Raspcare: A Telemedicine Platform for the Treatment and Monitoring of Patients with Chronic Diseases

Metabolic and electrophysiological measures must remain within normal values to maintain the quality of life of chronic patients. Furthermore, depending on the age and disease stage of the individual, automatic identification of risk situations is critical for emergency support. To achieve these goals, this study proposes a technological solution termed Raspcare to help both the patients in their self-care and the medical teams monitoring the patients. The solution consists of a domestic gateway equipped with a microcontroller and various interfaces to allow interaction between the platform and household devices, such as televisions, biometric sensors, blood glucose metres, non-invasive pressure gauges, smartphones and smartwatches, among others. The gateway implements a Linux OS application responsible for executing the user’s health plan, which involves periodic measurements, medications and dietary care. Moreover, the application has data processing algorithms to establish alerts for the automatic detection of abnormal measurements and falls

Antioxidant and antiulcer potential of aqueous leaf extract of Kigelia africana against ethanol-induced ulcer in rats

Ethnobotanical claims regarding Kigelia africana reported antiulcer properties as part of its medicinal application. In this work, aqueous leaf extract from K. africana was investigated for its phytochemical constituents and antiulcer potential against ethanol-induced ulcer in rats. The participation of oxidative stress on ethanol-induced ulcer and the potential protective antioxidant activity of K. africana extracts were investigated by determining vitamin C and thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) contents in the gastric mucosa of rats. The HPLC analysis showed the presence of gallic acid, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and also the flavonoids rutin, quercetin and kaempferol in the aqueous plant extract. Oral treatment with K. africana extract (1.75; 3.5; 7 and 14mg/kg) one hour after ulcer induction with ethanol decreased in a dose dependent manner the ulcer index. Ethanol increased significantly stomachal TBARS levels and decreased vitamin C content when compared to the control animals. K. africana blunted the ethanol-induced oxidative stress and restored vitamin C content to the control levels. The present results indicate that the aqueous leaf extract from K. africana possesses antiulcer potential. The presence of flavonoids in plant extract suggests that its antiulcerogenic potential is associated with antioxidant activity. Of particular therapeutic potential, K. africana was effective against ethanol even after the induction of ulcer, indicating that it can have protective and curative effects against gastric lesion

Assessing the validity of the MyJump2 app for measuring different jumps in professional cerebral palsy football players: an experimental study

Background: Vertical jumps can be used to assess neuromuscular status in sports performance. This is particularly important in Cerebral Palsy Football (CP Football) because players are exposed to high injury risk, but it may be complicated because the gold standard for assessing jump performance is scarce in field evaluation. Thus, field techniques, such as mobile apps, have been proposed as an alternative method for solving this problem. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the reliability of the measures of the MyJump2 app to assess vertical jump performance in professional CP Football. Methods: We assessed 40 male CP Football athletes (age 28.1 [SD 1.4] years, weight 72.5 [SD 6.2] kg, and height 176 [SD 4.2] cm) through the countermovement jump (CMJ) and squat jump (SJ) using a contact mat. At the same time, we assessed the athletes using the MyJump2 app. Results: There were no significant differences between the instruments in SJ height (P=.12) and flight time (P=.15). Additionally, there were no significant differences between the instruments for CMJ in jump height (P=.16) and flight time (P=.13). In addition, it was observed that there were significant and strong intraclass correlations in all SJ variables varying from 0.86 to 0.89 (both P<.001), which was classified as "almost perfect." Similar results were observed in all variables from the CMJ, varying from 0.92 to 0.96 (both P <=.001). Conclusions: We conclude that the MyJump2 app presents high validity and reliability for measuring jump height and flight time of the SJ and CMJ in CP Football athletes.7

Differential impact of heat stress on reef-building corals under different light conditions

Heat stress is an environmental factor that regularly challenges the well-being of living organisms. This study aims to examine the physiological changes happening in two reef-building coral species exposed to thermal stress under various light conditions. The two ecologically relevant heatwave scenarios were applied under ambient lights (high irradiance) and reduced light conditions (250 and < 10 μmol photons m s). Corals were exposed to elevated temperatures of 32°C (plus 6°) for a period of 1 up to 5 days corresponding to heatwaves reported on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) that were associated with coral bleaching. We monitored changes in the physiological performance of these two coral species by measuring symbionts and corals’ physiological parameters including symbiont density, levels of multiple algal pigments (chlorophyll a and peridinin), as well as the changes in the host protein concentration. During the short-term heat stress, both species were with stable physiological performance with the only exception of Stylophora pistillata under ambient lights. These results show that S. pistillata was negatively influenced by a synergistic effect of temperature and high irradiance resulting in the first signs of bleaching after only 24h of thermal stress. Exposure to prolonged thermal stress, characterised with a slower rate of temperature increase, affected both coral species investigated and resulted in bleaching mainly by day 5. Interestingly, severe light reduction

Microwave-hydrothermal synthesis of nanostructured Na-birnessites and phase transformation by arsenic(III) oxidation.

Microwave-hydrothermal synthesis was employed to produce Na-birnessites. Crystalline, single-phase materials were obtained at temperatures as low as 120 8C and times as short as 1 min. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the structural features of the nanostructured powders. Birnessites possessed a monoclinic structure in space group C2/m with nine Raman-active bands, all of which were observed for the first time due to optimized acquisition of the spectroscopic data. The highly reactive materials produced were submitted to sorption experiments with As(III). An oxidative precipitation occurred with the production of Mn(II) arsenate at higher arsenic concentrations. In addition, the formation of hausmannite (Mn3O4) was confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Raman analyses of the reacted solid phase. The observed 14 Raman-active modes were adjusted according to the tetragonal I41/amd space group for hausmannite. An additional band related to the breathing mode of the arsenate was observed, leading to the conclusion that adsorption onto hausmannite takes place in addition to the oxidative precipitation of manganese arsenate

Seawater carbonate chemistry and endosymbiont density, photosynthesis and net calcification rates of reef-building coral Pocillopora damicornis

Ocean acidification is a growing threat to coral growth and the accretion of coral reef ecosystems. Corals inhabiting environments that already endure extreme diel pCO2 fluctuations, however, may represent acidification-resilient populations capable of persisting on future reefs. Here, we examined the impact of pCO2 variability on the reef-building coral Pocillopora damicornis originating from reefs with contrasting environmental histories (variable reef flat versus stable reef slope) following reciprocal exposure to stable (218 ± 9) or variable (911 ± 31) diel pCO2 amplitude (μtam) in aquaria over eight weeks. Endosymbiont density, photosynthesis and net calcification rates differed between origins but not treatment, whereas primary calcification (extension) was affected by both origin and acclimatization to novel pCO2 conditions. At the cellular level, corals from the variable reef flat exhibited less intracellular pH (pHi) acidosis and faster pHi recovery rates in response to experimental acidification stress (pH 7.40) than corals originating from the stable reef slope, suggesting environmental memory gained from lifelong exposure to pCO2 variability led to an improved ability to regulate acid–base homeostasis. These results highlight the role of cellular processes in maintaining acidification resilience and suggest that prior exposure to pCO2 variability may promote more acidification-resilient coral populations in a changing climate

Aplicação de técnicas de aprendizado de máquina para classificar a satisfação de clientes de serviços de telefonia celular

Medir a qualidade dos serviços de telecomunicações móveis é muito importante para operadoras de telefonia, já que existem mais aparelhos celulares do que habitantes no território brasileiro. A qualidade nesse setor é medida através da satisfação dos clientes, cujos dados podem ser coletados por meio de questionários. Com isso, a utilização de técnicas de aprendizado de máquina (AM) pode ajudar a melhor compreender os fatores que afetam a classificação dos usuários de telefonia celular. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho é aplicar técnicas de AM em uma base de dados da Agência Nacional deTelecomunicações (ANATEL) para determinar quais são os fatores mais importantes no serviço de telecomunicações para a satisfação dos clientes das operadoras. Este estudo também avaliou o grau de satisfação de clientes considerados neutros segundo a escala Net Promoter Score (NPS). Os resultados indicam que o algoritmo Random Forest apresentou os melhores resultados em termos de desempenho preditivo. Com relação às importâncias dos atributos, percebeu-se que a qualidade da internet, em estabilidade ou velocidade, tem muita importância na satisfação dos clientes

Bleaching and mortality of a photosymbiotic bioeroding sponge under future carbon dioxide emission scenarios

The bioeroding sponge Cliona orientalis is photosymbiotic with dinoflagellates of the genus Symbiodinium and is pervasive on the Great Barrier Reef. We investigated how C. orientalis responded to past and future ocean conditions in a simulated community setting. The experiment lasted over an Austral summer under four carbon dioxide emission scenarios: a pre-industrial scenario (PI), a present-day scenario (PD; control), and two future scenarios of combined ocean acidification and ocean warming, i.e., B1 (intermediate) and A1FI (extreme). The four scenarios also simulated natural variability of carbon dioxide partial pressure and temperature in seawater. Responses of C. orientalis generally remained similar between the PI and PD treatments. C. orientalis under B1 displayed a dramatic increase in lateral tissue extension, but bleached and displayed reduced rates of respiration and photosynthesis. Some B1 sponge replicates died by the end of the experiment. Under A1FI, strong bleaching and subsequent mortality of all C. orientalis replicates occurred at an early stage of the experiment. Mortality arrested bioerosion by C. orientalis under B1 and A1FI. Overall, the absolute amount of calcium carbonate eroded by C. orientalis under B1 or A1FI was similar to that under PI or PD at the end of the experiment. Although bioerosion rates were raised by short-term experimental acidification in previous studies, our findings from the photosymbiotic C. orientalis imply that the effects of bioerosion on reef carbonate budgets may only be temporary if the bioeroders cannot survive long-term in the future oceans

Marine heatwaves modulate the genotypic and physiological responses of reef‐building corals to subsequent heat stress

Abstract Back‐to‐back marine heatwaves in 2016 and 2017 resulted in severe coral bleaching and mortality across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Encouragingly, some corals that survived these events exhibit increased bleaching resistance and may represent thermally tolerant populations that can better cope with ocean warming. Using the GBR as a natural laboratory, we investigated whether a history of minimal (Heron Island) or severe (Lizard Island) coral bleaching in 2016 and 2017 equates to stress tolerance in a successive heatwave (2020). We examined the genetic diversity, physiological performance, and trophic plasticity of juvenile (25 cm) corals of two common genera (Pocillopora and Stylophora). Despite enduring greater cumulative heat stress (6.3°C week−1 vs. 5.6°C week−1), corals that experienced the third marine heatwave in 5 years (Lizard) exhibited twice as high survival and visual bleaching thresholds compared to corals that had not experienced significant bleaching in >10 years (Heron). Surprisingly, only one shared host–Symbiodiniaceae association was uncovered between locations (Stylophora pistillata–Cladocopium “C8 group”) and there was no genetic overlap in Pocillopora–Cladocopium partnerships, suggesting turnover in species composition from recent marine heatwaves. Corals within the species complex Pocillopora that survived the 2016 and 2017 marine heatwaves at Lizard Island were the most resilient, exhibiting three times greater calcification rates than conspecifics at Heron Island. Further, surviving corals (Lizard) had distinct isotopic niches, lower host carbon, and greater host protein, while conspecifics that had not experienced recent bleaching (Heron) had two times greater symbiont carbon content, suggesting divergent trophic strategies that influenced survival (i.e., greater reliance on heterotrophy vs. symbiont autotrophy, respectively). Ultimately, while corals may experience less bleaching and survive repeated thermal stress events, species‐specific trade‐offs do occur, leaving open many questions related to the long‐term health and recovery of coral reef ecosystems in the face of intensifying marine heatwaves