Occurrence and potential ecological risks of PFAS in Pampulha Lake, Brazil, a UNESCO world heritage site.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) comprise >4000 synthetic substances used in industrial applications and consumer products. PFAS used daily in households and manufacturing plants end up in domestic sewage, and industrial effluents can be discharged to surface water. Urban watersheds located in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), which lack sanitation infrastructure, are potential recipients of waste containing PFAS. Yet, only a few studies report PFAS occurrence in urban reservoirs and lakes, especially those located in the Global South due to resource limitations. This is the first study aimed to assess PFAS occurrence and ecological risks in Pampulha Lake, Brazil, a site which represents the reality of many other urban watersheds in LMIC as it is surrounded by densely populated areas and manufacturing plants. Surface water samples were collected monthly for 1 year from four sampling points at Pampulha Lake. Sample analysis was based on US Environmental Protection Agency Method 1633, which employs solid phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Species sensitivity distribution (SSD) curves were built to identify potentially susceptible species based on detected water concentrations. Bioaccumulation was estimated for fish tissue. Short-chain (perfluorobutanesulfonic acid, PFBS and perfluorohexanoic acid, PFHxA) and long-chain PFAS (perfluorodecanoic acid, PFDA; perfluorooctanoic acid, PFOA; perfluorododecanoic acid, PFDoA; and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, PFOS) were detected at the µg L-1 range. Total PFAS concentrations in the wet season were generally higher than in the dry season, likely due to limited capacity of the treatment plant processing water from tributaries which receive raw sewage. More than 5 % of aquatic species are potentially susceptible to chronic effects of PFOS at detected concentrations (0.2-2.2 µg L-1). Predicted bioaccumulation of PFOS in fish was above advisory diet intake levels for humans. Results emphasize the need for studies related to PFAS occurrence in watersheds located in LMIC.

Mobility and the spatial spread of sars-cov-2 in Belgium.

We analyse and mutually compare time series of covid-19-related data and mobility data across Belgium's 43 arrondissements (NUTS 3). In this way, we reach three conclusions. First, we could detect a decrease in mobility during high-incidence stages of the pandemic. This is expressed as a sizeable change in the average amount of time spent outside one's home arrondissement, investigated over five distinct periods, and in more detail using an inter-arrondissement "connectivity index" (CI). Second, we analyse spatio-temporal covid-19-related hospitalisation time series, after smoothing them using a generalise additive mixed model (GAMM). We confirm that some arrondissements are ahead of others and morphologically dissimilar to others, in terms of epidemiological progression. The tools used to quantify this are time-lagged cross-correlation (TLCC) and dynamic time warping (DTW), respectively. Third, we demonstrate that an arrondissement's CI with one of the three identified first-outbreak arrondissements is correlated to a substantial local excess mortality some five to six weeks after the first outbreak. More generally, we couple results leading to the first and second conclusion, in order to demonstrate an overall correlation between CI values on the one hand, and TLCC and DTW values on the other. We conclude that there is a strong correlation between physical movement of people and viral spread in the early stage of the sars-cov-2 epidemic in Belgium, though its strength weakens as the virus spreads.

Avaliação da dor em mulheres com câncer cérvico-uterino durante a braquiterapia / Pain evaluation in women with cervical-uterine neoplasms during brachytherapy / Evaluación del dolor en mujeres con cáncer cérvico-uterino durante la braquiterapia

RESUMO Objetivo: avaliar a intensidade da dor em mulheres submetidas à braquiterapia pélvica. Método: estudo transversal, analítico, quantitativo realizado em instituição oncológica (Santa Catarina/Brasil), incluindo 97 mulheres em braquiterapia pélvica, com (grupo 1) ou sem (grupo 2) sedação anestésica. Coleta de dados entre setembro de 2018 a julho de 2019, por entrevista estruturada e no prontuário da paciente. Intensidade da dor avaliada em cinco momentos por escala visual analógica. Análise incluiu medidas de frequência, teste qui-quadrado, análise de resíduos padronizados ajustados, equações de estimações generalizadas, teste post-hoc de Bonferroni; nível de significância 0,05. Resultados: 51 mulheres (52,6%) referiram dor prévia à braquiterapia, 73 (75,3%) após. Na retirada dos aplicadores, grupo 1 atingiu 55,9% na proporção de presença de dor, grupo 2 36,8%. Houve significância da percepção dolorosa por momento/sedação (p<0,001). Conclusão: percepção dolorosa observada na maioria das mulheres. Os resultados contribuíram para revisão do protocolo institucional para sedação endovenosa e melhor controle álgico.

ABSTRACT Objective: to evaluate pain intensity in women undergoing pelvic brachytherapy. Method: cross-sectional, analytical, quantitative study conducted in an oncology institution (Santa Catarina/Brazil), including 97 women undergoing pelvic brachytherapy, with (group 1) or without (group 2) anesthetic sedation. Data collection between September 2018 to July 2019, by structured interview and in the patient's medical record. Pain intensity assessed at five time points by visual analog scale. Analysis included frequency measures, chi-square test, adjusted standardized residuals analysis, generalized estimating equations, Bonferroni post-hoc test; significance level 0.05. Results: 51 women (52.6%) reported pain before brachytherapy, 73 (75.3%) after. At the removal of the applicators, group 1 reached 55.9% in the proportion of presence of pain, group 2, 36.8%. There was significance of pain perception by moment/sedation (p<0.001). Conclusion: pain perception observed in most women. The results contributed to revision of the institutional protocol for intravenous sedation and better pain control.

RESUMEN Objetivo: evaluar la intensidad del dolor en mujeres sometidas a braquiterapia pélvica. Método: estudio transversal, analítico y cuantitativo realizado en una institución de oncología (Santa Catarina/Brasil), incluyendo 97 mujeres sometidas a braquiterapia pélvica, con (grupo 1) o sin (grupo 2) sedación anestésica. Recogida de datos entre septiembre de 2018 y julio de 2019, mediante entrevista estructurada y en la historia clínica del paciente. La intensidad del dolor se evaluó en cinco momentos mediante una escala analógica visual. El análisis incluyó medidas de frecuencia, prueba de chi-cuadrado, análisis de residuos estandarizados ajustados, ecuaciones de estimación generalizadas, prueba post-hoc de Bonferroni; nivel de significación 0,05. Resultados: 51 mujeres (52,6%) refirieron dolor antes de la braquiterapia, 73 (75,3%) después. Al retirar los aplicadores, el grupo 1 alcanzó el 55,9% en la proporción de presencia de dolor, el grupo 2 el 36,8%. Hubo significación de la percepción del dolor según el momento/sedación (p<0,001). Conclusión: La percepción del dolor se observó en la mayoría de las mujeres. Los resultados contribuyeron a revisar el protocolo institucional de sedación endovenosa y a mejorar el control del dolor.

An Image-Analysis-Based Method for the Prediction of Recombinant Protein Fiber Tensile Strength.

Silk fibers derived from the cocoon of silk moths and the wide range of silks produced by spiders exhibit an array of features, such as extraordinary tensile strength, elasticity, and adhesive properties. The functional features and mechanical properties can be derived from the structural composition and organization of the silk fibers. Artificial recombinant protein fibers based on engineered spider silk proteins have been successfully made previously and represent a promising way towards the large-scale production of fibers with predesigned features. However, for the production and use of protein fibers, there is a need for reliable objective quality control procedures that could be automated and that do not destroy the fibers in the process. Furthermore, there is still a lack of understanding the specifics of how the structural composition and organization relate to the ultimate function of silk-like fibers. In this study, we develop a new method for the categorization of protein fibers that enabled a highly accurate prediction of fiber tensile strength. Based on the use of a common light microscope equipped with polarizers together with image analysis for the precise determination of fiber morphology and optical properties, this represents an easy-to-use, objective non-destructive quality control process for protein fiber manufacturing and provides further insights into the link between the supramolecular organization and mechanical functionality of protein fibers.

Avaliação da dor em mulheres com câncer cérvico-uterino durante a braquiterapia / Pain evaluation in women with cervical-uterine neoplasms during brachytherapy / Evaluación del dolor en mujeres con cáncer cérvico-uterino durante la braquiterapia

RESUMO Objetivo: avaliar a intensidade da dor em mulheres submetidas à braquiterapia pélvica. Método: estudo transversal, analítico, quantitativo realizado em instituição oncológica (Santa Catarina/Brasil), incluindo 97 mulheres em braquiterapia pélvica, com (grupo 1) ou sem (grupo 2) sedação anestésica. Coleta de dados entre setembro de 2018 a julho de 2019, por entrevista estruturada e no prontuário da paciente. Intensidade da dor avaliada em cinco momentos por escala visual analógica. Análise incluiu medidas de frequência, teste qui-quadrado, análise de resíduos padronizados ajustados, equações de estimações generalizadas, teste post-hoc de Bonferroni; nível de significância 0,05. Resultados: 51 mulheres (52,6%) referiram dor prévia à braquiterapia, 73 (75,3%) após. Na retirada dos aplicadores, grupo 1 atingiu 55,9% na proporção de presença de dor, grupo 2 36,8%. Houve significância da percepção dolorosa por momento/sedação (p<0,001). Conclusão: percepção dolorosa observada na maioria das mulheres. Os resultados contribuíram para revisão do protocolo institucional para sedação endovenosa e melhor controle álgico.

ABSTRACT Objective: to evaluate pain intensity in women undergoing pelvic brachytherapy. Method: cross-sectional, analytical, quantitative study conducted in an oncology institution (Santa Catarina/Brazil), including 97 women undergoing pelvic brachytherapy, with (group 1) or without (group 2) anesthetic sedation. Data collection between September 2018 to July 2019, by structured interview and in the patient's medical record. Pain intensity assessed at five time points by visual analog scale. Analysis included frequency measures, chi-square test, adjusted standardized residuals analysis, generalized estimating equations, Bonferroni post-hoc test; significance level 0.05. Results: 51 women (52.6%) reported pain before brachytherapy, 73 (75.3%) after. At the removal of the applicators, group 1 reached 55.9% in the proportion of presence of pain, group 2, 36.8%. There was significance of pain perception by moment/sedation (p<0.001). Conclusion: pain perception observed in most women. The results contributed to revision of the institutional protocol for intravenous sedation and better pain control.

RESUMEN Objetivo: evaluar la intensidad del dolor en mujeres sometidas a braquiterapia pélvica. Método: estudio transversal, analítico y cuantitativo realizado en una institución de oncología (Santa Catarina/Brasil), incluyendo 97 mujeres sometidas a braquiterapia pélvica, con (grupo 1) o sin (grupo 2) sedación anestésica. Recogida de datos entre septiembre de 2018 y julio de 2019, mediante entrevista estructurada y en la historia clínica del paciente. La intensidad del dolor se evaluó en cinco momentos mediante una escala analógica visual. El análisis incluyó medidas de frecuencia, prueba de chi-cuadrado, análisis de residuos estandarizados ajustados, ecuaciones de estimación generalizadas, prueba post-hoc de Bonferroni; nivel de significación 0,05. Resultados: 51 mujeres (52,6%) refirieron dolor antes de la braquiterapia, 73 (75,3%) después. Al retirar los aplicadores, el grupo 1 alcanzó el 55,9% en la proporción de presencia de dolor, el grupo 2 el 36,8%. Hubo significación de la percepción del dolor según el momento/sedación (p<0,001). Conclusión: La percepción del dolor se observó en la mayoría de las mujeres. Los resultados contribuyeron a revisar el protocolo institucional de sedación endovenosa y a mejorar el control del dolor.

Prevenção de lesões por pressão na pronação de pacientes Covid-19: construção de uma narrativa gráfica / Prevention of pressure injuries in the pronation of Covid-19 patients: construction of a graphic narrative / Prevención de lesiones por presión en la pronación de pacientes Covid-19: construcción de una narrativa gráfica

Objetivo:construir e validar o conteúdo de uma narrativa gráfica sobre a prevenção de Lesão por Pressão na posição prona em pacientes acometidos pelo Coronavírus. Método: estudo metodológico descritivo. Para a construção da narrativa gráfica, foi realizada a revisão de escopo. A validação de conteúdo da narrativa foi realizada por enfermeiros atuantes em unidades de terapia intensiva respiratória estomaterapeutas de Santa Catarina, os quais responderam a um formulário no Googleforms® com opções de resposta de discordo a concordo. A análise de dados foi realizada por meio do Índice de Validade de Conteúdo, considerando adequado > 0,80%. Resultados: os cuidados elencados para compor a narrativa foram: avaliação da pele; manutenção da pele limpa e hidratada; utilização de dispositivos de redistribuição de pressão; utilização de espumas de silicone, filmes transparentes, spray formador de barreira e silicone sobre as proeminências ósseas, sob dispositivos médicos e em face. A posição recomendada é a do nadador, reposicionando o paciente a cada duas horas. Conclusão: a narrativa gráfica foi validada para enfermeiros experts cujo destaque está para os cuidados preventivos no sentido de promover o engajamento da equipe de Enfermagem frente à importância da prevenção da Lesão por Pressão no cuidado ao paciente com Coronavírus e pronado.

Objective:build and validate the content of a graphic narrative on the prevention of Pressure Injury in the prone position in patients affected by the Coronavirus. Method: descriptive methodological study. For the construction of the graphic narrative, a scope review was carried out. Narrative content validation was performed by nurses working in stomatherapists in respiratory intensive care units in Santa Catarina, who responded to a form on Googleforms® with response options from disagree to agree. Data analysis was performed using the Content Validity Index, considering appropriate > 0.80%. Results: the care listed to compose the narrative were: skin assessment; keeping the skin clean and hydrated; use of pressure redistribution devices; use of silicone foams, transparent films, barrier-forming spray and silicone on bony prominences, under medical devices and on the face. The recommended position is that of the swimmer, repositioning the patient every two hours. Conclusion: the graphic narrative was valid for expert nurses whose emphasis is on preventive care in order to promote the engagement of the Nursing team in the face of the importance of Pressure Injury prevention in the care of patients with Coronavirus and prone.

Objetivo:construir y validar el contenido de una narrativa gráfica sobre la prevención de Lesión por Presión en la posición prona en pacientes afectados por el Coronavirus. Método: estudio metodológico descriptivo. Para la construcción de la narrativa gráfica, se realizó la revisión del alcance. La validación de contenido de la narrativa fue realizada por enfermeros que trabajan en unidades de terapia intensiva respiratoria estomaterapeutas de Santa Catarina, quienes respondieron a un formulario en Googleforms® con opciones de respuesta de desacuerdo a acuerdo. El análisis de los datos se realizó por medio del Índice de Validez de Contenido, considerando adecuado > 0,80 %. Resultados: las precauciones enumeradas para componer esta narrativa fueron: evaluación de la piel; mantenimiento de la piel limpia e hidratada; utilización de dispositivos de redistribución de presión; utilización de espumas de silicona, películas transparentes, espray formador de barrera y silicona sobre las prominencias óseas, bajo dispositivos médicos y en la cara. La posición recomendada es la del nadador, reposicionando al paciente cada dos horas. Conclusión: la narrativa gráfica fue válida para enfermeros expertos cuyo énfasis está para los cuidados preventivos en el sentido de promover el compromiso del equipe de Enfermería frente a la importancia de la prevención de la Lesión por Presión en el cuidado al paciente con Coronavirus y propensos

Epidemiological profile of women with gynecological cancer in brachytherapy: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: to analyze the sociodemographic and clinical profile of women with gynecological cancer in brachytherapy. METHOD: a cross-sectional study including records of 1,930 visits of women in brachytherapy assisted between 2006-2016 in Santa Catarina (Brazil). Collection was performed in 2019, in an institutional bank, submitted to frequency measurements, chi-square test, 95% confidence intervals, significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: women aged 40-59 years (47.2%), white (93.3%); with elementary school (65%); cervical cancer (78.5%); stages II-III (73.3%) figured prominently. In the comparison of staging proportions in the topography variable, a higher proportion of malignant neoplasm of cervix uteri unspecified in the grouped III-IV staging (84.6%). CONCLUSION: the profile analysis shows the need for screening and health education for prevention and/or early detection of gynecological cancers and training of nurses specialized in radiotherapy to care for women's health.

Epidemiological profile of women with gynecological cancer in brachytherapy: a cross-sectional study / Perfil epidemiológico de las mujeres com cáncer ginecológico em brachiterapia: um estúdio transversal / Perfil epidemiológico de mulheres com câncer ginecológico em braquiterapia: estudo transversal

ABSTRACT Objective: to analyze the sociodemographic and clinical profile of women with gynecological cancer in brachytherapy. Method: a cross-sectional study including records of 1,930 visits of women in brachytherapy assisted between 2006-2016 in Santa Catarina (Brazil). Collection was performed in 2019, in an institutional bank, submitted to frequency measurements, chi-square test, 95% confidence intervals, significance level of 0.05. Results: women aged 40-59 years (47.2%), white (93.3%); with elementary school (65%); cervical cancer (78.5%); stages II-III (73.3%) figured prominently. In the comparison of staging proportions in the topography variable, a higher proportion of malignant neoplasm of cervix uteri unspecified in the grouped III-IV staging (84.6%). Conclusion: the profile analysis shows the need for screening and health education for prevention and/or early detection of gynecological cancers and training of nurses specialized in radiotherapy to care for women's health.

RESUMEN Objetivo: analizar el perfil sociodemográfico y clínico de mujeres con cáncer ginecológico en braquiterapia. Método: estudio transversal que incluyó registros de 1.930 visitas de mujeres en braquiterapia asistidas entre 2006-2016 en Santa Catarina (Brasil). La recolección se realizóen 2019, en un banco institucional, sometida a medidas de frecuencia, pruebachi-cuadrado, intervalos de confianza al 95%, nivel de significancia de 0,05. Resultados: predominaron las mujeres entre 40-59 años (47,2%), blancas (93,3%); con educación primaria (65%); cáncer de cuello uterino (78,5%); en estadios II-III (73,3%). Al comparar las proporciones de estadificación en la variable topografía, encontramos una mayor proporción de malignidad cervical no especificada la estadificación agrupada III-IV (84,6%). Conclusión: el análisis del perfil muestra la necesidad de cribado y educación sanitaria para la prevención y/o detección temprana de cánceres ginecológicos y la formación de enfermeras especializadas en radioterapia para el cuidado de la salud de la mujer.

RESUMO Objetivo: analisar o perfil sociodemográfico e clínico de mulheres com câncer ginecológico em braquiterapia. Método: estudo transversal incluindo registros de 1.930 atendimentos de mulheres em braquiterapia assistidas entre 2006-2016 em Santa Catarina (Brasil). Coleta foi realizada em 2019, em banco institucional, submetida às medidas de frequência, Teste Qui-Quadrado, intervalos de 95% de confiança, nível de significância de 0,05. Resultados: predominaram as mulheres entre 40-59 anos (47,2%),brancas (93,3%); com ensino fundamental (65%); câncer do colo do útero (78,5%); nos estádios II-III (73,3%). Na comparação das proporções dos estadiamentos na variável topografia, encontrou-se uma maior proporção da neoplasia maligna do colo do útero não especificada nos estadiamentos III-IV agrupados (84,6%). Conclusão: a análise do perfil mostra a necessidade do rastreamento e educação em saúde para prevenção e/ou detecção precoce dos cânceres ginecológicos e a formação de enfermeiros especialistas em radioterapia para atendimento da saúde da mulher.

Sistematização da consulta de enfermagem em pré-operatório às mulheres com câncer de mama / Systematization of pre-operating nursing consultation to women with breast cancer

Objetivo: Elaborar um modelo para consulta de enfermagem informatizada de pré-operatório de mulheres com câncer de mama no ambulatório do Centro de Pesquisas Oncológicas (CEPON). Método: Estudo metodológico realizado em Santa Catarina (Brasil). A coleta de dados consistiu em: entrevistas semiestruturadas com 18 mulheres com câncer de mama em período cirúrgico e 13 enfermeiros, submetidas à análise temática; revisão narrativa da literatura; e mapeamento cruzado destes achados com os registros eletrônicos e taxonomia adotados no cenário. Resultados: Emergiram três categorias temáticas: Conhecendo as necessidades biopsicossociais das mulheres diagnosticadas com câncer de mama; Identificando as necessidades educativas das mulheres submetidas à ressecção do câncer de mama e Analisando as demandas das pacientes e profissionais sobre os aspectos institucionais. Concluído o mapeamento cruzado, construiu-se o modelo da consulta, incluindo registros eletrônicos das etapas do processo de enfermagem, sendo disponibilizados 17 diagnósticos, 22 resultados e 39 intervenções de enfermagem. Conclusão: O modelo construído contribui para uma linguagem padronizada e científica dos enfermeiros, permitindo o pensamento crítico e facilitando a tomada de decisão. Consequentemente, a mulher submetida à ressecção do tumor de mama receberá atenção adequada, nos aspectos físico, emocional, social e profissional. (AU)

Objectives: Development of a model for nursing consultation in the preoperative period of women with breast cancer at an oncological outpatient. Methods: Methodological study carried out in the Oncological Research Center from Santa Catarina (Brazil). Data collection consisted of: semi-structured interviews with 18 women with breast cancer in the surgical period and 13 nurses, submitted to thematic analysis; narrative literature review; and crossmapping of these findings with the electronic records and taxonomy adopted in the scenario. Results: Three thematic categories emerged: Knowing the biopsychosocial needs of women diagnosed with breast cancer; Identifying the educational needs of women undergoing breast cancer resection and Analyzing the demands of patients and professionals on institutional aspects. After the cross-mapping was completed, the consultation model was built, including electronic records of the stages of the nursing process, with 17 diagnoses, 22 results and 39 nursing interventions available. Conclusion: The constructed model contributes to a standardized and scientific language of nurses, allowing critical thinking and facilitating decision making. Consequently, the woman submitted to breast tumor resection will receive adequate attention, in the physical, emotional, social and professional aspects. (AU)

Objetivo: Desarrollar un modelo de consulta de enfermería en el período preoperatorio de mujeres con cáncer de mama atendidas en un ambulatório oncológico. Métodos: Estudio metodológico realizado en el Centro de Investigación Oncológica de Santa Catarina (Brasil). La recolección de datos consistió en: entrevistas semiestructuradas con 18 mujeres con cáncer de seno en el período quirúrgico y 13 enfermeras, sometidas a análisis temático; revisión de literatura narrativa; y mapeo cruzado de estos hallazgos con los registros electrónicos y la taxonomía adoptada en el escenario. Resultados: Surgieron tres categorías temáticas: Conocer las necesidades biopsicosociales de las mujeres diagnosticadas con cáncer de seno; Identificar las necesidades educativas de las mujeres sometidas a resección por cáncer de mama y analizar las demandas de pacientes y profesionales sobre aspectos institucionales. Una vez completado el mapeo cruzado, se construyó el modelo de consulta, que incluye registros electrónicos de las etapas del proceso de enfermería, con 17 diagnósticos, 22 resultados y 39 intervenciones de enfermería disponibles. Conclusion: El modelo construido contribuye a un lenguaje estandarizado y científico de las enfermeras, permitiendo el pensamiento crítico y facilitando la toma de decisiones. En consecuencia, la mujer sometida a resección de tumor de seno recibirá atención adecuada, en los aspectos físico, emocional, social y profesional. (AU)

Application of unsupervised learning and process simulation for energy optimization of a WWTP under various weather conditions.

This paper outlines a hybrid modeling approach to facilitate weather-based operation and energy optimization for the largest Italian wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Two clustering methods, K-means algorithm and Gaussian mixture model (GMM) based on the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, were applied to an extensive dataset of historical and meteorological records. This study addresses the problem of determining the intrinsic structure of clustered data when no information other than the observed values is available. Two quantitative indexes, namely the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and the Silhouette coefficient using Euclidean distance, as well as two general criteria, were implemented to assess the clustering quality. Furthermore, seven weather-based influent scenarios were introduced to the process simulation model, and sets of aeration strategies are proposed. The results indicate that incorporating weather-based aeration strategies in the operation of the WWTP improves plant energy efficiency.

Sistema informatizado à decisão clínica em Enfermagem: uma construção e validação na oncologia / Clinical decision computerized system in Nursing: a construction and validation in oncology

Objetivo: Descrever a construção e a validação dos registros eletrônicos do processo de enfermagem em uma instituição oncológica. Metodologia: Estudo de desenvolvimento metodológico, descritivo sustentado pela Teoria de Elaboração de Instrumental Psicológico,realizado em Santa Catarina, entre janeiro e abril de 2019. Coleta de dados ocorreu no banco de dados do Sistema de Gestão em Saúde institucional. Construção, validação por consenso e teste piloto abrangeram procedimentos teóricos e experimentais. Resultados: Incluíram-se 44 enfermeiros. A última versão do histórico de enfermagem apresenta cinco domínios e 90 itens. Taxonomias da North American Nursing Diagnosis Association sustentaram os diagnósticos, resultado e intervenções de enfermagem. Conclusão: Os bancos de dados dos registros eletrônicos construídos incluem cadastros interconectados, que favorecem a tomada de decisão do enfermeiro e qualificam o cuidado. (AU)

Objective: To describe the construction and validation of electronic records of the nursing process in an oncological institution. Methodology: A methodological development study carried out in Santa Catarina, between January and April 2019, supported by the Theory of Elaboration of Psychological Instrumental. Theoretical procedures included review study, discussion and training workshops with semantic validation by consensus among nurses in the study setting. In the experimental procedures a pilot test was performed and the semantic validation was concluded. Results: 62 nurses were included. Built Nursing Historic included five domains, 90 items, 568 subitems. From the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association Taxonomies, 132 Diagnoses, 143 Outcomes, and 176 Nursing Interventions were selected. Subsequently inserted into the management system in interconnected form. For the contents of the Nursing Evaluation, the data matrix of the Nursing Historic instrument was used. (AU)

Objetivo: Describir la construcción y validación de registros electrónicos del proceso de enfermería en una institución de oncología. Metodología: Estudio de desarrollo metodológico realizado en Santa Catarina, entre 2015 y 2018, apoyado por la Teoría del Desarrollo de Instrumentos Psicológicos. Los procedimientos teóricos incluyeron estudio de revisión, talleres de discusión y capacitación con validación semántica por consenso entre las enfermeras en el entorno del estudio. En los procedimientos experimentales se realizó una prueba piloto y se concluyó la validación semántica. Resultados: Se incluyeron 62 enfermeras. Histórico de Enfermería construido incluyó cinco dominios, 90 artículos, 568 subpuntos. De las Taxonomías de la North American Nursing Diagnosis Association, se seleccionaron 132 Diagnósticos, 143 Resultados y 176 Intervenciones de enfermería, alimentados al sistema de información en forma interconectada. Para los contenidos de la Evaluación de Enfermería, se utilizó la matriz de datos del instrumento Histórico de Enfermería. Conclusión: Los registros interconectados creados favorecen la toma de decisiones de las enfermeras y califican la atención. (AU)

Assessment of weather-based influent scenarios for a WWTP: Application of a pattern recognition technique.

This study proposes an integrated approach by combining a pattern recognition technique and a process simulation model, to assess the impact of various climatic conditions on influent characteristics of the largest Italian wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) at Castiglione Torinese. Eight years (viz. 2009-2016) of historical influent data namely influent flow rate (Qin), chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonium (N-NH4) and total suspended solids (TSS), in addition to two climatic attributes, average temperature and daily mean precipitation rates (PI) from the plant catchment area, are evaluated in this study. Following the outlier removal and missing-data imputation, five influent climate-based scenarios are identified by K-means clustering approach. Statistical characteristics of clustered observations are further investigated. Finally, to demonstrate that the proposed approach could improve the process control and efficiency, a process simulation model was developed and calibrated. Steady-state simulations were conducted, and the performance of the plant was studied under five influent scenarios. Further, an optimization scenario-based method was conducted to improve the energy consumption of the plant while meeting effluent requirements. The results indicate that with the adaptation of suitable aeration strategies for each of the influent scenarios, 10-40% energy saving can be achieved while meeting effluent requirements.

Real-time prediction of influenza outbreaks in Belgium.

Seasonal influenza is a worldwide public health concern. Forecasting its dynamics can improve the management of public health regulations, resources and infrastructure, and eventually reduce mortality and the costs induced by influenza-related absenteism. In Belgium, a network of Sentinel General Practitioners (SGPs) is in place for the early detection of the seasonal influenza epidemic. This surveillance network reports the weekly incidence of influenza-like illness (ILI) cases, which makes it possible to detect the epidemic onset, as well as other characteristics of the epidemic season. In this paper, we present an approach for predicting the weekly ILI incidence in real-time by resorting to a dynamically calibrated compartmental model, which furthermore takes into account the dynamics of other influenza seasons. In order to validate the proposed approach, we used data collected by the Belgian SGPs for the influenza seasons 2010-2016. In spite of the great variability among different epidemic seasons, providing weekly predictions makes it possible to capture variations in the ILI incidence. The confidence region becomes more representative of the epidemic behavior as ILI data from more seasons become available. Since the SIR model is then calibrated dynamically every week, the predicted ILI curve gets rapidly tuned to the dynamics of the ongoing season. The results show that the proposed method can be used to characterize the overall behavior of an epidemic.

Authorship attribution based on Life-Like Network Automata.

The authorship attribution is a problem of considerable practical and technical interest. Several methods have been designed to infer the authorship of disputed documents in multiple contexts. While traditional statistical methods based solely on word counts and related measurements have provided a simple, yet effective solution in particular cases; they are prone to manipulation. Recently, texts have been successfully modeled as networks, where words are represented by nodes linked according to textual similarity measurements. Such models are useful to identify informative topological patterns for the authorship recognition task. However, there is no consensus on which measurements should be used. Thus, we proposed a novel method to characterize text networks, by considering both topological and dynamical aspects of networks. Using concepts and methods from cellular automata theory, we devised a strategy to grasp informative spatio-temporal patterns from this model. Our experiments revealed an outperformance over structural analysis relying only on topological measurements, such as clustering coefficient, betweenness and shortest paths. The optimized results obtained here pave the way for a better characterization of textual networks.

Exploring Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Cellular Automata for Pattern Recognition in Networks.

Network science is an interdisciplinary field which provides an integrative approach for the study of complex systems. In recent years, network modeling has been used for the study of emergent phenomena in many real-world applications. Pattern recognition in networks has been drawing attention to the importance of network characterization, which may lead to understanding the topological properties that are related to the network model. In this paper, the Life-Like Network Automata (LLNA) method is introduced, which was designed for pattern recognition in networks. LLNA uses the network topology as a tessellation of Cellular Automata (CA), whose dynamics produces a spatio-temporal pattern used to extract the feature vector for network characterization. The method was evaluated using synthetic and real-world networks. In the latter, three pattern recognition applications were used: (i) identifying organisms from distinct domains of life through their metabolic networks, (ii) identifying online social networks and (iii) classifying stomata distribution patterns varying according to different lighting conditions. LLNA was compared to structural measurements and surpasses them in real-world applications, achieving improvement in the classification rate as high as 23%, 4% and 7% respectively. Therefore, the proposed method is a good choice for pattern recognition applications using networks and demonstrates potential for general applicability.

Computer-aided diagnosis system based on fuzzy logic for breast cancer categorization.

BACKGROUND: Fuzzy logic can help reduce the difficulties faced by computational systems to represent and simulate the reasoning and the style adopted by radiologists in the process of medical image analysis. The study described in this paper consists of a new method that applies fuzzy logic concepts to improve the representation of features related to image description in order to make it semantically more consistent. Specifically, we have developed a computer-aided diagnosis tool for automatic BI-RADS categorization of breast lesions. The user provides parameters such as contour, shape and density and the system gives a suggestion about the BI-RADS classification. METHODS: Initially, values of malignancy were defined for each image descriptor, according to the BI-RADS standard. When analyzing contour, for example, our method considers the matching of features and linguistic variables. Next, we created the fuzzy inference system. The generation of membership functions was carried out by the Fuzzy Omega algorithm, which is based on the statistical analysis of the dataset. This algorithm maps the distribution of different classes in a set. RESULTS: Images were analyzed by a group of physicians and the resulting evaluations were submitted to the Fuzzy Omega algorithm. The results were compared, achieving an accuracy of 76.67% for nodules and 83.34% for calcifications. CONCLUSIONS: The fit of definitions and linguistic rules to numerical models provided by our method can lead to a tighter connection between the specialist and the computer system, yielding more effective and reliable results.

Sucata vira brinquedo: tradução a partir de restos / Scraps turn into toys: translations made from rubbish

Neste artigo, chamamos a atenção para a necessidade de assumirmos a responsabilidade sobre o destino de nosso lixo, propondo para ele uma nova utilização. Tomamos a Teoria Ator-Rede como instrumento teórico metodológico para seguir a ação desenvolvida por uma das equipes da Brinquedoteca da Universidade no que chamamos de Projeto Sucata cujo objetivo tem sido transformar sucata em brinquedo com um grupo de crianças de uma comunidade de baixo poder aquisitivo de uma cidade mineira, tendo os conceitos de tradução e mediação como suportes para a descrição das transformações operadas nas partes envolvidas.

In this article we call attention to the necessity of taking responsibility for the destination of the waste we generate, proposing an alternative use. The Actor-Network Theory was used as a theoretical methodological instrument for the Projeto Sucata (Scrap Project) developed by the staff of the Brinquedoteca da Universidade (University's Toy Library) and whose goal has been to transform waste scraps into toys with the participation of children from a low-income neighborhood of a city in Minas Gerais. Translation and mediation were used as concepts for describing the process of transformation that occurred among all the parts involved.

Sucata vira brinquedo: tradução a partir de restos / Scraps turn into toys: translations made from rubbish

Neste artigo, chamamos a atenção para a necessidade de assumirmos a responsabilidade sobre o destino de nosso lixo, propondo para ele uma nova utilização. Tomamos a Teoria Ator-Rede como instrumento teórico metodológico para seguir a ação desenvolvida por uma das equipes da Brinquedoteca da Universidade no que chamamos de Projeto Sucata cujo objetivo tem sido transformar sucata em brinquedo com um grupo de crianças de uma comunidade de baixo poder aquisitivo de uma cidade mineira, tendo os conceitos de tradução e mediação como suportes para a descrição das transformações operadas nas partes envolvidas.(AU)

In this article we call attention to the necessity of taking responsibility for the destination of the waste we generate, proposing an alternative use. The Actor-Network Theory was used as a theoretical methodological instrument for the Projeto Sucata (Scrap Project) developed by the staff of the Brinquedoteca da Universidade (University's Toy Library) and whose goal has been to transform waste scraps into toys with the participation of children from a low-income neighborhood of a city in Minas Gerais. Translation and mediation were used as concepts for describing the process of transformation that occurred among all the parts involved.(AU)