Application of cluster analysis in prevention of coronary heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is one of the principal causes of death and morbidity in the western world, and particularly in Portuga

Role of physical activity in the prevention of falls and their consequences in the elderly

This work aims to provide an inventory of the risk factors and consequences of falling in the elderly, namely fractures, and to identify strategies to prevent falls and minimise their effects. Falls in elderly people are a major cause of injuries, leading to a general fear of falling, poorer quality of life and even death. The increase in life expectancy brought by developments in the medical and health sciences has not always brought enhanced quality of life.More elderly people live with reduced functional capacities resulting in a higher prevalence of falls and associated problems for themselves and for society. Risk factors for falling, commonly resulting from normal aging processes, have already been identified through multiple studies. Exercise may play an important role in fall prevention and their consequences. Although, effective strategies are usually multi-disciplinary and focus simultaneously on several risk factors. However, only large-scale prevention programmes can have significant effective social impact. To minimise occurrence and consequences of falls, policies to systematically implement prevention programmes should be established

Study of the rocky intertidal communities of central and northern California: Years III and IV

The study objectives are to describe seasonal and successional variation in rocky intertidal community structure; determine the response of rocky intertidal communities to natural and human-induced disturbances and correlate these responses with successional, seasonal, and latitudinal variation; and correlate life history information and oil toxicity data with data from this and other relevant studies. The Year III and IV report is for the third (1987) and fourth (1988) years of a five-year field experimental study investigating two biological assemblages, the Mytilus assemblage and the Endocladia/Mastocarpus papillatus assemblage, that are being studied at six sites along the California coast. Volume I includes the report, Appendix A, and Appendix B. Volume II includes Appendix C. Volume III includes Appendix D. Volume IV includes Appendix E and Appendix F. Volume V includes Appendix G, Appendix H, and Appendix I

Orbit structure and (reversing) symmetries of toral endomorphisms on rational lattices

We study various aspects of the dynamics induced by integer matrices on the invariant rational lattices of the torus in dimension 2 and greater. Firstly, we investigate the orbit structure when the toral endomorphism is not invertible on the lattice, characterising the pretails of eventually periodic orbits. Next we study the nature of the symmetries and reversing symmetries of toral automorphisms on a given lattice, which has particular relevance to (quantum) cat maps.Comment: 29 pages, 3 figure

Thermoregulation and aging | Termoregulação e envelhecimento

As mudanças climáticas mundiais, caracterizadas por grandes variações de temperatura que atingem picos, superiores e inferiores, anormalmente altos e baixos, induzem um aumento da taxa de mortalidade nos idosos devido a disfunções cardiovasculares. A capacidade de ajustamento fisiológico que ocorre nos adultos jovens quando são expostos a temperaturas elevadas ou baixas diminui à medida que ocorre o processo de envelhecimento, promovendo uma diminuição da resposta do idoso às temperaturas extremas. Esta disfunção resulta na incapacidade de adaptação ao stress térmico. As respostas fisiológicas ao ambiente frio induzem a passagem da água plasmática do meio intravascular para o meio intersticial e intracelular, devido à vasoconstrição periférica. Este fenómeno ocorre quando o indivíduo é exposto à água fria, ao ar frio, ou até ao simples arrefecimento da face devido ao vento frio. Temperaturas acima do normal induzem uma redução da quantidade de água intravascular por sudação. As pessoas idosas são menos aptas para superar o aumento da viscosidade sanguínea e estão mais sujeitas a sofrer acidentes cardiovasculares

Laparoscopic resection of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) is safe and effective, irrespective of tumor size

Feasibility and long-term safety of laparoscopic removal of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) of the stomach is well established for lesions smaller than 2 cm. Our specific aim was to explore whether laparoscopic treatment is equally applicable for gastric GISTs larger than 2 cm. Between 1997 and 2010, 31 consecutive patients presenting with a primary gastric GIST were scheduled for laparoscopic resection, irrespective of tumor size. Prerequisites for laparoscopic approach were the absence of metastases and the presence of a well-defined tumor on CT scanning without involvement of adjacent organs, the esophagogastric junction, or the pylorus of the stomach. Data were retrieved retrospectively from a prospectively collected database, including information on patient demographics, surgical procedure, complications, hospital stay, and recurrence. Diagnosis of GIST was based on microscopic analysis, including immunohistochemistry with a panel of antibodies: CD117, CD34, DOG1, S100, desmin, and smooth muscle actin. All 31 laparoscopic resections were carried out successfully. The most common symptoms were melena, anemia, and abdominal pain. In one case we performed a laparoscopic approach for a GIST with acute bleeding. Tumor size was smaller than 2 cm in 5 patients and larger than 2 cm in 26 patients. The median tumor size was 4.4 cm (range = 0.4-11.0 cm). Median blood loss was identical in both groups (20 ml), but duration of operation (60 vs. 103 min) and duration of hospital stay (6 vs. 8 days) were lower when tumor size was less than 2 cm. Only one patient (with tumor size < 2 cm) experienced a postoperative hemorrhage. After a median follow-up of 52 months, there were no recurrences or metastases. The low morbidity rates and the long-term disease-free interval of 100% observed in our cohort indicate that laparoscopic resection is safe and effective in treating gastric GISTs, even for tumors larger than 2 cm

Prolapsus de la valvule mitrale chez deux sœurs jumelles homozygotes

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe