Improving Quality in the Patients‟ Risk of Fall Evaluation through Clinical Supervision

In the hospital settings, falls occur for a wide scope of reasons but most of the time they could be prevented. Therefore, clinical supervision as a strategy to improve and develop nurses’ knowledge and skills is crucial for a better clinical practice. The aims of this quantitative, exploratory and descriptive study were: to characterize the risk of falling of hospitalized patients in a unit of the medicine department; to relate the risk of falling with the patients’ personal attributes; to analyze the compliance between the procedures for monitoring, planning and execution of nursing care; to suggest contributions for a clinical supervision model in nursing to improve nurses’ skills in preventing falls. The population was composed by all the patients of the selected unit who were hospitalized from the 10th of February 2012 until the 9th of April 2012. We had a convenience sample constituted by 132 patients who fitted the inclusion criteria. We collected data through several procedures such as the application of a questionnaire to assess the risk of fall accordingly to the falls protocol implemented in the unit and the parameterization defined in the nursing records system. The results pointed out that 16,7% of patients showed “no risk of fall”, 48,5% had “low risk of fall” and 34,8% had “high risk of fall”. We verify the existence of non-conformities in the implementation of the falls protocol, the application of the Morse Fall Scale, among others. Thus, we recommend some contributions for a clinical supervision model in nursing so nurses can develop their knowledge and skills in preventing patients’ falls.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Morse Fall Scale User's Manual: Quality in Supervision and in Nursing Practice

Falls are common adverse hospital events. In the first phase of the research project: “Clinical Supervision for Safety and Care Quality” (C-S2AFECARE-Q), difficulties in the application of the Morse Fall Scale® and non-conformities in the implementation of the falls prevention protocol were identified. Therefore, we carried out a qualitative research to improve patient safety and quality of nursing care through the design of a tool that clarifies each item of the scale and helps nurses in the assessment of the risk of fall. With this paper we intend to publicize the process to develop the Morse Fall Scale User's Manual.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The use of the FTIR as a tool to discriminate flavored oils

Olive oil is one of the most consumed vegetable oils in the world and its production has increased in recentyears.The market has been betting on new ways of consuming olive oils, such as flavored oils.However, flavored oils can suffer several frauds, such as the addition of other vegetable oils.Thus, it is necessary to develop fast, low-cost and non-invasive analytical techniques that allow the identification of the flavoring agent, as well as discriminating non-flavoredoilsfrom flavored oils. In this context, techniques based on spectroscopy have gained great importance for allowing a fast and non-destructive analysis using a small volume of oil, as is the case of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT,Portugal) for financial support by national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and to Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry - LAQV (UIDB/50006/2020). Nuno Rodrigues thanks to National funding by FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

DEMONSTRAÇÃO DOS FLUXOS DE CAIXA E CONTABILIDADE CRIATIVA

Creative financial reporting practices are of great concern in every developed country. The harmonization of International accounting standards has been considered as a way of improving quality of financial information. Given that information on cash flow is much less subjective than income, the elaboration and presentation of a cash flow as part of the annual financial statements of a company is usually considered a helpful tool to prevent accountancy manipulation. In this paper we discuss this belief, because the conciliation between earnings and operational cash flow must be analyzed in two stages: one for the difference between generated funds and earnings and another for the funds and operational cash flow. In this study it is empirically highlighted that the consequences of the analysis of both items are substantially different. Thus, a comparison between earnings and operational cash flow is not enough to detect creative reporting practices.As práticas de contabilidade criativa são objecto de grande preocupação em todos os países desenvolvidos. A harmonização das normas internacionais de contabilidade foi considerada como uma forma de melhorar a qualidade da informação financeira. Dado que a informação sobre fluxos de caixa é muito menos subjectiva do que o resultado, a elaboração e apresentação da demonstração dos fluxos de caixa como parte dos demonstrativos financeiros anuais da empresa é usualmente considerado como uma ferramenta útil para prevenir a manipulação contabilística. Neste estudo discutimos essa opinião, porque a conciliação entre resultados e fluxos de caixa operacionais deve ser analisada em dois estádios: um para a diferença entre os recursos gerados e o resultado e outro entre os recursos gerados e os fluxos de caixa operacionais. No estudo evidenciamos empiricamente que as consequências da análise de ambos são substancialmente diferentes. Assim, a comparação entre resultados e fluxo de caixa operacional não é suficiente para detectar práticas de contabilidade criativa

