João silva - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by João silva
European journal of human genetics : EJHG, Jan 11, 2015
Congenital cardiac and neurodevelopmental deficits have been recently linked to the mediator comp... more Congenital cardiac and neurodevelopmental deficits have been recently linked to the mediator complex subunit 13-like protein MED13L, a subunit of the CDK8-associated mediator complex that functions in transcriptional regulation through DNA-binding transcription factors and RNA polymerase II. Heterozygous MED13L variants cause transposition of the great arteries and intellectual disability (ID). Here, we report eight patients with predominantly novel MED13L variants who lack such complex congenital heart malformations. Rather, they depict a syndromic form of ID characterized by facial dysmorphism, ID, speech impairment, motor developmental delay with muscular hypotonia and behavioral difficulties. We thereby define a novel syndrome and significantly broaden the clinical spectrum associated with MED13L variants. A prominent feature of the MED13L neurocognitive presentation is profound language impairment, often in combination with articulatory deficits.European Journal of Human Geneti...
European Urology Supplements, 2002
Language Resources and Evaluation, 2010
In this paper we present LX-Parser, a probabilistic, robust constituency parser for Portuguese. T... more In this paper we present LX-Parser, a probabilistic, robust constituency parser for Portuguese. This parser achieves ca. 88% f-score in the labeled bracketing task, thus reaching a state-of-the-art performance score that is in line with those that are currently obtained by top-ranking parsers for English, the most studied natural language. To the best of our knowledge, LX-Parser is the first
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2012
Deep linguistic grammars provide complex grammatical representations of sentences, capturing, for... more Deep linguistic grammars provide complex grammatical representations of sentences, capturing, for instance, long-distance dependencies and returning semantic representations, making them suitable for advanced natural language processing. However, they lack robustness in that they do not gracefully handle words missing from the lexicon of the grammar. Several approaches have been taken to handle this problem, one of which consists in pre-annotating the input to the grammar with shallow processing machine-learning tools. This is usually done to speed-up parsing (supertagging) but it can also be used as a way of handling unknown words in the input. These pre-processing tools, however, must be able to cope with the vast tagset required by a deep grammar. We investigate the training and evaluation of several supertaggers for a deep linguistic processing grammar and report on it in this paper.
European Urology Supplements, 2002
Fundamentals and Evolution, 2014
Climate Change Management, 2014
The study presents an analysis of droughts using monthly rainfall data, from January 1961 to Dece... more The study presents an analysis of droughts using monthly rainfall data, from January 1961 to December 2011, from 11 rain gauges located in Paraguay and Northern Argentina. The characterization of the drought events used the standardized precipitation index (SPI) applied at different time scales (3, 6, and 12 consecutive months). The temporal variability of the droughts in the study period was analyzed in terms of changes in their frequency—regardless of the severity, has the frequency of droughts increased or decreased?—and in their severity—are we experiencing more severe droughts or not? The results achieved, despite proving the suitability of the approaches applied, did not reveal any trend towards an increase or a decrease either in the frequency of the droughts or in their severity in the studied area.
Journal of Urology, 2013
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Recently we showed that intra-trigonal Onabotulinum toxin A (OnaBotA... more INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Recently we showed that intra-trigonal Onabotulinum toxin A (OnaBotA) injection provides prolonged relief of bladder pain in Bladder Pain Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis (BPS/IC) patients. Since injections were not performed in the ulcerative area, we investigated if the toxin provided a different symptomatic outcome and duration of effect in the two phenotypes of BPS/IC, the ulcerative and the non-ulcerative form. METHODS: 10 ulcerative (Ulc) and 14 non-ulcerative (NUlc) BPS/IC patients were evaluated at presentation and 1 month after intra-trigonal injection of 100U of OnaBotA. A 10-point Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to quantify pain. Frequency and nocturia in a 3-day voiding chart, O’Leary-Sant Score (OSS), QoL and duration of the effect were evaluated. Urinary norepinephrine was accessed by ELISA. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 40 12 y in the Ulc and 47 13 y in the NUlc group (non-significant, ns). The ESSIC classification was 2a (3), 2b (5), 2c (6) in the NUlc group and 3a (1), 3b (3) and 3c (6) in the Ulc form group. Patients with the Ulc phenotype had a longer duration of symptoms (28.8 11 vs 19.2 8 months, p 0.018). Mean values at baseline of pain, frequency, nocturia, OSS, QoL were identical on the two groups. Likewise, the urinary norepinephrine was identical (Table 1). The two groups responded equally to OnaBotA with a marked decrease in pain, frequency, nocturia, OSS, QoL and in urinary norepinephrine levels (Table). The duration of the effect, 9 2.8 in the Ulc and 10.5 2 months in the NUlc disease was similar. CONCLUSIONS: The symptom relief brought by trigonal OnabotA suggests that pain is not directly related with the ulcers themselves. We could not find symptomatic differences between those two phenotypes, challenging the traditional view that Ulc BPS/IC patients have a more symptomatic form of the disease.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2003
The affinity for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the mechanisms to use HCO 3 À as a source o... more The affinity for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the mechanisms to use HCO 3 À as a source of DIC for photosynthesis were investigated in two morphotypes of Zostera noltii Hornem. Both morphotypes were collected at Ria Formosa lagoon (Southern Portugal) at two different levels in the intertidal. Affinity for DIC at saturating photon fluence rate (PFR), estimated as photosynthetic conductance for CO 2 (g p(CO 2)), was reduced by 75% in the Z. noltii plants adapted to shade conditions (lower intertidal) in comparison to the sun morphotype (45 Â 10 À 6 and 182 Â 10 À 6 m s À 1 , respectively), indicating that the plants acclimated to sun conditions (higher intertidal) had a higher capacity to use HCO 3 À as DIC source for photosynthesis. Since external carbonic anhydrase activity was negligible and a large inhibitory effect was produced by Tris buffer addition, this HCO 3 À use was attributed to the operation of H + ATPases creating low pH zones in periplasmic space. The photosynthetic CO 2-flux supported for this mechanism was calculated to be 53 Amol O 2 m À 2 s À 1 in sun morphotype, about 80% out of maximum photosynthesis rate. In order to determine the possible photosynthetic energy cost of the HCO 3 À use, the effect of decreasing light on photosynthetic rates and g p(CO 2) was estimated. Photosynthetic conductance decreased in both morphotypes at nonsaturating PFR. This dependence of g p(CO 2) on PFR indicated the existence of a positive interactive effect between DIC and PFR which was more pronounced in the shade morphotype since the ascending slope of O 2 evolution vs. PFR curves at limiting PFRs was reduced from 7.2 to 2.3 mmol O 2 mol photon À 1 at 4 and 0.5 mol m À 3 of DIC, respectively.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2004
Maximum nitrate reductase (NR) activity was measured in two intertidal morphotypes of Zostera nol... more Maximum nitrate reductase (NR) activity was measured in two intertidal morphotypes of Zostera noltii (Hornem.) in Ria Formosa tidal lagoon, southern Portugal. The two morphotypes develop in the upper and lower limits of the intertidal meadows. The NR activity was measured ...
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2011
European Urology, 2004
Objectives: To evaluate the effect of bladder C-fiber desensitization on BPH-associated storage L... more Objectives: To evaluate the effect of bladder C-fiber desensitization on BPH-associated storage LUTS. Methods: Twelve patients with predominant BPH-associated storage LUTS gave written informed consent to enter the study. IPSS and QoL scores, micturition chart, uroflowmetry, cystometry and post-void residual (PVR) were obtained at baseline and at 1, 3 and 6 months after a single intravesical administration of 50 nM resiniferatoxin (RTX) solution.
European Urology, 2005
Objectives: To access by a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial the effect of intravesica... more Objectives: To access by a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial the effect of intravesical resiniferatoxin on the urodynamic parameters of patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) of spinal origin. Methods: Twenty eight patients with spinal NDO were randomised to receive intravesically 50 nM resiniferatoxin dissolved in 10% ethanol in saline (RTX group) or only the vehicle solution (placebo group). Filling cystometries were obtained in each patient at 1 month and 1 week before and at 1 and 3 months after treatment. In a visual analog scale patients were asked to estimate the discomfort induced by treatment. Patients were also persuaded to fill a micturition chart during the 3 days preceding each cystometry. Results: The RTX and placebo groups were homogeneous in what respects the volume to first involuntary detrusor contraction (FDC, 143 AE 95 ml and 115 AE 58 ml, respectively, p = 0.3) and maximal cystometric capacity (MCC, 189 AE 99 ml and 198 AE 111 ml, respectively, p = 0.8). At the end of the study, mean FDC and MCC in the RTX group, 184 AE 93 ml and 314 AE 135 ml, respectively were significantly higher than in the placebo group, 115 AE 61 ml (p = 0.03) and 204 AE 92 ml (p = 0.02). In the visual analogue scale discomfort caused by treatment was similar. Only 10 patients in the RTX group and 6 patients in the placebo group completed adequately the micturition chart. Mean frequency and urinary incontinence decreased significantly only in the RTX group. Conclusions: Intravesical RTX is effective in increasing bladder capacity in spinal NDO patients. Such increment might contribute to decrease urinary frequency and incontinence of these patients.
EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, 2009
CHEST Journal, 2014
PURPOSE: Surgery is the best treatment choice for most of pulmonary lesions. Pulmonary function t... more PURPOSE: Surgery is the best treatment choice for most of pulmonary lesions. Pulmonary function tests (PFT) play an important role in this process by assessing the risks and the functional effects of the procedure. Our goal was to evaluate the impact of lung resection surgery on pulmonary function. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all patients submitted to a lung resection surgery, with pre and postoperative PFT performed between 2010 and 2012. RESULTS: We included 26 patients, with an average age of 56 years. PFT were normal in 65% of cases. A wegde resection was performed in 2 patients, a segmentectomy in 6, a lobectomy in 13 and a pneumectomy in 4. A benign lesion was identified in 54% of cases. After surgery, we observed a global reduction of the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (pre mean: 2,62L/99,3%; post; 2,13L/81,5%), and of the forced vital capacity (FVC) (pre mean: 3,14L/ 101%; post: 2,79L/88%), but only in 7 patients for values < 80%. In 2 cases the values of FEV1 and FVC improved after surgery and in 4 there was only an increase in FVC. All of these 6 patients were non smokers and in 50% the preoperative pulmonary function tests were normal; 4 underwent a lobectomy and 2 a segmentectomy; all were submitted to postoperative respiratory rehabilitation. FEV1 worsened in 24 patients, with a mean reduction of 20,3%, and FVC in 20 patients, with a mean reduction of 17,6%. The worsening of FEV1 and FVC was statistically related to the type of surgery, with a greater reduction after lobectomy and pneumectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Our results illustrate a negative, but not highly significant, functional impact of lung ressection surgery. As discussed in literature, the impact is greater after larger surgical resections. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Evaluate the real functional impact of the pulmonary resection in our patients and contribute to a better selection of them for surgery.
CHEST Journal, 2014
INTRODUCTION: Osteochondroplastic tracheobronchopathy (OT) is a rare benign disorder, with unknow... more INTRODUCTION: Osteochondroplastic tracheobronchopathy (OT) is a rare benign disorder, with unknown etiology, characterised by the presence of osteocartilaginous nodules within the submucosa of the anterior and lateral walls of the trachea and the main bronchus. CASE PRESENTATION: Case report 1: 70 year-old male, past smoker, with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis, was sent to Pulmonology for a lung nodule observed in a chest x-ray. He complained of occasional cough and uncharacteristic left thoracic pain. The chest-CT revealed lung micronodules, the biggest with 8.6 mm, diffuse bronchiectasis and small irregular nodularities, with tracheobronchial lumen projection. The patient was submitted to a bronchofibroscopy, where nodular deformities in the anterior and lateral walls of the trachea were observed and biopsied. The histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of OT. No specify therapy was initiated and the patient maintained follow-up. Now, 2 years after the diagnosis, he is asymptomatic and with radiological stabilization of the lesions. Case report 2: 70 year-old male, admitted to the hospital for a left pleural effusion, which was interpreted as metapneumonic and treated with antibiotherapy for 17 days. The chest-CT revealed a left pleural effusion and calcified nodular irregularities in the lower portion of the anterior wall of the trachea. After hospital discharge, the result of blood cultures were obtained, which were positive for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (MT),
BJU International, 2010
Study Type – Therapy (case series)Level of Evidence 4 What’s known on the subject? and What does ... more Study Type – Therapy (case series)Level of Evidence 4 What’s known on the subject? and What does the study add? Intraprostatic injection of botulinum toxin type A was shown to be effective in decreasing symptoms of BPH in several recent studies. However, the possible impairment of sexual function caused by the neurotoxin had never been investigated.This study shows that intraprostatic administration of botulinum toxin type A neither causes deterioration of sexual function (libido, orgasm, erectile function or ejaculation), nor alteration of serum testosterone levels.OBJECTIVE• To evaluate the consequences on male sexual function of intraprostatic injection of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Although BoNT/A is effective in decreasing symptoms of BPH, neuronal impairment caused by the neurotoxin might affect emission/ejaculation. These aspects have not been evaluated before.PATIENTS AND METHODS• In all, 16 sexually active men aged...
Botanica Marina, 2006
In vivo chlorophyll fluorescence measured by pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry was used... more In vivo chlorophyll fluorescence measured by pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry was used as an indicator of photosynthetic activity in tank-cultivated red algae wGracilaria cornea and Asparagopsis armata (tetrasporophyte phase, previously known as Falkenbergia rufolanosa)x using effluent seawater from sea bream fishponds (Sparus aurata). Optimal quantum yield of indoorgrown G. cornea did not change during the period analysed (2 months). In contrast, optimal quantum yield decreased drastically in algae transferred from indoor to outdoor conditions. Maximal electron transport rate increased and photosynthetic pigments decreased in algae growing outdoors, indicating an acclimation to high irradiance. After 16 days, chlorophyll fluorescence decreased drastically and recovered partially when algae were transferred again from outdoor to indoor conditions. Falkenbergia rufolanosa was grown at three different biomass densities (4, 6 and 8 g l-1). The effects of three consecutive air compressor failure events on the photosynthetic activity were followed. An apparent degradation of the physiological conditions of the algae (resulting in their bleaching) was observed, concomitant with a strong decrease in the optimal quantum yield. This decrease was higher at algal biomass densities of 4 g l-1 than at 6 or 8 g l-1. Three days after transfer to optimal conditions, i.e., normal aeration conditions, optimal quantum yield reached values around 0.50-0.55, close to the values before stress conditions. The results revealed that the use of chlorophyll fluorescence is a powerful means to rapidly detect different stress situations in integrated cultivation of seaweeds using fishpond effluents. In particular, the optimal quantum yield of algae can be monitored regularly as an early warning of the physiological stress in cultures.
