Time evolution of the behaviour of Brazilian legislative Representatives using a complex network approach

The follow up of Representative behavior after elections is imperative for a democratic Representative system, at the very least to punish betrayal with no re-election. Our goal was to show how to follow Representatives' and how to show behavior in real situations and observe trends in political crises including the onset of game changing political instabilities. We used correlation and correlation distance matrices of Brazilian Representative votes during four presidential terms. Re-ordering these matrices with Minimal Spanning Trees displays the dynamical formation of clusters for the sixteen year period, which includes one Presidential impeachment. The reordered matrices, colored by correlation strength and by the parties clearly show the origin of observed clusters and their evolution over time. When large clusters provide government support cluster breaks, political instability arises, which could lead to an impeachment, a trend we observed three years before the Brazilian President was impeached. We believe this method could be applied to foresee other political storms.Comment: 11 pages, 4 Figure

Marcapasso Cardíaco Provisório

Com breve histórico de sua evoluçao, o artigo aborda os vários tipos de estimulaçao temporária: cutâneo torácica, endocárdica e epicárdica. Descreve as indicaçoes de implante, as técnicas operatórias, os cuidados pós implante, as complicaçoes e suas resoluçoes. Comenta também as vantagens da estimulaçao provisória bicameral e o alvissareiro eletrodo provisório endocárdico bicameral, recém introduzido no mercado

Marcapasso Cardíaco Provisório

Com breve histórico de sua evoluçao, o artigo aborda os vários tipos de estimulaçao temporária: cutâneo torácica, endocárdica e epicárdica. Descreve as indicaçoes de implante, as técnicas operatórias, os cuidados pós implante, as complicaçoes e suas resoluçoes. Comenta também as vantagens da estimulaçao provisória bicameral e o alvissareiro eletrodo provisório endocárdico bicameral, recém introduzido no mercado

Human Mobility in Large Cities as a Proxy for Crime

We investigate at the subscale of the neighborhoods of a highly populated city the incidence of property crimes in terms of both the resident and the floating population. Our results show that a relevant allometric relation could only be observed between property crimes and floating population. More precisely, the evidence of a superlinear behavior indicates that a disproportional number of property crimes occurs in regions where an increased flow of people takes place in the city. For comparison, we also found that the number of crimes of peace disturbance only correlates well, and in a superlinear fashion too, with the resident population. Our study raises the interesting possibility that the superlinearity observed in previous studies [Bettencourt et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104, 7301 (2007) and Melo et al., Sci. Rep. 4, 6239 (2014)] for homicides versus population at the city scale could have its origin in the fact that the floating population, and not the resident one, should be taken as the relevant variable determining the intrinsic microdynamical behavior of the system.Comment: 17 pages, 8 Figure

Estimulaçao cardíaca artificial epimiocárdica temporária

Com o objetivo de comparar o comportamento e os parâmetros elétricos de cabos-eletrodos de marcapasso cardíaco temporário sao estudados dez pacientes submetidos à cirurgia de revascularizaçao miocárdica e estimulaçao cardíaca artificial com duas técnicas de implante. Numa o eletrodo fica totalmente em contato com o miocárdio, e noutra parte dele usada para fixaçao, fica exposta na cavidade pericardica. Dada a superioridade da primeira tendo em vista a regularidade da impedância e os melhores limiares - agudos e crônicos de estimulaçao e captaçao, concluiu-se que: a) a área do eletrodo deve ser padronizada, b) o eletrodo deve ficar totalmente em contato com o miocárdio e c) é conveniente que o mesmo seja confeccionado industrialment

Insecticidal Activity of [Cu(H2NTA)2].2H2O in Aedes aegypti Larvae (Diptera: Culicidae)

The demand for new insecticides and alternative strategies for the population control of Aedes aegypti has stimulated research to obtain new compounds with broad biological activity. Accordingly, the dihydrogen nitrilotriacetate complex of copper (II) dihydrate, [Cu(H2NTA)2].2H2O, was synthesized by the stoichiometric reaction of nitrilotriacetic acid (H3NTA) hydroxide with basic copper carbonate (II) (Cu2(OH)2CO3) and characterized by the spectroscopic techniques UV-Vis and FT-IR. The biological toxicity in A. aegypti was determined by bioassay using concentrations ranging from 90.0 mg L−1 to 897.4 mg L−1. The LC50 obtained was 146.11 mg L−1 [132.18–160.10] and the LT50 obtained at a concentration of 897.4 mg L−1 was 70.61 min [38.21–94.90]. The results showed that the complex obtained in this work is a potential metal-insecticide. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v7i4.73

Clinical Study Intraoperative Full-Dose of Partial Breast Irradiation with Electrons Delivered by Standard Linear Accelerators for Early Breast Cancer

is properly cited. Purpose. To assess feasibility, efficacy, toxicity, and cosmetic results of intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) with electrons delivered by standard linear accelerators (Linacs) during breast conserving surgeries for early infiltrating breast cancer (BC) treatment. Materials and Methods. A total of 152 patients with invasive ductal carcinoma ( ≤ 3.0 cm) at low risk for local relapses were treated. All had unicentric lesions by imaging methods and negative sentinel node. After a wide local excision, 21 Gy were delivered on the parenchyma target volume with electron beams. Local recurrences (LR), survival, toxicity, and cosmetic outcomes were analyzed. Results. The median age was 58.3 years (range 40-85); median follow-up was 50.7 months (range 12-101.5). There were 5 cases with LR, 2 cases with distant metastases, and 2 cases with deaths related to BC. The cumulative incidence rates of LR, distant metastases, and BC death were 3.2%, 1.5%, and 1.5%, respectively. Complications were rare, and the cosmetic results were excellent or good in most of the patients. Conclusions. IORT with electrons delivered by standard Linacs is feasible, efficient, and well tolerated and seems to be beneficial for selected patients with early infiltrating BC

Prediabetes blunts DPP4 genetic control of postprandial glycaemia and insulin secretion

Funding Information: The PREVADIAB-2 study was supported by a grant from the Portuguese Directorate General of Health. This work was financed by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (reference number PTDC/BIM/MET/4265/2014), by iNOVA4Health UIDB/Multi/04462/2020 and by ONEIDA (project E-411021.01, Lisboa-01-0145-FEDER-016417, co-funded by FEEI [Fundos Europeus Estruturais e de Investimento] from Programa Operacional Regional Lisboa 2020. We also acknowledge the research infrastructure CONGENTO (project LISBOA-01-0145-FEDER-022170), co-financed by Lisboa Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund and the Foundation for Science and Technology (Portugal).Aims/hypothesis: Imbalances in glucose metabolism are hallmarks of clinically silent prediabetes (defined as impaired fasting glucose and/or impaired glucose tolerance) representing dysmetabolism trajectories leading to type 2 diabetes. CD26/dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) is a clinically proven molecular target of diabetes-controlling drugs but the DPP4 gene control of dysglycaemia is not proven. Methods: We dissected the genetic control of post-OGTT and insulin release responses by the DPP4 gene in a Portuguese population-based cohort of mainly European ancestry that comprised individuals with normoglycaemia and prediabetes, and in mouse experimental models of Dpp4 deficiency and hyperenergetic diet. Results: In individuals with normoglycaemia, DPP4 single-nucleotide variants governed glycaemic excursions (rs4664446, p=1.63x10−7) and C-peptide release responses (rs2300757, p=6.86x10−5) upon OGTT. Association with blood glucose levels was stronger at 30 min OGTT, but a higher association with the genetic control of insulin secretion was detected in later phases of the post-OGTT response, suggesting that the DPP4 gene directly senses glucose challenges. Accordingly, in mice fed a normal chow diet but not a high-fat diet, we found that, under OGTT, expression of Dpp4 is strongly downregulated at 30 min in the mouse liver. Strikingly, no genetic association was found in prediabetic individuals, indicating that post-OGTT control by DPP4 is abrogated in prediabetes. Furthermore, Dpp4 KO mice provided concordant evidence that Dpp4 modulates post-OGTT C-peptide release in normoglycaemic but not dysmetabolic states. Conclusions/interpretation: These results showed the DPP4 gene as a strong determinant of post-OGTT levels via glucose-sensing mechanisms that are abrogated in prediabetes. We propose that impairments in DPP4 control of post-OGTT insulin responses are part of molecular mechanisms underlying early metabolic disturbances associated with type 2 diabetes. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin