345 research outputs found
Corneal Tissue Engineering: New Applications for Corneal Stromal Stem Cells
The WHO estimates 10 million people in the World are blinded by corneal disease. For many conditions, transplantation of a donor cornea may restore vision. However, there is a global shortage of suitable tissue and a high risk of rejection. The potential of stem cell therapies and tissue engineering approaches to address this significant unmet clinical need was investigated. Limbal epithelial stem cells (LESC) maintain the epithelium, the outermost layer of the cornea, and can be successfully transplanted to restore vision. However, when scarring occurs, transplantation of corneal stroma is required. Human corneal stromal stem cells (CSSC) are involved in stroma maintenance and have previously been shown to restore transparency in cloudy mouse corneas without rejection. This study investigated the development of a surgeon friendly tissue equivalent (TE) for the therapeutic delivery of CSSC and LESCs. For the first time, human corneal rims were rendered transparent for imaging under the iDISCO protocol. CSSC were successfully isolated and characterised with mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) properties confirmed. RAFT-TE, a potential artificial ocular surface, has been extensively investigated by our group using research grade collagen (First Link; not suitable for clinical use). In this thesis, a comparative study was performed to show that Koken collagen (Good Manufacturing Practice compliant) is a suitable replacement for research grade collagen as it did not compromise RAFT-TE properties. Next, co-culture conditions for LESC and CSSC in RAFT-TE were optimised. First, the idea of co-delivering CSSC together with LESCS to the surface of RAFT-TE as a mixed population was trialled. This resulted in unexpected epithelial cell peeling. To overcome this challenge, CSSC were successfully cultured for the first time inside Koken RAFT-TE. CSSC formed cell clusters, remodelled the matrix, and migrated to the surface of the TE. It was also shown that they can be induced to differentiate towards the keratocyte lineage inside the TE. This work highlights the importance of considering clinical manufacturing standards early in the process of development. Overall, it provides valuable insights to develop personalised autologous therapies and off the shelf allogeneic strategies for restoring vision in patients with corneal blindness
Artificial Intelligence and Its Ethical Implications for Marketing
Goncalves, A. R., Pinto, D. C., Rita, P., & Pires, T. (2023). Artificial Intelligence and Its Ethical Implications for Marketing. Emerging Science Journal, 7(2), 313-327. https://doi.org/10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-02-01 --- Funding: This paper received support from the Management of Information Research Center (MagIC), project UIDB/04152/2020, and from the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT Portugal), project DSAIPA/DS/0113/2019.Despite the recent developments in AI, ethical questions arise when consumers contemplate how their data is being treated. This paper develops a conceptual model building on the theory of acceptance, risk, trust, and attitudes towards AI to understand the drivers that lead consumers to accept AI, considering consumers' ethical concerns. The model was empirically tested with 200 consumers of AI marketing services. The findings reveal that perceived risk significantly impacts attitudes toward AI, ethical concerns, and perceived trust and suggest a significant association between perceived risk, ethical concerns, and social norms. This research provides important theoretical and managerial implications for the ethical aspects of AI in marketing by highlighting the ethical and moral questions surrounding AI's acceptance.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin
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Sheep recognize familiar and unfamiliar human faces from two-dimensional images.
One of the most important human social skills is the ability to recognize faces. Humans recognize familiar faces easily, and can learn to identify unfamiliar faces from repeatedly presented images. Sheep are social animals that can recognize other sheep as well as familiar humans. Little is known, however, about their holistic face-processing abilities. In this study, we trained eight sheep (Ovis aries) to recognize the faces of four celebrities from photographic portraits displayed on computer screens. After training, the sheep chose the 'learned-familiar' faces rather than the unfamiliar faces significantly above chance. We then tested whether the sheep could recognize the four celebrity faces if they were presented in different perspectives. This ability has previously been shown only in humans. Sheep successfully recognized the four celebrity faces from tilted images. Interestingly, there was a drop in performance with the tilted images (from 79.22 ± 7.5% to 66.5 ± 4.1%) of a magnitude similar to that seen when humans perform this task. Finally, we asked whether sheep could recognize a very familiar handler from photographs. Sheep identified the handler in 71.8 ± 2.3% of the trials without pretraining. Together these data show that sheep have advanced face-recognition abilities, comparable with those of humans and non-human primates
O perfil do gestor em organizações agroindustriais e a possibilidade das alianças estratégicas
Este artigo analisa o papel do gestor organizador da aliança estratégica entre pequenos produtores rurais, suas habilidades, as ações gerenciais que levam ao sucesso e ao fracasso, as características endógenas e exógenas que são determinantes institucionais e humanos em um sistema agrícola e; apresenta um modelo conceitual de planejamento e gerência rural. Discute também a formação de alianças estratégicas entre pequenos produtores rurais como uma alternativa eficiente para torná-los mais competitivos e rentáveis.Discute-se, então, o ciclo de vida da aliança estratégica, dos elementos que possibilitarão o seu sucesso e dos riscos da parceria.-------------This article analyses the manager’s paper on the strategic alliance between small farmers, their skills, management actions that result in either success or failure, endogenous and exogenous characteristics that are institutional and human determinants in an agricultural system and present a conceptual model of rural planning and management. It discusses also the creation of strategic alliances between small farmers as an efficient alternative to make them more competitive and profitable. So, its discussed the strategic alliances life cycle, the elements that make success possible and the risks of partnerships.gestão rural, alianças estratégicas, planejamento rural, ciclo de vida da aliança, agroindústria, rural management, strategic alliance, rural planning, alliance life cycle, agribusiness, Farm Management,
Linking Animal Welfare and Antibiotic Use in Pig Farming-A Review
Simple Summary Minimising stress in intensive pig farms is paramount to raising immunocompetent pigs. This entails providing the pigs with living conditions (from birth to the point of slaughter) free of pain, stress, and suffering and simultaneously providing conditions that generate positive affective states. Our review aims to study the relationship between chronic stress, illnesses, their impact on antibiotic use (AMU), and potential housing and management improvements to tackle stress and AMU. According to the literature, pigs kept in crowded, barren conditions, with poor microclimatic conditions, and subject to painful and stressful weaning practices present redirected behaviours, poor immune-competence, and weaker bodies. In turn, pigs are more vulnerable to circulating pathogens and severe secondary infections, which is conducive to high AMU for the sake of the animals' health. Simultaneously, we compiled a list of possible solutions for the current poor environment and practices, including a call for the pig industry to broaden its concept of animal welfare beyond the current biological/productivist scope. We propose that advocating for an industry with enhanced animal welfare is a crucial response to the international call to combat antimicrobial resistance and the social demand for ethically sustainable animal production. Preventative measures, such as biosecurity and vaccinations, are essential but not sufficient to ensure high standards of health in pig production systems. Restrictive, barren housing and many widely used management practices that cause pain and stress predispose high-performance pigs reared in intensive systems to disease. In this context, antibiotics are used as part of the infrastructure that sustains health and high levels of production in pig farms. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global emergency affecting human and animal health, and the use of antibiotics (AMU) in intensive livestock farming is considered an important risk factor for the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria from animals to humans. Tackling the issue of AMR demands profound changes in AMU, e.g., reducing their use for prophylaxis and ending it for growth promotion. In support of such recommendations, we revise the link between animal welfare and AMU and argue that it is crucial to sustainably reduce AMU while ensuring that pigs can live happy lives. In support of such recommendations, we aimed to revise the link between animal welfare and AMU in pigs by analysing stress factors related to housing and management and their impact on pig welfare. In particular, we reviewed critical management practices that increase stress and, therefore, pigs' susceptibility to disease and reduce the quality of life of pigs. We also reviewed some alternatives that can be adopted in pig farms to improve animal welfare and that go beyond the reduction in stress. By minimising environmental and management stressors, pigs can become more immunocompetent and prepared to overcome pathogenic challenges. This outcome can contribute to reducing AMU and the risk of AMR while simultaneously improving the quality of life of pigs and, ultimately, maintaining the pig industry's social license
Diagnostic value of cerebrospinal fluid analysis in a population of dogs with suspected idiopathic epilepsy
Repercussions of a sleep medicine outreach program
Despite the high prevalence of sleep disorders, many healthcare professionals and lay people have little knowledge of Sleep Medicine. Mindful of such a reality, in 2001 the Sleep Institute of the Associação Fundo de Incentivo à Psicofarmacologia launched a campaign to increase Sleep Medicine awareness. Media features, exhibitions, inserts, and classes were used to reach 2,000,000 people and 55,000 healthcare professionals during the period from 2001 to 2004. To evaluate this program, we compared data for polysomnography referrals to the Institute in 2000 and in 2004. A total of 8805 referrals were evaluated (2000: 2164; 2004: 6641). Over the 4 years of the program, the number of beds increased by 43%; more women were referred (31 vs 37%; P < 0.001), mainly with a diagnostic hypothesis of sleep-disorder breathing (SDB). SDB was the most frequent diagnostic hypothesis in 2000 and 2004. In 2004 there were fewer referrals without a diagnostic hypothesis (27 vs 21%; P < 0.001) and for controlling surgically treated SDB (2.3 vs 1.6%; P < 0.05), and an increase in the following diagnostic hypotheses: non-invasive treatment of SDB (8.3 vs 12.3%; P < 0.001) and insomnia (3.5 vs 6.5%; P < 0.001). Insomnia diagnostic hypothesis was better correlated with SDB on referral documents in 2004 and less with a diagnostic hypothesis of limb movement disturbance. The program helped increase polysomnography referrals, particularly among women. Healthcare professionals appear to have a more developed understanding of sleep disorders.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de PsicobiologiaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de FarmacologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de PsicobiologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de FarmacologiaSciEL
TV interaction as a non-invasive sensor for monitoring elderly well-being at home
The number of technical solutions to remotely monitoring elderly citizens and detecting
hazard situations has been increasing in the last few years. These solutions have dual purposes: to
provide a feeling of safety to the elderly and to inform their relatives about potential risky situations,
such as falls, forgotten medication, and other unexpected deviations from daily routine. Most of
these solutions are based on IoT (Internet of Things) and dedicated sensors that need to be installed
at the elderly’s houses, hampering mass adoption. This justifies the search for non-invasive technical
alternatives with smooth integration that relying only on existent devices, without the need for any
additional installations. Therefore, this paper presents the SecurHome TV ecosystem, a technical
solution based on the elderly’s interactions with their TV sets—one of the most used devices in their
daily lives—acting as a non-invasive sensor enabling one to detect potential hazardous situations
through an elaborated warning algorithm. Thus, this paper describes in detail the SecurHome TV
ecosystem, with special emphasis on the warning algorithm, and reports on its validation process.
We conclude that notwithstanding some constraints while setting the user’s pattern, either upon the
cold start of the application or after an innocuous change in the user’s TV routine, the algorithm
detects most hazardous situations contributing to monitor elderly well-being at home
Nonpharmacological interventions used in the perioperative period to prevent anxiety in adolescents: a scoping review
Objective: The objective of this scoping review was to examine and map the range of nonpharmacological
interventions used in the perioperative period to prevent anxiety in adolescents.
Introduction: Undergoing surgery involves experiencing fears and uncertainties that lead to an increase in anxiety
levels. The interventions used to prevent anxiety in the perioperative period in adolescents must be appropriate to
their developmental stage.
Inclusion criteria: Studies involving adolescents (10 to 19 years of age) undergoing any type of surgical procedure
and specifying any nonpharmacological interventions administered to prevent anxiety, implemented in the
perioperative period, were included in this review.
Methods: A comprehensive search strategy using multiple databases was employed to find relevant studies. The
databases search included MEDLINE via PubMed; CINAHL Plus with Full Text via EBSCO; Cochrane Central Register of
Controlled Trials; LILACS; Scopus; Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts; PsycINFO; JBI Connectþ;
and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Sources of unpublished studies and gray literature were TDX – Tesis
Doctorals en Xarxa (Spain); RCAAP – Reposito´ rio Cientı´fico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal; OpenGrey – System for
Information on Grey Literature in Europe; and MedNar. Studies published in English, Spanish, or Portuguese were
included. There was no date restriction, or geographical or cultural limitation applied to the search. The relevant
studies and their reported outcomes were organized and analyzed.
Results: The database search yielded 1438 articles, and three additional records were added after hand searching.
Title, abstract, and full-text review identified 11 papers that met the inclusion criteria. The final data set represented
947 participants. The data were analyzed according to the type of nonpharmacological intervention, population,
concept (outcome measured and tool used), context (physical location; preoperative vs. postoperative), frequency
and duration of the intervention, and which professional team member implemented the intervention. Eight
nonpharmacological interventions were identified, applied either in the preoperative or postoperative context. The
nurses were the main professionals administering the nonpharmacological interventions to the adolescents.
Conclusions: A variety of nonpharmacological interventions were used in the perioperative period to prevent
anxiety in adolescents. The most common interventions were music/musicotherapy and hypnosis/guided imagery.
However, other interventions such as therapeutic play, preoperative preparation program, mothers’ presence during
the anesthesia induction, distraction, relaxation training, massage therapy, and reading were also identified. These
interventions were used alone or in a combination of two interventions, either preoperatively or postoperatively. The
adolescents in the early stage (10 to 14 years) were the most studied group and the adolescents in the late stage (17
to 19 years) were the least studied. Future research should focus on the implementation of nonpharmacological interventions in the perioperative period involving adolescents, particularly late adolescents. A systematic review on
the effect of nonpharmacological interventions for anxiety management in adolescents in the perioperative period
should be conducted.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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