A multi-descriptor analysis of substituent effects on the structure and aromaticity of benzene derivatives: π-Conjugation versus charge effects.

This work provides a detailed multi-component analysis of aromaticity in monosubstituted (X = CH3, C H 2 - , C H 2 + , NH2, NH-, NH+, OH, O-, and O+) and para-homodisubstituted (X = CH3, CH2, NH2, NH, OH, and O) benzene derivatives. We investigate the effects of substituents using single-reference (B3LYP/DFT) and multireference (CASSCF/MRCI) methods, focusing on structural (HOMA), vibrational (AI(vib)), topological (ELFπ), electronic (MCI), magnetic (NICS), and stability (S0-T1 splitting) properties. The findings reveal that appropriate π-electron-donating and π-electron-accepting substituents with suitable size and symmetry can interact with the π-system of the ring, significantly influencing π-electron delocalization. While the charge factor has a minimal impact on π-electron delocalization, the presence of a pz orbital capable of interacting with the π-electron delocalization is the primary factor leading to a deviation from the typical aromaticity characteristics observed in benzene.

Structural stability and the low-lying singlet and triplet states of BN-n-acenes, n = 1-7.

The chemical stability and the low-lying singlet and triplet excited states of BN-n-acenes (n = 1-7) were studied using single reference and multireference methodologies. From the calculations, descriptors such as the singlet-triplet splitting, the natural orbital (NO) occupations and aromaticity indexes are used to provide structural and energetic analysis. The boron and nitrogen atoms form an isoelectronic pair of two carbon atoms, which was used for the complete substitution of these units in the acene series. The structural analysis confirms the effects originated from the insertion of a uniform pattern of electronegativity difference within the molecular systems. The covalent bonds tend to be strongly polarized which does not happen in the case of a carbon-only framework. This effect leads to a charge transfer between neighbor atoms resulting in a more strengthened structure, keeping the aromaticity roughly constant along the chain. The singlet-triplet splitting also agrees with this stability trend, maintaining a consistent gap value for all molecules. The BN-n-acenes molecules possess a ground state with monoconfigurational character indicating their electronic stability. The low-lying singlet excited states have charge transfer character, which proceeds from nitrogen to boron.

Dialogues between social and natural sciences: contribution to the debate on socio-environmental conflicts.

In this article, I argue that attempting to solve real problems is a possible approach to bring social and natural sciences together, and suggest that - as Environmental Impact Assessment necessarily brings together social and environmental issues - this debate is a strong candidate for such a task. The argument is based on a general discussion about the possibilities and limitations of Environmental Impact Assessments, the social-environmental impacts of mining activities and three case studies. The analysis of the cases indicates possibilities and limitations of the dialogue between scientists from various areas - and of the collaboration with social movements and affected communities - in avoiding negative impacts of mining projects and, eventually, increasing their sustainability.

Diferentes formas de dizer não. Experiências internacionais de resistência, restrição e proibição ao extrativismo mineral / Different ways to say no. International experiences of resistance, restriction and prohibition of mineral extraction

Diferentes formas de dizer não – Experiências internacionais de resistência, restrição e proibição ao extrativismo mineral reúne informações sobre o tema de seis distintos países: Argentina, Peru, Costa Rica, Equador, Estados Unidos e Filipinas. A publicação retrata impactos da mineração que privam comunidades tradicionais de suas terras, geram contaminação, devastação e desigualdade. Ao mesmo tempo, destaca que as disputas em torno da legitimidade dada à prioridade das atividades minerais têm ocorrido e alçado à esfera pública novos valores, dando visibilidade a formas de produção e reprodução social que demonstram que há alternativas à extração insustentável de recursos naturais. A publicação documenta formas de luta no exterior para que elas possam servir de inspiração para organizações, movimentos sociais e comunidades afetadas pela mineração no Brasil...

Indicadores para Centros de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador: proposição de um sistema de acompanhamento de serviços de saúde / Indicators for Occupational Health Reference Centers: proposal of a system for monitoring health services

Os Centros de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador (CEREST) são eixos estruturantes da Rede Nacional de Atenção Integral à Saúde do Trabalhador (RENAST), coordenados pela Coordenação Geral de Saúde do Trabalhador (CGSAT) do Ministério da Saúde. O instrumento apresentado no artigo visa contribuir para o acompanhamento e a futura avaliação da implantação e implementação da RENAST. Com o objetivo de construir um sistema de indicadores para monitoramento dos CEREST, elaborou-se uma primeira listagem de indicadores com base nas determinações previstas pela Portaria GM/MS nº 2.437/2005. A listagem foi enviada a 173 coordenadores dos CEREST para avaliação, com base em uma escala do tipo Likert. Retornaram 48,6 por cento das avaliações, cuja análise foi realizada globalmente e segundo a abrangência, a data de habilitação e a localização dos CEREST. Consideraram-se aprovados os indicadores com 75 por cento ou mais de aceitação, resultando um instrumento final com 12 indicadores para os CEREST estaduais e 13 indicadores para os CEREST regionais. A descrição dos procedimentos para a construção do instrumento e sua formatação final poderá ser útil no estímulo à construção de indicadores de monitoramento/avaliação de serviços de saúde em geral.

This research proposes a framework of indicators to monitor the activities of the Occupational Health Reference Centers (CEREST). CEREST are structural elements of the National Network of Comprehensive Attention to Workers' Health (RENAST) and are coordinated by the General Coordination of Occupational Health of the Ministry of Health (CGSAT). In order to build this framework, we first elaborated a list of indicators based on the norms that govern CEREST's responsibilities. As a strategy to build a participative approach, a Likert scale questionnaire was sent to 173 CEREST coordinators, who were asked to evaluate this preliminary list of indicators. After the return of the questionnaires (48,6 percent), the answers were analyzed, considering the CEREST scope (State or Regional), date of accreditation and location. Indicators with approval rate higher than 75 percent were included in the proposed framework. This instrument consisted in 12 indicators for State CEREST and 13 indicators for Regional CEREST. It is expected that the procedures proposed in this research and the framework itself might encourage the government to create a monitoring system for RENAST as well as for health services in general.

[Indicators for Occupational Health Reference Centers: proposal of a system for monitoring health services]. / Indicadores para Centros de Referência em Saúde do Trabalhador: proposição de um sistema de acompanhamento de serviços de saúde.

This research proposes a framework of indicators to monitor the activities of the Occupational Health Reference Centers (CEREST). CEREST are structural elements of the National Network of Comprehensive Attention to Workers' Health (RENAST) and are coordinated by the General Coordination of Occupational Health of the Ministry of Health (CGSAT). In order to build this framework, we first elaborated a list of indicators based on the norms that govern CEREST's responsibilities. As a strategy to build a participative approach, a Likert scale questionnaire was sent to 173 CEREST coordinators, who were asked to evaluate this preliminary list of indicators. After the return of the questionnaires (48,6%), the answers were analyzed, considering the CEREST scope (State or Regional), date of accreditation and location. Indicators with approval rate higher than 75% were included in the proposed framework. This instrument consisted in 12 indicators for State CEREST and 13 indicators for Regional CEREST. It is expected that the procedures proposed in this research and the framework itself might encourage the government to create a monitoring system for RENAST as well as for health services in general.

Double standards and the international trade of pesticides: the Brazilian case.

Despite bans on certain pesticides and their replacement by others considered less hazardous, the widespread use of these substances in agriculture continues to threaten the environment and the health of millions of people. This article discusses the current double standard in the international trade of pesticides and focuses on Brazil, one of the main users of pesticides in the world, analyzing the trends in foreign trade (imports and exports) of selected pesticides as a function of changes in legislation in the United States, the European Union, and Brazil from 1989 to 2006. We applied time line analysis to eight organochlorines already banned in Brazil and conducted a case-by-case qualitative and quantitative analysis of nine other pesticides. The results indicate the existence of double standards, as demonstrated by the continued exports to Brazil of some pesticides banned in the United States and Europe.

Eixos de desenvolvimento econômico e geração de conflitos socioambientais no Brasil: desafios para a sustentabilidade e a justiça ambiental / Economic development axis and socioenvironmental conflicts generation in Brazil: challenges to sustainability and environmental justice

A realização da 1ª Conferência Nacional de Saúde Ambiental, a ser realizada em dezembro de 2009, apresenta inúmeros desafios ao campo da Saúde Coletiva. Seus objetivos e eixos adotam conceitos-chave como desenvolvimento, sustentabilidade, processos de produção e consumo, a questão da democracia e das políticas públicas, revelando a abrangência, a novidade e o forte caráter interdisciplinar e intersetorial da Saúde Ambiental. Ao resgatar e articular temas importantes para a Saúde Coletiva, a conferência aponta para a necessidade de refletirmos sobre os determinantes socioambientais da saúde na atualidade, de forma a avançarmos na construção de diretrizes e ações de vigilância e promoção da saúde. Este artigo discute as características do modelo de desenvolvimento brasileiro, seus impactos e conflitos socioambientais e sanitários. Usamos como referenciais teóricos e empíricos os acúmulos provenientes dos campos da economia ecológica e da ecologia política, assim como as experiências de cooperação junto à Rede Brasileira de Justiça Ambiental e diversos movimentos sociais. Dois casos serão aprofundados, o do agronegócio e uso de agrotóxicos, e a expansão da cadeia siderúrgica no país. Ao final, elencamos alguns pontos para compor uma agenda da "crise" socioambiental.

The 1st National Environmental Health Conference, in December 2009, presents countless challenges to the field of Public Health. It debates key concepts as development, sustainability, production and consumption processes, democracy and public policies; advocating for innovative, interdisciplinary and intersectorial aspects of Environmental Health. The Conference recovers and articulates important themes for the Public Health, and also indicates the need of reflecting the socio-environmental determinants of health at the present time, in order to provide progresses in the construction of guidelines and actions to health surveillance and promotion. This article discusses the characteristics of the Brazilian model of development, its impacts and conflicts within social, environmental and health fields. We use theoretical and empirical contributions from the fields of Ecological Economy and Political Ecology, as well as, experiences of cooperation with the Brazilian Network on Environmental Justice and several social movements. Two cases are discussed in more detail: the first related to agribusiness and the use of pesticides, and the other about the expansion of the iron and steel industry in Brazil. We conclude proposing some elements that could be incorporated by a research agenda committed to the debate about the "socioenvironmental crisis".

A coincineração de resíduos em fornos de cimento: riscos para a saúde e o meio ambiente / Co-incineration in cement kilns: health and environmental risks

O objetivo do artigo é discutir a forma como a coincineração de resíduos em fábricas de cimento vem crescendo no Brasil, bem como seus impactos sobre a saúde humana e o meio ambiente. Informações gerais sobre mercado e efeitos sobre a saúde foram obtidas através de revisão bibliográfica e alguns estudos de caso, escolhidos a partir de debate com integrantes da Rede Brasileira de Justiça Ambiental, foram construídos para ilustrar a situação no Brasil. Os estudos encontrados mostraram que, independente do nível de desenvolvimento tecnológico dos países, a saúde dos trabalhadores e das pessoas que moram próximas às fábricas de cimento vem sendo prejudicada pela poluição emitida pelas empresas de cimento, em especial por aquelas que praticam a coincineração. Além disso, no contexto brasileiro, a vulnerabilidade das instituições e populações afetadas tende a agravar este problema. Como conclusão, defende-se o aumento da capacidade institucional dos órgãos brasileiros responsáveis pelo monitoramento das atividades industriais, bem como uma rediscussão mais aprofundada dos aspectos políticos e éticos ligados ao transporte e comércio de resíduos industriais.

In this article we discuss the development of hazardous waste co-incineration in cement kilns in Brazil as well as its impacts on health and the environment. Information was gathered through an extensive review on social and environmental impacts of co-incineration, and case studies, chosen after discussion with social movement representatives concerned with the co-incineration issue and related to the Brazilian Network on Environmental Justice, are described to illustrate the reality of co-incineration in Brazil. Studies showed that workers and community health suffers negative impacts from such practices in high-, middle- and low-income countries. In the Brazilian context, the institutional and social vulnerability intensifies these problems. To conclude, we argue for the necessity of increasing the institutional capacity of health and environmental agencies in Brazil, through staff training and better infra-structure. Additionally, we also propose a return of the debate about political and ethical aspects of industrial waste trade.

[Economic development axis and socioenvironmental conflicts generation in Brazil: challenges to sustainability and environmental justice]. / Eixos de desenvolvimento econômico e geração de conflitos socioambientais no Brasil: desafios para a sustentabilidade e a justiça ambiental.

The 1st National Environmental Health Conference, in December 2009, presents countless challenges to the field of Public Health. It debates key concepts as development, sustainability, production and consumption processes, democracy and public policies; advocating for innovative, interdisciplinary and intersectorial aspects of Environmental Health. The Conference recovers and articulates important themes for the Public Health, and also indicates the need of reflecting the socio-environmental determinants of health at the present time, in order to provide progresses in the construction of guidelines and actions to health surveillance and promotion. This article discusses the characteristics of the Brazilian model of development, its impacts and conflicts within social, environmental and health fields. We use theoretical and empirical contributions from the fields of Ecological Economy and Political Ecology, as well as, experiences of cooperation with the Brazilian Network on Environmental Justice and several social movements. Two cases are discussed in more detail: the first related to agribusiness and the use of pesticides, and the other about the expansion of the iron and steel industry in Brazil. We conclude proposing some elements that could be incorporated by a research agenda committed to the debate about the 'socioenvironmental crisis'.

[Co-incineration in cement kilns: health and environmental risks]. / A coincineração de resíduos em fornos de cimento: riscos para a saúde e o meio ambiente.

In this article we discuss the development of hazardous waste co-incineration in cement kilns in Brazil as well as its impacts on health and the environment. Information was gathered through an extensive review on social and environmental impacts of co-incineration, and case studies, chosen after discussion with social movement representatives concerned with the co-incineration issue and related to the Brazilian Network on Environmental Justice, are described to illustrate the reality of co-incineration in Brazil. Studies showed that workers and community health suffers negative impacts from such practices in high-, middle- and low-income countries. In the Brazilian context, the institutional and social vulnerability intensifies these problems. To conclude, we argue for the necessity of increasing the institutional capacity of health and environmental agencies in Brazil, through staff training and better infra-structure. Additionally, we also propose a return of the debate about political and ethical aspects of industrial waste trade.