Intelligent machining methods for Ti6Al4V: a review

Digital manufacturing is a necessity to establishing a roadmap for the future manufacturing systems projected for the fourth industrial revolution. Intelligent features such as behavior prediction, decision- making abilities, and failure detection can be integrated into machining systems with computational methods and intelligent algorithms. This review reports on techniques for Ti6Al4V machining process modeling, among them numerical modeling with finite element method (FEM) and artificial intelligence- based models using artificial neural networks (ANN) and fuzzy logic (FL). These methods are intrinsically intelligent due to their ability to predict machining response variables. In the context of this review, digital image processing (DIP) emerges as a technique to analyze and quantify the machining response (digitization) in the real machining process, often used to validate and (or) introduce data in the modeling techniques enumerated above. The widespread use of these techniques in the future will be crucial for the development of the forthcoming machining systems as they provide data about the machining process, allow its interpretation and quantification in terms of useful information for process modelling and optimization, which will create machining systems less dependent on direct human intervention.publishe

Peptide-induced permeation of model membranes by antimicrobial peptidomimetics

In the present communication, a set of Peptaibolin and several peptidomimetics incorporating unnatural α,α-dialkylglycines (Deg, Dpg, Ac6c) were studied for their ability to interact and permeate model membranes from phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol, in different ratios. The permeation activity was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy, following the release of encapsulated 6-carboxyfluorescein.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal) and FEDER-COMPETE-QREN-EU for financial support through projects PTDC/QUI-BIQ/118389/2010 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-020906), PEst-C/QUI/UI0686/2013 (F-COMP-01-0124-FEDER-037302), and PEst-C/FIS/UI0607/2013 (F-COMP-01-0124-FEDER-022711)

A wastewater-based epidemiology tool for COVID-19 surveillance in Portugal

Funding: Strategic funding of Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal, to cE3c and BioISI Research Units ( UIDB/00329/2020 and UIDB/04046/2020 ] is also gratefully acknowledged. This work was supported by Programa Operacional de Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) (FEDER component), Programa Operacional Regional de Lisboa , and Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (Project COVIDETECT, ref. 048467 ).The presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater produced interest in its use for sentinel surveillance at a community level and as a complementary approach to syndromic surveillance. With this work, we set the foundations for wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) in Portugal by monitoring the trends of SARS-CoV-2 RNA circulation in the community, on a nationwide perspective during different epidemiological phases of the pandemic. The Charité assays (E_Sarbecco, RdRP, and N_Sarbecco) were applied to monitor, over 32-weeks (April to December 2020), the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at the inlet of five wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), which together serve more than two million people in Portugal. Raw wastewater from three Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) reference hospitals was also analyzed during this period. In total, more than 600 samples were tested. For the first weeks, detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was sporadic, with concentrations varying from 103 to 105 genome copies per liter (GC/L). Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA increased steeply by the end of May into late June, mainly in Lisboa e Vale do Tejo region (LVT), during the reopening phase. After the summer, with the reopening of schools in mid-September and return to partial face-to-face work, a pronounced increase of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater was detected. In the LVT area, SARS-CoV-2 RNA load agreed with reported trends in hotspots of infection. Synchrony between trends of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw wastewater and daily new COVID-19 cases highlights the value of WBE as a surveillance tool, particularly after the phasing out of the epidemiological curve and when hotspots of disease re-emerge in the population which might be difficult to spot based solely on syndromic surveillance and contact tracing. This is the first study crossing several epidemiological stages highlighting the long-term use of WBE for SARS-CoV-2.PostprintPeer reviewe

A Gene Expression Signature to Select Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients for Liver Transplantation

Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.OBJECTIVE: To propose a new decision algorithm combining biomarkers measured in a tumor biopsy with clinical variables, to predict recurrence after liver transplantation (LT). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Liver cancer is one of the most frequent causes of cancer-related mortality. LT is the best treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients but the scarcity of organs makes patient selection a critical step. Additionally, clinical criteria widely applied in patient eligibility decisions miss potentially curable patients while selecting patients that relapse after transplantation. METHODS: A literature systematic review singled out candidate biomarkers whose RNA levels were assessed by quantitative PCR in tumor tissue from 138 HCC patients submitted to LT (>5 y follow up, 32% beyond Milan criteria). The resulting four gene signature was combined with clinical variables to develop a decision algorithm using machine learning approaches. The method was named HepatoPredict. RESULTS: HepatoPredict identifies 99% disease-free patients (>5 y) from a retrospective cohort, including many outside clinical criteria (16%-24%), thus reducing the false negative rate. This increased sensitivity is accompanied by an increased positive predictive value (88,5%-94,4%) without any loss of long-term overall survival or recurrence rates for patients deemed eligible by HepatoPredict; those deemed ineligible display marked reduction of survival and increased recurrence in the short and long term. CONCLUSIONS: HepatoPredict outperforms conventional clinical-pathologic selection criteria, (Milan, UCSF) providing superior prognostic information. Accurately identifying which patients most likely benefit from LT enables an objective stratification of waiting lists and information-based allocation of optimal versus suboptimal organs.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Conservation Biogeography of the Sahara‐Sahel: additional protected areas are needed to secure unique biodiversity

Aim Identification of priority conservation areas and evaluation of coverage of the current protected areas are urgently needed to halt the biodiversity loss. Identifying regions combining similar environmental traits (climate regions) and species assemblages (biogroups) is needed for conserving the biodiversity patterns and processes. We identify climate regions and biogroups and map species diversity across the Sahara-Sahel, a large geographical area that exhibits wide environmental heterogeneity and multiple species groups with distinct biogeographical affinities, and evaluate the coverage level of current network of protected areas for biodiversity conservation. Location Sahara-Sahel, Africa. Methods We use spatially explicit climate data with the principal component analysis and model-based clustering techniques to identify climate regions. We use distributions of 1147 terrestrial vertebrates (and of 125 Sahara-Sahel endemics) and apply distance clustering methods to identify biogroups for both species groups. We apply reserve selection algorithms targeting 17% of species distribution, climate regions and biogroups to identify priority areas and gap analysis to assess their representation within the current protected areas. Results Seven climate regions were identified, mostly arranged as latitudinal belts. Concentrations of high species richness were found in the Sahel, but the central Sahara gathers most endemic and threatened species. Ten biogroups (five for endemics) were identified. A wide range of biogroups tend to overlap in specific climate regions. Identified priority areas are inadequately represented in protected areas, and six new top conservation areas are needed to achieve conservation targets. Main conclusions Biodiversity distribution in Sahara-Sahel is spatially structured and apparently related to environmental variation. Although the majority of priority conservation areas are located outside the areas of intense human activities, many cross multiple political borders and require internationally coordinated efforts for implementation and management. Optimized biodiversity conservation solutions at regional scale are needed. Our work contradicts the general idea that deserts are uniform areas and provide options for the conservation of endangered species.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Acidity and characterization of 12-Tungstophosphoric acid supported on Silica-alumina

This work deals with preparation and characterization of H3PW12O40 (H3PW) supported on silica-alumina. Impregnation of H3PW (15, 20, 30 and 40 wt.%) on commercial silica-alumina support in acidic aqueous solution is effective for preparing this catalyst keeping its Keggin structure, according to different methods of characterization. The catalysts were tested in a model reaction of acetic acid with ethanol and 30 wt.% H3PW/SiO2-Al2O3 had the highest activity under the conditions: catalyst calcination at 300 ºC, temperature of 100 ºC, acetic acid:ethanol molar ratio of 2:1 and catalyst:acetic acid mass ratio of 10 wt.%. The reaction yield was 79 and 100% selectivity for ethyl acetate over three reutilizations, for reaction time of 2 h. The calculated total acid site distribution was 0.299 mmol g-1 (97% of the theoretical probed by pyridine), and most of these (0.236 mmol g-1) were Brønsted weak-medium strength (pyridine desorption between 300 and 500 ºC)