Browsing by Author "Azevedo, Rui"
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- Biomonitoring of firefighters' exposure to priority pollutant metal(loid)s during wildland fire combat missions: Impact on urinary levels and health risksPublication . Paiva, Ana Margarida; Barros, Bela; Azevedo, Rui; Oliveira, Marta; Alves, Sara Elisa Brás; Esteves, Filipa; Fernandes, Adília; Vaz, Josiana A.; Alves, Maria José; Slezakova, Klara; Pereira, Maria do Carmo; Teixeira, João Paulo Fernandes; Costa, Solange; Almeida, Agostinho; Morais, SimoneWildland firefighters are exposed to metal(loid)s released during wildfires through vegetation combustion, which also promotes remobilization of accumulated anthropogenic metal(loid)s. Studies biomonitoring metal(loid)s exposure promoted exclusively by wildfire suppression activities are lacking. This work aimed to characterize, for the first time, the impact of real-life wildland firefighting operations on urinary levels of priority pollutant metal(loid)s [14 included in ATSDR, 11 in USEPA, and 4 in Human Biomonitoring for Europe Initiative priority lists] in firefighters. Spot urines were sampled pre-exposure (105 non-smokers, 76 smokers) and post-exposure to firefighting activities (20 non-smokers, 25 smokers); among those, paired samples were collected from 14 nonsmoking and 24 smoking firefighters. Smokers displayed significantly higher baseline levels of zinc (28 %), lithium (29 %), cadmium (55 %), rubidium (13 %), and copper (20 %) than non-smokers. Following wildfire suppression, the concentration of the WHO potentially toxic metal(loid)s rose from 2 % to 3 % in smokers and 2 % to 5 % in non-smokers (up to 4 % for all firefighters and up to 5 % in paired samples). Levels of nickel (33–53 %), antimony (45–56 %), and cesium (40–47 %) increased significantly post-exposure in non-smokers (in all firefighters and in paired samples), whose urinary concentrations were generally more impacted by wildfire emissions than those of smokers. Arsenic (80 %) displayed the only significant increase post-exposure in smokers, being the best discriminant of exposure to wildfire emissions in these subjects. Significant positive correlations were found for age and/or career length with cadmium, lead, barium, strontium, and mercury, and for body mass index with arsenic. The reference/guidance values were exceeded for arsenic, zinc, cesium, nickel, antimony, cadmium, lead, thallium, mercury, copper, and cobalt in 1–90 % of firefighters suggesting augmented health risks due to wildfire combating and emphasizing the need of mitigation strategies. This study also provides biomonitoring data to help setting reference values for the occupationally exposed part of population.
- Factory automation using OSI technologies: process automation in a transformers manufacturing plantPublication . Tovar, Eduardo; Oliveira, José Luís; Alves, Mário; Azevedo, Rui; Carvalho, Adriano; Sousa, Mário; Portugal, Paulo; Carvalho, José AugustoThis paper presents the work carried out in order to improve one of the areas of a factory plant, integrating it within the factory using different communication standards. The implementation described satisfies a set of data flow requirements and claims to be an example of different vendors and technologies integration. Distribution transformers have always been dried within ovens heated for the effect. This drying process has several drawbacks: a low efficiency dependence on the transformer volume and requiring a long time to complete. The new approach, presented in this paper, eliminates all those constraints.
- O impacto das aplicações móveis no autocuidado da pessoa com insuficiência cardíaca: uma revisão sistemática da literaturaPublication . Lopes, Ivo; Azevedo, Rui; Delgado, Bruno; Mota, Liliana; Novo, André: A insuficiência cardíaca é uma doença crónica e progressiva, com altas taxas de readmissão hospitalar, de mortalidade e morbilidade. Sendo uma doença crónica, é fundamental que as pessoas adotem comportamentos de autocuidado para poderem gerir mais eficazmente a sua doença. A utilização da tecnologia digital em saúde como o uso de aplicações móveis pode ser um facilitador do autocuidado na pessoa com insuficiência cardíaca. Objetivo: Identificar a eficácia da utilização de aplicações móveis na melhoria do autocuidado em pessoas com insuficiência cardíaca. Métodos: Revisão sistemática da literatura nas bases de dados eletrónicas – CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE Complete e SciELO realizada em janeiro de 2021. Consideram-se artigos publicados entre maio de 2015 e dezembro de 2020. Resultados: Da pesquisa resultaram 67 artigos, dos quais 7 foram incluídos nesta revisão. Os participantes dos diversos estudos analisados melhoraram o seu autocuidado após a utilização de aplicações móveis. Conclusão: Os resultados sugerem que a utilização de aplicações móveis é eficaz na melhoria do autocuidado na insuficiência cardíaca
- mHealth na insuficiência cardíacaPublication . Lopes, Ivo; Azevedo, Rui; Delgado, Bruno; Mota, Liliana; Novo, AndréA insuficiência cardíaca é uma doença crónica e progressiva, sendo fundamental que as pessoas adotem comportamentos de autocuidado para poderem gerir mais eficazmente a sua doença. A utilização da tecnologia digital em saúde como o uso de aplicações móveis - mHealth pode ser um facilitador do autocuidado na pessoa com insuficiência cardíaca. Objetivo: Identificar a eficácia da utilização de aplicações móveis na melhoria do autocuidado em pessoas com insuficiência cardíaca. Metodologia: Revisão sistemática da literatura, com pesquisa nas bases de dados eletrónicas - CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE Complete e SciELO realizada em janeiro de 2021. Consideram-se artigos publicados entre maio de 2015 e dezembro de 2020. Resultados: Da pesquisa resultaram 67 artigos, dos quais 7 foram incluídos nesta revisão. Conclusão: Os resultados sugerem que a utilização de aplicações móveis é eficaz na melhoria do autocuidado na insuficiência cardíaca.
- Occlusal changes with clear aligners and the case complexity influence: a longitudinal cohort clinical studyPublication . Marcelino, Vanessa; Baptista, Sofia; Marcelino, Sandra Andreia; Paco, Maria; Rocha, Duarte; Gonçalves, Maria dos Prazeres; Azevedo, Rui; Guimarães, Antonio Sergio; Fernandes, Gustavo Vicentis Oliveira; Pinho, TeresaBackground: Clear aligners (CA) are used 22 h daily, creating a bite-block effect. This work aims to (i) analyze occlusal changes before the beginning of treatment, after the first set of CA and after the use of additional aligners; (ii) compare planned occlusal contacts with the ones obtained after the first set of CA; (iii) analyze the occlusal changes occurred after reaching the orthodontic goals after 3 months of using CA only at night; (iv) evaluate and characterize which tooth movements did not allow the treatment to be completed at the end of the first set of aligners, and finally (v) verify the possible relation between the changes in occlusal contact and areas and parameters such as case complexity and facial biotype. Materials and Methods: A quantitative, comparative, and observational longitudinal cohort study design was implemented to evaluate the clinical data and the complexity levels of cases receiving CA. A non-probabilistic and convenience sample of 82 individuals was recruited. The orthodontic malocclusion traits were classified as simple, moderate, or complex corrections based on the basis of the Align((R)) recommendations with the Invisalign((R)) evaluation tool. According to the Invisalign((R)) criteria, patients need only one complex problem for their case to be classified as complex. Meshlab((R)) v. 2022.02, ClinCheck((R)) version Pro 6.0, My-Itero((R)) version 2.7.9.601 5d plus, and IBM (R) SPSS Statistics software (Statistical Program for Social Sciences), version 27.0 for Windows were the software((R)) used. Results: A statistically significant decrease in area and occlusal contacts number were observed from before the start of orthodontic treatment (T0) to the end of treatment (T1). The changes in the occlusal area (from T0 to T1) were statistically different between hyperdivergent (28.24 [15.51-40.91]) and hypodivergent (16.23 [8.11-24.97]) biotypes (p = 0.031). A significant difference between the hyperdivergent (4.0 [2.0-5.0]) and normodivergent (5.5 [4.0-8.0]) group was found in T1 for the anterior contacts (p = 0.044). Anterior contacts obtained were significantly higher than the planned (p = 0.037) Between T1 and T2 statistically significant increases of occlusal areas, posterior and total contacts were observed. Conclusions: Occlusal contact and area were decreased, either at the end of the first set or after the use of additional aligners. Anterior occlusal contacts obtained were higher than planned as opposed to posterior occlusal contacts obtained. The hardest tooth movements to achieve to complete the treatment were distalization, rotation, and posterior extrusion. After completing orthodontic treatment (T1) to 3 months after (T2) using additional aligners only at night, posterior occlusal contacts were significantly increased, which could be due to the natural settling of the teeth in this period.