A evolução da densidade sindical no Brasil - 1992/99

The paper investigates the evolution of union density in Brazil over the period 1992/99. The evidence was evaluated at the aggregate levei and also in terms ofindicators specified by sex and industry sector. The evidence indicated a declining trend in union density over time. Multivariate Statistical Analysis and nonparametric tests respectively indicated that a substantial co-movement exist across sectors and that the declining behavior of union density in the aggregate largely reflect the behavior ofma/e workers.O artigo investiga a evolução da densidade sindical ao longo do período 1992/99. A evidência foi avaliada no nível agregado e também em termos de indicadores especificados por sexo e setor de indústria. A evidência indicou uma tendência declinante na densidade sindical ao longo do tempo. Análise Estatística Multivariada e testes não-paramétricos indicaram, respectivamente, que existe um co-movimento entre setores e que o comportamento declinante da densidade sindical no agregado reflete, em grande medida, a evolução dos trabalhadores do sexo masculino

Gadolinium-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance: administered dose in relationship to united states food and drug administration (FDA) guidelines

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Purpose</p> <p>Myocardial late gadolinium enhancement was originally validated using higher than label-recommended doses of gadolinium chelate. The objective of this study was to evaluate available evidence for various gadolinium dosing regimens used for CMR. The relationship of gadolinium dose warnings (due to nephrogenic systemic fibrosis) announced in 2008 to gadolinium dosing regimens was also examined.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a meta-analysis of peer reviewed publications from January, 2004 to December, 2010. Major subject search headings (MeSh) terms from the National Library of Medicine's PubMed were: contrast media, gadolinium, heart, magnetic resonance imaging; searches were limited to human studies with abstracts published in English. Case reports, review articles, editorials, MRA related papers and all reports that did not indicate gadolinium type or weight-based dose were excluded. For all included references, full text was available to determine the total administered gadolinium dose on a per kg basis. Average and median dose values were weighted by the number of subjects in each study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>399 publications were identified in PubMed; 233 studies matched the inclusion criteria, encompassing 19,934 patients with mean age 54.2 ± 11.4 (range 9.3 to 76 years). 34 trials were related to perfusion testing and 199 to myocardial late gadolinium enhancement. In 2004, the weighted-median and weighted-mean contrast dose were 0.15 and 0.16 ± 0.06 mmol/kg, respectively. Median contrast doses for 2005-2010 were: 0.2 mmol/kg for all years, respectively. Mean contrast doses for the years 2005-2010 were: 0.19 ± 0.03, 0.18 ± 0.04, 0.18 ± 0.10, 0.18 ± 0.03, 0.18 ± 0.04 and 0.18 ± 0.04 mmol/kg, respectively (p for trend, NS). Gadopentetate dimeglumine was the most frequent gadolinium type [114 (48.9%) studies]. No change in mean gadolinium dose was present before, versus after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) black box warning (p > 0.05). Three multi-center dose ranging trials have been published for cardiac MRI applications.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>CMR studies in the peer-reviewed published literature routinely use higher gadolinium doses than regulatory agencies indicated in the package leaflet. Clinical trials should be supported to determine the appropriate doses of gadolinium for CMR studies.</p

Testes de racionalidade para loterias no Brasil

The paper investigates the prevalence of rational expectations in the case of two Brazilian lotteries (Quina and Mega-Sena). The testing strategy relates to an orthogonality condition between the conditional forecast error and the information set. Specifically, the residual of a equation for net price of a lottery ticket should be uncorrelated with sales The results favoured the rational expectations hypothesis only in the case of the Mega-Sena that is subject to broad media coverage. Clearly the Quina lottery is associated with a diferent profile of betters.O artigo investiga a prevalência de expectativas racionais no caso de duas loterias brasileiras (Quina e Mega-Sena). A estratégia de teste se relaciona com uma condição de ortogonalidade entre o erro condicional de previsão e o conjunto de informação. Especificamente, o resíduo de uma equação para o preço líquido de um bilhete de loteria deveria ser não correlacionado com as vendas. Os resultados favoreceram a hipótese de expectativas racionais somente no caso da Mega-Sena que é sujeita a ampla cobertura da mídia. Claramente a Quina está associada a um perfil distinto de apostadores

Characterization of a serologic marker candidate for development of a live-attenuated DIVA vaccine against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

DIVA (differentiating infected from vaccinated animals) vaccines have proven extremely useful for control and eradication of infectious diseases in livestock. We describe here the characterization of a serologic marker epitope, so-called epitope-M201, which can be a potential target for development of a live-attenuated DIVA vaccine against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Epitope-M201 is located at the carboxyl terminus (residues 161-174) of the viral M protein. The epitope is highly immunodominant and well-conserved among type-II PRRSV isolates. Rabbit polyclonal antibodies prepared against this epitope are non-neutralizing; thus, the epitope does not seem to contribute to the protective immunity against PRRSV infection. Importantly, the immunogenicity of epitope-M201 can be disrupted through the introduction of a single amino acid mutation which does not adversely affect the viral replication. All together, our results provide an important starting point for the development of a liveattenuated DIVA vaccine against type-II PRRSV

ADENOCARCINOMA TÚBULOVELLOSO DE LA PELVIS RENAL. A PROPÓSITO DE UN CASO.

Arch Esp Urol. 2006 Nov;59(9):916-9. [Tubulovillous adenocarcinoma of the renal pelvis. Case report] [Article in Spanish] Palacios A, Lima O, Massó P, Osório L, Versos R, Soares J, Marcelo F. Servicio de Urología, Hospital Geral de Santo Antonio, Porto, Portugal. [email protected] Abstract OBJECTIVE: To present a case of tubulovillous renal pelvis adenocarcinoma. METHODS/RESULTS: An 81 year-old patient presented at Emergency Department with sepsis. CT scan showed a staghorn calculus with signs suggestive of pyonefrosis. A nephrectomy was performed and pathological exam revealed tubulovillous renal pelvis adenocarcinoma. CONCLUSIONS: Renal pelvis adenocarcinoma is a rare disease. It is usually accompanied by chronic urinary infections, on inflammatory state and staghorn calculi. The best therapeutic option is nephrectomy and the prognosis is poor. PMID: 17190219 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLIN

Delirium in Hospitalized Elderly Patients and Post-Discharge Mortality

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of delirium on post-discharge mortality in hospitalized older patients. INTRODUCTION: Delirium is frequent in hospitalized older patients and correlates with high hospital mortality. There are only a few studies about its impact on post-discharge mortality. METHODS: This is a prospective study of patients over 60 years old who were hospitalized in the Geriatric Unit at Hospital das Clínicas of São Paulo between May 2006 and March 2007. Upon admission, demographics, comorbidities, number of drugs taken, and serum albumin concentration were evaluated for each patient. Delirium was diagnosed according to the DSM-IV criteria. Patients were divided into group A (with delirium) and group B (without delirium). One year after discharge, the patients or their caregivers were contacted to assess days of survival. RESULTS: The sample included 199 patients, 66 (33%) of whom developed delirium (Group A). After one year, 33 (50%) group A patients had died, and 45 (33.8%) group B patients had died (p = 0.03). There was a significant statistical difference in average age (p = 0.001) and immobility (p <0.001) between groups A and B. There were no statistically significant differences between groups A and B in number of drugs taken greater than four (p = 0.62), sex (p = 0.54) and number of diagnoses greater than four (p = 0.21). According to a multivariate analysis, delirium was not an independent predictor of post-discharge mortality. The predictors of post-discharge mortality were age > 80 years (p = 0.029), albumin concentration < 3.5 g/dl (p = 0.001) and immobility (p = 0.007). CONCLUSION: Delirium is associated with higher post-discharge mortality as a dependent predictor