RCIPL
Repositório Institucional do Politécnico de Lisboa
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Avaliação do impacto de sessões de colheitas móveis na angariação de dadores de sangue
Publication . Rego, João Pedro Lages Nico; Coelho, André; Caeiro, Cristina
A dádiva de sangue constitui um elemento indispensável para o bom funcionamento dos sistemas de saúde. Porém, a garantia de reservas adequadas enfrenta obstáculos crescentes, sobretudo em territórios com baixa densidade populacional e acentuado envelhecimento demográfico, como sucede no Alentejo Central. Neste enquadramento, a Organização Mundial da Saúde tem destacado as sessões de colheita móveis como uma medida eficaz para estimular a participação dos cidadãos e assegurar a autossuficiência em componentes sanguíneos. O estudo, de caráter observacional, quantitativo e retrospetivo, analisou as dádivas de sangue registadas no Serviço de Imunohemoterapia da Unidade Local de Saúde do Alentejo Central E.P.E.(ULSAC) entre 2021 e 2024, com base em dados institucionais e no Sistema de Informação de Bancos de Sangue (SIBAS). Foram consideradas variáveis sociodemográficas (sexo e idade) e operacionais (tipo, frequência e número de dádivas), comparando colheitas fixas e móveis. Verificou-se uma redução de 35,32% nas dádivas no serviço, compensada por um aumento de 102,51% nas sessões de colheita móveis, resultando num crescimento global de 18,97%. Destaca-se o aumento superior a 900% das sessões de colheita móveis em dias úteis. Os homens mantêm-se como principais dadores (≈60%), embora as mulheres apresentem maior participação nas sessões móveis. Observou-se ainda menor presença de jovens nas colheitas no serviço, compensada por um aumento expressivo deste grupo nas sessões de colheita móveis, confirmando o seu potencial para atrair novos dadores. Os resultados alinham-se com as orientações internacionais, evidenciando que as sessões de colheita móveis têm um papel estratégico e não só logístico, mas também social, ao promoverem a solidariedade e a sensibilização comunitária. Persistem, contudo, desafios relacionados com a fidelização dos dadores, o envolvimento dos jovens e a inovação logística e tecnológica. Conclui-se que as sessões de colheita móveis são fundamentais para a sustentabilidade do sistema transfusional da ULSAC, assegurando reservas adequadas e renovação de dadores, sendo essencial o seu reforço através de campanhas direcionadas e gestão eficiente de recursos.
The comet assay as a tool in human biomonitoring exposure to antineoplastic drugs: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Publication . Ladeira, Carina; Azqueta, Amaya; Giovannelli, Lisa; Gajski, Goran; Gerić, Marko; Haveric, Anja; Stopper, Helga; Bankoglu, Ezgi Eyluel; Collins, Andrew; Møller, Peter
Antineoplastic agents are toxic compounds, generally used in the treatment of cancers, which are recognized as carrying a cancer development risk. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of human biomonitoring studies, we have assessed the effects of exposure to antineoplastic drugs on levels of DNA strand breaks in leukocytes, measured by the comet assay. Focusing on the application of the comet assay in human biomonitoring of occupational exposure to antineoplastic agents, we have analyzed 458 original research studies that used this assay, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA-ScR). The systematic review led to 23 studies, of which 20 studies met the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Using standardized mean difference and 95% confidence interval (CI), the meta-analyses show increased levels of DNA strand breaks in subjects exposed to antineoplastic drugs (1.26, 95% CI: 0.78, 1.73). Results originate mainly from studies on healthcare workers, with only one study in an industrial setting. Subgroup analysis indicates that all studies combined from middle-income countries have a higher effect size (1.77, 95% CI: 1.00, 2.55) than studies from high-income countries (0.49, 95% CI: 0.09, 0.90). This difference between middle- and high-income countries may be attributable in part to differences in exposure levels or exposure assessment. Additionally, sensitivity analysis indicates that studies with moderate/high risk of comet assay measurement bias have higher effect size (2.07, 95% CI: 0.82, 3.31) than studies with low risk of bias (0.73, 95% CI: 0.34, 1.13); and that studies with high risk of exposure misclassification have higher effect size (1.47, 95% CI: 0.89, 2.06) than studies with low/moderate risk (0.13, 955 CI: -0.08, 0.33). Most studies have a low/moderate risk of bias related to the comet assay procedure (15 out of 20 studies), absence of reporting the use of assay controls (1 out of 20 studies), blinded analysis of samples (7 out of 20 studies), and exposure assessment (16 out of 20 studies). In conclusion, this systematic review and meta-analysis show that exposure to antineoplastic drugs is associated with increased levels of DNA strand breaks in human leukocytes.
