at the workplace, in particular fraud. Chapter three tries to trace the detailed movements of the funds that were defrauded in the Bumiputra Malaysian Finance Limited (BMF) case. In doing so, they give a good idea of how frauds can occur and how they can be prevented. Chapter four is an analysis of the BMF case. The chapter is divided into two sections. The first section is the micro-analysis which deals with the structure of the organisation that is problematic. The second section is the macro-analysis which deals with the wider political and social structure that is problematic. Chapter five is on the comparative case studies which tries to establish the trend of how public organisations can be defrauded in Malaysia. A comparison with other countries will also show that the Malaysian case is not a unique one. Chapter six deals with the overall commercial crime scenario in Malaysia. Chapter seven tries to give some suggestions on combating and preventing fraud. The thesis is concluded with chapter eight.

Presented in this thesis is a summary of the development of gallium arsenide position sensitive detectors. These are aimed at various applications with the original motivation being experimental particle physics. An account is given of basic semiconductor physics relevant to particle detectors. A review of electronics applicable to reading out charged signals from semiconductor detectors is included. Applications of gallium arsenide X-ray detectors are described together with results from a Monte-Carlo simulation of the spectrum obtained from an X-ray source. The design, fabrication and laboratory testing of detectors is presented for pixel and microstrip detectors and other test structures. Test beam results are also presneted for pixel and microstrip detectors. An introduction to ATLAS detector simulation is also given, with examples of detector descriptions for the GaAs Forward Semiconductor Tracker. Results from a generator level study of b-jets from the process Hbb and predictions of influences in the Forward Tracker are also given.

The main purpose of my thesis is to examine the processes and problems of risk governance within the functioning of a socio-technical system in a hierarchical organization. I explore the actual problems of operators of the Campus Security Report System and the solutions they deploy as different groups of people. The thesis examines the governance of risk-related events as found within people’s daily life drawing on culture theory, risk society and risk management approaches, and attempts to evaluate the relationships between risk, risk management and organisational culture. The research starts from the exposition of risk management ideas, focused on the daily risks happening in schools precisely because they are ‘everyday’, often quite mundane, yet potentially posing as much organisational challenge as major disasters which can, quite literally, cause organisational collapse. The thesis focuses not only on the concept of culture theory to explore the interaction of risk management existing across an organisational culture but also relies on the ideas of the Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) approach to explore the dynamic of managing daily risks in a hierarchical organisation. The main areas to focus on are: • Explore how unpredictable risks are managed • Examine the ways in which systems are modified in response to changing risk • Examine the ways in which managers and users interact and how hierarchical and local cultural practices work together or in different directions • Examine what are seen as hard to control risks and how these are reported • Examine the play of groups and their interests in shaping the system and how problems are dealt with • Examine the relationship between leaders/designers and users of the system and how this shapes the acceptability of risk. My thesis suggests that if managers ignore the factor of culture to manage risk, even with the help of technology, they may not only experience the reduplication of risk but also create new risks for an organisation or managers once again. In order to avoid such unacceptable phenomena when governing risk one of the possible ways may be to rely on the functioning of SCOT as a process, this would probably effectively empower the socio-technical system’s ability to manage risk in a more socially robust way in risk society.

This thesis explores the trade and consumption of tobacco in seventeenth-century England and Wales (1625-1685). The period under study constitutes the moment when tobacco became a widely available commodity, bringing about huge ramifications for early modern England and beyond. After production in England's American and West Indian colonies, tobacco was shipped to Europe where it was distributed to manufacturers, inland suppliers and retailers, before 'vented' to its users. Paramount to this lifecycle was consumption - above all else in rituals of sociability - which provided the means for continued investment and expansion in the trade. As a result of extensive involvement in its overseas traffic, tobacco became an affordable, everyday commodity, the first 'exotic' stimulant to enter the quotidian diets of early modern English men and women. The thesis responds to two broader historiographical traditions, namely the early modern 'Atlantic world' and the so-called 'consumer revolution'. It also taps into more recent inroads made into the history of 'intoxicants'. Tobacco provided one of the strongest links that ordinary men and women had with the wider world whereas its consumption was a novel form of commodified intoxication that became permanently assimilated into daily life. However, little work has previously focused on the domestic side of the tobacco trade; even less attention has been given to linking up local practices of consumption and production with international patterns of commerce. In responding to these defects, the thesis emphasises the role of non-London ports, the eclectic involvement of dealers, the illegal economy, domestic economic development, and the significance of tobacco consumption as a driving force for commercial expansion. On a broader level, the thesis questions the usefulness of certain historiographical concepts - be they the early modern 'Atlantic world' or 'consumer revolution' - in analysing economic, social and cultural change in the seventeenth century.

Aristocratic women were integral to Jacobean court life and actively involved in royal service, in the ceremonial of court and state, in the pursuit of financial benefit, in marriage strategies and court family networks, and in court, foreign and religious politics and patronage. The time scale of the thesis encompasses James VI's reign as James I of England, 1603-1625, as court life for aristocratic women did not end with the death of his queen consort, Anne of Denmark. As ladies-in-waiting and/or the kin or clients of powerful men at court, aristocratic (and other elite women) could exercise a degree of power, authority and influence and participate both formally (through their Privy Chamber posts) and informally in the life and functions of the Jacobean court. This study moves beyond, reappraises, and revises recent published work on the Jacobean court by literary scholars, which focuses on the court masque, literary pursuits and cultural patronage of a small number of aristocratic court women, and extends recent published work by historians who have included women in their studies of the Jacobean court. Together with the insights gained through extensive new archival research, this study provides a broader and deeper understanding than hitherto available, of the significant roles these women could play at court and the place of the court in their lives. Moreover, this view of the Jacobean court from a female perspective reveals much about that institution, about the nature of politics and patronage beneath the level of high politics and the careers of great ministers and royal favourites, and about early seventeenth century British aristocratic society and its relationship with the monarchy.

This thesis examines the reciprocity of literary and legal cultures, and seeks to enhance understanding of cultural and socio-legal constructions of morality in early modern England. Identifying the tensions in an institutional legality in which both secular pragmatism and moral idealism act as formulating principals, it interrogates the sense of disjuncture that arises between imaginative concepts of moral justice and their translation into the formal structures of law. Chapter 1 investigates representations of rape in light of the legislative changes of the 1570s, and addresses the question of how literature shapes the legal imaginary of immorality. Literary models, notably Shakespeare's The Rape Of Lucrece (1594), and George Peele's Tale of Troy (1589), are examined together with the texts of Edward Coke and Thomas Edgar to argue that lawyers' mythopoeic interpretative strategies produce a form of legal fiction in relation to sexual crime. These strategies are contextualised in Chapter 2 in relation to the education and literary-legal culture at the Inns of Court, and the thesis progresses to an examination of the inns' literary and dramatic output – notably that of Thomas Norton and Thomas Sackville's Gorbuduc, and Arthur Broke's contemporaneous revels' masque, Desire and Lady Bewty (1561-2) – to establish how the legal fraternity wielded significant authority over Tudor sexual politics, moral signification, and interpretative practices. Chapters 3 and 4 explore legal and ethical challenges heralded by the Jacobean accession, particularly those posed by the Somerset scandal. Analysis of histories, letters, and court satire, together with Thomas Campion's The Lord Hay's Masque (1607), and George Chapman's Andromeda Liberata (1614) and The Tragedy of Chabot (1639), illuminates the period's textual negotiations of legal, political, and personal ethics, and offers a revealing picture of the moral paradoxes produced by the opacity of the parameters between the personal and political lives of the ruling elite.

This thesis reconstructs the genre of urban satirical pamphleteering. It contends that the pamphlets of Robert Greene, Thomas Nashe, Thomas Dekker, Thomas Middleton, and Barnaby Rich are stylistically and generically akin. Writing in a relatively undefined form, these pamphleteers share an interest in describing contemporary London, and employ an experimental style characterised by its satirical energy. In addition, they negotiate a series of tensions between profitability and play. In the early modern period, ‘profit' was variously conceived as financial, moral, or rooted in public service. Pamphleteers attempted to reconcile these senses of profitability. At the same time, they produced playful works that are self-consciously mocking, that incorporate alternative perspectives, and that are generically hybrid. To varying degrees, urban satirical pamphlets can be defined in relation to the concepts of profitability and play. Chapter One introduces the concept of moral profitability through an examination of Elizabethan moralistic pamphlets. In particular, it analyses the anxious response to profitability contained in Philip Stubbes's Anatomie of Abuses (1583). Chapter Two argues that Greene disrupted appeals to totalising profitability, and instead demonstrated the alternative potential of play. Chapter Three examines Nashe's notoriously evasive pamphlets, contending that he embraced play in response to the potential profitlessness of pamphleteering. Chapter Four argues that although Dekker and Middleton rejected absolutist notions of profitability, their pamphlets redirect stylistic play towards compassionate social commentary. Finally, Chapter Five explores Rich's relocation of moralistic conventions in pamphlets that are presented as both honest and mocking. Taken as a whole, this thesis re-evaluates the style and genre of urban satirical pamphleteering. It reveals that this frequently overlooked literary form was deeply invested in defining and critiquing the purpose of literature.

Five examples of English Art of Dying literature from the period 1590-1625 are examined in this thesis. The rhetorical strategies of these texts are explored in detail, to demonstrate the means by which an activity, of death preparation, and a concept, of 'good' or 'godly' dying, are invented and made compelling to readers. An introductory chapter discusses the problems of classifying works in the Art of Dying genre, and the limitations of a strictly historical mode of analysis. Reasons are given for the decision to use rhetorical theory as a central analytical framework. The first chapter examines an exemplary deathbed narrative. Stubbes' portrayal of his dying wife in A Christal Glasse (1591) helps to establish a Protestant discipline of 'godly' dying, which combines elements of exemplary martyrdom with an older tradition of diabolic deathbed drama. The mirror image of Stubbes' title indicates that godly Art of Dying literature is intended to be used for self-reflection and imitation. In the central three chapters, the Art of Dying is considered as a godly regimen, created and conducted through printed manuals. Godly divines William Perkins, Nicholas Byfield and Samuel Crooke use various rhetorical methods to incite, regulate and suppress readers' emotions regarding the prospect of death. A final chapter returns to the use of personal examples in death preparation literature. Ward's Faith in Death (1622) collates the dying words of martyrs from Foxe's Acts and Monuments to invite readers' active contemplation of their own deaths. With 'lively' rhetoric, this text narrows the gap between celebrated and ordinary believers. It presents godly dying as an energetic, vocal, demonstrative act of testimony. In conclusion, the thesis finds that godly Art of Dying literature directs the way readers imagine death and so prompts active, emotional and behavioural responses.

The main goal of this dissertation is to examine the county of Cambridgeshire using the Lord Lieutenancy and its control of both militia affairs and its function as the key instrument of royal policy within the shire. In addition, it will examine the Lord Lieutenant, Theophilus Howard, 2nd earl of Suffolk, and his deputy lieutenants who formed the foundation of a ruling elite for Caroline Cambridgeshire. It was this ruling elite which was able to hold down faction and turmoil within the shire and perform the myriad of divisive and constitutionally objectionable tasks handed down from the crown, such as collection of the forced loan and the expansion of ship money into inland counties. Through this examination, the findings are that the Lord Lieutenant had almost no real contact with the shire he was in charge of, leaving the year-to-year running of militia and local government to his deputy lieutenants. It was the deputy lieutenants with their long family history of residency and office holdings within the shire, that formed a core of officials who were able to use their position within the Lieutenancy to shield the shire from distasteful crown policies while still being able to supply Charles with men and money on time and in full when other shires in England were falling into chaos and riots. However, this influence could only withstand so much, and in the end, Charles's reliance on his Personal Rule and fiscal innovations made these tasks impossible to perform and forced the institution into collapse.

In 1642, the Long Parliament denounced Queen Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, for hatching ‘popish plots’ and giving ear to ‘evil counsellors’. They feared the queen’s influence at the Caroline court, made possible by Charles’ deep affection for Henrietta Maria. Commentators have debated her influence on Charles I and his policies, particularly in light of the Civil War and his ultimate beheading at the hands of Parliament. Nevertheless, little has been done to examine the powerful ‘evil counsellors’ feared and denounced by Parliament. Building on the work of R.M. Smuts and Caroline Hibbard, my thesis examines the membership, ideology, and activities of the ‘queen’s party’ (so-named by Archbishop Laud in 1637) from Henrietta Maria’s arrival in England in 1625 until her exile in 1642. To do so, I have focussed in particular on the careers of Henry, earl of Holland, Sir George Goring, Sir Kenelm Digby, Henry Jermyn, and Walter Montagu, who became powerful courtiers at the queen’s court, engaging in politics at home and abroad. By examining the domestic and foreign activities of these men within the context of their relationship with the queen, we can see a clearer picture of Henrietta Maria’s political agenda (often obscured by the restricted movements of the queen at the English court). The breadth of this research has led to the conclusion that the queen actively sought to involve herself in English and continental politics from the earliest years of her reign by gathering a group of English courtiers with French political connections and directing their actions in a coherent strategy to advance her political and religious goals.

Le présent travail s’intéresse à dix pièces écrites et jouées entre 1580 et 1625. Le corpus retenu inclut des pièces rédigées par Robert Daborne, Thomas Dekker, Thomas Heywood, Christopher Marlowe, Philip Massinger, Thomas Middleton, Samuel Rowley et William Shakespeare et Nathaniel Woodes. Cette étude tâche principalement de révéler en quoi les dramaturges de la Renaissance se sont appropriés et ont transformé des codes appartenant à la tradition de la disputatio médiévale afin de mettre en scène les dissensions religieuses de leur époque. Nous avons pris en compte deux acceptions du terme « dispute ». Il peut en effet être défini comme un débat formel et dialectique et comme la manifestation d’un désaccord violent entre deux personnes ou plus.La première partie étudie les éléments conflictuels que l’on trouve dans les scènes de dispute, observant comment les dramaturges mettent en scène les différents aspects du conflit théologique et se sont emparés de l’idée d’hybridité religieuse qui caractérise la période. Cette partie s’interroge sur la mesure dans laquelle la scène de dispute reflète mais aussi nourrit le conflit religieux. Toutefois, une seconde partie analyse ces dialogues et rencontres conflictuelles, souvent violents, comme une manière paradoxale de négocier une certaine forme de coexistence et de décréter une trêve. Une troisième partie se concentre enfin sur les procédés dramatiques mis en œuvre par les auteurs pour proposer une résolution du conflit et atteindre un compromis littéraire entre une forme artistique élitiste et populaire. Ce travail souligne également le lien entre une célébration de l’art du théâtre comme un art fondamentalement hybride et la représentation du conflit religieux à travers les scènes de dispute<br>This study focuses on ten plays written and performed between 1580 and 1625. The corpus includes plays by Robert Daborne, Thomas Dekker, Thomas Heywood, Christopher Marlowe, Philip Massinger, Thomas Middleton, Samuel Rowley, William Shakespeare and Nathaniel Woodes. The primary aim of this work is to determine the extent to which Renaissance dramatists appropriated and transformed the old tradition of the medieval disputatio in order to stage the religious dissensions of their time. Two definitions of the word ‘dispute’ were considered. Indeed, it can be defined both as a formal dialectical debate and as a violent disagreement between two or more people.The first part explores the conflictual elements to be found in a scene of dispute, looking at how the playwrights staged the different aspects of the conflict and dealt with the idea of religious hybridity which characterises the period. This part questions the extent to which the scene of dispute reflects but also fuels the religious feuds. Nevertheless, the second part analyses these conflictual, and sometimes violent, encounters and dialogues as a paradoxical way to negotiate a certain form of coexistence and to call a truce. Finally, a third part focuses on the way the playwrights used drama to suggest a solution to the conflict and to reach a compromise between an elitist and a popular form of art. This study also explores the link between the vindication of the art of theatre as something fundamentally hybrid and the representation of the religious conflict through scenes of dispute

Objetivos: <br/>A pesar de las mejoras en los resultados y en la técnica de los procedimientos de revascularización percutánea coronaria, existen pocos estudios que validen los resultados clínicos de la aplicación de los nuevos diseños de stents, las características de la lesión y los fármacos empleados.<br/>En nuestro estudio, los objetivos principales son los siguientes:<br/>1. Evaluar los resultados del stent estudiado (NIR). Confirmar la influencia de los factores de riesgo coronario sobre la evolución de los pacientes tratados con stent, determinar la influencia de las características propias de la lesión y de las variables del procedimiento. <br/>2. Determinar la influencia de los diferentes fármacos empleados en los pacientes a los que se ha implantado un stent coronario. <br/><br/>Hipótesis:<br/>1- Procedimiento<br/> El stent empleado representa el prototipo de los stents de segunda generación y debe ofrecer ventajas respecto a los stents de primera generación (Palmaz), por lo que se le supone una elevada tasa de éxito angiográfico (definida como adecuada implantación del stent con una estenosis residual < 30% por estimación visual); una elevada tasa de éxito clínico de implantación (definido como consecución de éxito angiográfico junto a la ausencia de complicaciones mayores durante la hospitalización); una tasa reducida de MACE (MACE fue definida como muerte, IM o revascularización coronaria por ACTP o Pontaje quirúrgico) y una tasa reducida de restenosis angiográfica (definida como la presencia en el segmento previamente tratado de una estenosis > 50% en cualquier coronariografía durante el seguimiento).<br/> Las mejoras en el diseño del stent estudiado (paradigma de los llamados de segunda generación) permitirán reducir la curva de aprendizaje y en casos seleccionados la implantación sin predilatación previa.<br/>2- Influencia de fármacos<br/> Los pacientes con enfermedad coronaria, que precisan la implantación de un stent, son sometidos a distintos tratamientos farmacológicos: Durante la intervención, durante el primer mes y de forma crónica. Nuestra segunda hipótesis es que los tratamientos farmacológicos se indican por situaciones clínicas y factores de riesgo, y que estos tratamientos ejercen alguna influencia positiva en la evolución de los pacientes.<br/> <br/> Pacientes y métodos<br/> Entre agosto de 1997 y octubre de 1998, fueron incluidos en este estudio 1.004 pacientes (cada centro incluyó a un máximo de 25 pacientes con un total de 1.136 lesiones tratadas). El diseño del estudio fue prospectivo multicéntrico con un total de 50 centros participantes de España y Portugal. El anagrama del estudio fue ESPORT NIR (ESPaña y PORtugal registro NIR stent ). <br/>Todos los pacintes fueron sometidos a seguimiento clinico durante siete meses.<br/>Del total de 1004 pacientes incluidos se seleccionó una muestra aleatoria de 210 enfermos consecutivos (239 lesiones) para una reevaluación angiográfica a los 6 meses de la ACTP. Además, se realizó una angiografía durante el periodo de seguimiento (a los 6 meses o antes) a cualquier paciente incluido en el estudio con recurrencia de la isquemia. En estos pacientes se realizó cuantificación de la estenosis residual mediante evaluación angiográfica automática cuantitativa con el sistema MEDIS 4,0 CMS, en un laboratorio central y por técnicos expertos no participantes en los procedimientos de ACTP. Las películas de angiografía debían seguir un riguroso protocolo, que incluyó la recogida del segmento distal del catéter utilizado.<br/> <br/> Resultados <br/> La edad media de los pacientes fue de 60 años y el 82% eran varones. La indicación de la angioplastia fue angina inestable en el 61% de los casos. El éxito angiográfico fue del 99% y el éxito clínico del procedimiento del 98%. La restenosis angiográfica fue del 16% (IC del 95%, 11,7-21,2). La tasa acumulada de eventos mayores al séptimo mes de seguimiento fue del 8,7%: un 0,9% de fallecimientos, un 1,2% de infartos de miocardio y un 6,6% de revascularizaciones sobre el vaso tratado.<br/> <br/> <br/> Conclusiones<br/>1. Stent NIR en el tratamiento de lesiones coronarias<br/>1.1. El tratamiento de lesiones coronarias significativas con el stent estudiado muestra:<br/>1.1.1. Elevado éxito angiográfico (99,6%; definido como adecuada implantación con una estenosis residual < 30% por estimación visual) <br/>1.1.2. Elevado éxito clínico de implantación (98,7%; definido como consecución de éxito angiográfico junto a la ausencia de complicaciones mayores durante la hospitalización).<br/>1.2. Tras siete meses de seguimiento desde la implantación del stent coronario:<br/>1.2.1. La incidencia de acontecimientos cardiacos mayores (MACE) es baja (8,7%; definidos como muerte, IM o revascularización coronaria por angioplástia o pontaje quirúrgico). <br/>1.2.2. La tasa de restenosis angiográfica de las lesiones tratadas es baja (16,32 %; definida como la presencia, en el segmento previamente tratado, de una estenosis > 50% en cualquier coronariografía durante el seguimiento). Son predictores independientes de reestenosis la diabetes y la longitud de los stents<br/>1.3. Influencia de la técnica de implantación y del seguimiento<br/>1.3.1. La experiencia en stents del centro de intervención no da lugar a diferencias en las tasas de éxito angiográfico o clínico de implantación o en la incidencia de MACE o reestenosis.<br/>1.3.2. Los pacientes con seguimiento angiográfico tienen un exceso de revascularización en comparación a los que siguen un control clínico.<br/>1.3.3. En casos seleccionados, la utilización de stent sin predilatación no da lugar a diferencias en el éxito angiográfico, clínico, MACE o restenosis, <br/>2. Influencia de fármacos en la angioplastia con stent<br/>2.1. Fármacos indicados por protocolo:<br/>2.1.1. El tratamiento con ticlopidina reduce el riesgo de MACE al primer mes.<br/>2.1.2. El tratamiento con AAS reduce el riesgo de MACE al primer mes en los pacientes diabéticos. El tratamiento mantenido se asocia a una reducción del riesgo de MACE para toda la población estudiada. <br/>2.2. Fármacos electivos:<br/>2.2.1. La administración de abciximab es más frecuente en pacientes con antecedentes de infarto agudo y se asocia a una mayor incidencia de MACE aguda.<br/>2.2.2. Se adminitra IECA a una población de más edad, HTA, IM previo, angioplastia previa e insuficiencia ventricular izquierda. Sin embargo, no aparece un incremento de MACE en ninguno de los subgrupos estudiados.<br/>2.2.3. Se administran betabloqueantes a una población de mayor indencia de IM previo, HTA y lesiones más graves. A pesar de ello, el grupo tratado no muestra mayor incidencia de MACE que la población que no precisó este tratamiento. <br/>2.2.4. Se trata con calcioantagonistas una población con mayor incidencia de diabetes, IM previo y angina. Sin embargo, el grupo tratado no muestra un incremento MACE. <br/>2.2.5. Se administran estatinas a una población con más dislipemia y diabetes. Los pacientes tratados muestran una incidencia de angina superior, aunque no un mayor riesgo de MACE o de restenosis angiográfica.<br/>2.2.6. Se trata con nitritos a una población de pacientes con mayor incidencia de HTA, diabetes y angina. Solo aparece un aumento en la incidencia de MACE en los pacientes tratados con dislipemia. La tasa de restenosis es mayor en los pacientes diabéticos tratados con nitritos.

Thirty-two privately owned structures were treated with a 0.06% exterior and interior, 0.06% exterior-only, or 0.125% exterior-only application of fipronil (Termidor SC®) in order to compare their efficacies in the post-construction control of interior populations of Reticulitermes spp. (Holmgren). The concentration of fipronil in the soils from the structures was measured pre-treatment and at 1 week, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months post-treatment. Bioassays conducted with fipronil-treated soils from five locations in Texas determined the minimum effective concentration (minimum concentration necessary to stop termites from breeching a 50 mm column of treated soil) was < 1.0 ppm. Lethal concentration (LC50) values ranged from 0.19 to 0.60 ppm for Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar). All structures receiving a 0.06% fipronil exterior and interior or 0.125% exterior-only application showed full control of interior termite populations within 6 months. In contrast, 36% of the structures that received a 0.06% fipronil exterior-only application still had termites 6 months post-treatment. When taking the point of termite entry into account, it was shown that only structures treated with fipronil at the point of entry into the structure by termites showed full control within 6 months. This indicated that the placement of the termiticide at the point of subterranean termite entry, and not the rate at which it was applied, was the most important factor that predicted whether a post-construction application of fipronil provided full control of an interior infestation. Results also indicated that Termidor SC® was effective when used according to the current product label, which calls for a thorough application including exterior and interior applications for post-construction termite control. Soil monitoring data for fipronil indicated that the technical material provided by the manufacturer of Termidor SC® was labeled appropriately in terms of concentration. Tank mix samples, while variable, were between 83 - 96% of the labeled concentrations. Post-treatment soil samples and bioassays with treated soil showed that fipronil concentrations were adequate to effectively control termites through the first 18 months.

The primary objective of this study is to determine the viability of opening a speciality top end, Ethnic cosmetic and toiletry retailer in the Greenacres Mall of Port Elizabeth, in order to meet the cosmetic and toiletry needs of Ethnic consumers, having moved from rural places of work and dwelling, to urban areas of work and dwelling. In order to achieve the above mentioned primary objective, the following secondary objectives will be pursued: • To investigate the current and forecast Ethnic cosmetic and toiletry trends in the United States of America, in order to serve as a benchmark in the development of a top end, speciality Ethnic cosmetic and toiletry retail store model, for the Greenacres Shopping Mall in Port Elizabeth, South Africa; • to identify whether a top end, speciality Ethnic cosmetic and toiletry store model for the Greenacres Shopping Mall in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, would be a viable business venture; • to investigate current and forecast Ethnic cosmetic and toiletry trends in South Africa, in order to reveal the shortfalls of retailers targeting this market segment; and • to identify the best business model for an organisation or individual wanting to grow their business through targeting the Ethnic cosmetic and toiletry consumer

This thesis developed and pilot tested the effectiveness of a psychosocial intervention, the Making Relationships Work (MRW) Workshop. The MRW has two aims. At the interpersonal level, MRW seeks to enhance the quality of the relationships of the adolescents who participate in the workshop. At the psychological level, MRW seeks to foster the development (or enhancement) of a sense of identity and intimacy among the adolescents who participate in the workshop. The MRW Workshops consist of a psychosocial group intervention that includes skills and knowledge development, perspective taking, and group experiential exercises. Subjects consisted of 26 late adolescents. A within-subjects design (pre-post-follow up) was used to assess the effectiveness, efficacy and utility of the MRW as measured by the Identity Domain Survey (IDS), SCL-90 (a psychological symptom distress checklist), Relationship Quality Scale (RQS), Relationship Closeness Inventory (RCI), Internal-External Locus of Control Measure (I-E), and two MRW Evaluation forms. One-way ANOVAs were performed with results indicating less distress ratings on the IDS and the SCL-90. No significant results were found on the RQS, RCI and I-E. Finally, the evaluation forms of the workshop revealed very positive ratings.

Phenylketonuria and hyperphenylalanemia are autosomal recessive inborn errors of phenylalanine metabolism that are caused by mutations in the phenylalanine hydroxylase gene. Due to the stringency of the present dietary therapy, alternative treatments are being studied. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is one of the potential dietary supplements for these patients. PAL is a well-studied plant enzyme which breaks down phenylalanine into trans-cinnamic acid and ammonia (Camm and Towers, 1973). It is found in the cytoplasm of the plant cells and is naturally encapsulated by plant cell walls which may protect it against the acidic pH environment in the gastrointestinal tract. It presumably degrades ingested Phe that circulates in the intestinal lumen. In this study, red spring wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum L.) found to contain high PAL activity naturally were investigated as a potential alternative oral therapy. Specifically, the objectives were (1) to evaluate different drying methods on generating concentrated and dried preparation of wheat seedlings containing high levels of PAL activity; (2) to examine the retention of PAL activity over three months of storage under various storage conditions; (3) to determine the stability of PAL activity in simulated human digestion condition to establish if further study of using plant source enzyme in vivo is warranted. Freeze-drying (FD) was found to have retained the most activity (>90 % recovery dry wt basis) compared to air-drying (AD) and vacuum-microwave drying (VMD) for both leaf and residual seed/root samples. Pre-freezing of leaf tissues at -18 °C before FD significantly retained the highest PAL activity compared to pre-freezing at -25 °C, -35 °C, and -80 °C (P<0.05). Over three months of storage, 60-80 % of PAL activity was recovered in leaf and —100 % was recovered in residual seed/root tissues after storage at -20 °C. After in vitro protein digestion, 36% and 42 % of PAL activity was recovered in fresh leaf and root tissues respectively; however, FD tissues were found to be susceptible to proteases and acidic environment and no activity was recovered after three hours of in vitro protein digestion. High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the residual Phe after in vitro protein digestion confirmed that fresh tissues had significantly higher conversion of Phe than that of FD tissues. Together, these results suggest that red spring wheat seedlings may have potential as a dietary supplement for phenylketonuric patients while further study to enhance PAL activity in plant preparations is required.

Biological resources are particularly important in resource-limited countries where utilisation demands challenge conservation efforts. The study focussed on Berberis holstii, a plant resource on high demand in northern Malawi restricted to Nyika National Park. The uses, distribution, habitat characteristics, demography and seed germination requirements of this important species were investigated. Uses were investigated by means of ethnobotanical interviews. The species distribution in the park was mapped employing GIS. Habitats were characterised employing multivariate methods implemented in the programmes PC-ORD and PRIMER. Demographic studies employed matrix projections to characterise representative populations. Finally, laboratory germination trials allowed determination of light, cold stratification and temperature requirements for seed germination. Forty-seven uses were documented. Of these, thirty were medicinal and the rest for income generation. The most common uses included infusion for coughs, malaria, stomachache, sexually transmitted infections and pneumonia. Because roots are employed, whole plants are dug out. This lead to the extinction of five of the recorded 94 sites. Fire periodically kills the aerial part of plants, which then tend to recover through resprouting. The species is restricted to high altitude, open areas on sandy/loamy soils. Despite harvesting and fire, demographic projections showed positive population growth. Population growth rate is more sensitive to mortality of late juvenile stages and early adult stages than it is to demographic transitions and contributions by other stage classes. Germination was higher when seeds were stored for one year, had a prechilling treatment (cold stratification) and were germinated under light at -20°C. Seeds did not lose viability during two years of storage raising prospects for their artificial storage. The study provides important information for the conservation and management of this important African endemic. It highlights some of the difficulties confronted in projecting the population dynamics of species with sporadic simultaneous recruitment and tests the ability of a recently proposed model to determine germination requirements. In a wider context, the study shows that a combination of methodological approaches (ethnobotany, biogeography, demography and germination) allows a more complete understanding of the evolutionary, ecological and social factors that must be taken into account in the conservation of individual species.

RATIONALE The purpose of the study was to survey the use of microcomputers as instructional assisted tools in the education of mildly handicapped students from selected school systems of Georgia. Specifically, the study addressed the following issues: (1) identified instructional uses of microcomputers in special education; (2) areas of exceptionality wherein instructional micro computer usage is evidenced; (3) perceptions of special educators toward microcomputer applications; and (4) future implications. SIGNIFICANCE The study will greatly expand the literature base and identify factors related to the use of microcomputers in the instructional process of educating mildly handicapped students. METHODS AND PROCEDURES Data for the study were generated from Directors of Special Education and Teachers of Mildly Handicapped Students from selected public school sys tems of Georgia. The chief data collection method used was the questionnaire with the interview/participant observation technique being secondary. The question naire used was a modified version of the instrument developed in 1982 by Henry Jay Becker to obtain data for his study, "School Uses of Microcom puters." Items for the revised instrument addressed demographic, usage and perception information. Both descriptive and inferential statistical procedures were used to analyze the data. Sections I and II of the questionnaire stimulated cate gorical data which produced percentages. The Chi-square statistical method at the .05 level was used to determine the statistically significant dif ference of the nominal data and to test one hypothesis. The Analysis of Variance statistical method was used at the .05 level to accept or reject five of the hypotheses. The secondary method of data collection involved the interview/partici pant observation methods. Items for the interview questions and the observa tion checklist were original. Sites for the field research were randomly selected to include visitations to the three different size school systems based on student population. Data for this phase of the study were reported in case studies. RESULTS The findings from the study reveal from a broad perspective that Direc tors of Special Education and Teachers of Mildly Handicapped Students demon strated great support of microcomputer usage in the instruction of mildly handicapped students. Special educators found the most productive use of this strategy in drill and practice and tutorial dialog activities. The area of mathematics was considered strongest with language arts being second rela tive to fundamental instructional use. Most computer time was scheduled during class periods. Strengths in the instructional applications included individualization, alternative approaches to learning, provisions for immediate feedback, flexi bility in management, increased student/teacher contact, student motivation, and increased student attention span. Problemmatic concerns include: limited and incompatible software, inadequate inservice, student/computer ratios and human interaction. The .05 confidence level was used to determine statistical significance. The null hypotheses formulated and tested on the variable groups were accepted at the .05 level. CONCLUSIONS Special education administrators (directors/coordinators) and teachers of mildly handicapped students strongly support the use of microcomputers as instructional assisted tools in the education of mildly handicapped students. Increasing use and versatility are evidenced; however, expanded efforts are needed for budgetary support, staff development, time management and sched uling. As improvements are made based on continued research the use of this technology will continue to enhance the educational opportunities of handi capped students.

Various research reports and articles in the popular press have highlighted the obstacles and negative conditions that learners experience at some farm schools in South Africa. These obstacles and conditions are not conducive to the health and well-being of farm schools and violate farm school learners' rights to receive a high quality of education. The aim of this research was to establish how parents of farm school learners perceive the health and well-being of farm schools. A literature study and a qualitative investigation were undertaken to achieve the aim of the research. The literature study focused on the health and well-being of schools with specific reference to farm schools. In the qualitative part of the research, focus group interviews were conducted with 38 parents of learners who attend farm schools in the Mopani District of the Department of Education in the Limpopo Province. The qualitative data analysis revealed the following findings: • Parents who participated in the research have negative perceptions of the health and well-being of the farm schools that their children attend. • Their negative perceptions can be ascribed to various health-related problems/issues that prevail at these schools. Based on the research findings, various recommendations were made with a view to improve the health and well-being of these farm schools.<br>Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Abstract For decades, teenage pregnancy has been a problem and a challenge in both developed and developing countries. The problem of teenage pregnancy has engendered as much analysis and policy discussion in Western industrialized societies, such as the United States, as in the less developed nations of Africa. In Ghana, teenage pregnancy is a major issue that stands in the way of education for young women. Even though teenage pregnancy is a major problem in Ghana, in the Volta region of Ghana, the problem is particularly pressing and appears to be getting worse. Ghana government and various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have tried to curtail the problem to no avail. Currently, there is only one NGO in Ho, the regional capital of Volta Region, known as Village Exchange Ghana that is providing teenage pregnancy services and education to young women in the Ho metropolis. Since its inception in 2003, VEG program has not had an evaluation based on the perspective of its participants. In this study, the researcher conducted a qualitative exploratory study designed to gather the perspectives of teenage mothers who had participated in the teenage pregnancy education and service program offered by Village Exchange Ghana. The objective was to identify its effectiveness and impact of the program from participant’s point of view. The results were used to form recommendations for a better prevention and education program in the future.

This review examined the effectiveness of Nurture Groups (NGs) for improving the SEBD of mainstream primary children by focusing on the primary review question, “What is known about the effectiveness of NGs to support pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream classrooms?” The review employed the seven stage methodology described by Petticrew and Roberts (2006) and initial screening achieved a systematic map of twenty studies. The refocusing of the review question into two separate questions allowed seven quantitative studies for the in-depth review. These studies were analysed according to an adapted framework by Cole (2008) and were synthesised on the basis of experimental design; outcomes and effectiveness and short term effects of NGs. All studies found evidence of significant short-term improvements in SEBD outcomes for mainstream NG children using reported scores on the Boxall Profile while the majority of studies found NGs to be effective directly post intervention using scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. These findings were consistent with the examination of effect sizes using data from three out of the seven studies which were in the medium to large range. As only one study provided follow-up data for the long term SEBD outcomes (Cooper and Whitebread, 2007), the review focused on short term effects and did not consider maintained change of NGs. Results are interpreted with caution due to variability in the methodological quality of studies and design limitations (very small sample sizes, lack of randomised control groups). The absence of commonality in statistical reporting also precludes any strong claims for the effectiveness of NGs from existing studies. The review concludes with suggestions for researchers, policy makers and those involved with NGs attempting to improve the SEBD outcomes for mainstream pupils.

MScEng<br>Thesis (MScEng (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.<br>In this project the shape and attachment method of tissue leaflets for a percutaneous aortic valve is designed and tested as a first prototype. Bovine and kangaroo pericardium was tested and compared with natural human valve tissue by using the Fung elastic constitutive model for skin. Biaxial tests were conducted to determine the material parameters for each material. The constitutive model was implemented using finite element analysis (FEA) by applying a user-specified subroutine. The FEA implementation was validated by simulating the biaxial tests and comparing it with the experimental data. Concepts for different valve geometries were developed by incorporating valve design and performance parameters, along with stent constraints. Attachment techniques and tools were developed for valve manufacturing. FEA was used to evaluate two concepts. The influence of effects such as different leaflet material, material orientation and abnormal valve dilation on the valve function was investigated. The stress distribution across the valve leaflet was examined to determine the appropriate fibre direction for the leaflet. The simulated attachment forces were compared with suture tearing tests performed on the pericardium to evaluate suture density. In vitro tests were conducted to evaluate the valve function. Satisfactory testing results for the prototype valves were found which indicates the possibility for further development and refinement.

EMS providers work in a high-stress environment and are routinely exposed to critical incidents. Many providers are left to deal with the chronic stress on their own, either because of lack of effective employer-based programs or a culture that discourages its use. The extent to which these factors -- as well as personal characteristics such as resilience, PTG, and coping skills -- influence PTSD and suicide ideation among EMS providers has not been well studied among EMS providers. An online survey was administered to a convenience sample of EMS providers. Of the 2,683 respondents, more than one quarter (27.7%) met the PTSD criteria of 50 or higher on the PCL-M. Close to half of the respondents (42.0%) reported having contemplated suicide in the last six months. Of those who had contemplated suicide in the last 30 days, nearly one third (27.1%) thought about suicide 10 or more days in the last 30 days. EMS culture and resilience were negatively associated with PTSD, while positive associations were found with some coping styles. PTSD scores and suicide ideation frequency were highest when post-incident services were not available in the workplace. No significant relationships were found between personal factors and suicide ideation.

In modern historiography, Henri Christophe, king of northern Haiti from 1816-1820, is generally given a negative persona due to his controlling nature and his absolutist regime, but in his correspondence, he engages in diplomatic collaborations with two British abolitionists, William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson, in order to improve his new policies and obtain international recognition. This paper argues that the Haitian king and the abolitionists engaged in a mutual collaboration in which each party benefitted from the correspondence. Christophe used the advice of the British abolitionists in order to increase the power of Haiti into a powerful black state, and Wilberforce and Clarkson helped the king position Haiti as a self-sufficient nation to fuel their abolitionist argument of the potential of post-emancipation societies.

Monografia apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa para obtenção do grau Licenciada em Enfermagem<br>Esta investigação propôs analisar os dados obtidos no inquérito elaborado pelos alunos de Enfermagem integrado no Projecto de Ambulatório de Saúde Oral e Pública numa amostra de adolescentes. O estudo realizado trata-se de uma análise retrospectiva, descritiva e de natureza transversal. Os dados estatísticos que serviram de suporte para a investigação foram os inquéritos utilizados pelo Projecto Ambulatório de Saúde Pública e oral amostra de adolescentes. Da amostra do estudo averiguou-se que 53, 1% dos alunos adolescentes são do sexo masculino e 46,9% são do sexo feminino; constatou-se uma maior prevalência de excesso de peso e obesidade no sexo masculino do que no sexo feminino; em relação `alimentação pode-se apurar que 91,4% dos adolescentes não fazem dieta e 8,6& fazem dieta, ou seja praticam uma alimentação saudável; e 46% dos adolescentes que apresentam excesso de peso e os que são obesos não praticam exercício físico. Em suma, é fundamental apostar na promoção da saúde e na prevenção da doença através de sessões de sensibilização direccionadas aos pais e aos adolescentes, para que no futuro, haja uma redução do número de casos de adolescentes de risco.

Mestrado em Marketing<br>O CRM é a ferramenta de gestão com o crescimento mais acelerado da última década. Captou investimentos de $462 mil milhões em 2007. O sector financeiro é o mais avançado na sua adopção. Esta investigação tem como objectivos encontrar uma definição precisa de CRM, elencar falhas na sua implementação e avaliar, através de métodos quantitativos, concordâncias, percepções e atitudes quanto à adequação do Modelo Estratégico e de Implementação do CRM, de Payne e Frow, ao negócio da banca privada de média dimensão. O trabalho conclui que este modelo é entendido como adequado à realidade de médias empresas, em resposta à solicitação endereçada por aqueles académicos, contribui para a sua divulgação àqueles bancos e constata haver uma atitude favorável dos colaboradores, relativamente ao CRM, que beneficia a sua implementação bem sucedida e mitiga o risco de ocorrerem falhas.<br>CRM has become the fastest growing management tool of the last decade. In 2007 companies around the world spent $ 462 billon on CRM. Financial institutions are the biggest users. The purpose of this research is to find a precise CRM definition, uncover implementation failures and evaluate, through quantitative methodologies, agreements, perceptions and attitudes over Payne and Frow's CRM Strategy and Implementation Model and its adequacy to the medium-sized private financial institutions. The work concludes that the model is suitable for medium-sized companies, Payne and Frow's addressed question, contributes to the diffusion of the model to those kinds of banks and finds that there is a positive attitude from employees towards CRM, which benefits its implementation and overcomes the risk of failure.

Tese de Doutoramento apresentada à Faculdade de Medicina de Lisboa<br>O AM tem muitas vantagens e a sua promoção constitui uma prioridade mundial. Este estudo teve como tema, o "Aleitamento materno", dado o interesse da autora do projecto pela prevenção em geral e particularmente pelo comportamento alimentar, nomeadamente pela amamentação. O modelo de intervenção utilizado, integrou um conceito de salutogénese situando-se cada vez mais no contexto da qualidade de vida ao longo do ciclo de vida e constituiu um desafio, numa perspectiva nova de Pediatria. O AM tem muitas vantagens e a sua promoção constitui uma prioridade mundial. Estudos efectuados em Portugal apontam para uma alta incidência do AM à nascença e para uma baixa prevalência a partir do fim do primeiro mês de vida. A promoção do AM tem como objectivo o seu sucesso e pressupõe o conhecimento da comunidade a que se destina. O sucesso do AM está sujeito a múltiplas influências; alguns dos factores que parecem influenciar o sucesso do AM são modificáveis e portanto, sujei¬tos a intervenção. O nosso estudo foi prospectivo e experimental, com aleatorização prévia e dupla ocultação. A amostra foi constituída por 3 grupos de 20 díades mãe-bebé, que pre¬encheram os critérios de inclusão das mães, trabalho de parto e parto, bebés e pós-parto. Este estudo teve dois objectivos: O primeiro objectivo consistiu na avaliação da eficácia de duas interven¬ções efectuadas à nascença, no sucesso do AM. A primeira intervenção consistiu na precocidade da primeira mamada, ou seja, em pôr o bebé a mamar no fim da primeira hora de vida. A segunda intervenção consistiu na precocidade da primeira mamada e no esclarecimento das mães acerca da importância de o bebé estar no estádio de alerta calmo, antes de mamar. O segundo objectivo foi avaliar as determinantes do sucesso do AM. Como medidas de sucesso foram propostas a duração do AM exclusivo e não-exclusivo, a transferência de leite durante uma mamada ao 3 o dia de vida e a interacção mãe-bebé ao 3o e 30° dia de vida, durante uma situação alimentar. O grupo experimental I foi sujeito à intervenção I, o grupo experimental II foi sujeito à intervenção II e o grupo controlo seguiu a rotina da enfermaria. O estudo iniciou-se antes do parto e prolongou-se até aos 12 meses de vida de cada bebé. A observação das mães constou de questionários a fim de obter dados sobre algumas características sócio-demográficas, sobre as atitudes durante a gestação, atitudes face ao AM, expectativas maternas face ao bebé e causas de desmame parcial e total. As atitudes durante a gestação foram observadas através de um questio-nário próprio. As atitudes face ao AM foram observadas com um questionário construído para o efeito e baseado na Teoria da Acção Reflectida. As expectativas maternas face ao bebé, foram observadas com o Neonatal Perception Inventory (NPI). As causas de desmame parcial e total foram observadas também através de questionários. A observação dos bebés consistiu na avaliação do peso à nascença, índice de Apgar e sexo, do estado neuro-comportamental ao 3o e 30° dias, desenvolvimento psicomotor aos 3, 6 e 12 meses e estado nutricional dos 3 dias aos 12 meses de vida. O estado neuro-comportamental foi observado com a Neonatal Behavior Assessment Scale (NBAS), o desenvolvimento psicomotor com as Bayley Scale of Infant Development (BSID) e o estado nutricional foi observado através do peso, estatura, perímetro cefálico, prega tricipital, circunferência do braço, índices de Kanawati e MacLaren e de McLaren e Read. A observação do ambiente em casa foi efectuada aos 9 meses de vida do bebé, utilizando o Home Observation for the Measurement of Environment (HOME). A avaliação da eficácia da intervenção no sucesso do AM, foi efectuada através da determinação da duração do AM exclusivo e não-exclusivo, da transferência de leite entre mãe e bebé, durante uma mamada ao 3o dia de vida e da observação da interacção mãe-bebé ao 3o e 30° dias de vida durante uma situação alimentar. A duração do AM exclusivo e não-exclusivo foi efectuada através do in-quérito alimentar constante de cada uma das consultas mensais. A transferência de leite ao 3o dia de vida, foi feita através de uma pesagem dupla do bebé ao 3o dia de vida, antes e depois de mamar. A interacção mãe-bebé durante a situação alimentar ao 3o e 30° dias de vida, foi feita utilizando a Nursing Child Assessment Feeding Scale (NCAFS). Os resultados foram estudados com os programas estatísticos Microstat e Stata. Os dados obtidos foram analisados através da análise de variância (ANOVA) e do teste de Kruskall-Wallis para as variáveis do tipo intervalado e através do teste do qui quadrado e do teste de Fisher para as variáveis categoriais. A avaliação das determinantes do sucesso de AM foi efectuada através de regressões múltiplas, a fim de avaliar a correlação de cada uma das variáveis dependentes, com as variáveis independentes consideradas. Estas regressões foram ajustadas pelos grupos de estudo. Foram ainda efectuadas regressões múltiplas retrógadas passo a passo, para avaliar o efeito próprio de cada uma das variáveis independentes consideradas, sobre as variáveis dependentes. Em todas as determinações foi escolhido como limiar de significância, o valor de p de 0,05. Verificou-se uma homogeneidade entre as características maternas pré-natais dos 3 grupos, à excepção da idade materna que foi mais alta no grupo controlo e na manutenção da amamentação que foi mais fraca no grupo experimental II. As expectativas maternas face ao bebé foram maiores nos grupos expe-rimentais, sugerindo serem consequência das intervenções efectuadas. A principal causa de desmame parcial ou total, alegada pelas mães, foi maioritariamente a hipogalactia. Verificou-se uma homogeneidade entre os bebés à nascença, quanto ao peso, índice de Apgar e sexo. Verificou-se ainda uma homogeneidade entre os bebés no que respeita o estado neurocomportamental, desenvolvimento psicomotor e estado nutricional, à excepção do índice de McLaren e Read aos 12 meses de vida. Também não foram encontradas diferenças entre os três grupos, quanto ao ambiente em casa dos bebés. Quanto aos objectivos do estudo, a análise dos resultados sugere que o AM é um processo muito complexo, dependente de múltiplas influências. Ao avaliarmos a eficácia das intervenções à nascença no sucesso do AM, verificou-se que as intervenções efectuadas não aumentaram o sucesso do AM de modo estatisticamente significativo. É de realçar, no entanto, que só nos grupos experimentais, a prevalência do AM não-exclusivo se prolongou para além dos sete meses de idade. Verificou-se que a duração média do AM não-exclusivo do grupo experimental I foi superior à do grupo controlo em 32 dias e que a duração média do AM não-exclusivo do grupo experimental II foi superior à do grupo controlo em 56 dias, sugerindo a importância clínica das intervenções. Ao avaliarmos as determinantes do sucesso do AM, verificámos que aquelas exerceram a sua acção desde antes da concepção do bebé, passando pela gestação, trabalho de parto e parto, permanência na maternidade e du¬rante o primeiro ano de vida. As determinantes do sucesso do AM antes da gestação foram a idade materna e o facto de a gestação ter sido planeada ou desejada. As determinantes do sucesso do AM durante a gestação foram a frequência de aulas de preparação para o parto e o planeamento da duração do AM, enquanto que as atitudes maternas face ao AM, se correlacionaram negativamente com o seu sucesso. Durante a permanência na maternidade, as determinantes do sucesso do AM foram o adiamento da suplementação, as expectativas maternas face ao bebé no 2o dia de vida, a transferência de leite e a interacção mãe-bebé du¬rante uma mamada no 3o dia de vida, nomeadamente no que respeita os comportamentos contingentes, enquanto que a regulação dos estádios ao 30° dia de vida se correlacionou negativamente com uma das medidas de sucesso do AM. As determinantes de sucesso do AM depois da alta foram o adiamento da suplementação, um menor grau de preocupação materna face ao comporta¬mento do bebé durante o primeiro mês de vida e a interacção mãe-bebé durante a situação alimentar ao 30° dia de vida. A intervenção efectuada à nascença revelou-se influente nas expectativas maternas face ao bebé ao segundo dia de vida. Verificou-se em díades aparentemente sem risco a existência de mães de risco, ou seja, aquelas mães que valorizaram mais o bebé médio que o bebé próprio, ou que tinham menores expectativas quanto ao seu bebé; verificou-se ainda a existência de alguns padrões interactivos preocupantes durante a mamada. Os resultados sugerem ainda a importante influência exercida pela interacção mãe-bebé durante a mamada ao 3o dia de vida ou a situação alimentar ao 30° dia de vida, no sucesso do AM, nomeadamente na duração do aleitamento exclusivo e não-exclusivo. Realce-se a influência dos comportamentos contingentes entre mãe e bebé no sucesso do AM, sugerindo a importância da sincronia entre mãe e bebé na quantidade da íngesta. Realce-se ainda a importância da competência do bebé, na obtenção de bons padrões interactivos entre mãe e bebé, sugerindo que o AM é um processo de verdadeira cooperação entre mãe e bebé, em que cada membro da díade emite e recebe sinais, e se adaptam mutuamente num processo cada vez mais complexo e mais rico. Existem ainda factores comuns correlacionados com a duração do AM exclusivo e não-exclusivo, ou seja a interacção entre mãe e bebé ao 30° dia de vida, uma gravidez planeada ou desejada e o grau de preocupação materna quanto ao comportamento do bebé durante o primeiro mês de vida. Os resultados obtidos no nosso estudo confirmam que o AM é um processo complexo, exigindo o seu sucesso a implementação de medidas a vários níveis. Existem alguns períodos "críticos", "especiais" ou "melhores" que constituem os pontos de viragem ou "touch-points" aplicados ao sucesso do AM. Como determinantes da decisão de amamentar, sugere-se a importância das consultas de planeamento familiar, da entrevista entre a futura mãe e o médico do bebé no 3º trimestre de gestação, e a frequência de aulas de preparação para o parto. Para o estabelecimento da lactação, realce-se a importância da "Iniciativa dos Hospitais Amigos dos Bebés", que proporciona à mãe e ao bebé as melhores condições para um bom início de vida, com especial relevo para a prática do AM exclusivo, sem recurso a qualquer suplementação. Para o suporte da amamentação, é especialmente importante a disponibilidade e a competência dos profissionais de saúde, nos domínios dos conhecimentos, atitudes e gestos com especial realce para o diagnóstico de bons e maus padrões interactivos entre mãe e bebé durante a mamada. Em suma, muito há ainda para fazer no sentido de aumentar o sucesso do AM; os esforços dos profissionais de saúde e de educação, das organizações internacionais e nacionais, aliados a uma vontade política forte, serão imprescindíveis para alcançar os objectivos pretendidos.