BackgroundFew studies have evaluated the association between quality of life (QoL) and functional activity limitations (FAL) of leprosy patients as determined by the Screening of Activity Limitation and Safety Awareness scale (SALSA).AimTo identify the association between FALs and the QoL of patients during and post leprosy treatment.Materials and MethodsCross-sectional survey of 104 patients with leprosy followed in specialist reference centres in Sergipe, Brazil, between June and October 2014. QoL was evaluated using the World Health Organization-QoL-BREF (WHOQoL-BREF) questionnaire. The SALSA scale was used to measure FALs.ResultsLow SALSA scores were present in 76% of patients. QoL scores were lower for the physical and environmental domains, with median (interquartile range (IQR)) scores of 53.6 (32.1–67.9) and 53.1 (46.9–64.8), respectively. There was a statistical association between increasing SALSA scores and lower QoL as measured by the WHOQoL-BREF.ConclusionFunctional limitations are associated with lower QoL in leprosy patients, especially in the physical and environmental WHOQoL-BREF domains.

Este trabalho apresenta conceitos e metodologias para a realização de estudos de prospecção, utilizando o documento de patente, com fonte de informação tecnológica, para verificar o estado da arte de sistemas denominados "Túnel de diluição", para estudos de emissões veiculares. Este estudo visa a demonstrar, dentre outras, a importância da gestão da informação, como mecanismo de apoio ao monitoramento tecnológico para tomada de decisão, tendo como vetor principal a análise de informação tecnológica em documentos de patentes e o papel do profissional da informação, utilizando as metodologias de estratégias de busca em bancos e bases de dados, como matéria-prima para a realização dos estudos de prospecção. Os métodos de prospecção tecnológica utilizados foram feitos, inicialmente, através de buscas de anterioridade e similaridade em bancos de dados de patentes, nacionais e internacionais, com estratégias de buscas adequadas aos recursos disponíveis em cada base de dados. Assim, este trabalho apresenta a fase da inteligência competitiva, na qual são identificadas, mapeadas, coletadas, tratadas e analisadas as informações extraídas de bases de patentes para geração de mapas de conhecimento, como subsídio ao pensar estratégico, objetivando facilitar e apoiar a tomada de decisão na direção do desenvolvimento do setor industrial. Com os resultados alcançados, foi possível identificar o percentual de documentos de patentes depositados pela área acadêmica, empresas, instituições de pesquisa e pessoas físicas, além de identificar as rotas tecnológicas e empresas detentoras da referida tecnologias no mundo.

Objective:To evaluate the quality of life of mothers of children with microcephaly compared to the quality of life of mothers with children of the same age but with normal neuropsychomotor development (NPM). Method: This study was a cross-sectional, comparative, analytical study held in a public reference service. Seventy-eight (78) mothers with children between birth and two years old, with and without changes in their NMP, were interviewed. The abbreviated Questionnaire for the Evaluation of Quality of Life (WHOQOLbref) and a sociodemographic evaluation questionnaire, developed by the author, were used.The data were analyzed descriptively, evaluating the association between variables and correlation tests. Results: Mothers of children with microcephaly showed lower scores for various quality of life domains, however there was only a statistically significant difference for the environmental domain (48.40 for the group of mothers of children with microcephaly vs. 57.13 for the group of mothers with children with normal NPM, P<0.02). It should be noted that there were also significant negative correlations between the majority obstetric variables, maternal age and quality of life scores. There was no significant association between the child's age and such scores. Conclusion: Children with neuropsychomotor variations have not influenced their mother's quality of life, rather, the mother's quality of life is affected predominantly by housing conditions and financial resources.