Continuous removal of pharmaceutical drug chloroquine and Safranin-O dye from water using agar-graphene oxide hydrogel: Selective adsorption in batch and fixed-bed experiments.

In this work, Chloroquine diphosphate, and the cationic dye Safranin-O were selectively removed from water using the agar-graphene oxide (A-GO) hydrogel, produced via simple one-step jellification process. The morphology of the A-GO biocomposite was characterized and batch experiments were performed, with adsorption isotherms satisfactorily fitting (R > 0.98) Sips (Safranin-O) and Freundlich (Chloroquine) isotherms.

iMIL4PATH: A Semi-Supervised Interpretable Approach for Colorectal Whole-Slide Images.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis is based on samples obtained from biopsies, assessed in pathology laboratories. Due to population growth and ageing, as well as better screening programs, the CRC incidence rate has been increasing, leading to a higher workload for pathologists. In this sense, the application of AI for automatic CRC diagnosis, particularly on whole-slide images (WSI), is of utmost relevance, in order to assist professionals in case triage and case review.

On the effect of irregular uterine activity during a vaginal delivery using an electro-chemo-mechanical constitutive model.

During a normal vaginal delivery, the muscle cells propagate electrical signals throughout the uterine wall, resulting in uterine contractions. However, uncoordinated uterine activity may disturb the uterine contractions pattern and negatively impact fetal and maternal health. Some of the abnormalities identified by the specialists are excessively short resting intervals and tachysystole.

Assessing clinical applicability of COVID-19 detection in chest radiography with deep learning.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted healthcare systems across the world. Chest radiography (CXR) can be used as a complementary method for diagnosing/following COVID-19 patients. However, experience level and workload of technicians and radiologists may affect the decision process.

Optimization of Titanium Dental Mesh Surfaces for Biological Sealing and Prevention of Bacterial Colonization.

Titanium dental meshes have a wide application in order to ensure the retention of calcium phosphate-based biomaterials to regenerate bone tissue. These meshes are temporary and must grow a soft tissue to prevent bacterial colonization and provide stability. In this work, we aimed to optimize the roughness of the meshes to obtain a good biological seal while maintaining a behavior that did not favor bacterial colonization.

Carotid Ultrasound Boundary Study (CUBS): Technical considerations on an open multi-center analysis of computerized measurement systems for intima-media thickness measurement on common carotid artery longitudinal B-mode ultrasound scans.

After publishing an in-depth study that analyzed the ability of computerized methods to assist or replace human experts in obtaining carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) measurements leading to correct therapeutic decisions, here the same consortium joined to present technical outlooks on computerized CIMT measurement systems and provide considerations for the community regarding the development and comparison of these methods, including considerations to encourage the standardization of computerized CIMT measurements and results presentation. A multi-center database of 500 images was collected, upon which three manual segmentations and seven computerized methods were employed to measure the CIMT, including traditional methods based on dynamic programming, deformable models, the first order absolute moment, anisotropic Gaussian derivative filters and deep learning-based image processing approaches based on U-Net convolutional neural networks. An inter- and intra-analyst variability analysis was conducted and segmentation results were analyzed by dividing the database based on carotid morphology, image signal-to-noise ratio, and research center.

Dairy Lactic Acid Bacteria and Their Potential Function in Dietetics: The Food-Gut-Health Axis.

Fermented dairy products are the good source of different species of live lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which are beneficial microbes well characterized for their health-promoting potential. Traditionally, dietary intake of fermented dairy foods has been related to different health-promoting benefits including antimicrobial activity and modulation of the immune system, among others. In recent years, emerging evidence suggests a contribution of dairy LAB in the prophylaxis and therapy of non-communicable diseases.

Impact of lactic acid bacteria and their metabolites on the techno-functional properties and health benefits of fermented dairy products.

After conversion of lactose to lactic acid, several biochemical changes occur such as enhanced protein digestibility, fatty acids release, and production of bioactive compounds etc. during the fermentation process that brings nutritional and quality improvement in the fermented dairy products (FDP). A diverse range of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) is being utilized for the development of FDP with specific desirable techno-functional attributes.

Computational Simulations in Advanced Microfluidic Devices: A Review.

Numerical simulations have revolutionized research in several engineering areas by contributing to the understanding and improvement of several processes, being biomedical engineering one of them. Due to their potential, computational tools have gained visibility and have been increasingly used by several research groups as a supporting tool for the development of preclinical platforms as they allow studying, in a more detailed and faster way, phenomena that are difficult to study experimentally due to the complexity of biological processes present in these models-namely, heat transfer, shear stresses, diffusion processes, velocity fields, etc. There are several contributions already in the literature, and significant advances have been made in this field of research.

Safety and health risks for workers exposed to cold thermal environments: A frozen food processing industry perspective.

Background: Environmental temperatures in the fresh food industry vary from 0°C to 10°C, and go below -20°C for the frozen food industry, representing risk for the health and safety of workers involved.

Objective: The aim of this work was to evaluate the cold thermal stress risks for workers working in a frozen food industry.

Methods: A total of 27 acclimatized workers (13 male and 14 female) participated in a study which was conducted during 11 working days.

The evolution of pelvic canal shape and rotational birth in humans.

Background: The human foetus typically needs to rotate when passing through the tight birth canal because of the complex shape of the pelvis. In most women, the upper part, or inlet, of the birth canal has a round or mediolaterally oval shape, which is considered ideal for parturition, but it is unknown why the lower part of the birth canal has a pronounced anteroposteriorly oval shape.

Results: Here, we show that the shape of the lower birth canal affects the ability of the pelvic floor to resist the pressure exerted by the abdominal organs and the foetus.

