Search

Management of certification issuance and product counterfeit verifications in the Agri-food supply chain are very serious and reaching problems nowadays. The currently existing management systems for this process are either outdated or have significant issues when it comes to security, trust, traceability, management or product certification. The introduction of Blockchain technology, due to its intrinsic properties, has the potential to solve identity, ownership, data temper, traceability and certification issues. This is possible due to the unique identity of each actor and signing verification at each transaction/action. The decentralized nature and constant verification of the chain state also contribute to this security and trust in the system. The proposed solution does not compromise currently existing features, but it will, however, allow all the actors to take part in the Agri-food supply chain system and constantly monitor its actions. The SmartAgriChain project intends to implement a supply chain and certification system based on Hyperledger Sawtooth that will be capable of identity management, hierarchical users/organizations, significant scalability, low costs, low energy consumption and compatibility with legacy systems. In this paper, we will explore and explain the system design and architecture in detail as well as a cost projection based on the number of nodes of the distributed system.

Background The use of mesh associated with cruroplasty is still controversial, especially in cases of giant hernias, due to possible complications of the prosthesis reported in the literature, such as infection, chest migration, shrinkage, esophageal and aortic erosion, stenosis and obstruction. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to compare the use or not of mesh as a reinforcement in the laparoscopic repair of giant hernias and to determine which technique has the best results in recurrence and complication rates. Material and methods A search was conducted using databases and included prospective and randomized studies. The studies should include patients with giant hernias who have undergone laparoscopic treatment comparatively analyzed between cruroplasty and suture associated with prosthetic reinforcement. Results Of the 768 articles analyzed, 8 were selected for systematic review, and 7 were included in the meta-analysis (3 randomized trials with higher evidence strength, 2 randomized trials with lower methodological quality, and 2 prospective cohorts). The meta-analysis showed no statistically significant differences in favor of any of the intervention methods (mesh versus suture cruroplasty) for the different outcomes evaluated: recurrence (RD -0.06, CI [-0.13,0.01], I2 22%, p 0.27); postoperative complications (RD 0.04, CI [-0.01,0.9], I2 5%, p 0.30); deaths (RD -0.01, CI [-0.04, 0.02], I2 0%, p 74); intraoperative complications (RD -0.03, CI [-0.07, 0.1]); reoperation (RD -0.04, CI [-0.10, 0.02], p 0.14). Conclusion There is no evidence supporting that routine mesh reinforcement in laparoscopic repair of giant hernias decreases recurrence and other complications. Systematic review registration number at PROSPERO: CRD42019147468.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of the polymorphism in Intron 7 G/C (rs 4253778) of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) gene with the magnitude of changes in the body composition of an overweight and obese population that underwent an aerobic training program. Fifty-eight previously inactive men and women, body mass index (BMI) 31.5 ± 2.8 kg / m 2 , 46.5% ( n = 27 ) genotyped as CC genotype and 53.5% ( n = 31 ) as CA+AA, underwent a 12-week aerobic training (walking/running). Aerobic capacity (ergospirometry), body composition (DXA), and nutritional assessment were made before and 48 h after the experimental protocol. Two-way ANOVA, chi-square test, and logistic regression were used ( p < 0.05 ). Twenty-seven volunteers (46.5%) were identified as CC genotype and 31 (53.5%) as CA+AA genotype. Time-group interaction showed that there was no difference in these between two allele groups. However, differences in distribution of respondents or nonresponders according to allele A were identified for fat mass ( p ≤ 0.003 ), percentage fat mass ( p ≤ 0.002 ), the waist ( p ≤ 0.009 ), abdomen ( p ≤ 0.000 ), and hip ( p ≤ 0.001 ), this difference being independent for the fat mass. Meanwhile, sex, age, and nutritional management have also been found to be influential factors. It is concluded that the PPARα gene is involved in varying body composition in response to an aerobic training program.

Poor indoor air quality in scholar environments have been frequently reported, but its impact on respiratory health in schoolchildren has not been sufficiently explored. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the associations between children's exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) in nursery and primary schools and childhood asthma. Multivariate models (independent and multipollutant) quantified the associations of children's exposure with asthma-related health outcomes: reported active wheezing, reported and diagnosed asthma, and lung function (reduced FEV1/FVC and reduced FEV1). A microenvironmental modelling approach estimated individual inhaled exposure to major indoor air pollutants (CO2, CO, formaldehyde, NO2, O3, TVOC, PM2.5 and PM10) in nursery and primary schools from both urban and rural sites in northern Portugal. Questionnaires and medical tests (spirometry pre- and post-bronchodilator) were used to obtain information on health outcomes and to diagnose asthma following the newest international clinical guidelines. After testing children for aeroallergen sensitisation, multinomial models estimated the effect of exposure to particulate matter on asthma in sensitised individuals. The study population were 1530 children attending nursery and primary schools, respectively 648 pre-schoolers (3–5 years old) and 882 primary school children (6–10 years old). This study found no evidence of a significant association between IAP in nursery and primary schools and the prevalence of childhood asthma. However, reported active wheezing was associated with higher NO2, and reduced FEV1 was associated with higher O3 and PM2.5, despite NO2 and O3 in schools were always below the 200 μg m−3 threshold from WHO and National legislation, respectively. Moreover, sensitised children to common aeroallergens were more likely to have asthma during childhood when exposed to particulate matter in schools. These findings support the urgent need for mitigation measures to reduce IAP in schools, reducing its burden to children's health.

Wheezing is a common symptom in childhood and has been associated with air pollution. Children spend a large part of their time in school, this being the most important indoor environment apart from home. However, studies on the impact of children's indoor air pollution exposure at schools on respiratory health are scarce. Thus, this study aimed to assess the impact of children's exposure to indoor air pollution in a total of five urban nursery and primary schools on active wheezing. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the associations, adjusted for sex, age group (pre-school/primary school) and parental history of asthma. A microenvironmental modelling approach was used to estimate indoor air pollution exposure to each of the pollutants exceeding legislation limit values (CO2, formaldehyde and PM2.5), as the sum of the product of time spent by the child in different indoor school microenvironments and the time-averaged concentration measured in each microenvironment. Measurements were performed in 11 classrooms, two bedrooms and two canteens in Porto, Portugal. A total of 164 completed parent-reported questionnaires derived from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood allowed to identify active wheezing (at least one wheeze episode in the previous 12 months) in 16.5% of the studied children. Although not statistically significant, the studied children's exposure to indoor air pollution in nursery and primary schools seemed to be associated with an increase in the odds of having active wheezing especially for PM2.5 (OR = 1.57, p-value = 0.675). These results highlight the importance of applying indoor air pollution mitigation measures in nursery and primary schools. The impacts of those measures, on both indoor air quality and children's respiratory health, should be evaluated in future studies. (c) 2019 WIT Press

Asthma is the commonest and most important chronic non-infectious disease in childhood and it has become more prevalent in recent years. There is a shortage of studies in relation to early childhood and so, as part of the INAIRCHILD project, this cross-sectional study aimed to assess the prevalence of asthma and its associated risk factors, namely demographic, environmental, psychosocial and clinical factors for infants and preschoolers living in Northern Portugal. Data concerning asthma prevalence were collected through questionnaires based on those from the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC-derived), the questionnaires were distributed to 1042 children attending the 17 nurseries involved in the INAIRCHILD project (10 in urban and suburban context, and 7 in rural context). The response rate was 48%. Prevalence of asthma based on symptomatology and odds ratio was calculated. Around 52% of the studied children presented at least one of the respiratory symptoms investigated (wheeze, dyspnea and cough) in the absence of upper respiratory infections. The prevalence of asthma was 10.7%, comparable to the figures for Portuguese schoolchildren (6â7 years old) reported by the national Directorate-General of Health, thus showing that an early diagnosis might be possible and helpful for the mitigation of childhood asthma. Environmental context (urban, suburban or rural), gender and family asthma history showed clear associations with asthma prevalence, namely non-rural location, male gender, and having an asthmatic parent were found to be risk factors. Keywords: Asthma, Children, Demographic, Environmental, Psychosocial and clinical risk factors

The use of low-cost sensor technology to monitor air pollution has made remarkable strides in the last decade. The development of low-cost devices to monitor air quality in indoor environments can be used to understand the behaviour of indoor air pollutants and potentially impact on the reduction of related health impacts. These user-friendly devices are portable, require low-maintenance, and can enable near real-time, continuous monitoring. They can also contribute to citizen science projects and community-driven science. However, low-cost sensors have often been associated with design compromises that hamper data reliability. Moreover, with the rapidly increasing number of studies, projects, and grey literature based on low-cost sensors, information got scattered. Intending to identify and review scientifically validated literature on this topic, this study critically summarizes the recent research pertinent to the development of indoor air quality monitoring devices using low-cost sensors. The method employed for this review was a thorough search of three scientific databases, namely: ScienceDirect, IEEE, and Scopus. A total of 891 titles published since 2012 were found and scanned for relevance. Finally, 41 research articles consisting of 35 unique device development projects were reviewed with a particular emphasis on device development: calibration and performance of sensors, the processor used, data storage and communication, and the availability of real-time remote access of sensor data. The most prominent finding of the study showed a lack of studies consisting of sensor performance as only 16 out of 35 projects performed calibration/validation of sensors. An even fewer number of studies conducted these tests with a reference instrument. Hence, a need for more studies with calibration, credible validation, and standardization of sensor performance and assessment is recommended for subsequent research.

Active transportation (walking or cycling) as a substitute for car trips still represents a small percentage of all daily travels in many European cities. This study aimed to estimate the health and economic co-benefits for the adult population of modal shift from driving to active travel in urban environments. Three scenarios were modelled for the case study, the city of Porto, Portugal, by comparing travel patterns of 2013 to hypothetical scenarios of modal shifts from driving to active transport, namely: i) SC1 - conservative scenario, with a change of 5% from driving to cycling and 10% from driving to walking; ii) SC2 - moderate scenario, with a shift of 10% and 15%, respectively; and iii) SC3 - optimistic scenario, with a shift of 15% and 20%, respectively. The mortality risk reduction for five health outcomes (colon and breast cancers, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease) was assessed, including an estimation of traffic injury and air pollution exposure risks. Results were presented in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) avoided. Economic valuation for each scenario was performed using a Willingness-to-Pay approach for morbimortality and a Cost of Illness approach for 2013 hospitalizations and work absenteeism. Significant health benefits were found in all modelled scenarios, ranging from 1657 (16%) to 2881 (28%) DALYs avoided. Total costs averted ranged from €3894 to €6769 million through the scenarios. Cardio and cerebrovascular diseases mortality presented the largest benefit, accounting for about 3/4 of all avoidable DALYs in all scenarios. Reductions in CO2 and PM10 emissions were calculated, showing a decrease from 31.6 to 73.7 kt of CO2 and 7 to 16 t for PM10, respectively. A modal shift towards active transportation could lead to significant health and economic benefits, indicating that the evaluation of health impacts should be included in the analysis of active transport interventions.

This work presents a study about the tolerance of a frequency inverter when submitted to voltage sags, which are events directly related to the electric power quality. The frequency inverters are devices widely used in the industry applications in variable speed drives. According to the magnitude and duration of the voltage sag, the frequency inverters operation can be changed and the industrial process in which they are involved is also affected, and, in some cases, could generate great production losses. In this work, the effects of different voltage sags on a frequency inverter are presented to determine its supportability to these events.

Needlestick injuries (NIs) are considered a substantial occupational health and safety hazard in contemporary health care practice. Unlike human medicine where much effort has been devoted to reduce the incidence of these events, the same aggressive approach has not been used in veterinary medicine. This study investigated the occurrence of blood-contaminated NIs in Portuguese veterinarians. Participants of a veterinary meeting were asked to complete a questionnaire-based survey. Differences in NI exposure rates by sex, years in practice, and animal interaction during childhood were evaluated using the chi-square test. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to produce predicted probabilities for NI episodes in veterinarians. From the total of 373 enrolled veterinarians, 293 (78.5%) reported having had at least one NI during their professional life. Veterinarians working with dogs were more likely to have experienced a NI (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 145.74, P < .001). The high level of NIs observed in these professionals shows that NIs are a potential occupational health problem in Portuguese veterinarians, with the possibility for transmission of haematogenous zoonosis. This work was supported by the award number Ovislab ICT-2013-05-004-5314 ID-64757 from QREN/FEDER and the award number SFRH/BPD/64686/2009SFRH/BPD/64686/2009 from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT).

International audience

Background: Kinesio Taping  has been widely used in clinical practice. However, it is unknown whether this type of tape is more effective than placebo taping in patients with chronic lower back pain. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of Kinesio Taping  in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain against a placebo tape and a control group. Method: This is a 3-arm, randomized controlled trial with a blinded assessor. Sixty patients with chronic non-specific low back pain were randomized into one of the three groups: Kinesio Taping  group (n=20), Micropore  (placebo) group (n=20) and control group (n=20). Patients allocated to both the Kinesio Taping  group and the placebo group used the different types of tape for a period of 48 hours. The control group did not receive any intervention. The outcomes measured were pain intensity (measured by an 11-point numerical rating scale) and disability (measured by the 24-item Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire). A blinded assessor measured the outcomes at baseline, 48 hours and 7 days after randomization. Results: After 48 hours, there was a statistically significant difference between the Kinesio Taping  group versus the control group (mean between-group difference = -3.1 points, 95% CI=-5.2 to -1.1, p=0.003), but no difference when compared to the placebo group (mean between-group difference= 1.9 points, 95% CI=-0.2 to 3.9, p=0.08). For the other outcomes no differences were observed. Conclusions: The Kinesio Taping  is not better than placebo (Micropore  ) in patients with chronic low back pain. ClinicalTrials.gov number: NCT0200766.

