Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2016-08"
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- Study of scattered radiation during fluoroscopy in hip surgeryPublication . Lesyuk, Oksana; Sousa, Patrick; Rodrigues, Sónia Isabel do Espírito Santo; Abrantes, António; Almeida, Rui; Pinheiro, João; Azevedo, Kevin; Ribeiro, LuísObjetivo: Medir a intensidade da dose de radiação espalhada em diferentes posições simulando uma intervenção cirúrgica no quadril. Materiais e Métodos: Simulou-se uma intervenção cirúrgica no quadril com apoio da fluoroscopia para estudar a distribuição da radiação espalhada no bloco operatório. Para simular o paciente foi utilizado um simulador antropomórfico de corpo inteiro e para medir a radiação utilizou-se um detector específico para medir raios X. Realizaram-se incidências com um equipamento de raios X tipo arco em C móvel, em modo de escopia contínua, com a ampola a 0° (configuração 1) e a 90° (configuração 2). Os parâmetros operacionais utilizados (voltagem, corrente, tempo de exposição) foram determinados por meio de um estudo estatístico resultante da observação de cirurgias ortopédicas de quadril. Resultados: Em todas as medições observaram-se exposições mais elevadas na configuração 2. Nas medições em função da altura, observaram-se os valores máximos da taxa de dose de 1,167 (± 0,023) µSv/s e 2,278 (± 0,023) µSv/s nas configurações 1 e 2, respectivamente, correspondendo à altura do tórax dos profissionais. No estudo em torno do paciente os valores máximos registraramse na posição ocupada pelo médico cirurgião. Conclusão: Concluiu-se que a exposição à radiação dos profissionais é baixa, podendo ainda ser reduzida mediante o uso de equipamentos de proteção individual
- A Europa e o mar: inovação e investigação científica em PortugalPublication . Universidade do AlgarveDecorreu na Universidade do Algarve, em 16 de outubro de 2015, um debate subordinado ao tema “A Europa e Mar”. Este debate, promovido pelo Gabinete do Parlamento Europeu, foi organizado em parceria com a Universidade do Algarve e com a Comissão de Coordenação e Desenvolvimento Regional do Algarve. Participaram ativamente no debate os deputados portugueses com assento na Comissão das Pescas do Parlamento Europeu, Ricardo Serrão Santos, Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar, João Ferreira e António Marinho e Pinto. Participaram também vários investigadores da Universidade do Algarve com atividade científica de reconhecido mérito na área das Ciências do Mar, que proferiram comunicações inseridas nas temáticas dos recursos marinhos e biodiversidade e da economia azul. Seguiu-se um debate aberto em que participaram outras partes interessadas presentes, representantes de entidades públicas e privadas ligadas à economia do mar. O debate contou com uma intervenção final do Doutor Mário Ruivo. O desafio endereçado pelo Gabinete do Parlamento Europeu para a realização deste debate na Universidade do Algarve, que muito nos honrou, revela o justíssimo reconhecimento da relevância da Universidade do Algarve na área do Mar. A Universidade do Algarve (UAlg) é uma das mais jovens universidades públicas Portuguesas. Todavia, em poucas décadas de existência a UAlg conseguiu implantar-se como um centro de ensino e investigação de excelência na área das Ciências do Mar.
- Market segmentation and their potential economic impacts in an ecotourism destination: an applied modelling study on Hokkaido, JapanPublication . Neuts, Bart; Romão, João; Nijkamp, Peter; Shikida, AsamiIn a heterogeneous tourist market, segmentation is a valuable marketing tool to focus attention on the most advantageous clusters of visitors. In an ecotourism destination, the attractiveness of tourists may be defined by their ecological awareness, but also their (potential) economic impact, since there is a need to balance ecological sustainability and economic viability. This article proposes a model-based latent class analysis of visitors' preferences and choices in order to identify different demand clusters in the Shiretoko Peninsula, Japan. The method yields four distinct clusters, each differing in motivations, information search and activities undertaken. We also describe how our approach can be used to make informed decisions about management strategies on tourist heterogeneity in order to maximize benefits for the local economy.
- Survival and growth of Cronobacter sakazakii on fresh-cut fruit and the effect of UV-C illumination and electrolyzed water in the reduction of its populationPublication . Santo, David; Graça, Ana; Nunes, Carla; Quintas, CéliaCronobacter sakazakii, found in foods such as powdered infant formula and plant origin ready-to-eat food, is an opportunistic pathogen to infants, neonates and vulnerable adults. The objective of this study was to monitor the growth of C. sakazakii in fresh-cut 'Royal gala' apple, 'Rocha' pear, and 'Piel de sapo' melon, and the effect of UV-C illumination, acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) and neutral electfolyzed water (NEW) in the reduction of its population. Fresh-cut fruits were inoculated and incubated at different temperatures during 10 days while monitoring C. sakazakii. The inhibitory activity of different doses of UV-C (0-10 kj.m(2)), electrolyzed water and sodium hypochlorite (SH) (100 ppm chlorine) was evaluated on the fruits inoculated with C sakazakii. The bacterium showed a significant growth in the fruits at 12 and 20 C, but did not grow at 4 C, despite having survived for TO days. At 8 C, adaptation phases of 0.6-3.9 days were estimated in the fruits before exponential growth. The UV-C 7.5 and 10 kJ/m(2) produced greater C. sakazakii population decreases (2-2.4 log cfu/g) than AEW (1.3-1.8 log cfu/g), NEW (1-12 log cfu/g) and SH (0.8-1.4 log cfu/g). The UV-C decontamination system and refrigeration at 4 degrees C, may contribute to the product's safety and quality. The results help better understand the behavior of C sakazakii on fresh-cut fruit alerting producers of the necessity to respect the high hygienic practices, adequate refrigerating temperature maintenance and caution with the tendency to prolong the validity of this kind of ready-to-eat food. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
- Russell body gastritis in an Hp-negative patientPublication . Antunes, Artur Gião; Cadillá, Jesus; Velasco, FranciscoA 79-year-old woman with a longstanding gastrooesophageal reflux disease was admitted to the emergency room for haematemesis without other symptoms.
- Organellar phylogenomics of an emerging model system: Sphagnum (peatmoss)Publication . Shaw, A. Jonathan; Devos, Nicolas; Liu, Yang; Cox, C. J.; Goffinet, B.; Flatberg, Kjell Ivar; Shaw, BlankaBackground and Aims Sphagnum-dominated peatlands contain approx. 30 % of the terrestrial carbon pool in the form of partially decomposed plant material (peat), and, as a consequence, Sphagnum is currently a focus of studies on biogeochemistry and control of global climate. Sphagnum species differ in ecologically important traits that scale up to impact ecosystem function, and sequencing of the genome from selected Sphagnum species is currently under-way. As an emerging model system, these resources for Sphagnum will facilitate linking nucleotide variation to plant functional traits, and through those traits to ecosystem processes. A solid phylogenetic framework for Sphagnum is crucial to comparative analyses of species-specific traits, but relationships among major clades within Sphagnum have been recalcitrant to resolution because the genus underwent a rapid radiation. Herein a well-supported hypothesis for phylogenetic relationships among major clades within Sphagnum based on organellar genome sequences (plastid, mitochondrial) is provided.Methods We obtained nucleotide sequences (273 753 nucleotides in total) from the two organellar genomes from 38 species (including three outgroups). Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using a variety of methods applied to nucleotide and amino acid sequences. The Sphagnum phylogeny was rooted with sequences from the related Sphagnopsida genera, Eosphagnum and Flatbergium.Key Results Phylogenetic analyses of the data converge on the following subgeneric relationships: (Rigida (((Subsecunda) (Cuspidata)) ((Sphagnum) (Acutifolia))). All relationships were strongly supported. Species in the two major clades (i.e. Subsecunda + Cuspidata and Sphagnum + Acutifolia), which include > 90 % of all Sphagnum species, differ in ecological niches and these differences correlate with other functional traits that impact biogeochemical cycling. Mitochondrial intron presence/absence are variable among species and genera of the Sphagnopsida. Two new nomenclatural combinations are made, in the genera Eosphagnum and Flatbergium.Conclusions Newly resolved relationships now permit phylogenetic analyses of morphological, biochemical and ecological traits among Sphagnum species. The results clarify long-standing disagreements about subgeneric relationships and intrageneric classification.
- Improving positive and negative bias illumination stress stability in parylene passivated IGZO transistorsPublication . Kiazadeh, Asal; Gomes, Henrique L.; Barquinha, Pedro; Martins, Jorge; Rovisco, Ana; Pinto, Joana V.; Martins, Rodrigo; Fortunato, ElviraThe impact of a parylene top-coating layer on the illumination and bias stress instabilities of indium-gallium-zinc oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) is presented and discussed. The parylene coating substantially reduces the threshold voltage shift caused by continuous application of a gate bias and light exposure. The operational stability improves by 75%, and the light induced instability is reduced by 35%. The operational stability is quantified by fitting the threshold voltage shift with a stretched exponential model. Storage time as long as 7 months does not cause any measurable degradation on the electrical performance. It is proposed that parylene plays not only the role of an encapsulation layer but also of a defect passivation on the top semiconductor surface. It is also reported that depletion-mode TFTs are less sensitive to light induced instabilities. This is attributed to a defect neutralization process in the presence of free electrons. Published by AIP Publishing.
- Early programming of the oocyte epigenome temporally controls late prophase I transcription and chromatin remodellingPublication . Navarro-Costa, Paulo; McCarthy, Alicia; Prudencio, Pedro; Greer, Christina; Guilgur, Leonardo Gastón; Becker, Jorg D.; Secombe, Julie; Rangan, Prashanth; Martinho, Rui GoncaloOocytes are arrested for long periods of time in the prophase of the first meiotic division (prophase I). As chromosome condensation poses significant constraints to gene expression, the mechanisms regulating transcriptional activity in the prophase I-arrested oocyte are still not entirely understood. We hypothesized that gene expression during the prophase I arrest is primarily epigenetically regulated. Here we comprehensively define the Drosophila female germ line epigenome throughout oogenesis and show that the oocyte has a unique, dynamic and remarkably diversified epigenome characterized by the presence of both euchromatic and heterochromatic marks. We observed that the perturbation of the oocyte's epigenome in early oogenesis, through depletion of the dKDM5 histone demethylase, results in the temporal deregulation of meiotic transcription and affects female fertility. Taken together, our results indicate that the early programming of the oocyte epigenome primes meiotic chromatin for subsequent functions in late prophase I.
- Genetic diversity of Saccharina latissima (Phaeophyceae) along a salinity gradient in the North Sea-Baltic Sea transition zonePublication . Nielsen, Mette Moller; Paulino, Cristina; Neiva, J.; Krause-Jensen, Dorte; Bruhn, Annette; Serrão, EsterThe North Sea-Baltic Sea transition zone constitutes a boundary area for the kelp species Saccharina latissima due to a strong salinity gradient operating in the area. Furthermore, the existence of S.latissima there, along Danish waters, is fairly patchy as hard bottom is scarce. In this study, patterns of genetic diversity of S.latissima populations were evaluated along the salinity gradient area of Danish waters (here designated brackish) and were compared to reference sites (here designated marine) outside the gradient area, using microsatellite markers. The results showed that the S.latissima populations were structured into two clusters corresponding to brackish versus marine sites, and that gene flow was reduced both between clusters and between populations within clusters. In addition, results provided empirical evidence that marginal populations of S.latissima in the salinity gradient area exhibited a distinct genetic structure when compared to marine ones. Brackish populations were less diverse, more related, and showed increased differentiation over distance compared to marine populations. The isolation of the brackish S.latissima populations within the salinity gradient area of Danish waters in conjunction with their general low genetic diversity makes these populations vulnerable to ongoing environmental and climate change, predicted to result in declining salinity in the Baltic Sea area that may alter the future distribution and performance of S.latissima in the area.
- Tourism growth and regional resilience: the "beach disease' and the consequences of the global crisis of 2007Publication . Romão, João; Guerreiro, J.; Rodrigues, Paulo M. M.As a consequence of the international financial crisis in 2007, the region of Algarve, where tourism plays an important economic and social role, suffered a decrease in tourism demand, while unemployment increased sharply. Although tourism activities registered a quick recovery, unemployment levels continued to grow. This article examines the impacts of tourism activities on the sectorial structure of the regional economy, using a Bayesian vector autoregressive model. The results reveal that tourism growth did not automatically create the expected positive impacts on the economic performance of the other sectors, as was expressed by the objectives defined in the regional development strategies over the last two decades. The positive impacts of tourism were concentrated in the production of non-tradable goods and the construction sector, leading to a significant reduction of the weight of the tradable sector within the regional economy, similar to a process of deindustrialization described as the Dutch disease'. The decline of construction activities after 2007 has led to a significant increase of regional unemployment, although tourism growth has returned to pre-crisis' levels, revealing the lack of regional resilience.