Data from Global Cancer Statistics show that breast cancer (BC) is the most common type of cancer among women, leading the number of deaths caused by cancer. The developments in diagnosis and treatment techniques for ...Data from Global Cancer Statistics show that breast cancer (BC) is the most common type of cancer among women, leading the number of deaths caused by cancer. The developments in diagnosis and treatment techniques for the BC, including chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, increased the survival rates for this type of cancer. One late complication induced by BC treatment is the cardiotoxicity. This term comprises different cardiotoxic side effects, which include blood pressure alterations, myocardial ischemia, congestive heart failure and other damages. This study aimed to evaluate the cardiac alterations induced by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, simulating a treatment for BC in Wistar rats. It is, therefore, important to understand the mechanisms involved in the cardiotoxicity, in order to prevent women from this late effect, when they undergo BC treatments. The major interests in this work are in Low atomic weight elements as Sodium, because it is strongly related to cardiomyocyte contraction;Magnesium, because it is important in the cardiac metabolism;and Iron, because BC treatment induced cardiotoxicity can be associated to the oxidative stress. Changes that occur in unhealthy tissues in case to cardiovascular damages can be better understood when elemental compounds and structures of healthy tissues are known. Low Energy X-ray Fluorescence (LEXRF) technique was used to obtain elemental maps of low Z-elements providing a semi-quantitative analysis of the tissues evaluated under different conditions. Through the technique LEXRF we obtained elemental and absorption maps. The results showed more damages when associating chemotherapy and radiotherapy in comparison to myocardium healthy. Those images taken together with light microscopy, X-ray absorption and phase contrast images, satisfactorily characterize the cardiac tissue for the first time in the literature, from the structural and morphological points of view. LEXRF was carried out at TwinMic beamline in the ELETTRA Synchrotron Fa-cility, at the beamline TwinMic展开更多
Deep foundations are currently used in engineering practice to solve problems caused by weak geotechnical characteristics of the ground.Impact pile driving is an interesting and viable solution from economic and techn...Deep foundations are currently used in engineering practice to solve problems caused by weak geotechnical characteristics of the ground.Impact pile driving is an interesting and viable solution from economic and technical points of view.However,it is necessary to ensure that the environmental drawbacks,namely ground-borne vibration,are adequately met.For this purpose,the authors propose an axisymmetric finite element method-perfectly matched layer(FEM-PML)approach,where the nonlinear behavior of the soil is addressed through an equivalent linear methodology.Given the complexity of the problem,an experimental test site was developed and fully characterized.The experimental work comprised in-situ and laboratory soil characterization,as well as the measurement of vibrations induced during pile driving.The comparison between experimental and numerical results demonstrated a very good agreement,from which it can be concluded that the proposed numerical approach is suitable for the prediction of vibrations induced by impact pile driving.The experimental database is available as supplemental data and may be used by other researchers in the validation of their prediction models.展开更多
Impact pile driving is an interesting technique for the construction of deep foundations from a practical and economical point of view.However,the generalization of this technique can be restricted due to the excessiv...Impact pile driving is an interesting technique for the construction of deep foundations from a practical and economical point of view.However,the generalization of this technique can be restricted due to the excessive vibration levels that can be generated,which can be especially problematic in residential areas.However,different mitigation measures can be applied to prevent excessive vibration levels inside buildings located near construction sites.To compare its efficiency through a numerical prediction tool,two experimental test sites are first presented and characterized.From the results obtained,it was found that the construction of an open trench near the impact source can be used as an efficient mitigation measure to reduce the maximum vibration levels evaluated in this study.展开更多
Ultrasonic and light detection and ranging(LiDAR)sensors have been some of the most deeply investigated sensing technologies within the scope of digital horticulture.They can accurately estimate geometrical and struct...Ultrasonic and light detection and ranging(LiDAR)sensors have been some of the most deeply investigated sensing technologies within the scope of digital horticulture.They can accurately estimate geometrical and structural parameters of the tree canopies providing input information for high-throughput phenotyping and precision horticulture.A review was conducted in order to describe how these technologies evolved and identify the main investigated topics,applications,and key points for future investigations in horticulture science.Most research efforts have been focused on the development of data acquisition systems,data processing,and high-resolution 3D modeling to derive structural tree parameters such as canopy volume and leaf area.Reported applications of such sensors for precision horticulture were restricted to real-time variable-rate solutions where ultrasonic or LiDAR sensors were tested to adjust plant protection product or fertilizer dose rates according to the tree volume variability.More studies exploring other applications in site-specific management are encouraged;some that integrates canopy sensing data with other sources of information collected at the within-grove scale(e.g.,digital elevation models,soil type maps,historical yield maps,etc.).Highly accurate 3D tree models derived from LiDAR scanning demonstrate their great potential for tree phenotyping.However,the technology has not been widely adopted by researchers to evaluate the performance of new plant varieties or the outcomes from different management practices.Commercial solutions for tree scanning of whole groves,orchards,and nurseries would promote such adoption and facilitate more applied research in plant phenotyping and precision horticulture.展开更多
Cardiovascular risk factors(CVRF)are very prevalent in the elderly population and in addition to predisposing to cardiovascular disease they are related to functional decline,which limits the quality of life in this p...Cardiovascular risk factors(CVRF)are very prevalent in the elderly population and in addition to predisposing to cardiovascular disease they are related to functional decline,which limits the quality of life in this population.The objective of this work is to offer a review of the current evidence in the management of CVRF in the elderly population.The search strategy was executed in PubMed,Clinicalstrials.org and Embase,to search for clinical trials,observational cohort or cross-sectional studies,reviews,and clinical practice guidelines focused or including elderly population.The results provided were refined after reading the title and abstract,as well as elimination of duplicates,and were finally identified and assessed following the GRADE methodology.A total of 136 studies were obtained for all predefined risk factors,such as sedentary lifestyle,smoking,obesity and metabolic syndrome,hypertension,diabetes mellitus,dyslipidemia and alcohol.We described the results of the studies identified and assessed according to their methodological quality in different recommendation sections:diagnostic and prevention,intervention,or treatment in the elderly population.As the main limitation to the results of this review,there is the lack of quality studies whose target population is elderly patients.This issue limits the recommendations that can be made in this population.Due to this reason,comprehensive geriatric assessment seems the best tool currently available to implement the most appropriate treatment plans based on the baseline situation and comorbidity of each elderly patient.展开更多
文摘Data from Global Cancer Statistics show that breast cancer (BC) is the most common type of cancer among women, leading the number of deaths caused by cancer. The developments in diagnosis and treatment techniques for the BC, including chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, increased the survival rates for this type of cancer. One late complication induced by BC treatment is the cardiotoxicity. This term comprises different cardiotoxic side effects, which include blood pressure alterations, myocardial ischemia, congestive heart failure and other damages. This study aimed to evaluate the cardiac alterations induced by radiotherapy and chemotherapy, simulating a treatment for BC in Wistar rats. It is, therefore, important to understand the mechanisms involved in the cardiotoxicity, in order to prevent women from this late effect, when they undergo BC treatments. The major interests in this work are in Low atomic weight elements as Sodium, because it is strongly related to cardiomyocyte contraction;Magnesium, because it is important in the cardiac metabolism;and Iron, because BC treatment induced cardiotoxicity can be associated to the oxidative stress. Changes that occur in unhealthy tissues in case to cardiovascular damages can be better understood when elemental compounds and structures of healthy tissues are known. Low Energy X-ray Fluorescence (LEXRF) technique was used to obtain elemental maps of low Z-elements providing a semi-quantitative analysis of the tissues evaluated under different conditions. Through the technique LEXRF we obtained elemental and absorption maps. The results showed more damages when associating chemotherapy and radiotherapy in comparison to myocardium healthy. Those images taken together with light microscopy, X-ray absorption and phase contrast images, satisfactorily characterize the cardiac tissue for the first time in the literature, from the structural and morphological points of view. LEXRF was carried out at TwinMic beamline in the ELETTRA Synchrotron Fa-cility, at the beamline TwinMic
基金Programmatic funding-UIDP/04708/2020 of the CONSTRUCT-Instituto de I&D em Estruturas e Construções-funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES(PIDDAC)Project PTDC/ECI-CON/29634/2017-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029634-funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020-Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização(POCI)+1 种基金by national funds(PIDDAC)through FCT/MCTES.Grant No.2022.00898CEECIND(Scientific Employment Stimulus-5th Edition)provided by “FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia”。
文摘Deep foundations are currently used in engineering practice to solve problems caused by weak geotechnical characteristics of the ground.Impact pile driving is an interesting and viable solution from economic and technical points of view.However,it is necessary to ensure that the environmental drawbacks,namely ground-borne vibration,are adequately met.For this purpose,the authors propose an axisymmetric finite element method-perfectly matched layer(FEM-PML)approach,where the nonlinear behavior of the soil is addressed through an equivalent linear methodology.Given the complexity of the problem,an experimental test site was developed and fully characterized.The experimental work comprised in-situ and laboratory soil characterization,as well as the measurement of vibrations induced during pile driving.The comparison between experimental and numerical results demonstrated a very good agreement,from which it can be concluded that the proposed numerical approach is suitable for the prediction of vibrations induced by impact pile driving.The experimental database is available as supplemental data and may be used by other researchers in the validation of their prediction models.
