Development and application of a microsurfacing mix design method to assess the influence of the emulsion type

Microsurfacing asphalt mixtures are a preventive maintenance technology comprising the application of a slurry (produced with a modified asphalt emulsion), aggregate, filler, and water on top of an existing pavement at ambient temperature. Although it is a widely used technology, further studies on the mix design procedures are necessary to ensure an adequate composition. Thus, this study contributes to developing an improved mix design procedure for microsurfacing asphalt mixtures. Different mixtures were prepared, and the influence of the type and amount of asphalt emulsion and the amount of added water and filler (cement) on the characteristics of the mixture were evaluated. Two preliminary tests, referred to as the “pizza test” and the “ball test”, were proposed to determine the initial proportions of added water and cement in the mixture, respectively. Then, consistency, cohesion, and shaking abrasion tests were performed to determine the optimum content of each component and evaluate their influence on the mixture characteristics. The results showed that these tests are essential to optimize the mix composition, even though it was found that the mix design of microsurfacings is a complex task because the mixture is a system with chemical interactions strongly influenced by its composition.This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through a Ph.D. grant (number 2021.08004.BD). This work was also partly financed by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), reference UIDB/04029/2020, and under the Associate Laboratory Advanced Production and Intelligent Systems ARISE, reference LA/P/0112/2020

Steel slag and recycled concrete aggregates: replacing quarries to supply sustainable materials for the asphalt paving industry

Various researchers are developing efforts to integrate waste and by-products as alternative materials in road construction and maintenance, reducing environmental impacts and promoting a circular economy. Among the alternative materials that several authors have studied regarding their use as partial or total substitutes for natural aggregates in the asphalt paving industry, the steel slag aggregate (SSA) and recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) from construction demolition waste (CDW) stand out. This paper reviews and discusses the characteristics and performance of these materials when used as aggregates in asphalt mixtures. Based on the various studies analyzed, it was possible to conclude that incorporating SSA or RCA in asphalt mixtures for road pavements has functional, mechanical, and environmental advantages. However, it is essential to consider some possible drawbacks of these aggregates that are discussed in this paper, to define the acceptable uses of SSA and RCA as sustainable feedstocks for road paving works.This research was funded by the "Environment, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy Programme-Environment Programme" (EEA financial mechanism 2014-2021) through the Funding Mechanism Commission established by Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Portugal, under the scope of project CirMat-CIRcular aggregates for sustainable road and building MATerials. This study was also supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia through the Ph.D. grants number 2021.06428.BD and 2021.08004.BD

Mechanical and environmental performance of asphalt concrete with high amounts of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) for use in surface courses of pavements

Using aggregates from alternative sources has been considerably encouraged in recent decades. Reducing the consumption of natural aggregates from quarries (which have a substantial economic, visual, and environmental impact) is increasingly a concern. These needs have led to the broader use of more sustainable aggregates, increasing the incorporation percentages and extending their use to more demanding pavement layers (e.g., surface). In order to prove the efficiency of recycled concrete aggregates (RCAs) under such conditions, the “CirMat” project was developed. Among other works and tests, an asphalt concrete (AC) incorporating 52.3% RCA was characterized mechanically and environmentally. Empirical properties were evaluated, including the Marshall test (S = 20.2 kN; F = 2.9 mm) and resistance to permanent deformation (WTS = 0.10 mm/103 cycles), as well as a life cycle assessment (LCA), which confirmed that nine indicators were improved (from 1% to 93%). The test samples were taken from mixtures produced in the laboratory and at a plant (after which they were applied on a construction site). Comparing the results with those obtained in a reference AC (with natural aggregates), it was possible to conclude that the performance of the AC with RCAs was very similar. Therefore, the use of these aggregates, at high rates, does not represent additional risks for asphalt mixtures and has lower environmental impacts in most categories.This research was funded by the “Environment, Climate Change and Low Carbon Economy Programme—Environment Programme” (EEA financial mechanism 2014–2021) through the Funding Mechanism Commission established by Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Portugal, under the scope of project “CirMat—CIRcular aggregates for sustainable road and building MATerials” (Project 16 Call#2). This study was also supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia through the PhD grants number 2021.06428.BD and 2021.08004.BD. This work was also partly financed by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), under reference UIDB/04029/2020, and under the Associate Laboratory Advanced Production and Intelligent Systems ARISE under reference LA/P/0112/2020

RISK FOR FALLS IN PATIENTS IN THE POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD

The study aimed to identify the Risk for falls nursing diagnosis and the main risk factors in patients in the postoperative period, at a university hospital. This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study with a quantitative approach. Data were collected from October to December 2012, using a structured script to investigate the sociodemographic and clinical data. Of the 80 patients investigated, 86.25% presented the Risk for Falls Nursing Diagnosis. The risk factors that stood out were: history of falls, postoperative conditions, use of narcotics and/or opiates and use of antihypertensive medication. Given the diversity of risk factors found in patients in the postoperative period, the early identification of these factors by health professionals is imperative, in order to propose preventive and effective actions that suppress or minimize such risks.El estudio tuvo la finalidad de identificar el diagnóstico de enfermería Riesgo de caídas en pacientes en el periodo posoperatorio, internados en un hospital universitario y los principales factores de riesgo en esta clientela. Es un estudio descriptivo y transversal de carácter cuantitativo. Datos fueron recogidos de octubre a diciembre de 2012, por medio de guión estructurado para investigar las informaciones sociodemográficas y clínicas. De los 80 pacientes investigados, 86,25% presentaron Diagnóstico de Enfermería Riesgo de Caídas. Los factores de riesgo que más se destacaron fueron: historia de caídas, condiciones posoperatorias, uso de narcóticos y/o opiáceos y uso de antihipertensivos. Delante de la diversidad de factores de riesgo en pacientes en el periodo posoperatorio, es imperativa la identificación precoz de eses por profesionales de salud, a fin de proponer acciones preventivas y eficaces que supriman o minimizen tales riesgos.O estudo objetivou identificar o diagnóstico de enfermagem Risco de quedas em pacientes no período pós-operatório, internados em um hospital universitário e os principais fatores de risco nesta clientela. Tratase de um estudo descritivo e transversal de caráter quantitativo. Dados coletados de outubro a dezembro de 2012, por meio de roteiro estruturado para investigar os dados sociodemográficos e clínicos. Dos 80 pacientes investigados, 86,25% apresentaram o Diagnóstico de Enfermagem Risco de quedas. Os fatores de risco que mais se destacaram foram: história de quedas, condições pós-operatórias, uso de narcóticos e/ou opiáceos e uso de anti-hipertensivos. Diante da diversidade de fatores de risco, encontrados em pacientes no período pós-operatório, torna-se imperativo a identificação precoce desses por profissionais de saúde, a fim de propor ações preventivas e eficazes que suprimam ou minimizem tais riscos

A inclusão escolar para pacientes com deficiência intelectual ou atraso cognitivo: School inclusion for patients with intellectual disability or cognitive delay

A educação inclusiva é fundamental para que crianças e adolescentes vivenciem ideias e experiências de ensino aprendizagem significativa, desenvolvam a autonomia e conquistem direitos de cidadania. No entanto, existem obstáculos que precisam ser compreendidos e superados e estratégias que podem ser adotadas para promover a inclusão de crianças com deficiência intelectual ou atraso cognitivo. Diante disso, este estudo tem como objetivo compreender o processo de inclusão escolar de alunos com deficiência intelectual ou atraso cognitivo. Para isso, trata-se de uma revisão sistemática de literatura, desenvolvida a partir da seleção de estudos nas bases de dados Scielo, Pubmed e BVS/Medline a partir do uso de descritores DeCS/MeSH e aplicação de critérios de inclusão e exclusão. Após a análise e interpretação dos dados, concluiu-se que, no processo de inclusão de alunos com deficiência intelectual ou atraso cognitivo no ambiente escolar, a educação inclusiva interfere positivamente na qualidade de vida desses. Para isso, destacam-se uma série de estratégias relevantes, tais como: envolvimento de escola como um todo, dos professores e da família; compreender a deficiência; valorizar os interesses e habilidades dos alunos com deficiência; estimular a autodeterminação desses e a convivência entre pessoas deficientes e não deficientes; promover a socialização por meio de jogos; utilizar atividades adaptadas; e cuidar da formação inicial e continuada dos professores, contemplando ideias sobre educação inclusiva

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Os aspectos semiológicos do acidente vascular encefálico: uma abordagem neurológica

O Acidente Vascular Encefálico (AVC) é um evento neurológico súbito, com um foco de isquemia ou hemorragia. Ambos, qualificados pelo déficit neurológico focal abrupto. Ressaltando, que estes déficits podem ocorrer, sendo a ocorrência espontânea, perduração de 15 minutos, autoresolutiva é denominada como Ataque Isquêmico Transitório (AIT), no entanto, toda insuficiência neural que não melhorar pós esse período deve ser manejado como AVC. O artigo objetivou descrever os principais aspectos clínicos do AVC. O AVC é uma emergência para a saúde pública, em razão de ser um potencial em gerar morbimortalidades para os portadores e prejuízos para os sistemas de saúde. O AVC do tipo isquêmico representa a maioria das ocorrências, o quadro clínico do paciente é correspondente ao tecido neural afetado, inicialmente a tomografia computadorizada sem contraste é o primeiro exame, por ser crucial para descartar a etiologia hemorrágica, a condução terapêutica se baseia em medidas neuroprotetoras através da estabilização da glicemia, temperatura e sódio, adequar os níveis pressóricos, mediante o prazo estipulado impor terapia antitrombótica. A manifestação hemorrágica, pode ocorrer por torção de aneurisma sacular originando o sangramento subaracnóideo ou por hipertensão gerando o sangramento intraparenquimatoso. A partir da análise das informações coletadas, elucida-se que o diagnóstico precoce e o período transcorrido até o manejo terapêutico são cruciais para o desfecho clínico do portador, ou seja, é possível a normalização ou ocorrer sequelas neurais e óbito

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Worldwide trends in hypertension prevalence and progress in treatment and control from 1990 to 2019: a pooled analysis of 1201 population-representative studies with 104 million participants.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension can be detected at the primary health-care level and low-cost treatments can effectively control hypertension. We aimed to measure the prevalence of hypertension and progress in its detection, treatment, and control from 1990 to 2019 for 200 countries and territories. METHODS: We used data from 1990 to 2019 on people aged 30-79 years from population-representative studies with measurement of blood pressure and data on blood pressure treatment. We defined hypertension as having systolic blood pressure 140 mm Hg or greater, diastolic blood pressure 90 mm Hg or greater, or taking medication for hypertension. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate the prevalence of hypertension and the proportion of people with hypertension who had a previous diagnosis (detection), who were taking medication for hypertension (treatment), and whose hypertension was controlled to below 140/90 mm Hg (control). The model allowed for trends over time to be non-linear and to vary by age. FINDINGS: The number of people aged 30-79 years with hypertension doubled from 1990 to 2019, from 331 (95% credible interval 306-359) million women and 317 (292-344) million men in 1990 to 626 (584-668) million women and 652 (604-698) million men in 2019, despite stable global age-standardised prevalence. In 2019, age-standardised hypertension prevalence was lowest in Canada and Peru for both men and women; in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and some countries in western Europe including Switzerland, Spain, and the UK for women; and in several low-income and middle-income countries such as Eritrea, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, and Solomon Islands for men. Hypertension prevalence surpassed 50% for women in two countries and men in nine countries, in central and eastern Europe, central Asia, Oceania, and Latin America. Globally, 59% (55-62) of women and 49% (46-52) of men with hypertension reported a previous diagnosis of hypertension in 2019, and 47% (43-51) of women and 38% (35-41) of men were treated. Control rates among people with hypertension in 2019 were 23% (20-27) for women and 18% (16-21) for men. In 2019, treatment and control rates were highest in South Korea, Canada, and Iceland (treatment >70%; control >50%), followed by the USA, Costa Rica, Germany, Portugal, and Taiwan. Treatment rates were less than 25% for women and less than 20% for men in Nepal, Indonesia, and some countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. Control rates were below 10% for women and men in these countries and for men in some countries in north Africa, central and south Asia, and eastern Europe. Treatment and control rates have improved in most countries since 1990, but we found little change in most countries in sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. Improvements were largest in high-income countries, central Europe, and some upper-middle-income and recently high-income countries including Costa Rica, Taiwan, Kazakhstan, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Turkey, and Iran. INTERPRETATION: Improvements in the detection, treatment, and control of hypertension have varied substantially across countries, with some middle-income countries now outperforming most high-income nations. The dual approach of reducing hypertension prevalence through primary prevention and enhancing its treatment and control is achievable not only in high-income countries but also in low-income and middle-income settings. FUNDING: WHO