ObjectivesGiven the complex pathology of sickle cell anemia (SCA) and low adherence to hydroxyure... more ObjectivesGiven the complex pathology of sickle cell anemia (SCA) and low adherence to hydroxyurea (HU) treatment, there is a need to seek parameters that identify recent changes in patient status. The advanced clinical parameters (ACPs) allow an early analysis of hematopoiesis. We aimed to draw the demographic profile of non‐adherent SCA patients and to verify the use of ACPs as a measure of HU treatment adherence.MethodIn a cross‐sectional study, we divided 83 SCA subjects treated with HU into Children (<12 years old) and adolescents/adults (≥12 years old). Their hemogram with the ACPs, electronic medical charts and pharmacy claim data were analyzed.ResultsNon‐adherent ≥12 years old patients had significantly increased WBC, absolute neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, and basophil counts, RBC, RET, RDW, and PLT, and significantly decreased MCV and MCH. Subjects in the adolescent/adult group with IG† ≥0.035 cells/mm3 had the RR for non‐adherence increased by 4.6 times (p = .014), ...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the systemic redox state and inflammatory markers in intens... more The aim of this study was to evaluate the systemic redox state and inflammatory markers in intensive care unit (ICU) or non‐ICU severe COVID‐19 patients during the hospitalization period. Blood samples were collected at hospital admission (T1) (Controls and COVID‐19 patients), 5–7 days after admission (T2: 5–7 days after hospital admission), and at the discharge time from the hospital (T3: 0–72 h before leaving hospital or death) to analyze systemic oxidative stress markers and inflammatory variables. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were analyzed in peripheral granulocytes and monocytes. THP‐1 human monocytic cell line was incubated with plasma from non‐ICU and ICU COVID‐19 patients and cell viability and apoptosis rate were analyzed. Higher total antioxidant capacity, protein oxidation, lipid peroxidation, and IL‐6 at hospital admission were identified in both non‐ICU and ICU COVID‐19 patients. ICU COVID‐19 patients presented ...
Os microssomas são partículas constituídas por membranas do retículo endoplasmático e do Golgi. S... more Os microssomas são partículas constituídas por membranas do retículo endoplasmático e do Golgi. São obtidos por sub-fracionamento celular através de ultra-centrifugação. No retículo endoplasmático encontram-se diversas atividades enzimáticas, entre as quais, a atividade da serina palmitoil-CoA transferase (SPT). Esta é a enzima marcapasso da biossíntese dos esfingolipídios. Um dos projetos do nosso laboratório é a avaliação da atividade da SPT em hipotálamos de ratos normo e hiponutridos. Para isto é necessário saber o conteúdo de proteínas totais na fração a ser utilizada como fonte de enzima. Portanto, com objetivo de determinar o conteúdo protéico da fração microssomal, hipotálamos de oito ratos com uma semana de vida foram submetidos ao fracionamento sub-celular de acordo com técnica descrita por Mandon e colaboradores (Eur.J.Biochem.198:667-674,1991). O método clássico de Lowry foi utilizado para a dosagem de proteínas. O conteúdo protéico determinado na fração microssomal correspondeu a, aproximadamente , 20% do detectado no homogeinizado total. Este rendimento protéico e a sua ordem de grandeza corresponde ao relatado na literatura. (PIBIC-CNPq/UFRGS, PROPESP/UFRGS, FAPERGS, CNPq).
Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, 2014
Urinalysis is a very important test of laboratory medicine, providing valuable information about ... more Urinalysis is a very important test of laboratory medicine, providing valuable information about metabolism, kidney, and urinary tract. For several reasons, including lacking of professional qualification, it does not receive the proper attention, what prevents it to achieve its whole power. Considering that, a knowledge-based system for decision support in urinalysis could help to change this situation, being useful to professional training, decision support during the process or even the automation of the test. This paper proposes the development of such a system, employing ontologies, Bayesian networks, and templates of cognitive tasks to treat domain knowledge. Then, urinalysis is briefly discussed and system architecture is presented, as well as the current state of the work and future steps. Knowledge-based System for Urinalysis.
A urinalise e um teste importante para determinar a presenca de variantes bacterianas como os esf... more A urinalise e um teste importante para determinar a presenca de variantes bacterianas como os esferoplastos e as formas filamentosas, as quais podem ser visualizadas atraves da analise microscopica do sedimento urinario. Esse tipo de comportamento ocorre, sobretudo, com as bacterias Gram-negativas devido a acao dos antibioticos β-lactâmicos que agem nas enzimas denominadas de proteinas ligadoras de penicilina (PBPs) presentes na camada de peptidioglicanos. Elas sao responsaveis por manter o formato da celula, por proteger contra a variacao osmotica do meio e por evitar a lise celular. Desse modo, os antibioticos β-lactâmicos desestabilizam as PBPs e promovem um aumento na pressao osmotica, fragilizacao da parede celular com rompimento da mesma e consequente formacao de esferoplastos e formas filamentosas. Em estudos realizados com concentracoes sub-inibitorias de antibioticos β-lactâmicos, as bacterias Gram-negativas promoveram a formacao das variantes bacterianas como mecanismo de ...
Introdução Medidas de distanciamento social empregadas para conter a pandemia da COVID-19, o rece... more Introdução Medidas de distanciamento social empregadas para conter a pandemia da COVID-19, o receio da população em se infectar ao se deslocar para doar sangue e a exclusão de candidatos com suspeita da doença ocasionou níveis críticos nos estoques de bancos de sangue. Entretanto, a demanda por sangue permaneceu e cirurgias adiadas devido à pandemia têm sido retomadas, aumentando a necessidade de doações. Esse contexto motivou o serviço de hemoterapia do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) e a Liga do Sangue da UFCSPA (LiSan) a realizar, conjuntamente, uma campanha de doação de sangue pelas redes sociais. Objetivos Incentivar a doação de sangue durante a pandemia da COVID-19 pelas redes sociais. Método Realizou-se posts em redes sociais, Instagram (@ligadosangue) e Facebook (@liga.sangue) da LiSan sobre a necessidade de doações no HCPA e, dentre elas, abordou-se a carência de sangue tipo O+/O- e A+/A-. Foram realizadas também enquetes (Instagram) com indagações sobre o tipo sanguíneo, intenção de doar e intervalo desde a última doação, dentre outras. A partir dessas interações, os participantes foram contatados e os interessados em doar passaram por uma pré-triagem com avaliação de critérios básicos para doação de sangue, excluindocandidatos inaptos. Uma tabela de pré-agendamento com informações dos candidatos (tipo sanguíneo, contato e data de preferência para a doação) foi produzida e repassada para o Banco de Sangue do HCPA, a fim de organizar a logística das doações. Por fim, os interessados eram direcionados para o agendamento on-line do serviço de hemoterapia. Resultados A postagem sobre os tipos sanguíneos O+/O- e A+/A- obteve um alcance de 2.933 contas (70% pertenciam a usuários que não seguiam a conta da LiSan) e foi compartilhada 1.642 vezes.As enquetes tiveram 144 respostas para a pergunta sobre já ter doado (57% respondeu sim), 192 para ser dos tipos O+/O- (52% eram desses grupos), 74 para o intervalo desde a última doação (59% respondeu ter doado há mais de 4 meses) e 60 para ter intenção de doar se nunca o fez (93% respondeu sim). No primeiro mês da campanha (junho), houve o agendamento de 21 doações através da liga. Observou-se um alcance pelo Facebook inferior ao do Instagram. Discussão O intenso compartilhamento do post sobre necessidade de doação de sangue e o significativo número de respondentes das enquetes realizadas proporcionou uma maior abrangência da ação, não se limitando apenas aos usuários que seguem o perfil da LiSan nas redes. Além disso, o conteúdo atingiu um grande número de jovens adultos (seguidores da LiSan), público alvo para a doação de sangue. Embora a adesão ao pré-agendamento tenha sido relativamente baixa, é importante considerar que a divulgação ocasionou também doações não vinculadas a ele, mas que contribuíram igualmente para os estoques de sangue. A ação proporcionou ainda a interação com o público por meio de comentários e de respostas a dúvidas sobre a doação de sangue. Conclusão As redes sociais se mostram uma potencial ferramenta no incentivo à doação de sangue, auxiliando a captação de doadores, além de disseminar informações a respeito da doação, colaborando para a adesão de novos doadores. É necessário ainda criar e aprimorar estratégias para o recrutamento constante e fidelização de candidatos, a fim de proporcionar a manutenção dos estoques de sangue.
The Phagocytosis of fungal structures by neutrophils is a well-documented function of these immun... more The Phagocytosis of fungal structures by neutrophils is a well-documented function of these immune cells. However, neutrophil phagocytosis of hyphal structures in the urine sediment is not usually observed during routine sample evaluation. This is a case of hyphal phagocytosis by neutrophils in the urine of a kidney allograft recipient patient.
AIMS Acute and chronic kidney dysfunction is common in patients with end-stage liver disease. Dif... more AIMS Acute and chronic kidney dysfunction is common in patients with end-stage liver disease. Differentiation between acute kidney injury (AKI) due to hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) or acute tubular necrosis (ATN) remains difficult, however urine cast scoring systems using renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) and granular casts (GCs) can help to identify intrinsic kidney diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the urine sediment profile of patients with liver disease and hyperbilirubinemia/hyperbilirubinuria and the use of a urine sediment scoring system to identify the most common score in AKI patients and high urine bilirubin concentrations. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective study in the database of a large laboratory that assists a hospital-complex in Brazil was performed. RESULTS Urinary casts, in particular GCs, as well as RTECs were observed more frequently in patients with hyperbilirubinemia/hyperbilirubinuria, while hyaline casts were observed in patients without hyperbilirubinemia/hyperbilirubinuria. Regardless of the AKI or non-AKI condition, the relative risk for scores 2 or 3 (sediment consistent with tubular damage, with GCs and/or RTECs in different quantities) in group 4 was 3.61 times higher compared to patients in group 1. CONCLUSION In patients with higher urinary bilirubin levels, the urine sediment had greater numbers of GCs and RTECs and higher urine sediment scores (scores 2 or 3). The presence of a larger number of urine particles (RTECs and GCs) originating in the kidneys in the groups with higher levels of urinary bilirubin suggests an association between hyperbilirubinemia/hyperbilirubinuria and tubular injury independent of AKI or non-AKI. .
Observations are an important aspect of our society. Arguably, great part of them is captured by ... more Observations are an important aspect of our society. Arguably, great part of them is captured by means of sensors. Despite the importance of the matter, the ontology of observations and sensors is not well developed, with few efforts dealing with the fundamental questions about their nature. As a result, an important aspect of sensors is overlooked: sensors may fail, producing false-results (i.e. false-positives and false-negatives). The lack of a proper representation of this aspect prevents us from communicating and reasoning about sensor failures, making it harder to assess the correctness of observations and to treat possible errors. In view of this problem, we propose an ontology design pattern (ODP) to represent false-results of sensors. It covers a special case of sensor that exclusively produces positive or negative results regarding the presence of the type of entity the sensor is designed to perceive. The paper introduces the ODP structure as well as its ontological commitments, bringing an example from the biomedical field. Discussion and further research opportunities of research are posed at the end of the paper.
Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE 9th International Conference on Semantic Computing (IEEE ICSC 2015), 2015
Ontologies are an important tool in knowledge representation. Currently, one of the most popular ... more Ontologies are an important tool in knowledge representation. Currently, one of the most popular languages to model ontologies is the Web Ontology Language (OWL). Such language is in its second version (OWL 2), which was designed to overcome some issues in expressivity, syntax, semantics and other practical aspects of the previous version. However, it still lacks some constructs that would be useful in some domains and situations. One of such constructs is what could be called “universal relationship” (i.e. a relationship with maximal degree of universality, so that, if established between two classes, states that every individual of a class is related to every individual of the other by this particular relationship). Therefore, this work brings an ontology design pattern to address such modeling issue. It requires OWL 2 features to be implemented, but dispenses any other external resources to handle the problem. The article presents the structure of the pattern and its implementation steps, as well as an example from the biomedical field.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients have a susceptibility to vitamin D deficiency because of nutrient m... more Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients have a susceptibility to vitamin D deficiency because of nutrient malabsorption. To evaluate the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in CF patients and the factors associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. We evaluated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;30 ng/mL, as suggested recently by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and factors associated with its serum levels. Patients with confirmed CF were included. Nutritional status and hospital admissions were evaluated. Serum C-reactive protein, calcium, phosphate, magnesium, albumin, 25-hydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone levels were measured. Lung function was evaluated by spirometry, and clinical and chest radiographic scores were assessed. Statistical significance level was set at P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05. Fifty-nine patients were included. Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was 61%. Patients with pancreatic insufficiency had a trend to have higher vitamin D levels. Sixteen patients had severe lung disease with percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 s predicted below 40%. After multivariate analysis, body mass index and hospitalization in the last month remained significantly associated with serum vitamin D levels. Vitamin D insufficiency is still a problem in CF patients, even in those receiving supplementation.
Background Our goal was to analyze the association of the fat mass and obesity- associated (FTO) ... more Background Our goal was to analyze the association of the fat mass and obesity- associated (FTO) gene rs9939609 variant (T/A) with the anthropometric and dietary intake phenotypes related to obesity in Brazilian children. Methods We analyzed the association of this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with phenotypes related to the accumulation of body mass in a cohort of 348 children followed from the time of birth until 8 years old and then replicated the main findings in an independent schoolchildren sample (n = 615). Results At the age of 4, we observed a significant association between the A/A genotype and a higher mean BMI Z-score (P = 0.036). At the age of 8, the A/A individuals still presented with a higher BMI Z-score (P = 0.011) and with marginal differences in the volume of subcutaneous fat (P = 0.048). We replicated these findings in the schoolchildren sample, which showed that those with at least one copy of the A allele presented with a higher BMI Z-score (P = 0.029) a...
Background/Aims: Undernutrition reduces the hypothalamic ganglioside concentration. This may be a... more Background/Aims: Undernutrition reduces the hypothalamic ganglioside concentration. This may be attributed to some modifications in the contents of precursors of sphingolipid biosynthesis in undernourished rats. The present study evaluated the serine palmitoyl transferase activity (SPT; EC 2.3.1.50) during the development of the rat hypothalamus. This work also shows the L-[3-14C]serine metabolic labeling of hypothalamic sphingolipids in normal and undernourished rats at weaning. Methods: The SPT activity was determined in microsomal fractions obtained from the hypothalamus of normal rats (diet: 25% protein) and pre- and postnatally undernourished rats (diet: 8% protein since pregnancy) at 21 days of gestational age and at 7, 14, and 21 days of postnatal life. Results: The enzymatic activity was lower in the hypothalamus of undernourished than in the hypothalamus of control rats since the 7th postnatal day. Incorporation of the precursor L-[3-14C]serine into sphingolipid fraction wa...
Rhabdomyolysis is defined as the breakdown of skeletal muscle leading to the release of muscle co... more Rhabdomyolysis is defined as the breakdown of skeletal muscle leading to the release of muscle contents into the extracellular fluid. Patients with rhabdomyolysis can be asymptomatic or have myalgia symptoms, weakness, myoglobinuria with dark urine, significant electrolyte imbalance, and acute kidney injury. Here we describe a case on acute kidney injury associated to rhabdomyolysis in a patient with COVID-19.
ObjectivesGiven the complex pathology of sickle cell anemia (SCA) and low adherence to hydroxyure... more ObjectivesGiven the complex pathology of sickle cell anemia (SCA) and low adherence to hydroxyurea (HU) treatment, there is a need to seek parameters that identify recent changes in patient status. The advanced clinical parameters (ACPs) allow an early analysis of hematopoiesis. We aimed to draw the demographic profile of non‐adherent SCA patients and to verify the use of ACPs as a measure of HU treatment adherence.MethodIn a cross‐sectional study, we divided 83 SCA subjects treated with HU into Children (<12 years old) and adolescents/adults (≥12 years old). Their hemogram with the ACPs, electronic medical charts and pharmacy claim data were analyzed.ResultsNon‐adherent ≥12 years old patients had significantly increased WBC, absolute neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte, and basophil counts, RBC, RET, RDW, and PLT, and significantly decreased MCV and MCH. Subjects in the adolescent/adult group with IG† ≥0.035 cells/mm3 had the RR for non‐adherence increased by 4.6 times (p = .014), ...
The aim of this study was to evaluate the systemic redox state and inflammatory markers in intens... more The aim of this study was to evaluate the systemic redox state and inflammatory markers in intensive care unit (ICU) or non‐ICU severe COVID‐19 patients during the hospitalization period. Blood samples were collected at hospital admission (T1) (Controls and COVID‐19 patients), 5–7 days after admission (T2: 5–7 days after hospital admission), and at the discharge time from the hospital (T3: 0–72 h before leaving hospital or death) to analyze systemic oxidative stress markers and inflammatory variables. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) were analyzed in peripheral granulocytes and monocytes. THP‐1 human monocytic cell line was incubated with plasma from non‐ICU and ICU COVID‐19 patients and cell viability and apoptosis rate were analyzed. Higher total antioxidant capacity, protein oxidation, lipid peroxidation, and IL‐6 at hospital admission were identified in both non‐ICU and ICU COVID‐19 patients. ICU COVID‐19 patients presented ...
Os microssomas são partículas constituídas por membranas do retículo endoplasmático e do Golgi. S... more Os microssomas são partículas constituídas por membranas do retículo endoplasmático e do Golgi. São obtidos por sub-fracionamento celular através de ultra-centrifugação. No retículo endoplasmático encontram-se diversas atividades enzimáticas, entre as quais, a atividade da serina palmitoil-CoA transferase (SPT). Esta é a enzima marcapasso da biossíntese dos esfingolipídios. Um dos projetos do nosso laboratório é a avaliação da atividade da SPT em hipotálamos de ratos normo e hiponutridos. Para isto é necessário saber o conteúdo de proteínas totais na fração a ser utilizada como fonte de enzima. Portanto, com objetivo de determinar o conteúdo protéico da fração microssomal, hipotálamos de oito ratos com uma semana de vida foram submetidos ao fracionamento sub-celular de acordo com técnica descrita por Mandon e colaboradores (Eur.J.Biochem.198:667-674,1991). O método clássico de Lowry foi utilizado para a dosagem de proteínas. O conteúdo protéico determinado na fração microssomal correspondeu a, aproximadamente , 20% do detectado no homogeinizado total. Este rendimento protéico e a sua ordem de grandeza corresponde ao relatado na literatura. (PIBIC-CNPq/UFRGS, PROPESP/UFRGS, FAPERGS, CNPq).
Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems, 2014
Urinalysis is a very important test of laboratory medicine, providing valuable information about ... more Urinalysis is a very important test of laboratory medicine, providing valuable information about metabolism, kidney, and urinary tract. For several reasons, including lacking of professional qualification, it does not receive the proper attention, what prevents it to achieve its whole power. Considering that, a knowledge-based system for decision support in urinalysis could help to change this situation, being useful to professional training, decision support during the process or even the automation of the test. This paper proposes the development of such a system, employing ontologies, Bayesian networks, and templates of cognitive tasks to treat domain knowledge. Then, urinalysis is briefly discussed and system architecture is presented, as well as the current state of the work and future steps. Knowledge-based System for Urinalysis.
A urinalise e um teste importante para determinar a presenca de variantes bacterianas como os esf... more A urinalise e um teste importante para determinar a presenca de variantes bacterianas como os esferoplastos e as formas filamentosas, as quais podem ser visualizadas atraves da analise microscopica do sedimento urinario. Esse tipo de comportamento ocorre, sobretudo, com as bacterias Gram-negativas devido a acao dos antibioticos β-lactâmicos que agem nas enzimas denominadas de proteinas ligadoras de penicilina (PBPs) presentes na camada de peptidioglicanos. Elas sao responsaveis por manter o formato da celula, por proteger contra a variacao osmotica do meio e por evitar a lise celular. Desse modo, os antibioticos β-lactâmicos desestabilizam as PBPs e promovem um aumento na pressao osmotica, fragilizacao da parede celular com rompimento da mesma e consequente formacao de esferoplastos e formas filamentosas. Em estudos realizados com concentracoes sub-inibitorias de antibioticos β-lactâmicos, as bacterias Gram-negativas promoveram a formacao das variantes bacterianas como mecanismo de ...
Introdução Medidas de distanciamento social empregadas para conter a pandemia da COVID-19, o rece... more Introdução Medidas de distanciamento social empregadas para conter a pandemia da COVID-19, o receio da população em se infectar ao se deslocar para doar sangue e a exclusão de candidatos com suspeita da doença ocasionou níveis críticos nos estoques de bancos de sangue. Entretanto, a demanda por sangue permaneceu e cirurgias adiadas devido à pandemia têm sido retomadas, aumentando a necessidade de doações. Esse contexto motivou o serviço de hemoterapia do Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) e a Liga do Sangue da UFCSPA (LiSan) a realizar, conjuntamente, uma campanha de doação de sangue pelas redes sociais. Objetivos Incentivar a doação de sangue durante a pandemia da COVID-19 pelas redes sociais. Método Realizou-se posts em redes sociais, Instagram (@ligadosangue) e Facebook (@liga.sangue) da LiSan sobre a necessidade de doações no HCPA e, dentre elas, abordou-se a carência de sangue tipo O+/O- e A+/A-. Foram realizadas também enquetes (Instagram) com indagações sobre o tipo sanguíneo, intenção de doar e intervalo desde a última doação, dentre outras. A partir dessas interações, os participantes foram contatados e os interessados em doar passaram por uma pré-triagem com avaliação de critérios básicos para doação de sangue, excluindocandidatos inaptos. Uma tabela de pré-agendamento com informações dos candidatos (tipo sanguíneo, contato e data de preferência para a doação) foi produzida e repassada para o Banco de Sangue do HCPA, a fim de organizar a logística das doações. Por fim, os interessados eram direcionados para o agendamento on-line do serviço de hemoterapia. Resultados A postagem sobre os tipos sanguíneos O+/O- e A+/A- obteve um alcance de 2.933 contas (70% pertenciam a usuários que não seguiam a conta da LiSan) e foi compartilhada 1.642 vezes.As enquetes tiveram 144 respostas para a pergunta sobre já ter doado (57% respondeu sim), 192 para ser dos tipos O+/O- (52% eram desses grupos), 74 para o intervalo desde a última doação (59% respondeu ter doado há mais de 4 meses) e 60 para ter intenção de doar se nunca o fez (93% respondeu sim). No primeiro mês da campanha (junho), houve o agendamento de 21 doações através da liga. Observou-se um alcance pelo Facebook inferior ao do Instagram. Discussão O intenso compartilhamento do post sobre necessidade de doação de sangue e o significativo número de respondentes das enquetes realizadas proporcionou uma maior abrangência da ação, não se limitando apenas aos usuários que seguem o perfil da LiSan nas redes. Além disso, o conteúdo atingiu um grande número de jovens adultos (seguidores da LiSan), público alvo para a doação de sangue. Embora a adesão ao pré-agendamento tenha sido relativamente baixa, é importante considerar que a divulgação ocasionou também doações não vinculadas a ele, mas que contribuíram igualmente para os estoques de sangue. A ação proporcionou ainda a interação com o público por meio de comentários e de respostas a dúvidas sobre a doação de sangue. Conclusão As redes sociais se mostram uma potencial ferramenta no incentivo à doação de sangue, auxiliando a captação de doadores, além de disseminar informações a respeito da doação, colaborando para a adesão de novos doadores. É necessário ainda criar e aprimorar estratégias para o recrutamento constante e fidelização de candidatos, a fim de proporcionar a manutenção dos estoques de sangue.
The Phagocytosis of fungal structures by neutrophils is a well-documented function of these immun... more The Phagocytosis of fungal structures by neutrophils is a well-documented function of these immune cells. However, neutrophil phagocytosis of hyphal structures in the urine sediment is not usually observed during routine sample evaluation. This is a case of hyphal phagocytosis by neutrophils in the urine of a kidney allograft recipient patient.
AIMS Acute and chronic kidney dysfunction is common in patients with end-stage liver disease. Dif... more AIMS Acute and chronic kidney dysfunction is common in patients with end-stage liver disease. Differentiation between acute kidney injury (AKI) due to hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) or acute tubular necrosis (ATN) remains difficult, however urine cast scoring systems using renal tubular epithelial cells (RTECs) and granular casts (GCs) can help to identify intrinsic kidney diseases. The objective of this study was to evaluate the urine sediment profile of patients with liver disease and hyperbilirubinemia/hyperbilirubinuria and the use of a urine sediment scoring system to identify the most common score in AKI patients and high urine bilirubin concentrations. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective study in the database of a large laboratory that assists a hospital-complex in Brazil was performed. RESULTS Urinary casts, in particular GCs, as well as RTECs were observed more frequently in patients with hyperbilirubinemia/hyperbilirubinuria, while hyaline casts were observed in patients without hyperbilirubinemia/hyperbilirubinuria. Regardless of the AKI or non-AKI condition, the relative risk for scores 2 or 3 (sediment consistent with tubular damage, with GCs and/or RTECs in different quantities) in group 4 was 3.61 times higher compared to patients in group 1. CONCLUSION In patients with higher urinary bilirubin levels, the urine sediment had greater numbers of GCs and RTECs and higher urine sediment scores (scores 2 or 3). The presence of a larger number of urine particles (RTECs and GCs) originating in the kidneys in the groups with higher levels of urinary bilirubin suggests an association between hyperbilirubinemia/hyperbilirubinuria and tubular injury independent of AKI or non-AKI. .
Observations are an important aspect of our society. Arguably, great part of them is captured by ... more Observations are an important aspect of our society. Arguably, great part of them is captured by means of sensors. Despite the importance of the matter, the ontology of observations and sensors is not well developed, with few efforts dealing with the fundamental questions about their nature. As a result, an important aspect of sensors is overlooked: sensors may fail, producing false-results (i.e. false-positives and false-negatives). The lack of a proper representation of this aspect prevents us from communicating and reasoning about sensor failures, making it harder to assess the correctness of observations and to treat possible errors. In view of this problem, we propose an ontology design pattern (ODP) to represent false-results of sensors. It covers a special case of sensor that exclusively produces positive or negative results regarding the presence of the type of entity the sensor is designed to perceive. The paper introduces the ODP structure as well as its ontological commitments, bringing an example from the biomedical field. Discussion and further research opportunities of research are posed at the end of the paper.
Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE 9th International Conference on Semantic Computing (IEEE ICSC 2015), 2015
Ontologies are an important tool in knowledge representation. Currently, one of the most popular ... more Ontologies are an important tool in knowledge representation. Currently, one of the most popular languages to model ontologies is the Web Ontology Language (OWL). Such language is in its second version (OWL 2), which was designed to overcome some issues in expressivity, syntax, semantics and other practical aspects of the previous version. However, it still lacks some constructs that would be useful in some domains and situations. One of such constructs is what could be called “universal relationship” (i.e. a relationship with maximal degree of universality, so that, if established between two classes, states that every individual of a class is related to every individual of the other by this particular relationship). Therefore, this work brings an ontology design pattern to address such modeling issue. It requires OWL 2 features to be implemented, but dispenses any other external resources to handle the problem. The article presents the structure of the pattern and its implementation steps, as well as an example from the biomedical field.
Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients have a susceptibility to vitamin D deficiency because of nutrient m... more Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients have a susceptibility to vitamin D deficiency because of nutrient malabsorption. To evaluate the prevalence of hypovitaminosis D in CF patients and the factors associated with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels. We evaluated the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency defined as 25-hydroxyvitamin D &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;30 ng/mL, as suggested recently by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and factors associated with its serum levels. Patients with confirmed CF were included. Nutritional status and hospital admissions were evaluated. Serum C-reactive protein, calcium, phosphate, magnesium, albumin, 25-hydroxyvitamin D and parathyroid hormone levels were measured. Lung function was evaluated by spirometry, and clinical and chest radiographic scores were assessed. Statistical significance level was set at P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05. Fifty-nine patients were included. Prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was 61%. Patients with pancreatic insufficiency had a trend to have higher vitamin D levels. Sixteen patients had severe lung disease with percentage of forced expiratory volume in 1 s predicted below 40%. After multivariate analysis, body mass index and hospitalization in the last month remained significantly associated with serum vitamin D levels. Vitamin D insufficiency is still a problem in CF patients, even in those receiving supplementation.
Background Our goal was to analyze the association of the fat mass and obesity- associated (FTO) ... more Background Our goal was to analyze the association of the fat mass and obesity- associated (FTO) gene rs9939609 variant (T/A) with the anthropometric and dietary intake phenotypes related to obesity in Brazilian children. Methods We analyzed the association of this single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) with phenotypes related to the accumulation of body mass in a cohort of 348 children followed from the time of birth until 8 years old and then replicated the main findings in an independent schoolchildren sample (n = 615). Results At the age of 4, we observed a significant association between the A/A genotype and a higher mean BMI Z-score (P = 0.036). At the age of 8, the A/A individuals still presented with a higher BMI Z-score (P = 0.011) and with marginal differences in the volume of subcutaneous fat (P = 0.048). We replicated these findings in the schoolchildren sample, which showed that those with at least one copy of the A allele presented with a higher BMI Z-score (P = 0.029) a...
Background/Aims: Undernutrition reduces the hypothalamic ganglioside concentration. This may be a... more Background/Aims: Undernutrition reduces the hypothalamic ganglioside concentration. This may be attributed to some modifications in the contents of precursors of sphingolipid biosynthesis in undernourished rats. The present study evaluated the serine palmitoyl transferase activity (SPT; EC 2.3.1.50) during the development of the rat hypothalamus. This work also shows the L-[3-14C]serine metabolic labeling of hypothalamic sphingolipids in normal and undernourished rats at weaning. Methods: The SPT activity was determined in microsomal fractions obtained from the hypothalamus of normal rats (diet: 25% protein) and pre- and postnatally undernourished rats (diet: 8% protein since pregnancy) at 21 days of gestational age and at 7, 14, and 21 days of postnatal life. Results: The enzymatic activity was lower in the hypothalamus of undernourished than in the hypothalamus of control rats since the 7th postnatal day. Incorporation of the precursor L-[3-14C]serine into sphingolipid fraction wa...
Rhabdomyolysis is defined as the breakdown of skeletal muscle leading to the release of muscle co... more Rhabdomyolysis is defined as the breakdown of skeletal muscle leading to the release of muscle contents into the extracellular fluid. Patients with rhabdomyolysis can be asymptomatic or have myalgia symptoms, weakness, myoglobinuria with dark urine, significant electrolyte imbalance, and acute kidney injury. Here we describe a case on acute kidney injury associated to rhabdomyolysis in a patient with COVID-19.
Uploads
Papers by Liane Rotta