Helena Ramos - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Helena Ramos

Objective: In the last few years there has been an increase in case reports of hypernatraemic deh... more Objective: In the last few years there has been an increase in case reports of hypernatraemic dehydration in breastfed newborns. Insufficient intake has an important role in the pathophysiology of this condition. The aim of this study was to evaluate exclusively breastfed neonates admitted for hypernatraemic dehydration. Methods: Retrospective study of breastfed neonates diagnosed with hypernatraemic dehydration, between March 2002 and March 2008, in a level 1 maternity. results: Nineteen cases were identified (0.44% of neonatal intermediate care hospitalizations), 53% of them were male. The annual distribution revealed a higher number of cases in 2008: 26.3% in only three months. Median birth weight was 3,000 g and the median gestational age was 38 weeks. Vaginal delivery was the most frequent form of birth (42%), and 79% of mothers were primiparas. Admissions were made through the emergency department in 68.4%. The main reasons for seeking medical attention were: poor oral intake (32%), weight loss (26%), and jaundice (26%). The median age at admission was four days. Percentage of weight loss: 6.7 to 40%, median was 11%. Dehydration signs were absent in 42% of the patients. Median Na + values were 152 mEq/l. Jaundice was the most frequent comorbidity found (74%). Intravenous fluids were administered in 89% and acute neurological complications were found in 21%, there were no deaths. conclusions: Breastfeeding-associated hypernatraemic dehydration seems to be a consequence of breastfeeding difficulties in inexperienced mothers. Since many cases are paucisymptomatic, there should be a high level of suspicion, especially in those patients with jaundice.

This paper reports the implementation of a sensing and alarm integrated system connected through ... more This paper reports the implementation of a sensing and alarm integrated system connected through the Transducer Independent Interface (TII) to a Network Capable Application Processor (NCAP), emulated in a PC. The "Correction Engine" and the calibration features of the NCAP are used to process the data acquired via the transducer and also to add auto range capabilities to the conditioning

Future Microbiology, 2015

ABSTRACT Aim: To characterize temporal shifts in extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and clon... more ABSTRACT Aim: To characterize temporal shifts in extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) and clones of clinical Escherichia coli isolates. All ESBL-producing E. coli isolates from a Portuguese hospital (n = 112; June 2006-June 2007 and January-December 2010) were characterized by identification of phylogenetic groups, ESBL-types and virulence genes, XbaI-PFGE and MLST. We observed a substantial increase in widespread E. coli clones from phylogroups A, B1 and D (e.g., ST10, ST23, ST117, ST155, ST648) producing mainly CTX-M-1, -14, -32 or SHV-12, along with a decrease in the proportion of the predominant CTX-M-15-producing B2-ST131 clone. The amplification of diverse CTX-M-producing A, B1 and D clonal complexes, which have been long identified in Portuguese nonclinical settings, unveils a role for these reservoirs in the landscape of ESBL-producing E. coli in the clinical setting.

Palavras-chave: Pseudomonas aeruginosa; infecção nosocomial; resistência; antibióticos.

Proceedings of the 20th IEEE Instrumentation Technology Conference (Cat. No.03CH37412), 2003

ABSTRACT

Sensors and Actuators A: Physical, 2015

This paper presents an enhancement in the probes to be used on a new nondestructive testing metho... more This paper presents an enhancement in the probes to be used on a new nondestructive testing method with eddy currents induced by velocity. In this method, a permanent magnet that is attached to a moving carriage creates eddy currents in the conductive material to be inspected. By measuring the opposing magnetic field generated by the eddy currents, it is possible to obtain information regarding the presence of defects. Different magnetic field sensors, such as, differential pick-up coils, giant magneto resistors (GMR) and Hall sensors have been used and compared. A permanent magnet moving above a plate was studied using a numerical model to allow further improvements to be made in the probe. Depending on each sensor's geometry, sensing axis and range, its position and orientation must be strategically chosen in order to increase defect sensitivity. The best probe's position is the one that guarantees the highest sensibility to the defects' presence.

The measurement of electrolytic conductivity is widely applied as a control parameter and its rel... more The measurement of electrolytic conductivity is widely applied as a control parameter and its relevance is continuously increasing, not only in industrial applications but also in the environmental monitoring domain. In this work the attention is focused on the electrical behavior of low cost in-situ four electrode conductivity cells for water quality monitoring in estuaries and oceans. The design of

The paper presents a fault detection method based on artificial neural network (ANN) capabilities... more The paper presents a fault detection method based on artificial neural network (ANN) capabilities applied in a particular case: a temperature virtual measurement system (VMS). A study concerning the ANN architectures and the ANN training rules involved in a fault detection procedure are also presented. The results obtained for the VMS based on a data acquisition board or on a

A lot of geotechnical engineering problems can be analysed in situ with tests of horizontal and v... more A lot of geotechnical engineering problems can be analysed in situ with tests of horizontal and vertical loaded piles. These are required, for instance, to study the behaviour of piles isolated and in groups. Based on the emergent concept of "smart sensor" a unit was developed that converts the deformation of the concrete pile measured by an LVDT on digital information. This unit is integrated on a local area network supervised by a command unit located at the surface. The communication protocol is based on a master-slave structure supported by dedicated developed commands.

Marine Sensor Networks (MSN) and ocean observatories are complex data acquisition systems where i... more Marine Sensor Networks (MSN) and ocean observatories are complex data acquisition systems where in many cases, synchronized acquisition is needed between the different networked nodes. In the development of OBSEA project, (EMSO CAC-2007-09) (1) distributed acquisitions nodes based in low power embedded systems have to be synchronized. This paper presents the evaluation results obtained using IEEE 1588 (2)(3) standard as

Renewable Energy, 2009

Water supply systems (WSS) frequently present high-energy consumption values, which correspond to... more Water supply systems (WSS) frequently present high-energy consumption values, which correspond to the major expenses of these systems. Energy costs are a function of its real consumption and of the variability of the daily energy tariff. This paper presents a model of optimization for the energy efficiency in a water supply system. The system is equipped with a pump station and presents excess of available energy in the gravity branch. First, a water turbine is introduced in the system in order to use this excess of hydraulic available energy. Then, an optimization method to define the pump operation planning along the 24 h of simulation, as well as the analysis of the economic benefits resulting from the profit of wind energy to supply the water pumping, while satisfying the system constraints and population demands, is implemented, in order to minimize the global operational costs. The model, developed in MATLAB, uses linear programming and provides the planning strategy to take in each time step, which will influence the following hours. The simulation period considered is one day, sub-divided in hourly time steps. The rules obtained as output of the optimization procedures are subsequently introduced in a hydraulic simulator (e.g. EPANET), in order to verify the system behaviour along the simulation period. The results are compared with the normal operating mode (i.e. without optimization algorithm) and show that energy cost's savings are achieved dependently of the initial reservoir levels or volume. The insertion of the water turbine also generates significant economical benefits for the water supply system.

The aim of this study was to characterize by a multi-level approach extended-spectrum ␤-lactamase... more The aim of this study was to characterize by a multi-level approach extended-spectrum ␤-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates other than E. coli from Portuguese hospitals. Eighty-eight ESBL-producing clinical isolates (69 Klebsiella pneumoniae, 13 Enterobacter cloacae complex, 3 Klebsiella oxytoca, 1 Enterobacter asburiae, 1 Proteus mirabilis and 1 Serratia marcescens) recovered from hospitals located in the North (A) or Centre (B, C) regions during two time periods (2006-7 and 2010) were analyzed. Standard methods were used for bacterial identification, antibiotic susceptibility testing, ESBL characterization, clonal (PFGE, MLST) and plasmid (S1-PFGE, I-CeuI-PFGE, replicon typing, hybridization) analysis. Isolates produced mostly CTX-M-15 (47%) or SHV-12 (30%), and less frequently other SHV-(15%; SHV-2, -5, -28, -55, -106) or TEM-(9%; TEM-10, -24, -199)-types, with marked local and temporal variations. The increase of CTX-M-15 and diverse SHV ESBL-types observed in Hospital A was associated with the amplification of multidrug-resistant (MDR) K. pneumoniae epidemic clones (ST15, ST147, ST336). SHV-12 and TEM-type ESBLs were mostly identified in diverse isolates of different Enterobacteriaceae species in Hospitals B and C in 2006-7. Particular plasmid types were linked to bla CTX-M-15 (IncR or non-typeable plasmids), bla SHV-12 (IncR or IncHI2), bla SHV-28/-55/-106 (IncFII K1 or IncFII K5 ), bla TEM-10 (IncL/M) or bla TEM-24 (IncA/C), mostly in epidemic clones. In our country, the amplification of CTX-M-15 and diverse SHV-type ESBL among non-E. coli Enterobacteriaceae is linked to international MDR K. pneumoniae clones (ST15, ST147, ST336) and plasmid types (IncR, IncFII K ). Furthermore, we highlight the potential of IncFII K plasmids (here firstly associated with bla SHV-2/-28/-55/-106 ) to disseminate as antibiotic resistance plasmids.

The aim of the current paper is the mesh independence analysis of a three-dimensional (3-D) press... more The aim of the current paper is the mesh independence analysis of a three-dimensional (3-D) pressurized pipe flow using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling. A 3-D pipe flow model is drawn using a Computer-aided design (CAD) software for geometry definition which is then imported to ANSYS for mesh generation and flow simulation. Mesh independence analysis is carried out for the main mesh parameters considering pipe geometry and flow conditions: i) Sweep in the axial direction; ii) Mesh Maximum Size (MMS) in the cylindrical direction; and iii) First Layer Thickness (FLT) in radial direction. Results obtained for velocity profiles are compared with those from theoretical approaches for laminar and turbulent conditions. Relative errors are computed. Best parameter combinations results from the compromise between the maximum accuracy and the minimum computational effort; efficient meshes are obtained.

2009 IEEE Intrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference, I2MTC 2009, 2009

This paper is concerned with the characterization of depth profiles defects in metallic structure... more This paper is concerned with the characterization of depth profiles defects in metallic structures. Experimental work using giant magnetoresistors (GMR) scanning automatically a metallic plate with eddy currents induced by an excitation coil has been carried out and is described. The results are analyzed in comparison with the simulation results obtained with a commercial finite element model for some test

Canadian Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2004

Turbidity is a measure of how much the material suspended in water decreases the passage of light... more Turbidity is a measure of how much the material suspended in water decreases the passage of light through the water. In order to carry out accurate turbidity measurements, turbidity-measuring probes require periodic calibration. Classical calibration implies manual. procedures characterized by long calibration time, additional common errors and lower repeatability. The paper presents a distributed turbidity measurement system with field calibration