Search

An alternative residue that offers sustainable benefits for the environment can partially replace cement in mortars used in construction. These residues are mainly agro-industrial waste and are generated in various industrial furnaces. Among them, the wood bottom ash stands out. The use of wood bottom ash is still an underexplored alternative regarding its influence on the specific properties of rendering mortar. Thus, the objective of this study is to evaluate the influence of wood bottom ash on the physical and mechanical properties of coating mortars, with partial replacements of Portland cement. The mortars were produced in a 1:3 ratio, in mass, and the replacement percentages used were 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%. The replacement percentage that showed the best performance was 5%. In this percentage, the properties of consistency, bleeding, water absorption by capillarity, shrinkage and porosity were negatively affected. The properties that did not have significant change were: bulk density, air content, water retention, squeeze flow, flexural strength, pull-off strength, and dry bulk density. However, the properties that showed improvement were the setting time and the dynamic elastic modulus. Moreover, it was noticed by the calorimetry analysis that the 5% WBA replacement mortar favored nucleation during hydration. No differences in crystallinity were recorded compared to the reference mortar. Thus, from the analysis of experimental results, it was concluded that the application of a replacement percentage of 5% does not significantly alter the mechanical properties of the coating mortar, making it a promising destination for this waste.

The construction industry has been constantly expanding and is, consequently responsible for a high consumption volume of natural raw materials and for generating large amounts of waste. In detriment of this scenario, this research proposes the reuse of Construction and Demolition Waste (CDW), especially that from plaster for making mortars. The residue was thermo-activated at 650 °C for a period of 2h, a heating rate of 10 °C/min, it was crushed in a jaw crusher and passed through an ABNT N° 16 sieve. The mortars were prepared with a (cement:sand) ratio of 1:6 by mass, the sand was partially replaced by the residue in proportions of 0, 10, 20 and 30%, using Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). Tests were carried out on consistency index, mass density, incorporated air content, isothermal calorimetry, water retention, mass density in the hardened state, flexural strength, compressive strength, water absorption and void index, in addition to testing techniques characterization, such as laser granulometry, pozzolanic activity using the Modified Chapelle method and Lúxan method, X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) as well as Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry (MIP). It was possible to observe that the residue has amorphous phases, through XRD and heterogeneous nucleation of smaller particles, proven by the calorimetry test, contributing to the increase in mechanical strength. The results indicate that the mixture with 30% replacement achieved a greater increase in mechanical strength, lower absorption rates and consequently, a reduction in the distribution of pore sizes.

Brazil occupies a prominent position among the countries that produce the most ornamental stones in the world, with emphasis on the state of Espírito Santo. However, despite this success in production, the sector faces a considerable challenge in relation to waste generation. The objective of this study was to produce and evaluate the technological properties of an agglomerated stone using 87 wt% waste from the processing of Branco Fortaleza stone in a matrix with 13 wt% epoxy resin, using the vacuum vibro-thermo-compression process. The waste was characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The stones were subjected to evaluation of density, apparent porosity, water absorption, abrasion resistance test, staining, chemical attack, 3-point flexural strength and microstructural analysis (SEM). The results showed a density of 2.26 ± 0.02 g/cm3, water absorption of 0.24 ± 0.01%, apparent porosity of 0.55 ± 0.03%, abrasion resistance test of 1.38 mm and flexural strength of 30.13 ± 1.74 MPa. The results compared with the literature reveal a material with technical feasibility to be used as a coating in the construction sector, presenting high mechanical resistance, good interfacial adhesion, application on high traffic floors, as well as environments subject to liquid penetration such as sinks, floors and countertops. Using this waste to manufacturing new materials, such as agglomerated stones, can not only help reduce dependence on raw materials, but also play an important role in minimizing the environmental impact associated with the extraction and processing of natural stones.

Brazil, a country with the greatest biodiversity in the world due to its favorable geographic location and climate, has an abundant variety of natural fibers still unexplored with great potential of use in cementitious composites. In this context, the guarumã fiber (Ischinosiphon koern) of Amazonian origin, endemic to the banks of rivers and streams, stands out. This study proposes to evaluate the potential of this type of vegetable fiber, still unexplored, as a reinforcement material for coating mortars. For this purpose, initially, the fiber was characterized in its natural form and after a surface treatment based on NaOH. The material with and without treatment was used as an addition in the proportions of 0% (reference), 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% in relation to the Portland cement mass in the production of mortars with a ratio of 1:3:0.66 (cement: sand: water/cement factor). The experimental program included tests in the fresh state, in the hardened state and durability cycles. From the results, it was found that the matrices with additions of 0.5% and 1% of fibers were the ones that presented the best performance, indicating that guarumã is a promising new material in the composition of coating mortars.

The alkali-activated materials have properties like commonly used cementitious materials, however, it does not have burning steps at high temperatures that emit large amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. The main precursor used in the production of activated alkali materials is metakaolin, which in general has a heterogeneous chemical and mineralogical composition and high shrinkage. Therefore, the objective of this research is to evaluate the production potential of an alternative precursor based on calcined clay, aiming to standardize the material's shrinkage parameters. The properties of mechanical strength to bending and linear shrinkage, in the face of exposure to degradation cycles such as wetting/drying in saline environment and ice and thaw cycles, were analyzed to simulate and predict real application situations. The results indicate that the calcined clay has a lower mechanical strength than the composition containing metakaolin, due to its lower reactivity. However, in degradation simulations, it is observed that the calcined clay has greater durability than the composition with metakaolin, since it has less shrinkage. The compositions with calcined clay reached a maximum content of 1.2%, while compositions with metakaolin reached shrinkage of around 6%. In function, it is concluded that it is possible to use the alternative precursor based on calcined clay in alkali activated materials.

Recently, numerous studies have been carried out with natural fibers in cementitious composites, due to the viability of using this type of fiber as a substitute for synthetic fibers. In this field of study, the present research aims to evaluate the feasibility of using corn straw fiber for the production of innovative cementitious composites. Mortars with a composition of 1:1:6:1.55 (cement/lime/sand/water) containing 0, 2.5 and 5% corn straw fiber were produced. The corn straw fibers were treated with three different alkaline products: sodium hydroxide (NaOH), potassium hydroxide (KOH) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)2). The compositions were evaluated by means of compressive strength, water absorption, density and porosity and consistency tests. Characterization tests were also carried out on the natural fibers subjected to the different treatments, where it was observed that chemical characterization revealed an increase in crystalline cellulose from 59.03% to 63.50% (NaOH), 62.41% (KOH) and 60.40% (Ca(OH)2), which enhances fiber strength. In the mortars, it was observed that the water absorption results were reduced when the alkaline treatments were used, reducing from 15.95% (composition without fibers) to 6.34% and 6.61% in the compositions with 2.5% and 5.0% of fibers treated with KOH, for example. The effects were also positive in the compositions with fibers treated in NaOH, where the water absorption values were 7.59% and 7.88% for the compositions containing 2.5% and 5.0% of treated fiber, respectively. Alkaline treatments also promote an increase in compressive strength when comparing the results of mortars with natural fibers and fibers treated with NaOH, for example. The result for mortars containing 5.0% untreated fibers was 0.22 MPa, while for the composition containing 5.0% fibers treated with NaOH, it was 3.79 MPa, an increase of more than 15x. This behavior is justified by the effect of the treatment, which, in addition to removing impurities from natural fibers, such as sugar, increases the crystalline cellulose content and the adhesion between fiber and matrix. Based on the results obtained, it is possible to conclude that (i) the treatment with NaOH increases the crystallinity and tensile strength of the fibers, promoting good properties for innovative cementitious composites; (ii) the treatment with KOH degrades the cellulose structure of the fiber, reducing the crystallinity and tensile strength; this promotes greater adhesion of the fiber to the matrix, reducing porosity and water absorption, but promotes a reduction in compressive strength when compared to composites with 2.5% natural fiber; and (iii) the treatment with Ca(OH)2 presents a reduction in water absorption and porosity, due to the impregnation of calcium in the fiber that improves the adhesion between fiber and matrix.

