João Dias - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by João Dias

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the exchange relations between higher education institut... more The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the exchange relations between higher education institutions and their students, concerning the main constructs of the Relationship Marketing, such as satisfaction, trust and perceived value in order to identify their influences on loyalty among the students towards their institutions. This paper employed an exploratory study as well as a survey type, quantitative

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 2009

Setting: The subjects of this prospective, case-control were 15 women under investigation of infe... more Setting: The subjects of this prospective, case-control were 15 women under investigation of infertility or chronic pelvic pain (E-group) and controls were patientes with no symptoms in which tubal ligation woulde be performed (C-group).

Fertility and Sterility, 2006

Objective: To report the case of a patient submitted to laparoscopic bowel resection in whom hist... more Objective: To report the case of a patient submitted to laparoscopic bowel resection in whom histology revealed endometriosis and schistosomiasis. Design: Case report. Setting: Multidisciplinary group practice and teaching hospital. Patient(s): A 31-year-old patient with pelvic pain. Intervention(s): Laparoscopic bowel resection. Main Outcome Measure(s): Laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis affecting the sigmoid. Result(s): Histology performed on tissue removed at surgery revealed epithelioid granulomas with birefringent and partially calcified eggs characteristic of Schistosoma mansoni within an endometriotic lesion affecting the entire width of the sigmoid. Conclusion(s): Endometriosis and schistosomiasis may be present simultaneously in patients with bowel symptoms and pelvic pain. (Fertil Steril 2006;85:1060.e1-2.

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 2007

To determine the effect of xanthene oxidase (XO), a superoxide generating system, and superoxide ... more To determine the effect of xanthene oxidase (XO), a superoxide generating system, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), a superoxide scavenger, on the expression of the adhesion phenotype markers; TGF-B1 and type I collagen. Exposure of normal peritoneal fibroblasts to hypoxia has been shown to induce irreversible molecular changes in peritoneal fibroblasts that produce a phenotype, which increases type I collagen and transforming growth faxtor beta 1 (TGF-B1) expression and thereby would promote adhesion development. This effect is hypothesized to be mediated by superoxide ions generated upon exposure to hypoxia. Design: Cell Culture Study. Setting: University Research Laboratory. Patients: Normal and adhesion fibroblasts isolated from gynecological surgical patients. Intervention: Xanthene Oxidase (XO) or Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) Treatment. Measurements and Main Results: Fibroblasts form normal peritoneal and adhesion tissues were cultured with and without SOD (10 U/ml) or XO (14.4 U/ml), which generates superoxide at a rate of 1.4 uM per minute, for 24 hours. Real time RT/PCR was utilized to measure mRNA levels for TGF-B1 and type I collagen. As expected, adhesion fibroblasts exhibited significantly higher basal mRNA levels for both RGF-B1 and type I collagen as compared to normal peritoneal fibroblasts. Treatment with XO resulted in a significant increase in both TGF-B1 and type I collagen in normal peritoneal and adhesion fibroblasts. In contrast, treatment with SOD resulted in a significant decrease in both TGF-B1 and type I collagen in normal peritoneal and adhesion fibroblasts. Conclusion: Our results clearly indicate that superoxide is a key player in the formation of the adhesion phenotype. Furthermore, reduction in superoxide levels was shown to significantly reduce the adhesion phenotype markers suggesting a possible mechanism for intervention in the development of the adhesion phenotype.

Fertility and Sterility, 2010

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 2009

Revista de Gestão Costeira Integrada, 2014

Considerando que as Alterações Climáticas (AC) -uma das cinco áreas-guia da Estratégia 2020 da Co... more Considerando que as Alterações Climáticas (AC) -uma das cinco áreas-guia da Estratégia 2020 da Comissão Europeia -são um problema global que requer respostas locais articuladas aos níveis macro, meso e micro; e que a sua compreensão implica a identificação das relações reciprocamente influentes entre a Natureza, a Sociedade e a Cultura; qualquer intervenção -seja no sentido da mitigação das AC, seja no sentido da adaptação às AC -envolve necessariamente essa mesma sociedade, em toda a complexidade das suas dimensões socioculturais e ambientais. Neste artigo, enquadrado pelas teorias compreensivas, refletimos brevemente sobre algumas das inter-relações entre os sistemas climáticos, ambientais e socioculturais e defendemos que as racionalidades leigas, por se enraizarem em tipos e fontes de saber plurais, são um dos pilares para melhor se compreender e lidar com o fenómeno das AC.

Vehicular Communications, 2014

ABSTRACT Vehicular communications refer to a wide range of networks adopted in environments chara... more ABSTRACT Vehicular communications refer to a wide range of networks adopted in environments characterized by sparse connectivity, frequent network partitioning, intermittent connectivity, long propagation delays, asymmetric data rates, and high error rates. These environments may also be characterized by a potential non-existence of an end-to-end path. Cooperation among network nodes is crucial to address these challenging connectivity issues. In order to contribute for a better network performance, network nodes should to share their storage, bandwidth, and energy resources with each other. By sharing their resources each node contributes to store, carry, and forward network data in order to mutually enhance the overall network performance. However, not all network nodes are able to cooperate and sometimes they may have an uncooperative behavior in order to save their own resources. Such behavior severely affects the network functionality and performance. Then, this survey overviews the most recent advances related to cooperation on vehicular communications. The goal of this work is not only to present how cooperation between network nodes has advanced, but also to show the benefits and drawbacks of cooperation, and to identify open issues providing guidelines for further contributions in this type of networks.

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology - J MINIM INVASIVE GYNECOL, 2010

Natural Hazards, 2010

An integrated methodology for evaluation of overwash vulnerability is developed with respect to t... more An integrated methodology for evaluation of overwash vulnerability is developed with respect to the historical washover evolution of a barrier island system. Three different aspects of overwash are addressed in the vulnerability indices developed: overwashed shoreline ratio, maximum overwash intrusion recurrence, and complete barrier overwash. The indices were applied to the barriers in the Ria Formosa system in Southern Portugal using an aerial photography catalogue covering the period 1947-2001. Historical trends of washover evolution were observed to be different between the barriers analysed, but generally, there was a decrease in washover number and dimensions throughout the analysed period. The final overwash diagnostic obtained allowed an integrated overwash vulnerability rating to be defined for each barrier, with vulnerabilities ranging from low to extreme. The methodology has produced results that may assist coastal managers with information concerning barrier island system overwash hazard, define the temporal and geographical distributions of overwash, and provide indications as to where overwash is most likely to occur in the future.

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 2008

Intervention: Modified technique of endometrial resection consists in resection of only anterior ... more Intervention: Modified technique of endometrial resection consists in resection of only anterior and posterior endometrial tissue without electrocautery of fundus and cornual areas. Follow-up was assessed by means of telephonic interview. Measurements and Main Results: Mean follow-up was 66.8 months. Of the 56 women underwent modified endometrial resection, 46 (82.1%) had a successful intevention, in term of Eumenorrhea (48.2%), Ipomenorrhea (25%) or Amenorrhea (8.9%). Failure, was observed in 10 (17.9%) women that refused other endometrial ablation. In only 2 cases (3.6%) was necessary to perform hysterectomy. No cases of procedure complications were reported. Conclusion: Modified endometrial resection, conserving the integrity of fundus and cornual areas, appear to be easy and effective in the treatment of premenopausal meno-metrorrhagia, with good outcome, similar to standard techniques.

Continental Shelf Research, 2006

ABSTRACT Coastal hazards affect the majority of sandy shores worldwide, and are responsible for d... more ABSTRACT Coastal hazards affect the majority of sandy shores worldwide, and are responsible for damage to, and destruction of, property and infrastructure. The research reported here presents an integrated method for defining set-back lines associated with coastal hazards on sandy shores for a 50-year period of interest. The method is based on a worst-case scenario approach, the shoreline evolutionary trend being the basis for the initial set-back line determination. Set-back lines are afterwards adjusted by incorporating changes associated with the acceleration of sea-level rise and the evaluation of the consequences (instantaneous shoreline retreat and overwash) of an extreme storm. The method considers different approaches depending on the shoreline behaviour (erosion, dynamic stability or accretion). The set-back lines as determined are plotted over rectified aerial photographs, allowing for a straight-forward interpretation of results. The method was applied to a test case within a barrier island system (Ancão Peninsula, Ria Formosa, Algarve, Portugal). This study area was chosen because it exhibits the three different types of shoreline evolution. The method easily shows the differences in erosion-related coastal hazards along the study area, being an important tool for coastal management. However, the method should be able to be refined at every 5–10 years, for a new 50-year period, by integrating new formulations based on advances in coastal science, and by including updated information and data about the areas to which the method is applied.

