Avaliação da qualidade de vida de açougueiros com a utilização do WHOQOL-bref / Butcher's quality of life evaluation with the WHOQOL-bref

Contexto: Profissões como a de açougueiro, que requerem técnicas e habilidades específicas, estão em déficit no mundo. Consequentemente, há sobrecarga de trabalho para os profissionais existentes no mercado, e isso pode afetar a qualidade de vida desses indivíduos. Objetivo: Avaliar a qualidade de vida de açougueiros de uma rede de casa de carnes da cidade de São Paulo. Método: Estudo observacional do tipo transversal com um grupo selecionado de açougueiros e um grupo controle, com faixa etária de 18 a 45 anos, de ambos os gêneros. Foram utilizados questionários de Qualidade de Vida (The World Health Organization Quality of Life, bref ­ WHOQOL-bref) em uma amostra de 50 açougueiros e 50 sujeitos de grupo controle. Resultados: Foi observado que, em todos os domínios de qualidade de vida avaliados, com exceção da autoavaliação, os escores nos açougueiros foram em média estatisticamente menores que nos controles (p<0,05), mesmo após ajuste das características que foram diferentes entre os grupos. Conclusão: Este estudo proporciona dados pouco investigados em outras pesquisas e sugere que a avaliação de açougueiros deve ser continuada quanto à percepção da qualidade vida desses profissionais.

Background: There is a global shortage of individuals for jobs that require special skills and techniques, such as butchers. As a result, the available workers are overloaded, which might impair their quality of life. Objective: To assess the quality of life of butchers working for a network of butcher shops in Sao Paulo. Method: Cross-sectional observational study with a selected group of butchers and a control group, with age ranging from 18 to 45 years old and from both genders. A quality of life questionnaire (World Health Organization Quality of Life, bref ­ WHOQOL-bref) was applied to a sample of 50 butchers and 50 controls. Results: The scores for butchers were statistically significantly lower in all quality of life variables, except for self-assessment compared to the controls (p<0.05) even after adjustment for characteristics differing between the groups. Conclusion: The present study provides data poorly investigated in other studies, and suggests that assessment of the perception of the quality of life of butchers should continue.

Factores de riesgo biomecánicos y psicosociales presentes en la industria venezolana de la carne / Biomechanical and psychosocial risk factors in the Venezuelan meat processing industry

INTRODUCCIÓN: la identificación y evaluación de factores de riesgo relacionados a trastornos musculoesqueléticos (TME) representa la base para una efectiva adaptación de las condiciones de trabajo. OBJETIVO: evaluar los principales factores de riesgo biomecánico y psicosocial a los que se exponen trabajadores de la industria cárnica. Método: el estudio es descriptivo, transversal, basado en observación directa, encuestas y análisis de videos, para la aplicación de las metodologías RULA, OCRA, ecuación de NIOSH, ERGO y CoPsoQ-ISTAS21, sobre 71 tareas. RESULTADOS: el mayor riesgo postural recae en tareas de embutido y empaque, alcanzándose puntajes RULA de 7. En cuanto a repetitividad destaca el empaque de productos cocidos con 60% de sus tareas en nivel medio. Los mayores riesgos por levantamiento de cargas se ubicaron en las áreas de embutido, con índices inaceptables entre 25% y 50% de sus tareas. En empujes y arrastres de cargas, cinco de las seis áreas presentaron niveles inaceptables de riesgo. Los factores psicosociales de inseguridad, doble presencia, estima y exigencias psicológicas fueron percibidos negativamente por más del 50% de los trabajadores. DISCUSIÓN: entre las principales causantes de los altos niveles de riesgo destacan: levantamiento de productos por encima de hombros, realización de actividades manuales de pre-empaque y el empuje manual de contenedores pesados. CONCLUSIONES: el sector analizado reúne niveles de riesgo biomecánico y psicosocial que lo hace vulnerable a la aparición de TME.

INTRODUCTION: the identification and assessment of risk factors related to Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSD) is the basis for an effective adaptation of working conditions. OBJECTIVE: the aim is to evaluate the main biomechanical and psychosocial risk factors in workers of a meat processing industry. METHOD: the study is descriptive, transversal, based on direct observation, surveys and analysis of videos, for the application of the methodologies RULA, OCRA, NIOSH's equation, ERGO and CoPsoQ-ISTAS21, about 71 tasks. RESULTS: the greater postural risk is in task of inlay and packaging, which reach RULA's scores of 7. In terms of repeatability, the packaging of products cooked stand out with 60% of its tasks at moderate level. The greatest risks by lifting were located in the inlay areas, with unacceptable rates between 25% and 50% of its tasks. Five of the six areas showed unacceptable levels of risk in push and drag. The psychosocial factors: insecurity, double presence, esteem and psychological demands were perceived negatively by more than 50% of the workers. DISCUSSION: the main causes of the high levels of risk include: lifting of products above shoulders, manual activities of pre-packaging and the manual pushing of heavy containers. CONCLUSIONS: the meat industry has biomechanical and psychosocial risk levels that make it vulnerable to MSD.

Predictive efficiency of distinct color image segmentation methods for measuring intramuscular fat in beef / Eficiência preditiva de distintos métodos de segmentação da cor de imagem para mensurar a gordura intramuscular na carne bovina

Intramuscular fat (IMF) influences important quality characteristics of meat, such as flavor, juiciness, palatability, odor and tenderness. Thus, the objective of this study was to apply the following image processing techniques to quantify the IMF in beef: palette; sampling, interval of coordinates; black and white threshold; and discriminant function of colors. Thirty-five samples of beef, with a wide range of IMF, were used. Color images were taken of the meat samples from different muscles, with variability in the IMF content. The IMF of a thin cross-section meat was determined by chemical lipid extraction and was predicted by image analysis. The chemical method was compared with the image analysis. The segmentation procedures were validated by the adjustment of a linear regression equation to the series of values that were observed and predicted, as well as the regression parameters evaluated by the F-test. The predictive power of these approaches was also compared by residual analysis and by the decomposition of the mean square deviations. The results showed that the discriminant function was the best color segmentation method to measure intramuscular fat via digital images, but required adjustments in the prediction pattern.

A gordura intramuscular (GIM) influencia importantes características qualitativas da carne, tais como: sabor, suculência, palatabilidade, odor e maciez. Assim, objetivou-se aplicar diferentes técnicas de processamento de imagem para quantificar a GIM na carne bovina: paleta, amostragem, intervalo de coordenadas, limiar de preto e branco e função discriminante de cores. Foram utilizadas 35 amostras de bifes com uma ampla gama de GIM. Foram capturadas imagens coloridas das amostras de carne de diferentes músculos com uma variabilidade no conteúdo de GIM. A gordura intramuscular da secção transversal e fina de carne foi determinada por extração química dos lipídios e predita por análise de imagem. O método químico foi comparado com a análise de imagem. Os procedimentos de segmentação foram validados pelo ajustamento de uma equação de regressão linear na série de valores observados e preditos e os parâmetros da regressão avaliados pelo teste F. O poder preditivo destas aproximações também foi comparado por meio de análise residual e pela decomposição do quadrado médio dos desvios. Os resultados mostraram que a função discriminante foi o melhor método de segmentação da cor para mensurar a gordura intramuscular via imagem digital, mas necessita de ajustes no padrão de predição.

Escherichia coli verotoxigénica: modelo cuantitativo de exposición y escenarios de riesgos en canales bovinas en Argentina / Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli: quantitative model of exposure and risk scenarios in cattle carcasses in Argentina

OBJETIVOS: Cuantificar la contaminación por Escherichia coli verotoxigénica asociada con el síndrome urémico hemolítico (ECvt-SUH) en las canales de ganado bovino y generar estimaciones de exposición en tres escenarios probables. MÉTODOS: Se modeló la frecuencia y la magnitud de la contaminación por ECvt-SUH desde la producción primaria hasta la salida de las canales del frigorífico, a partir de la información científica publicada y datos epidemiológicos y de expertos locales. Las distribuciones de la probabilidad que mejor describieron cada paso del proceso y los escenarios se incorporaron en el programa @Risk®, con simulaciones múltiples mediante el análisis Monte Carlo. Para el análisis de sensibilidad se aplicó la prueba de correlación de Pearson. RESULTADOS: La frecuencia estimada de canales con ECvt-SUH fue 0,37 (IC95 por ciento: 0,26 a 0,58) y la carga final de ECvt-SUH fue 0,47 log ufc/canal (IC95 por ciento: -2,46 a 3,62). Las variables más fuertemente relacionadas fueron: el sistema de engorde (r = -0,681) y la concentración teórica de ECvt-SUH en la piel de los bovinos (r = 0,702). La vacunación de los animales redujo en 54,1 por ciento la frecuencia de ECvt-SUH en las canales, aunque la carga final de ECvt-SUH no sufrió cambios significativos. El duchado de las canales redujo la carga final en 0,42 log ufc/canal con respecto al modelo basal, sin modificar la frecuencia. Un incremento en la proporción de animales engordados en corrales hasta 50-60 por ciento aumentaría un 15-23 por ciento la frecuencia de canales contaminadas con ECvt-SUH. CONCLUSIONES: La vacunación de los animales resultó el escenario más eficaz para reducir el ingreso de la bacteria en la cadena agroindustrial de la carne bovina. La intensificación de la producción ganadera incrementará el riesgo a la salud pública por una mayor exposición a ECvt-SUH.

OBJECTIVES: Quantify contamination by verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli associated with hemolytic uremic syndrome (VTEC-HUS) in cattle carcasses and generate estimates of exposure in three likely scenarios. METHODS: A model was constructed of the frequency and magnitude of VTEC-HUS contamination from primary production to the removal of the carcasses from cold storage, based on the published scientific information, epidemiological data, and information from local experts. The probability distributions that best described each step in the process and scenarios were input to the @Risk® program with multiple simulations using Monte Carlo analysis. Pearson´s correlation test was used for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: The estimated frequency of carcasses with VTEC-HUS was 0.37 (95 percent CI: 0.26 to 0.58) and the final load of VTEC-HUS was 0.47 log CFU/carcass (95 percent CI: -2.46 to 3.62). The most closely related variables were the fattening system (r = -0.681) and the theoretical concentration of VTEC-HUS on the cattle's skin (r = 0.702). Vaccinating the animals reduced the frequency of VTEC-HUS in the carcasses by 54.1 percent, although there were no significant changes in the final VTEC-HUS load. Washing the carcasses reduced the final load by 0.42 log CFU/carcass compared with the baseline model, without any change in the frequency. A 50 percent-60 percent increase in the percentage of animals fattened in pens would increase the frequency of carcasses contaminated with VTEC-HUS by 15 percent-23 percent. CONCLUSIONS: Vaccinating the animals was the most effective scenario for reducing introduction of the bacteria in the beef production chain. Intensifying livestock production will increase the public health risk due to greater exposure to VTEC-HUS.