Classification of pathology in diabetic eye disease

Proliferative diabetic retinopathy is a complication of diabetes that can eventually lead to blindness. Early identification of this complication reduces the risk of blindness by initiating timely treatment. We report the utility of pattern analysis tools linked with a simple linear discriminant analysis that not only identifies new vessel growth in the retinal fundus but also localises the area of pathology. Ten fluorescein images were analysed using seven feature descriptors including area, perimeter, circularity, curvature, entropy, wavelet second moment and the correlation dimension. Our results indicate that traditional features such as area or perimeter measures of neovascularisation associated with proliferative retinopathy were not sensitive enough to detect early proliferative retinopathy (SNR = 0.76, 0.75 respectively). The wavelet second moment provided the best discrimination with a SNR of 1.17. Combining second moment, curvature and global correlation dimension provided a 100% discrimination (SNR = 1)

Comparison of various methods to delineate blood vessels in retinal images

The blood vessels in the human retina are easily visualisable via digital fundus photography and provide an excellent window to the health of a patient affected by diseases of blood circulation such as diabetes. Diabetic retinopathy is identifiable through lesions of the vessels such as narrowing of the arteriole walls, beading of venules into sausage like structures and new vessel growth as an attempt to reperfuse ischaemic regions. Automated quantification of these lesions would be beneficial to diabetes research and to clinical practice, particularly for eye-screening programmes for the detection of eye-disease amongst diabetic persons

Development of retinal blood vessel segmentation methodology using wavelet transforms for assessment of diabetic retinopathy

Automated image processing has the potential to assist in the early detection of diabetes, by detecting changes in blood vessel diameter and patterns in the retina. This paper describes the development of segmentation methodology in the processing of retinal blood vessel images obtained using non-mydriatic colour photography. The methods used include wavelet analysis, supervised classifier probabilities and adaptive threshold procedures, as well as morphology-based techniques. We show highly accurate identification of blood vessels for the purpose of studying changes in the vessel network that can be utilized for detecting blood vessel diameter changes associated with the pathophysiology of diabetes. In conjunction with suitable feature extraction and automated classification methods, our segmentation method could form the basis of a quick and accurate test for diabetic retinopathy, which would have huge benefits in terms of improved access to screening people for risk or presence of diabetes

Neuromorphometric characterization with shape functionals

This work presents a procedure to extract morphological information from neuronal cells based on the variation of shape functionals as the cell geometry undergoes a dilation through a wide interval of spatial scales. The targeted shapes are alpha and beta cat retinal ganglion cells, which are characterized by different ranges of dendritic field diameter. Image functionals are expected to act as descriptors of the shape, gathering relevant geometric and topological features of the complex cell form. We present a comparative study of classification performance of additive shape descriptors, namely, Minkowski functionals, and the nonadditive multiscale fractal. We found that the proposed measures perform efficiently the task of identifying the two main classes alpha and beta based solely on scale invariant information, while also providing intraclass morphological assessment

Health Related Quality Of Life Among The Elderly: A Population-based Study Using Sf-36 Survey [qualidade De Vida Relacionada á Saúde Em Idosos, Avaliada Com O Uso Do Sf-36 Em Estudo De Base Populacional]

As life expectancy continues to rise, one of the greatest challenges of public health is to improve the quality of later years of life. The aim of this present study was to analyze the quality of life profile of the elderly across different demographic and socioeconomic factors. A cross-sectional study was carried out in two stages, involving 1,958 individuals aged 60 years or more. Health related quality of life (HRQOL) was assessed using the SF-36 questionnaire. The lowest scores were found among measures for vitality, mental health and general health and the highest among factors including social functioning and role limitations due to emotional and physical factors. HRQOL was found to be worse among women, in individuals at advanced ages, those who practiced evangelical religions and those with lower levels of income and schooling. The greatest differences in SF-36 scores between the categories were observed in functional capacity and physical factors. The results suggest that healthcare programs for the elderly should take into account the multi-dimensionality of health and social inequalities so that interventions can target the most affected elements of HRQOL as well as the most vulnerable subgroups of the population.251021592167Barros, M.B.A., César, C.L.G., Carandina, L., Torre, G.D., Desigualdades sociais na prevalência de doenças crônicas no Brasil, PNAD-2003 (2006) Ciênc Saúde Cole-tiva, 11, pp. 911-26Ramos, L.R., Fatores determinantes do envelheci-mento saudável em idosos residentes em centrourbano (2003) Cad Saúde Pública, 19, pp. 793-8. , Projeto Epidoso, São PauloBowling, A., Brazier, J., Quality of life in social science and medicine (1995) Soc Sci Med, 41, pp. 1337-8Position paper from the World Health Organization (1995) The World Health Organization Quality of Life As-sessment (whoqol), 41, pp. 1403-9Seidl, E.M.F., Zannon, C.M.L.C., Qualidade de vida e saúde: Aspectos conceituais e metodológicos (2004) Cad Saúde Pública, 20, pp. 580-8(2000) Measuring Health Days, , Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and PreventionIdler, E.L., Benyamini, Y., Self-rated health and mortality: A review of twenty-seven community studies (1997) J Health Soc Behav, 38, pp. 21-37Viacava, F., Informações em saúde: A importância dos inquéritos populacionais (2002) Ciênc Saúde Coletiva, 7, pp. 607-21Ware, J.E., Gandek, B., Overview of the SF-36 Health Survey and International Quality of Life Assessment (IQOLA) project (1998) J Clin Epidemiol, 51, pp. 903-12Tsay, S.Y., Chi, L.Y., Lee, C.H., Chou, P., Health-related quality of life as a predictor of mortality among community-dwelling older persons (2007) Eur J Epidemiol, 22, pp. 19-26Ciconelli, R.M., Ferraz, M.B., Santos, W., Meinão, I., Qua-Resma, M.R., Tradução para a língua portuguesa e validação do questionário genérico de avaliação de qualidade de vida SF-36 (Brasil SF-36) (1999) Rev Bras Reumatol, 39, pp. 143-50Perkins, A.J., Stump, T.E., Monahan, P.O., McHorney, C.A., Assessment of differential item functioning for demographic comparisons in the MOS SF-36 health survey (2006) Qual Life Res, 15, pp. 331-48Wyss, K., Wagner, A.K., Whiting, D., Mtasiwa, D.M., Tanner, M., Gandek, B., Validation of the Kiswalhili version of the SF-36 Health Survey in a representative sample of an urban population in Tanzania (1999) Qual Life Res, 8, pp. 111-20Li, L., Wang, H.M., Shen, Y., Chinese SF-36 Health Survey: Translation, cultural adaptation, validation and normalization (2003) J Epidemiol Community Health, 57, pp. 259-65Cesar, C.L.G., (2005) Metodologia, pp. 37-46. , Ce ́sar CLG, Carandina L, Alves MCGP, Barros MBA, Goldbaum M, organizadores. Saúde e condição de vida em São Paulo. Inquérito multicêntrico de saúde no Estado de São Paulo, 2005 ISA-SP, São Paulo: Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São PauloAlves, M.C.G.P., (2005) Plano De Amostragem, pp. 47-62. , In: César CLG, Carandina L, Alves MCGP, Barros MBA, Goldbaum M, organizadores. Saúde e condição de vida em São Paulo. Inquérito multicêntrico de saúde no Estado de São Paulo 2005 ISA-SP, São Paulo: Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São PauloHuang, I.