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In peripheral countries, the lack of adequate urban planning associated with natural dynamics intensifies the existing vulnerabilities of the environment, causing physical and material losses. Therefore, this research aims to discuss the potential use of Environmental Protection Areas as a tool to drive urban growth with a low-impact development, helping to mitigate urban floods and bringing nature into the city landscape. The municipality of Maricá, located in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is taken as a case study. The method proposed to drive the regional environmental planning and management can be described as a three-stage method coupled with the adapted SWOT Matrix, following: the diagnosis, the prognosis, and the action plan. This process points to the definition of a Hydrological Interest Area that would allow not only the restoration of local vegetation and a better interaction of the population with the watercourses, but also the recovery of areas that have been gradually impacted by the urban expansion. The method presented in this research allows its application in different urban contexts, once it has the objective of recognizing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to allow the elaboration of sustainable actions and guidelines.

(1) Background: The goal of this study was to analyze the reliability and validity of the Portuguese version of the SARC-F in older adults. (2) Methods: A total of 100 participants (77.1 ± 7.36 years, 73% women) were included in the study. In a first phase, the Portuguese SARC-F was adapted following the standardized forward-backward translation procedure, and internal consistency as well as inter-rater and test-retest reliability of the Portuguese SARC-F were analyzed. Secondly, clinical validation was evaluated by comparing the SARC-F total score with five operational definitions of sarcopenia and with other sarcopenia-related measurements. Discriminant validity, with respect to low muscle mass and strength and physical function were analyzed. (3) Results: The Portuguese SAR-F showed acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach α = 0.82), excellent inter-rater reliability (total score), and substantial to excellent test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.891 for the total score). Specificity ranged from 72.5% (FNIH) to 73.4 (IGWS), and negative predictive values went from 91.8% (EWGSOP1) to 97.3% (FNIH), but low sensitivity and positive predictive value were observed. The Portuguese SARC-F showed a moderate ability to discriminate people with low muscle strength (AUC = 0.78) and gait speed (AUC = 0.89). (4) Conclusions: The Portuguese SARC-F is a valid and reliable tool for ruling out sarcopenia in community-dwelling older adults and can discriminate between people with low handgrip strength and gait speed.

The main objective of extreme value theory is essentially the estimation of quantities related to extreme events. One of its main issues has been the estimation of the extreme value index (EVI), a parameter directly related to the tail weight of the distribution. Here we deal with the semi-parametric estimation of the EVI, for heavy tails. A recent class of EVI-estimators, based on the Lehmer's mean-of-order p (L p ), which generalizes the arithmetic mean, is considered. An asymptotic comparison at optimal levels performed in previous works has revealed the competitiveness of this class of EVI-estimators. A large-scale Monte-Carlo simulation study for finite simulated samples has been here performed, showing the behaviour of L p , as a function of p . A bootstrap adaptive choice of ( k , p ) , where k is the number of upper order statistics used in the estimation, and a second algorithm based on a stability criterion are computationally studied and applied to simulated and real data., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors., (© 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.)

Background: Developments in image reconstruction techniques for planar imaging, also known as enhanced planar processing (EPP), enable the possibility to reconstruct planar scintigraphic images with low count statistics, providing the opportunity to reduce image acquisition time. In this study, the performance of EPP for oncologic half-time bone scintigraphy images was evaluated., Methods: The EPP software was evaluated for different imaging conditions using standardized phantom experiments. Additionally, 51 patients with prostate and breast cancer were prospectively included and underwent bone scintigraphy using a standard and half-time protocol. Independent reading was performed on three image types (standard, half-time non-processed, and half-time EPP) by three observers, scoring the number and anatomical location of lesions, image quality, and diagnostic confidence by which the definitive diagnosis was made., Results: EPP images had improved contrast and lower noise levels compared to the non-processed half-time images. It was determined that EPP images acquired at double scan speed had similar image quality to the standard non-processed images. There was substantial agreement with respect to diagnosis and diagnostic confidence based on all three image types between the observers. Image quality in the EPP images was higher with respect to the non-processed half-time images, and was comparable to the standard images., Conclusions: Diagnostic confidence was not affected by reduction in image acquisition time. There was substantial agreement between all three observers with respect to the diagnosis provided in all three image types. Subjective and objective image quality improved when half-time images were processed with EPP software.

Introduction: Governments across Europe want to promote healthy and active aging, as a matter of both public health and economic sustainability. Designing policies focused on the most vulnerable groups requires information at the individual level. However, a measure of healthy and active aging at the individual level does not yet exist., Objectives: This paper develops the Selfie Aging Index (SAI), an individual-level index of healthy and active aging. The SAI is developed thinking about a tool that would allow each person to take a selfie of her aging status. Therefore, it is based entirely on self-assessed indicators. This paper also illustrates how the SAI may look like in practice., Methods: The SAI is based on the Biopsychosocial Assessment Model (MAB), a tool for the multidimensional assessment of older adults along three domains: biological, psychological, and social. Indicators are selected and their weights determined based on an ordered probit model that relates the MAB indicators to self-assessed health, which proxies healthy and active aging. The ordered probit model predicts the SAI based on the estimated parameters. Finally, predictions are rescaled to the 0-1 interval. Data for the SAI development come from the Study of the Aging Profiles of the Portuguese Population and the Survey of Health, Aging, and Retirement in Europe., Results: The selected indicators are BMI, having difficulties moving around indoors and performing the activities of daily living, feeling depressed, feeling nervous, lacking energy, time awareness score, marital status, having someone to confide in, education, type of job, exercise, and smoking status. The model also determines their weights., Conclusion: Results shed light on various factors that contribute significantly to healthy and active aging. Two examples are mental health and exercise, which deserve more attention from individuals themselves, health-care professionals, and public health policy. The SAI has the potential to put the individual at the center of the healthy and active aging discussion, contribute to patient empowerment, and promote patient-centered care. It can become a useful instrument to monitor healthy and active aging for different actors, including individuals themselves, health-care professionals, and policy makers.