BJU International, 2009
To evaluate the short-term surgical complications and results of a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT... more To evaluate the short-term surgical complications and results of a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) system (TVT-Secur, Gynecare, Ethicon, Somerville, NJ, USA) in the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). TVT-Secur was applied to 107 women with SUI through a vaginal incision and left abutting the urethra. Postoperative pain, complications, de novo lower urinary tract symptoms, incontinence cure rate and the…
Materials and Structures, 2007
European journal of human genetics : EJHG, Jan 11, 2015
Congenital cardiac and neurodevelopmental deficits have been recently linked to the mediator comp... more Congenital cardiac and neurodevelopmental deficits have been recently linked to the mediator complex subunit 13-like protein MED13L, a subunit of the CDK8-associated mediator complex that functions in transcriptional regulation through DNA-binding transcription factors and RNA polymerase II. Heterozygous MED13L variants cause transposition of the great arteries and intellectual disability (ID). Here, we report eight patients with predominantly novel MED13L variants who lack such complex congenital heart malformations. Rather, they depict a syndromic form of ID characterized by facial dysmorphism, ID, speech impairment, motor developmental delay with muscular hypotonia and behavioral difficulties. We thereby define a novel syndrome and significantly broaden the clinical spectrum associated with MED13L variants. A prominent feature of the MED13L neurocognitive presentation is profound language impairment, often in combination with articulatory deficits.European Journal of Human Geneti...
European Urology Supplements, 2002
Language Resources and Evaluation, 2010
In this paper we present LX-Parser, a probabilistic, robust constituency parser for Portuguese. T... more In this paper we present LX-Parser, a probabilistic, robust constituency parser for Portuguese. This parser achieves ca. 88% f-score in the labeled bracketing task, thus reaching a state-of-the-art performance score that is in line with those that are currently obtained by top-ranking parsers for English, the most studied natural language. To the best of our knowledge, LX-Parser is the first
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2012
Deep linguistic grammars provide complex grammatical representations of sentences, capturing, for... more Deep linguistic grammars provide complex grammatical representations of sentences, capturing, for instance, long-distance dependencies and returning semantic representations, making them suitable for advanced natural language processing. However, they lack robustness in that they do not gracefully handle words missing from the lexicon of the grammar. Several approaches have been taken to handle this problem, one of which consists in pre-annotating the input to the grammar with shallow processing machine-learning tools. This is usually done to speed-up parsing (supertagging) but it can also be used as a way of handling unknown words in the input. These pre-processing tools, however, must be able to cope with the vast tagset required by a deep grammar. We investigate the training and evaluation of several supertaggers for a deep linguistic processing grammar and report on it in this paper.
European Urology Supplements, 2002
Fundamentals and Evolution, 2014
Climate Change Management, 2014
The study presents an analysis of droughts using monthly rainfall data, from January 1961 to Dece... more The study presents an analysis of droughts using monthly rainfall data, from January 1961 to December 2011, from 11 rain gauges located in Paraguay and Northern Argentina. The characterization of the drought events used the standardized precipitation index (SPI) applied at different time scales (3, 6, and 12 consecutive months). The temporal variability of the droughts in the study period was analyzed in terms of changes in their frequency—regardless of the severity, has the frequency of droughts increased or decreased?—and in their severity—are we experiencing more severe droughts or not? The results achieved, despite proving the suitability of the approaches applied, did not reveal any trend towards an increase or a decrease either in the frequency of the droughts or in their severity in the studied area.
Journal of Urology, 2013
INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Recently we showed that intra-trigonal Onabotulinum toxin A (OnaBotA... more INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Recently we showed that intra-trigonal Onabotulinum toxin A (OnaBotA) injection provides prolonged relief of bladder pain in Bladder Pain Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis (BPS/IC) patients. Since injections were not performed in the ulcerative area, we investigated if the toxin provided a different symptomatic outcome and duration of effect in the two phenotypes of BPS/IC, the ulcerative and the non-ulcerative form. METHODS: 10 ulcerative (Ulc) and 14 non-ulcerative (NUlc) BPS/IC patients were evaluated at presentation and 1 month after intra-trigonal injection of 100U of OnaBotA. A 10-point Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to quantify pain. Frequency and nocturia in a 3-day voiding chart, O’Leary-Sant Score (OSS), QoL and duration of the effect were evaluated. Urinary norepinephrine was accessed by ELISA. RESULTS: Patients had a mean age of 40 12 y in the Ulc and 47 13 y in the NUlc group (non-significant, ns). The ESSIC classification was 2a (3), 2b (5), 2c (6) in the NUlc group and 3a (1), 3b (3) and 3c (6) in the Ulc form group. Patients with the Ulc phenotype had a longer duration of symptoms (28.8 11 vs 19.2 8 months, p 0.018). Mean values at baseline of pain, frequency, nocturia, OSS, QoL were identical on the two groups. Likewise, the urinary norepinephrine was identical (Table 1). The two groups responded equally to OnaBotA with a marked decrease in pain, frequency, nocturia, OSS, QoL and in urinary norepinephrine levels (Table). The duration of the effect, 9 2.8 in the Ulc and 10.5 2 months in the NUlc disease was similar. CONCLUSIONS: The symptom relief brought by trigonal OnabotA suggests that pain is not directly related with the ulcers themselves. We could not find symptomatic differences between those two phenotypes, challenging the traditional view that Ulc BPS/IC patients have a more symptomatic form of the disease.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2003
The affinity for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the mechanisms to use HCO 3 À as a source o... more The affinity for dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the mechanisms to use HCO 3 À as a source of DIC for photosynthesis were investigated in two morphotypes of Zostera noltii Hornem. Both morphotypes were collected at Ria Formosa lagoon (Southern Portugal) at two different levels in the intertidal. Affinity for DIC at saturating photon fluence rate (PFR), estimated as photosynthetic conductance for CO 2 (g p(CO 2)), was reduced by 75% in the Z. noltii plants adapted to shade conditions (lower intertidal) in comparison to the sun morphotype (45 Â 10 À 6 and 182 Â 10 À 6 m s À 1 , respectively), indicating that the plants acclimated to sun conditions (higher intertidal) had a higher capacity to use HCO 3 À as DIC source for photosynthesis. Since external carbonic anhydrase activity was negligible and a large inhibitory effect was produced by Tris buffer addition, this HCO 3 À use was attributed to the operation of H + ATPases creating low pH zones in periplasmic space. The photosynthetic CO 2-flux supported for this mechanism was calculated to be 53 Amol O 2 m À 2 s À 1 in sun morphotype, about 80% out of maximum photosynthesis rate. In order to determine the possible photosynthetic energy cost of the HCO 3 À use, the effect of decreasing light on photosynthetic rates and g p(CO 2) was estimated. Photosynthetic conductance decreased in both morphotypes at nonsaturating PFR. This dependence of g p(CO 2) on PFR indicated the existence of a positive interactive effect between DIC and PFR which was more pronounced in the shade morphotype since the ascending slope of O 2 evolution vs. PFR curves at limiting PFRs was reduced from 7.2 to 2.3 mmol O 2 mol photon À 1 at 4 and 0.5 mol m À 3 of DIC, respectively.
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2004
Maximum nitrate reductase (NR) activity was measured in two intertidal morphotypes of Zostera nol... more Maximum nitrate reductase (NR) activity was measured in two intertidal morphotypes of Zostera noltii (Hornem.) in Ria Formosa tidal lagoon, southern Portugal. The two morphotypes develop in the upper and lower limits of the intertidal meadows. The NR activity was measured ...
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 2011
European Urology, 2004
Objectives: To evaluate the effect of bladder C-fiber desensitization on BPH-associated storage L... more Objectives: To evaluate the effect of bladder C-fiber desensitization on BPH-associated storage LUTS. Methods: Twelve patients with predominant BPH-associated storage LUTS gave written informed consent to enter the study. IPSS and QoL scores, micturition chart, uroflowmetry, cystometry and post-void residual (PVR) were obtained at baseline and at 1, 3 and 6 months after a single intravesical administration of 50 nM resiniferatoxin (RTX) solution.
European Urology, 2005
Objectives: To access by a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial the effect of intravesica... more Objectives: To access by a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial the effect of intravesical resiniferatoxin on the urodynamic parameters of patients with neurogenic detrusor overactivity (NDO) of spinal origin. Methods: Twenty eight patients with spinal NDO were randomised to receive intravesically 50 nM resiniferatoxin dissolved in 10% ethanol in saline (RTX group) or only the vehicle solution (placebo group). Filling cystometries were obtained in each patient at 1 month and 1 week before and at 1 and 3 months after treatment. In a visual analog scale patients were asked to estimate the discomfort induced by treatment. Patients were also persuaded to fill a micturition chart during the 3 days preceding each cystometry. Results: The RTX and placebo groups were homogeneous in what respects the volume to first involuntary detrusor contraction (FDC, 143 AE 95 ml and 115 AE 58 ml, respectively, p = 0.3) and maximal cystometric capacity (MCC, 189 AE 99 ml and 198 AE 111 ml, respectively, p = 0.8). At the end of the study, mean FDC and MCC in the RTX group, 184 AE 93 ml and 314 AE 135 ml, respectively were significantly higher than in the placebo group, 115 AE 61 ml (p = 0.03) and 204 AE 92 ml (p = 0.02). In the visual analogue scale discomfort caused by treatment was similar. Only 10 patients in the RTX group and 6 patients in the placebo group completed adequately the micturition chart. Mean frequency and urinary incontinence decreased significantly only in the RTX group. Conclusions: Intravesical RTX is effective in increasing bladder capacity in spinal NDO patients. Such increment might contribute to decrease urinary frequency and incontinence of these patients.
EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, 2009
CHEST Journal, 2014
PURPOSE: Surgery is the best treatment choice for most of pulmonary lesions. Pulmonary function t... more PURPOSE: Surgery is the best treatment choice for most of pulmonary lesions. Pulmonary function tests (PFT) play an important role in this process by assessing the risks and the functional effects of the procedure. Our goal was to evaluate the impact of lung resection surgery on pulmonary function. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all patients submitted to a lung resection surgery, with pre and postoperative PFT performed between 2010 and 2012. RESULTS: We included 26 patients, with an average age of 56 years. PFT were normal in 65% of cases. A wegde resection was performed in 2 patients, a segmentectomy in 6, a lobectomy in 13 and a pneumectomy in 4. A benign lesion was identified in 54% of cases. After surgery, we observed a global reduction of the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) (pre mean: 2,62L/99,3%; post; 2,13L/81,5%), and of the forced vital capacity (FVC) (pre mean: 3,14L/ 101%; post: 2,79L/88%), but only in 7 patients for values < 80%. In 2 cases the values of FEV1 and FVC improved after surgery and in 4 there was only an increase in FVC. All of these 6 patients were non smokers and in 50% the preoperative pulmonary function tests were normal; 4 underwent a lobectomy and 2 a segmentectomy; all were submitted to postoperative respiratory rehabilitation. FEV1 worsened in 24 patients, with a mean reduction of 20,3%, and FVC in 20 patients, with a mean reduction of 17,6%. The worsening of FEV1 and FVC was statistically related to the type of surgery, with a greater reduction after lobectomy and pneumectomy. CONCLUSIONS: Our results illustrate a negative, but not highly significant, functional impact of lung ressection surgery. As discussed in literature, the impact is greater after larger surgical resections. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Evaluate the real functional impact of the pulmonary resection in our patients and contribute to a better selection of them for surgery.
CHEST Journal, 2014
INTRODUCTION: Osteochondroplastic tracheobronchopathy (OT) is a rare benign disorder, with unknow... more INTRODUCTION: Osteochondroplastic tracheobronchopathy (OT) is a rare benign disorder, with unknown etiology, characterised by the presence of osteocartilaginous nodules within the submucosa of the anterior and lateral walls of the trachea and the main bronchus. CASE PRESENTATION: Case report 1: 70 year-old male, past smoker, with a history of pulmonary tuberculosis, was sent to Pulmonology for a lung nodule observed in a chest x-ray. He complained of occasional cough and uncharacteristic left thoracic pain. The chest-CT revealed lung micronodules, the biggest with 8.6 mm, diffuse bronchiectasis and small irregular nodularities, with tracheobronchial lumen projection. The patient was submitted to a bronchofibroscopy, where nodular deformities in the anterior and lateral walls of the trachea were observed and biopsied. The histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of OT. No specify therapy was initiated and the patient maintained follow-up. Now, 2 years after the diagnosis, he is asymptomatic and with radiological stabilization of the lesions. Case report 2: 70 year-old male, admitted to the hospital for a left pleural effusion, which was interpreted as metapneumonic and treated with antibiotherapy for 17 days. The chest-CT revealed a left pleural effusion and calcified nodular irregularities in the lower portion of the anterior wall of the trachea. After hospital discharge, the result of blood cultures were obtained, which were positive for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (MT),
BJU International, 2010
Study Type – Therapy (case series)Level of Evidence 4 What’s known on the subject? and What does ... more Study Type – Therapy (case series)Level of Evidence 4 What’s known on the subject? and What does the study add? Intraprostatic injection of botulinum toxin type A was shown to be effective in decreasing symptoms of BPH in several recent studies. However, the possible impairment of sexual function caused by the neurotoxin had never been investigated.This study shows that intraprostatic administration of botulinum toxin type A neither causes deterioration of sexual function (libido, orgasm, erectile function or ejaculation), nor alteration of serum testosterone levels.OBJECTIVE• To evaluate the consequences on male sexual function of intraprostatic injection of botulinum toxin type A (BoNT/A) as a treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Although BoNT/A is effective in decreasing symptoms of BPH, neuronal impairment caused by the neurotoxin might affect emission/ejaculation. These aspects have not been evaluated before.PATIENTS AND METHODS• In all, 16 sexually active men aged...
Botanica Marina, 2006
In vivo chlorophyll fluorescence measured by pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry was used... more In vivo chlorophyll fluorescence measured by pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) fluorometry was used as an indicator of photosynthetic activity in tank-cultivated red algae wGracilaria cornea and Asparagopsis armata (tetrasporophyte phase, previously known as Falkenbergia rufolanosa)x using effluent seawater from sea bream fishponds (Sparus aurata). Optimal quantum yield of indoorgrown G. cornea did not change during the period analysed (2 months). In contrast, optimal quantum yield decreased drastically in algae transferred from indoor to outdoor conditions. Maximal electron transport rate increased and photosynthetic pigments decreased in algae growing outdoors, indicating an acclimation to high irradiance. After 16 days, chlorophyll fluorescence decreased drastically and recovered partially when algae were transferred again from outdoor to indoor conditions. Falkenbergia rufolanosa was grown at three different biomass densities (4, 6 and 8 g l-1). The effects of three consecutive air compressor failure events on the photosynthetic activity were followed. An apparent degradation of the physiological conditions of the algae (resulting in their bleaching) was observed, concomitant with a strong decrease in the optimal quantum yield. This decrease was higher at algal biomass densities of 4 g l-1 than at 6 or 8 g l-1. Three days after transfer to optimal conditions, i.e., normal aeration conditions, optimal quantum yield reached values around 0.50-0.55, close to the values before stress conditions. The results revealed that the use of chlorophyll fluorescence is a powerful means to rapidly detect different stress situations in integrated cultivation of seaweeds using fishpond effluents. In particular, the optimal quantum yield of algae can be monitored regularly as an early warning of the physiological stress in cultures.
BJU International, 2009
To evaluate the short-term surgical complications and results of a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT... more To evaluate the short-term surgical complications and results of a tension-free vaginal tape (TVT) system (TVT-Secur, Gynecare, Ethicon, Somerville, NJ, USA) in the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). TVT-Secur was applied to 107 women with SUI through a vaginal incision and left abutting the urethra. Postoperative pain, complications, de novo lower urinary tract symptoms, incontinence cure rate and the…
Materials and Structures, 2007