Equity in the fiscal benefits associated with private health expenditures in Portugal: 2000 - 2010

A Work Project, presented as part of the requirements for the Award of a Masters Degree in Economics from the NOVA – School of Business and EconomicsThe objectives of this work project are to, a) provide an analysis on the extent of progressivity of the fiscal benefits associated with private health expenses in Portugal between 2000 and 2010, and b) assess the equity implications of a reduction of these fiscal benefits proposed by the Memorandum of Understanding. Using the methodology of concentration and Kakwani progressivity indices, the fiscal benefits was found to be pro-rich during this period with a progressivity index of -0.213 in 2010. A simulation of a reduction of these fiscal benefits estimated that these fiscal benefits will become pro-poor for the fiscal year 2013 with a progressivity index of 0.335

Robust methods for medical image registration with application in clinical diagnosis

Automated analysis of medical imaging data allows both researchers and clinicians to develop more accurate and faster diagnoses. Image registration plays an essential role in both longitudinal studies and group analysis, allowing the combination of different imaging modalities, and automatic parcellation of regions of interest. Despite its wide use, image registration is still challenging with many issues such as artefacts, scarcity of correspondences, multi-modality, and computational complexity. Additionally, due to the lack of highly annotated datasets, the validation of image registration, and specifically non-linear registration, is also problematic. In this thesis several of these issues are addressed by introducing: a framework to validate non-linear registration methods; a robust and fast algorithm for non-linear registration; and validating the proposed methods in a conventional analysis. Current techniques used for non-linear image registration validation are explored, and it is shown that techniques based on label overlap are both not theoretically valid while also having poor accuracy. This analysis further leads to the development of a multiscale metric to minimize these problems. Also, a method based on the Demons Framework is proposed to improve the convergence speed of non-linear registration algorithms, and further extended to be robust in the presence of intensity inhomogeneities and contrast variations. The proposed methods are validated in a synthetic simulation platform with a known ground truth, compared with a manually traced region-of-interest, and tested in a voxel-based morphometry analysis of real data. It is shown that the proposed methods outperform other leading registration methods in both the synthetic simulation study and the manually traced data, and present reliable results in the voxel-based morphometry analysis. Furthermore, the impact of different registration algorithms is explored through the voxel-based morphometry study, and shown to affect the final results and their interpretation.Open Acces

Correlation of MLH1 and MGMT expression and promoter methylation with genomic instability in patients with thyroid carcinoma

Background: Gene silencing of the repair genes MLH1 and MGMT was shown to be a mechanism underlying the development of microsatellite instability (MSI), a phenotype frequently associated with various human malignancies. Recently, aberrant methylation of MLH1, MGMT and MSI were shown to be associated with mutations in genes such as BRAF, RAS and IDH1 in colon and brain tumours. Little is known about the methylation status of MLH1 and MGMT in thyroid tumours and its association with MSI and mutational status.Methods: in a series of 96 thyroid tumours whose mutational profiles of BRAF, IDH1 and NRAS mutations and RET/PTC were previously determined, we investigated MLH1 and MGMT expression and methylation status by qPCR and methylation-specific PCR after bisulphite treatment, respectively. MSI was determined by PCR using seven standard microsatellite markers.Results: Samples with point mutations (BRAF, IDH1 and NRAS) show a decrease in MLH1 expression when compared to negative samples. Additionally, malignant lesions show a higher MSI pattern than benign lesions. the MSI phenotype was also associated with down-regulation of MLH1.Conclusions: the results of this study allow us to conclude that low expression of MLH1 is associated with BRAF V600E mutations, RET/PTC rearrangements and transitions (IDH1 and NRAS) in patients with thyroid carcinoma. in addition, a significant relationship between MSI status and histological subtypes was found.Univ Sao Francisco, Unidade Integrada Farmacol & Gastroenterol, BR-12900000 Braganca Paulista, SP, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Disciplina Genet, Lab Bases Genet Tumores Tiroide, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Disciplina Genet, Lab Bases Genet Tumores Tiroide, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

An innovative thermal protective clothing system for firefighters

Nowadays, despite the evolution of personal protective equipment (PPE), the number of firefighters injured and burned during fire extinguishing operations is still very high, leading in some cases to loss of life. Therefore, the research and development of new solutions to minimize firefighters' heat load and skin burns, with consecutive improvements of commercial firefighters' suits, is of extreme importance. The integration of phase change materials (PCMs) in a protective clothing system has been used to significantly reduce the incoming heat flux from the fire environment. This study consists in the development of a protective clothing system composed by a vest, specially designed to protect the torso (back, chest and abdomen) with a layer of PCM pouches, to be worn over a fire-resistant jacket - selection and design based on numerical models' predictions. Therefore, several mockups were made, varying the number of PCM pouches and their distribution in the vest, allowing the creation of air ducts to increase the breathability of the vest. The most promising solutions are being evaluated in a real controlled environment, at a Portuguese National School of Firefighters (ENB) simulation site, using a fire manikin and thermocouples to monitor vest temperature during heat and flame exposure, and consequently to verify PCMs influence in heat protection. Results regarding the development of a PCM vest will be presented, focusing on the integration of PCM pouches and the thermal performance of the most promising solutions

Petrophysical Rock Typing of Coquinas from the Morro do Chaves Formation, Sergipe-Alagoas Basin (NorthEast Brazil)

ABSTRACT. This work has analyzed, considering the petrophysical point of view, samples of Coquinas obtained in the outcrop of the Morro do Chaves formation(Sergipe-Alagoas Basin). The complex sedimentological aspects for this study have been...Keywords: carbonate, porosity and permeability properties, NMR, electrical resistivity. RESUMO. Esse trabalho analisa, considerando o ponto de vista petrofísico, amostras de Coquinas obtidas em afloramento da Formação Morro do Chaves (Bacia de Sergipe–Alagoas). Os aspectos sedimentológicos complexos envolvidos neste estudo foram...Palavras-chave: carbonato, propriedades permoporosas, RMN, resistividade elétrica.</jats:p

Black jurema bark powder as new alternative material for treatment of water containing two toxic dyes / Emprego do pó da casca de jurema preta como uma nova alternativa para o tratamento de água contendo dois corantes tóxicos

Black jurema bark powder (BJBP) (Mimosa hostilis Benth) was studied for the removal of textile dyes Methylene Blue (MB) and Indigo Blue (IB) in water. The chemical and physical analysis of BJBP showed a heterogeneous surface with chemical groups capable to interact with MB and IB. The experiments were optimized for use of 1g of BJBP and stirring time of 3 minutes for IB, and 0.5g of BJBP and stirring time of 2 minutes for MB. The maximum adsorptive capacities for IB (115.21 mg/g) and MB (3.50 mg/g), obtained through the Langmuir Mathematical Model, were favorable for the use of BJBP as an adsorbent in water containing both dyes. The results obtained in this work suggest BJBP as a new alternative for the removal of IB and MB in aqueous medium. Besides, this work stimulates new studies to evaluate the BJBP adsorption capacity for other chemical pollutants

ANALYSIS OF THE RELIABILITY OF TWO FORCE PLATFORMS FOR THE SIMULTANEOUS COLLECTION OF KINETICS VARIABLES

The bilateral force asymmetry between lower-body limbs is seen as one of the major causes of injury and decreased performance in sport. The diagnosis can be done through many measuring methods, instruments and protocols. One of the most validated methods in literature is the vertical jump with countermovement performed on a force platform. Many studies show measurement protocols of jumps performed on a force platform where the jumps are carried out in a unipodial or bipodial manner and the data collection takes place in an alternated or sequential way. This study intends to assess the reliability of two force platforms measuring (maximum force and impulse) simultaneously. The results have indicated that the method used is reliable for the collection of the mentioned variables

Is there still room to explore cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase-producers in Brazilian biodiversity?

In the present work, different Brazilian biomes aiming to identify and select cyclodextrin glycosyltransferase-producer bacteria are explored. This enzyme is responsible for converting starch to cyclodextrin, which are interesting molecules to carry other substances of economic interest applied by textile, pharmaceutical, food, and other industries. Based on the enzymatic index, 12 bacteria were selected and evaluated, considering their capacity to produce the enzyme in culture media containing different starch sources. It was observed that the highest yields were presented by the bacteria when grown in cornstarch. These bacteria were also characterized by sequencing of the 16S rRNA region and were classified as Bacillus, Paenibacillus, Gracilibacillus and Solibacillus.publishersversionpublishe