The impacts of political activity on fires and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest: An analysis of social media and satellite data.

Social media has become a one-stop shop for consuming news and expressing political views. Politics has become increasingly emotional, and the ensuing polarization has created echo chambers that favor narratives and stories that repeat only one point of view. In this article, we investigated the role of political activity through Twitter (now 'X') engagement as a predictor of destructive fires and deforestation in the Brazilian Legal Amazon (BLA). We used a machine learning approach based on sentiment analysis and satellite data. To test the consistency of the sentiment analysis, we compared the timing of messages related to fire and deforestation events with daily fire data from satellites. When comparing positive and negative comments about fires in the BLA, the results showed that the best model for predicting fire outbreaks is the decision tree regressor. We found evidence that positive comments about agriculture, industry, and the Amazon rainforest in response to speeches and statements by high-ranking Brazilian politicians tend to induce positive comments about fire outbreaks and deforestation. These comments then become good predictors of fire outbreaks with a 6-day lag. These results support the view that high-ranking politicians have enormous power to influence damaging events that can have severe impacts on communities, the environment, and the economy. Brazil has seen an unprecedented increase in deforestation and fires in the Amazon rainforest in recent years. Our findings contribute to the growing literature on the role of social media in real-world events and how machine learning approaches can be used to address this class of problems.

Using virtual reality to prepare patients for radiotherapy: A systematic review of interventional studies with educational sessions.

Purpose: To understand the impact of radiotherapy educational sessions with virtual reality on oncologic adult patients' psychological and cognitive outcomes related to the treatment experience. Methods: This review was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews guidelines. A systematic electronic search in three databases, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science, was conducted in December 2021 to find interventional studies with adult patients undergoing external radiotherapy who received an educational session with virtual reality before or during the treatment. The studies that provided qualitative or quantitative information about the impact of educational sessions on patients' psychological and cognitive dimensions related to RT experience were retained for analysis. Results: Of the 25 records found, eight articles about seven studies were analysed that involved 376 patients with different oncological pathologies. Most studies evaluated knowledge and treatment-related anxiety, mainly through self-reported questionnaires. The analysis showed a significant improvement in patients' knowledge and comprehension of radiotherapy treatment. Anxiety levels also decreased with virtual reality educational sessions and throughout the treatment in almost all the studies, although with less homogeneous results. Conclusion: Virtual reality methods in standard educational sessions can enhance cancer patients' preparation for radiation therapy by increasing their understanding of treatment and reducing anxiety.

PET/CT in the Evaluation of Hypoxia for Radiotherapy Planning in Head and Neck Tumors: Systematic Literature Review.

PET/CT combines imaging at the molecular level along with imaging at the anatomic level, which, with the administration of a hypoxia-sensitive radiopharmaceutical, allows evaluation of tissue oxygenation. Methods: This work consisted of a systematic literature review that included websites, books, and articles dated from July 1997 to December 2019. The aim was to identify the PET radiopharmaceuticals best suited to the detection of cell hypoxia and to recognize the benefits for planning intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric arc therapy (VMAT). Results: Hypoxia affects the likelihood of cure for head and neck tumors, reducing the success rate. Radiopharmaceuticals such as 18F-fluoromisonidazole, 18F-fluoroerythronitromidazole, and 18F-HX4 (18F-3-fluoro-2-(4-((2-nitro-1H-imidazol-1-yl)methyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)propan-1-ol) allow the delineation of hypoxic subvolumes within the target volume to optimize IMRT/VMAT. Conclusion: Identification of hypoxic areas with PET/CT imaging and use of subsequent IMRT/VMAT allows for possible escalation of radiation dose in radioresistant subvolumes, with a consequent decrease in relapses and an increased likelihood of disease-free survival.

State estimation and optimal long period clinical treatment of HIV seropositive patients.

Optimal control theory provides a very interesting quantitative method that can be used to assist the decision making process in several areas of application, such as engineering, biology, economics and sociology. The main idea is to determine the values of the manipulated variables, such as drug doses, so that some cost function is minimized, subject to physical constraints. In this work, the cost function reflects the number of CD4+T cells, viral particles and the drug doses. It is worth noticing that high drug doses are related to more intense side-effects, apart from the impact on the actual cost of the treatment. In a previous paper by the authors, the LQR - Linear Quadratic Regulator approach was proposed for the computation of long period maintenance doses for the drugs, which turns out to be of state feedback form. However, it is not practical to determine all the components of the state vector, due to the fact that infected and uninfected CD4+T cells are not microscopically distinguishable. In order to overcome this difficulty, this work proposes the use of Extended Kalman Filter to estimate the state, even though, because of the nonlinear nature of the involved state equations, the separation principle may not be valid. Extensive simulations were then carried out to investigate numerically if the control strategy consisting of the feedback of estimated states yielded satisfactory clinical results.

State estimation and optimal long period clinical treatment of HIV seropositive patients

Optimal control theory provides a very interesting quantitative method that can be used to assist the decision making process in several areas of application, such as engineering, biology, economics and sociology. The main idea is to determine the values of the manipulated variables, such as drug doses, so that some cost function is minimized, subject to physical constraints. In this work, the cost function reflects the number of CD4+T cells, viral particles and the drug doses. It is worth noticing that high drug doses are related to more intense side-effects, apart from the impact on the actual cost of the treatment. In a previous paper by the authors, the LQR - Linear Quadratic Regulator approach was proposed for the computation of long period maintenance doses for the drugs, which turns out to be of state feedback form. However, it is not practical to determine all the components of the state vector, due to the fact that infected and uninfected CD4+T cells are not microscopically distinguishable. In order to overcome this difficulty, this work proposes the use of Extended Kalman Filter to estimate the state, even though, because of the nonlinear nature of the involved state equations, the separation principle may not be valid. Extensive simulations were then carried out to investigate numerically if the control strategy consisting of the feedback of estimated states yielded satisfactory clinical results.

A teoria de controle ótimo apresenta um método quantitativo muito interessante que pode ajudar no processo de tomada de decisão em algumas áreas de aplicação, tais como engenharia, biologia, economia e sociologia. A principal idéia é determinar os valores das variáveis controladas, tais como doses de medicamentos, onde alguma função-custo é minimizada, sujeito às restrições físicas. Neste trabalho, a função-custo reflete o número de células CD4+T, partículas virais e doses de medicamentos. É fato que altas dosagens de medicamentos estão relacionadas à maior intensidade de efeitos colaterais, além do impacto no custo real do tratamento. Num prévio trabalho nosso, foi proposta a abordagem LQR - Regulador Linear Quadrático para o cálculo das doses de manutenção para os medicamentos, as quais dependiam de ser realimentadas pelo estado. Entretanto, a determinação de todos os componentes do vetor de estado não seria prática, devido ao fato de que células infectadas e não infectadas são indistingüíveis no microscópio. Para contornar essa dificuldade, este trabalho propõe o uso do Filtro de Kalman Estendido para estimar o estado, ainda que, devido à natureza não linear das equações de estado envolvidas, o princípio da separação não seja válido. Simulações extensivas foram realizadas para investigar numericamente se a estratégia de controle consistindo da realimentação de estados estimados produz resultados clínicos satisfatórios.

Papilomavírus humano (HPV) e a contribuição da enfermagem, no manejo deste processo de saúde e doença / Human papillomavirus (HPV) and the contribution of nursing in the management of this process of health and disease

Sendo o Papilomavírus Humano a Doença Sexualmente Transmissível de prevalência elevada na atualidade mundial e com mais de 100 tipos de vírus conhecido, esta variedade é responsável por diferentes manifestações clínica. Este fato faz com que o diagnóstico e tratamento tenham uma abordagem individual. Este estudo tem o objetivo discorrer sobre a cadeia epidemiológica do HPV através de revisão bibliográfica, e ter com esta fundamentação base para elaborar os principais diagnósticos e intervenções de enfermagem para o individuo infectado pelo HPV. Sendo o enfermeiro o profissional que acompanha o paciente durante todas as fases do atendimento ele tem a oportunidade de orientar e educar reduzindo o risco de abandono e complicações neste processo de saúde e doença

Avaliação do selamento de retrobturações realizadas com Super EBA e MTA após preparo cavitário com ultra-som ou brocas / Evaluation of retrofillings with Super EBA and MTA after ultrasonic or burs preparation

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o selamento de ápices radiculares preparados com ultra-som e brocas convencionais e retrobturados com Super EBA e MTA mediante infiltração marginal por corante. Foram utilizados 56 dentes unirradiculados humanos extraídos, divididos em quatro grupos de 14:A1 (BEBA) - preparo convencional com brocas e retrobturação com super EBA; A2 (BMTA) - preparo convencional com brocas e retrobturação com MTA; B1 (UEBA) - preparo com ultra-som e retrobturação com Super EBA e B2 (UMTA) - preparo com ultra-som e retrobturação com MTA. Após impermeabilização, os espécimes foram imersos em tinta nanquim por 48h. As infiltrações ocorridas foram avaliadas com auxílio de estereomicroscópio e os resultados foram submetidos à análise estatística (ANOVA). As medidas das infiltrações foram 0,5071 mm para o grupo BEBA, 0,4714 mm para o grupo BMTA, 0,3357 mm para o grupo UEBA e 0,3035 mm para o grupo UMTA. Ocorreram diferenças estatisticamente significativas entre os métodos de preparo cavitário apical, sendo que, os melhores resultados foram obtidos com o ultra-som. os materiais utilizados (Super EBA ou MTA) apresentaram selamento marginal semelhante, independente do método de preparo cavitário apical

Short and long period optimization of drug doses in the treatment of AIDS.

Numerical optimization techniques are useful in solving problems of computing the best inputs for systems described by mathematical models and when the objectives can be stated in a quantitative form. This work concerns the problem of optimizing the drug doses in the treatment of AIDS in terms of achieving a balance between the therapeutic response and the side effects. A mathematical model describing the dynamics of HIV viruses and CD4 cells is used to compute the short term optimal drug doses in the treatments of patients with AIDS by a direct method of optimization using a cost function of Bolza type. The model parameters were fitted to actual published clinical data. In order to simplify the numerical procedures, the control law is expressed as a series and the sub-optimal control is obtained by truncating the higher terms. When the patient reaches a clinically satisfactory state, the LQR - Linear Quadratic Regulator technique is used to determine the long period maintenance doses for the drugs. The doses computed using the LQR technique tend to be smaller than equivalent constant-dose therapy in terms of increase in the counts of CD4+T cells and reduction of the density of free viruses.

Short and long period optimization of drug doses in the treatment of AIDS

Numerical optimization techniques are useful in solving problems of computing the best inputs for systems described by mathematical models and when the objectives can be stated in a quantitative form. This work concerns the problem of optimizing the drug doses in the treatment of AIDS in terms of achieving a balance between the therapeutic response and the side effects. A mathematical model describing the dynamics of HIV viruses and CD4 cells is used to compute the short term optimal drug doses in the treatments of patients with AIDS by a direct method of optimization using a cost function of Bolza type. The model parameters were fitted to actual published clinical data. In order to simplify the numerical procedures, the control law is expressed as a series and the sub-optimal control is obtained by truncating the higher terms. When the patient reaches a clinically satisfactory state, the LQR - Linear Quadratic Regulator technique is used to determine the long period maintenance doses for the drugs. The doses computed using the LQR technique tend to be smaller than equivalent constant-dose therapy in terms of increase in the counts of CD4+T cells and reduction of the density of free viruses

Influência do preparo cavitário apical e do tipo de material retrobturador pela análise da infiltraçäo marginal / Influence of apical preparation and retrofilling material on dye marginal leakage

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o preparo cavitário apical com ultra-som sobre a infiltraçäo marginal por corante empregando três materiais retrobturadores. Foram utilizados 72 dentes unirradiculados humanos extraídos, divididos em seis grupos de 12. Os dentes receberam apicectomia, preparo cavitário com ultra-som ou brocas convencionais e retrobturaçäo com cimento de ionômero de vidro (Grupos 1 e 4), Super EBA (Grupos 2 e 5) e Sealapex associado ao óxido de zinco (Grupos 3 e 6). Os espécimes foram imersos em corante durante 48 horas a 37ºC, e as infiltraçöes ocorridas foram avaliadas com o auxílio de um estereomicroscópio. Pôde-se concluir que os métodos de preparo cavitário apical (com ultra-som ou brocas) näo influenciaram os resultados da infiltraçäo marginal apresentada pelos três materiais retrobturadores. Os materiais retrobturadores influenciaram os valores da infiltraçäo marginal. Os melhores resultados em termos de infiltraçäo foram obtidos com o cimento de ionômero de vidro e Super EBA

A comparative evaluation of open loop and closed loop drug administration strategies in the treatment of AIDS

In recent years, many researchers in the field of biomedical sciences have made successful use of mathematical models to study, in a quatitative way, a multitude of phenomena such as those found in disease dynamics, control of physiological systems, optimization of drug therapy, economics of the preventive medicine and many other applications. The availability of good dynamic models have been providing means for simulation and design of novel control strategies in the context of biological events. This work concerns a particular model related to HIV infection dynamics which is used to allow a comparative evaluation of schemes for treatment of AIDS patients. The mathematical model adopted in this work was proposed by Nowak & Bangham, 1996 and describes the dynamics of viral concentration in terms of interaction with CD4 cells and the cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which are responsible for the defense of the organism. Two conceptually distinct techniques for drug therapy are analyzed: Open Loop Treatment, where a priori fixed dosage is prescribed and Closed Loop Treatment, where the doses are adjusted according to results obtained by laboratory analysis. Simulation results show that the Closed Loop Scheme can achieve improved quality of the treatment in terms of reduction in the viral load and quatity of administered drugs, but with the inconvenience related to the necessity of frequent and periodic laboratory analysis.