Traumatologia renal nos HUC: experiência de treze anos

Os autores fazem uma revisão da casuística de traumatologia renal da sua instituição. Analisam-se 152 traumatismos renais ocorridos em 13 anos avaliando-se a classificação, mecanismo causal, etiologia, sintomatologia, estudo imagiológico, lesões associadas, tratamento, complicações e evolução

Undifferentiated Sarcoma of the Liver in the Adult

Os AA apresentam um caso clínico de sarcoma indiferenciado do fígado no adulto com metástases pulmonares, cardíacas e com recidiva local hepática. Salienta-se a contribuição dos exames complementares de diagnóstico, com especial relevo para a ecocardiografia no diagnóstico precoce de metástases intracardiacas. Não encontrámos qualquer outro caso descrito na literatura portuguesa

Real-life comparison between diesel and electric car energy consumption

Vehicle electrification is one of the strategies with higher potential for increasing the efficiency of vehicle powertrains, reducing the dependency on dwindling fossil fuel sources and meeting stringent emissions targets set by policy makers. Despite all the theoretical assessments and manufacturer’s claimed efficiency and emissions records of current vehicles, there is a lack of data concerning real life comparisons of Electric Vehicles (EV) against Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) cars. A test program comparing the energy consumption of an EV and a diesel powered (ICE) car was carried out. Both short (at levelled ground and 6% up hill) and long distance tests were performed for several fixed vehicle speeds. Measurements enabling the assessment of average energy consumption, required power and energy suplied were performed for both vehicles. Results indicate that in terms of vehicle use (Tank to Wheel perspective) the electric powertrain is significantly more energy efficient than the Diesel powertrain, although the difference between the two is less pronounced for higher power events.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Project MOBI-MPP (MIT-Pt/EDAM-SMS/0030/2008), SFRH/BPD/51048/2010, SFRH/BPD/89553/2012MIT Portugal Program (EDAM), MOBI-MPP ProjectFEDER - Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade COMPET

A low-noise CMOS front-end for TOF-PET

An analogue CMOS front-end for triggering and amplification of signals produced by a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) coupled to a LYSO scintillator is proposed. The solution is intended for time-of-flight measurement in compact Positron Emission Tomography (TOF-PET) medical imaging equipments where excellent timing resolution is required (approximate to 100 ps). A CMOS 0.13 mu m technology was used to implement such front end, and the design includes preamplification, shaping, baseline holder and biasing circuitry, for a total silicon area of 500x90 mu m. Waveform sampling and time-over-threshold (ToT) techniques are under study and the front-end provides fast and shaped outputs for time and energy measurements. Post layout simulation results show that, for the trigger of a single photoelectron, the time jitter due to the pre-amplifier noise can be as low as 15 ps (FWHM), for a photodetector with a total capacitance of 70 pF. The very low input impedance of the pre-amplifier (approximate to 5 Omega) allows 1.8 ns of peaking time, at the cost of 10 mW of power consumption

Multi-contrast computed laminography at ANKA light source

X-ray computed laminography has been developed as a non-destructive imaging technique for inspecting laterally extended objects. Benefiting from a parallel-beam geometry, high photon flux of synchrotron sources and modern high-resolution detector systems, synchrotron radiation computed laminography (SRCL) results in a powerful three-dimensional microscopy technique. SRCL can be combined with different contrast modes, such as absorption, phase and dark-field contrasts, in order to provide complementary information for the same specimen. Here we show the development of SRCL at the TopoTomo beamline of the ANKA light source. A novel instrumentation design is reported and compared to the existing one. For this design, experimental results from different contrast modalities are shown

