Towards a Practical and Cost-Effective Water Monitoring System

In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the preservation, protection and sustainable use of natural resources. Water resources, being one of the most important, face major threats due to contamination by pollutants of various types and origins. Maintaining the quality of water resources requires more robust, reliable and more frequent monitoring than traditional data collection techniques based on manual sampling methods. This article, which is the result of ongoing research, proposes a practical and cost-effective solution for a surface water monitoring system, using a robotics platform and cloud services. The proposed solution allows for scalability and will accommodate a wide range of end-user specifications. To allow for continuous operation in longer activities, the design of a versatile real-time water quality monitoring system should also take into consideration the question of its energy requirements and self-sufficiency.This work was supported by Centro 2020, Portugal 2020 and European Union (EU) under the grants, CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-024052E – Libélula: Mobile robotic surface water quality monitoring system.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fungal Infections in Neonatal Intensive Care

Neonates represent a unique and highly vulnerable patient population. Advances in medical technology have improved the survival and quality of life of newborns, particularly those with extreme prematurity or with congenital defects. Furthermore, immunologic immaturity and altered cutaneous barriers play some role in the vulnerability of neonates to nosocomial infections. In this context, the incidence of invasive fungal infections has increased significantly worldwide, representing an important infective complication in patients hospitalized in intensive care units. Invasive fungal infections in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICUs) show high mortality; being species of Candida, the most isolates etiologic agents. The better prognosis of the patient is associated with the early diagnosis and fast treatment. However, guidelines to facilitate the optimal therapy choice for the treatment of neonatal fungal disease do not exist. The current antifungal agents that are available to treat fungemia among newborns and children are based on clinical trials in adults, since there are few comparative studies of antifungal agents in infants. The most commonly used drugs for the treatment of invasive fungal infections in neonates are classified in four different classes: polyene, azoles, analogs of pyrimidines and echinocandins

Study of the requirements of an autonomous system for surface water quality monitoring

In recent years, there has been increasing awareness of the preservation, protection and sustainable use of natural resources. Water resources, being one of the most important natural resources, face major threats due to contamination by pollutants of various types and origins. Maintaining the quality of water resources requires more robust, reliable and more frequent monitoring than traditional techniques of data collection based on sporadic, discontinuous and manual processes. The management of large geographical areas, the insufficient spatiotemporal discretization of the values of samples collected by traditional processes and the unpredictability of natural phenomena, require a new approach to data collection procedures. This article, which is the result of ongoing research, defines the technical requirements and technologies used in a continuous and regular monitoring of surface water quality in freshwater systems, whose data acquisition system helps to identify the sources of pollution and the contaminants flow along the waterways. The design of a versatile real-time water quality monitoring system, which, due to its environmental constraints should be based on renewable energies and wireless transfer of energy, will contribute to improve the management and effective protection of water resources.This work was supported by Centro2020, Portugal 2020 and European Union (EU) under the grants, CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-024052E – Libélula: Mobile robotic surface water quality monitoring system.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Clinical features and outcomes of 134 Brazilians with acute promyelocytic leukemia who received ATRA and anthracyclines

We report an increased incidence of high relapse risk features in 157 APL Brazilian patients. Out of 134 patients treated with ATRA and anthracyclines, only 91 (67.9%) achieved remission because 43 (32%) died during induction. the death rate during consolidation was 10.5%. Bleeding complications were the most frequent cause of failure (21.6%).Med Sch Riberao Preto, Dept Internal Med, Ribeirao Preto, BrazilHosp Amaral Carvalho, Bone Marrow Transplantat Unit, Jau, BrazilUniv Fed Minas Gerais, Hematol Serv, Belo Horizonte, MG, BrazilSanta Casa São Paulo, Hematol Serv, São Paulo, BrazilFundacao Pio XII Barretos, Barretos, BrazilClin Hematol Riberao Preto, Ribeirao Preto, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Hematol & Hemotherapy, São Paulo, BrazilUniv Estadual Campinas, Hemoctr, Campinas, BrazilSt Jude Childrens Hosp, Internal Outreach Program, Memphis, TN USAUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Hematol & Hemotherapy, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

A complex scenario of tuberculosis transmission is revealed through genetic and epidemiological surveys in Porto

Tuberculosis (TB) incidence is decreasing worldwide and eradication is becoming plausible. In low-incidence countries, intervention on migrant populations is considered one of the most important strategies for elimination. However, such measures are inappropriate in European areas where TB is largely endemic, such as Porto in Portugal. We aim to understand transmission chains in Porto through a genetic characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains and through a detailed epidemiological evaluation of cases.This work was developed under the scope of the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), and supported by contributions from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the European Economic Area Grants under the Public Health Initiative programme, (PT06, Project 000138DT1). TR is supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through a post-doctoral grant (SFRH/BPD/108126/2015)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Animal welfare in studies on murine tuberculosis : assessing progress over a 12-year period and the need for further improvement

There is growing concern over the welfare of animals used in research, in particular when these animals develop pathology. The present study aims to identify the main sources of animal distress and to assess the possible implementation of refinement measures in experimental infection research, using mouse models of tuberculosis (TB) as a case study. This choice is based on the historical relevance of mouse studies in understanding the disease and the present and long-standing impact of TB on a global scale. Literature published between 1997 and 2009 was analysed, focusing on the welfare impact on the animals used and the implementation of refinement measures to reduce this impact. In this 12-year period, we observed a rise in reports of ethical approval of experiments. The proportion of studies classified into the most severe category did however not change significantly over the studied period. Information on important research parameters, such as method for euthanasia or sex of the animals, were absent in a substantial number of papers. Overall, this study shows that progress has been made in the application of humane endpoints in TB research, but that a considerable potential for improvement remains.Nuno H. Franco is funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (SFRH/BD/38337/2007). This work is funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Competitiveness Programme - COMPETE and by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia under the project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022718 (PEst-C/SAU/LA0002/2011