-C., Wu, A.W., Frangakis, C., Do the SF-36 and WHOQOL-BREF measure the same constructs? Evidence from the Taiwan population (2006) Qual Life Res, 15, pp. 15-24Lam, C.L.K., Gandek, B., Ren, X.S., Chan, M.S., Tests of scaling assumptions and construct validity of the Chinese (HK) version of the SF-36 Health Survey (1998) J Clin Epidemiol, 51, pp. 1139-47Leplège, A., Escosse, E., Verdier, A., Pernerger, T.V., The French SF-36 Health Survey: Translation, cultural adaptation and preliminary psychometric evaluation (1998) J Clin Epidemiol, 51, pp. 1013-23Dachs, J.N.W., Santos, A.P.R., Auto-avaliação do estado de saúde no Brasil: Análise dos dados da PNAD/2003 (2006) Ciênc Saúde Coletiva, 11, pp. 887-94Szwarcwald, C.L., Souza-Júnior, P.R.B., Esteves, M.A.P., Damacena, G.N., Viacava, F., Socio-demographic determinants of self-rated health in Brazil (2005) Cad Saúde Pública, 21, pp. S54-64. , SupplBeltrão, K.I., Sugahara, S., Comparação de infor-mações sobre saúde das populações brasileira e norte-americana baseada em dados da PNAD/98e USA NHIS/96 (2002) Ciênc Saúde Coletiva, 7, pp. 841-67Barros, M.B.A., (2005) Auto-avaliação De Saúde, pp. 173-82. , In: César CLG, Carandina L, Alves MCGP, Barros MBA, Gold-baum M, organizadores. Saúde e condição de vida em São Paulo. Inquérito multicêntrico de saúde no Estado de São Paulo 2005 ISA-SP, São Paulo: Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São PauloPinheiro, R.S., Viacava, F., Travassos, C., Brito, A.S., Gê-nero, morbidade, acesso e utilização de services de saúde no Brasil (2002) Ciênc Saúde Coletiva, 7, pp. 687-707Dachs, J.N.W., Determinantes das desigualdades na auto-avaliação do estado de saúde no Brasil: Análi-se dos dados da PNAD/1998 (2002) Ciênc Saúde Coletiva, 7, pp. 641-57Franks, P., Gold, M.R., Fiscella, K., Sociodemographics, self-rated health and mortality in US (2003) Soc Sci Med, 56, pp. 2505-14Amorim, V.M.S.L., Barros, M.B.A., Cã©sar, C.L.G., Carandi-Na, L., Goldbaum, M., Fatores associados à não rea-lização do exame de Papanicolaou: Um estudo debase populacional no Município de Campinas, São Paulo, Brasil (2006) Cad Saúde Pública, 22, pp. 2329-38Zaitune, M.P.A., Barros, M.B.A., Cã©sar, C.L.G., Carandi-Na, L., Goldbaum, M., Hipertensão arterial em ido-sos: Prevalência, fatores associados e práticas decontrole no Município de Campinas, São Paulo, Brasil (2006) Cad Saúde Pública, 22, pp. 285-94Moreira-Almeida, A., Neto, F.L., Koenig, H.G., Reli-giousness and mental health: A review (2006) Rev Bras Psiquiatr, 28, pp. 242-50Botega, N.J., Barros, M.B.A., Oliveira, H.B., Dalgalarron-Do, P., Marín-León, L., Suicidal behavior in the community: Prevalence and factors associated with suicidal ideation (2005) Rev Bras Psiquiatr, 27, pp. 45-53Barros, M.B.A., Botega, N.J., Dalgalarrondo, P., Marín-León, L., Oliveira, H.B., Prevalence of alcohol abuseand associated factors in a population-based study (2007) Rev Saúde Pública, 41, pp. 502-9Lima-Costa, M.F., Barreto, S., Giatti, L., Uchôa, E., De-sigualdade social e saúde entre idosos brasilei-ros: Um estudo baseado na Pesquisa Nacional por Amostras de Domicílios (2003) Cad Saúde Pública, 19, pp. 745-57Lima-Costa, M.F., Veras, R., Saúde pública e envelhe-cimento (2003) Cad Saúde Pública, 19, pp. 700-1(2005) Uma Política De Saúde, , Organização Mundial da Saúde. Envelhecimento ativo, Brasília: Organização Pan-Americana da Saúd

