Analysis of a Sorter Cascade Applied to Control a Wheelchair

The precise eye state detection is a fundamental stage for various activities that require human-machine interaction (HMI). This chapter presents an analysis of the implementation of a system for navigating a wheelchair with automation (CRA), based on facial expressions, especially eyes closed using a Haar cascade classifier (HCC). Aimed at people with locomotor disability of the upper and lower limbs, the state detection was based on two steps: the capture of the image, which concentrates on the detection actions and image optimization; actions of the chair, which interprets the data capture and sends the action to the chair. The results showed that the model has excellent accuracy in identification with robust performance in recognizing eyes closed, bypassing well occlusion issues and lighting with about 98% accuracy. The application of the model in the simulations opens the implementation and marriage opportunity with the chair sensor universe aiming a safe and efficient navigation to the user

Sentinel data for critical raw materials (CRM) exploration: First results of the S34I project

To achieve sustainable development goals, it is crucial to ensure the best practices through the whole mining cycle of critical raw materials (CRM) used in high-Tech, low-carbon goods (batteries, wind turbines, electronics). This is the aim of the SECURE AND SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY OF RAW MATERIALS FOR EU INDUSTRY (S34I) Horizon Europe (HE) project that began on January 1st, 2023. S34I is investigating new data-driven methods to analyze Earth Observation (EO) data, supporting systematic mineral exploration (and other) activities to increase European autonomy regarding CRM resources. The S34I project is based on satellite data, airborne, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), ground-based conventional in-situ techniques/methods, and fieldwork. This study presents the first preliminary results based on Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data using classical image processing techniques (RGB combinations, band ratio, Principal Component Analysis PCA, and unsupervised classification) for mineral exploration in Spain, either: (i) on land (Aramo area), to gain knowledge on cobalt (Co) deposits (and associate CRMs) by hydrothermal alteration mapping; and (ii) offshore/shallow waters (Ria de Vigo area), to update the knowledge on coastal metallic placers including CRMs such as Ti, Sn, Li, rare earth elements (REEs) and Au. Among the techniques, PCA proved most effective, followed by band ratios, and selfproposed algorithms for detecting placer minerals showed promise, warranting further investigation. In the future, S34I will exploit Copernicus Contributing Missions (CCM) and other EU hyperspectral satellite sensors such as PRISMA and EnMAP. Different Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques will, in the future, promote advances and innovative methods that mining stakeholders can use to address the challenges faced in different phases of the mining life-cycle. (c) 2023 SPIE. All rights reserved

Identification of cell-surface mannans in a virulent Helicobacter pylori strain

With the intent of contributing to a carbohydrate-based vaccine against the gastroduodenal pathogen, Helicobacter pylori, we report here the structure of cell-surface mannans obtained from a virulent strain. Unlike other wild-type strains, this strain was found to express in good quantities this polysaccharide in vitro. Structural analysis revealed a branched mannan formed by a backbone of α-(1→6)-linked mannopyranosyl residues with approximately 80% branching at the O-2 position. The branches were composed of O-2-linked Man residues in both α- and β-configurations: (image) In addition, this strain also expressed cell-surface emblematic H. pylori lipopolysaccharides (LPS) containing partially fucosylated polyLacNAc O-chains. Affinity assays with polymyxin-B and concanavalin A revealed no association between the mannan and the LPS. The described mannans may be implicated in the mediation of host–microbial interactions and immunological modulation.This work was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT) through project Pylori E&LPS POCI/QUI/56393/2004, PhD grant SFRH/BD/19929/2004, by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and by the European Network of Research Infrastructures within the 6th Framework Programme of the EC (Contract # RII3-026145, EU-NMR). The authors further thank Dr. Adrien Favier (RALF-NMR facility, Grenoble - France) for conducting NMR experiments

A Potential Link Between Prolonged Cork Exposure and Intestinal-Type Sinonasal Adenocarcinoma – Special Findings of a Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Introduction: intestinal-type sinonasal adenocarcinoma (ITAC) is a rare epithelium tumor of the nasal cavities and paranasal sinuses. Exposure to wood and leather dusts is a strong etiological factor related to its development. Prolonged cork exposure has rarely been associated. Materials and methods: thirty-seven-year (1981-2018) retrospective cohort analysis of all consecutive patients with sinonasal cancer (SNC) followed at our institution. Medical records were reviewed to determine patient demographics, occupational/environmental exposure, location and extent of the tumor, stage, histopathology findings, treatment strategies, and oncologic outcomes. Survival analysis was done using Kaplan-Meier method. Results: we evaluated 379 patients with SNC, including 39 (10.3%) ITAC. Patient median age was 73 years (range 49-87), 56% male and 69% with identified professional occupational exposure (54% for cork; 69.2% considering only those for which an agent has been identified). Seventy-two percent had locally advanced disease (stage III or IVA-B). The initial treatment was surgery in 77%, and 54% received adjuvant radiotherapy. The median time to progression, progression-free survival, and overall-survival was 2.36 years (95% CI 1.54-8.70), 1.96 years (95% CI 1.43-3.74), and 3.51 years (95% CI 2.33-10.02), respectively. Conclusion: ITAC is an uncommon malignancy that grows silently, which contributes to delayed diagnosis, advanced stage and low survival rates. In our cohort, we observed a high prevalence of cork occupational exposure. This finding may lead to the implementation of protection measures and suggest a potential link to be further studied.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

MODELA DBT: Model-driven elaboration language applied to dynamic binary translation

Industrial solutions design is a highly complex topic due to the challenge of integrating multiple technologies into a single solution, the inherent complexity of the problems to be solved and also because the proposed solutions often require a great level of interoperability among their components and also the outside world. Dynamic Binary Translation has been used as a tool to deal with such interoperability issues, e.g., legacy support, virtualization and secure execution, among others. However its integration in the industry as an end-product is hampered by the intricate variability management required in this subject. To address these issues and in an attempt to power DBT utilization as an interoperability-providing tool, we propose a model-driven DSL modeling language for DBT architectures. The developed DSL proved to be efficient to model an in-house DBT engine, and MODELA DBT, a framework for ready-to-use DBT solutions was obtained. MODELA DBT provides design validation, easy configuration of customizable DBT parameters and components, as well as code generation features.This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-Ol-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e figuration granularity, code generation efficiency and design verification. Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013. F. Salgado is supported by FCT (grant SFRH/BD/81681/2011)

LESÕES RADIOGRÁFICAS DE OSTEOARTRITE NA EXTREMIDADE DISTAL E NO TARSO DE CAVALOS DE DESPORTO.

Introdução e objetivos A avaliação radiológica do sistema locomotor faz atualmente parte da avaliação de rotina em equinos, com o objetivo de diagnosticar alterações que possam comprometer a vida desportiva do cavalo. Presentemente existem alguns estudos sobre os achados radiográficos em cavalos de desporto, sendo que, os mais comuns são relacionados com a presença de osteoartrite (OA). O objetivo deste estudo foi i) identificar as alterações radiográficas mais comuns, associadas a OA, nas articulações do tarso e da extremidade distal, em cavalos de desporto; ii) avaliar a existência de correlações entre as articulações com alterações. Metodologia e resultados Neste estudo foram incluídos 113 cavalos com idades compreendidas entre os 3 e os 25 anos, das raças Puro Sangue Lusitano, Cruzado Português e Puro Sangue Árabe. As articulações avaliadas foram as interfalângicas distal (IFD) e proximal (IFP), metacarpo-falângica (MCF), metatarso-falângica (MTF), tarso-metatársica (TMT) e intertársicas distal (ITD) e proximal (ITP) e tíbio-társica (TT). As alterações radiográficas foram classificadas utilizando uma escala baseada na severidade das lesões (0-4) (adaptada de Kellgren and Lawrence, 1957 e de Grauw et al., 2006). Os dados foram avaliados com o programa SAS. As articulações mais afetadas foram a TMT (score≥1 em 91% e 87% das articulações do membro posterior direito (MPD) e membro posterior esquerdo (MPE), respetivamente) e a ITD (score≥1 em 73% e 63% das articulações do MPD e MPE). Nos membros anteriores a articulação mais afetada foi a IFP (66% com score≥1). Alterações mais severas (grau 3 ou 4) foram encontradas apenas em casos pontuais, sobretudo nas articulações MCF (4%) e TMT (5%). Verificou-se uma forte correlação entre articulações de membros contralaterais, sendo que a existência de alterações numa articulação está correlacionada com a existência de alteração na mesma articulação contralateral (p<0,001; correlação 0,40 e 0,44 para IFD e MCF e MTF). Conclusão As articulações mais afetadas nos membros posteriores foram as articulações do tarso, o que está de acordo com o descrito por outros autores. Nos membros anteriores a articulação mais frequentemente afetada foi a IFP, sendo este um achado frequente em exames radiológicos de rotina e de significado clínico questionável, para muitos médicos veterinários. De realçar que, neste estudo, a maioria dos achados radiográficos foram classificados com score 1, pelo que poderão ser considerados como uma variante de normalidade, sendo questionável a sua importância clínica. Salienta-se ainda a forte correlação existente entre articulações de membros contralaterais, que nos indica a possível existência da influência de particularidades de conformação da extremidade distal na existência de lesões radiológicas. Financiamento: Projeto Novas metodologias no diagnóstico de doença articular em equinos, ALT20-03-0246-FEDER-00001

Vancomycin-Loaded, Nanohydroxyapatite-Based Scaffold for Osteomyelitis Treatment: In Vivo Rabbit Toxicological Tests and In Vivo Efficacy Tests in a Sheep Model

The treatment for osteomyelitis consists of surgical debridement, filling of the dead space, soft tissue coverage, and intravenous administration of antimicrobial (AM) agents for long periods. Biomaterials for local delivery of AM agents, while providing controllable antibiotic release rates and simultaneously acting as a bone scaffold, may be a valuable alternative; thus, avoiding systemic AM side effects. V-HEPHAPC is a heparinized nanohydroxyapatite (nHA)/collagen biocomposite loaded with vancomycin that has been previously studied and tested in vitro. It enables a vancomycin-releasing profile with an intense initial burst, followed by a sustained release with concentrations above the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) for MRSA. In vitro results have also shown that cellular viability is not compromised, suggesting that V-HEPHAPC granules may be a promising alternative device for the treatment of osteomyelitis. In the present study, V-HEPHAPC (HEPHAPC with vancomycin) granules were used as a vancomycin carrier to treat MRSA osteomyelitis. First, in vivo Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) toxicological tests were performed in a rabbit model, assuring that HEPHAPC and V-HEPHAPC have no relevant side effects. Second, V-HEPHAPC proved to be an efficient drug carrier and bone substitute to control MRSA infection and simultaneously reconstruct the bone cavity in a sheep model.This work was financed by FEDER-Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020-Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020; by Portuguese funds through FCT/MCTES in the framework of the project institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274); by the Project Biotherapies (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012); and by the project HEPHAPC Program RESOLVE, Norte 2020 (NORTE-01-0246-FEDER-000018). The authors would also like to acknowledge the technical support for histology and histochemical studies of Rui Fernandes and Rossana Correia and all the staff from HEMS/i3S, as well as the support of all the staff and students at the Hospital Veterinario-Universidade de Evora

Tlx3 exerts direct control in specifying excitatory over inhibitory neurons in the dorsal spinal cord

© 2021 Monteiro, Miranda, Samina, Dias, Raposo, Oliveira, Reguenga, Castro and Lima. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.The spinal cord dorsal horn is a major station for integration and relay of somatosensory information and comprises both excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations. The homeobox gene Tlx3 acts as a selector gene to control the development of late-born excitatory (dILB) neurons by specifying glutamatergic transmitter fate in dorsal spinal cord. However, since Tlx3 direct transcriptional targets remain largely unknown, it remains to be uncovered how Tlx3 functions to promote excitatory cell fate. Here we combined a genomics approach based on chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by next generation sequencing (ChIP-seq) and expression profiling, with validation experiments in Tlx3 null embryos, to characterize the transcriptional program of Tlx3 in mouse embryonic dorsal spinal cord. We found most dILB neuron specific genes previously identified to be directly activated by Tlx3. Surprisingly, we found Tlx3 also directly represses many genes associated with the alternative inhibitory dILA neuronal fate. In both cases, direct targets include transcription factors and terminal differentiation genes, showing that Tlx3 directly controls cell identity at distinct levels. Our findings provide a molecular frame for the master regulatory role of Tlx3 in developing glutamatergic dILB neurons. In addition, they suggest a novel function for Tlx3 as direct repressor of GABAergic dILA identity, pointing to how generation of the two alternative cell fates being tightly coupled.This work is a result of the project Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000008 – Porto Neurosciences and Neurologic Disease Research Initiative at I3S, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). This work was also supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Grants PTDC/SAU-OBD/099886/2008 to DL and PTDC/NEU-NMC/0315/2012 to DC) and Universidade do Porto/Banco Santander Totta (Projetos Pluridisciplinares to FM). We acknowledge the support of POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022122, granted to i3S Scientific Platform Advanced Light Microscopy, member of the national infrastructure PPBI-Portuguese Platform of BioImaging.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Using of essential oils in the treatment of mice infected with Trypanosoma evansi

Objective. This study aimed to test the effectiveness of copaiba, andiroba and aroeira essential oils for controlling trypanosomosis by Trypanosoma evansi with mice as experimental model. Materials and methods. Sixty-six mice were divided into eleven groups (A to L) with six animals each. Group A was the unique composed by healthy and uninfected animals (negative control). Animals in groups B to L were inoculated with 0.1 mL of blood containing 2.7 x 106 trypanosomes. Group B was used as a positive control without treatment. In experiment were tested copaiba (C, D and E), andiroba (F, G and H) and aroeira (I, J and L) oils at doses of 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0 mL kg-1 to infected mice (T. evansi). Results. These protocols did not provide curative efficacy; however, the mice treated with highest dose of copaiba showed a significant increase in the longevity when compared others groups. Conclusions. Previously in our studies, these essential oils have shown trypanocidal activity in vitro, but when they were tested in vivo in mice infected with T. evansi, this trypanocidal activity, or the curative effect was not found, being only able to prolong the lifespan of the animals treated with copaiba oil

Alternative transmission routes in the malaria elimination era: an overview of transfusion-transmitted malaria in the Americas

Submitted by Janaína Nascimento ([email protected]) on 2019-02-21T11:59:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ve_Alho_Regina_etal_INI_2017.pdf: 1190158 bytes, checksum: 8937322faefa31c89eb1bbd2f7d134a3 (MD5)Approved for entry into archive by Janaína Nascimento ([email protected]) on 2019-02-25T11:34:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 ve_Alho_Regina_etal_INI_2017.pdf: 1190158 bytes, checksum: 8937322faefa31c89eb1bbd2f7d134a3 (MD5)Made available in DSpace on 2019-02-25T11:34:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ve_Alho_Regina_etal_INI_2017.pdf: 1190158 bytes, checksum: 8937322faefa31c89eb1bbd2f7d134a3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Hematologia e Hemoterapia do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Fundação de Hematologia e Hemoterapia do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Sem afiliação.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisas Leônidas e Maria Deane. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Universidade do Estado do Amazonas. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado. Manaus, AM, Brasil / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto de Pesquisas Leônidas e Maria Deane. Manaus, AM, Brasil.Background: Transfusion-transmitted (TT) malaria is an alternative infection route that has gained little attention from authorities, despite representing a life-threatening condition. There has been no systematic review of this health problem in American countries. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of TT malaria in the Americas and identify factors associated with lethality based on the studies published in the literature. Methods: Potentially relevant papers in all languages were retrieved from MEDLINE and LILACS. Additional articles were obtained from reviews and original papers. Publications on screening of candidate blood donors and on surveillance of TT malaria cases were included. Odds ratios with respective 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated. Epidemiological characteristics of blood donors of TT malaria cases, including a pooled positivity of different tests for malaria diagnosis, were retrieved. Results: A total of 63 publications regarding TT malaria from seven countries were included, from 1971 to 2016. A total of 422 cases of TT malaria were recorded. Most TT malaria cases were in females (62.0%) and 39.5% were in the ≥61 years-old age group. About half of all cases were from Mexico (50.7%), 40.3% from the United States of America (USA) and 6.6% from Brazil. Gyneco-obstetrical conditions (67.3%), surgical procedures (20.6%) and complications from neoplasias (6.1%) were the most common indications of transfusion. Packed red blood cells (RBCs) (50.7%) and whole blood (43.3%) were the blood products mostly associated with TT malaria. Cases were mostly caused by Plasmodium malariae (58.4%), followed by Plasmodium vivax (20.7%) and Plasmodium falciparum (17.9%). A total of 66.6% of cases were diagnosed by microscopy. Incubation period of 2–3 weeks was the most commonly observed (28.6%). Lethality was seen in 5.3% of cases and was associated with living in non-endemic countries, P. falciparum infection and concomitant neoplastic diseases. Conclusion: There is an important research and knowledge gap regarding the TT malaria burden in Latin American countries where malaria remains endemic. No screening method that is practical, affordable and suitably sensitive is available at blood banks in Latin American countries, where infections with low parasitaemia contribute greatly to transmission. Lethality from TT malaria was not negligible. TT malaria needs to be acknowledged and addressed in areas moving toward elimination