On the flow of non-axisymmetric perturbations of cylinders via surface diffusion

We study the surface diffusion flow acting on a class of general (non--axisymmetric) perturbations of cylinders $\mathcal{C}_r$ in ${\rm I \! R}^3$. Using tools from parabolic theory on uniformly regular manifolds, and maximal regularity, we establish existence and uniqueness of solutions to surface diffusion flow starting from (spatially--unbounded) surfaces defined over $\mathcal{C}_r$ via scalar height functions which are uniformly bounded away from the central cylindrical axis. Additionally, we show that $\mathcal{C}_r$ is normally stable with respect to $2 \pi$--axially--periodic perturbations if the radius $r > 1$,and unstable if $0 < r < 1$. Stability is also shown to hold in settings with axial Neumann boundary conditions.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, submitted for publicatio

Cystatin C and renal function in pediatric kidney transplant recipients

In clinical practice, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is often determined with serum creatinine. However, studies have shown cystatin C to be a better parameter for the diagnosis of impaired renal function. We compared GFR estimated by plasma cystatin C with GFR estimated by serum creatinine in a sample of 50 pediatric renal transplant recipients and 24 healthy children. The correlation between GFR estimated by serum creatinine and by cystatin C was significant (r = 0.75; P < 0.001, Person’s correlation); however, in pediatric kidney transplant recipients, the GFR was 6.7 mL/min lower when determined using cystatin C rather than serum creatinine. Moreover, using GFR estimated by cystatin C we found that 42% of the pediatric kidney transplant recipients had an estimated GFR <60 mL·min-1·1.73 (m²)-1, whereas when GFR was estimated by the serum creatinine formula only 16% of the children had values below this cutoff point indicative of chronic kidney disease (P < 0.001). We conclude that, in pediatric kidney transplant recipients, estimation of GFR yields lower values when cystatin C is used rather than serum creatinine.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de Medicina Disciplina de NefrologiaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de PediatriaUNIFESP, Depto. de Medicina Disciplina de NefrologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de PediatriaFAPESP: 04/10342-7SciEL

A gene based bacterial whole genome comparison toolkit

Most of the computational biology analysis is made comparing genomic features. The nucleotide and amino acid sequence alignments are frequently used in gene function identification and genome comparison. Despite its widespread use, there are limitations in their analysis capabilities that need to be considered but are often overlooked or unknown by many researchers. This paper presents a gene based whole genome comparison toolkit which can be used not only as an alternative and more robust way to compare a set of whole genomes, but, also, to understand the tradeoff of the use of sequence local alignment in this kind of comparison. A study case was performed considering fifteen whole genomes of the Xanthomonas genus. The results were compared with the 16S rRNA-processing protein RimM phylogeny and some thresholds for the use of sequence alignments in this kind of analysis were discussed

QUALIDADE DE VIDA DOS PROFISSIONAIS DA ATENÇÃO PRIMÁRIA EM SAÚDE

Objetivou-se avaliar a qualidade de vida dos profissionais atuantes nas Estratégias de Saúde da Família, sendo este um estudo de campo, quantitativo, com aplicação do questionário WHOQOL-bref. Os dados foram coletados de junho a agosto de 2019 e analisados pelo SPSS 25.0. Obteve-se uma participação de 200 funcionários, sendo 190 do sexo feminino. Em relação à qualidade de vida no geral, a mesma foi classificada como regular, por 148 profissionais. Na avaliação dos domínios separadamente, os mesmos também obtiveram o resultado regular. Entre os quatro domínios avaliados, o domínio físico obteve a menor média, de 57,58. Em contrapartida, a maior média foi do domínio social, 68,75.  Percebeu-se, ainda, que um elevado número (63) de pesquisados relatou fazer uso de alguma medicação psicotrópica, sendo 51 da classe antidepressiva. Denota-se a necessidade de intervenções para este público, pois um serviço de qualidade só é ofertado quando há uma boa qualidade de vida associada a boas condições de saúde física e psicológica

Litter as an Important Resource Determining the Diversity of Epigeic Ants in the South-Central Part of Bahia State, Brazil

This study evaluates the richness and composition of the epigeic ant fauna in two Caatinga areas (site 1: Brejo Novo and 2: Frizuba) within a transitional region (between the Caatinga and the Decidual Atlantic Forest) in the Municipality of Jequié, state of Bahia, Brazil. Ants were sampled using pitfall traps and Winkler extractor method in 50 randomly chosen points, totalizing a sampling area of 12.5 ha per site. Overall, we identified 60 species belongingto 27 genera. The most speciose genera were Pheidole, Camponotus, and Solenopsis (with five species each) followed by Wasmannia and Cephalotes (four species each). Pheidole sp1. was the most frequent species (occurring in approximately 60% of the samples). Since site 1 did not possess a litter layer (and therefore could not be sampled by the Winkler extractor) comparisons between the two areas were made using only the data provided by the pitfalltrap method. The Simpson diversity indexes calculated for sites 1 and 2 were 0.87 and 0.89, respectively, and showed no statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.417). The Jaccard coefficient revealed only 35.5% similarity in species composition between the two areas. The results suggest that the presence of litter contributed to increased species richness (the Winkler method added 28 species in the sum total of species collected) and “shaped” a distinct faunal composition of the area. The present study is the first ant fauna inventory in the region and reveals an unexplored conservation potential for the Decidual Forest and the Caatinga of northeastern Brazil

Serum endocan levels associated with hypertension and loss of renal function in pediatric patients after two years from renal transplant

Endocan is an important biomarker of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction that increases in association with several chronic diseases. Few published data have described the role of endocan in pediatric renal transplant (RT) patients. We evaluated the endocan concentrations in 62 children who underwent renal transplantation and assessed their relationships with the patients' blood pressure and loss of renal function. The endocan levels were significantly elevated in the pediatric RT patients who had hypertension and a loss of renal function. We determined positive correlations between the endocan concentrations and the hemodynamic variables (systolic blood pressure: r = 0.416P = 0.001pulse pressure: r = 0.412P = 0.003). The endocan levels were inversely correlated with the estimated glomerular filtration rate (r = -0.388P = 0.003). An endocan cutoff concentration of 7.0 ng/mL identified pediatric RT patients who had hypertension and a loss of renal function with 100% sensitivity and 75% specificity. In conclusion, the endocan concentrations were significantly elevated in pediatric RT patients who had both hypertension and a loss of renal function. The correlations between the endocan levels and the hemodynamic variables and the markers of renal function strengthen the hypothesis that it is an important marker of cardiorenal risk.FAPESP (Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo, Brazil) [2013/03139-0]CNPq (Conselho-Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico) [443248/2014-1]Nephrology Division, School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, BrazilPediatrics Department, School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, BrazilNephrology Division, School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, BrazilPediatrics Department, School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, BrazilFAPESP: 2013/03139-0CNPq: 443248/2014-1Web of Scienc

Socioeconomic Position, Not Race, Is Linked to Death After Cardiac Surgery

Background—Health disparities have been associated with the prevalence of cardiovascular disease. In cardiac surgery, association has been found between race, sex, and poorer prognosis after surgery. However, there is a complex interplay between race, sex, and socioeconomic position (SEP). In our investigation we sought to identify which of these was the driver of risk-adjusted survival. Methods and Results—From January 1, 1995, and December 30, 2005, 23 330 patients (15 156 white men, 6932 white women, 678 black men, and 564 black women) underwent isolated coronary artery bypass grafting, valve, or combined coronary artery bypass grafting and valve procedures. Median follow-up was 5.8 years (25th and 75th percentiles: 3 and 8.6 years). Effect of race, sex, and SEP on all-cause mortality was examined with 2-phase Cox model and generalized propensity score technique. As expected, blacks and women had lower SEP as compared with whites and men for all 6 SEP indicators. Patients with lower SEP had more atherosclerotic disease burden, more comorbidity, and were more symptomatic. Lower SEP was associated with a risk-adjusted dose-dependent reduction in survival after surgery (men, P 0.0001; women, P 0.0079), but black race, once adjusted for SEP, was not. Conclusions—Our large investigation demonstrates that disparities in SEP are present and significantly affect health outcomes. Although race per se was not the driver for reduced survival, patients of low SEP were predominantly represented by blacks and women. Socioeconomically disadvantaged patients had significantly higher risk-adjusted mortality after surgery. Further investigation and targeted intervention should focus specifically on patients of low SEP, their health behaviors, and secondary prevention efforts.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/79037/1/Koch_et_al.pd

As exportações de Santa Catarina e do Rio Grande do Sul: um estudo do setor agropecuário no período 2000-2010

O objetivo do artigo foi descrever a evolução das exportações agrícolas de Santa Catarina e do Rio Grande do Sul no período 2000/2010. A metodologia empregada foi a revisão bibliográfica e a coleta de informações em base de dados, como: Fundação de Estatística e Economia (FEE), Atlas Socioeconômico do Rio Grande do Sul (ATLAS), Centro de Socioeconomia e Planejamento Agrícola (EPAGRI/CEPA) e Ministério do Desenvolvimento, Indústria e Comércio Exterior (MDIC). Os resultados revelaram que as exportações agrícolas de Santa Catarina e do Rio Grande do Sul apresentaram um crescimento no período analisado, tanto em valor quanto em volume. Houve um domínio dos produtos de origem animal, que, em 2010, foram quatro dos cinco principais produtos agrícolas exportados por Santa Catarina. O produto “soja, mesmo triturada” aparece com destaque nas exportações gaúchas, em 2010. Observa-se, também, a importância dos estados na exportação de fumo, dado que são os maiores exportadores do país e que o Brasil se destaca também pelo volume de vendas do mesmo. Em relação aos mercados consumidores, em 2010, ocorreu a troca dos EUA pela China como principal importador de produtos gaúchos, seguida pela Argentina. Para Santa Catarina, os principais destinos das exportações agropecuárias foram EUA, Holanda e Argentina, seguidos por Japão e Alemanha.

INFLUÊNCIA DOS OCEANOS PACÍFICO E ATLÂNTICO TROPICAIS SOBRE OS ÍNDICES CLIMÁTICOS DA PRECIPITAÇÃO NA BACIA DO SUBMÉDIO SÃO FRANCISCO

O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar as correlações dos índices de extremos climáticos, dependentes da precipitação pluviométrica, com as anomalias da Temperatura da Superfície do Mar (TSM) nos oceanos Pacífico e Atlântico, para a região do Submédio da bacia hidrográfica do rio São Francisco, visando verificar a influência destes oceanos na variabilidade climática da bacia. Para realização deste trabalho foram utilizados dados diários de precipitação pluviométrica de 36 postos pluviométricos no período de 1964 a 2016, fornecidos pela Agência Pernambucana de Águas e Clima (APAC), Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia (INMET) e Agência Nacional das Águas (ANA). Foram também utilizados dados de anomalias de Temperatura da Superfície do Mar (TSM) do Oceano Pacífico Equatorial nas regiões de Niño 1+2, Niño 3, Niño 3.4 e Niño 4, e Índices dos oceanos Atlântico Norte (TNAI) e Atlântico Sul (TSAI) no período de 1964 a 2016, oriundos da base de dados da Administração Nacional do Oceano e Atmosfera (NOAA). Como metodologia, foi utilizado o software RClimdex para o cálculo de 11 índices de extremos climáticos, visando monitorar e detectar as mudanças do clima e alteração do padrão pluviométrico da região. Após o processamento do RClimdex foi realizada a correlação entre os 11 índices climáticos com os índices oceânicos do Pacífico e Atlântico. Os índices de extremos climáticos indicaram tendência negativa em praticamente todos os índices, com destaque para diminuição da precipitação total anual, situação que converge para a escassez hídrica na região. Constatou-se que as precipitações com tendências negativas são mais influenciadas pelas variações da Temperatura da Superfície do Mar (TSM) no oceano Pacífico em relação às variações no oceano Atlântico, evidenciando que o fenômeno El Niño influencia na redução das chuvas na bacia do Submédio São Francisco