Endoscopic diagnosis of an intramural hematoma presenting as an anticoagulant ileus

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The pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, in Madeira Island

The environmental conditions in Madeira Island are favorable for the presence and dissemination of the pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus. Five hundred Pinus pinaster wood samples were collected in several forest areas and PWN was detected in 22.8 % of the samples. Bursaphelenchus xylophilus isolates from Madeira Island displayed the species-specific diagnostic characters. A morphological variation in the female tail terminus was detected. In most females, the tail presented a broadly rounded terminus and, occasionally, a digitate terminus with a terminal nipple-like extension resembling a mucro. PCR ITS-RFLP analysis revealed that Madeira Island isolates exhibited patterns specific to the species B. xylophilus and similar to virulent isolates. Amplified ITS regions were further sequenced and no genetic diversity was found for this genomic region among 17 Portuguese isolates (Madeira Island and Continental Portugal). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Portuguese isolates grouped with isolates from China, Korea and one isolate from Japa

Culture, longevity and social policies - Radar's Project from the Portuguese Institution Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa

Culture is intrinsically linked to the values of society. Politics dictates our evolution of society through choices and omissions. Older people and their perceived value to the world must be a global priority. Still, the West has not valued this age group wisely and fairly. The data indicate that the impact of social circumstances on the quality of life of the elderly has not been of paramount importance. Investment in the scientific biosocial approach has been deficient compared to the biomedical approach. However, it has had the most significant positive impact on living standards and longevity. We recognise that the funding of the biosocial approach is not considered as competitive as the biomedical approach, because the methodology of the social sciences is fundamentally different. Public policy lacks accuracy because science cannot overrule political power. Accordingly, from 2021 to 2030, the United Nations Organization has named the decade of healthy ageing. Healthcare, as a pillar of social governance and respect for the lives of the elderly, believes that it is vital to have the necessary social support to prosper. On the basis of these circumstances, this research paper outlines the importance of focusing on the social aspect of living and ageing in assessing this age group. Healthy ageing has reflected improved living standards, and increased longevity must become a political priority. This article highlights the concept of political longevity initiatives and how to observe them from an ethical point of view of social science results in a different picture of society. The different perspectives that we present are useful for the modern science of public health. Radar is a current Portuguese initiative as a political project involving public and social institutions. We analyse this project, focusing on the importance of making healthy global ageing a political option.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Finding SQL Injection and Cross Site Scripting Vulnerabilities with Diverse Static Analysis Tools

The use of Static Analysis Tools (SATs) is mandatory when developing secure software and searching for vulnerabilities in legacy software. However, the performance of the various SATs concerning the detection of vulnerabilities and false alarm rate is usually unknown and depends on many factors. The simultaneous use of several tools should increase the detection capabilities, but also the number of false alarms. In this paper, we study the problem of combining several SATs to best meet the developer needs. We present results of analyzing the performance of diverse static analysis tools, based on a previously published dataset that resulted from the use of five diverse SATs to find two types of vulnerabilities, namely SQL Injections (SQLi) and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), in 132 plugins of the WordPress Content Management System (CMS). We present the results based on well-established measures for binary classifiers, namely sensitivity and specificity for all possible diverse combinations that can be constructed using these 5 SAT tools. We then provide empirically supported guidance on which combinations of SAT tools provide the most benefits for detecting vulnerabilities with low false positive rates

Three-body description of direct nuclear reactions: Comparison with the continuum discretized coupled channels method

The continuum discretized coupled channels (CDCC) method is compared to the exact solution of the three-body Faddeev equations in momentum space. We present results for: i) elastic and breakup observables of d-12C at E_d=56 MeV, ii) elastic scattering of d-58Ni at E_d=80 MeV, and iii) elastic, breakup and transfer observables for 11Be+p at E_{11Be}/A=38.4 MeV. Our comparative studies show that, in the first two cases, the CDCC method is a good approximation to the full three-body Faddeev solution, but for the 11Be exotic nucleus, depending on the observable or the kinematic regime, it may miss out some of the dynamic three-body effects that appear through the explicit coupling to the transfer channel.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Physical Review

Prevalence of asthma and its association with rhinitis in the elderly

Funding Information: Funding: Methodological support and field work was supplied by KeyPoint, Scientific Consultants. This study was supported by a Schering-Plough Pharma grant attributed to Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clinica (SPAIC).Background Asthma and rhinitis are frequent respiratory diseases in children and adults. Despite the increase in the aging population, there are few epidemiologic data on both diseases in the elderly. So far, no population-based study has analyzed the association between asthma and rhinitis symptoms and severity in this age group. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma in the population aged ≥65 years in mainland Portugal and to evaluate its association with the presence and classification of rhinitis according to ARIA recommendations, in this age group. Methods A cross-sectional, nationwide, population-based survey of individuals aged ≥65 years, living in mainland Portugal was performed. Results Data were obtained from 3678 respondents. The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma was 10.9% (95% confidence interval (95%CI) 9.9-11.9). The frequency of asthma diagnosis increased with the number of nasal symptoms (p < 0.001). A strong association between asthma and rhinitis was found (odds ratio (OR) 13.86 (95%CI 10.66-18.02)). The strength of this association increased with the persistence and severity of rhinitis, being particularly high in elderly subjects with moderate-severe persistent rhinitis (OR 39.9 (95%CI 27.5-58.0)). Conclusions Asthma is common in the elderly and strongly associated with rhinitis. The OR for asthma is especially high in persistent and severe ARIA classification rhinitis types. This study strengthens the need for an integrated assessment of asthma together with rhinitis in the elderly.publishersversionpublishe

Modelling the role of ground-true riparian vegetation for providing regulating services in a Mediterranean watershed

Intensive agricultural and industrial activities are often considered major sources of water contamination. Currently, riparian vegetation (RV) is increasingly being promoted as a solution to balance the potentially adverse effects that agriculture may have on water quality. Nonetheless, existing RV is often overlook in recent modelling efforts, failing to capture the current amount of ecosystem services provide. Here, we used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool ecohydrological model to simulate the influence of ground-true RV on i) nutrient (nitrate and total phosphorus) and sediment exports from agricultural areas and ii) its effect for in-stream concentrations. These results are further compared against a set of hypothetical scenarios of different RV widths and different land-uses. Our results point to a great relevance of existing RV in controlling in-stream concentration of sediments and nutrients where pressure from agriculture is highest, preventing them to surpass limits set in the EU Water Framework Directive. On the other hand, in areas with industry discharges, the role of RV is limited and model results suggest that restoring RV would have limited impacts. We illustrate how existing RV may already provide strong but not acknowledged water quality regulation services, how these services can differ substantially between nearby streams, and that effective strategies to improve water quality using RV must acknowledge existing patterns of vegetation, land use and contamination sources.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio