Ambient intelligence for monitoring weight and physical activity

Dissertação de mestrado em Engenharia InformáticaWe have an increasingly sedentary population without the concern about a healthy diet. Therefore, it becomes necessary to give the population the opportunity, despite living a very busy and tiring life, to have control over important aspects of their health. This work aims to analyze and evaluate the impact of an ambient intelligence system on weight control and physical activity in active individuals. To accomplish this objective we have developed a mobile application that allows users to monitor their weight over a period of time, identify the amount of food they consume and the amount of exercise they practice. University students will be invited and selected, in a first stage, to participate in this study. All of the students must be considered “active students”, according to our selection criteria. Students with physical disabilities will be excluded from the study. This mobile application gives information to the users about dietary and physical activity guidelines in order to improve their lifestyles. It is expected that students improve their lifestyles

Sistema flexível de realidade aumentada de baixo custo com base em projecção estereoscópica

A Realidade Aumentada usa a renderização de modelos de objectos para complementar informação numa cena física. Para conseguir este objectivo (atingir esta meta), esses modelos necessitam de ser referenciados aos objectos físicos que é suposto serem aumentados. Esta referenciação requer uma calibração dos dispositivos usados para a projecção das imagens aumentadas, assim como dos dispositivos usados para adquirir a informação 3D da cena física. No caso de o aumento de realidade incluir nova geometria, as imagens aumentadas deverão ser projectadas e visualizadas em estéreo, de modo que a cena composta resultante faça sentido. Usualmente, bons exemplos de realidade aumentada são muito caros e as soluções implementadas são rígidas. Neste artigo descrevemos uma arquitectura e a sua implementação como um sistema flexível e de baixo custo, para criação e projecção de realidade aumentada. Na secção final apontamos alguns desenvolvimentos futuros para este sistema, requerendo mais experimentação

Monitoring weight and physical activity using an amI setting

We have an increasingly sedentary population without the care to make a healthy diet. Therefore, it becomes necessary to give the population the opportunity, despite living a very busy and tiring life, to have control over important aspects to their health. This work aims to present a model of an ambient intelligence system for monitoring the weight and physical activity in active individuals. To accomplish this objective we have developed a mobile application that allows users to monitor their weight over a period of time, identify the amount of food they consume and the amount of exercise they practice. This mobile application will give information to users about dietary and physical activity guidelines in order to improve their lifestyles. It is expected that students improve their lifestyles.(undefined

Home energy forecast performance tool for smart living services suppliers under an energy 4.0 and CPS framework

Industry 4.0 is a paradigm consisting of cyber-physical systems based on the interconnection between all sorts of machines, sensors, and actuators, generally known as things. The combination of energy technology and information and technology communication (ICT) enables measure ment, control, and automation to be performed across the distributed grid with high time resolution. Through digital revolution in the energy sector, the term Energy 4.0 emerges in the future electric sector. The growth outlook for appliance usage is increasing and the appearance of renewable energy sources on the electric grid requires strategies to control demand and peak loads. Potential feedback for energy performance is the use of smart meters in conjunction with smart energy man agement; well-designed applications will successfully inform, engage, empower, and motivate con sumers. This paper presents several hands-on tools for load forecasting, comparing previous works and verifying which show the best energy forecasting performance in a smart monitoring system. Simulations were performed based on forecasting of the hours ahead of the load for several households. Special attention was given to the accuracy of the forecasting model for weekdays and weekends. The development of the proposed methods, based on artificial neural networks (ANN), pro vides more reliable forecasting for a few hours ahead and peak loads.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

What should Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian do in order to attract the National Millennials?

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Correção endovascular de aneurismas da aorta abdominal em doentes com anatomia desfavorável: resultados institucionais a curto e médio prazo

ResumoObjetivoDeterminar a influência da anatomia do aneurisma da aorta abdominal (AAA) nos resultados a curto e médio prazo após Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR).MétodosEstudo retrospetivo de todos os doentes com AAA infrarrenal sem menção de rotura submetidos a EVAR aorto‐biilíaco programado na nossa instituição entre 2011‐2013 (n=112). Todos os exames de follow‐up imagiológico foram analisados numa plataforma com Osirix® e foram realizadas medições anatómicas com center lumen line. Apenas foram incluídos os doentes com um follow‐up imagiológico superior a 12 meses, o que resultou na exclusão de 33 (29%) casos. Os doentes foram divididos em 2 grupos: grupo com «anatomia favorável para EVAR» (f‐IFU); grupo com «anatomia desfavorável para EVAR» (df‐IFU).ResultadosDos 79 doentes elegíveis para o estudo, 35,5% (n=28) foram realizados em doentes do grupo df‐IFU. Estes doentes apresentaram AAA com maiores dimensões (64,4± 10,1mm vs. 60,6±10,8mm, p=0,046) e colos mais curtos (19,8±11,8mm vs. 30,4±14,4mm, p=0,001).A endoprótese mais utilizada foi a Endurant® (54,5%). Constatou‐se que o grupo df‐IFU é tratado mais frequentemente com endopróteses com sistema de fixação suprarrenal (85,7% df‐IFU vs. 69% f‐IFU, p=0,048).O tempo médio de follow‐up foi de 21,9±9,8 meses (12‐46 meses).A taxa de mortalidade perioperatória (0% df‐IFU vs. 2% f‐IFU) e a taxa de mortalidade global por todas as causas (12% df‐IFU vs. 11,9% f‐IFU) foi semelhante nos 2 grupos (p >0,05). Não se verificaram diferenças significativas nas taxas de endoleak (curto prazo 25% df‐IFU vs. 22% f‐IFU; médio prazo 12% df‐IFU vs. 23,8% f‐IFU) nem nas taxas de reintervenção (curto prazo 7,2% df‐IFU vs. 8% f‐IFU; médio prazo 4% df‐IFU vs. 4,8% f‐IFU) (p >0,05).ConclusãoA realização de EVAR em doentes com anatomia desfavorável produziu resultados que são comparáveis aos dos doentes com anatomia favorável, quer a curto quer a médio prazo. São necessários estudos a longo prazo para confirmar estes achados.AbstractBackgroundThe goal of this study is to determine the influence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) anatomy in endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) short and mid‐term outcomes.MethodsA total of 112 patients underwent programed aorto‐biiliac EVAR at a single center between January 2011 and December 2013. Pre and postoperative imaging follow‐up were retrospectively reviewed and anatomical measures were calculated on Osirix® with center lumen line. Only patients with a postoperative imaging follow‐up of more than 12 months were included, resulting in the exclusion of thirty three (29%) cases. Patients were divided into 2 groups: the “EVAR suitable anatomy” group (f‐IFU) and the “EVAR challenging anatomy” group (df‐IFU).ResultsA total of 35.5% (n=28) patients were in the df‐IFU group. These patients had larger AAA diameter (64.4±10.1mm vs 60.6±10.8mm) and shorter proximal neck (19.8±11.8mm vs 30.4±14.4mm) (p<0.05).The device preferentially used was Endurant® (54,5%). The df‐IFU group was more likely to be treated with suprarenal fixation devices (85.7% df‐IFU vs 69% f‐IFU, p=.048).Mean follow‐up was 21,9±9,8 months (12‐46).Perioperative mortality (0% df‐IFU vs 2% f‐IFU) and all‐cause mortality rates (12% df‐IFU vs 11,9% f‐IFU) were similar between the two groups (p>0.05). There was no significant difference in endoleak rate (short‐term 25% df‐IFU vs 22% f‐IFU; mid‐term 12% df‐IFU vs 23.8% f‐IFU) and in re‐intervention rates (short‐term 7.2% df‐IFU vs 8% f‐IFU; mid‐term 4% df‐IFU vs 4.8% f‐IFU)(p>0.05).ConclusionEndovascular treatment of AAA patients with challenging anatomy for EVAR provided acceptable short and mid‐term results that are comparable to those in patients with suitable anatomy. Long‐term follow‐up is unreliable necessary to confirm these results

Efectividad de la heparina y el suero fisiológico para mantener la permeabilidad de los catéteres venosos centrales: revisión sistemática

OBJETIVO Determinar qual é a solução (flush heparina comparado com oflushde soro fisiológico 0.9%) mais eficaz na redução do risco de oclusões de cateteres venosos centrais (CVC) em adultos. MÉTODO A revisão sistemática seguiu os princípios propostos pelo Cochrane Handbook; a análise crítica, a extração e a síntese dos dados foram realizadas por dois investigadores, isoladamente; e a análise estatística efetuada com recurso ao programa RevMan 5.2.8. RESULTADOS Foram incluídos oito estudos randomizados controlados e um estudo de coorte e os resultados da meta-análise mostram não existir diferenças (RR=0.68, IC 95%=0.41-1.10; p=0.12). A análise por subgrupos mostra que nos CVC totalmente implantados não se verificaram diferenças (RR=1.09, IC 95%=0.53-2.22; p=0.82); nos CVC com vários lúmens existiu um efeito benéfico no grupo da heparina (RR=0.53, IC 95%=0.29-0.95;p=0.03); nos CVC de duplo lúmen para hemodiálise (RR=1.18, IC 95%=0.08-17.82; p=0.90) e nos CVC de inserção periférica (RR=0.14, IC 95%=0.01-2.60; p=0.19) também não se verificaram diferenças. CONCLUSÃO O soro fisiológico é suficiente para manter a permeabilidade dos cateteres venosos centrais, prevenindo os riscos associados à administração da heparina.OBJETIVO Determinar cuál es la solución (flush con heparina comparado con el de suero fisiológico al 0,9%) más eficaz en la reducción del riesgo de oclusiones de catéteres venosos centrales (CVC) en adultos. MÉTODO La revisión sistemática siguió los principios propuestos por elCochrane Handbook; el análisis crítico, la extracción y la síntesis de los datos fueron realizados por dos investigadores, aisladamente; y el análisis estadístico fue llevado a cabo con recurso al programa RevMan 5.2.8. RESULTADOS Se incluyeron ocho estudios randomizados controlados y un estudio de cohorte, y los resultados del metaanálisis muestran no existir diferencias (RR=0.68, IC 95%=0.41-1.10; p=0.12). El análisis por subgrupos muestra que en los CVC totalmente implantados no se verificaron diferencias (RR=1.09, IC 95%=0.53-2.22; p=0.82); en los CVC con varios lúmenes existió un efecto benéfico en el grupo de la heparina (RR=0.53, IC 95%=0.29-0.95; p=0.03); en los CVC de doble lumen para hemodiálisis (RR=1.18, IC 95%=0.08-17.82; p=0.90) y en los CVC de inserción periférica (RR=0.14, IC 95%=0.01-2.60;p=0.19) tampoco se verificaron diferencias. CONCLUSIÓN El suero fisiológico es suficiente para mantener la permeabilidad de los catéteres venosos centrales, previniendo los riesgos asociados con la administración de la heparina.OBJECTIVE Determining which is the most effective solution (heparin flush compared to 0.9% saline flush) for reducing the risk of occlusions in central venous catheters (CVC) in adults. METHOD The systematic review followed the principles proposed by the Cochrane Handbook; critical analysis, extraction and synthesis of data were performed by two independent researchers; statistical analysis was performed using the RevMan program 5.2.8. RESULTS Eight randomized controlled trials and one cohort study were included and the results of the meta-analysis showed no difference (RR=0.68, 95% CI=0.41-1.10; p=0.12). Analysis by subgroups showed that there was no difference in fully deployed CVC (RR=1.09, CI 95%=0.53-2.22;p=0.82); Multi-Lumen CVC showed beneficial effects in the heparin group (RR=0.53, CI 95%=0.29-0.95; p=0.03); in Double-Lumen CVC for hemodialysis (RR=1.18, CI 95%=0.08-17.82;p=0.90) and Peripherally inserted CVC (RR=0.14, CI 95%=0.01-2.60; p=0.19) also showed no difference. CONCLUSION Saline solution is sufficient for maintaining patency of the central venous catheter, preventing the risks associated with heparin administration

Large chestnut trees did not respond to annual fertiliser applications, requiring a long-term approach to establishing effective fertilisation plans

Due to the high value of the fruit, the European chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), usually grown in agroforestry systems, has been planted as a single species in orchards managed with increasingly intensive cropping practices, such as the regular use of fertilisers. This justifies research into establishing fertilisation programmes oriented towards ecological intensification. In this study, the results of fruit production, plant nutritional status and soil properties are reported from a field trial in which three NPK fertilisers (20:7:10, 13:11:21 and 7:14:14) and a control treatment were used. Chestnut yields did not vary significantly between treatments, although the mean values of the control showed a clear downward trend. N supplied by the fertilisers seems to have been the most important factor in the difference between the fertilised and control treatments, since leaf N concentrations were lower in the control and often below the lower limit of the sufficiency range. Soil inorganic N levels in the autumn, and tissue N concentrations of the herbaceous vegetation developing beneath the trees, indicated risks of N loss to the environment and highlighted the importance of this vegetation remaining during the winter. The chestnuts’ poor response to fertiliser applications was attributed to the buffering effect of the large perennial structure of the trees on the distribution of nutrients to the growing plant parts. In large trees, it seems appropriate to base the annual fertilisation plan on leaf nutrient concentration. Thus, farmers probably should avoid spending money on fertilizer applications as long as leaf nutrient concentrations do not approach the lower limits of sufficiency ranges.This work was funded by the Operational Group “EGIS–Estratégias de Gestão Integrada do Solo e da Água em Espécies Produtoras de Frutos Secos”, funded by PT2020 and EAFRD (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development). The authors are also grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020), SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021) and CITAB (UIDB/04033/2020)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Aerobiological and allergenic analysis of Amaranthaceae pollen in Alentejo Region (South Portugal)

Publisher Copyright: © 2022 Sociedade Portuguesa de Alergologia e Imunologia Clínica. Published by Publicações Ciência & Vida.In recent years, the relevance of pollen of Amaranthaceae plants family as cause of allergy has increased. The plants from this family have the ability to rapidly colonize areas under adverse conditions which has been increase in some regions of the world due to climate change. The objectives of this study were: 1) To analyze the prevalence and aerobiological behavior of Amaranthaceae pollen in the Alentejo region; 2) to analyze the influence of meteorological factors on atmospheric pollen concentrations; and 3) to assess the pollen levels of exposition. Material and methods: For the study, Amaranthaceae pollen data from the Évora monitoring station of the Portuguese Aerobiology Network, from 2001 to 2019, and meteorological data of Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere, were used. Results: Amaranthaceae pollen showed a low representativeness in the pollen spectrum of the atmosphere, always < 1%. The average pollen Index was 400 ± 112 pollen grains. Amaranthaceae pollen season occurred between April and October, with an average duration of 161 ± 16 days, and with two distinct peaks periods, one in the spring and the other in the summer. Correlations between daily pollen counts and meteorological parameters were obtained. Exposure levels above 10 grains/m3 were mostly recorded in May, but also in early June, in August and September. Conclusion: Despite the low representativeness in the pollen spectrum of the atmosphere, its presence in the air in low concentrations, this pollen type may be an im-portant cause of pollen allergy in region. Amaranthaceae pollen occurs in the air with other pollens with high allergological capacity simultaneously, with grasses and olive trees pollens, with which it presents cross-reactivity. This study shows the importance of Amaranthaceae pollen monitoring and its clinical usefulness for improving the quality of life of patients with pollen sensitization.publishersversionpublishe