Microstructure characterisation and mechanical properties of a functionally-graded NbC/high chromium white cast iron composite

A functionally graded NbC – high chromium white cast iron composite was successfully fabricated by centrifugal casting for high wear applications. The migration of primary NbC particles to the outer periphery, as predicted by Stokes’ law, resulted in an extremely hard outer layer at the surface of a softer bulk material. Microstructural characterisation showed that both the volume fraction and the morphology of the carbides varies along the thickness of the specimen. At the outer surface, the NbC was present as primary carbides while Chinese-script NbC was found in the bulk of the material. Hardness, sliding wear and three-point bending tests confirmed that the outer layer was harder and more wear resistant than the rest of the material, which was correspondingly tougher. The study of the fracture surface of the specimens showed that there is a strong bond between NbC and the matrix such that delamination between the reinforcements and the matrix did not occur during fracture. If Chinese-script NbC can be reduced or prevented in the bulk material, further improvements to toughness could be achieved.ARC LP130100111, ARC DE150101703, FEDER POCI-01-0145-FEDER-00763

O Valor dos Indices Plaquetários na Púrpura Trombocitopénica Imune e Leucémia Linfo e Mieloblástica Aguda. Bases Clínico-Laboratoriais no Contributo para o Diagnóstico Diferencial Entre Estas Duas Patologias

Os autores apresentam um trabalho onde se pretende avaliar a utilidade dos índices plaquetários — volume plaquetário médio (VPM) e o coeficiente de variação do diâmetro plaquetário (CVDP ou PDW = Platelet Distribution Width) — e do número de plaquetas (PLAQ) no diagnóstico diferencial da trombocitopénia na púrpura trombocitopénica aguda (PTI) e na leucémia linfoblástica ou mieloblástica aguda (LLAULMA). Do mesmo modo, estudam comparativamente os dados clínicos e laboratoriais nestes dois grupos de doentes. Caracterizam 59 casos de doentes em idade pediátrica com PTI e 19 casos com LLA/LMA, seguidos na Unidade de Hematologia Infantil do Hospital de Dona Estefânia. Concluem não existir diferenças significativas entre as variáveis VPM e PDW entre os dois grupos de doentes. Com base nas três variáveis (VPM, PDW, PLAQ) foi construída uma regra de discriminação que fornece uma boa separação entre os grupos. Da caracterização clínico-laboratorial ressaltaram diferenças significativas entre as duas entidades nosológicas, o que permitiria prescindir a realização do mielograma para exclusão do diagnóstico de LLA/LMA numa criança com trombocitopénia significativa isolada

Influencia del Estado Metabólico Preoperatorio sobre los Cambios en el Gasto Energético en Reposo después del Transplante Hepático en Adultos

Introduction: The resting energy expenditure (REE) evolution after liver transplantation is not fully understood. Objective: To assess longitudinally the REE evolution in adults undergoing liver transplantation, in association with other nutritional measurements that characterize the metabolic profile. Methods: A single-center cohort of consecutive end-stage liver disease patients with indication for liver transplantation was recruited. REE, subjective global assessment (SGA), handgrip strength and body composition measurements were assessed before transplantation (T0) and at median nine (T1) and 36 (T2) days after transplantation. Mixed effects regression models were used for analysis. Results: Fifty-six patients with a mean age of 53.7 (8.5) years were included; 87.5% were males. In T0, 41% of patients were normometabolic, 37.5% were hypometabolic and 21.4% were hypermetabolic. After transplantation, the mean REE decreased progressively in patients initially hypermetabolic and the opposite occurred in those initially hypometabolic. The REE evolution was positively associated with body weight (β = 9.6, p < 0.001) and energy intake (β= 13.6, p = 0.005) in the whole sample; it was positively associated with body weight (β= 7.1, p = 0.018) and percentage of energy intake from lipids (β= 18.9, p = 0.003) in initially hypometabolic patients, and positively associated with body weight (β= 14.1, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with SGA-undernourishment (β = -171, p = 0.007) in initially normometabolic patients. Conclusion: Different REE evolutions after liver transplantation are associated with the preoperative metabolic status. In patients initially hypometabolic, the REE evolution is positively associated with body weight and percentage of energy intake from lipids, and in those initially normometabolic, it is positively associated with body weight and negatively associated with SGA-undernourishment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Keratocystic odontogenic tumor overexpresses invadopodia-related proteins, suggesting invadopodia formation

OBJECTIVE: Keratocystic odontogenic tumor (KOT) is an odontogenic neoplasm that shows aggressive clinical behavior and local invasiveness. Invadopodia are actin-rich cellular protrusions exhibiting proteolytic pericellular activity, thereby inducing focal invasion in neoplastic cells and increasing neoplasms aggressiveness. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate immunoexpression of invadopodia-related proteins, cortactin, MT1-MMP, Tks4, and Tks5, in KOT. STUDY DESIGN: Immunohistochemistry of 16 cases of KOT, eight cases of calcifying cystic odontogenic tumor (CCOT), and eight samples of the oral mucosa (OM) was carried out to assess the expression of the above described invadopodia-related proteins in the basal and suprabasal layer. RESULTS: KOT samples showed higher and significant immunoexpression of cortactin, MT1-MMP, TKs4, and TKs5 compared with the CCOT and OM samples. Significant expression of all these proteins was observed in the basal layer compared with the suprabasal layer in KOT. CONCLUSIONS: Overexpression of cortactin, MT1-MMP, TKs4, and TKs5 was observed in KOT compared with samples of CCOT and OM. These proteins were also overexpressed in the basal over the suprabasal layer of KOT samples. Taken together, these results suggest the participation of invadopodia-related proteins on the pathogenesis of this lesion

Transtorno do Espectro Autista: Direitos Fundamentais

A obra apresenta evidências sobre os direitos fundamentais sobre o Transtorno do Espectro Autista, uma condição neurológica que afeta o desenvolvimento do cérebro, afetando principalmente a comunicação social, a interação social e o comportamento. É uma condição que se manifesta de maneira variada em diferentes pessoas, e é considerada um espectro porque engloba uma ampla gama de sintomas e níveis de gravidade. Embora não haja cura para o TEA, intervenções e terapias podem ajudar a melhorar a qualidade de vida das pessoas com autismo. Alguns tratamentos comuns incluem terapia comportamental, terapia ocupacional, fonoaudiologia e educação especializada. O apoio e a compreensão da família, amigos, pais e da comunidade também desempenham um papel crucial no suporte às pessoas com TEA. É importante ressaltar que cada pessoa com TEA é única, e suas necessidades e habilidades variam. O objetivo principal é fornecer o suporte necessário para ajudar as pessoas com TEA a desenvolver todo o seu potencial e viver uma vida plena e inclusiva.The book presents evidence on the fundamental rights of Autism Spectrum Disorder, a neurological condition that affects the development of the brain, mainly affecting social communication, social interaction and behavior. It is a condition that manifests itself in different ways in different people, and is considered a spectrum because it encompasses a wide range of symptoms and levels of severity. Although there is no cure for ASD, interventions and therapies can help improve the quality of life of people with autism. Some common treatments include behavioral therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and specialized education. The support and understanding of family, friends, parents and the community also play a crucial role in supporting people with ASD. It is important to emphasize that each person with ASD is unique, and their needs and abilities vary. The main goal is to provide the necessary support to help people with ASD develop their full potential and live a full and inclusive life

GESTÃO HOSPITALAR: GERENCIAMENTO EM HOTELARIA HOSPITALAR E EQUIPE MULTIPROFISSIONAL

O capital humano era visto como fonte geradora de lucros para as organizações. Diante da competitividade, transformação do cenário, cobranças por melhores resultados, e diversidades de profissão no mundo das organizações de saúde, as exigências e perfil profissional vem mudando, as pessoas são percebidas como peça fundamental e indispensável para sucesso das organizações, tornando mais evidente que nesta diversidade requer gestores que seja resiliente e com habilidades de relacionamento interpessoal para formar equipes qualificadas e eficientes. Para tanto, objetiva-se formar equipe multiprofissional especializada em cuidados paliativos e implementar o conceito de hotelaria hospitalar. Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa, bibliográfica, retirado de artigos científicos e sites relevantes sobre a temática e nas bases de dados Google acadêmico, Scielo e Biblioteca Virtual em Saúde (BVS), apreciados no mês de julho e agosto 2022 com as seguintes palavras-chaves: gestão de pessoas, hotelaria hospitalar e equipe multiprofissional. Como resultados, observa-se que as organizações e os gestores vêm desenvolvendo um olhar mais holístico, integral e mais humano para com seus colaboradores em busca de reter bons profissionais e consolidar equipes multiprofissionais integradas e eficazes, com serviço em saúde e de hotelaria hospitalar mais humanizado com menor custo e melhores resultados. O planejamento financeiro deve ter como foco oferecer o melhor atendimento hospitalar com os recursos disponíveis, ou seja, com uma relação custo-benefício, prestando um serviço humanizado de qualidade com segurança e de referência para seus clientes e ambiente seguro para seus colaboradores.Human capital was seen as a source of profit for organizations. Faced with the competitiveness, transformation of the scenario, demands for better results, and diversity of professions in the world of health organizations, the requirements and professional profile have been changing, people are perceived as a fundamental and indispensable part for the success of organizations, making it more evident that this diversity requires managers who are resilient and with interpersonal skills to form qualified and efficient teams. Therefore, the objective is to form a multidisciplinary team specialized in palliative care and implement the concept of hospital hospitality. This is qualitative, bibliographical research, taken from scientific articles and relevant websites on the subject and in the Google Academic, Scielo and Virtual Health Library (BVS) databases, analyzed in July and August 2022 with the following keywords: people management, hospital hospitality and multidisciplinary team. As a result, it is observed that organizations and managers have been developing a more holistic, integral and more humane look towards their employees in order to retain good professionals and consolidate integrated and effective multidisciplinary teams, with a more humanized health and hospital hospitality service with lower costs and better results. Financial planning should focus on offering the best hospital care with available resources, that is, with a cost-effective relationship, providing a humanized quality service with safety and reference for its customers and a safe environment for its employees

