Épidémiologie de l’Asthme dans les Pays Lusophones

Asthma in schoolchildren became a priority both for developing and developed countries. Two large multi-centre epidemiological studies(Portuguese Study of Allergic Diseases in Childhood and the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) were implemented in the last decade. One of the main objectives was to compare prevalence of asthma and evaluate cultural, ethnic and environmental variables in schoolchildren of different continents. These studies can contribute to a global strategy (with national specificity’s) including self management programs in the control of asthma to reduce the morbidity and mortality, and promote better quality of life with better allocation of resources

Status Epilepticus

O Estado de Mal Epiléptico é uma situação com expressão clínica variável, relacionando-se o seu prognóstico com a etiologia subjacente. O Estado de Mal Convulsivo constitui uma emergência médica associada com elevadas taxas de morbilidade e de mortalidade, sendo essencial uma intervenção terapêutica precoce e adequada. Os autores apresentam um esquema de protocolo terapêutico a utilizar neste quadro

From 1D convolutional codes to 2D convolutional codes of rate 1/n

In this paper we introduce a new type of superregular matrices that give rise to novel constructions of two-dimensional (2D) convolutional codes with finite support. These codes are of rate 1=n and degree d with n d +1 and achieve the maximum possible distance among all 2D convolutional codes with finite support with the same parameters

NUMERICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF THE FLOW OVER A COMMERCIAL VEHICLE - PICKUP

This work presents an ongoing numerical and experimental study of the flow around a pickup vehicle by means of CFD simulations and wind tunnel experiments. The model was based on the light-pickup market in Brazil and it was designed with flat surfaces and sharp edges. One of the objectives of this research was the understanding about the flow pattern around the vehicle, especially in the region behind the cabin and the wake. Another goal was to obtain original data from experimental measurements which could be used on further computational investigations. The experiments were carried out in a low-speed wind tunnel at Reynolds number of 5 x 105. Hot-wire anemometry was used to obtain the velocity profiles. Wall tufts were applied to describe the flow direction and regions of attached/detached and recirculation zones. Acceleration due to the underbody and the shear layer formed on the cabin were well defined, also indicating a region of reverse flow behind the tailgate. The flow visualization allowed the identification of recirculation regions inside the trunk and regions of detached flow. These flow patterns were also reproduced in the CFD simulations resulting satisfactory information to describe the main flow pattern over the pickup vehicle

Épidémiologie de l’Asthme et des Allergies dans les Pays de Langue Portugaise

The application of the same epidemiological methods in different countries allows important comparisons between different races and cultures. During the last decade, two large multi-centres epidemiological studies, the Portuguese Study of Allergic Diseases in Childhood (PAC study) and the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC study), were implemented in Portuguese speaking regions. The main objectives were to assess and compare allergic diseases prevalence. The authors stress out the significant differences observed in schoolchildren from the three continents, with different genetic and environmental background. It was found an increase trend in the prevalence of all allergic diseases, mainly rhinitis, in last decade. Rhinitis has been identified as an independent risk factor for asthma in Caucasian population

Role of microRNAs in the regulation of cardiovascular diseases : focus on remodelling

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a large class of noncoding RNAs that regulate the expression of protein-coding genes at the post-transcriptional level . They are recognized as regulators of biological processes underlying cardiovascular disorders including hypertrophy, ischemic heart disease, valvular disease and arrhythmias. Particularly, circulating miRNAs are promising biomarkers of cardiovascular pathology (1). MiRNAs are small, noncoding, RNA molecules with approximately 22 nucleotides in length, which act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Individual miRNAs have been demonstrated to negatively regulate the expression of multiple gene transcripts by the cleavage or suppression of translation of a target mRNA. Conversely, the expression of individual genes can be regulated by multiple miRNAs. Since their experimental description in 1993 (2), a large number of miRNAs known by their gene-regulatory roles in different biological processes, have been catalogued. In fact, miRNAs are known to regulate approximately one third of all coding gene transcripts in mammals, showing their importance as key process modulators (3). Regarding cardiovascular diseases, miRNAs have been identified as key regulators of complex biological processes linked to several conditions as presented above, including left ventricular remodelling, atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction, heart failure, hypertension and arrhythmias (1). miRNAs are expressed in the cardiovascular system, but their role in cardiovascular diseases has not yet been entirely clarified. Moreover, since the discovery that miRNAs are present in the circulation, they have been investigated as novel biomarker as presented bellow. Only 3% of the human genome codes for proteins. Nevertheless, while noncoding RNAs will not act for coding into proteins they modulate all genomic functions. These noncoding RNAs include short miRNAs with approximately 22 nucleotides) and longer, with >200 nucleotides, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) with important biological functions (4) since they are now clearly recognised to play key roles in gene regulation and may simultaneously represent diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in cardiovascular diseases. (5,6) there are in excess of 2000 human miRNAs (catalogued in mirBase (http://www.mirbase.org) (7). Of note, the key feature of the mechanism of action of miRNAs is that a single miRNA can regulate the expression of several genes, depending on the specificity of the target sequence. On the other side, individual genes can be regulated by different miRNAs particularly if they involve complementary sequences for more than one miRNA. These factors lead to a highly complex regulatory mechanism, often difficult to understand. (8,9). In the healthy adult heart, data from a large sequencing project and other sequential studies, has identified a number of miRNAs that are highly expressed in healthy cardiac tissue and thus expected to play a key role in both normal cardiac function and disease. (10,11) These include miR-1, miR-16, miR-27b, miR-30d, miR-126, miR-133, miR-143, miR-208 and the let-7 family. However, many others have been identified and are now under study. The concept of miRNA-based therapeutics has been emerging and under development, with synthetic antagonists of miRNAs (antagomiRs or antimirs) and very promising in animal models but awaiting new advances in phase II human trials, still in its infancy (12,13). miRNAs clearly intervene in physiological and pathological processes in the cardiovascular diseases. We will review miRNA biology and its role on LV remodeling in myocardial infarction, heart failure, hypertension and aortic stenosis as additionally a note will be provided on the potential of miRNAs for therapeutics.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Imunizações e Hipersensibilidade a Proteínas de Ovo

A segurança da administração da vacina do sarampo em indivíduos com hipersensibilidade ao ovo tem sido motivo de controvérsia, dado o receio de uma eventual reacção anafiláctica após a vacina, uma vez que o vírus vivo atenuado utilizado em algumas preparações é cultivado em fibroblastos de embrião de frango. É apresentada uma revisão da literatura sobre resultados de estudos destinados a avaliar a ocorrência de reacções adversas à vacina do sarampo em indivíduos com e sem alergia ao ovo, mostrando que a ocorrência de reacções adversas não é superior à esperada para a população em geral; a utilidade da realização de testes cutâneos com a vacina é também questionada. É descrita a experiência dos autores na imunização contra o sarampo de crianças alérgicas ao ovo. É também apresentada uma breve revisão da literatura sobre a segurança da administração da vacina com o vírus Influenza em indivíduos com alergia ao ovo