Velopark : a linked open data platform for bicycle parkings

Cycling as a mean of urban transportation is positively correlated with cleaner, healthier and happier cities. By providing more infrastructure, such as secure parking facilities, cities aim on attracting more cyclists. However, authoritative information about parking facilities is heavily decentralized and heterogeneous, which makes secure parking facilities harder to be discovered by cyclists. Can an open dataset about bike parkings be managed decentrally? In this paper, we present the results of the Velopark project, carried out in Belgium by different actors that include local public authorities, public transport operators and pro-cycling organizations. During the project execution we (i) introduced the Open Velopark Vocabulary as a common semantic data model; and (ii) implemented the Velopark platform, an open data publishing environment for both static and live authoritative parking data. So far, 1599 parking facilities were published through the Velopark platform, 31 different Belgian municipalities and 4 parking related organizations use the platform to describe, publish and manage their parking facilities. A common data publishing environment supports organizations for providing access to their information, while guaranteeing data reliability for cyclists. In future work we will further extend our data model to cover other kinds of infrastructure and bicycle-related services

A terapia fotodinâmica com ácido 5-aminolevulínico como modalidade de tratamento para neoplasias cutâneas não-melanoma Topical 5-aminolevulinic acid photodynamic therapy as a treatment modality for nonmelanoma skin cancer

FUNDAMENTOS: A terapia fotodinâmica baseia-se na associação de fonte de luz e fotossensibilizador para destruir seletivamente as células. OBJETIVO: Avaliar os efeitos imediatos e tardios, a resposta clínica e os resultados estéticos da terapia fotodinâmica com ácido 5-aminolevulínico em neoplasias cutâneas não-melanoma. MÉTODOS: Trinta e quatro lesões, sendo 19 disceratoses de Bowen e 15 carcinomas basocelulares, foram submetidas à aplicação tópica e oclusiva do ácido 5-aminolevulínico a 20%, por seis horas, e posteriormente a sessão única de laser de diodo (630nm). RESULTADOS: Foram registrados: sensação de queimação durante as sessões; eritema, edema e erosões, nas primeiras 72 horas; cicatrização em média de quatro semanas; resultados estéticos variáveis de excelentes a bons. Aos três meses, a resposta clínica foi de 91,2%, sendo reduzida, aos 18 meses, para 73,3%, de modo similar tanto para disceratose de Bowen (72,2%) quanto para carcinoma basocelular (75%). Foi evidenciada relação de tendência linear entre a redução da freqüência da resposta clínica e o aumento da dimensão das neoplasias cutâneas não-melanoma (p<0,001). CONCLUSÃO: A terapia fotodinâmica com ácido 5-aminolevulínico tópico mostrou destacadas vantagens: minimamente invasiva no tratamento de lesões múltiplas em sessão única ou em sítios de pobre cicatrização com superioridade dos resultados estéticos. O tipo/subtipo(clínico e histopatológico), a dimensão e o adequado seguimento devem ser considerados para a sua indicação no tratamento de neoplasias cutâneas não-melanoma.<br>BACKGROUND: Photodynamic therapy is based on the association of a light source and photosensitizer in order to selectively destroy cells. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the short and long-term effects, clinical response, and cosmetic outcome of the photodynamic therapy with 5-aminolaevulinic acid for non-melanoma skin cancer. METHODS: TThirty-four non-melanoma skin cancer - 19 Bowen’s diseases and 15 basal cell carcinomas, were submitted to a single 6-hour topical and occlusive application of 20% 5-aminolaevulinic acid, and were later exposed to 630 nm diode laser single session. RESULTS: Burning sensation during the session; erythema, edema and erosions in the first 72 hours; healing process after 4 weeks on average and excellent or good cosmetic results were observed. After 3 months, tumor-free rate was 91.2% whereas at 18 months,73.3%, similarly in Bowen’s disease (72.2%) and basal cell carcinoma (75%). It was noticed a linear relation between the reduction in complete clinical response frequency and the increase in tumor dimension (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The 5-aminolaevulinic acid photodynamic therapy showed significant advantages such as minimally invasive for the treatment of multiple lesions in only one session or lesions in poor healing sites with superior esthetical outcome. The clinical and histopathological type/sub-type, the dimension and an appropriate follow-up must be considered to indicate topical 5-aminolaevulinic acid photodynamic therapy for non-melanoma skin cancer