Effectiveness of an intervention to improve antibiotic-prescribing behaviour in primary care: a controlled, interrupted time-series study

Background: High rates of antibiotic misprescribing in primary care, with alarming clinical and economic consequences, highlight the urgent need for interventions to improve antibiotic prescribing in this setting. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness on antibiotic prescribing quality indicators of a multifaceted intervention targeting health professionals' and patients' behaviour regarding antibiotic use. Methods: We conducted a pragmatic cluster-randomized controlled trial in the catchment area covered by Portugal's Central Regional Health Administration. The intervention consisted of a multidisciplinary, multifaceted programme involving physicians, pharmacists and patients, and comprising outreach visits for physicians and pharmacists, and educational materials for health professionals and patients. The following were assessed: relative ratios of prescription of penicillins sensitive to β-lactamase, penicillin combinations including β-lactamase inhibitors, third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones; and the ratio of broad- to narrow-spectrum antibiotics. An interrupted time-series analysis for multiple-group comparisons was performed. The study protocol was registered on Clinical.trials.gov (NCT02173509). Results: The participation rate in the educational intervention was 64% (197/309 GPs) in a total of 25 counties. Statistically significant improvements were obtained, not only in the relative prescription of penicillins sensitive to β-lactamase (overall relative change of +896%) and penicillin combinations including β-lactamase inhibitors (-161%), but also in the ratio of broad- to narrow-spectrum antibiotics (-200%). Statistically significant results were also obtained for third- and fourth-generation cephalosporins, though only in the immediate term. Conclusions: This study showed that quality indicators of antibiotic prescribing can be improved by tackling influences on behaviour including knowledge and attitudes surrounding physicians' clinical practice. Accordingly, these determinants must be considered when implementing interventions aimed at improving antibiotic prescribing

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-chemometric approach as a non-destructive olive cultivar tool for discriminating Portuguese monovarietal olive oils

Four Portuguese monovarietal olive oils (cvs. Cobrançosa, Madural, Santulhana and Verdeal Transmontana) were evaluated, totalizing 24 independent samples. Olive cultivar significantly influenced (P values lt 0.05, one-way ANOVA) the oils’ physicochemical and sensory attributes, fulfilling all oils the legal thresholds for extra-virgin classification. Oils from cv. Verdeal Transmontana had the highest oxidative stability (16.9 ± 1.0 h), whereas cvs. Cobrançosa and Santulhana oils have the highest total phenols content (204 ± 30 and 177 ± 33 mg GAE/kg, respectively). Concerning the sensory attributes, only cv. Santulhana oils fitted fruity greenly oils type, presenting, in general, significantly higher olfactory and gustatory intensities (P values lt 0.05, one-way ANOVA), with a higher number of perceived sensory attributes (e.g., herbaceous sensations), compared to the other monovarietal oils. Free acidity, peroxide value, extinction coefficients, total phenols and oxidative stability allowed the unsupervised differentiation (principal component analysis, PCA) of the four monovarietal oils, and in a less extent, the sensory data. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy-chemometric procedure was developed based on raw or transformed forms of the recorded spectra. Raw, 1st and 2nd derivative spectra allowed the unsupervised (PCA) and supervised (linear discriminant analysis, LDA) identification of the olive cultivar of the studied oils. In fact, FTIR-LDA models, based on the raw transmittance or on their 1st or 2nd derivatives, recorded at 5, 4 or 3 selected wavenumbers, respectively, allowed to correctly classify all oils (sensitivities greater than 99 ± 7% for the repeated K-fold-CV internal validation). Therefore, FTIR spectroscopy could be used as a fast, reliable, environmentally friendly and non-destructive olive cultivar-classification tool for monovarietal oils.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support by national funds FCT/MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and Project “Green- Health—Digital strategies in biological assets to improve well-being and promote green health” (Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Nuno Rodrigues and Isabel P. Fernandes thank to National funding by FCT— Foundation for Science and Technology, Pinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An Overview of Blockchain for Industry 5.0: Towards Human-Centric, Sustainable and Resilient Applications

