A brave new world of Ambient Intelligence in the casinos of Macau: reality or fiction?

The article scrutinizes the brave new world of ambient intelligence in the casinos of the Macau, Special Administrative Region of People´s Republic of China, chiefly in regards to the (candent) issue of privacy of the casino patrons. Moreover, this scientific article provides an overview about the secondary use of big data of the casino patrons for law enforcement purposes

Official Statistics: Historical Trajectory and Contemporary Threat Related to Big Data Adoption

Official Statistics are the relevant set of information to support decisions in modern societies. This relevance is a result of a historical process summarized in this Completed Research Paper. Based on this historical trajectory, the study advances to the current features of this business called Official Statistics. Information life cycle and the Business architecture, defined by Radermacher (2020), are discussed and checked under the perspective of Big Data adoption. In sequence, the features of the Official Statistics and their operators, the National Statistics Offices, are analyzed considering the risk of a failure in the Big Data adoption process. The methodology mixed literature review with documental research. Recommendations for future studies are proposed in the end

Selection of ligand peptides with the ability to detect antibodies in enzootic bovine leukosis

Peptides present in phages were selected using phage display technology and immunoassays to find out the antigenic mimetics of immunodominant epitopes of bovine leukosis virus (BLV). The use of antigenic mimetics may result in the enhancement of the sensitivity and specificity of the serologic diagnosis of enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL), contributing directly to disease control. The selections enabled the choice of clones which can be used as potential antigens in the diagnoses of diseases. The synthetic peptide produced from the selected sequences may be considered as an alternative for antigens in the serologic diagnosis of enzootic bovine leukosis.Key words: Diagnostic, antigens, enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL), phage display

THE PRE-EXHAUSTION METHOD SEEMS INEFFECTIVE TO INCREASE ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ACTIVITY

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of the pre-exhaustion method on the electromyographic activity (temporal and spectral domain) at different intervals of a set of resistance training. Twenty adults with little or no experience in strength training performed two sets of the seated row exercise at 70%1RM until muscular failure, in a randomized order. Surface electrodes were placed over the latissimus dorsi, teres major, biceps brachii, and posterior deltoid muscles of the dominant side. Results showed that the pre-exhaustion did not increase EMG activity of all muscle analyzed at any intervals of a set. Furthermore, the EMG median frequency decreased in teres major and posterior deltoid muscles during initial and intermediate repetitions. Results suggest that the pre-exhaustion induces more fatigue when compared to traditional training

Study of the vertical transport in p-doped superlattices based on group III-V semiconductors

The electrical conductivity σ has been calculated for p-doped GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As and cubic GaN/Al0.3Ga0.7N thin superlattices (SLs). The calculations are done within a self-consistent approach to the k→⋅p→ theory by means of a full six-band Luttinger-Kohn Hamiltonian, together with the Poisson equation in a plane wave representation, including exchange correlation effects within the local density approximation. It was also assumed that transport in the SL occurs through extended minibands states for each carrier, and the conductivity is calculated at zero temperature and in low-field ohmic limits by the quasi-chemical Boltzmann kinetic equation. It was shown that the particular minibands structure of the p-doped SLs leads to a plateau-like behavior in the conductivity as a function of the donor concentration and/or the Fermi level energy. In addition, it is shown that the Coulomb and exchange-correlation effects play an important role in these systems, since they determine the bending potential

COVID-19 and lockdown, as lived and felt by university students

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).In the last 2 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has spread all over the world, forcing the closure of universities, among other unusual measures in recent history. (1) Background: This work is based on the study HOUSE-ULisbon, a survey carried out during the second confinement (March-May 2021) in Portugal with the collaboration of all the Faculties of the University of Lisbon (UL). The present work aims to explore gender differences in how first-year college students experienced and felt COVID-19 and the second confinement. (2) Methods: A questionnaire was carried out. In total, 976 university students (19.66 years (SD = 4.033); Min = 17 and Max = 65) from the first year of the UL were included, of which 69.5% (n = 678) were female, and 30.5% were male (n = 298). SPSS v. 26 was used for quantitative data and MAXQDA 2020 for qualitative data. (3) Results: Overall, students reported various symptoms of physical and mental discomfort (especially females). Statistically significant differences were found in the problems that could arise from the pandemic, such as the prevalence of higher anxiety and worries by females, and online gaming by males. In coping strategies, differences were found in leisure and family relationships, with greater difficulty on the female side. Social interaction was perceived as difficult or very difficult by both genders. As strategies for future pandemics, they highlighted a concerted effort between the government and media in the transmission of messages to the population, facilitating information, knowledge and adoption of protective behaviors. (4) Conclusions: These results are important data for activating or maintaining resources and services for first-year university students, who in some university institutions were supported during the pandemic by psychological, material (e.g., computers, internet), and financial support measures, which are now diminished or extinct. The impacts on their lives will certainly not be extinguished post-pandemic, and health, education, and public policy measures should be prioritized for this group. These results are important data for activating resources and services for students, informing health and education professionals, and supporting public policies.Ana Cerqueira—Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) PhD Grant (SFRH/BD/148403/2019); Fábio Botelho Guedes—Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) PhD Grant (SFRH/BD/148299/2019).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammographic over-screening: Evaluation based on probabilistic linkage of records databases from the breast cancer information system (SISMAMA)

The Brazilian Ministry of Health recommends biennial mammographic screening for women aged between 50 and 69 years. Since screening is opportunistic in the country, the actual periodicity varies. This study sought to test a methodology for estimating over-screening due to excessive periodicity, defined as a smaller than recommended interval between exams, and its association with socio-demographic characteristics. A cohort of women who underwent mammography in 2010, and whose result was normal, was assembled through probabilistic linkage SISMAMA records based on a set of personal identifiers. We used data from women living in the micro health region of Juiz de Fora/Lima Duarte/Bom Jardim, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, who were followed in the System until the end of 2012. The rate of over-screening was 150/1,000 women/year (95%CI: 144.9-155.9), affecting 21% of women. Over-screening increased by 24% during Pink October campaigns (adjusted HR = 1.24; 95%CI: 1.15-1.35). The shorter the time passed since the last mammogram, the greater the odds of over-screening. Compared with women who had never had a mammogram prior to 2010, women who had had one in the previous 2 years were two times more likely to be over-screened (adjusted HR = 2.01; 95%CI: 1.74-2.31) whilst those who had had a mammogram ≤ 1 year previously were three times more likely to be over-screened (adjusted HR = 3.27; 95%CI: 2.87-3.73). Over-screening was substantial in this population, excessively exposing women to the risks of screening with no additional benefits and overestimating mammogram coverage. The methodology proved to be successful and should be applied to representative populations in order to guide breast cancer control policies

Inequities in access to mammographic screening in Brazil

Our objectives with this study were to describe the spatial distribution of mammographic screening coverage across small geographical areas (micro-regions) in Brazil, and to analyze whether the observed differences were associated with spatial inequities in socioeconomic conditions, provision of health care, and healthcare services utilization. We performed an area-based ecological study on mammographic screening coverage in the period of 2010-2011 regarding socioeconomic and healthcare variables. The units of analysis were the 438 health micro-regions in Brazil. Spatial regression models were used to study these relationships. There was marked variability in mammographic coverage across micro-regions (median = 21.6%; interquartile range: 8.1%-37.9%). Multivariable analyses identified high household income inequality, low number of radiologists/100,000 inhabitants, low number of mammography machines/10,000 inhabitants, and low number of mammograms performed by each machine as independent correlates of poor mammographic coverage at the micro-region level. There was evidence of strong spatial dependence of these associations, with changes in one micro-region affecting neighboring micro-regions, and also of geographical heterogeneities. There were substantial inequities in access to mammographic screening across micro-regions in Brazil, in 2010-2011, with coverage being higher in those with smaller wealth inequities and better access to health care