The mechanisms that control growth processes in biology tissues have attracted continuous research interest despite their complexity. With the emergence of big data experimental approaches there is an urgent need to develop statistical and computational models to fit the experimental data and that can be used to make predictions to guide future research. In this work we apply statistical methods on growth process of different biological tissues, focusing on development of neuron dendrites and tumor cells. We first examine the neuron cell growth process, which has implications in neural tissue regenerations, by using a computational model with uniform branching probability and a maximum overall length constraint. One crucial outcome is that we can relate the parameter fits from our model to real data from our experimental collaborators, in order to examine the usefulness of our model under different biological conditions. Our methods can now directly compare branching probabilities of different experimental conditions and provide confidence intervals for these population-level measures. In addition, we have obtained analytical results that show that the underlying probability distribution for this process follows a geometrical progression increase at nearby distances and an approximately geometrical series decrease for far away regions, which can be used to estimate the spatial location of the maximum of the probability distribution. This result is important, since we would expect maximum number of dendrites in this region; this estimate is related to the probability of success for finding a neural target at that distance during a blind search. We then examined tumor growth processes which have similar evolutional evolution in the sense that they have an initial rapid growth that eventually becomes limited by the resource constraint. For the tumor cells evolution, we found an exponential growth model best describes the experimental data, based on the accuracy and robustness of models. Furthermore, we incorporated this growth rate model into logistic regression models that predict the growth rate of each patient with biomarkers; this formulation can be very useful for clinical trials. Overall, this study aimed to assess the molecular and clinic pathological determinants of breast cancer (BC) growth rate in vivo.

Introdução: O câncer de orofaringe representa 10 a 12 % entre todos os tumores malignos do trato aero digestivo superior com incidência crescente nos Estados Unidos e Europa. O Papillomavírus humano (HPV) está associado aos tumores de orofaringe em até 63%, promovendo uma evolução e prognóstico melhor. Objetivo: Descrever a prevalência do HPV em carcinomas de células escamosas de orofaringe tratados por cirurgia. Analisar a associação entre a presença do HPV e as características demográficas, clínicas, patológicas e terapêuticas. Avaliar a importância da presença do HPV na sobrevida livre de doença e sobrevida global. Método: Pesquisamos a presença do Papillomavirus humano, por PCR, no anátomo patológico. A descrição da amostra foi realizada através de média, frequência absoluta e relativa. Foi estimada a prevalência do HPV e seu respectivo intervalo de 95% de confiança. A análise da associação entre a presença de HPV e as características demográficas, clínicas e patológicas, foi feita pelo teste de associação pelo quiquadrado. A análise da sobrevida livre de doença e sobrevida global foi feita pelo estimador produto limite de Kaplan-Meier e modelos de risco proporcionais de Cox. Resultados: Os pacientes apresentavam idade variando de 34 a 78 anos, com uma média de 56,9 anos. Apenas 10 mulheres no estudo, totalizando com 76 homens. A maioria dos pacientes eram brancos (83,7%). Até 6 meses foi o tempo que a maioria dos pacientes apresentaram como início dos sintomas (69,0%). O sintoma mais comum foi a odinofagia (38,4%). A amígadala foi a localização mais frequente (69,8%). Quanto ao estádio clínico, o III e o IV apresentavam a maior frequência (71,4%). Forma realizadas cirurgias amplas como as bucofaringectomias em 76 pacientes (88,4%). O esvaziamento cervical ipsilateral foi realizado em 81 pacientes (94,2%) e no contralateral em apenas 21 (24,4%). A prevalência do HPV foi de 57%, e o tipo mais comum foi o 16, em 83,6%. A única associação estatisticamente significativa entre as variáveis do estudo com o HPV, foi o tabagismo, onde todos os não fumantes apresentavam HPV. As taxas de sobrevida livre de doença foram 73,9%, 65,9 e 57,9% respectivamente para 12, 24 e 60 meses. Houve diferença estatisticamente significativa com piores taxas, para idade menor que 55 anos e margens comprometidas. A presença do HPV não influenciou a sobrevida livre de doença, nem a sobrevida global. As taxas de sobrevida global foram 75,6%, 54,7% e 43,0%, respectivamente aos 12, 24 e 60 meses. Houveram piores taxas para o paciente etilista e com recidiva.Conclusão:A presença do HPV não se mostrou importante, como fator prognóstico, nessa série cirúrgica se o paciente for etilista e ou tabagista / Introduction:Oropharynx cancer is considered to enact approximately 10 to 12% of the cases among all malignant tumors from the upper aero digestive tract showing significant growth in its frequency rate in The United States and Europe. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated to oropharynx cancer in up to 63% of the cases, promoting better evolution and prognostic.Objective:Describe the prevalence of the HPV in oropharynx squamous cells carcinoma submitted to surgery. Investigate the association between HPV presence and the demographic, clinical, pathologic and therapeutic features. Estimate the importance of the HPV existence on the diseasefree survival and overall survival. Material andMethods: The existence of Human papillomavirus was studied through the use of PCR. The sample account was conducted through average, absolute and relative frequency. It has been estimated the prevalence of HPV and its corresponding 95% confidence interval. The association analysis between the presence of HPV and the demographic, clinical and pathological features was completed by the Qui-square association test. The disease-free survival timeline and the overall survival were estimated using the product limit estimator Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The studied patients were aged between 34 and 78, showing an average of 56.9 years of age. There were only 10 women in the study, thus presenting 76 men. Most of the patients were white (83.7%). It has been ascertained that 69.0% of the patients presented the symptoms onset up to the sixth month of the disease. The most common symptom among 38.4% of the cases was odinophagy. In regards to the tumor location 69.8% were found in the amygdala.Clinical stagings III and IV were found to be the ones with greater representation among patients (71.4%). Extensive surgeries such as bucopharyngectomy were performed in 76 patients (88.4%). In order to treat ipsilateral neck 81 patients underwent neck dissection (94.2%). Contralateral neck dissection was applied in 21 patients (24.4%). The prevalence of HPV was of 57%, and the most common type was 16, present in 83.6% of the cases. It was possible to notice smoking as the only statistically significant association, which showed all nonsmoking having HPV. The disease-free survival rates were of 73.9%, 65.9% and 57.9% to 12, 24 and 60 months respectively. The study has shown significant statistical difference with worse rates, to the ones under 55 years of age and presenting compromised margins. HPV presence did not influence the disease-free survival timeline, or the overall survival. The overall survival rates were of 75.6%, 54.7% and 43.0% to 12, 24 and 60 months respectively. Worse rates were found in alcoholic patients as well as in relapse cases. Conclusion: In these surgical series, HPV existence was not identified as an important prognosis factor when considering smokers and/or alcoholic patients

Introdução: O câncer de orofaringe representa 10 a 12 % entre todos os tumores malignos do trato aero digestivo superior com incidência crescente nos Estados Unidos e Europa. O Papillomavírus humano (HPV) está associado aos tumores de orofaringe em até 63%, promovendo uma evolução e prognóstico melhor. Objetivo: Descrever a prevalência do HPV em carcinomas de células escamosas de orofaringe tratados por cirurgia. Analisar a associação entre a presença do HPV e as características demográficas, clínicas, patológicas e terapêuticas. Avaliar a importância da presença do HPV na sobrevida livre de doença e sobrevida global. Método: Pesquisamos a presença do Papillomavirus humano, por PCR, no anátomo patológico. A descrição da amostra foi realizada através de média, frequência absoluta e relativa. Foi estimada a prevalência do HPV e seu respectivo intervalo de 95% de confiança. A análise da associação entre a presença de HPV e as características demográficas, clínicas e patológicas, foi feita pelo teste de associação pelo quiquadrado. A análise da sobrevida livre de doença e sobrevida global foi feita pelo estimador produto limite de Kaplan-Meier e modelos de risco proporcionais de Cox. Resultados: Os pacientes apresentavam idade variando de 34 a 78 anos, com uma média de 56,9 anos. Apenas 10 mulheres no estudo, totalizando com 76 homens. A maioria dos pacientes eram brancos (83,7%). Até 6 meses foi o tempo que a maioria dos pacientes apresentaram como início dos sintomas (69,0%). O sintoma mais comum foi a odinofagia (38,4%). A amígadala foi a localização mais frequente (69,8%). Quanto ao estádio clínico, o III e o IV apresentavam a maior frequência (71,4%). Forma realizadas cirurgias amplas como as bucofaringectomias em 76 pacientes (88,4%). O esvaziamento cervical ipsilateral foi realizado em 81 pacientes (94,2%) e no contralateral em apenas 21 (24,4%). A prevalência do HPV foi de 57%, e o tipo mais comum foi o 16, em 83,6%. A única associação estatisticamente significativa entre as variáveis do estudo com o HPV, foi o tabagismo, onde todos os não fumantes apresentavam HPV. As taxas de sobrevida livre de doença foram 73,9%, 65,9 e 57,9% respectivamente para 12, 24 e 60 meses. Houve diferença estatisticamente significativa com piores taxas, para idade menor que 55 anos e margens comprometidas. A presença do HPV não influenciou a sobrevida livre de doença, nem a sobrevida global. As taxas de sobrevida global foram 75,6%, 54,7% e 43,0%, respectivamente aos 12, 24 e 60 meses. Houveram piores taxas para o paciente etilista e com recidiva.Conclusão:A presença do HPV não se mostrou importante, como fator prognóstico, nessa série cirúrgica se o paciente for etilista e ou tabagista / Introduction:Oropharynx cancer is considered to enact approximately 10 to 12% of the cases among all malignant tumors from the upper aero digestive tract showing significant growth in its frequency rate in The United States and Europe. Human papillomavirus (HPV) is associated to oropharynx cancer in up to 63% of the cases, promoting better evolution and prognostic.Objective:Describe the prevalence of the HPV in oropharynx squamous cells carcinoma submitted to surgery. Investigate the association between HPV presence and the demographic, clinical, pathologic and therapeutic features. Estimate the importance of the HPV existence on the diseasefree survival and overall survival. Material andMethods: The existence of Human papillomavirus was studied through the use of PCR. The sample account was conducted through average, absolute and relative frequency. It has been estimated the prevalence of HPV and its corresponding 95% confidence interval. The association analysis between the presence of HPV and the demographic, clinical and pathological features was completed by the Qui-square association test. The disease-free survival timeline and the overall survival were estimated using the product limit estimator Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The studied patients were aged between 34 and 78, showing an average of 56.9 years of age. There were only 10 women in the study, thus presenting 76 men. Most of the patients were white (83.7%). It has been ascertained that 69.0% of the patients presented the symptoms onset up to the sixth month of the disease. The most common symptom among 38.4% of the cases was odinophagy. In regards to the tumor location 69.8% were found in the amygdala.Clinical stagings III and IV were found to be the ones with greater representation among patients (71.4%). Extensive surgeries such as bucopharyngectomy were performed in 76 patients (88.4%). In order to treat ipsilateral neck 81 patients underwent neck dissection (94.2%). Contralateral neck dissection was applied in 21 patients (24.4%). The prevalence of HPV was of 57%, and the most common type was 16, present in 83.6% of the cases. It was possible to notice smoking as the only statistically significant association, which showed all nonsmoking having HPV. The disease-free survival rates were of 73.9%, 65.9% and 57.9% to 12, 24 and 60 months respectively. The study has shown significant statistical difference with worse rates, to the ones under 55 years of age and presenting compromised margins. HPV presence did not influence the disease-free survival timeline, or the overall survival. The overall survival rates were of 75.6%, 54.7% and 43.0% to 12, 24 and 60 months respectively. Worse rates were found in alcoholic patients as well as in relapse cases. Conclusion: In these surgical series, HPV existence was not identified as an important prognosis factor when considering smokers and/or alcoholic patients

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Introduction: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) is rapidly increasing among the aging United States population. This poses a challenge to dental providers since DM and multiple oral conditions have been identified as comorbidities. Hypertension (HTN) is associated with more poorly controlled DM and has been identified as contributing to RCT tooth loss in prior studies. Links have also been established between DM and the survival rate of root canal treated teeth, however, previous research has focused on institutional settings despite the majority of RCT being performed in private dental practices. This study will use data from private dental practices to evaluate the survival rate of RCT teeth in patients with DM and HTN. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study evaluated the survival rate of endodontic treated teeth among patients with DM and HTN using National Dental PBRN Practice data. Electronic dental records from 42 private dental practices in the United States over a period of 15 years with a minimum 2-year follow-up comprising 11,532 root canal treated teeth were analyzed. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were used to demonstrate the effects of HTN and DM on RCT tooth survival and Cox proportional hazards survival analysis was used to evaluate the DM and HTN effects after accounting for age, gender, insurance, year of treatment, tooth type, and crown and filling placement as covariates. Results: Patients with HTN only had significantly lower risk of failure than patients with both HTN and DM (p=0.003). Patients with neither HTN nor DM had significantly lower risk of failure than patients with both HTN and DM (p=0.020). Patients with DM only did not have significantly different risk of failure than patients with both HTN and DM (p=0.223). Patients with DM only did not have significantly different risk of failure than patients with HTN only (p=0.361). Patients with neither HTN nor DM did not have significantly different risk of failure than patients with HTN only (p=0.121) or patients with DM only (p=0.800). Conclusions: Patients with both DM and HTN have an increased chance of root canal treated tooth failure while patients with only DM or only HTN do not. Evaluation of severity of DM may be more important in determining RCT failure and studies utilizing laboratory values should be considered for future research.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-07-22T13:16:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Regina Elizabeth Müller.pdf: 4161979 bytes, checksum: 5df884fdb04b617145c35c1741e9b502 (MD5) license.txt: 1914 bytes, checksum: 7d48279ffeed55da8dfe2f8e81f3b81f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Nacional de Saúde da Mulher, da Criança e do Adolescente Fernandes Figueira. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. / Introdução: A cardiopatia reumática persiste como a principal doença cardiovascular adquirida em crianças e adultos jovens em todo o mundo, sendo responsável por altas taxas de morbimortalidade e evoluindo com frequência para a necessidade de cirurgia cardíaca valvar em pacientes na fase aguda ou crônica da doença. Objetivo: Estimar os fatores associados e o tempo desde o diagnóstico até a cirurgia cardíaca valvar em crianças e adolescentes portadores de cardiopatia reumática, em um centro cardiológico de referência terciária no Rio de Janeiro. Material e Métodos: estudo observacional longitudinal de base hospitalar, utilizando metodologia de análise de sobrevivência, para estimativa do tempo até a cirurgia, e modelo de regressão de Cox, para avaliar as razões de risco associadas segundo as covariáveis. A coorte foi composta por pacientes com 3 a 20 anos, cadastrados no Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia no Rio de Janeiro entre julho de 1986 e junho de 2006 e acompanhados até setembro de 2011. O diagnóstico da lesão valvar foi confirmado pelo exame Doppler-ecocardiográfico. As covariáveis, avaliadas no início do acompanhamento, foram reunidas em três dimensões: sociodemográfica (sexo, grupo etário, cor da pele, região de moradia e década do diagnóstico); clínica (apresentação clínica, classe funcional, número de surtos anteriores, profilaxia secundária, endocardite infecciosa e fibrilação atrial); e ecocardiográfica (lesão valvar por tipo e gravidade; diâmetro do átrio esquerdo, diâmetro sistólico do ventrículo esquerdo, função ventricular esquerda, hipertensão arterial pulmonar, e ruptura de cordoalha mitral). O banco de dados foi elaborado com o programa ACCESS 2000 e a análise estatística foi realizada pelo programa R versão 2.13.1. Foi considerado significativo o valor de - 0,05. Resultados: a coorte foi composta por 348 pacientes, 58% do sexo feminino, com idade mediana ao cadastro de 12,5 anos, e de 21,5 anos ao final do acompanhamento. O tempo médio de seguimento foi de 9,0 anos (2-21 anos). O evento cirurgia cardíaca ocorreu em 39% da amostra, com tempo mediano até a cirurgia de 22,3 anos. Na análise univariada todas as covariáveis das três dimensões (socioedemográfica, clínica e ecocardiográfica) apresentaram significância estatística e risco para realização de cirurgia cardíaca (hazard ratio>1), com exceção apenas da covariável região de moradia (p>0,5). Na análise multivariada, o modelo final incluiu as variáveis: década do diagnóstico, classe funcional, número de surtos anteriores, endocardite infecciosa, lesão valvar por tipo e gravidade, diâmetro do átrio esquerdo, diâmetro sistólico do ventrículo esquerdo e ruptura de cordoalha mitral. Conclusões: A realização da cirurgia cardíaca em pacientes com cardiopatia reumática está associada a fatores sociodemográficos, clínicos e ecocardiográficos. / Introduction: Rheumatic heart disease remains as the most common acquired heart disease in children and young adults all over the world, being responsible for high mortality and morbidity rates and often demanding valve surgery in the acute or chronic phase of the disease. Objective: To estimate the time from diagnosis until valve operation and the associated factors in children and young adults with rheumatic heart disease followed up in a tertiary center for cardiovascular care in Rio de Janeiro. Methods – It is a longitudinal observational study of a hospital based population, using survival analysis methodology for time estimation and Cox regression model for hazard risk evaluation of associated variables. Cohort was composed by 3 to 20 years old patients, registered in the National Institute of Cardiology (Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia), in Rio de Janeiro, between July 1986 and June 2006, and followed up until September 2011. Valve disease diagnosis was confirmed through Doppler echocardiography examination. Variables were evaluated at the patient´s first visit and separated in three dimensions: socio demographic (gender, age group, skin color, residence region, decade of diagnosis); clinic (disease status at presentation, functional class, number of previous rheumatic episodes, secondary prophylaxis, infectious endocarditis, atrial fibrillation); echocardiographic (valve lesion and severity, left atrium diameter, systolic left ventricle diameter, left ventricle function, pulmonary hypertension, rupture of mitral chordae). The database wasbased on the program ACCESS 2000 and statistical analysis was performed using the R Program version 2.13.1. For statistical analysis was considered as significant values for  value 0.05. Results – 348 patients were included in the cohort, 58% female. Median age at the register was 12.5 years, and 21.5 years at the end of follow up. Median follow-up time was 9.0 years (2 to 21 years). 39% underwent valve operation and the median time until surgery was 22.3 years. In the univariate analysis all the variables from the three dimensions (socio demographic, clinic and echocardiographic) presented statistical significance as hazard risk in predicting valve operation (hazard ratio>1), with only one exception, that was residence region (p>0.5). In the multivariate analysis the final model included the following variables: decade of diagnosis, functional class, number of anterior rheumatic episodes, infectious endocarditis, valve lesion and severity, left atrium diameter, systolic left ventricle diameter and rupture of mitral chordate. Conclusions: Valve surgery in patients with rheumatic heart disease is associated with socio demographic, clinic and echocardiographic factors.