Modified logit life table system: Principles, empirical validation, and application

Despite its widespread use, the Coale-Demeny model life table system does not capture the extensive variation in age-specific mortality patterns observed in contemporary populations, particularly those of the countries of Eastern Europe and populations affected by HIV/AIDS. Although relational mortality models, such as the Brass logit system, can identify these variations, these models show systematic bias in their predictive ability as mortality levels depart from the standard. We propose a modification of the two-parameter Brass relational model. The modified model incorporates two additional age-specific correction factors (gamma(x), and theta(x)) based on mortality levels among children and adults, relative to the standard. Tests of predictive validity show deviations in age-specific mortality rates predicted by the proposed system to be 30-50 per cent lower than those predicted by the Coale-Demeny system and 15-40 per cent lower than those predicted using the original Brass system. The modified logit system is a two-parameter system, parameterized using values of l(5) and l(60).

Evidence and information for health policy: a decade of change

Over the past decade or so, there has been increasing demand for greater clarity about the major causes of disease and injury, how these differentially affect populations, and how they are changing. In part, this demand has been motivated by resource constraints and a realisation that better health is possible with more informed allocation of resources. At the same time, there has been a change in the way population health and its determinants are quantified, with a much closer integration of the quantitative population sciences (such as epidemiology, demography and health economics) to strengthen and broaden the evidence base for healthcare policy.

Evolu????o recente e alguns determinantes da prote????o social dos idosos na Am??rica Latina e no Brasil

A exist??ncia de um sistema de prote????o social aos idosos, com ampla cobertura, ?? extremamente importante para prevenir o aumento da pobreza e da desigualdade. Na aus??ncia de tal sistema, e frente a transforma????es demogr??ficas e da estrutura familiar presentes em grande parte dos pa??ses da Am??rica Latina, haver?? riscos crescentes de que tanto o Brasil, como outros pa??ses da regi??o, sofram com problemas de insufici??ncia de renda entre as pessoas com idade mais avan??ada. Dado esse contexto, este artigo avalia a situa????o atual e as perspectivas de prote????o dos idosos na Am??rica Latino Americano e Caribenho de Demografia (Celade/Cepal) e em revis??o de literatura sobre o tema. As an??lises indicaram que o aumento do n??vel de prote????o social na regi??o parece depender de formas de financiamento n??o baseadas exclusivamente em contribui????es monet??rias individuais, de modo que seja poss??vel incorporar aqueles grupos incapazes de manter contribui????es regulares para os regimes de Previd??ncia.

Popula����o em Mo��ambique. Os efeitos do VIH/SIDA

As Na����es Unidas consideraram que, a 12 de Outubro de 1999, a humanidade teria atingido os seis mil milh��es de indiv��duos. No entanto, contava-se que, por exemplo, em Mo��ambique, a popula����o deveria ultrapassar, por essa altura, os 19 milh��es de habitantes. Quando, ao contr��rio de todas as estimativas, segundo os dados do Censo de 1997, a popula����o mo��ambicana andava apenas pelos 16 milh��es. E algo de semelhante aconteceu noutros pa��ses africanos, onde a popula����o recenseada ficou muito aqu��m do esperado. Da�� que a data apontada pelas Na����es Unidas para os 6 mil milh��es de pessoas sobre a Terra deva ser vista apenas como meramente simb��lica, uma vez que a referida cifra s�� deve ter sido alcan��ada uns anos mais tarde. Entre as v��rias explica����es para as discrep��ncias apontadas, penso que a principal vari��vel a ter em conta �� o efeito do VIH/SIDA. De facto, de h�� uns anos a esta parte, come��a a ser aceite pela generalidade das ag��ncias internacionais que o factor SIDA fez cair drasticamente a esperan��a m��dia de vida �� nascen��a e o respectivo crescimento populacional na ��frica sub-sariana, Mo��ambique inclu��do. S��o os efeitos desse factor que me proponho aqui analisar.

Role of the wider Azores region as a nursery ground for North Atlantic blue shark (Prionace glauca)

Tese de Doutoramento, Ci��ncias do Mar (Ecologia Marinha)

A review of power laws in real life phenomena

Power law distributions, also known as heavy tail distributions, model distinct real life phenomena in the areas of biology, demography, computer science, economics, information theory, language, and astronomy, amongst others. In this paper, it is presented a review of the literature having in mind applications and possible explanations for the use of power laws in real phenomena. We also unravel some controversies around power laws.

Proposal of a short-form version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale

OBJECTIVE To propose a short version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. METHODS Two samples were used to test the results obtained in the analyses in two distinct scenarios. One of the studies was composed of 230 low income families from Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, and the other was composed of 15,575 women, whose data were obtained from the 2006 National Survey on Demography and Health. Two models were tested, the first containing seven questions, and the second, the five questions that were considered the most relevant ones in the concordance analysis. The models were compared to the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, and the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy parameters were calculated, as well as the kappa agreement test. RESULTS Comparing the prevalence of food insecurity between the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale and the two models, the differences were around 2 percentage points. In the sensitivity analysis, the short version of seven questions obtained 97.8% and 99.5% in the Pelotas sample and in the National Survey on Demography and Health sample, respectively, while specificity was 100% in both studies. The five-question model showed similar results (sensitivity of 95.7% and 99.5% in the Pelotas sample and in the National Survey on Demography and Health sample, respectively). In the Pelotas sample, the kappa test of the seven-question version totaled 97.0% and that of the five-question version, 95.0%. In the National Survey on Demography and Health sample, the two models presented a 99.0% kappa. CONCLUSIONS We suggest that the model with five questions should be used as the short version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, as its results were similar to the original scale with a lower number of questions. This version needs to be administered to other populations in Brazil in order to allow for the adequate assessment of the validity parameters.

The role of public policy in health care promotion: a comparative perspective

Comunica����o apresentada na 17th International conference on Health Promotio Hospitals and Health Services em Hersonissis, Crete, Gr��cia de 6-8 de maio de 2009

O futuro da lideran��a de topo na administra����o p��blica portuguesa. For��as motrizes e cen��rios poss��veis.

Disserta����o de mestrado em Administra����o P��blica, orientada pelo Professor Doutor J. A. Oliveira Rocha apresentada na Escola de Economia e Gest��o da Universidade do Minho, em 2006.

Condi����es de trabalho, comprometimento organizacional e sa��de mental: um estudo no setor da bricolage

A presente investiga����o tem como objetivo principal avaliar a rela����o entre as Condi����es de Trabalho, o Comprometimento Organizacional, a Satisfa����o Social, e a Sa��de Mental dos trabalhadores no setor da Bricolage. �� sua inten����o compreender se as Condi����es de Trabalho s��o preditoras de Comprometimento Organizacional e Satisfa����o com as Rela����es Sociais, e se o Comprometimento Organizacional explica o Burnout, a Ansiedade e a Depress��o destes trabalhadores. Investiga igualmente, atrav��s de an��lises explorat��rias, a poss��vel influ��ncia de algumas vari��veis sociodemogr��ficas e profissionais nos diversos construtos verificados. Participaram neste estudo, num universo de 564 colaboradores de organiza����es de venda de material de Bricolage da regi��o Norte de Portugal, 190 trabalhadores (33,7%), sendo que 42,6% (n = 81) s��o do sexo Feminino e 57,4% (n = 109) do sexo Masculino. A metodologia do estudo seguiu uma abordagem quantitativa, com car��cter descritivo, explorat��rio e preditivo, com utiliza����o de inqu��rito por question��rio. A recolha de dados foi feita num ��nico momento atrav��s de uma s��rie de instrumentos, entre os quais: Cuestionario de Condiciones de Trabajo (qCT) ��� Escalas M��todo e Ambiente; Three-Component Model of Organizational Commitment; The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12); World Health Organization Quality of Life ��� Bref (WHOQOL-Bref) ��� Escala das Rela����es Sociais; Maslach Burnout Inventory ��� General Survey (MBI-GS); Ficha Demogr��fico Profissional. As an��lises psicom��tricas destes mostraram uma validade e uma fidelidade bastante satisfat��ria. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo apontam, que as Condi����es de Trabalho s��o preditoras, quer do Comprometimento Organizacional, quer da Satisfa����o com as Rela����es Sociais. O Comprometimento Organizacional ��, preditor significativo de maior Sa��de Mental, e igualmente de menor s��ndrome de Burnout. As an��lises explorat��rias mostraram diferen��as significativas em termos de vari��veis sociodemogr��ficas (e.g. Idade: Comprometimento Organizacional, Sa��de Mental e Burnout; Estado Civil: Condi����es de Trabalho; N��mero de Filhos: Comprometimento Organizacional). Quanto ��s vari��veis profissionais, foram encontradas signific��ncias na Antiguidade (Comprometimento Organizacional e Sa��de Mental) e na Fun����o (Comprometimento Organizacional, Condi����es de Trabalho e Burnout). No final deste trabalho s��o discutidos e apresentados os principais resultados obtidos e as suas conclus��es.

An Atlas for the future National Park: Las Cumbres de la Sierra de Guadarrama

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies.

A Classifica����o Internacional de Funcionalidade, Incapacidade e Sa��de : um modelo multidimensional e multideterminado da funcionalidade em idosos assistidos na Rede

RESUMO: Os estudos sobre a funcionalidade da popula����o idosa t��m uma representa����o importante naquilo que �� o atual conhecimento da demografia do mundo. Portugal posiciona-se e perspetiva-se como pertencendo aos pa��ses mais envelhecidos, possuindo uma rede de cuidados p��s-agudos ��� a Rede Nacional de Cuidados Continuados Integrados (RNCCI)��� que assiste uma parcela importante dessa popula����o. Os aspetos conceptuais da funcionalidade de acordo com a OMS e operacionalizados pela Classifica����o Internacional de Funcionalidade (CIF), n��o mereceram at�� agora suficiente aplicabilidade no nosso pa��s, inviabilizando a possibilidade de oferecermos contributos para a sua operacionaliza����o. Da mesma forma, tamb��m os Core Sets da Classifica����o n��o t��m sido sujeitos a processos de valida����o que contemplem amostras portuguesas, mantendo-se desconhecimento da especificidade dos fatores contextuais na nossa popula����o. O presente estudo tem como objetivos conhecer a evolu����o da funcionalidade dos idosos assistidos na RNCCI na regi��o do Algarve nas unidades de convalescen��a e m��dia dura����o, validar o Core Set Geri��trico da OMS e propor uma vers��o abreviada da sua modalidade abrangente, no contexto destes cuidados. A amostra constitu��da por 451 idosos, dos quais 62,1% eram mulheres, revelou na pr��-morbilidade n��veis favor��veis de funcionalidade, com exce����o para as Atividades Dom��sticas. Contudo, os mais idosos (��� 85 anos), os indiv��duos sem escolaridade, as mulheres e os vi��vos/solteiros apresentaram mais casos desfavor��veis quando comparados com os seus pares. Na evolu����o da funcionalidade observ��mos melhorias significativas em todos os dom��nios avaliados, com diferen��as relativamente �� idade e �� escolaridade; apesar dos resultados positivos os mais idosos e os indiv��duos sem escolaridade apresentaram n��veis inferiores de evolu����o. No entanto, a funcionalidade alcan��ada revelou ficar com resultados significativamente inferiores na compara����o com aquela que os indiv��duos possu��am na pr��-morbilidade. Os modelos de regress��o revelaram que as Fun����es Mentais, a Perce����o do Estado de Sa��de e a atividade Usar o Telefone, foram as vari��veis que melhor explicaram os outcomes da funcionalidade alcan��ada. A valida����o do Core Set Geri��trico foi poss��vel na maioria das categorias, sendo que foi no componente das Fun����es do Corpo onde esse processo revelou maior fragilidade. As Fun����es Neuromusculoesquel��ticas e Relacionadas com o Movimento foram aquelas que registaram em ambos os momentos avaliativos frequ��ncias mais elevadas de defici��ncia, enquanto no componente Atividades & Participa����o isso ocorreu na atividade Utiliza����o dos Movimentos Finos da M��o. Os cap��tulos Apoios e Relacionamentos e Atitudes foram considerados os Fatores Ambientais mais Facilitadores mas tamb��m com maior impacto Barreira. A proposta para o Core Set Geri��trico Abreviado resultou das categorias independentes que explicaram os modelos da funcionalidade alcan��ada e cujo resultado engloba um conjunto de 27 categorias, com um enfoque importante no componente Atividades/Participa����o de onde se destacam os dom��nios da Mobilidade e dos Auto Cuidados. A funcionalidade dos indiv��duos e das popula����es deve ser considerada uma vari��vel incontorn��vel da Sa��de P��blica, cuja avalia����o deve refletir uma abordagem biopsicossocial, apoiada na Classifica����o Internacional de Funcionalidade. A operacionaliza����o da Classifica����o a partir dos Core Sets necessita de pesquisa mais aprofundada relativamente ��s carater��sticas psicom��tricas dos seus qualificadores e dos seus processos de valida����o.-----------ABSTRACT: The studies about the functioning of the elderly play an important role on what the present knowledge of the demography in the world is. Portugal figures high on the most aged countries, having a network of post-acute care - the National Network of Integrated Continuous Care (RNCCI) - which assists a large part of that population. The conceptual aspects of functioning according to WHO and operated by the International Classification of Functioning (ICF), have been insufficiently addressed concerning its adequate applicability in our country, hindering the contributions of its operation. In the same way, also the Core Sets of the Classification have not been subjected to validation procedures that include portuguese samples, keeping the unawareness of specificity of the contextual factors in our population. The objectives of the present study were to know the evolution of the functioning of the elderly assisted in the RNCCI in the Algarve region in units of convalescence and average duration, validate the WHO Geriatric Core Set and propose an abridged version of this comprehensive core set in this healthcare context. The sample was composed by 451 elderly people, of which 62.1% were women, they showed favourable levels in functioning in the pre-morbid state, except for Domestic Activities. However, the oldest (��� 85 years), the individuals with no education, women and widowed/ unmarried showed more unfavourable cases when compared to their peers. In the evolution of functioning we observed significant improvements in all domains assessed, with diferences with respect to age and education. In spite of positive results, the oldest and the individuals with no education showed lower levels of evolution. However, the functioning achieved showed significantly lower results when compared to the those observed in pre-morbidity state. Regression models reveal that Mental Functions, the Perceived Health Status and the Use of the Phone activity, were the variables that better explain the functioning of the outcomes achieved. The validation of the Geriatric Core Set of ICF was possible in most categories, and Body Functions was the component where this process showed greatest weakness. Neuromusculoskeletal and Movement-Related Functions experienced in both evaluation times with higher rates of disability, while in the Activities & Participation component this occurred in the Fine Hand Use activity. The Support and Relationships and Attitudes chapters were considered the Environmental Factors most Facilitators but also with greater impact Barrier. The proposal for the Brief Geriatric Core Set has resulted from the independent categories that explained the regression models of functioning and includes a set of 27 categories, with na important emphasis on Activities & Participation component where we can highlight the areas of Mobility and Self Care domains. The functioning of individuals and populations should be considered as an unavoidable variable of Public Health, of which the assessment should reflect a biopsychosocial approach, based on the International Classification of Functioning. The operationalization of the Classification from the Core Sets requires further research regarding the psychometric characteristics of their qualifiers and their validation procedure.

Ex situ collection of Limonium spp.: cytogenetic and reproductive characterization for the conservation of rare species

Disserta����o mestrado em Biologia Molecular, Biotecnologia e Bioempreendedorismo em Plantas

Fine time scaling of purifying selection on human nonsynonymous mtDNA mutations based on the worldwide population tree and mother-child pairs

A high-resolution mtDNA phylogenetic tree allowed us to look backward in time to investigate purifying selection. Purifying selection was very strong in the last 2,500 years, continuously eliminating pathogenic mutations back until the end of the Younger Dryas (���11,000 years ago), when a large population expansion likely relaxed selection pressure. This was preceded by a phase of stable selection until another relaxation occurred in the out-of-Africa migration. Demography and selection are closely related: expansions led to relaxation of selection and higher pathogenicity mutations significantly decreased the growth of descendants. The only detectible positive selection was the recurrence of highly pathogenic nonsynonymous mutations (m.3394T>C-m.3397A>G-m.3398T>C) at interior branches of the tree, preventing the formation of a dinucleotide STR (TATATA) in the MT-ND1 gene. At the most recent time scale in 124 mother-children transmissions, purifying selection was detectable through the loss of mtDNA variants with high predicted pathogenicity. A few haplogroup-defining sites were also heteroplasmic, agreeing with a significant propensity in 349 positions in the phylogenetic tree to revert back to the ancestral variant. This nonrandom mutation property explains the observation of heteroplasmic mutations at some haplogroup-defining sites in sequencing datasets, which may not indicate poor quality as has been claimed.

Dieta da torda-mergulheira, Alca torda, capturada acidentalmente em Portugal Continental

Disserta����o de mestrado em Ecologia