A comparative study of high capacity tensiometer designs

The High Capacity Tensiometer (HCT) is a soil sensor that can measure large negative pore-water pressures, i.e. in excess of −1 MPa, and is a key instrument for monitoring ground-atmosphere interactions. The design of HCTs has not changed since the first prototype was proposed in the 1990s and still includes three main components, namely a high air-entry value porous filter, a small water reservoir and a pressure transducer, which are all encased inside a protective sheath. Despite many successful examples of measurement of pore-water tension in the laboratory and the field, there are essentially no commercially available HCTs for industrial applications. The rare utilization of HCTs in engineering practice has always relied on bespoke devices that have been purposely designed by research laboratories or suppliers of soil sensors. The dissemination of HCTs into engineering practice has been further hindered by the relatively poor understanding of sensor design and its impact on the reliability of measurements. To overcome such gap of knowledge, this paper explores the influence of distinct design variables (i.e. the porous filter, the pressure transducer, the water reservoir size and the protective casing) on the measuring range of HCTs. Seven prototypes were manufactured with different combinations of the above design variables showing that, if HCTs are properly saturated, the air entry value of the filter has the strongest influence on the measuring range while the effects of reservoir size, pressure transducer and protective casing are relatively modest. It is expected that the results from this work will guide future design of HCTs, thus contributing to the development of resilient sensors for geotechnical applications

Feeding in advanced dementia: consensus report from the Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine and Portuguese Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition Society

A demência é uma síndrome neurológica de agravamento progressivo, sem cura, cuja prevalência tem vindo a aumentar devido ao envelhecimento da população. Existe um grande desconhecimento entre profissionais de saúde e cuidadores relativamente à melhor abordagem da alimentação nos doentes com demência avançada. Dado não existirem recomendações nacionais acerca deste tema, foi elaborado um documento de consenso da Sociedade Portuguesa de Medicina Interna e da Associação Portuguesa de Nutrição Entérica e Parentérica que explicita as orientações existentes relativas à abordagem dos problemas alimentares nos doentes com demência avançada. A demência avançada é uma condição terminal em que deve ser privilegiado o conforto do doente, frequentemente acamado, incapaz de comunicar verbalmente e com dificuldade na alimentação. Nesta população, a literatura atual não recomenda o uso de alimentação por sonda (nasogástrica, nasojejunal, gastrostomia percutânea ou jejunostomia percutânea), que está associada a maior risco de infeção, maior utilização de meios de contenção e desenvolvimento de úlceras de decúbito. Como alternativa, recomenda-se a alimentação por via oral de acordo com a tolerância e vontade do doente (alimentação de conforto). Do ponto de vista ético e legal, é legítimo não proceder à artificialização da alimentação na fase terminal da demência caso este procedimento seja contrário aos valores da pessoa e não se objetivem benefícios. Esta decisão deve ser tomada após discussão multidisciplinar incluindo o doente (se possível), representante legal, cuidadores, família e equipa de profissionais de saúde envolvidos, elaborando um plano individual de cuidados que permita a tomada de decisões no melhor interesse do doente.ABSTRACT - Dementia is a progressive neurological syndrome without cure whose prevalence is increasing due to population aging. There is a lack of knowledge among healthcare professionals and caregivers regarding the best feeding approach in patients with advanced dementia. As there are no national recommendations on this subject, a consensus report from the Portuguese Society of Internal Medicine and the Portuguese Enteral and Parental Nutrition Society was made, clarifying existing guidelines regarding the approach of eating difficulties in these patients. Advanced dementia is a terminal condition where patient comfort should be the goal. These patients are usually bedbound, have limited ability to communicate verbally and have difficulty eating. In this population, current literature does not support tube feeding (nasogastric tube, nasojejunal tube, percutaneous gastrostomy or percutaneous jejunostomy feeding), which is associated with higher rates of infection, greater use of chemical and physical restraints and development of pressure ulcers. As an alternative, careful hand feeding should be offered (comfort feeding). From an ethical and legal standpoint, it is acceptable not to use tube feeding in the terminal phase of dementia if it is against patient values and offers no benefits. This decision should be made using a multidisciplinary approach including the patient (if possible), legal representative, caregivers, family and healthcare professionals, in order to establish an individual care plan allowing decision making in the patient’s best interest.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Tradução de artigos científicos no domínio da medicina: especificidades

Relatório de Estágio apresentado ao Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Tradução e Interpretação Especializada, sob orientação de Doutor Manuel Fernando Moreira da SilvaNeste relatório descreve-se o trabalho realizado no estágio realizado no Centro de Estudos Matex para conclusão do Mestrado em Tradução e Interpretação Especializada no Instituto Superior de Contabilidade e Administração do Porto. De forma a melhor sustentar este relatório de estágio é apresentada uma análise sobre algumas teorias de tradução e, na sequência dessa mesma análise, foi escolhido o modelo proposto por Daniel Gouadec como metodologia de trabalho. Posteriormente é feita uma breve análise sobre o texto científico, a tradução na área da medicina e, também sobre as características de um artigo científico. Foram ainda descritas as dificuldades mais comuns na tradução de textos médicos juntamente com uma breve análise sobre terminologia científica e médica. Após esta revisão teórica, seguiu-se a fase relativa ao processo tradutivo, onde foram seguidas as fases propostas pelo modelo de Gouadec, na elaboração da tradução dos artigos científicos. Os artigos inserem-se na área da tradução técnica, nomeadamente da medicina. O presente trabalho revelou-se importante quer na aquisição de conhecimentos quer na prática do que é a tradução freelance em ambiente empresarial. Através do mesmo foi possível ficar a conhecer de perto muitas das especificidades e dificuldades que se podem encontrar na tradução técnica.In this report it is described the work developed during the traineeship in Centro de Estudos Matex for the conclusion of the Masters degree in Translations and Specialized Interpretations in the Institute of Accounting and Administration of Porto (ISCAP). In order to sustain better the traineeship report it is presented an analysis of some translations theories and in the sequence of this analysis it was chosen Daniel Gouadecs work methodology. Then a brief analysis was made on scientific text, translation in the medical area and also on the characteristics of a scientific article. . It was also described the most common difficulties in translating medical texts and together with a brief analysis on scientific terminology and medical terminology. After this theorical revision it followed the phase related to the translation process and all the phases proposed by Gouadec were followed in the translation of the scientific articles. The articles translated are from the technical translation area, namely medicine. This work has revealed to be important in the acquisition of practice knowledge of freelance translation in the corporate world. It was also possible to know closely all the specificities and difficulties you can find in technical translation

Clinical features and natural history of the first 2073 suspected COVID-19 cases in the Corona São Caetano primary care programme: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Despite most cases not requiring hospital care, there are limited community-based clinical data on COVID-19. METHODS: The Corona São Caetano programme is a primary care initiative providing care to all residents with COVID-19 in São Caetano do Sul, Brazil. It was designed to capture standardised clinical data on community COVID-19 cases. After triage of potentially severe cases, consecutive patients presenting to a multimedia screening platform between 13 April and 13 May 2020 were tested at home with SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR; positive patients were followed up for 14 days with phone calls every 2 days. RT-PCR-negative patients were offered additional SARS-CoV-2 serology testing to establish their infection status. We describe the clinical, virological and natural history features of this prospective population-based cohort. FINDINGS: Of 2073 suspected COVID-19 cases, 1583 (76.4%) were tested by RT-PCR, of whom 444 (28.0%, 95% CI 25.9 to 30.3) were positive; 604/1136 (53%) RT-PCR-negative patients underwent serology, of whom 52 (8.6%) tested SARS-CoV-2 seropositive. The most common symptoms of confirmed COVID-19 were cough, fatigue, myalgia and headache; whereas self-reported fever (OR 3.0, 95% CI 2.4 to 3.9), anosmia (OR 3.3, 95% CI 2.6 to 4.4) and ageusia (OR 2.9, 95% CI 2.3 to 3.8) were most strongly associated with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis by RT-PCR or serology. RT-PCR cycle thresholds were lower in men, older patients, those with fever and arthralgia and closer to symptom onset. The rates of hospitalisation and death among 444 RT-PCR-positive cases were 6.7% and 0.7%, respectively, with older age and obesity more frequent in the hospitalised group. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 presents in a similar way to other mild community-acquired respiratory diseases, but the presence of fever, anosmia and ageusia can assist the specific diagnosis. Most patients recovered without requiring hospitalisation with a low fatality rate compared with other hospital-based studies

The impact of surgical delay on resectability of colorectal cancer: An international prospective cohort study

AIM: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has provided a unique opportunity to explore the impact of surgical delays on cancer resectability. This study aimed to compare resectability for colorectal cancer patients undergoing delayed versus non-delayed surgery. METHODS: This was an international prospective cohort study of consecutive colorectal cancer patients with a decision for curative surgery (January-April 2020). Surgical delay was defined as an operation taking place more than 4 weeks after treatment decision, in a patient who did not receive neoadjuvant therapy. A subgroup analysis explored the effects of delay in elective patients only. The impact of longer delays was explored in a sensitivity analysis. The primary outcome was complete resection, defined as curative resection with an R0 margin. RESULTS: Overall, 5453 patients from 304 hospitals in 47 countries were included, of whom 6.6% (358/5453) did not receive their planned operation. Of the 4304 operated patients without neoadjuvant therapy, 40.5% (1744/4304) were delayed beyond 4 weeks. Delayed patients were more likely to be older, men, more comorbid, have higher body mass index and have rectal cancer and early stage disease. Delayed patients had higher unadjusted rates of complete resection (93.7% vs. 91.9%, P = 0.032) and lower rates of emergency surgery (4.5% vs. 22.5%, P < 0.001). After adjustment, delay was not associated with a lower rate of complete resection (OR 1.18, 95% CI 0.90-1.55, P = 0.224), which was consistent in elective patients only (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.69-1.27, P = 0.672). Longer delays were not associated with poorer outcomes. CONCLUSION: One in 15 colorectal cancer patients did not receive their planned operation during the first wave of COVID-19. Surgical delay did not appear to compromise resectability, raising the hypothesis that any reduction in long-term survival attributable to delays is likely to be due to micro-metastatic disease

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Combined fit to the spectrum and composition data measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory including magnetic horizon effects

The measurements by the Pierre Auger Observatory of the energy spectrum and mass composition of cosmic rays can be interpreted assuming the presence of two extragalactic source populations, one dominating the flux at energies above a few EeV and the other below. To fit the data ignoring magnetic field effects, the high-energy population needs to accelerate a mixture of nuclei with very hard spectra, at odds with the approximate E$^{-2}$ shape expected from diffusive shock acceleration. The presence of turbulent extragalactic magnetic fields in the region between the closest sources and the Earth can significantly modify the observed CR spectrum with respect to that emitted by the sources, reducing the flux of low-rigidity particles that reach the Earth. We here take into account this magnetic horizon effect in the combined fit of the spectrum and shower depth distributions, exploring the possibility that a spectrum for the high-energy population sources with a shape closer to E$^{-2}$ be able to explain the observations

Studies of the mass composition of cosmic rays and proton-proton interaction cross-sections at ultra-high energies with the Pierre Auger Observatory

In this work, we present an estimate of the cosmic-ray mass composition from the distributions of the depth of the shower maximum (Xmax) measured by the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We discuss the sensitivity of the mass composition measurements to the uncertainties in the properties of the hadronic interactions, particularly in the predictions of the particle interaction cross-sections. For this purpose, we adjust the fractions of cosmic-ray mass groups to fit the data with Xmax distributions from air shower simulations. We modify the proton-proton cross-sections at ultra-high energies, and the corresponding air shower simulations with rescaled nucleus-air cross-sections are obtained via Glauber theory. We compare the energy-dependent composition of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays obtained for the different extrapolations of the proton-proton cross-sections from low-energy accelerator data

Study of downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes with the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The surface detector (SD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory, consisting of 1660 water-Cherenkov detectors (WCDs), covers 3000 km2 in the Argentinian pampa. Thanks to the high efficiency of WCDs in detecting gamma rays, it represents a unique instrument for studying downward Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) over a large area. Peculiar events, likely related to downward TGFs, were detected at the Auger Observatory. Their experimental signature and time evolution are very different from those of a shower produced by an ultrahigh-energy cosmic ray. They happen in coincidence with low thunderclouds and lightning, and their large deposited energy at the ground is compatible with that of a standard downward TGF with the source a few kilometers above the ground. A new trigger algorithm to increase the TGF-like event statistics was installed in the whole array. The study of the performance of the new trigger system during the lightning season is ongoing and will provide a handle to develop improved algorithms to implement in the Auger upgraded electronic boards. The available data sample, even if small, can give important clues about the TGF production models, in particular, the shape of WCD signals. Moreover, the SD allows us to observe more than one point in the TGF beam, providing information on the emission angle