基金Programmatic funding-UIDP/04708/2020 of the CONSTRUCT-Instituto de I&D em Estruturas e Construções-funded by national funds through the FCT/MCTES(PIDDAC)Project PTDC/ECI-CON/29634/2017-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029634-funded by FEDER funds through COMPETE2020-Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização(POCI)by national funds(PIDDAC)through FCT/MCTES。
文摘Impact pile driving is an interesting technique for the construction of deep foundations from a practical and economical point of view.However,the generalization of this technique can be restricted due to the excessive vibration levels that can be generated,which can be especially problematic in residential areas.However,different mitigation measures can be applied to prevent excessive vibration levels inside buildings located near construction sites.To compare its efficiency through a numerical prediction tool,two experimental test sites are first presented and characterized.From the results obtained,it was found that the construction of an open trench near the impact source can be used as an efficient mitigation measure to reduce the maximum vibration levels evaluated in this study.
基金We thank the São Paulo Research Foundation(FAPESP)for providing a scholarship to the first author(grant:2013/18853-0)the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel(CAPES),for funding the first author at the University of Lleida(grant:bex_3751/15-5).
文摘Ultrasonic and light detection and ranging(LiDAR)sensors have been some of the most deeply investigated sensing technologies within the scope of digital horticulture.They can accurately estimate geometrical and structural parameters of the tree canopies providing input information for high-throughput phenotyping and precision horticulture.A review was conducted in order to describe how these technologies evolved and identify the main investigated topics,applications,and key points for future investigations in horticulture science.Most research efforts have been focused on the development of data acquisition systems,data processing,and high-resolution 3D modeling to derive structural tree parameters such as canopy volume and leaf area.Reported applications of such sensors for precision horticulture were restricted to real-time variable-rate solutions where ultrasonic or LiDAR sensors were tested to adjust plant protection product or fertilizer dose rates according to the tree volume variability.More studies exploring other applications in site-specific management are encouraged;some that integrates canopy sensing data with other sources of information collected at the within-grove scale(e.g.,digital elevation models,soil type maps,historical yield maps,etc.).Highly accurate 3D tree models derived from LiDAR scanning demonstrate their great potential for tree phenotyping.However,the technology has not been widely adopted by researchers to evaluate the performance of new plant varieties or the outcomes from different management practices.Commercial solutions for tree scanning of whole groves,orchards,and nurseries would promote such adoption and facilitate more applied research in plant phenotyping and precision horticulture.
文摘Cardiovascular risk factors(CVRF)are very prevalent in the elderly population and in addition to predisposing to cardiovascular disease they are related to functional decline,which limits the quality of life in this population.The objective of this work is to offer a review of the current evidence in the management of CVRF in the elderly population.The search strategy was executed in PubMed,Clinicalstrials.org and Embase,to search for clinical trials,observational cohort or cross-sectional studies,reviews,and clinical practice guidelines focused or including elderly population.The results provided were refined after reading the title and abstract,as well as elimination of duplicates,and were finally identified and assessed following the GRADE methodology.A total of 136 studies were obtained for all predefined risk factors,such as sedentary lifestyle,smoking,obesity and metabolic syndrome,hypertension,diabetes mellitus,dyslipidemia and alcohol.We described the results of the studies identified and assessed according to their methodological quality in different recommendation sections:diagnostic and prevention,intervention,or treatment in the elderly population.As the main limitation to the results of this review,there is the lack of quality studies whose target population is elderly patients.This issue limits the recommendations that can be made in this population.Due to this reason,comprehensive geriatric assessment seems the best tool currently available to implement the most appropriate treatment plans based on the baseline situation and comorbidity of each elderly patient.