Fertility and sterility, 2009

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-18 levels in the serum and peritoneal fluid of ... more OBJECTIVE: To evaluate interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-18 levels in the serum and peritoneal fluid of women with and without endometriosis. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENTS: Interleukin-12 and IL-18 levels were compared in 105 ...

Fertility and sterility, 2009

No patients with ureteral endometriosis had lesions affecting the bladder. Compared with the cont... more No patients with ureteral endometriosis had lesions affecting the bladder. Compared with the control group, patients with ureteral endometriosis had more advanced disease (Stages III and IV) according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) staging ...

Objective: To analyze morphologic aspects of bowel endometriosis. Design: Prospective study of 35... more Objective: To analyze morphologic aspects of bowel endometriosis. Design: Prospective study of 35 consecutive cases of bowel endometriosis. Setting: Multidisciplinary group practice and teaching hospital. Patient(s): Thirty-five patients with bowel endometriosis were assessed between September 2003 and June 2005. Intervention(s): Histologic analysis of 35 tissue samples removed at laparoscopic rectosigmoidectomy. Main Outcome Measure(s): We performed an evaluation of lesion size, number of lesions present in the bowel, intestinal wall layers affected by the endometriotic lesion, circumference of the intestinal loop affected by the endometriotic lesion, and presence of lymph nodes with foci of endometriosis. Result(s): Analysis of the surgical samples revealed lymph nodes in the pericolic adipose tissue of 19 (54%), cases and in 5 of these cases (26.3%), endometriosis had affected the lymph nodes. When the thickness of the endometriotic lesion reached 1.75 cm, lymph nodes of all patients were affected, and all patients in whom more than 80% of the circumference of the intestinal loop was affected by endometriosis presented with positive lymph nodes.

Vehicular Delay-Tolerant Networks (VDTNs) use vehicles to carry data between network nodes, enabl... more Vehicular Delay-Tolerant Networks (VDTNs) use vehicles to carry data between network nodes, enabling network connectivity in sparse or partitioned opportunistic networks, where the node density is not high enough to establish end-to-end links. By implementing a store-carry-and-forward paradigm, VDTNs allow delay-tolerant data traffic from a variety of vehicular applications to be routed over time, such as, but not limited to, information queries (e.g. weather reports, web browsing, business services, road conditions, traffic volume) and context-specific broadcasts (e.g. advertising, entertainment feeds). This paper presents a Web browsing application for VDTNs, called WWW@VDTN, and analyzes its performance in a laboratory VDTN testbed. Epidemic and Spray and Wait routing schemes were combined with different scheduling and dropping policies in the performance evaluation process. It is shown that WWW@VDTN works properly in the VDTN testbed. Thus, it is envisioned that a real VDTN will be able to support Web access. Furthermore, the performance studies also reveal that a combination of scheduling and dropping policies that takes into account information about the remaining lifetime of data, improves the performance of the routing schemes in terms of delivery probability and delivery delay.

Journal of basic microbiology, 2003

An evaluation of the efficiency of treatment of kraft mill foul condensates in a membrane bioreac... more An evaluation of the efficiency of treatment of kraft mill foul condensates in a membrane bioreactor was carried out in the laboratory. Efficiency and rate of methanol removal were quantified at operating temperatures of 35, 45 and 55 degrees C. The structure of the bacterial community present in the reactor biomass at the different operating temperatures was evaluated by in situ hybridization of the biomass samples with fluorescently-labelled probes (FISH) targeting the Eubacteria, the alpha, beta and gamma subclasses of the Proteobacteria, the low G + C content Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus spp.), while community function was evaluated by in situ hybridization with a methanol dehydrogenase gene (mxaF) probe. Methanol removal efficiency decreased from 99.4 to 92%, and removal rate from 2.69 mg MeOH/l x min to 2.49 mg MeOH/l x min when the operating temperature was increased from 35 to 55 degrees C. This decrease in methanol removal was accompanied by a decrease (from 58% to 42%)...

Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 2014

Recognising the importance of Chagas disease in Brazil, Bambuí set up epidemiological surveillanc... more Recognising the importance of Chagas disease in Brazil, Bambuí set up epidemiological surveillance for Chagas disease in 1974 and was the first municipality to do so. To ascertain the current epidemiology of Chagas disease in this municipality, 1.782 blood samples from the general population were analysed; 7.7% of samples were found to be seropositive for Chagas disease. A strong positive correlation between increasing age and Chagas disease was evident in both genders, with the highest prevalence in individuals aged over 60 years. Clinically, the cardiodigestive form of Chagas disease was the most common in these samples. These data confirm the interruption of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission, in parallel with a still important residual morbidity of Chagas disease in the county, thus supporting political decisions that will prioritise epidemiological surveillance and medical treatment of Chagas disease in the coming years.

2011 IEEE Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology Symposium (SPMB), 2011

Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used to study visual and auditory perception. It has the b... more Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used to study visual and auditory perception. It has the benefit of high temporal resolution allowing one to detect the earliest moments of neural processing of a stimulus. In some detection tasks EEG signals precede overt behavioral response by as much as 200 ms, i.e. at times when stimuli may not yet have been consciously detected by the subjects, leading some to speculate that EEG may reveal also subconscious target detection. We thus asked if there are EEG signals associated with detection of a stimulus even in the absence of an overt (conscious) report. Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) of images elicits strong EEG responses shortly after a target image is presented and these evoked responses can be detected on a single trial basis using dedicated pattern recognition techniques previously developed. Here we record EEG during RSVP where we vary detection performance by varying presentation parameters such as eccentricity or size of the target on an image. We find that under these manipulations the behavioral detection performance of subjects largely tracked the detection of evoked responses in the EEG. More specifically, we show that EEG detection performance is high for those trial in which subject successfully report the presence or absence of a target, while EEG detection performance is indistinguishable from chance when subjects failed to provide a correct response. In short, when the subjects sees the target, we also see this in their EEG; if the subjects do not see the target then their EEG remains also unafected by the target stimulus. In summary, contrary to the often-held believe, we have found no EEG evidence for subconscious detection of a target stimulus during RSVP.

Memorias Do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 1984

Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Suppl. Voi. 79 :85-91, 1984 ACUTE CHAGAS' DISEASE J... more Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Suppl. Voi. 79 :85-91, 1984 ACUTE CHAGAS' DISEASE JOÃO CARLOS PINTO DIAS History and general considerations Carlos Chagas described in classical works the clinical, parasitológica! and anatomopathologic elements of the acute ...

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the exchange relations between higher education institut... more The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the exchange relations between higher education institutions and their students, concerning the main constructs of the Relationship Marketing, such as satisfaction, trust and perceived value in order to identify their influences on loyalty among the students towards their institutions. This paper employed an exploratory study as well as a survey type, quantitative

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 2009

Setting: The subjects of this prospective, case-control were 15 women under investigation of infe... more Setting: The subjects of this prospective, case-control were 15 women under investigation of infertility or chronic pelvic pain (E-group) and controls were patientes with no symptoms in which tubal ligation woulde be performed (C-group).

Fertility and Sterility, 2006

Objective: To report the case of a patient submitted to laparoscopic bowel resection in whom hist... more Objective: To report the case of a patient submitted to laparoscopic bowel resection in whom histology revealed endometriosis and schistosomiasis. Design: Case report. Setting: Multidisciplinary group practice and teaching hospital. Patient(s): A 31-year-old patient with pelvic pain. Intervention(s): Laparoscopic bowel resection. Main Outcome Measure(s): Laparoscopic treatment of endometriosis affecting the sigmoid. Result(s): Histology performed on tissue removed at surgery revealed epithelioid granulomas with birefringent and partially calcified eggs characteristic of Schistosoma mansoni within an endometriotic lesion affecting the entire width of the sigmoid. Conclusion(s): Endometriosis and schistosomiasis may be present simultaneously in patients with bowel symptoms and pelvic pain. (Fertil Steril 2006;85:1060.e1-2.

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 2007

To determine the effect of xanthene oxidase (XO), a superoxide generating system, and superoxide ... more To determine the effect of xanthene oxidase (XO), a superoxide generating system, and superoxide dismutase (SOD), a superoxide scavenger, on the expression of the adhesion phenotype markers; TGF-B1 and type I collagen. Exposure of normal peritoneal fibroblasts to hypoxia has been shown to induce irreversible molecular changes in peritoneal fibroblasts that produce a phenotype, which increases type I collagen and transforming growth faxtor beta 1 (TGF-B1) expression and thereby would promote adhesion development. This effect is hypothesized to be mediated by superoxide ions generated upon exposure to hypoxia. Design: Cell Culture Study. Setting: University Research Laboratory. Patients: Normal and adhesion fibroblasts isolated from gynecological surgical patients. Intervention: Xanthene Oxidase (XO) or Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) Treatment. Measurements and Main Results: Fibroblasts form normal peritoneal and adhesion tissues were cultured with and without SOD (10 U/ml) or XO (14.4 U/ml), which generates superoxide at a rate of 1.4 uM per minute, for 24 hours. Real time RT/PCR was utilized to measure mRNA levels for TGF-B1 and type I collagen. As expected, adhesion fibroblasts exhibited significantly higher basal mRNA levels for both RGF-B1 and type I collagen as compared to normal peritoneal fibroblasts. Treatment with XO resulted in a significant increase in both TGF-B1 and type I collagen in normal peritoneal and adhesion fibroblasts. In contrast, treatment with SOD resulted in a significant decrease in both TGF-B1 and type I collagen in normal peritoneal and adhesion fibroblasts. Conclusion: Our results clearly indicate that superoxide is a key player in the formation of the adhesion phenotype. Furthermore, reduction in superoxide levels was shown to significantly reduce the adhesion phenotype markers suggesting a possible mechanism for intervention in the development of the adhesion phenotype.

Fertility and Sterility, 2010

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 2009

Revista de Gestão Costeira Integrada, 2014

Considerando que as Alterações Climáticas (AC) -uma das cinco áreas-guia da Estratégia 2020 da Co... more Considerando que as Alterações Climáticas (AC) -uma das cinco áreas-guia da Estratégia 2020 da Comissão Europeia -são um problema global que requer respostas locais articuladas aos níveis macro, meso e micro; e que a sua compreensão implica a identificação das relações reciprocamente influentes entre a Natureza, a Sociedade e a Cultura; qualquer intervenção -seja no sentido da mitigação das AC, seja no sentido da adaptação às AC -envolve necessariamente essa mesma sociedade, em toda a complexidade das suas dimensões socioculturais e ambientais. Neste artigo, enquadrado pelas teorias compreensivas, refletimos brevemente sobre algumas das inter-relações entre os sistemas climáticos, ambientais e socioculturais e defendemos que as racionalidades leigas, por se enraizarem em tipos e fontes de saber plurais, são um dos pilares para melhor se compreender e lidar com o fenómeno das AC.

Vehicular Communications, 2014

ABSTRACT Vehicular communications refer to a wide range of networks adopted in environments chara... more ABSTRACT Vehicular communications refer to a wide range of networks adopted in environments characterized by sparse connectivity, frequent network partitioning, intermittent connectivity, long propagation delays, asymmetric data rates, and high error rates. These environments may also be characterized by a potential non-existence of an end-to-end path. Cooperation among network nodes is crucial to address these challenging connectivity issues. In order to contribute for a better network performance, network nodes should to share their storage, bandwidth, and energy resources with each other. By sharing their resources each node contributes to store, carry, and forward network data in order to mutually enhance the overall network performance. However, not all network nodes are able to cooperate and sometimes they may have an uncooperative behavior in order to save their own resources. Such behavior severely affects the network functionality and performance. Then, this survey overviews the most recent advances related to cooperation on vehicular communications. The goal of this work is not only to present how cooperation between network nodes has advanced, but also to show the benefits and drawbacks of cooperation, and to identify open issues providing guidelines for further contributions in this type of networks.

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology - J MINIM INVASIVE GYNECOL, 2010

Natural Hazards, 2010

An integrated methodology for evaluation of overwash vulnerability is developed with respect to t... more An integrated methodology for evaluation of overwash vulnerability is developed with respect to the historical washover evolution of a barrier island system. Three different aspects of overwash are addressed in the vulnerability indices developed: overwashed shoreline ratio, maximum overwash intrusion recurrence, and complete barrier overwash. The indices were applied to the barriers in the Ria Formosa system in Southern Portugal using an aerial photography catalogue covering the period 1947-2001. Historical trends of washover evolution were observed to be different between the barriers analysed, but generally, there was a decrease in washover number and dimensions throughout the analysed period. The final overwash diagnostic obtained allowed an integrated overwash vulnerability rating to be defined for each barrier, with vulnerabilities ranging from low to extreme. The methodology has produced results that may assist coastal managers with information concerning barrier island system overwash hazard, define the temporal and geographical distributions of overwash, and provide indications as to where overwash is most likely to occur in the future.

Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, 2008

Intervention: Modified technique of endometrial resection consists in resection of only anterior ... more Intervention: Modified technique of endometrial resection consists in resection of only anterior and posterior endometrial tissue without electrocautery of fundus and cornual areas. Follow-up was assessed by means of telephonic interview. Measurements and Main Results: Mean follow-up was 66.8 months. Of the 56 women underwent modified endometrial resection, 46 (82.1%) had a successful intevention, in term of Eumenorrhea (48.2%), Ipomenorrhea (25%) or Amenorrhea (8.9%). Failure, was observed in 10 (17.9%) women that refused other endometrial ablation. In only 2 cases (3.6%) was necessary to perform hysterectomy. No cases of procedure complications were reported. Conclusion: Modified endometrial resection, conserving the integrity of fundus and cornual areas, appear to be easy and effective in the treatment of premenopausal meno-metrorrhagia, with good outcome, similar to standard techniques.

Continental Shelf Research, 2006

ABSTRACT Coastal hazards affect the majority of sandy shores worldwide, and are responsible for d... more ABSTRACT Coastal hazards affect the majority of sandy shores worldwide, and are responsible for damage to, and destruction of, property and infrastructure. The research reported here presents an integrated method for defining set-back lines associated with coastal hazards on sandy shores for a 50-year period of interest. The method is based on a worst-case scenario approach, the shoreline evolutionary trend being the basis for the initial set-back line determination. Set-back lines are afterwards adjusted by incorporating changes associated with the acceleration of sea-level rise and the evaluation of the consequences (instantaneous shoreline retreat and overwash) of an extreme storm. The method considers different approaches depending on the shoreline behaviour (erosion, dynamic stability or accretion). The set-back lines as determined are plotted over rectified aerial photographs, allowing for a straight-forward interpretation of results. The method was applied to a test case within a barrier island system (Ancão Peninsula, Ria Formosa, Algarve, Portugal). This study area was chosen because it exhibits the three different types of shoreline evolution. The method easily shows the differences in erosion-related coastal hazards along the study area, being an important tool for coastal management. However, the method should be able to be refined at every 5–10 years, for a new 50-year period, by integrating new formulations based on advances in coastal science, and by including updated information and data about the areas to which the method is applied.

Fertility and sterility, 2009

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-18 levels in the serum and peritoneal fluid of ... more OBJECTIVE: To evaluate interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-18 levels in the serum and peritoneal fluid of women with and without endometriosis. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: University hospital. PATIENTS: Interleukin-12 and IL-18 levels were compared in 105 ...

Fertility and sterility, 2009

No patients with ureteral endometriosis had lesions affecting the bladder. Compared with the cont... more No patients with ureteral endometriosis had lesions affecting the bladder. Compared with the control group, patients with ureteral endometriosis had more advanced disease (Stages III and IV) according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) staging ...

Objective: To analyze morphologic aspects of bowel endometriosis. Design: Prospective study of 35... more Objective: To analyze morphologic aspects of bowel endometriosis. Design: Prospective study of 35 consecutive cases of bowel endometriosis. Setting: Multidisciplinary group practice and teaching hospital. Patient(s): Thirty-five patients with bowel endometriosis were assessed between September 2003 and June 2005. Intervention(s): Histologic analysis of 35 tissue samples removed at laparoscopic rectosigmoidectomy. Main Outcome Measure(s): We performed an evaluation of lesion size, number of lesions present in the bowel, intestinal wall layers affected by the endometriotic lesion, circumference of the intestinal loop affected by the endometriotic lesion, and presence of lymph nodes with foci of endometriosis. Result(s): Analysis of the surgical samples revealed lymph nodes in the pericolic adipose tissue of 19 (54%), cases and in 5 of these cases (26.3%), endometriosis had affected the lymph nodes. When the thickness of the endometriotic lesion reached 1.75 cm, lymph nodes of all patients were affected, and all patients in whom more than 80% of the circumference of the intestinal loop was affected by endometriosis presented with positive lymph nodes.

Vehicular Delay-Tolerant Networks (VDTNs) use vehicles to carry data between network nodes, enabl... more Vehicular Delay-Tolerant Networks (VDTNs) use vehicles to carry data between network nodes, enabling network connectivity in sparse or partitioned opportunistic networks, where the node density is not high enough to establish end-to-end links. By implementing a store-carry-and-forward paradigm, VDTNs allow delay-tolerant data traffic from a variety of vehicular applications to be routed over time, such as, but not limited to, information queries (e.g. weather reports, web browsing, business services, road conditions, traffic volume) and context-specific broadcasts (e.g. advertising, entertainment feeds). This paper presents a Web browsing application for VDTNs, called WWW@VDTN, and analyzes its performance in a laboratory VDTN testbed. Epidemic and Spray and Wait routing schemes were combined with different scheduling and dropping policies in the performance evaluation process. It is shown that WWW@VDTN works properly in the VDTN testbed. Thus, it is envisioned that a real VDTN will be able to support Web access. Furthermore, the performance studies also reveal that a combination of scheduling and dropping policies that takes into account information about the remaining lifetime of data, improves the performance of the routing schemes in terms of delivery probability and delivery delay.

Journal of basic microbiology, 2003

An evaluation of the efficiency of treatment of kraft mill foul condensates in a membrane bioreac... more An evaluation of the efficiency of treatment of kraft mill foul condensates in a membrane bioreactor was carried out in the laboratory. Efficiency and rate of methanol removal were quantified at operating temperatures of 35, 45 and 55 degrees C. The structure of the bacterial community present in the reactor biomass at the different operating temperatures was evaluated by in situ hybridization of the biomass samples with fluorescently-labelled probes (FISH) targeting the Eubacteria, the alpha, beta and gamma subclasses of the Proteobacteria, the low G + C content Gram-positive bacteria (Bacillus spp.), while community function was evaluated by in situ hybridization with a methanol dehydrogenase gene (mxaF) probe. Methanol removal efficiency decreased from 99.4 to 92%, and removal rate from 2.69 mg MeOH/l x min to 2.49 mg MeOH/l x min when the operating temperature was increased from 35 to 55 degrees C. This decrease in methanol removal was accompanied by a decrease (from 58% to 42%)...

Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 2014

Recognising the importance of Chagas disease in Brazil, Bambuí set up epidemiological surveillanc... more Recognising the importance of Chagas disease in Brazil, Bambuí set up epidemiological surveillance for Chagas disease in 1974 and was the first municipality to do so. To ascertain the current epidemiology of Chagas disease in this municipality, 1.782 blood samples from the general population were analysed; 7.7% of samples were found to be seropositive for Chagas disease. A strong positive correlation between increasing age and Chagas disease was evident in both genders, with the highest prevalence in individuals aged over 60 years. Clinically, the cardiodigestive form of Chagas disease was the most common in these samples. These data confirm the interruption of Trypanosoma cruzi transmission, in parallel with a still important residual morbidity of Chagas disease in the county, thus supporting political decisions that will prioritise epidemiological surveillance and medical treatment of Chagas disease in the coming years.

2011 IEEE Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology Symposium (SPMB), 2011

Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used to study visual and auditory perception. It has the b... more Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used to study visual and auditory perception. It has the benefit of high temporal resolution allowing one to detect the earliest moments of neural processing of a stimulus. In some detection tasks EEG signals precede overt behavioral response by as much as 200 ms, i.e. at times when stimuli may not yet have been consciously detected by the subjects, leading some to speculate that EEG may reveal also subconscious target detection. We thus asked if there are EEG signals associated with detection of a stimulus even in the absence of an overt (conscious) report. Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) of images elicits strong EEG responses shortly after a target image is presented and these evoked responses can be detected on a single trial basis using dedicated pattern recognition techniques previously developed. Here we record EEG during RSVP where we vary detection performance by varying presentation parameters such as eccentricity or size of the target on an image. We find that under these manipulations the behavioral detection performance of subjects largely tracked the detection of evoked responses in the EEG. More specifically, we show that EEG detection performance is high for those trial in which subject successfully report the presence or absence of a target, while EEG detection performance is indistinguishable from chance when subjects failed to provide a correct response. In short, when the subjects sees the target, we also see this in their EEG; if the subjects do not see the target then their EEG remains also unafected by the target stimulus. In summary, contrary to the often-held believe, we have found no EEG evidence for subconscious detection of a target stimulus during RSVP.

Memorias Do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 1984

Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Suppl. Voi. 79 :85-91, 1984 ACUTE CHAGAS' DISEASE J... more Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Suppl. Voi. 79 :85-91, 1984 ACUTE CHAGAS' DISEASE JOÃO CARLOS PINTO DIAS History and general considerations Carlos Chagas described in classical works the clinical, parasitológica! and anatomopathologic elements of the acute ...