Mouse model of Schistosomiasis: infection with Schistosoma mansoni in CD-1 mice

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease that affects almost 240 million worldwide. CD1 mice were infected with cercariae of S. mansoni, after which infection developed for 8 weeks. Tissues were processed to immuno-histological techniques. It was performed H&E staining for overall analyses, Sirius Red for fibrosis and immunohistochemistry for inflammation biomarkers. The most infected organ was the liver, fibrosis decreased with egg development and Galectin-3 (Gal3) and Interleukin 6 (IL-6) were expressed inside granulomasThis work was also supported by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (REF UID/BIM/04293/2013) and by the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012 and by a scholarship to Carla Luís with the reference SAICT2016/FEDER/BIO4DIA/BTI under the supervision of Dr. Rúben Fernandes.N/

Seafloor characterization of the Historic Area Remediation Site using angular range analysis

Angular Range Analysis (ARA) is a physics-based approach to acoustic remote seafloor characterization. In order to better understand the capabilities and limitations of this technique, ARA analyses were performed on multibeam sonar data collected at the Historical Area Remediation Site, an area with high spatial variability. The remotely derived results were compared to grain size information derived from grab samples and Sediment Profile Imaging. Uncertainties in the determination of mean grain size from ground truth were identified and when possible quantified. ARA proved to be an effective remote sensing tool at a regional scale in its main operational mode that has a spatial resolution limited to half-swath width of the sonar and to thirty pings. When the seafloor is heterogeneous within half-swath width of the sonar, textural segmentation of the backscatter mosaic allows the definition of themes out which ARA solutions can be calculated, improving the correlation with ground truth

A metaheuristic for the capacity-pricing problem in the car rental business

A atenção ao problema de capacidade-preço no aluguer de carros tem vindo a aumentar à medida que as empresas começaram a investir em ferramentas avançadas de apoio à decisão para essas questões críticas. Ao planear um período de vendas, uma empresa deve decidir o número e o tipo de veículos necessários na sua frota de forma a atender à procura. A procura pelos veículos para aluguer é altamente sensível ao preço e, portanto, as decisões de capacidade e preço estão intimamente ligadas. Além disso, como os produtos são alugados, a capacidade "volta". Isso cria uma ligação entre a capacidade, a mobilização da frota e outras ferramentas que permitem à empresa atender à procura, tal como upgrades, transferência de veículos entre locais ou aluguer temporário de veículos adicionais. O impacto da solução desse complexo problema no lucro de uma empresa já foi estimado e avaliado, mas quando são tidos em conta os problemas do mundo real, o tamanho e a complexidade do problema tornam os métodos existentes lentos e inadequados para fornecer soluções num prazo razoável. O principal objetivo deste projeto é então selecionar, projetar e desenvolver uma meta-heurística eficiente que forneça boas soluções em curtos períodos de tempo.The capacity-pricing problem in car rental has increasingly been stepping in the spotlight as companies began investing in advanced decision-support tools for these critical issues. When planning a sales period, a company must decide the number and type of vehicles needed in its fleet in order to meet demand. The demand for rental vehicles is particularly price-sensitive and therefore capacity and pricing decisions are closely linked. In addition, as the products are rented, the capacity "returns". This creates an association between capacity, fleet mobilization and other tools that allow the company to meet demand, such as upgrades, transferring vehicles between locations or the temporary leasing of additional vehicles. The impact of solving this complex problem on a company's profit has already been estimated and evaluated, but when real-world problems are taken into account, the size and complexity of the problem makes existing methods slow and inadequate to provide solutions within a reasonable time. Therefore, the main objective of this dissertation is then to select, design and develop an efficient metaheuristic that provides similar or better results than the ones obtained in the literature

Relationship between oral health literacy and periodontal health

Objectives The objective of this study was to describe oral health literacy and its association with periodontal health status. Methods A population of young adults, enlisted personnel, at a military police force at Escola da Guarda (EG - GNR) in Portalegre, Portugal, participated in this crosssectional study. Information on sociodemographic, dental and oral health literacy was collected. Oral health literacy was assessed using OHLI (Oral Health Literacy Instrument). Clinical periodontal examinations were performed, and data was obtained for oral hygiene status and severity of gingival inflammation. Results A total of 274 participants enrolled and completed the study. Most participants (54.7 percent) had an adequate oral health literacy level. For 38 percent the level of literacy was marginal and, 7.3 percent had an inadequate level of oral health literacy. There is an association between education and oral health literacy (P<0.001). Female participants had more general oral health knowledge than males (P=0.034). Participants with the 12th grade or less have statistically significant less general oral health knowledge than participants with a bachelor’s degree (P<0.001). Dental plaque index was lower for participants with higher attendance of dental appointments (P=0.002) and adequate oral health literacy (P = 0.009). Conclusions Oral health literacy, education and frequency of dental appointments were associated. General oral knowledge is worst for males and people with lower education levels. Oral hygiene status is better for participants with adequate oral health literacy and a higher number of dental appointments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio