Nonlinear dynamics of the patient’s response to drug effect during general anesthesia

In today’s healthcare paradigm, optimal sedation during anesthesia plays an important role both in patient welfare and in the socio-economic context. For the closed-loop control of general anesthesia, two drugs have proven to have stable, rapid onset times: propofol and remifentanil. These drugs are related to their effect in the bispectral index, a measure of EEG signal. In this paper wavelet time–frequency analysis is used to extract useful information from the clinical signals, since they are time-varying and mark important changes in patient’s response to drug dose. Model based predictive control algorithms are employed to regulate the depth of sedation by manipulating these two drugs. The results of identification from real data and the simulation of the closed loop control performance suggest that the proposed approach can bring an improvement of 9% in overall robustness and may be suitable for clinical practice.

Immune response and tissue cytoprotection: two sides of the same coin in immunopathology

Dissertation presented to obtain the Ph.D degree in Biochemistry

Integer/fractional decomposition of the impulse response of fractional linear systems

The decomposition of a fractional linear system is discussed in this paper. It is shown that it can be decomposed into an integer order part, corresponding to possible existing poles, and a fractional part. The first and second parts are responsible for the short and long memory behaviors of the system, respectively, known as characteristic of fractional systems.

Synergistic action of praziquantel and host specific immune response against Schistosoma mansoni at different phases of infection

The interaction between specific immune response to Schistosoma mansoni and praziquantel (PZQ) was studied in mice. In mice harboring concomitant immunity, 6-day-old parasites treated with PZQ were more effectively removed than 24h treated parasites despite both had a significant worm burden reduction when compared with respective treated controls. These results show that PZQ can be effective at the skin and lung stages of parasite's development mainly acting with a established specific immune response, and particularly at the lung phase.

A New ROV Design: Issues on Low Drag and Mechanical Symmetry

This paper reports the design of a new remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV), which has been developed at the Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory (USTL) - University of Porto. This design is contextualized on the KOS project (Kits for underwater operations). The main issues addressed here concern directional drag minimization, symmetry, optimized thruster positioning, stability and layout of ROV components. This design is aimed at optimizing ROV performance for a set of different operational scenarios. This is achieved through modular configurations which are optimized for each different scenario.

Response Time Analysis for Fixed-Priority Tasks with Multiple Probabilistic Parameters

Demo presented in 12th Workshop on Models and Algorithms for Planning and Scheduling Problems (MAPSP 2015). 8 to 12, Jun, 2015. La Roche-en-Ardenne, Belgium. Extended abstract.

Incidence of respiratory viruses in preterm infants submitted to mechanical ventilation

The objectives of this study were to determine the incidence of infection by respiratory viruses in preterm infants submitted to mechanical ventilation, and to evaluate the clinical, laboratory and radiological patterns of viral infections among hospitalized infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with any kind of acute respiratory failure. Seventy-eight preterm infants were studied from November 2000 to September 2002. The newborns were classified into two groups: with viral infection (Group I) and without viral infection (Group II). Respiratory viruses were diagnosed in 23 preterm infants (29.5%); the most frequent was respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) (14.1%), followed by influenza A virus (10.2%). Rhinorrhea, wheezing, vomiting and diarrhea, pneumonia, atelectasis, and interstitial infiltrate were significantly more frequent in newborns with nosocomial viral infection. There was a correlation between nosocomial viral infection and low values of C-reactive protein. Two patients with mixed infection from Group I died during the hospital stay. In conclusion, RSV was the most frequent virus in these patients. It was observed that, although the majority of viral lower respiratory tract infections had a favorable course, some patients presented a serious and prolonged clinical manifestation, especially when there was concomitant bacterial or fungal infection.

A Generic and Compositional Framework for Multicore Response Time Analysis

23rd International Conference on Real-Time Networks and Systems (RTNS 2015). 4 to 6, Nov, 2015, Main Track. Lille, France. Best Paper Award Nominee

O Valor Prognóstico da Resposta Neutrofílica na Era da Reperfusão Mecânica do Enfarte Agudo do Miocárdico

BACKGROUND: In ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients treated with primary angioplasty, neutrophil response and its prognostic significance are not entirely understood. METHODS: We retrospectively studied 305 consecutive and non-selected STEMI patients. They were divided into three groups according to the maximum neutrophil percentage in the first 48 hours. We compared baseline demographic characteristics, coronary disease risk factors, cardiac history, clinical presentation, therapeutics administered and clinical evolution. We then assessed survival in the three groups and determined predictors of 30-day mortality. Group 1 (G1) had a mean age of 57 +/- 14 years and showed mean neutrophilia of 73.3%, Group 2 (G2) 61 +/- 13 years and 79.9%, and Group 3 (G3) 66 +/- 13 years and 84.2%. We compared outcomes and 30-day mortality between the groups. RESULTS: Mean age rose with increased neutrophil response. There were no statistically significant baseline differences between the groups except for more smokers in Groups 1 and 2, and more patients presenting with Killip class > or = 2 and fewer with uncomplicated evolution in Group 3. During 30-day follow-up there were 19 deaths (G1=1, G2=3 and G3=15). In univariate analysis mortality predictors were age > or = 75 years, anterior STEMI, maximum creatinine kinase > or = 2500 UI/L, culprit lesion in proximal anterior descending artery, incomplete revascularization, Killip > or = 2 at presentation, and being in G3. After multivariate regression analysis independent predictors were age > or = 75 years, incomplete revascularization and being in G3. CONCLUSION: In myocardial infarction patients undergoing mechanical revascularization, an intense neutrophil response (routinely, easily and inexpensively assessed) is related to worse short-term prognosis.