Topology-aware neural networks for abnormal consumption detection and location in water distribuition networks
Publication . Caetano, João; Carriço, Nelson; Brentan, Bruno; Menapace, Andrea; Covas, Didia
This paper presents a topology-aware neural network approach for the detection, location, and quantification of abnormal consumptions in water distribution networks. The approach includes two main steps: the optimization of pressure sensor locations to maximize measurement sensitivity and the development of metamodels based on near real-time data. The metamodel is designed and trained to predict the consumptions at all nodes based on pressure measurements and users' consumption collected by smart meters. These nodal consumptions deduced from the actual measured consumption allow the location of potential abnormal uses in the network. The proposed methodology enables the development of two metamodels, each tailored to specific applications based on the training data. The Static Metamodel relies on pressure head measurements under the assumption of constant nodal consumption, whereas the Dynamic Metamodel accounts for daily consumption variations, enabling the detection and location of abnormal consumption in real-world scenarios. Both metamodels can detect the location of abnormal consumptions with reasonable accuracy, although this accuracy strongly depends on the number and spatial distribution of sensors, as well as the magnitude and location of the abnormal consumption. As water utilities implement advanced metering systems, the application of the proposed approach becomes more viable, enabling more effective and faster abnormal consumption detection.
Resisting to dystopias of bodily control: dance training and anorexia/bulimia
Publication . De Lima, Cecília; Performance Research
ABASTRACT - Dance training aims for a utopia of bodily control in order to develop an artistic expression through movement. The dancer seeks to control their body according to the values and aesthetics intrinsic to the training methodology. The urge of control has always been something very keen to humankind but also very sensitive and ambiguous. Different methodologies of such modes of control reflect not only different aesthetics, but also different values and visions of the living body. They are not innocuous physical training but transformative practices of the self in relation to the world. Therefore, such utopia raises critical questions: What is the nature of (self-)control envisioned within dance trainings? What aesthetic values form the horizon of a training process and how does its transformative power operate?
This paper departs from a personal experiential process to expose a critical perspective on the practice of bodily control developed by some dance trainings. Such perspective is conceived through an interrelation between traditional ballet training with the state of anorexia nervosa/bulimia, which is counterpointed by somatic dance training.
Grounded on an empirical understanding this is a practitioner narrative about utopian dance training and a manifesto against any practice of control that becomes a dystopia of oppression and annihilation of the fundamental knowledge intrinsic to the living body. Instead it cries out for a new perspective on the notion of control. Control needs to be perceived as a practice of deep understanding of the nature of the living body, as a condition of the body–world transformative process.
Differentiable neural search architecture with zero-cost metrics for insulator fault prediction
Publication . Seman, Laio Oriel; Buratto, William Gouvêa; Gonzalez, Gabriel Villarrubia; Leithardt, Valderi Reis Quietinho; Nied, Ademir; Stefenon, Stefano Frizzo
Reliable monitoring of high-voltage insulators is critical for maintaining the stability of electrical power systems, particularly under environmental contamination that can lead to flashover. Traditional inspection techniques struggle to anticipate degradation dynamics, while data-driven models often rely on fixed neural architectures that inadequately capture the complex temporal patterns in leakage current signals. This work proposes a Differentiable Neural Architecture Search (DARTS) framework, based on zero-cost metrics, tailored for time series forecasting in insulator monitoring. The method based on DARTS integrates a mixed encoder-decoder design with learnable selection over long short-term memory, gated recurrent units, and transformer components, coupled with a cross-attention bridge featuring temporal bias and gating mechanisms. To ensure efficient architecture exploration, the search leverages metrics such as SynFlow and Jacobian covariance for early candidate screening, followed by a bilevel optimization stage with entropy and diversity regularization. Experiments on real-world leakage current data demonstrate that the discovered architectures outperform manually designed baselines, offering improved forecasting performance.