In situ measured cross section geometry of old timber structures and its influence on structural safety

Old timber structures may show significant variation in the cross section geometry along the same element, as a result of both construction methods and deterioration. As consequence, the definition of the geometric parameters in situ may be both time consuming and costly. This work presents the results of inspections carried out in different timber structures. Based on the obtained results, different simplified geometric models are proposed in order to efficiently model the geometry variations found. Probabilistic modelling techniques are also used to define safety parameters of existing timber structures, when subjected to dead and live loads, namely self-weight and wind actions. The parameters of the models have been defined as probabilistic variables, and safety of a selected case study was assessed using the Monte Carlo simulation technique. Assuming a target reliability index, a model was defined for both the residual cross section and the time dependent deterioration evolution. As a consequence, it was possible to compute probabilities of failure and reliability indices, as well as, time evolution deterioration curves for this structure. The results obtained provide a proposal for definition of the cross section geometric parameters of existing timber structures with different levels of decay, using a simplified probabilistic geometry model and considering a remaining capacity factor for the decayed areas. This model can be used for assessing the safety of the structure at present and for predicting future performance

Abernethy malformation: beware in cases of unexplained hepatic encephalopathy in adults-case report and review of the relevant literature

The Abernethy malformation consists of a congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunt and is believed to be extremely rare in humans. The potential implications of abnormal portovenous shunting and decreased hepatic portal flow are numerous and potentially serious. Although congenital extrahepatic portosystemic shunts are increasingly suspected and diagnosed in specialized centres, much of their clinical presentation and natural history is not fully understood. Symptoms of portosystemic shunt are mainly caused by increased levels of ammonia, which lead to signs of encephalopathy. Therapeutic options depend on the type of shunt and its clinical course, so the classification of the congenital portosystemic shunt is a key finding in these patients.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reliability analysis of a timber truss system subjected to decay

Assessing the safety of existing timber structures is of paramount importance for taking reliable decisions on repair actions and their extent. The results obtained through semi-probabilistic methods are unrealistic, as the partial safety factors present in codes are calibrated considering the uncertainty present in new structures. In order to overcome these limitations, and also to include the effects of decay in the safety analysis, probabilistic methods, based on Monte-Carlo simulation are applied here to assess the safety of existing timber structures. In particular, the impact of decay on structural safety is analyzed and discussed, using a simple structural model, similar to that used for current semi-probabilistic analysis

Promoting reality awareness in virtual reality through proxemics

Head-Mounted Virtual reality (VR) systems provide full-immersive experiences to users and completely isolate them from the outside world, placing them in unsafe situations. Existing research proposed different alert-based solutions to address this. Our work builds on these studies on notification systems for VR environments from a different perspective. We focus on: (i) exploring alert systems to notify VR users about non-immersed bystanders' in socially related, non-critical interaction contexts; (ii) understanding how best to provide awareness of non-immersed bystanders while maintaining presence and immersion within the Virtual Environment(VE). To this end, we developed single and combined alert cues - leveraging proxemics, perception channels, and push/pull approaches and evaluated those via two user studies. Our findings indicate a strong preference towards maintaining immersion and combining audio and visual cues, push and pull notification techniques that evolve dynamically based on proximity

Unraveling Depressive Symptomatology and Risk Factors in a Changing World

Funding Information: The present publication was funded by the Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia, IP national support, through CHRC (UIDP/04923/2020). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.Background: This study aimed to examine the prevalence and factors associated with symptoms of depression during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A representative sample of Portuguese adults was included in this populational survey, conducted between 25 March and 31 July 2021, with participants completing a structured questionnaire via phone interview. The symptoms of depression were measured using the Portuguese version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to examine the association between sociodemographic, health, and lifestyle factors and depression levels (normal, mild, or moderate/severe). Results: The estimated prevalence of depression symptoms among participants was 24%. Participants who were women, were in older age groups, had multimorbidity, lived in isolated Portuguese regions such as islands and Alentejo, and were retired or unemployed more frequently reported depression symptoms. Economic hardship was also found to be associated with an increased frequency of mild or moderate-to-severe depression. In contrast, higher levels of education, regular alcohol intake, and regular exercise were associated with a lower frequency of depression symptoms. Conclusions: These findings highlight that during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, a high proportion of Portuguese adults reported depression symptoms, particularly the COVID-19-vulnerable strata such seniors, patients with multimorbidity, and people in economic hardship. On the other hand, citizens who performed regular physical exercise reported lower depressive symptomology. Our work contributes to improving the planning of mental health promotion after the COVID-19 pandemic and future emergencies.publishersversionpublishe

In vitro and in vivo characterization of PLLA-316L stainless steel electromechanical devices for bone tissue engineering—A preliminary study

Bone injuries represent a major social and financial impairment, commonly requiring surgical intervention due to a limited healing capacity of the tissue, particularly regarding critical-sized defects and non-union fractures. Regenerative medicine with the application of bone implants has been developing in the past decades towards the manufacturing of appropriate devices. This work intended to evaluate medical 316L stainless steel (SS)-based devices covered by a polymer poly (L-lactic acid) (PLLA) coating for bone lesion mechanical and functional support. SS316L devices were subjected to a previously described silanization process, following a three-layer PLLA film coating. Devices were further characterized and evaluated towards their cytocompatibility and osteogenic potential using human dental pulp stem cells, and biocompatibility via subcutaneous implantation in a rat animal model. Results demonstrated PLLA-SS316L devices to present superior in vitro and in vivo outcomes and suggested the PLLA coating to provide osteo-inductive properties to the device. Overall, this work represents a preliminary study on PLLA-SS316L devices’ potential towards bone tissue regenerative techniques, showing promising outcomes for bone lesion support.This work was developed within the scope of the project CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, FCT Ref. UID/CTM/50011/2019, financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES and when appropriate co-financed by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. This work was also financed by Portugal 2020 through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), in the frame of Operational Competitiveness and Internationalization Programme (POCI), in the scope of the project “Advanced BioMEMs for tissue engineering: Applications in hard tissue (BioMEMs)”, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032095. Mariana Vieira Branquinho (SFRH/BD/146172/2019), Ana Catarina Sousa (SFRH/BD/146689/2019), and Rui Damásio Alvites (SFRH/BD/116118/2016), acknowledge FCT, for financial support

The application of Bonelike® Poro as a synthetic bone substitute for the management of critical-sized bone defects - A comparative approach to the autograft technique - A preliminary study

The effective treatment of non-unions and critical-sized defects remains a challenge in the orthopedic field. From a tissue engineering perspective, this issue can be addressed through the application bioactive matrixes to support bone regeneration, such as Bonelike®, as opposed to the widespread autologous grafting technique. An improved formulation of Bonelike® Poro, was assessed as a synthetic bone substitute in an ovine model for critical-sized bone defects. Bone regeneration was assessed after 5 months of recovery through macro and microscopic analysis of the healing features of the defect sites. Both the application of natural bone graft or Bonelike® Poro resulted in bridging of the defects margins. Untreated defect remained as fibrous non-unions at the end of the study period. The characteristics of the newly formed bone and its integration with the host tissue were assessed through histomorphometric and histological analysis, which demonstrated Bonelike® Poro to result in improved healing of the defects. The group treated with synthetic biomaterial presented bone bridges of increased thickness and bone features that more closely resembled the native spongeous and cortical bone. The application of Bonelike® Poro enabled the regeneration of critical-sized lesions and performed comparably to the autograph technique, validating its octeoconductive and osteointegrative potential for clinical application as a therapeutic strategy in human and veterinary orthopedics.This research was supported by Projects PEst-OE/AGR/UI0211/2011 from FCT , and COMPETE 2020 , from ANI – Projetos ID&T Empresas em Copromoção , by the project “insitu.Biomas – Reinvent biomanufacturing systems by using an usability approach for in situ clinic temporary implants fabrication” with the reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-017771 , by the project “Print-on-Organs – Engineering bioinks and processes for direct printing on organs” with the reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033877 , and by the project “Bone2Move - Development of ‘in vivo’ experimental techniques and modelling methodologies for the evaluation of 4D scaffolds for bone defect in sheep model: an integrative research approach” with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031146 . Mariana Vieira Branquinho ( SFRH/BD/146172/2019 ), Ana Catarina Sousa ( SFRH/BD/146689/2019 ), and Rui Damásio Alvites ( SFRH/BD/116118/2016 ), acknowledge FCT , for financial support. This research was supported by Projects PEst-OE/AGR/UI0211/2011 from FCT, and COMPETE 2020, from ANI ? Projetos ID&T Empresas em Copromo??o, by the project ?insitu.Biomas ? Reinvent biomanufacturing systems by using an usability approach for in situ clinic temporary implants fabrication? with the reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-017771, by the project ?Print-on-Organs ? Engineering bioinks and processes for direct printing on organs? with the reference POCI-01-0247-FEDER-033877, and by the project ?Bone2Move - Development of ?in vivo? experimental techniques and modelling methodologies for the evaluation of 4D scaffolds for bone defect in sheep model: an integrative research approach? with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031146. Mariana Vieira Branquinho (SFRH/BD/146172/2019), Ana Catarina Sousa (SFRH/BD/146689/2019), and Rui Dam?sio Alvites (SFRH/BD/116118/2016), acknowledge FCT, for financial support

Apoe variants in an iberian alzheimer cohort detected through an optimized sanger sequencing protocol

The primary genetic risk factor for late onset Alzheimer’s disease (LOAD) is the APOE4 allele of Apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene. The three most common variants of APOE are determined by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs429358 and rs7412. Our aim was to estimate allele and genotype frequencies of APOE variants in an Iberian cohort, thus helping to understand differences in APOE-related LOAD risk observed across populations. We analyzed saliva or buccal swab samples from 229 LOAD patients and 89 healthy elderly controls (=68 years old) from Northern Portugal and Castile and León region, Spain. The genotyping was performed by Sanger sequencing, optimized to overcome GC content drawbacks. Results obtained in our Iberian LOAD and control cohorts are in line with previous large meta-analyses on APOE frequencies in Caucasian populations; however, we found differences in allele frequencies between our Portuguese and Spanish subgroups of AD patients. Moreover, when comparing studies from Iberian and other Caucasian cohorts, differences in APOE2 and APOE4 frequencies and subsequent different APOE-related LOAD risks must be clarified. These results show the importance of studying genetic variation at the APOE gene in different populations (including analyses at a regional level) to increase our knowledge about its clinical significance.This work was supported by ‘European Commission’ and ‘European Regional Development Fund’ (FEDER) under the project “Análisis y correlación entre el genoma completo y la actividad cerebral para la ayuda en el diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Alzheimer” (Project 0378_AD_EEGWA_2_P), (Cooperation Programme INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal POCTEP 2014– 2020) and the COMPETE 2020-Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020. Portuguese funds are supporting this work through FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274). IG, AML, SM, and NP are funded by FCT: CEECIND/02609/2017, IF/01262/2014, CEECIND/00684/2017, and through the Decreto-Lei n◦ 57/2016 de 29 de Agosto, respectively. Spanish funds are supporting this work through ‘Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación–Agencia Estatal de Investigación’ and FEDER under project PGC2018-098214-A-I00 and by “CIBER en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN)” through “Instituto de Salud Carlos III” co-funded with FEDER funds

Promoting Reality Awareness in Virtual Reality through Proxemics

Head-Mounted Virtual reality (VR) systems provide full-immersive experiences to users and completely isolate them from the outside world, placing them in unsafe situations. Existing research proposed different alert-based solutions to address this. Our work builds on these studies on notification systems for VR environments from a different perspective. We focus on: (i) exploring alert systems to notify VR users about non-immersed bystanders' in socially related, non-critical interaction contexts; (ii) understanding how best to provide awareness of non-immersed bystanders while maintaining presence and immersion within the Virtual Environment(VE). To this end, we developed single and combined alert cues - leveraging proxemics, perception channels, and push/pull approaches and evaluated those via two user studies. Our findings indicate a strong preference towards maintaining immersion and combining audio and visual cues, push and pull notification techniques that evolve dynamically based on proximity