The Exhaled Volatilome as a Predictor of Cardiorespiratory Fitness in a Healthy Adults

A aptidão cardiorrespiratória (CRF) é um indicador crítico da saúde geral e frequentemente considerada um sinal vital. No entanto, os métodos tradicionais de avaliação, como o teste de VO2 max, são inconvenientes e impraticáveis para avaliações frequentes. Esta tese explora o potencial da breathomics, um método de análise de compostos orgânicos voláteis (VOCs) exalados, como uma alternativa mais eficiente e segura para a avaliação da aptidão cardiorrespiratória. Sessenta e quatro adultos saudáveis (idade: 35,1±11,3 anos, 87,5% homens) foram submetidos à análise de breathomics, que consistiu na colheita dos seus VOCs individuais, estando em jejum de pelo menos 3 horas, seguindo um procedimento preliminar de respiração de 2 minutos através de um filtro A2, sendo posteriormente analisados pelo Cyranose 320 eNose. Adicionalmente, os participantes realizaram um teste de VO2 max, pedalando com intensidades crescentes por cerca de 15 minutos até à exaustão, para avaliar o VO2 max e a CRF. Vinte participantes foram identificados com um perfil breathomics distinto (DBP), caracterizado pelos sensores S4 e S26 do eNose. Análises adicionais revelaram uma incidência significativamente maior de indivíduos que não atingiram os valores estimados de VO2 max específicos para idade e género no grupo DBP (66,7%, p<0,001). Além disso, foram encontradas discrepâncias significativas nos valores médios de VO2 entre os grupos, com aqueles que exibiam o DBP a apresentar valores mais baixos (40,8±6,1 vs 46,4±11,0, p=0,011). Mesmo após ajustar para possíveis fatores de confusão, os indivíduos com DBP mostraram 17,4 vezes mais probabilidade de ter valores de VO2 abaixo dos critérios de VO2 max (OR 95%, CI = 17,4 [4,0, 100,8], p<0,001). Observa-se que o sensor S4 se correlaciona com cetonas, metabolismo e músculos esqueléticos, enquanto o S26 está ligado ao óxido nítrico exalado fracionado (FeNO) e à inflamação das vias aéreas. Isto enfatiza o potencial promissor da breathomics na previsão dos resultados de VO2, possibilitando a monitorização contínua da aptidão cardiorrespiratória em diversos cenários de exercício e saúde. Palavras-chave: Volatiloma; Aptidão Cardiorrespiratória; Saúde Pública; Biomarcadores; VOCsCardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) serves as a critical indicator of overall health, often regarded as a vital sign. However, traditional assessment methods such as VO2 max testing, are incommodious and impractical for frequent evaluation. This thesis explores the potential of breathomics, an analyzing method for exhaled volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as a more efficient and safer alternative for cardiorespiratory fitness assessment. Sixty-four healthy adults (age: 35.1±11.3 years, 87.5% males) underwent breathomics analysis by collecting their individuals' VOCs while fasting for at least 3 hours, following a 2-minute preliminary breathing procedure through an A2 filter and analyzed by Cyranose 320 eNose. Additionally, participants performed a VO2 max test, cycling at increasing intensities for nearly 15 minutes until exhaustion, to assess their VO2 max and CRF. Twenty participants were identified with a distinct breathomics profile (DBP), characterized by eNose sensors S4 and S26. Further analysis revealed a significantly higher incidence of individuals failing to meet age and genderspecific estimated VO2 max values within the DBP group (66.7%, p<0.001). Moreover, significant discrepancies were found in mean VO2 values between groups, with those exhibiting the DBP showing lower values (40.8±6.1 vs 46.4±11.0, p=0.011). Even after adjusting for potencial confounders, individuals with DBP showed 17.4 times higher chance to have VO2 values below the VO2 max criteria (OR 95%, CI = 17.4 [4.0, 100.8], p<0.001). It is noted that sensor S4 correlates with ketones, metabolism, and skeletal muscles, while S26 is linked with fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and airway inflammation. This emphasizes the promising potential of breathomics in forecasting VO2 outcomes, potentially enabling ongoing monitoring of cardiorespiratory fitness in various exercise and health scenarios. Keywords: Volatilome; Cardiorespiratory Fitness; Public Health; Biomarkers; VOC

Anomalias congénitas das artérias coronárias

Congenital coronary artery anomalies are modifications of their origin, course or structure and its incidence varies between 0,2 and 5,6% of the general population. Although the majority is asymptomatic, they are the second leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes. The aim of this study is to highlight the main anomalies with hemodynamic significance, including the anomalous origin of a coronary artery from the opposite sinus and anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from pulmonary artery. The anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery from the opposite sinus accounts for 14-16% of all cardiac deaths, that unexpectedly occur in healthy children or young athletes during or immediately after exercise. The mechanism responsible for the compression/occlusion of the coronary artery originating from the opposite sinus is still unclear and there are several proposed mechanisms. The clinical presentation of these patients is variable and physical examination is normal in most individuals. Transthoracic echocardiogram is the diagnostic test most commonly used. Treatment and management are controversial topic. The anomalous origin of the left coronary artery from pulmonary artery is a very rare condition and without surgery, most infants die within the first 12 months of life. The echocardiogram is also the method of choice for diagnostic confirmation. The diagnosis of this congenital anomaly in an infant, usually seriously ill, is an indication for urgent surgery. Because these anomalies produce hemodynamic changes, it is important an early diagnosis and treatment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Training the osteoplastic flap technique in dogs

SummaryAccess to frontal sinus using the osteoplastic flap technique is indicated in lesions that do not yield endonasal approach. This technique can be practiced with dogs, although delineation of sinusal perimeter in canines is not as easy as it is in humans.AimThis study aims at presenting a method to access and delineate the frontal sinus of canines to reproduce the osteoplastic flap technique in man.Study designSurgical technique in animal.Material and MethodIn adult dogs, two straight lines were drawn: one along the median line of the frontal region; and the other at 45° from the pupil. At the intersection point, 1-1.5 cm forward and 1 cm backward was measured; from these points, an incomplete rectangle delineating the frontal sinusal perimeters was drawn.ResultsThis procedure was performed 12 times during one year with participation of medical residents. Opening the animals' frontal sinuses was an easy procedure, and the osteoplastic technique to locate the sinus was performed without failures.ConclusionThe method of locating and delineating the frontal sinus of dogs was useful to show that the osteoplastic technique is realistically reproducible in men

The influence of the maturation status of components on their approval in new product design

Ferreira, Ana Cristina, e outros (2023) - International conference on technology management and operations. - Lisboa : Universidade Lusíada Editora. - ISBN 978-898-640-273-0.Nowadays, companies aiming to survive in the automotive industry must reinvent themselves by investing in technological innovation and addressing the all-important product quality. This work focuses on the industrialization phase of externally purchased parts, more specifically on the development and construction of manufacturing methods and associated controls. Most methodologies on the market today do not focus on the negative points resulting from both feasibility analyses and simulation studies, such as delays and lack of proper maturation for start of series production, highlighting the need to further advance process efficiency by using continuous quality improvement tools. A simulation of a manufacturing process in an automotive environment using a Petri netbased simulation model was used. Results show that for a generic Production Part Approval Process (PPAP) model there is a delay of 47-77 weeks in project maturation that can compromise a robust start of series production on the client. The main objective of this work is to show that is possible to increase both the feasibility and robustness of the manufacturing process without delays when the project management considers a stronger supplier’s involvement in the design development phase and by applying more focused Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) and Quality Gates (QG) on monitoring the project evolution at suppliers and organizations. Further studies should be carried out to evaluate the impact of other variables such as introducing a wider variability to the maturation phase as well as other impacting variables

EXPANSÃO URBANA E SEUS IMPACTOS NA BACIA HIDROGRÁFICA NOS RESIDENCIAIS TORQUATO NETO II, III E IV EM TERESINA, PIAUÍ

Os conjuntos habitacionais sempre tiveram significativa importância no combate ao déficit habitacional brasileiro, bem como na expansão da malha urbana de diversas cidades. Contudo, o desenvolvimento da infraestrutura de saneamento não acompanhou o ritmo do processo de urbanização marcado pela impermeabilização desenfreada do solo e aterramento dos talvegues naturais, o que alterou o ciclo hidrológico das bacias hidrográficas nas quais estes conjuntos se desenvolveram. De forma similar, os Residenciais Torquato Neto II, III e IV, localizados na região sul do município de Teresina, capital do Piauí, foram implantados de forma dissociada da hidrografia local e como consequência eles são assolados por diversos problemas devido ao aumento dos volumes e da velocidade do escoamento superficial direto, intensificando a magnitude e a frequência dos alagamentos urbanos, retrato também da insuficiência de capacidade dos sistemas públicos de drenagem pluvial. Portanto, considerando sua relevância na prevenção e na fundamentação de estudos ambientais, o presente trabalho dedicou-se a avaliar o processo de ocupação e seus impactos na bacia hidrográfica que drenam os setores destes residenciais. Desta forma, a delimitação da bacia foi realizada através de dados MDE da missão SRTM e, a partir de imagens do satélite Landsat 8, avaliando-se a evolução do processo de ocupação no período de dezembro de 2009 a dezembro de 2019. Em seguida, estimou-se a redução do tempo de concentração e o aumento do grau de impermeabilização da bacia através do Curve Number. Os testes avaliaram os impactos das alterações separadamente e em conjunto com o escoamento superficial direto, no intuito de observar a relevância de cada parâmetro hidrológico e o efeito composto das modificações na bacia

Welcome to ICOTEM 2023

Ferreira, Ana Cristina, e outros (2023) - International conference on technology management and operations. Lisboa : Universidade Lusíada Editora. - ISBN 978-898-640-273-0

Land-use and coverage in the structure of the landscape in a Tropical Dry Forest in northeast Brazil

Landscape Ecology using GIS is applied to understand the effects of forest fragmentation and makes it feasible mainly for extensive areas, through the possibility of analyzing both the variety of units that compose it in time. This study aims to analyze the land use and coverage of tropical dry forests and to characterize their landscape structure in an area of the municipality of Floresta, Pernambuco, Brazil, in order to understand how the landscape configuration can influence the conservation. Orbital images were used from LANDSAT, and the classification was performed in the QGIS 2.18 software using the Maximum Likelihood methodification, for the years of 2007 and 2017. A circular buffer was incorporated around the area of study to analyze the structural patterns in the context of the landscape. Five thematic classes were used: dense vegetation, sparse vegetation, exposed soil, grassland, and water. The metrics were obtained through the Patch Analyst tool only to the class of dense vegetation. It is noted that much of the dense vegetation has become sparse. There was a reduction of exposed soil and an increase in grassland areas, which may indicate a regeneration process of the vegetation. The fragments of dense vegetation with more substantial dimensions are on constant exploratory actions and are the most affected with the reduction of size. Furthermore, climatic factors, periods of drought, and the presence of livestock may also affect the fragmentation of dense vegetation patches. Therefore, the landscape became heterogeneous, and a tendency was observed to increase the fragmentation, mainly in the more significant spots