Dataset of Smartphone-Based Finger Tapping Test.

The finger tapping test (FTT) is a neuropsychological test that measures motor speed and coordination. It involves tapping a designated surface with a specific finger as quickly as possible for a certain duration. Touchscreen of smartphones has been used as interface to record the tap, what enables to extract information about the taps.

Direct Energy Deposition Parametric Simulation Investigation in Gear Repair Applications.

Additive manufacturing technologies have numerous advantages over conventional technologies; nevertheless, their production process can lead to high residual stresses and distortions in the produced parts. The use of numerical simulation models is presented as a solution to predict the deformations and residual stresses resulting from the printing process. This study aimed to predict the tensions and distortions imposed in the gear repair process by directed energy deposition (DED).

Factors Associated With the Development and Prevalence of Abnormal Behaviors in Horses: Systematic Review With Meta-Analysis.

Researchers believe that the development and prevalence of abnormal behaviors in horses may be caused by several environmental and biological factors, and the literature offers numerous reports that discuss the causes and effects of stereotypies in these animals. In this light, this study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the scientific literature, summarizing the main risk factors associated with the development of abnormal behaviors in horses. The searches were conducted over the course of four years in Portuguese, Spanish, and English.

Risk of Collapse in Water Quality in the Guandu River (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).

The Guandu River, one of the main rivers in the state of Rio de Janeiro, provides water for more than nine million people in the metropolitan region. However, the Guandu has suffered from massive domestic and industrial pollution for more than two decades, leading to high levels of dissolved total phosphorus, cyanobacteria, and enteric bacteria observed during the summers of 2020 and 2021. The use of Phoslock, a palliative compound, was not effective in mitigating the levels of phosphorus in the Guandu River.

Fuel-cell technologies for private vehicles in Brazil: Environmental mirage or prospective romance? A comparative life cycle assessment of PEMFC and SOFC light-duty vehicles.

Fuel cell vehicles (FCV) have been proclaimed as a zero-tailpipe emissions alternative for passenger transportation; however, their overall environmental performance must be evaluated on a per-case basis. Although the environmental impacts (EI) of FCV have been already described in the literature, there is no evidence of comprehensive life cycle assessment studies analyzing the Brazilian case and its unique features, such as, the availability of biogenic feedstocks for hydrogen production via steam reform, high share of renewables in the electricity mix and the a novel powertrain technology based on solid-oxide fuel cells (SOFC) which could run on bioethanol. The purpose of this study was to quantify the EIs of polymer-electrolyte fuel cell (PEMFC) vehicles when hydrogen is produced in Brazilian conditions for a current and a 2030 scenario.

Hepatitis C treatment outcome in former or current intravenous drug users coinfected with HIV, with or without directly observed therapy.

Background: Intravenous drug users (IDUs) with hepatitis C virus (HCV)/human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-coinfection are recognised as a high-risk, vulnerable group.

Methods: Between February 2015 and April 2018, a single-centre, non-interventional cohort study was conducted in an outpatient setting, to evaluate the sustained virologic response (SVR12) and assess treatment uptake models. The study included 385 former or recent IDUs divided into two groups: A-without use of opioid substitution treatment (OST) and B-patients taking opioid substitution; patients in group B received OST and self-administered therapy (B1) or OST and therapy under DOT (B2).

Tribological Behavior of Nanolubricants Based on Coated Magnetic Nanoparticles and Trimethylolpropane Trioleate Base Oil.

The main task of this work is to study the tribological performance of nanolubricants formed by trimethylolpropane trioleate (TMPTO) base oil with magnetic nanoparticles coated with oleic acid: FeO of two sizes 6.3 nm and 10 nm, and Nd alloy compound of 19 nm. Coated nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized via chemical co-precipitation or thermal decomposition by adsorption with oleic acid in the same step.

Environmental trade-offs of renewable jet fuels in Brazil: Beyond the carbon footprint.

The use of renewable jet fuels (RJFs) is an option for meeting the greenhouse gases (GHG) reduction targets of the aviation sector. Therefore, most of the studies have focused on climate change indicators, but other environmental impacts have been disregarded. In this paper, an attributional life cycle assessment is performed for ten RJF pathways in Brazil, considering the environmental trade-offs between climate change and seven other categories, i.

Detection of Pneumocystis jirovecii by nested PCR in HIV-negative patients with pulmonary disease.

Background: Nested PCR can be used to determine the status of Pneumocystis jirovecii infection in other lung diseases.

Aims: This study sought to detect a target DNA fragment (mitochondrial large subunit rRNA or mtL SUrRNA) of P. jirovecii in patients with lung disease who underwent bronchoscopy with collection of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL).

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of sugar cane renewable jet fuel.

This study evaluated the life cycle GHG emissions of a renewable jet fuel produced from sugar cane in Brazil under a consequential approach. The analysis included the direct and indirect emissions associated with sugar cane production and fuel processing, distribution, and use for a projected 2020 scenario. The CA-GREET model was used as the basic analytical tool, while Land Use Change (LUC) emissions were estimated employing the GTAP-BIO-ADV and AEZ-EF models.

Collagen type IV-related nephropathies in Portugal: pathogenic COL4A5 mutations and clinical characterization of 22 families.

