15 research outputs found
Developments in Heat and Water Balance Coupling for Micro-Climate Modelling of Urban Squares under the Influence of Greening - A Review and Case Study
No full textUrban areas are prone to extremely high temperatures as a result of climate change and the urban heat island effect. Urban micro-climate modelling has become an important tool to evaluate the effect of heat mitigating measures and develop climate-sensitive urban designs. However, many models lack the accurate fine scale simulation of evapotranspiration influence and soil moisture conditions to predict human thermal comfort (HTC).This works objective is to better understand the coupling of the heat and water balance for micro-climate predictions of urban squares and its influence on the HTC, especially under the influence of greening. Therefore, a literature review on recent model developments was conducted. Additionally, a case study was performed for the Heat Square in the Green Village using the model VTUF-3D, chosen based on the literature review. Five urban micro-climate models work on the fine scale water balance representation, namely ENVI-met, i-Tree Hydro+, Solene-Microclimat, ST, and VTUF-3D. ENVI-met offers comprehensive analysis options of greening solutions and user-friendliness, while VTUF-3D excels in detailing soil and plant characteristics. Given the detailed water balance simulation and the accurate trend prediction for the latent heat flux, it is expected that greening effects on the urban micro-climate of the Heat Square can be predicted accurately with VTUF-3D, if not for spatial and human thermal comfort assessment.The reviewed models require further model development towards a comprehensive water balance representation and related greening analysis options. Additionally, further efforts towards model applicability are needed, including validation and user-friendliness. VTUF-3D requires improvement of spatial variability representation and HTC prediction.Note, the literature review is no holistic assessment and does not provide a conclusion on the overall performance of the models. The case study was limited in model feature configuration.Water Management | Urban Water Engineerin
Independência, legalidade e imparcialidade da procuradoria europeia – contributo para garantia e densificação dos direitos processuais de suspeitos e arguidos
No full textThe author analyses “the independency, the legality and the impartiality” as a decisive attribute within the concrete role of the EPPO. The legal proclamation is not sufficient. In other way, that attribute should be a guarantee in favor of the promotion of the procedural rights of the suspects. Both the individual members (and their status of independency) and the central structure of the EPPO are asked to do a reinforced role for the promotion of those procedural rights.No artigo, o autor aborda o tema da “ independência, legalidade e imparcialidade” como atributo imprescindível no exercício funcional e concreto da Procuradoria Europeia, não bastando uma mera proclamação solene na lei. Esse atributo deverá constituir uma garantia em prol da defesa e densificação dos direitos processuais de suspeitos e arguidos. Nesse sentido os membros da PE (e respectivo estatuto de independência) e a sua estrutura central são chamados a desempenhar um papel reforçado que leve a uma praxis na promoção de tais direitos
Use of therapeutic patient education tools for atopic dermatitis: A French national survey
No full textInternational audienceAbstract Background Allergic contact dermatitis to gloves is mostly induced by rubber accelerators. The European baseline series (EBS) appears insufficient to detect glove allergy. Since 2017, it is recommended to use the European rubber series (ERS) and to test the patients' own gloves. Objectives To investigate the clinical profile of glove‐wearing patients with hand eczema (HE) and to evaluate their sensitisation profile to glove allergens and the value of testing the patients' own gloves. Methods We conducted a French multicentre study of patients evaluated for HE between 2018 and 2020 and tested with the EBS, the ERS and their own gloves in patch tests and semi‐open (SO) tests. Results A total of 279 patients were included; 32.6% of patients had positive tests to their own gloves or to glove allergens. Almost 45% of the sensitisations to glove allergens were detected only by the ERS. Among the patients tested both in patch tests and SO tests with their own gloves with positive results, 28% had positive SO tests only. Polyvinylchloride (PVC) gloves were positive in four patients. Conclusion Our series confirms the need to test the ERS. All the patients' gloves must also be tested including PVC gloves. SO tests with gloves are useful as a complement to patch tests
The Internationalization of Higher Education: from people’s mobility to curriculum internationalization
No full textO presente ensaio constituiu a Oração de Sapiência proferida na cerimónia de Abertura Solene do Ano Lectivo 2019/2020 no ISMT a 6 de Novembro de 2019. Nele, a autora reflecte sobre a internacionalização das instituições do ensino superior, dando destaque à passagem de uma ênfase na mobilidade internacional de
estudantes, enquanto modalidade por excelência de internacionalização do ensino, para uma ênfase na própria internacionalização dos cursos e das instituições. Para esse efeito, o ensaio percorre conceitos teóricos centrais nesta questão – internacionalização do ensino superior, internacionalização em casa e internacionalização do currículo –, salientando algumas das dinâmicas institucionais e pedagógicas que lhes estão associadas. Na parte final do ensaio, nota-se a necessidade de equilibrar os requisitos de quantificação e estandardização dos indicadores de internacionalização com uma atenção às especificidades das áreas disciplinares, argumentando-se que estas devem ter um papel crucial nas dinâmicas institucionais de internacionalização do currículo. / This essay was the Lecture at the Solemn Opening Ceremony of the Academic Year 2019/2020 at the Miguel Torga Institute of Higher Education, on the 6th November 2019. In it, the author reflects on the internationalization of higher education institutions, highlighting a shift from an emphasis in the international mobility of students as the main form of the internationalization of education to an
emphasis on the very internationalization of the degrees and institutions. To this purpose, the essay reviews core theoretical concepts about this issue - internationalization of higher education, internationalization at home and internationalization of the curriculum - referring some of the institutional and pedagogical dynamics associated with them. At the end of the essay, the author notes the need to balance the requirements of quantification and standardization of the internationalization indicators with an attention to the specificities of the disciplinary areas, and argues that these should play a crucial role in the institutional dynamics of the internationalization of the curriculum
Do Proton Pump Inhibitors Reduce Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Older Patients with Atrial Fibrillation Treated with Oral Anticoagulants? A Nationwide Cohort Study in France
No full textInternational audience© 2023, The Author(s).Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are largely used in older adults and data are needed in off-label indications, such as the prevention of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB) in patients receiving oral anticoagulants (OACs). This study aimed to assess whether PPIs reduce the risk of UGIB in patients initiating oral anticoagulation. Methods: We conducted a longitudinal study based on the French national health database. The study population included 109,693 patients aged 75u2013110 years with a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation who initiated OACs [vitamin K antagonist (VKA) or direct OAC (DOAC)] between 2012 and 2016. We used multivariable Cox models weighted by inverse of probability of treatment to estimate the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of UGIB between PPI users and nonusers over a 6- and 12-month follow-up. Results: PPI users represented 23% of the study population (28% among VKA initiators and 17% among DOAC initiators). The mean age (83 ± 5.3 years) and proportion of women (near 60%) were similar between groups. The risk of UGIB in the first 6 months after initiation of OAC decreased by 20% in PPI users compared with PPI nonusers [aHR6 months = 0.80, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65u20130.98], but was not significantly modified when the follow-up was extended to 12 months (aHR12 months = 0.90, 95% CI 0.76u20131.07), with a stronger effect among patients treated with vitamin K antagonists (aHR6 months = 0.73, 95% CI 0.58u20130.93; aHR12 months = 0.81, 95% CI 0.67u20130.99). Conclusions: This study suggests that PPIs were associated with reduced risk of gastrointestinal bleeding after initiation of oral anticoagulation in older patients with atrial fibrillation, particularly within 6 months after initiation of an antivitamin K antagonist
''The World at Their Feet'': Logo-Iconic Representations of the Four Continents in the Celebrations of the Iberian Princes' Double Marriage (1729).
No full textAssinalando a aliança entre João V de Portugal
e Filipe V de Espanha, a troca das princesas,
em 1729, implicou um pomposo espetáculo solene, com o intuito de mostrar a força política
das duas coroas ibéricas através de grandiosas
festas. Comparando as fontes informativas sobre
as celebrações realizadas em Sevilha, Lisboa e
Bahia, pretende-se refletir sobre as funções dos
relatos impressos, analisando diferentes parâmetros tais como o autor, a tipologia textual e as características editoriais. Elegendo a representação logo-icónica dos quatro continentes como um dos motivos mais repetidos nos programas festivos de 1729, mostra-se como estes componentes expressam o aplauso universal aos casamentos ibéricos, colocando em diálogo as representações simbólicas do Velho e do Novo Mundo. Apresenta-se, asssim, um exemplo expressivo
da globalização artística e cultural do Barroco Iberoamericano.Strengthening the political alliance between John
V of Portugal and Philip V of Spain, the ceremony
of the exchange of the princesses in 1729 gave
rise to an impressive spectacle that demonstrated the power of the two Iberian kings, according to Baroque festival procedures. By comparing reports of the ceremonies held in Seville, Lisbon, and Bahia, this study proposes a reflection on the role played by printed festival accounts, taking different aspects into account including the author, textual typology, and editorial features. The logo-iconic representation
of the four continents is a meaningful motif, since it is displayed in all the iconographic programs of the ceremonies. Here we discuss how these elements express the universal acceptance of
the double Iberian marriage, suggesting a complex dialogue between the traditional allegories and the symbolic representations of the New and the Old Worlds. In this way, we outline a significant example of the artistic and cultural globalization of the Iberoamerican Baroque.Área de Historia del Arte, UPO.Postprin
Oxycodone or Higher Dose of Levodopa for the Treatment of Parkinsonian Central Pain: OXYDOPA Trial
No full textInternational audienceBackground: Among the different types of pain related to Parkinson's disease (PD), parkinsonian central pain (PCP) is the most disabling. Objectives We investigated the analgesic efficacy of two therapeutic strategies (opioid with oxycodone‐ prolonged‐release (PR) and higher dose of levodopa/benserazide) compared with placebo in patients with PCP.Methods: OXYDOPA was a randomized, double‐blind, double‐dummy, placebo‐controlled, multicenter parallel‐group trial run at 15 centers within the French NS‐Park network. PD patients with PCP (≥30 on the Visual Analogue Scale [VAS]) were randomly assigned to receive oxycodone‐PR (up to 40 mg/day), levodopa/benserazide (up to 200 mg/day) or matching placebo three times a day (tid) for 8 weeks at a stable dose, in add‐on to their current dopaminergic therapy. The primary endpoint was the change in average pain intensity over the previous week rated on VAS from baseline to week‐10 based on modified intention‐to‐treat analyses.Results: Between May 2016 and August 2020, 66 patients were randomized to oxycodone‐PR (n = 23), levodopa/benserazide (n = 20) or placebo (n = 23). The mean change in pain intensity was −17 ± 18.5 on oxycodone‐PR, −8.3 ± 11.1 on levodopa/benserazide, and −14.3 ± 18.9 in the placebo groups. The absolute difference versus placebo was −1.54 (97.5% confidence interval [CI], −17.0 to 13.90; P = 0.8) on oxycodone‐PR and +7.79 (97.5% CI, −4.99 to 20.58; P = 0.2) on levodopa/benserazide. Similar proportions of patients in each group experienced all‐cause adverse events. Those leading to study discontinuation were most frequently observed with oxycodone‐PR (39%) than levodopa/benserazide (5%) or placebo (15%).Conclusions: The present trial failed to demonstrate the superiority of oxycodone‐PR or a higher dose of levodopa in patients with PCP, while oxycodone‐PR was poorly tolerated. © 2024 The Author(s). Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Tolerance of concurrent adjuvant radiotherapy and pembrolizumab for triple negative breast cancer: real life experience
No full textInternational audience© 2023 The Author(s)Purpose: The current standard-of-care management of locally advanced triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is based on neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy with pembrolizumab, surgery, radiation therapy (RT), and adjuvant pembrolizumab. However, the safety of combining pembrolizumab with adjuvant breast RT has never been evaluated. This study evaluated the tolerance profile of concurrent pembrolizumab with adjuvant RT in patients with locally advanced TNBC. Methods and Materials: This bicentric ambispective study included all the patients with early and locally advanced TNBC who received neoadjuvant chemo-immunotherapy with pembrolizumab and adjuvant RT as part of their treatment. The tolerance profile of adjuvant RT was evaluated and compared in patients who received concurrent pembrolizumab and in patients for whom pembrolizumab was withheld. Results: Fifty-five patients were included between July 2021 and March 2023. Twenty-eight patients received adjuvant RT with concurrent pembrolizumab (RT+P group), and 27 patients had pembrolizumab withheld while receiving adjuvant RT (RT-only group). Two patients developed grade ≥3 toxicity (1 grade 3 pain in the RT+P group and 1 grade 3 radiodermatitis in the RT-only group), and there were no differences in terms of toxicity between the RT-only and the RT+P groups. No cardiac or pulmonary adverse event was reported during RT. With a median follow-up of 12 months (10-26), no patient relapsed. Conclusions: In this study of limited size, the authors did not find a difference between the RT-only and RT+P groups in terms of toxicity. More studies and longer follow-up may add to the strength of this evidence
Rigidy and stability constitutional: study on Brazilian constitutional organization.
No full textA Constituição de 1988 classifica-se como Rígida, porque seu procedimento de transformação é mais solene do que o das demais leis e normas. A despeito dos limites à sua transformação, experimentou amplas e reiteradas emendas, o que a faz instável. Logo, a Estabilidade constitucional é um dos fins perseguidos pela rigidez constitucional, mas com ela não se confunde. Por Estabilidade entende-se a capacidade de uma Constituição ou de uma organização constitucional de persistir e transformar-se no tempo, preservando suas principais características. A Estabilidade, enquanto categoria foi compreendida de maneira diferente na Antiguidade, na Idade Média e a partir das revoluções liberais. Deve-se a James Bryce a classificação das Constituições em Rígidas e Flexíveis. Nas primeiras, centros decisórios distintos produzem normas constitucionais e infraconstitucionais; nas segundas, uma única fonte. O autor também cotejou essas Constituições com a concepção de Estabilidade. O passar dos anos obscureceu essa implicação, a recomendar a revisitação de sua obra. As Constituições Rígidas são dotadas de uma imutabilidade relativa e de uma supremacia formal. Garantidas por um modelo de controle de constitucionalidade e de institutos de superação de crises. A competência reformadora é obstaculizada por limites normativos, o que faz da Mutação Constitucional, em princípio, a expressão de sua atualização. A história constitucional brasileira é caracterizada por uma sucessão de Constituições, o que denota uma instabilidade, provocada pelos mais diferentes motivos. A Constituição de 1988 dispõe de adequados limites à alteração formal e de um complexo modelo de controle de constitucionalidade. De outro lado, não lhe impediu diversas emendas. Todavia, ainda não lhe desestruturou a identidade das normas materialmente constitucionais, sendo uma instabilidade de superfície ou aparente. O perigo é que a banalização das reformas produza uma instabilidade de fundo, que comprometa regras materialmente constitucionais. A advertência recomenda que se investigue uma solução.The Constitution of 1988 is classified as rigid because its procedure for transformation is more solemn than that of other laws and rules. Despite the limits to its transformation, it has repeatedly undergone ample amendment, which makes it unstable. Hence, constitutional stability is one of the ends sought by constitutional rigidity, but must not be confused with it. Stability is understood as the ability of a Constitution or constitutional organization to endure and transform itself in time, while preserving its primary characteristics. Stability as a category has been understood in different ways in Antiquity, in the Middle Ages, and with the coming of liberal revolutions. Classifying Constitutions as rigid and flexible is something we owe to James Bryce. In the former, distinct decision-making centers produce constitutional and sub-constitutional rules; in the latter, a single source does. That author has also compared such Constitutions to the conception of stability. The course of time has cast a shadow on that implication, so revisiting his works might be commendable. Rigid Constitutions are endowed with a relative immutability and a formal supremacy, and assured by a framework for controlling constitutionality, and by doctrines for overcoming crises. Reformative jurisdiction has the hurdles of regulatory limits, making Constitutional Mutation, in principle, the expression of their updating. Brazilian constitutional history is characterized by a succession of Constitutions, belying an instability caused by a wide variety of reasons. The Constitution of 1988 is provided with suitable limits to formal change, and with a complex framework for controlling constitutionality. This, on the other hand, has not prevented its various amendments. However, it has not yet taken apart the identify of materially constitutional rules, as such instability is only superficial or apparent. The danger lies in the triteness of reforms leading to an in-depth stability that compromises materially constitutional rules. This warning commends looking into a solution