Electrochemical Determination of Antioxidant Capacity of Traditional Homemade Fruit Vinegars Produced with Double Spontaneous Fermentation.

In the current study, the antioxidant activity of traditional homemade fruit vinegars (HMV) was estimated by measuring the rate of homogeneous redox reaction with 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid radical cation (ABTS) using cyclic voltammetry. The antioxidant capacity of six HMV produced using traditional methods and the physicochemical characterization were measured in different vinegar production steps throughout a double spontaneous fermentation process, i.e.

Visible and Thermal Image-Based Trunk Detection with Deep Learning for Forestry Mobile Robotics.

Mobile robotics in forests is currently a hugely important topic due to the recurring appearance of forest wildfires. Thus, in-site management of forest inventory and biomass is required. To tackle this issue, this work presents a study on detection at the ground level of forest tree trunks in visible and thermal images using deep learning-based object detection methods.

A Comparative Analysis for 2D Object Recognition: A Case Study with Tactode Puzzle-Like Tiles.

Object recognition represents the ability of a system to identify objects, humans or animals in images. Within this domain, this work presents a comparative analysis among different classification methods aiming at Tactode tile recognition. The covered methods include: (i) machine learning with HOG and SVM; (ii) deep learning with CNNs such as VGG16, VGG19, ResNet152, MobileNetV2, SSD and YOLOv4; (iii) matching of handcrafted features with SIFT, SURF, BRISK and ORB; and (iv) template matching.

Indoor Air Quality Improvement Using Nature-Based Solutions: Design Proposals to Greener Cities.

Low indoor air quality is an increasingly important problem due to the spread of urbanization. Because people spend most of their time inside, poor indoor air quality causes serious human health issues, resulting in significant economic losses. In this work, the current state of affairs is presented and analyzed, focusing on the current problems and the available solutions to improve the quality of indoor air, and the use of nature-based solutions.

Analysis of Stiffness of Clamped Joints versus Bolted Joints in Steel Structures by Means of Accelerometers and Shaking Table Tests.

This work analyzes the difference in stiffness in a steel laboratory structure using clamped joints or bolted joints and analyzes if the stiffness varies in the same way when the frame is subjected to external dynamic loads that bring the joint materials to their yield strength. To make this comparison, the differences between clamp joint and bolted joint were evaluated using a novel methodology based on the analysis of the structure's natural frequencies from accelerometers. To perform this comparison, several laboratory tests were carried out on a frame made by clamped joints and the same frame made by bolted joints, using a set of tests on a medium-scale shake table for this purpose.

Simulation of the process of angiogenesis: Quantification and assessment of vascular patterning in the chicken chorioallantoic membrane.

Angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, begins during embryonic development and continues throughout life. Sprouting angiogenesis is a well-defined process, being mainly influenced by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). In this study, we propose a meshless-based model capable of mimicking the angiogenic response to several VEGF concentrations.

3D Printing Techniques and Their Applications to Organ-on-a-Chip Platforms: A Systematic Review.

Three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models, such as organ-on-a-chip platforms, are an emerging and effective technology that allows the replication of the function of tissues and organs, bridging the gap amid the conventional models based on planar cell cultures or animals and the complex human system. Hence, they have been increasingly used for biomedical research, such as drug discovery and personalized healthcare. A promising strategy for their fabrication is 3D printing, a layer-by-layer fabrication process that allows the construction of complex 3D structures.

LNDb challenge on automatic lung cancer patient management.

Lung cancer is the deadliest type of cancer worldwide and late detection is the major factor for the low survival rate of patients. Low dose computed tomography has been suggested as a potential screening tool but manual screening is costly and time-consuming. This has fuelled the development of automatic methods for the detection, segmentation and characterisation of pulmonary nodules.

Detoxification of sisal bagasse hydrolysate using activated carbon produced from the gasification of açaí waste.

Due to its recalcitrance and difficult disruption, biomass requires severe treatment conditions to produce bioproducts. These processes also generate substances that inhibit microbial metabolism, resulting in low conversion of sugars into bioproducts. To minimize this, in this work the sisal bagasse acid hydrolysate was detoxified using the activated carbon obtained from residues of the gasification of açaí endocarp.

A Comprehensive Dependability Model for QoM-Aware Industrial WSN When Performing Visual Area Coverage in Occluded Scenarios.

In critical industrial monitoring and control applications, dependability evaluation will be usually required. For wireless sensor networks deployed in industrial plants, dependability evaluation can provide valuable information, enabling proper preventive or contingency measures to assure their correct and safe operation. However, when employing sensor nodes equipped with cameras, visual coverage failures may have a deep impact on the perceived quality of industrial applications, besides the already expected impacts of hardware and connectivity failures.

Residence time distribution (RTD) revisited.

Residence Time Distribution (RTD) theory is revisited and tracer technology discussed. The background of RTD following Danckwerts ideas is presented by introducing "distribution" functions for residence time, internal age and intensity function and how to experimentally obtain them with tracer techniques (curves C and F of Danckwerts). Compartment models to describe fluid flow in real reactors are reviewed and progressive modeling of chromatographic processes discussed in some detail.

Sprouting Angiogenesis: A Numerical Approach with Experimental Validation.

A functional vascular network is essential to the correct wound healing. In sprouting angiogenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) regulates the formation of new capillaries from pre-existing vessels. This is a very complex process and mathematical formulation permits to study angiogenesis using less time-consuming, reproducible and cheaper methodologies.

A preliminary study of endothelial cell migration during angiogenesis using a meshless method approach.

Angiogenesis, the development of new blood capillaries, is crucial for the wound healing process. This biological process allows the proper blood supply to the tissue, essential for cell proliferation and viability. Several biological factors modulate angiogenesis, however the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the main one.