Differential temporal beta‐diversity patterns of native and non‐native arthropod species in a fragmented native forest landscape

An important factor that hinders the management of non‐native species is a general lack of information regarding the biogeography of non‐natives, and, in particular, their rates of turnover. Here, we address this research gap by analysing differences in temporal beta‐diversity (using both pairwise and multiple‐time dissimilarity metrics) between native and non‐native species, using a novel time‐series dataset of arthropods sampled in native forest fragments in the Azores. We use a null model approach to determine whether temporal beta‐diversity was due to deterministic processes or stochastic colonisation and extinction events, and linear modelling selection to assess the factors driving variation in temporal beta‐diversity between plots. In accordance with our predictions, we found that the temporal beta‐diversity was much greater for non‐native species than for native species, and the null model analyses indicated that the turnover of non‐native species was due to stochastic events. No predictor variables were found to explain the turnover of native or non‐native species. We attribute the greater turnover of non‐native species to source‐sink processes and the close proximity of anthropogenic habitats to the fragmented native forest plots sampled in our study. Thus, our findings point to ways in which the study of turnover can be adapted for future applications in habitat island systems. The implications of this for biodiversity conservation and management are significant. The high rate of stochastic turnover of non‐native species indicates that attempts to simply reduce the populations of non‐native species in situ within native habitats may not be successful. A more efficient management strategy would be to interrupt source‐sink dynamics by improving the harsh boundaries between native and adjacent anthropogenic habitats.Portuguese FCT‐NETBIOME – ISLANDBIODIV grant 0003/2011.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

i9MASKS Workshop: Extended Abstracts

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has spread quickly and has caused a great number of deaths worldwide. Due to the progressively increase of infected patients, countries have used preventive measures against this pandemic, such as the use of face masks. The masks have become indispensable to control both public and personal health, by reducing the transmission and spreading rate of the virus. Nevertheless, the traditional masks hide our facial expressions and emotions, and also communication obstacles. In this way, the project, i9MASKS (supported by the Grant-in-Aid “Verão com Ciência” approved by Fundação para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT)), aimed to develop transparent facial masks by using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and as a result to reduce not only the transmission and spreading rate of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 but also to minimize the social and environmental impact of the masks. Besides the transparency, the material (PDMS) used to make the masks, has unique and advantageous properties, such as biocompatibility, gas permeability, flexibility and supports autoclaving processes allowing its reuse. To develop these PDMS masks, students and researchers have worked together and acquired multidisciplinary and innovative knowledge at a wide variety of fields, such as computer-aided design, rapid prototyping and 3D printing, microfabrication and microfluidics techniques, numerical simulations, microelectronics and optics, and nanotechnology and nanoparticle synthesis. From this project, several outstanding research works have been performed including both experimental and numerical investigations, which were later presented at the i9MASKS workshop . This book represents a collection of scientific extended abstract that were presented at the i9Masks workshop in October 2020, at the School of Engineering of Minho University, in Guimarães, Portugal.Publishe

Multicomponent complex formation between vinpocetine, cyclodextrins, tartaric acid and water-soluble polymers monitored by NMR and solubility studies

This work deals with multicomponent complex formation of vinpocetine (VP) with [beta]-cyclodextrin ([beta]CD), sulfobutyl ether [beta]-cyclodextrin (SBE[beta]CD) and tartaric acid (TA), in the presence or absence of water-soluble polymers, in aqueous solution. Complexation was monitored by phase-solubility and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) studies. TA demonstrated a synergistic effect on VP solubility, and in the complexation efficiency of [beta]CD and SBE[beta]CD. Additionally, water-soluble polymers increased even more the complexation efficiency of the CDs that was reflected by a 2.1-2.5 increase on KC values for VP-CD-TA-polymer multicomponent complexes. SBE[beta]CD was more effective in VP solubilization, as KC values of VP-SBE[beta]CD-TA multicomponent complexes were notably higher than in corresponding [beta]CD complexes. The large chemical shift displacements from protons located in the interior of the hydrophobic CD cavities (i.e., H-3 and H-5) coupled with significant chemical shift displacements of VP aromatic protons suggested that this moiety was included in the cavity of both [beta]CD and SBE[beta]CD. Two-dimensional rotating frame nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (ROESY) experiments were carried out in order to obtain information about the multicomponent complex geometry in solution. Inspection of ROESY spectra allowed the establishment of spatial proximities between all aromatic protons of VP and the internal protons of the CDs, confirming that the aromatic moiety of VP is included in CD cavities being deeply inserted in SBE[beta]CD multicomponent complexes, since additional interactions with the sulfobutyl side chains were evidenced.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T25-4DT2KX7-1/1/a543ba03bff16fe4ef579956893c94b

Fatty Acid Oxidation and Cardiovascular Risk during Menopause: A Mitochondrial Connection?

Menopause is a consequence of the normal aging process in women. This fact implies that the physiological and biochemical alterations resulting from menopause often blur with those from the aging process. It is thought that menopause in women presents a higher risk for cardiovascular disease although the precise mechanism is still under discussion. The postmenopause lipid profile is clearly altered, which can present a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Due to the role of mitochondria in fatty acid oxidation, alterations of the lipid profile in the menopausal women will also influence mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation fluxes in several organs. In this paper, we propose that alterations of mitochondrial bioenergetics in the heart, consequence from normal aging and/or from the menopausal process, result in decreased fatty acid oxidation and accumulation of fatty acid intermediates in the cardiomyocyte cytosol, resulting in lipotoxicity and increasing the cardiovascular risk in the menopausal women

Synthesis and characterization of new injectable and degradable dextran-based hydrogels

Injectable and degradable hydrogels are very interesting networks for drug delivery and cell transplantation applications since they can be administered in the human body in a minimally invasive way. In most cases, the crosslinking reaction occurs by photopolymerisation or free radical polymerisation; however, the use of chemical initiators may promote cell death. In the current work, injectable and degradable dextran-based hydrogels were prepared without the use of initiators. Dextran, a natural glucose-containing polysaccharide, was oxidized with sodium periodate (dexOx) and the derivatives characterized by NMR and FTIR spectroscopy's as well as by colorimetric techniques. The oxidized derivatives were crosslinked with adipic acid dihydrazide (AAD), forming a gel within 2-4 min. The obtained hydrogels were characterized by their mechanical properties, swelling and degradation behavior under physiologic conditions. In addition, the hydrogel interior morphology as well as porous structure was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP). MIP analysis showed that dexOx hydrogels crosslinked with 10% of AAD were macroporous with pore sizes ranging from 0.32 to 0.08 [mu]m. As expected, the average pore size increased during hydrogel degradation as confirmed by SEM and MIP studies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TXW-4GX64XT-3/1/4e9cbb2544094cda02e21f70e1abcc6

Evolution of body mass índex of women undergoing bariatric surgery in the pre- and pos-operative period: a retrospective study

[resumo][abstract

Modeling Rheology In The Hot-Pressing Of MDF: Comparison Of Mechanical Models

The hot-pressing operation is the final stage in the MDF manufacture where the mattress of fibers is compressed and heated to promote the cure of the resin. The press cycle has a major effect on the balance of properties of the resulting panel, so rigorous control of all processing variables is necessary to improve product quality and to reduce pressing time. The rheological behavior of the mattress during pressing involves complex phenomena that are dependent on temperature, moisture content, gas pressure, and density distributions. Following a three-dimensional model of heat and mass transfer already built, mechanical models were developed to describe the viscoelastic behavior of the material. The elastic and viscous properties for the wood-resin composite were estimated based upon several kinds of "rules of mixtures," taking into account the relationship with the simulations already undertaken for temperature, moisture content, and gas pressure profiles, as well as the adhesive polymerization. These dynamic models were used to predict the evolution of compression stress, strain, modulus of elasticity, and density with time at a given position in the mattress, as well as the density profiles. The models were compared in relation to the influential factors affecting the composite compressibility. The simulation results are useful to identify the controlling factors of a hot-pressing operation and to understand better the complex mechanisms involved in panel formation

Application of ultrasonic pulse velocity for the condition assessment of plaster sculptures: a preliminary study

Ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) is generally used in Civil Engineering as an in-situ and non-destructive methodology to assess the condition of construction materials. Given the fact that non-contemporary sculpture was traditionally made with similar materials – stone, wood, clay or plaster – a hypothesis arose regarding the possible contribution of UPV for the conservation assessment of sculptures with stone-based materials. Plaster is a fragile material, very susceptible to internal and external fractures, alterations and losses. Museum sculptures cannot be moved to a laboratory, due to conservation protocols and therefore portable UPV could, in theory, play an important role in assessing these artistic structures in-situ. There are scarce references to such a methodology, and its implementation implied a partnership with Soares dos Reis National Museum (Porto, Portugal) for an experimental approach to three plaster sculptures made by A. Soares dos Reis: “St. Joseph”, “St. Joachim” (both made in 1880) and “Narcissus” (1881). The aim of this study was to assess if portable UPV could help to detect superficial and internal damages and differences between the original plaster and added materials. UPV uses two transducers: a very high frequency pulse emitter (54 kHz or 150 kHz, depending on the type of transducer) and a receiver which measures the transit time, or the Time-of-Flight (ToF), between the transducers. Depending on the relative orientation of the transducers, the measurements are said to be direct, indirect or semi-direct. The distance between the transducers (the shortest path) divided by the ToF gives the velocity of propagation of longitudinal mechanical waves in the material, for the frequency used. If the shortest effective path does not match the measurement of the distance between the transducers, the time of flight is longer than it should be. Therefore, obtaining a lower velocity than the expected for a given material allows to identify an internal defect, a different material or alteration. An excessively high attenuation can also occur, depending on the extension of the wave path, or an interruption of the signal transmission due to the existence of a fault or due to the signal propagation in a material whose acoustic impedance is very different from the original material. When this happens, the signal may be lost. Before using UPV in situ, laboratory tests were carried out with plaster prototypes and different types of measurements. A fundamental part of the testing process involved the experimentation of flexible materials that could play the role of interface between the transducers and the sculptures. This is of the most importance in order to guarantee that the methodology is entirely safe concerning conservation standards.This work is part of a larger research project dedicated to the study of Soares dos Reis sculpture (GEO-SR: multidisciplinary approach to alteration, alterability and conservation of Soares dos Reis’ geomaterial sculpture – breaking boundaries in museum paradigms and creating value in changing societies through culture - PTDC/ART-OUT/31304/2017/POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031304)

Implementation of lean in health care environments: an update of systematic reviews

Purpose – Even though the implementation of Lean in healthcare environments is relatively recent, it has been receiving a lot of attention in recent years. Partly due to the fact that it is a recent field of practice and research and partly because the number of works developed in this field has grown rapidly, it is important to frequently update the perspectives on this field of investigation. Thus, this article aims to systematically review the implementation of Lean tools and techniques applied to hospital organizational areas in a 5-year period, between 2014 to 2018, complementing some of the most relevant reviews already published. The most important criteria such as tools, methods and principles, hospital areas intervened, improvements and difficulties were assessed and quantified. Methodology - As starting point for this systematic literature review, a set of selected pre-existing review publications was used to support the current work and as the ground base for the expansion of the studies about Lean Healthcare. The current study contemplated 114 articles from a 5-year period between 2014 and 2018. A subset of 58 of these articles was critically assessed to understand the application of lean tools and methods in different hospital areas. Findings - The thorough analysis of selected articles show a lack of works in Continuous Improvement approaches when compared to the application of work organization, visual management, and diagnosing and problem-solving tools. The reported improvement results demonstrate alignment with the principles and foundations of lean philosophy, but such results are presented in isolated initiatives and without robust evidence of long-term maintenance. Moreover, this study shows an evolution in the number of articles referring to lean implementation in hospital areas, but in its great majority, such articles report isolated implementations in different areas, not spreading those for the global organization. Thus, some of the main recommendations, are the need to implement studies on complete flows of patients, drugs and materials, instead of isolated initiatives, and strive to promote cultural change of hospitals through structural changes, following new visions and strategic objectives, supported by real models of continuous structural and sustained improvement. Originality – The current work develops a new perspective of the articles published under the thematic of Lean Healthcare, published in a recent period of 5 years, which are not completely covered by other works. Additionally, it explicitly applied, in an innovative way, an approach that used a set of previous reviews as the starting point for this SLR. In this way, it integrates approaches and categories from different SLRs, creating a framework of analysis that can be used by future researchers. Finally, it shows the most recent implementations of Lean Healthcare, exposing the current trends, improvements and also the main gaps.This work has been supported by FCT–Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope UIDB/00319/2020 and project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-03029