Blood glucose control in diabetes patients seen in primary health care centers

OBJECTIVE: To identify factors associated to poor glycemic control among diabetic patients seen at primary health care centers. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in a sample of 372 diabetic patients attending 32 primary health care centers in southern Brazil. Data on three hierarchical levels of health unit infrastructure, medical care and patient characteristics were collected. RESULTS: The frequency of poor glycemic control was 50.5%. Multivariate analysis (multilevel method) showed that patients with body mass indexes below 27 kg/m², patients on oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin, and patients diagnosed as diabetic over five years prior to the interview were more likely to present poor glycemic control when compared to their counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: Given the hierarchical data structuring, all associations found suggest that factors associated to hyperglycemia are related to patient-level characteristics.

Lipid content of frozen fish: comparison of different extraction methods and variability during freezing storage

In this work, a microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) methodology was compared with several conventional extraction methods (Soxhlet, Bligh & Dyer, modified Bligh & Dyer, Folch, modified Folch, Hara & Radin, Roese-Gottlieb) for quantification of total lipid content of three fish species: horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus), chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), and sardine (Sardina pilchardus). The influence of species, extraction method and frozen storage time (varying from fresh to 9 months of freezing) on total lipid content was analysed in detail. The efficiencies of methods MAE, Bligh & Dyer, Folch, modified Folch and Hara & Radin were the highest and although they were not statistically different, differences existed in terms of variability, with MAE showing the highest repeatability (CV = 0.034). Roese-Gottlieb, Soxhlet, and modified Bligh & Dyer methods were very poor in terms of efficiency as well as repeatability (CV between 0.13 and 0.18).

E-Learning as a shared service in shared services centers

Book Subtitle International Conference, CENTERIS 2010, Viana do Castelo, Portugal, October 20-22, 2010, Proceedings, Part II

Exploração da Point Cloud Library aplicada à percepção em sistemas autónomos

A navegação e a interpretação do meio envolvente por veículos autónomos em ambientes não estruturados continua a ser um grande desafio na actualidade. Sebastian Thrun, descreve em [Thr02], que o problema do mapeamento em sistemas robóticos é o da aquisição de um modelo espacial do meio envolvente do robô. Neste contexto, a integração de sistemas sensoriais em plataformas robóticas, que permitam a construção de mapas do mundo que as rodeia é de extrema importância. A informação recolhida desses dados pode ser interpretada, tendo aplicabilidade em tarefas de localização, navegação e manipulação de objectos. Até à bem pouco tempo, a generalidade dos sistemas robóticos que realizavam tarefas de mapeamento ou Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM), utilizavam dispositivos do tipo laser rangefinders e câmaras stereo. Estes equipamentos, para além de serem dispendiosos, fornecem apenas informação bidimensional, recolhidas através de cortes transversais 2D, no caso dos rangefinders. O paradigma deste tipo de tecnologia mudou consideravelmente, com o lançamento no mercado de câmaras RGB-D, como a desenvolvida pela PrimeSense TM e o subsequente lançamento da Kinect, pela Microsoft R para a Xbox 360 no final de 2010. A qualidade do sensor de profundidade, dada a natureza de baixo custo e a sua capacidade de aquisição de dados em tempo real, é incontornável, fazendo com que o sensor se tornasse instantaneamente popular entre pesquisadores e entusiastas. Este avanço tecnológico deu origem a várias ferramentas de desenvolvimento e interacção humana com este tipo de sensor, como por exemplo a Point Cloud Library [RC11] (PCL). Esta ferramenta tem como objectivo fornecer suporte para todos os blocos de construção comuns que uma aplicação 3D necessita, dando especial ênfase ao processamento de nuvens de pontos de n dimensões adquiridas a partir de câmaras RGB-D, bem como scanners laser, câmaras Time-of-Flight ou câmaras stereo. Neste contexto, é realizada nesta dissertação, a avaliação e comparação de alguns dos módulos e métodos constituintes da biblioteca PCL, para a resolução de problemas inerentes à construção e interpretação de mapas, em ambientes indoor não estruturados, utilizando os dados provenientes da Kinect. A partir desta avaliação, é proposta uma arquitectura de sistema que sistematiza o registo de nuvens de pontos, correspondentes a vistas parciais do mundo, num modelo global consistente. Os resultados da avaliação realizada à biblioteca PCL atestam a sua viabilidade, para a resolução dos problemas propostos. Prova da sua viabilidade, são os resultados práticos obtidos, da implementação da arquitectura de sistema proposta, que apresenta resultados de desempenho interessantes, como também boas perspectivas de integração deste tipo de conceitos e tecnologia em plataformas robóticas desenvolvidas no âmbito de projectos do Laboratório de Sistemas Autónomos (LSA).

Psychiatric patients' return for HIV/STI test results in mental health centers

OBJECTIVE: To assess individual and/or health service factors associated with patients returning for results of HIV or sexually transmitted infection (STI) tests in mental health centers. METHODS: Cross-sectional national multicenter study among 2,080 patients randomly selected from 26 Brazilian mental health centers in 2007. Multilevel logistic regression was used to assess the effect of individual (level 1) and mental health service characteristics (level 2) on receipt of test results. RESULTS: The rate of returning HIV/STI test results was 79.6%. Among health service characteristics examined, only condom distribution was associated with receiving HIV/STI test results, whereas several individual characteristics were independently associated including living in the same city where treatment centers are; being single; not having heard of AIDS; and not having been previously HIV tested. CONCLUSIONS: It is urgent to expand HIV/STI testing in health services which provide care for patients with potentially increased vulnerability to these conditions, and to promote better integration between mental health and health services.

Integration of an automatic storage and retrieval system (ASRS) in a discrete-part automation system

This technical report describes the work carried out in a project within the ERASMUS programme. The objective of this project was the Integration of an Automatic Warehouse in a Discrete-Part Automation System. The discrete-part automation system located at the LASCRI (Critical Systems) laboratory at ISEP was extended with automatic storage and retrieval of the manufacturing parts, through the integration of an automatic warehouse and an automatic guided vehicle (AGV).

Energy storage systems (sistemas de armazenamento de energia)

O armazenamento de energia pode ser efetuado sobre cinco categorias, designadamente, elétrica, eletromecânica, mecânica, térmica e química. Contudo, o assunto aqui debatido é sobre meios de armazenamento de energia elétrica, sendo que o armazenamento de eletricidade é usualmente efetuado recorrendo a outros géneros de energia, tais como, química, mecânica, térmica ou, até, em energia potencial. [1]. Há nos dias de hoje uma crescente preocupação na forma como é gerido o setor elétrico, uma vez que este implica um elevado impacto ambiental. Neste sentido tem havido algumas alterações, nomeadamente, no que diz respeito à produção de energia elétrica. A utilização de energias renováveis estão cada vez mais presentes na produção de eletricidade (Figura 1), pois permitem diminuir de forma indireta a utilização dos combustíveis fósseis, sendo esta a principal vantagem face às centrais de produção convencionais.

Matching CO2 large point sources and potential geological storage sites in mainland Portugal

Dissertação apresentada na Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia do Ambiente, Perfil Gestão e Sistemas Ambientais

Impact of a price-maker pumped storage hydro unit on the integration of wind energy in power systems

The increasing integration of larger amounts of wind energy into power systems raises important operational issues, such as the balance between power generation and demand. The pumped storage hydro (PSH) units are one possible solution to mitigate this problem, once they can store the excess of energy in the periods of higher generation and lower demand. However, the behaviour of a PSH unit may differ considerably from the expected in terms of wind power integration when it operates in a liberalized electricity market under a price-maker context. In this regard, this paper models and computes the optimal PSH weekly scheduling in a price-taker and price-maker scenarios, either when the PSH unit operates in standalone and integrated in a portfolio of other generation assets. Results show that the price-maker standalone PSH will integrate less wind power in comparison with the price-taker situation. Moreover, when the PSH unit is integrated in a portfolio with a base load power plant, the role of the price elasticity of demand may completely change the operational profile of the PSH unit. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How market power affects the behaviour of a pumped storage hydro unit in the day-ahead electricity market?

The integration of large amounts of wind energy in power systems raises important operation issues such as the balance between power demand and generation. The pumped storage hydro (PSH) units are seen as one solution for this issue, avoiding the need for wind power curtailments. However, the behavior of a PSH unit might differ considerably when it operates in a liberalized market with some degree of market power. In this regard, a new approach for the optimal daily scheduling of a PSH unit in the day-ahead electricity market was developed and presented in this paper, in which the market power is modeled by a residual inverse demand function with a variable elasticity. The results obtained show that increasing degrees of market power of the PSH unit correspond to decreasing levels of storage and, therefore, the capacity to integrate wind power is considerably reduced under these circumstances.

Electrochemical response of 70Co-30Ni highly branched 3D-dendritic structures for charge storage electrodes

A 70Co-30Ni dendritic alloy was produced on stainless steel by pulse electrodeposition in the cathodic domain, and oxidized by potential cycling. X-ray diffraction (XRD) identified the presence of two phases and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) evidenced an open 3D highly branched dendritic morphology. After potential cycling in 1 M KOH, SEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed, respectively, the presence of thin nanoplates, composed of Co and Ni oxi-hydroxides and hydroxides over the original dendritic film. Cyclic voltammetry tests showd the presence of redox peaks assigned to the oxidation and reduction of Ni and Co centres in the surface film. Charge/discharge measurements revealed capacity values of 121 mAh g(1) at 1 mA cm(2). The capacity retention under 8000 cycles was above 70%, stating the good reversibility of these redox materials and its suitability to be used as charge storage electrodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) spectra, taken under different applied bias, showed that the capacitance increased when the electrode was fully oxidized and decreased when the electrode was reduced, reflecting different states-of-charge of the electrode. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fabrication of electrochemically reduced graphene oxide/cobalt oxide composite for charge storage electrodes

Electrochemically-reduced graphene oxide (Er-GO) and cobalt oxides (CoOx) were co-electrodeposited by cyclic voltammetry, from an electrolyte containing graphene oxide and cobalt nitrate, directly onto a stainless steel substrate to produce composite electrodes presenting high charge storage capacity. The electrochemical response of the composite films was optimized by studying the parameters applied during the electrodeposition process, namely the number of cycles, scan rate and ratio between GO/Co(NO3)(2) concentrations in the electrolyte. It is shown that, if the appropriate conditions are selected, it is possible to produced binder-free composite electrodes with improved electrochemical properties using a low-cost, facile and scalable technique. The optimized Er-GO/CoOx developed in this work exhibits a specific capacitance of 608 F g(-1) at a current density of 1 A g(-1) and increased reversibility when compared to single CoOx. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Risk factors and prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis A virus (HAV) in children from day-care centers, in Goiania, Brazil

A seroepidemiologic survey about hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection was carried out in a group comprising 310 children, ranging in age from 3 months to 9 years, from day-care centers, in Goiania, a middle sized city in the central region of Brazil. The biomarkers employed in the investigation of previous infection include total IgG and IgM anti-HAV antibodies, and for the detection of more recent infection, IgM anti-HAV antibodies were analyzed. The study was performed in 1991 and 1992. According to the results, 69.7% of the children presented total IgG/IgM anti-HAV antibodies, with 60% of the group in the age range of 1 to 3 years. Among 10 day-care centers analyzed, the prevalence of the biomarker IgM anti-HAV was 3.2%, with an uniform distribution of the cases in the group of children ranging in age from 1 to 4 years. Multi-variate analysis was performed to investigate the sociodemographic factors that could influence the results. It was verified that the risk for the infection increased with the length of the attendance in the day-care centers, i.e., the risk for children with attendance of one year or more was 4.7 times higher, when compared with children with one month attendance (CI 95% 2.3-9.9). According to the results, hepatitis A is an endemic infection in day-care centers in the study area. The length of attendance in the day-care settings was demonstrated to be a risk factor for the HAV infection. Such findings suggest that if hepatits A vaccination becomes available as a routine policy in our region, the target group should be children under one year. Moreover, those children should receive the vaccine before they start to attend the day-care centers.

Occurence of Giardia lamblia in children of municipal day-care centers from Botucatu, São Paulo State, Brazil

Considering that the number of day-care centers for pre-school-age children has expanded rapidly in developing countries, and that these institutions presenting conditions that facilitate the transmission of many enteric agents, a parasitological survey was carried out in three municipal day-cares from Botucatu: two in the urban area (one in downtown area and the other one in the city periphery area) and the third in the rural area. Three separate stool specimens were collected from 147 children ranging from 0 to 72 months old and 20 staff members. Each stool specimen was processed by Lutz and zinc sulfate flotation methods. The frequency of giardiasis observed among children of downtown, periphery and rural day-cares was 69.6%, 52.7% and 69.6%, respectively. Only one employee was positive for G. lamblia. The examination of three stool specimens increased the positivity for G. lamblia: from the ninety three final positive examinations, 24 (25.5%) and 8 (8.5%) were positives only after examination of the second and third samples, respectively. Others intestinal organisms like Ascaris lumbricoides (20.4%), Trichuris trichiura (19.0%). Hymenolepis nana (8.8%), Entamoeba coli (22.4%) and Blastocystis hominis (32.0%) were frequently found in the children. There was no significant association among localization of the day-cares, sex of the children and the levels of G. lamblia infection. According to the age, G. lamblia was found mainly in children between 12 to 47 months old.

Indizar, clasificar y organizar las colecciones de las bibliotecas escolares: herramientas en lengua española y portuguesa

La biblioteca escolar es un servicio de información básico para todos los miembros de una comunidad educativa, que forma parte de los espacios docentes de los centros y de los procesos pedagógicos que tienen lugar en ellos. Las bibliotecas escolares funcionan como centros de recursos para las actividades de enseñanza-aprendizaje, están constituidas por un conjunto sistematizado y dinámico de servicios y fondos documentales que permiten a los usuarios desarrollar hábitos lectores y buscar y valorar las fuentes de información, entre otras relevantes funciones. Los recursos de información que albergan son uno de sus principales activos, pero si colección documental no está organizada, las tareas de búsqueda y localización de la información resultarán complicadas y la calidad de los recursos obtenidos, cuestionable. Los bibliotecarios deben conocer en profundidad las características específicas del fondo documental y las fuentes disponibles; las técnicas y herramientas adecuadas para procesar y tratar el fondo bibliográfico, así como los métodos de recuperación de la información más convenientes. En este contexto, el objetivo de este trabajo es analizar de forma pormenorizada los procesos de indización y clasificación que se realizan en las bibliotecas escolares para procesar y recuperar la información que albergan su colecciones, así como describir las características más relevantes de las herramientas específicas que se usan en las bibliotecas escolares españolas, brasileñas y portuguesas, adaptadas a las características de los usuarios que utilizan sus servicios y acuden a ellas para resolver necesidades de información. Para lograr este propósito, se analiza el concepto de biblioteca escolar de forma crítica, se estudian sus funciones y se examinan las técnicas y los instrumentos que permiten organizar la información. Entre otras herramientas, se estudian listas de encabezamientos de materia como los Encabezamientos de materia para libros infantiles y juveniles y la Lista de Encabezamientos de materia para las bibliotecas públicas; sistemas de clasificación, como la Clasificación Decimal Universal (edición de bolsillo) o la clasificación por centros de interés y tesauros especializados como el Tesauro de la Educación UNESCO-OIE y el Tesauro Europeo de la Educación, entre otros.