Background: It is well documented that high levels of many airborne pollutants can adversely affect many systems of the human body. The aim of this study was to evaluate the specific impact of ozone (O3) on the worsening of childhood asthma, comparing children living at regions with high and low O3 concentrations (reference site) without the confounding effects of other pollutants. Methods: Pollutant concentrations were monitored and data concerning asthma prevalence were collected through a questionnaire. The studied population consisted of 478 children aged 6–13 years old enrolled in four schools of the municipalities where monitoring was performed. Remote sites were identified with very low concentrations of nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds and high concentrations of O3. Results: The prevalence of wheeze for lifetime period and in the past year was 15.9% and 6.3%, respectively. Asthmatic children were identified when dyspnoea and wheezing were simultaneously mentioned in the absence of upper respiratory infections; according to that, the lifetime prevalence of asthmatic symptoms at the remote sites was 7.1%. The comparison with other previous studies was difficult because the criteria for analysis are not conveniently established. Conclusion: The prevalence of childhood asthmatic symptoms was about 4% higher at the high O3 site than at the low O3 site.

The prediction of tropospheric ozone concentrations is very important due to the negative impacts of ozone on human health, climate and vegetation. The development of models to predict ozone concentrations is thus very useful because it can provide early warnings to the population and also reduce the number of measuring sites. The aim of this study was to predict next day hourly ozone concentrations through a new methodology based on feedforward artificial neural networks using principal components as inputs. The developed model was compared with multiple linear regression, feedforward artificial neural networks based on the original data and also with principal component regression. Results showed that the use of principal components as inputs improved both models prediction by reducing their complexity and eliminating data collinearity.

Evaluation of the loads on spine is very important since it is closely related to the spine biomechanics and its pathologies. In this study, a simplified multibody model of the human skeleton is presented, able to estimate forces and moments acting on the lumbar spine during simple daily activities. The model was validated by comparing the forces and moments in the lumbar spine, measured on two in vivo patients performing frontal and lateral flexion movements. The results show that the model is capable of reproducing the motion as well as to quantify the forces and moments acting on lumbar spine.

Static resistance measurement of circuit breakers has been a crucial technique to assess the state of contacts, supporting maintenance procedures. However, in many cases, the obtained results do not provide accurate data for correct diagnosis, since the test examines only the main contact. This article discusses the application of the contact dynamic resistance measurement (DRM) in the evaluation of main and arcing contacts. The DRM is a contact resistance test, and the resistance is determined during the opening of contacts, analyzing the main and arcing contacts. The research objective is to get the DRM parameters that can assist in the contacts diagnosis. The obtained results indicate that DRM has presented more qualitative parameters than the static resistance test in the evaluation of contacts. The resistance tests were performed applying a direct current with 300 A of amplitude.

Background Late presentations of congenital diaphragmatic hernia are rare and differ from the classic neonatal presentation. The association with other congenital malformations in children, mainly intestinal malrotation, is well documented. The diagnosis of this association in adults is very rare, and depends on a high degree of suspicion. Case presentation We report a case of a 50-year-old female Caucasian patient with a previous history of intestinal malrotation diagnosed in adolescence and treated conservatively. She was referred to the hospital with signs and symptoms of intestinal obstruction. The patient undertook computed tomography that confirmed small bowel obstruction with no obvious cause, and a right subphrenic abscess with right empyema was also present. An exploratory laparotomy was performed that revealed an intestinal malrotation associated with a right gangrenous and perforated Bochdalek hernia. Resection of the affected small bowel, closure of the Bochdalek foramen and the Ladd procedure were carried out. Conclusion This case shows a rare association of two rare conditions in adults, and highlights the challenge in reaching the diagnosis and management options.

This paper describes a new methodology for lane detection in Thin-Layer Chromatography images. An approach based on the continuous wavelet transform is used to enhance the relevant lane information contained in the intensity profile obtained from image data projection. Lane detection proceeds in three phases: the first obtains a set of candidate lanes, which are validated or removed in the second phase; in the third phase, lane limits are calculated, and subtle lanes are recovered. The superior performance of the new solution was confirmed by a comparison with three other methodologies previously described in the literature.

Submitted by Helena Donato (bibliotecaria@hospitaldebraga.com.pt) on 2014-02-14T15:39:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Automatic localization of the optic disc.pdf: 1617392 bytes, checksum: 94a8ac84cec344f1ac6b2bbdc8169c95 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Helena Donato (bibliotecaria@hospitaldebraga.com.pt) on 2014-02-14T15:39:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Automatic localization of the optic disc.pdf: 1617392 bytes, checksum: 94a8ac84cec344f1ac6b2bbdc8169c95 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-02-14T15:39:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Automatic localization of the optic disc.pdf: 1617392 bytes, checksum: 94a8ac84cec344f1ac6b2bbdc8169c95 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 Restored into DSpace on 2014-05-09T12:13:17Z (GMT).

This paper describes a methodology to remove the background of the lanes in Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) images, aiming at improving band detection and classification. The storage of the biological samples to be analyzed by TLC is usually done via plastic containers. Filter paper is an alternative that allows reduced costs and higher portability, but it increases the complexity of the image analysis stage due to lane background alteration. In order to overcome this problem, a negative control lane is included in every chromatographic plate. After image preprocessing and lane detection stages, a background profile is generated by processing the negative control lane using the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT). This profile is then subtracted to the profiles of all other sample lanes in order to overcome the data degradation introduced by filter paper usage. For assessing the proposed background removal process, 105 TLC lanes, with and without background, were used as input for three one-class classifiers. In all cases, the best results were achieved for the lanes after background removal.

