Artificial neural networks in diagnosis of liver diseases

Liver diseases have severe patients’ consequences, being one of the main causes of premature death. These facts reveal the centrality of one`s daily habits, and how important it is the early diagnosis of these kind of illnesses, not only to the patients themselves, but also to the society in general. Therefore, this work will focus on the development of a diagnosis support system to these kind of maladies, built under a formal framework based on Logic Programming, in terms of its knowledge representation and reasoning procedures, complemented with an approach to computing grounded on Artificial Neural Networks.

A avaliação da comunicação da criança com perturbação do espetro do autismo: perspetiva de pais e de profissionais

Dissertação de mestrado em Educação Especial (área de especialização Intervenção Precoce)

Triple negative breast cancer: nanosolutions for a big challenge

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particular immunopathological subtype of breast cancer that lacks expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER/PR) and amplification of the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) gene. Characterized by aggressive and metastatic phenotypes and high rates of relapse, TNBC is the only breast cancer subgroup still lacking effective therapeutic options, thus presenting the worst prognosis. The development of targeted therapies, as well as early diagnosis methods, is vital to ensure an adequate and timely therapeutic intervention in patients with TNBC. This review intends to discuss potentially emerging approaches for the diagnosis and treatment of TNBC patients, with a special focus on nano-based solutions that actively target these particular tumors.

Desenvolvimento de rede neuronal artificial para o diagnóstico de doenças neurodegenerativas

Dissertação de mestrado integrado em Engenharia Eletrónica Industrial e Computadores

Stage at presentation of breast cancer in Luanda, Angola - a retrospective study

Background: It is expected that, by 2020, 15 million new cases of cancer will occur every year in the world, one million of them in Africa. Knowledge of cancer trends in African countries is far from adequate, and improvements in cancer prevention efforts are urgently needed. The aim of this study was to characterize breast cancer clinically and pathologically at presentation in Luanda, Angola; we additionally provide quality information that will be useful for breast cancer care planning in the country. Methods: Data on breast cancer cases were retrieved from the Angolan Institute of Cancer Control, from 2006 to 2014. For women diagnosed in 2009 (5-years of follow-up), demographic, clinical and pathological information, at presentation, was collected, namely age at diagnosis, parity, methods used for pathological diagnoses, tumor pathological characteristics, stage of disease and treatment. Descriptive statistics were performed. Results: The median age of women diagnosed with breast cancer in 2009 was 47 years old (range 25–89). The most frequent clinical presentation was breast swelling with axillary lymph nodes metastasis (44.9 %), followed by a mass larger than 5 cm (14.2 %) and lump (12.9 %). Invasive ductal carcinoma was the main histologic type (81.8 %). Only 10.1 % of cancer cases had a well differentiated histological grade. Cancers were diagnosed mostly at advanced stages (66.7 % in stage III and 11.1 % in stage IV). Discussion: In this study, breast cancer was diagnosed at a very advanced stage. Although it reports data from a single cancer center in Luanda, Angola it reinforces the need for early diagnosis and increasing awareness. According to the main challenges related to breast cancer diagnosis and treatment herein presented, we propose a realistic framework that would allow for the implementation of a breast cancer care program, built under a strong network based on cooperation, teaching, audit, good practices and the organization of health services. Conclusion: Angola needs urgently a program for early diagnosis of breast cancer.

Development of a novel aptamer-based multi-sensor device for the detection of osteopontin

Doctoral Dissertation for PhD degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering

Avaliação de habilidades motoras globais em crianças com e sem perturbação do espectro do autismo na zona Norte de Portugal

Dissertação de mestrado em Educação Especial (área de especialização em Intervenção Precoce)

Projeto para a aquisição de um equipamento PET-CT: análise da viabilidade financeira

Projeto de mestrado em Gestão de Unidades de Saúde

Bone turnover markers for early detection of fracture healing disturbances: A review of the scientific literature

Imaging techniques are the standard method for assessment of fracture healing processes. However, these methods are perhaps not entirely reliable for early detection of complications, the most frequent of these being delayed union and non-union. A prompt diagnosis of such disorders could prevent prolonged patient distress and disability. Efforts should be directed towards the development of new technologies for improving accuracy in diagnosing complications following bone fractures. The variation in the levels of bone turnover markers (BTMs) have been assessed with regard to there ability to predict impaired fracture healing at an early stage, nevertheless the conclusions of some studies are not consensual. In this article the authors have revised the potential of BTMs as early predictors of prognosis in adult patients presenting traumatic bone fractures but who did not suffer from osteopenia or postmenopausal osteoporosis. The available information from the different studies performed in this field was systematized in order to highlight the most promising BTMs for the assessment of fracture healing outcome.