Diet Quality Among Adolescents: A Population-based Study In Campinas, Brazil [qualidade Da Dieta De Adolescentes: Estudo De Base Populacional Em Campinas, Sp]

We assessed the overall diet quality and adequacy of diet consumption of each component of the diet of adolescents according to demographic, socioeconomic and body mass index (BMI) data. A cross-sectional population-based study analyzed a representative sample of 409 adolescents, aged 12-19 years, using the Healthy Eating Index (HEI). We estimated the prevalence of diets classified in the first quartile of the HEI and the average scores of each component of the HEI. Linear and Poisson multiple regressions were used in the analysis. The mean score of HEI was 59.7. We observed a lower prevalence of inadequate diets in the segment with heads of household presenting higher schooling. The lower socioeconomic status segments, measured by income and schooling, showed a lower consumption of vegetables, fruits, dairy products and a less diversified diet, and a higher intake of cereals and legumes. Overweight/obese adolescents consume more meat and eggs and less fruit compared to low weight/normal weight adolescents. Girls had a higher intake of total fat and lower sodium intake. The results identified diet components that deserve more attention in the strategies to promote healthy eating, and the more vulnerable segments among adolescents.153605616(2010) Child and adolescent health and development: Progress report 2009: Highlights, , World Health Organization, Geneva(2011) Ministério da Saúde, , Brasil, Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde. Departamento de Análise de Situação de Saúde. Plano de ações estratégicas para o enfrentamento das doenças crônicas não transmissíveis (DCNT) no Brasil 2011-2022. BrasíliaLevy, R.B., Castro, I.R.R., Cardoso, L.O., Tavares, L.F., Sardinha, L.M.V., Gomes, F.S., Consumo e comportamento alimentar entre adolescentes brasileiros: Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar (PeNSE), 2009 (2010) Rev Cien Saúde Colet, 15 (S2), pp. 3085-3097Toral, N., Slater, B., Cintra, I.P., Fisberg, M., Comportamento alimentar de adolescentes em relação ao consumo de frutas e verduras (2006) Rev Nutr, 19 (3), pp. 331-340(2011) Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares-2008-2009: Análise do consumo alimentar pessoal no Brasil, , Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Rio de Janeiro(2010) Pesquisa de Orçamentos Familiares-2008-2009: Antropometria e estado nutricional de crianças, adolescentes e adultos no Brasil, , Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Rio de JaneiroCervato, A.M., Vieira, V.L., Índices dietéticos na avaliação da qualidade global da dieta (2003) Rev Nutr, 16 (3), pp. 347-355Kennedy, E.T., Ohls, J., Carlson, S., Fleming, K., The Healthy Eating Index: Design and applications (1995) J Am Diet Assoc, 95, pp. 1103-1108Fisberg, R.M., Slater, B., Barros, R.R., Lima, F.D., Cesar, C.L.G., Carandina, L., Índice de Qualidade da Dieta: Avaliação da adaptação e aplicabilidade (2004) Rev Nutr, 17 (3), pp. 301-308Alves, M.C.G.P., Plano de amostragem (2008) As dimensões da saúde: Inquérito populacional em Campinas, pp. 46-55. , In: Barros MBA, Cesar CLG, Carandina L, Goldbaum M, org, São Paulo: Aderaldo & RothschildGodoy, F.C., Andrade, S.C., Morimoto, J.M., Carandina, L., Goldbaum, M., Barros, M.B.A., Índice de qualidade da dieta de adolescentes residentes no distrito do Butantã, município de São Paulo, Brasil (2006) Rev Nutr, 19 (6), pp. 663-671Thompson, F.E., Byers, T., Dietary assessment resource manual (1994) J Nutr, (124 S), pp. 2245-2317de Onis, M., Onyango, A.W., Borghi, E., Siyam, A., Nishida, C., Siekmann, J., Development of a WHO growth reference for school-aged children and adolescents (2007) Bull World Health Organ, 85, pp. 660-667Nielsen, S.J., Adair, L., An alternative to dietary data exclusions (2007) J Am Diet Assoc, 107, pp. 792-799de Andrade, S.C., Barros, M.B.A., Carandina, L., Goldbaum, M., Cesar, C.L.G., Fisberg, R.M., Dietary Quality Index and associated factors among adolescents of the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil (2010) J Peds, 156 (3), pp. 456-460Pinheiro, A.C., Atalah, E., Propuesta de una metodología de análisis de la calidad global de la alimentación (2005) Rev Méd Chile, 133 (2), pp. 175-182Fernández, I., Aguilar Vilas, M.V., Mateos Vega, C.J., Martínez Para, M.C., Calidad de la dieta de una población de jóvenes de Guadalajara (2009) Nutr Hosp, 24, pp. 200-206Goodwin, D.K., Knol, L.K., Eddy, J.M., Fitzhugh, E.C., Kendrick, O., Donohue, R.E., Sociodemographic correlates of overall quality of dietary intake of US adolescents (2006) Nutr Res, 26, pp. 105-110Garriguet, D., Diet quality in Canada (2009) Stat Canada, 20 (3), pp. 1-12Gomes, M.A., Pereira, M.L.D., Família em situação de vulnerabilidade social: Uma questão de políticas públicas (2005) Cien Saúde Colet, 10 (2), pp. 357-363Levy-Costa, R.B., Sichieri, R., Pontes, N.S., Monteiro, C.A., Disponibilidade domiciliar de alimentos no Brasil: Distribuição e evolução (2005) Rev Saúde Pública, 39 (4), pp. 530-540Fisberg, R.M., Morimoto, J.M., Bueno, M.B., Hábito alimentar: Qualidade da dieta (2008) As dimensões da saúde, pp. 59-66. , In: Barros MBA, Cesar CLG, Carandina L, Goldbaum M (org), Inquérito populacional em Campinas. São Paulo: Aderaldo & RothschildOrtiz-Hernández, L., Gómez-Tello, B.L., Food consumption in Mexican adolescents (2008) Rev Panam Salud Publica/Pan Am J Public Health, 24 (2), pp. 127-135Riediger, N.D., Shooshtari, S., Moghadasian, M.H., The influence of sociodemographic factors on patterns of fruit and vegetable consumption in Canadian adolescents (2007) J Am Diet Assoc, 107, pp. 1511-1518Panigassi, G., Segall-Corrêa, A.M., Marin-León, L., Pérez-Escamilla, R., Maranha, L.K., Sampaio, M.F.A., Insegurança alimentar intrafamiliar e perfil de consumo de alimentos (2008) Rev Nutr, 21 (S), pp. 135-144Lorson, B.A., Melgar-Quinonez, H.R., Taylor, C.A., Correlates of fruit and vegetable intakes in US children (2009) J Am Diet Assoc, 109, pp. 474-478Amin, T.T., Al-Sultan, A.I., Ali, A., Overweight and obesity and their relation to dietary habits and sócio-demographic characteristics among male primary school children in Al-Hassa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (2008) Eur J Nutr, 47 (6), pp. 310-318(2006) Ministério da Saúde, p. 210. , Brasil, Secretaria de Atenção à Saúde. Coordenação-Geral da Política de Alimentação e Nutrição. Guia alimentar para a população brasileira: promovendo a alimentação saudável. BrasíliaRolls, B.J., Ello-Martin, J.A., Tohill, B.C., What can intervention studies tell us about the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and weight management? (2004) Nutr Rev, 62 (1), pp. 1-17Villa, I., Yngve, A., Poortvliet, E., Grjibovski, A., Liiv, K., Sjöström, M., Dietary intake among under-, normal-and overweight 9-and 15-year-old Estonian and Swedish schoolchildren (2007) Public Health Nutr, 10 (3), pp. 311-322Winham, D., Webb, D., Barr, A., Beans and good health (2008) Nutr Today, 43 (5), pp. 201-209Feskanich, D., Rockett, H.R.H., Colditz, G.A., Modifying the Healthy Eating Index to assess diet quality in children and adolescents (2004) J Am Diet Assoc, 104 (9), pp. 1375-1383Brown, I.J., Tzoulaki, I., Candeias, V., Elliott, P., Salt intakes around the world: Implications for public health (2009) Int J Epidemiol, 38 (9), pp. 791-813Sarno, F., Claro, R.M., Levy, R.B., Bandoni, D.H., Ferreira, S.R.G., Monteiro, C.A., Estimativa de consumo de sódio pela população brasileira, 2002-2003 (2009) Rev Saúde Pública, 43 (2), pp. 219-225(2011) Consea acompanhará acordos para redução de sódio e gordura nos alimentos, , http://portal.saude.gov.br/portal/aplicacoes/noticias/default.cfm?pg=dspDetalheNoticia&id_area=124&CO_NOTICIA=12686, Ministério da Saúde, [Acessado em 4 de julho de], Disponível emSousa, M.H., Silva, N.N., Estimativas obtidas de um levantamento complexo (2003) Rev Saúde Pública, 37 (5), pp. 662-670Fisberg, R.M., Martini, L.A., Slater, B., Métodos de inquéritos alimentares (2005) Inquéritos alimentares: Métodos e bases científicos, pp. 1-31. , In: Fisberg RM, Slater B, Marchioni DML, Martini LA, São Paulo: Editora ManoleWillett, W.C., (1998) Nutritional epidemiology, , 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University PressJúnior, J.C.F., Validade das medidas autorreferidas de peso e estatura para o diagnóstico do estado nutricional de adolescentes (2007) Rev Bras Saúde Matern Infant, 7 (2), pp. 167-174Fonseca, H., Silva, A.M., Matos, M.G., Esteves, I., Costa, P., Guerra, A., Validity of BMI based on self-reported weight and height in adolescents (2010) Acta Paediatrica, 99 (1), pp. 83-88Waijers, P.M.C.M., Feskens, E.J.M., Ocké, M.C., A critical review of predefined diet quality scores (2007) Br J Nutr, 97 (2), pp. 219-23

Study protocol for the multicentre cohorts of Zika virus infection in pregnant women, infants, and acute clinical cases in Latin America and the Caribbean: The ZIKAlliance consortium

Background: The European Commission (EC) Horizon 2020 (H2020)-funded ZIKAlliance Consortium designed a multicentre study including pregnant women (PW), children (CH) and natural history (NH) cohorts. Clinical sites were selected over a wide geographic range within Latin America and the Caribbean, taking into account the dynamic course of the ZIKV epidemic. Methods: Recruitment to the PW cohort will take place in antenatal care clinics. PW will be enrolled regardless of symptoms and followed over the course of pregnancy, approximately every 4 weeks. PW will be revisited at delivery (or after miscarriage/abortion) to assess birth outcomes, including microcephaly and other congenital abnormalities according to the evolving definition of congenital Zika syndrome (CZS). After birth, children will be followed for 2 years in the CH cohort. Follow-up visits are scheduled at ages 1-3, 4-6, 12, and 24 months to assess neurocognitive and developmental milestones. In addition, a NH cohort for the characterization of symptomatic rash/fever illness was designed, including follow-up to capture persisting health problems. Blood, urine, and other biological materials will be collected, and tested for ZIKV and other relevant arboviral diseases (dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever) using RT-PCR or serological methods. A virtual, decentralized biobank will be created. Reciprocal clinical monitoring has been established between partner sites. Substudies of ZIKV seroprevalence, transmissio