A low-noise CMOS front-end for TOF-PET

An analogue CMOS front-end for triggering and amplification of signals produced by a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) coupled to a LYSO scintillator is proposed. The solution is intended for time-of-flight measurement in compact Positron Emission Tomography (TOF-PET) medical imaging equipments where excellent timing resolution is required (approximate to 100 ps). A CMOS 0.13 mu m technology was used to implement such front end, and the design includes preamplification, shaping, baseline holder and biasing circuitry, for a total silicon area of 500x90 mu m. Waveform sampling and time-over-threshold (ToT) techniques are under study and the front-end provides fast and shaped outputs for time and energy measurements. Post layout simulation results show that, for the trigger of a single photoelectron, the time jitter due to the pre-amplifier noise can be as low as 15 ps (FWHM), for a photodetector with a total capacitance of 70 pF. The very low input impedance of the pre-amplifier (approximate to 5 Omega) allows 1.8 ns of peaking time, at the cost of 10 mW of power consumption

A low-noise CMOS front-end for TOF-PET

An analogue CMOS front-end for triggering and amplification of signals produced by a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) coupled to a LYSO scintillator is proposed. The solution is intended for time-of-flight measurement in compact Positron Emission Tomography (TOF-PET) medical imaging equipments where excellent timing resolution is required (approximate to 100 ps). A CMOS 0.13 mu m technology was used to implement such front end, and the design includes preamplification, shaping, baseline holder and biasing circuitry, for a total silicon area of 500x90 mu m. Waveform sampling and time-over-threshold (ToT) techniques are under study and the front-end provides fast and shaped outputs for time and energy measurements. Post layout simulation results show that, for the trigger of a single photoelectron, the time jitter due to the pre-amplifier noise can be as low as 15 ps (FWHM), for a photodetector with a total capacitance of 70 pF. The very low input impedance of the pre-amplifier (approximate to 5 Omega) allows 1.8 ns of peaking time, at the cost of 10 mW of power consumption

ZnO thin films implanted with Al, Sb and P : optical, structural and electrical characterization

In this work we report a study on the structure, optical and electrical properties of P, Sb and Al implanted ZnO thin films that had been produced by r.f. magnetron sputtering. The influence of the different replacing atoms on the structure and properties of the films has been explored. Looking for the best annealing conditions, two different annealing temperatures (300ºC and 500ºC) have been employed. Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction, transmittance and d.c conductivity measurements have been used to characterize the samples. X-ray diffraction and Raman scattering patterns confirm that after annealing, doped films keep a polycrystalline nature with (002) preferred orientation. These films remain very transparent and the electrical conductivity increases significantly after the 500ºC annealing, reaching values of 10.9 (cm)-1 in the P-doped, 10.33 (cm)-1 in the Al-doped and 0.56 (cm)-1 in the Sb-doped sample

Farnesol antimicrobial role as biofilm cell detachment inducer in S. epidermidis biofilms

Objetives: Farnesol is a naturally-occurring sesquiterpene that was originally isolated from essential oils found in many plants has been described to have antimicrobial potential against several bacteria, including S. epidermidis. However, farnesol mechanism of action is not yet fully understood and some contradictory findings have been reported. We recently described that while farnesol was not efficient at killing biofilm bacteria, a strong reduction on biofilm biomass was detected, and we hypothesize that farnesol could be inducing biofilm detachment. Here, we address this hypothesis. Methods: To test our hypothesis we used 36 representative clinical strains of S. epidermidis from different parts of the world and characterized them in terms of genetic variability, biofilm formation and on the effect of farnesol on biofilm physiology and gene expression. Results: Farnesol had no bactericidal effect on stationary phase populations equal or above 108 CFU/mL. In exponential phase planktonic bacteria, farnesol showed a bacteriostatic effect after cell density reached 108 CFU/mL. In any of the growth phases studied, farnesol was effective in killing above 90% of bacteria in 4 h when cell density was 107 CFU/mL or below. Confocal microscopy and flow citometry analysis confirmed that in biofilms bacteria were not killed by farnesol but nevertheless cell wall integrity was affected. Gene expression studies revealed differential responses to farnesol, depending on the bacterial strain tested. Farnesol cell detachement from biofilms was also straindependent. Conclusions: We found that while farnesol cannot kill high density bacterial communities, such as biofilms, it was nevertheless able to induce biofilm detachment in 50% of the strains that formed biofilm