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This article presents and compares coronavirus disease 2019 attack rates for infection, hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission and death in healthcare workers (HCWs) and non-HCWs in nine European countries from 31st January 2020 to 13th January 2021. Adjusted attack rate ratios in HCWs (compared with non-HCWs) were 3.0 [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2-4.0] for infection, 1.8 (95% CI 1.2-2.7) for hospitalization, 1.9 (95% CI 1.1-3.2) for ICU admission and 0.9 (95% CI 0.4-2.0) for death. Among hospitalized cases, the case-fatality ratio was 1.8% in HCWs and 8.2% in non-HCWs. Differences may be due to better/earlier access to treatment, differential underascertainment and the healthy worker effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated biodiesel production using Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs) and derived mixed oxides as heterogeneous catalysts to analyse the relation between the physicochemical and textural properties of these materials with biodiesel yield. Experimental planning was conducted to evaluate the effect of different Mg/Al molar ratios, precipitating agents (Na 2 CO 3 or NH 3) and calcination effect on methyl ester yield. Materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), N 2 -BET method, fourier-transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), point of zero charge (pH PZC) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Biodiesel synthesis was further optimized through experimental planning considering the catalyst concentration and methanol:oil molar ratio at 4 periods of time as variables, using the material which exhibited the best performance. The material with best catalytic activity was a derived mixed oxide (calcined at 450 °C) with a Mg/Al ratio of x = 0.59, using Na 2 CO 3 as precipitating agent. The optimized parameters for the chemical reaction were: 23:1 methanol:oil molar ratio, 3.5 wt% catalyst at 65 °C for 1 h, resulting in a maximum ester conversion of 98.59 wt%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the preliminary developments of an innovative integrated tool for the numerical modelling of oscillating water column (OWC) wave energy converters (WEC) integrated in vertical breakwaters. The main purpose of the tool is the numerical modelling of wave propagation from offshore to nearshore, wave-structure interaction, and the complex nonlinear hydrodynamic and aerodynamic phenomena that occur in OWC-WECs. The tool development and validation were supported by experimental data from physical model tests carried out in a wave flume at the Portuguese National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC). Prototype data were also available for the Pico OWC-WEC in the Azores, Portugal, monitored by the Portuguese Wave Energy Centre since 2005. Application of the tool for sea-wave characterization at the Azores archipelago and calculation of the corresponding wave power for a period of 10 years at various points around each island show that, in winter, there is good availability of wave energy in most quadrants of each island. In summer, the resource exploitation is only worthwhile on the north-west coasts of the islands. Physical and numerical modelling results for an OWC with a fully open chamber show good agreement between experimental data and numerical values for several incident wave conditions. The analysed results include the time series of the free-surface elevation at different locations, the time series of the mean free surface inside the water chamber, the amplification factors, the phase angles and the velocity vectors at the highest and the lowest positions of the mean free surface inside the chamber. The tool showed its potential to be useful in supporting ocean and coastal engineering projects due to its capacity to effectively reproduce the main phenomena involved in these types of studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L'hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) est un médicament clé dans le traitement du Lupus érythémateux systémique (LES). Elle peut être, cependant, associée à des effets secondaires à long terme, principalement ophtalmologiques, notamment en cas d'exposition prolongée, de maladie rénale chronique ou de maladie rétinienne ou maculaire préexistante. Cette balance bénéfice-risque a fait l'objet de récentes controverses concernant la dose quotidienne optimale. Alors qu'une dose de 6,5 mg/kg/jour d'HCQ a longtemps été recommandée, cette dose a été réduite à 5 mg/kg ou moins en 2016, suite à une étude ayant retrouvé un risque accru de toxicité ophtalmologique associé à des doses plus élevées, néanmoins, basée sur des informations de renouvellement d'ordonnances, mais non la dose prescrite. Peu de données sont disponibles sur le risque de poussées de lupus consécutives à la réduction ou l'arrêt de l'HCQ. L'objectif principal de la présente étude était d'estimer le risque de poussées de lupus en fonction du maintien, de la réduction ou de l'arrêt de l'HCQ pour raison ophtalmologique, dans une étude prospective. Nous avons étudié les patients incus dans l'étude ophtalmologique prospective PERFOCTAPS, où les patients, suivis pour un LES, selon les critères SLICC 2012, étaient suivis tous les 6 mois pendant 2 ans pour détecter des anomalies très précoces de maladie rétinienne, par des examens ophtalmologiques poussés. L'HCQ était réduit ou arrêté chez les patients présentant des anomalies au cours de ce dépistage ophtalmologique. Tous les patients prenaient de l'HCQ depuis au moins 5 ans. Les patients ont été répartis en trois groupes : maintien, réduction et arrêt de l'HCQ. Le risque de poussées (définies par le SELENA-SLEDAI flare index) a été évalué dans les deux années suivant la réduction ou l'arrêt de l'HCQ ou après l'inclusion dans l'étude dans le groupe maintien (T0), par des modèles de Cox multivariés. Nous avons inclus 85 patients (98 % de femmes, âge moyen 40 ± 12,9 ans), traités par HCQ depuis 12,9 ± 7,2 ans, à une dose moyenne 5,6 ± 1,8 mg/kg/jour. Le dépistage ophtalmologique a identifié des anomalies chez 25 patients (29,4 %), conduisant à 20 réductions d'HCQ et 5 arrêts. À T0, les groupes maintien et réduction étaient très similaires en ce qui concerne le sexe, l'âge, la durée du LES, ses manifestations et l'activité de la maladie. Les patients du groupe « arrêt » étaient significativement plus âgés, et étaient traités par HCQ depuis plus longtemps. Dans le groupe « réduction », la dose moyenne d'HCQ dans le groupe de réduction a diminué de 6,0 ± 2,1 à 3,4 ± 1,5 mg/kg/jour (p < 0,001), soit une réduction moyenne de 45 ± 9 %. Au cours des 2 années de suivi, 29 patients (34,1 %) ont eu des poussées de LES : 17 (28,3 %) dans le groupe « maintien », 10 (50 %) dans le groupe « réduction » et 2 (40 %) dans le groupe « arrêt », surtout dans les 6 premiers mois. Par rapport au groupe « maintien », en analyse multivariée et après ajustement sur la durée d'évolution du LES, les antécédents d'atteinte rénale, le SLEDAI-2K, une réduction de l'HCQ était associée au risque de poussée de lupus (HR 2,57 ; IC 95 % 1,14–5,75). Bien que non significative, du fait d'un manque de puissance, la même tendance était observée avec l'arrêt de l'HCQ (HR ajusté 3,03 ; IC 95 % 0,66–13,87). Notre étude prospective est la première à analyser les conséquences de la réduction ou de l'arrêt de l'HCQ, suite à la détection précoce d'anomalies ophtalmologiques infracliniques dans le cadre d'un suivi ophtalmologique intensif. La réduction de l'HCQ suite à ces résultats a été associée à une augmentation statistiquement significative du risque de poussée de LES, principalement dans les 6 premiers mois après la modification de la dose. L'amélioration de la sensibilité du dépistage ophtalmologique augmentant la probabilité de trouver des anomalies infraclinique, notre étude remet en question l'importance qui devrait être accordée à de ces examens, surtout lorsque leur prise en compte se traduit par un risque plus élevé de poussées. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nearshore circulation in the lee of a cape under upwelling conditions was studied using in-situ data from 3 consecutive summers (2006–2008). Focus was given to a period between 20 July and 04 August 2006 to study the diurnal variability of the cross-shelf circulation. This period was chosen because it had a steady upwelling-favourable wind condition modulated by a diurnal cycle much similar to sea breeze. The daily variability of the observed cross-shelf circulation consisted of three distinct periods: a morning period with a 3-layer vertical structure with onshore velocities at mid-depth, a mid-day period where the flow is reversed and has a 2-layer structure with onshore velocities at the surface and offshore flow below, and, lastly, in the evening, a 2-layer period with intensified offshore velocities at the surface and onshore flow at the bottom. The observed cross-shelf circulation showed a peculiar vertical shape and diurnal variability different from several other systems described in literature. We hypothesize that the flow reversal of the cross-shelf circulation results as a response to the rapid change of the wind magnitude and direction at mid-day with the presence of the cape north of the mooring site influencing this response. A numerical modelling experiment exclusively forced by winds simulated successfully most of the circulation at the ADCP site, especially the mid-day reversal and the evening's upwelling-type structure. This supports the hypothesis that the cross-shelf circulation at diurnal timescales is mostly wind-driven. By analysing the 3D circulation in the vicinity of Cape Sines we came to the conclusion that the diurnal variability of the wind and the flow interaction with topography are responsible for the circulation variability at the ADCP site, though only a small region in the south of the cape showed a similar diurnal variability. The fact that the wind diurnally undergoes relaxation and intensification strongly affects the circulation, promoting superficial onshore flows in the leeside of Cape Sines. Despite the small-scale nature of the observed cross-shelf circulation, onshore flows as the ones described in this study can be particularly helpful to understand the transport and settlement of larvae in this region and in other regions with similar topography and wind characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effect of reducing the austempering time on the high-cycle fatigue behavior of austempered ductile iron (ADI) has been investigated by subjecting samples to rotating bending and fatigue crack propagation tests. Starting from the same cast iron, two distinct types of ADI were austempered at the same temperature of 360°C but for different austempering times, which resulted in two materials whose main difference was the content of carbon in austenite. The first sample was austempered for 1.5h, while the second was austempered for only 0.6h. The austenitizing cycle (900°C, 1.5h) was the same for both ADIs. Therefore, we investigated the influence of the mechanical stability of austenite in the initiation and propagation of fatigue cracking. Reducing the austempering time increased the fatigue life and did not affect the mechanical properties or the rate of fatigue crack propagation. Reducing the austempering time increased the time to fatigue crack nucleation in ADI in addition to its economic and environmental benefits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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Abstract: Objective: The aim of this paper is to apply an informatics tool for dealing with a medical decision aiding problem to help infertile couples to become parents, when using assisted reproduction. Methods: A multiple criteria decision aiding method for sorting or ordinal classification problems, called Electre Tri-C, was chosen in order to assign each couple to an embryo-transfer category. The set of categories puts in evidence a way for increasing the single pregnancy rate, while minimizing multiple pregnancies. The decision aiding sorting model was co-constructed through an interaction process between the decision aiding analysts and the medical experts. Results: According to the sample used in this study, the Electre Tri-C method provides a unique category in 86% of the cases and it achieves a sorting accuracy of 61%. Retrospectively, the medical experts do agree that some of their judgments concerning the number of embryos to transfer back to the uterus of the woman could be different according to these results. The current ART methodology achieves a single pregnancy rate of 47% and a twin pregnancy rate of 14%. Thus, this informatics tools may play an important role for supporting ART medical decisions, aiming to increase the single pregnancy rate, while minimizing multiple pregnancies. Limitations: Building the set of criteria comprises a part of arbitrariness and imperfect knowledge, which require time and expertise to be refined. Among them, three criteria are modeled by means of a holistic classification procedure by the medical experts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Poster: Physics track: Radiobiological and predictive modelling, and radiomics PO-1534: Tumour response modelling to radiochemotherapy with gemcitabine for pancreatic cancer B. Costa Ferreira, J. Dias, P. Mavroidis, H. Rocha, A. Gomes. [Extracted from the article]

Abstract: The study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of dietary protein sources on lipogenesis and fat deposition in a marine teleost, the European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax). Four isonitrogenous (crude protein (CP, N×6.25), 44% DM) and isoenergetic (22–23 kJ/g DM) diets were formulated to contain one of the following as the major protein source: fish meal (FM), one of two soy protein concentrates (SPC) and corn gluten meal (CGM). Apparent digestibility coefficients of the diets and raw ingredients, as well as soluble nitrogen (ammonia and urea) and phosphorus excretion were measured. Growth rates of seabass fed plant protein-based diets were significantly lower than those fed fish meal based diet. The protein utilisation was strongly correlated to the dietary essential amino acids index. Measurements of N excretion (ammonia and urea nitrogen) confirmed these data. Daily fat gain at the whole body level ranged between 1.1 to 1.7 g/kg BW, with the highest values being recorded in fish fed the fish meal based diet. Levels of plasma triglycerides and cholesterol were lower in fish fed soy protein diets than in those fed the diet solely based on fish meal. Soy protein rich diets decreased the activities of selected hepatic lipogenic enzymes (glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, malic enzyme, ATP-citrate lysase, acetylcoenzyme A carboxylase and fatty acid synthetase). Highest lipogenic enzyme activities where found in fish fed the fish meal diet, except for fatty acid synthetase which was increased in seabass fed the corn-gluten meal based diets. Overall data suggest that dietary protein sources affects fat deposition and the lipogenic potential in European seabass. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper presents results from an experimental study performed on a 13kWth commercial domestic boiler using pellets as fuel. Four different types of pellets were used and, for each one, the boiler was tested as a function of its capacity and the fan regulation affecting excess air. Measurements were performed for boiler heat load, pellets consumption rate, flue-gas temperature and composition. Mass balances allowed the calculation of the flue-gas flow rate and associated heat losses. Losses from incomplete combustion have also been quantified. Under boiler steady-state conditions the flue-gas O2 concentration changes with boiler load and ventilation due to the regulation scheme of the boiler. Flue-gas CO shows a minimum for values of O2 in the flue-gases of about 13%. NOx emissions are independent of excess air for low values of nitrogen in the fuel whereas, for larger values, NOx emissions increase with the O2 present in the combustion products. The fractional conversion of the pellets nitrogen into NOx is in line with literature data. The boiler start-up was characterised by the temperature evolution inside and above the bed showing the propagation of combustion in the bed during about 10min. During boiler start-up, a maximum in CO emissions was observed which is associated with the maximum combustion intensity, as typified by the flue-gas O2 concentration and temperature, regardless the pellets type. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]