Measurement of internal diameters of capillaries and glass syringes using gravimetric and optical methods for microflow applications

This work performed under 18HLT08 MeDDII project has received funding from the EMPIR programme co-financed by the Participating States and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The Authors would like to acknowledge Abir Wissam Boudaoud for her help in CETIAT inner diameter measurements and Václav Duchoň and Petr Grolich from CMI for their work on the glass syringe diameter calibration. © 2022 the author(s), published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston.OBJECTIVES: Microflow measurement devices are used in several science and health applications, mainly drug delivery. In the last decade, several new methods based on optical technology were developed, namely the front tracking and interferometric method, in which the knowledge of the inner diameter of the syringe or the capillary used is critical. Only a few National Metrology Institutes (NMIs) can perform inner diameter measurements below 1 mm, which requires expensive technology. Therefore, IPQ, in cooperation with CETIAT, CMI and UNIDEMI, under the EMPIR project 18HLT08 MeDDII - Metrology for Drug Delivery, developed new measurement methods for small inner diameter tubes based on the gravimetric principle and optical methods in order to simplify the apparatus used for this type of measurements without increasing uncertainty. METHODS: The gravimetric experimental setup consists of measuring the liquid volume on a specific length of the glass tube. The optical method used is based on the front track principle that uses a high-resolution camera and ImageJ software, to determine the diameter at both ends of each capillary. RESULTS: To validate the developed methods, a comparison was performed between CETIAT, CMI and IPQ and the results obtained were all consistent. CONCLUSIONS: This work allowed the determination of inner diameter of syringes or capillaries using two different methods with relative expanded uncertainties from 0.1 to 0.5% ( k=2), that can be applied for flow measurements using optical technology.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Processos de transformação urbana: Uma tipificação baseada na urbanidade, na centralidade e na evolução da população dos territórios

Os processos de transformação urbanos são dos fenómenos que mais atenção têm recebido nas ciências regionais ou urbanas. Mas a complexidade e diversidade destes processos, as suas múltiplas manifestações a diferentes escalas, têm desafiado a sua categorização e identificação. Este artigo contribui para esta problemática ao propor uma tipologia de transformações urbanas para Portugal Continental baseada em três dimensões – a urbanidade, a centralidade e a evolução da população. A urbanidade traduz o grau de urbanização de uma determinada área, considerando as suas características demográficas ou de uso do solo. A centralidade refere-se ao posicionamento no sistema urbano mais amplo, sendo aferida através de variáveis que expressam a sua hierarquia funcional. A evolução da população permite traduzir parte da dinâmica de transformação, obtendo-se pela diferença entre a população residente em diferentes períodos. O trabalho adota as freguesias como unidades territoriais de base, recorrendo a técnicas clássicas (de redução de variáveis e de identificação de clusters) por forma a identificar a associação das diferentes unidades territoriais a processos de transformação urbana reconhecidos na literatura

Assessment of drug delivery devices working at microflow rates

Funding Information: Research funding: This work performed under the 18HLT08 MeDD II project has received funding from the EMPIR program co-financed by the Participating States and from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. For more information on the project refer to the website www.drugmetrology.com . Publisher Copyright: © 2022 the author(s), published by De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston.Almost every medical department in hospitals around the world uses infusion devices to administer fluids, nutrition, and medications to patients to treat many different diseases and ailments. There have been several reports on adverse incidents caused by medication errors associated with infusion equipment. Such errors can result from malfunction or improper use, or even inaccuracy of the equipment, and can cause harm to patients' health. Depending on the intended use of the equipment, e.g. if it is used for anaesthesia of adults or for medical treatment of premature infants, the accuracy of the equipment may be more or less important. A well-defined metrological infrastructure can help to ensure that infusion devices function properly and are as accurate as needed for their use. However, establishing a metrological infrastructure requires adequate knowledge of the performance of infusion devices in use. This paper presents the results of various tests conducted with two types of devices.publishersversionpublishe

The knowledge transfer from science to practice – a survey with EU researchers

Group members came from 12 European countries, six from new (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia) and six from old EU member states (Germany, Spain, Finland, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal). The aim of the work was to analyze the role of the scientists in a dialogue between them and the practitioners within the organic production sector. Another important aim was to find the best practice models of such dialogue as the examples to be followed by others. In order to reach this aim the survey with the scientists has been conducted by all project partners; every partner has conducted the survey with 10 selected scientists from own country. Only the scientists possessing PhD level and actively working in the organic sector could be selected. Key areas of the questionnaire were directed to the (A) person (gender, age, years of activity in teaching and/or researching), (B) number of projects, papers, trainings and interviews, (C) Examples of best practice models, (D) Estimations of potential collaboration and dialog between scientists and stakeholders, (E) Estimations about the success of personal activities with regard to the improvement of the four fields (farming, processing, trading & marketing), (F) Estimates of the improvement of communication and knowledge transfer from science to practice, (G) Estimates of potential threats for good communication and knowledge transfer among scientists and practitioners. Interviewees were finally asked for general remarks and comments. The results indicate that there is not a big difference between the scientists from the old EU member states and new EU member states in most of the analyzed areas. The main difference is that the scientists from the new EU member states provide more training sessions for practitioners outside their institutions compared to the researchers from the old EU member states. The results reveal also a relatively low level of the researchers’ activity in conducting the implementation projects and writing the popular papers, both in the old and new EU member states

A Planetary Microlensing Event with an Unusually Red Source Star: MOA-2011-BLG-291

We present the analysis of planetary microlensing event MOA-2011-BLG-291, which has a mass ratio of $q=(3.8\pm0.7)\times10^{-4}$ and a source star that is redder (or brighter) than the bulge main sequence. This event is located at a low Galactic latitude in the survey area that is currently planned for NASA's WFIRST exoplanet microlensing survey. This unusual color for a microlensed source star implies that we cannot assume that the source star is in the Galactic bulge. The favored interpretation is that the source star is a lower main sequence star at a distance of $D_S=4.9\pm1.3\,$kpc in the Galactic disk. However, the source could also be a turn-off star on the far side of the bulge or a sub-giant in the far side of the Galactic disk if it experiences significantly more reddening than the bulge red clump stars. However, these possibilities have only a small effect on our mass estimates for the host star and planet. We find host star and planet masses of $M_{\rm host} =0.15^{+0.27}_{-0.10}M_\odot$ and $m_p=18^{+34}_{-12}M_\oplus$ from a Bayesian analysis with a standard Galactic model under the assumption that the planet hosting probability does not depend on the host mass or distance. However, if we attempt to measure the host and planet masses with host star brightness measurements from high angular resolution follow-up imaging, the implied masses will be sensitive to the host star distance. The WFIRST exoplanet microlensing survey is expected to use this method to determine the masses for many of the planetary systems that it discovers, so this issue has important design implications for the WFIRST exoplanet microlensing survey

Evaluation of phthalazinone phosphodiesterase inhibitors with improved activity and selectivity against Trypanosoma cruzi

BACKGROUND: Chagas' disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, needs urgent alternative therapeutic options as the treatments currently available display severe limitations, mainly related to efficacy and toxicity. OBJECTIVES: As phosphodiesterases (PDEs) have been claimed as novel targets against T. cruzi, our aim was to evaluate the biological aspects of 12 new phthalazinone PDE inhibitors against different T. cruzi strains and parasite forms relevant for human infection. METHODS: In vitro trypanocidal activity of the inhibitors was assessed alone and in combination with benznidazole. Their effects on parasite ultrastructural and cAMP levels were determined. PDE mRNA levels from the different T. cruzi forms were measured by quantitative reverse transcription PCR. RESULTS: Five TcrPDEs were found to be expressed in all parasite stages. Four compounds displayed strong effects against intracellular amastigotes. Against bloodstream trypomastigotes (BTs), three were at least as potent as benznidazole. In vitro combination therapy with one of the most active inhibitors on both parasite forms (NPD-040) plus benznidazole demonstrated a quite synergistic profile (xΣ FICI = 0.58) against intracellular amastigotes but no interaction (xΣ FICI = 1.27) when BTs were assayed. BTs treated with NPD-040 presented disrupted Golgi apparatus, a swollen flagellar pocket and signs of autophagy. cAMP measurements of untreated parasites showed that amastigotes have higher ability to efflux this second messenger than BTs. NPD-001 and NPD-040 increase the intracellular cAMP content in both BTs and amastigotes, which is also released into the extracellular milieu. CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate the potential of PDE inhibitors as anti-T. cruzi drug candidates

Registo internacional da Iniciativa Stent-Save a Life sobre a prática de angioplastia coronária primária durante a pandemia de COVID-19

© 2021 Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. on behalf of Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)Aim: To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on admissions of patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) and primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) in countries participating in the Stent-Save a Life (SSL) global initiative. Methods and results: We conducted a multicenter observational survey to collect data on patient admissions for ACS, ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and PPCI in participating SSL member countries through a period during the COVID-19 outbreak (March and April 2020) compared with the equivalent period in 2019. Of the 32 member countries of the SSL global initiative, 17 agreed to participate in the survey (three in Africa, five in Asia, six in Europe and three in Latin America). Overall reductions of 27.5% and 20.0% were observed in admissions for ACS and STEMI, respectively. The decrease in PPCI was 26.7%. This trend was observed in all except two countries. In these two, the pandemic peaked later than in the other countries. Conclusions: This survey shows that the COVID-19 outbreak was associated with a significant reduction in hospital admissions for ACS and STEMI as well as a reduction in PPCI, which can be explained by both patient- and system-related factors.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio