Introdução: Endometriose é uma doença benigna que afeta mulheres em idade fértil. Tem caráter multifatorial estrogenodependente associado à resposta inflamatória generalizada na cavidade peritoneal e sendo a causa mais comum de dor pélvica crônica. Objetivos: O estudo comparou o efeito da melatonina (10 mg/dia) com placebo na dor e níveis séricos do Brainderived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) de pacientes com endometriose. Métodos: Foi realizado um ensaio clínico randomizado, duplo-cego, em paralelo, controlado com placebo. Foram incluídas mulheres com idade entre 24 e 52 anos com diagnóstico de endometriose por laparoscopia selecionadas a partir da agenda diária de consultas do ambulatório de Ginecologia e por chamamento na mídia local, no período de setembro de 2010 a abril de 2012. Foram utilizados questionários para avaliar a frequência e a intensidade da dor (na relação sexual, na micção e no trabalho), sintomas depressivos, nível de pensamento catastrófico e o Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) para diagnósticos psiquiátricos.Resultados: Na analise por intenção de tratar a média de dor no período menstrual foi de 4,8 cm ± 0,15 no grupo que recebeu melatonina (n=20) e de 6,9 cm ± 0,13 no grupo placebo (n=20), com diferença média (ajustada para o efeito de cada paciente) de 2,147 cm na escala análogo visual de dor (EAV) (IC 95%; 1,767 a 2,527; p<0,001). Também houve diferença entre as médias de dor ao urinar (diferença média=0,660; IC 95%; 0,348 a 0,971; p<0,001) e dor ao evacuar (diferença média=0,515; IC 95%; 0,180 a 0,849; p=0,003). Pacientes que receberam melatonina tiveram redução nos níveis séricos de BDNF. Conclusões: O uso da melatonina foi associado à redução da dor mesmo fora do período menstrual em pacientes com endometriose. O tratamento também reduziu os níveis de BDNF, sugerindo mudança em sistemas moduladores de dor. Tais achados sugerem que a melatonina é eficaz no tratamento da endometriose. / Background: Endometriosis is a benign condition that affects women in childbearing age. It is a estrogen-dependent disease, multifactorial, associated with a generalized inflammatory response in the peritoneal cavity, being the most common cause of chronic pelvic pain. Objective: This study have compared the effect of melatonin 10 mg / day with placebo in pain and in serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in patients with endometriosis. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, parallel, placebocontrolled trial. We included women at aged between 24 and 52 years with the diagnosis of endometriosis by laparoscopy selected from the daily schedule of consultations of the Gynecology outpatient clinic and by calling the local media, for the period September 2010 to April 2012. Questionnaires were used to evaluate the frequency and intensity of pain (during intercourse, urination and work), depressive symptoms, level of catastrophic thinking and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) for psychiatric diagnoses. Results: In the analysis by intention to treat, the mean pain during menstruation was 4.8 ± 0.15 cm in the group receiving Melatonin (n = 20) and 6.9 ± 0.13 cm in the group placebo (n = 20), with mean difference (adjusted for the effect of each patient) of 2.147 cm in VAS (95% CI 1.767 to 2.527, p <0.001). There were also differences between the means of pain when urinating (mean difference = 0.660 95% CI 0.348 to 0.971, p <0.001), and pain when defecating (mean difference = 0.515 95% CI 0.180 to 0.849, p = 0.003). Patients who received melatonin had reduced serum levels of BDNF. Conclusion: The use of melatonin was associated with reduced pain even outside the menstrual period in women with endometriosis. The treatment also reduced levels of BDNF, suggesting change in pain modulatory systems. These findings suggest that melatonin is effective in the treatment of endometriosis.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T16:28:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo5644_1.pdf: 4391035 bytes, checksum: 187ae162cac5b6548c286ff025a2af9f (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / As fraturas do processo odontóide aumentam sua freqüência a partir da idade adulta, chegando a ser a fratura mais freqüente da coluna vertebral após os 80 anos de idade. Seu tratamento exige conhecimento detalhado da anatomia vertebral para se obter uma fixação adequada e menor imobilização pósoperatória, reduzindo a morbidade e a mortalidade. O objetivo do estudo foi a mensuração direta do processo odontóide e a sua relação com a vértebra C2 em cadáveres adultos. Foram analisadas 64 vértebras C2 de cadáveres adultos, pertencentes ao acervo do Departamento de Anatomia do Centro de Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, no período de outubro de 2006 a fevereiro de 2007. Sendo 32 vértebras de indivíduos do gênero masculino e 32 do feminino, que foram submetidas mensurações diretas com paquímetro de precisão para altura do odontóide e suas relações com o corpo de C2, os diâmetros coronais e sagitais maiores e menores e sua angulação em relação ao corpo de C2 através de radiografias. As dimensões dos processos odontóide são variáveis, sendo a altura média no grupo feminino igual a 14,16 ± 1,10mm e no masculino igual a 15,21 ± 1,15mm. O diâmetro transverso menor foi 8,81 ± 0,47mm para o grupo feminino, enquanto que foi 9,38 ± 0,84mm para o masculino. O ângulo de inclinação variou de 0 a 26º no sentido posterior para os dois grupos. Foram observados dois grupos morfologicamente distintos de processo odontóide classificados de base estreita e corpo alargado e base larga e corpo estreito. Pode-se concluir que a morfometria, morfologia e a angulação dos processos odontóides são variáveis: a altura média do processo odontóide está abaixo de 15mm; o diâmetro transverso do processo odontóide é menor do que o ântero-posterior; as médias das circunferências do corpo do odontóide são significantemente maiores do que as da base, tanto no tipo pediculado quanto no séssil. A fixação do odontóide exige planejamento tomográfico prévio

Les processus physiopathologiques qui mènent à la dégénérescence neuronale ainsi qu’aux symptômes de la maladie de Huntington (MH) demeurent non identifiés et les hypothèses actuelles ne permettent pas d’expliquer l’hétérogénéité intra et interindividuelle de l’évolution de ces symptômes. Ainsi, la progression de la maladie reste donc difficile voire impossible à prédire. Dans ce contexte, il est important d’explorer d’autres facteurs qui semblent être impliqués dans le processus pathogène de la maladie mais qui pourraient également influencer l’évolution de ces symptômes et ainsi prédire la progression de la maladie. Plusieurs éléments de preuve renforcent l’hypothèse de l’existence de troubles hormonaux dans la MH tels que l’atteinte de l’hypothalamus et la perte de poids. Cependant, en raison du peu d’études, de leur qualité et de la discordance de leurs résultats, l’existence des modifications hormonales dans la maladie de Huntington et plus particulièrement leur lien avec la progression de la maladie reste controversée. L’objectif de ce travail est de décrire le profil hormonal de l’axe hypothalamohypophysaire dans la MH afin de mieux comprendre le rôle de ces hormones sur la progression et éventuellement sur la physiopathologie de la maladie. Dans notre étude transversale, nous avons mis en évidence une activation de l’axe somatotrope (Growth Hormone/Insulin Growth Factor 1), une inhibition en fonction de la sévérité de la maladie de deux axes : gonadotrope (Testostérone) et thyréotrope (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone et triiodothyronine) mais aucune modification des hormones de l’axe corticotrope ni de la prolactine. De plus, la modification hormonale de l’axe somatotrope était non pathologique et précoce alors qu’elle était tardive pour les deux autres axes. Pour expliquer le lien entre ces modifications et la progression de la maladie une étude longitudinale a été mise en place. Les résultats de cette étude montre que seule l’élévation plasmatique d’IGF1 était prédictive de la détérioration cognitive. L’ensemble de nos résultats apporte une meilleure description et compréhension du profil de l’axe hypothalamo-hypophysaire dans la maladie de Huntington. Les axes pituitaires ne sont pas tous atteints et leur atteinte n’est pas dans le même sens. La relation inverse entre l’activation de l’axe somatotrope et la détérioration cognitive renforce l’hypothèse d’une résistance à l’effet de l’IGF1 dans la maladie de Huntington comme pour la maladie d’alzheimer. En conclusion, compte tenu de l’implication de l’IGF1 dans la prédiction de la progression cognitive dans la maladie de Huntington, il serait intéressant de détecter si les modifications biologiques de l’IGF1 existent dès la phase asymptomatique cognitive afin d’envisager d’utiliser l’IGF1 comme biomarqueur de l’apparition ou de l’évolution des symptômes cognitives. D’un autre côté, il serait important d’étendre les recherches sur les mécanismes responsables des modifications hormonales dans la maladie de Huntington afin de mieux comprendre l’effet de cause à effet s’il existe entre ces modifications et les symptômes de la maladie / The pathophysiological processes leading to neurodegeneration and the symptoms of Huntington's disease (HD) remain unidentified and current hypothesis do not explain the intra and interindividual heterogeneity of the evolution of these symptoms. Thus, the progression of the disease remains difficult or impossible to predict. In this context, it is important to explore other factors that appear to be involved in the pathogenic process of the disease but could also influence the evolution of these symptoms and predict disease progression. Several evidences reinforce the hypothesis of the existence of hormonal disorders in HD such as the atrophy of the hypothalamus and weight loss. Because of few studies, their quality and the discrepancies of their results, the existence of hormonal changes in Huntington's disease and particularly their relationship to disease progression remains controversial. The objective of this work is to describe the hormonal profile of the hypothalamicpituitary axis in HD in order to better understand the role of these hormones on the progression and on the pathophysiology of the disease. In our cross-sectional study, we identified an activation of the somatotropic axis (Growth Hormone / Insulin Growth Factor 1), an inhibition according to the severity of the disease in two axes: gonadotrope (Testosterone) and thyréotrope (Thyroid Stimulating hormone and triiodothyronine) but no change in hormones of corticotropic axis and prolactin. In addition, the somatotropic axis is overactive even in patients with early disease. To explain the link between these changes and the progression of the disease, a longitudinal study was done. The results of this study showed that only the elevated plasma IGF1 was predictive of cognitive impairment. All of our results provide a better description and understanding of the profile of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis in Huntington's disease. Pituitary axes are not all disturbed. The inverse relationship between activation of the somatotropic axis and cognitive impairment strengthens the hypothesis of a resistance to the effect of IGF1 in Huntington's disease like in Alzheimer's disease. In conclusion, given the involvement of IGF1 in the prediction of cognitive progression in Huntington's disease, it would be interesting to detect whether the biological changes of IGF1 are already present at the asymptomatic cognitive stage in order to use IGF1 as a biomarker of the onset or changes in cognitive symptoms. On the other hand, , it would be important to extend research on the mechanisms responsible for hormonal changes in Huntington's disease to better understand the link between these changes and symptoms of the disease

Human congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common cause of non-infectious neonatal death affecting 1-2% of live births (Hoffman and Kaplan, 2002). Treatment of CHD requires major surgery and quality of life is often significantly reduced despite treatment. With the discovery of single gene mutations that cause CHD in model animals (Lyons et al., 1995), the role of genetics in CHD has become appreciated. The genetic basis of CHD is poorly understood, with different members of the same family presenting with different types of CHD (Schott et al., 1998), suggesting the causes of CHD are multifactorial. Cardiogenesis is intimately associated with the establishment of the left-right (L-R) body axis, with the two processes sharing several important transcription factors. Heart looping, in which the heart turns dextrally, is the earliest physical manifestation of L-R asymmetry. L-R patterning disorders are associated with an increased risk of CHD; heterotaxy (in which L-R asymmetry is neither normal nor mirror image) accounts for about 3% of all CHD (Zhu et al., 2006).Investigating cardiogenesis and the causes of CHD necessitates the use of animal models, typically mice, chicks, zebrafish and Xenopus. Recently a strain of mouse with a mutation in a gene essential for cardiac development was isolated from an ENU mutagenesis screen (Kile et al., 2003) using mice carrying a balancer chromosome. It has been subsequently found that the most likely candidate gene codes for the protein Prpf8, an integral component of the spliceosome. The mutation is homozygous lethal, with homozygous mice having a grossly deformed heart, developmental delay and a high incidence of heart looping reversal, indicative of a L-R patterning disorder. In depth characterisation of homozygous mutant embryos revealed defects in the morphology of the embryonic node, nodal cilia and the expression pattern of L-R axis genes. We also investigated the expression of Prpf8 during embryogenesis, and the effect that the point mutation we found in our homozygous embryos has on splicing kinetics.

The Medial Axis Transform (MAT) is a powerful tool for shape analysis and manipulation. Traditional methods for working with shapes usually define shapes as boundaries between some “inside” and some “outside” region. While this definition is simple and intuitive, it does not lend itself well to the construction of algorithms for a number of seemingly simple tasks such as classification, deformation, and collision detection. The MAT is an alternative representation of shape that defines the “inside” region by its center and thickness. We present a method of constructing the MAT which overcomes a significant limitation of its use with real-world data: instability. As classically defined, the MAT is unstable with respect to the shape boundary that it represents. For data sources afflicted by noise this is a serious problem. We propose an algorithm, LSMAT, which constructs a stable least squares approximation to the MAT. / Graduate

The wide band-gap semiconductor silicon carbide has tremendous potential for use in high power, high temperature, and high frequency electronic devices. One of the more important design factors for these devices is the epitaxial layer. It is desirable that this thin film have uniform polytype, thickness, and impurity concentration, as well as be defect free. One method used for SiC to ensure epitaxial layers with homogenous polytype is to cut wafers from a boule that has been tilted towards a specific crystallographic face at a fixed angle (known as ?off cut?). The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the growth mechanisms of alternative boule tilting directions with 6H-SiC. Four alternative crystallographic tilting faces were chosen: <1230>, <1340>, <2130>, and <3140>. A lightly doped 1um-thick layer was grown on samples representing the four alternative off-cut directions and, as references, commercially available substrates off cut towards the traditional direction <1120>. The physical and electrical properties of the layers were characterized by means of optical microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, capacitance vs. voltage, and current vs. voltage. Three facts were observed: 1) the alternative off-cut directions affected the growth mechanisms and surface morphology, 2) the quality of the substrate affects the morphology of the epitaxy layer, and 3) the relative differences between the surface roughness attributed to the different off-cut directions affected the observed electrical characteristics of Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on the epi layers. The samples cut towards the <31-40> and <13-40> directions showed to the most promising alternative off-axis tilting direction.

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No description available.

As wind turbines are increasingly being adopted for meeting growing energy needs, their implementation for personal home use in the near future is imminent. There are very few studies conducted on small-scale turbines in the one to two meter diameter range because the power generated at this scale is currently not sufficient to justify the cost of installation and maintenance. The problem is further complicated by the fact that these turbines are normally mounted at low altitudes and thus there is necessity to have the optimum operating regime in the wind speed range of 3-10 mph (1.34 -- 4.47 m/s). This thesis discusses two methods for increasing the efficiency of horizontal axis small-scale wind energy conversion systems, 1) adding a diffuser to increase the wind speed at the rotor and 2) designing tubercles to enhance the flow characteristics over blades. Further, it was identified during the course of thesis that for simple installation and maintenance in the residential areas vertical axis turbines are advantageous. Thus, the second chapter of this thesis addresses the design of vertical axis turbines with power generation capability suitable for that of a typical US household. The study of the diffuser augmented wind turbine provides optimum dimensions for achieving high power density that can address the challenges associated with small scale wind energy systems; these challenges are to achieve a lower start-up speed and low wind speed operation. The diffuser design was modeled using commercial computational fluid dynamics code. Two-dimensional modeling using actuator disk theory was used to optimize the diffuser design. A statistical study was then conducted to reduce the computational time by selecting a descriptive set of models to simulate and characterize relevant parameters' effects instead of checking all the possible combinations of input parameters. Individual dimensions were incorporated into JMP® software and randomized to design the experiment. The results of the JMP® analysis are discussed in this paper. Consistent with the literature, a long outlet section with length one to three times the diameter coupled with a sharp angled inlet was found to provide the highest amplification for a wind turbine diffuser. The second study consisted of analyzing the capabilities of a small-scale vertical axis wind turbine. The turbine consisted of six blades of extruded aluminum NACA 0018 airfoils of 0.08732 m (3.44 in) in chord length. Small-scale wind turbines often operate at Reynolds numbers less than 200,000, and issues in modeling their flow characteristics are discussed throughout this thesis. After finding an appropriate modeling technique, it was found that the vertical axis wind turbine requires more accurate turbulence models to appropriately discover its performance capabilities. The use of tubercles on aerodynamic blades has been found to delay stall angle and increase the aerodynamic efficiency. Models of 440 mm (17.33 in) blades with and without tubercles were fabricated in Virginia Tech's Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems (CEHMS) laboratory. Comparative analysis using three dimensional models of the blades with and without the tubercles will be required to determine whether the tubercle technology does, in fact, delays the stall. Further computational and experimental testing is necessary, but preliminary results indicate a 2% increase in power coefficient when tubercles are present on the blades. / Master of Science

No / This study utilises a rarely examined biomechanical parameter – the free vertical moment to determine age-related differences in rotational kinetics of the body about the vertical-axis when stepping down from a stationary position. Ten older and 10 young adults completed step-downs from three heights. Free vertical moment impulse and peak during step-initiation double-support and the subsequent step-execution phase, and vertical-axis pelvis angular displacement and velocity at instant of landing were compared. The free vertical moment during double-support was directed away from the intended leadlimb side, producing a change in vertical-axis rotational momentum that moved the lead-limb in a forwards- medial direction about the stationary support/trailing limb during the subsequent step-execution phase. The free vertical moment during step-execution was directed towards the lead-limb side and acted to slow/halt the body’s vertical-axis rotation away from lead-limb side. Free vertical moment impulse and peak during double-support were similar between groups (P > 0.05), but during step-execution were significantly reduced in older adults (P = 0.002). As a result older adults had greater verticalaxis pelvis angular displacement and velocity at instant of landing (directed away from lead-limb side), with significant (P < 0.001) group-by-step height interactions indicating that differences between groups became more pronounced with increasing step-height. These findings highlight that older adults were unable to exert the same vertical-axis control during single-support as young subjects did. Findings also highlight that the analysis of free vertical moment data can be a useful biomechanical tool to highlight age-related differences in how steps/stairs are negotiated.