Parental predictors of poor visual outcome with occlusion treatment for unilateral amblyopia

Aim: Visual acuity outcome of amblyopia treatment depends on the compliance. This study aimed to determine parental predictors of poor visual outcome with occlusion treatment in unilateral amblyopia and identify the relationship between occlusion recommendations and the patient's actual dose of occlusion reported by the parents. Methods: This study comprised three phases: refractive adaptation for a period of 18 weeks after spectacle correction; occlusion of 3 to 6 hours per day during a period of 6 months; questionnaire administration and completion by parents. Visual acuity as assessed using the Sheridan-Gardiner singles or Snellen acuity chart was used as a measure of visual outcome. Correlation analysis was used to describe the strength and direction of two variables: prescribed occlusion reported by the doctor and actual dose reported by parents. A logistic binary model was adjusted using the following variables: severity, vulnerability, self-efficacy, behaviour intentions, perceived efficacy and treatment barriers, parents' and childrens' age, and parents' level of education. Results: The study included 100 parents (mean age 38.9 years, SD approx 9.2) of 100 children (mean age 6.3 years, SD approx 2.4) with amblyopia. Twenty-eight percent of children had no improvement in visual acuity. The results showed a positive mild correlation (kappa = 0.54) between the prescribed occlusion and actual dose reported by parents. Three predictors for poor visual outcome with occlusion were identified: parents' level of education (OR = 9.28; 95%CI 1.32-65.41); treatment barriers (OR = 2.75; 95%CI 1.22-6.20); interaction between severity and vulnerability (OR = 3.64; 95%CI 1.21-10.93). Severity (OR = 0.07; 95%CI 0.00-0.72) and vulnerability (OR = 0.06; 95%CI 0.05-0.74) when considered in isolation were identified as protective factors. Conclusions: Parents frequently do not use the correct dosage of occlusion as recommended. Parents' educational level and awareness of treatment barriers were predictors of poor visual outcome. Lower levels of education represented a 9-times higher risk of having a poor visual outcome with occlusion treatment.

Dynamical behaviour on the parameter space: new populational growth models proportional to beta densities

We present new populational growth models, generalized logistic models which are proportional to beta densities with shape parameters p and 2, where p > 1, with Malthusian parameter r. The complex dynamical behaviour of these models is investigated in the parameter space (r, p), in terms of topological entropy, using explicit methods, when the Malthusian parameter r increases. This parameter space is split into different regions, according to the chaotic behaviour of the models.

Trying To understand all-equity firms

This paper studies all equity firms and shows which are in US firms, the main drivers of zero-debt policy. I analyze 6763 U.S. listed companies in years 1987-2009, a total of 77442 firms year. I find that financial constrained firms show a higher probability to become unlevered. In the opposite side, firms producing high cash flow are also likely to become unlevered, paying their debt. Some firms create economies of scale in the use of funds, increasing the probability of become unlevered. The industry characteristics are also important to explain the zero-debt policy. However is the high perception of risk, the most important factor influencing this extreme behavior, which is consistent with trade-off theory.

A individualização do direito à saúde: contributos a partir de um olhar analítico

Este artigo de natureza ensaística procura contribuir para o desenvolvimento de argumentos já apresentados a respeito de reconfigurações ideológicas nas políticas de saúde. A partir de dimensões analíticas discute-se o espaço e implicações da individualização do direito à saúde no contexto de maior liberalização dos mercados e de maior exposição ao investimento privado lucrativo. A individualização do direito à saúde assume-se como contrária aos princípios éticos e morais consolidados entre os países ocidentais a partir da 2ª metade do séc. XX, em que o acesso aos cuidados passa gradualmente a estar dependente das condições individuais das famílias, não obstante o pagamento de impostos e outros seguros. Não só passa a existir espaço para formas desiguais de acesso ao direito à saúde, como o princípio da utilização racional que baseia esta reconfiguração é uma crença managerialista falaciosa e, em larga medida, irrealista. Esta discussão é ilustrada a partir de dados da OCDE, os quais demonstram tendências díspares a respeito desta dinâmica.

An Extension of Gompertzian Growth Dynamics Weibull and Frechet Models

In this work a new probabilistic and dynamical approach to an extension of the Gompertz law is proposed. A generalized family of probability density functions, designated by Beta* (p, q), which is proportional to the right hand side of the Tsoularis-Wallace model, is studied. In particular, for p = 2, the investigation is extended to the extreme value models of Weibull and Frechet type. These models, described by differential equations, are proportional to the hyper-Gompertz growth model. It is proved that the Beta* (2, q) densities are a power of betas mixture, and that its dynamics are determined by a non-linear coupling of probabilities. The dynamical analysis is performed using techniques of symbolic dynamics and the system complexity is measured using topological entropy. Generally, the natural history of a malignant tumour is reflected through bifurcation diagrams, in which are identified regions of regression, stability, bifurcation, chaos and terminus.

Comportamento à fadiga de juntas soldadas de aços tipo 460M com fios fluxados

Trabalho Final de Mestrado para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

A literacia em saúde: investimento na promoção da saúde e na racionalização de custos

A Organização Mundial da Saúde define a literacia em saúde como o conjunto de competências cognitivas e sociais e a capacidade dos indivíduos para compreenderem e usarem informação para a promoção e manutenção da saúde. A transmissão de informação sobre saúde é mais eficaz quando os seus conteúdos são especificamente desenhados para uma pessoa ou para um grupo populacional e quando a mensagem é bem delimitada, realçando os benefícios (ganhos) e os custos (perdas) associados aos comportamentos e às tomadas de decisão. Analisa-se, neste estudo, o conceito de literacia em saúde e a associação da baixa literacia em saúde aos comportamentos em saúde e aos gastos em saúde. Apresenta-se uma análise da literatura científica publicada sobre a baixa literacia em saúde e a sua implicação nos custos na saúde usando, para este objectivo, uma base de dados das ciências da saúde (MEDLINE/PubMed) e quatro plataformas científicas (DOAJ, SCOPUS, SciELO e Web of Science). A literatura científica analisada evidencia que pessoas com baixa literacia em saúde apresentam uma menor capacidade de compreensão dos conteúdos de material informativo sobre alimentos, doenças crónicas ou sobre o uso de medicamentos, por exemplo, bem como maior dificuldade em pesquisar, seleccionar, ler e assimilar a informação em saúde disponível na Internet. A baixa literacia em saúde relaciona-se, então. com a dificuldade na prevenção e na gestão de problemas de saúde, bem como com comportamentos ineficazes de saúde, i.e., com o uso inadequado de medicamentos, com o recurso excessivo aos serviços de saúde (em especial, os de urgências) ou com a ineficácia em lidar com situações de emergência. A baixa literacia está também associada a taxas de hospitalização mais altas, mas também mais longas no tempo (o que implica mais custos associados a internamento prolongado, mais exames de diagnóstico e fraca adesão à terapêutica medicamentosa), a uma diminuição da utilização de medidas preventivas e a uma fraca adesão à prescrição terapêutica. A baixa literacia acaba por afectar igualmente a comunicação (e a relação) médico-doente. Apresentam-se, como complemento, sugestões de melhoria da literacia em saúde e da comunicação médico-doente para efeitos da promoção da saúde.

Indicadores prognósticos na hipertensão pulmonar

Mestrado em Tecnologia de Diagnóstico e Intervenção Cardiovascular - Ramo de especialização: Intervenção Cardiovascular

Complete synchronization and delayed synchronization in couplings

We consider a general coupling of two identical chaotic dynamical systems, and we obtain the conditions for synchronization. We consider two types of synchronization: complete synchronization and delayed synchronization. Then, we consider four different couplings having different behaviors regarding their ability to synchronize either completely or with delay: Symmetric Linear Coupled System, Commanded Linear Coupled System, Commanded Coupled System with delay and symmetric coupled system with delay. The values of the coupling strength for which a coupling synchronizes define its Window of synchronization. We obtain analytically the Windows of complete synchronization, and we apply it for the considered couplings that admit complete synchronization. We also obtain analytically the Window of chaotic delayed synchronization for the only considered coupling that admits a chaotic delayed synchronization, the commanded coupled system with delay. At last, we use four different free chaotic dynamics (based in tent map, logistic map, three-piecewise linear map and cubic-like map) in order to observe numerically the analytically predicted windows.

A gestão orçamental como instrumento de avaliação do desempenho e apoio à decisão - o caso da Associação WavEC

Mestrado em Contabilidade

UV-Vis spectroscopic study preferential solvation and intermolecular interactions in methanol/1-propanol/acetonitrile by means of solvatochromic probes

Solvatochromic UV-Vis shifts of four indicators (4-nitroaniline, 4-nitroanisole, 4-nitrophenol and N,N-dimethy-1-4-nitro aniline) have been measured at 298.15 K in the ternary mixture methano1/1-propanol/acetonitrile (MeOH/1-PrOH/MeCN) in a total of 22 mole fractions, along with 18 additional mole fractions for each of the corresponding binary mixtures, MeOH/1-PrOH, 1-PrOH/MeCN and MeOH/MeCN. These values, combined with our previous experimental results for 2,6-dipheny1-4-(2,4,6-triphenylpyridinium-1-yl)phenolate (Reichardt's betaine dye) in the same mixtures, permitted the computation of the Kamlet-Taft solvent parameters, alpha, beta, and pi*. The rationalization of the spectroscopic behavior of each probe within each mixture's whole mole fraction range was achieved through the use of the Bosch and Roses preferential solvation model. The applied model allowed the identification of synergistic behaviors in MeCN/alcohol mixtures and thus to infer the existence of solvent complexes in solution. Also, the addition of small amounts of MeCN to the binary mixtures was seen to cause a significant variation in pi*, whereas the addition of alcohol to MeCN mixtures always lead to a sudden change in a and The behavior of these parameters in the ternary mixture was shown to be mainly determined by the contributions of the underlying binary mixtures. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Efficient feature selection filters for high-dimensional data

Feature selection is a central problem in machine learning and pattern recognition. On large datasets (in terms of dimension and/or number of instances), using search-based or wrapper techniques can be cornputationally prohibitive. Moreover, many filter methods based on relevance/redundancy assessment also take a prohibitively long time on high-dimensional. datasets. In this paper, we propose efficient unsupervised and supervised feature selection/ranking filters for high-dimensional datasets. These methods use low-complexity relevance and redundancy criteria, applicable to supervised, semi-supervised, and unsupervised learning, being able to act as pre-processors for computationally intensive methods to focus their attention on smaller subsets of promising features. The experimental results, with up to 10(5) features, show the time efficiency of our methods, with lower generalization error than state-of-the-art techniques, while being dramatically simpler and faster.

Synchronization in Von Bertalanffy’s models

Many data have been useful to describe the growth of marine mammals, invertebrates and reptiles, seabirds, sea turtles and fishes, using the logistic, the Gom-pertz and von Bertalanffy's growth models. A generalized family of von Bertalanffy's maps, which is proportional to the right hand side of von Bertalanffy's growth equation, is studied and its dynamical approach is proposed. The system complexity is measured using Lyapunov exponents, which depend on two biological parameters: von Bertalanffy's growth rate constant and the asymptotic weight. Applications of synchronization in real world is of current interest. The behavior of birds ocks, schools of fish and other animals is an important phenomenon characterized by synchronized motion of individuals. In this work, we consider networks having in each node a von Bertalanffy's model and we study the synchronization interval of these networks, as a function of those two biological parameters. Numerical simulation are also presented to support our approaches.

Bergantim: trabalho de projecto

Trabalho de Projeto submetido à Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Teatro, especialização em Teatro e Comunidade.

Complete synchronization and delayed synchronization in couplings

We consider a general coupling of two identical chaotic dynamical systems, and we obtain the conditions for synchronization. We consider two types of synchronization: complete synchronization and delayed synchronization. Then, we consider four different couplings having different behaviors regarding their ability to synchronize either completely or with delay: Symmetric Linear Coupled System, Commanded Linear Coupled System, Commanded Coupled System with delay and symmetric coupled system with delay. The values of the coupling strength for which a coupling synchronizes define its Window of synchronization. We obtain analytically the Windows of complete synchronization, and we apply it for the considered couplings that admit complete synchronization. We also obtain analytically the Window of chaotic delayed synchronization for the only considered coupling that admits a chaotic delayed synchronization, the commanded coupled system with delay. At last, we use four different free chaotic dynamics (based in tent map, logistic map, three-piecewise linear map and cubic-like map) in order to observe numerically the analytically predicted windows.