Integration of Thermo-Responsive Materials Applied to Bio-Inspired Structures.

This paper investigates the integration of thermo-responsive materials into bio-inspired structures, combining biomimicry and adaptive technologies in architecture. A problem-based biomimetic approach and a morphological analogy with the plate-type snowflake-known for its lightness, transparency, and crystalline organisation-were adopted to develop the geometry of an architectural pavilion. This research highlights glass as a main constructive material, analysing the potential of thermochromic film and the hydrogel technique, both inserted in the context of thermo-responsiveness.

The Nutritional Status of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Exacerbators.

Introduction: Malnutrition is underdiagnosed in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objectives: This study aimed to evaluate the nutritional status of COPD patients and the link between dyspnea and nutritional status.

Methods: This longitudinal observational study included patients hospitalized with exacerbated COPD.

A Preliminary Contribution towards a Risk-Based Model for Flood Management Planning Using BIM: A Case Study of Lisbon.

Preparing a city for the impact of global warming is becoming of major importance. Adopting climate-proof policies and strategies in response to climate change has become a fundamental element for city planning. To this end, this research considers a multidisciplinary approach, at the local scale, able to connect urban planning and architecture, as a vital base for considering a coastal cities' ability to control the consequences of climate change, specifically floods.

Characterization of Patients with Minimally Invasive Surgery Converted in a Pediatric Hospital.

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) in pediatric surgery is now the standard of care for various surgical conditions. We have seen an increase in MIS with some of the procedures requiring intraoperative conversion to open surgery. This is a single-institution retrospective study of patients who underwent MIS between 2009 and 2017 requiring conversion to open surgery.

Simultaneous Supratentorial and Infratentorial Pilocytic Astrocytomas in an Adult Patient with Concurrent Neurofibromatosis Type 1 and HIV Infection.

Background: Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) has been identified as a predisposing factor in the development of pilocytic astrocytoma (PA), a common benign central nervous system tumor. Although this is a common association, simultaneous development of multiple lesions is an infrequent finding, especially in nonoptic and hypothalamic locations.

Case Description: A 41-year-old female patient with NF1 and uncontrolled human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 infection presented with a first generalized seizure and associated headache and ataxia.

Carnival or football, is there a real risk for acquiring dengue fever in Brazil during holidays seasons?

More than 600,000 football fans, coming from all over the world, were expected to visit Brazil during the FIFA World Cup 2014. International travel can become a public health problem when the visitors start to become sick, needing medical intervention and eventually hospitalization. The occurrence of dengue fever infections in Brazil is persistent and has been increasing since the 1980s, and the health authorities were expected to take preventive measures and to warn the visitors about the risks during the tournament period.

Parameter Estimation in Epidemiology: from Simple to Complex Dynamics.

We revisit the parameter estimation framework for population biological dynamical systems, and apply it to calibrate various models in epidemiology with empirical time series, namely influenza and dengue fever. When it comes to more complex models like multi-strain dynamics to describe the virus-host interaction in dengue fever, even most recently developed parameter estimation techniques, like maximum likelihood iterated filtering, come to their computational limits. However, the first results of parameter estimation with data on dengue fever from Thailand indicate a subtle interplay between stochasticity and deterministic skeleton.

[Central nervous system abnormalities namely secondary brain tumors].

A 22 year-old-man with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia had received prophylactic cranial irradiation and intrathecal chemotherapy. Eighteen years later a cerebellar glioblastoma multiforme was diagnosed. The authors speculate about the possibility that this tumor may have been radiation and/or chemotherapy induced.