Broiler Chickens as Source of Human Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Escherichia coli, Iceland

To investigate feed as a source for fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli in broiler chickens, we compared antimicrobial drug–resistant E. coli from broiler feed and broilers with ciprofloxacin-resistant human clinical isolates by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Feed was implicated as a source for ciprofloxacin-resistant broiler-derived E. coli and broilers as a source for ciprofloxacin-resistant human-derived E. coli

Automatic Network Fingerprinting through Single-Node Motifs

Complex networks have been characterised by their specific connectivity patterns (network motifs), but their building blocks can also be identified and described by node-motifs---a combination of local network features. One technique to identify single node-motifs has been presented by Costa et al. (L. D. F. Costa, F. A. Rodrigues, C. C. Hilgetag, and M. Kaiser, Europhys. Lett., 87, 1, 2009). Here, we first suggest improvements to the method including how its parameters can be determined automatically. Such automatic routines make high-throughput studies of many networks feasible. Second, the new routines are validated in different network-series. Third, we provide an example of how the method can be used to analyse network time-series. In conclusion, we provide a robust method for systematically discovering and classifying characteristic nodes of a network. In contrast to classical motif analysis, our approach can identify individual components (here: nodes) that are specific to a network. Such special nodes, as hubs before, might be found to play critical roles in real-world networks.Comment: 16 pages (4 figures) plus supporting information 8 pages (5 figures

Prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in enteric Escherichia coli from domestic pets and assessment of associated risk markers using a generalized linear mixed model

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global public health problem, which is caused by the use of antimicrobials in both human and animal medical practice. The objectives of the present cross-sectional study were as follows: (1) to determine the prevalence of resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from the feces of pets from the Porto region of Portugal against 19 antimicrobial agents and (2) to assess the individual, clinical and environmental characteristics associated with each pet as risk markers for the AMR of the E. coli isolates. From September 2009 to May 2012, rectal swabs were collected from pets selected using a systematic random procedure from the ordinary population of animals attending the Veterinary Hospital of Porto University. A total of 78 dogs and 22 cats were sampled with the objective of isolating E. coli. The animals’ owners, who allowed the collection of fecal samples from their pets, answered a questionnaire to collect information about the markers that could influence the AMR of the enteric E. coli. Chromocult tryptone bile X-glucuronide agar was used for E. coli isolation, and the disk diffusion method was used to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility. The data were analyzed using a multilevel, univariable and multivariable generalized linear mixed model (GLMM). Several (49.7%) of the 396 isolates obtained in this study were multidrug-resistant. The E. coli isolates exhibited resistance to the antimicrobial agent's ampicillin (51.3%), cephalothin (46.7%), tetracycline (45.2%) and streptomycin (43.4%). Previous quinolone treatment was the main risk marker for the presence of AMR for 12 (ampicillin, cephalothin, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, tetracycline, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole and aztreonam) of the 15 antimicrobials assessed. Coprophagic habits were also positively associated with an increased risk of AMR for six drugs, ampicillin, amoxicillin–clavulanic acid, cephamycin, ciprofloxacin, streptomycin, and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole. In summary, pets with a record of one or more previous quinolone treatments and exhibiting coprophagic habits were at an increased risk of harboring multidrug-resistant E. coli strains in their feces compared to pets without these characteristics. AMR is a serious global problem, and assessing the risk markers for the presence of drug-resistant bacteria in pets, a very close source of resistance determinants to humans, is essential for the implementation of safe handling procedures for companion animals and for the prudent selection of antimicrobial compounds in veterinary practice