Applying a text mining framework to the extraction of numerical parameters from scientific literature in the biotechnology domain

Scientific publications are the main vehicle to disseminate information in the field of biotechnology for wastewater treatment. Indeed, the new research paradigms and the application of high-throughput technologies have increased the rate of publication considerably. The problem is that manual curation becomes harder, prone-to-errors and time-consuming, leading to a probable loss of information and inefficient knowledge acquisition. As a result, research outputs are hardly reaching engineers, hampering the calibration of mathematical models used to optimize the stability and performance of biotechnological systems. In this context, we have developed a data curation workflow, based on text mining techniques, to extract numerical parameters from scientific literature, and applied it to the biotechnology domain. A workflow was built to process wastewater-related articles with the main goal of identifying physico-chemical parameters mentioned in the text. This work describes the implementation of the workflow, identifies achievements and current limitations in the overall process, and presents the results obtained for a corpus of 50 full-text documents

Psychoactive substance consumption by Portuguese population

BACKGROUND: Increasing consumption of psychoactive substances is a major social concern worldwide. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the prevalence of psychoactive substances consumption in the Portuguese population, lifetime and recently, the main reasons for the consumption and associated factors. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was based on the ASSIST applied to Portuguese population. It was used descriptive statistics, the qui-square, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests, with a significance level of 5%. RESULTS: Alcohol was the most consumed throughout life (86%), followed by xanthines (79%) and tobacco (60%). In the last 3 months, xanthines (49%) were the most consumed daily, followed by tobacco (22%) and alcohol (9%). Socializing was the main reason for consumption of alcohol (67%), tobacco (36%) and cannabis (34%). Anxiolytics have been used to sleep (50%) and xanthines to increase cognitive capacity (35%). Tobacco (p=0.016), alcohol (p=0.03) and illicit substances (p<0.001) were more consumed by men and anxiolytics by women (p=0.027). Alcohol (p=0.008), cannabis (p=0.027), and xanthines (p=0.009) were mostly consumed by young adults. CONCLUSIONS: The results reveal sporadic and recreational use of illicit substances, and regular use of alcohol, tobacco and xanthines, mostly by young adults and men, and anxiolytics by women. Socializing was the main reason for psychoactive substances consumption.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Longitudinal evaluation of hepatic osteodystrophy in children and adolescents with chronic cholestatic liver disease

Bone mass loss is a major complication of chronic cholestatic liver disease (CCD). However, the long-term impact of CCD on bone mass acquisition is unknown. We longitudinally assessed bone mineral density (BMD) and factors involved in bone remodeling in 9 children and adolescents with CCD Child-Pugh A (5 boys/4 girls) and in 13 controls (6 boys/7 girls). The groups were evaluated twice, at baseline (T0) and after 3 years (T1), when osteocalcin, deoxypyridinoline, 25-hydroxyvitamin-D, parathyroid hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and BMD (L1-L4, proximal femur and total body) were determined. Serum levels of receptor activator for nuclear factor kB ligand (RANKL) and osteoprotegerin were measured only at T1. Lumbar spine BMD was reanalyzed twice: after adjustment for bone age and to compensate for the height factor. Volumetric density was also estimated mathematically in L2-L4. The BMD of L1-L4 was lower in the CCD group (Z-score at T0: control = -1.2 ± 0.8 vs CCD = -2.2 ± 1.4, P < 0.05; T1: control = -0.7 ± 0.8 vs CCD = -2.1 ± 1.1, P < 0.05). Osteocalcin and deoxypyridinoline were similar for the two groups. The CCD group presented lower IGF-I (Z-score at T1: control = 1.4 ± 2.8 vs CCD = -1.5 ± 1.0, P < 0.05) and RANKL (control = 0.465 ± 0.275 vs CCD = 0.195 ± 0.250 pM, P < 0.05) than control. Children with compensated CCD Child-Pugh A showed early impairment of bone acquisition, with the impact being more severe in an initial phase and then tapering in a slowly progressive way. Reduction in endocrine IGF-I has a crucial role in this process

Perfil andrológico de touros nelore criados extensivamente no planalto e no Pantanal sul-mato-grossense.

bitstream/item/56426/1/CT100-lancado.pdfNa publicação: Juliana Corrêa Borges

Germinação sementes de caupi em diferentes concentações de NaCl e CaCl 2.

A germinação das sementes e o crescimento das plântulas são afetados em solos salinos

Inheritance of a tolerant reaction to Tomato chlorosis crinivirus in tomato.

Resumo 1555

Levantamento das patologias e monitorização do arco-cruzeiro da Igreja da Misericórdia de Aveiro

O estado de conservação das construções tradicionais motiva para um crescente interesse na recuperação e manutenção deste património. Antes de mais, é importante obter uma visão geral da evolução temporal das construções permitindo assim a caracterização dos diversos aspectos estruturais e construtivos. Este trabalho foi desenvolvido com o objectivo de estudar as patologias associadas à nave principal da Igreja da Misericórdia de Aveiro e em particular as patologias associadas ao arco-cruzeiro que se encontra no interior desta, com o intuito de se estabelecer a melhor estratégia de monitorização a aplicar para controlo da evolução dos danos estruturais observados. Como resultado desta análise das patologias, foi proposto e implementado um plano de monitorização do arco-cruzeiro, com um sistema de instrumentação que permite monitorizar a evolução das deformações de forma não intrusiva, garantindo a reversibilidade e a eventual futura extensão do sistema de instrumentação. Foi ainda desenvolvido um modelo numérico em elementos finitos para interpretação das causas dos danos estruturais observados