IPSAL: Implementação do módulo para geração da sequência e índices de Sobol

Sensitivity and uncertainty analysis hold significant importance across a range of applications, spanning from industrial problems to climate change, financial risk assessment, as well as mathematical and computational models. These analyses involve identifying influential input parameters in models to comprehend their impact on the output. Sensitivity analysis can be performed locally, examining parameter effects at a fixed value, or globally, evaluating the model across a range of parameter values. The Sobol method stands as a robust approach for global sensitivity analysis, employing a Sobol sequence to create samples more uniformly within the input parameter space, thus enabling efficient exploration of model inputs. This paper aims to introduce a computational implementation in Scilab to generate the Sobol sequence for utilization in sensitivity analysis through the Sobol method. A test case was applied to generate Sobol sequences and discuss the obtained results.A análise de sensibilidade e da incerteza tem uma importância significativa numa série de aplicações, abrangendo desde problemas industriais até alterações climáticas, avaliação de riscos financeiros, bem como modelos matemáticos e computacionais. Essas análises envolvem a identificação de parâmetros de entrada influentes nos modelos para compreender seu impacto na saída. A análise de sensibilidade pode ser realizada localmente, examinando os efeitos dos parâmetros em um valor fixo, ou globalmente, avaliando o modelo em uma faixa de valores de parâmetros. O método de Sobol apresenta uma abordagem robusta para análise de sensibilidade global, empregando uma sequência de Sobol para criar amostras de forma mais uniforme dentro do espaço de parâmetros de entrada, permitindo assim a exploração eficiente das entradas do modelo. Este artigo tem como objetivo apresentar uma implementação computacional no Scilab para gerar a sequência e os índices de Sobol para utilização em análise de sensibilidade através do método Sobol. Um caso de teste foi aplicado para gerar sequências de Sobol e discutir os resultados obtidos

Model for End-Stage Liver Disease, Model for Liver Transplantation Survival and Donor Risk Index as predictive models of survival after liver transplantation in 1,006 patients

OBJECTIVES: Liver transplantation has not increased with the number of patients requiring this treatment, increasing deaths among those on the waiting list. Models predicting post-transplantation survival, including the Model for Liver Transplantation Survival and the Donor Risk Index, have been created. Our aim was to compare the performance of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease, the Model for Liver Transplantation Survival and the Donor Risk Index as prognostic models for survival after liver transplantation. METHOD: We retrospectively analyzed the data from 1,270 patients who received a liver transplant from a deceased donor in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, between July 2006 and July 2009. All data obtained from the Health Department of the State of São Paulo at the 15 registered transplant centers were analyzed. Patients younger than 13 years of age or with acute liver failure were excluded. RESULTS: The majority of the recipients had Child-Pugh class B or C cirrhosis (63.5%). Among the 1,006 patients included, 274 (27%) died. Univariate survival analysis using a Cox proportional hazards model showed hazard ratios of 1.02 and 1.43 for the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease and the Model for Liver Transplantation Survival, respectively (

Recall Rates of Patients in Endodontic Treatments: A Critical Review

The number of patients that return for recall appointments has great importance to validate endodontic treatment outcomes. The purpose of this review was to investigate the rate of return on recall and the main factors that influence this rate of return. A literature review was performed in the PubMed database for the years from 1978 to 2017, using the following keywords: recall rate, endodontic treatment, endodontic retreatment, apical surgery. The inclusion criteria were: prospective studies in English, and in vivo research with humans, which included patient return rates. A total of 35 studies that fulfilled the established criteria were selected. The percentage of patients who returned on recall was 56%. More female patients (60%) attended the recall appointments than male (40%). The three main reasons for not returning were: patients did not observe the follow-up appointment (490), not returning due to a lack of interest (99) and   changing their address (222). The age of the patients attending the appointments varied from 28.6 to 62 years old, with the highest percentage of patients that returned ranging from 40 to 52.5 years old. According to the literature the optimal rate of return for follow-up treatment should be greater than 80%, for the validity of the research. However, the reality presented in the studies is far from ideal. Many studies do not even mention these rates of return in their methodologies or in their results, which may mask the true treatment success rates.Keywords: Endodontic Recall; Follow-up; Recal

Surgical resection, intraoperative radiotherapy and immediate plastic reconstruction: A good option for the treatment of distal extremity soft tissue sarcomas

AimTo show three patients with soft tissue sarcomas of distal extremities conservatively treated after tumor-board discussion, involving margin-free surgery, exclusive intraoperative radiotherapy, and immediate reconstruction.BackgroundCurrent guidelines show clear and robust recommendations regarding the composition of the treatment of sarcomas of extremities. However, little evidence exists regarding the application of these treatments depending on the location of the primary neoplasia. Tumors that affect the distal extremities present different challenges and make multidisciplinary discussions desirable.Methods/ResultsWe reported 3 patients who were approached with a conservative intention, after tumor board recomendation. The goals from the treatment performed were aesthetic and functional preservation, while enruring locoregional control. We had wound healing complications in 2 of the cases, requiring additional reconstruction measures. Patients are followed up for 24, 20 and 10 months; local control is 100%, and functional preservation is 100%.ConclusionsDespite being a small series, it was sufficient to illustrate successful multidisciplinary planning, generating a therapeutic result with improved quality of life for patients who had an initial indication for extremity amputation

Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze extract as a source of phenolic compounds in TPS/PBAT active films

There is growing interest in the development of biodegradable packaging materials containing natural antioxidant extracts. In this sense, the use of extracts obtained from agro-industrial byproducts has proved to be a sustainable alternative. In this study, Pinhão extract, a byproduct of Pinhão (Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze) seed consumption, was characterized by HPLC-DAD-ESI/MSn, demonstrating the presence of eight phenolic compounds, (+)-catechin and (−)-epicatechin being the most abundant molecules. TPS/PBAT films containing Pinhão extract were produced by blown extrusion and their properties (tensile properties, thermal characteristics and microstructure) were evaluated in order to determine the effect of the presence of extracts. Results suggested that the interaction between the phenolic compounds of the extract and the polymeric matrix caused the reduction in the crystallinity degree, and an increase in the starch glass transition temperature. The presence of Araucaria angustifolia (Bertol.) Kuntze extract significantly (p < 0.05) affected the color and opacity of the film. Regarding water vapor permeation, no significant difference (p > 0.05) was detected. However, the water solubility and the contact angle with water (polar solvent) and diiodomethane (non-polar solvent) significantly changed due to the extract addition. Moreover, the Pinhão extract conferred significant antioxidant capacity to the TPS/PBAT films as determined by DPPH, suggesting that this material can be applied as an active packaging material.The authors thank CNPq (Chamada Universal – MCTI/CNPq no. 14/2014, Processo 447768/2014-0), CAPES (Master’s scholarship) and Fundação Araucária (Programa Universal/ Pesquisa Básica e Aplicada 24/2012, protocolo 7334133700514041013) for the financial support and they also thank Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM – UID/EQU/50020/2019 – funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) and FEDER under Programme PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2019) and to the national funding by FCT, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract for L. Barros contracts. The authors are also grateful to FEDER-Interreg España-Portugal programme for financial support through the project 0377_Iberphenol_6_E.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

PRECONCEITO COM AS USINAS NUCLEARES

As usinas nucleares funcionam através de reações de fissão nuclear, onde núcleos pesados são quebrados pela incidência de nêutrons, produzindo núcleos menores e calor. O calor é usado para gerar vapor que aciona uma turbina e esta movimenta um gerador elétrico. Atualmente cerca de 10% da energia elétrica utilizada no mundo tem origem nuclear, formando um porcentual pequeno quando comparada com outras fontes de energia. No entanto, alguns países exploram intensamente essa matriz energética, como a França, cuja participação nuclear na geração de eletricidade é de 70%. Mas por que as usinas nucleares são tão polêmicas? Por que não se questiona e combate outros tipos de usinas com o mesmo vigor que as nucleares? Dessa forma, utilizando a metodologia de pesquisa bibliográfica qualitativa, por meio do estudo do assunto em artigos e livros, desenvolvemos um trabalho que visa informar o público sobre os aspectos positivos e negativos da produção de eletricidade via usinas nucleares, bem como esclarecer informações divulgadas de forma deturpada. Entre as vantagens de se utilizar usinas nucleares podemos citar: alto rendimento energético, baixa emissão de gases poluentes, pouco espaço para construção, independência energética para países que possuem materiais físseis e que dominam o ciclo do combustível e fornecimento estável de energia. Entre as desvantagens temos: riscos de acidentes nucleares, alto custo de construção, produção de rejeitos radioativos e risco de proliferação de armas nucleares. No entanto, outras fontes de energia também apresentam inúmeros pontos negativos, entre os quais citamos: poluição causada pelas usinas termoelétricas na queima de carvão e outros combustíveis fósseis, o que ocasiona diversos problemas de saúde; ruído causado pelos geradores eólicos, além da quantidade de energia e recursos naturais que são gastos para sua fabricação; quantidade de recursos minerais empregados na fabricação de placas solares, que depois de um tempo devem ser descartadas; regiões imensas de terras que são inundadas para formar os reservatórios das hidrelétricas, destruindo a fauna e a flora e obrigando milhares ou milhões de pessoas a se retirarem. Sem esquecer das rupturas de barragens que geram danos irreparáveis ao ambiente, alguns deles muito superiores aos acidentes nucleares, como por exemplo, o rompimento da barragem de Danqiao na China em 1975, que destruiu cerca de 6 milhões de casas e ocasionou a morte de mais de 200 mil pessoas. Desse modo, concluímos que o preconceito em relação às usinas nucleares deve-se aos seguintes fatores: acidentes ocorridos, como em Chernobyl e em Fukushima, criando uma percepção negativa sobre a segurança das usinas; associação das usinas nucleares com as bombas atômicas, apesar de que uma usina jamais poderá explodir como uma bomba nuclear; produção de resíduos nucleares que, apesar de serem em quantidades relativamente pequenas, continuam radioativos por milhares de anos e devem ser armazenados com segurança por longos períodos; falta de conhecimento e desinformação, sendo que certos conceitos, como o de radiação, são mal compreendidos e a mídia enfatiza os aspectos negativos da energia nuclear, esquecendo da sua importante contribuição à sociedade