Ultrasound images are corrupted by a type of signal-dependent noise, called speckle, difficult to remove or attenuate with the classical denoising methods. On the contrary, structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is usually a high resolution low noise image modality that involves complex and expensive equipment and long acquisition times. Herein, a deep learning-based pipeline for speckle removal in B-mode ultrasound medical images, based on cross modality transfer learning, is proposed. The architecture of the system is based on a pix2pix Generative Adversarial Network (GAN), $D$ , able to denoise real B-mode ultrasound images by generating synthetic MRI-like versions by an image-to-image translation manner. The GAN $D$ was trained using two classes of image pairs: i) a set consisting of authentic MRI images paired with synthetic ultrasound images generated through a dedicated ultrasound simulator based on another GAN, $S$ , designed specifically for this purpose, and ii) a set comprising natural images paired with their corresponding noisy counterparts corrupted by Rayleigh noise. The denoising GAN proposed in this study demonstrates effective removal of speckle noise from B-mode ultrasound images. It successfully preserves the integrity of anatomical structures and avoids reconstruction artifacts, producing outputs that closely resemble typical MRI images. Comparative tests against other state-of-the-art methods reveal superior performance of the proposed denoising strategy across various reconstruction quality metrics.

High-strength concretes (HSC) have been widely applied in civil construction. However, this material does not perform well in fire situations due to spalling, a phenomenon that can be significantly mitigated by adding synthetic fibers to HSC cementitious matrix. Estimating HSC physical and mechanical properties for different compositions and temperatures can therefore be useful, as the structure may be pre-designed without requiring prior material characterization in a fire situation. With this perspective, this paper aimed to propose regression models to estimate eight properties of High-Strength Concrete with Polypropylene Fibers (HSC-PPF), namely compressive strength, tensile strength, static modulus of elasticity, dynamic modulus of elasticity, ultrasonic pulse velocity, electrical resistivity, water absorption, and weight loss, at high temperatures (up to 800 °C). For this, it was evaluated the effective correlation between mechanical responses and independent variables, such as temperature, water absorption, and dynamic modulus, and the accuracy of regression models was assessed. The results obtained indicated that, among the models proposed, the two multiple regressions were better than the simple one for estimating HSC-PPF properties since they presented high adjustments (R2) and low mean absolute percentage (MAPE), and coefficient of variation (CV) errors. This methodology can be used in a wide variety of fiber-reinforced HSCs.

The search for sustainable solutions associated with cement production has drawn increasingly attention. Concurrently, agro-industrial residues are being generated more frequently and do not have an environmentally appropriate destination. Thus, one option is to use these agro-industrial residues as supplementary cementitious materials. Among these residues, wood ash generated in thermoelectric plants or in small industrial furnaces stands out. This study presents a comprehensive review on the use of wood bottom ash (WBA) in cementitious materials, addressing its characterization, microstructure, mechanical performance, durability and environmental aspects. It is concluded that there is an optimal range of values for replacing cement by WBA between 5 and 20%. The chemical characteristics are different, with a relatively higher amount of Ca and Si. The sum of iron + aluminum + silicon oxides is generally less than 70% and the loss on ignition greater than 9%. The pozzolanicity is zero or low, but depends on the presence of the amorphous phase and the surface area. The morphology is irregular, impairing the workability, and can be improved with additives. In general, processing is necessary to adjust the properties, mainly granulometry and reactivity. The setting times were divergent. Mechanical properties were impaired and porosity increased, which negatively impacts durability characteristics. The environmental assessment of the WBA cementitious product indicated it as not harmful. Considering that there might be harmful effects in the use of ash in concrete, the material should be better studied, in addition to evaluating its use in non-structural concrete and mortars that do not require high mechanical resistance.

Recent studies highlight the feasibility of using activated alkali cement (AAC) as a substitute for Portland cement. In this context, the objective of this article is to evaluate the influence of the type of curing on the mechanical properties of ACC based on blast furnace slag. For this, cylindrical specimens measuring 50 × 100 mm were made using blast furnace slag activated by sodium hydroxide with different mass concentrations (2.5–15%). Normal curing at room temperature, thermal curing at 65 °C, solution curing with distilled water (saturated curing), hydrated lime (lime curing) and sodium hydroxide (sodium curing), and compound curing were carried out. The compressive strength results at 7 and 28 days indicate that the AAC presents a superior behavior to the OPC. Regarding the curing mechanisms, the most advantageous were thermal curing, which promoted greater thermal energy, and curing in sodium solution, which prevented the loss of alkaline ions from the AAC. In these types of healing, there was greater formation of tobermorite and hydrotalcite, with an increase in alkaline activation rates, as evidenced by the results of XRD, FTIR and TDG. In situations of inefficient curing, such as saturated and lime curing, ettringite and efflorescence were formed, impairing the mechanical properties of the material. It was concluded that the best AAC cure was thermal or sodium cure depending on the Na2O concentration.

In these last decades, with the advance of industrialization, the enormous quantity of residue that is discarded by the industry has been generating discussions about eco-efficient solutions. This research has the objective of developing an artificial stone with residue of quartzite and fine quarry gravel (granite), utilizing the vibro-compression vacuum method. The residue was separated in three granulometric ranges with sieving: Large and medium (fine quarry gravel) and fine (quartzite). A statistical treatment was used in the acquired data, utilizing analysis of variance (ANOVA). The characterization was through a physical, mechanical, dilatometric and microstructural analysis. The obtained results classify the material as having high potential to be used for flooring in the civil construction industry, since it has low porosity 30 MPa, being able to be utilized in medium and low traffic environments.

The genetic and microenvironmental heterogeneity of colorectal cancer is analyzed using a prospective biobank of primary and metastatic tumor tissues to highlight features of intra-tumoral heterogeneity that favor tumor progression and metastasis.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of partial replacement of soil by different percentages of coconut fiber powder in the manufacture of soil–cement bricks. The reference mix ratio of 10:1 (soil:cement) in volume was used for the manufacture of bricks, in addition to the partial replacement of soil mass by 5, 10, and 15% of coconut fiber. The characterization of the raw materials was performed with the analysis of the granulometry, together with technological tests, such as mechanical compressive strength and water absorption. As a result, it was observed that the soil has 34.30% clay and 62.80% sand, characterizing a sandy-clay soil type and the coconut fiber powder was characterized as a fine aggregate. The mechanical compressive strength tests showed a decrease in their average values according to the increase in the incorporation of coconut fiber into the bricks. It was concluded that the results of the mechanical compressive strength and some of the water absorption are in disagreement with the Brazilian technical standard. This conclusion corroborates other studies that show the difficulty in standardizing reference mixtures and working with soil, which is a highly heterogeneous material.

This study aimed to analyze potential industrial solid waste that can be added to soil-cement blocks. A narrative literature review was conducted in the Scopus academic database, using as the search criteria keywords related to the topic, such as soil-cement, building materials, soil-cement blocks, soil-cement bricks, physical and mechanical properties, solid waste, life cycle analysis, and civil construction. A variety of industrial solid waste that can be incorporated into soil-cement blocks was observed, such as waste rock, sludge from water treatment plants, wood sawdust, polyethylene terephthalate fibers (PET), vegetable fibers from loofah, hemp fibers, rice husks, brachiaria grass, poultry eggshells, sugar cane bagasse, wheat and barley straw, welding slag, foundry sand, waste from quartzite mining, construction, and demolition, mechanical turning, pulp industry grains, and steel mill co-products. Among the investigated wastes, those that improved the physical and mechanical properties of the soil-cement blocks were grains from the cellulose industry, rice husks, Brachiaria grass, steel by-products with granulated soil-cement blocks and blast furnace slag. The waste that produced no satisfactory results was sludge from a water treatment plant, sugarcane bagasse, and vegetable loofah. Through this research, it was possible to verify that the behavior of soil-cement blocks is influenced by several factors in their manufacture, mainly regarding the type and percentage of incorporated waste. However, it is important to be concerned with its application in waste blocks so as not to increase the environmental impacts in the long term.

