Human thermo-physiological sensation control based in the adaptive comfort philosophy

In order to improve the building thermal efficiency, increase the human thermal comfort level and to reduce the building energy consumption, in this work, the human thermo-physiological sensation control, based in the adaptive comfort philosophy, is applied. In this control methodology the occupants, during a lesson activity, can choose among the clothing level, the activity level and the natural ventilation system. The PMV and PPD indexes are used in the numerical simulation. This work is made in a classroom school building, in the Algarve region, with Mediterranean characteristics, in Spring conditions, based in air temperature and relative humidity measurements. The comparison of the human thermal comfort level without and with control strategies is made. The obtained results are used to define an applicable activity, clothing and ventilation strategy, during the day

A Model of Free Tissue Transfer: The Rat Epigastric Free Flap

Free tissue transfer has been increasingly used in clinical practice since the 1970s, allowing reconstruction of complex and otherwise untreatable defects resulting from tumor extirpation, trauma, infections, malformations or burns. Free flaps are particularly useful for reconstructing highly complex anatomical regions, like those of the head and neck, the hand, the foot and the perineum. Moreover, basic and translational research in the area of free tissue transfer is of great clinical potential. Notwithstanding, surgical trainees and researchers are frequently deterred from using microsurgical models of tissue transfer, due to lack of information regarding the technical aspects involved in the operative procedures. The aim of this paper is to present the steps required to transfer a fasciocutaneous epigastric free flap to the neck in the rat. This flap is based on the superficial epigastric artery and vein, which originates from and drain into the femoral artery and vein, respectively. On average the caliber of the superficial epigastric vein is 0.6 to 0.8 mm, contrasting with the 0.3 to 0.5 mm of the superficial epigastric artery. Histologically, the flap is a composite block of tissues, containing skin (epidermis and dermis), a layer of fat tissue (panniculus adiposus), a layer of striated muscle (panniculus carnosus), and a layer of loose areolar tissue. Succinctly, the epigastric flap is raised on its pedicle vessels that are then anastomosed to the external jugular vein and to the carotid artery on the ventral surface of the rat's neck. According to our experience, this model guarantees the complete survival of approximately 70 to 80% of epigastric flaps transferred to the neck region. The flap can be evaluated whenever needed by visual inspection. Hence, the authors believe this is a good experimental model for microsurgical research and training.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Is the proteome of bronchoalveolar lavage extracellular vesicles a marker of advanced lung cancer?

Acellular bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) proteomics can partially separate lung cancer from non-lung cancer patients based on principal component analysis and multivariate analysis. Furthermore, the variance in the proteomics data sets is correlated mainly with lung cancer status and, to a lesser extent, smoking status and gender. Despite these advances BAL small and large extracellular vehicles (EVs) proteomes reveal aberrant protein expression in paracrine signaling mechanisms in cancer initiation and progression. We consequently present a case-control study of 24 bronchoalveolar lavage extracellular vesicle samples which were analyzed by state-of-the-art liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). We obtained evidence that BAL EVs proteome complexity correlated with lung cancer stage 4 and mortality within two years´ follow-up (p value = 0.006). The potential therapeutic target DNMT3B complex is significantly up-regulated in tumor tissue and BAL EVs. The computational analysis of the immune and fibroblast cell markers in EVs suggests that patients who deceased within the follow-up period display higher marker expression indicative of innate immune and fibroblast cells (four out of five cases). This study provides insights into the proteome content of BAL EVs and their correlation to clinical outcomes.R.M. is supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (CEEC position, 2019–2025 investigator). This article is a result of the projects (iNOVA4Health—UID/Multi/04462/2013), supported by Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). This work is also funded by FEDER funds through the COMPETE 2020 Programme and National Funds through FCT—Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the projects number PTDC/BTM-TEC/30087/2017 and PTDC/BTM-TEC/30088/2017. This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance Margdarshi Fellowship (grant number IA/M/15/1/502023) awarded to A.P. B.C.-S., M.C.S.C. and C.B. are supported by the Champalimaud Foundation and the EMBO Installation Grant 3921

Evaluation of indoor air quality in classrooms equipped with cross-flow ventilation

In this work the evaluation of indoor air quality in a classroom equipped with cross-flow ventilation is presented. A numerical methodology, based on comparison with experimental data, used in the evaluation of the air exchange rate, airflow rate and the age of the air, was applied in the first phase of this work. The evolution of carbon dioxide inside spaces, with different airflow typologies, was then predicted in the second part. The study was based on a school located in the South of Portugal. In the experimental methodology the tracer gas decay method was applied. In order to reduce the experimental time, the first minutes of the test were measured, while the remaining decay was obtained using a numerical exponential regression. Natural and forced cross-flow ventilation topologies were analyzed. In the case of forced ventilation, fresh air from the external environment was driven into the classroom through an air inlet using a supply fan. An extract strategy was also used in which stale air was mechanically extracted from the classroom. Natural ventilation consisted of opening perimeter and above-door windows. The forecast of carbon dioxide evolution was made using software that evaluates the thermal response of and air quality in a building with complex topology. The numerical model used to evaluate internal air quality was based on energy and mass conservation integral equations. These were solved using the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg method with error control

Molecular markers in genetic variability assessment, cultivar fingerprinting and hybrid identification in fruit and vegetables

Isozyme, RADP and AFLP markers were used in the UCTA, University of Algarve, for several studies in fruit tree and vegetable species. In Citrus, isozyme analysis was used for assessing genetic variability of traditional cultivars, for distinguishing nucellars from zigotics scion and rootstock cultivars, for parentage determination of hybrid plants and to identify mistakes occurring in commercial nurseries. In figs (Ficus carica L.), isozyme and RAPD analyses allowed the detection of errors in a field collection, and jointly with AFLP analysis were used to discriminate and fingerprint germplasm accessions. In almond (Prunus dulcis Webb) isozyme, RAPD and AFLP markers were utilised to discriminate among cultivars. Recently, several programs aiming to identify molecular markers linked to resistance genes and to construct genomic maps in pineapple, Brassica sp., peas and chickpeas, were initiated in our laboratory