DTDA: An R Package to Analyze Randomly Truncated Data

In this paper, the R package DTDA for analyzing truncated data is described. This package contains tools for performing three different but related algorithms to compute the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator of the survival function in the presence of random truncation. More precisely, the package implements the algorithms proposed by Efron and Petrosian (1999) and Shen (2008), for analyzing randomly one-sided and two-sided (i.e., doubly) truncated data. These algorithms and some recent extensions are briefly reviewed. Two real data sets are used to show how DTDA package works in practice.

DTDA: An R Package to Analyze Randomly Truncated Data

In this paper, the R package DTDA for analyzing truncated data is described. This package contains tools for performing three different but related algorithms to compute the nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator of the survival function in the presence of random truncation. More precisely, the package implements the algorithms proposed by Efron and Petrosian (1999) and Shen (2008), for analyzing randomly one-sided and two-sided (i.e., doubly) truncated data. These algorithms and some recent extensions are briefly reviewed. Two real data sets are used to show how DTDA package works in practice

The importance of neighborhood ecological assets in community dwelling old people aging outcomes: A study in Northern Portugal

Human development is a bidirectional, person-context relational process, but scarce evidence is available about the relation between the individual variability across the life-span and the neighborhood ecological assets. Therefore, it is important that research focus not only on personal characteristics but on ecological assets as well. This way this study aims to analyze the association between neighborhood ecological assets categorized into four dimensions: human, physical or institutional, social or collective activity, accessibility, and the individual functioning. A 3% sample of residents aged 65 years and older in two downtown and three uptown parishes stratified by age and sex was interviewed at home using a protocol that included the Portuguese version of the Barthel Index in basic activities of daily living (BADL), the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale (IADL), the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), and the Geriatric Depression Scale-15 items (GDS) for evaluating functionality, cognitive performance, and depression. The 162 participants were aged on average 75 years (sd = 7.0), 54% were women and 90% had less than 7 years of education. The majority of participants were independent in BADL (M = 90; sd = 17.7) and moderately dependent in IADL (M = 13, sd = 6.0), 20% showed cognitive impairment and a mean score of 8 (sd = 2.1) in GDS-15. After controlling for the effect of socio-demographic characteristics, functionality, and cognitive performance decreases in persons with worst outdoor mobility. On the other hand depressive symptoms are less common as the number of recreation opportunities, namely associative groups (cultural, educative, professional), increases. These results suggest that aging policies and practices must be ecologically embedded.E51F-89A1-B769 | Carla FariaN/

Valorisation of mining areas using phytotechnologies - a field experiment

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The process of urban development of Areia/PB: contribution to studies of morphology and urban history in Brazil

Este artigo estuda o processo de formação e crescimento urbano de Areia, Paraíba, entre os séculos XVIII e XX, sob a perspectiva teórica da Morfologia Urbana. Defendemos que o desenvolvimento de Areia, cidade periférica, pequena e pouco mencionada nos estudos urbanos coloniais, se assemelha a outros núcleos surgidos na mesma época pela morfologia do sítio de implantação, pela origem a partir do caminho ou da união de pólos dispersos, ou ainda, pela exclusão econômica da rede interurbana regional. Essas analogias ratificam a importância de inserir Areia no universo de casos semelhantes comumente examinados pelos historiadores da cidade brasileira.Este artículo estudia el proceso de formación y crecimiento de Areia, Paraíba, entre los siglos XVIII y XX, utilizando la Morfología Urbana. Creemos que el proceso de conformación y desarrollo de Areia, ciudad periférica, pequeña y ausente en los estudios de urbanismo colonial, está relacionado con el de otras urbes brasileñas, en la forma del lugar de implantación, la génesis desde la ruta de acceso o la unión de polos dispersos o en la exclusión económica de las redes de ferrocarriles. Esas analogías confirman la importancia de incluir Areia entre los casos comúnmente considerados por los historiadores urbanos brasileños.This article studies the origins and the shaping of Areia, Paraíba, Brazil, between the 18th and 20th centuries, from an urban morphology viewpoint. We argue that the Areia's pattern of growth corresponds to those of other cities of Colonial Brazil. These similarities can be found in their setting and urban form, particularly in their origins as stops along penetration routes, as a result of the merging of different and tiny settlements, or even in their decline caused by their exclusion from the railway networks. These analogies ratify the need to include Areia in the map of Brazilian urban studies

Detection of Fastidious Vaginal Bacteria in Women with HIV Infection and Bacterial Vaginosis

Background. Fastidious bacteria have been associated with bacterial vaginosis (BV) using PCR methods. We assessed the prevalence of these bacteria in HIV-1 infected women and their relationship with vaginal pH and shedding of HIV-1 RNA. Methods. 64 cervicovaginal lavage (CVL) samples were collected from 51 women. Vaginal microbiota were characterized using 8 bacterium-specific quantitative PCR assays. Results. Women with the fastidious bacteria Bacterial Vaginosis Associated Bacterium (BVAB) 1, 2, and 3 showed a trend to increased HIV-1 shedding (OR 2.59–3.07, P = .14–.17). Absence of Lactobacillus crispatus (P < .005) and presence of BVAB2 (P < .001) were associated with elevated vaginal pH. BVAB1, 2, and 3 were highly specific indicators of BV in HIV-infected women, with specificities of 89%–93%. Conclusions. Fastidious bacteria (BVAB 1, 2, and 3) remain specific indicators of BV in HIV-infected women, and BVAB2 may contribute to the elevated vaginal pH that is a hallmark of this syndrome

Physical activity, physical fitness and metabolic risk factors in Azorean adolescents

This study aimed to analyze the relationships between metabolic risk factors (MRF) with physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) in a sample of Azorean adolescents.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cáncer infantil: incidencia y patrones espaciales en la ciudad de Campinas, Brasil, 1996-2005

Analizamos los patrones espaciales y las incidencias de cáncer en niños, niñas y adolescentes de 0 a 19 años de edad residentes en la ciudad de Campinas, al sureste de Brasil, diagnosticados entre 1996 y 2005. Se clasificaron los cánceres según los grupos de la tercera revisión de la International Classification of Childhood Cancer (ICCC-3). Se incluyeron los cuatro grupos más comunes: leucemias, linfomas, y las neoplasias del sistema nervioso central y de tejidos blandos. Se calcularon tasas de incidencia estandarizadas por edad utilizando la población mundial estándar. Se ajustó un modelo espacial de regresión jerárquica de Bayes (controlando por la heterogeneidad de los datos y la autocorrelación espacial), que asume que el número de casos sigue una distribución de Poisson. Se diagnosticó un total de 180 casos durante el periodo de estudio. La tasa de incidencia bruta para las edades 0-19 años fue de 54,2 por millón y la tasa de incidencia estandarizada por edad fue de 56,5 por millón. Si bien algunas regiones presentan tasas de incidencia más altas al considerar la heterogeneidad y la autocorrelación, no se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en los riesgos relativos.This article analyzes cancer incidence and spatial patterns in children and adolescents (0-19 years of age) residing in the city of Campinas in Southeastern Brazil who were diagnosed from 1996-2005. Cancers were classified according to the Third International Classification of Childhood Cancer (ICCC-3) Groups. The four most common groups were studied: leukemias, lymphomas, and central nervous system and soft tissue neoplasms. Age-standardized incidence rates were calculated using the world standard population. A spatial Bayesian hierarchical regression model (controlling for data heterogeneity and spatial autocorrelation) was fitted, assuming that the number of cancer cases follows a Poisson distribution. A total of 180 cases were diagnosed during the study period. Overall, the crude incidence rate was 54.2 per million and the agestandardized incidence rate was 56.5 per million. Although some regions present higher incidence rates, considering the spatial heterogeneity and the spatial autocorrelation, no statistically significant differences in the relative risks were observed