Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / O diabetes mellitus(DM) e as disfunções tireoidianas(DT) são as duas desordens endocrinológicas mais comuns na prática clínica. A DT não reconhecida pode interferir no controle metabólico e adicionar mais risco a um cenário predisponente à doença cardiovascular. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a prevalência da DT em pacientes com diabetes mellitus tipo 1 e tipo 2 (DM1 e DM2) e avaliar o risco cardiovascular em pacientes com DM2 com e sem DT utilizando parâmetros clínicos e laboratoriais. Trata-se de um estudo observacional de corte transversal. Foram avaliados 304 pacientes com DM2 e 82 pacientes com DM1. Os pacientes foram submetidos a um inquérito clínico-demográfico e avaliação laboratorial para determinação do perfil lipídico, glicídico e da função tireoidiana. Os pacientes com DM2 tiveram seus escores de risco cardiovascular em 10 anos determinados pelas equações de Framingham e do UKPDS risk engine. A frequência de disfunção tireoidiana entre os 386 pacientes foi de 14,7%, sendo de 13% nos que não possuíam disfunção prévia. A disfunção mais frequente encontrada foi de hipotireoidismo subclínico, com 13% no DM1 e de 12% no DM2. A prevalência de anticorpos anti-tireoperoxidase (TPO) positivos foi de 10,8%, sendo de14,6% em pacientes com DM1.Foram diagnosticados 44 (11,2%) novos casos de disfunção tireoidiana em pacientes que negavam ou desconheciam terem DT prévia.Destes novos casos, 12,8% em DM1 e 13,1% em DM2.Dos 49 pacientes com DT prévia, 50% dos DM1e 76% dos DM2 estavam compensados. Não foi observada diferença entre as médias do escore de risco de Framingham entre os pacientes DM2 com eutireoidismo e com hipotireoidismo subclínico. Observou-se uma associação entre o hipotireoidismo subclínico e risco cardiovascular nos pacientes com DM2 demonstrado pela diferença estatisticamente significativa entre as médias do escore UKPDS para doença coronariana não-fatal e fatal, acidente vascular cerebral fatal entre os dois grupos (p=0,007; 0,005;0,027 respectivamente). As demais funções tireodianas (hipotireoidismo clínico, hipertireoidismo clínico e subclínico) encontradas não foram analisadas devido ao pequeno número de pacientes em cada grupo.Concluímos que o rastreio da doença tireoidiana entre os pacientes com diabetes mellitus deve ser realizado rotineiramente considerando-se a prevalência de novos casos de DT diagnosticados e o fato de que os pacientes com DM2 e com hipotireoidismo subclínico avaliados possuírem um risco cardiovascular maior. Todavia, concluímos que estudos prospectivos e com maior número de pacientes são necessários para o esclarecimento do impacto da doença tireoidiana no risco cardiovascular do paciente com DM. / Diabetes mellitus and thyroid dysfunction (TD) are the two most common endocrine disorders in clinical practice. The unrecognized TD may adversely affect the metabolic control and add more risk to an already predisposing scenario for cardiovascular diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of TD in patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T1DM and T2DM) and to evaluate the cardiovascular risk of patients with T2DM with and without thyroid dysfunction using clinical and laboratory parameters. This is an observational cross-sectional study. We evaluated 304 patients with T2DM and 82 patients with T1DM. The patients underwent a clinical-demographic survey and laboratory evaluation to determine the lipid and glycemic profile and thyroid function. Patients with T2DM had their 10 years cardiovascular risk scores determined by Framingham equations and the UKPDS risk engine. The frequency of TD among the 386 patients was 14.7% and 13% who denied previous TD. The most frequently TD was subclinical hypothyroidism, in 13% of patients with T1DM and in 12% of patients with T2DM.The prevalence of anti-TPO antibodies was 10.8%, being more frequently among patients with T1DM (14.6%). Forty-four (11.2%) new cases of TD were diagnosed during the study in patients who denied or were unaware of this clinical condition. Of the 49 patients with prior TD,50% of the T1DM and 76% of T2DM were compensated. No differencies were observed between the mean scores of the Framingham risk among patients with T2DM who had normal thyroid function compared to those with subclinical hypothyroidism. An association between subclinical hypothyroidism and cardiovascular risk in T2DM patients was found by statistically significant difference between the mean UKPDS scores for non-fatal and fatal CHD and fatal stroke between the two groups (p = 0,007;0,005;0027; respectively). The other TD (clinical hypothyroidism, clinical and subclinical hyperthyroidism) found were not analyzed due to the small number of patients in each group.We conclude that screening for thyroid disease among patients with diabetes mellitus should be routinely performed considering the prevalence of new cases diagnosed and the fact that patients with DM2 and subclinical hypothyroidism evaluated had a higher cardiovascular risk. However, prospective studies and with more patients are warranted to determine the impact of thyroid dysfunction in the cardiovascular risk of patients with diabetes.

As atividades de teste de software são de crescente importância devido à maciça presença de sistemas de informação em nosso cotidiano. Programas de Processamento de Imagens (PI) têm um domínio de entrada bastante complexo e, por essa razão, o teste tradicional realizado com esse tipo de programa, conduzido majoritariamente de forma manual, é uma tarefa de alto custo e sujeita a imperfeições. No teste tradicional, em geral, as imagens de entrada são construídas manualmente pelo testador ou selecionadas aleatoriamente de bases de imagens, muitas vezes dificultando a revelação de defeitos no software. A partir de um mapeamento sistemático da literatura realizado, foi identificada uma lacuna no que se refere à geração automatizada de dados de teste no domínio de imagens. Assim, o objetivo desta pesquisa é propor uma abordagem - denominada TAIGA (Test imAge generatIon by Genetic Algorithm) - para a geração de dados de teste para programas de PI por meio de algoritmo genético. Na abordagem proposta, operadores genéticos tradicionais (mutação e crossover) são adaptados para o domínio de imagens e a função fitness é substituída por uma avaliação de resultados provenientes de teste de mutação. A abordagem TAIGA foi validada por meio de experimentos com oito programas de PI distintos, nos quais observaram-se ganhos de até 38,61% em termos de mutation score em comparação ao teste tradicional. Ao automatizar a geração de dados de teste, espera-se conferir maior qualidade ao desenvolvimento de sistemas de PI e contribuir com a diminuição de custos com as atividades de teste de software neste domínio / The massive presence of information systems in our lives has been increasing the importance of software test activities. Image Processing (IP) programs have very complex input domains and, therefore, the traditional testing for this kind of program is a highly costly and vulnerable to errors task. In traditional testing, usually, testers create images by themselves or they execute random selection from images databases, which can make it harder to reveal faults in the software under test. In this context, a systematic mapping study was conducted and a gap was identified concerning the automated test data generation in the images domain. Thus, an approach for generating test data for IP programs by means of genetic algorithms was proposed: TAIGA - Test imAge generatIon by Genetic Algorithm. This approach adapts traditional genetic operators (mutation and crossover) to the images domain and replaces the fitness function by the evaluation of the results of mutation testing. The proposed approach was validated by the execution of experiments involving eight distinct IP programs. TAIGA was able to provide up to 38.61% increase in mutation score when compared to the traditional testing for IP programs. It\'s expected that the automation of test data generation elevates the quality of image processing systems development and reduces the costs of software test activities in the images domain

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram: comparar a força muscular (FM) e as habilidades motoras de pacientes com Distrofia Muscular de Duchenne (DMD) em corticoterapia com a evolução natural da doença (Scott, 1982) e identificar a idade ideal de início da corticoterapia. Noventa pacientes com DMD em seguimento ambulatorial no Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP, submetidos à corticoterapia (deflazacort ou prednisolona) por um período variável de um a sete anos, foram avaliados quanto à FM através da escala MRC e quanto às habilidades motoras através da escala Hammersmith motor ability score. Foram incluídos no estudo todos os pacientes com idade entre cinco e 12 anos, que compreendiam comandos verbais e que não haviam sido submetidos a cirurgias ortopédicas corretivas ou interrompido em algum momento a corticoterapia. A relação entre FM e habilidades motoras, a comparação dos dados com aqueles do estudo de Scott et al. e a análise da influência do tempo de tratamento, da idade de início e da idade na avaliação, sobre os valores obtidos nos testes foram submetidas a tratamento estatístico. Concluiu-se que: a progressão da perda da FM e das habilidades motoras em relação à idade foi mais lenta do que a da evolução natural em todas as faixas etárias avaliadas; quanto maior a idade maior a diferença entre os dois estudos; a perda da FM foi mais intensa do que a perda da funcionalidade; a metodologia utilizada não permitiu estabelecer com clareza a influência da idade de início do tratamento sobre os parâmetros avaliados, porém demonstrou a influência positiva do tempo de tratamento sobre a FM e habilidades motoras. / The aims of this study were: to compare muscle strength (MS) and motor abilities of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) patients in use of steroids, with the natural evolution of the disease (Scott, 1982) and to identify the ideal age for starting on steroid therapy. Ninety patients with DMD followed as outpatients at the Clinics Hospital of the University of São Paulo School of Medicine and submitted to steroid therapy (deflazacort or prednisolone) for a period of one to seven years were assessed for MS using the MRC scale, and for motor abilities with the motor ability score from the Hammersmith scale. All patients aged between five and 12 years who understood verbal commands and who had not been submitted to corrective orthopedic surgery and had no interruption in steroid therapy, were included in the study. Statistical analysis was carried out to assess the relationship between MS and motor abilities and to compare our data against results of Scott\'s study. The influence of length of treatment, age at disease onset and first assessment, on values obtained in the tests was investigated. We concluded that: the progression in loss of MS and of motor abilities with age was slower than the natural evolution across all age groups studied; the higher the age the greater the difference between the two studies; loss of MS was more intense than loss of functionality; the methodology used was unable to clearly ascertain the influence of age at treatment on the parameters assessed, but a positive influence of length of treatment on both MS and motor abilities was identified.

Le diabète de type 2 (DT2) est devenu de plus en plus une maladie métabolique chronique fréquente, associée à de nombreuses complications micro et macro-vasculaires. Les patients diabétiques ont environ deux fois plus de risque de mort subite d'origine cardiaque (MSC) que ceux normaux. Les interventions pharmacologiques (anti-plaquettaires, anti-hypertenseurs, anti-diabétiques et hypolépimiants) nous semblent les candidats les plus efficaces, accessibles et économiques pour prévenir cet événement à long terme, par contre leurs effets sur la MSC n'ont pas été bien connus. Nous visons à estimer leur impact sur la santé publique et à optimiser leur utilisation chez les DT2, grâce à des études d'analyse, de synthèse et de modélisation.Ce travail inclut trois étapes: premièrement, de construire un score de risque permettant de prédire le risque de MSC dans le DT2 en utilisant les bases de données INDANA. Deuxièmement, d'effectuer des méta-analyses/revues systématiques de différentes stratégies thérapeutiques afin d'estimer leurs effets sur le risque de MSC. Enfin, de simuler différentes stratégies sur une population virtuelle réaliste (PVR) des diabétiques français et d'intégrés les résultats obtenus sur cette plate-forme pour estimer le risque de MSC avec et sans traitements. Cette simulation permet d'estimer leurs bénéfices absolus, par le nombre d'événements prévus (Number of Events Prevented, NEP) et le nombre de patients à traiter pour prévenir une MSC (Number Needed to Treat, NNT). Nous avons construit un score incluant 7 facteurs de risque de MSC chez les patients atteints d'hypertension artérielle (+/- diabète) et collecté les meilleures estimations sur l'effet des médicaments. Notre simulation sur la PVR générée a suggéré que chez 10% des patients ayant le risque de MSC prédit le plus haut, la co-prescription de l'inhibiteurs de l'enzyme de conversion-l'aspirine-l'empagliflozine permettait de prévenir une MSC sur 57 individus traités dans les 5 ans. Le chiffre correspondant pour toute la PVR était 135. Nous concluons que cette approche pourrait aider à mieux transposer les résultats des essais cliniques à la pratique ; et à faciliter la décision clinique aux niveaux populationnel et individuel / Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has increasingly become a common metabolic condition, associated with numerous micro and macro-vascular complications. Diabetic patients are at about two-time higher risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), compared to non-diabetic ones. Pharmacologic intervention (anti-platelet, anti-hypertensive, lipid lowering, and to a lesser extent, anti-diabetic agents) appear to be the most efficient and economic candidate to prevent this event at long term, yet treatment effects have not well addressed. We aimed to optimize their use and estimate their impact on public health via analysis, synthesis and modeling studies.This work engaged three phases: First, to construct a risk score to predict SCD risk in T2D from the INDANA database. Second, to perform the meta-analyses/systematic reviews of different therapeutic strategies in order to estimate their effects on SCD risk. Finally, to simulate therapeutic strategies on a generated French diabetic realistic virtual population (RVP) of T2D, by estimating the occurrence of SCD with and without treatments, thus their absolute benefits, through the Number of Events Prevented (NEP) due to treatment, and the Number of patients Needed to be Treated to prevent one SCD (NNT).We built a 7-risk factor to predict 5-year risk of SCD in patients with hypertension (+/-diabetes) and collected the best evidence on drugs’ effects. Integrating and simulating altogether on a generated French diabetic RVP suggested that for every 57 individuals of the 10% highest predicted SCD risk, the co-prescription of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor-aspirin-empagliflozin could prevent one SCD in 5 years. For the whole population, the corresponding number was 135. In perspectives, this approach could help better transposing clinical trial results into practice and facilitating clinical decision at both public health and individual levels

A Amiotrofia Espinhal Progressiva (AEP) é uma doença autossômica recessiva que afeta os motoneurônios do corno anterior da medula espinhal, acarretando hipotonia e fraqueza muscular. A partir do conhecimento do mecanismo molecular da AEP, abriu-se um campo para testes clínicos com agentes farmacológicos que possam aumentar o nível da proteína SMN2. Diversas drogas com esta ação estão sendo testadas na tentativa de encontrar um possível tratamento para esta trágica doença. O ácido valpróico (AV), droga muito utilizada para o tratamento da epilepsia mostrou ter a propriedade de ativar o promotor do gene da proteína SMN2, aumentando a sua produção. Tendo em vista que não há uniformização do sistema de avaliação clínica dos resultados do tratamento em diferentes países, foi elaborado um protocolo selecionando métodos de avaliação fáceis, rápidos e já validados a fim de verificar se o AV é eficaz para manter ou melhorar a força muscular dos pacientes com AEP. Os métodos selecionados foram: escala Medical Research Council (MRC) para força muscular; Hammersmith motor ability score para habilidade motora; goniometria das principais articulações; cronometragem de tempo despendido para deambular, quando possível; índice de Barthel para atividades da vida diária e, por fim, um questionário para verificar as modalidades de fisioterapia e hidroterapia em uso. Vinte e dois pacientes com AEP tipo II e III, com idades variando de 2 a 18 anos, medicados com AV, foram avaliados a cada três meses durante um ano, totalizando cinco visitas, das quais a primeira ocorreu nos dias anteriores ao início do tratamento. Os resultados dos testes demonstraram que, durante o seguimento de um ano, os pacientes obtiveram melhora na habilidade motora, porém não na força muscular, o que é um resultado extremamente positivo. Crianças com idade menor ou igual a 6 anos mostraram melhores ganhos quanto à habilidade motora. / Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive disorder that affects the spinal motoneurons, resulting in hypotonia and muscle weakness. The knowledge of the molecular mechanism of SMA has originated new researches including clinical trials with pharmacological agents that increase SMN2 protein level. Many drugs with this action are being tested with the aim of finding a possible treatment for this severe disease. The valproic acid (VA), a well-known drug used to treat epilepsy has the property of activating the SMN2 gene promoter and then to increase SMN2 protein level. Since there isnt an uniform system for the clinical evaluation of the treatment results, we selected a set of easy, fast and already validated methods to evaluate if the VA is effective to stabilize or improve the motor function in patients with SMA. The selected methods were: Medical Research Council scale (MRC) to muscular strength; Hammersmith motor ability score to motor ability; goniometry of the main joints; time to walk when possible; Barthel índex for daily activities, and a questionnaire to verify the types of physiotherapy and hydrotherapy in use. Twenty two patients with SMA II and III, aged between 2 and 19 years, and treated with VA were evaluated every three months during the period of one year; the first evaluation occurred immediately before the onset of the treatment. The results of the tests demonstrated that along the period of 12 months the patients didnt gain muscle strength but improved their motor ability, that can be considered a positive result. Children aged six years or younger had a higher gain in motor ability along the period of the study.

No description available.

There are many different types of non-alcoholic beverages (NAB) available in the United States today compared to a decade ago. Additionally, the needs of beverage consumers have evolved over the years centering attention on functionality and health dimensions. These trends in volume of consumption are a testament to the growth in the NAB industry. Our study pertains to ten NAB categories. We developed and employed a unique cross-sectional and time-series data set based on Nielsen Homescan data associated with household purchases of NAB from 1998 through 2003. First, we considered demographic and economic profiling of the consumption of NAB in a two-stage model. Race, region, age and presence of children and gender of household head were the most important factors affecting the choice and level of consumption. Second, we used expectation-prediction success tables, calibration, resolution, the Brier score and the Yates partition of the Brier score to measure the accuracy of predictions generated from qualitative choice models used to model the purchase decision of NAB by U.S. households. The Yates partition of the Brier score outperformed all other measures. Third, we modeled demand interrelationships, dynamics and habits of NAB consumption estimating own-price, cross-price and expenditure elasticities. The Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System, the synthetic Barten model and the State Adjustment Model were used. Soft drinks were substitutes and fruit juices were complements for most of non-alcoholic beverages. Investigation of a proposed tax on sugar-sweetened beverages revealed the importance of centering attention not only to direct effects but also to indirect effects of taxes on beverage consumption. Finally, we investigated factors affecting nutritional contributions derived from consumption of NAB. Also, we ascertained the impact of the USDA year 2000 Dietary Guidelines for Americans associated with the consumption of NAB. Significant factors affecting caloric and nutrient intake from NAB were price, employment status of household head, region, race, presence of children and the gender of household food manager. Furthermore, we found that USDA nutrition intervention program was successful in reducing caloric and caffeine intake from consumption of NAB. The away-from-home intake of beverages and potential impacts of NAB advertising are not captured in our work. In future work, we plan to address these limitations.

Background: Since an objective description is essential to determine infant’s postnatal condition and efficacy of interventions, two scores were suggested in the past but weren’t tested yet: The Specified-Apgar uses the 5 items of the conventional Apgar score; however describes the condition regardless of gestational age (GA) or resuscitative interventions. The Expanded-Apgar measures interventions needed to achieve this condition. We hypothesized that the combination of both (Combined-Apgar) describes postnatal condition of preterm infants better than either of the scores alone. Methods: Scores were assessed in preterm infants below 32 completed weeks of gestation. Data were prospectively collected in 20 NICU in 12 countries. Prediction of poor outcome (death, severe/moderate BPD, IVH, CPL and ROP) was used as a surrogate parameter to compare the scores. To compare predictive value the AUC for the ROC was calculated. Results: Of 2150 eligible newborns, data on 1855 infants with a mean GA of 286/7± 23/7 weeks were analyzed. At 1 minute, the Combined-Apgar was significantly better in predicting poor outcome than the Specified- or Expanded-Apgar alone. Of infants with a very low score at 5 or 10 minutes 81% or 100% had a poor outcome, respectively. In these infants the relative risk (RR) for perinatal mortality was 24.93 (13.16-47.20) and 31.34 (15.91-61.71), respectively. Conclusion: The Combined-Apgar allows a more appropriate description of infant’s condition under conditions of modern neonatal care. It should be used as a tool for better comparison of group of infants and postnatal interventions.

No description available.

Le stress oxydatif et la formation des radicaux libres sont impliqués dans plusieurs mécanismes de la mort neuronale qui caractérisent la maladie d'Alzheimer. Les antioxydants sont reconnus comme une source de protection contre le stress oxydatif et peuvent avoir un effet protecteur sur le développement de la maladie d’Alzheimer. Cette étude visait à évaluer le potentiel antioxydant, par le biais du score « oxygen radical absorbance capacity » (ORAC), de l’alimentation habituelle de personnes âgées atteintes de la maladie d’Alzheimer en comparaison avec des témoins appariés pour l’âge sans problèmes cognitifs. L’hypothèse stipulait que les patients atteints de la maladie d’Alzheimer ont une alimentation dont le potentiel antioxydant est inférieur à celui des témoins sans problèmes cognitifs. L’étude a consisté en des analyses secondaires de données provenant de l’étude « Nutrition-Mémoire » (NMS), durant laquelle quarante-deux patients avec une démence du type Alzheimer (DTA) probable et leurs aidants étaient suivis pendant une période de dix-huit mois. Pour la présente étude, les données provenaient de trois jours de collecte alimentaire, ont été colligées au début (T0) de l’étude NMS, selon la méthode « Multiple-Pass ». Le potentiel antioxydant de l’alimentation a été déterminé à l’aide de la description des aliments énumérés dans la base de données des valeurs ORAC de l’USDA. Les résultats de l’étude ont montré que les patients avaient une alimentation dont le potentiel antioxydant était inférieur à celui des témoins (13784,07 ± 7372,70 μmol TE/100g contre 23220,54 ± 10862,55 μmol TE/100g, patients et témoins, respectivement; p<0,0001). Les analyses de régression hiérarchique pas à pas montraient que l’IMC, l’éducation, et le groupe (patients, témoins) étaient des facteurs influençant le score ORAC total. La consommation des aliments riches en antioxydants est un comportement préventif à faible risque qui pourrait bénéficier des individus susceptibles de développer la maladie d'Alzheimer. / Oxidative stress and the formation of free radicals are involved in several mechanisms of neuronal death that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. Antioxidants are known to help defend against oxidative stress and may protect against the development of Alzheimer's disease. This study aims to evaluate the antioxidant potential, using the “oxygen radical absorbance capacity” (ORAC) score of the diet of older adults people with Alzheimer's disease compared with cognitively-intact age-matched controls. It was hypothesized that the antioxidant potential of the diet of elderly people with Alzheimer's disease will be lower than that of controls without cognitive problems. The current study is a secondary analysis of data obtained from the "Nutrition-Memory study" (NMS). The NMS study recruited forty-two patients with probable Alzheimer’s disease, and their caregivers, and followed them over a period of eighteen months. The current study focuses on three days of dietary data collection, compiled at the beginning (T0) of the NMS study. The antioxidant potential of the diet was determined using the list of ORAC scores highlighted in the USDA database for the oxygen radical absorbance capacity of selected foods. Our results showed that the diet of patients (13784.07 ± 7372.70 μmol TE/100g) had a lower antioxidant potential than that of controls (± 23220.54 10862.55 μmol TE/100g). Moreover, BMI, education and group-status were factors that influenced the total ORAC score. Eating foods rich in antioxidants is a low risk preventative behaviour that could benefit individuals susceptible to developing Alzheimer’s disease.