A vida selvagem e as ondas do rádio: apenas uma técnica chamada telemetria.

O objetivo deste documento é descrever o princípio de funcionamento da rádio telemetria convencional, permitindo aos potenciais usuários uma visão crítica sobre as aplicações e limitações dessa técnica para a pesquisa animal. As informações apresentadas são baseadas na literatura especializada e na experiência prática dos autores e de colaboradores.bitstream/CPAP/55980/1/DOC71.pdfFormato Eletrônic

Recent neutronics developments for reactor safety studies with SIMMER code at KIT

The SIMMER family of codes is applied for safety studies of sodium fast reactors and reactors of other types. Both neutronics and fluid-dynamics parts of SIMMER are under development. In the paper new neutronics capabilities are presented. In particular developments for neutron transport solvers and a new technique for taking into account thermal expansion effects are described. These new capabilities facilitate 3D simulations and improve accuracy of modelling for the initiation transient phase during a hypothetical severe accident

Gas-Modified Electrospinning with a Portable Device

Project Objective The objective of this work was to construct a miniaturized, portable electrospinning (ES) device for deposition on surfaces regardless of charge. We hope this device can be used by doctors in rural areas to deliver drug delivery bandages. Mathematical modeling was used to improve predictability of the completed portable ES device

Deposition of Drug-delivering Bandages via a Combined Electrostatic and Air-Driven Electrospinning Device

Electrospinning (ES) is an affordable manufacturing process to produce nanoscale, polymer fibers. During ES, a high voltage differential is required to draw out polymer fibers from a polymer solution at a charged spinneret. Fibers produced are then deposited onto an oppositely charged electrode. ES typically requires large, immovable equipment and conductive surfaces for deposition of fibers. Portability and on-demand ES of fiber mats onto non-conductive surfaces would enable use in re- mote locations with limited access to medicine

Distribution and habitat use modelling from satellite tracking data of humpback whales in Brazil agree with shipboard survey data modelling

Funding: The Monitoring Whales by Satellite Project (Projeto Monitoramento de Baleias por Satélite, PMBS) research cruises were sponsored by Shell Brasil. The Federal University of Rio Grande (FURG) and the R/V Atlântico Sul crew provided essential support during fieldwork. G.A.B.’s PhD work is funded by the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq; Science Without Borders, scholarship number 208203/2014-1).Statistical modelling of animal distributions has been widely applied to explain how mobile species use their habitats. The distribution of and habitat use by humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae off the eastern coast of Brazil have previously been investigated by modelling visual survey data. Here, we modelled distribution in their breeding range using individual tracking data to compare ecological inferences with those from previous models from line transect data. A generalised estimating equation framework was used to model the tracking data and pseudo-absences as functions of spatial covariates. Covariates considered were latitude and longitude, sea surface temperature (SST), current and wind speeds near the surface, distances to shelf-break and the coast, sea bottom depth and slope, and a factor variable representing ‘shelter’. Two modelling exercises were developed: a habitat use model (HUM) and a distribution model (DIM). Covariates retained in the selected HUM were SST, distance to coast and shelf-break, current and wind speeds and shelter. Covariates retained in the selected DIM were latitude/longitude, current speed and distances to shelf-break and coast. The modelled relationships between whale occurrence and environmental covariates using tracking data were similar to those using line transect data. Distribution maps were also similar, supporting higher densities around the Abrolhos Archipelago and to its south. We showed that habitat use and distribution of this population in the area could be similarly inferred by modelling either line transect or tracking data. Using these 2 approaches in conjunction can strengthen the understanding of important ecological aspects of animal populations.PostprintPeer reviewe

Minimal Clinically Important Difference and Patient Acceptable Symptom State in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis Treated With PRP Injection

Background: Although several injection-based treatments have been proposed to address knee osteoarthritis (OA), it is often difficult to understand the clinical relevance of the obtained results. The psychometric measures of minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS) were developed to better interpret study findings. Purpose: To establish the MCID and the PASS for the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective score and the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) in patients treated with intra-articular platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections for knee OA. Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. Methods: This study included 215 patients with knee OA (68% men, 32% women; age, 53.2 ± 11.3 years; body mass index, 26.8 ± 4.3 kg/m2) who underwent intra-articular PRP injections. Patients were assessed through the IKDC Subjective score and KOOS subscales, and the MCID and the PASS for both measures were independently calculated at 6 and 12 months post-injection. The MCID was calculated using the value equal to half of the standard deviation of the overall cohort improvement. The PASS was assessed using a 2-point scale (satisfied or not satisfied), with threshold values being detected through a receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and the Youden index to maximize the sensitivity and the specificity of the threshold values. Results: All scores improved significantly from baseline to 6 months and baseline to 12 months (P <.001 for all scores). All scores were stable from 6 to 12 months except for the KOOS Quality of Life subscale, which improved further (P =.033). For the IKDC, the MCID values were 8.6 and 8.5 points and the PASS scores were 59.7 and 62.1 at 6 and 12 months, respectively. Overall, the MCID and the PASS for all KOOS subscales remained constant at the 2 follow-up points. The percentage of patients who achieved the MCID and the PASS was higher than 85% at both 6 and 12 months post-injection. Conclusion: This study provided the MCID and PASS thresholds for the IKDC and KOOS scores in patients with knee OA treated with PRP injections. These psychometric measures may allow a better interpretation of the clinical relevance of injection-based treatment outcomes for knee OA

Infrared Thermography in Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis: Joint Temperature Differs Based on Patient and Pain Characteristics

The aim of this study was to evaluate osteoarthritis (OA) patients with infrared thermography to investigate imaging patterns as well as demographic and clinical characteristics that influence knee inflammation. Forty patients with one-sided symptomatic knee OA were included and evaluated through knee-specific PROMs and the PainDETECT Questionnaire for neuropathic pain evaluation. Thermograms were captured using a thermographic camera FLIR-T1020 and temperatures were extracted using the software ResearchIR for the overall knee and the five ROIs: medial, lateral, medial patella, lateral patella, and suprapatellar. The mean temperature of the total knee was 31.9 ± 1.6 °C. It negatively correlated with age (rho = −0.380, p = 0.016) and positively correlated with BMI (rho = 0.421, p = 0.007) and the IKDC objective score (tau = 0.294, p = 0.016). Men had higher temperatures in the knee medial, lateral, and suprapatellar areas (p = 0.017, p = 0.019, p = 0.025, respectively). Patients with neuropathic pain had a lower temperature of the medial knee area (31.5 ± 1.0 vs. 32.3 ± 1.1, p = 0.042), with the total knee negatively correlating with PainDETECT (p = 0.045). This study demonstrated that the skin temperature of OA symptomatic knees is influenced by demographic and clinical characteristics of patients, with higher joint temperatures in younger male patients with higher BMI and worst objective knee scores and lower temperatures in patients affected by neuropathic pain

Especificidade hospedeira entre diferentes grupos de feijão (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) inoculadas com estirpes de Rhizobium.

Foi realizado um estudo em casa de vegetação para comparar o potencial de fixação de N2 de três linhas selecionadas de feijão selvagem com dois grupos de feijões cultivados, sendo um de elevada e outro de baixa capacidade fixadora, e a eficiência de duas estirpes contrastantes de Rhizobium