Understanding Breast Implant Illness via Social Media Data Analysis

Background: Breast implants have been increasingly popular over the last 20 years. There have been growing concerns with the risks of breast implants. Meanwhile, media phenomenon called "breast implant illness" (BII) has emerged. Objective: To identify and summarize key attributes of BII using social media data. Materials and Methods: We conducted social media data analysis to better understand the symptoms, signs, etc., that are associated with BII using Natural Language Processing (NLP) and topic modeling. We extracted mentions related to signs/symptoms, diseases/disorders and medical procedures using the Clinical Text Analysis and Knowledge Extraction System (cTAKES). Extracted mentions are mapped to standard medical concepts. We summarized mapped concepts to topics using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). Results: Our analysis identified topics related to toxicity, cancer and mental health issues that are highly associated with breast implant illness. We also identified pains and other disorders commonly associated with breast implant illness. Discussion: Our analysis suggests that breast implant illness can possibly lead to serious health issues such as autoimmune disorders, cancer, pain, fatigue. We also find that toxicity from silicone implants and mental health concerns are some underlying factors in BII. Our study could inspire future work to further study the suggested symptoms and factors of BII. Conclusion: Our analysis over social media data identifies mentions such as rupture, infection, pain and fatigue that are considered common self-reported issues among the public. Our analysis also shows that cancers, autoimmune disorders and mental health problems are emerging concerns, albeit less studied for breast implants.Comment: 22 pages (including a cover page, acknowledgements, references), 1 figure, 4 tables. The manuscript is submitted to the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association and is currently under revie

Proposta para implementação de ações de melhorias na gestão do conselho do Fundo de Manutenção e Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica e de Valorização dos Profissionais da Educação - CACS FUNDEB do município de Balsa Nova-PR

Orientador : Diana Gurgel PegoriniTrabalho (especialização) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Sociais Aplicadas. Curso de Especialização em Gestão PúblicaInclui referênciasResumo : O Fundo de Manutenção e Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica e de Valorização dos Profissionais de Educação – FUNDEB é um mecanismo essencial para o desenvolvimento da educação básica pública brasileira. O FUNDEB financia mais de 50% da educação do município de Balsa Nova e o controle social deste fundo ganha importância fundamental para o sucesso das políticas públicas no que tange a educação. Este trabalho, portanto, procura verificar as dificuldades do conselhos de acompanhamento e controle social do Fundeb (CACS Fundeb) no município de Balsa Nova propondo assim melhorias para o que o mesmo realize seus trabalhos de uma maneira mais eficiente. Os CACS Fundeb é um exelente espaço para a participação social sendo assim uma ferramenta essencial para que os investimentos em educação sejam feitos de forma adequada. Os resultados deste trabalho revelam características importantes e analisa a qualidade de participação dos conselheiros apontando alguns caminhos que possam ajudar a melhorar o seu desempenho. É nitido que o controle social do Fundeb deve atur com efeciência para garantia que os recursos realmente sejam bem aplicados na área da educação, contribuindo para a melhoria da qualidade do ensino no município

Epilepsy, Behavioral Abnormalities, and Physiological Comorbidities in Syntaxin-Binding Protein 1 (STXBP1) Mutant Zebrafish.

Mutations in the synaptic machinery gene syntaxin-binding protein 1, STXBP1 (also known as MUNC18-1), are linked to childhood epilepsies and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Zebrafish STXBP1 homologs (stxbp1a and stxbp1b) have highly conserved sequence and are prominently expressed in the larval zebrafish brain. To understand the functions of stxbp1a and stxbp1b, we generated loss-of-function mutations using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing and studied brain electrical activity, behavior, development, heart physiology, metabolism, and survival in larval zebrafish. Homozygous stxbp1a mutants exhibited a profound lack of movement, low electrical brain activity, low heart rate, decreased glucose and mitochondrial metabolism, and early fatality compared to controls. On the other hand, homozygous stxbp1b mutants had spontaneous electrographic seizures, and reduced locomotor activity response to a movement-inducing "dark-flash" visual stimulus, despite showing normal metabolism, heart rate, survival, and baseline locomotor activity. Our findings in these newly generated mutant lines of zebrafish suggest that zebrafish recapitulate clinical phenotypes associated with human syntaxin-binding protein 1 mutations

Características e controle da podridão "olho de boi" nas maçãs do sul do Brasil.

bitstream/item/55164/1/cir066.pd

Standardized and reproducible measurement of decision-making in mice

Progress in science requires standardized assays whose results can be readily shared, compared, and reproduced across laboratories. Reproducibility, however, has been a concern in neuroscience, particularly for measurements of mouse behavior. Here we show that a standardized task to probe decision-making in mice produces reproducible results across multiple laboratories. We designed a task for head-fixed mice that combines established assays of perceptual and value-based decision making, and we standardized training protocol and experimental hardware, software, and procedures. We trained 140 mice across seven laboratories in three countries, and we collected 5 million mouse choices into a publicly available database. Learning speed was variable across mice and laboratories, but once training was complete there were no significant differences in behavior across laboratories. Mice in different laboratories adopted similar reliance on visual stimuli, on past successes and failures, and on estimates of stimulus prior probability to guide their choices. These results reveal that a complex mouse behavior can be successfully reproduced across multiple laboratories. They establish a standard for reproducible rodent behavior, and provide an unprecedented dataset and open-access tools to study decision-making in mice. More generally, they indicate a path towards achieving reproducibility in neuroscience through collaborative open-science approaches

Risk factors of one year increment of coronary calcifications and survival in hemodialysis patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Heart and coronary calcifications in hemodialysis patients are of very common occurrence and linked to cardiovascular events and mortality. Several studies have been published with similar results. Most of them were mainly cross-sectional and some of the prospective protocols were aimed to evaluate the results of the control of altered biochemical parameters of mineral disturbances with special regard to serum calcium, phosphate and CaxP with the use of calcium containing and calcium free phosphate chelating agents. The aim of the present study was to evaluate in hemodialysis patients classic and some non classic risk factors as predictors of calcification changes after one year and to evaluate the impact of progression on survival.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>81 patients on hemodialysis were studied, with a wide age range and HD vintage. Several classic parameters and some less classic risk factors were studied like fetuin-A, CRP, 25-OHD and leptin. Calcifications, as Agatston scores, were evaluated with Multislice CT basally and after 12-18 months.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Coronary artery calcifications were observed in 71 of 81 patients. Non parametric correlations between Agatston scores and Age, HD Age, PTH and CRP were significant. Delta increments of Agatston scores correlated also with serum calcium, CaxP, Fetuin-A, triglycerides and serum albumin. Logistic regression analysis showed Age, PTH and serum calcium as important predictors of Delta Agatston scores. LN transformation of the not normally distributed variables restricted the significant correlations to Age, BMI and CRP. Considering the Delta Agatston scores as dependent, significant predictors were Age, PTH and HDL. A strong association was found between basal calcification scores and Delta increment at one year. By logistic analysis, the one year increments in Agatston scores were found to be predictors of mortality. Diabetic and hypertensive patients have significantly higher Delta scores.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Progression of calcification is of common occurrence, with special regard to elevated basal scores, and is predictive of survival. Higher predictive value of survival is linked to the one year increment of calcification scores. Some classic and non classic risk factors play an important role in progression. Some of them could be controlled with appropriate management with possible improvement of mortality.</p

Neurodegenerative Diseases and Autophagy

Most neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the accumulation of aggregated proteins within neurons. These aggregate-prone proteins cause toxicity, a phenomenon that is further exacerbated when there is defective protein clearance. Autophagy is an intracellular clearance pathway that can clear these protein aggregates and has been shown to be beneficial in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases in a variety of model systems. Here, we introduce the key components of the autophagy machinery and signaling pathways that control this process and discuss the evidence that autophagic flux may be impaired and therefore a contributing factor in neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis. Finally, we review the use of autophagy upregulation as a therapeutic strategy to treat neurodegenerative disorders

A standardized and reproducible method to measure decision-making in mice.

Abstract Progress in neuroscience is hindered by poor reproducibility of mouse behavior. Here we show that in a visual decision making task, reproducibility can be achieved by automating the training protocol and by standardizing experimental hardware, software, and procedures. We trained 101 mice in this task across seven laboratories at six different research institutions in three countries, and obtained 3 million mouse choices. In trained mice, variability in behavior between labs was indistinguishable from variability within labs. Psychometric curves showed no significant differences in visual threshold, bias, or lapse rates across labs. Moreover, mice across laboratories adopted similar strategies when stimulus location had asymmetrical probability that changed over time. We provide detailed instructions and open-source tools to set up and implement our method in other laboratories. These results establish a new standard for reproducibility of rodent behavior and provide accessible tools for the study of decision making in mice

Prospecção de biofungicidas visando o desenvolvimento de metodologias para o controle biorracional do fitopatógeno de pêssego Monilinia fructicola no pré e pós-colheita

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Francisco de Assis MarquesCoorientadora: Profa. Dra. Louise Larissa May de MioDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Exatas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Química. Defesa : Curitiba, 24/02/2015Inclui referências: p.84-92Resumo: O pessegueiro (Prunus persicae) é uma planta originária da China e atualmente cultivada em várias partes do mundo, tendo iniciado sua produção no Brasil nos anos 70. As maiores preocupações que causam prejuízos à cultura do pêssego são as perdas por podridões no pré e pós-colheita, sendo que a doença mais importante dessa cultura é a podridão parda, causada pelo fungo Monilinia fructicola. O controle químico é o método mais adotado para a prevenção da podridão parda, e é realizado com pulverizações de fungicidas desde a floração até a pré-colheita, sendo que os princípios ativos mais utilizados são organoclorados. Apesar da eficiência desses produtos, o uso dos mesmos pode acarretar uma série de problemas, como a intoxicação de seres humanos, o desequilíbrio ambiental, a contaminação de lençóis freáticos, o aumento da resistência dos patógenos aos produtos, o impacto na biodiversidade e a alteração na qualidade do produto final. Não se conhece nenhum produto eficiente para o controle da doença no pós-colheita e armazenagem, tornando as perdas no pós-colheita um problema ainda sem solução. Neste contexto, o desenvolvimento de métodos de controle de doenças alternativos aos agroquímicos tornou-se necessário e imprescindível. O uso de produtos de origem natural também tem se apresentado como uma alternativa promissora para a substituição e/ou redução de aplicação de pesticidas sintéticos. Em testes de germinação in vitro por contato direto com o patógeno, alguns produtos apresentaram boa atividade contra M. fructicola, entre eles eugenol, presente em grande quantidade no óleo de cravo (Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb, Syzygium aromaticum), e seu isômero isoeugenol. Esse primeiro foi modificado quimicamente, a fim de se tentar avaliar se a hidroxila fenólica presente em sua estrutura era responsável pela atividade. Um de seus derivados, o eugenato de sódio, apresentou boa atividade, indicando que o íon fenolato é responsável pela atividade do produto. Isso abre uma nova perspectiva para o controle da doença no pré-colheita. O citral apresentou boa atividade em testes por volatilização in vitro e in vivo, apontando-o como um produto promissor para o controle de M. fructicola no pós-colheita. Este trabalho trouxe alternativas promissoras para o controle da podridão parda, tanto no pré como no pós-colheita, podendo essas substituir os produtos tóxicos utilizados atualmente. Porém, ainda são necessários mais testes para que os mesmos possam ser aplicados efetivamente, como bioensaios que avaliem a atividade dos compostos em isolados fitopatogênicos de diferentes origens, testes de inibição no crescimento micelial, análise a campo das metodologias desenvolvidas em laboratório tentando viabilizar maior tempo de permanência no campo dos compostos, o desenvolvimento de mecanismos de liberação controlada a fim de otimizar os resultados obtidos em laboratório com os compostos a serem empregados no controle da podridão parda no pós-colheita, e análises por microscopia eletrônica de transmissão dos fungos tratados com os produtos visando acumular informações a respeito do mecanismo de ação dos compostos por comparação com grupo controle. Palavras-chave: podridão-parda; metodologias alternativas de controle; Monilinia fructicola.Abstract: The peach-tree (Prunus persicae) is a plant original from China, and currently cultivated all over the world. The production of peach in Brazil have started at 70's. The biggest concerns about injuries to the culture of peach are the losses caused by diseases in pre and postharvest, and the most important pathology in this culture is the brown rot, caused by the fungi Monilinia fructicola. The chemical control is the most common method applied for prevention of brown rot. Fungicide applications are made from flowering to harvest, and the active ingredients most used are organochlorines. Although these compounds are very efficient in most cases, they can cause many problems, like the intoxication of human beings, environmental imbalance, contamination of groundwater, increased resistance of the pathogens to the products, impact in biodiversity and alteration in the quality of the final product. There is no known effective product for the control of this disease in postharvest and storage, so these losses are an unsolved problem. In this context, the development of new alternative methodologies of control became necessary and indispensable. The use of natural products represents a promising alternative for replacement and/or reduction of synthetic pesticides applied in peach farms. In germination bioassays in vitro by direct contact with the pathogen, some products showed good activities against M. fructicola. One of them was eugenol, the major compound of carnation essential oil ((Eugenia caryophyllata Thunb, Syzygium aromaticum)), and its isomer isoeugenol. The first one has been chemically modified, with the purpose of evaluate if the phenolic hydroxyl group present in this structure is the responsible for the activity. One of the derivatives, the sodium eugenate, showed good activity. Citral presented very good activity in volatilization assays, in vitro and in vivo, what makes it a promising product for the control of M. fructicola in postharvest. This work brought new promising alternatives for control of brown rot, in both pre and postharvest, and these methodologies may substitute the toxic products used currently. However, more assays are still needed, like bioassays that evaluate the activity of these compounds in pathogens of different sources, mycelium growth inhibition assays, application of these products in field, the development of controlled liberation mechanisms in volatilization methodologies, optimizing of the results obtained in laboratory with compounds to be employed in postharvest control of brown rot, and transmission electron microscopy 10 analysis of the fungi in contact with products in an attempt to understand the mechanism of action of these compounds. Key-words: Brown-rot; alternative methodologies of control; Monilinia fructicola

Mesoscale imaging, inactivation, and collaboration in a standardized visual decision-making task

Typical neuroscience experiments in the field of decision-making have focused on recording in one or a few brain areas while animals perform a task created by and only used in their own lab with their own custom hardware and software. This makes combining information from these studies to address big questions, such as how information across the whole brain produces a decision, impossible. Big questions such as this are better addressed by collaborations that can enforce standardized methods across their members and can therefore pool their efforts and resources. One such collaboration, the IBL, is focusing on how the mouse brain solves a basic perceptual decision-making task. Towards this goal, in collaboration with the IBL, I have created a standardized visual decision-making task that allows comparison of experiments both between labs and between experimental modalities. I have recorded thousands of neurons across the brain in contribution to a brainwide map of single cell spiking activity during decision-making. These recordings are in contribution to three main scientific goals, a brainwide map of activity related to decision-making, methods for standardized and reproducible electrophysiology recordings, and an electrophysiological atlas of the mouse brain. In my own experiments performed alongside those of the IBL, I used an unbiased inhibition scan across the dorsal cortex to determine the causal cortical areas for performing the IBL task. This revealed that visual cortex inactivation impairs accumulation of contralateral visual information, and secondary motor cortex inactivation biases the starting point of the decision process away from the contralateral side. I additionally performed calcium imaging of the whole mouse dorsal cortex as an independent source of neural recording from the IBL brainwide map. These recordings indicate that task information is broadcast widely across the cortical network, but the strongest information is localized in the expected nodes: initially after stimulus onset in V1, then progressively in M2. These recordings additionally revealed two cortical representations of stimulus or choice expectation: a selective prestimulus suppression, and post stimulus excitation for the expected stimulus-driven areas in V1 and M2, and a potential embodied expectation that is reflected in the paw and torso somatosensory areas. Finally I have shown proof-of-principle experiments that one can simultaneously optogenetically manipulate targeted cortical areas, while monitoring the neural activity across the whole dorsal cortex with widefield calcium imaging. Though this experiment still has a few flaws such as the visual detection of red light, it could lead to many discoveries about the basic function of cortical networks