Do Registo de Saúde Eletrónico à administração de medicamentos assistida

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Biomédica (área de especialização em Informática Médica)Ao longo dos últimos anos, tem-se assistido a um crescente avanço ao nível das Tecnologias da Informação (TI) e o caso da aplicabilidade das TI à área da saúde não é excepção, dando origem ao que se designa de Tecnologias de Informação da Saúde (TIS). Assim, com o decorrer do tempo e dos ditos avanços, surgiram novas ferramentas, tecnologias e Sistemas de Informação Hospitalar (SIH) com o intuito de melhorar a qualidade da prestação dos serviços das instituições de saúde e, do lado do utente, com o objetivo de proporcionar um acesso cada vez mais eficiente aos cuidados de saúde. Um dos avanços mais significativos na prossecução da interoperabilidade entre sistemas e na centralização da informação é o Registo de Saúde Eletrónico (RSE). Este sistema integra dados do utente provenientes de várias fontes, tornando-se um ativo válido no que diz respeito ao suporte da decisão clínica. Paralelamente a isso, permite ainda o acesso a aplicações para a realização de processos operacionais, tais como a prescrição de medicamentos e exames de forma eletrónica. Partindo destes pressupostos, foi então estudado o estado atual dos avanços destes SIH em Portugal, por forma a perceber de que forma seria possível, com os recursos existentes atualmente, munir o utente de melhores e mais informações acerca da sua saúde. Por isso, o principal objetivo deste projeto de dissertação é desenhar e desenvolver uma aplicação móvel capaz de apoiar o utente no cumprimento das suas obrigações de saúde, sejam elas consequência de eventos numa determinada instituição ou mesmo a toma de medicamentos prescritos. Para além disso, é também pretendido que, para além do possível apoio conseguido através da aplicação criada, se consiga ainda criar uma comunidade de auxílio ao utente, através da criação de um agregado. A principal motivação é, portanto, uma melhoria na qualidade da saúde do utente, através de um acompanhamento monitorizado e o mais individualizado possível. Metodologicamente, partiu-se de uma análise completa aos dados provenientes do Portal do Serviço Nacional de Saúde (SNS) e de outras instituições de saúde, com o intuito de contornar a inexistência de uma API e conseguir extrair e tratar os dados e, posteriormente, carregá-los na Base de Dados (BD) que alimenta a aplicação. Ultrapassada essa dificuldade, comprova-se então a possibilidade de agregar toda a informação de um mesmo utente numa só aplicação, com a devida autenticação.Over the years, we have witnessed a growth in the Information Technologies (IT) field and the case of the IT’s applicability to healthcare is no exception, originating the so-called Health Information Technologies. Thus, with these advances, new tools, technologies and Hospital Information Systems (HIS) have emerged with the aim of improving the quality of health care provided by health institutions and, on the user side, with the objective to provide increasingly efficient access to health care. One of the most significant advances in the pursuit of interoperability between systems and the centralization of information is the Electronic Health Record (EHR). This system integrates user’s data from several sources, making it a valid asset with respect to clinical decision support. Parallel to this, it also allows access for operational processes, such as medical prescription of medication and exams electronically. Based on these assumptions, the current state of progress of these systems in Portugal was studied in order to understand how, with the existing resources, it would be possible to provide the user with better and more information about their health. Therefore, the main objective of this dissertation project is to design and develop a mobile app capable of supporting the user in the fulfillment of their health obligations. In addition, it is also intended that, besides the app support, the user can get extra support, by creating an aggregate. The main motivation is, therefore, an improvement in the user’s healthcare quality, monitoring it and as individualized as possible. Methodologically, it started with a complete analysis of data provided by Serviço Nacional da Saúde (SNS) and other healthcare institutions, with the aim of overcoming the inexistence of an API, and to be able to extract, transform and then load data into the Database (DB) that provides the app. By overcoming this difficulty, with the proper authentication, it is proved to be possible to aggregate all patient’s EHR in a single app

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora