Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2022-09-25"
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- Control of allergic rhinitis and asthma test: a systematic review of measurement properties and COSMIN analysisPublication . Vieira, Rafael José; Sousa-Pinto, Bernardo; Cardoso-Fernandes, António; Jácome, Cristina; Portela, Diana; Amaral, Rita; Sá-Sousa, Ana; Pereira, Ana Margarida; Bousquet, Jean; Fonseca, João AlmeidaThe Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) is a patient-reported outcome measurement (PROM) assessing the control of asthma and allergic rhinitis (AR) at a 4 week interval. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the measurement properties of CARAT. Following PRISMA and COSMIN guidelines, we searched five bibliographic databases and retrieved studies concerning the development, assessment of properties, validation, and/or cultural adaption of CARAT. The studies' methodological quality, the quality of measurement properties, and the overall quality of evidence were assessed. We performed meta-analysis of CARAT measurement properties. We included 16 studies. Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test displayed sufficient content validity and very good consistency (meta-analytical Cronbach alpha = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.80–0.86;I2 = 62.6%). Control of allergic rhinitis and Asthma Test meta-analytical intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.91 (95% CI = 0.64–0.98;I2 = 93.7%). It presented good construct validity, especially for correlations with Patient-reported outcome measures assessing asthma (absolute Spearman correlation coefficients range = 0.67–0.73; moderate quality of evidence), and good responsiveness. Its minimal important difference is 3.5. Overall, CARAT has good internal consistency, reliability, construct validity and responsiveness, despite the heterogeneous quality of evidence. Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test can be used to assess the control of asthma and AR. As first of its kind, this meta-analysis of CARAT measurement properties sets a stronger level of evidence for asthma and/or AR control questionnaires.
- Increasing the Sustainability of Manufacturing Processes in Plastic Injection: Recovering Out-Of-Service Robots to Eliminate Manual Assembly OperationsPublication . Costa, Rúben; Sousa, Vitor; Silva, Francisco J. G.; Campilho, Raul; Sá, José Carlos; Pinto, Arnaldo; Pereira, JoãoIn the 20th century, there was a burst concerning the development of the automobile industry, which has become an essential asset for society. With its evolution, this industry created a foundation that based its competitiveness on satisfying people’s needs with the highest possible quality and always respecting the delivery deadlines. With the growth in demand, the improvement of certain processes was needed to achieve the desired production goals, accomplished through automation and robotics, as production and assembly lines increasingly used fully automated processes. In plastic injection lines, production is constant and carried out quickly, so it is desirable to perform component assembly steps that immediately support the output of the injection mould parts. This work consists of adapting an obsolete robotic cell to be implemented in one of the production lines to insert components into the injected parts, replacing labour work. Through a mechanical project and an automation design, the equipment was concluded and is currently in production, fulfilling the necessary requirements and improving the process’ cycle time. This proves that it is possible to recover old equipment, which is able to improve current tasks and common needs in modern industry, increasing the economic sustainability of the processes and saving resources