Environmental conditions affect the nutritive value and alkaloid profiles of forage: Opportunities and threats for sustainable ruminant systems.

The identification of crops that simultaneously contribute to the global protein supply and mitigate the effects of climate change is an urgent matter. Lupins are well adapted to nutrient-poor or contaminated soils, tolerate various abiotic stresses, and present relevant traits for acting as ecosystem engineers. Lupins are best studied for their seeds, but their full foraging potential needs further evaluation.

A New Generative Model for Textual Descriptions of Medical Images Using Transformers Enhanced with Convolutional Neural Networks.

The automatic generation of descriptions for medical images has sparked increasing interest in the healthcare field due to its potential to assist professionals in the interpretation and analysis of clinical exams. This study explores the development and evaluation of a generalist generative model for medical images. Gaps were identified in the literature, such as the lack of studies that explore the performance of specific models for medical description generation and the need for objective evaluation of the quality of generated descriptions.

Upcycling post-harvest biomass residues from native European species: from straws and pod shells production to nutritive value and alkaloids content for ruminant animals.

The production of seeds for food and feed is increasing worldwide, which results in large amounts of post-harvest biomass residues, considered of low value and left in the field to be burned or incorporated in the soil. To valorize these agricultural wastes, this work aimed to assess their potential as an alternative feed for ruminants. Thus, the production yield, nutritive value, and alkaloid content of straws and pod shells from three native European species, 'Estoril' (white), 'Tango' (narrow-leafed), and 'Cardiga' (yellow), cultivated in two locations, were evaluated.

Automatic COVID-19 and Common-Acquired Pneumonia Diagnosis Using Chest CT Scans.

Even with over 80% of the population being vaccinated against COVID-19, the disease continues to claim victims. Therefore, it is crucial to have a secure Computer-Aided Diagnostic system that can assist in identifying COVID-19 and determining the necessary level of care. This is especially important in the Intensive Care Unit to monitor disease progression or regression in the fight against this epidemic.

ECG Measurement Uncertainty Based on Monte Carlo Approach: An Effective Analysis for a Successful Cardiac Health Monitoring System.

Measurement uncertainty is one of the widespread concepts applied in scientific works, particularly to estimate the accuracy of measurement results and to evaluate the conformity of products and processes. In this work, we propose a methodology to analyze the performance of measurement systems existing in the design phases, based on a probabilistic approach, by applying the Monte Carlo method (MCM). With this approach, it is feasible to identify the dominant contributing factors of imprecision in the evaluated system.

Predictive Models of Dairy Cow Thermal State: A Review from a Technological Perspective.

Dairy cattle are particularly sensitive to heat stress due to the higher metabolic rate needed for milk production. In recent decades, global warming and the increase in dairy production in warmer countries have stimulated the development of a wide range of environmental control systems for dairy farms. Despite their proven effectiveness, the associated energy and water consumption can compromise the viability of dairy farms in many regions, due to the cost and scarcity of these resources.

Outbreak caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in the psychiatric ward of a general hospital in Brazil.

Background: An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron variant was detected in the psychiatric ward of a general hospital in Brasília, Brazil.

Methods: We report the investigation, clinical outcomes, viral sequencing, and control measures applied to outbreak containment.

Results: The overall attack rate was 95% (23/24) in a period of 13 days.

Effects of swimming exercise on the extinction of fear memory in rats.

We investigated the relation between swimming exercise and fear memory extinction. Rats that performed regular swimming exercise over 6 wk underwent fear conditioning. Twenty-eight days later, they were submitted to extinction tests.

Spiritual and religious coping and depression among family caregivers of pediatric cancer patients in Latin America.

Objective: Several studies have shown that spiritual/religious beliefs are associated with mental health and quality of life. However, so far, no study assessed the relationship between spiritual/religious coping (SRC) and depressive symptoms in family caregivers (FCs) of pediatric cancer patients, particularly in Latin America. This study aimed to investigate whether Positive and Negative SRC strategies are associated with depressive symptoms in FCs of pediatric cancer patients in Brazil.

Two Sides of the Same Coin: The Positive and Negative Impact of Spiritual Religious Coping on Quality of Life and Depression in Dialysis Patients.

Background: Studies have shown that spiritual/religious beliefs are associated with mental health and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, few studies evaluated how spiritual/religious coping (SRC) could affect hemodialysis patients.

Objectives: The present study investigated the role of SRC behaviors on HRQoL and depressive symptoms in hemodialysis patients.

Novel and powerful 3D adaptive crisp active contour method applied in the segmentation of CT lung images.

The World Health Organization estimates that 300 million people have asthma, 210 million people have Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), and, according to WHO, COPD will become the third major cause of death worldwide in 2030. Computational Vision systems are commonly used in pulmonology to address the task of image segmentation, which is essential for accurate medical diagnoses. Segmentation defines the regions of the lungs in CT images of the thorax that must be further analyzed by the system or by a specialist physician.

A rare case of Ganglioneuroblastoma Encapsulated in Pheochromocytoma.

Pheochromocytoma and Ganglioneuroblastoma are separate diseases and a rare combination in which the diagnosis can only be confirmed by pathological examination after tumor excision. We reported here a case of ganglioneuroblastoma encapsulated in pheochromocytoma. The patient is a woman, 73 years old, hypertensive, with hypothyroidism, associated for 15 years with hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia, which had frequent complaints of low back pain.

Automatic 3D pulmonary nodule detection in CT images: A survey.

This work presents a systematic review of techniques for the 3D automatic detection of pulmonary nodules in computerized-tomography (CT) images. Its main goals are to analyze the latest technology being used for the development of computational diagnostic tools to assist in the acquisition, storage and, mainly, processing and analysis of the biomedical data. Also, this work identifies the progress made, so far, evaluates the challenges to be overcome and provides an analysis of future prospects.

The in vivo performance of an alkali-free bioactive glass for bone grafting, FastOs BG, assessed with an ovine model.

Although bioactive glasses are successfully used as bone substitutes, recent studies have revealed that the high alkali content in these glasses leads to fast in vivo degradation rates that may not match the rate of new bone ingrowth. This prompted us to design and develop novel bioactive glasses that are devoid of alkali but still demonstrate high bioactivity in vitro. This article describes the in vivo performance of an alkali-free bioactive glass with the following composition (Wt %): 13.

Evaluation of rotator cuff muscle strength in healthy individuals.

Objective: To compare the strength generated by the rotator muscles of the shoulder joint between the right upper limb and left upper limb among healthy individuals.

Methods: To evaluate the muscle strength of upper limbs from isometric contractions in the horizontal direction (rotation) an isometric dynamometer was used, equipped with transducers, signal conditioning, a data acquisition board, and finally, a computer. Study participants were 22 male military subjects, aged between 18 and 19 years old, body mass between 57.

The benefit of bone marrow concentrate in addition to a glass-reinforced hydroxyapatite for bone regeneration: An in vivo ovine study.

This study evaluates the ability of a Glass Reinforced Hydroxyapatite Composite (GRHC), in a new microporous pellet formulation with autologous bone marrow concentrate (BMC), to enhance bone regeneration and new bone formation. Ninety non-critical sized bone defects were created in the femurs of nine Merino breed sheep and randomly left unfilled (group A), filled with GRHC pellets alone (group B) or filled with GRHC pellets combined with BMC (group C). The sheep were sacrificed at 3 weeks (three sheep), 6 weeks (three sheep) and 12 weeks (three sheep) and histological analysis (Light Microscopy-LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and histomorphometric analysis (HM) were performed.

Color texture classification using shortest paths in graphs.

Color textures are among the most important visual attributes in image analysis. This paper presents a novel method to analyze color textures by modeling a color image as a graph in two different and complementary manners (each color channel separately and the three color channels altogether) and by obtaining statistical moments from the shortest paths between specific vertices of this graph. Such an approach allows to create a set of feature vectors, which were extracted from VisTex, USPTex, and TC00013 color texture databases.

pSnakes: a new radial active contour model and its application in the segmentation of the left ventricle from echocardiographic images.

Active contours are image segmentation methods that minimize the total energy of the contour to be segmented. Among the active contour methods, the radial methods have lower computational complexity and can be applied in real time. This work aims to present a new radial active contour technique, called pSnakes, using the 1D Hilbert transform as external energy.

New approach for T-wave peak detection and T-wave end location in 12-lead paced ECG signals based on a mathematical model.

This paper presents an innovative approach for T-wave peak detection and subsequent T-wave end location in 12-lead paced ECG signals based on a mathematical model of a skewed Gaussian function. Following the stage of QRS segmentation, we establish search windows using a number of the earliest intervals between each QRS offset and subsequent QRS onset. Then, we compute a template based on a Gaussian-function, modified by a mathematical procedure to insert asymmetry, which models the T-wave.

Trisomy 11 as an additional chromosome alteration in a child with acute promyelocytic leukemia with poor prognosis.

The prognostic significance of the additional abnormalities to the t(15; 17) remains controversial. We report a case of promyelocytic leukemia (APL) in a ten-year-old boy. Classical and molecular cytogenetic (FISH) studies of a bone marrow sample obtained at diagnosis revealed the presence of trisomy of chromosome 11 as an additional chromosomal abnormality to the t(15; 17).

An innovative approach of QRS segmentation based on first-derivative, Hilbert and Wavelet Transforms.

The QRS detection and segmentation processes constitute the first stages of a greater process, e.g., electrocardiogram (ECG) feature extraction.

A glass-reinforced hydroxyapatite and surgical-grade calcium sulfate for bone regeneration: In vivo biological behavior in a sheep model.

A glass-reinforced hydroxyapatite (HA) composite (Bonelike®) was developed for bone grafting. This biomaterial is composed of a modified HA matrix with α- and β-tricalcium phosphate secondary phases, resulting in higher solubility than single HA type of materials. Several in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrated that Bonelike® has a highly bioactive behavior, which was also confirmed by employing granular forms of this biomaterial in orthopedics and dental applications.

Brazilian Guidelines for transcranial doppler in children and adolescents with sickle cell disease.

Background: Sickle cell disease is the most common monogenic hereditary disease in Brazil. Although strokes are one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in these patients, the use of transcranial Doppler to identify children at risk is not universally used.

Objective: To develop Brazilian guidelines for the use of transcranial Doppler in sickle cell disease children and adolescents, so that related health policies can be expanded, and thus contribute to reduce morbidity and mortality.

Computer-assisted evaluation of pulmonary emphysema in CT scans: comparison between a locally developed system and a freeware system.

Objective: To present a locally developed system of computer vision for use with HRCT images, designated SIStema para a Detecção e a quantificação de Enfisema Pulmonar (SISDEP, System to Detect and Quantify Pulmonary Emphysema), and to compare this system with a freeware system tool.

Methods: Thirty-three HRCT images scanned at the apex, hilum and base of the lungs of 11 patients with COPD were analyzed. The SISDEP was compared with the Osiris Medical Imaging Software Program regarding lung parenchyma segmentation, precision of the measurement of the cross-sectional area of the lungs in mm(2), mean lung density (MLD), relative area (RA) of the lung occupied by voxels with attenuation values < -950 hounsfield units (RA -950), 15th percentile point (Perc15) and visualization of hyperinflated areas using a color mask.