There have been many recent examples in the news of how employees were motivated by their companies to take actions that were not best for the long term success of the company. Mortgage companies gave financial incentives to brokers for each loan approved regardless of quality, which resulted in a large number of defaults several years later. BP, the oil company, gave financial incentives to employees based on short-term profits, which motivated management to perform cheaper and less frequent maintenance on the Alaskan Pipeline. This led to increased bonuses until a pipeline failure several years later. And numerous financial institutions gave employees big performance bonuses based on short-term profits one year before their institutions failed. Many analysts have stated that lucrative bonuses that did not take into account long-term company performance motivated many employees to take dangerous financial risks. In addition, in my 16 years of software development consulting, I have first-hand experience with seeing how companies' motivation techniques influence people to ignore the long-term success of their company. I have seen incentives for delivering a project on time influence project managers and developers to push low quality software into production in order to meet that deadline. Similarly, I have seen incentives (for meeting budget numbers on a project) influence managers to eliminate planning and quality assurance in order to lower the cost of implementing the project. In each of those cases, the resulting low quality software caused long-term damage to the company that could have been avoided if the project were higher quality but slightly late or over budget. I have also seen that incentives, intended to encourage call center employees to take more calls per hour, ended up motivating employees to hang up on customers without solving their problems. This resulted in low customer satisfaction, which led to a long term reduction in sales. These are only a few of the many examples I have seen in my career of how the wrong motivational techniques can have unintended, negative, long-term results for a company. Regardless of whether the motivational techniques are based on profits, revenues, productivity, stock price, or some other factor, many motivational techniques include financial incentives that are based on monthly, quarterly, or yearly results without regard for longer periods of time. Long term incentives, such as vesting in a 401(k) or increased vacation time, are typically focused solely on retaining employees rather than on long-term company performance. This thesis explores the ways in which companies currently motivate employees. The motivation may be extrinsic, using tools such as financial incentives or it may be intrinsic, using tools such as company culture or hiring practices. This thesis will review both academic research and practical management experience related to employee motivation with a goal of identifying practical recommendations for improving the current, common motivational practices. These improvements should encourage employees to take the best actions for the long-term success of the company. / text

The objective of this study was to transform sweet pepper ferredoxin-like protein (PFLP) gene, which has antimicrobial properties, to tobacco and investigate the disease resistance abilities of transgenic tobacco. This protein interacts with another protein, harpin that is produced by the bacteria which is invading the plant tissues, and stimulates hypersensitivity response in plants, thus the spreading of disease is limited. Gene transfer was achieved to tobacco by Agrobacterium- mediated method and with indirect organogenesis / the explants were grown on selective media and then transferred to jars and pots respectively. Molecular and genetic analyses such as PCR, RT-PCR, Sequence Analysis and Northern Blot, were performed with plants which their seeds survived and grew on selective medium and also gave positive reactions for GUS histochemical assay. Finally, with putative transgenic plants, some hypersensitive response assays were carried out with Pseudomonas syringae and it was observed that the recovered plants showed hypersensitive response (HR) in the preliminary tests. These results indicated that putative transgenic tobacco plants which carry pflp transgene, can be used in disease resistance studies.

The aim of this master thesis is to provide analyzes of the system and structure of human resources management in the company MOTOR JIKOV Slévárna a.s., to design innovations and to map the educational process of the employees within company. The field data collection is based on questionnaire survey. The theoretical part of the thesis, together with the practical one, is the base for setting up the innovations within the company itself.

Workplace bullying is a sensitive issue and a psychological terror in the workplace, with severe effects on employees’ and organisations’ health, dignity, employee relations, and wellbeing. As a vital link between different constituencies in the organisation, human resource (HR) practitioners face many challenges in their attempt to address and manage workplace bullying, while simultaneously striving to promote employee wellbeing and positive employee relations. This study endeavoured to explore workplace bullying from the point of view of HR practitioners tasked with identifying and dealing with bullying in the workplace, and to develop a substantive theory of workplace bullying from their perspectives. The empirical study, conducted in two tertiary institutions in South Africa, employed grounded theory as a methodological approach with nine HR practitioners selected by non-probability purposive sampling, which is congruent with a grounded theory methodology. Selection criteria were applied to sample participants on the basis of relevance and acceptability. A qualitative, constructivist grounded theory research design was used to explore HR practitioners’ perspectives on workplace bullying with data gathered by means of in-depth interviews and official documents to gain insight and understanding of their experiences of workplace bullying. In-depth interviews were audio-recorded and data transcribed verbatim, analysed and interpreted using grounded theory coding strategies, memo writing and theoretical sampling. Findings were supported by verbatim quotes and a literature review. The study proposes a substantive workplace bullying theory and a conceptual workplace bullying framework to guide organisations and highlight the practical value for empowering the HR practitioners. It addresses the need to manage workplace bullying in the organisation and help management be more knowledgeable about bullying, effectively fostering a zero-tolerance culture. The study revealed that the HR practitioner’s role is torn between a responsibility to the business goals and management, and to support and championing the case of the targets in potential bullying situations. It should contribute to the limited body of knowledge on HR practitioners’ perspectives on workplace bullying within the South African context. / Psychology / D.Phil. (Philosophy)

This thesis apply High Resolution Electron Back Scatter Diffraction (HR-EBSD) technique to a variety of microstructure features and their interactions in pure h.c.p polycrystals. By correlating high quality Kikuchi patterns with a reference pattern, the relative state and distribution of strain, stress, and geometrically necessary dislocation (GND) density can be obtained with high strain sensitivity (10^-4) and angular resolution (10<sup-4</sup> radian). This technique is companied by a further investigation of subsurface features using Differential Aperture X-ray Micro-diffraction (DAXM) technique. The two technique have shown excellent agreement in capturing the magnitude and distribution of stress and GND. Stress field and GND distribution induced by slip band and grain boundary interactions, including blocked slip band with no observable slip transfer in SEM and slip transfer, were characterised. It was found that some blocked slip bands lead to high and localised stress concentration in the neighbouring grain while others did not, and no stress concentration were correlated with transferred slip bands. These three categories of interactions were rationalised using a slip transfer criteria (called LRB criteria) by investigating the geometric alignments between the impinging slip system and all possible slip systems in the neighbouring grain. The level of stress concentration were quantified into a stress intensity factor K, following the Frank, Eshelby, and Nabarro (FEN) model. It was found that the level of stress intensity correlates well with the number of dislocations within the pile up plane. The slip band and grain boundary interaction case that led to the highest magnitude of stress intensity factor was further investigated using DAXM experiments. The 3D data set informed us additional information hidden below the sample surface. The distribution of stress concentration in 3D is a ribbon conforming to the line of intersection between slip plane and grain boundary. Stress intensity factor calculation along this ribbon have shown large variations which led to a concern that sometimes 2D results might not be conclusive. For example, if damage is observed in sample surface, there is a possibility that large populations of damage already exist below sample surface as a result of the stress fluctuations. The level of stress concentration and distribution measured by both HR-EBSD and DAXM agree with each other and 3D lattice rotation gradient used in DAXM GND calculation was found to affect the range of GND distribution and how fast it decays away from grain boundary. Twinning is a deformation mechanism in HCP metal that is equally important as dislocation slip. The stress concentrations associated with twin propagation, approaching grain boundary, and thickening were characterised using HR-EBSD, from which the calculated stress tensor were used to generate a local Schmid factor (LSF) map. It was found that during twin propagation, local positive shear provides a favourable LSF condition that promote twin tip extension while supress it from thicken. When twin tip is approaching the grain boundary, the positive shear stress field no longer favour twin propagation, a narrow positive LSF field still exist at the tip of twin, promoting it to grow thick. During propagation and thickening process, the LSF seem to only affect the tip of twins and therefore these processes are possibly tip controlled.