Calcium carbonate limestone filler is used as a partial replacement for clinker in cements to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and fill the voids in the cement paste. However, concrete durability conditions depend on the composition and the water/cement ratio, one of the major origin of concrete´s porosity. The objective of this study was to evaluate physical and chemical effects of calcium carbonate limestone filler in mortar pastes subjected to accelerated carbonation. Composite formulations were elaborated with three proportions of filler substitution (15%, 25% and 35%) and three water/cement ratios (0.42, 0.50 and 0.58). Physical, chemical and mineral characterizations were performed on Portland cement PC V and calcium carbonate limestone. The resulting mortar paste formulations were evaluated with respect to mechanical strength and capillary water absorption both for samples without carbonation and with accelerated exposure conditions. In the latter, carbonation depth penetration was also ascertained. Carbonation effects were determined from X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. Results on compression strength and water absorption determined that a 25% filler substitution achieved the best performance with 40.72 MPa and an absorption of up to 7% for the water/cement ratio of 0.42. The carbonation coefficient was primarily affected by the water/cement ratio rather than substitution level. Thermal and mineral analysis indicated that carbonation consumed portlandite and formed calcite. Further calcium carbonate polymorphs were identified after 28 days of accelerated carbonation as a result so far unreported in studies of Portland cement.

The present research experimentally outlines the reaction of a Monstera deliciosa plants to the effects of acid rain at various pH levels. Sulfuric acid was used to simulate acid rain, with prepared solutions having four different pH values. Paper chromatography showed that the plant’s pigment begins splitting more and the chlorophyll further deteriorated. The plants also started to lose their ability to be soluble. Through spectrophotometry, plants with the lowest pH levels of acid were losing their capacity to absorb light and radiation more quickly since their absorbance values were lower.

The açaizeiro is a palm tree present on a large scale in the northern region of Brazil and in others countries, such as Colombia and Peru, its fruit constitutes one of the main forest products of great economic potential to exportation. However, a generation of large amounts of waste during its processing represents a serious environmental problem, since about 365 tons of açaí stone are discarded in landfills daily in Brazil. The objective of this work was to evaluate the potential of using açaí stone as a substitute of 25% in mass natural sand with filler function, in the development of structural mortars with reference mixture of ratio 1:2:0.45 (cement:sand:water) and waste mixture with1:1.5:0.5:0.45 (cement:sand:açai stone:water), that both mixtures are relationship adopted for structural mortar in the literature. Three different types of mortar were made for evaluation, the reference (without adding stones) and with the addition of natural stone (without treatment and treated with NaOH). After the incorporation of the stones, consistency, water retention, incorporated air content and density in fresh mortars were analyzed, in the fresh state. For evaluation in a hardened state, cylindrical specimens (50 mm × 100 mm) were molded, for compression strength and density tests. The optimum composition was also analyzed with confocal microscopy. It can be seen that in the compression strength tests, mortars with the addition of natural and treated stone showed a reduction, decreasing from 6.25 MPa (reference), to 5.55 MPa (natural stone) and 1.89 MPa (treated stone), this showed that the natural stone mortar was above the minimum of 5.00 MPa reported in the literature. As for density, the evaluations demonstrate a beneficial effect to the incorporation of the stone, which formed lighter mortars, decreasing from 2.12 to 1.79 g/cm3 in the natural composition and 1.85 g/cm3 in the treated composition, in both situations with additions, the values were within the maximum limit of 2 g/cm3 that the literature suggests for structural mortars. In addition, the results of water retention showed an increase in the treated composition (97.28%) in relation to the reference (95.84%), an increase characterized by the treatment in NaOH that reduced the hygroscopic characteristics of the stones, the mixture mortar with treated seed, as well as the reference, presented values above 95%, which is recommended by other studies. The evaluations show that there is a potential for specific structural applications of these mortars, since in all tests the composition with natural stone is within the ideal parameters by Brazilian standard, in addition to helping to solve the environmental impacts caused by discard this waste. As it is a mortar with low compressive strength, its application is suggested for the purpose of repairing specific structural defects that arise in the molding stage of beams, slabs and columns, located in regions with low load demand.

O Canis lupus familiaris e o Cerdocyon thous são mamíferos da família Canidae. No entanto, quando se trata de preservação ambiental, o canídeo silvestre se destaca pelo seu papel como recrutador de plantas nativas e cultivadas. O presente trabalho tem o objetivo de descrever, de forma comparativa, o esqueleto do C. thous, levando em consideração a carência de informações sobre a osteologia desse animal, além da importância de tal conhecimento para instituir, quando necessário, o tratamento clínico e cirúrgico. Foram utilizados crânios de cachorros do mato submetidos ao processo de maceração, limpeza e clarificação. Ao término dessas etapas, efetuou-se a análise morfológica e morfométrica comparativa entre as peças preparadas e os crânios de cachorros domésticos oriundos do Setor de Anatomia Animal da Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro. Durante a execução, foi encontrada uma série de achados no canídeo silvestre que divergiam do doméstico. Além da mensuração das 18 medidas lineares e o cálculo dos índices craniométricos. Embora não há classificação morfológica para o cachorro do mato, o índice cefálico e os outros índices avaliados nesse experimento demonstraram semelhanças entre ele e os cães domésticos classificados como mesaticefálicos. Na análise dos forames cranianos foi possível mensurar as distâncias entre esses detalhes anatômicos e os pontos palpáveis que são utilizados como orientação nos bloqueios anestésicos. Através dessa metodologia identificamos quais parâmetros utilizados para cães domésticos podem ser transcendidos para o canídeo silvestre e, a partir daí serem úteis para a área de anestesiologia veterinária.

(1) The use of agro-industrial wastes, such as coffee husks, in cementitious materials is a viable way to achieve the sustainable development of new construction materials. Traditionally, these wastes are applied after calcination, spending energy and financial resources. Furthermore, the calcination of these wastes contributes to a more sustainable environment. This is interesting because calcination treatments are usually more expensive than those using chemical treatments. Thus, the objective of this research is to evaluate the possibility of using coffee husks with the use of chemical treatments with sodium and potassium hydroxide in mortars for coating and laying blocks. (2) The methodology of this article consists of producing test specimens of mortar for coating and laying blocks in the composition 1:1:6:1.55 (cement: hydrated lime: sand: water), using coffee husks that will be incorporated in quantities of 2.5% in relation to the mass of the cement in its natural state and after treatment with sodium and potassium hydroxide. Compositions containing calcined coffee husks are evaluated for comparison purposes. The evaluated parameters were the mass density in the hardened state, water absorption by immersion and compressive strength. To complement these analyses, XRD, SEM and calorimetry tests were executed to compare the proposed treatments. (3) The results indicate that the use of treatments with NaOH and KOH allows for the use of coffee husks in mortars, since the parameters obtained were compatible with this type of application. The use of natural coffee husks is not possible due to their low compressive strength and high water absorption, caused by porosity. The use of alkaline treatments, especially with KOH, does not affect the hydration of the cement, allowing for the obtention of values statistically equivalent to the reference composition. The results with calcined coffee husks are even more promising due to the high content of amorphous potassium, which promotes the conversion of ettringite into hydrous calcium aluminate monosulfate. (4) It is concluded that, for the application of coffee husks in mortars for coating and laying blocks, the chemical treatment with KOH meets the necessary parameters—for example, a compressive strength greater than 2 MPa, making sustainable building materials and promoting the use of agro-industrial waste in building materials.

