X Radiation dose implications in screening patients with ferromagnetic IOFBs prior to MRI: a literary review

Patients scheduled for a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan sometimes require screening for ferromagnetic Intra Orbital Foreign Bodies (IOFBs). To assess this, they are required to fill out a screening protocol questionnaire before their scan. If it is established that a patient is at high risk, radiographic imaging is necessary. This review examines literature to evaluate which imaging modality should be used to screen for IOFBs, considering that the eye is highly sensitive to ionising radiation and any dose should be minimised. Method: Several websites and books were searched for information, these were as follows: PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge and Google Scholar. The terms searched related to IOFB, Ionising radiation, Magnetic Resonance Imaging Safety, Image Quality, Effective Dose, Orbits and X-ray. Thirty five articles were found, several were rejected due to age or irrelevance; twenty eight were eventually accepted. Results: There are several imaging techniques that can be used. Some articles investigated the use of ultrasound for investigation of ferromagnetic IOFBs of the eye and others discussed using Computed Tomography (CT) and X-ray. Some gaps in the literature were identified, mainly that there are no articles which discuss the lowest effective dose while having adequate image quality for orbital imaging. Conclusion: X-ray is the best method to identify IOFBs. The only problem is that there is no research which highlights exposure factors that maintain sufficient image quality for viewing IOFBs and keep the effective dose to the eye As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA).

A balance between image quality and effective dose in orbital X-ray screening for ferromagnetic IOFBs: a pilot study

Purpose: To investigate whether standard X-ray acquisition factors for orbital radiographs are suitable for the detection of ferromagnetic intra-ocular foreign bodies in patients undergoing MRI. Method: 35 observers, at varied levels of education in radiography, attending a European Dose Optimisation EURASMUS Summer School were asked to score 24 images of varying acquisition factors against a clinical standard (reference image) using two alternative forced choice. The observers were provided with 12 questions and a 5 point Likert scale. Statistical tests were used to validate the scale, and scale reliability was also measured. The images which scored equal to, or better than, the reference image (36) were ranked alongside their corresponding effective dose (E), the image with the lowest dose equal to or better than the reference is considered the new optimum acquisition factors. Results: Four images emerged as equal to, or better than, the reference in terms of image quality. The images were then ranked in order of E. Only one image that scored the same as the reference had a lower dose. The reference image had a mean E of 3.31μSv, the image that scored the same had an E of 1.8μSv. Conclusion: Against the current clinical standard exposure factors of 70kVp, 20mAs and the use of an anti- scatter grid, one image proved to have a lower E whilst maintaining the same level of image quality and lesion visibility. It is suggested that the new exposure factors should be 60kVp, 20mAs and still include the use of an anti-scatter grid.

Topological entropy of catalytic sets: Hypercycles revisited

The dynamics of catalytic networks have been widely studied over the last decades because of their implications in several fields like prebiotic evolution, virology, neural networks, immunology or ecology. One of the most studied mathematical bodies for catalytic networks was initially formulated in the context of prebiotic evolution, by means of the hypercycle theory. The hypercycle is a set of self-replicating species able to catalyze other replicator species within a cyclic architecture. Hypercyclic organization might arise from a quasispecies as a way to increase the informational containt surpassing the so-called error threshold. The catalytic coupling between replicators makes all the species to behave like a single and coherent evolutionary multimolecular unit. The inherent nonlinearities of catalytic interactions are responsible for the emergence of several types of dynamics, among them, chaos. In this article we begin with a brief review of the hypercycle theory focusing on its evolutionary implications as well as on different dynamics associated to different types of small catalytic networks. Then we study the properties of chaotic hypercycles with error-prone replication with symbolic dynamics theory, characterizing, by means of the theory of topological Markov chains, the topological entropy and the periods of the orbits of unimodal-like iterated maps obtained from the strange attractor. We will focus our study on some key parameters responsible for the structure of the catalytic network: mutation rates, autocatalytic and cross-catalytic interactions.

Constrains on the structure of Maio Island (Cape Verde) by a three-dimensional gravity model: Imaging partially exhumed magma chambers

We propose a 3-D gravity model for the volcanic structure of the island of Maio (Cape Verde archipelago) with the objective of solving some open questions concerning the geometry and depth of the intrusive Central Igneous Complex. A gravity survey was made covering almost the entire surface of the island. The gravity data was inverted through a non-linear 3-D approach which provided a model constructed in a random growth process. The residual Bouguer gravity field shows a single positive anomaly presenting an elliptic shape with a NWSE trending long axis. This Bouguer gravity anomaly is slightly off-centred with the island but its outline is concordant with the surface exposure of the Central Igneous Complex. The gravimetric modelling shows a high-density volume whose centre of mass is about 4500 m deep. With increasing depth, and despite the restricted gravimetric resolution, the horizontal sections of the model suggest the presence of two distinct bodies, whose relative position accounts for the elongated shape of the high positive Bouguer gravity anomaly. These bodies are interpreted as magma chambers whose coeval volcanic counterparts are no longer preserved. The orientation defined by the two bodies is similar to that of other structures known in the southern group of the Cape Verde islands, thus suggesting a possible structural control constraining the location of the plutonic intrusions.

O corpo como imagem e as imagens do corpo na contemporaneidade

Tese de doutoramento, Belas-Artes (Teoria da Imagem), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Belas-Artes, 2013

"Lazarillo de Tormes": melhoria da mobilidade em Salamanca

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Civil na Área de Especialização de Vias de Comunicação e Transportes

Sem corpo, sem problemas: narradores e contadores de histórias

Ora combinando técnicas da narração oral, ora enfatizando o uso da linguagem, todos os espectáculos estudados neste ensaio lidam com a palavra antes de olharem para o corpo. A mîse en oralité presente em todas estas criações permitia ao corpo desaparecer em palco e tornar-se (aparentemente) um simples veículo para a palavra. Contudo, é claro que este número de desaparecimento apenas vem acentuar a importância do corpo no acto de contar e de representar.

The impact of driving styles on fuel consumption: a data-warehouse-and-data-mining-based discovery process

This paper discusses the results of applied research on the eco-driving domain based on a huge data set produced from a fleet of Lisbon's public transportation buses for a three-year period. This data set is based on events automatically extracted from the control area network bus and enriched with GPS coordinates, weather conditions, and road information. We apply online analytical processing (OLAP) and knowledge discovery (KD) techniques to deal with the high volume of this data set and to determine the major factors that influence the average fuel consumption, and then classify the drivers involved according to their driving efficiency. Consequently, we identify the most appropriate driving practices and styles. Our findings show that introducing simple practices, such as optimal clutch, engine rotation, and engine running in idle, can reduce fuel consumption on average from 3 to 5l/100 km, meaning a saving of 30 l per bus on one day. These findings have been strongly considered in the drivers' training sessions.

A novel colorimetric assay of beta-D-glucans in basidiomycete strains by alcian blue dye in a 96-well microtiter plate

Basidiomycete strains synthesize several types of beta-D-glucans, which play a major role in the medicinal properties of mushrooms. Therefore, the specific quantification of these beta-D-glucans in mushroom strains is of great biochemical importance. Because published assay methods for these beta-D-glucans present some disadvantages, a novel colorimetric assay method for beta-D-glucan with alcian blue dye was developed. The complex formation was detected by following the decrease in absorbance in the range of 620 nm and by hypsochromic shift from 620 to 606 nm (similar to 14 nm) in UV-Vis spectrophotometer. Analysis of variance was used for optimization of the slope of the calibration curve by using the assay mixture containing 0.017% (w/v) alcian blue in 2% (v/v) acetic acid at pH 3.0. The high-throughput colorimetric assay method on microtiter plates was used for quantification of beta-D-glucans in the range of 0-0.8 mu g, with a slope of 44.15 x 10(-2) and a limit of detection of 0.017 mu g/well. Recovery experiments were carried out by using a sample of Hericium erinaceus, which exhibited a recovery of 95.8% for beta-1,3-D-glucan. The present assay method exhibited a 10-fold higher sensitivity and a 59-fold lower limit of detection compared with the published method with congo red beta-D-glucans of several mushrooms strains were isolated from fruiting bodies and mycelia, and they were quantified by this assay method. This assay method is fast, specific, simple, and it can be used to quantify beta-D-glucans from other biological sources. (C) 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers

The insular shelves of the Faial-Pico Ridge (Azores archipelago): a morphological record of its evolution

Shelves surrounding reefless volcanic ocean islands are formed by surf erosion of their slopes during changing sea levels. Posterosional lava flows, if abundant, can cross the coastal cliffs and fill partially or completely the accommodation space left by erosion. In this study, multibeam bathymetry, high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, and sediment samples are used to characterize the morphology of the insular shelves adjacent to Pico Island. The data show offshore fresh lava flow morphologies, as well as an irregular basement beneath shelf sedimentary bodies and reduced shelf width adjacent to older volcanic edifices in Pico. These observations suggest that these shelves have been significantly filled by volcanic progradation and can thus be classified as rejuvenated. Despite the general volcanic infilling of the shelves around Pico, most of their edges are below the depth of the Last Glacial Maximum, revealing that at least parts of the island have subsided after the shelves formed by surf erosion. Prograding lava deltas reached the shelf edge in some areas triggering small slope failures, locally decreasing the shelf width and depth of their edges. These areas can represent a significant risk for the local population; hence, their identification can be useful for hazard assessment and contribute to wiser land use planning. Shelf and subaerial geomorphology, magnetic anomalies and crustal structure data of the two islands were also interpreted to reconstruct the long-term combined onshore and offshore evolution of the Faial-Pico ridge. The subaerial emergence of this ridge is apparently older than previously thought, i.e., before approximate to 850 ka.

Derek Jarman’s allegories of spectacle: inter-artistic embodiment

ABSTRACT - Derek Jarman was a multifaceted artist whose intermedial versatility reinforces a strong authorial discourse. He constructs an immersive allegorical world of hybrid art where different layers of cinematic, theatrical and painterly materials come together to convey a lyrical form and express a powerful ideological message. In Caravaggio (1986) and Edward II (1991), Jarman approaches two european historical figures from two different but concomitant perspectives. In Caravaggio, through the use of tableaux of abstract meaning and by focusing on the detailing of the models’ poses, Jarman re-enacts the allegorical spirit of Caravaggio’s paintings through entirely cinematic resources. Edward II was a king, and as a statesman he possessed a certain dose of showmanship. In this film Jarman reconstructs the theatrical basis of Christopher Marlowe’s Elizabethan play bringing it up to date in a successfully abstract approach to the musical stage. In this article, I intend to conjoin the practice of allegory in film with certain notions of existential phenomenology as advocated by Vivian Sobchack and Laura U. Marks, in order to address the relationship between the corporeality of the film and the lived bodies of the spectators. In this context, the allegory is a means to convey intradiegetically the sense-ability at play in the cinematic experience, reinforcing the textural and sensual nature of both film and viewer, which, in turn, is also materially enhanced in the film proper, touching the spectator in a supplementary fashion. The two corporealities favour an inter-artistic immersion achieved through coenaesthesia.