Alport syndrome (AS) is caused by pathogenic mutations in the genes encoding α3, α4 or α5 chains of collagen IV (COL4A3/COL4A4/COL4A5), resulting in hematuria, chronic renal failure (CRF), sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) and ocular abnormalities. Mutations in the X-linked COL4A5 gene have been identified in 85% of the families (XLAS). In this study, 22 of 60 probands (37%) of unrelated Portuguese families, with clinical diagnosis of AS and no evidence of autosomal inheritance, had pathogenic COL4A5 mutations detected by Sanger sequencing and/or multiplex-ligation probe amplification, of which 12 (57%) are novel.

Long-term prospects for the environmental profile of advanced sugar cane ethanol.

This work assessed the environmental impacts of the production and use of 1 MJ of hydrous ethanol (E100) in Brazil in prospective scenarios (2020-2030), considering the deployment of technologies currently under development and better agricultural practices. The life cycle assessment technique was employed using the CML method for the life cycle impact assessment and the Monte Carlo method for the uncertainty analysis. Abiotic depletion, global warming, human toxicity, ecotoxicity, photochemical oxidation, acidification, and eutrophication were the environmental impacts categories analyzed.

An ultrasonographic risk score for detecting symptomatic carotid atherosclerotic plaques.

this paper proposes a risk score computed from ultrasound data that correlates to plaque activity. It has the twofold purpose of detecting symptomatic plaques and estimating the likelihood of the asymptomatic lesion to become symptomatic. The proposed ultrasonographic activity index (UAI) relies on the plaque active profile, which is a combination of the most discriminate ultrasound parameter associated with symptoms.

An optimization based on simulation approach to the patient admission scheduling problem using a linear programing algorithm.

Background: As patient's length of stay in waiting lists increases, governments are looking for strategies to control the problem. Agreements were created with private providers to diminish the workload in the public sector. However, the growth of the private sector is not following the demand for care.

Descriptive analysis of and overall survival after surgical treatment of lung metastases.

Objective: To describe demographic characteristics, surgical results, postoperative complications, and overall survival rates in surgically treated patients with lung metastases.

Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 119 patients who underwent a total of 154 lung metastasis resections between 1997 and 2011.

Results: Among the 119 patients, 68 (57.

Gamma mixture classifier for plaque detection in intravascular ultrasonic images.

Carotid and coronary vascular incidents are mostly caused by vulnerable plaques. Detection and characterization of vulnerable plaques are important for early disease diagnosis and treatment. For this purpose, the echomorphology and composition have been studied.

Asymptomatic carotid disease--a new tool for assessing neurological risk.

Active carotid plaques are associated with atheroembolism and neurological events; its identification is crucial for stroke prevention. High-definition ultrasound (HDU) can be used to recognize plaque structure in carotid bifurcation stenosis associated with plaque vulnerability and occurrence of brain ischemic events. A new computer-assisted HDU method to study the echomorphology of the carotid plaque and to determine a risk score for developing appropriate symptoms is proposed in this study.

3D lacunarity in multifractal analysis of breast tumor lesions in dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (DCE-MR) of the breast is especially robust for the diagnosis of cancer in high-risk women due to its high sensitivity. Its specificity may be, however, compromised since several benign masses take up contrast agent as malignant lesions do. In this paper, we propose a novel method of 3D multifractal analysis to characterize the spatial complexity (spatial arrangement of texture) of breast tumors at multiple scales.

An optimization based on simulation approach to the patient admission scheduling problem: diagnostic imaging department case study.

The growing influx of patients in healthcare providers is the result of an aging population and emerging self-consciousness about health. In order to guarantee the welfare of all the healthcare stakeholders, it is mandatory to implement methodologies that optimize the healthcare providers' efficiency while increasing patient throughput and reducing patient's total waiting time. This paper presents a case study of a conventional radiology workflow analysis in a Portuguese healthcare provider.

An unusual cause of glomerular hematuria and acute kidney injury in a chronic kidney disease patient during warfarin therapy.

Warfarin is a well-established cause of gross hematuria. However, impaired kidney function does not occur except in the rare instance of severe blood loss or clot formation that obstructs the urinary tract. It has been recently described an entity called warfarin-related nephropathy, in which acute kidney injury is caused by glomerular hemorrhage and renal tubular obstruction by red blood cell casts.

A CAD system for atherosclerotic plaque assessment.

Recently, several atherosclerotic plaque characterization methods were proposed based on plaque morphology assessed through 2D ultrasound. It is of extreme importance to establish an objective quantification measure which allows the physicians to determine the risk of plaque rupture, and thus, of brain stroke. Having these, sometimes complex, measures easily and quickly assessed might prove invaluable for the physician an patient alike.

Understanding symptomatology of atherosclerotic plaque by image-based tissue characterization.

Characterization of carotid atherosclerosis and classification into either symptomatic or asymptomatic is crucial in terms of diagnosis and treatment planning for a range of cardiovascular diseases. This paper presents a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system (Atheromatic) that analyzes ultrasound images and classifies them into symptomatic and asymptomatic. The classification result is based on a combination of discrete wavelet transform, higher order spectra (HOS) and textural features.