Fever and Generalised Lymphadenopathy in an HIV-Positive Patient: a Diagnostic Challenge

Fever and generalised lymphadenopathy is a common presentation of a variety of diseases and a thorough investigation is often necessary for appropriate diagnosis.We present a 53-year-old male patient admitted with fever, weight loss of 15 kg in 3 months and abdominal discomfort. Examination was only remarkable for axillary and inguinal lymphadenopathy. Blood tests showed normocytic normochromic anaemia, cholestasis and a previously unknown HIV-1 infection with lymphocyte CD4 +count of 239 cells/mm(3) and viral load 3.172.370 copies/mL. A body CT scan showed multiple axillary, mediastinal, lumbar, aortic, iliac and pelvic lymphadenopathy as well as hepatosplenomegaly. An excisional biopsy of the left axillary lymphadenopathy was performed and histology ultimately revealed multicentric Castleman's disease associated with Human Herpes Virus-8. After initiation of antiretroviral therapy, rituximab was given and progressive clinical improvement occurred.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sweet's Syndrome and Relapsing Polychondritis Signal Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Certas dermatoses, pertencentes ao grupo das síndromes paraneoplásicas mucocutâneas, podem ser o prenúncio de uma neoplasia previamente não conhecida. Tanto a síndrome de Sweet como a policondrite recidivante incluem-se neste grupo. A síndrome de Sweet e a PR são raramente encontradas em um mesmo paciente. A presença de policondrite recidivante e síndrome de Sweet em um mesmo paciente tem se revelado mais frequente em pacientes com neoplasias associadas, sobretudo hematológicas. Relata-se o caso de paciente do sexo masculino, 79 anos, com síndrome de Sweet e policondrite recidivante, em quem, subsequentemente, foi diagnosticada uma síndrome mielodisplásica. Palavras-chave: Policondrite recidivante; Síndrome de Sweet; Síndromes paraneoplásica

Mobile communication systems to control UAVs: Measurements of QoS parameters

This paper proposes to identify a propagation model that considers the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) unique characteristics, contemplating two actual wireless technologies, UMTS and LTE, which are theoretically capable of supporting a real-time video service admitting more than one quality index according to the RF conditions. Several measurements were made in a specific outdoor rural scenario in order to understand if the current network infrastructure is prepared to support this type of service using these vehicles, by simulating a real case scenario and considering critical locations where the loss of Quality of Service (QoS) can be significant due to the hole phenomenon that occurs over the antennas/base stations, raising the probability to occur handover.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Superconducting Kondo phase in an orbitally-separated bilayer

The nature of superconductivity in heavy-fermion materials is a subject under intense debate, and controlling this many-body state is central for its eventual understanding. Here, we examine how proximity effects may change this phenomenon, by investigating the effects of an additional metallic layer on the top of a Kondo-lattice, and allowing for pairing in the former. We analyze a bilayer Kondo Lattice Model with an on-site Hubbard interaction, $-U$, on the additional layer, using a mean-field approach. For $U=0$, we notice a drastic change in the density-of-states due to multiple-orbital singlet resonating combinations. It destroys the well-known Kondo insulator at half filling, leading to a metallic ground state, which, in turn, enhances antiferromagnetism through the polarization of the conduction electrons. For $U\neq 0$, a superconducting Kondo state sets in at zero temperature, with the occurrence of unconventional pairing amplitudes involving $f$-electrons. We establish that this remarkable feature is only possible due to the proximity effects of the additional layer. At finite temperatures we find that the critical superconducting temperature, $T_c$, decreases with the interlayer hybridization. We have also established that a zero temperature superconducting amplitude tracks $T_c$, which reminisces the BCS proportionality between the superconducting gap and $T_c$.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure

YOLOX-Ray: An efficient attention-based single-staged object detector tailored for industrial inspections

Industrial inspection is crucial for maintaining quality and safety in industrial processes. Deep learning models have recently demonstrated promising results in such tasks. This paper proposes YOLOX-Ray, an efficient new deep learning architecture tailored for industrial inspection. YOLOX-Ray is based on the You Only Look Once (YOLO) object detection algorithms and integrates the SimAM attention mechanism for improved feature extraction in the Feature Pyramid Network (FPN) and Path Aggregation Network (PAN). Moreover, it also employs the Alpha-IoU cost function for enhanced small-scale object detection. YOLOX-Ray’s performance was assessed in three case studies: hotspot detection, infrastructure crack detection and corrosion detection. The architecture outperforms all other configurations, achieving mAP50 values of 89%, 99.6% and 87.7%, respectively. For the most challenging metric, mAP50:95, the achieved values were 44.7%, 66.1% and 51.8%, respectively. A comparative analysis demonstrated the importance of combining the SimAM attention mechanism with Alpha-IoU loss function for optimal performance. In conclusion, YOLOX-Ray’s ability to detect and to locate multi-scale objects in industrial environments presents new opportunities for effective, efficient and sustainable inspection processes across various industries, revolutionizing the field of industrial inspections.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Risco Cardiovascular em Doentes com Infecção por Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana

O aumento do risco cardiovascular é considerada uma importante complicação da infecção Infecção por Vírus da Imunodeficiência Humana (VIH) e da terapêutica anti-retroviral (TARV). À disfunção endotelial característica do processo inflamatório crónico desencadeado pela infecção retroviral, associa-se a disfunção metabólica induzida pela terapêutica, predispondo, em conjunto, para a aterogénese precoce. O reconhecimento deste aumento de risco cardiovascular permite-nos elaborar estratégias de prevenção e optimização terapêutica que passam pelo uso criterioso de hipolipemiantes e modificação da TARV, consoante a avaliação do risco cardiovascular global de cada doente

Neural architecture search for 1D CNNs - Different approaches tests and measurements

In the field of sensors, in areas such as industrial, clinical, or environment, it is common to find one dimensional (1D) formatted data (e.g., electrocardiogram, temperature, power consumption). A very promising technique for modelling this information is the use of One Dimensional Convolutional Neural Networks (1D CNN), which introduces a new challenge, namely how to define the best architecture for a 1D CNN. This manuscript addresses the concept of One Dimensional Neural Architecture Search (1D NAS), an approach that automates the search for the best combination of Neuronal Networks hyperparameters (model architecture), including both structural and training hyperparameters, for optimising 1D CNNs. This work includes the implementation of search processes for 1D CNN architectures based on five strategies: greedy, random, Bayesian, hyperband, and genetic approaches to perform, collect, and analyse the results obtained by each strategy scenario. For the analysis, we conducted 125 experiments, followed by a thorough evaluation from multiple perspectives, including the best-performing model in terms of accuracy, consistency, variability, total running time, and computational resource consumption. Finally, by presenting the optimised 1D CNN architecture, the results for the manuscript’s research question (a real-life clinical case) were provided.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Isokinetics strength relation with fear of fall, falls and physical activity level in elderly women

Introduction: Low levels of physical activity (PA) in elderly has been related with the decline in physical and psychological functions, affecting the ability in the performance of activities of daily living (ADLs) and contributing to the occurrence of walking-related fall (Metz, Lee, Sui, Powell, Blair, 2010). The purpose of this study was to relate strength levels with fear of fall (FF), falls occurrence as well as with PA level on elderly women. Methods: One hundred not institutionalized post-menopausal women (aged 66.17 ± 8.21 years) volunteered to participate on this research. The peak torque (PT) at 60º.s-1 ( 3 rep) and 180º.s-1 (20 rep) angular speeds in knee extension and flexion concentric actions were measured using an isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex System 3). Muscular fatigue was also estimated at 180º.s-1. To achieve the occurrence of falls during last year as well FF score, we applied a standardized Questionnaire that included socio-demographic, health and falls parameters. PA level was accessed by interview with Yale Physical Activity Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics was performed using means and standard deviations. The Spearman correlation coefficient was used to investigate associations among quantitative independent variables. Results: PT at 60º.s-1 in knee extension and flexion and PT at 180º.s-1 in knee flexion showed a positive association with vigorous index (r=,205 p=,041; r=,249 p=,013; r=,218 p=,029 respectively). Standing index presented also a positive correlation with PT at 60º.s-1 and PT 180º.s-1 in knee extension (r=,205 p=,041 and r=,314 p=,004). FF registered a positive association with body mass (BM) and body mass index (BMI) (r=,205 p=,041 and r=,201 p=,045), and a negative association with PT in extension action on both angular velocities (r=-,241 p=,016 and r=-,203 p=,043). Muscular fatigue showed a positive correlation with the number of falls during the last year (r=,201 p=,036). Conclusions: Decreases of strength on lower limb is an important factor that contributes to falls occurrence once we registered a negative relation between PT on extension action and the FF. Our data related higher values of BM and BMI with higher fear of falling confirming that overweight are common associated to disturb on gait function and mobility that represents also a risk factor for falls. Present results suggest that more time of PA is needed to increase lower limb strength in the elderly

Soil–Atmosphere Exchange of Nitrous Oxide, Nitric Oxide, Methane, and Carbon Dioxide in Logged and Undisturbed Forest in the Tapajos National Forest, Brazil

Selective logging is an extensive land use in the Brazilian Amazon region. The soil–atmosphere fluxes of nitrous oxide (N2O), nitric oxide (NO), methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) are studied on two soil types (clay Oxisol and sandy loam Ultisol) over two years (2000–01) in both undisturbed forest and forest recently logged using reduced impact forest management in the Tapajos National Forest, near Santarem, Para, Brazil. In undisturbed forest, annual soil–atmosphere fluxes of N2O (mean ± standard error) were 7.9 ± 0.7 and 7.0 ± 0.6 ng N cm−2 h−1 for the Oxisol and 1.7 ± 0.1 and 1.6 ± 0.3 ng N cm−2 h−1 for the Ultisol for 2000 and 2001, respectively. The annual fluxes of NO from undisturbed forest soil in 2001 were 9.0 ± 2.8 ng N cm−2 h−1 for the Oxisol and 8.8 ± 5.0 ng N cm−2 h−1 for the Ultisol. Consumption of CH4 from the atmosphere dominated over production on undisturbed forest soils. Fluxes averaged −0.3 ± 0.2 and −0.1 ± 0.9 mg CH4 m−2 day−1 on the Oxisol and −1.0 ± 0.2 and −0.9 ± 0.3 mg CH4 m−2 day−1 on the Ultisol for years 2000 and 2001. For CO2 in 2001, the annual fluxes averaged 3.6 ± 0.4 μmol m−2 s−1 on the Oxisol and 4.9 ± 1.1 μmol m−2 s−1 on the Ultisol. We measured fluxes over one year each from two recently logged forests on the Oxisol in 2000 and on the Ultisol in 2001. Sampling in logged areas was stratified from greatest to least ground disturbance covering log decks, skid trails, tree-fall gaps, and forest matrix. Areas of strong soil compaction, especially the skid trails and logging decks, were prone to significantly greater emissions of N2O, NO, and especially CH4. In the case of CH4, estimated annual emissions from decks reached extremely high rates of 531 ± 419 and 98 ± 41 mg CH4 m−2 day−1, for Oxisol and Ultisol sites, respectively, comparable to wetland emissions in the region. We calculated excess fluxes from logged areas by subtraction of a background forest matrix or undisturbed forest flux and adjusted these fluxes for the proportional area of ground disturbance. Our calculations suggest that selective logging increases emissions of N2O and NO from 30% to 350% depending upon conditions. While undisturbed forest was a CH4 sink, logged forest tended to emit methane at moderate rates. Soil–atmosphere CO2 fluxes were only slightly affected by logging. The regional effects of logging cannot be simply extrapolated based upon one site. We studied sites where reduced impact harvest management was used while in typical conventional logging ground damage is twice as great. Even so, our results indicate that for N2O, NO, and CH4, logging disturbance may be as important for regional budgets of these gases as other extensive land-use changes in the Amazon such as the conversion of forest to cattle pasture

Evaluación del estado de la población de cabra montés de los montes de Toledo: relaciones con el ciervo

[EN]: Iberian wild goat subsp. Capra pyrenaica victoriae inhabits fewer and smaller areas than subs. C. p. hispanica reason why the former is considered as Vulnerable by IUCN. Therefore studies aimed to assess the status of C. p. victoriae are very valuables. We studied the habitat use, parasite excretion rates and diet quality of the Montes de Toledo's C. p. victoriae population. The red deer is a potential competitor of the Iberian wild goat and subsequently was included in this study. Our results showed that both species had a good population status (good corporal condition, high quality diet and suitable population density). According to the indicators considered in this study we do not expect that red deer suppose a relevant risk for the viability of the Iberian wild goat population. The implications of the results to Iberian wild goat management are deeper discussed.[ES]: La Capra pyrenaica victoriae presenta pocas poblaciones y éstas ocupan áreas reducidas, siendo considerada por ello por la IUCN como vulnerable. Son necesarios, por tanto, estudios locales encaminados a evaluar el estado de dichas poblaciones. En este trabajo estudiamos la población presente en los Montes de Toledo a través del análisis del uso que hace del hábitat, del nivel de parasitación y de la calidad de su dieta. El ciervo fue también incluido en este esquema de monitorización por ser un potencial competidor para la cabra montés. Los resultados indican que ambas especies presentan un adecuado estado poblacional (buena condición corporal, dieta de elevada calidad y valores de densidad razonables). Según los indicadores considerados no sería esperable que el ciervo supusiera un riesgo relevante para la viabilidad de la población de cabra montés. Se discuten las implicaciones de los resultados para la gestión cinegética de la cabra montés.Este trabajo ha sido promovido y financiado por el Parque Nacional de Cabañeros (Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales) en el marco del convenio de colaboración 8.06/5.46.3324. P. Acevedo disfruta de un contrato dentro del programa Juan de la Cierva – Fondo Social Europeo.Peer Reviewe