UnB Sense : a web application to probe for signs of depression from user profiles on social media

Trabalho de Conclusão de Curso (graduação)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Ciência da Computação, 2019.Research on computerized models that help detect, study and understand signs of mental health disorders from social media has been thriving since the mid-2000s for English speakers. In Brazil, this area of research shows promising results, in addition to a variety of niches that still need exploring. Thus, we construct a large corpus from 2941 users (1486 depressive, 1455 non-depressive), and induce machine learning models to identify signs of depression from our Twitter corpus. In order to achieve our goal, we extract features by measuring linguistic style, behavioral patterns, and affect from users’ public tweets and metadata. Resulting models successfully distinguish between depressive and non-depressive classes with performance scores comparable to results in the literature (F1 = 0.798, precision = 0.806, recall = 0.807). Last but not least, we develop an online platform to allow Twitter users to probe their profiles for signs of depression. By doing so, we hope to empower users to better understand their signals and to steer them to seek professional assistance whenever needed

Treatment wetlands

Treatment Wetlands is the seventh volume in the Biological Wastewater Treatment series, which gives a state-of-the-art presentation of the science and technology of sewage treatment. The major variants of wetland systems are covered in this volume, namely: (i) horizontal flow wetlands; (ii) vertical flow wetlands; (iii) French vertical flow wetlands; (iv) intensified wetlands; (v) free water surface wetlands; (vi) other applications of treatment wetlands. The book presents in a clear and didactic way the main concepts, working principles, expected performance, design criteria, design examples, construction aspects and operational guidelines. The book has been written by an international team of top experts in the field of treatment wetlands.Postprint (published version

Treatment Wetlands

Overview of Treatment Wetlands; Fundamentals of Treatment Wetlands; Horizontal Flow Wetlands; Vertical Flow Wetlands; French Vertical Flow Wetlands; Intensified and Modified Wetlands; Free Water Surface Wetlands; Other Applications; Additional Aspects

Liver-directed chemotherapy of cetuximab and bevacizumab in combination with oxaliplatin is more effective to inhibit tumor growth of CC531 colorectal rat liver metastases than systemic chemotherapy

Colorectal carcinoma is, through to its high rate of liver metastasis (mCRC), the second most cause of cancer death worldwide. Tumor resection represents the only potential cure. In cases of unresectable disease systemic chemotherapy (sCHT) remains the therapy of choice. Modern sCHT regimens including biological agents can induce tumor response that leads to curative surgery of initially unresectable mCRC. However, liver-directed therapy via hepatic arterial infusion (HAI) may produce higher response rates than sCHT. Herein we studied whether a HAI of cetuximab (CE) plus bevacizumab (BE) with or without oxaliplatin (OX) can inhibit tumor growth in a rat model. WAG/Rij rats underwent subcapsular hepatic tumor implantation. After 10 days animals received either HAI or sCHT of CE plus BE, OX or all three drugs. Saline-treated animals served as controls. Tumor growth was estimated at day 10 and 13. On day 13 liver and tumor tissue was studied histologically and immunohistochemically. In controls the tumors grew about 50 %. OX alone was not capable of inhibiting tumor growth. In contrast, CE plus BE given as HAI significantly reduced tumor growth compared to sCHT (p < 0.05). HAI of CE plus BE combined with OX yielded an even more pronounced inhibition of tumor growth. Immunohistochemistry revealed a decreased tumor cell proliferation and tumor vascularization. The present study demonstrates that HAI of CE plus BE is effective to inhibit tumor growth. This effect is even more pronounced in combination with OX. Systemic application of these agents cannot achieve comparable effects

Noble Metal Nanoparticles for Biosensing Applications

In the last decade the use of nanomaterials has been having a great impact in biosensing. In particular, the unique properties of noble metal nanoparticles have allowed for the development of new biosensing platforms with enhanced capabilities in the specific detection of bioanalytes. Noble metal nanoparticles show unique physicochemical properties (such as ease of functionalization via simple chemistry and high surface-to-volume ratios) that allied with their unique spectral and optical properties have prompted the development of a plethora of biosensing platforms. Additionally, they also provide an additional or enhanced layer of application for commonly used techniques, such as fluorescence, infrared and Raman spectroscopy. Herein we review the use of noble metal nanoparticles for biosensing strategies—from synthesis and functionalization to integration in molecular diagnostics platforms, with special focus on those that have made their way into the diagnostics laboratory