Analysis of Temporal Variations in Dermoscopy Images of Pigmented Skin Lesions by Machine Learning Techniques

Each year more people are diagnosed with skin cancer all over the world. The large incidence in populations is causing a huge concern to the scientific community, which leads the development of multiple studies related to diagnose this type of cancer.Therefore computer-aided systems are becoming more important in this field due to the challenging task of discriminate benign from malignant skin lesions. These systems can process several images and are intended to make a decision based on the diagnosis achieved by the processing of the images which will reduce the dependency on the experience of the dermatologist and the time consumed in the visual interpretation of each lesion.The main goal of this thesis is the study of the evolution of pigmented skin lesions. Starting from two images of the same lesion at different moments of evaluation, that is the identification of changes that may lead to the intervention of the specialist. These possible alterations may be evidenced through image processing techniques implemented using MATLAB which may help the physician to make a decision. This work addresses three main steps in image processing namely pre-processing, segmentation and feature extraction and aims to obtain results based on the temporal analysis of the lesion

SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O consumo de bebidas alcoólicas nos adolescentes

Projecto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em EnfermagemFoi escolhido o tema “O consumo de bebidas alcoólicas nos adolescentes”, por se considerar pertinente, visto que os padrões de consumo de álcool nos adolescentes, são o reflexo das transformações na nossa sociedade. Julgou-se interessante, tanto para a comunidade em geral para a Enfermagem. Delineou-se, então a questão de investigação para o presente estudo: “Como se caracteriza actualmente o consumo de álcool dos adolescentes na comunidade de Águas Santas?” Definiu-se como objectivos a atingir: Caracterizar os padrões de consumo de álcool nos adolescentes, identificar quais os principais contextos de consumo de álcool e quais factores promotores do consumo de álcool. Verificou-se que o consumo de álcool passou a ser uma componente dinamizadora dos tempos livres de muitos jovens. Desde cedo, beber uma cerveja com os amigos é considerado um acto social válido e faz parte das tarefas da adolescência, um dos marcos que indicam a entrada na vida adulta. Actualmente o álcool é sinónimo de noite, emancipação e diversão, isto apesar de todos os riscos que acarreta. Para Michel (2002) o álcool é uma droga subestimada, pois a nossa cultura encara-a como fonte integrante de uma vida “normal”. Assim, ela integra praticamente todos os ambientes e situações: aparece nos finais de semana, como momento de lazer, associa-se a desportos, viagens e trabalho. Neste estudo verificou-se que 63,6% dos indivíduos consome habitualmente álcool aos fins de semana, que a maioria dos jovens bebe entre 2 a 6 copos, que 90,9% considera normal o seu consumo de álcool, que o efeito negativo do álcool mais apontado é os vómitos (29%), 61% dos jovens opta por bebidas brancas e que a maioria dos inquiridos iniciou o consumo de bebidas alcoólicas entre os 13 e os 15 anos. The subject was chosen “The consumption of alcoholic drinks in the adolescents”, because of being considered relevant, accepted that the standards of consumption of alcohol in the adolescents are the reflex of the transformations in our society. It considered itself interesting, so much for the community in general for the Nursing. It was outlined, then, the question of investigation for the present study: “As there is characterized at present the consumption of alcohol of the adolescents in community of Águas Santas?” It was defined as objectives to reach: To characterize the standards of consumption of alcohol in the adolescents, identify which the principal contexts of consumption of alcohol and which factors promoters of the consumption of alcohol. One checked that the consumption of alcohol started to be a strong component of the free times of many young persons. From early, to drink a beer with friends is considered a social valid act, and makes part of the tasks of the adolescence, one of the landmarks, that indicate the entry in the adult life. At present, the alcohol is a synonym at night, emancipation and amusement, this in spite of all the risks that it brings. For Michel (2002), the alcohol is an underestimated drug, since it faces our culture like integrant fountain of a “normal” life. So, it integrates practically all the environments and situations: appear in the ends of week, like leisure, it is associated to sports, travels and work. In this study one checked that 63,6% of the individuals usually consumes alcohol to every weekend, that most of the young persons drink between 2 to 6 glasses, that 90,9% finds his consumption of alcohol normal, that the negative effect of the most pointed alcohol is the vomiting (29%), 61% of the young persons opts for white drinks and most of the cross-examined ones began the consumption of alcoholic drinks between the 13 and 15 years

O consumo de bebidas alcoólicas nos adolescentes

Projecto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em EnfermagemFoi escolhido o tema “O consumo de bebidas alcoólicas nos adolescentes”, por se considerar pertinente, visto que os padrões de consumo de álcool nos adolescentes, são o reflexo das transformações na nossa sociedade. Julgou-se interessante, tanto para a comunidade em geral para a Enfermagem. Delineou-se, então a questão de investigação para o presente estudo: “Como se caracteriza actualmente o consumo de álcool dos adolescentes na comunidade de Águas Santas?” Definiu-se como objectivos a atingir: Caracterizar os padrões de consumo de álcool nos adolescentes, identificar quais os principais contextos de consumo de álcool e quais factores promotores do consumo de álcool. Verificou-se que o consumo de álcool passou a ser uma componente dinamizadora dos tempos livres de muitos jovens. Desde cedo, beber uma cerveja com os amigos é considerado um acto social válido e faz parte das tarefas da adolescência, um dos marcos que indicam a entrada na vida adulta. Actualmente o álcool é sinónimo de noite, emancipação e diversão, isto apesar de todos os riscos que acarreta. Para Michel (2002) o álcool é uma droga subestimada, pois a nossa cultura encara-a como fonte integrante de uma vida “normal”. Assim, ela integra praticamente todos os ambientes e situações: aparece nos finais de semana, como momento de lazer, associa-se a desportos, viagens e trabalho. Neste estudo verificou-se que 63,6% dos indivíduos consome habitualmente álcool aos fins de semana, que a maioria dos jovens bebe entre 2 a 6 copos, que 90,9% considera normal o seu consumo de álcool, que o efeito negativo do álcool mais apontado é os vómitos (29%), 61% dos jovens opta por bebidas brancas e que a maioria dos inquiridos iniciou o consumo de bebidas alcoólicas entre os 13 e os 15 anos. The subject was chosen “The consumption of alcoholic drinks in the adolescents”, because of being considered relevant, accepted that the standards of consumption of alcohol in the adolescents are the reflex of the transformations in our society. It considered itself interesting, so much for the community in general for the Nursing. It was outlined, then, the question of investigation for the present study: “As there is characterized at present the consumption of alcohol of the adolescents in community of Águas Santas?” It was defined as objectives to reach: To characterize the standards of consumption of alcohol in the adolescents, identify which the principal contexts of consumption of alcohol and which factors promoters of the consumption of alcohol. One checked that the consumption of alcohol started to be a strong component of the free times of many young persons. From early, to drink a beer with friends is considered a social valid act, and makes part of the tasks of the adolescence, one of the landmarks, that indicate the entry in the adult life. At present, the alcohol is a synonym at night, emancipation and amusement, this in spite of all the risks that it brings. For Michel (2002), the alcohol is an underestimated drug, since it faces our culture like integrant fountain of a “normal” life. So, it integrates practically all the environments and situations: appear in the ends of week, like leisure, it is associated to sports, travels and work. In this study one checked that 63,6% of the individuals usually consumes alcohol to every weekend, that most of the young persons drink between 2 to 6 glasses, that 90,9% finds his consumption of alcohol normal, that the negative effect of the most pointed alcohol is the vomiting (29%), 61% of the young persons opts for white drinks and most of the cross-examined ones began the consumption of alcoholic drinks between the 13 and 15 years

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

Konkurenční analýza stavebního spoření

Seznámení s problematikou stavebního spoření a jeho využití při řešení bytové situace. Porovnání současných podmínek s podmínkami platnými do 31.12.2003. Zhodnocení dané problematiky u jednotlivých staveních spořitelen. Zhodnocení SS do budoucna a jeho dopady do státního rozpočtu

Species distribution modelling: contrasting presence-only models with plot abundance data

Species distribution models (SDMs) are widely used in ecology and conservation. Presence-only SDMs such as MaxEnt frequently use natural history collections (NHCs) as occurrence data, given their huge numbers and accessibility. NHCs are often spatially biased which may generate inaccuracies in SDMs. Here, we test how the distribution of NHCs and MaxEnt predictions relates to a spatial abundance model, based on a large plot dataset for Amazonian tree species, using inverse distance weighting (IDW). We also propose a new pipeline to deal with inconsistencies in NHCs and to limit the area of occupancy of the species. We found a significant but weak positive relationship between the distribution of NHCs and IDW for 66% of the species. The relationship between SDMs and IDW was also significant but weakly positive for 95% of the species, and sensitivity for both analyses was high. Furthermore, the pipeline removed half of the NHCs records. Presence-only SDM applications should consider this limitation, especially for large biodiversity assessments projects, when they are automatically generated without subsequent checking. Our pipeline provides a conservative estimate of a species’ area of occupancy, within an area slightly larger than its extent of occurrence, compatible to e.g. IUCN red list assessments

NEOTROPICAL ALIEN MAMMALS: a data set of occurrence and abundance of alien mammals in the Neotropics

Biological invasion is one of the main threats to native biodiversity. For a species to become invasive, it must be voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into a nonnative habitat. Mammals were among first taxa to be introduced worldwide for game, meat, and labor, yet the number of species introduced in the Neotropics remains unknown. In this data set, we make available occurrence and abundance data on mammal species that (1) transposed a geographical barrier and (2) were voluntarily or involuntarily introduced by humans into the Neotropics. Our data set is composed of 73,738 historical and current georeferenced records on alien mammal species of which around 96% correspond to occurrence data on 77 species belonging to eight orders and 26 families. Data cover 26 continental countries in the Neotropics, ranging from Mexico and its frontier regions (southern Florida and coastal-central Florida in the southeast United States) to Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, and the 13 countries of Caribbean islands. Our data set also includes neotropical species (e.g., Callithrix sp., Myocastor coypus, Nasua nasua) considered alien in particular areas of Neotropics. The most numerous species in terms of records are from Bos sp. (n = 37,782), Sus scrofa (n = 6,730), and Canis familiaris (n = 10,084); 17 species were represented by only one record (e.g., Syncerus caffer, Cervus timorensis, Cervus unicolor, Canis latrans). Primates have the highest number of species in the data set (n = 20 species), partly because of uncertainties regarding taxonomic identification of the genera Callithrix, which includes the species Callithrix aurita, Callithrix flaviceps, Callithrix geoffroyi, Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix kuhlii, Callithrix penicillata, and their hybrids. This unique data set will be a valuable source of information on invasion risk assessments, biodiversity redistribution and conservation-related research. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this data paper when using the data in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us on how they are using the data

Global variation in postoperative mortality and complications after cancer surgery: a multicentre, prospective cohort study in 82 countries

© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licenseBackground: 80% of individuals with cancer will require a surgical procedure, yet little comparative data exist on early outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared postoperative outcomes in breast, colorectal, and gastric cancer surgery in hospitals worldwide, focusing on the effect of disease stage and complications on postoperative mortality. Methods: This was a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of consecutive adult patients undergoing surgery for primary breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer requiring a skin incision done under general or neuraxial anaesthesia. The primary outcome was death or major complication within 30 days of surgery. Multilevel logistic regression determined relationships within three-level nested models of patients within hospitals and countries. Hospital-level infrastructure effects were explored with three-way mediation analyses. This study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03471494. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and Jan 31, 2019, we enrolled 15 958 patients from 428 hospitals in 82 countries (high income 9106 patients, 31 countries; upper-middle income 2721 patients, 23 countries; or lower-middle income 4131 patients, 28 countries). Patients in LMICs presented with more advanced disease compared with patients in high-income countries. 30-day mortality was higher for gastric cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (adjusted odds ratio 3·72, 95% CI 1·70–8·16) and for colorectal cancer in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (4·59, 2·39–8·80) and upper-middle-income countries (2·06, 1·11–3·83). No difference in 30-day mortality was seen in breast cancer. The proportion of patients who died after a major complication was greatest in low-income or lower-middle-income countries (6·15, 3·26–11·59) and upper-middle-income countries (3·89, 2·08–7·29). Postoperative death after complications was partly explained by patient factors (60%) and partly by hospital or country (40%). The absence of consistently available postoperative care facilities was associated with seven to 10 more deaths per 100 major complications in LMICs. Cancer stage alone explained little of the early variation in mortality or postoperative complications. Interpretation: Higher levels of mortality after cancer surgery in LMICs was not fully explained by later presentation of disease. The capacity to rescue patients from surgical complications is a tangible opportunity for meaningful intervention. Early death after cancer surgery might be reduced by policies focusing on strengthening perioperative care systems to detect and intervene in common complications. Funding: National Institute for Health Research Global Health Research Unit