Drowsiness transitions detection using a wearable device

Due to a reduction in reaction time and, consequently, the driver’s concentration, driving when fatigued has become an issue throughout time. Consequently, the likelihood of having an accident and it being fatal increases. In this work, we aim to identify an automatic method capable of detecting drowsiness transitions by considering the time, frequency, and nonlinear domains of heart rate variability. Therefore, the methodology proposed considers the multivariate statistical process control, using principal components analysis, with accelerometer and time, frequency, and nonlinear domains of the heart rate variability extracted by a wearable device. Applying the proposed approach, it was possible to improve the results achieved in the previous studies, where it was able to remove points out-of-control due to signal noise, identify the drowsy transitions, and, consequently, improve the drowsiness classification. It is important to note that the out-of-control points of the heart rate variability are not influenced by external noise. In terms of limitations, this method was not able to detect all drowsiness transitions, and in some individuals, it falls far short of expectations. Regarding this, is essential to understand if there is any pattern or similarity among the participants in which it fails.The project is funded by the “NORTE-01-0247-FEDER-0039720”, supported by Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Norte2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). It was also supported by FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020.The authors would like to thank everyone who participated in the driving simulations and for the conditions available at the Polytechnic Institute of Cávado and Ave, 4750-810, Barcelos. This work was done in co-promotion between Optimizer-Lda, IPCA, LIACC and ISCCI

Feature selection optimization of risk factors for coronary heart disease

Cardiovascular disease is a worldwide problem and is the main cause of mortality when coronary heart disease leads to a heart attack. Hence, it is important to evaluate how to prevent this disease considering the symptoms description and physical examinations.This study points out the application and comparison of different performance measures for the classification of heart disease. Firstly, a feedforward neural network was applied to classify heart disease risk, using the well-known Framingham database. Feature selection optimization was performed to identify the most important variables to take into consideration, minimizing the Type II error and maximizing the accuracy. In addition, a multi-objective optimization algorithm was carried out to simultaneously optimize both performance measures. A set of non-dominated solutions representing the trade-offs between objectives were obtained, and gender, age, systolic blood pressure, and glucose level emerged as the principal factors to take into consideration to predict heart disease. The results obtained are promising and show the importance of considering more than one criterion to identify the most important variables.This work has been supported by FCT -Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020

Do difficulties in emotion regulation impact self-esteem and adult attachment? – the role of trauma

Abstract in proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of CiiEM: Health, Well-Being and Ageing in the 21st Century, held at Egas Moniz’ University Campus in Monte de Caparica, Almada, from 3–5 June 2019.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Adverse childhood experiences and empathy: the role of interparental conflict

Communication abstract: Proceedings of the 5th International Congress of CiiEM - Reducing inequalities in Health and Society, held at Egas Moniz’ University Campus in Monte de Caparica, Almada, from June 16th to 18th, 2021.This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.The literature shows that adverse life experiences may harm individuals. The main objectives of this research were to study the relationship between adverse childhood experiences and empathy in adulthood and analyse differences between victims and nonvictims of interparental conflict. Our research evidenced that adverse childhood experiences affect individuals’ empathy in adulthood, and victims of interparental violence experienced other childhood victimization.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A statistical comparison of metaheuristics for unrelated parallel machine scheduling problems with setup times

Manufacturing scheduling aims to optimize one or more performance measures by allocating a set of resources to a set of jobs or tasks over a given period of time. It is an area that considers a very important decision-making process for manufacturing and production systems. In this paper, the unrelated parallel machine scheduling problem with machine-dependent and job-sequence-dependent setup times is addressed. This problem involves the scheduling of tasks on unrelated machines with setup times in order to minimize the makespan. The genetic algorithm is used to solve small and large instances of this problem when processing and setup times are balanced (Balanced problems), when processing times are dominant (Dominant P problems), and when setup times are dominant (Dominant S problems). For small instances, most of the values achieved the optimal makespan value, and, when compared to the metaheuristic ant colony optimization (ACOII) algorithm referred to in the literature, it was found that there were no significant differences between the two methods. However, in terms of large instances, there were significant differences between the optimal makespan obtained by the two methods, revealing overall better performance by the genetic algorithm for Dominant S and Dominant P problems.FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through the R&D Units Project Scope UIDB/00319/2020 and EXPL/EME-SIS/1224/2021 and PhD grant UI/BD/150936/2021