As an alternative for ordinary Portland cement, geopolymers are cost effective materials that can be prepared with relatively low energy consumption and substantial reduction of CO2 emissions. In the present study the characteristics of novel hybrid composite of geopolymer foam (GPF)/polylactic acid (PLA) and their efficiency in removing copper(II) and zinc(II) to treat high volumes of polluted water are investigated. Contrary to the conventional methods for removing heavy metals, the newly developed composites are ecological, low-cost, easily available, and economically viable alternatives providing good physical-chemical stability, ion-exchange properties, and a porous structure. Based on the sustainable advantage to produce geopolymers from recycled materials, GPFs were obtained from blast furnace slag (BFS) by reacting 20 ml of an 8 M alkaline solution of sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3) with BFS particles and later addition of hydrogen peroxide. GPFs were produced with a stoichiometry of 1.4 and 1.6 g/L between BFS/alkali solution with a 1.6 ml solution of hydrogen peroxide 50% to develop porosity into the materials. Finally, the GPFs were coated with PLA. Specimens of GPF/PLA composites were characterized by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, and field emission gun scanning electron microscopy. Adsorption analysis of Cu(II) and Zn(II), as well as ion-exchanges from aqueous solution through the composite with 1.4 and 1.6 stoichiometry, were performed using deionized water containing 0.80% Cu(II) or Zn(II). The test resulted in high performance for retaining Cu(II) and Zn(II). Under CO2 pressure at 50 bar, the gas permeation tests confirmed porous formations into the geopolymer foams coated with molten PLA.

The urgent need to find green alternatives to cement concrete in order to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and non-renewable resources that are used to produce cement. This research aims to study the possibility of using volcanic pumice dust (VPD) waste with cement kiln dust (CKD) or Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) to produce alkaline activated green concrete (HAC). VPD was used to improve the mechanical performance, strength, and engineering properties of HAC. CKD and OPC were used as a partial replacement for VPD in different proportions of 0, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 30% by weight. Na2SiO3 and NaOH were used as alkaline activator solutions to realize the alkaline reaction process in geopolymer paste. Workability, compressive strength, and engineering properties, such as bulk density, porosity, and water absorption, were studied. Results of this research indicated that increasing the replacement rates of CKD or OPC decreased slump flow but increased the strength of HAC and enhanced the values of its engineering properties. Geopolymer concrete with OPC and CKD as partial replacement of 30% by weight of VPD achieved an increase of 23% and 8%, respectively, in compressive strength at a test age of 90 days. Meanwhile, 20% VPD replacement by CKD achieved 11% higher compressive strength for the VPD–CKD samples compared with the control mixture. In addition, water absorption rate decreased by 25% and 20%, respectively, compared with the control samples.

The cement industry is responsible for a considerable part of the emission of gases that cause the greenhouse effect. In this context, geopolymer materials have been the subject of extensive studies, as they are an ecologically sustainable viable alternative to Portland cement. The geopolymer consists of a part rich in silica and alumina and another alkaline activating fraction, not having burning steps in its production chain, which consequently reduces the emission of CO2. Geopolymers also allow the incorporation of specific residues in its precursor part, such as calcined clays. The specimens for this study were produced by the molding process, using commercial metakaolin as the basis for the precursor fraction. After demolding, the test cups were subjected to ambient curing at 25 °C and thermal curing at 80 °C, for periods of 7, 14 and 28 days. The objective of this work was to analyze the behavior of geopolymers specimens against the variation of several parameters such as percentage of calcined clay (CC) incorporation into metakaolin in 10% and 20%, its granulometry in 100 and 200 Mesh, the molar ratio of SiO2/Al2O3, type and period of cure to evaluate technological properties such as resistance to bending, open porosity, water absorption, linear shrinkage and bulk density, aiming for future applications in the production of ceramic bricks. The results showed that an increase in the percentage of CC incorporation contributes to an improvement in the flexural strength, reaching 4.88 MPa to 20%. The molar SiO2/Al2O3 ratio of 3.0 was the most ideal. The importance of this study is linked to the evaluation of several parameters for the incorporation of calcined clay, in order to obtain properties required for future applications in ceramic bricks.

Geopolymer concrete (GCC) is a high-performance concrete, where a geopolymer mass serves to bond coarse aggregates, steel fiber and any non-reactive materials. The development of this concrete is an important step for the production of ecologically correct concrete. Indeed, in addition to reducing CO2, a common fact in cement industries, it also uses waste. The fatigue behavior of GCC reinforced with steel fiber was evaluated by dynamically cycled tensile tests and compared with ordinary Portland concrete (OPCC). In both types of concrete, the effects of different cement aging time (1, 7 and 28 days) and ratio of minimum applied stress level (R = σmin/ σflex) with quasi-static flexural strength (0.07, 0.20 and 0.40) as well as the volume fraction of added steel fiber (0.5 and 1.0 vol%) were disclosed. The GCC fatigue resistance associated with the number of cycle to rupture was, in average, higher than that of OPCC and, in particular 96% superior after 7 days of aging. As for the minimum applied stress ratio, the results showed a better performance of the GCC with unchanged mean values 50% higher than those of OPCC. Regarding the addition of steel fibers, comparable values were found for both GCC and OPCC within the standard deviation. These values are significantly higher, more than 4 times, than those of unreinforced concretes. The GCC SEM fractographs revealed a better cement matrix interfacial adhesion with both aggregates and steel fibers, as compared with OPCC. This was attributed to fibrous crystalline phase formation at the GCC cement interfaces.

The development of new building materials that meet technological, economic, and environmental criteria has been highlighted in recent decades, especially regarding the use of alternative raw materials or new production methodologies. In this context, the objective of this project was to promote the development of adobe blocks using clay and manure, contributing to the sustainable development of the construction sector due to the use of adobe blocks, produced by the raw earth technique. Initially, the raw materials were characterized through chemical composition by XRF, mineralogical composition by XRD, granulometry, and Atterberg limits. Later, adobe blocks were produced manually, measuring 20 × 10 × 8 cm3, using three dosing techniques: (i) blocks with clay and manure; (ii) blocks with clay, sand and manure; and (iii) blocks stabilized by Portland cement and hydrated lime. The tests evaluated were compressive strength, water absorption, and durability. The characterization results of the raw materials show that the material used in the research are suitable for production of adobe blocks. The mechanical parameters prove a disadvantage of adobe blocks: their low resistance. Even so, the results with the use of adobe improve the strength of the material, due to the solidification of the adobe structure. In addition, the use of stabilization, mainly Portland cement, allows the results obtained in the research to be compatible with other published articles. Thus, it is concluded that the use of manure and stabilization, such as Portland cement, improve the mechanical behavior and stability of the blocks, which increases the durability of the material.

This article proposes a dosing procedure for interlocking concrete pavements that incorporate ornamental rock waste, with a view to meeting mechanical and molding criteria and ensuring the sustainability of the mineral industry, an economically important sector in Brazil despite environmental issues surrounding its waste generation. The procedure involves evaluating the packing density of the sand, coarse aggregate and waste fines via the minimum void ratio. A simplex lattice experimental design and the theoretical particle size distribution (Alfred) model were used, followed by a 22 factorial with a center point to determine the influence of the factors (proportions) and different water-cement (w/c) ratios (levels). The full cubic model obtained a 95.62 % adjustment index for optimal particle size of the aggregates and waste fines, and the lowest MVR (1.961 103kg/m³). This trend was confirmed by the theoretical Alfred model, with a coefficient of 0.29, and the factorial experiment, with an adjustment index of 97.50 %. Dosing indicated an ideal cement content of 20 %, 15.2 % for sand, 44.8 % for the coarse aggregate and waste fine incorporation of 20 % of the total mass (25 % of the aggregate mass), achieving compressive strength of 36.70 MPa for w/c and water/aggregate ratios of 0.5 and 0.123, respectively, and a carboxylate superplasticizer content of 6% of cement consumption, as well as adequate molding and demolding conditions. An ecotoxicological assessment was conducted, which found that waste fine incorporation posed no risk to the environment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) demonstrated that this mixture exhibited the best mechanical performance, with adequate aggregate particle size distribution and paste coverage, as well as waste fine stability in the cement matrix.

The use of activated alkali cements (AAC) as a replacement for Ordinary Portland cement (OPC) has become a viable alternative. This is due to the advantages of these materials, such as the possibility of using wastes or industrial by-products in their composition, contributing to environmental sustainability, in addition to the mechanical properties’ superior to OPC. The objective of this work was to evaluate the mechanical, physical and durability properties of an AAC based on blast furnace slag. The production of specimens was carried out in the proportion 1:2:0.45 (binder: aggregate: water), varying the sodium content in the alkaline solution between 2.5% and 15% and varying the age of thermal cure at 65ºC in 7 and 28 days. Compressive strength tests, calorimetry, diametrical compressive strength, density, electrical resistivity, capillary water absorption, water absorption and determination of porosity were carried out. It was observed that the compressive strength values for the 10% sodium composition were 22.12 MPa at 7 days and 41.07 MPa at 28 days. OPC, on the other hand, showed strength of 7.85 and 16.25 MPa, at 7 and 28 days in thermal cure at 65ºC, respectively. In addition, the performance of activated alkali cement-based mortar was superior to cement-based mortar in the other parameters evaluated. Thus, it is concluded that the use of blast furnace slag is a viable alternative for the production of AAC, a potential substitute for OPC, a material whose production is extremely polluting.

abstract: The Alkali-Activated Materials (AAM) are defined as materials obtained through the reaction between precursors and activators, and are separated into two classes depending on the products formed in the reaction, those rich in calcium, as the blast furnace slag, whose Ca/(Si+Al) ratio is higher than 1; and poor in calcium, which is the geopolymers subclass. In this review article, some bibliographical aspects were discussed regarding the discovery of these materials, through research conducted by Victor Glukhovsky and through the characterization of historical monuments by Davidovits, which began in the 50s and 60s and persist to the present day. The main products obtained in the alkaline activation reaction were also addressed, using the definition of polysialates and zeolites, in the case of geopolymers, and the tobermorite structure, in the case of materials rich in calcium. The main steps of the alkali-activated reaction, such as dissolution, condensation, polycondensation, crystallization, and hardening, were discussed. Some techniques for characterizing the AA reaction products were also examined, such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry (NMR), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, the main factors that interfere in the kinetics of AA reactions were explored, in which the type of cure and the activating solution used in the alkali-activated materials production stands out.

In 2019, a new virus, SARS-CoV-2, responsible for the COVID-19 disease, was discovered. Asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic patients were forced to quarantine and closely monitor their symptoms and vital signs, most of the time at home. This paper describes e-CoVig, a novel mHealth application, developed as an alternative to the current monitoring paradigm, where the patients are followed up by direct phone contact. The e-CoVig provides a set of functionalities for remote reporting of symptoms, vital signs, and other clinical information to the health services taking care of these patients. The application is designed to register and transmit the heart rate, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), body temperature, respiration, and cough. The system features a mobile application, a web/cloud platform, and a low-cost specific device to acquire the temperature and SpO2. The architecture of the system is flexible and can be configured for different operation conditions. Current commercial devices, such as oximeters and thermometers, can also be used and read using the optical character recognition (OCR) functionality of the system. The data acquired at the mobile application are sent automatically to the web/cloud application and made available in real-time to the medical staff, enabling the follow-up of several users simultaneously without the need for time consuming phone call interactions. The system was already tested for its feasibility and a preliminary deployment was performed on a nursing home showing promising results.

The global sustainable construction aimed to minimize the ecological impacts of constructed facilities’ lifetime. In construction, concretes are the major materials utilized in South East Asia. Thus, it makes environmental and economic sense to utilize recycled materials in the production of new concretes for diverse uses. This review indicated that the practical implementations of the recycled aggregate concretes (RAC) in the area is greatly lacking, even though there are reasonable studies on RAC, particularly because of lack awareness and economic viability of such uses at the present period. This research aims to establish an interdisciplinary consortium with researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and social scientists in Southeast Asia to investigate the development of sustainable, durable, cost-effective, green concrete by utilizing recycled aggregates. Concentrating on waste resource recovery, this research presents an integrated modeling method. The approaches track and forecast a variety of values across technical, economic, social, and environmental areas linking these to the material flow and therefore integrating and building upon one-dimensional models like life cycle assessments (LCAs) and material flow analyses (MFAs). Additionally, the analysis of this study supported the recycling of cement for general use in construction, emphasizing the feasibility, reliability, and longevity of a project at the same time. However, the analysis also demonstrated that although there is fair progress on recycled concrete, there is still a severe lack of appropriate development in particular because of the lack of economic sustainability and knowledge of such applications at present. Raw material conservations were recorded; carbon dioxide costs and footprint were also reduced. Considering the RAC economic, technical, and environmental parameters, frameworks were applied for sustainable selections with target compressive strengths as the major goal.

The great environmental impact caused by mineral production has forced mining and ornamental stone industries to acquire new concepts and technical solutions in order to develop eco-friendly and sustainable activities. In this context, this work aims to study the durability of soil-cement block with the incorporation of limestone residues from the processing of marble as an ornamental stone. Specimens were prepared with 30, 40 and 50 vol% of residues added to the soil-cement mixture and analyzed for their physical, chemical and mineralogical properties. After the curing period, the specimens were subjected to mechanical analysis and the established experimental program showed that the addition of residues in the mixture becomes feasible for the preparation of soil-cement blocks, exhibiting improved results when compare to a reference block without residues.

In the Amazon, approximately 30% of the population is agglomerated in small villages or isolated areas. One of the most serious problems is the lack of electricity, where reduced supply and frequent rationing reduce life quality and prevent the instalation of industries that could raise the value of renewable regional products. Consequently, the pursuit of better socioeconomic conditions promote the quick depletion of natural resources, which invariably results in the accelerated destruction of local ecosystems. Oil palms, that are mainly used for basic nutrition of local populations, could also form the basis for models of self-sustained technological and industrial development. A quantitative survey of native species of oil palms offers an alternative for sustained development based on a technological and industrial model because this resource occurs in populated areas in the Amazon, which facilitates retaining the people in the field, preventing the depletion of natural ecosystems. This study presents the activities that were used to identify the potential of biomass of Euterpe precatoriaMart and other oil palms available in riverside communities in the state of Amazonas (Brazil). These activities are associated with the possibilities of using palm species for sustainable development of energy generation. It was possible to identify the conditions for a sustainable supply of biomass as an alternative energy source which contributes to the Energy Universalization Program in the Brazilian Amazon.

Durante um ano, o pólen transportado por Melipona compressipes manaosensis, Melipona seminigra merrillae, Melipona seminigra seminigra, Frieseomelitta sp. e Scaptotrigona sp. foi coletado diretamente das corbículas das operárias. Feita a identificação dos grãos de pólen constatou-se que a abelha mais generalista foi Scaptotrigona sp., seguida de Frieseomelitta sp., as quais juntas coletaram mais tipos polínicos que as três espécies de meliponas. Duas espécies de plantas: Miconia myrianthera e Myrcia amazonica, tiveram seu pólen coletado pelas cinco espécies de meliponíneos durante o ano todo. Quanto à morfologia do pólen, não houve correlação significativa que comprovasse que as abelhas coletassem o pólen de acordo com a forma, ornamentação e o tamanho dos grãos. As cinco espécies de meliponíneos coletaram pólen de diversas formas e tamanhos. Tudo indica que as abelhas coletam o pólen de acordo com os nutrientes contidos no seu protoplasma. Análises bioquímicas de alguns tipos polínicos encontrados nas corbículas das abelhas apresentaram alto teor de açúcares solúveis totais, açúcares redutores e amido.

Acute hepatitis of unknown etiology (non-HepA-E hepatitis) emerged affecting children in 2021 and in parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the present article, we performed an analysis between two plasma samples from pediatric patients, one with non-HepA-E hepatitis and the other healthy, to evaluate possible proteomic alterations associated with viral targets as possible causative agents and pathophysiological processes using the high-resolution and label-free LC-MS/MS technique. We identified 72 altered differentially expressed proteins, 45 upregulated and 27 downregulated. Gremlin-1, a protein associated with tissue fibrosis, was detected exclusively in the positive sample. Proteins involved in immunological processes, coagulation cascade, complement cascade, lipid transport, oxidative stress, acute inflammatory response, and those related to extracellular matrix deposition were also identified. In addition, some proteins of viral origin were detected, mainly from respiratory viruses. Proteomic studies of diseases such as hepatitis and other hepatopathologies have become essential for understanding pathophysiological processes and detecting molecular triggers., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2024 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Aim: To describe radiographic features, clinical signs and symptoms, and chronological patterns of post-traumatic transient apical breakdown (TAB) in luxated permanent teeth., Methodology: Records from 56 patients treated at the Dental Trauma Clinic of the School of Dentistry of the Federal University of Minas Gerais from 1993 to 2024 were accessed to collect demographic, clinical, and imaging features of 89 teeth that presented with radiographic signs of TAB after traumatic dental injury (TDI). Kaplan-Meier curves were built to illustrate the time elapsed between trauma until TAB onset and resolution for the whole sample and for each one of the TAB patterns. A Cox regression was used to explore the effect of clinical covariates in both events., Results: Patients' mean age at the time of trauma was 17.7 ± 6.6 years (range 9.1 to 39.7 years), with most being male (59.6%). All included teeth were mature at the time of trauma (Moorrees stage 6). Upper central incisors (66.3%) were predominant and mostly suffered extrusions (40.4%) or lateral luxations (32.6%). TAB was observed as an expansion of the periodontal ligament associated with a "V-shaped" widening of the apical foramen together with apical root resorption in 45 teeth (50.6%). Expansion of the periodontal ligament associated with "V-shaped widening of the apical foramen only was observed in 32 teeth (36%), and 12 teeth (13.5%) showed expansion of the periodontal ligament associated with apical root resorption only. The overall median time for TAB onset was 3.2 months (range, 26 days to 8 months), being significantly lower for pattern 2 (1.8 months) when compared to TAB pattern 1 and 3 (3.4, and 3.9 months) respectively (Logrank test p values < 0.001 for both comparisons). The overall median time for TAB regression was 9.1 months (range, 4.8 to 34.8 months) after trauma. Again, TAB pattern 2 presented lower periods when compared to TAB pattern 1 and 3 (Logrank test p values < 0.001 and 0.013, respectively). Color changes were not frequent neither at the time of TAB onset nor at the time of TAB resolution. However, while most teeth (53.3%) did not respond to pulp sensibility tests at the time of TAB onset, this proportion decreased to 17.6% by the time of TAB resolution., Conclusion: TAB was mainly diagnosed within four months after luxation of mature teeth, most of them being resolved within the 1-year of follow-up. The most frequent TAB pattern was an expansion of the PDL associated with a "V-shaped" widening of the apical foramen together with external apical root resorption., Clinical Relevance: These findings represent an important contribution for treatment decision-making during the follow-up of luxated permanent teeth., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval: Study approval was obtained from COEP-UFMG—4.384.144. Patient consent: All study participants and/or their legal guardians consented and signed the terms of consent and assent for participation in the study and authorization to use the data in the research. These documents will be made available upon request. Contact info: julianavbtrauma@gmail.com. Permission to reproduce material from other sources: Not applicable. Clinical trial registration: Not applicable. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Introduction: The use of pneumoperitoneum is an essential step for performing laparoscopic and robotic surgery. Pneumoperitoneum insufflation can cause complications such as pneumothorax, subcutaneous emphysema, and pneumomediastinum. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to compare the safety of using the conventional insufflation system versus a Valveless insufflation system as devices for manufacturing pneumoperitoneum in robotic-assisted nephrectomy., Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PUBMED, EMBASE, SCOPUS, and Cochrane, from inception until January 2024. Randomized and nonrandomized prospective studies were included in the meta-analysis, performed by the R+ Rstudio., Results: Three publications encompassing 478 patients were included. We observed no difference in SCE (OR 0.60, CI 95% 0.27;1.34, p = 0.134, I 2  = 0), PNM (OR 0.82, CI 95% 0.24;2.78, p = 0.558, I 2  = 0), When comparing groups conventional insufflation system (CIS) versus AirSealTM insufflation system (AIS) with pneumoperitoneum pressure of 15 mmHg or 12 mmHg., Conclusion: The presented data showed no difference between the AIS when compared with CIS in Pneumoperitoneum insufflation-related complications., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Splenic tumors are very common in dogs, and canine hemangiosarcoma (HSA) is one of the most important malignant splenic tumors. Surgery followed by chemotherapy (anthracycline-based protocols) is recommended for treating canine HSA; however, patients still do not achieve long-term survival. Therefore, this research aimed to assess vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 ( VEGFR-2 ) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor-β ( PDGFR-β ) gene expression in formalin-fixed tissues, evaluate the quality of mRNA for quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis and identify drug repositioning candidates based on VEGFR-2 and PDGFR-β. qPCR analysis identified the relative expression of heterogeneous VEGFR-2 and PDGFR-β, with samples showing no transcripts or very low expression and those with higher relative quantification for both genes. We then used immunohistochemistry to correlate the relative quantification of VEGFR-2 and PDGFR-β transcripts with respective higher protein expression to validate our results. In the next step, we evaluated drug repositioning candidates and identified small molecule inhibitors (i.e. sorafenib) and natural compounds (curcumin and resveratrol) with the ability to block VEGFR-2 and PDGFR-β genes. Overall, our results indicated that VEGFR-2 and PDGFR-β expression is highly variable among canine HSA samples and different drugs can block the expression of both genes. Therefore, a personalized approach could be useful for selecting anti-VEGFR-2 and PDGFR-β therapies and both genes are potential candidates for future oncological panels., Competing Interests: Conflict of interests: Two authors of this study are all current employees of VetPrecision Laboratory (I.S.T.V. and C.F.F-A) and Institute of Veterinary Oncology – IOVET (C.E.F-A), and hold vested or unvested equity in both companies. This does not alter the authors’ adherence to Cell Insight policies.

Oil spills, detected by SAR sensors as dark areas, are highly effective marine pollutants that affect the ocean surface. These spills change the water surface tension, attenuating capillary gravitational waves and causing specular reflections. We conducted a case study in the Persian Gulf (Arabian Sea to the Strait of Hormuz), where approximately 163,900 gal of crude oil spilled in March 2017. Our study examined the relationship between oil weathering processes and extracted backscatter values using zonal slices projected over SAR-detected oil spills. Internal backscatter values ranged from -22.5 to -23.5, indicating an oil chemical binding and minimal interaction with seawater. MEDSLIK-II simulations indicated increased oil solubilization and radar attenuation rates with wind, facilitating coastal dispersion. Higher backscatter at the spill edges compared to the core reflected different stages of oil weathering. These results highlight the complex dynamics of oil spills and their environmental impact on marine ecosystems., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Jose Milton Neves de Souza Junior reports financial support was provided by National Agency of Oil Natural Gas and Biofuels Rio de Janeiro. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This work presents a magnetic purification method of human erythrocyte Acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7; AChE) based on affinity binding to procainamide (Proca) as ligand. Acetylcholinesterase is an acetylcholine-regulating enzyme found in different areas of the body and associated with various neurological disorders, such as Parkinson, Alzheymer and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. AChE from human erythrocyte purification has been attempted in recent years with low degree of purity. Here, magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) were synthesized and coated with polyaniline (PANI) and procainamide (PROCA) was covalently linked to the PANI. The extracted human erythrocyte AChE formed a complex with the MNP@PANI-PROCA and an external magnet separated it from the undesired proteins. Finally, the enzyme was collected by increasing the ionic strength. Experimental Box-Behnken design was developed to optimize this process of human erythrocyte AChE purification protocol. The enzyme was purified in all fifteen experiments. However, the best AChE purification result was achieved, about 2000 times purified, when 100 mg of MNP@PANI-PROCA was incubated for one hour with 4 ml hemolysate extract. The SDS-PAGE of this preparation presented a molecular weight of approximately 70 kDa, corroborating with few previous studies of AChE from erythrocyte purification., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

As the area of robotics achieves promising results, there is an increasing need to scale robotic software architectures towards real-world domains. Traditionally, robotic architectures are integrated using common frameworks, such as ROS. Therefore, systems with a uniform structure are produced, making it difficult to integrate third party contributions. Virtualisation technologies can simplify the problem, but their use is uncommon in robotics and general integration procedures are still missing. This paper proposes and evaluates a containerised approach for designing and integrating multiform robotic architectures. Our approach aims at augmenting preexisting architectures by including third party contributions. The integration complexity and computational performance of our approach is benchmarked on the EU H2020 SecondHands robotic architecture. Results demonstrate that our approach grants simplicity and flexibility of setup when compared to a non-virtualised version. The computational overhead of using our approach is negligible as resources were optimally exploited., Competing Interests: Authors GC, RR, GD, and JK were employed by Ocado Technology., (Copyright © 2024 Cotugno, Rodrigues, Deacon and Konstantinova.)

Aim: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate permanent teeth with post-traumatic transversal root fractures, for their initial healing modality, the effect of candidate predictors and their long-term prognosis., Methodology: A retrospective longitudinal clinical study was conducted to evaluate records from patients bearing transversal root fractures in permanent teeth in order to radiographically assess short-term healing and non-healing events in the fracture line, their prognostic factors and their relationship with long term outcomes. The inter-fragmentary tissues were classified as healing: hard tissue (HT), connective tissue (CT) or connective tissue and bone (CT + B) and non-healing: interposition of granulation tissue (GT). A competing risk survival analysis was conducted to estimate the hazards of healing and non-healing events in the short-term and the effect of demographic, clinical, and treatment variables was assessed using the subdistribution regression model (Fine & Gray)., Results: Radiographic findings showed 61.4% of healing in the short-term being strongly influenced by the presence and type of concomitant injuries to the coronal fragment. Teeth with concomitant crown fractures (sHR 24.38, 95% CI [3.16-188.3], p = 0.0022), luxations with dislocations (sHR 10.58, 95% CI [1.37-81.9], p = 0.0240) and subluxations (HR 9.66, 95% CI [1.14-81.7], p = 0.0370) were more likely to present non-healing of root fractures in the short-term. The healing rate in the long-term was of 75.9%, most of them with interposition of bone and connective tissue. Kappa statistics demonstrated an overall agreement of 67.1% between short and long-term healing patterns, in special HT and CT + Bone modalities., Conclusion: Healing at the fracture site was the most frequent outcome, both in the short-term and in the long-term. Short-term healing modality was strongly influenced by the presence and type of concomitant injuries to the crown fragment, being the worst prognosis observed in root-fractured teeth with concomitant crown fractures, followed by concomitant luxations with dislocation., Clinical Relevance: Post-traumatic transversal root fractures have a positive prognosis supporting therefore, a more conservative approach for these teeth before considering more radical treatments., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Full-thickness cutaneous trauma, due to the lack of dermis, leads to difficulty in epithelialization by keratinocytes, developing a fibrotic scar, with less elasticity than the original skin, which may have disorders in predisposed individuals, resulting in hypertrophic scar and keloids. Biomedical materials have excellent characteristics, such as good biocompatibility and low immunogenicity, which can temporarily replace traditional materials used as primary dressings. In this work, we developed two dermal matrices based on Nile tilapia collagen, with (M&#95;GAG) and without (M) glycosaminoglycans, using a sugarcane polymer membrane as a matrix support. To assess the molecular mechanisms driving wound healing, we performed qualitative proteomic analysis on the wound bed in an in vivo study involving immunocompetent murine models at 14 and 21 days post-full-thickness skin injury. Gene Ontology and Pathway analysis revealed that both skins were markedly represented by modulation of the immune system, emphasizing controlling the acute inflammation response at 14 and 21 days post-injury. Furthermore, both groups showed significant enrichment of pathways related to RNA and protein metabolism, suggesting an increase in protein synthesis required for tissue repair and proper wound closure. Other pathways, such as keratinization and vitamin D3 metabolism, were also enriched in the groups treated with M matrix. Finally, both matrices improved wound healing in a full post-thick skin lesion. However, our preliminary molecular data reveals that the collagen-mediated healing matrix lacking glycosaminoglycan (M) exhibited a phenotype more favorable to tissue repair, making it more suitable for use before skin grafts., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has a significant impact on sickle cell disease (SCD) morbidity and mortality. Early identification of individuals at highest risk of developing CKD may allow therapeutic intervention to prevent worse outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and risk factors for reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) among adults with SCD in Brazil. Participants in the REDS-III multicenter SCD cohort with more severe genotypes aged ≥ 18 years with at least two serum creatinine values were analyzed. The eGFR was calculated using the Jamaica Sickle Cell Cohort Study GFR equation. The eGFR categories were defined according to the K/DOQI. Participants with eGFR ≥ 90 were compared to those with those with eGFR < 90. Among the 870 participants, 647 (74.4%) had eGFR ≥ 90, 211 (24.3%) had eGFR 60 to 89, six (0.7%) had eGFR 30 to 59, and six (0.7%) had ESRD. Male sex (OR: 37.3; 95%CI: 22.4-65.1), higher age (OR: 1.04; 95%CI: 1.02-1.06), higher diastolic blood pressure (OR: 1.03; 95%CI: 1.009-1.06), lower Hb (OR: 0.80; 95%CI: 0.68-0.93), and lower reticulocytes (OR: 0.94; 95%CI: 0.89-0.99) levels were independently associated with eGFR < 90. There was a trend towards higher odds of death in participants with eGFR < 90 (OR: 1.8; 95%CI: 0.95-3.32; p = 0.065). In turn, participants with eGFR < 60 had a 12.2 (95%CI: 2.1-96.9) times higher odds for death when compared to those with eGFR ≥ 60. In this study, eGFR < 90 was observed in one-quarter of adults. Older age, male sex, higher diastolic blood pressure, lower hemoglobin, and lower reticulocyte levels were associated with occurrence of eGFR < 90. Estimated GFR < 60 increased the risk of mortality., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Hemangiosarcoma is a mesenchymal neoplasm originating in the endothelial cells of blood vessels; they can be classified as non-visceral and visceral types. Non-visceral hemangiosarcomas can affect the skin, subcutaneous tissues, and muscle tissues; visceral hemangiosarcomas can affect the spleen, liver, heart, lungs, kidneys, oral cavity, bones, bladder, uterus, tongue, and retroperitoneum. Among domestic species, dogs are most affected by cutaneous HSA. Cutaneous HSA represents approximately 14% of all HSA diagnosed in this species and less than 5% of dermal tumors, according to North American studies. However, Brazilian epidemiological data demonstrate a higher prevalence, which may represent 27 to 80% of all canine HSAs and 13.9% of all skin neoplasms diagnosed in this species. Cutaneous HSA most commonly affects middle-aged to elderly dogs (between 8 and 15 years old), with no gender predisposition for either the actinic or non-actinic forms. The higher prevalence of cutaneous HSA in some canine breeds is related to lower protection from solar radiation, as low skin pigmentation and hair coverage lead to greater sun exposure. Actinic changes, such as solar dermatosis, are frequent in these patients, confirming the influence of solar radiation on the development of this neoplasm. There are multiple clinical manifestations of hemangiosarcoma in canines. The diagnostic approach and staging classification of cutaneous HSAs are similar between the different subtypes. The definitive diagnosis is obtained through histopathological analysis of incisional or excisional biopsies. Cytology can be used as a presurgical screening test; however, it has little diagnostic utility in cases of HSA because there is a high risk of blood contamination and sample hemodilution. Surgery is generally the treatment of choice for dogs with localized non-visceral HSA without evidence of metastatic disease. Recently, electrochemotherapy (ECT) has emerged as an alternative therapy for the local ablative treatment of different neoplastic types; the use of radiotherapy for the treatment of dogs with cutaneous HSA is uncommon. There is greater consensus in the literature regarding the indications for adjuvant chemotherapy in subcutaneous and muscular HSA; doxorubicin is the most frequently used antineoplastic agent for subcutaneous and muscular subtypes and can be administered alone or in combination with other drugs. Other therapies include antiangiogenic therapy, photodynamic therapy, the association of chemotherapy with the metronomic dose, targeted therapies, and natural products. The benefits of these therapies are presented and discussed. In general, the prognosis of splenic and cardiac HSA is unfavorable. As a challenging neoplasm, studies of new protocols and treatment modalities are necessary to control this aggressive disease.

Background: Severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients frequently require mechanical ventilation (MV) and undergo prolonged periods of bed rest with restriction of activities during the intensive care unit (ICU) stay. Our aim was to address the degree of mobilization in critically ill patients with COVID-19 undergoing to MV support., Methods: Retrospective single-center cohort study. We analyzed patients' mobility level, through the Perme ICU Mobility Score (Perme Score) of COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU. The Perme Mobility Index (PMI) was calculated [PMI = ΔPerme Score (ICU discharge-ICU admission)/ICU length of stay], and patients were categorized as "improved" (PMI > 0) or "not improved" (PMI ≤ 0). Comparisons were performed with stratification according to the use of MV support., Results: From February 2020, to February 2021, 1,297 patients with COVID-19 were admitted to the ICU and assessed for eligibility. Out of those, 949 patients were included in the study [524 (55.2%) were classified as "improved" and 425 (44.8%) as "not improved"], and 396 (41.7%) received MV during ICU stay. The overall rate of patients out of bed and able to walk ≥ 30 meters at ICU discharge were, respectively, 526 (63.3%) and 170 (20.5%). After adjusting for confounders, independent predictors of improvement of mobility level were frailty (OR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.29-0.94; p = 0.03); SAPS III Score (OR: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.57-0.99; p = 0.04); SOFA Score (OR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.43-0.78; p < 0.001); use of MV after the first hour of ICU admission (OR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.17-0.99; p = 0.04); tracheostomy (OR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30-0.95; p = 0.03); use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (OR: 0.21; 95% CI: 0.05-0.8; p = 0.03); neuromuscular blockade (OR: 0.53; 95% CI: 0.3-0.95; p = 0.03); a higher Perme Score at admission (OR: 0.35; 95% CI: 0.28-0.43; p < 0.001); palliative care (OR: 0.05; 95% CI: 0.01-0.16; p < 0.001); and a longer ICU stay (OR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.61-0.97; p = 0.04) were associated with a lower chance of mobility improvement, while non-invasive ventilation within the first hour of ICU admission and after the first hour of ICU admission (OR: 2.45; 95% CI: 1.59-3.81; p < 0.001) and (OR: 2.25; 95% CI: 1.56-3.26; p < 0.001), respectively; and vasopressor use (OR: 2.39; 95% CI: 1.07-5.5; p = 0.03) were associated with a higher chance of mobility improvement., Conclusion: The use of MV reduced mobility status in less than half of critically ill COVID-19 patients., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the bundle of techniques developed by the multidisciplinary team to minimize infections in an adult intensive care unit over a 22-year span. Two periods were analyzed: 1996-2006 and 2007-2017. Bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia declined 58.6%, 56.7%, and 82.6%, respectively (P < .05) from 2007 to 2017 compared with these same infections during 1996-2006., (Copyright © 2022 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Hereditary gingival fibromatosis is the most common genetic form of gingival fibromatosis that develops as a slow, progressive, benign, localized, or generalized enlargement of the keratinized gingiva. It is a genetically heterogeneous disorder transmitted as an autosomal dominant or autosomal recessive trait or appears sporadically. Here, we report a case of a male patient with generalized gingival hyperplasia with great tissue extension to the palatal region, bilateral mandibular torus, bilateral exostosis in the maxillary posterior region, anterior open bite, and diastema in anterior maxilla and mandible teeth. The mucous membranes were healthy and normal colored, with pale pink gums and firm teeth upon palpation. Computed tomography also revealed images suggestive of supernumerary teeth. The patient reported that his mother and a maternal aunt have the same gingival condition. Considering the gingival characteristic, the patient's family history, and the absence of other possible etiological factors of gingival hyperplasia, the diagnostic hypothesis was hereditary gingival fibromatosis. The surgical removal of the enlarged tissue through gingivectomy with internal bevel, osteoplasty, and removal of supernumerary teeth with a subsequent filling of the surgical sites with platelet and leukocyte-rich fibrin membranes in the same surgical time presented good functional and aesthetic results for the young patient with hereditary gingival fibromatosis. It is a viable possibility for clinical management of similar cases., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright © 2022, Afonso et al.)

Mast cell tumors (MCTs) are hematopoietic neoplasms composed of mast cells. It is highly common in dogs and is extremely important in the veterinary oncology field. It represents the third most common tumor subtype, and is the most common malignant skin tumor in dogs, corresponding to 11% of skin cancer cases. The objective of this critical review was to present the report of the 2nd Consensus meeting on the Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Treatment of Canine Cutaneous and Subcutaneous Mast Cell Tumors, which was organized by the Brazilian Association of Veterinary Oncology (ABROVET) in August 2021. The most recent information on cutaneous and subcutaneous mast cell tumors in dogs is presented and discussed.

Biomphalaria spp. snails are intermediary hosts of Schistosoma mansoni, etiologic agent of intestinal schistosomiasis, one of the most important neglected tropical diseases. Biomphalaria straminea is an important intermediary host that possess a different phenotype to parasite infection but shows a large geographic distribution and high capacity of new ecologic niche invasion. Our purpose was to characterize for the first time the differentially expressed proteome in B. straminea during two times intervals after primary and secondary exposure to S. mansoni. The hemolymph was collected at 1 and 15 days after primary and secondary exposure of snails to the parasite. Total proteins were extracted and digested with trypsin. LC-MS/MS label-free quantification was performed and analyzed using Maxquant and Perseus software. Proteins were identified and annotated using Blast2GO tools. After 1 day of exposure, most of upregulated proteins are hemoglobin type 2, C and H type lectins, molecules related to cell adhesion, and response to oxidative stress. After 15 days, we found a similar pattern of upregulated proteins but some fibrinogen-related proteins (FREPs) and TEPs homologs were downregulated. Regarding the differentially expressed proteins during secondary response, the principal immune-related proteins upregulated were C and H type lectins, cellular adhesion molecules, biomphalysin, and FREP3. We noted a several upregulated biological processes during both responses that could be the one of the key points of efficacy in the immune response to parasite. Our data suggests different immune mechanisms used by B. straminea snails challenged with S. mansoni., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The majority of the melanocytic neoplasms are considered malignant and highly metastatic. However, a subset of the melanocytic tumors has a more favorable prognosis and the identification of precise prognostic markers for this neoplasm may be useful to guide treatment. The collagen architecture and density have been shown to correlate with tumor progression in human breast cancer and canine mast cell tumors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prognostic value of the intratumoral collagen index (ICI) as an indicator of postsurgical survival and its relation with other prognostic markers for canine oral melanomas (OMs). Twenty-two cases were tested for intratumoral collagen density using Masson's trichrome stain and morphometry. No differences were found between dogs regarding survival. The ICI was not correlated with proliferative activity or nuclear atypia. The results presented herein indicate that the quantity of intratumoral collagen in canine OMs is not an efficient indicator of postsurgical survival. Complementary studies about the expression and activity of enzymes that are capable of degrading extracellular matrix (ECM) components are necessary.