Several factors affect the indoor air quality, among which ventilation, human occupancy, cleaning products, equipment and material; they might induce the presence of aerosols (or bioaerosols in the presence of biological components) nitrogen oxides, ozone, carbon monoxide and dioxide, volatile organic compounds, radon and microorganisms. Microbiological pollution involves hundreds of bacteria and fungi species that grow indoors under specific conditions of temperature and humidity. Exposure to microbial contaminants is clinically associated with allergies, asthma, immune responses and respiratory infections, such as Legionnaires Disease and Pontiac Feaver, which are due to contamination byLegionella pneumophila. Legionnaire's Disease has increased over the past decade, because of the use of central air conditioning. In places such as homes, kindergartens, nursing homes and hospitals, indoor air pollution affects population groups that are particularly vulnerable because of their health status or age, making indoor air pollution a public health issue of high importance. Therefore, the implementation of preventive measures, as the application of air filters, is fundamental. Currently, High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters are the most used to capture microorganisms in ventilation, filtration and air conditioning systems; nevertheless, as they are not completely secure, new filters should be developed. This work aims to present how the efficiency of a textile nanostructure in a non-woven material based on synthetic textiles (high hydrophobic fibers) incorporating appropriate biocides to controlLegionella pneumophila, is going to be measured. These bioactive structures, to be used in ventilation systems, as well as in respiratory protective equipment, will reduce the growth of microorganisms in the air through bactericidal or bacteriostatic action. The filter nanostructure should have good air permeability, since it has to guarantee minimum flows of fresh air for air exchange as well as acceptable indoor air quality.

This paper proposes a method for automating the detection of lanes in Thin-Layer Chromatography images. Our approach includes a preprocessing step to detect the image region of interest, followed by background estimation and removal. This image is then projected onto the horizontal direction to integrate the information into a one-dimensional profile. A smoothing filter is applied to this profile and the outcome is the input of the lane detection process, which is performed in three phases. The first one aims at obtaining an initial set of candidate lanes that are further validated or removed in the second phase. The last phase is a refinement step that allows the inclusion of lanes that are not clearly distinguishable in the profile and that were not included in the initial set. The method was evaluated in 66 chromatography images and achieved values of recall, precision and Fβ-measure of 97.0%, 99.4% and 98.2%, respectively.

The effects of air pollution on health have been studied worldwide. Given that air pollution triggers oxidative stress and inflammation, it is plausible that high levels of air pollutants cause higher number of hospitalisations. This study aimed to assess the impact of air pollution on the emergency hospitalisation for respiratory disease in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The study was divided in two parts: Part I specifically addressing the air pollution assessment and Part II addressing the health assessment. Accordingly, this Part II aimed to estimate the association between the concentrations of PM10, SO2 and CO observed in Rio de Janeiro and the number of emergency hospitalisations at a central hospital due to respiratory diseases. The pollutant concentrations were measured at two different sites in Rio de Janeiro, but the excess relative risks were calculated based on the concentrations observed at one of the sites, where limits were generally exceeded more frequently, between September 2000 and December 2005. A time series analysis was performed using the number of hospitalisations, divided in three categories (children until 1 year old, children aged between 1 and 5 years old and elderly with 65 years old or more) as independent variable, the concentrations of pollutants as dependent variables and temperature, relative humidity, long term trend, and seasonality as confounders. Data were analysed using generalised additive models with smoothing for some of the dependent variables. Results showed an excess risk of hospitalisation for respiratory disease higher than 2% per 10 μg m−3 increase in PM10 concentrations for children under 5 years old, of 2% per 10 μg m−3 increase in SO2 for elderly above 65 years old and around 0.1% per 10 μg m−3 increase in CO for children under 1 year and elderly. Other studies have found associations that are in agreement with the results achieved in this study.The study suggests that the ambient levels of air pollutants experienced in Rio de Janeiro between 2000 and 2005 were linked to the number of hospitalisations for respiratory diseases among children and elderly. Keywords: Emergency hospital admissions, Children, Elderly, Generalised additive models

Background Several studies have demonstrated an association between the exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) and childhood asthma. Evidence is suggesting that several air pollutants may contribute to both exacerbation and development of asthma, but some uncertainty remains concerning the specific causative role of IAP. This paper reports an epidemiologic study aiming to reduce the existing lacks on the association between long-term exposure to pollution mixtures and the development and exacerbation of childhood asthma. Methods/design Based on the implementation of the study in 8 nurseries and 8 primary schools, from which, 2 nurseries and 2 primary schools in sites influenced by traffic and other 2 nurseries and 2 primary schools in background sites at urban and rural areas, the study will analyse the exposure to both urban and rural pollution as well as to traffic emissions (some homes of the children will be included in the study). Furthermore, based on the answers to validated questionnaires (as those used in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood - ISAAC) filled in by the parents and on medical exams, the study will assess the prevalence, incidence and exacerbation of asthma, thus considering both short and long-term effects. The approximate number of children in the study will never be less than 600, guaranteeing 80% of study power (significant at a 5% level). Discussion This study intends to contribute for the understanding of the role of environmental factors, namely indoor air pollution, on asthma considering a risk group of different ages, and for the development of preventive measures, which are considered priority issues by the European Commission, according to the European Environmental Agency and the World Health Organization.

This paper proposes an automatic method for estimating the location of the optic disc in color images of the retina. The proposed methodology is founded in a new concept, the entropy of vascular directions, which proved to be a reliable measure for assessing the convergence of vessels around an image point. To improve the robustness of the method, the search for the maximum value of entropy is restricted to image areas with high intensity. This new method was evaluated in two publicly available databases, containing both normal and pathological images, and was able to obtain a valid location for the optic disc in 115 out of the 121 images of the two datasets.

This paper describes a segmentation method for automating the region of interest (ROI) delineation in chromatographic images, thus allowing the definition of the image area that contains the fundamental information for further processing while excluding the frame of the chromatographic plate that does not contain relevant data for disease identification. This is the first component of a screening tool for Fabry disease, which will be based on the automatic analysis of the chromatographic patterns extracted from the image ROI. Image segmentation is performed in two phases, where each individual pixel is finally considered as frame or ROI. In the first phase, an unsupervised learning method is used for classifying image pixels into three classes: frame, ROI or unknown. In the second phase, distance features are used for deciding which class the unknown pixels belong to. The segmentation result is post-processed using a sequence of morphological operators in order to obtain the final ROI rectangular area. The proposed methodology was successfully evaluated in a dataset of 41 chromatographic images.

This paper proposes a classification-based method for automating the segmentation of the region of interest (ROI) in digital images of chromatographic plates. Image segmentation is performed in two phases. In the first phase an unsupervised learning method classifies the image pixels into three classes: frame, ROI or unknown. In the second phase, distance features calculated for the members of the three classes are used for deciding on the new label, ROI or frame, for each individual connected segment previously classified as unknown.The segmentation result is post-processed using a sequence of morphological operators beforeobtaining the final ROI rectangular area. The proposed methodology, which is the initial step for the development of a screening tool for Fabry disease, was successfully evaluated in a dataset of 58 chromatographic images.

The study here reported aimed to: i) evaluate the prevalence of childhood asthma at a Portuguese rural area with high ozone concentrations through lung function tests, validating the previously estimated one assessed through questionnaires (similar to those of the ISAAC); ii) compare the achieved prevalence with the one reported at an unexposed area (with low ozone concentrations), aiming to evaluate the influence of exposure to high ozone levels; and iii) determine potential risk factors.Ninety-five of the original 478 children that completed the questionnaires, mentioned to have at least one of asthma symptoms (wheeze, dyspnea or cough) and were therefore evaluated by spirometry. FEV1 was in average 89.7% for asthmatics and 102.8% for non-asthmatics. For the studied sample the risk was higher for girls with a tendency to be higher from 8 to 10 years old. Lifetime prevalence of childhood asthma at the exposed area was 9.2%. Children living at the exposed area had 3 times higher risk of having asthma than those living at the unexposed area. Considering that ozone concentrations were the main difference between both areas, it can be suggested that ozone pollution increased asthma prevalence. Nevertheless, it should be remarked that further studies should be done to confirm these results. Keywords: Asthma prevalence, Childhood asthma, Lung function, Ozone, Rural area

This paper presents a method for automating the selection of the rejection rate of one-class classifiers aiming at optimizing the classifier performance. These classifiers are used in a new classification approach to deal with class imbalance in Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) patterns, which is due to the huge difference between the number of normal and pathological cases, as a consequence of the rarity of Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSD) diseases. The classification is performed in two decision stages, both implemented using optimized one-class classifiers: the first stage aims at recognizing most of the normal samples; the outliers of this first decision level are presented to the second stage, which is a multiclassifier prepared to deal with both pathological and normal patterns. The results that were obtained proved that the proposed methodology is able to overcome some of the difficulties associated with the choice of the rejection rate of one-class classifiers, and generally contribute to the minimization of the imbalance problem in TLC pattern classification.

In this paper, we propose and evaluate methodologies for the classification of images from thin-layer chromatography. Each individual sample is characterized by an intensity profile that is further represented into a feature space. The first steps of this process aim at obtaining a robust estimate of the intensity profile by filtering noise, reducing the influence of background changes, and by fitting a mixture of Gaussians. The resulting profiles are represented by a set of appropriate features trying to characterize the state of nature, here spread out over four classes, one for normal subjects and the other three corresponding to lysosomal diseases, which are disorders responsible for severe nerve degeneration. For classification purposes, a novel solution based on a hierarchical structure is proposed. The main conclusion of this paper is that an automatically generated decision tree presents better results than more conventional solutions, being able to deal with the natural imbalance of the data that, as consequence of the rarity of lysosomal disorders, has very few representative cases in the disease classes when compared with the normal population.

This paper presents a new classification approach to deal with class imbalance in TLC patterns, which is due to the huge difference between the number of normal and pathological cases as a consequence of the rarity of LSD diseases. The proposed architecture is formed by two decision stages: the first is implemented by a one-class classifier aiming at recognizing most of the normal samples; the second stage is a hierarchical classifier which deals with the remaining outliers that are expected to contain the pathological cases and a small percentage of normal samples. We have also evaluated this architecture by a forest of classifiers, using the majority voting as a rule to generate the final classification. The results that were obtained proved that this approach is able to overcome some of the difficulties associated with class imbalance.

Granulomatous rosacea is a variant of rosacea characterized by hard cutaneous papules and nodules in relatively normal-appearing skin that is rarely diagnosed in childhood. The differential diagnosis essentially includes perioral dermatitis and sarcoidosis. Despite the differences in clinical presentation and histopathology, there is similar responses to the same therapies used in rosacea. Therapeutic failure should lead to the investigation of other rare and controversial conditions, such as acne agminata.

DEMETER is a research and demonstration project, designed to assess and demonstrate how the integration of Earth Observation techniques in routine Irrigation Advisory Services can improve efficiency in the use of irrigation water.The objectives of this paper are: (1) to analyze the interest in the feasibility of transferring the DEMETER technology to the irrigation scheme of Chaves: (2) to identify the factors that, in general, favour the usefulness of this technology.The irrigation infrastructure and methods, the size and number of irrigation parcels and the main crops grown at the irrigation scheme of Chaves have been recorded. Also a socio‐economic description has been done. Field visits, interviews with the staff of water association, and an inquiry to a sample of 107 farmers were made.The main results are: each farmer pays an area based annual fee, independent of the amount of water used for irrigation; most of the irrigated parcels are of very small size, 0.3 ha in average, mostly irrigated by surface methods; the most representative crops grown are potato, forage maize, and several different horticultural crops; an important part of the production is for self‐consumption. The farmers are aging and the new generations prefer other jobs than agriculture. A considerable number of farmers have another job in the nearby cities.The small size of the irrigated parcels limits the use of earth observation technologies to expensive high space resolution images. For the time being, farmers do not feel the need for an irrigation advisory service, manly because there is plenty of water which is not bought proportionally to its use.However, circumstances are changing rapidly and, relatively new for the region, environmental concerns related with irrigation, manly nitrate leaching by excess watering of crops prompts the need for an irrigation advisory service in order to maintain crop production with a more rational use of water.The DEMETER technology could be a suitable solution in certain contexts and types of irrigation systems, in particular in those regions that have (1) a growing agricultural sector, with large scale plots under monoculture, or with only 2 or 3 clearly market‐oriented main crops with high potential value‐added; (2) where water is scarce and relatively expensive; (3) where consumers pay for the water they use and are organized in a dynamic, well equipped, well‐staffed, financially sound and empowering water users associations.

The paper presents the methodology developed to solve the class imbalanced problem that occurs in the classification of Thin-Layer Chromatography (TLC) images. The proposed methodology is based on re-sampling, and consists in the undersampling of the majority class (normal class), while the minority classes, which contain Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSD) samples, are oversampled with the generation of synthetic samples. For image classification two approaches are presented, one based on a hierarchical classifier and another uses a multiclassifier system, where both classifiers are trained and tested using balanced data sets. The results demonstrate a better performance of the multiclassifier system using the balanced sets.

Thin-Layer Chromatography images are used to detect and identify the presence of specific oligosaccharides, expressed by the existence, at different positions, of bands in the gel image. 1D gaussian deconvolution, commonly used for band detection, does not produce good results due to the large curvature observed in the bands. To overcome this uncertainty on the band position, we propose a novel feature extraction methodology that allows an accurate modeling of curved bands. The features are used to classify the data into two different classes, to differentiate normal from pathologic cases. The paper presents the developed methodology together with the analysis and discussion of the results.

This work aims at developing an automatic method for the analysis of TLC images for measuring a set of features that can be used for the characterization of the distinctive patterns that result from the separation of oligosaccharides contained in human urine. This paper describes the methods developed for the automatic detection of the lanes contained in TLC images, and for the automatic separation of bands for each detected lane. The extraction of quantitative information related with each band was accomplished with two methods: the EM expectation-maximization and nonlinear least squares trust-region algorithms. The results of these methods, as well as additional quantitative information related with each band, are also presented.

Orbital cellulitis is a rare, serious and potentially fatal condition, usually associated with trauma to the eyelids, external ocular infection, upper respiratory tract infection and, especially, sinusitis. It is distinct from the more common periorbital cellulitis because it involves all contents of the orbit and may threaten both the vision and the life of the patient. It occurs with greater frequency in children. We report the case of a 34-year-old woman with severe facial and right periorbital cellulitis who rapidly developed orbital involvement, as shown by computed tomography. Apart from a bilateral retroauricular dermatitis, present for several years, the woman had been always healthy. Systemic antibiotics were started without delay and she recovered very well, with no ocular sequelae. This case illustrates that a subset of bacterial skin infections is becoming more aggressive and should be recognized and treated early.

International cross-cultural comparative nursing research is considered important for the advancement of nursing knowledge, offering a global perspective for nursing. Although this is recognised in ...

The Day Hospital of Hospital de São João was one of the pioneers in Portugal, and it began to work in July 1970. In those days, the main purpose was to reduce the number of full hospitalizations, and to aid the reinsertion of patients discharged from the Inpatient Unit. In a previous study, presented in the I Congresso Nacional de Psiquiatria (2005, Portugal), the first 34 years of this Day Hospital (from 1970 to 2004) were analyzed - some changes were noted during that period, namely the type of diagnosis and the hospitalization length. The main purpose of the present study was to characterize the patients that were treated in the Day Hospital of Hospital de São João during the last 3 and half years (Jan 2005- Jul 2008; n = 302), according to age, gender, diagnosis, length of hospitalization, and occupation rate. Then, these data were compared to the data of the previous study (firsts 34 years, in groups of 5 years). For this purpose, the authors used the Qui Square Test and the Kruskal - Wallis Test. It was also analyzed the distribution of the diagnosis according to gender and to length of hospitalization.

Psychiatric diagnosis depends more from the experts' opinion than from the biological basis of the diseases. Therefore the lack of diagnostic stability among the psychiatric practice is not a rare situation. This usually results in increased costs in treatment and sometimes in worst outcome for the patient who is misdiagnosed at the onset of the illness.The authors evaluated diagnostic stability among a population of 302 patients receiving psychiatric treatment in a day-care unit of a central hospital between January/2005 and June/2008. The study compared diagnostic stability of 146 patients diagnosed as mood disorder with diagnostic stability of 83 patients diagnosed as psychotic disorder.There was high diagnostic stability either for mood disorders as for psychotic disorders. This fact provides the chance of planning more accurate treatment strategies and better outcome.

In our previous work, project PHEASANT, we have proposed a Domain Specific Language (DSL) to provide the HEP community with a tool that could increase user's productivity. This tool would tackle the problem while producing query code for HEP physics data analysis. The first step of this project was to design and implement a solution that would be a proof of concept. We are now concentrated on implementation issues in order to deploy a final tool (i.e. consistent, robust, etc). The concept of domain specific languages has always been implicit in Software Engineering projects although the development of such languages was never done in a very systematic way. The main goal of having DSLs is to rise the level of abstraction. The idea is to provide the final user (stakeholder) with tools to reason and model the solution by using concepts of the problem domain instead of having to reason with concepts of the problem domain (meaning the implementation details like programming concepts and hardware restrictions). Once we have the model specified, we can use Model Driven Development and Software Product Lines techniques to deploy artifacts in a automatic way (meaning: software products, code, documentation etc). The Software Engineering community has been focusing lately its attention to methodologies and tool deployment in order to help DSL developers in their effort to help productivity and efficency at several application domains such as HEP. A comparative study of these tools should be done to determine their capability to answer the specificity of HEP Physics Analysis requirements. In this communication we will present the several technologies for DSLs meta-modeling studied in order to implement the DSL proposed by the PHEASANT project.

Background: Gallstone ileus accounts for 1% to 4% of cases of mechanical bowel obstruction, but may be responsible for up to 25% of cases in older age groups. In non-iatrogenic cases, gallstone migration occurs after formation of a biliary-enteric fistula. In fewer than 10% of patients with gallstone ileus, the impacted gallstones are located in the pylorus or duodenum, resulting in gastric outlet obstruction, known as Bouveret’s syndrome. Case presentation: We report an 86-year-old female who was admitted to hospital with a 10-day history of persistent vomiting and prostration. She was in hypovolemic shock at the time of arrival in the emergency department. Investigations revealed a gallstone in the duodenal bulb and a cholecystoduodenal fistula. She underwent surgical gastrolithotomy. Unfortunately, she died of aspiration pneumonia on the fourth postoperative day. Conclusion: This case shows the importance of considering Bouveret’s syndrome in the differential diagnosis of gastric outlet obstruction, especially in the elderly, even in patients with no previous history of gallbladder disease.