Microbiological monitoring of water for control of Legionella

Legionellosis is a collection of infections that are caused by Legionella pneumophila and related Legionella bacteria. The severity of legionellosis varies from mild febrile illness (Pontiac fever) to a potentially fatal form of pneumonia (Legionnaires’ disease) that can affect anyone, but principally affects those who are susceptible due to age, illness, immunosuppression or other risk factors, such as smoking. Legionella spp. are heterotrophic bacteria found in a wide range of water environments and proliferate at temperatures between 25°C and 45°C. These bacteria are members of the natural flora of many freshwater environments, such as rivers, streams and impoundments, where they occur in relatively low numbers. Bacteria of the genus Legionella are ubiquitous, they can proliferate in certain human-made water environments, such as water cooling devices associated with air conditioning systems, hot water, spas, distribution systems, on the inside surfaces of shower heads especially in warm waters. Legionellae can be ingested by certain amoebae which play an important role in their persistence in water environments. Devices that support multiplication of Legionella have been associated with outbreaks of Legionnaires’disease. Nosocomial cases usually make up a small proportion of reported cases of legionellosis. However, the proportion of cases that are fatal tends to be much higher with nosocomial infections than with community-acquired infections. Health-care facilities may include environments that support the proliferation and dissemination of Legionella and must be monitored. In Portugal only exists legislation for air conditioning systems and thermal waters. It is important to be aware of the need to develop specific rules for the detection of Legionella in water intended for human consumption in order to act more for the prevention of the disease than to act only in the monitoring of an outbreak. In recent years there has been an increasing incidence of disease caused by this bacterium, atypical pneumonia, and a large variety of water systems are different sources of contamination

On the Measurement of the Width of the Distribution of Relaxation Times in Polypropylene

Previous models for the interpretation of the creep behaviour of polymers are of course valuable, but mainly empirical or semi-empirical, and do not directly take into account the physical (molecular) underlying mechanisms, namely the detailed conformational and other transitions responsible for the material’s non-linear viscoelastic behaviour [1, 2].PRODEP II

NON-LINEAR CREEP OF PMMA: SERVICE PERFORMANCE PREDICTION FROM SHORT-TERM TESTS

In previous literature, empirical models have been applied to describe and predict the viscoelastic behavior of polymer materials. For example, the empirical power-law model seems to fit well, but only for short-term data [1, 2, 3]. Such formulations are of some utility in data reduction and extrapolation, but do not allow meaningful physical interpretations and lack generality. When we look at the dynamic behavior of polymers, we recognize the presence of a very large variety of possible and specifiable processes (responses), spanning an extremely wide range of frequencies and cluster sizes within the structure, at any given temperature. That range significantly widens and shifts to lower and lower frequencies (and larger and larger cluster sizes) as the temperature is lowered

Effect of whey protein purity and glycerol content upon physical properties of edible films manufactured therefrom

This manuscript describes the detailed characterization of edible films made from two different protein products e whey protein isolate (WPI) and whey protein concentrate (WPC), added with three levels of glycerol (Gly) e i.e. 40, 50 and 60%(w/w). The molecular structure, as well as barrier, tensile, thermal,surface and optical properties of said films were determined, in attempts to provide a better understanding of the effects of proteinaceous purity and Gly content of the feedstock. WPI films exhibited statistically lower (p < 0.05) moisture content (MC), film solubility (S), water activity, water vapor permeability (WVP), oxygen and carbon dioxide permeabilities (O2P and CO2P, respectively) and color change values, as well as statistically higher (p < 0.05) density, surface hydrophobicity, mechanical resistance, elasticity, extensibility and transparency values than their WPC counterparts, for the same content of Gly. These results are consistent with data from thermal and FTIR analyses. Furthermore,a significant increase (p < 0.05) was observed in MC, S, WVP, O2P, CO2P, weight loss and extensibility of both protein films when the Gly content increased; whereas a significant decrease (p < 0.05) was observed in thermal features, as well as in mechanical resistance and elasticity e thus leading to weaker films. Therefore, fundamental elucidation was provided on the features of WPI and WPC germane to food packaging e along with suggestions to improve the most critical ones, i.e. extensibility and WVP.Partial funding for this research work was provided by project Milkfilm, administered by Agência de Inovação e POCTI: Programa Operacional de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Portugal) Funding for author O. L. Ramos was via a postdoctoral fellowship (ref. SFRH/BPD/80766/2011), administered by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal) and supervised by author F. X.Malcata. A minor part of the experimental work was performed in CBQF premise

How does information technology influence the behavior intention to use nutrition e-Health services?

Covid-19 is an enable factor of new e-Health technology data-driven services which catalyzes the development of virtual personalized people-driven and preventive digital services model integrated into daily life. The access to individuals’ data provides solutions that ensure the safest health information technology. However, people still feel their data is at risk. The present paper aims to examine the key factors affecting health information technology as a strategy to improve the usage of smart nutrition services in the online environment. The study was conducted to assess the impact of IT towards storing and sharing individuals` health data and influencing their judgments about trust and behavioral intention to use e-Health apps in comparison with face-to-face consultation services. The technology acceptance model has been extended by introducing new factors (perceived risk, security, data privacy and behavioral intention to use the service) that allow to study the online consumer behavior and perceived threat associated with the type of data stored and shared. Findings revealed that health IT increased consumers` perceptions about perceived risk of data sharing and trust regarding the type of data stored and shared. However, it decreased consumers `perceptions about e-Health nutrition services related to perceived utility, data safety, trust, risk and behavioral intention to use these services. This research will help to empirically explore and test the suggested model in terms of social influence factors and the acceptance of using technology on health services in an emerging research area.A covid-19 é um fator impulsionador de novos serviços digitais personalizados e preventivos através do uso de dados de tecnologia de informação de saúde. O acesso aos dados permite assistir as pessoas no seu dia-a-dia, garantindo o uso mais seguro da tecnologia. Porém, as pessoas continuam a sentir que seus dados pessoais estão em risco. A presente dissertação pretende avaliar os principais fatores que afetam o uso da tecnologia de informação de saúde como uma estratégia de aperfeiçoamento dos serviços de nutrição “inteligentes” no contexto online. O impacto da tecnologia relativamente ao armazenamento e compartilhamento de dados avalia a forma como os consumidores são influenciados pela confiança e intenção comportamental de uso de serviços e-Saúde comparativamente às consultas de nutrição presenciais. O modelo de aceitação da tecnologia foi alargado com a introdução de novos fatores (risco percebido, segurança e privacidade de dados), permitindo estudar o comportamento do consumidor no contexto online e a sua perceção de ameaça associada ao tipo de dados. Os resultados revelaram que a tecnologia aumentou as perceções dos consumidores sobre o risco percebido do uso de dados pessoais e a confiança em relação aos dados armazenados e compartilhados. Todavia, diminuiu as perceções relativamente à utilidade percebida, segurança, confiança, risco e intenção comportamental de uso dos serviços e-Saúde. O presente estudo ajudará a explorar e testar empiricamente o modelo sugerido relativamente a fatores de influência social, bem como melhorar a aceitação do uso de tecnologia em serviços de saúde em uma área de pesquisa emergente

Assessing the needs of patients about information and medical care after diagnosis of cancer

Objetivo: Estudiar las necesidades de los pacientes oncológicos sobre la información referida a su enfermedad y los cuidados al final de la vida. Métodos: 820 pacientes participaron de una encuesta sobre diagnóstico, pronóstico, eficacia y toxicidad de los tratamientos, así como también sobre cuidados paliativos, investigación clínica, apoyo psicológico, cuidados espirituales y deseos del final de la vida. Resultados: 695 pacientes conocen su diagnóstico, especialmente quienes tenían un mayor nivel educativo y un rango etario de 50-70 años. Seiscientos setenta y cuatro pacientes deseaban conocer su pronóstico, estando más predispuestos a conocerlo quienes tenían educación secundaria y superior. La mayoría (562 pacientes) deseaba conocer todo con respecto a la utilidad de los tratamientos, al igual que con respecto a la toxicidad (443) y valoraría contar con información sobre cuidados paliativos e investigación. Además consideraba la internación hospitalaria como el mejor lugar para morir (331). Las mujeres se mostraron más propensas a recibir ayuda psicológica y espiritual. Las condiciones más valoradas en el médico fueron: conocimiento (52,7%), Honestidad (45,5%) y Humanidad (44,3%). Un 82,3% de los pacientes valoraron positivamente la encuesta, mientras que el 58% la consideró útil. Sin embargo un 23,7% la recomendaría. Conclusiones: El estudio representa, en nuestro conocimiento, el primer intento en nuestro medio por identificar las necesidades y los deseos de los pacientes por conocer cuestiones vinculadas con su enfermedad. En este sentido hemos observado una búsqueda de participación activa en las decisiones vinculadas al manejo de la información y los tratamientos por parte de los pacientes.Objective: To study and understand the needs for informations of the patients in our environment, analyzing specifically the needs for information about their illness and care at the end of life after being diagnosed with cancer. Methods: 820 patients in a survey about diagnosis, prognosis, treatment efficacy and toxicity, as well as palliative care, clinical research, psychological support, spiritual care and wishes of the end of life. Results: Patients majority (695) was aware of their diagnosis, knowing more who had higher education and an age range of 50-70 years. Six hundred seventy-four patients wanted to know their prognosis, being more likely to know those who had secondary and higher education. The majority (562 patients) wanted to know everything about the treatment utility, as well as with respect to toxicity (443) and would value to have information on palliative care and research. Hospitalization also considered as the best place to die (331). Women were more likely to receive psychological and spiritual help. The most valued physician conditions were knowledge (52.7%), honesty (45.5%) and Humanities (44.3% The 82.3% of patients appreciated the survey, while 58% considered it useful. However, 23.7 % would recommend it.Conclusions: This study represents, to our knowledge, the first attempt in our country to identify the needs and wishes of patients to know about issues related to their illness. We have observed a search for active participation in decisions related to information management and treatments by patients

Prediction of Long Term Creep Behaviour of PMMA From Short Time Tests

In contrast with most previously published works, which are semi-empirical, interpolative and (limitedly) extrapolative, the model developed here enables the prediction of the non-linear creep compliance of a given amorphous or semi-crystalline polymer, providing the values of the physical parameters have been experimentally determined, for a reasonably wide range of temperature and applied stress values.PRODEP II

Non-linear Creep Behaviour of Polycarbonate

The non-linear viscoelastic behaviour of polymers raises persistent challenges to accurate physical and mathematical modelling. Real long-term predictive capability is the most sought-after objective in the researchers’ endeavours to unravel the seemingly coupled effects of time, temperature and mechanical stress on the creep compliance of materials. Most recent work concentrated on recognizably useful but semi-empirical, lumped-parameter, modelling approaches that extended and rationalized much earlier experiments and formulations.PRODEP II

Meeting the challenge of the cooperative, nonArrhenius, non-linear response behaviour of macromolecular materials

One of the authors proposed recently a cooperative segmental theory of molecular dynamics (CSTMD), for the timedependent behaviour of polymers and other materials, at constant volume, when subject to thermal (heating/cooling) or forced (mechanical, dielectrical, etc.) excitations. The theory only assumes that segments may be identified within the structure, which may (individually, or in clusters of random size, n ≥ 1) contribute to the materials response. For example, in a polypropylene, a segment may be identified as the shortest chain length capable of independent torsion and rotation (within the amorphous phase), as in the crankshaft type of motions (4 adjacent main chain carbon atoms and their associated methyls and hydrogens)

Validation of a Non-linear Molecular Model of Polymer Creep

Previous models for the interpretation of the creep behaviour of polymers are of course valuable, but mainly empirical or semiempirical, and do not directly take into account the physical (molecular) underlying mechanisms, namely the detailed conformational and other transitions responsible for the material’s non-linear viscoelastic behaviour [1-10]. Any realistic and accurate model should predict and quantify the peculiar and coupled time-temperature-stress behaviour, and this is shown to be possible by adequate kinetic formulation of the frequencies (or retardation times) of the whole range of structural contributors to the material’s compliance. One should mention here the old but seminal work by Eyring et al. [11,12], which at least had the merit to suggest how one could physically and mathematically link the oldest, Voigt-Kelvin and other, phenomenological models to the actual non-linear physical behaviour at the molecular scale.PRODEP II