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Introduction There is a need of information about transgender individuals and their health needs. This work has as object of study sexual behaviors and social barriers to access health of transgender men. There is a need for information about transgender men and their health needs. Globally, transgender people face discrimination and social exclusion. Available data indicate numerous healthcare inequities between trans and cisgender (non-trans) people. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate transgender men at a public university hospital linked to brazilian´s public healthcare, analyzing sexual practices and barriers to access affirmative care. Methods The medical records of seventeen patients (range 18-42 of age) followed between 2016 and 2018, were used to collect data retrospectively and descriptively with quantitative and qualitative approach. Through a structured interview, there was a focus on data concerning difficulties to reach healthcare and medical inequities. Results It was noticed that transgender men face social barriers to health access, such as insistent non-respect of the use of the social name, the lack of knowledge of health demands by health professionals and the barriers imposed by family and/or spouse. The sexual practices performed by these men, who proved to be widely diverse and changing, are mostly penetrative (70,58%), and such practices may be passive and / or active. It was also observed variable sexual orientation among the patients, although most of them (88,23%) maintain a relationship with a cisgender woman. Gynecological follow-up was also the subject of discussion in this study, and despite the fact that 23,52% of patients had gynecological complaints, 29,41% had never done a gynecological consultation, being the resistance to do gynecological exams very commun. Only 28,57% of the patients had not yet started hormone therapy, and they declared that they would like to start this process. The majority of transgender men have also the need of body change. Conclusions Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies in public and universal health that are effective to provide transgender men with their need to body change or hormone therapy, as well as to guide them to the gynecological examination. Additionally, health care providers need to guarantee proper and free of prejudice assistance. Disclosure No

This article presents an efficient methodology for the calibration and validation of a numerical model of a freight wagon based on a dynamic test under real operation conditions. The dynamic test t...

Purpose The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the mechanical performance of FFF parts when subjected to post processing thermal treatment. Therefore, a study of the annealing treatment influence on the mechanical properties was performed. For this, two different types of Nylon (PA12) were used, FX256 and CF15, being the second a short fibre reinforcement version of the first one. Design/methodology/approach In this study, tensile and flexural properties of specimens produced via FFF were determined after being annealed at temperatures of 135°C, 150°C or 165°C during 3, 6, 12 or 18 h and compared with the non-treated conditions. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was performed to determine the degree of crystallinity. To evaluate the annealing parameters’ influence on the mechanical properties, a full factorial design of experiments was developed, followed by an analysis of variance, as well as post hoc comparisons, to determine the most significative intervening factors and their effect on the results. Findings The results indicate that CF15 increased its tensile modulus, strength, flexural modulus and flexural strength around 11%, while FX256 presented similar values for tensile properties, doubling for flexural results. Flexural strain presented an improvement, indicating an increased interlayer behaviour. Concerning to the DSC analysis, an increase in the degree of crystallinity for all the annealed parts. Originality/value Overall, the annealing treatment process cause a significant improvement in the mechanical performance of the material, with the exception of 165°C annealed specimens, in which a decrease of the mechanical properties was observed, resultant of material degradation.

The toxicity of diphenyl ditelluride (PhTe)

Trichilemmal horn or trichilemmal keratosis is a benign neoplasm, that occurs more frequently in females and in the age group over 50 years old. Clinically, it presents as a cutaneous horn and histologically shows trichilemmal keratinization at the base of the lesion.As an uncommon pathology, in this case report, we will present the case of a young man (14 years old), presenting a keratotic lesion on the forehead for eight months, which revealed the diagnosis of trichilemmal horn after lesion exeresis and anatomopathological analysis.

Odemira, in the southeast litoral of Portugal, has 33% of migrant citizens, mostly from Southeast Asia, going up to 50% counting transient citizens. Most of them do not speak English, making communication with health services difficult. They tend to live in overcrowded houses with unsanitary conditions. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, all the above resulted in high incidence and ineffective contact tracing (CT), testing and isolation by the public health teams. It was essential to develop strategies to manage and control outbreaks, and also to achieve health equity. Our experience can be useful for other countries in dealing with their multicultural communities. This intervention started in march 2020 and is still ongoing. The aims were to improve the accuracy of epidemiological surveys (ES) and CT, to more easily stop transmission, to develop the communication skills of health professionals and to improve migrant's healthcare access. For this, the focus was on digital written communication tools (Whatsapp, translation apps). It was created a toolkit to guide ES and CT tailored to the migrant population, with tips and best practices, and used translated information materials about preventive COVID-19 measures. Workshops were led with health professionals. It was stablished work with local NGOs, creating social media campaigns during crucial events (Holi holliday). As results. it was achieved a better ES output, more accurate CT and better transmission control, with noticeable differences between march 2020 and now. The relationship with this community improved, having better access to services and their needs met. Health professionals reported being more at ease dealing with these patients. Our experience shows it's possible to communicate effectively despite language and cultural barriers, that cultural knowledge is important in advancing public health goals and that multidisciplinary and intersectoral work is essential to effective interventions. Key messages This intervention allowed us to achieve a better output of epidemiological surveys, more accurate contact tracing and were more effective in breaking transmission chains and controlling outbreaks. It was achieved a better understanding and relationship with this community, with better ability to respond to their needs and promoting their access to healthcare.

Background Suicide and voluntary self-harm (SVSA) accounted for 0.95% of all deaths in Portugal in 2017. Economic evaluation includes indirect costs analysis, relating to Years of Life Lost (YLL) and premature death. This study aimed to estimate and compare the indirect costs from loss of productivity due to SVSA and 12 other causes of death in 2017. Methods YLL were adapted to the working age (18–66 years-old) ‘Years of Productivity Lost’ (YPL) adjusting the groups 15–19 years-old and under, and disregarding the ages over 66 years-old. The causes of death were based on the European Shortlist. The loss of productivity from deaths was estimated from the YPL and the ‘Apparent Productivity of Work’, with an annual discount rate of 3%, translated into % of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2017. The calculations were performed for the SVSA and for 12 causes of death selected from national Priority Health Programs. The INE and Pordata databases for the year 2017 were used. Calculations were performed using Microsoft Excel for Office 365 software version 2102. Results The estimated costs from loss of productivity by SLAV deaths in 2017 represented approximately 0.16% of GDP. It is the third highest among the 13 causes of death analyzed, ranking behind malignant neoplasm of larynx/trachea/bronchi/lung and ischaemic heart disease. Conclusions Prioritization of health resources may benefit by integrating lost productivity concepts with other indicators. Limitations include predictable increase of retirement age in the future and the oversimplified calculation of productivity costs. Future studies may include sensitivity assessments and other relevant variables.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to prove and qualify the influence of textured surface substrates morphology and chemical composition on the growth and propagation of transplanted corals. Use additive manufacturing and silicone moulds for converting three-dimensional samples into limestone mortar with white Portland cement substrates for coral growth. Design/methodology/approach Tiles samples were designed and printed with different geometries and textures inspired by nature marine environment. Commercial coral frag tiles were analysed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify the main chemical elements. Raw materials and coral species were selected. New base substrates were manufactured and deployed into a closed-circuit aquarium to monitor the coral weekly evolution process and analyse the results obtained. Findings Experimental results provided positive statistical parameters for future implementation tests, concluding that the intensity of textured surface, interfered favourably in the coralline algae biofilm growth. The chemical composition and design of the substrates were determinant factors for successful coral propagation. Recesses and cavities mimic the natural rocks aspect and promoted the presence and interaction of other species that favour the richness of the ecosystem. Originality/value Additive manufacturing provided an innovative method of production for ecology restoration areas, allowing rapid prototyping of substrates with high complexity morphologies, a critical and fundamental attribute to guarantee coral growth and Crustose Coralline Algae. The result of this study showed the feasibility of this approach using three-dimensional printing technologies.

Titanium and its alloys have been increasingly used since the 1950s, because of its excellent characteristics, such as the specific resistance, corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility, among others. The most employed alloys are the alpha-beta Ti6Al4V (representing 50% of the market), normally used in devices that demand optimized designs and complex technological properties. The manufacture of components in titanium requires dedicated equipment and the combination of different technologies, like electrical discharge machining, five-axis machining, investment casting, additive manufacturing and others. This work presents a literature review of casting, machining and additive manufacturing technologies relative to titanium parts manufacturing, indicating the most common problems and the solutions proposed, with special empahsis to Ti6Al4V, due to its wide industrial use. The goal is presenting a comparative experimental study of the surface finishing, geometric accuracy and microhardness, in a Ti6Al4V impeller manufactured by Investment Casting, Machining and Selective Laser Melting.

The investment casting of reactive Ti and TiAl alloys requires the use of selected ceramics in the face-coat layer to prevent the reaction between the cast metal and ceramic shell, avoiding the formation of a hard layer at the metallic components surface. This work aims to study the influence of ceramic shells composition in some of its characteristics such as flexural strength, friability and dimensional accuracy. The microstructure of the shells was evaluated by SEM. Changes in the face-coat and back-up ceramic shells composition determines the ceramic shell strength to withstand the casting stage with adequate mould permeability and thermal conductivity, and a compromise resistance for knock-out. All the non-conventional ceramic shell systems with interest for reactive alloys, based on fumed alumina binder and alumina sand for the back-ups, present higher dimensional stability (low shrinkage or expansion) compared with traditional systems based on colloidal silica binder and zircon and aluminosilicates back- ups. In this work, better mechanical strength and lower friability were obtained with non-conventional face-coats of alumina and polymer binders, both with yttria flour and stucco, followed by alumina back-ups. Selecting the right ceramic shell composition, it is possible to achieve adequate properties for casting titanium alloys.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has been considered one of the best processes to manufacture components with complex geometries, many times impossible to achieve with traditional processes, such as moulds with conformal cooling. Binder Jetting (BJ) technology uses an ink-jet printing head that deposits an adhesive liquid, layer by layer, to bind a powder material that can be ceramic, metallic, or other, which allows manufacturing parts to be used in research and industry. The aim of this work is to study the possibility of using BJ to produce plaster moulds for directly cast metallic parts at a lower cost than with metallic AM processes, using different types of infiltrates and post-processing parameters to improve the mechanical and thermal strength of moulds in order to be able to cast an aluminium alloy. The mechanical and thermal resistance of moulds with a thickness range of 2.5-4 mm were analysed, as well as the surface roughness of metal samples, and compared with those obtained by traditional processes. Although all the moulds had good heat resistance during the casting, some did not have enough mechanical strength to withstand the metalostatic pressure, especially those with walls of 2.5 to 3.5 mm.

Most of titanium aluminide (TiAl) castings used in the automotive and aeronautical industries, such as turbines, are high added- value parts with complex geometries. Due to high reactivity of TiAl cast into ceramic moulds, most of the castings require post- processing in order to remove a brittle surface layer named alpha case. Furthermore, the complex geometry and thin walls of this type of components makes difficult to cast net shape parts; so, near-net shape components with machining allowance are often produced to improve mould filling (better fluidity). To solve this technological limitation, the chemical milling process is used to eliminate this layer and the machining allowance. In bibliography there are only a few systematic studies about the influence of chemical milling in TiAl surface castings. So, this experimental work seeks to contribute to understand the influence of this finishing process on the TiAl castings surface quality (dimensional accuracy, roughness and microhardness) and intends to establish which of the two chemical solutions tested is better for chemical milling of TiAl castings.

The relationship between primary hematologic disease and rheumatologic manifestations is well known, especially acute lymphocytic leukemia, lymphomas, plasma cell dyscrasias and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Currently, more has been described about autoimmune manifestations in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). Many different clinical scenarios may lead a patient with MDS/CMML initially to seek a rheumatological unit. Autoimmune features such as polymyalgia rheumatic symptoms, myositis, neutrophilic dermatosis, cutaneous vasculitis and positive antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are some examples of clinical presentation of MDS/CMML. Moreover, peripheral cytopenias are a common initial presentation both for systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) and MDS/CMML. The aim of this study was to describe a case of an elderly woman with thrombocytopenia and positivity of antibodies to anti-extractable nuclear antigens (anti-ENA) as initial manifestation of CMML mimicking SLE, and to present some clues that encourage the clinician to perform a bone marrow study in such a clinical scenario.

Climate change projections based on the emission of greenhouse effect gases suggest an increase in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide, in up to 750 ppm. In this scenario, we have significant changes in plant development, and consequently, in agricultural systems. This study aims to evaluate the interaction between culture (Glycine max) and weed (Amaranthus viridis and Euphorbia heterophylla) in two conditions of CO2, 400 and 800 ppm. The results showed that the coexistence of culture with both weed species resulted in a mutual loss, with decrease in dry mass productivity of culture + weeds, in both conditions of CO2. However, when the culture is grown in association with E. heterophylla, total dry mass of culture + weed was smaller at 800 ppm. Soybean was more aggressive in comparison to the A. viridis in both the concentrations of CO2, but not in relation to the E. heterophylla., {"references":["NOAA. Earth System Research Laboratory. 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Despite the fast and ongoing advances of Additive Manufacturing processes (AM) in last years, including three-dimensional printing (3DP), models produced by the latter are not as strong as the ones made by other AM technologies. This challenge raises the concern to improve post-processing to create competitive mechanical strengths, which in turn requires specific knowledge that has not focused on applied studies of current plaster-based materials. The aim of this study is to characterize the base material, and to measure the influence of infiltration post processing on flexural and tensile strengths of 3D printed parts. VisiJet® PXL Core was characterized in terms of grain size and chemical composition. Green printed specimens were infiltrated with epoxy resin, cyanoacrylate, magnesium sulphate and water, as recommended by the supplier of equipment and materials for 3DP, and their influence on flexural and tensile strengths was analysed. The increase in flexural strength, up to 450%, in the specimens infiltrated with epoxy resin, relatively to the ones without infiltration (green body), suggests the importance of this post-process. The data obtained by mechanical test were lower regarding the data stipulated by the materials producers. Large standard deviations on mechanical strength, compared with the standard deviation of the green body, are characteristic of the manual processes (brush and drip), suggesting the necessity to establish methodologies to allow homogeneous infiltration and controlled dosages, as well as the use of alternative infiltrates.

A simple PCR-RFLP consisting in the digestion of a fragment of the 12S ribosomal RNA (12SrRNA) with species-specific restriction enzymes (MboII and HinfI) was developed to distinguish northeastern Atlantic species in the genus Atherina. Unambiguous identification of morphologically similar sympatric species is frequently difficult, especially when younger specimens are included in the analysis. Genetic and morphological analysis of a total of 123 atherinids collected near the mouth of the Tagus estuary (west Portugal) confirmed that only Atherina presbyter (sand smelt) adults and juveniles are recurrently using these marine rocky habitats as spawning and nursery grounds, respectively. The importance of applying non-destructive methods is emphasized. In the future, the conditions involved in the transition from marine A. presbyter to estuarine/ riverine A. boyeri should be further evaluated along with the ability of larvae and juveniles to cope with river flow and tidal currents drift. Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT); FEDER; EMAC-Empresa Municipal de Ambiente de Cascais, E.M., S.A info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Facial defects can be critical and emotionally devastating. Loss of an eye is no exception. The development of external prosthesis is a resourceful treatment, which requires the challenging task of obtaining an accurate individualized design. These prostheses are conventionally fabricated by an anaplastologist through a manual, expensive and time-consuming technique. The digital process is an advanced engineering-based alternative that relies on sophisticated computational tools and reverse engineering methods. Taking the state-of-art and the digital process into consideration, this study aims to establish a comprehensive methodology for accurately custom-design and fabricate facial soft-tissue prosthesis taking a 47-year-old woman exhibiting total eye defect, with left-sided exposed cavity socket, was refereed for case-study in the development of an orbital epithesis. A methodology workflow entailing the four main stages of the value-chain is investigated throughout this work, namely: (i) data acquisition, (ii) computational modeling and design (iii) prosthesis manufacturing and (iv) final fittings and cosmesis. The proposed methodology showed encouraging outcomes with remarkable advantages in terms of time and cost efficiency, achieving comfortable custom-fit prosthesis with excellent aesthetic appearance.

Radical cyclization continues to be a central methodology for the preparation of natural products containing heterocyclic rings. The use of electrogenerated nickel(I) complexes as mediators for cathodic intramolecular cyclizations proved to be successful in the formation of carbocyclic products. In this work, the indirect electroreductive intramolecular cyclization of bromoalkoxylated derivatives 1 catalyzed by electrogenerated (1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraaza-cyclotetradecane)nickel(I), [Ni(tmc)]+, as the catalysts in the ionic liquids, N,N,N-trimethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [N1 1 1 2(OH)][NTf2] and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate, [C2mim][C2SO4] has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and controlled-potential electrolysis. During controlled-potential electrolyses of solutions of Ni(II) complex in the presence of bromoalkoxylated derivatives 1, only five-membered-ring esters were obtained in moderate to good yields as the main products.

The aim of this work was to demonstrate that ionic liquids (ILs) as electrolytes for several applications have been explored. We have explored their potential as solvent-free electrolytes dispersed in natural polymer matrix and as electrolytes for electrosynthesis. The ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate ([C2mim][C2SO4]) was dispersed in gelatin and agar, producing free-standing-electrolyte membranes thermally stable up to 200 °C and an ionic conductivity of 9.73 × 10−5 S cm−1 at 30 °C and 2.37 × 10−3 S cm−1 at 100 °C for Gelatin[C2mim][C2SO4] and 1.10 × 10−5 S cm−1 at 30 °C and 7.24 × 10−4 S cm−1 at 100 °C for Agar[C2mim][C2SO4] films. These samples were then tested in electrochromic devices (ECDs) revealing electrochemical reversibility during more than 200 color/bleaching cycles. Moreover, the electrochemical behavior of (1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane)nickel(II) bromide, [Ni(tmc)]Br2, at a glassy carbon electrode in the absence and in the presence of unsaturated halides in the ionic liquids, [C2mim][C2SO4] and N,N,N-trimethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl) ammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([N1 1 1 2(OH)][NTf2]), has been examined by cyclic voltammetry. It was observed that [Ni(tmc)]2+ complex was reduced in a reversible one-electron step and the electrogenerated [Ni(tmc)]+ complex catalytically reduced the carbon–halogen bond of unsaturated halides. The obtained results showed that the investigated ionic liquids are good candidates for use as electrolytes in either solid or liquid form.

Supplementation of grass-fed cattle with low-cost feeding alternatives may be an attractive way to improve efficiency of cattle production. We hypothesized that inclusion of crude glycerin (CG) in supplements provided to grass-fed cattle could improve feed conversion without negative effects on growth performance while reducing methane emissions. Our hypothesis was tested using Nellore bulls grazing tropical pasture ( = 50; initial BW of 427 ± 19.41 kg; age of 17 ± 2 mo) supplemented with increasing concentrations (0, 70, 140, 210, and 280 g/kg DM basis of supplement) of CG and corn gluten replacing corn grain. A second experiment was conducted using 10 ruminally cannulated Nellore steers (490.1 ± 47.8 kg BW; age of 25 mo) to assess the impact of different concentrations of glycerin in the supplement on ruminal VFA concentration. Inclusion of CG did not affect total DMI ( = 0.53), DMI of forage ( = 0.41), supplement DMI ( = 0.47), organic matter intake ( = 0.50), crude protein intake ( = 0.24), NDF intake ( = 0.49), GE intake ( = 0.50), NDF digestibility ( = 0.17), final BW ( = 0.17), LM area ( = 0.50), rib fat thickness ( = 0.87), or carcass gain ( = 0.13). The inclusion of CG in the supplement linearly increased (0.001) the molar proportion of propionate, butyrate, and valerate; linearly decreased acetate ( = 0.001); and did not affect the molar proportion of isovalerate ( = 0.31) and isobutyrate ( = 0.63), thereby reducing the acetate to propionate ratio (0.001). The increase of CG supplementation of young bulls in pasture had a quadratic effect on BW gain ( = 0.002), with lower BW gain with 140 g/kg DM of CG in the supplement and tended ( = 0.06) to improve G:F. Inclusion of CG did not affect ruminal CH emission expressed in kilograms per year ( = 0.74), grams per kilogram of DMI ( = 0.69), and grams per kilogram of carcass gain ( = 0.48). Crude glycerin supplementation was not effective as a strategy to reduce CH emission in grass-fed cattle. However, CG can be effectively used as a partial energy source in supplement of grazing cattle, promoting an improvement in feed efficiency.

Aim To compare T1-weighted (W) fat–water separation (Dixon's technique) with T1W fat-saturation (FS) and T2W Dixon with short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) images for fat suppression in a short-bore MRI machine. Materials and methods Thirteen patients with lumbar disease were studied on using 1.5 T MRI machine. The protocol included T1 FS (with contrast medium administration) and/or STIR and T1W and/or T2W Dixon, for comparison. Three neuroradiologists scored the images from the two-pairs of techniques for fat suppression uniformity and lesion conspicuity. Clinical usefulness of fat-only images was also evaluated. Results Regarding uniformity of fat suppression, mean scores were 2.28 (±0.49), 3.06 (±0.49), 2.39 (±0.49), and 3.15 (±0.35) for T1W FS, T1W Dixon, STIR, and T2W Dixon sequences, respectively. For the same pulse sequences, lesion conspicuity scores were 2.78 (±0.50), 2.78 (±0.27), 2.76 (±0.47), and 2.91 (±0.4), respectively. Both T1W and T2W Dixon sequences showed more homogeneous fat-suppression when compared to T1W FS (p = 0.026) and STIR (p = 0.008) techniques, but no significant difference was found for lesion conspicuity. Mean scores for the diagnostic utility of fat-only maps were, respectively, 1.72 (±0.39) and 2.48 (±0.50) for T1W and T2W Dixon. Conclusion Fat suppression quality was superior with Dixon when compared to the conventional sequences, but not lesion conspicuity, suggesting that both techniques are reliable for diagnosis. Dixon may be advantageous in cases where inhomogeneity artefacts are an issue. Water-only maps appear to be useful in the clinical setting.

This observational study assessed the frequency and risk factors of dental damage after classic direct laryngoscopy for tracheal intubation in 536 adult patients. The patients' sex, age, height, weight, dental condition, dental mobility, Mallampati class, interincisor gap, thyromental distance, neck circumference, and head and neck extension were recorded. From anaesthesia records, the difficulty of intubation, the number of attempts, type of neuromuscular blocking agent used and duration of anaesthesia were recorded. After anaesthesia, examination revealed that 134 patients (25.0%) had dental damage affecting 162 teeth (147 maxillary; 15 mandibular). Enamel fracture was the commonest injury. In tooth number 21, the interincisor gap (OR 2.5 (95% CI 1.0-5.9)) and in tooth number 22, the number of intubation attempts (OR 5.3 (95% CI 1.3-22.0)) were considered a risk factor for dental injury. Conventional direct laryngoscopy is associated with a strikingly high incidence of dental damage, although specific risk factors remain unclear.

Autoimmunity has been associated with vitamin D deficiency and resistance, with gene polymorphisms related to vitamin D metabolism frequently described in affected patients. High doses of vitamin D3 may conceivably compensate for inherited resistance to its biological effects. This study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of prolonged high-dose vitamin D3 treatment of patients with psoriasis and vitiligo. Nine patients with psoriasis and 16 patients with vitiligo received vitamin D3 35,000 IU once daily for six months in association with a low-calcium diet (avoiding dairy products and calcium-enriched foods like oat, rice or soya “milk”) and hydration (minimum 2.5 L daily). All psoriasis patients were scored according to “Psoriasis Area and Severity Index” (PASI) at baseline and after treatment. Evaluation of clinical response of vitiligo patients required a quartile grading scale. All patients presented low vitamin D status (serum 25(OH)D3 ≤ 30 ng/mL) at baseline. After treatment 25(OH)D3 levels significantly increased (from 14.9 ± 7.4 to 106.3 ± 31.9 ng/mL and from 18.4 ± 8.9 to 132.5 ± 37.0 ng/mL) and PTH levels significantly decreased (from 57.8 ± 16.7 to 28.9 ± 8.2 pg/mL and from 55.3 ± 25.0 to 25.4 ± 10.7 pg/mL) in patients with psoriasis and vitiligo respectively. PTH and 25(OH)D3 serum concentrations correlated inversely. The PASI score significantly improved in all nine patients with psoriasis. Fourteen of 16 patients with vitiligo had 25–75% repigmentation. Serum urea, creatinine and calcium (total and ionized) did not change and urinary calcium excretion increased within the normal range. High-dose vitamin D3 therapy may be effective and safe for vitiligo and psoriasis patients.

Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, is developing very rapidly. Its pollution plume contains aerosols from fossil fuel combustion mainly due to vehicular emission, industrial activity, and a thermal power plant. Soil resuspension is probably a secondary source of atmospheric particles. The plume transports from Manaus to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility ARM site at Manacapuru urban pollutants as well as pollutants from pottery factories along the route of the plume. Considering the effects of particulate matter on health, atmospheric particulate matter was evaluated at this site as part of the ARM Facility’s Green Ocean Amazon 2014/15 (GoAmazon 2014/15) field campaign. Aerosol or particulate matter (PM) is typically defined by size, with the smaller particles having more health impact. Total suspended particulate (TSP) are particles smaller than 100 μm; particles smaller than 2.5 μm are called PM2.5. In this work, the PM2.5 levels were obtained from March to December of 2015, totaling 34 samples and TSP levels from October to December of 2015, totaling 17 samples. Sampling was conducted with PM2.5 and TSP high-volume samplers using quartz filters (Figure 1). Filters were stored during 24 hours in a roommore » with temperature (21,1oC) and humidity (44,3 %) control, in order to do gravimetric analyses by weighing before and after sampling. This procedure followed the recommendations of the Brazilian Association for Technical Standards local norm (NBR 9547:1997). Mass concentrations of particulate matter were obtained from the ratio between the weighted sample and the volume of air collected. Defining a relationship between particulate matter (PM2.5 and TSP) and respiratory diseases of the local population is an important goal of this project, since no information exists on that topic.« less

Introduction: The high prevalence of temporomandibular disorders and tinnitus along with the negative effects on the quality of life of affected individuals makes this association a matter of public health. Objective: To assess the knowledge of primary health care professionals about the interrelationship between temporomandibular disorders and tinnitus. Materials and Methods: This was a quantitative cross-sectional study, using a structured, self-administered questionnaire for a group of 54 dental surgeons. The statistical analysis used involved descriptive analyses through absolute and relative frequency distributions. Results: The results showed that the professionals do not, as a routine, examine the temporomandibular joints and masticatory muscles during physical examination. In addition, there was a low percentage of correct answers on questions that assess knowledge. Conclusions: There is a need to inform dentists about the interrelationship between temporomandibular disorders and tinnitus. Furthermore, there is a need to encourage managers to establish teaching and learning tools that support and strengthen the role of dentists in primary health care. In this way, routine visits might minimize these disorders, and thus contribute to the quality of life of the population.

Room temperature ionic liquids, such as N,N,N-trimethyl-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)ammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, [N1 1 1 2(OH)][NTf2] and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium ethylsulfate, [C2mim][C2SO4], have been used for the electroreductive intramolecular cyclization of unsaturated bromo derivatives 1 in Ni(II)-catalyzed reactions. Controlled-potential electrolyses led to five-membered-ring compounds in moderate to good yields. Cyclic voltammetry in these ionic liquid systems was also investigated., Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The work presents the implementation in software of an adaptive method for reducing the non-uniformity of the frequency-response-curve, by covering certain walls of small rectangular rooms, with a particular type of a passive acoustical treatment, consisting of porous absorbents covered with perforated sheets, in which each perforation behaves independently as Helmholtz resonators. The method employs new developments of another publication for finding the modal parameters, namely natural frequencies and associated damping constants, of rectangular rooms with arbitrary (uniform) wall-impedances. The adaptive software is capable of continuously improving the implemented type of acoustical treatment and would allow the implementation of new types of treatments as desired. Some testing results are presented, demonstrating the ability of the software for finding best parameters of the acoustical treatment, giving as input data the room dimensions and source/receiver locations only.

The process modelling of shape casting is geometrically complex and computationally very challenging. Besides the three-dimensional complex shapes with multiple domains, the defects of interest to industry arise as a consequence of the interaction amongst a range of phenomena. Conventionally, the key phenomena and defect prediction are modelled through empirical relations applied to the simulation results. Such approaches are neither comprehensive nor reliable. This paper presents a 3-D model that is capable of predicting the formation of shrinkage defects explicitly as a function of the interacting continuum phenomena, i.e. free surface flow, heat transfer, and solidification, in complex three-dimensional geometries which allows to identify the distinction between surface depression, surface connected cavities and internal cavities. The model solves the coupled macroscopic conservation equations for mass, momentum, and energy with a phase change during solidification. In the model, the volume deficit due to solidification can either be compensated by depression of the outside surface or by creating a cavity that initiates either on the surface or in the interior of the casting. The solidification morphology is taken into account by using a parameter, which depends on the fraction solid, in the momentum equation. By using an adapted free surface algorithm, it is suitable to predict surface connected defects: depressed surfaces and caved surfaces. A critical pressure serves as a criterion to open internal shrinkage cavities. The model does not need to search for connected zones to feed shrinkage, but the shrinkage distribution will automatically emerge from the continuity equation. This advanced shrinkage model has experimentally been validated successfully using two Al–Si alloys, a skin freezing eutectic alloy and a mushy freezing hypo-eutectic alloy.

This paper proposes a simple high-level programming language, endowed with resources that help encoding self-modifying programs. With this purpose, a conventional imperative language syntax (not explicitly stated in this paper) is incremented with special commands and statements forming an adaptive layer specially designed with focus on the dynamical changes to be applied to the code at run-time. The resulting language allows programmers to easily specify dynamic changes to their own program's code. Such a language succeeds to allow programmers to effortless describe the dynamic logic of their adaptive applications. In this paper, we describe the most important aspects of the design and implementation of such a language. A small example is finally presented for illustration purposes.

Recent discoveries from planetary missions show that serpentinization process may act significantly on the geological evolution and potential habitability of the icy bodies of the Solar System, like Enceladus or Europa. Here we review the available experimental data so far about methane formation occurring during serpentinization, which is potentially relevant to icy moons, and present our results using awaruite as a catalyst of this process. The efficiency of awaruite and high pressure in the Fischer-Tropsch and Sabatier Type reactions are evaluated here when olivine is incubated.