Dynamical Analysis of Non-Repetitive Trajectories in Robotic Manipulation

A new method for the study and optimization of manu«ipulator trajectories is developed. The novel feature resides on the modeling formulation. Standard system desciptions are based on a set of differential equations which, in general, require laborious computations and may be difficult to analyze. Moreover, the derived algorithms are suited to "deterministic" tasks, such as those appearing in a repetitivework, and are not well adapted to a "random" operation that occurs in intelligent systems interacting with a non-structured and changing environment. These facts motivate the development of alternative models based on distinct concepts. The proposed embedding of statistics and Fourier trasnform gives a new perspective towards the calculation and optimization of the robot trajectories in manipulating tasks.

Detection of Cryptosporidium sp. in non diarrheal faeces from children, in a day care center in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

The protozoan Cryptosporidium sp. has been frequently detected in faeces from children with persistent diarrhoea. This work achieved to investigate an outbreak of cryptosporidiosis, in a day care center, attending children of high socio-economic level, between 0 and six years old. The outbreak was detected through the network of public health, when stool samples, not diarrhoeic, were examined at the Parasitology Service of the Adolfo Lutz Institute. Among the 64 examined children, 13 (20.3%) showed oocysts of Cryptosporidium sp. in the faeces examined by Kinyoun technique: seven children one year old, three, two years old and three, three years old. Among the 23 examined adults, only a 22 years old woman, possibly having an immunocomprometiment, was positive. Clinical and epidemiological aspects were investigated by questionnaires, highlighting the occurrence of the outbreak in a very dry period.

Distribution of virulence markers in clinical and environmental Vibrio cholerae non-O1/non-O139 strains isolated in Brazil from 1991 to 2000

One hundred seventy nine Vibrio cholerae non-O1/non-O139 strains from clinical and different environmental sources isolated in Brazil from 1991 to 2000 were serogrouped and screened for the presence of four different virulence factors. The Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique was used to evaluate the genetic relatedness among strains. Fifty-four different serogroups were identified and V. cholerae O26 was the most common (7.8%). PCR analysis for three genes (ctxA, zot, ace) located of the CTX genetic element and one gene (tcpA) located on the VPI pathogenicity island showed that 27 strains harbored one or more of these genes. Eight (4.5%) strains possessed the complete set of CTX element genes and all but one of these belonged to the O26 serogroup suggesting that V. cholerae O26 has the potential to be an epidemic strain. The RAPD profiles revealed a wide variability among strains and no genetic correlation was observed.

Treatment of chronic hepatitis C in non-responsive patients with pegylated interferon associated with ribavirin and thalidomide: report of six cases of total remission

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important public health issue worldwide. It is estimated that over 170 million people are infected with the virus. The present study reports six cases in which patients did not respond to combination therapy with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. However, after the addition of thalidomide to the therapy, the patients presented negative RNA PCR. The use of thalidomide combined with pegylated interferon and ribavirin for the treatment of hepatitis C is described here for the first time in the related literature.

Non-preemptive and SRP-based fullypreemptive scheduling of real-time Software Transactional Memory

Recent embedded processor architectures containing multiple heterogeneous cores and non-coherent caches renewed attention to the use of Software Transactional Memory (STM) as a building block for developing parallel applications. STM promises to ease concurrent and parallel software development, but relies on the possibility of abort conflicting transactions to maintain data consistency, which in turns affects the execution time of tasks carrying transactions. Because of this fact the timing behaviour of the task set may not be predictable, thus it is crucial to limit the execution time overheads resulting from aborts. In this paper we formalise a FIFO-based algorithm to order the sequence of commits of concurrent transactions. Then, we propose and evaluate two non-preemptive and one SRP-based fully-preemptive scheduling strategies, in order to avoid transaction starvation.

Assessment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic pharmaceuticals in seawaters of North of Portugal: Occurrence and environmental risk

The occurrence of seven pharmaceuticals and two metabolites belonging to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics therapeutic classes was studied in seawaters. A total of 101 samples covering fourteen beaches and five cities were evaluated in order to assess the spatial distribution of pharmaceuticals among north Portuguese coast. Seawaters were selected in order to embrace different bathing water quality (excellent, good and sufficient). Acetaminophen, ketoprofen and the metabolite hydroxyibuprofen were detected in all the seawater samples at maximum concentrations of 584, 89.7 and 287 ng L− 1, respectively. Carboxyibuprofen had the highest seawater concentration (1227 ng L− 1). The temporal distribution of the selected pharmaceuticals during the bathing season showed that, in general, higher concentrations were detected in August and September. The environmental risk posed by the pharmaceuticals detected in seawaters towards different trophic levels (fish, daphnids and algae) was also assessed. Only diclofenac showed hazard quotients above one for fish, representing a potential risk for aquatic organisms. These results were observed in seawaters classified as excellent bathing water. Additional data is needed in order to support the identification and prioritization of risks posed by pharmaceuticals in marine environment.

Development of a SPE–UHPLC–MS/MS methodology for thedetermination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesicpharmaceuticals in seawaterPaula

An analytical methodology for the simultaneous determination of seven pharmaceuticals and two metabolites belonging to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and analgesics therapeutic groups was developed based on off-line solid-phase extraction and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (SPE–UHPLC–MS/MS). Extraction conditions were optimized taking into account parameters like sorbent material, sample volume and sample pH. Method detection limits (MDLs) ranging from 0.02 to 8.18 ng/L were obtained. This methodology was successfully applied to the determination of the selected pharmaceuticals in seawater samples of Atlantic Ocean in the Northern Portuguese coast. All the pharmaceuticals have been detected in the seawater samples, with pharmaceuticals like ibuprofen, acetaminophen, ketoprofen and the metabolite hydroxyibuprofen being the most frequently detected at concentrations that can reach some hundreds of ng/L.

Infecções Urinárias e Gravidez - Diagnóstico, Terapêutica e Prevenção

Objectives: Literature review of classification, epidemiology, pathophysiology, microbiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, complications, treatment and prevention of urinary tract infections (UTI) in pregnancy. Data Sources and Review Methods: Bibliographic research in Medline, through PubMed and Medscape, of systematic reviews, observational studies, clinical guidelines, meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials published between January 1992 and December 2010. Results: Asymptomatic bacteriuria occurs in 2 to 10% of pregnant women, 30% of which will develop acute pyelonephritis if left untreated. Treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria has been shown to reduce the risk of pyelonephritis in pregnancy. Therefore, screening and treatment of this form of UTI has become a standard of obstetrical care, although the ideal duration of the treatment is still controverse. Acute pyelonephritis is one of the most common medical complications of pregnancy and may be associated with maternal, obstetric and perinatal complications. There is no clear consensus in the literature regarding antibiotic choice or duration of therapy for symptomatic UTI. Increasing antibiotic resistance complicates the choice of empirical regimens and local resistance rates need to be taken into account when deciding the therapy. Considering the high rate of recurrence of UTI during pregnancy, prophylactic measures need to be taken in pregnant women who have already experienced UTI during their current pregnancy. Conclusions: Although UTI is a generally benign condition in non-pregnant women, it may be a potentially serious complication during pregnancy. Early diagnosis and treatment of UTI during pregnancy are mandatory and can prevent severe maternal and perinatal complications.

Ideal e degradação, heteronomia e familiarismo - duas investigações sobre a "gestão racional" das margens sociais

A investigação na área da antropologia urbana, que temos vindo a conduzir em conjunto, desde os finais dos anos 80, levou-nos à constmção da hipótese de que, a coberto de algumas ideologias tradicionais - o pragmatismo, os ideais de gestão racional da vida social, o familialismo, o cosmopolitismo, etc. - as instituições responsáveis por essa mesma «gestão racional» da vida urbana são governadas por estratégias inconscientes que bloqueiam qualquer reflexão institucional e/ou pesquisa de estratégias alternativas mais apropriadas à prossecução da globalidade dos objectivos insdtucionais manifestados e/ou pressupostos.

Seroconvertion to hepatitis B vaccine after weight reduction in obese non-responder

Decreased responses to hepatitis B vaccine have been associated with some host conditions including obesity. Susceptible non-responders to a primary three-dose vaccine series should be revaccinated. Those who maintain a non-responder condition after revaccination with three vaccine doses are unlikely to develop protection using more doses. This is a description of an obese woman who received six doses of hepatitis B vaccine and persisted as a non-responder. She was submitted to a vertical banded gastroplasty Roux-en-Y gastric bypass Capellas's technique. After weight reduction, she received three additional doses of vaccine and seroconverted. Further studies should help clarify the need to evaluate antibody levels and eventually revaccinate the increasing population of individuals who undergo weight reduction.

Endobronchial leiomyoma: an unusual non-defining neoplasm in a patient with AIDS

Smooth muscle neoplasms are more frequent in human immunodeficiency infected children than in HIV seropositive adults. Endobronchial leiomyoma is a rare benign tumor in HIV infected adult patients. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of these tumors. Here we describe an adult patient with HIV infection with atelectasis of the left upper pulmonary lobe as the first clinical expression of an intrabronchial leiomyoma. In this case, we can not show the association with EBV. Our report suggests that smooth muscle tumors as leiomyoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of endobronchial masses in AIDS patients.

Risk-factors for non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy

Cross-sectional study analyzed as case-control to identify risk factors for non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy. We studied 412 out-clinics HIV infected subjects of three public hospitals of Recife, Pernambuco. The objective was to examine the association between non-adherence to the antiretroviral therapy and biological, social-behavior and demographics and economic factors, factors related to the disease and/or treatment, factors related to life habits and depression symptoms. Variables significantly associated with non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy were: time elapsed since HIV diagnosis (p = 0.002), daily dose (p = 0.046), use of alcohol (p = 0.030) and past drug use (p = 0.048), and borderline p-values were found for educational level (p = 0.093) and family monthly income (p = 0.08). In the multivariable analysis, the factors that remained in the final model were family monthly income, time period with HIV infection and use of alcohol. No association was observed between non-adherence to antiretroviral therapy and gender, age, sexual orientation, marital status, educational level and place of residence. Based on our results and the local situation we suggest: assessment of social needs; training of partners and/or families on supporting adherence, creation of "adherence groups" to motivate and to reassure patients on the benefits of treatment; counseling and/or psychotherapy for alcohol drinkers.

High prevalence and association of HIV-1 non-B subtype with specific sexual transmission risk among antiretroviral naïve patients in Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

In South Brazil the circulation of two HIV-1 subtypes with different characteristics represents an important scenario for the study of the impact of HIV-1 diversity on the evolution of the HIV-1 epidemic and AIDS disease. HIV-1 B, the predominant variant in industrialized countries and HIV-1 C, the most prevalent subtype in areas with rapid epidemic growth, are implicated in most infections. We evaluated blood samples from 128 antiretroviral (ARV) naïve patients recruited at entry to the largest HIV outpatient service in Porto Alegre. Based on partial pol region sequencing, HIV-1 C was observed in 29%, HIV-1 B in 22.6% and, the recently identified CRF31_BC, in 23.4% of 128 volunteers. Other variants were HIV-1 F in 10% and other mosaics in 5.5%. In order to evaluate the association of socio-behavioral characteristics and HIV-1 subtypes, interviews and laboratory evaluation were performed at entry. Our data suggest an established epidemic of the three major variants, without any evidence of partitioning in either of the subgroups analyzed. However, anal sex practices were associated with subtype B, which could indicate a greater transmissibility of non-B variants by vaginal intercourse. This study provides baseline information for epidemiologic surveillance of the changes of the molecular characteristics of HIV-1 epidemics in this region.

Non-linear time series models

The last three decades have seen quite dramatic changes the way we modeled time dependent data. Linear processes have been in the center stage in modeling time series. As far as the second order properties are concerned, the theory and the methodology are very adequate.However, there are more and more evidences that linear models are not sufficiently flexible and rich enough for modeling purposes and that failure to account for non-linearities can be very misleading and have undesired consequences.