[Abstract]: Industry 5.0 is an evolving concept that aims to enhance the way modern factories operate by seeking long-term growth, production efficiency and the well-being of industrial workers. Human-centricity, sustainability and resilience are the three pillars of Industry 5.0, which are developed on Industry 4.0 enabling technologies. One of the most compelling technologies to help implement the communications architecture proposed by Industry 5.0 is blockchain, which can provide trustworthy, secured and decentralized information to different industrial domains. This article provides an analysis of the transition between Industry 4.0 and Industry 5.0 paradigms. Moreover, it examines the benefits and challenges that arise when using blockchain to develop Industry 5.0 applications and analyzes the design factors that should be considered when developing this type of applications. Furthermore, it presents a thorough review on the most relevant blockchain-based applications for Industry 5.0 pillars. Therefore, the main goal of this article is to provide a comprehensive and detailed guide for future Industry 5.0 developers that allows for determining how blockchain might benefit the next generation of human-centric, sustainable, and resilient applications.This work has been funded by the Xunta de Galicia (by grant ED431C 2020/15), and by grants PID2020-118857RA-100 (ORBALLO) and TED2021-129433A-C22 (HELENE) funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and the European Union NextGenerationEU/PRTR. We wish to acknowledge the support received from the Centro de Investigación de Galicia ‘‘CITIC’’, funded by Xunta de Galicia and the European Union. Paula Fraga-Lamas and Tiago M. Fernández-Caramés would like to thank CITIC for its support for the research stay that led to this article. Sergio Ivan Lopes has been funded by grant NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000043, in the scope of project TECH–Technology, Environment, Creativity and Health, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2020/15Portugal. NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-00004

Utilização do nariz eletrónico como ferramenta para discriminação de azeites aromatizados

A aromatização de azeites, pela adição de especiarias, plantas aromáticas ou frutos, é uma prática comum com vista à melhoria das características e propriedades sensoriais, indo ao encontro das espectativas de alguns consumidores. Contudo, esta prática pode promover fraudes, mascarando defeitos organoléticos ou até a utilização de misturas com azeites de categorias comerciais inferioresinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Application of the FTIR technique as a non‐invasive tool to discriminate Portuguese olive oils with protected designation of origin

Three Portuguese olive oils with PDO (‘Azeite do Alentejo Interior’, ‘Azeites da Beira Interior’ and ‘Azeite de Trás-os-Montes’) were studied considering their physicochemical quality, antioxidant capacity, oxidative stability, total phenols content, gustatory sensory sensations and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. All oils fulfilled the legal thresholds of EVOOs and the PDO's specifications. Olive oils from ‘Azeite da Beira Interior’ and ‘Azeite de Trás-os-Montes’ showed greater total phenols contents and antioxidant capacities, while ‘Azeites da Beira Interior′ presented higher oxidative stabilities. Linear discriminant models were developed using FTIR spectra (transmittance and the 1st and 2nd derivatives), allowing the correct identification of the oils’ PDO (100 % sensitivity and specificity, repeated K-fold-CV). This study also revealed that multiple linear regression models, based on FTIR transmittance data, could predict the sweet, bitter, and pungent intensities of the PDO oils (R2≥0.979±0.016; RMSE≤0.26±0.05, repeated K-fold-CV). This demonstrates the potential of using FTIR as a non-destructive technique for authenticating oils with PDO.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support by national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and to the Associate Laboratory SusTEC (LA/ P/0007/2020). The authors are also grateful to the “Project OLIVE4ALL – Olive Heritage for Sustainable Development: Raising Community Awareness of Living Heritage” (ref. JPICH/ 0001/2020), financed by FCT (Portugal). Nuno Rodrigues thanks the FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology, P.I., for the National funding through the institutional program contract for scientific employment. Sandra Lamas also acknowledges the Ph.D. research grant (2022.10070.BD) provided by FCT.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio