Construction and validation of a low-cost system for indoor air quality measurements in livestock facilities

In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for food of ani-mal origin. The number of intensive production systems such as pig and poultry farming has been increasing more and more and exerting great impacts on the environment, due to a large amount of particulate material and gaseous pollutants that are generated within these facilities. Thus, low-cost devices emerge as a cheap alternative that provides farmers with information on indoor air quality in its facilities. However, it is important that these devices make precise and accu-rate measurements, providing reliable concentration readings. Therefore, the ob-jective of this study is the construction and validation of a low-cost system capa-ble of measuring, storing and sending, via the mobile network, the concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, carbon dioxide, PM2.5, PM10, temperature, and relative humidity. Preliminary inter-comparison tests showed that the built sys-tem had a reliable behavior in relation to all variables, even though the CO2 sen-sor was the one with the highest determination coefficient. The built device is able to provide continuous monitoring of atmospheric pollutants concentrations, at low cost and with simple handling.This study was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under the PT2020 Program through financial support to CIMO (UID/AGR/00690/2013) and by the bilateral project established between the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança (Portugal) and the Federal University of Technology – Paraná (Brazil).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Rome I Regulation and the relevance of non-State law

The Rome I Regulation and the relevance of non-State law Olugbenga Bamodu I INTRODUCTION In the course of the conversion1 of the Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obl…

Post-valvular surgery multi-vessel coronary artery spasm - A literature review

Coronary artery spasm (CAS) refers to the spontaneous or stimuli-induced transient, often localized and intense subtotal or total constriction/occlusion of the epicardial coronary artery, usually concomitant with angina pectoris with associated elevation of the ST segment on electrocardiogram (ECG).In this article, we present a literature review on post-valvular surgery CAS and report the clinical case of a 77. year-old man who experienced severe early post-aortic surgery chest pain and hemodynamic instability. Emergent coronary angiography revealed severe occlusion of multiple branches of both coronary arteries. The CAS was alleviated with intracoronary infusion of nitroglycerin

Implantation of the Jarvik 2000® left ventricular assist device using the miniaturized extracorporeal circulation system - A case report

Myocardial failure is generally considered to be a progressive, irreversible medical condition with characteristic ventricular enlargement, spatial alteration of the heart chambers, diminished cardiac inotropy and resultant dysfunctional, mechanically inefficient heart. The Jarvik 2000®, similar to the mechanical pump, is an electrically powered, axial-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) designed to enhance the function of the chronically failing heart and, consequently, normalize the cardiac output for a long period of time. We report the case of 70-year-old man with congestive dilated cardiomyopathy and bioprosthetic mitral valve who underwent surgical implantation of the Jarvik 2000® LVAD, using the miniaturized extracorporeal circulation (MECC) system. The LVAD was implanted through a left thoracotomy and the MECC system was used to avoid intraoperative spontaneous hemodynamic instability and/or malignant ventricular arrhythmia. The circulatory support with the MECC system was optimal and no complication in terms of hemodynamic instability and perioperative bleeding was recorded. The MECC system obliterated the adverse effects associated with conventional extracorporeal circulation, which are often fatal in critically-ill patients

Postinfarction left ventricular free wall rupture: a 17-year single-centre experience

OBJECTIVES: Left ventricular free wall rupture (LVFWR) is a catastrophic complication following acute myocardial infarction with an estimated incidence of 0.2–7.6% and mortality can be as high as 60%. This study aimed to identify the risk factors for morbidity and mortality in patients affected by LVFWR. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of 35 patients who underwent surgery for LVFWR between January 2000 and December 2016 at our institution. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 68.3 years. The in-hospital survival was 65.7% (n = 23), and 13% of survived patients presented with cardiac arrest. The following characteristics were associated with in-hospital mortality at univariable analysis: pre-existing hypertension (P = 0.02), need for inotropes (P = 0.02) and cardiac arrest (P < 0.0001) at presentation, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (P = 0.004), preoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (P = 0.004), technique of LVFWR repair (P = 0.013), operation on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (P = 0.005) and postoperative extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (P = 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, cardiac arrest at presentation was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio 11.7, 95% confidence interval 2.352–59.063; P = 0.003). The overall mean postoperative follow-up was 8.3 ± 1.3 years. Overall survival rates at 5 and 10 years were 53.2 ± 8.6% and 49.1 ± 8.9%, respectively. Among the survivors, only 6 (26.1%) patients died during follow-up with a 5-year and 10-year overall survival rate of 80.9 ± 8.7% and 74.7 ± 10%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest a trend towards long-term benefit in patients surviving high-risk surgery for LVFWR repair. Considering the high lethality of LVFWR, the urgency and complexity of the primary surgical intervention early diagnosis and prompt surgery play a key role in the management of this complicatio

Virtual reality and augmeneted reality for managing symptoms

As technology advances, Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have been applied more and more widely. VR and AR are applied in the various healthcare facets including medical education and training, surgical simulation, neurological rehabilitation, psychotherapy, and telemedicine. Many research studies have provided the evidence that VR and AR can be effective interventions on the management of many disease and treatment-induced symptoms. VR and AR can offer to users a safe environment within which to experience different interventions. These interventions include the rehabilitation of discharged patients at the home setting, the support of hospitalized patients during different procedures, and also the management of treatment-induced adverse events of patients with cancer to name a few. These technologies are promising tools for the monitoring of treatments that influence the psychological and physiological functions of the patients. The aim of this chapter is to describe VR and AR and their efficacy on symptoms management which many patients experience