Potential inundation of Lisbon downtown by a 1755-like tsunami

In this study, we present 10 m resolution tsunami flooding maps for Lisbon downtown and the Tagus estuary. To compute these maps we use the present bathymetry and topographic maps and a reasonable estimate for the maximum credible tsunami scenario. Tsunami modeling was made with a non-linear shallow water model using four levels of nested grids. The tsunami flood is discussed in terms of flow depth, run-up height and maximum inundation area. The results show that, even today, in spite of the significant morphologic changes in the city river front after the 1755 earthquake, a similar event would cause tsunami flow depths larger than one meter in a large area along the Tagus estuary and Lisbon downtown. Other areas along the estuary with a high population density would also be strongly affected. The impact of the tide on the extent of tsunami inundation is discussed, due to the large amplitude range of the tide in Lisbon, and compared with the historical descriptions of the 1755 event. The results presented here can be used to identify the potential tsunami inundation areas in Lisbon; this identification comprises a key element of the Portuguese tsunami emergency management system

a nationwide population-based study

Funding Information: The present publication was funded by Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia, IP national support through CHRC (UIDP/04923/2020). The same institution supported the first author (LAG) under an individual PhD grant (SFRH/BD/145636/2019). EpiReumaPt was supported by unrestricted grants from Direção-Geral da Saúde, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Fundação Champalimaud, Fundação AstraZeneca, Abbvie, Merck, Sharp & Dohme, Pfizer, Roche, Servier, Bial, D3A Medical Systems, Happybrands, Center de Medicina Laboratorial, Germano de Sousa, Clínica Médica da Praia da Vitória, CAL-Clínica, Galp Energia, Açoreana Seguros, and individual rheumatologists. Data were provided by the EpiDoC Unit - CEDOC with permission. Publisher Copyright: ©Objectives To estimate the prevalence of medical care-seeking among adults with low back pain (LBP) and to characterise and compare use of diagnostic procedures and medical management between primary and secondary care. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Data from the EpiReumaPt, a nationwide population-based study conducted in Portugal including a representative sample of non-institutionalised adults (n=10 661) stratified by administrative territorial units was analysed. Participants Individuals who self-reported history of LBP within the previous 12 months (n=6434) and sought medical care for this problem in the same period (n=2618). Outcome measures Patients' self-reported diagnostic workup and management procedures performed by medical care for LBP collected through a structured questionnaire. Medical care procedures were stratified by level of care. Results The prevalence of medical care-seeking for LBP was 38.0% (95% CI 35.9% to 40.1%). Primary care in isolation (45.3%) was the most sought level of care. Emergency departments (25.9%) and orthopaedics (19.4%) were the most sought secondary medical specialties. Several pathoanatomical diagnoses were used, supported by laboratory or imaging tests (91.1%). Disc herniation (20.4%) and osteoarthritis (19.7%) were the most frequent diagnoses, and X-ray (63.7%) was the most frequent diagnostic procedure self-reported by individuals. Most (75.1%) reported being treated for LBP: 80.4% with oral medication and 49.9% with injectables. The mean duration of pharmacological treatment was 104.24 (SD, 266.80) days. The use of pathoanatomical diagnoses, laboratory or imaging tests, and pharmacological treatments were generally more frequent for secondary care (p<0.05). Approximately one-quarter of individuals (24.5%) reported seeking care from additional healthcare providers, physiotherapists (66.9%) were the most frequent. Conclusions Medical care for LBP is frequent and associated with high levels of pathoanatomical diagnoses, imaging and laboratory tests and pharmacological therapy in both primary and secondary care settings. Funding and delivery actions should be prioritised to assure appropriate care for LBP.publishersversionpublishe

Disseminated Well-Differentiated Gastro-Entero-Pancreatic Tumors Are Associated with Metabolic Syndrome

The association of well-differentiated gastro-entero-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (WD GEP-NETs) with metabolic syndrome (MetS), abdominal obesity, and fasting glucose abnormalities was recently described. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the presence of MetS or any MetS individual component was also influenced by GEP-NET characteristics at diagnosis. A cohort of patients with WD GEP-NETs (n = 134), classified according to primary tumor location (gastrointestinal or pancreatic), pathological grading (G1 (Ki67 ≤ 2%) and G2 (>3 ≤ 20%) (WHO 2010), disease extension (localized, loco-regional, and metastatic), and presence of hormonal secretion syndrome (functioning/non-functioning), was evaluated for the presence of MetS criteria. After adjustment for age and gender, the odds of having MetS was significantly higher for patients with WD GEP-NET grade G1 (OR 4.35 95%CI 1.30-14.53) and disseminated disease (OR 4.52 95%CI 1.44-14.15). GEP-NET primary tumor location or secretory syndrome did not influence the risk for MetS. None of the tumor characteristics evaluated were associated with body mass index, fasting plasma glucose category, or any of the individual MetS components. Patients with GEP-NET and MetS depicted a higher risk of presenting a lower tumor grade and disseminated disease. The positive association between MetS and GEP-NET characteristics further highlights the potential link between the two conditions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Diversity of plant growth-promoting bacteria associated with sugarcane

The sugarcane (Saccharum spp) presents economic importance, mainly for tropical regions, being an important Brazilian commodity. However, this crop is strongly dependent on fertilizers, mainly nitrogen (N). This study assessed the plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) associated with sugarcane that could be used as a potential inoculant to the crop. We evaluated the genetic diversity of PGPB in the plant tissue of sugarcane varieties (RB 867515, RB 1011, and RB 92579). The primer BOX-A1R was used to differentiate the similar isolated and further sequencing 16S rRNA ribosomal gene. The 16S rRNA gene showed the presence of seven different genera distributed into four groups, the genus Bacillus, followed by Paenibacillus (20%), Burkholderia (14%), Herbaspirillum (6%), Pseudomonas (6%), Methylobacterium (6%), and Brevibacillus (3%). The molecular characterization of endophytic isolates from sugarcane revealed a diversity of bacteria colonizing this plant, with a possible biotechnological potential to be used as inoculant and biofertilizers

Differential renal effects of candesartan at high-and ultra-high doses in diabetic mice: potential role of ACE2/AT2R/Mas

High doses of Ang II receptor (AT1R) blockers (ARBs) are renoprotective in diabetes. Underlying mechanisms remain unclear. We evaluated whether high/ultra-high doses of candesartan (ARB) up-regulate angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2)/Ang II type 2 receptor (AT2R)/Mas receptor [protective axis of the of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS)] in diabetic mice. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), albuminuria and expression/activity of RAS components were assessed in diabetic db/db and control db/+ mice treated with increasing candesartan doses (intermediate, 1 mg/kg/d; high, 5 mg/kg/d; ultra-high, 25 and 75 mg/kg/d; 4 weeks). Lower doses candesartan did not influence SBP, but ultra-high doses reduced SBP in both groups. Plasma glucose and albuminuria were increased in db/db compared with db/+ mice. In diabetic mice treated with intermediate dose candesartan, renal tubular damage and albuminuria were ameliorated and expression of ACE2, AT2R and Mas and activity of ACE2 were increased, effects associated with reduced ERK1/2 phosphorylation, decreased fibrosis and renal protection. Ultra-high doses did not influence the ACE2/AT2R/Mas axis and promoted renal injury with increased renal ERK1/2 activation and exaggerated fibronectin expression in db/db mice. Our study demonstrates dose-related effects of candesartan in diabetic nephropathy: intermediate–high dose candesartan is renoprotective, whereas ultra-high dose candesartan induces renal damage. Molecular processes associated with these effects involve differential modulation of the ACE2/AT2R/Mas axis: intermediate–high dose candesartan up-regulating RAS protective components and attenuating pro-fibrotic processes, and ultra-high doses having opposite effects. These findings suggest novel mechanisms through the protective RAS axis, whereby candesartan may ameliorate diabetic nephropathy. Our findings also highlight potential injurious renal effects of ultra-high dose candesartan in diabetes