Cytochrome c nitrite reductase from desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 27774

The Journal of Biological Chemistry Vol. 278, No. 19, Issue of May 9, pp. 17455–17465, 2003

Disparities in cervical and breast cancer mortality in Brazil

OBJECTIVE To analyze cervical and breast cancer mortality in Brazil according to socioeconomic and welfare indicators. METHODS Data on breast and cervical cancer mortality covering a 30-year period (1980-2010) were analyzed. The data were obtained from the National Mortality Database, population data from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics database, and socioeconomic and welfare information from the Institute of Applied Economic Research. Moving averages were calculated, disaggregated by capital city and municipality. The annual percent change in mortality rates was estimated by segmented linear regression using the joinpoint method. Pearson’s correlation coefficients were conducted between average mortality rate at the end of the three-year period and selected indicators in the state capital and each Brazilian state. RESULTS There was a decline in cervical cancer mortality rates throughout the period studied, except in municipalities outside of the capitals in the North and Northeast. There was a decrease in breast cancer mortality in the capitals from the end of the 1990s onwards. Favorable socioeconomic indicators were inversely correlated with cervical cancer mortality. A strong direct correlation was found with favorable indicators and an inverse correlation with fertility rate and breast cancer mortality in inner cities. CONCLUSIONS There is an ongoing dynamic process of increased risk of cervical and breast cancer and attenuation of mortality because of increased, albeit unequal, access to and provision of screening, diagnosis and treatment. 

Deported Mexican migrants: health status and access to care

OBJECTIVE To describe the health status and access to care of forced-return Mexican migrants deported through the Mexico-United States border and to compare it with the situation of voluntary-return migrants. METHODS Secondary data analysis from the Survey on Migration in Mexico’s Northern Border from 2012. This is a continuous survey, designed to describe migration flows between Mexico and the United States, with a mobile-population sampling design. We analyzed indicators of health and access to care among deported migrants, and compare them with voluntary-return migrants. Our analysis sample included 2,680 voluntary-return migrants, and 6,862 deportees. We employ an ordinal multiple logistic regression model, to compare the adjusted odds of having worst self-reported health between the studied groups. RESULTS As compared to voluntary-return migrants, deportees were less likely to have medical insurance in the United States (OR = 0.05; 95%CI 0.04;0.06). In the regression model a poorer self-perceived health was found to be associated with having been deported (OR = 1.71, 95%CI 1.52;1.92), as well as age (OR = 1.03, 95%CI 1.02;1.03) and years of education (OR = 0.94 95%CI 0.93;0.95). CONCLUSIONS According to our results, deportees had less access to care while in the United States, as compared with voluntary-return migrants. Our results also showed an independent and statistically significant association between deportation and having poorer self-perceived health. To promote the health and access to care of deported Mexican migrants coming back from the United States, new health and social policies are required.

Self-reported diabetes in older people: comparison of prevalences and control measures

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to analyze the prevalence of diabetes in older people and the adopted control measures.METHODS Data regarding older diabetic individuals who participated in the Health Surveys conducted in the Municipality of Sao Paulo, SP, ISA-Capital, in 2003 and 2008, which were cross-sectional studies, were analyzed. Prevalences and confidence intervals were compared between 2003 and 2008, according to sociodemographic variables. The combination of the databases was performed when the confidence intervals overlapped. The Chi-square (level of significance of 5%) and the Pearson’s Chi-square (Rao-Scott) tests were performed. The variables without overlap between the confidence intervals were not tested.RESULTS The age of the older adults was 60-69 years. The majority were women, Caucasian, with an income of between > 0.5 and 2.5 times the minimum salary and low levels of schooling. The prevalence of diabetes was 17.6% (95%CI 14.9;20.6) in 2003 and 20.1% (95%CI 17.3;23.1) in 2008, which indicates a growth over this period (p at the limit of significance). The most prevalent measure adopted by the older adults to control diabetes was hypoglycemic agents, followed by diet. Physical activity was not frequent, despite the significant differences observed between 2003 and 2008 results. The use of public health services to control diabetes was significantly higher in older individuals with lower income and lower levels of education.CONCLUSIONS Diabetes is a complex and challenging disease for patients and the health systems. Measures that encourage health promotion practices are necessary because they presented a smaller proportion than the use of hypoglycemic agents. Public health policies should be implemented, and aimed mainly at older individuals with low income and schooling levels. These changes are essential to improve the health condition of older diabetic patients.

GTS allocation analysis in IEEE 802.15.4 for real-time wireless sensor networks

The IEEE 802.15.4 protocol proposes a flexible communication solution for Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks including sensor networks. It presents the advantage to fit different requirements of potential applications by adequately setting its parameters. When enabling its beacon mode, the protocol makes possible real-time guarantees by using its Guaranteed Time Slot (GTS) mechanism. This paper analyzes the performance of the GTS allocation mechanism in IEEE 802.15.4. The analysis gives a full understanding of the behavior of the GTS mechanism with regards to delay and throughput metrics. First, we propose two accurate models of service curves for a GTS allocation as a function of the IEEE 802.15.4 parameters. We then evaluate the delay bounds guaranteed by an allocation of a GTS using Network Calculus formalism. Finally, based on the analytic results, we analyze the impact of the IEEE 802.15.4 parameters on the throughput and delay bound guaranteed by a GTS allocation. The results of this work pave the way for an efficient dimensioning of an IEEE 802.15.4 cluster.

O plano de deslocações urbanas e a resposta estratégica que falta aos PROTs e PDMs: A descentralização do planeamento do território e dos transportes

The sustainable urban mobility plan is the framework of planning and organisation of mobility system. It is a strategic and operational plan with consequences in the planning and organisation of territorial and transport systems. When it’s defining the principles and the objectives of sustainable development and when it’s working in the scenarios of modal shift more favourable to the alternative modes than the car, the planning and the organisation of territory will be integrated on the political of reduction of road circulation volumes, in the reduction of GEE, waste of space and time, in the improvement of quality of urban environment. The Urbanism Agencies and the Urban Transport Authorities will get their selves in the urban mobility plan, in territory scenarios development, mobility and transports, with the objective to understand the sustainable politics in the accessibilities which are available by the transportation bill. In Portugal, although the authorities are not yet working, the law (1/2009) recently approved in last December and published at the beginning of the year, they have the sustainable urban mobility plans forward in this strategy.

A comprehensive simulation study of slotted CSMA/CA for IEEE 802.15.4 wireless sensor networks

In this paper, we analyze the performance limits of the slotted CSMA/CA mechanism of IEEE 802.15.4 in the beacon-enabled mode for broadcast transmissions in WSNs. The motivation for evaluating the beacon-enabled mode is due to its flexibility for WSN applications as compared to the non-beacon enabled mode. Our analysis is based on an accurate simulation model of the slotted CSMA/CA mechanism on top of a realistic physical layer, with respect to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard specification. The performance of the slotted CSMA/CA is evaluated and analyzed for different network settings to understand the impact of the protocol attributes (superframe order, beacon order and backoff exponent) on the network performance, namely in terms of throughput (S), average delay (D) and probability of success (Ps). We introduce the concept of utility (U) as a combination of two or more metrics, to determine the best offered load range for an optimal behavior of the network. We show that the optimal network performance using slotted CSMA/CA occurs in the range of 35% to 60% with respect to an utility function proportional to the network throughput (S) divided by the average delay (D).

On the performance limits of slotted CSMA/CA in IEEE 802.15.4 for broadcast transmissions in wireless sensor networks

The IEEE 802.15.4 has been adopted as a communication protocol standard for Low-Rate Wireless Private Area Networks (LRWPANs). While it appears as a promising candidate solution for Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), its adequacy must be carefully evaluated. In this paper, we analyze the performance limits of the slotted CSMA/CA medium access control (MAC) mechanism in the beacon-enabled mode for broadcast transmissions in WSNs. The motivation for evaluating the beacon-enabled mode is due to its flexibility and potential for WSN applications as compared to the non-beacon enabled mode. Our analysis is based on an accurate simulation model of the slotted CSMA/CA mechanism on top of a realistic physical layer, with respect to the IEEE 802.15.4 standard specification. The performance of the slotted CSMA/CA is evaluated and analyzed for different network settings to understand the impact of the protocol attributes (superframe order, beacon order and backoff exponent), the number of nodes and the data frame size on the network performance, namely in terms of throughput (S), average delay (D) and probability of success (Ps). We also analytically evaluate the impact of the slotted CSMA/CA overheads on the saturation throughput. We introduce the concept of utility (U) as a combination of two or more metrics, to determine the best offered load range for an optimal behavior of the network. We show that the optimal network performance using slotted CSMA/CA occurs in the range of 35% to 60% with respect to an utility function proportional to the network throughput (S) divided by the average delay (D).

Socioeconomic inequalities in the access to and quality of health care services

OBJECTIVE To assess the inequalities in access, utilization, and quality of health care services according to the socioeconomic status. METHODS This population-based cross-sectional study evaluated 2,927 individuals aged ≥ 20 years living in Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, in 2012. The associations between socioeconomic indicators and the following outcomes were evaluated: lack of access to health services, utilization of services, waiting period (in days) for assistance, and waiting time (in hours) in lines. We used Poisson regression for the crude and adjusted analyses. RESULTS The lack of access to health services was reported by 6.5% of the individuals who sought health care. The prevalence of use of health care services in the 30 days prior to the interview was 29.3%. Of these, 26.4% waited five days or more to receive care and 32.1% waited at least an hour in lines. Approximately 50.0% of the health care services were funded through the Unified Health System. The use of health care services was similar across socioeconomic groups. The lack of access to health care services and waiting time in lines were higher among individuals of lower economic status, even after adjusting for health care needs. The waiting period to receive care was higher among those with higher socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS Although no differences were observed in the use of health care services across socioeconomic groups, inequalities were evident in the access to and quality of these services.

Component-based software engineering: a quantitative approach

Dissertação apresentada para a obtenção do Grau de Doutor em Informática pela Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia

Factors associated with lack of prenatal care in a large municipality

OBJECTIVE To analyze the factors associated with a lack of prenatal care in a large municipality in southern Brazil. METHODS In this case-control age-matched study, 716 women were evaluated; of these, 179 did not receive prenatal care and 537 received prenatal care (controls). These women were identified using the Sistema Nacional de Informação sobre Nascidos Vivos (Live Birth Information System) of Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, between 2009 and 2010. Multivariate analysis was performed using conditional logistic regression to estimate the odds ratios (OR). RESULTS In the final model, the variables associated with a lack of prenatal care were the level of education, particularly when it was lesser than four years [OR 4.46; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.92;10.36], being single (OR 3.61; 95%CI 1.85;7.04), and multiparity (OR 2.89; 95%CI 1.72;4.85). The prevalence of a lack of prenatal care among administrative regions varied between 0.7% and 3.9%. CONCLUSIONS The risk factors identified must be considered when planning actions for the inclusion of women in prenatal care by both the central management and healthcare teams. These indicated the municipal areas with greater deficits in prenatal care. The reorganization of the actions to identify women with risk factors in the community can be considered to be a starting point of this process. In addition, the integration of the activities of local programs that target the mother and child is essential to constantly identify pregnant women without prenatal care.

A sensor classification strategy for robotic manipulators

In practice the robotic manipulators present some degree of unwanted vibrations. The advent of lightweight arm manipulators, mainly in the aerospace industry, where weight is an important issue, leads to the problem of intense vibrations. On the other hand, robots interacting with the environment often generate impacts that propagate through the mechanical structure and produce also vibrations. In order to analyze these phenomena a robot signal acquisition system was developed. The manipulator motion produces vibrations, either from the structural modes or from endeffector impacts. The instrumentation system acquires signals from several sensors that capture the joint positions, mass accelerations, forces and moments, and electrical currents in the motors. Afterwards, an analysis package, running off-line, reads the data recorded by the acquisition system and extracts the signal characteristics. Due to the multiplicity of sensors, the data obtained can be redundant because the same type of information may be seen by two or more sensors. Because of the price of the sensors, this aspect can be considered in order to reduce the cost of the system. On the other hand, the placement of the sensors is an important issue in order to obtain the suitable signals of the vibration phenomenon. Moreover, the study of these issues can help in the design optimization of the acquisition system. In this line of thought a sensor classification scheme is presented. Several authors have addressed the subject of the sensor classification scheme. White (White, 1987) presents a flexible and comprehensive categorizing scheme that is useful for describing and comparing sensors. The author organizes the sensors according to several aspects: measurands, technological aspects, detection means, conversion phenomena, sensor materials and fields of application. Michahelles and Schiele (Michahelles & Schiele, 2003) systematize the use of sensor technology. They identified several dimensions of sensing that represent the sensing goals for physical interaction. A conceptual framework is introduced that allows categorizing existing sensors and evaluates their utility in various applications. This framework not only guides application designers for choosing meaningful sensor subsets, but also can inspire new systems and leads to the evaluation of existing applications. Today’s technology offers a wide variety of sensors. In order to use all the data from the diversity of sensors a framework of integration is needed. Sensor fusion, fuzzy logic, and neural networks are often mentioned when dealing with problem of combing information from several sensors to get a more general picture of a given situation. The study of data fusion has been receiving considerable attention (Esteban et al., 2005; Luo & Kay, 1990). A survey of the state of the art in sensor fusion for robotics can be found in (Hackett & Shah, 1990). Henderson and Shilcrat (Henderson & Shilcrat, 1984) introduced the concept of logic sensor that defines an abstract specification of the sensors to integrate in a multisensor system. The recent developments of micro electro mechanical sensors (MEMS) with unwired communication capabilities allow a sensor network with interesting capacity. This technology was applied in several applications (Arampatzis & Manesis, 2005), including robotics. Cheekiralla and Engels (Cheekiralla & Engels, 2005) propose a classification of the unwired sensor networks according to its functionalities and properties. This paper presents a development of a sensor classification scheme based on the frequency spectrum of the signals and on a statistical metrics. Bearing these ideas in mind, this paper is organized as follows. Section 2 describes briefly the robotic system enhanced with the instrumentation setup. Section 3 presents the experimental results. Finally, section 4 draws the main conclusions and points out future work.

A multidimensional scaling classification of robotic sensors

This chapter analyzes the signals captured during impacts and vibrations of a mechanical manipulator. Eighteen signals are captured and several metrics are calculated between them, such as the correlation, the mutual information and the entropy. A sensor classification scheme based on the multidimensional scaling technique is presented.

Lack of access and continuity of adult health care: a national population-based survey

OBJECTIVE To describe the lack of access and continuity of health care in adults.METHODS A cross-sectional population-based study was performed on a sample of 12,402 adults aged 20 to 59 years in urban areas of 100 municipalities of 23 states in the five Brazilian geopolitical regions. Barriers to the access and continuity of health care and were investigated based on receiving, needing and seeking health care (hospitalization and accident/emergency care in the last 12 months; care provided by a doctor, by other health professional or home care in the last three months). Based on the results obtained by the description of the sample, a projection is provided for adults living in Brazilian urban areas.RESULTS The highest prevalence of lack of access to health services and to provision of care by health professionals was for hospitalization (3.0%), whilst the lowest prevalence was for care provided by a doctor (1.1%). The lack of access to care provided by other health professionals was 2.0%; to accident and emergency services, 2.1%; and to home care, 2.9%. As for prevalences, the greatest absolute lack of access occurred in emergency care (more than 360,000 adults). The main reasons were structural and organizational problems, such as unavailability of hospital beds, of health professionals, of appointments for the type of care needed and charges made for care.CONCLUSIONS The universal right to health care in Brazil has not yet been achieved. These projections can help health care management in scaling the efforts needed to overcome this problem, such as expanding the infrastructure of health services and the workforce.

Vulnerabilities in snakebites in Sao Paulo, Brazil

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To describe elements of vulnerability of victims of snakebite. METHODS This qualitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study had, as theoretical framework, the concept of vulnerability in individual, social, and programmatic dimensions. We interviewed 21 patients admitted into a hospital specialized in the care of accidents caused by venomous animals. The interviews were analyzed according to a discourse analysis technique. RESULTS Patients were mainly young men, living in remote countryside areas, where health services frequently have limited resources. We found social and individual conditions of vulnerability, such as precarious schooling, low professional qualification, housing without access to piped water, no sewage treated, and no regular garbage collection, and lack of knowledge on this health problem. Regarding the programmatic dimension, we found limited accessibility to the health services that could affect the prognosis and the frequency of sequelae and deaths. CONCLUSIONS Considering such vulnerabilities evoke the need to improve the program for control the Accidents by Venomous Animals and the training of health workers, we highlight the potential use of the concept of vulnerability, which may amplify the understanding and the recommendations for the practice and education related to snakebites.