O consumo de fórmulas infantis no Brasil, utilizadas como substituto do leite materno, tem aumentado nos últimos anos de forma significativa. Tal fato é uma preocupação para os órgãos de saúde pois, o aleitamento materno exclusivo até no mínimo 6 meses, deixou de fazer parte de nutrição da maioria dos lactentes. Os produtos utilizados como substituto do leite materno contêm quantidades suficientes de vitaminas e nutrientes que ajudam no desenvolvimento normal do organismo dos lactentes. Entretanto, além de elementos essenciais, podem conter elementos potencialmente tóxicos presentes na matéria prima ou oriundos das etapas de processamento e armazenamento das mesmas. No presente trabalho foram desenvolvidos métodos analítico para determinar a presença de elementos potencialmente tóxicos (As, Cd, Pb e Tl) e essenciais (Cu e Mn) em fórmulas infantis, utilizando espectrometria de absorção atômica de alta resolução com fonte contínua e forno de grafite e análise direta de sólidos. As amostras utilizadas neste trabalho foram obtidas nos mercados da cidade de Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, todas na forma sólida (pó) com diferentes composições e matéria prima (arroz, aveia, soja e leite). As curvas de calibração foram realizadas com soluções padrão aquosas e os métodos otimizados foram aplicados nas amostras em estudo. Em todas as amostras os elementos As, Cd, Pb e Tl apresentaram valores de concentração abaixo do limite de detecção. Das seis amostras analisadas, três apresentaram valores de concentração de Cu abaixo dos parâmetros mínimos estabelecidos pela legislação brasileira, enquanto que para o Mn todas amostras apresentaram valores de concentração dentro dos parâmetros mínimos da legislação brasileira. Os métodos desenvolvidos foram simples, exatos e precisos, podendo ser utilizados para análise de rotina. / The consumption of infant formula in Brazil, as a replacement of breast milk, has lately increased significantly. It is a major concern for health agencies because the exclusive breastfeeding up to at least 6 months is no longer part of most infants. The products used as a substitute of the breast milk contain sufficient amounts of vitamins and nutrients, which helps in the normal development of the infants. However, besides the essential elements, it may contain potentially toxic elements present in raw material or from of the processing and storage stages of the same. In the present work the presence of the essential (Cu e Mn) and potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Pb e Tl) in infant formulas were evaluated. For this, analytical methods were developed for the determination of As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb and Tl using high-resolution continnum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and direct solid sampling analysis in infant formulas. The samples were acquired in Porto Alegre’s market, RS, Brazil, all in powder form with different compositions and raw materials (rice, oats, soy and bovine milk). The calibration curves were performed with aqueous standard solutions and the optimized methods were applied in the study samples. In all samples, the concentration values of As, Pb, Cd and Tl were below of the limit of detection. For the analyzed samples, three of them present the concentration values of Cu lower than the minimum parameters established by Brazilian legislation, while for Mn, all samples present the concentration values within the minimum parameters of Brazilian legislation. The developed methods for the determination of these elements in infant formulas were simple, exacts and precise, and can be applicated for the routine analysis.

Submitted by DIÊGO VICTOR DE BABOS null (diegobabos@hotmail.com) on 2016-08-08T23:38:08Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação Diêgo Babos.pdf: 1989792 bytes, checksum: 30376a94b5f5cac12b35744978cd6cc7 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-08-11T14:14:27Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 babos_dv_me_araiq_par.pdf: 1035449 bytes, checksum: 4a4c8a9a99f92024681ea27985b94b19 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-11T14:14:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 babos_dv_me_araiq_par.pdf: 1035449 bytes, checksum: 4a4c8a9a99f92024681ea27985b94b19 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-18 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Avaliou-se a amostragem direta de sólidos como base de métodos analíticos simples, rápidos e mais limpos para determinar Co, Mo, Ni e V em tecido vegetal e solo empregando a espectrometria de absorção atômica de alta resolução com fonte contínua. Esta técnica foi escolhida devido as suas características peculiares, especialmente a elevada capacidade de correção de fundo. Na determinação de cobalto em material vegetal, a sobreposição espectral de SiO(g) na linha 240,725 nm do Co foi corrigida pelo método dos mínimos quadrados. Curvas de calibração (0–540 pg) com bons coeficientes de correlação lineares (R 0,9993) foram obtidas com padrões sólidos. O limite de detecção (LOD) foi 3 pg Co. Na determinação simultânea de Mo e Ni em material vegetal, empregou-se Co como padrão interno para Ni. Curvas de calibração (0,8-50 ng Ni; 0-0,33 ng Mo) lineares (R 0,9937) foram obtidas com padrões aquosos sem modificador químico. Os LODs foram 0,018 ng Mo e 0,025 ng Ni. A padronização interna aumentou a precisão das medidas para Ni de 62-135% para 94-105%. Vanádio e Co foram determinados em solos empregando NH4F como modificador. As calibrações, com padrões aquosos para V (0-40 ng), e por compatibilização de matriz para Co (0-5,0 ng), forneceram R 0,9979. Os LODs foram 0,044 ng Co e 0,43 ng V. Na determinação de Mo e Ni em solo, o modificador Mg(NO3)2 foi utilizado apenas para Ni. As curvas de calibração aquosas (0-500 ng Ni; 0-0,54 ng Mo) forneceram R 0,9953. Na determinação do Ni foi monitorado o tripleto em 341,377 nm, 341,347 nm e 341,394 nm, permitindo determinar Ni em ampla faixa de concentração. Os LODs foram 0,0082 ng Mo (313,259 nm), 0,021 ng Ni (341,477 nm),1,8 ng Ni (341,347 nm). A exatidão dos métodos foi avaliada via análise de materiais de referência certificados de solos e plantas. De uma forma geral, os resultados obtidos foram concordantes com os valores certificados ao nível de confiança de 95%. / High-resolution continuum source atomic absorption spectrometry with direct solid sampling was employed for the development of simple, fast and clean analytical methods for Co, Mo, Ni and V determination in soil and plant materials. The technique has as main advantages the efficiency to correct background absorption. For cobalt determination in plant material, a spectral overlap of SiO molecular absorption in Co line was corrected by using least squares background correction method. Calibration curves (0-540 pg) with correlation coefficients higher of 0.9993 were obtained with solid standards. The limit of detection was of 3 pg Co. For simultaneous determination of Mo and Ni in plant material Co was employed as internal standard for Ni. Calibration curves (0.8-50 ng Ni; 0-0.33 ng Mo) with correlation coefficients higher of 0.9937 were obtained with aqueous standards without chemical modifier. The LODs were 0.025 and 0.018 ng for Mo and Ni, respectively. The internal standardization increased the accuracy of Ni determinations from 62-135% to 94-105%. For V and Co determinations in soils the NH4F was used as chemical modifier. The calibration with aqueous standards for V (0-40 ng), and compatibility matrix for Co (0-5.0 ng), provided linear correlation coefficients better of 0.9979. The LODs were 0.044 and 0.43 ng for Co and V, respectively. For Mo and Ni determination in soil the Mg(NO3)2 was used as chemical modifier for Ni. The aqueous calibration curves (0-500 ng Ni; 0-0.54 ng Mo) provided linear correlation coefficients higher of 0.9953. For Ni determination were used the triplet lines at 341.377 nm, 341.347 nm and 341.394 nm, allowing the determination of Ni in wide concentration range. The calculated LODs were 0.0082 ng Mo (313.259 nm), 0.021 ng Ni (341.477 nm), 1.8 ng Ni (341.347 nm). The accuracy of the proposed methods was assessed by analysis of certified reference materials of soils and plants. In general, the results were in agreement with the certified values at 95% confidence level (t-test).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:22:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2008-01-18Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:08:13Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 galindo_jrf_me_prud.pdf: 1101121 bytes, checksum: fe484a202d77b0a31f93d9a5e1d4b42a (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Desde o advento dos primeiros satélites de Sensoriamento Remoto, vários são os estudos desenvolvidos com o intuito de utilizar as imagens produzidas por estes sensores para fins cartográficos. Apesar das imagens de baixa e média resolução não possuírem a precisão requerida para aplicações cartográficas em escalas grandes, existem vantagens como: serem imagens multiespectrais, possuírem periodicidade e menores custos para a sua aquisição, quando comparadas com as obtidas através dos tradicionais levantamentos aerofotogramétricos. Uma melhoria presente nos satélites de alta e média resolução é a capacidade de visada off nadir, o que permite à formação de pares estereoscópicos e a reconstrução 3D da cena imageada, a geração de modelos digitais de elevação (MDE) e a produção de imagens ortorretificadas, dentre outros produtos. Com os primeiros pares estereoscópicos adquiridos pelo sensor HR-CCD (High Resolution Charge-Coupled Devices) do CBERS-2 (2004), surgiu a possibilidade de realizar estudos objetivando a geração de produtos cartográficos a partir desses estereopares... / Since the advent of the first Remote Sensing satellites, many studies have been developed with the intention of using the images produced by these sensors for cartographic purpose. Although these images of the average resolution do not possess the accuracy required for cartographic applications in big scales, their advantages include being multispectral, periodic repetition of acquisition, and lower cost when compared to images obtained through traditional aerial photogrammetric surveys. An improvement present in medium and high resolution satellites is their off nadir capacity, which allows 3D reconstruction based on stereoscopy, the generation of digital elevation models (DEM) and the production of orthorectified images, among others products. With the first stereoscopic pairs acquired by the CBERS-2 (2004) HR-CCD (High Resolution Charge-Coupled Device) sensor, the possibility now exists of realizing studies whose goal is generating cartographic products from these stereo pairs. Within this context, this work evaluated the geometric quality of a CBERS-2 HR-CCD stereo pair making use of the DLT (Direct Linear Transformation) mathematical model and Polynomial-Based Pushbroom model, available from the Leica Photogrammetry Suite (LPS) digital photogrammetry system by Leica Geosystems, classifying them in accordance with the Cartographic Accuracy Standards... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

Submitted by Automa??o e Estat?stica (sst@bczm.ufrn.br) on 2018-01-24T12:15:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 IzabelKalineDaSilvaOliveira_TESE.pdf: 1323354 bytes, checksum: 0c2134eae1c9170e6277290fc8a4b9da (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Arlan Eloi Leite Silva (eloihistoriador@yahoo.com.br) on 2018-01-26T13:30:04Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 IzabelKalineDaSilvaOliveira_TESE.pdf: 1323354 bytes, checksum: 0c2134eae1c9170e6277290fc8a4b9da (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-26T13:30:04Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 IzabelKalineDaSilvaOliveira_TESE.pdf: 1323354 bytes, checksum: 0c2134eae1c9170e6277290fc8a4b9da (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-07-28 / Ag?ncia Nacional de Petr?leo - ANP / O cloreto ? considerado um dos principais contaminantes do petr?leo, pois interfere no processo de transporte e refino e pode ser transferido para os produtos derivados finais. Durante o refino, a presen?a de cloreto pode levar a forma??o de HCl, causando s?rios problemas de corros?o. Nesse sentido, foi desenvolvida uma metodologia para determina??o de cloro em amostras de petr?leo, preparadas sob a forma de emuls?es, por espectrometria de absor??o molecular de alta resolu??o com fonte cont?nua atrav?s da mol?cula diat?mica MgCl no comprimento de onda 377,01 nm. O preparo da emuls?o foi otimizado atrav?s de um planejamento experimental Centroid-Simplex. As condi??es ?timas de preparo das emuls?es foram: 0,5mL HNO3 5% (v/v), 0,5mL de xileno e 2 mL de uma mistura dos solventes n-Propanol/ Triton X-100 na propor??o 5:1. A massa de amostra de petr?leo foi de cerca de 0,20g. Magn?sio foi usado como precursor da mol?cula de MgCl, e a concentra??o otimizada foi de 10 g L-1. Os estudos da propor??o entre Mg e Cl para favorecimento da forma??o da mol?cula mostraram que para garantir a m?xima forma??o da mol?cula de MgCl ? necess?rio utilizar uma raz?o em massa de pelo menos 500 Mg:1 Cl. Uma massa de 5 ?g de Pd foi introduzida ? cada ciclo de inje??o como modificador qu?mico, para aumentar a estabilidade t?rmica da esp?cie molecular. As temperaturas de pir?lise e vaporiza??o otimizadas foram 800 ?C e 2300 ?C, respectivamente. Para an?lise de cloro, foram utilizadas oito amostras de petr?leo da Bacia Potiguar e dois materiais de refer?ncia certificados, ?leo lubrificante aditivado (NIST 1848) e a de ?leo combust?vel (NIST 1634c), foram utilizados para a verifica??o da exatid?o do m?todo. A estrat?gia de calibra??o contra padr?es aquosos foi poss?vel, obtendo-se o LOD de 5 mg kg-1. Testes de adi??o/recupera??o foram realizados e os valores obtidos ficaram na faixa entre 92 e 117%. A metodologia proposta mostra-se simples, r?pida com preparo de amostra simplificado. / Chloride is considered an important contaminant of petroleum as it interferes with the process of transportation and refining and can be transferred to the final product derivatives. During refining, the presence of chloride may lead to the formation of HCl, causing serious corrosion problems. A methodology for the determination of chlorine in petroleum samples prepared by emulsions was developed by high resolution molecular absorption spectrometry with continuum source through the diatomic molecule MgCl, in the wavelength 377.01 nm. The preparation of the emulsion was optimized through centroid-simplex design. The conditions of preparation of the emulsions were: 0.5 mL of 5% (v / v) HNO3, 0.5 mL of xylene and 2 mL of a mixture of n-Propanol / Triton X-100 solvents in the ratio 5:1. The crude oil mass used was about 0.20 g. Magnesium was used as the precursor of the molecule, the optimized concentration was 10 g L-1. The proportional studies between Mg and Cl for the formation of molecules show that to ensure the formation of a MgCl molecule is required for a mass ratio of at least 500 Mg: 1 Cl. A mass of 5 ?g of Pd was introduced at each cycle that chemical modifier for increase the thermal stability of the molecular species. The optimized pyrolysis and vaporization temperatures were 800 ? C and 2300 ? C, respectively. For chlorine analysis, eight crude oil samples from the Potiguar Basin and two certified reference materials, lubricated oil (NIST 1848) and fuel oil (NIST 1634c) were used, to verify the accuracy of the method. The calibration strategy against aqueous standards was possible, obtaining the LOD of 5 mg kg-1. Addition / recovery tests were performed and the values obtained were between 92 and 117%, values acceptable analytically. The proposed methodology is simple, fast with simplified sample preparation.

O consumo de fórmulas infantis no Brasil, utilizadas como substituto do leite materno, tem aumentado nos últimos anos de forma significativa. Tal fato é uma preocupação para os órgãos de saúde pois, o aleitamento materno exclusivo até no mínimo 6 meses, deixou de fazer parte de nutrição da maioria dos lactentes. Os produtos utilizados como substituto do leite materno contêm quantidades suficientes de vitaminas e nutrientes que ajudam no desenvolvimento normal do organismo dos lactentes. Entretanto, além de elementos essenciais, podem conter elementos potencialmente tóxicos presentes na matéria prima ou oriundos das etapas de processamento e armazenamento das mesmas. No presente trabalho foram desenvolvidos métodos analítico para determinar a presença de elementos potencialmente tóxicos (As, Cd, Pb e Tl) e essenciais (Cu e Mn) em fórmulas infantis, utilizando espectrometria de absorção atômica de alta resolução com fonte contínua e forno de grafite e análise direta de sólidos. As amostras utilizadas neste trabalho foram obtidas nos mercados da cidade de Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, todas na forma sólida (pó) com diferentes composições e matéria prima (arroz, aveia, soja e leite). As curvas de calibração foram realizadas com soluções padrão aquosas e os métodos otimizados foram aplicados nas amostras em estudo. Em todas as amostras os elementos As, Cd, Pb e Tl apresentaram valores de concentração abaixo do limite de detecção. Das seis amostras analisadas, três apresentaram valores de concentração de Cu abaixo dos parâmetros mínimos estabelecidos pela legislação brasileira, enquanto que para o Mn todas amostras apresentaram valores de concentração dentro dos parâmetros mínimos da legislação brasileira. Os métodos desenvolvidos foram simples, exatos e precisos, podendo ser utilizados para análise de rotina. / The consumption of infant formula in Brazil, as a replacement of breast milk, has lately increased significantly. It is a major concern for health agencies because the exclusive breastfeeding up to at least 6 months is no longer part of most infants. The products used as a substitute of the breast milk contain sufficient amounts of vitamins and nutrients, which helps in the normal development of the infants. However, besides the essential elements, it may contain potentially toxic elements present in raw material or from of the processing and storage stages of the same. In the present work the presence of the essential (Cu e Mn) and potentially toxic elements (As, Cd, Pb e Tl) in infant formulas were evaluated. For this, analytical methods were developed for the determination of As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb and Tl using high-resolution continnum source graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry and direct solid sampling analysis in infant formulas. The samples were acquired in Porto Alegre’s market, RS, Brazil, all in powder form with different compositions and raw materials (rice, oats, soy and bovine milk). The calibration curves were performed with aqueous standard solutions and the optimized methods were applied in the study samples. In all samples, the concentration values of As, Pb, Cd and Tl were below of the limit of detection. For the analyzed samples, three of them present the concentration values of Cu lower than the minimum parameters established by Brazilian legislation, while for Mn, all samples present the concentration values within the minimum parameters of Brazilian legislation. The developed methods for the determination of these elements in infant formulas were simple, exacts and precise, and can be applicated for the routine analysis.