Preservation of fertility: the importance of providing this possibility to patients with cancer

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de GinecologiaUNIFESP, Depto. de GinecologiaSciEL

Unimodal Levy Processes on Bounded Lipschitz Sets

We give asymptotics near the boundary for the distribution of the first exit time of the isotropic alpha-stable Levy process on bounded Lipschitz sets in real euclidean space. These asymptotics bear some relation to the existence of limits in the Yaglom sense of alpha-stable processes. Our approach relies on the uniform integrability of the ratio of Green functions on bounded Lipschitz sets. We use bounds for the heat remainder to give the first two terms in the small time asymptotic expansion of the trace of the heat kernel of unimodal Levy processes satisfying some weak scaling conditions on bounded Lipschitz domains

Group-based replication of on-line transaction processing servers

Several techniques for database replication using group communication have recently been proposed, namely, the Database State Machine, Postgres-R, and the NODO protocol. Although all rely on a totally ordered multicast for consistency, they differ substantially on how multicast is used. This results in different performance trade-offs which are hard to compare as each protocol is presented using a different load scenario and evaluation method. In this paper we evaluate the suitability of such protocols for replication of On-Line Transaction Processing (OLTP) applications in clusters of servers and over wide area networks. This is achieved by implementing them using a common infra-structure and by using a standard workload. The results allows us to select the best protocol regarding performance and scalability in a demanding but realistic usage scenario.Projecto STRONGRE (POSI/CHS/41285/2001) financiado pela Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)

Prevalence and costs of hospitalizations for poisoning and accidental intoxication in Brazilian elderly

Realizou-se um estudo transversal de dados secundários obtidos no Sistema de Informação Hospitalar (SIH), nos anos 2008/2009. Estudou-se a distribuição das principais internações segundo sexo; faixa etária; cor/raça; região e unidade federativa de residência; valor médio pago e média de permanência das internações hospitalares; ano de internação e as taxas de mortalidade (TM). Os dados coletados foram tabulados por meio do TabNet e transcritos para o Programa Microsoft Excel® 2007. Verificou-se que idosos do sexo masculino (54,3%), com 60 e 69 anos de idade (50,6%), não brancos (36,3%) e residentes nas regiões Sudeste e Norte do País apresentaram os maiores percentuais de internação hospitalar. Idosos ficam em média 4,8 dias internados, sendo as principais causas a exposição ao álcool (43,7%) e a medicamentos (33,9%). Os gastos com as internações equivaleram a R$529.817,70. As maiores taxas de mortalidade foram registradas no sexo feminino (TM=4,34), em idosos entre 80 anos e superior (TM=10,16) e pessoas brancas (TM=3,95), sendo as substâncias farmacológicas de ação sobre o Sistema Nervoso Autônomo maiores causas do óbito. Existem diferenças demográficas na morbimortalidade desses idosos, visto que apesar de homens e idosos mais jovens serem as principais vítimas, mulheres e idosos com idade mais avançada morrem mais. Sendo as principais causas de internação o álcool e os medicamentos.A cross-sectional study of secondary data/information obtained from the Hospital Information System (HIS) spanning the years 2008 - 2009 was performed. The distribution of the main hospital admissions by gender, age, color/race, region and federal unit of residence, average expenditure and average length of hospital stay, year of hospitalization and mortality rates (MR) were studied. The data collected were tabulated by TabNet and keyed into Microsoft Excel 2007. It was verified that elderly males (54.3$ 529,817.70. The highest mortality rates were recorded among females (MR = 4.34), in elderly, 80 years or older (MR = 10.16) and Caucasians (MR = 3.95), where pharmacological substances with action on the Autonomic Nervous System were the leading cause of death. There are demographic differences in morbi-mortality of these elderly since, although men and younger elderly were the main victims, women and elderly of advanced age have greater mortality. The leading causes of hospitalization were alcohol and drugs

Testing the dependability and performance of group communication based database replication protocols

Database replication based on group communication systems has recently been proposed as an efficient and resilient solution for large-scale data management. However, its evaluation has been conducted either on simplistic simulation models, which fail to assess concrete implementations, or on complete system implementations which are costly to test with realistic large-scale scenarios. This paper presents a tool that combines implementations of replication and communication protocols under study with simulated network, database engine, and traffic generator models. Replication components can therefore be subjected to realistic large scale loads in a variety of scenarios, including fault-injection, while at the same time providing global observation and control. The paper shows first how the model is configured and validated to closely reproduce the behavior of a real system, and then how it is applied, allowing us to derive interesting conclusions both on replication and communication protocols and on their implementationsFundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - Project STRONGREP (POSI/CHS/41285/2001)

Evaluating certification protocols in the partial database state machine

Partial replication is an alluring technique to ensure the reliability of very large and geographically distributed databases while, at the same time, offering good performance. By correctly exploiting access locality most transactions become confined to a small subset of the database replicas thus reducing processing, storage access and communication overhead associated with replication. The advantages of partial replication have however to be weighted against the added complexity that is required to manage it. In fact, if the chosen replica configuration prevents the local execution of transactions or if the overhead of consistency protocols offsets the savings of locality, potential gains cannot be realized. These issues are heavily dependent on the application used for evaluation and render simplistic benchmarks useless. In this paper, we present a detailed analysis of Partial Database State Machine (PDBSM) replication by comparing alternative partial replication protocols with full replication. This is done using a realistic scenario based on a detailed network simulator and access patterns from an industry standard database benchmark. The results obtained allow us to identify the best configuration for typical on-line transaction processing applications.União Europeia - GORDA Project (FP6-IST/004758)

Estudo da anatomia descritiva e topográfica do músculo digástrico em primatas (Cebus apella, Linnaeus, 1766)

Neste estudo utilizamos 18 (dezoito) cabeças de macacos prego (Cebus apella) cedidos pelo Departamento de Cirurgia da Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia da Universidade de São Paulo, e provenientes do Zoológico da cidade de São Paulo, vindos a óbito naturalmente. O método incluiu técnica de mesoscopia de luz, sendo a rotina técnica: canulação da aorta no sentido cranial; perfusão com água morna (40°C); injeção do sistema arterial com solução de látex (Neoprene 450) corado (sulvinil corante), fixação e conservação em solução aquosa de formol a 10%. Foram dissecados trinta e seis antímeros. O músculo digástrico, composto por dois ventres (rostral e caudal) unidos por um tendão intermediário, inseriu-se na linha paramediana da mandíbula, indo da borda ventral incisiva à borda ventral molar (ventre rostral). O modo de origem, trajeto e a direção das fibras apresentou três arranjos: um com ventres planos e tendão fusiforme (55,5%); um com ventre plano, fibras ancoradas caudolateralmente na borda ventral mandibular e tendão fusiforme (38,9%); e um ventre fusiforme com tendão fusiforme. O ventre caudal relacionou-se com o ventre e o tendão do músculo estilo-hióideo: cruzando-o ventralmente (22,2%) ou dorsalmente (2,7%); cruzando o tendão intermediário: ventralmente (35,9%) ou dorsalmente (33,2%). O músculo digástrico (ventre rostral) é plano no Cebus apella (94,4%) tem ampla inserção óssea na borda ventral mandibular e o tendão intermediário apoia-se na fáscia cervical em expansão lateral até atingir o osso compondo um duplo ponto de apoio (38,9%).In this study we used 18 heads of monkey Cebus apella supplied by the Surgery Department of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of the University of São Paulo. These heads were originally from the city of São Paulo Zoo of monkeys, who died naturally. The method included technique of light mesoscopy (40 magnifications), and the technical routine as follows: cannulation of the aorta toward the cranium; perfusion with water at 40 ºC; injection of the arterial system with stained latex solution (Neoprene 450 and Sulvinil stain), fixation and conservation in 10% formol aqueous solution. Thirty-six antimeres were dissected. The digastric muscle, composed of two bellies (rostral and caudal) joined by an intermediate tendon, was inserted in the paramedian line of the mandible, from the incisive ventral border to the molar ventral border (rostral belly). The mode of origin, course and direction of the fibers showed three arrangements: one with plane bellies and fusiform tendon (55.5%); one with plane belly, fibers inserted caudolaterally in the ventral mandibular border and fusiform tendon (38.9%); and one with fusiform belly and tendon. The caudal belly was related to the belly and tendon of the stylo-hyoid muscle, crossing it ventrally (22.2%) or dorsally (2.7%); crossing the intermediate tendon ventrally (35.9%) or dorsally (33.2%). The digastric muscle (rostral belly) is plane in Cebus apella (94.4%), has a wide bone insertion, in the ventral mandibular border and the intermediate tendon rests on the cervical fascia, in lateral expansion until it reaches the bone, thus making up a double supporting point (38.9%)

Morphology of the interstitial cells of rat polycystic ovaries: an experimental study

PURPOSES: To evaluate the histomorphometry of ovarian interstitial cells, as well as the blood sex steroid concentrations of female rats with polycystic ovaries induced by continuous light. METHODS: Twenty female rats were divided into two groups: Control Group - in the estrous phase (CtrlG), and a group of rats with polycystic ovaries induced by continuous illumination (POG). CtrlG animals were maintained on a light period from 07:00 a.m. to 07:00 p.m., and POG animals with continuous illumination (400 Lux) for 60 days. After this period all animals were anesthetized and blood was collected for the determination of serum estradiol (E2), progesterone (P4), and testosterone (T), followed by removal of the ovaries that were fixed in 10% formalin and processed for paraffin embedding. Five-µm histological sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and used for histomorphometric analysis. Morphological analyses, cyst count, determination of concentration and of the nuclear volume of interstitial cells were performed with the aid of a light microscope adapted to a high resolution camera (AxioCam), whose images were transmitted to and analyzed by the computer using AxioVision Rel 4.8 software (Carl Zeiss). Data were analyzed statistically by the Student's t-test (pCtrlG=73.2±6.5, pCtrlG=80.6±3.9, pPOG=4.2±1.5, pCtrlG=63.6±16.5, pCtrlG=6.9±3.2, pGCtrl=73,2±6,5; pGCtrl=80,6±3,9; pGOP=4,2±1,5; pGCtrl=63,6±16,5; pGCtrl=6,9±3,2; p<0,05) em relação aos animais do GCtrl. CONCLUSÃO: As células intersticiais do ovário policístico da rata provavelmente provêm dos cistos ovarianos devido degeneração das células da granulosa e diferenciação das células da teca interna. As elevações dos níveis séricos de testosterona e de estradiol provavelmente provêm do aumento significativo da atividade celular e da área ocupada pelas células intersticiais.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Escola Paulista de Medicina Departamento de Morfologia e GenéticaUniversidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Departamento de Obstetrícia e GinecologiaUNIFESP, EPM, Depto. de Morfologia e GenéticaSciEL

Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Human Reproduction: A Changing Perspective

Since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the coronavirus disease 2019 has had a wide range of effects on human health. This paper summarizes the data related to the effects of the SARS-CoV-2 infection on human reproduction. Both the male and female reproductive tract express high levels of receptors and proteins needed for viral cell entry. There is presently no evidence that gametes are affected by the infection. Male fertility may be temporarily reduced due to inflammatory responses following infection. The endometrium is highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 cell entry; however, it remains unclear whether this could alter receptivity and embryo implantation. Menstrual cycle changes were reported in women who experienced severe infection; however, they tended to be reversible. For couples undergoing assisted reproduction treatment, the pandemic led to a significant psychological burden, with changes in lifestyle that could directly affect the success of the treatment. Human reproduction societies recommend screening all patients prior to cycle initiation and avoiding treatment of women with severe comorbidities until the pandemic is under control. Finally, for pregnant women, it is expected that the infection is more severe in women in the third trimester and in those with comorbidities. Those who are symptomatic for SARS-CoV-2 are more likely to have increased rates of prematurity and intrapartum fetal distress than those who are asymptomatic. Vertical transmission cannot be completely ruled out, but neonatal infection rates are low. Vaccination appears to be safe and is indicated for use in pregnant and lactating women because the benefits outweigh the risks