The profile of cyclists in the city of Juiz de Fora

The problems related to the means of transport in urban Brazilians have been getting worse over the years. The increase of the fleet, to the detriment of the adequacy and extent of the road network of cities contributes to this fact. This paper presents a profile of users of cycling in the city of Juiz de Fora, and thus contributes to the study of sustainable urban mobility, providing researchers with information that can guide the search for the encouragement of the use of means of transport to meet environmental needs urban centers that contributes to social equity.     

Cognitive representation of the comprehension test of safety warnings using multivariate methods

This paper presents a multivariate method to assess the comprehension of safety signs. The proposed method uses the MDS and Procrustes, to obtain a consensus perceptual map. The results show that the map allowed discriminating signs with high levels of comprehension from others. The safety signs have no statistical difference as depicted by Bootstrap Analysis.     

Ergonomic intervention methods for inclusion of people with disabilities at work: Brazilian scene

The aim is to identify ergonomic intervention methods used for including people with disabilities (PD) in the Brazilian labor market, with emphasis on discussion of methods to analyze the fit between the worker and the workplace. Methods to evaluate the fit of the worker to the workplace identify the capabilities and limitations of PDs and the demands of work, combining these data, and comparing them, in order to obtain a detailed analysis of the fit were drawn from national and international publications. These show that the use of specific methods for PDs and others focused on the general population. Mutatis mutandis, there is a need for complementary tools to address this segment. Thus, for the Brazilian scenario, it is essential to develop specific methodological tools to assess the capabilities of a PD so that they may better interact with their job.     

Perceptual aspects of the use of faucets (taps)

This paper presents an assessment with simulated activities with the aim of analyzing the perception of ease / difficulty of the use of faucets (taps) handles by 180 Brazilian adults. Five different handles faucets were activated for subsequent collection of perceptual data. The procedures were based on main recommendations for biomedical ethics and human research. The results indicate that handles with levers are significantly (p ≤ 0.05) easier to use. The most difficult are characterized by not having support points for the rotation (levers) or more points of pressure concentration in the hand.     

Cognitive structure of occupational risks represented by a perceptual map

The main focus of risk management is technical and rational analysis about the operational risks and by those imposed by the occupational environment. In this work one seeks to contribute to the risk perception study and to better comprehend how a group of occupational safety students assesses a set of activities and environmental agents. In this way it was used theory sustained by psychometric paradigm and multivariate analysis tools, mainly multidimensional scaling, generalized Procrustes analysis and facets theory, in order to construct the perceptual map of occupational risks. The results obtained showed that the essential characteristics of risks, which were initially splited in 4 facets were detected and maintained in the perceptual map. It was not possible to reveal the cognitive structure of the group, because the variability of the students was too high. Differences among the risks analyzed could not be detected as well in the perceptual map of the group.     

Irregular working times and metabolic disorders among truck drivers: a review

A number of studies to better understand the complex physiological mechanism involved in regulating body weight have been conducted. More specifically, the hormones related to appetite, leptin and ghrelin, and their association to obesity have been a focus of investigation. Circadian patterns of these hormones are a new target of research. The behaviour of these hormones in individuals subject to atypical working times such as shiftwork remains unclear. Shiftwork is characterized by changes in biological rhythms and cumulative circadian phase changes, being associated with high rates of obesity and metabolic syndrome. Truck drivers, who work irregular shifts, frequently present a high prevalence of obesity, which might be associated with work-related factors and/or lifestyle. In this context, the aim of this paper was to discuss the relationship of body mass index, appetite-related hormones and sleep characteristics in truck drivers who work irregular shifts compared with day workers.     

Preventing Rsi/Wruld: use of esthesiometry to assess hand tactile sensitivity of slaughterhouse workers

This research was conducted with slaughterhouse female workers in the municipality of S?o Miguel do Igua?u, state of Parana, Brazil. The sample was composed of 103 women aged 25 to 40 ( 7.57 years, and the study aimed to verify the nerve conduction of the median nerve. An esthesiometer consisting of a Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments was used to measure the hand skin sensitivity in the region of the median nerve and a Jamar? hand dynamometer, which was used to determine the handgrip strength. About 81% of individuals had normal sensitivity with 0.05 g and average levels of handgrip strength in dominant hand (DH) of 35.30 kgf (( 3.10) and in the non-dominant hand (NDH) of 28.30 ( 3.09 kgf. 14% of individuals had reduced sensitivity, with values equivalent to 0.2 g and 2.0 g (blue and violet) and levels of handgrip strength in the DH equal to 28.10 kgf (( 2.90) and in the NDH of 26.40 kgf (( 3.28). 5% of individuals showed bilateral sensitivity deficit (4.0 g) and levels of handgrip strength in the DH of 16.10 kgf (( 2.10) and in the NDH of 18.20 kgf (( 3.28), resulting in a strong correlation between handgrip strength and sensitivity of the median nerve (r = 0.786) between variables dominant hand (DH) and (r = 0.626) for the non-dominant hand (NDH). It could be concluded that assessing the nerve conduction of the median nerve by hand esthesiometry can be an important tool in preventing the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.